THE recent twist in Nigerian politics leading to agitations for presidency based on ethnic and zonal cleavages, has led some to the conclusion that no leader can emerge that will unite Nigeria.

Their reasons include that a Northern leader will attract resistance from other zones, because the North led this nation for 35 out of 50 years and basically brought us to this stage of despair.

The South West got power from the military in 1999; their leadership brought in GEJ, under whom we are still groping, with insecurity and bad politicking threatening the very existence of the country, while the North has vowed to remove him from Aso Rock.

Many, therefore, reason that Nigeria has reached a stage where no leader will be able to unite the country. I do not agree with this position, and I am not alone.

There is yet a zone that has shown complete and unalloyed loyalty to the nation of Nigeria, and within that zone lies the leadership that will take Nigeria out of the doldrums. An honest check of the investments by ethnic personalities and individuals across the country, take us to one ethnic group that qualifies by reason of their investments in each state of Nigeria to produce a leader that will bring unity.

My unaided estimates, for want of verifiable statistics, show that in Lagos, Igbo investment is not less than N300 trillion; it is double of that in Abuja at about N600 trillion.

In Kano and Kaduna, Igbo investments run up to N10 trillion respectively; while in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, Igbo investment run into N5 trilion respectively. In Plateau State Igbo investment is hovering over N15 trillion! I can confidently add that there is no state in Nigerian where Igbo investments in business do not exceed N5 billion.

Capitalism is about investments, profits and financial power. The Holy Scripture tells us a man’s heart is always where his treasures are kept. Igbo treasures and investments are spread across every nook and corner of Nigeria.

It makes sense to me to posit that only an Igbo man can bring unity to Nigeria. The problem is that those Igbo haters do not want to face this fact and would prefer our continued suffering as a nation,than accepting this honest reality! A few reports of this reality will help us.

In 2007, the Minister for FCT,Mallam Nasir el-Rufai declared that “Igbos have acquired about 73 percent of landed property in Abuja”.

He was addressing a gathering of South East elected officials,he also revealed how the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ahmadu Ali abused him for demolishing his house in Asokoro District in Abuja.On a lighter mood, el-Rufai called on the Igbos to take Abuja as the sixth state of the South East in view of their dominance of the real estate sector of the FCT.

He pointed out that such dominance explains why the Igbos appear to have been the worst victims of the demolition exercise in the territory.For instance, he said 68 percent of the land allocations in the FCT belong to the 19 Northern states, but in actual land ownership, 73 percent belong to the Igbos with the most aggressive in land ownership belonging to the indigenes of Anambra State, while Ebonyi lags behind.

In Benue State, in 2010, when the Igbo community resolved to boycott the popular Zaki Biam Yam Market, the biggest in the nation, over disagreements with the host community, the market ran into serious challenges. In reaction to this, Governor Gabriel Suswan said: “Any state government that ignores the Igbo does so at the risk of its economy.

It is in this wise that I appointed a high-powered official in my government from the Igbo community to liaise between me and the community…; as we develop further, the issue of where one hails from will no longer be an issue because people from other communities would contest and win elections in communities where they reside and have made contributions”.

During the Jos crises in 2011, a coalition of people from the South-East , South-South and South-West resident in Jos, Plateau State said “that since the crises started in the state, the Yoruba had lost property worth N450bn; the Igbo, N410bn; and South-South, N110bn.The three groups from the year 1994 to date lost property estimated at over N970bn.”

In Maiduguri in 2011, it was reported that “the majority of the non-natives, especially Igbos, have resorted to selling their houses and other landed property, at ridiculously cheaper rates, saying that they no longer feel safe to carry out their businesses in Maiduguri and other neighboring Northern states.”

In 2012, following the death of some Igbos in a bomb explosion in Kano, an Igbo leader was reported as saying: “With more than one million Igbos and our over N20 billion investments in Kano, this is our home away from home. And no one can force us to return home where… land is scarce and expensive for setting up new businesses.”

A report this year 2013 has it that “the Igbo community in Kogi State has concluded plans to launch N200 million social responsibility fund to facilitate development of the permanent site of a comprehensive college under the aegis of Igbo Community Association, Lokoja branch”

The Igbo community in Kogi State plan to use the commissioning of the college to celebrate its centenary anniversary, which exemplifies peaceful communal living in Nigeria.

President of the association, Mr. O.A. Achinivu, said: “The official handover of the college project to Kogi State government is expected to coincide with Nigeria’s Centenary of programmes, under the theme: “Cultural Integration: Veritable Tool for National Unity.”

If Nigeria wants peace, only an Igbo president can give us unity, peace, and progress, because the Igbo people have more at stake in Nigeria, than all other federating ethnic units. You may take it or leave it, the facts and reports speak for themselves.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/the-igbos-have-more-at-stake-in-nigeria/#sthash.zRZoICcz.dpuf

No be me talk am oo ....

we know nah...

Everybody know nah...i no fit drag this one...the truth is always painful..

sexkila what is wrong or offensive in what i said, why u dey hide my post?

this no news abeg. its a known fact and not a fiction.no igbo,no development!!

Igbo's are the strength of Nigerian economy

but some people said that ibos are not the key to lagos economy.

Nwa Teacher: Igbo's are the strength of Nigerian economy

that is more of a sweeping or blanket statement

And all these N trillions and Billions of Dollars from the 20 pounds in 1970, i once said some where in this forum that Nigeria is finished without igbos, that is the more reason Igbos need to soft pedal on Biafra for now and rather move to the exclusive take over of the African Economy using the South East as the capital of a new Economic Empire ruled by Transport Emperors, Trading Emperors, Shipping Emperors, IT emperors, Movie Emperors , Banking Emperors, Media Emperors e.t.c

Aha! The chickens are finally coming home...

Truth is like smoke, try as much as you can to hide it somewhere someday it'll find a way of escape. We may seem to sound arrogant but the truth is that it takes a special grace for a group of people who went through what we went through in this nation and bounced back to remain "humble". The shout of Biafra here and there on Nairaland is simply because of how other major ethnic groups have monopolised the presidency for the past 50years. Incidentally, Nigeria has remained in wilderness for the past 50yrs. Give everyone the sense of belonging and see the truth in "unity in diversity".

On the other hand, keep hanging onto the presidency like a birthright and our slogan shall remain "to your tent oh Isreal". The focus will remain individual wealth and Nigeria's collective interest will keep sufferring. A simple sample of Igbo ministers and political appointees vis-a-vis their performances since the return of democracy should be an indicator of what we could experience if an Igbo finds his way to Aso Rock.

Oga suswan, abeg speak for yourself..

Dat's a real fact dat is undeniable......we all knw dat and de igbo's doesn't discriminate


Outro;:is dis thread makin fp sombod tell me

as usual something to make the Igbos happy and gloat over.

Way those youroba fools way dey rubbish igbo for here.
Eko ile and dayokunu no be igbo man talk this one oooo.
Wetin they save una be say these fools we have in aso rock no wan put seaport for east.
Anyday seaport enter igbo land, give us only 6years if this ur lagos still fine pass igbo land or generate money more than igbo land, then u know that igbo is a useless tribe.

But come to think of it wetin give igbo mind to dey invest heavily outside there state.

That's cool . We must all endeavour to say the truth and stand by it, that is the only way we(africans) can move forward.

Like they dont know. nigerians all know this but hate it when they are reminded about such. Igbo have been silenced in politics for a long time, then they went into private sector. Now pple such as lagosians don't like it anymore....ok oo

suswan is one sided. he forgot to record that hausa fulanis are great merchants. economically and commercially the north is very relevant. i will release more infor

That is not true,,That is not true

outro.:na oga gej cos am

Granted the original post is a mere opinion skewed by personal interest, there is a truth to it. However the single act of indiscriminate investments by Ndigbo in a dysfunctional Nigeria will constitute a logjam in stratagem and diplomatic maneuvers in future.

STUPID ONCE AGAIN STUPID WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THIS SATISTICS. IF IBOS OWN THIS MUCH THEN WHAT DO THE REST OF NIGERIA OWN. THINK NDI IBO THINK IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IBOS OWN THIS MUCH IN BENUE OF ALL PLACES. HOW MUCH IS THE TOTAL CUSTOMER DEPOSIT IN BANKS, HABA MY PEOPLE ARE TOO BOASTFUL. HAVING BEEN TO MOST PARTS OF NIGERIA I CAN CONFIDENTLY DISPUTE THESE FIGURES. THERE IS NO WAY THE IGBOS IN ALL NOTHERN STATE ARE UP TO ONE MILLION UNLESS THEY RESIDE IN THE BUSH. ALSO THERE IS NO WAY ALL THERE ASSETS TRADING, BUILDING, MANUFT IS UP TO ONE BILLION DOLLARS. ABSOLUTELY NO WAY.

Truth be said!the igbos r the only true nigerians we have in this country

"Mr. CLEMENT UDEGBE, a lawyer, wrote from Lagos"..
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/the-igbos-have-more-at-stake-in-nigeria/#



The mere mention of N300 Trillion, N600 Trillion like pure water wraps really got me…
Haba, N300 Trillion is nearly $2 Trillion dollars na!!!
Like it’s said, if you tell a lie long enough, you end up believing it.

bad meat: Truth be said!the igbos r the only true nigerians we have in this country

and why would that be?

Igbo guys una 2 much jaree i respect una die... From 20 pounds to trillions no be beans... Lazy people just dey hate una for their own laziness.

Iykopee: Igbo guys una 2 much jaree i respect una die... From 20 pounds to trillions no be beans... Lazy people just dey hate una for their own laziness.

well, they said if you dont have enemies, it just means you dont matter.
Ride on ma igbo brothers

Truth can never be hidden like some nairaland comments

No state would even dare ignore the Igbo. The oil-eaters in Lagos that like to scream themselves hoarse 'go back to your village' are merely exhibiting symptoms of hate - motivated by fear and envy. . .with the sinister hope of inheriting the properties and investments that prosperous Igbo people would be forced to forfeit or give away cheaply if they do return to the south East (as was the case during the Civil War).

Lazy fools often harbour such hopes of reaping where they did not sow. Since they lack the initiative and acumen to create their own wealth, they want to claim the numerous Igbo-owned plazas, hotels, malls, mansions, service apartments, factories, etc in choice locations across Lagos - on the strength of their gutless 'Alaiye' and 'onile' credentials. That is the only thing that makes them scream 'go back to your village'. However, they know that it would be almost impossible to sustain their economy in the absence of this much hated (i.e. feared and envied) people.

if there is 300 and 600 trillion investment of igbos in lagos and abuja respectively, coupled with other trillions mentioned in other states. don't be surprised that Ebonyi would have 900 trillion investment, Anambra - 50 Quadrillion , Abia - 30 Quadrillion ,Imo -21 Quadrillion , Enugu 12 Quadrillion

God bless Igbo land

jokers

But all this will be worth its salt only if Nigeria remains as one. If we divide, then it is a colossal loss that Igbos may never recover from like they did after Biafra.

Any wealthy Igbo living outside Igboland who does not invest at least 30% of his wealth in Igboland is sitting on sand.