ABUJA— VICE Presi dent Atiku Abubakar yesterday described the contentious indigeneship/settlership debate as unconstitutional, divisive and dangerous to the unity of the country. The debate on the indigeneship/settlership has been raging since the Plateau State crisis erupted. The crisis snowballed into the imposition of state of emergency in the state by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Speaking with the Igbo community from Lagos at the State House, Abuja, he said the Federal Government would not tolerate the dichotomy which some people are trying to foist on the country by discriminating against neighbours with whom they have lived peacefully in the past. “There are two words not in our law books or constitution and these words are settlers and indigenes. This government, therefore, is not prepared to promote that dichotomy in the country. We will employ all constitutional means to make sure every Nigerian feels secure at any place he decides to reside. That is what makes a country great and developed,” he said and commended the Igbo for forging unity and contributing to the economic development of the country.
"The Igbo must be commended for at least two things. One, the forging of unity and two, for their economic contribution because there is nowhere you go in this country, no matter how remote, that you don’t find an Igboman there. And when you find him, he is always contributing to the economic development of that place. Therefore, your contribution to the economic development of Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general is well appreciated.
"I want to commend you for the spirit of peaceful co-existence and social responsibility which you always display. In other words, anywhere you find yourselves, you always regard it as home. This is how we will continue to live with each other in this country. Of course, Lagos has its own peculiarity in that it is one place where you find one Nigeria. I don’t think there is one ethnic group that is not represented in Lagos. So, it is really a melting point for all Nigerians and you will continue to play your role in that area. The rest of the country should, in fact, emulate peaceful co-existence in Lagos,” he stressed.
He commended the Lagos State Government for encouraging unity by appointing an indigene of Kogi State as Chairman of Ojodu Local Government, saying: “If we are to go by this settler/indigeneship syndrome by people who are prepared to create confusion and chaos in this country, there is no way a man from Kogi will be chairman in Ojodu local government in Lagos State.” The Federal Government, he assured, would always be just and fair to the Igbo because “like the president has always said, we will continue to accord you just and fair treatment as supporters of our party and also the government. Not just ordinary fairness, but treatment worthy of people who have always stood by the ruling party and the government because there is this adage that says a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
On the problems of erosion raised by the group, led by Chief Uche Sam Momah, the Vice president promised that government would tackle the menace. “For your information, the president has already set up a council under my chairmanship to bring about Federal Government intervention on the issue of coastal erosion and also erosion in the hinterland as well as afforestation, that is people who are engaged in the business of cutting timbers and without replacing them. We are not going to stop them, but if they cut, we will plant so that we will not lose our forest. In the same manner, we are now working to arrest decertification in the north. So, every part of the country has its natural peculiarity, which the council is trying to redress and I want to assure you on that. Already, the president has approved the release of N500 million to tackle this problem in all parts of the country."
The vice president also said that government would soon wade into the crisis between the Federal Ministry of Works and Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) over the control of Lagos roads with a view to solving the problem between them.
Speaking earlier, leader of the delegation, Chief Uche Sunny Momah, said the delegation was in the State House to congratulate the government for successful completion of one term in the office and appealed to the government to dredge River Niger and check menace of erosion in some parts of the country as well as assuring the safety of Nigerians resident in states other their own.
