₦airaland Forum

This question has been on my mind for some time now and I think nairaland is a good place to ask it. So, I will like to know if Igbos are still investing in the North like they had been doing over the years. It was common to see Igbos building mansions, plazas, schools, hospitals, hotels etc in places like Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguiri, Bauchi, Sokoto and other areas of the core North. However, in recent times, the Fulanis and Hausas don't hesitate to threaten Igbo lives and properties in the North each time there is any misunderstanding or crises. Also, everyone now knows that Nigeria's continued existence as a nation is no longer guaranteed.

In Owerri, it is mind boggling seeing how houses are springing up everywhere. I went to a place that used to be a forest somewhere around Naze/Amaeze and I couldn't believe the vast numbers of houses that are already completed and uncountable others being developed (mind you it is same story in virtually all the suburbs of Owerri) Such massive housing development is unprecedented in the history of Owerri and I believe many other Igbo cities are also experiencing same boom in housing development. What makes it more intriguing is the fact that Nigeria is facing economic downtown.

EastisBae:
This question has been on my mind for some time now and I think nairaland is a good place to ask it. So, I will like to know if Igbos are still investing in the North like they had been doing over the years. It was common to see Igbos building mansions, plazas, schools, hospitals, hotels etc in places like Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguiri, Bauchi, Sokoto and other areas of the core North. However, in recent times, the Fulanis and Hausas don't hesitate to threaten Igbo lives and properties in the North each time there is any misunderstanding or crises. Also, everyone now knows that Nigeria's continued existence as a nation is no longer guaranteed.

In Owerri, it is mind boggling seeing how houses are springing up everywhere. I went to a place that used to be a forest somewhere around Naze/Amaeze and I couldn't believe the vast numbers of houses that are already completed and uncountable others being developed (mind you it is same story in virtually all the suburbs of Owerri) Such massive housing development is unprecedented in the history of Owerri and I believe many other Igbo cities are also experiencing same boom in housing development. What makes it more intriguing is the fact that Nigeria is facing economic downtown.

We still invest in the North but no longer on non movable properties as we used to, Igbos now build only private houses in the core North, although cost of acquiring land in Igbo land is way higher, real estate business in AlaIgbo is way more lucrative, many married Igbos living abroad will rent a house for their wives and children in places like Enugu, Owerri, Awka, Abakiliki etc, this had brought high demands for apartment in Igboland.

We still supply phone spare, machine spare parts and drug stores including clothing and more nationwide but our money is in the bank and we only rent shops and comfortable house, we are no longer investing aggressively in real estate in the North like before, especially core North, most of what we need is market and shops. We don't want to think about our houses and hotels if we ever need to leave. Apart from Lagos same is replicated in the rest of Yorubaland. Even in the East apart from Igbo towns like PH and Asaba we no longer aggressively invest in non movable properties outside AlaIgbo

Since Boko Haram and bandit attacks worsened in the North, it has become common to see lots of Igbos who claim they relocated from the North to the East due to insecurity. It seems like cheaper housing and food is no longer enough to lure most Igbos into living in the North like before.

Back in the 1980's and 1990's, it was rare to see any Igbo family without members or close relatives who are living in the North. Then North was the second home for Igbos because living abroad hasn't become as popular as it is today except for some elites who could afford to live in America or Europe, but now Igbos have lots of options as it's now common to see them in virtually almost almost all Subsaharan African countries. Go to any market in say Cameroun, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Cote Ivoire, Congo etc. It's same story all over the world, so the monopoly North used to have as the only option available for Igbos who want to live outside Igboland has been broken!

So, with the uncertainty surrounding Nigeria's continued existence and the perennial threats to Igbo lives and properties in the North, and considering that these threats can't be called empty threats since they've successfully carried them out severally in the past, ARE THERE STILL IGBOS INVESTING IN THE NORTH??

Honestly there is nothing bad in Igbo investing in other part of the country but they should invest more in SE states...

Any Igbo man that invested heavily in the North is called Efulefu.

They should all relocate to south south, south west and south east. They should leave poverty ravaged and terrorists filled north alone.

They never listen

North of all places

EastisBae:
This question has been on my mind for some time now and I think nairaland is a good place to ask it. So, I will like to know if Igbos are still investing in the North like they had been doing over the years. It was common to see Igbos building mansions, plazas, schools, hospitals, hotels etc in places like Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguiri, Bauchi, Sokoto and other areas of the core North. However, in recent times, the Fulanis and Hausas don't hesitate to threaten Igbo lives and properties in the North each time there is any misunderstanding or crises. Also, everyone now knows that Nigeria's continued existence as a nation is no longer guaranteed.

In Owerri, it is mind boggling seeing how houses are springing up everywhere. I went to a place that used to be a forest somewhere around Naze/Amaeze and I couldn't believe the vast numbers of houses that are already completed and uncountable others being developed (mind you it is same story in virtually all the suburbs of Owerri) Such massive housing development is unprecedented in the history of Owerri and I believe many other Igbo cities are also experiencing same boom in housing development. What makes it more intriguing is the fact that Nigeria is facing economic downtown.

That quit notice given to Igbos in 2017 to leave the North was an opener to many Igbos. They finally realised that they can lose their hard earned investment in s blink of an eye. Igbos will still be investing in their businesses in the North, but the days of building houses and structures in North are over for most Igbos

Northern Nigeria is a place to invest.. forget all you hear on media..

All insecurities in the country is APC IN making..

Is all part of Apc agenda to spread Islam to every corner of Nigeria

Even the apc government chooses states communities cities to attack in the north.

Why are they not attacking and killing in Kano jigawa Zaria jos Bauchi Yobe Gombe

Apc is evil.

Only that many Nigerians don’t understand what is actually happening.

Another four years of Apc will see southwest have caliphate .. Fact!

Yoruba can’t do you without Nigeria and nobody takes them serious on their rant... Oodua.
Their media is only making noise

Middle belt remains north till tomorrow..

If IGBOHO is a man ... let him go and open the Nigeria boarder in southwest

Shebi he Dey carrry juju..

Igbos still invest .. carry out their business in the north..

You have to be in the north to understand

Asgard13:
Northern Nigeria is a place to invest.. forget all you hear on media..

All insecurities in the country is APC IN making..

Is all part of Apc agenda to spread Islam to every corner of Nigeria

Even the apc government chooses states communities cities to attack in the north.

Why are they not attacking and killing in Kano jigawa Zaria jos Bauchi Yobe Gombe

Apc is evil.

Only that many Nigerians don’t understand what is actually happening.

Another four years of Apc will see southwest have caliphate .. Fact!

Yoruba can’t do you without Nigeria and nobody takes them serious on their rant... Oodua.
Their media is only making noise

Middle belt remains north till tomorrow..

If IGBOHO is a man ... let him go and open the Nigeria boarder in southwest

Shebi he Dey carrry juju..

Igbos still invest .. carry out their business in the north..

You have to be in the north to understand

I pity you
PDP is holy abi

Politics of hate has destroyed your thinking

AlexBells:
Even in the East apart from Igbo towns like PH and Asaba we no longer aggressively invest in non movable properties outside AlaIgbo

Don’t let it be like 1967 where PH seized your properties. Delta people will just destroy the bridge linking Delta to East. How will you access your properties in Asaba. You better just invest in only the East. Forget South South.

Zooposki:
Don’t let it be like 1967 where PH seized your properties. Delta people will just destroy the bridge linking Delta to East. How will you access your properties in Asaba. You better just invest in only the East. Forget South South.

Before the Bridge we crossed over, no one seized our properties in PH, it was in the hands of fellow Igbos, PH will always be an Igbo town

Oh yes
Infact it's on the increase now
I wonder what they are thinking

theTranslator:
I pity you
PDP is holy abi

Politics of hate has destroyed your thinking

I don’t Normally reply mentions..

Pdp is not holy .. is a politcal party. with good and better ideology on how to promote and develop a united Nigeria .. even tho the politicians are corrupt..

Apc is evil ... very evil..
southwest is feeling the heat.. religious crises is brewing in Kwara and will soon spread to other Yoruba states
Apc has an agenda to spread Islam .. as a political party.. is that cool?
Apc has an agenda to build big masalachi in every local government in Nigeria
Apc want emir install in all region .... you think am blabbing. This is a faceless forum.

Why am always on Yoruba people is because they ignorantly supported apc as a party... out of selfishness

The owners of the party never reveal the real manifesto to them.. now they’re acting abi fighting air..

Yet this Sophisticators still supports Apc ... to spite igbos..

Islam fear igbos.. walahi .. that’s the fact.. with igbos and Islam is a war.. physical war.

Southwest is a work over for Islam ... before your eyes you will see those Christian Kwara school except hijab or remain shut .
Next is to revisit oyo and the rest will fall in place

Forget media noise.

Southwest don’t understand this people. Reason why the keep using them.

AlexBells:
We still invest in the North but no longer on non movable properties as we used to, Igbos now build only private houses in the core North, although[b] cost of acquiring land in Igbo land is way higher, real estate business in AlaIgbo is way more lucrative, many married Igbos living abroad will rent a house for their wives and children[/b] in places like Enugu, Owerri, Awka, Abakiliki etc, this had brought high demands for apartment in Igboland.

We still supply phone spare, machine spare parts and drug stores including clothing and more nationwide but our money is in the bank and we only rent shops and comfortable house, we are no longer investing aggressively in real estate in the North like before, especially core North, most of what we need is market and shops. We don't want to think about our houses and hotels if we ever need to leave. Apart from Lagos same is replicated in the rest of Yorubaland. Even in the East apart from Igbo towns like PH and Asaba we no longer aggressively invest in non movable properties outside AlaIgbo

The parts in bold is so true. There are lots of very fine and expensive estates in our cities that rely on remmitances to pay their rents. Also, a good number of houses being built are proceeds of remmitances!

Only yesterday we were going to buy land somewhere, the Nassarawa okada rider (most okada riders here are now from the North and they're making so much money, we paid the two okada men 3000 naira for just less than an hour of carrying us about, story for another day) that carried me was asking me why land was so expensive in our place. He said that in his state, lands that cost up to 500,000 naira are those within the towns But look at lands in inside the bush costing millions here. I know he doesn't understand the law of demand and supply which is the reason for the high cost of lands here.

Lands are relatively very expensive in Igboland simply because our population is way bigger than available lands hence the pressure. However, I would rather buy or invest in properties in say Chad, Cameroun or even Senegal if possible than to do so in Northern Nigeria for safety reasons. Any Igbo man still Investing in properties in the North is living in a fool's paradise because there are chances he will lose it someday.

EastisBae:
The parts in bold is so true. There are lots of very fine and expensive estates in our cities that rely on remmitances to pay their rents. Also, a good number of houses being built are proceeds of remmitances!

Only yesterday we were going to buy land somewhere, the Nassarawa okada rider (most okada riders here are now from the North and they're making so much money, we paid the two okada men 3000 naira for just less than an hour of carrying us about, story for another day) that carried me was asking me why land was so expensive in our place. He said that in his state, lands that cost up to 500,000 naira are those within the towns But look at lands in inside the bush costing millions here. I know he doesn't understand the law of demand and supply which is the reason for the high cost of lands here.

Lands are relatively very expensive in Igboland simply because our population is way bigger than available lands hence the pressure. However, I would rather buy or invest in properties in say Chad, Cameroun or even Senegal if possible than to do so in Northern Nigeria for safety reasons. Any Igbo man still Investing in properties in the North is living in a fool's paradise because there are chances he will lose it someday.

Another thing is that we came prepared, our people started building story buildings a long time ago, making our cities smaller but supporting more population, I guess once there is stable electricity there will be so many sky scrapers in AlaIgbo, our cities are transforming, it is easier to make this money in the North and build edifices in AlaIgbo, that way there will always be money to build these things, our industries are becoming smarter like Innoson, peace air, peace mass, God is Good, we are investing a lot in transportation so that our people can always think home, what we need is hyperloop transport system between Lagos and Onitsha, Enugu and Abuja and Aba and Kano then our Igboland will be the real jewel in the savanna, a cool place to relax and feel the good of the old Igbo towns, the cost of lands here had also driven away outsiders and it will even get more costly, I think we had gotten good at economic warfare

Lot of igbos are in the north doing businesses.

The money gotten there are remitted to the east to build properties.

Ndi igbo will always invest where they can reap well and the north serves that purpose.

While some igbos went back to the east in 2015 for fear of violence during the elections, many used that tine to finish their building projects in the north. In places that were really tense like Sabon-Gari, Kano, they were happily carrying their pump-action rifles to their building sites.

In Maidugri, some igbos bought land inside military barrack and built there. Some are tenants in the barrack too.

Two people I know who has houses inside barrack has relocated since. I don't know if they sold their houses.

Yes.

In fact, I am planning to set up new business in the North. Anywhere e ga ebute ike, abobby move, but don't forget to repatriate to beloved SE.

Its easier to make it in the North if you get sense than in LAGOS.

FACT

A business minded person will always want to build a structure to further his business and that explains why Ndigbo still put up structures but the reality today is that the rate of putting up such structures have reduced incredibly. Which Igbo will want to build in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa with the Boko Haram menace? Who will still want to build in the current troubled North West? Certain structures may be put up but generally, the level of solid buildings have diminished. Millions of Igbos have left the north too going back to the SE and SS including the SW and outside Nigeria. The former relaxed atmosphere in the north is no more hence such social activities that encouraged migrating to the north is no more. Igbos used to build Town Halls in the major cities in the north but if you mention it today, you'll looked at scornfully. The current era of the destruction of alcoholic drinks by Hisbah is another thing that will see thousands of Igbos leaving the sharia region of the north and so it shall continue until Nigeria officially collapses.
All the northerners here saying Igbos still do business and build in the north while they have a point are not really saying it with a good mind. For them, it is just to paint a picture of normalcy to hoodwink those who don't know the real state of affairs. Business has gone very low in the north and the only way they think they can survive is to practically grab and control the south by every means so they can start taking money from southerners by every means. This is why the current cabal are mindlessly putting only their people in positions of authority. You can see the number of core northerners that flooded the south during the lockdown period. Nothing much economically is happening in the north currently. It is a fight for survival currently in Nigeria. Many more Igbos will leave the north in less than 4 months from now and it will make headlines to confirm what I've written here.
Igbo si na; anaghi akoro ochinti na agha esu.

thebosstrevor1:
Lot of igbos are in the north doing businesses.

The money gotten there are remitted to the east to build properties.

Oh,thought they are only in lagos and ogun state.

Conrod:
Oh,thought they are only in lagos and ogun state.

They are everywhere in Nigeria

Monogamy:
Honestly there is nothing bad in Igbo investing in other part of the country but they should invest more in SE states...

Igbos are now investing in Igboland more than ever before. Although a good number of us still invest heavily in Lagos and Abuja for obvious reasons but returns on investment across Igboland is higher than anywhere else in Nigeria aside the two cities I mentioned above. Then coupled with the uncertainty and insecurity bedeviling Nigeria you will understand why there is massive influx of Igbo investments in the East.

I have noticed that most cities in Nigeria have slums making up a significant percentage of them but in the East in you hardly find slums in our cities because of massive investments in housing by the private sector.

maureensylvia:
Oh yes
Infact it's on the increase now
I wonder what they are thinking

Could you be more specific please? When I'm talking about North, I mean the core Islamic/Sharia/Jihardist areas like North West and parts of North East including Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguiri, Sokoto etc.

Places in the middle belt like Jos, Taraba, Benue and Abuja are relatively safe and Igbos don't feel threatened there. They don't destroy Igbo goods or businesses in the middle belt or use Islam to threaten us there.

thebosstrevor1:
Lot of igbos are in the north doing businesses.

The money gotten there are remitted to the east to build properties.

In the past, Igbos living in the North used to invest heavily there. Some don't even remember East except there is a burial or traditional marriage to attend. However, I think that status quo has changed completely because indigenous Christians don't feel safe in the North anymore how much more for non indigenous Christians like Igbos.

I personally will rather invest in Cameroun or Senegal than core North.

EastisBae:
Could you be more specific please? When I'm talking about North, I mean the core Islamic/Sharia/Jihardist areas like North West and parts of North East including Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguiri, Sokoto etc.

Places in the middle belt like Jos, Taraba, Benue and Abuja are relatively safe and Igbos don't feel threatened there. They don't destroy Igbo goods or businesses in the middle belt or use Islam to threaten us there.

Oh yes, I know what you are saying cos I live in Kano.
There are lots of investments going on here that I wont even advice my loved ones to embark on. Here is unsecured. Insecurities and the rest... We panic at any slightest shouts or suspected movements. You can't even imagine what we went through during endsars protest.

I'll Rather invest in East, Asaba(my spec) than here