Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has slammed alleged persistent discrimination against the Igbos in Nigeria in what he terms as “Igbophobia.”
Obasanjo made the allegation recently during an event to mark the one-year anniversary of Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, which took place at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Awka and said: “unwarranted attacks, persecution and ill-treatment meted out to the Igbo in some parts of the country, were unjustifiable.”
While speaking at the event, the former President described the Igbo stock as first-class brains that contributed greatly to the success of his administration while he was President of Nigeria.
He specifically praised Soludo who was the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was his Finance Minister in his speech at the event.
He said: “When I had Chukwuma working with me as my economic adviser, we worked very closely together. And he never one day misadvised me; not one day. And I was so happy with him that I decided to send him to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“He was the second Nigerian who was not a commercial banker of some sort sent to the Central Bank and he performed so wonderfully well.
“But on one occasion, soon after I had appointed him, somebody came to me and said ‘wow, you have ruined the economy of Nigeria.’
“I said ‘how’. He said ‘an Igbo woman (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) Minister of Finance; an Igbo man Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Then, you have really completed the task of ruining the economy of Nigeria.
“But then, for me, the appointment of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the appointment of Chukwuma Soludo were probably the best of the appointments that I made when I was president.
“I don’t know why he said that except for what I can call Igbo phobia. And I don’t take that lightly.
“But when you have this type of thing that was said to me and this type of thing that is going on, what I call Igbo phobia, what do we do with it?”
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