High Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, has explained that the Igbos will suffer more than other tribes in Nigeria if the country fails, calling on Nigerians from the South-East, both home and in the Diaspora, to support President Bola Tinubu’s administration to succeed.
Iwuanyanwu stated this when he received the leadership and members of the Igbo Community Assembly in his Abuja home last week.
According to him, the Igbos did not vote for President Tinubu during the last general elections because they believed it was the turn of the South-East to lead the country. He added however that following Tinubu’s declaration by both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the apex court in the country, he deserved to be supported for Nigeria to succeed.
He said, “So, as your leader, I have proclaimed that Igbos, as good citizens of Nigeria, will support him. We are going to support him because we want Nigeria to be a success. If Nigeria fails, Igbos are going to suffer more than any tribe.”
Continuing, he explained that the Igbos have invested more than other tribes in the country, stating that if Nigeria has a problem, they will be affected more.
“If Nigeria is a corporate body like a company, I think we (Igbos) have more investments than many other tribes. Like Abuja for example, the Igbos have a lot of investment here. So if Nigeria has a problem, Igbos are going to suffer. So, if the government fails, Igbos are going to suffer more than any group because Igbos have more investments in most parts of the country than other groups.
“I think it is my duty as your leader to say that we are going to give every support we can to help the government to succeed. But we also expect the government to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring that what belongs to us is given to us. Nobody likes a situation where what he has is taken from him.
“You all know that the President worked for MKO Abiola and Abiola was my friend. I knew him (Tinubu) that time through Abiola. It is true that we didn’t support him during the election because we believe that it should be an Igbo person. Now we have no reason not to support him and I don’t have anything whatsoever against him. All we require now is to expect him to ensure that what belongs to us and what we have already is not taken away from us,” Iwuanyanwu said.
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