Elder statesman and Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has noted that the policies of the current administration have made life more difficult for
Nigerians living in Nigeria than those complaining of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
He said, “We complain of xenophobia in South Africa, what do we have in Nigeria?” Clark spoke when eminent leaders of the South- South and South-East geo-political zones met at his residence in Apapa, Lagos in a closed door meeting yesterday.
He further called on the federal government to be just and fair to all ethnic and geo-political zones in the country. He said the country should be restructured for Nigeria to return to the kind of country the founding fathers bequeathed the citizens where the three regions created at independence had control over their resources.
The Ijaw leader also called for an egalitarian society where everyone is equal without allowing one region to be dominating others.
He added, “The Richard’s Constitution at Nigeria Independence in 1960 spelt out what Nigeria should be as a Federal Republic with three regions (Northern, Eastern and Western regions) as the components units.
“And each of the regions was equal and each of the regions was allowed to develop at its own pace. “In those days, whatever resources you have in your region, you take 50 per cent from the proceeds and the remaining 50 per cent is sent to the centre, which is further shared between the centre and the regions. “That was the country we knew. But today, the reverse is the case.”
