FORMER Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has described members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as poorly educated children.
The governor stated this yesterday in a chat with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Imo West senator had earlier in the week claimed that IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu and members of the group were taking advantage of the naivety and disenchantment of the South-East people against the Nigerian State.
Okorocha said he doesn’t IPOB members as terrorists.
He said: “Wherever things are not working well, hold the leadership responsible. I was Governor of Imo State for eight years. And within those eight years, there was absolute peace in that land. IPOB did exist. And all these additional forces existed too.
“It is the poor handling by the state government that exacerbated this to what it is today. If I had remained the governor of the state at this time, you wouldn’t hear what you’re hearing.
“IPOB are our young men, our sons and daughters, and let no Igbo man tell you otherwise. They believe that they have been marginalised in terms of infrastructure and appointments, and they’ve believed this for a long time. But we’re able to assuage them and give them confidence that things will get better.
“But there was no need to have handled the IPOB matter the way it was handled. I don’t support any of them either. Today they have turned out to be terrorists. But for me, I don’t see them as terrorists. I see them as children who have not been properly educated on the happenings.”
