Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has called for a structured and intellectual interrogation of the “Igbo question” in Nigeria, urging stakeholders to move beyond agitation and embrace robust, evidence-based dialogue on the place of the Igbo people within the Nigerian federation.
Soludo made the call on Saturday in Awka after watching The Tale of Two Nnamdis, a stage play written by Tobe Osigwe and directed by Prof. Uche Nwaozuzu. The production was performed by students of the Department of Theatre Arts and Film Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Speaking after the performance at the Light House, Awka, the governor expressed concern over what he described as the absence of sustained intellectual engagement on issues affecting the Igbo people, particularly amid continuing Biafra-related agitations nearly six decades after the declaration of the defunct republic.
He commended the students for initiating what he described as an important conversation that has been largely missing from academic and political discourse.
“I was at UNN last month. I recalled that the Biafran war was literally declared there. I am glad that you people are now leading the way. That conversation must begin in a very structured manner,” Soludo said.
The governor, who reflected on his personal experience during the civil war, recalled that his mother died during the conflict while his father lived with a bullet lodged in his body for 11 years after the war.
“I saw the war very clearly. I am a Pan-Africanist and a proud Nigerian. Ndigbo need Nigerians, Nigerians need Ndigbo, same for the world. Our prosperity will accelerate if we take advantage of a wider space,” he said.
