By Frank Momoh
A renowned foreign policy expert, Prof. Igho Natufe, on Sunday, in Lagos made a critical appraisal of the Nigerian State and concluded that restructuring of the Nigeria in accordance with the notion of federalism was inevitable.
Speaking on behalf of one of Nigeria’s minority tribes: The Okpes in Delta State, on Sunday, he said: ‘’Our contribution to Nigerian development shall be influenced by the tenets of federalism.”
As a component of the Nigerian federation of ethnic nationalities, he said the Okpe union endorses the call for restructuring the Nigerian federal system in accordance with the notion of federalism.
In a paper entitled Internal Cohesion and Development in Okpe Nation, Natufe said that active participation of Okpe Union in Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Nigerian indigenous nationalities alliance for self-determination will encourage rapid development of Okpe kingdom.
He said: “Nigeria is a federation of ethnic nationalities. Okpe is one of the more than 350 ethnic nationalities that constitute this federation. Like all the other components of the Nigerian federation, there are opportunities and challenges that we must grapple with to move Okpe forward and firmly establish Okpe Union as a powerful voice for the Okpe Nation in the various communities of ethnic nationalities in Delta State and in Nigeria, including the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination.
“The union shall be an active participant in these organizations by promoting and defending Okpe interests as a distinct ethnic nationality. These interests shall be pursued at all fora, domestic and international, with inputs from all stakeholders in Okpeland and Okpe in the Diaspora.
He pledged that the Okpes shall establish and maintain strategic relationships with all ethnic organizations in Delta State and in Nigeria on the principles of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect of the rights of each ethnic nationality to define and determine its own socio-economic and political development.