*Lists characteristics of Ndigbo

*Ekweremadu urges Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu

*Anyaoku calls for restructuring of Nigeria


By Emeka Mamah, Dennis Agbo & Chinedu Adonu

ENUGU— Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, asked Ndigbo and their governors to take their destiny in their hands by developing the South-East geographical zone instead of waiting for the government.

Obasanjo said there was no need for the governors to wait for the Federal Government to develop South-East when they already had the instruments already. Obasanjo noted that economy and security were two sides of the same coin, adding that none could be achieved without the other.

He also asked Igbo elders to intervene in the on-going agitation for Biafra Republic to bring the situation under control. Obasanjo described the Igbo stock as unique people, saying their entrepreneurial and communal efforts were driven with the spirit of adventure. He spoke as the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu asked President Muhammadu Buhari to obey an earlier court order compelling the Federal Government to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

Ekweremadu further lamented that the South-East zone was not represented at the apex level of either the military or the police. On the rule of law and fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended, Ekweremadu insisted that Kanu must have his day in court and if court orders his release, he must be released.

Both Obasanjo and Ekweremadu spoke, yesterday at the South East Economic and Security Summit in Enugu. Among those who attended the summit included former Secretary of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; Chief Pascal Dozie; Mbazulike Amaechi; Ben Akabueze; Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (retd), among other dignitaries.

President Muhammadu Buhari was expected as a guest during the summit but he neither attended nor sent any representative. Develop your zone, don’t wait for FG, Obasanjo tells S-East govs, Ndigbo According to Obasanjo, the aim of the summit was on how the industrious people of the zone could do things for themselves other than relying on government’s intervention. Obasanjo said: “Insecurity in any part of the country affects the other. The instruments of doing the jobs are already with you.

The South-East had been known from time for entrepreneurship, community effort services and their spirit of adventure. The papa Okafor has been there in my village right from when I was growing up and nobody has taken those traits away from the Igboman, but how do we use it to achieve economic prosperity and security? “You can’t have security when the economy of your people is not well taken care of and you can’t have security without economic prosperity.

What we need to do here is to harness what we have. “The people of the South-East are extremely unique and need to be harnessed. We should work together and that is the purpose of this summit.” The former president told the gathering to look in the ways of their fertile agricultural land, the Aba industrial cluster, and other minerals both on the surface and beneath the earth to grow their economy. “Whatever we can do for ourselves, let us do it for ourselves.

If I could go to Maiduguri when Boko Haram was raging and I had to try to reach out to them in the interest of the country, I don’t think I have to be eulogized for being part of the initiative of South-East summit. “Security is all inclusive. If there is no security in any part of the country, there is no security in the entire country. All the governors have spoken. I am delighted. They said ‘we have things we can do if given the instrument’. You have the instruments already.

Obasanjo lists traits of Ndigbo “We knew South-East for enterprise, entrepreneurial ability, communal interest and spirit of adventure. Nobody can take it away from them. What can we do with it in area of economy and security? The symbiotic relationship between economy and security has been mentioned by the governors and the chairman.

You cannot have good economy when the security of your people is not taken care of. If security is not taken care of, the economy will diminish. What we have, how can we use it? “The people of South-East are extremely unique. That uniqueness of the South-East must be used to your advantage,” Obasanjo said.

On agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra On the agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra, Obasanjo attributed the situation to youth restiveness, caused by challenges facing the young people of the zone and asked: “But should we leave them with the agitation, should we leave them as elders? “There should be agitation by the youths but should we leave them with the agitation? There is this saying that where youths are cutting trees in the forest, the elders should caution them because they are the people who know where the tree will fall,” he added.

Citing the Aba-made shoes and Ebonyi rice as examples, Obasanjo described the potentials of the South-East region as legendary, saying that the South-East could be the food basket of the nation. He, however, described the challenge of youth restiveness in the region as understandable as the agitators had education and skills and yet they do not have jobs.

I’m not at war with Buhari In his speech, Ekweremadu stressed that he was not at war with President Muhammadu Buhari, citing recent meetings he had had with the President. Ekweremadu further called for the restructuring of the country, noting that if Nigeria’s democracy should thrive, the citizens should be ready to subject themselves to the basic rules of law. He said: “So long as we have unified economic structure, it cannot work.

It is also important that all parts of the country are represented in the affairs of government. As we talk now, nobody from the South-East is among the security chiefs in Nigeria. “On human rights, the issue of liberty is an inalienable right. If court says release somebody, please do that. No matter the offence allegedly committed by Nnamdi Kanu, he should be released from detention.

The Chairman of the planning committee of the summit and former Minister of Power, Prof. Bath Nnaji, said the essence of the summit was to brainstorm on how the private sector could work with the public sector to achieve infrastructure influx into the South East. Nnaji said the areas they are looking at to work on include gas pipelines, railway, sustainable agriculture, among other areas.

