₦airaland Forum

His excellency Mr Peter Obi joined the South East Economic Security Summit Online because he is out of the country, Listen to his contribution regarding the development of South East - Our mainstay as a people in business. Businesses will not thrive in the midst of insecurity. We must support our Governors and other stakeholders as we all seek solution to solve this problem that is affecting our region

His excellency Mr Peter Obi joined the South East Economic Security Summit Online because he is out of the country, Listen to his contribution regarding the development of South East - Our mainstay as a people in business. Businesses will not thrive in the midst of insecurity. We… pic.twitter.com/FHkiEwoLRE

— Chief Ikukuoma (@IkukuomaC) September 28, 2023

South-East Must Determine To Move Forward Despite Challenges – Soludo

“That must be the outcome of this particular summit. We can lament about insecurity and so on; this is not the most insecure place in the world, other places are thriving despite their own insecurity."

By Donatus Anichukwueze
Updated September 28, 2023

The Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, says the South-East must have the self-belief to turn things around despite insecurity and other challenges facing the zone.

Speaking on Thursday at the 2023 South-East Summit on Economy and Security in Owerri, the Imo State capital, Soludo said the region must make all efforts to thrive despite insecurity, insisting that the zone is far from being the most insecure place in the world.

“I have heard the speeches given, books of lamentations. It is very good to lament but I would rather like to see a glass as half full than half empty. The South-East is ready for business; the South-East is ripe for business and we must all believe in our ability to turn things around and get the South-East going again.

“That must be the outcome of this particular summit. We can lament about insecurity and so on; this is not the most insecure place in the world, other places are thriving despite their own insecurity.

“When arrived in Anambra, eight local governments were totally under siege by these hoodlums. They are all gone, we are settling into business. They would not deter us, Anambra, the South-East all of us, we must be determined to move our place forward in spite of the challenges,” the governor said.

He charged the South-East indigenes 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 the only gloom and doom, “this place will be a desolate homeland”.

According to Soludo, the South-East renaissance should not stop at self-belief, the region should also partner with the rest of the country, the diaspora and the international community.

“We need not just ourselves, we need Nigeria. Ndigbo needs Nigeria and Nigeria needs Ndigbo. Ndigbo needs Africa and the world and the World and Africa need Ndigbo. As an itinerant people, we cannot be an intolerant people.

“We need the partnership of everybody, partnership of the rest of the country, partnership of the diaspora and partnership with the international community.”

Soludu’s speech came after the address by former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, calling for a rethink of the Biafra agitation and strategies to deal with insecurity in the South-East.

He warned that going by recent developments, the region risks losing economic and political relevance in the country, with drastic consequences already being felt by the people of the region after years of insecurity and agitation that have been used as a cover by criminal elements to thrive.

“In the last four years, every Monday has been declared by some non-state actors as sit-at-home day. The enforcement has been brutal, leading to enormous loss of lives and property,” he said.

Senator Anyim said, “It is estimated that hundreds of lives and hundreds of billions of naira have been lost to the sit-at-home order”.

He added that the implication of this is being felt by all residents of the region, including successful people, who are often targeted for kidnapping and assassination.

I attended the South-East Economic and Security Summit today in Owerri with my brother governors of the zone. The event was great, and I took advantage of the chance to speak about a variety of topics that would be really beneficial to the South-East region.

I suggested a multi-faceted approach to tackling insecurity, including a common security command and control centre, inter-agency cooperation, and non-kinetic approaches like economic transformation, employment creation, and moral suasion, among others. I identified transport and logistics as some of the key enablers needed to transform the South-East economy in order to reduce poverty, unemployment, and crime.

I discussed several financial strategies to carry out the projects, including urging our people to mobilise their funds to build our region.The 'Akụ Ruo Ụno' philosophy is one that I strongly believe in.

I thanked the organisers of the summit for coming up with this idea and also tasked them to employ the best of Igbo brains to curate and prepare the ideas from the summit in an implementable format.

My brothers, the South-East governors, and I are ready to work together to ensure the full realisation of these wonderful ideas. We urge you, Ndigbo, to bring home your wealth and invest in the South-East.

tonicyril:
I am confused pls,

She said she like guys...normal normal na...abi??

Is she supposed to like girls before??

Abi na me no understand what is going on ni??

Abeg someone explain

i like guys. lol. relax.

i promise you there are more important issues to discuss in the world than my sexuality 🫠