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A group, Igbo for a Progressive Nigeria (IPAN) has emphasised the need for Igbo to work harmoniously and to utilise every available opportunity to actualise its aspiration for Nigeria’s presidency in 2023.
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National Chairman IPN, Lawrence Onuzulike, who stressed this in an interview with journalists in Awka, observed that greed, hatred and discrepancy of purpose could impede the presidential quest of the Igbo in the next election.
Onuzulike noted that Igbo were the political giants of Nigeria, but had been spurned politically, adding that it was wrong that a people that produced the first president of Nigeria were no more in the political scheme of things in the country.
‘We need to come together, speak with one voice, fight for our rights, and take what belongs to us for the development of the South East. We want a united Nigeria where Igbo will be a part of the scheme without marginalisation. We must be loved equally.‘
Onuzulike added that Igbo should stop begging for presidency and they were not foreigners in Nigeria.
Nigeria also belongs to us; we are Nigerians and not black Americans, who are begging to be accepted in America. Who is giving you the presidency? We are joint owners of this country, and should take what belongs to us.
An average Igbo man thinks his problems are caused by other ethnic groups. No, we need to change this perception. We may have been treated badly during the war, but we must forgive and forget. We preach love every day, but inside us, we don’t love. We are not getting the development we want because we are fighting ourselves. It is time to reunite and dialogue with others so as to start getting what we want.
We are tired of being seen as people who are always fighting. We want to forgive so that whatever development that is happening in any part of Nigeria will also happen in Igbo land.
‘This is the time to achieve Igbo presidency. The way to go should be through dialogue, in a peaceful way. We don’t issue threats. We should dialogue to convince others. We need to work together to promote every Igbo in the different parties.’
THE EASTERN UPDATES
