Former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has criticised Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso for allegedly disparaging the bid of the Southeast for an additional state. Kwankwaso was quoted as saying that the Southeast is undeserving of a new state. Kalu expressed concern that a compatriot could make such an assertion.
Kalu’s Response and Arguments
Kalu said: “Injustice to one is injustice to all. The southeast zone has the least number of states. Kwankwaso’s northwest has seven. I do not begrudge them. He says Kano is more populated than the former Eastern region, that is questionable. I hope he knows that in the United States, Wyoming with a population of less than a million is as important as California with about 30 million.”
The ex-governor said nothing should be spared in giving the Southeast a fair deal, even if it means going into the federation called Nigeria through the back door. He added: “We shall keep up the struggle. When President Umaru Yar’adua died, we accepted the ‘Doctrine of necessity’. Following Chief Moshood Abiola’s death, Nigeria bent backwards for an all-Yoruba Presidential duel. Gen. Yakubu Gowon was a Col. when he became Head of State in 1966 ahead of his seniors who agreed to work with him, men like Brig. Babafemi Ogundipe, Commodore Edet Wey and Col. Adeyinka Adebayo. If the Senate must go under the table to balance the equation, heavens will not fall.”
Advice to Kwankwaso
Kalu advised the Kano governor to liaise with one of his predecessors, Alhaji Kabir Gaya, if he had a grouse with the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment. “Dr. Kwankwaso is my friend. And I know Kano people have nothing against a new southeast state. Maybe, the governor has something against certain individuals in Abuja. He could sort things out through Senator Gaya. All states in Nigeria were created by leaders from the north. And this structural imbalance must be tackled now,” Kalu advised.
The call underscores the ongoing debate over state creation in Nigeria, with the Southeast seeking to increase its number of states to address perceived marginalisation.
