3 months ago
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Elderstatesman and leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark has again called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to immediately implement the 2014 National Conference Report to re-unite the Igbos to the position they occupied before the civil war.
He spoke yesterday when a delegation of ten Igbo leaders visited to celebrate his 97th birthday, which occurred on May 25, 2024.
He said Nigeria is a big family, as such, leaders particularly Presidents, should avoid the temptation of making appointments on ethnic basis.
He said such an act portends a very dangerous trend for the country.
He said there is no conquered Nigerian, and advised that people who are appointed into offices should stop mystifying those who appointed them, seeing them as god.
He said while courtesy demands that people appreciate when things are done for them, doing so with a slave-like mentality, is tantamount to adulation.
He reminded them that Igbos should hold their head high, as they have always held positions of reckoning in the country.
He recalled the activities of past Igbo leaders like Jaja Wachuku who was a Pan-Africanist and most respected first Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Therefore, for an Igbo man to genuflect and say the Igbos should jump to the skies because one of them is appointed a ‘super’ Minister today, is to him an overpraise. ”
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He said Igbos who find themselves appointed to positions, especially at the national level, should see themselves as qualified to hold such position, and not to be subservient. “Because if other Nigerians are qualified, the Igbos are qualified too. ”
He expressed the optimism that the Igbos woll put their acts together so as to achieve their desire.
Chief Clark expressed surprise at the visit and condolences for the recent passing of Chief Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, the former President-General of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo.
He emphasized the importance of equality and encouraged Igbos to recognize their worth and qualifications in leadership roles.
Chief Clark said he was very surprised and elated by the visit of the Igbo leadership which was to him, quite shocking, as he was not aware of any such plan to visit him.
He expressed condolences to them on the demise of Chief Emmanuel Iwuayanwu, who until his death, was the President-General of the Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo.
He said the loss was not just to the Igbos, but to the people of the Southern and Middle Belt, and indeed to Nigerians.
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