‘Igbo Are Law-abiding People, Didnt Make A Mistake Contesting For Presidency’ – Iwuanyanwu

The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has defended the Igbo race saying they are law-abiding and patriotic people.

Naija News reports that Iwuanyanwu stated this during the weekend at the 2023 end-of-year get-together and awards evening of Aka Ikenga where he maintained that the Igbo man did not make a mistake to have contested for Nigeria’s number one political position, the presidency in 2023.

While stressing that the Igbo people do not engage in unlawful activities or seek to dominate others as speculated in some quarters, Iwuanyanwu raised concerns about a conspiracy against the Igbo people in Nigeria.

He further highlighted that the Igbo are the only ethnic group that ventures into different regions of Nigeria, engaging in business and making investments without repatriating their capital back to their homeland. Instead of facing persecution, Iwuanyanwu believes they should be acknowledged and commended for their unwavering patriotism.

Backing the former’s claims, a former Senate minority leader and senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, emphasized that Nigeria cannot progress if the Igbo continue to be marginalized.

In their joint remark at the event organized by Aka Ikenga, the Igbo think-tank intelligentsia group in Lagos, Iwuanyanwu and Abaribe expressed their belief that the Igbo community will persistently pursue their political aspirations without any hindrance.

They emphasized that despite the ongoing demolition exercises across the country, which are seemingly targeted against the Igbo people, they will not be intimidated or discouraged.

Naija News understands that the event also served as an opportunity for the duo to recognize and honour 16 distinguished individuals from Igboland for their remarkable contributions to the nation’s progress.

“It is clear that there is a conspiracy to bring Ndigbo down through certificates of occupancy and all sorts. Igbo are the only people that go to other places to do business and afterwards invest their money there, they don’t repatriate their money back home, they invest in the places they do business and this is because of their patriotism. They should be praised for this.

“Ndigbo are law-abiding people, they don’t go anywhere and try to dominate the people. I have gone to Abule-Ado where the demolition took place, the land was sold to them by the people. The government has the right to demolish buildings in the overall interest of the public to build infrastructure but the property owners must be compensated,” The Sun quoted Iwuanyanwu saying.

“I am a civil engineer, I know that when you want to build, the government comes to inspect and if it is in the wrong place, the government will mark it. The houses in Abule-Ado were not marked while they were under construction, they waited until the houses were completed and then demolished them. This is wrong,” he added.

Also speaking, Chairman United Airlines Nigeria, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, observed that the incident on a United Nigeria Airlines flight, which mistakenly landed in Asaba, Delta State instead of its intended destination in Abuja, was a deliberate plot to undermine the Igbo people.

According to him, the aircraft adhered to the flight plan it was provided with, further implicating the conspiracy.

Earlier in his address, Dr. Chike Madueke, president of Aka Ikenga, said the awards were a long-standing tradition of Aka Ikenga to get together at the end of the year to celebrate.

“As has been our tradition in Aka Ikenga, we get together at the end of every year to felicitate with ourselves and our families and our friends to fellowship and interact and reminisce over the year’s activities within the organisation and mull over the general happenings in our nation and how to make things better for our people and for Nigeria.

“This year, however, we are are going a step further to recognize excellence among our people and the friends of our people from all walks of life. The Aka Ikenga Award is given through our hands purely in recognition of outstanding leadership, achievement, courage and enterprise in keeping with the core values and ethics of our people. The award is non-pecuniary and shall remain non-pecuniary as long as it is to be given through our hands,” Madueke said.