The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi says only the Igbo leaders can solve the insecurity in the South East, advocating that the should handover all the trouble makers to security agencies and the region will be peaceful.
Oba Ogunwusi, spoke on Friday evening during the 35th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Anambra Ebonyi and Enugu, chapter held in Enugu.
He said, “Insecurity and the solution to the insecurity is in your hands because you know your people. Nobody will come and do it for you. You have the good and the ugly.
“So, bring out all that is causing trouble and hand over them to security and see whether there will be any more problem or not. It might sound stupid but it works all over the world. If you do that, I believe Igbo land will be one of the most sought-after all over the world.”
The monarch, who also spoke on the need for Ndigbo and Yoruba to mend their difference insisted that the two races have similarities in culture and cannot exist in isolation.
For him, the earlier the two races realised this, the better for her economic growth and prosperity.
Ooni said: “Maybe our ancestors at some point once lived together, let us know this fact for the generation yet unborn, is better for us and better for the entire black race. The better we come together the better our industrial base will continue to grow, and the better a lot of things will continue to be better.
“Why are all these similarities? To me, little research will expose the hidden similarities existing between the Igbo and the Yoruba.
“Igbo means new done in the Yoruba language. That’s why I think the Igbo do great things and when you touch business, a people with the hands of God. If you touch commerce, you’ve touched everything. They’re the greatest entrepreneurs in our country.”
He, however, charged Igbo investors to return home and develop the southeast economy, adding that unless Igbo wealthy businesses invest and develop southeast, no other person, tribe or race would do it for them.
He described Igbo as a destined race for greatness.
“When you continue to talk about the MAN, this (Southeast) is the bedrock of it. A whole lot of things emerged from Igbo land.
“I implore each and every one of you, to please come together for the betterment of the generation yet unborn. Come together to lift each other.
“Start working with your suppliers to build alliances so that they will come and build their manufacturing concerns and create manufacturing zones across the Southeast because charity begins at home.”