Former president of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy has come out to reject the claims that the Ibo ethnic group are being marginalised in Nigeria.
The controversial singer, in an interview with Naija247 news spoke on the general state of affairs in the country declaring that he does not support calls for the breakup of the country.
Charly Boy, who harped on the need for Nigerians to begin to demand for their rights, warned that, “our sufferings will remain with us and be aggravated until we do the right things to secure our stolen future.”
He also stated that the indigenous tribes of the nation, should go back to their bases and try to develop it, stating that this would help decongest the center and stimulate interdependence on a regional level.
He also berated the attempt of South-Eastern groups that were agitating for the secession of the South Eastern region of the country, stating that it would only serve to destabilize the country which is already in a fragile state.
“I have written about my stand on Biafra; people should go and read it. It is the same thing that I’m saying; people should go back to their base and develop it and it has to start from the communities at the local council level.”
“We have to start to build up the communities. We should start asking our local council chairmen what they do with their monthly allocations and internally generated revenue (IGR). Let’s start holding our governors accountable. By the time we take care of the home base, the centre will not be much of a problem. But if we start it from up, the politics will always be there.”
“For the Igbo man who is agitating for Biafra I ask, ‘which manner of Biafra?’ Biafra is in my heart. I’m a Biafran child; I’ll always carry Biafra in my mind. At least I witnessed the civil war and saw the wickedness of man. It wasn’t just bullet that killed us, hunger killed us too. That is not what I want to go through again in my life. So, there has to be a smarter way and that is why I’m telling the Igbos, ‘let us go back and fortify our base’.”
He also added that regional self-development is paramount for the economic development of the south-east.
“Yes, they have been talking about the need for a seaport in the South-east so that as a people who are naturally entrepreneurial, we can do our businesses with ease. But I’m saying that even if the Federal Government is dragging its feet, there are lots of Igbo millionaires and billionaires that can come together and do that. How can you go and be developing every other place to the detriment of your own base?”
“As they are not providing it, what is wrong with our hands? Are our hands and legs broken? Or is the solution in sitting down and blaming government at the dawn of every new day? How will that aid our survival? Are we out of our senses?”
“I’m not a prophet but what I expect to see in the next two or three years is a change in the status quo. Until that happens, as a country, there will be no change. Our sufferings will remain with us and be aggravated until we do the right things to secure our stolen future.”