By Juliet Oyoyo (Kaduna), Sunny
Nwankwo (Maiduguri), Patience
Ogbodo-Iwuagwu (Bauchi), Hisham
Habib (Kano), Idongesit Ashameri
(Uyo), Oladele Ogunsola (Ibadan),
Onoja Audu (Jos) and Gbenga
Faturoti, (Osogbo)
Twelve days to the start of the
general elections, indications are that
non-indigenes in northern states are
relocating en masse to their
respective home states for fear of
being caught unawares in the event of
a post-election violence.
Many of such travelers who spoke to
our correspondents across the 19
northern states say they prefer return
to their roots to await the outcome of
the Presidential election which they
fear may lead to huge loss of lives
and property, going by the unfriendly
banters by the protégés of the major
players.
As a result of the palpable fears, our
correspondents learnt that many
families who traveled for the
Christmas and New Year holidays
were yet to returen.
Most schools were said to have
resumed with few students returning
as most had either relocated,
travelled back to the South or stayed
back with their parents in their
respective states to come back after
the election, that is, if the election
goes without hitches or post-election
violence.
Economies of many of these states
are said to have been affected by this,
as business activities are at their ebb.
Daily Independent investigation
revealed that, some shops in markets
across Kaduna have remained locked
for almost three months while some
property owners are either selling off
their property or leasing them.
Some residents, who spoke to our
correspondent said the reassurances
of protection of lives and property by
the state government have so far not
changed much as the mass return
continued. Asked if the places they
were running to were safer, some
said if they must die, let it be
amongst their people.
Tajudeen Ajibade, a leader of the
Yorubas in Kaduna blamed the
decision to return to their home
states on the tension generated
ahead of the elections, because he
believe that crises would erupt due to
some of the inflammatory statements
being made. While trying to douse
such fears, he said: “I see no reason
why anyone should be leaving. You
should stay where you are registered
and think seriously about the
Nigerian Project.
Dominic Uzu, who spoke on behalf of
Chief Barrister Chris Nnolie, President
of Igbo residents in Kaduna, however,
denied any such exodus by Ndigbo,
whom, he said, have been urged to
stay and vote where they are
registered.
Most of those who spoke to Daily
Independent like Kenneth Onwubiko,
however, said the fears being
expressed are real, insisting that
nobody can talk him out of returning
to his homeland.
Madam Martha, 65, recalled from
experience then as a teenager that the
Nigerian civil war which started
gradually, with people at home
calling on families members to return
home.
Mark Jacob, Legal Adviser to the
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
(FAAN) and a PDP stalwart in
Kaduna State said people would only
move with the benefit of hindsight.
He concurred that “during the 2011
post-election violence non- indigenes
were targeted. We believe that such a
thing should not happen again
because if people are moving away
from the North it should be of great
concern to all politicians.”
He called on politicians to be careful
not to send wrong signals through
their language.
Over the past week in Maiduguri, the
Borno State capital, there had also
been exodus of people gripped by fear
over possible post-election
hostilities.
Besides the activities of the Boko
Haram insurgents, memories of the
2011 post-election violence in some
parts of the northern region remained
fresh, as it claimed many lives,
especially of those from southern
states.
A trip to luxury bus parks in the state
showed that such travelers in their
hundreds were seen struggling to
purchase tickets, leading to a sharp
hike in fares to N6,500 per passenger
from N4,500 exclusive of their loads.
Chuks Ibe, one of the travelers, told
Daily Independent in one of the parks
that he was ready to pay as much as
N10,000 to return “home”.
When contacted an Igbo leader in
Borno State, Oscar Onoh, said the
exodus of Ndigbo was informed by
certain unhealthy utterances that tend
to instil fear into them.
