ADF demands N3trn reparation for Igbo over Nigeria/Biafra Civil war
By John Okezie
A foremost Igbo think tank, Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), has asked the Federal Government to earmark N3 trillion for the South East Development Commission (SEDC) over a five-year period, as reparation for the losses suffered by Ndigbo during and after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War.
This was contained in a statement issued by the President of the group and former National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie.
In the statement entitled: “Nigeria, her canceric and malignant Igbophobic problem and Babangida’s journey in service”,
Awuzie said the fund, if approved, would be used for massive infrastructural development across the South East and resettlement of displaced Igbo communities scattered across the country following the war.
He said: “Since it is difficult to restore all the ‘abandoned properties’ of Ndigbo, especially in Port Harcourt and Lagos, we are demanding that the sum of N3 trillion be appropriated to the South East Development Commission (SEDC) over a period of five years.
“The money will serve as reparation for the destruction of Igbo lives and property during the Civil War and help resettle our kith and kin who were excised from the South East and now live in other states like Edo, Delta, Benue, and Kogi.”
ADF’s fresh demands followed revelations in former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida’s newly released memoir, ‘A Journey in Service’, where he cleared the air on the widely held belief that the January 1966 coup was an Igbo affair.
Babangida had stated that the coup was not ethnic-driven and had aimed to install Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Prime Minister.
Awuzie said the clarification from Babangida vindicated Ndigbo and exposed the decades-long marginalisation they have suffered as a result of the misrepresentation of the 1966 coup.
He said: “One of the unwritten codes of limitations operating against Ndigbo in Nigeria is the false narrative about the January 1966 coup. Now that the truth has come to light, we demand that a national consensus be reached to zone the 2027 presidency to the South East.
“Recall that in 1999, the presidency was ceded to the South West to placate the region over the annulment of the June 12 election. In like manner, Ndigbo deserve such honour if they are still wanted in Nigeria.”
The group also reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, citing selective justice.
“It is appalling that someone like Sunday Igboho, who made similar secessionist calls, has been allowed to walk free while Nnamdi Kanu remains in detention. Worse still, terrorists from Boko Haram and ISWAP have been granted pardon and reintegrated into the society. Why is Kanu’s case different?” Awuzie queried.
ADF also called for a public apology to Ndigbo by the Nigerian government, and the naming of a national monument after Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the man who oversaw the June 12, 1993 election, which Babangida himself acknowledged was won by Chief MKO Abiola.