Anyaoku calls for restructuring of Nigeria Earlier, Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of Commonwealth and Chairman of the occasion, reiterated his call for the restructuring of Nigeria to have fewer and effective federating units for this country to have stability and faster pace of development. “There is no need for Federal Government to periodically bail out any of the 36 non-viable units from dire financial conditions,” he said.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/develop-zone-dont-wait-fg-obasanjo-tells-s-east-govs-ndigbo/

OBASANJO KEEP QUIET, WHAT DID U ALSO DO FOR NIGERIA DURING UR REIGN,
I KNOW FLAT HEADS ARE ANGRY NOW

We are already doing that....just tell the Fed. Govt to stop collecting taxes in the South East

shortgun:
We are already doing that....just tell the Fed. Govt to stop collecting taxes in the South East

U hit the nail on the head

Jafar1:
OBASANJO KEEP QUIET, WHAT DID U ALSO DO FOR NIGERIA DURING UR REIGN,
I KNOW FLAT HEADS ARE ANGRY NOW

he met 3bn$ and left 45bn$

Emycord:
But thats what we biafrans are trying to do na we want to take our destiny in our hands in biafraland. And to think the summit was about se (nigeria) why is the topic shifting to biafra? Oh i forget kanu once said arrest me and nigeria will boil currently its boiling o

Exactly. We want to have nothing to do with FG or Nigeria, let alone waiting for them.
OBJ must not be that really bright, if he fails to see that we are already taking to the same path he is prescribing to us, with our renewed push for total detachment from Nigeria as championed by IPOB.

shortgun:
We are already doing that....just tell the Fed. Govt to stop collecting taxes in the South East

Do they still receive allocations from Abj till tomorrow if yes you are lying!

Lying masters....
Giving the masses opium....
Riding on their ignorance....
Stretching the gap between the poor and themselves.
ONLY REVOLUTION CAN CHANGE THE CHANGER

OBASANJO IS BABOON WITH BIAFRAN STOLEN OIL MONEY

Zendinho:
Lying masters....
Giving the masses opium....
Riding on their ignorance....
Stretching the gap between the poor and themselves.
ONLY REVOLUTION CAN CHANGE THE CHANGER

Are you talking about Yoruba youths and how Tunubu led them like zombies to vote for a vile Buhari?

timsTNA:



Are you talking about Yoruba youths and how Tunubu led them like zombies to vote for a vile Buhari?

bro, N,S, E and W are all encapsulated, cajoled, manipulated, fingered and deceived by their respective LYING MASTERS.......

Nawao.

I agree totally with obasanjo there an igbo adage that says " Onye ajuruju adighi aju onwe ya" the federal government has repeatedly neglected igbos in the scheme of governance and development but we can not countinue to cry foul to their utter satisfaction. Therefore our state governors must rally round to bring the much needed infrastructural development in the region and our brothers must refrain from investing outside or region

Tell FG should stop collecting taxes and oil/gas royalties

shortgun:
We are already doing that....just tell the Fed. Govt to stop collecting taxes in the South East

What an astute comment.

pazienza:


Exactly. We want to have nothing to do with FG or Nigeria, let alone waiting for them.
OBJ must not be that really bright, if he fails to see that we are already taking to the same path he is prescribing to us, with our renewed push for total detachment from Nigeria as championed by IPOB.

LOL. Some of you people are even more delusional than I thought.

You want nothing to do with the FG, yet, your people scream the loudest about marginalization.

You're pushing for total detachment, yet, your people are littered all over Nigeria. Why not call them back home for starters? Or what is your own definition of detachment again?

A few disgruntled elements now represent the choices and aspirations of the Igbo majority, according to you.

Even this your comment was made out of frustration for not getting as much attention as you would want.

All these talks are just the voices of con artists looking for a next prey.

You obviously have fallen victim for far too long.

malton:


LOL. Some of you people are even more delusional than I thought.

You want nothing to do with the FG, yet, your people scream the loudest about marginalization.

You're pushing for total detachment, yet, your people are littered all over Nigeria. Why not call them back home for starters? Or what is your own definition of detachment again?

A few disgruntled elements now represent the choices and aspirations of the Igbo majority, according to you.

Even this your comment was made out of frustration for not getting as much attention as you would want.

All these talks are just the voices of con artists looking for a next prey.

You obviously have fallen victim for far too long.

