The pro-Biafra group in 2021 banned southeasterners from eating beef from Fulani herders, with effect from April 2022.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reiterated that its ban on the consumption of cow meat from Northern Nigeria in the South East still subsists.
The separatist group in a statement issued on Wednesday through its spokesman, Emma Powerful, though many people in the southeast region have grown accustomed to eating beef from the North, the ban must be achieved at some point in the future.
SaharaReporters had reported that the pro-Biafra group in 2021 banned southeasterners from eating beef from Fulani herders, with effect from April 2022.
But in the statement, the group said after due consideration, it decided to be flexible about the implementation of the decision to give the people of the region some time to lose their old habits.
The group said though there has been no enforcement of the ban, the ban is still in place.
The statement read in part, “We the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the leadership and command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu wish to reiterate once again that any projects or advice or order issued by IPOB, either as a short, mid or long-term project must be accomplished.
“The saying that ‘old habits die hard’ is applicable to some attitudes and lifestyles that have been with our people for a long time and cannot be changed overnight. For instance, stopping the long preservation of corpses in the mortuary and the ban on consumption of Fulani cow meat.
“These are lifestyles that have been with our people that cannot be changed overnight but it’s a mid/long term project that must be accomplished.
“IPOB giving advice or issuing orders, as the case may be, does not mean that everything will stop overnight. Therefore, IPOB members who have been toughened by the long-term project for Biafra struggle and people with intelligent minds understand instructions that are immediate and the ones that require a bit of time to accomplish.
“Whatever advice or order IPOB gives, will always have our people’s interest and welfare at the centre of such order. Some of the brilliant advice or orders we have issued will require time and continuous efforts and sensitisation before they can be accomplished.
“IPOB has never and can never abandon the project of ending Fulani cow meat consumption in Biafraland but we want our people to increase the breeding of our own local cows (Efi Igbo) before the order will be fully implemented.
“We are happy that the order has recorded very good progress in the sense that hitherto we have one or two people rearing Efi Igbo (Igbo cows) but today more people are going into that business.
“We have not reached our objective yet and this is why we encourage more people and more investment in ranching for local cows so that when the order is fully implemented, we have cow meat sufficiency in Biafraland.
“Concerning the appeal to our people to start burying our departed loved ones within the shortest possible time and later fixed date for burial ceremonies also require sensitisation and engagement with relevant bodies or institutions in order to impact the benefits to our people.
“The sensitisation will continue until our people understand the negative spiritual implications and the financial burden inherent in keeping corpses in the mortuary for a long time. We will involve both religious and traditional institutions to ensure this advice is implemented for our own good.”