Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo criticized the tendency to single out the Igbo for secession attempts, pointing out that each of Nigeria’s three major ethnic groups has, at some point, sought to break away. Obasanjo voiced his disapproval of claims that no Igbo person should lead Nigeria because of the January 15, 1966, coup.
He made these remarks while meeting a 20-member delegation from the League of Northern Democrats, led by former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on October 22.
Recalling past secession efforts by the North, Obasanjo referenced the “Araba” movement as an example of the North’s own desire to separate from Nigeria. He commented, “It troubles me when people say an Igbo cannot be president because they once attempted secession. I ask, what kind of thinking is that? Every region has contemplated secession. What was ‘Araba’ in the North? The North, too, wanted to break away.
“Who among us is truly better than the others? No one! We need to unite and work together to build our country,” he concluded.