Governor Godswill Akpabio urges law on indigenization
Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio has urged the National Assembly to pass laws of birth and place and other laws to ensure easy indigenization of Nigerians in any state or city they may prefer.
Governor Akpabio who was addressing a cross section of the Akwa Ibom Society, along side, military, police and other paramilitary commanders at Government House referred the address he delivered in the stadium earlier and urged for urgent steps to be taken by the National Assembly through the promulgation of relevant laws to make Nigerians feel at home in any part of Nigeria.
In his address delivered at the stadium Governor Akpabio had pointed out that, "President Barack Obama, with a father from Kenya and a mother from United States, was elected President of America in 2008" and wondered "If his father were to come from Akwa Ibom State and his mother were to come from Kaduna State or Imo State or even Ondo State in Nigeria, do you think he would even have been allowed to contest for governorship in the state his mother came from?"
He maintained that he would not have been allowed because the people there would have seen him as a non-indigene. He stated, "This is why we need to fix our nation so that everyone who has stayed long in a particular place in our nation should be allowed to contribute his quota in that particular place."
It was his contention that until the relevant laws were made to enable easy indigenisation in any part of Nigeria, talk of unity and brotherhood may remain nothing but lip service in efforts to build a nation out of Nigeria.
In his evocative speech Governor Akpabio stated that "it was time for us to do more than commit ourselves to the immortal lines in our national anthem that 'the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain' and resolve that 'the labours of our heroes past shall never be in shame.'' adding that "in 1960 we won independence from Britain, in 2011 let us win independence from tribalism, from avarice, from corruption, from divisiveness and all evil behaviours. Let us quench the fiery darts of selfishness with an outpouring of unity, an outpouring of love and an outpouring of brotherhood."
He lamented that "The fountain of ethnic fury which was unleashed in Jos was still dripping with the blood of Nigerians. This orgy of violence is an open wound in our collective conscience and we must find a solution to it collectively."
He further warned that Nigerians should remember that the only difference between the Akwa Ibom person and the Hausa person and between the Igbo man and the Yoruba man is an accident of birth. He said "Peel away the skin of any Nigerian and what you see is the same color of blood and the same bone structures. This is because we were all made by one Creator from the same template. We are all God's children in this country called Nigeria."
Lending his voice to Governor Akpabio's call, Engr Etido Inyang, the president of Ati Annang, a socio-cultural group, noted that the Bush brothers (Jeb and George) were once governors in different states in America and said passing laws on easy indigenization would build a more united country out of Nigeria and address many of the problems and challenges facing the nation