I have been an advocate of Aku Ruo Ulo for over a decade. I called it Homeward (Investment) Integration.
Aku Ruo Ulo as investment philosophy urges Ndigbo to think homewards when making their investments.
What is currently happening in the polity offers yet another opportunity to re-echo this age-long cry.
Two things make this call imperative – the hostility of host communities and the need to develop the Igbo homeland and create job opportunities for the teeming youths now in the grip of criminality and ‘mkpurumiri’ and tramadol.
The hostility of host communities could be symbolised by what’s happening to the Igbo in Lagos of late. Some miscreants have singled the Igbo out for harm for no just cause. They claim that Ndigbo say Lagos is a no man’s land without adducing evidence. No sane Igbo man would say that when the Igbo have their villages to return to.
As a matter of history, Lagos was first described as a no man’s land in 1947 by the First Speaker of the House of Representatives and later Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jaja Anucha Nwachukwu. His view was amplified by the revered ex-Lagos Governor, the late Lateef Kayode Jakande, LKJ. On both occasions, the two gentlemen never meant or implied that no particular people owned Lagos but that Lagos, being the economic and political hub of the country, is home to all, a kind of mini-Nigeria.
So, regardless of whatever other peoples of Nigeria have contributed to the development of Lagos, it is crass stupidity to believe or say Lagos is no man’s land. No, it belongs to the Yoruba; that is indisputable.
When the likes of Bayo Onanuga spill their hate speech against the Igbo, especially following the 2023 controversial elections in the former nation’s capital, it is on record that there are far more reasonable Lagosians who know the truth and are ready to defend and protect the Igbo irrespective of their faults that sometimes set them up on harm’s way.
Lagos is not the only place the Igbo are imperilled. It almost seems like a national conspiracy. A lot of times, whenever there are socio-political flare-ups in Nigeria, the Igbo bear the brunt, even for cartoons in far-flung lands purportedly blasphemous of some religious leader.
Sadly, the itinerant nature of the Igbo cannot be changed. It is usually said that anywhere you go and you don’t see an Igbo man there, run for your life.
The Igbo are adventurous, loving and openly embrace wherever they find themselves as home. Unfortunately, this openness, coupled with their loud and brash nature, has brought nothing but pain to them. They thrive in adversarial situations. Therefore, envious neighbours who lack the resilience and the die-hard spirit of the Igbo, who can never understand how the Igbo manage to survive amid adversity, resort to hatred and hunt for Igbo heads to chop off. Nevertheless, the Igbo keep increasing in strength and numbers like the covenant Jews.
What is happening in Lagos today is a wake-up call. The time has come for the Igbo to rethink. East of West, home, they say, is the best. That is what Aku Ruo Ulo is all about.
The major proponent of this is in the race to become the next occupant of Imo Government House, otherwise known as Douglas House. I don’t even know why that place is named after Douglas, and not Mbakwe or any other illustrious son of the state. That, however, is a story for another day.
Indefatigable Senator Athan Achonu, who is running on the platform of Labour Party, is a general leading his troops from the front. His humongous, multi-billion naira investments in his native Imo are enough to convince voters that such a man has the key to unlocking the state that stragglers in politics have scorched in the recent past.
To further expatiate the relevance and possibility of the Aku Ruo Ulo idea, I need to borrow from Dr. Uche Iwuala’s post on the Concerned Imo Influencers platform:
“There’s no better way to do that than to turn our eyes to what Senator Athan Achonu is doing. I have always touted that as the model for Aku Ruo Ulo both in its mentality and approach and in its practicality beyond mere sloganeering.
“I dare say that is one of the reasons I’m attracted to the Athan Achonu governorship quest. I’m always drawn to doers than talkers.
“He has not only spoken about Aku Ruo Ulo like many others, but he has gone on to show practical working, even when it was(is) neither convenient, safe nor popular. That highlights my idea of the Athan Achonu Aku Ruo Ulo model.
“Aku Ruo Ulo model in my understanding does not mean abandoning every other space, area, or region where Igbo thrive, can thrive and make money from. You need money from outside ala Igbo to invest, build, grow, and sustain what is going to be done in the South-East/ala Igbo.
“Aku Ruo Ulo, in my humble view, is more about: 1. Developing the South-East or ala Igbo and making it equally productive and attractive to even non-Igbo. Think about what we can do with Aba, Nnewi, Onitsha, etc. 2. Employing our people, especially our teeming youths, and in so doing checkmate insecurity, crime, and criminality and like vices. 3. Improving our competitiveness, strengthening us financially and politically to be better equipped and able to compete toe to toe with the rest of Nigeria.
“It is important to state that Aku Ruo Ulo is not running away from Nigeria but it is looking inwards to be able to thrive better inside and compete better outside.
“In addition, it is important to state and to let our people understand that stealth is wisdom. You do not advertise what you intend to do before you do it. Otherwise, you place others on notice. Then they adjust, readjust or put stumbling blocks on your path to either frustrate you or make you fail. We are often a bit too loud, truth be told. Ihe dike na eme di ya na obi.
“There is no wisdom or tact in advertising that we are leaving Lagos or anywhere else for that matter while we are still in those places, especially as we are yet to prepare the ground or provide the conditions vital for that at home. By the way, there is no guarantee or possibility that every single Igbo person will leave Lagos or any other part of Nigeria. Even the South-East will not contain all of us.
“It’s important that we have these conversations and clearly and unambiguously let our people know what exactly we intend to achieve and the strategy to achieve them.
Wisdom is profitable to direct.”
There is hardly anything to add except to say the Igbo are the ones holding themselves down. I don’t believe Lagos hates Ndi Igbo. The Igbo have had beautiful opportunities in the state to excel in business and employment.
Lagos is a hospitable host but any Igbo that joins in the inane idea that it is no-man’s-land is only courting trouble; there will be a backlash and that is exactly what the bigots are doing.
The Igbo should tone down on their loquacious and abrasive lifestyles too, knowing that they are in a strange land to hustle. You cannot be more landlord than the landowner.
Worse still is that we must make the Igbo homeland clement. When the Imo borders are left open for human scavengers due to political patronage, people’s lives are worth nothing. How can people come home to invest when known or unknown gunmen run riot in the land, masquerading as freedom fighters? Nobody has even told us why Imo has become an abattoir for them when Nnamdi Kanu’s Abia is peaceful. When a fire burns on the mountain in Imo, investors run away.
Moreover, if Aku Ruo Ulo must succeed, the Igbo must intentionally elect people whose stories are verifiable and could easily resonate with the people. Gone are the days when people ate their dinner in the morning. When evening comes, starvation shall knock hard on their door. At harvest time, everyone reaps what they had sown. Enough of collecting peanuts in exchange for our children’s tomorrow.
As Imolites go to the poll in November, it is up to them to interrogate the gladiators and vote for the candidate with a heartbeat for the masses.