The Speaker of the Parliament, Rt. Hon. Rikki Nwajiofor, gave the advice in a message to mark the New Year.
Nwajiofor, while noting that Nigeria was a collective project that required the support of every region to succeed, urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd)-led government to learn from the mistakes of 2022 and forge a more united country for all.
The message read in part, “To ensure the continued indivisibility of this great nation and to strengthen our unity, we call on the FG to learn from the mistakes of last year, in some issues that were wrongly handled, and make frantic efforts within this year 2023 to dialogue with all aggrieved parties/groups/regions and address all issues, patriotically.
“Not all issues are addressed with forceful approach cum punitive measures. Some issues are better solved via dialogue and sensitisation. There is a need for a concerted effort to strengthen the economy of our great nation and ensure that our naira gains its pride once again.
“The year 2022 has come and gone but not without untold hardships, economic quagmire and unprecedented security challenges experienced by millions of Nigerians. We appreciate all the patriotic Nigerians, especially the youths, who persevered and remained patriotic even in the face of unabated insecurity and untoward hardship across the nation.
“We immensely appreciate our security personnel, especially the gallant patriotic ones, who are at the battlefield sacrificing their freedom, their sleep and even their lives so that we may sleep in peace and be secured. We sincerely condole with the families of all those who lost their lives in the fight against terrorism, banditry, insurrection, kidnapping and the likes. May the dead enjoy blissful rest, and may the heartless murderers never know peace in life and in death.
“Having critically analysed the events of 2022, there is no gainsaying the fact that our dear country, Nigeria, needs our collective support to succeed. Nigeria cannot succeed if we do not contribute our individual quotas in our various sectors, professions and communities. The status quo of our great nation notwithstanding, we are highly convinced and confident that the unity of this great nation is sacrosanct.
“We appeal to all our brethren from the Igbo speaking states to rise against the current menace of insecurity in our region. The enemies have infiltrated our land, capitalising on the loopholes created by “Biafran agitators” to unleash mayhem on our people in the name of unknown gunmen. We are fast losing the grips of tranquillity and peace in our once fun-filled and thriving South-East. It is time to remove the hands of the monkey from the soup before it turns into human hands. If we do not rise up against this hydra-headed monster brewing in our region, we shall all live to regret our actions and inactions.”
The youth parliament also harped on the need for Igbo nation to remain in Nigeria, saying, “0ne thing is to be noted, secession is not the solution to the underdevelopment witnessed in the South-East. Some of the architects of our underdevelopment and seeming marginalisation are from our region – they are our brethren and they live with us. Thus, even if we secede today, these architects of our problems are still going to be there with us and will still be in charge of our political affairs, if we do not change the tide now.
“We encourage our good-spirited patriots from Igbo speaking states, especially the youths, to participate fully and actively in politics in 2023, with the aim of ushering in an unprecedented development in our region. Charity begins at home, let us ensure that whatever resources meant for the betterment of our communities and our region are patriotically utilised for the development of our region. Let us ensure that our people have a feel of the dividends of democracy and let us hold our politicians accountable for our common patrimony and allocations.
“It is only when we evenly and patriotically make use of the allocated resources for the development of our region, that we can have the moral grounds to cry out against the seeming marginalisation against our region. We cannot cry foul when we are marginalising ourselves within our region via embezzlement of public funds and all other forms of corrupt practices.”
Nwajiofor while thanking the FG for the completion of the Second Niger Bridge also called for action to be taken on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway as quickly as possible.
