Decision On Cow Meat Ban Intact, Says IPOB

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has restated that ban on the consumption of cow meat in the Southeast is still in force.

The group said it did not back out from the injunction over lack of will as being peddled by its detractors.

In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB however said it decided to be flexible about the ban implementation to give the people of the region room to gradually transit to the new order after due consideration.

It maintained that native cows would be used for social or ceremonial events and festival in the region, urging people of the area to commence aggressive cow rearing in order not to be caught in the web of a total prohibition of the commodity in the area.

The separatist group also urged traditional custodians of culture, the clergy and town unions to ensure the message was passed down to the grassroots.

The statement partly reads: “We wish to reiterate once again that any projects or advice or order issued by IPOB is 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 lifestyle that have been with our people for long time and cannot be changed overnight. For instance, stopping long preservation of corpses in the mortuary and ban on consumption of Fulani cow meat.

‘’These are lifestyle 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 maybe 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 it can be accomplished.

“IPOB has never and can never abandon the project of ending 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.

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“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 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.’’