Igbo leaders, under the aegis of Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), lamented the country’s situation at the weekend and called for serious and conscientious action to save its future.
Rising from their meeting in Enugu, they alleged the existence of two operative laws in Nigeria for the southern and northern regions.
They stated that while about 10 states in the North have opted for Sharia laws, gravitating towards extremism at the expense of other parts of the country, the government at all levels, especially at the federal level, appears to be aloof, given the heinous consequences that such developments present to the citizenry.
A statement from the meeting, signed by its president, Prof. Elo Amucheazi, also observed the existence of all sorts of booby traps militating against Igbo survival in Nigeria.
Reviewing the situation of the country, the leaders doubted whether there are serious-minded people thinking about the future of the country or about constitutional reforms not tele-guided by the government, which could probably lead to confederation and mutual confidence-building among ethnic groups in Nigeria.
The statement noted that the Igbo had continued to be treated unfairly in the scheme of things in the country.
“Igbo youths are being decimated in premeditated but orchestrated tendentious ways with impunity. The EFCC torments mostly Southerners, while Northern boys ‘bury’ hard currency in filing cabinets on their farms or escape the shores of the country, and nothing is being done about it. The Awka example that led to fatality on the part of the EFCC is a typical example of impunity. There are also ongoing campaigns of invasion of Ala-Igbo for Fulani cattle to graze freely. In any case of self-defense by Igbo youths, security agents will massacre them. Is there any hope for the country going forward in this manner?
“Road infrastructures in Ala-Igbo are recklessly abandoned. All roads and railways have been denied the East since 1970 and, in some cases, scrapped off. These dilapidations of the roads have led to uncountable and avoidable deaths on the roads. The most recent is the accident at Ugwu Onyeama in Enugu State, leading to multiple deaths of people. We are wont to ask whether the war has opened up in other forms,” it said.
While it commiserated with the families of those who lost their loved ones, it urged the Federal Government to expedite actions in making the roads motorable and to remove the obstructive security checkpoints on the roads.
The group also reiterated the need for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, saying it would not only lead to peace in Igboland but in the country as a whole.
The group congratulated the new President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, on his emergence and resolved to transcend the divisive exclusion of Ndi Igbo beyond the South East of Nigeria for the integration of all Igbo outside the South East and beyond.
It urged them to keep Ndi Igbo first in all their programs and end the era when outsiders from Igbo land dictate what happens in both Ala-Igbo and Ohanaeze.
The Guardian
