By Jude Opara, Abuja

The former governor of Imo State and Senator representing Imo West in the Nigerian Senate, Rochas Okorocha has said that contrary to insinuations that the Igbo want to pull out of the country, the people were only asking for a level playing ground.

Okorocha spoke Thursday in Abuja during the 2^nd Quarterly Public Lecture Series organized by the All Progressives Congress(APC) Press Corps.

This is as Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje also said the series of agitation for self determination by groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Yoruba Nation campaigners were never the solution to the perceived anomalies in the country.

Okorocha who was one of the discussants at the event noted that the colonial masters while amalgamating the country did not seek the opinion of the people whom he observed were of divergent values and orientation, but that they were only interested in having an easy way of plundering the wealth of the Africans.

However, the former governor who is reputed to have his Rochas Foundation in parts of the country added that the coming together as one country was one of the best things to have happened to Nigerians even as he observed that the only missing link is how to effectively harness the great opportunities therein.

“Every leader that emerges in this country must treat Nigeria as a family, must never show segregation of any kind. If you know an Igboman, an Igboman is not asking for anything, he is only asking for a level playing ground. Do you know if today people are doing what Ganduje did in Kano, giving Igbo and other people appointments, if every other Governor does that, it shows a sign of love beyond area of tribe and religion, you will be uniting this country.

“Our amalgamation without the people coming together to discuss and how they can respect each other have been a major issue and secondly, we were not able to create a myth. So we need more of a myth than what we call reality.”

Ganduje who was the guest speaker while speaking on the lecture topic entitled, ‘’Sustaining a united and indivisible Nigeria, a myth or reality” said it is better for Nigeria to remain as one indivisible and united country.

He advised those who are agitating for separate states to learn from history adding that the country cannot afford to go into another war to maintain the unity of the nation.

“We all agree that Nigeria will fare better staying together and therefore, it is better for Nigeria to remain as one indivisible nation than for each tribe to go its separate way. The argument is firstly that disintegration will produce successor weak Republics wherein the power of both the states and the citizens will diminish compared to the power of a united Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Similarly, what do we do with the likes of Rochas Okorocha, former Imo state governor and now Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District in the South East. His investments is northern Nigeria and other parts of the country, providing free education for many years now. So also the Sarki (Oba) Yoruba in Kano, Engr. Murtala Alimi Otisese, a business magnet, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is from Ibadan in the South West but with flourishing business in the North.”

Also in his intervention, Senator Jibrin Barau representing Kano North urged Nigerians to close ranks and work as one. He also said that instead of attempting to go it alone, people should learn to dialogue and lobby to get what they want for their people.