The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has threatened to call for a boycott of all businesses operated by Igbos all over the North from April 2022. The CNG gave the warning in reaction to the so-called cattle ban by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on the use of ‘Fulani cows (beef) in the South East. CNG Spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, stated yesterday that IPOB’s order last Monday “amounts to grave provocation and serious threat to Northern commercial interests in the South East, and by extension to the physical wellbeing of Northerners living as minorities among Igbo communities. “It is a renewed resolve to pay coin for coin any direct or indirect attack or threat to Northerners and their interests anywhere in the country,” Suleiman said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the North, while maintaining its tradition of tolerance and accommodation, shall, however, no longer be disposed to condoning further acts of irresponsibility in the form of deliberate threats of intimidation or harassment targeted at Northerners living and doing legitimate businesses elsewhere in the country.
“Since such targeted utterances had, in the past, been the prelude to physical attack on Northerners and destruction of their properties, particularly in the South East, we urge Northern transporters and suppliers of goods to consider alternative trade routes to avoid the imminent risks that come with this IPOB threat.”
The spokesperson also reiterated that all those who have no other useful vocation than attacking Northerners under the slightest provocation should know that their patience has reached its peak.
The group also encouraged Northerners to refrain from supporting any political party, formation or movement that has the active participation of South-East politicians.
