Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has laughed off allegations that he is actually Igbo.
The former Nigerian leader, whose paternity has been questioned for some time now, reacted briefly to the matter when he hosted the leadership of Ndigbo Amaka Progressive Market Association, an umbrella body of major markets in Lagos at the boardroom of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday.
“It just makes me laugh,” he was quoted by his media aide Kehinde Akinyemi to have said.
Obasanjo also addressed the call for the Igbo to leave the south-west, saying he doesn’t believe anybody in Nigeria should be driven away from any part of the country declaring that “we own this country together.”
Speaking on the meeting, the former president said the leadership of the group reached out to him to support the establishment of the Owerri Central Market positioned to be the best of its kind in the country.
He acknowledged that the Central Market Owerri had been contemplated since the creation of Imo State, adding that for one reason or the other, it has not been implemented, “but, I am glad it is coming up again and I hope this time, we are all going to make it real. It is going to be big, the first of its kind.
“And, I am happy also that the governor is showing the desired interest and understanding. And, I am confident that the Owerri Central Market will be, as he expressed the desire to lead the marketing team for the market.”
He added, “Having ensured that the Yorubas, Igbos and Hausas all came together to fight the war of unity in Nigeria, and “not to fight Igbos to go, but to come. So, if anybody says to me, that somebody should leave any place, he will be the one to leave.”
