Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized what he calls the “persistent” discrimination against the Igbo ethnic group, which he described as Igbophobia. Igbophobia: Obasanjo Condemns Attack on Igbos, Calls for Unity, keep reading.
Speaking at an event held at the International Convention Centre in Awka, Anambra State capital, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Governor Soludo’s tenure in office, Obasanjo recalled his relationship with the governor and the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, both of whom he had appointed. He praised Soludo, who previously worked with him as an economic adviser, for his performance, saying that the Anambra State governor had never misadvised him. Obasanjo also noted that Soludo was the second Nigerian Central Bank Governor who was not a commercial banker. Igbophobia: Obasanjo Condemns Attack on Igbos, Calls for Unity, keep reading.
However, Obasanjo revealed that soon after appointing the academic, he was confronted with a dissenting voice. A person told him that by appointing an Igbo woman as Minister of Finance and an Igbo man as Governor of the Central Bank, he had completed the task of ruining Nigeria’s economy. Obasanjo called this type of comment Igbophobia and said it persists in Nigeria.
He called on Nigerians to conquer evil with good and urged those who feel afraid of others to make themselves friendly and earn their friendship by being good to them. The former president said that the appointments of Okonjo-Iweala and Soludo were probably the best he made while in office. He also advised Soludo to think of something national or international after he finished his term as governor. Igbophobia: Obasanjo Condemns Attack on Igbos, Calls for Unity, keep reading.
Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the Chairman of the Council of Elders, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, also spoke at the event, saying there is no fight between the Igbo and Yoruba people in Nigeria. Iwuanyanwu described those destroying Igbo properties in Lagos as “political rascals” and said that the elders have directed the secretary general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okey Emuchay, to set up a commission of inquiry to find out what was destroyed and make those responsible pay.
Soludo spoke about his achievements during his first year in office and emphasized his goal of building a state that everyone would be proud of. He also outlined his plans to transform Anambra into a prosperous homeland. Igbophobia: Obasanjo Condemns Attack on Igbos, Calls for Unity, keep reading.
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The event attracted several dignitaries from across Nigeria, including the Media Group, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi. Obasanjo, Iwuanyanwu and Soludo all used the event as an opportunity to emphasize the need for unity and progress in Nigeria, and to reject discrimination and violence.
