Igbo people living in Oyo State have called on the Federal Government to quickly organise a reconciliation meeting where all ethnic groups in Nigeria will sit together and discuss issues threatening the peace of the Federation.
The group, in a statement signed by Dr. Alex Alozie said “if Nigerians were given a better Nigeria, where justice, security of lives and property reign, Nigeria where there is no marginalisation, no corruption, no kidnapping, Nigeria, where all will have sense of belonging, nobody would want to leave Nigeria.”
They also called on all ethnic groups who have issued any form of quit notice to fellow Nigerians living in their region to withdraw the threats and prepare for extensive, roundtable discussion.
In a statement on Monday, the group said eminent Nigerian personalities who will be at the reconciliatory meeting will be “detribalised Nigerians who can positively contribute to oneness and progress of the country, peole like Sir Alex Ekwueme, Prof. Jerry Gana, Chief Emeka Ezeife, Sir Emeka Anyaoku, Prof Wole Soyinka, Lt. Col. Abubakar Umar (retd.) and Generals Theophilus Danguma and Alani Akinrinade.
The group also listed groups that will be at the meeting, where all stakeholders would be allowed to discuss their grievances in a peaceful atmosphere to include “the federal government team, led by the president and his deputy, Ohanaeze and their youths, Arewa Consultative Forum and their youths, Afenifere and their youths, the Middle Belt group, Niger Delta groups and the National Assembly leadership.”
Others are: “IPOB leadership, all the state governors, security chiefs and chairman of state traditional leaders.”
Meanwhile, the group has advised the federal government not to victimise any group as doing so would “worsen the security situation.”
They urged the federal government to extend the same treatment they did to Arewa youths’ leaders, who first called on Igbo to quit the North, to other groups.
They recalled that government had said it is being cautious about arresting personalities involved in the Arewa quit notice.
The group also distanced themselves from an online report credited to Nnamdi Kanu where he referred to Yoruba in derogatory terms. “All must not forget that unscrupulous individuals flood the online these days with so many lies and deceitful write-up in order to continue causing confusion in our country…”
But if he made the statement, we Ndigbo residing in all parts of yorubaland hereby openly dissociate ourselves from such disappointing statement.
“We have lived in yorubaland for many years, some of us up to 70 years and we have not had reason to think or refer to yoruba as fools.”
The federal government as father of all nIgerians should appeal for calm and ask all agitators to step down anger and come for a roundtable discussion, the statement added.