BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
Edwin Clark, convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), says President Bola Tinubu should ensure the restructuring of the country to sustain its unity.
Clark spoke in an open letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu.
In the letter dated June 13, the PANDEF convener alleged that discrimination against the people of the south-east region has continued under the administration of Tinubu.
“Mr. President, even in your administration, the discrimination and injustice against the Igbos have not abated,” the letter reads.
“The old Eastern Region and the old Western Region, of which I belonged to, were equal competitors and partners before and during the First and Second Republic but today, you have appointed 10 Yorubas as Ministers from the South-West and only five Ministers from the South-East and you even failed to give them the ministerial appointment due to their region that would have made it six Ministers.
“There is no justification for this grave omission, and no effort has been made to correct it.
“The most recent opportunity the Igbos had to rebuild their broken leg was when their disunity, selfishness, and greed made the popular Igbo candidate, Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, lose the election because most Igbos refused to unite behind him with their resources before and during the election, and voting for him massively in the South-East on the election day was like medicine after death.
“Now that the elections are over, we must face the restructuring of this country.”
Clark said the country should be restructured if it must remain one.
“I repeat again, the immediate restructuring of Nigeria must be carried out if this country is to remain one, and I appeal to Mr. President to take immediate action to implement the historic 2014 National Conference Report, which submitted 600 recommendations to the Presidency on how to restructure Nigeria in every aspect of our lives,” he said.
“The Igbos of South-East or wherever they are in Nigeria, must stand up and assert their rights legitimately, judiciously, and in a democratic way to benefit like any other Nigerian, as it was before the civil war of 1967.”
The elder statesman said the people of the south-east deserve to have a sense of belonging in Nigeria.
“All that is required is for us to demonstrate reciprocal respect, love, and understanding to one another,” the PANDEF convener said.
“Let us do what is right; let us accommodate one another and be fair to one another.”
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