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Anyaoku decries govt's handling of Anambra crisis
From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
FORMER Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, yesterday decried the Federal Government's handling of the Anambra State crisis .He also lamented the alleged fuelling of the internal disagreements among the Igbo by forces outside Igboland.
In a key note address at the 2004 World Igbo Summit in Enugu, Anyaoku also declared support for the proposed national dialogue by the Federal Government (FG), saying he was glad that President Olusegun Obasanjo had accepted and proceeded to initiate action on "national dialogue". He observed that there were deeply worrying aspects of the Anambra crisis. "The first is that such widely reported destruction of public properties and threats to human life did not immediately attract a robust reaction from the FG and its law enforcement authorities; and the second is the existence within Anambra State of people who are prepared to carry their political differences to the extent of such clear breach of law and order."
According to him, to proffer a lasting solution to the imbroglio in the state, the federal authorities "must live up to their commitment to the rule of law, and the politicians concerned must eschew political thuggery and accept that the purpose of politics is to serve the interest of the electorate rather than self-enrichment."
He said that questions must be asked: "Why is it that Ndigbo seem to have so many instances where their internal dissensions are perceived to be fuelled and even teleguided from outside Igboland?" He stressed that the cause of this might be linked to some of the psychological consequences of the civil war.
Delving into the main focus of his paper, Anyaoku noted that every interaction between one Nigerian and another across the divides of region, ethnicity, class or religion, was aimed at building bridges, insisting that it was a contribution towards the strengthening of the fabric of the nation's unity. "Because such interactions are a daily occurrence, we are apt to take them for granted and to miss their significance. The day- to- day interactions have their place in breaking down barriers between people but they are essentially casual and spontaneous in nature," he stressed.
The Commonwealth's former scribe pointed out that the Igbo had been building bridges with other ethnic groups through their migration to other parts of the country thereby giving content to the concept of one Nigeria. "By thus staking their faith in the then emerging Nigeria, they helped in a decisive way to lay the foundations in which the new country was built. In a very real sense therefore, Ndigbo were at the foundation of the country," he said.
While praising the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo for their often well-measured statements regarding the interest of the Igbo in regard to national issues, he, however, charged Ndigbo to consider seriously how to strengthen their influence on the other national groups in the country and how best they could contribute to the realisation of the nation's aspirations.
Presenting the summit theme, former Minister of Health, Prof. A.B.C. Nwosu, also welcomed the initiative of the Obasanjo government to convoke a national dialogue, which, he said, would afford the Igbo the opportunity to seek redress on various ills that had led to marginalisation.
Advising the Igbo to resist a blackmail being mounted against them by other ethnic groups that they love money more than any other Nigerian and that they are defeated rebels, Nwosu told them not to be intimidated by these insinuations and urged them to make adequate preparations for the proposed dialogue much better than they did for the 1994 Constitutional Conference.
"The Forum, which shall bring together the legitimate leaders of the various ethnic nationalities, will avail Ndigbo of the opportunity, on one-and-one basis, for stating their case for the Presidency of Nigeria in year 2007. I humbly suggest that Ohanaeze working with persons outside the Ohanaeze should set up a committee like the Dr. Okigbo Committee, which prepared in 1994 the position paper for all the Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria," he said.
But for the 2007 presidency, Nwosu cautioned that the less the Igbo spoke on the matter at this time the better for them, stressing that the Igbo must behave differently from what they did in year 2003.
"At this time, all we need convey to the rest of Nigeria is that we are dead serious over the matter. What we shall do will force the others to take us seriously because right now, other Nigerians do not take us seriously anymore. This time around, let us strategize and organise more in private than on the pages of the newspapers.
"Let our resolve be unshakeable and our actions synchronised for maximum effect as we spurn political parties that reject our aspirations. Let us resolve that any of us who permits himself or herself to waver or become manipulated into a self-destructive vice-presidential struggle must be publicly rejected," Nwosu said.
In his remarks, the President of Ohanaeze, Prof. Joe Irukwu, outlined the objective of the summit, which he said was to bring together the best of the Igbo from the villages, grassroots and indeed representatives of all levels of the society at home and abroad, to conduct a serious soul-searching exercise and in the process to evolve an action plan for the future development of the Igbo nation.
The summit, he also said, would give the Igbo an opportunity to review their past, assess their current situation and in the process determine where they wish to be and how to get there.
Among eminent Igbo sons and daughters at the summit were Maj-Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Senator Francis Ellah, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Prof. Green Nwankwo, Justice Eze Ozobu (rtd), Amb. Greg Mbadiwe, Mrs. Miriam Ikejiani-Clark, Dr. Anagha Ezeikpe, Dr. Kalu Kalu Diogu, Elder Kalu U. Kalu, Col. Joe Achuzie (rtd), Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi and Deputy Governors of Enugu and Abia states, as well as a host of traditional rulers from the South Eastern states.
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