I was born in Enugu state and I had been living in Enugu city since 2001 but in all these years I had never seen a Yoruba or Hausa doing an established business in Enugu, although I usually see Hausa people selling small scale provision store in front of their gate house or fixing shues and clothes. Also the Yoruba women also dominate the traditional religious items sold in Mgbemenne market.

The very few places you will usually feel an Hausa presence are in government establishment like customs, Immigration, Army, etc with relatively few Yoruba and even in these government ministries, their numbers are just too few though the Hausa/Fulanis head most of these ministries, their numbers are just too few and most of the time these ministries are in secluded areas with inministry housing so they are carefully isolated from the Igbo public.

I had become friends with a few Hausa as my sister run a poultry farm where she hirer people from the minority Hausa speaking group up North so they teach me Hausa and I never let go of any opportunity to see an Hausa man just to tell him (Yaya Kake) and really they feel at home when I just finish the few Hausa I know and burst out laughing saying "I no hear again" they will reply "walai you dey here am small small quo" we laugh.

I had also had encounter with the Fulanis since those northern boys working in the farm can speak Hausa those Fulani catle rearers usually come around to give them cow milk, so atimes I would have some fun talking with the Fulanis which the other do their things with the milk so I had opportunity the other time with this cool fulani herder he is about my age so I asked him how much a little cow cost he said very small one #10,000, not too small #20,000 the big one #100,000 but they only sell big ones not the small ones. For me seeing herdsmen are just once in a while as they are mostly in the bush.

So I had been looking forward to one day seeing an established and settled Hausa or Yoruba as I believe that it will be easier to get to really be friends with a settled ones, because something about the Hausas that had been working in the farm, they don't like staying in one place for long,
They will just wake up one morning and say "Kano" as they fondly call me or "OJ" (my name is Ogechukwu but I think they have issue pronouncing it) "tell madam I go commot I don get security job" so once they collect their sallary they will be gone.

So I kept believing one day I will meet a settled Hausa or Yoruba then the fateful day came we were going to supply our processed Turkey and needed ice block to keep it from spoilage as we supply to ShopRite in Onitsha which is far from Enugu so when I got to the place we get the Ice block, a lady of about 50 years asked me in Igbo "Nke Ego ole ka ichoro" (how much own do you want) I looked up at her, her intonation and I asked her mummy are you Yoruba.

She smiled and said she's Igbo and I said but your Igbo have some Yoruba tone she now told me, Oya speak Yoruba let me see how yours will sound, we laughed she later told me she is Yoruba but had been living here possibly before I was born. As we are still there some two Army officers came around to greet her, after she gave her workers direction to give me the ice block and give me 20 ice blocks as extra she later drove off with her Toyota Hilux.

I was later discussing with my sister that I had never seen an Hausa or Yoruba own a real big time investment here aside the woman she told me the lady is really a big hit as she owns a chain of the ice block business in Enugu, I was really thrilled because before then I had never seen a house or complex business owned by Hausa or Yoruba here and I really wish there were more of them, especially the good ones that will give me extra ice block and good treatment like the lady and the rest of the Hausas that teach me and treat me good

I have a few Yoruba friends who are based in Port Harcourt, but only know of one relative based in the South East. I don't know a single other person there. Very odd.

This will sound controversial, but I suspect many older Yorubas believe (wrongly I think) that Igbos are 'difficult', and so many might baulk at the thought of living in the South East.

I think it's our (Yoruba's) loss by the way, because Yorubas have what it takes to compete and succeed there if they live there in large numbers and believe in themselves, just as many Igbos who move to the West do.

Agbo sellers, then small scale tailors, bankers that are Yoruba. Then the larger percentage of them are Pastors, RCCG and Winners

Op, if you won see, go to America or Europe. There you will find many yorubas doing big businesses. Yorubas love it international.

Op, it's all about ability to compete.

If you are not the strongest and smartest, you will struggle to survive in the east.

This is because of the long years of neglect and negative Federal government policies aimed to punish igbo for being "too clever"

So if you are not strong, you better stay in your zone. Even Dangote has kept off South east because he cannot survive there.

So, before you leave Ibadan or Kano to come to the east to hustle, remember that there is no free railway lines there, and that the airport has been held down till forever for minor repairs. So remember to come with a spare spine because the potholes left at the FG express roads will scatter your fragile spinal cord.

Gabriel004:
Op, if you won see, go to America or Europe. There you will find many yorubas doing big businesses. Yorubas love it international.

No..Ibos no like an International, dem no travel. Na only for Nigeria and Biafra dem dey.

Oya open ewedu mouth yarn ya usual rubbish.

JubrinElSudan:
Agbo sellers, then small scale tailors, bankers that are Yoruba. Then the larger percentage of them are Pastors, RCCG and Winners

Yes, they get rapid promotions to head sections and departments in Yoruba churches like RCCG or winners in the south east and south south while the locals are condemned to pay tithes or be labelled sinners.

Gabriel004:
Op, if you won see, go to America or Europe. There you will find many yorubas doing big businesses. Yorubas love it international.

Na only them dey go international?

Lol...
Maybe true.
But OP do you know that there are not many Igbos in Yoruba Land as you all portray it??

Because I do see, you all think Igbos are millions in a SW state

With exception of Lagos.
I can say Igbos are less than 20,000 in any of SW state,
Oyo is less than 50,000...

Wiseandtrue:
So why do I smell a political undertone in this post

Very soon you will start seeing Yoruba/Igbo should form political alliance post everywhere

This is not politically motivated but born out a real desire to see more of my country men around especially the Yoruba in a country there is division of enterprise, the Hausa/Fulanis have their place like the currency market, livestock especially cow, goat etc but in the Yoruba part there had been a vacuum in the east for example the poultry businesses which am well into we get our day old chicks and turkey from Ibadan we pay 11 naira to transport each chicken from Ibadan to Enugu, this day old poultry business is dominated by yorubas so why can't they set up some part of this facility in the east, sometimes the birds suffer mortality in the long journey, we here in the east just want our chicken we really don't have interest in the hatchery, why can't they come here so that we can all have higher production, there are many sectors like the batic cloth production the Yoruba and Hausa should come here, and see their area of expertise is still very much untapped

Alexanity:

This is not politically motivated but born out a real desire to see more of my country men around especially the Yoruba in a country there is division of enterprise, the Hausa/Fulanis have their place like the currency market, livestock especially cow, goat etc but in the Yoruba part there had been a vacuum in the east for example the poultry businesses which am well into we get our day old chicks and turkey from Ibadan we pay 11 naira to transport each chicken from Ibadan to Enugu, this day old poultry business is dominated by yorubas so why can't they set up some part of this facility in the east, sometimes the birds suffer mortality in the long journey, we here in the east just want our chicken we really don't have interest in the hatchery, why can't they come here so that we can all have higher production, there are many sectors like the batic cloth production the Yoruba and Hausa should come here, and see their area of expertise is still very much untapped

Lol, Shey the rate at which you guys hate Yorubas... Una say we should come and invest

Sammy07:


Lol, Shey the rate at which you guys hate Yorubas... Una say we should come and invest

Leave the hate for politian an average Igbo person don't hate a Yoruba, so is an average Yoruba, I think the hate is even more of a mob action my best teacher friends in secondary school were Yorubas like Aunty Yetunde, Auntie Babafemi Oluwatoyen, Oluwatosin, Ade Shekoni, Uncle Gbenga, these guys helped shape the man I am, even that Igbo guy that calls tinubu names on nairaland admire him in reality same as the Yoruba man that calls out other prominent Igbos, the hate we exhibit mainly is more of a political machinism that's why we have to look beyond

Alexanity:

This is not politically motivated but born out a real desire to see more of my country men around especially the Yoruba in a country there is division of enterprise, the Hausa/Fulanis have their place like the currency market, livestock especially cow, goat etc but in the Yoruba part there had been a vacuum in the east for example the poultry businesses which am well into we get our day old chicks and turkey from Ibadan we pay 11 naira to transport each chicken from Ibadan to Enugu, this day old poultry business is dominated by yorubas so why can't they set up some part of this facility in the east, sometimes the birds suffer mortality in the long journey, we here in the east just want our chicken we really don't have interest in the hatchery, why can't they come here so that we can all have higher production, there are many sectors like the batic cloth production the Yoruba and Hausa should come here, and see their area of expertise is still very much untapped

BTW, the poultry business you talked about is actually true.
Where I worked b4(years ago) , Igbos used to come there to buy fowls...

And also, land is very costly in SE..
At least here, there are some places I can buy land as low as 150k - 170k per plot..

I'm sure land is costly in the east..

The two pics below is one of the places where I've worked b4(years ago) .
Those Igbos usually come here to pack birds


Last two pics are processing (where fowls are butchered...
Another farm where I've worked b4


In essence, cost of setting up business in the east is higher than the west.

Sammy07:


BTW, the poultry business you talked about is actually true.
Where I worked b4(years ago) , Igbos used to come there to buy fowls...

And also, land is very costly in SE..
At least here, there are some places I can buy land as low as 150k - 170k per plot..

I'm sure land is costly in the east..

The two pics below is one of the places where I've worked b4(years ago) .
Those Igbos usually come here to pack birds


Last two pics are processing (where fowls are butchered...
Another farm where I've worked b4


In essence, cost of setting up business in the east is higher than the west.

If land is really going to be in the question, Land is really costly here, the least price of land in Enugu is #500,000 and those cheap land are community land, you will buy it from individual but when you go to erect structures there the community people will tell you it is community land, while the person who sold it to you is the owner, he can't sell community land so for you to get reliable land here, you have to know your way around and the sellable lands are costly like 3 million and above but you can get lease but land generally is scarce here

Alexanity:

If land is really going to be in the question, Land is really costly here, the least price of land in Enugu is #500,000 and those cheap land are community land, you will buy it from individual but when you go to erect structures there the community people will tell you it is community land, while the person who sold it to you is the owner, he can't sell community land so for you to get reliable land here, you have to know your way around and the sellable lands are costly like 3 million and above but you can get lease but land generally is scarce here

Jesus Christ.
Land is costly oo
Maybe that's the reason you guys have tall buildings.

3 - 3.5 million will build a 3 bedroom flat finish in the west..