The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said the marginalisation of Igbo people in the South-East in Nigerian federation is a reality that can only be addressed by restructuring of the federation.
Ekweremadu said this in Abuja at the presentation of the book, ‘The Audacity of Power and the Nigeria Project: Exclusion of the South East in Nigeria’s Power Politics and the Spectre of Biafra’ authored by Godwin Udibe and Law Mefor.
A statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to Deputy President of the Senate, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, on Friday said the lawmaker was represented by a member of the House of Representatives representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Dennis Amadi, at the event.
He said, “The cross of Ndi’gbo in the Nigerian state is heavy; Igbo marginalisation is real; and, as the authors argue, (it) now borders on deliberate exclusion. But the worst disadvantages suffered by Ndi’gbo are not just those imposed by structural imbalances such as fewer number of states and local governments or the lesser revenue accruals, political representation, federal employments and political appointments arising from the imbalances and willful injustice.
“The greatest marginalisation and disadvantage suffered by Ndi’gbo is the willful dissembling and discarding of true federalism, which the founding fathers of Nigeria adopted in order to live together as one nation in which no one is oppressed and every component part is able to thrive.
“This awkward form of federalism has boxed Ndi’gbo to a tight corner and caged their potentials and ingenuity.”
The lawmaker warned that until Nigeria had a president “who sees every part of the country as his or her constituency, and is committed to reuniting a highly polarised nation and reawakening the giant in all part thereof; and so long as people are mistreated on grounds of their electoral choices or where they come from, the quest for president of the various ethnic extractions will continue.”
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