On Igbo day celebration 2022, the President general of Igbo Youth Assembly Worldwide, Comrade Casmir Nnadozie Irekamba on his message to Ndigbo, he urged Igbos to unite to achieve their goals and interests in the Nigerian project.
Comrade Irekamba, said the proof that God blessed Igbos is that everywhere they go, they prosper. He charged them to eschew rancour and bitterness and unite as people with one destiny and be their brother’s keeper as all-time as exemplified by their forbears.
According to President general of IYA Worldwide, if Igbos unite together as a people there is nothing they desire in Nigerian that can’t be achieved.
His words: ‘‘The proof that God blessed Igbos is that anywhere Igboman goes, he prospers. My appeal to Igbo is to let us strive to love ourselves. If we can love ourselves and help ourselves, as our ancestors did. If we love ourselves, there is nothing we want in Nigeria we cannot get.’’
Irekamba who lamented the gradual disappearance of Igbo language urged Igbos to take up the challenge of teaching the Igbo language to their children and enforcing it as a law in every family.
‘‘Igbos must first love themselves before looking for any other thing. The Igbo language is under threat. We Igbos should start fro our families to teach our children before the second language.
‘‘I urge Igbos anywhere to take it as a law to teach and inculcate Igbo in their languages so that the Igbo language will not go into extinction.’’
Igbo day celebration is building the Culture of Peace for socio-economic development, he said there was an urgent need for the actors in the Nigerian project to embrace peace for the common good of the populace.
This he said they must do by being conscious of the way they hand out patronage and infrastructure development and the way they react to the excesses of persons affiliated to them either ethnically and politically.
For him, the concept of being and let me be should be the driving force in the Nigerian project. He said
Comrade Irekamba says with restructuring, the issue of agitation will be addressed. Restructuring Nigeria will end the marginalisation of the SouthEast and South-South parts of this country.
“This problem which started for decades has not been addressed by successive governments and it is the reason for which we are experiencing this level of agitation in the country.
Restructuring would bring about even distribution of the resources in the country as well as address the issue of marginalisation and agitations.
said that the time has come for Igbo people to take a bold step and change their story for the better.
“Let me say this, restructuring of this country is long overdue. We have to know that restructuring Nigeria will bring about even distribution of appointments at the federal level among the six geopolitical zones. We wish to have a Nigeria where all citizens will be treated equally irrespective of tribe, religion and ethnicity.”
According to Comrade Irekamba: “We should have a united force to ask for what we want. The issue of restructuring did not start with the present administration it has been there for long. We have not approached the matter with passion.
“Restructuring will create a new face of Nigeria, restructuring means that you give every zone that which is due them.
Also the constitution of Nigeria must be a democratic constitution and not carried over from the military regime to civilian regime.
“Now for you to talk about restructuring, there is need to have one more state so that there will be a balance. If you restructure when we have not gotten one more state like others, then we will still remain marginalized. Igbo Youth Assembly Worldwide President stressed.
Ndigbo are highly misunderstood and until you come to an Igboman’s house, you will not know how hospitable he is.
