Plan to Islamise Nigeria a Reality, says Prof. Ben Nwabueze

Elder statesman, scholar and the Chairman of Igbo Leaders of Thought, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has accused the administration of President Mu­hammadu Buhari of plotting to Islamise Nigeria.
He warned that the plot will impact negatively on Nigeria’s unity if it was fully executed by the authorities.
Briefing newsmen on the Igbo leaders’ meeting at Zodiac Hotels, Enugu on Wednesday, Nwabueze said that though the group had not held any forum in the past one year, “contemporary issues that are threatening Nige­ria’s corporate existence necessi­tated this meeting.”

Nwabueze said: “This is a very crucial meeting for us be­cause we have not met for more than a year. And if you look at our agenda, such critical issues for discussion, include Islami­sation agenda and its impact on the unity of the country.”
“The Islamisation agenda is real; it’s not something that somebody has just conjured up, it’s there. And it is being imple­mented gradually. Look at the security agencies, every aspect of our security is controlled by Islamists. They are methodical in the way they are going about its implementation.”
Nwabueze, a renowned con­stitutional lawyer, further alleged that the nonchalant approach of the Federal Government in cur­tailing the menace of the Fulani herdsmen in Southern Nigeria is another strategy of Islamising Nigeria.
On the quest for Biafra Re­public, Professor Nwabueze ad­vised all the Igbo groups in­volved in the struggle to adopt refined strategies such as self-de­termination, stating that the de­mand for Biafra would make the Igbo play into the hands of their enemies, who eventually will box them to a corner with the alle­gation of having demanded for a separate nation.
Nwabueze stated: “The agita­tion for Biafra, if you will appre­ciate what is going on, will box the Igbo to a tight corner so that they will say we are pulling out. And then they will launch the fi­nal solution to the Igbo problem.”
“Our people must not play into their hands. All these agi­tations, I support them, but de­fine your objective. What do you want? Self-determination, okay; that is the best thing, use it as a cover, don’t come out and say you are agitating because you want the sovereign state of Biafra. Sovereign state of Biafra within a sovereign Nigeria? You have to be extremely tactful,” he warned.
Nwabueze said that the best way of curtailing the menace of Fulani herdsmen in the South East zone is for the governors to fashion out an action plan to fight it.
“Our governors should meet and say we don’t want this any­more; let them go somewhere, let them open whatever they are called. But not here, yes, these are the things we want,” he said.
The meeting lasted for more than three hours after Nwabueze left due to his ill health, but the other members refused to dis­close other decisions reached at the parley.
The Deputy Chairman, Prof. Chiweite Ejike, simply told newsmen that they have noth­ing to add on what Nwabueze had said.
The meeting was attended by former governor of Anam­bra State, Chief Chukwueme­ka Ezeife;Chief Enechi Onyia (SAN); former Minister of Avi­ation, Senator Anyim Udeh; renowned author, Chukwuma Ike; former Director-Gener­al of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Elochuk­wu Ucheamutazi; Major God­dy Onyefulu (rtd); Prince Chu­ma Onyeso, among others.