Marginalisation of Igbo must stop – Tunde Bakare

The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that the marginalization of Igbo and other minority ethnic groups must stop.

Bakare said this over the weekend in Lagos, in commemoration of the June 12 Democracy Day.

According to the cleric, Nigeria has a chance at returning to national ideals through reconciliation, reconstitution, and reconstruction.

He said the country must address other historical grievances, including “the lingering memories of inhumane treatment, economic deprivation, marginalization, and non-inclusion of the Igbos that have festered since the end of the civil war.”

He said that issues that have led to calls for secession and self-determination by different groups in the South West and South East and the bitterness and vengeance among some Fulanis and their host communities must be addressed by the government.

The cleric said that the discontent in the Niger-Delta region resulted from continued environmental degradation and the history of bloodshed, such as the killing of advocates like Ken Saro-Wiwa.

He said attention must also be paid to the lingering feeling of exclusion from the governance by women and Nigerian youths.