Igbo people in the South East have expressed regret that what was envisaged as the binding principles of the Nigerian nation state no longer exist.
They are therefore calling for a plebiscite to determine the future of the region.
The people noted that the Federal Republic of Nigeria as it exists today was a phantom political state which had lost all the basic principles of rule of law, justice, equity and humane values; that anarchy now prevails in all spheres of the society.
In a communiqué at the end of the 2019 Igbo National Summit, presided over by the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu, the participants noted that, “The Republic has been seized by one ethnic nationality, namely, the minority Fulani who do not hide their intentions to wipe out the indigenous populations and their religions and turn the territory into an Islamic State as has been arrogantly stated by the Fulani Nationality Movement (FUNAM).”
The communiqué of the first ever Igbo national summit with the theme ‘Peace, Security and Development of Alaigbo and Her Neighbours,’ which was signed by Chairman, Alaigbo Development Foundation, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, chairman of the Organising Committee, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, chairman of the Association of South East Town Unions, Emeka Diwe and 21 others, noted that Ndigbo had continued to be marginalised in the scheme of things with key appointments going to the North.
In the communiqué, entitled ‘The Owerri Declaration,’ the participants noted that the endemic instability in the federation had been due to an inherent incompatibility of values between the dominant religions, traditions and cultures of its indigenous ethnic nationalities, stressing that this had been made worse by the deliberate act of manipulation by the British colonial authorities who, through manipulation of the federal structure and census, left power in the hands of the Fulani minority.
The participants, therefore, “Urge all pan-Igbo organizations, including the Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), Association of South-East Town Unions (ASETU), World Igbo Congress (WIC), concerned Christian clergy and representative organizations, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria South-East (CAN-SE), from our contiguous neighbours including the coalition of all pro-Biafra groups, and the vindictively proscribed non-violent organization, IPOB, to collectively work in political synergy for our collective aspiration for self-determination, to ensure our survival and lead the pursuit of the realization of our collective security, destiny and development as a free, prosperous peace-loving people bound together by the principles of self-determination and freedom.”
