Fred Itua, Abuja
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has decried the marginalisation and injustice being faced by Igbo .
He made the submission, yesterday, in Abuja during a debate for National Unity tagged: “Federal character, restructuring and rotation of presidential power in Nigeria” organised by Igbo Leadership Development Foundation.
The ex-Head of State said Nigeria was big enough to accommodate everyone, irrespective of tribe even as he urged that the constitutional debate on restructuring must address all imbalances in the country. He said without Igbo, Nigeria will not be complete noting that the absence of Igbo’s intelligensia and hardwork would have made the country poorer.
Gowon who spoke through a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, maintained that God did not make a mistake by putting Igbo in Nigeria.
“I believe that a lot of injustice have 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 Ndigbo, Middle Belt and Yoruba are the true Nigerians because if you look round our borders, people came in from abroad and are still coming, but Ndigbo’s and the Middle Belt have always been there, even Yoruba’s have always been there.
“Going forward we must create a federal democracy that will respond positively to all the aspirations of our people, not about East-West, but all about working together in equality, bringing in the youths and the women together to build a new Nigeria,” Gowon said.