Buhari Did Everything To Subjugate Igbos” – Edwin Clark

Chief Edwin Clark, the head of the Ijaw Nation, claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari had taken all necessary steps to enslave the Igbo people of southeast Nigeria.

Clark went on to say that under his administration, Buhari made appointments that did not include people from the Southeast.

In a letter to President Bola Tinubu, Clark made this claim and noted that, despite the region’s three oil-producing states—Abia, Anambra, and Imo States—Buhari had not appointed any South Easterners to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation board.

According to Clark, Buhari gave the South East zone less than 1% of a $22.7 billion loan, while other regions received larger percentages. The former president also neglected to designate service chiefs who were from the area.

“President Buhari did everything to subjugate the Igbos for reason best known to him. Perhaps it may be necessary to cite some examples; the NNPC board which he constituted when he came into office had 9 members, 1 from the South-West, 1 from South-South, and no member from the South-East, even though 3 South-East states; Abia, Anambra and Imo are oil producing states; the remaining members including his Chief of State came from the North, a non-oil producing region.

“However, he later tried to amend it when he appointed Sen Ifeanyi Ararome as chairman of the second board; and he later replaced him with Margery Chuba-Okadigbo before he took office. He (Senator Ifeanyi Ararome) took the matter to court and won but the situation has not changed.

“Also, when President Buhari attempted to obtain loans from foreign financial institutions that exceeded 30% of the GDP which was not in the interest of the country; and the loan of $22.7 billion (USD), of which less than 1% of the amount was to be allocated to the South-East zone while other zones were allocated higher percentage for infrastructural projects, is a violation of the constitutional requirement to ensure a balanced economic development of Nigeria in accordance with President Buhari’s Oath of Office. In President Buhari’s 17-man security chiefs, 14 of them came from the North and only 3 from the South excluding the Igbos from the South East,” the letter read.

In addition, Clark said that Tinubu’s administration had not stopped the “discrimination and injustice” against the Igbo people, pointing out that although Tinubu appointed ten ministers from the Southwestern region, only six had been appointed from the South, and that there was no excuse for the exclusion.

“Mr President, even in your administration, the discrimination and injustice against the Igbos has not abated. The old Eastern Region and the old Western Region, to which I belonged, were equal competitors and partners before and during the First and Second Republic but today, you have appointed 10 Yorubas as Ministers from the South-West, and only five (5) Ministers from the South-East, and you even failed to give them the ministerial appointment due to their region that would have made it six (6) Ministers. There is no justification for this grave omission and no effort has been made to correct it,” he added.

The elder statesman demanded that Tinubu reorganise the nation right away if he wanted it to stay united. In addition, he demanded that the 600 recommendations in the 2014 National Conference Report be put into practice and that the Igbo people take a stance and rightfully claim their rights.

“Now that the elections are over, we must face the restructuring of this country. I repeat the immediate restructuring of Nigeria must be carried out if this country is to remain one, and I appeal to Mr President to take immediate action to implement the historic 2014 National Conference Report which submitted 600 recommendations to the Presidency on how to Buhari did everything to subjugate Igbos during his administration” – Edwin Clark.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli