…Says All Regions Tried
By Ola Williams
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticized the notion that the Igbo should be denied the Nigerian presidency because of past attempts to secede.
He emphasized that all major ethnic groups in Nigeria, including the North and the West, had at one point considered breaking away from the nation.
“It pains me when people say an Igbo man cannot be president because of the secession attempt,” Obasanjo said during a meeting with the League of Northern Democrats, led by former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, at his Presidential Library in Abeokuta. “What nonsense? Every part of Nigeria has considered secession.”
Obasanjo pointed out that the North, through the concept of “Araba,” had also once pushed for separation. “What is ‘Araba’ in the North? The North planned to break up Nigeria,” he noted, referencing similar secession attempts in other regions.The former leader called for national unity, urging Nigerians to work together to build a stronger country. “None of us is better than the other.
Let us put our heads together and build a country together,” he said.Obasanjo also offered support to the League of Northern Democrats, provided the group adopts a national, rather than regional, approach.
