ENUGU—YOUTHS from the old eastern region ended its meeting in Enugu weekend condemning the ban of non-natives from public schools and the introduction of different fees for existing students in Zamfara State, warning that the development could be dangerous to the corporate existence of the country should other states follow suit.
The forum also demanded that the next president of the country should emerge from the region preferably from the South-South zone. Operating under the umbrella of the Eastern Youth Convention comprising of the Union of Niger Delta (UND), Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC), Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), the youths expressed surprise that the Federal Government appeared helpless to tackle such glaring cases of discrimination against the non-indigenes by not calling the Zamfara State Government to order.
“Much as we reaffirm our faith in Nigeria, and will strive to protect its dignity, unity and future, we wonder aloud why President Obasanjo seems helpless in the face of unjust and discriminatory policies by certain highly placed officials e.g. the banning of non-indigenes from public schools in Zamfara State and the introduction of different fees for those already in Zamfara schools and wonder what will happen if a state like Lagos follows suit with such divisive policy,” the youths said.
In an eight-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, the youths also noted that the Hausa/Fulanis had made similar demands for equality in Plateau State, and hoped that the policy of non-discrimination would be extended to southerners who have lived in all northern cities such as Kano and Sokoto for two generations. Demanding that the old Eastern region should be allowed to produce the next president, the youths stated that this would be in accordance with the principles of equity and justice and would help pacify the people of the Niger Delta who had been agitating relentlessly over their continued neglect despite being the producers of over 90% of the nation’s income.
They also condemned what they called “the deliberate provocation of our brothers in the Niger Delta’’ by the governors of Northern states through their suit to resuscitate the offshore-onshore oil dichotomy bill stressing that the Niger Delta people were yet to get their due from the government despite having had their land devastated through years of oil exploration and drilling.
Expressing their displeasure over what they viewed as the lukewarm attitude of the three arms of the government to the constitutional rights of Nigerians living outside their states of origin, they maintained that lasting peace and unity would not be achieved in the country until various state governments stop tampering with the citizenship rights of the residents on ethnic and religious considerations.
They, however, reiterated their call for an urgent restructuring of the country along the lines of true federalism via a national conference adding that the present unitary structure is largely responsible for the massive corruption “and do or die attitude that is now common place in our polity”.
“We imagine with nostalgia as our national independence anniversary draws near, the visionary foundation our founding fathers laid for us and wonder if we have in the last 44 years piloted this great nation aright. We therefore believe that now is the time to look dispassionately at the past, present and future direction of our country in order to steer the ship of state along the path to greatness”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) has re-elected its leaders for another one-year term. They include Evangelist Elliot Uko, President; Mr. Uzo Umeh, Vice President; Mr. Enuma Obugu, Director of Publicity; Mr. Ikokwu Mbagwu, Organizing Secretary and Mr. Lawrence Onwuka, Director of Organization.
