Igbo elders exchange words over issue of Biafra
- Igbo leaders argued about the issue of Biafra at a book launch
- Ken Nnamani said Igbos should try and get education
- He said restructuring was the key to the nation;s success
Eminent Igbo leaders bickered over the issue of Biafra during discussion about whether agitation will solve the problems being experienced in the region.
Vanguard reports that this was at the launching of a book titled : The Audacity of Power and the Nigeria Presidency-Exclusion of the South East in Nigeria’s Power Politics and the Spectre of Biafra” written by Godwin Ifeanyi Udibe and Law Mefor.
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Former Senate president, Ken Nnamani insisted that agitation and secession will not solve the problems of Igbos but restructuring.
He said: “Our people stand to gain from restructuring rather than agitation. By July 6th, it would be 50 years we went to war. I participated in Biafra war. Some other places that didn’t go to war are not doing better than us. If you take a look at Abuja, particularly hotels, about two-thirds of them are owned by people of the South-East or the South in general. The Yoruba are talking about restructuring, not exiting the union.
“I am here to encourage our people that the idea of having our young ones who ought to be in the classrooms, parade the streets, demonstrating and trying to kill themselves or get shot at, will not help us. The Igbo can still do it; we are known for our ingenuity, our industry…We have to be at the place where decisions are being made. Igbo are better off in Nigeria if there is restructuring and we are not afraid to compete.
“We are asking for a level playing field and we are prepared to compete. This is better than agitation. Go and read and get good certificates.”
Udenta Udenta who reviewed the book asked those calling for Biafra to shelve their agitation as the same problems lingering now would still resurface if changes are nt made.
“We cannot solve any problem without being able to influence the National Assembly to make laws that would work for the people. The new Biafra is a broken memorization of a lost hope; it is utopian… In creating a new Biafra for example, I, a hard working intellectual who may want to contest election in my own local setting within the new Republic must contend with the billionaire class that may not have abolished the monetization of politics.
“If politics is still monetized, if you have wage labourers and wage employers, and gender issues; how do you create a nation if you suppress all these other identity issues and expect everybody to answer only one name?”
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Nze Elvis Agukwe who is a commissioner for information in Imo state in a veiled response to Nnamani said of what use has Igbo education be.
He said: “We must continue to agitate for if the North is using Boko Haram to press home their interest, we will use agitation to press for power. Despite the level of our education, we have been left empty-handed.”
His comment annoyed the former Senate president who walked out of the venue.
Legit.ng spoke with some people about whether the granting of bail to Nnamdi Kanu was indication of the coming of Biafra and this is what they said:
Source: Legit.ng
