Igbo Lagosians are used to keep Alaigbo undeveloped and disunited

Mazi Chibuuzo Egbuchere says that Igbo Lagosians are used to keep Alaigbo undeveloped and disunited 

In my own point of view, the current dilemma of Igbo Lagosians is exactly what and how the minders of a unitary Nigeria, probably as advised by Britain, want it to be.

The game plan is to disperse the Igbo intellectuals and men/women of high net worth away from Ala Igbo. That way, development of Alaigbo will be considerably slowed down, while the Igbo political and economic elites will be compromised and absorbed into their newfound environment cum homes outside Igboland.

This is akin to America’s Green Card policy which America uses to draw the best of brains from all parts of the world into America to develop its economy.

The progress and prosperity of Ndiigbo in all spheres of Nigeria’s national life prior to the war against Biafra brought Igbos too much hatred, envy and, jealousy from other major ethnic groups. The brash and naturally competitive nature of Igbos, which many see as unnecessary boastfulness, did not help matters. So, during the war, the minds of our neighboring cousins were greatly poisoned against Ndiigbo, while after the war, everything was done and is still being done, to ensure that the Igbo do not rise again in Nigeria – economically, politically, socially, etc. The abandoned-properties policy, the £20 policy, federal infrastructures denial and the neglect and decay of few available ones, states creation that saw SE with least number of states compared to other regions of the country, cutting off of many oil producing Igbo communities into neighboring states etc are all part of a grand scheme to ensure that Alaigbo never develops again.

Igbo Lagosians are derailing Self-determination struggle of the East

So, in order to survive, Igbo sons and daughters will have no other choice than to migrate to other regions where central government’s money is being channeled for the development of infrastructures and superstructures that enhance economic activities which Lagos, as the then federal capital, represented. So, to get some shares of the federal monies that are denied Alaigbo but being pumped into Lagos, these Igbo sons and daughters have to live in and invest in Lagos – and Abuja, in recent times.

In my view, therefore, the emergence of Igbo Lagosians is the result of the deliberate federal policy to ensure permanent suppression of Ndiigbo and to ensure the under-development of Alaigbo. That Onitsha, Aba, Asaba, Enugu, and other Alaigbo cities and towns have achieved their current levels of development, so soon after the war that devastated them and rendered their sons and daughters paupers, is a big shock and surprise to those that don’t wish Ala Igbo well. The truth is that earnings of Igbo Diaspora, including Igbo Lagosians, are part of the reasons for the current level of development in Alaigbo.

In conclusion, my view is that:

1) The issue of Igbo Lagosians is part of the grand plan to perpetually keep Ndiigbo and Alaagbo undeveloped and disunited.

2) The non functioning of Calabar, PH, and Warri ports, together with the sordid federal infrastructure situation in Alaigbo is deliberate and part of the game plan. The bitter hatred for Stella Oduah by sections of the country was for daring to give Alaigbo an international airport at Enugu. The hatred for Jonathan and the gang-up against him by the North and some people in the West was partly due to the prominence he gave Igbo sons and daughters in his administration.

3) Not all Igbo living within Lagos and the wider Diaspora have forgotten Alaigbo.

4) Instead of imapu ha na iwu (ostracizing them), concerted efforts should be made to get them to start thinking Alaigbo first in terms of their investments. Prof. Bath Nnaji, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, and Dr. Maduka of Umuchukwu (Nkerehi) in Anambra remain our sterling examples.

5) By enlightening and converting some of our Lagos and Abuja Igbo sons and daughters sooner, Aba and Onitsha can also be made to become major business hubs attracting patronage from far and near as people troop into these Igbo cities daily from same Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Ibadan, Cameroon, etc for clothing materials and other goods.

Definitely, some Efulefus will be totally lost to the allure of Lagos and Abuja trappings, but this should not discourage the move to mobilize others to join the struggle for Odinma Alaigbo, and to think and help emancipate and develop Ala Igbo. Considering that even among the 12 disciples Christ Jesus chose himself, one of them betrayed him. Alaigbo should not count on every Igbo son and daughter joining the struggle – even among those residing in Igboland. There will still be few saboteurs to the self-determination struggle of the Easterners.

- Chibuuzo Egbuchere

This article was written in reaction to piece written by Dr. Okenwa Nwosu titled “Igbo Lagosians Are Achilles Heel of Self-determination Struggle for the East”