“That must be the result of this specific summit. While there are other regions that are thriving despite their own insecurity, this is hardly the most insecure location in the world.
Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, believes that despite insecurity and other difficulties the South-East faces, it must have the confidence to turn things around.
Speaking on Thursday at the 2023 South-East Summit on Economy and Security in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, Soludo insisted that the region must make every effort to flourish despite insecurity and emphasised that the area is not the most dangerous place on earth.
“I have heard speeches made and lamentations books. Lamenting is fine, but I’d like to perceive the glass as half full than half empty. We must all have faith in our potential to turn things around and revive the South-East. The region is primed and ready for business.
“That must be the result of this specific summit. We might bemoan the lack of security and other things, but this is not the most unsafe location on earth; other places are thriving despite their own unpredictability.
Eight local governments were completely under siege by these hoodlums when I arrived in Anambra. Now that they have all left, we can go back to business. We must be committed to advance our location despite the obstacles, the governor said, adding that they would not stop Anambra or the South-East as a whole.
He urged South-East natives not to wait for the governors to resolve every issue before coming to invest in the region, warning that if people continue to only see dread and gloom, “this place will be a desolate homeland.”
According to Soludo, the South-East should not limit its renaissance to just self-belief; rather, it should collaborate with the rest of the nation, the diaspora, and the global community.
“Nigeria is something we need, not just ourselves. Both Nigeria and Ndigbo are essential to each other. The World and Africa need Ndigbo, and Ndigbo needs the World and Africa. We cannot be intolerant because we are a nomadic people.
“We need everyone’s partnership, the support of the rest of the nation, the support of the diaspora, and the support of the global community.”
After Anyim Pius Anyim, a former Senate president and secretary to the government of the federation, delivered a speech calling for a reconsideration of the Biafra agitation and ways to combat instability in the South-East, Soludu spoke.
He cautioned that, based on recent developments, the region runs the risk of losing economic and political significance in the nation, with the region’s residents already suffering severe repercussions as a result of years of unrest and unrest that have been exploited as a cover by criminal forces to prosper.
“Some non-state actors have proclaimed every Monday for the past four years as a day to stay in. According to him, there has been a great loss of life and property as a result of the enforcement’s brutality.
It is believed that the sit-at-home order has cost hundreds of lives and hundreds of billions of naira, according to Senator Anyim.
All locals in the area are affected by this, he continued, even prosperous people who are frequently the targets of kidnapping and assassination.
