Listen to article
|
Renowned statesman and former gubernatorial contender, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, has cast doubt on the genuineness of politicians flocking to show support for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), with many merely paying lip service to his release.
Dr. Chike Obidigbo used his press conference yesterday as a platform to decry the persistent marginalization of the Igbo, imploring the federal government to tackle the entrenched inequalities and ensure a more inclusive society for all Nigerians, regardless of ethnic affiliation.
He said: “Many of the politicians going to visit Nnamdi Kanu and also making pleas for his release are not sincere. Some of them just go there to take pictures with him and also use it to further their political agenda. Be it Soludo, be it Ifeanyi Ubah, none of them is sincere.
“Mr. Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, regained his freedom and re-joined his fellow Yoruba people after the federal government dropped all charges of treasonable felony against him for calling for the separation of the Yoruba nation from Nigeria due to the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land under President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Also, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, the former Presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), was allowed to breathe the air of freedom after the federal government dropped charges against the young man for calling for ‘Revolution Now’ in Nigeria to address poor governance and bad leadership in the country.
“Just last week, the President of Myetti Allah, Bello Badejo, was declared innocent from the charges of terrorism after the federal government withdrew charges against him for setting up a nationwide Fulani vigilante to secure the country despite the existence of Nigerian security agencies.”
Read also: No Military Invasion Of ESN Hideout In Abia, Says IPOB
The elder statesman queried the rationale behind the extraordinary handling of Kanu’s case, which has seen him incarcerated for an unprecedented three years, a glaring anomaly in the justice system.
Speaking on other forms of marginalization, Obidigbo said: “It is worrisome that despite the creation of six geopolitical zones, which was expected to provide equal opportunities and inclusive leadership, the Southeast has not been supported to produce the president of this country.
“This imbalance in the leadership of the country underscores the other sore political points of lopsided allocation of number of states per zone.
“While other zones have as many as seven and six states each, Southeast is being punished with just five states. This is sad when you consider that national cake is shared out on state-by-state basis.
“The Nigerian state has continued to behave in such a way as if isolating the Igbo is the best policy option to guarantee the country’s unity.”
Dr. Obidigbo bemoaned the glaring imbalance in the recent appointments to federal tertiary institutions’ governing boards, where one state alone secured a staggering 25 slots, while the entire Southeast region was relegated to a paltry 12 positions.