Southeast Town Unions rose from a one-day economic summit in Enugu with a clarion call to Igbo sons and daughters with businesses outside Igboland to begin the process of repatriating their investment back home.
This is with a view to opening up opportunities and addressing the unemployment crisis and the attendant security challenges in the zone.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the group lamented that the extant security arrangement in Nigeria today has not served the interest of the Southeast “especially as it concerns the lives and property of the vulnerable, poor defenceless people at the grassroots.”
The communique signed by the national president, Chief Emeka Diwe alongside state presidents of the association states further: “It is our view that security everywhere is a local affair and to overhaul the security architecture of Nigeria is an idea whose time has come. An effective community policing will certainly solve the problem.”
The communique described as an aberration the non-inclusion of an Igbo man as a member of the National Security Council that is made up of eleven persons.
On the menace of herdsmen, the group was of the view that both farmers and herders need the land but averred that herding of cattle is a private business which should be treated strictly on that basis.
The group said it aligned with the concept of restructuring as advocated by many organisations in the Southeast. “However, our in depth research on the feeling of the people, the town unions being the closest to the grassroots, indicates that the people would want to agree first to live together before the conditions of living together would be spelt out.”
On the issue of Biafra agitation, the group stated: “We regret the patently unsustainable approaches often being adopted by successive governments in Nigeria to deal with the Biafran question. Suppressing an idea does not succeed in making it go away. The Biafran agitation is not necessarily about secession or the break-up of Nigeria. Rather, it is an expression of displeasure over the unarguably prolonged marginalisation of Igbo people in the scheme of things in Nigeria. We therefore maintain that continous dialogue and genuine commitment to addressing the root cause of the agitations will solve the problem.”
The summit with the theme “Economic, security and leadership challenges in the Southeast” had in attendance all Southeast town union leaders and as well as other stakeholders.
The summit was chaired by the representative of the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo in the person of Hon. Alex Ogbonna, the Enugu State president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Papers were presented by guest speakers at the occasion. The Speakers included Sir Stanley Chidozie Amuche whose presented the paper “Harnessing the Economic Potentials in the South East for the Prosperity of the Grassroot,” Paulinus Igwe Nwagu who spoke on security challenges and Prof Ihechukwu Madubuike.
The highlight of the summit was the Investiture of National patrons and meritorious awards conferred on the former governors of Anambra State Peter Obi and Chris Ngige and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.