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Saturday, May 27, 2017
Igbo have invested more in Nigeria than Hausa, Yoruba – Iwuanyanwu
~Punch Nigeria. Thursday, May 25, 2017.
Eminent businessman and politician, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, on Wednesday said that the Igbo do not want to secede from Nigeria.
Speaking as a special guest of honour at a National Unity summit organised by Arewa Ambassadors Congress of Nigeria in partnership with Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu said that the people of the South East zone would fight anybody who wanted to secede from Nigeria, including the Arewa and Oduduwa people.
The program which held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, had youths across Geopolitical zones taking part in the conference.
He said that the Igbo were major stakeholders in the country and would not be party to any move to divide it.
According to him, the federal government did wrong to have arrested the leader of the ingenious people of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
He said, “He (Kanu) only expressed his view. No arm was found in his possession. We are Biafrans and we are not ashamed to say it. Igbo have invested more in Nigeria than Arewa and Oduduwa. We want to be one Nigeria in fairness.”
Iwuanyanwu said that the Biafra Republic was somebody’s personal opinion, adding that the Igbo youths were rebelling only against the injustice done to the region.
“Biafra is not about secession. It is a name of a particular people in Nigeria from the South East. Therefore, it is not an offense to say that I am a Biafran. There was no victor, no vanquished after the civil war. I am impressed with Yakubu Gowon because he implemented all the agreements reached at the end of the Civil War. Igbo were not deprived at the end of the civil war, “Iwuanyanwu added.
He, therefore, challenged the Nigerian youths to work for the growth of the country and shun tribal and religious sentiments, adding that the country had the capacity to become one of the best countries in the world in the years to come.
Iwuanyanwu accused the federal government of currently marginalising the Igbo people, simply because the zone voted en masse for the people’s Democratic Party in the last presidential election.
The governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, told the youths to uphold the Unity of the country where ever they went.
Represented by his special Adviser on Northern affairs, Faisal Lawan, Okorocha identified cultism as one of the vicesworking against the growth of young Nigerians.
The president of AACN, Esinrogunjo Musbaudeen, asserted that the essence of the summit was to stress the importance of National unity and integration, adding that the political class had to give more young people the opportunities to showcase their leadership prowess.
THE IGBO RANT
BIBLICAL TRADITIONS OF NDI IGBO BEFORE THE MISSIONARIES CAME TO AFRICA* IGBO 101.
THE IGBO TRIBE AND ITS FEAR OF EXTINCTION
The Igbo: We die for causes, not for personalities
Written by Emeka Maduewesi
~on fb. 28th September, 2016.
The Igbo will never die for anyone. We will not even riot for anyone. But the Igbo will die for any cause they believe in because the Igbo have a true sense of justice and a determination to obtain it.
The Igbo will not riot because one of their own lost an election. Operation Wetie was the Western response to a massively rigged 1965 election. The Yoruba doused fellow Yorubas in petrol and burnt them alife. Properties were burnt with occupants. The Igbo will never do this.
In 1983, the Yoruba went on a rampage again over the massive rigging by NPN. Lifes were lost and properties destroyed. The riots were over personalities.
Contrast that with Anambra State where Chief Emeka Ojukwu was rigged out by his own NPN, who also rigged out Chief Jim Nwobodo. The Igbo did not protest because the goat's head is still in the goat's bag.
In the North, ba muso was the battle cry when Sultan Dasuki was imposed on the Sokoto Caliphate. The riot and protest lasted for days and crippled economic activities.
The Igbo will riot over issues and causes. The Aba Women Riot was over Tax. The Enugu coal mine riot was about conditions of service. The Ekumeku Uprising was over British colonialization.
Those of "Ekumeku" ancestry - Umu Eze Chima and Umu Nri - were at the forefront of the struggles for Nigerian independence, with people like Dr. A A Nwafor Orizu and Chief Osita Agwuna serving prison terms. Any struggles the parents could not conclude is continued by the children by other means.
The Biafran war was a response to the genocide. The war in fact was brought upon us. The battlefield was Eastern Region. The war ended in 1970 but the issues and causes were not resolved. That is where we are today.
The Igbo will also jointly rise to fight evil in their midst. They did it in Onitsha in the 1980's, Owerri in the 90's, and with Bakkassi in the 2000.
The Igbo will not die for any man. But the Igbo will stand by any man who symbolizes their cause and their pursuit of justice. Even if the man dies, the struggle continues, and like the Ekumeku warriors, the children will pick up the baton from their parents.
This is the Igbo I know, the Igbo I am, and the Igbo we are. This is my story. Feel free to tell yours.
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