The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide says the massive community development projects commissioned by Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo during the Yuletide celebrations, was proof that Ndigbo are harkening to the calls to take their destiny in their own hands in ensuring the development of Alaigbo.
Governor Soludo was Christmas celebrations touring parts of the state, commissioning various developmental projects, including constructed roads totaling over 30 kilometers, reconstructed health facilities, leisure and hospitality investments, educational and health infrastructure projects, and scholarships among others.
There were also empowerments of various kinds, all undertaken by individuals and groups, as well as diasporan associations, not just in Anambra, but also in other states of the region including Abia and Imo.
Speaking on the development in a chat with newsmen in Awka, the acting National Youth Leader of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mazi Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, posited that by the gesture, Igbos are returning to the age-long tested and proven method through which Alaigbo was built.
According to him, Ndigbo as genuine lovers of humanity and peace, had from time, been responsible for creating the liveable society they yearn for in the Southeast, despite decades of obvious abandonment by successive governments.
Okpalaezeukwu commended the individuals and groups that are putting in their wealth to pursue the good of their homeland, remarking that the government alone cannot do everything for the people.
“What we saw as Ohaneze youths during the Yuletide celebrations were quite commendable and unprecedented, our people were showing true commitment to the cause of their communities.
“It is heartwarming to note that this call which the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide under Chief Engr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu MFR. OFR CFR (Ahaejiagamba), which the governors of the Southeast states have been making for quite a while now, is being heeded.
“These young men and women who are undertaking these projects are showing that they are truly Ndigbo by towing the line of the Late M.I Okpara, who sacrificed a lot for the development and socio-economic growth of Igboland.
“No words are enough to appreciate you,” he noted.
The Ohaneze Ndigbo youth leader emphasized that the projects are also critical in providing answers to the teething challenges of unemployment and youth restiveness in the region.
He said with the gainful engagements that the initiatives will provide for youths, the number of those who will venture into crime and criminality will drastically reduce.
In his words; “This is what we have been preaching- the use of non-kinetic approaches to address the rising insecurity and youth restiveness in Alaigbo.
“A youth who is gainfully engaged will have little or no time to consider crime and other social vices. The educational scholarships will ensure that out-of-school children who ordinarily, would have been willing instruments in the hands of crime sponsors, will now make better use of their time, acquiring knowledge that will shape their future. And we can go on and on.”
Okpalaezeukwu called on youths in the various communities where such developmental projects were executed, to protect the infrastructure and other facilities put in place.
“No reasonable people will use their own hands to tear down what they have built. Alaigbo is built with the sweat and blood of Ndigbo.
“As youths, we owe the obligation to guard these massive investments in our localities. Leaving them vulnerable to attacks, means we would no longer have them for our use soon.
“Therefore, I call on all Igbo youths to protect all government and privately-owned projects in their communities for the overall use and wellbeing of our people,” the Igbo youth leader charged.
