Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd) has said
that the Igbos have been marginalised in Nigeria’s polity.
He went on to canvass
for the restructuring of the country so as to integrate Igbos into the polity.
The former head of
state, 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” organised by Igbo
Leadership Development Foundation in Abuja.
He emphasised that
the Igbo nation still remains marginalised 50 years after the civil war.
Gowon, who was
represented by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr.
Obadiah Mailafia, 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.
He said: “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.
“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.”
Gowon stressed that Nigeria remains incomplete without
Ndigbo, adding that the nation needed to properly harness the intelligence,
creativity and hard work of the Ndigbo 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.
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