In case,.you don't know, there are millions of Nigerians in Benin, Togo and Ghana... Igbos can be in Yoruba or Hausa nations, it now depend on those Nations to do "igbo must go". Nigeria once did "Ghana must go". .. therefore, you are not making sense...find another excuse

modsmustdie:


In case,.you don't know, there are millions of Nigerians in Benin, Togo and Ghana... Igbos can be in Yoruba or Hausa nations, it now depend on those Nations to do "igbo must go". Nigeria once did "Ghana must go". .. therefore, you are not making sense...find another excuse

So, Mr. Maketh sense, tell me one credible thing the Igbos have done as a mark of detachment from Nigeria?

malton:


LOL. Some of you people are even more delusional than I thought.

You want nothing to do with the FG, yet, your people scream the loudest about marginalization.

You're pushing for total detachment, yet, your people are littered all over Nigeria. Why not call them back home for starters? Or what is your own definition of detachment again?

A few disgruntled elements now represent the choices and aspirations of the Igbo majority, according to you.

Even this your comment was made out of frustration for not getting as much attention as you would want.

All these talks are just the voices of con artists looking for a next prey.

You obviously have fallen victim for far too long.

You are not a wise person. As long as you keep forcing Igboland to be part of your failed nation, we will keep demanding for our entitlement from your failed nation.

Are you saying that because we have Igbos scattered all over North America, Europe, West Africa, South Africa, Asia, East African, it is now a sign that we now want Igboland fused in an unproductive devilish union with all those regions? Or you think Igbos are only scattered in Your Arewa-Oduanistan?

We want nothing to do with your failed useless country, we already proved this between 1967-70 when we sacrificed millions of our people just to detach from your demonic union.
We also left your enclaves in the Arewa-Oduanistan for you lots as we all headed back east, yet it never deterred you lots from coming to the East to force your union on us with the help of your British masters.

The demand for total detachment from Nigeria by the Igbo is not a minority voice, it's a majority voice, only a naive and senseless person would think otherwise.

pazienza:


You are not a wise person. As long as you keep forcing Igboland to be part of your failed nation, we will keep demanding for our entitlement from your failed nation.

Are you saying that because we have Igbos scattered all over North America, Europe, West Africa, South Africa, Asia, East African, is a sign that we now want Igboland fused in an unproductive devilish union with all those regions? Or you think Igbos are only scattered in Your Arewa-Oduanistan?

We want nothing to do with your failed useless country, we already proved this between 1967-70 when we sacrificed millions of our people just to detach from your demonic union.
We also left your enclaves in the Arewa-Oduanistan for you lots as we all headed back east, yet it never deterred you lots from coming to the East to force your union on us with the help of your British masters.

The demand for total detachment from Nigeria by the Igbo is not a minority voice, it's a majority voice, only a naive and senseless person would think otherwise.

See painment.

How old are you?

Keep on fighting. I wish you good luck!

nonsense

...

Did Obj just called them lazy men waiting on FG to help them out and they actually clapped for him? Chio person destroy beerfraud the first time come dey lecture them on development. .... OBJ na their Oga oh

malton:


So, Mr. Maketh sense, tell me one credible thing the Igbos have done as a mark of detachment from Nigeria?

They have done a lot and still doing alot... have you heard of massob, ipob, etc... they are demanding for biafra... I expect you to start detaching yourselves from Igbos... you cowards should start championing a separate country too..

modsmustdie:


In case,.you don't know, there are millions of Nigerians in Benin, Togo and Ghana... Igbos can be in Yoruba or Hausa nations, it now depend on those Nations to do "igbo must go". Nigeria once did "Ghana must go". .. therefore, you are not making sense...find another excuse

Let me get you right ... You want to leave Nigeria but still be living in Nigeria? You still want to be eating parasites money? You still want to live with ppa You lot are just kids with childish tantrum throwing. The day you leave Nigeria that marks the end of living in Nigeria .

shortgun:
We are already doing that....just tell the Fed. Govt to stop collecting taxes in the South East

ThNk you. This is the first thing I thought when I read the headlines. How collect federal taxes from the east but when it comes to building infrastructure you say that we should do it ourselves. Then just allow us to have our own country so we can just do things for ourselves. It's only when it comes to easterners that they start pushing this logic. They are saying indirectly that the rest of Nigerias are incapable of developing their lands without federal government help.

... Obasanjo is a serial hypocrite. So he wants Ndigbo to develop their own land by themselves whereas the wealth and the resources of the nation is used to develop SW, NE, NW, NC. Has he ever preach this to other region?

A region that can toil to provide themselves with the common amenities that its country govt can provide has no BASIS to be part and parcel of the people of that country. Obasanjo I know is a double faced human being.

modsmustdie:

They have done a lot and still doing alot... have you heard of massob, ipob, etc... they are demanding for biafra... I expect you to start detaching yourselves from Igbos... you cowards should start championing a separate country too..

I said credible thing. I didn't ask to list miscreants.



Frustration kills.

Mujaheeeden:

Do they still receive allocations from Abj till tomorrow if yes you are lying!

modified**** so go back to your hole pls