Elder statesman and leader of the Ijaw Nation, Chief Edwin Clark, has charged President Bola Ahmad Tinubu to immediately restructure Nigeria if the country is to continue to remain one nation.
He criticised the disunity among Igbo leaders, noting instances where political collaboration faltered during the 2023 Presidential elections. He said, “Now that the elections are over, we must face the restructuring of this country. 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.
He said, “There is another group who are selfish, greedy and who want to be neutral and believe in making money at the expense of their civil right and liberty and they are with any Government in power. “He has been making every effort to protect the status of the Igbo in Nigeria but unfortunately, his success has been limited by disunity of the Igbo leaders and his close relationship with the Governor of Imo State appears not to be helping matters.
“The role played by Sen Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Chief Whip of the Senate who threw his weight behind one of the presidential aspirants of APC, Sen Ahmed Lawan, and he was ready to sweep the Aso Rock if Sen Lawan was elected President. “I am therefore appealing to all Igbos to put the interest of their Children and children yet unborn first if they are to enjoy the same privileges bestowed on every citizen of Nigeria.
He asked rhetorically what the status of the Igbo Leaders was between 1951 and 1966 and why are they now the most disadvantaged geopolitical zone in Nigeria after the civil war. “Of the six regions, the South-East has become the smallest region and has politically become the minority in Nigeria. You can therefore imagine that when the 36 State Governors are in Abuja for their monthly Federal Allocation, the South-East with the smallest number of local governments also receives the smallest allocation and in fact, the number of Local Governments in the North West is almost double that of the entire South-East region.