By Jude Michael
The President, Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, Awka Deanery I, Sir Jerry Obodo, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to urgently sign the just passed South East Commission Bill and use the opportunity provided by the bill to implement the General Yakubu Gowon Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, 3Rs, Policy initiated by the Gowon government to erase the scars of the Nigeria Civil War in South East.
Sir Obodo, who is also a public policy analyst, made the appeal while featuring as a guest in a media programme in Awka, on Tuesday, 27th February, 2024.
According to him, President Tinubu’s urgent signing and implementation of the bill would bring about equity and justice in the scheme of things in the country for the South easterners.
He said, ‘as the South East Commission Bill has been passed, let them (presidency) use it to implement the 3Rs former President Yakubu Gowon came up with at the end of the Nigeria Civil War.’
He argued that as a matter of fact, after a country which had a misunderstanding that led to a war, the president of such a country ought to use the resources of the country to rebuild what were destroyed in the course of the war.
He pointed out that this was not done in Nigeria after the destructive 30-month civil war, but instead, the South Easterners operating bank accounts were given 20 pounds each, irrespective of the amount of money they had in their bank accounts.
‘These were what caused heartbreak to Ndigbo, but that’s not what we’re saying now.
‘Let the president map out huge funds for the implementation of Gowon’s 3Rs to building railway lines, industries, dams, among others, in the South East,’ Sir Obodo advised.
