Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has hailed Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, for his recent intervention in response to the quit notice to Igbos by Arewa youths.
He condemned the ultimatum and urged government to be on its toes to avoid being caught unawares.
Fayose also called for dialogue with the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu to douse the growing ethnic-based tensions in the country.
“As much as secession is not an option, the handlers of our democracy must be equitable, fair and just to everyone”, he said in a chat with newsmen yesterday.
“The Igbo have continued to suffer because of the perceived role of Emeka Ojukwu. If we say past governments didn’t do well what has the present government done differently?
“I agree that secession is not desirable but there must be justice and equity. When people are being killed or vilified, you must expect a reaction. No region should begin to use power to oppress another. If Nigeria is truly one, it will not get to a stage that one region will openly call on another to leave its land.
“The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is doing his best but that is not enough. We must remember that those who make positive change impossible make violent change inevitable. A situation where a section will be suffering forever because of their role in the civil war is not fair.
“The federal government must purge itself of some responsibilities because the actual development is at grassroots. The states and the local governments are nodal points of developments.
“The federal government should dialogue with the aggrieved and forge ahead. Using force will not help because some of those things they thought had died in the past are now rearing their ugly heads.
“It is no doubt that Kanu is representing the interest of the younger generation of Igbo. Instead of fighting him, they should release them and invite him for a dialogue.
“His struggle has become an ideological movement with massive followers irrespective of what some people are telling the federal government to curry a favour, which is momentary. By the action of this government they have made Kanu more popular.
“Without mincing words, the present government has divided Nigeria more than ever. It is the legitimate right of the people to agitate if they feel they are wrongly treated. You can’t get peace where there is no justice.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us. It is the wish of some people that an Igbo man does not become the president but this is against the spirit and letters of our constitution”, he stated.
