Notwithstanding the outcome of the 2019 general elections, an Igbo cultural group is happy that the South-East people are united and speak with one voice

DESPITE the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections, Alaigbo Development Foundation, ADF, has said that the pattern of votes in the South-East showed that the region is united. Uzodinma Nwala, the president, ADF, said the votes indicated that the people are determined in the quest for self-determination and freedom from the artificial Nigerian federation.

The ADF in a statement signed by Nwala and Nath Aniekwu, the secretary, ADF, said the struggle of the region is not predicated on the outcome of the 2019 general elections. It noted that the outcome of the elections would underscore the reasons for the struggle and rejection of the artificial federation which has held the region in bondage since the amalgamation of 1914.

“The 2019 General Election in Nigeria has so far clearly demonstrated a high level of Igbo national unity and solidarity. We spoke through the ballot that we are one, one people one nation – from Abakaliki and Afigbo in Ebonyi State to Nsukka, Udi in Enugu State; from Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha in Anambra State to the entire Anioma Igbos in Delta State, from Anioma to Owerri, Oguta and Egbema in Imo State; from Elele, Ikwere and Port Harcourt in Rivers State; from Port Harcourt to Aba, Umuahia in Abia State, etc.

“It does not matter that our votes were deliberately reduced to less than half of its strength. We have demonstrated and affirmed the reality and autonomy of our region. We have also once more shown the world that Ndigbo have strong historical and political ties with our neighbours – the Okrika, Ijaw, Ibibio and Efik in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

“Recent events in the Nigerian federation have underscored the artificiality of the federation and the bondage in which various nations within it are held and subjugated. The Yoruba nation, the Tiv nation, the Edo nation, the Southern Kaduna, the Kanuris, the Ijaws, the Efik, Ibibio, etc, all are now singing the same song – longing for freedom and self-determination.

“Was it right for Ndigbo to have participated in the elections, knowing that it would be rigged? Our answer is definitely YES! We say yes to our brothers and sisters who think otherwise as well as to the internet warriors, political magicians and those whom we may call critical critics in our midst, who would want us to do otherwise. We are happy that at the last moment all the major stakeholders, pan-Igbo organizations and pro-Biafra groups in Alaigbo, all agreed we should participate.

“If we failed to participate, we shall have no political, legal or even moral right to question the manner in which the elections were organized or the outcome of the elections. On the other hand, the scandalous manner in which the outcome of the election was programmed in advance provides us and other aggrieved neighbours a very strong impetus to continue our struggle for self-determination and freedom. The fact that we participated has further justified our case that there is no democratic path to resolving the crises of unity and freedom within the Nigerian federation,” the group said.

– Mar. 1, 2019 @ 11:50 GMT |