The Indigenous People of Biafra has urged Igbo living outside the South-East to return home for the population census slated for May 3 to 5.
The group said it was imperative for Igbo to be counted during the census in order to ascertain their actual population size, adding the opportunity would equally prove to the world that Igbo are not really, “a dot” in a circle.
IPOB’s Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, said this in a statement, on Wednesday.
The statement read, “We, the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra, ably led by the great and indefatigable leader Nnamdi Kanu, draw the attention of Biafrans resident in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria to come back home and be counted during this forthcoming population census. We will use the coming census exercise organised by the Nigeria government to ascertain the population and the size of amenities we needed in the Biafran territory.
“The mass return of our people during this forthcoming population census will help us quantify the population of Biafrans in Nigeria. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity that Nigeria government is offering to our benefit. They have always told the world that we are a dot with an insignificant population. Now is the time to let the world know the population of Biafrans in Nigeria as Biafran agitation is gathering international attention and speed. Biafra is coming, and no one can stop it. IPOB is gradually dismantling all obstacles to our freedom, and this population census will provide another opportunity to collect more evidence to that effect.
“Those who disenfranchised Biafrans during the last fraudulent elections should never be allowed to use us to boost their population again. They have always used Biafran’s population for a higher allocation yet deny Biafrans opportunity to freely participate in the national issues drim their territories. It’s time we use our tongue to count our teeth. Therefore, IPOB is calling every Biafran resident in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria to travel back to the East and be counted in their home state.”
The PUNCH had reported that the National Population Commission said Nigerians should not travel to their home states for census, but to stay in their places of residence to be counted.
The spokesperson for the commission, Isiaka Yahaya, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, said, “People should stay where they are, to be counted. They are not to move to their states of origin. It is totally against the essence of the census. You have to be counted where you reside because that’s where you enjoy the social facilities like education and health, among others.
“Apart from this, when the time comes for people to be provided with infrastructure and other things you will not allow the planners to have accurate figures. People are not to move.”
But IPOB, in its statement on Wednesday, told the Igbo: “Should there be any reason why you can’t travel to Biafra land to be counted, make sure you and your family members are not counted outside Biafra land. We must prove them wrong once and for all.”
The group added that it would “engage transport owners to urge them to be part of this project so that those willing to travel to the East to be counted can do so.”
“We are calling on all well-meaning Igbo business men and women, entrepreneurs, senators, ministers, commissioners, House of Assembly members from the eastern states to contribute in one way or the other to ensure that our people come back home during this population census exercise,” IPOB said.
