Never again shall Igbo fight war – Ohanaeze

An Igbo apex sociocultural organization, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said that the Igbo would never again go to war to resolve conflicts in the country.

It said the Igbo would rather use diplomacy as a tool for conflict resolution.

The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, stated this  at the 2018 Igbo International Leadership and Good Governance Retreat held at Abagana, Anambra State.

The retreat was organised by the World Igbo Leadership Council and the World Igbo Information and Communication Network.

The  event, which was third in the series, was attended by renowned Igbo scholars from Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states.

The first retreat was hosted at Ibusa, Delta State, by Prof Pat Utomi in 2016, while the second was hosted by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu in 2017 at Uburu in Ebonyi State.

Nwodo, who commended the organisers of the annual retreat, said though, it was not in doubt that Igbo were facing large scale marginalisation in Nigeria, the way to overcome it was not through fighting another war requiring killing of people at the war fronts, but by adopting peaceful means and dialogue.

While citing  the issue of states and local governments’ creation in Nigeria in which  he said the Igbo were short-changed, Nwodo noted that such anomalies could  be corrected through dialogue and making other Nigerians to see the need for equity and justice in the Nigeria project.

He said: “The military created states and local governments and gave the North the highest numbers, not because our population was the smallest, but just part of the marginalisation.

“But we should be patient and continue to do what we have already started, knowing that the battle is no longer the type that will be fought with guns, but using intelligence.

“We have suffered so much and that is why we should apply diplomacy. One of such diplomatic moves is the planned handshake across the Niger in which Igbo leaders will be dialoguing with Yoruba leaders in Enugu in the coming week.”