The youth wing of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo has berated leaders in the South East for convoking a meeting to discuss the challenges in the region without the youths.
A statement by the national publicity secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide-Youth Wing, Mazi Chika Art Adiele, said the stakeholders meeting without the participation of South-East youths confirms that their leaders are not serious about tackling the problem of the region.
The statement reads: “We have read with utter disappointment, a communique issued after a purported Southeast stakeholders’ meeting involving the governors of the Southeast, select political leaders, clergy and representatives from the traditional institution with the ludicrous exclusion of Southeast youths, and we wish to observe and the state as follows;
“1. That the convocation of this all-important meeting without any invitation extended to the youth Constituency in the Southeast is a clear indication that Southeast leaders have continued to hold the youths in inexplicable disdain.
“2. That the current security situation in the Southeast is as a result of the perennial disregard and neglect of Igbo youths by the leadership class, and the decision to convene such a meeting without any invitation extended to the youths or any reasonable youth group in the Southeast is a clear indication that these leaders are not sincere about solving the problem of the Southeast.
“3. That the problem of the Southeast cannot be solved without the youths being integral to discussions, plans and processes leading to such solutions.
“4. That the taking off of the Ebubeagu Security outfit is long overdue, but we wish to warn that this outfit cannot take off without the youths driving it from the formative stages. We, therefore, demand that the existing Committee charged with the responsibility of ensuring the takeoff of the Regional Security outfit is expanded to ensure adequate representation of youths on the committee.
“5. That should the Southeast leaders continue to relegate us to the affairs of the region, we shall have no other option but to resort to our own ideas in solving the problems of our region.
“6. That a new stakeholders meeting should be convened within the next seven days and invitations to the meeting extended to youth bodies in the Southeast. And until this is done, we refuse to recognize that any stakeholders meeting took place in the Southeast.”