What Igbo-Nsukka Should Be To Nigeria But For 'Marginalisation', Poor Leadership - Onyeke

 

The Director-General of Igbo Nsukka Unity Front (INUF), Comrade Chineme Onyeke has observed that Enugu North District is blessed by providence in virtually all sectors, stressing that Nsukka land in Enugu State should naturally be the academic hub, agricultural base and the leading tourist destination in Nigeria. 

In an address forwarded to AllNews on Tuesday, he however regretted that these great potentials have not been harnessed "due to a lot of things chasing Igbo Nsukka, some of which are a combination of carefully orchestrated marginalization agenda against Nsukka people and ineffective and visionless leadership of our people".

Hon. Onyeke disclosed that his group's visits to wonderful sites littered across Nsukka land revealed that "Igbo-Nsukka should naturally be the leading tourist destination in Nigeria, (examples, Ezzimo Waterfalls, Nkalagu Obukpa Cave, etc). Also, Nsukka should be the Academic hub of Nigeria, Nsukka should be the Agricultural base of the South-East, and other innumerable potentials of Nsukka Land".

He explained that it is in combating the combination of the "anti-Nsukka agenda and bad leadership that has pauperised our people" that the Igbo Nsukka United Front came up with a three-point agenda which the group intends to vigorously pursue in order to birth the latent greatness in Nsukka land.

The DG explained the agenda as follows: "to give Igbo Nsukka a voice: Having gone through series of marginalization, degradation, and oppression, and being looked down upon by almost all cultural zones around us, within and outside Enugu State, it has become imperative for us to stand and speak for our people, to promote our people, our culture, our heritage, our achievements, and our heroics. Prof Chinua Achebe in admonishing African Writers once said "if you don't write your story, another person will do it the way you may not like" which will culminate in what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie terms *"the danger of a single story"* Igbo Nsukka United Front is to form a rallying ground for Igbo Nsukka men and women where we converge and put heads together to plan for what will benefit the entire Igbo Nsukka Cultural zone, thereby attracting tremendous development to our land and make Igbo Nsukka the most desirable place to live in or to come from in the entire Igbo Land. 

"Industrialization of Igbo Nsukka:  The best way to attract development to a place is to create Jobs there and the best way to create Jobs is to build industries. This informed our quest for the industrialization of Igbo Nsukka land, especially in Agriculture and Information Communication Technology ICT. To achieve this, we will need a University of Agriculture that will drive the rapid industrialization of this zone. On this basic agenda, we are to do everything within our power to ensure that a University of Agriculture is established in Igbo Nsukka and fully operational before 2023.

"To ensure that Igbo Nsukka is not left out in the 2023 power equation and beyond: Having fought really hard before we were "given" the chance to lead Enugu State in 2015 which culminated in the former Gov. Sullivan Chime sacrificing his political ambition for Nsukka to take what is rightfully theirs in the Political equation of Enugu State.  We are not even sure if this 4th republic will last until then, and also borrowing a leaf from what happened in the tenure of Chimaroke when he totally neglected Nsukka Zone.

"Even at that, during the turn of Enugu East Senatorial Zone, they had the Senate President and the Federal Ministers that joined hands with the governor to develop their area. During that of Enugu West Senatorial Zone, they had the deputy Senate President and the Federal Ministers, including UNN Vice Chancellors that all joined hands to develop their place, but when our turn came, it was only the governor and nothing more.

"Therefore, we must stand and insist that the next round of the zoning arrangement starts from Nsukka, especially, because we are the last and in the principle of equality, equity and fairness, (traditional ISUSU) the last person to take in the first round should be the first to take in the second round. Hence, it is the rightful turn of Igbo Nsukka to produce the next Governor of Enugu State come 2023."

While clarifying that it is neither fronting nor opposing any individual, politician, group or political party, INUF stressed that her only interest "is the well-being of Nsukka men and women and the development of Nsukka land hence any man, woman, boy or girl that is against the interest of Nsukka Land is automatically against us and anyone supporting the interest of Nsukka Land is automatically for us."

Check out some photos from Igbo Nsukka's event below: