…Say only restructuring can save Nigeria
By Onyedika Agbedo
A group of Igbo professionals under the aegis of Ochie Igbo has alleged that the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise across the country was designed to credit the South-east with inferior voting figures in the 2019 elections.
In a statement yesterday signed by its National President and Secretary, Dr. Chukwuma Orji and Mr. Theo Nwoba, respectively, the group also joined the call for the restructuring of the country, stressing that “until Nigeria settles its ambivalent and twisted political economy, restructuring, self-determination and secession remain alternative options on the table.”
According to the group, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sent malfunctioning equipment to the South-east and conducts the exercise only in the local government headquarters instead of the wards.
It noted that it has concluded plans to engage the South-east caucus in the National Assembly on the issue with a view to finding an immediate solution.
They said: “Presently, the ongoing CVR exercise has shown a marked continuation of this obnoxious plot against Nd’Igbo. Not only has scant and malfunctioning equipment been sent to the Southeast, the INEC for inexplicable reasons insists on carrying out the registration only at local government council headquarters.
“Given this development, young school leavers that just attained the voting age of 18 have the added burden of raising as much as N2, 000 or more as transport fare to and from the council headquarters to get registered. In a curious contrast, the same INEC has laid out elaborate plans, taking registration gadgets to Internally Displaced Persons camps in the north, where even under-aged children are captured with nonchalant zeal. “Ochie Igbo plans to engage the South-east caucus in the National Assembly to find out why CVR should be taking place only at the council headquarters in the zone rather than wards. Very worrisome is the fact that most times, upon reaching the council headquarters, INEC staff would complain of non-availability of fuel to power the generating sets. Could this be a calculated attempt to reduce the participation of Nd’Igbo and credit them with inferior voting figures?”
The group warned against “the continuous institutionalised victimisation of Nd’Igbo”, noting that it has resolved to stand up for the collective interest and security of the South-east.
“In private and public, the average Igbo is treated with scorn, suspicion and condescension, especially by functionaries of government establishment. We wish to state in all fairness that this negative profiling of Nd’Igbo did not start with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. But without doubt, the demonic policies of ostracism against Nd’Igbo became much accentuated in the present dispensation.
“The only enemies known to Nd’Igbo are poverty and disease; and as a people they have continued to exert their time, talent and drive towards eradicating those evils. Our detractors have mistaken our love for good life to mean readiness to suffer indignities or slavery in our fatherland. In the light of the foregoing, Ochie Igbo has resolved that as Nigeria looks forward to another decisive election in 2019, there is only one choice open to the country — it is either we determine Nigeria’s future as civilised citizens or take the barbaric option. No longer will Igbo be made to bear the burden of Nigeria’s faulty structure,” they added.