Ruined by Boko Haram
If the threat by the Islamist fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, to Southerners living in the North to leave or risk being killed sent fear among the Igbo in that part of the country, last week’s multiple bombings in Kano that claimed no fewer than 200 lives in Nigeria’s second largest city, triggered off mass return of the South Easterners to their home land.
They needed no further prompting after their apex socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, asked all Igbo living in the state to return home. And the exodus, since it began, has been accompanied by tales of woe.
In Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, some of the returnees, who spoke with Sunday Sun, narrated their experience in Kano and their resolve not to go back if nothing concrete was done to arrest the insecurity in the land.
My family and I are now refugees –Adikwe
Mr John Adikwe, 57, a trader, who had lived in Kano for over 30 years, stated how the activities of the Boko Haram sect not only turned him and members of his family to refugees in their own country, but also sent him over 30 years back in life.
Adikwe, who was visibly shaken as he spoke to one of our correspondents, said when he left his village in Ebony State as a bachelor sometime in 1976 for Kano to engage in business, he never envisaged a day all he laboured for in his life would be lost in one fell swoop and he be forced to come back home to start life afresh. “I left my village in 1976 at the age of 21 for Kano to serve as an apprentice trader after which I set up my own business and later got married there. All my five children were born in Kano. But all of a sudden, these Boko Haram people have forced us home, abandoning my business and some of my children’s academic work disrupted,” Adikwe lamented.
He stated that the decision to return to the South East with members of his family stemmed from what happened in Kano recently, which he said was reminiscent of war. He reasoned that no right-thinking man would stay back to be killed more so when the dreaded sect was continuing in its threat to eliminate Southern Christians in the North if they refused to leave and that the government had not done anything concrete to contain the insurgents.
For Adikwe, his sons could go back to Kano if they wished when the security situation in the city normalizes, but not for him as he is planning to start a new life in Aba. “From what I saw in Kano and at my age, I don’t think I will go back there. But my sons, if they so wished, can go back when the security situation improves since it will be difficult for them to adapt to life here,” he said.
I’m back to square one –Onuoha
Chinedum Onuoha, another returnee, was in Aba dealing in textiles when in 1991, owing to lull in business, he decided to relocate to Kano where he felt things would be better for him. As expected, his fortunes improved and he had to relocate his family to the commercial capital city of northern Nigeria. But they are now back to square one as they have all returned to Aba, no thinks to the deadly explosions and the sect’s continued threat to Christians in the North.
I had to leave after 25 years –Madu
The story was the same with Agu Madu, who went to Kano to set up a business about 25 years ago. He was among those who fled the city last week owing to the activities of Boko Haram. If Madu is willing to return if the security situation in the city improves, Onuoha is not dreaming of that. “How can I go back to that city? I think I better stay here (Aba) and start my life all over.
“This is not the first time the Igbo in Kano were being targeted. Whenever anything happens in the North, they vent their anger on the Igbo. So I’m tired of living there,” he said. The chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Kano, Hon Tobias Michael Idika, told Sunday Sun in a telephone interview that they took the decision for the Igbo to quit Kano after the mayhem. His kinsmen, he said, suffered heavy casualties.
According to Idika, bodies of about 35 dead Igbo, who were victims of the coordinated bomb attack, were still in various mortuaries in Kano while 25 others who suffered severe injuries were also in hospitals. The Igbo leader appealed to the five South East states governors to send buses to Kano to evacuate their citizens, most of who do not have money to transport themselves back home. He said the fare had risen astronomically following the exodus as a passenger without any luggage would pay as much as N6,000 while those with property pay from N10,000.
Idika equally condemned the comments of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, during his recent visit to Kano where he advised the Igbo not to leave the troubled city.
He said it was unfortunate that Okorocha made the statement at the airport without making any attempt to see his kinsmen that he claimed he was coming to see. Idika advised Imo indigenes still in Kano not to be deceived by the governor and that they should leave the city like their other kinsmen as their lives were no longer safe in the state.
Of the over three million Igbo living in Kano, the Ohanaeze chairman disclosed that majority of them had returned to Igbo land, leaving behind only those that cannot afford the exorbitant bus fare. Idika added that as soon as they conclude arrangements, they would bring back the bodies of their slain kinsmen for burial at home.
My daughter can’t study at BUK anymore –Mrs Oparandu
Mrs Victoria Oparandu, a mother of six, had lived in the Sabon Gari area of Kano State for 21 years and wished she would stay in the ancient of Kano to raise her children before returning to her country home in the South East. But such expectation was cut short by the recent deadly explosions in the state carried out by the Boko Haram sect.
