₦airaland Forum

EMPEROROFDONBAS:
let Ogun strike your household. I don't blame.. I blame the useless mods who use this forum to showcase their madness. let Ogun strike you all

Oluwatoyink:
After collecting my PVC at inec office Kaduna South local government, Kaduna, Some men approached and said that if I wasn't going to vote peter obi I should return the card.

I ignored them and continued walking, then one of them said "he is Yoruba, he will vote Tinubu". The others started insulting me.


This kind of behavior is unacceptable

Angelfrost:
Please, don't be silly! Act your age abeg!

Even Tinubu will be ashamed of the way you go about campaigning for him.


How does antagonizing Igbos help or better APC chances next election?!! SMH!

Tochj:
It's better am a gala seller than to be a theif.
We are trained to make honest living.
You don't understand dignity in labor
That's why one old druggie recolonize ur entire Region giving you peanuts every 4years.

ORIGENAL:
Igbos are 1,000 miles ahead of you brown roofs republic, all this fake and propergander news can't help you, so get Lost

Writer01:
It did not concern me

TheChameleon:
You should know Tochj is a gala seller by now...

Too much time on his hands. He's forever unhappy Yorubas are his masters and his people their slaves. YORUBA will rule his future generations.

Chinonso Alozie

CHRISTMAS and New Year celebrations are two festivals that the Igbo of South-East region do not joke with. They look forward to this period with excitement.

They see it as a period to return to their homes to relax, meet with their kits and kin at home. It is also a period when they usually fix various activities, including development initiatives for the good of their communities. Above all, the period serves them as holiday period, time to rest after vigorous one year struggle in various fields of endeavour.

But the high level of insecurity that has bedeviled the zone; bad state of the economy and hyper inflation in the country, will not allow them enjoy all that this time around as it has been woes all round.

[We're not traveling home this season- Anambra residents

In Anambra State for example, residents of Awka, the state capital, who spoke to South-East Voice said they have shelved any travelling plans. Mr. Okechukwu Nwadike, a civil servant in Awka said this year will be the first time he will not be celebrating Christmas in his home town, Ogbunike, since he became an adult.

“I usually take my family to the village on the 23rd of December every year and we remain there till the second week of January. It is the only period my children enjoy the rural life and they always look forward to it.

“However, this year is different because of the insecurity in all parts of Igbo land. It will amount to taking unnecessary risk to expose my children to a situation where they won’t mix freely with other children in the village. I have already informed my relatives that we are not coming home and they understand, as they too will not be returning to the village.

“Thank God for technology as we have decided to conduct our family meeting on our WhatsApp platform. We are also making contributions to support the less privileged in our village as we do every year through mobile banking donations,” Nwadike explained.

A university lecturer, Dr. Jones Dike said he is not planning anything special for the Christmas because the resources are not available. While thanking God for making it possible to celebrate another Christmas, he said the entire family is yet to recover from the effects of the eight months strike by ASUU which, he added, impoverished him.

“I parked my car during the strike because I could no longer maintain it and although work has resumed, I am yet to put the car on the road as there is no money to do so. Therefore, I cannot be talking of travelling for Christmas in my present situation. My daughter who is an undergraduate is yet to pay her school fees because I cannot afford it for now.

“My happiness is that everybody in the house understands the situation we are in. This is the first Christmas I have not joined the frenzy of contributing to buy cow, but I do not mind because that is what the country has reduced us to.”

A tricycle operator in Awka, Mr. Christian Nwatu said with a bag of local rice at N36,000 and a litre of fuel at N260, he is not planning to travel this year. Nwatu said: “I usually travel from Anambra State to my state, Ebonyi, every Christmas with at least a bag of rice and other things. This year is totally different because apart from the heavy tax Governor Soludo has imposed on us, the cost of fuel to drive my Keke to Ebonyi will be too much. Besides, with all the news about kidnappings and unknown gunmen everywhere, it is better I remain where I am, hoping that things will be better in future.”

Hell may not be worse than Nigeria— Abia residents

Abia residents are lamenting the biting economic hardship in the land with many ruling out any plan to travel to the village for Christmas and New Year holidays.

Mrs. Chinenye Okeke is a fashion designer from Anambra State but based in Umuahia. The mother of three lamented that “things are very hard this time,” saying the possibility of her travelling home for Christmas holiday is still “50-50.

“We are just surviving by God’s grace. The cost of things has tripled. Last year we were crying that things were hard, now it is hellish. In fact, I don’t know if hell will be worse than living in Nigeria. Do you talk of money for food or how to even cook the little one you see? Before, charcoal was cheap but now, both charcoal and kerosene are not affordable. What about gas? I haven’t seen this type of hardship in my entire life. Only God can help us. Next week is Christmas and I have not bought anything for my children unlike before. My travelling home is dependent on the availability of funds,” she lamented and appealed to government to spare no efforts in coming to the aid of parents to cushion the effects of the excruciating hardship in the land.

Mrs. Okeke suggested that government should waive the next term school fees in all public schools and give subsidy to those in private schools as a way to empathize with parents and guardians.

Another fashion designer, Mrs. Christiana Ibeabuchi, also expressed frustration over the prevailing economic hardship in the country.

“Even customers bringing clothes to be sewn for them are not willing to pay because there is no money anywhere. They are only willing to pay about 70% of the real charge and we have no choice but to accept the much they can offer because they are our customers and this hardship is everywhere.”

A business centre operator on Awolowo Street by Niger Road, Umuahia, Chimdi Ejirika, said he had already made some adjustments in his budget for Christmas.

“Last year, I bought a bag of rice for N28,000 but now, it sells for close to N50,000. I have a baby of one year and six months and the dress I bought for her for N2,500 last year now sells for N9,000. If you travel to the village, you will see some old women and family members you must assist and if you fail to give them something, they might label you a stingy person. So, what do you do?

“That is why I have decided not to travel this time. Maybe by January, I will travel; things are really hard in the country but for me as a Christian, Christmas is not all about spending; it is a time for sober reflection to know if the Saviour has been born in my life. I am being careful.”

Residents also lament the rising cost of foodstuff like rice, beans, garri, tomato, vegetables and other essential ingredients in the market. A visit to major markets and motor parks in Aba and Umuahia revealed that the markets and motor parks are witnessing low activities unlike previous years. Prices of foodstuff have skyrocketed beyond the reach of consumers while cost of transportation has increased by over 50% for inter and intra city routes.

A lecturer at the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, who pleaded anonymity, said he can no longer afford the cost of taking his family of five to his community in Ohafia Council Area on account of the rising cost of foodstuff and transportation.

“I can’t afford to take my family home for the Christmas and New Year celebrations because of the cost of foodstuff and transportation to Ohafia town and finally to my village and back to Aba. It is better we stay in Aba to celebrate. To visit my village for the celebration, I have to buy foodstuff. Prices of rice, beans, yam, spaghetti and other items are clearly out of the reach of the ordinary man. The cost of transport is getting higher and you must buy clothes for the children and gifts for people in the village. I can no longer afford to charter a vehicle as I used to do in the past. In January 2023, the children will be returning to school to continue with their studies. So, you can see that I need nothing less than N500,000, if I should take my family to the village for the Christmas and New year celebrations.”

In Enugu, a resident, James Jonah expressed worry over the cost of things and insecurity in the state. Jonah, a businessman at the Ogbete market, said prices of items are beyond the reach of many. Besides, the exorbitant cost of items, the level of insecurity in the land is scaring people from travelling home for the celebrations.

“The South-East region is not what it used to be because of insecurity. Criminal elements have taken over our communities, kidnapping and killing, and government is not doing anything serious to rescue the situation. My brother who resides in the USA planned to come back home to celebrate Christmas with us this year but due to the security situation, we advised him to shelve it. We are not going to the village. Our area, Igbo-Eze North is no go area now.

“As a businessman, I was not able to buy the usual Christmas clothes for my children because of the economic hardship. I have explained to them that we are going to have low celebration. I felt bad when I went to buy rice but couldn’t afford to buy 50kg of local rice. I could not imagine that the cost of 50kg of local rice is N38,000. We started having this hardship and inflation problem since 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari took over as president.

“Nigeria is doomed if we fail to vote in the right person that will bring this country out of this hardship. We never had it this bad in this country”, he lamented.

In Imo State, the residents who have been under the siege of criminal elements, are not eager to travel, especially to the hinter lands, some of which have been deserted by their people.

According to a resident of Owerri, Onyekachi Iwu: “We are afraid; we thought the insecurity was over. We were planning to come back for this year’s Christmas until this Simon Ekpa started this rubbish of attacks in the name of sit-at-home order. You saw how the entire Igbo land went up in flame. It was like a war zone. What we thought was over returned with several destructions and killings.”

Abraham, from Orsu Local Government Area of the state, said: “The fear is much. We are in deep fear. Something must be done to bring back the people’s confidence.”

duro4chang:
Man inhumanity to man.

Lagos2Berlin:
It's not a sponsored post my brother, just the facts. If it's a lie, you can disprove it by showing us how many Igbos went home for Christmas.

The fact is that you people can't be fighting on social media but running from the problems created in your region. If e sure for you, travel go east na... Shebi you guys were supporting the whole IPOB killings, now jungle don mature, all of una no fit go house again.

The Yoruba people you insult everyday, calling them "dirty ofe mmanu" on social media are the ones you trust to not harm you... Cos everyone know Yorubas don't kill senselessly like IPOBs and Fulani Herdsmen. Such is life...

amliftedhigher:
It shall not be well with Simon Ekpa and his terrorist supporters

AcuraZDX:
Your mothers are in IDP camps and Benin Republic over killings. Over 100 were slaughtered like Chicken in Owo and you're here trolling. Clown

Ewedu miscreant

Racoon:
The widespread deteriorating insecurity is a national problem as no where is safe including Abuja the city of power. So don't narrow it down to alaigbo. I was in Enugu recently and everywhere was relatively calm from Emene - Ai - Agbani - Udi.

AcuraZDX:
You're only deceiving yourself. Correspondents isonu.

If you like, create 100 million targeted threads about Igbos, it won't stop Arthur Eze of celebrating his Christmas in Anambra or even E-money of traveling with his exotic cars and Ogene group.

Ewedu miscreant

Tochj:
Lagos to the East is 25k
That's why many are not traveling including myself.
Children school fees 8s is knocking on the door in January.
Insecurity is general In Nigeria.

Ogbuefi2020:
We will be bringing colorful Christmas events to them. Social media has rubbished yoruba power of disinformation

Some residents of Lagos who have had the habit of visiting home in the East over the years during the yuletide, confirm that Igbo indigenes…

As the yuletide season gears up in the country, apprehensions over insecurity are hindering the usual mass travels to the South East for the celebrations.

Millions of indigenes of the South East fix major cultural, traditional, religious and family events in the yuletide season, which is around December 15 to January 15, and this triggers mass travels and exodus from other parts of the country into the area.

However, inquiries by our reporters show that there has been a significant apathy towards travels to the South East resulting in reduced activities in motor parks and airports.

Following the agitation for secession by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has spun out of control as different criminal elements, including violent agitators, bandits, kidnappers, cultists, contract killers and Ebubeagu have gone on the rampage, the usual peaceful atmosphere in the South East have been replaced with perpetual tension, especially on the highways.

The inflationary trends and the skyrocketing prices of commodities, which have worsened the poverty levels in the country, is another reason for the reduced interest in travels this yuletide, some respondents said.

Some residents of Lagos who have had the habit of visiting home in the East over the years during the yuletide, confirm that Igbo indigenes are not enthusiastic about visiting home this year due to the tense atmosphere in the zone.

A salesman, Francis Nzediegwu, who recently had his wedding confirmed said that he would not be traveling this December, explaining that the cost of transportation has doubled and the East is presently volatile.

“For the first time in a long while also, I will not be traveling for the Christmas celebrations,” he said.

An entrepreneur, Ebuka Ndive, who also confirmed that he will not be travelling said it is majorly because of the situation in the East, adding that this is the first time he would not travel to home.

Business owner, Johnson Ezeliora, who recently visited the South East said though it is not as bad as it is being portrayed, he will not be traveling because of the increase in prices of goods.

“Business has not been good. If I travel, I would spend a lot of money and we do not know what next year holds for us. I will spend Christmas in Lagos,” he said.

A businessman, Oba Kalu, usually drives during this period with his family. But he informed Daily Trust that he won’t be doing so this time around, adding that he would visit the East alone to attend to some pressing family events.

Another businessman based in Okigwe, Imo State, who pleaded anonymity, said the situation in the state is tense and no family would encourage their loved ones to return to the South East whether from other parts of Nigeria or abroad as the situation is unpredictable and many are leaving the zone in droves.

“The unknown gunmen led by Simon Ekpa are terrorising the entire zone. They can emerge from nowhere and attack the army and provoke their reprisals against the populace,” he said.

A lul at motor parks

A check at the popular motor park in Jibowu, Lagos and similar parks in the FCT also revealed that most people were not travelling to the region in large numbers as they usually do at this time of the year.

One of the bus drivers, Jude Nwankwo, said they are expecting an increase in the number of travellers from December 24.

“I don’t think insecurity is the major issue. The price of transport has gone up. From Lagos to Nnewi is now between N25,000 and N28,000. It is the same for Port Harcourt. In fact, you can’t go anywhere in the South East from Lagos with less than N23,000,” he said.

A traveller at the park, who identified himself as Simeon said other people are taking advantage of the insecurity in the region.

“The current insecurity is not caused by IPOB. What we have now are gunmen masquerading as IPOB. I am travelling because I have no fear,” he said.

Passengers who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja expressed worry over the Christmas trip.

Johnson Ojunta, traveling to Abia from Nyanya Park, said although insecurity lingers in the East, he is left with no option.

Ojunta said, “I just have to travel because it has been a long time since I went home. My parents are expecting me. I have five children but as you can see, I am traveling alone. Whatever will happen will happen.”

Emeka Uche, who lives in Kubwa, and travels to Imo State to celebrate Christmas with family and friends yearly, said the tradition had been put at risk by insecurity.

“I have already decided that I won’t travel home this year due to the insecurity in the country, particularly in the South East. People are being killed and kidnapped. It’s safer to remain where you are until the security situation improves,” he said.

A father of three, Ikechukwu Daniel, said he was still watching if IPOB would give any order capable of compromising Christmas and New Year celebrations in the South East.

He said, “I may risk going home for Christmas but my wife and children will not go. Let us not put too many lives at risk. If IPOB comes out with any order that will not allow people to enjoy themselves during the celebration, I better stay back in Abuja, but if nothing like that happens, I will join my colleagues to travel home. People are scared of being killed, kidnapped, or wounded.”

Reports from the popular Gwagwalada Motor Park indicate a low level of people travelling to the East from the park compared to last year.

A driver at the park attributed the situation to the insecurity in the zone, saying the current economic situation in the country is also a factor.

Igbos in the North not travelling en masse

From states in the far North, Igbo indigenes also identified insecurity and the high cost of transportation as a result of fuel scarcity for the decline in the number of people travelling to for the Christmas.

Daily Trust gathered from many Igbo residents in Kaduna and Niger states that there is uncertainty on whether they will travel to the South East or not.

Our correspondent who went around the Abdulkadir Kure Market in Minna on Tuesday observed that most of the Igbo traders had not travelled for the celebration.

Emeka Moses, who is from Enugu State, however, told Daily Trust that many Igbos do not travel during the Christmas period but wait to travel for the New Year celebration.

Moses said he plans to travel to Enugu State immediately after Christmas, despite the security situation and the high cost of transportation.

“Insecurity in the east will not stop us from travelling to our villages for the festivities,” he said.

His explanations were similar to Hope Ogbonna, a resident of Kaduna State who told Daily Trust that she will be traveling to Anambra State at the weekend despite the security challenges.

“The transport fare has almost doubled and there is insecurity in Anambra State, but I believe there will be no problem as long as one can monitor his or her movement,” she said.

Ogbonna explained that: “If you don’t stay out late and you mind the places you visit, I believe you will be fine”.

But Isaac Okoro, who sells electronics in Kaduna says he may not travel this year due to the high cost of transportation.

“We are still observing the situation, do you know how much is a bag of rice at the moment? It is not the insecurity that is the problem but the cost of living,” he said. However, the President of the Igbo Community Welfare Association in Kaduna, Francis Uchenna Ani said there is a decline in the number of people traveling to the South East this year. He said the cost of feeding, transportation and insecurity were the major factors.

“But another thing is that even if people don’t travel for Christmas, every year, people will be traveling for other festivities such as burial or traditional marriages. Anytime from December 27, people will be traveling home, we must try to reach our villages at the end of the year to recount our stock,” he said.

In Kano State, many Igbos not travelling en masse to the South for Christmas have been linked to economic hardship, insecurity and the risk of plying the roads.

A businessman in Abubakar Rimi Market in Kano, Ifeanyi Anosoke Frank, said he has no intention of travelling either alone or with his family for Christmas due to the economic hardship as his business had not been doing well in the last 12 months.

“I am not going anywhere because I can’t afford that. I would have loved to but, honestly, things are not in our favour,” he said.

“I have three kids, my wife and myself, beside the burden of providing clothes and other needs, one has to be very calculative.”

For Chukwudi Ibekwe, who works with a private firm in Sharada Industrial Area, it is all about taking the risk of plying Nigeria roads, which he said counts lots of uncertainty and cannot afford.

“My brother, we all know how Nigerian roads are. I don’t have a car and I cannot pack my family in this time of insecurity and bad roads to start a journey like that.

“I wanted to go alone, but my children will not be happy celebrating Christmas without me just as I wanted to go and celebrate with my parents,” he said.

The case is different with a 45-year-old spare parts dealer, Chukwunonso Ebuka, who said, despite all the risk, insecurity and economic hardships, he will be going home.

“If I have to borrow, I am going home, my brother. This is the only time I have to visit and reunite with family members that are also far away living elsewhere.

“You might not be opportune to meet someone again in a lifetime. What will be will be and it’s worth risking it for,” he added.

Relocating as double jeopardy for some

For some Igbo indigenes, who returned to the South East due to insecurity in other parts of the country in the past years, the discomfort of having to relocate out of the zone with its present security challenges is a case of double jeopardy.

Chike Ugochukwu, a native of Enugu State, but a resident in Abuja whose native community has been attacked by kidnappers and armed herdsmen, his efforts to get his senior brother to relocate from the village has proved futile because he returned from other insecure parts of the country.

“We have a situation with our older brother who has insisted on staying put at the village. He relocated from the North to the village last year. His position is that insecurity cannot pursue him home from the North and the same thing will pursue him from his place of birth,” she said.

He, however, vowed to ensure that he relocates his family members from the village to Abuja before long.

“Whichever way it is, this Christmas celebration will be low-key in our village because people are leaving for the city rather than going home to celebrate,” he said.

Gucciblog:
Where is Dasuki that shared the money?

Chilling at home.

Where is @realFFK that collected the lion share?

Tinubu Media Promoter.

Where is Goodwill Akpabio?

Where is Orji Uzo Kalu?

Where is Rochas Okorocha?

Where is Obanikoro?

Please add your own names.

Mazisimonekpa:
I am here with triple dragon fire

Mazi Simon Ekpa

Siberia01:

Still baffles me how this is news
With a country of over 60 years of independence

LeoDeKing:
Yes, the present "saviour" of Nigeria remembered people with special needs when he was Anambra state gov. We are aware he loaded them in a truck and dumped them at the outskirts of the town. What a caring "saviour".

Racoon:
Political gimmick. They forget the same people with special needs once they get into government.

Infact the woman subserving as the minster of socials and humanitarian disaster under the government they belong to is running the most corrupt empire ever ran as an agency of government