Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora are shocked at the unprovoked vituperations from Itse Sagay in the Daily Independent Newspaper. The horrible vitriolic based on lies and ethnic prejudice is probably designed to endear Sagay to Aso Villa, and also deepen ethnic hatred in the land.
First, he lied when he claimed Igbo Leaders were sponsoring the Biafra agitation. Truth is, the Biafra Agitators are more angry with Igbo leaders than with any one else. The younger generations of the oppressed peoples of Eastern Nigeria are merely reacting to decades of oppression. Sagay Lied.
He also claimed Igbo occupied 50% of Federal positions under Jonathan. The Igbo have never occupied up to 20% of Federal position of any government in Nigeria. Again he lied.
He is giving the public the impression he belongs to the group of Nigerians who believe they will shine only when Ndigbo are shoved out of the way (i.e. 1966-1970). He accused Ndigbo of “rigging and opportunism and lack of principles”. Such blanket abuse and the unguided generalization is not a character trait the highly respected Itshekiri nation are known for, that leaves everybody wondering what could really be the motive behind the general insults on the Igbo race by Sagay.
Sagay claims he knows what Ndigbo deserves and what they don’t deserve, concluding that Ndigbo should be “out of contention in the present administration”.
Everybody is at pains, to really comprehend why it is so important to Sagay that Ndigbo are placed in his own words “OUT OF CONTENTION IN THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION”. Is he intimidated, mushroomed and out-classed by Igbo intellectuals to the extent he believes, he will only get noticed when Ndigbo are sidelined completely?
He actually sounded as if he is bitter about God’s endowment on Ndigbo and would wish Ndigbo banned from public life in Nigeria. We would like to remind him (just in case he claims he doesn’t know) that the Biafra agitation came about as a result of the continued refusal of a powerful group in Nigeria to enthrone true federalism which has been agreed by Nigerians at all the national conferences ever held in Nigeria.
That Sagay claims ignorance about the chocking and suffocating effects of the current unworkable unitary structure is shocking. That he manufactures a reason (accommodation into Buhari’s dinner table) for the Biafra agitation without bothering to hear from IPOB, MASSOB and other youth groups behind the agitation is idiotic.
His blanket insult on the mighty Igbo race, laced with outright falsehood and insinuation is unwarranted and unfortunate. He probably believes that the government he adores have struck so much fear and terror into the hearts of Nigerians, that nobody would point out his folly to him, in that case he only succeeded in disappointing Nigerians and diminishing himself.
We would like to use this opportunity to remind General Buhari that Nigerians and the international community are closely monitoring the goings on in the INDEFINITE DETENTION culture that have made a comeback to our polity after three decades. Of special interest is the Nnamdi Kanu and Sheik Zakzaky imbroglio.
As the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Sultan led JIN and other Muslim groups put pressure for the release of Sheik Zakzaky, Nigerians are closely watching between Kanu, whose unconditional release has been ordered by two courts in the land and the Sheik who will be first released by General Buhari.
His decision on the two cases, will go a long way in confirming whether he is the unbiased messiah his supporters claim he is or the sectional warrior, his opponents claim he is. The weeks and months ahead, will confirm his place in history.
Evang. Elliot Uko is the founder: Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) and Leader South-East Democratic Coalition
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