Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Secretary to Imo State Government, Uche Onyeagocha, has challenged the Igbo elite to stop showing off by building magnificent edifices in their country homes, but instead, use the resources to build factories that would provide job opportunities for the army of jobless youths in the South-East.
The former House of Representatives member who threw the challenge Thursday night while featuring on Ikengaonline townhall meeting, regretted that most of the big houses littered across communities in Igboland are uninhabited by human beings, but serve as colonies for lizards and cockroaches.
Onyeagocha who spoke on the theme: “Shaping Future Leaders: The Role of Political Grooming in South-East Governance,” argued that it made more sense for the Igbo elite to invest in things that would impact positively on the economy of the region than tie up their money in private houses.
He expressed worry over the grave danger posed by the teeming population of unemployed youths in the South-East.
“We should move beyond building fine houses in the village to building factories that will employ our youths. When the youths are positively engaged, crime wave will go down.
The 2019 governorship candidate in Imo State who noted that a lot of opportunities exist in the South-East, urged Ndigbo in the diaspora to begin to invest at home.
“We have a lot of opportunities in South-East that have not been tapped into. Our people should stop migrating abroad but look inwards and help develop South-East,” he said.
The monthly townhall meeting is a programme of Ikenga Media and Cultural Awarenesses Initiative, IMCAI, publishers of Ikengaonline Newspaper, a South East based accountability and good governance-focused online media outfit.
