The Senator representing Abia South senatorial district in Abia State, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has claimed the Igbos are the most disenfranchised and marginalised people in Nigeria.
Naija News reports that the Senator made this known in Abuja on Saturday during a public presentation of a book: “The power of Nothing: Triumph And Trump Of People’s Voice In Enugu”, written by Ikem Okuhu.
Abaribe, who was represented at the occasion by Senator representing Aba North/South Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, said there is an imbalance within the nation’s political environment.
The Senator insisted that allocating only five states to the Southeast is unfair.
He also called on Nigerian citizens and politicians to embrace the optimism to make the country better.
He said, “I would like to say a few things about the Igbos. We Igbos believe in progressivism, and the concept of patriotism and nationalism.
“And this is why you will see an Igbo man pack up his bag and leave his village to Bauchi to set up shops, buy a piece of land, build a house, and become an employer of labour. That in itself, for me, is nationalism, patriotism and progressivism.
“That’s why the Igbo man has that enthusiasm in him to develop, to be progressive, and to remain optimistic. That’s why I said that optimism is a virtue every Nigerian and politician must embrace so that Nigeria will always be better.
“A lot of people might not like what I want to say, the Igbos, we are the most disenfranchised and marginalized. But all we try to do and encourage our brothers is to support one another because it’s highly needed.”
Speaking about the book by Okuhu, which chronicled the events leading to and after the 2023 gubernatorial election, Abaribe urged Nigerians to engage in politics and government policies.
He added, “Today we are having a conversation about tax reform. It’s a subject matter that’s on the front burner.
“If the bill is passed that means every activity that relates to your business will be affected. So when you say you’re not interested in politics, you’re doing yourself and family a great disservice.
“Our president, when he was elected, on the day of his inauguration made a statement and said that subsidy is gone.
“Immediately, the effect of that statement became something that has put us in an economic quagmire.
“This goes to show that politics plays a very intricate role in all our lives. That’s why we must be enthusiastic, eager and receptive to anything that relates to lessons that can be learned from the mistakes of the past.
“It’s only when you identify your problem, you identify the conundrum of the political system that you can then begin also to identify the clinical solutions of how those problems can be tackled.
“There are things that happened, there are people that believe they have built alliances, there are people that gave their words but at the end of the day, those agreements were breached. This is a lesson every politician must learn.”
