Focus on restructuring Nigeria – Iwuanyanwu tells Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has been asked to concentrate on reorganising Nigeria and drafting a true federal constitution by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

In an interview with Arise Television on Wednesday, Iwuanyanwu made this appeal.

He claimed that the purpose of the peace committee that Ndigbo formed was to dispel misconceptions and stop the alleged unfair treatment of Igbo people by other Nigerian tribes.

Iwuanyanwu stated, "That particular government had a constitution, a true federal constitution," in response to the question of whether a federal constitution was necessary. A constitution that would truly work and be beneficial to a people with a diverse background like the Nigerian people, without causing them great hardship. In 1960 and 1963, we had a genuine federal constitution, and that was effective for us.
They later adopted a military constitution, which is incorrect. That's the reason why the people of Igbo land are pleading for a true federal constitution. We currently have a unitary government in place. It is ineffective when applied to individuals from varied backgrounds.

"In my opinion, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration ought to move forward with this plan to restructure Nigeria. Nigeria cannot survive without a proper restructuring; without it, its problems will only worsen. All the talk these days is about the presidency. The presidency won't be as well-known in a reorganised Nigeria as it is now, he claimed.

Regarding the supposed hostility directed at Igbos, Iwuanyanwu stated that since the recent Presidential elections, there had been unfair treatments towards Igbos.
"Igbo buildings were being demolished in various places with excuses," he said abruptly following the elections. After looking into the demolitions in Lagos, for instance, it is evident to me that some of them did not adhere to the legal procedures of any civilised society.

"We are going to produce our own story about the events in Nigeria from 1966," he said in reference to the peace committee that was established in order to end the prejudice that exists between the Ndigbo and other Nigerians. To preserve the history of the Igbo people, we plan to publish a book in Nigeria for future generations.

"Because a young Northerner today, for instance, will believe that Igbos hate Northerners because they killed two of the North's greatest leaders, it’s not true. But when we put our story, this community will put up a story, it will be clear position is.”
Iwuanyanwu claims that in order to mediate any issues that may arise between the Igbos and other ethnic groups in Nigeria, the committee is also scheduled to speak with the leaders of other ethnic groups to learn about their concerns and disagreements with Ndigbo.