“Imagine a situation where some
natives would be telling the non-
natives that some people’s throats
will be slit in this election. So, that’s
why our people are leaving pending
the outcome of the election,” he
stated.
On his part, the Leader of Yoruba
community in Borno State, Yusuf
Alao, who admitted that some
southerners were fleeing, blamed it
on some comments being made in
the town that the country would break
up, among others.
“I have told my people not to panic;
that nothing will happen. People
should remain calm and go about
their normal business as Nigeria will
not break and there will be no crisis
in the election,” Alao, also known as
mai Yorubawa (Yoruba leader) said.
The movement out of Bauchi in large
number became noticeable as non-
indigenes who travelled for Christmas
celebration also opted to stay back
until after election while others have
started leaving since January 2015.
When Daily Independent visited a
luxury bus park along Maiduguri bye-
pass in Bauchi, Ejike Isu, a resident,
who escorted his wife and children to
the park said: “I am sending my wife
and children home while I will join
them by next weekend because we
don’t know what will happen during
the election. We don’t want to be
caught unawares.”
A businessman in Bauchi, Emeka
Aneke, from Ebonyi State who said he
would be travelling to his home town
by first week of February said he
chattered an 18-seater bus to convey
his family home three weeks ago.
“I stopped buying goods since last
November, so I am only selling the
ones I have in the shop because it is
better for me to keep the money in the
bank so that if it happens that we are
not able to come back to Bauchi, I
can use my money to start business
in another state,” he said.
Another Igbo leader who craved
anonymity said: “As a leader, I am
not supposed to tell people to flee the
state because we are supposed to
stay back and exercise our franchise
as citizens of Nigeria, but
unfortunately with the security
challenges in the north coupled with
harsh political utterances from the
two major parties, we need to move
to our home town to be safe.
Tessy Emmanuel, a banker who hails
from Benue State had no plans to
travel, but the violence that erupted
the day President Jonathan visited
Bauchi for campaign rally made her
to change her mind.
Kano, commercial capital of Northern
Nigeria is not left out, as passengers
daily besiege the New Road motor
park in the city.
One of such, Uche Onyeama, told our
correspondent he was leaving town
because there was uncertainty hence
the need to be where his safety is
guaranteed.
A tricycle operator Saidu Bala told our
correspondent that in Badawa
Quarters of Kano, where he plied his
trade, a lot of non-indigenes have left
town, while those who remained have
been sending their families home and
to follow later.
Reacting, the Sarkin Yoruba of Kano,
Saliu Olowo said the fear was
uncalled for, appealing for calm, just
as he urged politicians to desist from
campaigns of calumny.
Leader of Ndigbo in Kano, J. C. Nnaji,
agreed with his Yoruba counterpart
that there is no reason for the exodus
of non-indigenes as it would only
show a sign of disharmony which did
not exist.
In Uyo, Akwa Ibom, the heavy traffic
at the state transport company’s park
gave an outlook of a festivity as
many were seen with household
items and members of their families.
One of them, Mrs. Julie Udoh, told
our correspondent that she had spent
her entire life in the north but was for
the first time feeling serious sense of
insecurity and decided to relocate to
her state of origin.
At the Kano, Sokoto, Jebba, Lokoja,
Birnni-Kebbi bound bus station, in the
Ojoo motor park, in Ibadan, Oyo
State, our correspondent learnt that
there was in-bound traffic, with
minimal outbound buses. He however
said not only non-indigenes as
northerners were also fleeing from
their places of origin as a result of the
Boko-Haram insurgency and with the
election around the corner.
One of the drivers plying Ibadan/Kano
route, Tajudeen Kareem, confirmed to
our reporter that a lot of people, who
returned for Christmas stayed back
for whatever reasons. This, he said,
“is a wise decision if it is because of
the election because nobody can say
what will happen.”
source >>>> http:///yy5Vkby5S7

