Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu exclusive: What Ndigbo want President Tinubu to do

From Idu Jude Abuja

The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwanyanwu, has reiterated the efforts being made by the leadership of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation to have their pride of place in the country.

He said that in achieving this, restructuring of Nigeria must be carried out.
He observed that the agitation for restructuring should also not be misconstrued or mistaken for request for secession.

Sir, do you have this conversation that restructuring of Nigeria can be possible under this administration?
Let me take you down memory lane, the issue here is that Nigerians are so forgetful, but we need to make them realise the need to recall past events. I want to tell you that the call for secession began in the North pre-independence of Nigeria. At that time the call for amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates was proposed, but the North opted to carve out a nation for the North. But it took Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and other nationalists time to convince them of one indivisible Nigeria. Soon after that another young man from the Niger Delta called Adaka Boro arose to demand total restructuring of Nigeria and also opted for secession as the only way out of the gross marginalisation meted on the region. Adaka Borrow was later fought against, but was later conscripted into the Nigerian Army for compensation. But looking at what those people did before the birth of Nnamdi Kanu, today it looks to some people who do not know about the history of this country that Nnamdi Kanu has committed a treasonable felony, but here we can say equivocally that the young man has done nothing far from calling for equity and justice to all Nigerians and that is restructuring the nation.

This was also what many other Nigerians have agitated about or still agitating for. Because if there is equity and justice, insecurity across the country would have not arisen in the first place. Even the Boko Haram and other bandits claim that things are not working well and that is why they picked guns against the state.
If you go to the Northeast, and Northwest, farmers now pay tithes or royalty to bandits before farming or harvesting their crops. Now, what do you think of a man who hoisted flags in Sambisa and the Chad basin and declared a nation of his own? What do you call that? Think of the man Sunday Igboho who declared Oduduwa, is he not working free now? And what was his reasons? He said that Nigeria should either be made to give all Nigerians a sense of belonging or have them leave. So, why is Nnamdi sounding so different and difficult to understand? So, as you can see, there has been an increased call for restructuring of Nigeria and which is in line with what Nnamdi Kanu is calling for and I think that many Nigerians are now getting to know that things are not just working well and that something just needs to be done.

As I speak to you, the South-south, Southwest and Middle Belt Elders Forum, have gone to their people to mobilize and mould opinions on how best Nigeria should be restructured. And in line with the urgent call for the restructuring of Nigeria, the Igbo socio-cultural group, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to see for the timely conveyance of views of the southeastern part of the country to that regard. So, putting up a committee has become necessary to heed the call for true democracy in Nigeria. So, have met to agree that there is no going back on restructuring of the country hence the committee inauguration.

It is upon this premise that I have called the meeting of these selected men for this sublime task of ensuring that the position of the Igbo is presented and on time and I am sure that all the regions are doing the same. The former Presidential candidate under the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) remarked that restructuring Nigeria has been a quest that many Nigerians have misconstrued. Let me also make it clear here that there is nothing wrong in asking for restructuring. I say this because many people have always thought that restructuring Nigeria means secession, it is not so. That was what led to the Nigerian Civil War because many failed to understand the meaning. The late Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu never opted for secession, but rather for restructuring. He craves true federalism, a system of government where there is respect for human rights, where the power cannot be centralized at the top and it is in history that the Nigerian president is the most powerful person on earth.

In 2018, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo held a conference in Awka Anambra State where restructuring was highlighted as a must achievement. In the same view, while I am the President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, I have the privilege and honour to inaugurate a committee comprising a very distinguished and illustrious Igbo sons and daughters under the leadership of Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, the former governor of Enugu State to review all past discussions, make wide contacts with the Igbo, both at home and in the Diaspora, and produce what we will present to the entire leadership of the Igbo as a position on a restructured Nigeria. I can tell you that these men carefully selected are willing to go the extra mile to help. Members of the committee include Adolphus Wabara, Sen. Julius Ucha, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim, Sen. Anthony Agbo, Hon. Onyema Ugochukwu and Chief Chinyiaka Ohaa. Others are Sen. Ben Obi, Dan Nwanyanwu, Ambassador Humphrey Orjiakor, Dr Obinna Ejiofor, Prof Epiphany Azinge, Prof Echefuna Onyebeadi, Prof Okey Ikechukwu and Prof Charles Nwaekeaku. Also on the list are Chief Ostia Chidoka, Engr. Ebele Okeke, Prof Ostia Ogbu, Hon. Goodluck Opia and Prof Chukwu.

