SAN FRANCISCO, September 19, (THEWILL) – Northern governors have blamed politicians in the South-East for the poor state of infrastructure and underdevelopment in the zone, disclosing that the Igbo who occupied top federal positions before now used such offices for ephemeral and selfish gains.
Noting that the challenges confronting the country were created by the elite for personal aggrandisement, they stated that the poor performance of the Igbo in positions of authority in the past are responsible for the plight of public utilities in the South-East, not marginalisation.
The visiting governors led by Borno governor, Kashim Shettima, who is also chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, decried the poor state of major roads in the South-East, but said politicians from the zone “are only interested in pocketing the resources that would have been used in developing the zone at the detriment of the people”.
The visit of the team, which included Governors Aminu Masari of Katsina, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi and Simon Lalong of Plateau, was to “reassure their counterparts in the South-south and South-east that all Nigerians are free to stay in all parts of the country, especially in the North, and that the entire North stands with the people of South-east in this period of heightened tension”.
Their truce tour, which took off in Port Harcourt on Monday, moved to Umuahia, the Abia State capital, before arriving in Owerri, where they met with Igbo and Hausa leaders at the Government House.
The governors argued that the challenges in the South-East was not as a result of marginalisation as erroneously believed, pointing out that Igbo had occupied exalted positions like Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senate President and many others but that the occupiers of those positions failed to utilise same for the public good.
Shettima said, “You can take for instance the case of Nnamdi Kanu who is an ordinary criminal. When he was arrested, senators from the Southeast were falling head over heels to bail him for what they could gain at the detriment of national unity and peaceful coexistence.
“The problem of Nigeria is we the elite who are fanning the embers of hatred and disunity for selfish reasons. The country is passing through a grim and sober moment and by working together, we can get Nigeria to work again.
“We are here to thank our colleagues in the Southeast for standing on the part of peace and national unity. All we need is tolerance, justice and generosity of mind to move the country forward”.
The Northern governors however commended the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha for his “uncommon and consistent” support for the unity of the nation, describing him as a detribalised Nigerian.
“Governor Okorocha has been dehumanised and branded all sorts of names for insisting on one indivisible Nigeria but he has remained unshaken in his faith in the unity of the country. We salute his sense of patriotism and his style of leadership, he is the kind of leader that Nigeria needs.”
On his part, Tambuwal said, “Nigeria is not a mistake. Nigeria is a special creation we all must continue to strive to make it work. And for us to continue to coexist harmoniously, we must have respect for each other. We must respect each others’ culture because respect begets respect.”