Hehe na wao

Yes oh, Buhari can soak his children, supporters and family members in blood.

3cycle:
Yes oh, Buhari can soak his children, supporters and family members in blood.

exactly

i wont pity any igbo man killed in northern nigeria because that person no get hear

May Allah guide n protect them all. Nigerians wants military man by all means, too bad.
Old vessel can't hold much and people think they don't but when they will do, it would be too late to change a thing. National unity is the first thing in view.

They shouldn't have come back, people always try to reenact what they watch in movies,claiming James bond in this situation is foolishness,bring your investments back to your home

I pray the crisis about to befall nigeria won't affect me or any close friend and family relatives, been having disturbing dreams

North a bloodletting region

Stay in the North at your own peril


Mama Nkechi please give me abacha with two good pomos.

Nigeria is cursed leadershipwise, see as the two leaders of Igbo and yoloba community are telling people not to leave but in reality people are leaving in multitudes.

These 2 leaders needed to stoned for crying out loud:
meanwhile here in Ihiala the population of the town is increasing everyday you sleep and wake up you must see a new family in the next houses, ask who they are and they will say Oso Buhari or Oso Boko Haram or Oso Election

My brother Igbos are wiser than you imagine, come to Ihiala here and see what is happening, North is becoming desolate and empty, Onicha don full dey pour enter Oba, Umunya Ogbunike Atani, Asaba too don full dey enter Okpanam and Igbuzor
Nnewi too Ozubulu is there satelite town now


I DONT KNOW ABOUT ENUGWU BUT PEOPLE ARE FLEEING SERIOUSLY

ghost1718:
i wont pity any igbo man killed in northern nigeria because that person no get hear

If you are not from the north, please leave there before Febuary 14, 2015. If Buhari should mistakenly lose whether by rigging or free and fair election, you will be the first casualty, whether you voted Buhari or not. The corpers that died in 2011 are enough examples. If you are not a Niger Deltan, leave that place before February 14. They have been promising hell if Jonathan doesn't return. Nigerians be wise. Do not waste your life on politicians, because not one of them will lose their lives in the coming election. The soldiers and police Meant to secure your lives are attached to each of them in dozens. Neither Jonathan nor Buhari is a magician. Corruption can only be wiped out by you. If you work in the civil services don't help to manipulate figures or systems or taxes and report to work early. Don't give police and FRSC bribes for circumventing the laws. Don't steal from your office till, do not cheat your fellow man. Do not demand money or contracts from politician in exchange for votes. Reject gifts from them. The accumulation of this vices is what is called corruption. Nigeria wil change if we change because APC is PDP and PDP is APC, there is no change in that.

The first step to transformation or change is repentance by all Nigerians as a nation. Our salvation is not in any of the candidates but in ourselves. Neither Jonathan nor Buhari will bring transformation or change.
We as a people are very corrupt and it reflects on the leaders we chose. Don't waste your energy on any politicians because they can not change for you what you should change in your life.

Corruption occurs when:
- You bribe or sleep with lecturers for marks or promotion.
-You give bribe to Police and Traffic Officers.
-You as a staff in public or private organisation covet properties of the government to yours.
-You help to lynch suspected criminals to death.
-You throw refuse on the floor causing blockages in the drainage.
-You vandalise oil pipeline and call it national cake.
-You help politicians inflate invoice or launder money as a contractor or bankers.
-You jump queues at filling station, ATM gallery, banks etc
- You bear false witness against your neighbour
-You pay invigilators for expo at exam centres
-You owe workers deliberately and refuse to pay them.
- You forge certificates and visas.
- You bypass NEPA installations for cheaper bills.
- You as civil servants help politicians to change facts and figures in the name of political appointments.

