Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has said that the Igbo man is the only real Nigerian who invests everywhere in the federation.
The Governor said that while the Igbo can be found investing in places like Kaura Namoda, Zamfara state, other tribes in Nigeria do not invest in Igboland and called for a change to promote national unity.
Ikpeazu who stated this in an interview in Aba, called on other Nigerians to copy the spirit of the Igbo man to enhance national cohesion and development.
He said; “Nigerians should copy the spirit of the Igbo. We are the real Nigerians. We are everywhere and we invest and spend money everywhere. The rest of Nigeria seems to be withdrawn. They should copy the outlook of the Igbo man. For the Igbo man to come and do a 5 storey building in Kaura Namoda and establish a hospital, build other things to add value means that he has faith that he belongs there. And he is not likely going to encourage anything that will not protect his investments. Other Nigerians are still withdrawn and unable to trust one another. You can’t find an Adamu Sanda Nigeria Limited on Azikiwe road in Aba. It is even difficult to find Kolawole Nigeria Limited in Enugu.
“I have a t –shirt where all the states have dots. And I now ask; dot, dot everywhere, who owns Nigeria? It must be the dot people. The Igbo man adds value and supports socio –economic development. So, there has been this failure to recognize by the authorities that there are people talking through their attitudes that they are the real Nigerians.”
Ikpeazu also stated that the Igbo man has demonstrated faith in Nigeria and urged other Nigerians to rather ‘walk their talk’ than only declaring that they are Nigerians.
According to him; “It is not by declaring I’m a Nigerian, you must be able to walk the talk. Who are the people that demonstrated faith in Nigeria? It is undeniably the Igbo man. It is not about population, strategic location or living a foot to the river. It is about those who are prepared to recover Sambisa forest for the reason that they want to do business in Sambisa. The Igbo man wants to live in Sambisa and do business. The Igbo man doesn’t just see Sambisa as a forest, but as an investment opportunity. And this is the outlook Nigeria needs.”
