Mr. speaker sir,
Honourable members of
Anambra state House of assembly.
I am delighted to be
here in this honourable house to share thoughts with you on a number of issues
confronting our people in this state and Igbo land as a whole.
Anambra state is
outstanding amongst the various states in Igboland. I have in facts held
in many quarters that Anambra claims more than 50% of blessings the Almighty
God showered on Igbo people. Let me give a few examples.
1. The only Igbo man
that has been president of Nigeria ( even if ceremonial) H.E. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi
Azikiwe is from Anambra.
2. The only Igbo man
that have ever attained the exalted office of elected vice president of Nigeria
Dr. Alex Ekwueme is from Anambra.
3. An Anambra son, Dim
Odimegwu Ojukwu is the only Igbo man to have been referred to as Head of
state of Republic of Biafra.
4. Of all Igbo states,
no state has produces two Senate presidents ( Dr. Best Of Orizu and Dr. Chuba
Okadigbo) except Anambra state.
5. Similarly no Igbo
state is yet to beat the record of Anambra state in producing two speakers of
the federal house of representatives namely Chief Edwin Umezuoke and
Chief Agunwa Anakwe.
6. In the international
political arena the only Nigerian that has occupied the office of the secretary
General of the Commonwealth is from Anambra state, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
In all fields of
learning and enterprise Anambra' s distinction is unparalleled. In ICT Philip
Emegwali, in Literature , Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Chimamamda Adichie
stand out significantly. I shall not bore you with more names in
commerce and industry and other fields of endeavour. But suffice it to
say that Anambra state is outstanding in Igbo land.
Today Anambra has the
lowest poverty index in Nigeria. Today Anambra has the highest growth rate of
manufacturing outfits in Nigeria. Today Anambra has the highest growth of
import substitute endeavours in rice and vegetable production in Nigeria.
Today Anambra is the state with the lowest loan exposure in Nigeria with
capacity to meet its monthly publications to its workers timeously. Today
Anambra and Lagos are the only states involved in the building of new cities
planned to meet the standard of any modern city in the world.
It's edge over Lagos is
that it is also building along with this modern city , an international airport
with the capacity for passengers and cargo haulage. In Onitsha every village in
Igbo land is represented in burstling and highly competitive commercial
transactions.
Anambra is important to
the Igboland. Anambra is important to Ohaneze.
News that reached us in
the past few days that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB has declared that there
will be no election in Anambra state in November is shocking and
disturbing. I hereby countermand that declaration as President of Ohaneze
Ndi Igbo.
Whereas Ohaneze
understands the marginalization and unfair treatment of Igbos which have given
rise to self-determination movements in Igboland, leaders of these movements
must not arrogate to themselves the supreme leadership of Igbo land.
Statement of the kind of credited to Nnamdi Kanu are provocative,
misleading and unproductive. Why should Anambra people be denied the
opportunity to choose their own leader? Why should any of us who are not from
Anambra , no matter how highly placed, descend to the arena and dictate for
Anambra people when to vote , Whether to vote or who to vote for?
Anambra, nay Igbos, are
still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy
with our treatment in Nigeria. Yes, some of us want Biafra. Yes some of us
prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we
are still part and parcel of the present federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by
its laws, no matter how repressive or injust. Our approach to reforms of our laws even if it leads to
self-determination or restructuring must be lawful.
We must convince other
Nigerians of our points of views, we must strive to make others share our
concoctions. Our language must be civil, respectful and leads to
consensus building. We must resist any attempt to turn division amongst us, as
to which way we must go, becoming a source of altercation between us. As we
speak very many of our people living in Northern Nigeria are in complete
awe and consternation regarding how safe they will be after October 1st. Other Northerners living among us here are also
worried. The Inspector General of police has taken public notice of
Nnamdi's comments inviting a possible invasion of Anambra by the Nigerian
police, increasing the already existing siege of our people which leads to
daily extortion on our highways. All these developments have arisen out of
unguarded utterances.
I find no venue
suitable for the statements I make here. Every constituent part of Anambra
state is represented here. I believe that the honourable members here are
competent enough to carry the Ohaneze message to every nook and cranny of
Anambra state. We are happy with the peace that exists here. We are happy
with the steady progress Anambra has registered over the years. The next
election can only improve not retard it.
I thank you for your
kind attention.
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