The new President of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo in Kaduna State, Chief Austin Amaechi, has said that the Igbo people resident in the northern part of Nigeria are not prepared to abandon their investments worth over N40 billion in the region for fear of attacks by insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram sect.
He said, Igbo leaders who were asking them to come back home should be rest assured that Boko Haram war will soon come to an end.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new state executive members of the famous pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, Amaechi, a lawyer, said, the investments of Igbos in the north is worth over N40 billion.
“So, how can you leave that and go back to the east? Economically, we are at home in the north and politically, we want to participate. We will therefore ensure that we pursue peace with our host communities and among the Igbo communities because once there is peace our investments and other peoples’ investments will be secured.
“If there is no peace, it is not only the investments of Igbos that are threatened but the investments of all Nigerians. So, we would jointly ensure that Nigerians’ investments are protected by Nigerians,” he stated.
The president also explained that during the Nigerian civil war, the property of the Igbos were secured by northerners and were later handed over to them after the war, including the money collected from rents, adding that, that helped them to re-establish themselves after the war.
“Unlike other parts of Nigeria where the investments of Igbos were declared abandoned properties, that never happened in the North”, he said.
Source: Leadership
