IGBO UNITY MEETING - OWERRI 2016 :: Donald Trump said we Ndigbo should be left to go, we have enough in our land - Jim Nwobodo


The camaraderie was reminiscent of the February gathering. Then, two feuding camps of Igbo leadership came together. The factional leaders, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey and Dr Ralph Obioha shook hands, eliciting a huge sigh of relief from the crowd.
Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha played a huge part in the reconciliation.
That kindred spirit has been rekindled, and in the same place as the February peace meeting: Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The Igbo have their umbrella organisation Ohaneze Ndigbo to thank for that. The body organised its maiden Igbo Unity Forum where the ethnic group closed ranks.
The gathering provoked emotions and genuine kindred spirit that had stimulated and guided the communal lifestyle of the Igbo. Political and religious sentiments were jettisoned and brothers had a heart-to-heart chat on the way forward.
The Imo International Convention Centre (IICC), venue of the meeting, was filled to capacity as early as 8am.
Different emotions swept through the electrified crowd as they waited for the arrival of the Igbo leaders. While some were optimistic that peace has been found at last, others nursed the fear that the effort may fail like previous attempts.
But at last, judging from the quality of those in attendance and the goodwill messages of those who could not make it, coupled with the sincerity of the speeches made, it was obvious that a new Igbo, founded on unity and kindred spirit was born.
One of the cardinal decisions reached at the end of the meeting that lasted into the night, was that Ndigbo should stop bemoaning their fate but should rise up as co-owners of Nigeria and one of the three largest ethnic groups and take their rightful position.
They equally resolved to start thinking home by investing more in Igbo land than outside the region to develop Igbo land and create employment for their people.
Apart from speeches and words of inspiration, the people also savoured the rich Igbo culture that many may have forgotten, especially the presentation of kola nut. From a distance, the flute sounded, tearing through the silence of the night and not a few of the ageing leaders bowed their heads in deep thought as the familiar sound reminded them of the good old days.
Opening the stage for the historic speeches that characterized the night, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Gary Enwo Igariwey, reminded the people that the meeting was critical towards finding new ways of meeting challenges confronting Ndigbo.
He said, “We have come here today in a rare situation. For a very long time Ohaneze has been doing its best to be the mouth piece of the Igbo nation. Today is a special day because as a people we have decided to close ranks and address our problems by ourselves. For a long time we have never had this kind of meeting. We have had meetings of Governors coming together, traditional rulers coming together and Igbo groups coming together, to try to proffer solution to Igbo problems. Today I am excited to welcome all of you here.
“Firstly, you may have noticed that for some time now, Ohaneze and Igbo people have been speaking with one voice. This is because peace has been midwifed and that was done in this very state, Imo State. The Governor of Imo state midwifed that peace. So today Ohaneze speaks with one voice.
“Some people have been complaining rightly, but that is not why we are here today. I will tell you a simple story that reflects why we are here today. When the civil war ended nearly forty years ago, it was not a magic that we recovered with the pace with which we did, when the Red Cross was sending relief materials to our people again in the Refugee Camp because our people by their adventurous nature had gone to fetch for themselves, that is the Igbo spirit, that is the can do it spirit.
“Gentlemen & ladies, I want us to emphasis our story. As a people you will agree with me that we are very adventurous people, we are achievers, look round you, we have made more gains than loses. Our strength is in the fact that as individuals we are great achievers and we hope that when we redirect this strength of ours we will be able to address the problems of our people”.
He continued that, “today will mark the beginning of a new Ohaneze, a new Ohaneze that has the full support of our Governors, of our traditional rulers so that when we make a statement or speech the world will know we have come. We are going to bring hope to our people; our people will no longer cry because as a people we can solve our problems. There is nothing we put our minds to that we cannot solve, when you see Lagos the way it is, highly developed environment, the Igbo contributed about 30% of that development, the same in Abuja that means that if we redirect our energies we can build another Abuja in Igboland. That means we can build another Lagos in Igboland, and that is our new direction now.
“What we want is that our people should not see any person as being responsible for any situation we find ourselves in. We will only be there if we accept it. We will put our feet down and put our heads up; we will rise to the occasion to solve our problems. Hope has come, that is the message we are bringing. Today, Ohaneze is having an ultra-modern complex courtesy of the Governor of Imo State and we thank him for that. We call on other Governors to follow suit so as to equip Ohaneze to be a formidable voice in the nation.
”Why is it that our people are investing in everywhere but home? Wealth is not wealth until it gets home says an Igbo adage. The governments in Igboland must come together to create that environment to attract our people. Those things they do out there let them come and do it here so that our young people will have employment and we won’t be begging anybody for employment, we can do it for ourselves”.
In his speech, Chairman of the event and former Governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwaobodo, described the meeting as a process of self-discovery.
According to him, “What we are doing today is very important, it is operation rediscover yourself because he that is rejected cannot reject himself. We have to rediscover ourselves. We have come to make a statement that we are major stakeholders in this country. If you go to Lagos, Alaba for instance is being occupied by the Igbos, anywhere you go to in Nigeria you have Igbo dwelling and occupying the place. Even in America the Presidential candidate of the Republican party, Donald Trump said that the Igbo should go because we have enough in our land.
Source: Dailyglobewatch.com