Igbo leaders met in Owerri, Imo State Capital, on Thursday, where they proffered solutions to insecurity in the southeast region, which has stunted economic development.
Under the auspices of the South East Summit on Security and Economy, with the theme “South East Beyond 2023: Time for a Reset, the leaders spoke extensively on how to remedy the issue.
Former Senator President and Chairman of the Summit, Anyim Pius Anyim, advised Igbo leaders to always brainstorm and share new ideas aimed at promoting the region’s economy, advancing social development and security, and revamping technical and digital education.
He expressed regret that the agricultural revolution and legacies of the late Micheal Okpara have been thrown overboard by successive leaders in the region due to self-aggrandizement.
Anyim admonished the Igbo to go back to the status quo of agricultural cultivation, trade, commerce, industry, and investing heavily in education.
The South East Governors present at the event, such as Governor Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra), Peter Mbah, and Alex Otti, called on the people of the region to support government policies and activities to move the South East forward.
The governors stressed that henceforth, Igbo people should start speaking with one voice and discard political party differences so that objectives will be achieved for the even development and reduction of crime, restiveness, and violence.
In his goodwill message, a two-term Foreign Affairs Minister, General Ike Nwachukwu, encouraged Ndi Igbo to invest hugely in the youth and seek collective wealth to enable them to design a better future. “We have many rivers, but our people find it hard to source portable water”.
In her opening remarks earlier, Chairman of the Summit Planning Committee, Senator Chris Anyanwu, stated that the gathering was aimed at finding a lasting solution to the myriad of problems bedeviling the people of the South East, saying that with unity, patriotism, cooperation, and mutual understanding, the wobbling economy of the region will be strengthened, infrastructure overhauled, security tackled headlong, and peace reigning supreme in the enclave.
An ICT guru, Leo Stan Ekeh, urged the governors of the South East to come together, go to Abuja, meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and appeal to him to quickly release the detained Supreme Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Ekeh told the governors to make the urgent release of Nnamdi Kanu the region’s top agenda if they really want the zone to move on and thrive economically, socially, and peacefully.
