From the west to the north and to the nation’s capital, Abuja, it has been one tale of woe to another concerning the demolition of property belonging to Igbo People by the government. This development is however, nothing new, as over time such has been happening in various guises.
We all remember how property belonging to Igbo People are always targeted during religious and political crises in Northern Nigeria even when the Igbo People have done nothing to attract such vengeance. This development had triggered calls to Igbo People to come home and invest under the Think Home Philosophy. But, sadly, even as such calls persisted, Igbo People had continued to invest heavily outside their homeland.
Recently, History has been repeating itself with the demolition of property in areas dominated by Igbo people, including markets, in Lagos.
Indeed, since the last general elections in the country in which Lagos fell to Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, things have not been the same as some base elements in Lagos took it personal, accusing the Igbo People of trying to take over Lagos from its aborigenes.
They have since then been showing hostility to Igbo People in Lagos. It got worse when the state Government seemingly followed suit with the demolition of markets and houses of Igbo People, often on flimsy reasons.
The latest was the destruction of the estate of an Igbo man in Abuja, Chief Nicholas Ukachukwu, who cried that it was done because of where he comes from. His estate was destroyed on the orders of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, who explained the estate was demolished because Ukachukwu did not get the approval of any minister that preceded him, Wike.
Ukachukwu had accused Wike of ordering the demolition without any court order despite two pending valid court orders from separate courts restraining him and the FCT Administration from tampering with the property, claiming that the property was demolished because it was owned by an Igbo man, and not because the company violated any law.
But the Minister said the land-grabbing in Abuja was becoming rampant because some officials in the Land Department of his Ministry had compromised.
‘I have been doing this before. I will continue to do it. And nothing will happen. Criminals are criminals. They may come in different ways. I have never seen people like land-grabbing people in this place. I came in, I met so many petitions. One company came with different petitions, with different owners of properties,’ Wike said.
While we do not wish to dwell on any further argument on the matter concerning the Ukachukwu case and others, we make haste to say that the Igbo of South East Nigeria have suffered enough in various parts of the country to have learnt their lesson. It is indeed, quite regrettable that even tomorrow, despite what they have been experiencing, more Igbos will still embark on huge projects in various parts of Nigeria as though they cannot exist without investing in those hostile territories.
While relocating home entirely isn’t what we are advocating, investing wisely can solve the problem. What do we mean? Igbos with big companies can start by establishing the headquarters of their businesses in the east and run branches in other parts of the country. This way, they will cut their risks in case of any adversity.
On the other hand, it is not enough for the governments of the South East Zone to call on Igbos to think home without emplacing the right environment at home. They should make such coming home to be very attractive by way of tax rebates, provision of security and protection of those people from the menace of touts known as area boys who exploit developers.
No business man invests where he will lose out and so long as the home front is not investor-friendly, the think home call will remain at best, theoretical. All hands must be on deck for the realization of the think home call.
But the Igbo People must really begin to have a rethink on how they invest in places where they are not wanted. This should be a no-brainer.
