Governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 2019 election in Lagos State, Chief Owolabi Salis, has said the marginalisation of the Igbo and other minorities is a potential time bomb that can cause incalculable damage to the country.
The lawyer-cum chartered accountant, in a statement on the persistent agitation, said it had become expedient to confront the challenge once and for all in the national interest.
Salis, who is also a diversity expert and holder of the traditional title of Onyeama Ndigbo Gburugburu of Etiti Mgboko, Abia State, said no nation brushes aside the issue of marginalisation and realises its potential.
According to him, this is the reason the issue of Igbo and other minorities’ marginalisation has continued to raise its ugly head from the 60s to the 70s to date.
Said Salis, “No nation pushes the issue of marginalisation under the carpet and sleeps with her two eyes closed because it is an issue that will not go away without justice
“For there to be unity in Nigeria, we must restructure the country to eradicate discrimination in our political and economic life.
“My late uncles, Adeniran Ogunsanya, TOS Benson and Prof Ayodele Awojobi, who were icons in the country, shared the same views against marginalisation in the 60s, 70s, and 80s politics and I still remember their words of wisdom as a young man till today
“Thankfully, President Bola Tiunbu, acclaimed democrat, activist, and advocate of restructuring, is now in the saddle and has the opportunity to practice what he has been preaching.
“This is an opportunity for him to write his name in gold by removing the hate and distrust that has been with us all along, bringing about fairness, equity, and justice across the board.
“Thankfully, the National Assembly has told the world that it would cooperate with this President and is even proposing the creation of Orlu State to bring the South East at par with other zones .’’