The President-General, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo says recent happenings in Nigeria, portray her as a failed state democratically.
Nnia Nwodo gave the view at Umuagba Imezi-Owa, Ezeagu Council Area of Enugu State, during the final rites of passage for the late Justice Ezebuilo Ozobu.
The Ohaneze President General who identified some perceived marginalization stance of the ruling Northern leaders of the country stated that Nigeria no longer guarantees equal treatment for all her citizens.
“This is a country where you can carry firearms without a licence if you are Fulani herdsman, Hizbah Police or a member of the civilian JTF in the Northeast. A country where, if you are a Northern Fulani, you can exceed your term of office as Chief Of Army Staff or Chief Of Air Staff in violation of our established rules and laws. But if you are in Amotekun or neighbourhood watch in the Middle Belt of Eastern Nigeria, the Attorney General will turn himself into a curse and declare it illegal for you to operate let alone carry firearms.
“If you are from the Southeast and you are elected governor, the Supreme Court can allocate votes and take away your victory. This is a country where legislators abandon their political parties in the currency of their tenure in violation of extant court decisions and the Attorney General goes to sleep,” Nwodo lamented.
He warned that as a result of all these, Nigeria is failing economically, calling for a National Conference to jettison the constitution imposed on the country and restructure the nation’s political system.
According to him, if this is not done, what awaits the country ultimately is disintegration.
He eulogized the contributions of the late Justice Ozobu that charted the course for the success of successive leaderships of Ohaneze Ndigbo as well as his fearless and robust representation of Igbo grievances.
“Justice Ozobu gave our young people unrestrained support in the articulation of their grievances and the desire for greater self-governance. As we bury Justice Ozobu, I call on Ndigbo to rededicate themselves towards promoting the values and principles which he stood for. For us at the Ohaneze leadership, we pledge to intensify our efforts towards the service of Ndigbo in the remaining eleven months of our tenure,” Nwodo said.
The late Justice Ozobu was a Chief Judge of Enugu State before assuming the position of President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization in 2001.
He was also among the founders of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) alongside the late Dr. Dozie Ikedife of Anambra State and stood as surety for the over 1000 members of the Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), when they were arrested by police with the then leader of the group, Ralph Uwazuruike, in Enugu.
