Pro-Buhari women group seeks referendum on Biafra

 

Hundreds of women under the aegis of Amalgamation of Northern Women of Nigeria have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to organise a referendum on clamour for actualisation of Biafran Republic.

Led by Hajia Hadiza Adamu, the women in a rally held in Abuja, said the call was aimed at averting a repeat of the Nigerian civil war between 1967-1970, which claimed millions of lives.

The women, drawn from three geopolitical zones of the North, maintained that determining Biafra’s fate would usher in lasting peace in Nigeria.

The group brandished various placards with inscriptions: “We don’t want another war,” Buhari, give us a referendum on Biafra,” “Stop the killing of Northerners,” and “Southeast should choose between United Nigeria or Biafra…”

They also decried bloodbath in the Southeast.

The women, in a petition addressed to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, said: “We, as mothers, are always at the receiving end of any war, insurrection, killings, and acts of terror. When our men were killed, we were raped and our children rendered orphans. History has shown that women carry the heavy burden of war and acts of insurrections and terrorism.

“The aftermath of the war left lifetime scars in our hearts and on our bodies. It is for this reason that we come together today and say we don’t want another war, another insurrection. 

“Let people choose to live in peace in Nigeria or leave…We are saying enough is enough and let the President allow for a referendum that will make Igbo realise their dream of being a Biafra nation. No more killing of northerners, no more killing of police officers, no more profiling of northerners and attacking their businesses. Let Igbo have their independent nation…”