ATTENCAO

‘Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy. The Eastern Region must be encouraged to remain part of the Federation. If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation… A war against the East in which Northern soldiers are predominant, will only unite the Easterners or the Ibos against their attackers, strengthen them in their belief that they are not wanted by the majority of their fellow-Nigerians, and finally push them out of the Federation’.-Obafemi Awolowo, May 1st 1967 ‘Those who advocate the use of force for the settlement of our present problems should stop a little and reflect. If it is claimed that an attack on the East is going to be launched by the Federal Government and not by the North as such and that it is designed to ensure the unity and integrity of the Federation, two other insupe...

The South-East geo-political zone is not marginalised by the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari, Kaduna state governor, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufa’i said yesterday in London. The governor stated this in a speech at Chatham House on restructuring titled ‘Next Generation Nigeria: What Is Restructuring And Does Nigeria Need It?’ He explained that four of the five states in the zone had senior ministers in federal cabinet despite the fact that they gave the APC government just about five per cent of votes in the 2015 presidential election. Some states including Kaduna, which gave the party more than 90 per cent of votes, only have junior ministers (ministers of state), he said. He described the cries of marginalisation as “the narratives of losers,” who decided not to vote for the APC but now they don’t want to live with the consequences of their decisions. The governor listed fear of domination, resource control, fractious politics, weird leadership and national dissatisfaction am...