A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Godwin Obla, has decried what he described as the needless, mindless, and wicked marginalization of the Idoma people in Benue State, stressing that the time has come for the Idoma nation to have a state of its own.
Daily Post reports that Obla made the remarks during an interview with journalists at the Idoma Hall of Fame Advisory Board Inaugural Dinner held in Abuja on Thursday.
He lamented what he called the “unfortunate history” of the Idoma people within the Nigerian federation.
Obla noted that despite the Idoma being one of Nigeria’s few ethnic groups with a rich cultural and historical heritage, they have continued to suffer deliberate exclusion from the politics and governance of Benue State since its creation in 1976.
“We are more than ripe to have a state, and I think the history of the Idoma people is an unfortunate one,” he said.
“We are one of the few ethnic groups with a rich history that has been needlessly, mindlessly, and wickedly marginalized.
It doesn’t make sense that in a state created in 1976, out of three senatorial districts, the Idoma who constitute a nation in one of them are denied a fair say in the governance of the state.”
Obla argued that such exclusion shows the Idoma are not wanted in Benue State, emphasizing that if that is the case, then “we need a state of our own.”
He further clarified that the call for an Idoma State is not based on emotion but on the principles of fairness, inclusion, and justice.
“We are nationalists, and we have been patient long enough. It is deeply unfair that what is happening in Benue State today mirrors exactly what the Tiv leadership once opposed in their quest for self-determination,” Obla added.