After several leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, your tenure seems to be so concerned about the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu?
Many who have led this socio-cultural group have tried in several ways, but in my own time I was to devise every means to again appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explore political means in the release of Nnamdi Kanu after the court found him not guilty of allegations levelled against him. And achieving this , I have gone with many other notable Igbo leaders to see Nnamdi Kanu at the Department of State Services (DSS) detention cell in Abuja, and after listening to him again, I can say that there are no complications between his inquest for the restructuring of the country and agitation for secession. Nnamdi Kanu, like many other Nigerian children have expressed their disappointment because they believe they lacked inclusion in Nigeria. They believe there is discrimination, they feel that things are not going the way they should go. So, it is not only Nnamdi Kanu that has asked for the restructuring of Nigeria and let’s go back to history and see that we have been talking about the restructuring of this country because it has failed to work.

This move was made by Adaka Boro from the Niger Delta who was later conscripted into the Nigerian Army. So, it is all about making Nigeria work and that has to be done to put to rest all these agitation. And I can tell you not until the proper restructuring of Nigeria is done more agitation may likely arise. So, I say that we should allow restructuring of this country to take place so that people should develop within their capacities and live within their potentials and again so that the power of the Federal Government should reduce and the federating unit come alive. This was clear in 1914 that Nigeria was not a republic of one nation. It was a Federation of many nations and all the parts had their culture, history, idiosyncracies and need to exist as a Federation.

Recently, the IPOB commemorated Biafra anniversary followed with already existing sit-at-home, how would you ensure the discontinuation of these acts to help the South economy to grow?
That is exactly what we are working at. I can tell you that the Igbo are majorly entrepreneurs, who move in anywhere and start up business and add value to such community. We love education and academic process cannot be stopped at the Southeast. Sit-at-home in the Southeast being carried out by the proscribed group cannot be linked to Nnamdi Kanu because he is a member or leader of IPOB, please do not forget that he has been saying it and he said it again to me when I visited him. I am appealing to the president to release Nnamdi Kanu so that we can see whether the perpetrators would see reasons again to carry out the heinous crime. Like I told you my going there is to make sure that Nnamdi has no hand in IPOB and I can tell you that he has said it again to my face that he has no hand in it.

There was this killing of soldiers in Abia State recently, an act linked to IPOB, how do you describe the act?
While I condemned the killing of those soldiers in the Southeast as well as other people owing to the ongoing sit-at-home, I can tell you that we are not resting on our oars in finding whomever did that. I can also say that there has been allegations of conspiracy to destroy the Southeast, but we shall not allow such to continue. And in ensuring that this ends, I am calling a meeting of all the Southeast governors, where we will address the issue of IPOB disrupting WAEC and NECO examinations in some parts of the East, and like I said, the Igbo are educated people and entrepreneurs and should not allow such to cripple the zone’s potential as the most peaceful zone in the country.

Do you think the formation of the Southern and Middle Belt Elders Forum would have effect against ethnic marginalisation?
There has been this concerted effort to bring to an end the marginalisation of Southern Nigeria in the scheme of things, and to this regard, Southern Nigeria has formed the ‘Southern Elders Forum’ made up of selected elder statesmen, from the southern states and the Middle Belt to play the role of defending the course of the south henceforth. I announced this recently during a press conference, I said that the men selected are to ensure that the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apportions equity and justice to all Nigerians. Even when we have nothing against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I wish on behalf of Ndigbo worldwide to express our thanks to our great leader, Chief E.K. Clark for rising at all times in fighting injustice wherever he perceived it.

For the avoidance of doubt, South-south, Southwest and Southeast have formed alliances. We have formed a union of Southern Nigeria and the leaders therein are as follows, Chief E.K Clark and Emmanuel Essien (South-south), Pa Ayo Adebanjo of Afenifere (Southwest), Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ohanaeze (Southeast). We have unanimously accepted the leadership of the two oldest leaders of the group, Chief E.K Clark and Pa Ayo Adebanjo. We later formed a union of Southern and Middle Belt leaders’ forum. The leader of Middle Belt is Dr Pogu Bitrus. By this union, Chief Edwin Clark is authorised to speak on any part of Southern and Middle Belt of Nigeria. Let me remind you that to end the plague, sometime in 2023, I reported the high level of marginalisation of the Igbo to this forum of Southern and Middle Belt leaders, because marginalization is very clear from the the way things are done.

As the agitation for an additional state for Southeast rages on, have you called a meeting of the zone to mould opinion on where the state will be sited?
Southeast is the only geo-political zone in Nigeria that has only five states whereas other zones have between six and seven states. Forty-eight ministers were appointed by Mr President. By the law of Federal Character, Southeast should have eight ministers, but we have only five ministers while some other zones have up to 10.

All the efforts to develop railway infrastructure in Nigeria, nothing was done in the Southeast though our people are traders who travel a lot. Again I can tell you that I am worried about the non-release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has been incarcerated for many years, noting that every effort to plead his release met with failure, while many other Nigerians arrested and accused of similar offences have all been released.

Think of the Federal Character Commission, the presidency is zoned to rotate North and South instead of rotating through six geo-political zones. This has made it impossible for the Southeast to produce a president when two large zones come together to deny the Southeast the opportunity when the presidency was zoned to the South. To this effect, the Southern and Middle Belt met, deliberated and resolved to zone it to the Southeast in their own opinion, justice demanded that it should be zoned to the Southeast; they therefore, zoned it to the Southeast. Later on Southwest candidate emerged in APC being the political party in power.

Do you think producing Igbo president is still feasible, amidst agitation for regional government?
Yes, this is because every zone during the 2023 election saw the Southeast candidate as the right person. The Southern and Middle Belt leaders’ forum resolved to support an Igbo candidate. This is how the support for Peter Obi came up. From the result of the election, Mr Peter Obi won clearly in Lagos, Delta, Abuja and many other places, including the Middle Belt. I must confess that the Southern and Middle Belt leaders’ forum has nothing against Mr President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They were convinced in all honesty that it was the turn of the Southeast to produce the president. When the result was announced, His Excellency, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner, and the Southeast candidate went to court to seek redress. However, as the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed Mr President’s victory, as law-abiding citizens, who believe in the rule of law, we congratulated His Excellency, Mr President and promised to give him every support he requires to rebuild Nigeria for good.

You have repeatedly said that your leadership is in total support of the Tinubu administration, do you feel that others see it so while fighting the war against marginalisation?
It might interest anyone who cares to know that we have manifested this in practical terms. For example, when many parts of Nigeria were going on demonstration, Southeast was approached to join, but as a leader of Southeast, I made a proclamation, telling my people not to join and they harkened to my voice and never joined the protest. We in the Southeast have made substantial investments in many parts of the country and it is in our interest to assist Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed. Any failure by Mr President would be a calamity to the Igbo who have made huge investments in many places in the country. We sincerely expect the government to reciprocate this gesture by attending to some of our problems.

I had at one of our meetings of the Southern and Middle Belt leaders’ forum brought up the problems of obvious marginalisation of my people by the Federal Government and the forum expressed their sympathy to the Igbo. I remember vividly a communique was issued at one of these meetings calling for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu whose continued detention is causing problems in the Southeast. After the 2023 general election, we experienced the worst situation after Peter Obi won in Lagos, Abuja and some other states; a group of people held a meeting and boasted that they will cripple Igbo and make sure they don’t succeed in business and politics.

The activities of this group were glaringly obvious in Lagos where after Mr Peter Obi’s victory in Lagos State, every effort was made to stop the Igbo from voting. At times violence was used to stop them. The Igbo were abused and threatened to leave Lagos. Some markets in Lagos State dominated by the Igbo were either closed down or demolished. I held a meeting with the leadership of Lagos State, I am happy the matter has slowed down. An Igbo man, HRH Eze Nwajiagu who was arrested in Lagos State for no justifiable reason is still in detention in Lagos. His only offence was the statement he made which if the same statement was made by persons of other tribes, it would not be taken seriously.

We expect Mr. President to look into this matter to forestall future occurrences. We also woke up one morning In Abuja to hear that a spiralling estate owned by an Igbo man Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (Ikukuoma) had been demolished. This matter was reported to me. I requested all relevant information regarding the demolition and from my findings, due process of law was not taken before this demolition. We also appeal to Mr. President to investigate this case of demolition of Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu’s estate in Abuja. Having said this, we must thank Mr. President, His Excellency Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing one of our very intelligent and reliable sons, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Naval Staff, Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are convinced that by the grace of God, he will do well. The reports I have received from the public show he is doing well already. The Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Engr. Dave Umahi from all indications is doing very well. But I must also state here that our work has just begun in seeking freedom of our people in their own country.