Ndigbo should forget the delusional Biafra narrative and focus on economic development and innovation. The Biafra conversation is a setback and a distraction. Look at the destruction of property, lives, and the economy caused by the hysteria around Biafra since the advent of IPOB in 2015. Owerri, which thrives on the hospitality sector, has been severely ruined by this Biafra hysteria.
Every decade, a charlatan rises to swindle our people using the word Biafra. Biafra is not an Igbo identity. it belongs to history, and it should remain there. Nnamdi Kanu and Ekpa, who have led to the destruction of lives and properties in the Southeast, hold second passports and are citizens of other countries. They have no single investment in Alaigbo, not even a ‘face me I face you boys quarters’. Do not destroy your future because of such people.
The Southeast is over 90% informal economy, an economy that cannot retain talent, cannot employ graduates, and can barely pay the minimum wage of 70,000. The Biafra we should be talking about is an economic Biafra. We need to make our region economically attractive. Most of the smart and ambitious lads I grew up with and met in university have all left the Southeast for Port Harcourt, Lagos, or Abuja.
There is no major flour mill, no palm oil refinery despite being a tropical rainforest naturally rich in palm fruits, no large biscuit factory, no major animal feed mill, and no significant detergent factory.
In 1999, Nnewi had about 56 companies; out of that number, only 6 or 7 are still operational today.
Barr Onyedikachukwu Okoye
