CONFAB: Ndigbo warns against sending politicians to represent them

                         
R-L: Prof Soludo, Sen Ken Nnamani, Chief Simeon Okeke, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Achike Udenwa, Dr Sam Egwu, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, and Senator Ben Obi outside the Hotel Concorde, Owerri venue of the Igbo Summit.

AS PREPARATIONS for the National Conference intensify, Ndigbo have been warned not allow politicians to represent them at the Confab so that their interest would not be traded off by politicians who are always mindful of their personal interests.

Also, the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, Ohaneze Ndigbo has been urged not to dabble into politics but to allow the Prof. Ben. Nwabueze led Igbo Leaders of Thought to articulate the position of Ndigbo for the conference.

According to a prominent Igbo leader and nominee of the World Igbo Congress to Igbo Leaders of Thought committee for the articulation of Igbo position, Engr. Obi Thompson Oyibo, the warning became necessary following what he saw as betrayal of Igbo interest by Igbo members of the Senator Okorumnu committee which went round to gather views of Nigerians on the conference.

He said that Igbo Leaders of Thought is made up of selfless and prominent Igbo people who have the interest of their people at heart and should be allowed to marshal out the position of Ndigbo at the conference.

Oyibo warned that Ndigbo should not repeat the mistake they made in 1998 when patriotic Ndigbo had apathy for politics making way for those he described as “gamblers, insincere and fraudsters” to dabble into politics to represent Ndigbo.

He said that Ndigbo would lose out if the selection of membership of the National Conference is done based on Federal Constituency basis, insisting that the best representative that would take care of the Igbo interest would be by ethnic representation.

Oyibo also expressed worry over the squabbles in the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo, saying that it was very wrong for the apex Igbo socio-cultural body to be washing its dirty linen in public, which he said was an embarrassment to respected Igbo leaders.

“I feel ashamed and insulted that Igbos are washing our dirty linen in public. Ohaneze is a socio-cultural leadership of Ndigbo not political leadership. Ohaneze should not be dragged into politics. There are so much for Ohaneze to do to correct the current malaise in Igboland.

“An organization so divided can’t hold Igbos together. Igbo Leaders of Thought should be allowed to lead the way in articulating the Igbo position in the national Conference”, Oyibo insisted.