•Igbo red-cap chiefs
Igbo elders and traditional rulers as well as other stakeholders have dismissed as baseless the claim that the Igbo people in the South Eastern part of the country do not sell land in their region to people of other tribes.
The Hausa and Yoruba communities in the SouthEast region have also risen in defence of their hosts saying it was a false claim, reports Saturday Vanguard.
Their reactions followed a narrative which trended recently that the Igbo people do not sell land to non Igbo which generated a lot of interest among Igbo and non Igbo in the country.
They are twisting facts to blackmail Ndigbo –Abia monarch
In his reaction, the paramount ruler of Abiriba Ancient Kingdom, Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu, Enachoken Abiriba, said strangers who are interested and willing to buy land and develop for useful purposes are always given the opportunity to do so.
According to the royal father, “if anyone wants to invest, there is land everywhere for any interested investor to genuinely acquire. Nobody will stop such a person from buying land in any part of Igbo land. They are just twisting the facts to blackmail the Igbo. They don’t want to invest in Igbo land, they just want to give Igbo a bad name.
“Those of them who are in Igbo land would just rent one room and cluster there irrespective of the amount of money they have. They won’t go to buy a piece of land. If they are interested in buying land, they can get as much as they want.”
It’s just propaganda to incite ethnic division — Ebonyi monarch
Also speaking on the issue, the traditional ruler of Nkaliki Echara Unuhu autonomous community, Ebonyi State, Ezeogo Sunday Oketa, Onu Ohana 111, said that he personally supervised a survey of land sold to the Chairman of the Cattle Sellers Association in Abakaliki, Alhaji Salusi.
Oketa also stated that the Yoruba quarters where the Yoruba people live in Orokeonoha, his own village is owned by the Yourbas. “It is a very wrong impression to say that we don’t sell land to visitors from other tribes. It is not true because we are magnanimous enough and have sold lands to the Hausas, Yorubas, Ibibios, Idomas, Edos, Igala, Efiks, etc. We don’t discriminate in the sale of land as long as you have the interest to buy. I have sold many plots of land to Hausas in my community? I also supervised surveys of plots of land sold to Alhaji Salusi in my area. The Yorubas have quarters in my village and that place is owned by them and they are still living there. You can go there to verify. In the heart of Abakaliki, we have Hausa quarters where they live and do their business.
“A vast land is being occupied by Hausas; the land was bought by their fathers years ago. They sell cows on their own. The truth is that we have been living with the Hausas and others peacefully and we cannot afford to deny them anything including the sale of land. They marry our women and we also marry their women. So, we bond with them, we don’t fight or quarrel unnecessarily, and we share things. I urge politicians to desist from creating division among ethnic groups,” Ezeogo Oketa cautioned.
They don’t want to build in Igboland; land is available to buy – Eze Ohanwe
The paramount ruler of Isiama Autonomous Community, Imo State, Eze Oliver Ohanwe, insists that the Igbo are known for accommodating others.
He said, “We are very accommodating people. Igbo people have investments all over the country. But people from other parts of the country do not want to invest in Igbo land. With the amount of money they control at Ama Hausa here in Owerri, where they do exchange, one would have expected them to build good structures there.
“We see Dangote trucks every day, but it is just recently that he decided to build a warehouse in Imo. Many governors give lands free to outgoing security heads who are not Igbo. Have they developed the lands? They do not want to own properties here”, the monarch said.
Igbo are always ready to sell land to interested persons – ASITU
The Association of Igbo Town Unions, ASITU, also faulted the claim, insisting that Igbo people are ready to sell land to any interested and willing people from any part of the country who are ready to invest and develop any part of Igbo land. ASITU explained that the only condition is that the proposed buyer must negotiate with the real owner of the land. The National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, said Igbo are the only true Nigerians who do not discriminate where they invest.
His words: “The problem is, how many non-Igbo are willing to buy land in Igbo land? Only very few despite the humongous revenue they take out from Igbo land. Most non-Igbo investors or companies prefer to rent offices than buy land and build their offices. It is difficult to find companies owned by people from other ethnic groups in Aba, Owerri, or Abakaliki.
“But the Igbo man will relocate to the remotest parts of the country, buy land, and invest without fear because he sees himself as part of that community. In fact, under normal circumstances, the Igbo man would generally prefer to sell his land to non-Igbo than to his brother. This is hard to believe, but it is the truth. This may also be shocking but it is true”.
It’s a very wrong perception – Igbo group
A group, Elite Forum also dismissed it as a wrong perception, insisting that land in Igbo land is sold to any interested buyer willing to invest in the region. According to the leader of the group, Elder Paul Amah, “it is a very wrong perception. It is not true. The Igbo people are the most hospitable people in the country.
“Maybe those saying this thing could be those who came to Igbo but bought land through the wrong process. When coming to invest in Igbo land, come with a genuine mind and genuine business idea, meet the genuine land owners, and you will see how they will embrace it”, he advised.
It’s a mere ethnic incitement — Leader of Yoruba community
In the same vein, a Yoruba leader in Abakaliki, Chief Adedeji Olatosi described those who made such allegations against Igbo as the enemies of Ndigbo who envy their progressive nature and those who don’t have money to buy land.
According to him, “Who said Igbo people don’t sell their land to other tribes? It is the same people who have been fanning the embers of discord in this country that made such statements. I have lived in Ebonyi State for 50 years. I was born and brought up in Afikpo from where I came to Abakaliki to do my business. Igbo people are eager to even give land free or with little tokens if they love you. The problem with our people is that they don’t want to buy land outside the Yoruba area.
“As far as Abakaliki is concerned, if I want to buy land in a government quarter, I can buy it if I can afford the money. I have many plots of land in Afikpo and Ohaukwu. I have a bungalow where I am living with my family in Abakaliki, likewise, other Yoruba people. I even resold two plots I bought 20 years ago to Igbo people. Our politicians should stop causing unnecessary tension and division among ethnic groups in this country”, he warned.
We bought where we live, do business – Hausa Community leader
A leader of the Hausa community in Abakaliki, Alhaji Danlandi Umar said in Ebonyi State, land is given free and also sold in most places. He noted that Igbo are very hospitable and accommodating people.
“In Abakaliki, we have areas owned by our people. We also have Hausa quarters which our people own as their property. We are living in harmony with the Igbo people here. We do business together, we inter marry, they give us land free, we also buy land if we want. We own this place where we live, we also own the place where we sell cattle. Some Hausas have filling stations in Ebonyi state like Shafa, Sani, etc. The land was sold to them by our host community and nobody heard about it. We are living peacefully here. Some of us have lived in Ebonyi for 70 years; some were born and brought up here. Some of us speak local dialects like Izzi, Ezza, Afikpo, etc, not only the central Igbo language. We have become part and parcel of this place. I want to appeal to Igbo to disregard the enemies who want to cause a crisis through their utterances.
“How can someone say that Igbo people don’t sell land to other tribes? We are enjoying our peaceful stay in Igbo land and nobody should use us to cause a tribal crisis. Some of the Hausas living here only visit their home state, Ebonyi is now their home, and some of us died here and were buried here. We have our investments here just the same way Igbo have theirs in the North,” Umar said.
