The Anambra State Towns (People) Association (ASTPA) said dialogue and restructuring the country’s political structure were key to addressing the agitations in the South-East region of the country.
Speaking at the Anambra State cultural celebration day in Abuja, Handel Okoli, who was the keynote speaker, said marginalisation being suffered by the people of Anambra state and the entire South-East was the major cause of the agitation in the zone.
He said government must give listening ear to people calling for political restructuring and even distribution of resources, as that will end the increasing separatist agitations.
According to him, “Agitation is a symptom of over-stressed system. Exclusion of certain people from political appointment and other things, particularly resource distribution are evidences of mismanagement of diversity which gives birth to agitations.
“Until restructuring is done in Nigeria as regards political governance and distribution of resources, Nigeria will continue to witness separatist agitations.”
He said the government must make deliberate effort to unite the country, do justice to all irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliations, and other things would fall in place.
Also speaking, the President-general, ASTPA, Arinze Anadu, said the theme of the event, “Taa Bu Gboo” was chosen to reawaken the consciousness of the people to the dying culture and tradition of the Igbo people and the need to reverse the trend.
He said: “The theme of the cultural day symposium spoke volume of our aspirations, because of the fear that modernisation and civilization has made our younger generation to dislike local traditions, thus embracing western culture faster than their forefathers. So, there was need to retrace our steps and properly guide them so that we don’t loose our heritage.”
To achieve this, he encouraged parents to tutor their children properly in the use of Igbo language for communications, as that would always keep them informed of their root, in addition to regular home visit which is key to getting children acquainted with the traditions of their forefathers.
He added: “Our objective was to initiate serious conversation. In line with the theme of the event, I can say it’s still a good time to talk, to spread the message. Evidently, our younger generations are obviously lacking in discipline, respect for elders, love for culture and traditions, and several things that are necessary to sustain our heritage. These are things that were discussed by panel of discussants.”
Credit: Leadership