‘Violent Protests Will Not Lead To Meaningful Progress, I Don’t Support Igbo Secession’ – Gov Soludo
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has called for a dialogue on the future of the Igbo people, emphasising the need to openly discuss issues surrounding separatist agitations.
Soludo, who hails from southeast Nigeria, where there has been agitation for secession, stated that he does not subscribe to separatist views or agitation for an independent Igbo nation.
In an appearance on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics” programme monitored by SaharaReporters, Soludo emphasised the importance of engaging in honest dialogue with all stakeholders, including those calling for secession.
“I want us to have a conversation,” he said. “I have said why I need Nnamdi Kanu to come and sit with everybody else because nobody has better rights than the other.”
Soludo stressed the need for inclusivity and debate, stating, “We are all Igbos and are all entitled to our views, and those of them who want us out of Nigeria, we will all sit in a room and debate it: are we served better being out of Nigeria or within Nigeria?”
The governor highlighted the economic interdependence between the Igbo people and Nigeria, saying, “I am of the view that the Igbo man needs Nigeria and Nigeria needs the Igbo man. I am of the view that the Igbo man needs Africa and Africa needs the Igbo man, and I am of the view that the Igbo man needs the world.”
Soludo also emphasised the importance of peaceful progress, describing the Igbo people as itinerant, hardworking, and tolerant
“Intolerance or violent protests will not lead to meaningful progress,” he said.
“We are in everybody’s village, and itinerant people cannot afford to be intolerant people. That’s my view for those who are going on a failed protest. I am the governor of a state, and mine is to govern,” he said.
”Social activists do their own job, and I will do my own job. I have had my say, and in the way that I do so, and there is a process for it to get through.
The governor expressed optimism that Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will eventually regain his freedom.
“When Nnamdi Kanu comes out, thus we believe, ultimately he will come out, and when he comes out, we will all sit down at a round table and interrogate our alternative visions for Igbo land,” he said.
“My vision is that we should build a liveable and prosperous homeland so that, as itinerant people, wherever you go and don’t find comfort, you have a liveable and prosperous homeland to return to,” Soludo added.
