By Jennifer John
Imo state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma and the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, George Obiozor, have taken divergent stands on some pertinent issues affecting the Igbo nation.
Fielding questions from government house correspondents after an elders council meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo hosted by Imo State on Saturday, the governor, literally ruled out the establishment of a security outfit for the South-east in the mould of Amotekun for the South-west.
He said Igbos have always had internal security arrangements (the vigilante) at the community level which he said will be encouraged to continue collaborating with the Nigerian Police to guarantee internal security for the citizens.
Also when the question of the stand of the Ohanaeze elders council on the Igbo Presidency was thrown to him, Uzodimma just chose to correct the effect that there is nothing like Igbo Presidency. He however referred the correspondents to the communique issued at the end of the meeting.
However, when the same questions were later posed to the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor, he took a different view, insisting that Igbos must take a special interest in their security since they are among the worst hit by the current insecurity situation in the country.
On the issue of the Igbo Presidency, he described it as a righteous course for the Igbo to produce the next president of Nigeria come 2023.
While on the issue of zoning, he likened its importance to Nigerian Politics to the importance of breath to man’s existence.
Meanwhile, the communique released at the end of the meeting touched on five key areas; security, economy (Igbo stabilization fund), Igbo presidency, power-sharing (restructuring) and education.
According to the communique, the council thought that Igbo needs a security outfit that will at once address issues that are peculiar to the nature, culture, tradition and topography of Igbo land and also give support to the effort of the federal government in the area of security.
Concerning economy, it said the council mandated leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to fashion out ways of encouraging governments in Igbo speaking states to become more proactive in the pursuit of policies that would boost agriculture and manufacturing while noting with dissatisfaction, the recent national statistical figures that ascribed some Igbo speaking states as ranking highest in the number of unemployed people in Nigeria.
Also contained in the communique was the mandate given to the president-general by the elder’s council to work in close consultation with Igbo socio-cultural-political intelligentsia to pursue the task of ensuring that Alaigbo takes its turn in producing the next president of Nigeria.
In the area of education, according to the communique, the council mandated Ohanaeze leadership to pursue a deliberate policy of ensuring a noticeable and measurable improvement in the quality of education in Igbo land.
