Former presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu has advised the federal government to tow the lane of dialogue with secessionists in the country.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday June 2, Moghalu said he believes addressing the root causes of their agitations will help in dousing tensions in the country.
The former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said;
“I think that the government should be able to invite, whether it is IPOB or Sunday Igboho, all the secessionists; invite them to the table.”
Admitting that IPOB and other agitators may be addressing their challenges in a wrong way, he however argued that tagging them as terrorists is not the way to tackle the issue.
He said;
“They are essentially political agitators. You can call them terrorists. That is your own prerogative but we know what terrorism means in reality. Boko Haram are terrorists. We know that.
“When people begin political agitations and we very easily throw terrorism at them just because they are mouthing off and speaking in a language that nobody likes or insulting their fellow citizens. That is their way of handling this type of thing.
“Can we address the agitations? Don’t be afraid to address the core reasons behind the agitation because they are crying out for justice. They feel marginalised. What is wrong with addressing those issues?”
