George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Governor Rochas Okorocha has said that one of the problems with the country is that the other ethnic nationalities are yet to understand the people called Ndigbo.
He said that Ndigbo are the most misrepresented ethnic group in Nigeria, noting that it is only an Igboman amongst the other ethnic groups who go to another culture and settle and develop the community.
Okorocha who stated this in Owerri during the post-election peace summit organised by National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria contended that “the problem with our country Nigeria is that they don’t understand the people called Igbo. Igbo, if I must describe us are the most misrepresented ethnic group in Nigeria. It’s only the Igbo amongst all other ethnic groups that can go to any other culture and settle to develop that culture.”
The governor added: “The Igbo man is the one who will hardly come back home to his grassroots without leaving a lasting impression of good development in the place he is living. But Nigerians have taken this for weakness. And that’s why at every side they’re chased from pillar to post as if they’re not part of the entity called Nigeria.”
In his own speech, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar stated: “We’re here today to mark the South-East post-election and peace conference of the National Council of Traditional Rulers. One thing I’m glad for is that His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the governor of Imo State made good his promise of hosting us as we left the Enugu headquarters for Imo State.
“We’re here also to commission this wonderful edifice, in fact, the first of its kind in the whole of Nigeria built by the people’s governor. Also, the unity of Nigeria is of paramount interest to all of us, therefore this is another reason why we are here.”
The Ooni of Ife stated: “My fellow traditional rulers from across the various ethnic groups of Nigeria, I want us to bear in mind that the reason for this conference is the peace of this country. We cannot afford to be seated on our various thrones and see the people we are ruling scattered. So, the peace of Nigeria must cost us something worth sacrificing. All of us seated here have a duty to let our subjects know that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, we must rise up to join our leaders to find lasting peace to our diverse political and cultural situations.”
The host, Eze Samuel Ohiri who is the Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers remarked: “Our joy knows no bound today to see our brother traditional rulers come to have this national summit in Imo our dear state.”