Is this what we expect them to save us from. To save us from ourselves. I know they are corrupt but they are actually a chip of the old block. They are a reflections of us as Nigerians. They cannot save us from ourselves. The vices we commit are too numerous to be listed. The accumulation of this wrong doings is what we call corruption today. If we as individuals don't change, no general or PHD holder can cause any change. We need to lead our self first before we give the permission to lead us. Don't settle for tissue papers and NEPA bills or no shoes emotion. Settle for respect and your prosperity. At that point we won't need be led. Most of what we want the presidents to do for us are things we should do ourselves.

make E
Be true OH because i dont know what will make us wise again

Them no dey tell person...I'm still in Bauchi sha,but Saturday,I dey port finally....doz moda f^ckerz can't be trusted!

ghost1718:
i wont pity any igbo man killed in northern nigeria because that person no get hear

kai eya.. sorry ko.. ur case is very pathetic.. my prayer for u is dat may crisis never visit d place where you n ur family know now as "home"

Reading people's minds

Mod the right thing nah

I still rep SE/SS. Let em start the war, we're ready

Ndi igbo, na ta ba nu o. No place like home. If they say wait,run as fast as u can. Ajo ko le dabi ile. If you must die, die at home. To ndi igbo that have returned, I say nno nu o, kaabo, and welcome.

BuddahMonk:
Nigeria is cursed leadershipwise, see as the two leaders of Igbo and yoloba community are telling people not to leave but in reality people are leaving in multitudes.

These 2 leaders needed to stoned for crying out loud:
meanwhile here in Ihiala the population of the town is increasing everyday you sleep and wake up you must see a new family in the next houses, ask who they are and they will say Oso Buhari or Oso Boko Haram or Oso Election

lol at oso buhari

ThankGod I am in southwest, where nothing will happen. So no need fleeing back to alaigbo.

Vicotex:
I still rep SE/SS. Let em start the war, we're ready

Me too

customized13:
ThankGod I am in southwest, where nothing will happen. So no need fleeing back to alaigbo.

South west na your home shame dey catch for your side

Emytexboy:

South west na your home shame dey catch for your side

lol, Nigeria is my home

dealslip:
The first step to transformation or change is repentance by all Nigerians as a nation. Our salvation is not in any of the candidates but in ourselves. Neither Jonathan nor Buhari will bring transformation or change.
We as a people are very corrupt and it reflects on the leaders we chose. Don't waste your energy on any politicians because they can not change for you what you should change in your life.

Corruption occurs when:
- You bribe or sleep with lecturers for marks or promotion.
-You give bribe to Police and Traffic Officers.
-You as a staff in public or private organisation covet properties of the government to yours.
-You help to lynch suspected criminals to death.
-You throw refuse on the floor causing blockages in the drainage.
-You vandalise oil pipeline and call it national cake.
-You help politicians inflate invoice or launder money as a contractor or bankers.
-You jump queues at filling station, ATM gallery, banks etc
- You bear false witness against your neighbour
-You pay invigilators for expo at exam centres
-You owe workers deliberately and refuse to pay them.
- You forge certificates and visas.
- You bypass NEPA installations for cheaper bills.
- You as civil servants help politicians to change facts and figures in the name of political appointments.

Is this what we expect them to save us from. To save us from ourselves. I know they are corrupt but they are actually a chip of the old block. They are a reflections of us as Nigerians. They cannot save us from ourselves. The vices we commit are too numerous to be listed. The accumulation of this wrong doings is what we call corruption today. If we as individuals don't change, no general or PHD holder can cause any change. We need to lead our self first before we give the permission to lead us. Don't settle for tissue papers and NEPA bills or no shoes emotion. Settle for respect and your prosperity. At that point we won't need be led. Most of what we want the presidents to do for us are things we should do ourselves.

God bless you my sister. Your mindset is the change Nigeria needs.

Na war, this is very bad, I was told that,the almajeris are already on road stopping vehicles, mandating them to chant sai buhari before they will be allowed pass. I pray that Nigeria will survive this 2015 election.AMEN

Politicians should desist from making statements that is not healthy, please we don't want war threats, be it from Niger/deltans militants or Arewa militants (boko)
meanwhile hope Abuja is safe, cos if not make I to my villa.

Very true

The Igbo's have applied wisdom to avoid being victims of the violent prone north.