By FEMI OGUNSHOLA

Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, says his mission is to transform Igboland as the leader of the social cultural group.

Iwuanyawu said this when he led members of the group to pay a courtesy call on the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representative, Rep Benjamin Kalu in Abuja on Friday.

He said every Igbo man at home and in Diaspora must have a market at the proposed international market in Onitsha, Owerri and other places in Igbo land.

According to him, “we have decided that every Igbo man must have a market in Igboland. We are going to build an international market at Umuahia, Aba, Owerri and Onitsha”.

He said the leadership of Ohanaeze had designed an interstate railway line that would connect all the Southeast states with Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos.

He said the project would be taken over by private individuals, adding that the Igbo states needed a functional international airport.

He said at least one European airline would be landing in Enugu and other states in the region.

He said from the research study he commissioned, which was submitted to him, the report on agriculture suggested that 50 per cent of land in the region had not been tapped.

He said, “The Gas plant at Aba will be touched. We have limestone and we can establish up to five cement companies there.”

According to him, cement is one of the profitable businesses in the country. One can make over 200 per cent profit.

“The coal in Enugu is about the best. I am over 80 years old and I have seen there is hope, all hope is not lost. I have people like you who will take over.”

He said no ethnic group in Nigeria had the Diaspora capacity that Igbo has, adding that the Igbos spread all over the world, saying in the next few years the Igbos would be the greatest power in the world.

He said since he decided to restructure Ohanaeze, it now had branches all over the country.

On the mounting security challenge in the region, he urged the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu.

He added that every effort must be made to release him, which according to him, will reduce the agitation and make things easy for the group.

“Very soon, you can be coming home without fear. We are not poor in the southeast but our people have not been able to harness the resources.

Rep. Benjamin Kalu, said there was need to work more to achieve success in the region, saying “if you work small, you get small; if you work big you get big”.

He said his sense of commitment and hard work was why President Bola Tinubu decided to consider him for the post of a deputy speaker in the 10th assembly.

He said in spite of the current challenges in the country, Nigeria would remain one, adding that rather than separate, “we will look for smaller countries to join Nigeria to make it great”.

“The parliament that I lead as Deputy Speaker, believes we should be thinking of a regional economy integration policy that will involve all the states in the southeast to collaborate on rail lines.

He urged the governor to consider a regional fund to increase the region’s trade and productivity, while calling for a regional security integration policy.

He said there was a need for collaboration cutting across states to help the state to be more secure.

“We need peace in the Southeast project and security agencies have accepted the proposal for this initiative. Security is not only at the state but also at the local government level.”

He called for a regional political leader that would make the region play national politics the way it must be done.

Commenting on the sit-at-home policy in the region, he described it as a lazy man’s approach to agitation, while urging the people to reject sit at home illegal order. (NAN)

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