Igbo Group Tasks FG on National Confab
By Ndubuisi Ugah
A Pan- Igbo youth organisation, Igbo Youth Congress (IYC) has thrown its weight behind the call for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), saying the forum remains the only means of resolving the various problems facing the country.
President of the organisation, Mr. Bright Ezeocha in a chat with our reporter, said the SNC if convoked would help usher in the needed development that would improve the living standard of the masses.
"For God's sake, why not face the reality. I do not know why our leaders keep on postponing the evil days. I have with times without number advocated for the convocation of a Sovereign National Con-ference (SNC) to address the problems facing this country. Until we sit down on a roundtable and look at each other eyeball to eyeball and tell ourselves the simple truth, we cannot make any headway", he said.
Ezeocha also noted that "except we look into eachother's eyeball and tell ourselves where we have gone wrong, there can not be any resolving the problems facing us. There is no two ways about the SNC. We have to meet on a round table whether Mr. President likes it or not".
He pointed out that the earlier a SNC is convoked to address some of the problems militating against the expected development of the country the better, stating that "continous postponment of the SNC amounted to postponing the evil day".
Ezeocha said "the Igboman has his own story to tell, the Hausaman has his and the Yorubaman has his own story and even the South-south. There is no peace in Nigeria. Is it not time we sit down and discuss this issue. Why are they scared about this SNC. We are not calling for a break up. If we can't practice true federalism, then we should go for confederation and if it is not possible, to your tent O Isreal".
On the on-going debate of which zone should produce the next president of the country come 2007, he maintained that "the Igbo Presidency should not be a subject of controversy".
"I don't know why we like chasing shadows in this country. The independence of this country was built on three tripod. And that tripod is the North, South-west and South-east. With due respect to the South-south and other geo-political zone, if we must have this, that is unity, and we claim to want to have this country remain as one entity come 2007, the Igbo Presidency should never be an issue to be debated at all", he added.
On the state of emergency declared on Plateau State by President Olusegun Obasanjo, the IYC President pointed out that the organisation welcomed the move to declare the emergency rule, but however, faulted the manner at which it was implemented.
"In the constitution, there is provision for the declaration of a state of emergency where cases of loss of lives and property arise due to outbreak of violence. But the same constitution was silent on the fate of the governor which means that the office of the governor cannot be tampered with because the constitution laid down the process of removing the governor in a situation where there is need for it", Ezeocha remarked.
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