Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday said he has nothing against the Igbo people.
He was reacting to the controversy generated by the return of some destitute to Onitsha, Anambra State. Read more
Lagos was accused of dumping 70 beggars
on the Onitsha Bridge on July 24, but the state government said it
relocated 14 destitute to Onitsha after rehabilitating them.
Speaking at the Silver Jubilee of the
Igbo socio-cultural think tank, Aka Ikenga, at the Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, Fashola said he had no problem
with the Igbo.
He said the highest number of cattle he received when his father died was from the Igbo.
At the event were Secretary to the
Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Ayim, who represented
President Goodluck Jonathan; House of Representatives Deputy Speaker
Emeka Ihedioha; Archbishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese Rev. Matthew
Hassan Kukah; former Foreign Affairs Minister Gen. Ike Nwachukwu; Aka
Ikenga President Goddy Uwazurike; a former ambassador, Chief George
Obiozor, and President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo Gary Enwo-Igariwey.
Others include former President, Aka
Ikenga, Chief Chris Asodoka; Director of the Lagos Business School Prof.
Pat Utomi; a former minister, Captain Emma Iheanacho; songster Onyeka
Onwenu and Nollywood actor Kanayo O. Kanayo.
Fashola said: “I came here to say thank
you for the honour done to my family and the memory of my late father.
People who clearly do not understand the actions taken and words spoken
are those I owe an explanation. I cannot take the Igbo for granted
because we have built a relationship based on tolerance, mutual respect,
love and trust. That relationship was built by our ancestors and I put a
lot of value on it.
“I offer unqualified and unreserved
apology, if the actions taken have been misunderstood. But I think the
basic issue Aka Ikenga must address is why people feel compelled to
migrate from one part of the country to the other. Is it that some areas
lack the resources to develop or perhaps some parts are endowed with
enormous resources that are not adequately managed?
“How can development be so difficult in a
zone that has produced people like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Alex
Ekwueme and Gen. Nwachukwu, among others? A day like this calls for deep
reflection on issues of our loyalties. Are we more Igbo than Nigerian
or we are more Nigerian than Igbo?”
Fashola urged Lagos residents to
participate in the Resident Registration Scheme (RRS) to enable the
government meet its obligations to them.
In his goodwill message, Jonathan said
Aka Ikenga had successfully served as an interface between the Igbo and
the rest of Nigeria in the past 25 years, adding that the group was one
of the most respected and articulate socio-cultural think tank in the
country.
He urged Aka Ikenga to recommend solutions to the nation’s challenges.
The president said the goal of his
administration is to foster national unity and peace and deepen
democracy, urging Nigerians to be civil to one another.
In his lecture: “Nigeria: the challenge
of democracy”, Archbishop Kukah said stereotyping, exclusion and lack of
compromise remain the major challenges to the nation’s democracy.
Stressing the need to manage our
diversity for the good of everyone, he said democracy should be measured
with indices, such as security, quality of the rule of law, political
and human rights, among others.
Archbishop Kukah said the academic
community was the most disenfranchised group in the country, adding that
“no country ignores education and grows”.
He said: “Nigeria is a great country
hurting badly. Governance is no longer subjected to the whims and
caprices of good people. We are not looking for good people to govern us
but we should use indices to scientifically measure the progress of our
democracy. We returned to democracy so that the frontiers of governance
can be expanded.”
Ihedioha urged the Igbo to set
objectives on how to rebuild the Southeast, noting that the zone was in
dire need of infrastructural development.
Igariwey urged Igbo resident outside the Southeast to invest at home to create jobs for the youth and curb migration.
Uwazurike said Aka Ikenga had committed resources to the pursuit of a better life in Igboland.
CULLED FROM THE NATION NEWSPAPER
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