Northern Elders look to working with Iwuanyanwu; he lists education, economic revival among priorities
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu has been congratulated by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) over his appointment as Ohanaeze President General and says it looks to working with him to achieve national unity based on fairness and justice.
Iwuanyanwu was sworn into office on April 30 after the Ime-Obi ratified his nomination, and he has since listed the release of Nnamdi Kanu, education, and economic revival of the South East as his top priorities.
He has also extended a hand of fellowship to the Yoruba in the South West, explaining his comment about them in March was twisted by ethnicists to cause friction between the Yoruba and the Igbo who have peacefully co-existed for decades.
A statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by NEF Publicity and Advocacy Director Hakeem Baba-Ahmed counselled Iwuanyanwu on meaningful engagements to deal with vital issues.
“The Forum notes that he steps into shoes left by another distinguished Igbo leader, late Ambassador George Obiorzor, under whose leadership a number of engagements between the North and the East on a variety of key national issues were being discussed, with some promises of success,” Baba-Ahmed said, per Vanguard.
“We look forward to continuing these engagements in the interests of the nation, on the unvarying principle that no part of the country shall ask or receive what is unjust, unfair or illegitimate.
“The Forum further notes that … Iwuananyanwu is a distinguished and accomplished Nigerian whose tenure, hopefully, will mark a significant improvement in elite cohesion and national consensus that should see the country through the difficult stages it is going through.
“We at the Forum believe that an opportunity should be created where fundamental issues about our past and defining decisions regarding our future should be discussed as dispassionately as possible, and solutions found to them.
“We see … Iwuwanyanwu as leading Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide successfully through these discussions, in which the North will play its roles without preconditions or prejudice.
“The Forum wishes the new President a successful and productive leadership.”
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Iwuanyanwu prioritises Kanu’s release, education, economic revival
Iwuanyanwu listed the release of Kanu, education, and economic revival of the South East as his top priorities during his tenure, per Vanguard reporting.
Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been in detention in Abuja since June 2021 on alleged terrorism charges.
Iwuanyanwu spoke on Arise TV where he expressed deep concern over precarious security in the South East and stressed the release of Kanu would help restore peace to the zone.
He said he plans to convene a peace summit in the South East but explained the proposal may not work unless Kanu is released.
He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Kanu as his parting gift to Ndigbo before exiting power on May 29.
“Our position as Ohanaeze on Nnamdi Kanu is that justice should take its course. But now that the courts have tried him and discharged him, we feel there is no justifiable reason to still keep him in detention,” Iwuanyanwu said, per Vanguard.
“It’s a problem for us when Kanu is not released because he has a very strong followership. A lot of our young people who believe we are not getting what we should get from Nigeria support the agitation by Kanu.
“So, if Kanu is released, it will reduce the security problem we have in the South East.
Peace summit
“I intend to organise a peace summit where Ohanaeze will invite all the groups agitating for one thing or the other and make them embrace peace.
“But we can’t organise a peace summit if Kanu is still in detention. It won’t work especially when the courts have said he should be released.
“It is, therefore, our appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi as a gift to us before leaving office.”
Iwuanyanwu commended Buhari for his infrastructural projects in the South East, insisting that contrary to misconceptions in certain quarters, Buhari does not hate Ndigbo.
“We know that Buhari loves Ndigbo. I’m in touch with our state Governors and they told me many of the things he has done in their states.
“Buhari has done the Second Niger Bridge; Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway; he has approved the dredging of Ugwuta Lake which is a joint venture between the Imo State Government and the Nigerian Navy.
“So, I thank him and appeal to him to do us this one favour which is to release Nnamdi before leaving office on May 29. Every Igbo will be happy if he does that.”
Education, power generation
Iwuanyanwu disclosed he has commissioned a study on power generation in the South East, and would set up committees on education and economic revival.
He identified youth unemployment as a major challenge that Ohanaeze under his watch would aggressively tackle in partnership with Governors in the South East.
“Unemployment causes social unrest. We will work together with state Governors to address it.
“After the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, by 1960, Igbo had come top in education, economy, military, science and technology and so many areas.
“We have never had political power, yet we are highly advanced. So, I’m going to set up a council on education to find out what makes us strong in education and to improve on it. I will also set up a council on business to ensure our businessmen and women succeed.”
Revival of Nigercem Cement
He said he would also set up a committee to bring back on stream, the famous but moribund Nigercem Cement Industry in Nkalagu before the end of the year.
“The major raw material for cement is limestone, and we have it in abundance in the South East. So, I will set up a committee to ensure Nigercem Nkalagu begins production before the end of this year.
“I commissioned a study on power, and I got an amazing report that we can generate cheap power through coal.
“We have coal in abundance in Enugu. It’s one of the best in the world. So, we will explore that especially now that power has been brought to the concurrent list.”
Says his comment on Yoruba twisted
Iwuanyanwu cleared the air on his alleged anti-Yoruba comment in Awka which he said was twisted by mischievous elements to pit Yoruba against Ndigbo in the run-up to the general election.
He denied referring to the Yoruba as political rascals, explaining he only said those behind the unprovoked and senseless attacks against Igbo interests in Lagos are political rascals.
“Before the elections, we had complaints from the Igbo living in Lagos who felt threatened and unsafe, telling us that even in schools, their children face hostilities because they are Igbo.
“So, I called some Yoruba leaders who even condemned the action. I was convinced that there were no problems whatsoever between the Igbo and Yoruba but the people I describe as political rascals are the ones causing the problem for personal motives.
“As a leader, I told them: Don’t be afraid. Stay in Lagos; the Yoruba are our friends and brothers. Chief [Obafemi] Awolowo showed love to a lot of Igbo. As a young man, I visited him when I was nursing my presidential ambition, and he blessed me.
“The Yoruba are good. The late Moshood Abiola was my very good friend. I knew [Bola] Tinubu through him. So, I was surprised to see that somebody manipulated the story out of mischief.
“If you listen to the video, you will discover there is a gap between ‘Yoruba’ and ‘political rascals’ [in my comment]. Somebody who wanted to cause a crisis between the Yoruba and the Igbo mischievously cut off part of my remark to twist the comment.
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“It was [former Senator] Shehu Sani who first discovered this and drew the attention of people that it was fabricated. I thank him for that.
“People should be careful what they hear. Fraud has reached an advanced stage in Nigeria. Mischief makers twist people’s fair comments to implicate them, and this is very sad.”