A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), believes very strongly that the Nigerian State has been and is still marginalising the Igbo tribe of the country.
The former head of State, therefore, sought for the restructuring of the country so as to integrate the Igbo duly into the polity.
Gen. Gowon, who ended the Nigerian civil war with the slogan ‘No Victor, No Vanquished’, spoke at the debate for national unity with the theme: ‘Federal Character, Restructuring and Rotation of Presidential Power in Nigeria’ which was organised by the Igbo Leadership Development Foundation, on Thursday, in Abuja.
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The former Head of State emphasised that the Igbo nation still remains marginalised 50 years after the civil war.
The former Head of State was represented by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia.
He appealed for urgent steps to be taken to ameliorate the pains of the Igbo people.
He added that Nigeria has what it takes to cater adequately for all Nigerians irrespective of tribe or creed.
He further canvassed for the convocation of a constitutional debate on restructuring to undertake a holistic correction of the observable imbalances that had kept Nigeria down over the years with a view to making progress and promoting national unity and cohesion.
According to Gen. Gowon, “I believe that a lot of injustice has been done to the Igbo and a constitutional debate on restructuring must address all imbalances and restore hope and confidence.
“Nigeria is big enough for all of us and I believe that the Ndigbo, Middle belt and the Yoruba are the true Nigerians because if you look round our borders, people came from abroad and are still coming but Ndigbo’s have always been there, middle belt have always been there, even Yoruba have always been there.
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“People who came in yesterday who have a duty of respect are now the ones talking. Going forward, we must create a federal democracy that will respond positively to all the aspirations of our people not about East-West but all about working together in equality, bringing in the youths and the women to build a new Nigeria.”
Gen. Gowon stressed that Nigeria remains incomplete without the Igbo, adding that the nation needed to properly harness the intelligence, creativity and hard work of the Igbo for national growth and development.
He further said God did not make a mistake by making the Igbo people part of Nigeria and he called for justice, equity and fair play in the practice of Nigeria’s democracy.
He explained that while restructuring was critical to national advancement, it must be carried out in an atmosphere of tolerance and love for one other.
