A former presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu, on Wednesday urged the Muhammadu Buhari -led federal government to dialogue with secessionists, just as he believed that addressing the root causes of their agitations will help in dousing tensions in the country.
Moghalu, who made the call while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, also added that the secessionist agitators feel marginalised and are seeking justice.
According to the former CBN governor, “I think that the government should be able to invite, whether it is IPOB or Sunday Igboho, all the secessionists; invite them to the table”.
The federal government, had in 2017 proscribed the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), the group spearheading agitations for the creation of an independent Biafra nation, but Moghalu has faulted the move, insisting instead, that the reasons for their actions should be looked into.
Though, he admitted that IPOB and other agitators may be addressing their challenges in a wrong way, he, however, argued that tagging them as terrorists is not the way to tackle the issue.
“They are essentially political agitators. You can call them terrorists. That is your own prerogative but we know what terrorism means in reality. Boko Haram are terrorists. We know that.
“When people begin political agitations and we easily throw terrorism at them just because they are mouthing off and speaking in a language that nobody likes or insulting their fellow citizens. That is their way of handling this type of thing.
“Can we address the agitations? Don’t be afraid to address the core reasons behind the agitation because they are crying out for justice. They feel marginalised. What is wrong with addressing those issues?”, the economist and lawyer questioned.
