Ihuoma Chiedozie
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has urged the Igbo to keep resisting injustice and marginalisation just as he warned against violence in the agitation for Biafra.
Ekweremadu, who spoke at the World Igbo Summit held in Enugu, on Saturday, described armed struggle as an ill-wind that brings no good.
According to him, the Igbo must persistently oppose injustice until they get to the “promised land of equitable and just society.”
Ekweremadu said, “No matter the intimidation, harassment and marginalisation of our people, we must never be provoked into violence. But we must consistently say no to injustice. Let no man be tired and let no man give up. The night may be long, but the day will surely break.”
The lawmaker said a non-violent approach had yielded fruits in major liberation struggles in various parts of the world, including apartheid in South-Africa and the actualisation of equal rights for blacks and whites in the United States.
He said the “minimum” demand of the Igbo people in Nigeria is for the government to restructure the country.
Condemning what he described as the marginalisation of Igbo in strategic appointments, Ekweremadu urged the Federal Government to treat all Nigerians with fairness, if it wants peace in the country.
The lawmaker wondered why the South-East and some other sections of the country were excluded from the railway project, which the Federal Government intends to fund with the proposed $5.185bn China EXIM Bank loan.
He also dismissed the widely held belief that Igbo are not united.
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