Nigerian writer and journalist, Chinweizu Ibekwe has reacted to the contentious ‘Igbo-must-leave Lagos’ campaign, suggesting ways the proponents can realise their desire peacefully.
Ibekwe, known monotonously as Chinweizu, urged those who did not want the Igbo in Lagos to emerge from their faceless anonymity and get President Bola Tinubu to facilitate the process.
He detailed three steps the president should take either through executive orders or legislation, assuring that if effected the Igbo would quit Lagos faster than anyone could expect.
The process the writer suggested are in his opinion piece reproduced below:
Dear Igbo-must-go Campaigners,
“Yes, I agree with you that Lagos should be for its Yoruba indigenes. And the South-west should belong to the indigenous people of the region.
So, let’s get practical and cooperate and make our shared desire happen, peacefully and as fast as possible.
“Please, note that Igboland, to which Igbos would return from Lagos and the South-west, has a part in the South-south and a part in the South-east.
“Kindly get President Tinubu to facilitate the process by doing the following:
(1) de-federalise the ports, so the South-south and South-east regions take control of the ports in their areas.
(2) Let one airport in the Southe-ast and one in the South-south be approved for international flights
(3) Persuade foreign embassies to open visa-granting consulates in the South-east and South-south.
“If President Tinubu can sign executive orders or legislation on these three matters, Igbos will quit Lagos and the South-west faster than anyone can expect. Within five years, Igbos (other than as tourists) will, I reckon, become as rare in Lagos as fishes in the desert, and as rare as camels in the sea.
“Please, let’s work together on this project. We shall still be in One Nigeria.
“Please, stop being faceless, emerge from your anonymity and let’s get to work on this win-win project that will benefit our two great peoples.
Let’s factor in the benefits for other regions and peoples in Nigeria:
(1) The entire peoples of the South-south would benefit from the boom in economic activity in these ports and this should help dampen the Biafra agitation and the Niger-Delta militancy.
(2) I leave it to economists to work out the benefits for the North-central and North-east regions.
(3) Of course, the Yoruba indigenes of Lagos and the South-west would get the South-west-without-Igbos region they crave.
“Let’s get down to the task of appealing to President Tinubu to facilitate this project.
Yours in the cause of inter-ethnic peace in Nigeria”.
