Biafra won’t survive as long as I am President of Nigeria, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned those agitating for the Independent State of Biafra to stop daring the nation’s security forces because Nigeria would not tolerate Biafra.
Buhari, spoke to an international television station, Aljazeera, during his recent visit to Qatar, in answer to questions on how he would handle the resurgence of demands for Biafra led by detained Director of Radio Biafra and leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The president said in the interview which was aired yesterday, that those behind the renewed agitation for a Republic of Biafra, who are mainly of the South-East and South-South geo-political zones of Nigeria were not properly guided by history.
He made reference to the 1967-1970 Nigeria/Biafra war during which over two million people were killed when Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu led Biafrans in an attempt to forcefully break away from Nigeria, preceded by military coups and counter-coups that resulted in the killing of mainly Igbo people of the South-East in the northern parts of the country.
According to the President, “at least two million Nigerians were killed in the civil war; and for somebody to wake up (now), maybe they weren’t born (then). Looking for Biafra after two millions people were killed? They are joking with the security and Nigeria won’t tolerate Biafra”.

 Buhari, a retired general, has always maintained that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable; and that while peaceful pro-Biafran protests are welcome, demanding for the breakaway of parts of the country like Biafra, is unconstitutional.
On his military campaign against the terrorist group, Boko Haram, Buhari said he hasn’t failed in his promise to rout them because no single local government areas is being occupied by the insurgents in the country unlike before his assumption of office last May.
Also in the interview, which was confirmed by a presidential source, the president declared that Nigeria was not ready to quit the oil-producing cartel, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The slump in oil price is adversely affecting Nigeria but Buhari argued that it was in the best interest of the country to remain a member of OPEC.
“We were unable to diversify our economy, hence we are much more disadvantaged by the lower oil prices. Nigeria will make the necessary sacrifice to remain in OPEC,” he stated.
The president also stood his ground that he would not succumb to the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to devalue the nation’s currency, the Naira.
He explained that as Nigeria has remained a massive importer of foreign commodities, it could not afford to devalue its currency.
“If it is against our national interest, why can’t we go against the IMF advice?” Buhari declared.
“Anybody who is given dollars by the CBN to import pharmaceuticals and decided to go and sell at parallel market in order to make maybe addiational N100, we will pursue them and punish them.
“Those who can afford foreign education for their children can go ahead but Nigeria afford to allocate foreign exchange for those decided to train their children outside the country. We can’t just afford it; that is just the true situation.”
Buhari futher declared that there persons in his administration who cannot be deemed to be “hundred per cent loyal” to his government.
Recalling that he has made efforts to cut cost by pruning the number of ministers, he said “people who want to be fair to us should sit and reflect, from the president to the ministers to the permanent secretaries were all taken over after successive government of those who are now in the opposition.
“ So, we cannot assume that all of them are 100 per cent loyal to this government.”