The Igbo community in Kano on Wednesday, commenced a three day mourning over last Monday’s bomb attack at Sabon Gari bus Park which claimed over 70 lives who were mostly people from the Southern part of the country.
Announcing the tree-day mourning, Chairman of Ohaneze in Kano, Mr. Tobias Idika said during the period, all Igbos are expected to remain at home while they will also fast and offer special prayers to avert future occurrence of the ugly incident.
The Igbo community in the state complied as the three-day mourning commenced yesterday with schools and shops closed in the Sabon Gari area of the city. Commercial activities were completely paralysed as all the Igbos did not open their shops while security was also beefed up.
“What happened was a calamity and we must fast and pray to God that such a thing will not happen again,” Idika said, explaining further that the Igbo community was opposed to the plans by the state government to conduct a mass burial for the victims of the blast. The state government had argued that some of the victims were burnt completely beyond recognition as their relations could not identify them.
Meanwhile, the Aka Ikenga, the Igbo intellectual think-thank has described the incident as a senseless and barbaric massacre of innocent people and called on well-meaning people to condemn the attack.
“We call on all men and women of goodwill to rise up and condemn this horrendous crime. It should be noted that the only tonic evil needs to grow is for leaders of any type to sit on the fence. History or posterity will never forgive anyone who chose to remain silent in the face of evil. Those in authority should rise up in defence of our right to life and freedom of movement and religion. Only a man who has never tasted war hungers for it. Do not forget that insecurity is an evil wind that blows no one any good. Go to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria and see what has become of them,” Aka-Ikenga President, Chief Goody Uwazuruike said.