DEPUTY President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has pleaded with Igbo people not to allow themselves to be provoked into resorting to armed struggle, just as he urged them to continue to sustain peaceful agitation for equity and justice in the country.
Ekweremadu, who noted that the minimum Igbo demand was the restructuring of Nigeria to enable them enjoy equity and actualise their potentials, howéver, explained that the Eastern Rail Line was not for the benefit of the South-East alone, but also for the benefit of the South-South, the North-Central and the North-East.
He spoke at the World Igbo Congress (WIC) summit in Enugu yesterday. Also in attendance at the summit were a former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi; South East Caucus leader in the Senate, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, the WIC Chairman, Joe Nze Eto and the President of Alaigbo Foundation, Prof T. Uzodinma Nwala, most of whom lamented the worsening socio-economic condition of Igbo in Nigeria due to marginalisation and nepotism, particularly under the President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration.
The lamentations came on the heels of the insistence of some Igbo groups, notably the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IpoB) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to mark the 50th anniversary of the commencement of Nigeria’s civil war on Tuesday, May 30.
“The minimum Ndigbo demand of Nigeria is a restructure of the federation so that every component part of it can substantially harness its resources, cut its coat according to its cloth, and develop at its own speed”, the Deputy Senate President said.
“Instructively, the ill-fated Aburi Accord was about restructuring, even if it is not exactly as we want it today. But it was breached and discarded, plunging the nation into an avoidable fratricidal war. Yet, fifty years after, the need and call for restructuring and return to a true federal state have only persisted.
“Although the call initially fell on deaf ears, it is heartwarming that the right quarters are beginning to listen and the call is gathering traction daily, even from hitherto improbable quarters”.
Ekweremadu commended Ndigbo for eschewing violence in their struggle for a better deal in Nigeria, saying: “No matter the intimidation, harassment, and marginalisation of our people, we must never be provoked into an armed struggle. It is an ill wind that blows no one any good.
“But we must consistently continue to say a loud, ‘No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!, until we get to the promised land of an equitable and just society. Let no man be tired and let no woman give up. The night may be long, but the day will surely break”.
He urged the Federal Government to seek and sustain peace in all parts of the country through equity, justice, and fairness as “a man that is unjustly treated will never be interested in peace”, Ekweremadu said.
The Deputy Senate President assured that the National Assembly would continue to uphold the rights of Ndigbo, and indeed every part of the nation, to fairness and equity. “The Senate is currently engaging the executive arm of government on the railway development and modernization projects, which has totally excluded the Eastern Rail Line or Eastern Corridor, traversing major towns and cities like Port Harcourt, Aba, Enugu, Otupko, Igumale, Makurdi, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi, Gombe and all the way to Maiduguri”, he stated.
“Contrary to the attempts to misrepresent the coverage of the Eastern Rail Line to the public, this corridor is not just for the South East, but also covers the South South, North Central, and North East.
“But, the questions are: Why will loans taken on behalf of Nigerians and to be repaid by all Nigerians exclude more than a half of the country from the benefits of such loans? Why should the South East, South South, North Central, and North East pay for what they were inexplicably excluded from enjoying? Why must the Eastern Line be relegated to concession arrangement, to be paid for by our people as they use the facilities? What is the likelihood of even getting a concessioner, especially given the history of concessions in the country?”
Obi, addressing the gathering, identified with the clamour for a restructured Nigeria and tasked Ndigbo to identify their leaders.
Peter Obi
The former governor of Anambra State said: “I believe in the restructure of Nigeria but for us as Ndigbo, emphasis should be on investing in our future more that political demands.
“We should invest in education; knowledge, because the future of the world is knowledge- driven economy.”
He cited the case of the founder of facebook, Mark Zukaberg, whose worth he claimed was far above Nigeria’s yearly budget.
“Are we going to die talking about yesterday? We should show love and care for ourselves. We should encourage local investments. Position and power is not all that matters. Ndigbo must not stop where Nigeria dropped us,” he stated.
Abaribe, in his speech, noted that there was no section of the Nigerian Constitution that gives room for referendum and urged the Biafran agitators to exploit the opportunity presented by the on-going constitutional amendment in the National Assembly to promote inclusion of a referendum clause in the Constitution.
He regretted that some Igbo were sometimes used to trade-off, explaining that at no other time did Ndigbo deserve unity more than now.
Leader of Lower Niger Congress, Mazi Tony Nnadi, said the Igbo question in 1966 remained the Eastern Nigeria question, the Biafra question and the present Nigeria question.
“It is either we fix Nigeria now or everybody will stay in his own house,” Nnadi added, just as the
Eto said “there is overwhelming recognizable evidence that the Buhari administration is still asserting the spoils of war on south-eastern states.”
The WIC Chairman said his organisation condemned the recent invasion of Ekweremadu’s guest house by security agents, warning that nobody had the authority to harass any Igbo leader.
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