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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has warned landlords in the South East to, henceforth, stop discriminating against their tenants from the zone, especially while applying for rent in their buildings.
Spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, in a statement, yesterday, said the act was becoming rampant among landlords in Anambra and Enugu states.
He warned them not to visit the sins of previous tenants that had occupied their buildings on present ones, especially from Ebonyi State.
“Igbo person should not be discriminated against and mistreated based on his state of origin or on the basis of past experiences with people from a particular state.
“The attention of IPOB leadership has been drawn to the actions of some landlords in Igboland who refuse to rent their houses to some people from particular states, especially Ebonyi people.
“Actions of some of these landlords, particularly in Anambra and Enugu states, were based on the ugly experiences they had in the past with tenants from the states in question. The fact that there are innocent and good people in every community and state means there are also criminals and bad people in each community and state.
“The landlords in Biafraland must stop any form of stereotyping and discrimination against other Biafrans from other states. Nobody should be allowed or denied housing based on his community’s or state’s reputation.”
He, however, advised the landlords to properly scrutinise their tenants before allowing them in their apartments.
“Even after renting houses, the landlords have the right to carry out investigative inspections on his or her property and the tenant’s use of it.
“If the tenant is found wanting, the landlord can refuse to rent the house or terminate the lease agreement based on his or her findings. The refusal to rent to a tenant or the decision to terminate a rent agreement should never be based on what state the tenant is from.
“Ndigbo see themselves as one tribe and we must remain one tribe till eternity. We call ourselves brothers and sisters wherever we meet each other. The enemies have worked so hard to create disunity, division, and prejudices among Ndigbo after the Biafra genocidal war.
“Ndigbo must remember our Igbo slogan, ‘Igwe bu ike’, whether you are from Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Delta, River, Ebonyi, Cross River, and so on, we are one. Henceforth, every form of discrimination in house renting must stop,” Powerful said.
