A Call for Unity and Cooperation
For those of you saying the Igbos must go, use your brains for a moment. We once said the British must go, and they did leave. Are we better off than when the British were ruling us? Look at the government colleges that the British built—their buildings are still very solid. Compare them to the ones built by our people; they don’t last. Are we better off?
In Zimbabwe, people said the white farmers must go, and they left. Mugabe ruined the economy. Is Zimbabwe better now? They could have allowed the white people to stay, just as the South Africans have done. The South African economy is better. Live in peace with the Igbos around you, and your economy will improve. Learn from them, associate with them. They didn’t force you to buy land; they didn’t force you to own some of the buildings they built. It was your people who acted as the builders and contractors. Nobody prevents you from buying land anywhere in this country. So don’t be antagonistic towards people who make progress.
Any community that attacks visitors and strangers always remains backward. The simple question I want to ask is: are the Igbos in your region dominating you? Have they caused significant development? Why don’t you invest in the land just as the Igbos are doing? People say that it is visitors and strangers who make a community develop. Let’s stop this rubbish talk about the Igbo people being the problem. Do they determine your salary? Do they compete with you for jobs? The average Igbo hardly works in civil service; they come as entrepreneurs to solve problems and meet needs. You should be a problem solver, not a problem creator.
The people who are killing others in your farmlands and those who went to shoot people in a church—are they Igbos? The people who are trying to take over your communities—are they Igbos? Let’s not distract ourselves from the real challenges facing us. There’s so much hunger in the land. Tell your people to invest in agriculture. Tell your pastors with big prayer camps to plant rice, start poultry, rear pigs, and raise cows. Look at the rice farm Coscharis has started, or the one OPM Pastor started somewhere. Look at what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State. Dr. Professor Soludo has just started an agricultural revolution in Anambra State that is about to take off. Think!
You fought the Igbos to make them part of Nigeria. You fought them, and they surrendered to General Gowon. Now, you want to drive them away, and when they agitate for Biafra, you go and shoot them. Are you people reasonable at all? Are you reasonable? In my street, I have a Yoruba man living next door. I used to have a Hausa man in the next building before he sold it. If you go down towards the end, I have someone from Benue State. Our children are growing up and living harmoniously. I speak Igala because Igala people lived with me, and I lived with them. My father saved Igala people during the Civil War. War is not good; you don’t understand what you’re playing with.
Please stop this rubbish talk. Let’s live together. Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand. Check the Nigerian sports teams. How many Igbo people have played over the years, winning victories for us in the Olympics? The Yoruba have excelled in their own way, and our Northern brethren have excelled in theirs. We Midwesterners have also contributed to the economy and development of this nation. No one is a parasite on anyone in this country.
If anyone is to complain, it should be those of us who produce the oil. I have 24 oil wells in my mother’s community, and the biggest gas station is in my clan. So, we should be complaining, but we can’t because the federal government is there, the state government is there, the local government is there, and the community leadership is there. We, as individuals and entrepreneurs, can contribute to the development of our communities.
I don’t have any investment outside Nigeria. I don’t have any investment outside Delta State. I will invest here. You are saying Igbos should go, but you have Yoruba parties in the UK. Use your sense. Thank God for reasonable Yoruba people who have spoken against this craziness. Professor Wole Soyinka and Captain Blood, I salute you. At least you are not talking like this during Buhari’s time; we wouldn’t have degenerated to this level. Professor, I salute you. Your boys are loyal, and your boys are happy.
I remain your friend, Dr. Charles Apoki
