Open Talks With IPOB, Nwodo Tells FG

A former President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, has urged the Federal Government to initiate talks with the Indigenous People of Biafra.

Nwodo, who was the guest speaker at the 14th edition of the annual Anthony Cardinal Okogie Foundation held in Lagos on Thursday, said the declaration of IPOB as a terrorist organisation by the Federal Government was unfair.

He said the only hope for Nigeria was the call for restructuring pioneered by the Southern and Middle Belt Forum Leadership.

The former President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo said there was a need for President Muhammadu Buhari, to constitute a nationwide conversation of all ethic nationalities to look into the 2014 national conference report.

“To restructure Nigeria, we need a constitutional conference of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. To use the current National Assembly as the forum for constitutional amendments grants a tacit recognition of the overthrow of our democratic norms by the enthronement of a military constitution by which they are composed.

“The outcome of the constitutional conference must be subjected to a public plebiscite in which all adult Nigerians shall have the right to vote.

“This process should be open; it should be supervised by international agencies to validate its transparency and thereafter usher new elections based on its provisions and structure.

“This process in my view will ultimately refocus our country, breed a democratic culture that emphasises more on selfless service rather than individual enrichment, promote genuine unity instead of ethnic bigotry and challenge our capacity to exploit our abundant potentialities to make life more abundant for our people. “To continue with the present structure of government and to continue to neglect a resolution of this impasse will spell doom for our dear country.

“The Arewa Youths Council by issuing a quit notice a few years ago for Igbos to leave Northern Nigeria and declaring a Federal Republic of Nigeria without Igboland had committed serious infractions of the law.

“The government must initiate talks with IPOB and find a peaceful resolution of their legitimate grudges.”

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, said Nigeria as country was in need of a return to the ideals of a true federation and the values that once guided the country.

He said, “The actions and inactions of the leaders and the led over the years have caused a lot of damage to the values we once held. Selfishness, greed and inordinate desire for wealth have become the driving force behind our actions.

“In response to this dilemma, we need a system that encourages and rewards hard work, merit, honesty and discipline. We also need a total change and transformation in our value system, the new normal should be service and not unjust and greedy exploitation of people anymore.”

The theme of the event was ‘Whither Nigeria: restructuring, secession or status quo’.