ANALYSIS OF WHAT NIGERIAN LEADERS HAVE STOLEN FROM NDI IGBO

It gives me immense pleasure to stand here today to talk on this important topic at a time I will consider very critical to the life of the Igbo nation. From my own limited capacity, I will try to give my thoughts on the issue and plead with my audience to bear with my limitations. I believe it is still an open issue, perceived differently by Ndi Igbo but I still believe we can reach some understanding on what troubles us as well as how we can deal with these issues. Now let us do a simple analysis to show you what Nigerian leaders have stolen from the Igbo nation since 2006 when President Obasanjo's Constitutional Conference, recommended an additional state to be created in the South East. Let me use the allocation to Anambra State including the 21 Local Governments in June 2008 to make a demonstration. The allocation is 5.2 billion naira and assuming it was the monthly average for year 2008, it means that Anambra got N62.4 billion in 2008. It is now six years from 2006. If you multiply 6 x 62.4 billion you get N374.4 billion. The new State would have been given a takeoff grant of about 5 billion naira. The total will come to 374.4 + 5 = N379.4 billion. In adopting this figure, we are merely using very conservative estimates given that states have other fronts through which they get allocations outside the monthly revenue allocation formula. Again, we note that allocations to the three arms of government have vastly improved from what it used to be in 2008, where we took this figure. I don't believe there is any state in Nigeria today whose yearly budget is still in the region of N60 billion. This is what Nigeria has stolen from the South East. It would have created jobs for at least 50,000 Ndigbo created administrative towns, Ministries and Parastatals. Tremendous opportunities would have been created, structures would have built, we would have had more Senators, more House of Representative members more State Assembly members, Governors, Ministers, and other cadres of federal appointees, etc.