Why Nigeria can’t have peace – Ohanaeze

The Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has said Nigeria will never experience peace and development because of growing injustice against Igbos.

Igbo is an ethnic group dominant in Nigeria’s south-east.

The spokesperson of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chiedozie Ogbonnia, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo stands on a firm wicket based on reason, history and experience to state that there can never be peace, progress and national development when there is a deliberate government policy of injustice, tantrums and brimstones against a vibrant, capacious, resourceful, resilient and populous ethnic group such as the Igbo,” he said.

Giving an instance of the alleged injustice, Mr Ogbonnia recalled that the then President Muhammadu Buhari, in January 2021, appointed some service chiefs in Nigeria but excluded Igbos from the appointment.

He said “the lopsided policy” did not reduce insecurity in Nigeria.

‘Hardship, an outcome of injustice against Igbos’

Mr Ogbonnia also described the current economic hardship in Nigeria as a “comeuppance of Igbophobia.”

“Igbophobia”, as used by Mr Ogbonnia here, means anti-Igbo sentiment.

“It (hardship) is an unavoidable outcome of an orchestrated injustice, marginalisation, callous conspiracies, corporate shenanigans and ethnic bigotry against the Igbo,” he said.

Not the first time

This is not the first time the Igbos would accuse the Nigerian government of injustice against them.

Since the end of the Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970, the Igbos have continued to complain that they have been marginalised in the distribution of social infrastructure and sharing of political positions.

The feeling of frustration among the Igbos heightened after the 2023 presidential election when Peter Obi, who is from the Igbo ethnic group, failed to win the election even when he enjoyed a great following, especially among the Nigerian youths.

READ ALSO: Ohanaeze’s threat to Nigerian govt, PDP’s endless squabble, other top stories from South-east

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, was the Labour Party candidate in the election.

He had challenged Bola Tinubu’s victory at the election in various Nigerian courts, including the Supreme Court, but lost in all of them.