According to Mrs Oparandu, who hails from Ahiazu Mbaise in Imo State, the city had been peaceful and they co-habited with their Muslim counterparts without any molestation. Now her husband, Nelson, who deals in chemicals, has been forced to relocate home while their first daughter, Dorathy, who is a student at the Bayero University, Kano, can no longer continue her programme because of the crisis.
“Since we are back from Kano, we will try to secure admission for her at the Imo State University to read Accountancy. The situation in Kano is no longer conducive. Every day people sleep with their two eyes open and we live in fear. The house we live in Kano belongs to us and we do not pay rent. But non-indigenes in the state, especially areas dominated by non-natives, are prone to attacks. We have received assurances of our safety but the modus operandi of Boko Haram is more confusing,” she said.
But a driver with a luxury bus company, The Young Shall Grow Motors, thinks differently, saying that the situation in Kano was blown out of proportion. The driver, who pleaded anonymity, said although women and children were fleeing Kano en masse, the place remained calm except for few incidents. According to him, some of the passengers left their property behind due to the high cost of transport fares. The transport fare, which was N5000 per passenger before the crisis, is now N7000. He disclosed that there were no passengers traveling from Owerri to Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto states, stressing that his vehicle had not been able to move for days because of the crisis.
Northerners residing in Aba are equally leaving in droves for fear of reprisal attack, raising concern within the Muslim community and the Chief Imam of the city’s Central Mosque, Alhaji Idris Bashir, calling for restraint.
Speaking with Sunday Sun, Bashir said he was worried that in the last two weeks more than three quarters of members of the Hausa community in Aba had left to their various states in the North. He expressed worry that the exodus had continued despite the assurances from the government and security agencies about their safety.
“As I speak to you, over 75 per cent of our people residing here in Aba have left for the North. This is despite the assurances given to them by government and even security agencies about their safety. “We as leaders of Muslim community here have also been talking to them about the need to stay because most of us have lived all our lives in Aba and cannot say for sure these are our homes in the North,” Bashir said.
Although he explained that the northerners started leaving the city due to the last nationwide strike over the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, Sunday Sun investigation showed that the Hausa in Aba began their exodus after the Boko Haram killing of Christians and the subsequent order by members of the sect that Southern Christians should leave the North or risked being killed. The Chief Imam, while calling for restraint on the part of the Islamic insurgents, reminded them that Allah did not enjoin anybody to kill.
Call it fear of Boko Haram or the unknown. But the Igbo Elders Forum met yesterday at the residence of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and asked its kinsmen resident in the northern part of Nigeria to return home.
The call was occasioned by the activities of the Islamist fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, which has unleashed terror on some states in the North killing over 500 in the last few months.
The latest onslaught of the dreaded sect was on Kano State last weekend in which multiple bombings claimed no fewer than 200 lives. Since the deadly attacks, non-indigenes have been fleeing in droves from the state.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, and former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Justice Eze Ozobu, said the decision was in the best interest of the Igbo.
The meeting, which preceded an all-Igbo political leaders meeting convened by the South-East Governors Forum, however, said that the men can remain in the North to protect their investment. “We are calling for the immediate return of Igbo wives and children so that their safety can be assured. The Igbo nation is once again facing an impending refugee crisis and our people are being forced to flee their base and places of work, field and business in order to avoid being killed.
“The current situation in the North and the rampant killing of our Igbo brothers and sisters bring to mind the sequence of events and pogroms that led to the civil war. We are thus calling for emergency desk in the affected areas to get data regarding the number of persons that have lost their lives.“We are taking the decision bearing in mind that our people in the North are being slaughtered like cows without any clear directive as to what they should do.
“We cannot fold our arms and watch our people killed and buried in mass graves in the North. The men can stay back and protect their investments. “We have set up centres where people who have nowhere to go to can stay and we request churches and other non-governmental organizations to assist in providing settlement centres.
“We have set up a team to meet with the President as soon as possible to assess the security situation as it affects Igbos. We are using this opportunity to alert the international community of this refugee crisis and the fact that our people are returning home in droves without any government assistance,” the elders said.
South East political leaders rose from their meeting with the governors of the zone yesterday with a three-point communiqué condemning the spate of killings of Igbos in the northern parts of the country. However, Sunday Sun gathered that the meeting wasn’t exactly smooth, as the house couldn’t agree on the issues raised on the violence that has led to the displacement of Igbos living in some northern states.
Our source that was at the meeting lamented the cowardly stand of some of those who attended the meeting. “It was obvious that some people came to the meeting just to protect the federal government because of their political appointments. They came to protect Jonathan not their kinsmen. Our people are suddenly stranded and are now refugees in their own country.
You would have thought that a meeting of leaders and elders in the region would be talking about how to evacuate their endangered kinsmen from the North and a warning to the federal government. But no, they were all talking politics. It’s a shame and that was why the communiqué was short and watery.”
In a three-point communique read to newsmen by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra, the leaders said though they were angry with the development, they commended federal government’s efforts in containing the situation.
Obi announced the setting up of an advisory committee that’ll monitor developments as it unfolds and advise on future actions. “We assure our people living in the North and other parts of the country that we are in constant touch with the various state governments to ensure the security of their lives and property.”
Throwing more light on the closed door meeting, Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, South East, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, said the meeting was timely and he was happy that leaders in the region were finally speaking up.“We are very angry and the country must not take us for a ride. This is the time we must protect our image and we are letting the country know that we belong to this nation. We don’t want Nigeria to break up but we need to feel a sense of belonging.”
“Our people must be free to exercise their rights wherever they are. We want security to be tightened so we can feel safe anywhere we are. The carnage must stop.“That’s what we are saying, we are angry and we have set up a committee to monitor the situation and let the President know that we are angry. We have given him every support and we should not be marginalized or treated like people who don’t belong to this nation.”
Those at the Nike Lake meeting were the five governors of the zone, Mr. Peter Obi, Anambra, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Imo, Sullivan Chime Enugu, Martin Elechi Ebonyi and T. A Orji of Abia State. Others include former Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme, National Chairman of APGA Chief Victor Umeh, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, former governor of Anambra State Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife.
Others were Senator Ben Obi, Deputy Speaker in the House of Representative, Emeka Ihedioha, Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Chris Ngige, Paulinus Igwenweagu from Ebonyi, Christy Anyanwu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chairman CAN South East Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, PDP National Vice Chairman South East Chief Olisah Metu, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Amb Ralph Uwechue, Barth Nnaji, Ebito Ukiwe, professor Joe Irukwu, Prof. Ben Obumselu, Emeka Anyoku, and Minister of Labour Emeka Nwogu, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Speakers of the five States of the zone led by Enugu Speaker Rt. Hon Eugene Odo, Dr. Anagha Ezeikpe, HRH Dr. Agom Eze, Igwe Alfred Achebe among others.
If the threat by the Islamist fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, to Southerners living in the North to leave or risk being killed sent fear among the Igbo in that part of the country, last week’s multiple bombings in Kano that claimed no fewer than 200 lives in Nigeria’s second largest city, triggered off mass return of the South Easterners to their home land.
They needed no further prompting after their apex socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, asked all Igbo living in the state to return home. And the exodus, since it began, has been accompanied by tales of woe.
In Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, some of the returnees, who spoke with Sunday Sun, narrated their experience in Kano and their resolve not to go back if nothing concrete was done to arrest the insecurity in the land.
My family and I are now refugees –Adikwe
Mr John Adikwe, 57, a trader, who had lived in Kano for over 30 years, stated how the activities of the Boko Haram sect not only turned him and members of his family to refugees in their own country, but also sent him over 30 years back in life.
Adikwe, who was visibly shaken as he spoke to one of our correspondents, said when he left his village in Ebony State as a bachelor sometime in 1976 for Kano to engage in business, he never envisaged a day all he laboured for in his life would be lost in one fell swoop and he be forced to come back home to start life afresh. “I left my village in 1976 at the age of 21 for Kano to serve as an apprentice trader after which I set up my own business and later got married there. All my five children were born in Kano. But all of a sudden, these Boko Haram people have forced us home, abandoning my business and some of my children’s academic work disrupted,” Adikwe lamented.
He stated that the decision to return to the South East with members of his family stemmed from what happened in Kano recently, which he said was reminiscent of war. He reasoned that no right-thinking man would stay back to be killed more so when the dreaded sect was continuing in its threat to eliminate Southern Christians in the North if they refused to leave and that the government had not done anything concrete to contain the insurgents.
For Adikwe, his sons could go back to Kano if they wished when the security situation in the city normalizes, but not for him as he is planning to start a new life in Aba. “From what I saw in Kano and at my age, I don’t think I will go back there. But my sons, if they so wished, can go back when the security situation improves since it will be difficult for them to adapt to life here,” he said.
I’m back to square one –Onuoha
Chinedum Onuoha, another returnee, was in Aba dealing in textiles when in 1991, owing to lull in business, he decided to relocate to Kano where he felt things would be better for him. As expected, his fortunes improved and he had to relocate his family to the commercial capital city of northern Nigeria. But they are now back to square one as they have all returned to Aba, no thinks to the deadly explosions and the sect’s continued threat to Christians in the North.
I had to leave after 25 years –Madu
The story was the same with Agu Madu, who went to Kano to set up a business about 25 years ago. He was among those who fled the city last week owing to the activities of Boko Haram. If Madu is willing to return if the security situation in the city improves, Onuoha is not dreaming of that. “How can I go back to that city? I think I better stay here (Aba) and start my life all over.
“This is not the first time the Igbo in Kano were being targeted. Whenever anything happens in the North, they vent their anger on the Igbo. So I’m tired of living there,” he said. The chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Kano, Hon Tobias Michael Idika, told Sunday Sun in a telephone interview that they took the decision for the Igbo to quit Kano after the mayhem. His kinsmen, he said, suffered heavy casualties.
According to Idika, bodies of about 35 dead Igbo, who were victims of the coordinated bomb attack, were still in various mortuaries in Kano while 25 others who suffered severe injuries were also in hospitals. The Igbo leader appealed to the five South East states governors to send buses to Kano to evacuate their citizens, most of who do not have money to transport themselves back home. He said the fare had risen astronomically following the exodus as a passenger without any luggage would pay as much as N6,000 while those with property pay from N10,000.
Idika equally condemned the comments of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, during his recent visit to Kano where he advised the Igbo not to leave the troubled city.
He said it was unfortunate that Okorocha made the statement at the airport without making any attempt to see his kinsmen that he claimed he was coming to see. Idika advised Imo indigenes still in Kano not to be deceived by the governor and that they should leave the city like their other kinsmen as their lives were no longer safe in the state.
Of the over three million Igbo living in Kano, the Ohanaeze chairman disclosed that majority of them had returned to Igbo land, leaving behind only those that cannot afford the exorbitant bus fare. Idika added that as soon as they conclude arrangements, they would bring back the bodies of their slain kinsmen for burial at home.
My daughter can’t study at BUK anymore –Mrs Oparandu
Mrs Victoria Oparandu, a mother of six, had lived in the Sabon Gari area of Kano State for 21 years and wished she would stay in the ancient of Kano to raise her children before returning to her country home in the South East. But such expectation was cut short by the recent deadly explosions in the state carried out by the Boko Haram sect.
According to Mrs Oparandu, who hails from Ahiazu Mbaise in Imo State, the city had been peaceful and they co-habited with their Muslim counterparts without any molestation. Now her husband, Nelson, who deals in chemicals, has been forced to relocate home while their first daughter, Dorathy, who is a student at the Bayero University, Kano, can no longer continue her programme because of the crisis.
“Since we are back from Kano, we will try to secure admission for her at the Imo State University to read Accountancy. The situation in Kano is no longer conducive. Every day people sleep with their two eyes open and we live in fear. The house we live in Kano belongs to us and we do not pay rent. But non-indigenes in the state, especially areas dominated by non-natives, are prone to attacks. We have received assurances of our safety but the modus operandi of Boko Haram is more confusing,” she said.
But a driver with a luxury bus company, The Young Shall Grow Motors, thinks differently, saying that the situation in Kano was blown out of proportion. The driver, who pleaded anonymity, said although women and children were fleeing Kano en masse, the place remained calm except for few incidents. According to him, some of the passengers left their property behind due to the high cost of transport fares. The transport fare, which was N5000 per passenger before the crisis, is now N7000. He disclosed that there were no passengers traveling from Owerri to Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto states, stressing that his vehicle had not been able to move for days because of the crisis.
Northerners residing in Aba are equally leaving in droves for fear of reprisal attack, raising concern within the Muslim community and the Chief Imam of the city’s Central Mosque, Alhaji Idris Bashir, calling for restraint.
Speaking with Sunday Sun, Bashir said he was worried that in the last two weeks more than three quarters of members of the Hausa community in Aba had left to their various states in the North. He expressed worry that the exodus had continued despite the assurances from the government and security agencies about their safety.
“As I speak to you, over 75 per cent of our people residing here in Aba have left for the North. This is despite the assurances given to them by government and even security agencies about their safety. “We as leaders of Muslim community here have also been talking to them about the need to stay because most of us have lived all our lives in Aba and cannot say for sure these are our homes in the North,” Bashir said.
Although he explained that the northerners started leaving the city due to the last nationwide strike over the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, Sunday Sun investigation showed that the Hausa in Aba began their exodus after the Boko Haram killing of Christians and the subsequent order by members of the sect that Southern Christians should leave the North or risked being killed. The Chief Imam, while calling for restraint on the part of the Islamic insurgents, reminded them that Allah did not enjoin anybody to kill.
Call it fear of Boko Haram or the unknown. But the Igbo Elders Forum met yesterday at the residence of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and asked its kinsmen resident in the northern part of Nigeria to return home.
The call was occasioned by the activities of the Islamist fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, which has unleashed terror on some states in the North killing over 500 in the last few months.
The latest onslaught of the dreaded sect was on Kano State last weekend in which multiple bombings claimed no fewer than 200 lives. Since the deadly attacks, non-indigenes have been fleeing in droves from the state.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, and former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Justice Eze Ozobu, said the decision was in the best interest of the Igbo.
The meeting, which preceded an all-Igbo political leaders meeting convened by the South-East Governors Forum, however, said that the men can remain in the North to protect their investment. “We are calling for the immediate return of Igbo wives and children so that their safety can be assured. The Igbo nation is once again facing an impending refugee crisis and our people are being forced to flee their base and places of work, field and business in order to avoid being killed.
“The current situation in the North and the rampant killing of our Igbo brothers and sisters bring to mind the sequence of events and pogroms that led to the civil war. We are thus calling for emergency desk in the affected areas to get data regarding the number of persons that have lost their lives.“We are taking the decision bearing in mind that our people in the North are being slaughtered like cows without any clear directive as to what they should do.
“We cannot fold our arms and watch our people killed and buried in mass graves in the North. The men can stay back and protect their investments. “We have set up centres where people who have nowhere to go to can stay and we request churches and other non-governmental organizations to assist in providing settlement centres.
“We have set up a team to meet with the President as soon as possible to assess the security situation as it affects Igbos. We are using this opportunity to alert the international community of this refugee crisis and the fact that our people are returning home in droves without any government assistance,” the elders said.
South East political leaders rose from their meeting with the governors of the zone yesterday with a three-point communiqué condemning the spate of killings of Igbos in the northern parts of the country. However, Sunday Sun gathered that the meeting wasn’t exactly smooth, as the house couldn’t agree on the issues raised on the violence that has led to the displacement of Igbos living in some northern states.
Our source that was at the meeting lamented the cowardly stand of some of those who attended the meeting. “It was obvious that some people came to the meeting just to protect the federal government because of their political appointments. They came to protect Jonathan not their kinsmen. Our people are suddenly stranded and are now refugees in their own country.
You would have thought that a meeting of leaders and elders in the region would be talking about how to evacuate their endangered kinsmen from the North and a warning to the federal government. But no, they were all talking politics. It’s a shame and that was why the communiqué was short and watery.”
In a three-point communique read to newsmen by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra, the leaders said though they were angry with the development, they commended federal government’s efforts in containing the situation.
Obi announced the setting up of an advisory committee that’ll monitor developments as it unfolds and advise on future actions. “We assure our people living in the North and other parts of the country that we are in constant touch with the various state governments to ensure the security of their lives and property.”
Throwing more light on the closed door meeting, Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, South East, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, said the meeting was timely and he was happy that leaders in the region were finally speaking up.“We are very angry and the country must not take us for a ride. This is the time we must protect our image and we are letting the country know that we belong to this nation. We don’t want Nigeria to break up but we need to feel a sense of belonging.”
“Our people must be free to exercise their rights wherever they are. We want security to be tightened so we can feel safe anywhere we are. The carnage must stop.“That’s what we are saying, we are angry and we have set up a committee to monitor the situation and let the President know that we are angry. We have given him every support and we should not be marginalized or treated like people who don’t belong to this nation.”
Those at the Nike Lake meeting were the five governors of the zone, Mr. Peter Obi, Anambra, Chief Rochas Okorocha, Imo, Sullivan Chime Enugu, Martin Elechi Ebonyi and T. A Orji of Abia State. Others include former Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme, National Chairman of APGA Chief Victor Umeh, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, former governor of Anambra State Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife.
Others were Senator Ben Obi, Deputy Speaker in the House of Representative, Emeka Ihedioha, Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Chris Ngige, Paulinus Igwenweagu from Ebonyi, Christy Anyanwu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chairman CAN South East Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, PDP National Vice Chairman South East Chief Olisah Metu, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Amb Ralph Uwechue, Barth Nnaji, Ebito Ukiwe, professor Joe Irukwu, Prof. Ben Obumselu, Emeka Anyoku, and Minister of Labour Emeka Nwogu, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Speakers of the five States of the zone led by Enugu Speaker Rt. Hon Eugene Odo, Dr. Anagha Ezeikpe, HRH Dr. Agom Eze, Igwe Alfred Achebe among others.
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