“Why are Igbos Represented by Minorities” – Uzodinma Questions

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma has questioned the manner in which Igbo representation is considered in government, arguing that minority groups within the Igbo population are sometimes presented as representatives of the wider Igbo majority.

Uzodinma said this while speaking at an Independence Day banquet, where he discussed ethnic representation in Nigeria and compared the situation involving the Igbo with that of the Hausa and Yoruba.

According to the governor, Nigeria was formed around three major ethnic groups—the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba—with minority groups existing within each of them.

He, however, questioned what he described as a different approach to Igbo representation in government.

“To form Nigeria, there are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Among the Hausa, we have minorities; among the Igbo, we also have minorities, and likewise among the Yoruba. But in the consideration of government today, it is only the Igbos whose minorities are being represented. Why?”

Uzodinma added: “The Hausa are always represented by a full Hausa, and the Yoruba by a full Yoruba. But in the Igbo case, minorities are claiming to be the majority.”

The governor did not, in the remarks reported, identify the specific groups he was referring to as Igbo minorities or name particular government appointments that he believed reflected the imbalance.