By Luke Onyekakeyah
The recent South-East Economic and Security Summit held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, was a worthwhile intervention by the stakeholders in the region to address the dwindling and unimpressive fortunes of the Southeast as well as the unprecedented worsening peace time insecurity situation in the hitherto peaceful and progressive zone.
The summit was a direct response to the situation on ground. It came at no less auspicious time, which explains the wide support given to the parley from across the states of the region.
Coming at the instance of a committee drawn from the five states of the zone, with leaders of the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo, among other stakeholders.
Thus, dignitaries at the event included the former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, former Chief of Army Staff Azubuike Ihejirika, former Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro, Minister of Labour Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Senator Uche Ekwunife, Minister of Science and Technology Uche Nnaji, Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okpnjo-Iweala, the clergy, among others.
Speaking through on-line video, Okonjo-Iweala posited that the underdevelopment situation in the Southeast was due to the attacks launched on the zone as well as the undermining of one another by residents of the zone. She said this is an extraordinary gathering to consider the economic and social development of the region.
According to her, Nigeria is facing a lot of crises and at the same time changing rapidly. If the initiative of this gathering succeeds and achieves results, then it will be a start of enjoyment to improving lives of our people in Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The zone has the potential to become a place of good governance. A redirected Southeast will make our young men and women become part of the team of the digitising world because the Southeast has many talents and opportunities.
Harping on the challenges facing the zone, the WTO boss noted that infrastructure gap, which, though constitutes a major drawback but the biggest challenge is the Southeast itself. The penchant to undermine each other is the worst enemy. The others include internal division, loss of focus, fragmentation among our people and lack of support for each other.
On the issue of security, Iweala said there can be no development without security. According to her, insecurity in the Southeast region is sending wrong signal to investors, stressing that we can’t have development without security.
She said that to sustain development is possible but the sit-at-home is one of the problems. To move forward, she said we have to solve the problem of insecurity. Other speakers keyed into Iweala’s speech to make contributions.
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, who was represented by his deputy, Patricia Obila, noted that the security summit came at the right time. She said we need peace. “All that we need is to believe in ourselves. We have to come together to harness what we have.” She pledged that Ebonyi State is committed to achieving these projects.
Governor Hope Uzodimma, the host, bemoaned the situation in the Southeast. Said he, “We have allowed ourselves to be strangulated. We have willfully allowed ourselves to be divided.” Quoting the Scriptures, he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
What do we do, he asked rhetorically. Do we allow ourselves to continue to drift? We have to tell ourselves some bitter truth. He said the challenge of insecurity has brought us together. We are now surrounded by dangerous criminals who want to decimate us and take over our Igboland.
The way out, according to Uzodimma is that Ohaneze Ndigbo should penetrate the grassroots, set up their branches everywhere, preach morality, teach our young people about culture and tradition and make life more meaningful in our land.
For the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, the meeting should hold more regularly. “We should meet regularly…with the security agencies to discuss insecurity challenges in our area.”
On the issue of economy, Mbah said there is need to have a common market that will be a centre for growing the economy of the region and from there we look at how to create a comparative advantage for the different states of the region. We look at the key enablers like road transportation, look at how we construct a ring road that connects the Southeast region.
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti harped on the need to listen to the plight of the youths. “For us to have a way forward, we must be willing to engage with our youths to know their problems. There is anger in the land. Another issue is to fight the problem of drug abuse and cut all channels they use to supply the drugs.”
Finally, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State said the Southeast zone must have the self belief to turn things around despite insecurity and other challenges facing the zone. Said he, “The Southeast is ready for business, the Southeast is ripe for business and we must all believe in our ability to turn things around and get the Southeast going again. That must be the outcome of this particular summit.”
Soludo charged the people not to wait for all the problems to be solved by the governors before they can come to invest in the zone, adding that if they don’t stop seeing gloom and doom, this place will be a desolate homeland.
He said we need not just ourselves. The region should also partner with the rest of the country, the diaspora and international community. “Ndigbo needs Nigeria and Nigeria needs Ndigbo. Ndigbo needs Africa and the world and the world and Africa need Ndigbo.”
The issue of Biafra agitation came up when the former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim in his speech called for a rethink of the Biafra agitation and strategies to deal with insecurity in the Southeast. Anyim said a robust discussion with the agitators will generate lasting solution to the insecurity plaguing the zone.
Anyim warned that going by recent developments, the region risks losing economic and political relevance in the country, noting that years of insecurity and agitation have been used as cover by criminal elements to thrive.
In the same vein, the Igboezue International Association and the Diaspora (IIAND) urged the Southeast governors to make the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) top on their agenda if they want to achieve peace and meaningful security in the zone.
It needs to be stated that the spirit behind this parley is highly commendable. To this end, Ndigbo must appreciate the role and support of the Southeast governors, the Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership as well as the numerous individuals who identified with the cause. I would like to reiterate that as it was once sang in cultural music and dance, if Alaigbo is good, it good for all of us, if it is bad, it is bad for all of us. That is a call for all and sundry to join in the quest to make Igboland good. All hands must be on deck.
A number of important suggestions have been put forward by the speakers at the summit. It is one thing to Marshall out those useful points and yet it is another thing to articulate them and put them into action to achieve targets.
In that regard, there is need to constitute an action/implementation committee that would digest the suggestions and put them into a workable framework in order not to reduce the summit to a mere jamboree. A follow up should be held to review the progress made to keep the ball rolling.”
*Onyekakeyah is a public affairs analyst
