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Prof.
Ben Nwabueze
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The Igbo Leaders of
Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities led by foremost
constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has said that corruption is not
Nigeria’s primary problem. The Igbo leaders stressed that while President Muhammadu
Buhari engages in the fight against corruption, he should equally address other
critical problems, particularly what they described as the ‘Nigerian question’
– the dysfunctional federal system practiced in the country.
Nwabueze
made the group’s feelings known after an extensive meeting in Enugu.
The
Igbo Leaders of Thought, comprising mostly elder statesmen, stressed that other
vital issues like poverty, illiteracy and security should not be neglected
because of the campaign against corruption.
The Punch report continues:
Speaking
to journalists, Nwabueze, however, observed that the current preoccupation with
the anti-corruption campaign had unfortunately relegated other serious national
challenges to the background.
The
Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, “Everybody is thinking that all that we need
is to fight corruption; it is important, but it is not our primary problem.
“There
are other issues that are even more important than corruption.
“We
have the question of illiteracy, the question of poverty, the question of
security.
“As
important as the war against corruption is, we are of the view that there are
other issues that overshadow corruption.
“Another
issue is what we call the national question.”
Shedding
further light on the ‘national question’, Nwabueze said Nigeria was not a
nation.
He
said the Federal Government must take necessary steps to ensure that Nigeria
becomes a nation, rather than a mere state.
He
said, “The national question means the problem of evolving Nigeria into a
nation.
“Nigeria
is not a nation; it is a state.
“We
all want to belong to that state but we deceive ourselves always by thinking
and painting the picture that we are already a nation; we are not.”
Nwabueze
spoke of the need to integrate the over 389 ethnic nationalities that make up
the country.
According
to him, almost every Nigerian will be happy to see the country unite.
In
the same vein, the Igbo leaders urged Buhari to execute the anti-corruption war
without neglecting the rule of law.
“Fight
corruption; fight it relentlessly but that fight should be subject to
constitutional limitations, especially limitations arising from the federal
system.
“The
federal system is a conspicuous device to limit power.
“If
you do away with the limitations on power arising from the federal system, we
will be in trouble; graver trouble than the trouble of corruption,” he said.
The
group also demanded the immediate relocation of the detained Boko Haram
suspects transferred to Ekwulobia prisons in Anambra State.
Some of the Igbo leaders at
the meeting were: Col. Ben Gbulie (retd.), Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, Senator Anyim
Ude, Evengelist Eliot Uko and Prof. Lawrence Ocho.
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