By Ikeugonna Eleke
A United States of America, USA-based medical practitioner and the Traditional Prime Minister of Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze, has said that Igbo people in diaspora remit more than $60 billion to Nigeria every year.
Anakwenze, who is the leader of Igbo people across the globe and who runs a chain of hospitals that employ over 5,000 professionals in the USA, told journalists in Awka that the amount made great positive impact in the economy of the South East Region.
He added however that the main concern of Nigerians residing abroad was enthronement of the right leadership to make the country to take its rightful place among the comity of nations.
According to him, the people in diaspora had been contributing significantly to the development of their communities and were prepared to do more, provided the right atmosphere was created.
He said, for instance, that his people in the USA had raised a substantial amount to renovate the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, outpost in his community to improve healthcare services in the area.
‘We are raising the funds from individual Abagana people and as a group. We already have over $100, 000, which was raised last month. We’re also going to approach our people in other parts of the world to do same. Whatever the government can do is good, but we want to help ourselves as a community,’ he added.
Disclosing that he personally awarded 250 scholarships every year and empowered many widows, he said they were helping the young people because the old people no longer wanted to work.
‘We have a lot of educated people and those in business who have a lot of money and they are prepared to support the development of their towns. All they need is to see that we are serious and the money will flow.
‘The UNTH outpost has been abandoned and we want to make it big. It’s a federal government institution, but it’s been abandoned,’ he said, arguing that Nigeria could do much better than it was doing at the moment, lamenting that the problem was that the people running the government were below average and that was why they were failing the people.
He stated: ‘Nigeria should be aiming to be a world power, but we can’t achieve that with the kind of people ruling her. God gave us everything and we can’t manage them, which is very unfortunate. If we have people with brains, Nigeria will be a world power. At the moment, Nigeria is carrying last which is bad. We have to start producing, not sitting and consuming.
‘It’s shameful that we are still importing almost everything and as long as we continue to do that, our Naira will continue to be nothing.’
Anakwenze described the Igbo as very important towards the fast development of Nigeria and called for their proper inclusion in the affairs of country.
‘Unless Nigeria realizes the value of the Igbo, they will continue to carry last. We have the brains to match the Chinese and the Japanese in manufacturing. The things we manufacture in Aba and Onitsha and Nnewi are what can make the country grow, not sharing money and occupying government positions and giving jobs to family members who are not even qualified to hold such jobs,’ he stated.
