Igboville members arranged free buses to evacuate Igbos stranded in Maiduguri, Borno state. Attached images show some of the evacuees being interviewed by journalists at 9th Mile corner Enugu state.
The initial evacuation involved two buses with about 150 Igbo men, women and children who left Maiduguri on wednesday morning and arrived the east early this morning (2/2/12).
In his goodwill message delivered through a member of Igboville, Nelo Fina, the group’s founder, Barr Emeka Maduewesi, implored the evacuees to quickly resettle in the East while the government sorts out the security situation. The Igboville evacuation anchor, Dr Chin Akano, praised the members of Igboville for living up to the group’s slogan of “Onye Aghana Nwanneya”.
He promised that many more such evacuation will be undertaken to ensure that every Igbo that is willing to leave is enabled to leave. The President of Oganiru Ndigbo Foundation, Dr Lucas Onuh, urged Ndigbo to think home in terms of investment and take measures to relocate the headquarters of Igbo owned business to the South East. He also urged governors of the south east states to assist the evacuees resettle in the South East as well as authorize public schools to automatically re-absorb returning Igbos from the North.
Dr Onuh who is a renowned architect, urged the government to crash the cost of acquisition of stalls in the East as well as build more markets to accommodate those relocating from flash points in the North. The evacuees were full of praises for Igboville and described the assistance as not only timely but excellent show of love and concern for their plight in the North.
They called on the federal government to compensate them for losses in properties and loved ones occasioned by the terrorist campaigns of Islamic terrorists masquerading as jihadist. Many of them narrated how they relocated to the bush for days until they received news of the free buses arranged by Igboville. They also spoke of continuing bombings and killings in Maiduguri and environs. One of the representatives of Igboville who met the evacuees, Alvan Chinagorom, called on politicians and well meaning Nigerians to assist in removing Igbo men and women from harms way.
He reaffirmed the group’s commitment to one Nigeria founded on equity, justice and good conscience. Mr Chinagorom reiterated that the government must do more to secure the lives and properties of Ndigbo and Nigerians in general.
