Politics
DESPITE agitation for Biafra, Ndigbo will not leave Nigeria, because they need a wider space to operate, which the country is even too small to provide, Attan Achonu, governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the November 11 election, has said.
A guest of Political Paradigm, a programme on Channels Television, Achonu maintained that what was needed at the moment by Ndigbo, was not Biafra of territory, but that of the spirit, stating that even if the entire West Africa was constricted into one territory, Ndigbo would find it better to thrive in giving their propensity for trade and industry.
Stressing that he would work hard as a governor to string together a template that would tap the potentials of Ndigbo fully, the LP candidate, who said he was sure of winning the election against incumbent, Hope Uzodimma, stated that he remained the solution to the security crisis in the state and the zone.
He emphasised that the problems of insecurity in the state and zone would begin to ebb right from the time he would move into the streets to campaign, because that would give the people the hope of a better future they deserved.
His words: “You see, the Igbo, they are not dump. They know who is who in Igboland. They know who their true leaders are. They’re saying IPOB. But I don’t think IPOB has anything to do with the violence in the South East. This sit at home, I don’t know why it’s still ongoing. I don’t have contact with Nnamdi Kanu, but I hear he made a press statement saying that sit at home should stop. But the young man in Finland is still issuing orders, counter-orders, which means that in their organisation, there’s a problem.
“So, once I start campaign, I’ll reach out to them. In fact, there a radio broadcast that I made and reached out to them to say, how can you say that you’re Biafra and you’re killing fellow Igbo? So, it’s not correct. Those are not Igbo.
“I was in a Biafran soldier, I was in the Boys Company before it was disbanded. I even formed my own army after that because we were ready to die to defend our families and our parents. That’s Biafra. And for me, Biafra is a state of being. Biafra is this aku ruo uno! Come and invest at home. I believe in restructuring, I believe in Nigeria. Igbo need a wider market. In fact, if we can make West Africa one country, it will be good for the Igbo, because we’re traders. We’re industrialists, we’re business people.
“It is achievable. After all the European Union, the EU, they have a common currency and they’re almost one country. These things are achievable. You need a bigger marketplace. That’s why America is strong. That’s why China is strong, because their marketplace alone can sustain their economy, then they’ll move out to dominate other places.
“So you see, these boys are championing this course because the Igbo are being marginalised in this country. Okay, look at Nnamdi Kanu. The court has freed him. Why is he still being held? Can you give me one excuse on why he is still being held? It’s because he is Igbo. I’m telling you. That’s my opinion. That’s my personal opinion. They should tell us why.
“So, these boys, I’m going to talk to them to relax until after this election. I’m going to promise them how I’m going to turn the whole place around, how, I’m going to bring sanity into the polity.”
(Text excluding headline from whirlwindnews)
A.
-Aug. 25 2023 @ 14:48 GMT |
Tags: .Hope Uzodimma Attan Achonu Ndigbo. Nnamdi Kanu.
