Nigeria must be restructured –Ohaneze

*If you reject restructuring then you will create Biafra, Oduduwa -Amadi
*No, only self determination will develop the Southeast -Mefor

Myke Uzendu, Abuja

The Ohaneze Ndigbo which is the apex decision making body in the Southeast has reaffirmed its support for a united but restructured Nigeria, maintaining that restructuring is no longer an option for the government at the centre.

The group stated this over the weekend in Abuja during the maiden Okosisi Igbo colloquium organised by the Ohaneze Ndigbo FCT chapter in collaboration with The South East caucus of the House of Representatives with the theme, “Nigeria:The Quest for Restructuring and the Biafra Agitations, Options Before Us.”

The President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, represented by Elder Onuoha Udeka said that Nigeria cannot attain lasting unity and sustainable development unless it is restructured.

He said, “The call for restructuring is a call for true and sustainable federating unit capable of taking care of infrastructure without recourse to the centre.

“Since the end of the civil war, there has not been any effort by the federal government to institutionalise their ‘no victor, no vanquished ‘ declaration, no conscious efforts to reconstruct the south east,” Nwodo stated.

The chairman of the occasion, Nzechukwu Fidelis Ozichukwu. recalled that formation of Ohaneze was out of necessity.

“It started after the exclusion of Ndigbo. The government never supported Ndigbo and till today, it has come to stay.

“Our topic today is on how to get our own share in the Nigerian project. Anybody that says that Igbos have no respect for authority is misrepresenting the fact and that is the narratives that we must change,” he said.

Addressing the press, the former Governor of Enugu State,Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo, said that any politician from the South east who distances himself from the restructuring drum beat is not worthy to represent the people.

“Every politician that is worth his salt and who is representing the people cannot watch the people not getting the benefits of democracy and be beating his chest that he is representing anybody.

“No person supports what is happening. It is a question of the style of one politician or the other. But I don’t believe that there is one single politician that is worth his salt who will say that he is satisfied with the marginalisation the South East region is receiving from the federal republic of Nigeria,” Nwodo stated.

The colloquium witnessed two schools of thoughts, while one group maintained that the separatist agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra is the only panacea for development in the South east, another group maintained that the south east has better opportunities for development and excellence in a restructured Nigeria.

One of the panelists, Dr. Law Mefor, said that the Nigeria, during the amalgamation was configured to fail, adding that the creation of Biafra by that fact becomes inevitable.

“The fate of Igbos in Nigeria has degenerated from marginalisation to total exclusion. Nigeria is a country not structured to succeed.

” Nigeria is stagnating so that the northern part of the country will catch up. This structure compels us to be treated unequally.

“This view was also re-echoed by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, who said, ‘you cannot treat equals equal’,” Mefor argued.

However, Dr. Sam Amadi in his view said that there is a necessary connection between self determination and restructuring as the absence of one will trigger the other.

He said, “Our agitation is a vision for a new Nigeria. Nigeria will determine whether we shall leave or stay. Restructuring is the olive branch to Nigeria.

“If they reject restructuring, then they are not only creating Biafra but Oduduwa and other countries.

“We should not be seen as people who are weak and want to exit but a people that wants to save Nigeria.The Igbo man carries the burden to ensure justice and equity.

“As soon as we have a restructured Nigeria, regional autonomy, we can become another country within Nigeria. We should speak the language of restructuring not exit. Restructuring will create for us a space for excellence.

“The south east was the fastest growing economy in the world under Michael Okpala,” he emphasised.

The convener of the colloquim, Odozi Nwaodozi, who is also the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, FCT chapter, said that the colloquium was to discuss all the issues and lay all the options on the table for informed decisions by Ndigbo.

According to him, “at the end of the day, we shall come up with a synthesis of the various antithesis that will bring a solution to the present agitations.”