Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has admitted that the Igbo nation has suffered marginalization from the Nigerian state. He thereby called for measures to be adopted to reverse the intentional devilish trend which has ensured that the Igbo people are suppressed economically and otherwise through suffocating government policies and laws deliberately directed against the Igbos. Gowon who led Nigeria during the three years of civil war that witnessed the shed the blood of an estimated three million Biafrans especially children is also the founder of Nigeria Prays; a group that prays for the betterment of Nigeria.
This is coming as a surprise to many as the former head of state has always make insensitive comments about Igbo people and this has always placed him at loggerhead with Igbo people especially on the issue of the Biafra war. He has in the past insisted that he is not regretting his role during the Biafra war in which many civilians who are non-actors in the war died out of starvation due to economic blockade placed on Biafrans by Gowon led Nigeria. Most of those who die out of Kwashiokor are children. The war has been recognized as the Biafra genocide war by many internationally, they include Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Nigeria Minister of Aviation Femi Fani Kayode and a host of others.
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According to a report, the former Head of State said this in Abuja during a debate for National Unity entitled: “Federal Character, Restructuring, and Rotation of Presidential Power in Nigeria”, organized by Igbo Leadership Development Foundation. The Wartime Head of state said Nigeria was sufficiently large enough to accommodate everyone irrespective of tribal leaning. He stated that a constitutional debate on restructuring must look into issues of imbalances that have hunted the nation to correct it and promote equity.
He said;
“I believe that a lot of injustice has been done to the Igbo’s and the constitutional debate on restructuring must address all imbalances”
“Nigeria is big enough for all of us and I believe that theMiddle Belt, Middle Belt, and the Yoruba are the true Nigerians because if you look round our borders, people came from abroad and are still coming but Ndigbo have always been there, middle belt has always been there, even Yoruba have always been there”
“People who came in yesterday who have a duty of respect are now the ones talking”
By Nonso Ekwunife
AFRICA TODAY NEWS NEW YORK