Obasanjo condemns alleged ‘Igbophobia’ in Nigeria

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has condemned alleged persistent discrimination against the Igbos in Nigeria in what he terms as “Igbophobia.”

Obasanjo who made the allegation on Saturday at an event to mark the one year anniversary of Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo held at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Awka, 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, Obasanjo described the Igbo stock as first class brains who contributed massively to the success of his administration in the eight years he was President of Nigeria.

He specifically laid encomiumn on Soludo who was the CBN Governor and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was the Finance Minister under him in his speech at the event.

“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.

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“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?” Obasanjo queried.

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