I would like to state a few things before I go on to write about what I have in mind. That;
- I believe in ONE NIGERIA
- This post is nothing meant to incite any negative reactions
- It is definitely not political
Yesterday night, as I browsed through facebook, I noticed some snide comments by my friends. Further investigations revealed that the Oba of Lagos had threatened the Igbos residents in Lagos. It was a political thing, something about the forth coming gubernatorial elections. Looks like the Igbos want to vote for the PDP candidate, while the Oba wants the APC candidate. So, the Oba told the Igbos that if they vote for the PDP candidate, he’ll make sure they drown in water and they wouldn’t prosper in Lagos anymore. Later on, I heard that another guy, a movie producer had blamed the Igbos for piracy. Now I knew why my Igbo friends were aggrieved.
To respond to their grief and reactions, I have this to say; I am not a tribalistic person, maybe because I didn’t grow up in the east. But for those Igbos who crave for BIAFRA – the one Igbo country – please answer this question; “What are you doing in Lagos and many other parts of Nigeria including the north?” You! who would rather kill a Hausa or Yoruba man than a snake if given the opportunity. (The reason GEJ won in the south east, because you’d rather vote for sentiment than vote an Hausa man). I ask again, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUTSIDE YOUR FATHERLAND? After the war, why didn’t you stay back and build the east. You moved back to Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Abuja, developing their land and leaving yours bare. How many big cities can you name in the east right now? Please don’t say Port –Harcourt, because they say they aren’t Igbos, they are Ikwerre. The next you have is Enugu. Onitsha and Aba are commercial cities and if you’ve been to Aba in the last year, you’d know that it’s almost inhabitable.
Igbos: the work force of many thriving communities. Often, it is said that if you go to a community and you can’t find an Igbo man there, pack your load and run. The Igbos are known to chase after money wherever it is hidden and the it out, while the Yorubas go after the knowledge in books, leaving the Hausas with politics I guess. Using this analogy, can anybody say that they are surprised by the response of the Eze ndigbo to the Oba? …… still waiting, can someone please tell me?
Now over to Kunle Afolayan, the movie producer, sorry never heard of him till today, probably because I don’t bother with names of producers when I watch a movie. Anyhow, he apologized for what he said, but Ndigbo, did Nollywood not start with you? I remember watching ‘Things fall apart’, ‘Akaraka’ and the movie that actually birthed what we now call home videos – ‘Living in bondage’. >90% of the cast and crew were Igbos. I ask, if Nollywood was started in Igbo land, wouldn’t it thrive and why not? The Igbos with the money, move to Lagos and Abuja to invest, then pull out more youths from the east in search for greener pastures and yet you are complaining about not getting your share of the national cake.
Igbos, your problem is simple – GREED – the need to amass more wealth than you can imagine. Tell me in which part of the country is fuel sold at >N100 while others are selling at N87? Have you seen an Igbo man travelling back to the east for Christmas? They carry everything they need from Lagos, Benin, Abuja e.t.c irrespective of the cost of transporting it because no matter how much is spent on transportation, you can’t compare it to the price you’ll have to pay for buying it in the east and yet they cite cost of transportation as the reason for the ridiculously high prices.
So Ndigbo, unless you can leave or liquidate all your properties in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna e.t.c and move back to your fatherland and develop it, Please stop making noise about been insulted and definitely not about biafra. As for me, I am a proud Nigerian.
Dalu nu.
