A firm quiet radiates from the Old Eastern region of Nigeria, which includes the Southeast and South-South regions. This response comes in the wake of widespread clamour and agitation that was triggered by growing costs of living, economic suffering, and starvation.

Many people, including the Presidency and the North, have been taken aback by the startling tranquilly and firm silence that has prevailed in the midst of the widespread rage and turbulence that has been occurring in the North and Southwest. OHANAEZE NDIGBO, the preeminent Igbo socio-cultural organisation and unwavering advocate for the Igbo people, through Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, her Secretary General, commends the denizens of the Old Eastern region, particularly the Southeast, for their exceptional acumen and sagacity in abstaining from spearheading protests against President Tinubu and the Federal Government amid economic hardships.

Since the beginning of the Buhari regime in 2015 till the present Tinubu administration, the Southeast part of the country has been subjected to the greatest amount of neglect and prejudice from the government. Whether it be the exclusions of the Centre, the wanton demolition of Igbo properties in Lagos without any intervention from the federal government, the systematic burning of Igbo markets in the Southwest, minimal federal ministerial appointments, or the unjust incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu juxtaposed with the favoured treatment of figures such as Sowore and Igboho, the injustices that have been meted out to the Southeast are glaring.

As demonstrations continue to grow in Niger, Kano, Lagos, Osun, and Abuja, the absence of casualties or protester killings as a result of security intervention stands in stark contrast to the haunting memories of lives lost in the Southeastern region during previous demonstrations against Kanu’s detention and the tragic Obigbo (Oyibo) Massacre in Rivers State.

OHANAEZE NDIGBO is in awe of the people of the Southeast area because of their unflinching bravery and uncommon intelligence in surviving the storm. We are in sympathy with all of the Igbo people and Nigerians who are suffering, and we are encouraging the Federal Government to replace President Tinubu’s economic team with capable individuals in order to save the flailing economy before it fully collapses.

Additionally, rather than issuing empty threats to individuals who have lost faith in the government, the government need to pay attention to the voices of reason and put into action the suggestions made by the Constitutional Conference in 2014 in order to put an end to the growing sense of discontent and insurrection.

Within the midst of the turbulent waters of the nation, the East maintains its firmness like an unmovable rock. This this unyielding determination of the Southeast serves as a trombone call for justice, equality, and reparation for the oppressed masses across the nation is something that should be taken seriously.