Preamble 

We the members of the Igbo Diaspora Leadership Caucus (IDLC) have been watching,

with deep interest, the deliberative dialog at the ongoing National Confab. As we understand it, this confab is meant by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to discuss the troubling problems of Nigeria, most of which were direct results of geopolitical imbalances created by preceding administrations’ policies and are currently being exacerbated by religious differences and the desire of some ethnic nationalities to lord it over other ethnopolitical interest groups in in the polity. With increasing frequency, these ill-advised schemes, general decline in socioeconomic fortune of the average Nigerian and widespread perception of inequity in sharing national largesse have resulted in lawlessness, violence and needless loss of lives.

It is incontrovertible that the pogroms perpetrated against the Igbo in the former North and West, the resultant Civil War and decades of military misrule marked the historical watershed when the giant of Africa, Nigeria, lost its way and began the aimless drift that persists till date. Heightened insecurity that abounds nationwide, be it the escalating spate of armed robbery and kidnapping in some Southern states, the deadly menace of Fulani cow herders in virtually all sections of Nigeria far beyond their habitual domain and of course, the Boko Haram murderous Jihadist-terror campaign all combine to threaten the very existence of Nigeria. Ours is a nation blessed with all manner of natural and human resources but has woefully failed to thrive culturally, technologically and economically for reasons that everyone has now come to understand too well.

We are also in shock to learn that even with the urgent need to restructure Nigeria through this National Confab in order to offer the generality of Nigerians equal access to gainful opportunities, some of the same actors responsible for many of Nigeria’s ongoing problems appear not to have learned anything from the past. In fact, they are firmly entrenched in their old ways – determined to block every avenue to peace and progress through thoughtless rejection of sensible proposals by many confab delegates, including the Igbo contingent, to bring about the much needed changes and thus to provide Nigeria with another fresh lease on life.

RESOLUTIONS
In view of the aforementioned issues, we the members of Igbo Diaspora Leadership Caucus (IDLC) resolve and charge the Igbo delegates to the National Confab to declare as follows:

 

1.   The unity of Nigeria can only be assured through a concerted national effort and commitment to building a just, secular and prosperous nation.

2.   Regionalism, with the 6 geopolitical units acting as the federating units of Nigeria, is the true and practical way forward for our nation’s development; whereby each Region and its states are free and autonomous enough to implement development programs of their choice. We don’t expect anything less from this Confab.

3.   There must be boundary readjustments to reverse the arbitrary actions by erstwhile governments that deliberately and with malice, carved out Igbo territories to other states and geopolitical zones.

4.   The 50% resource-control espoused by the South is the epitome of natural justice and must be adopted by the National Conference.

5.   The law on possession of firearms must be enforced. Specifically, we reject the practice whereby some militants of a particular ethnic group roam around Nigeria with AK 47s, intimidating and murdering fellow Nigerians, ruining theirs farms, committing unspeakable crimes against women and children; and we task the Police and Army (in all cases) to disarm, arrest and prosecute these law breakers who operate with all manner of despicable agenda.

6.   All decisions made at the National Confab must be affirmed through referendum within the respective 6 geopolitical zones and not to be tabled before the National Assembly (NASS) which is, of course, predicated on the 1999 Constitution.

We wish Nigeria the best of fortunes as it navigates through these trying and difficult times.

Signed:

1. Mr. Collins Ezebuihe	19. Mr. Chudi Asidianya
2. Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze	20. Mr. Vitalis Nwanne
3. Dr. Okenwa Nwosu	21. Prof. Chuka Ndubizu
4. Mr. Amadiebube Robert Mbama	22. Dr. Greg Ukaegbu
5. Mr. Vincent Erondu	23. Mr. Onyeze Uka Okoro Onuma
6. Dr. Owen Owunwanne	24. Mr. Cyril Nwaguru
7. Dr. David Iloani	25. Mr. Echiemeze Chizekene Ofili
8. Mr. Christian Onuorah	26. Vincent Otuonye, Esq.
9. Dr. Stephen Uche	27. Rev. Dr. Columba Nnorom
10. Okechukwu Mbonu, Esq	28. Mr. Macauley Ogbu
11. Hon. Nkiru Onyema	29. Mr. Ugo Harris Ukandu
12. Dr. Laur Onyekwere	30. Dr. Emma Obiakor
13. Dr. Kenneth Akwuole	31. Mr. Chris Nwakobi
14. Prof. Okechukwu Paul Oranika
15. Mr. Oliver Nwankwo
16. Mr. Mike Ndukwe
17. Mr. Patrick Mbanefo
18. Prince Nkemka Onuma