Why Politicians, Business Moguls Are Staying Away From Southeast

Facts have emerged why most big men in the southeast have chosen to stay away from the zone in recent times.

In a chat with some of the business moguls and top political brass who preferred to speak anonymously, the inability of most top political and business individuals from visiting the eastern part of the country could not have been far from the growing insecurity concerns in the zone.

They feared that the continued silence of the federal government to go on a roundtable with southeast stakeholders and the agitators would cripple the economy of the region, as according to them, there was nowhere use of force to restore normalcy has brought enduring peace.

According to some of them, the situation in southeast is never an ideal place for someone to live and plan well how to better his or her life as the biafra agitators now seem to be more powerful than the governors of the southeast states.

“Tell me what is the need for someone to come back to the region where you cannot predict the days of the week. Anyone thinking on improving his business and life should avoid southeast for now.

“It was the burning of police station. Another day, it was the burning down of houses by army at Izombe in Imo State. It was the attack on police station in Ebonyi State.

“Just last week, apart from the Tuesday public holiday declared by the federal government for our Muslim brothers, we had only Wednesday and Friday to do business.

“There are threats by the separatists to declare one week and one month sit-at-home in the region with no clear indication what will be their next line of action. The people that they are asking to stay at home, at least in Abia earn their money and put food on the tables of their families through the money that they make on daily basis.

“With the dwindling economy and continued rise in the cost of food items in the market, where are they going to get the money to buy and store food?

“We have read in the news that goods and vehicle worth billions have been burnt by a people who cannot eat three square meals a day.

“After burning such goods, where do you think that the person will get the money to either pay the banks he borrowed money from or his customers that he bought goods on credit?

“With what is happening, people are relocating their businesses out of the southeast to a more safer place,” said a businessman.

A politician that also didn’t want his name mentioned said that the biggest test on the resolve of the government of the country to show that they were in-charge is the Anambra Nov. 6 election.

He feared that the winner of the Anambra gubernatorial election will be determined by a small margin of the Anambra population as they were expecting voter apathy.

A financial expert and former Economic Adviser to Abia State government, Chief Agu Ojukwu has expressed worries over the dangers Abia State and Southeast may face as a result of the continued sit-at-home protest by pro-biafra agitators.

Ojukwu in a telephone interview with our correspondent feared possible relocation of businesses from the Southeast by business owners who may see the continued sit-at-home as a potential danger to their business.

According to the former Economic Adviser, “any business is shutdown in Aba, the state will be losing nothing less than N2billion.

“This doesn’t include revenue coming from other sources.

“What Southeast loses on each sit-at-home day cannot be calculated.

“We all knew what happened during the Osisikankwu saga; where businesses relocated out of Aba.

“The danger in the continued sit-at-home is that a lot of persons who are calling for continued Monday sit-at-home do not have serious business in Aba, Abia or southeast.

“Those with serious business are not happy with what is happening and what it means is that, they will relocate their business outside Aba, Abia or southeast to another place where there won’t be sit-at-home.

“Some of the persons coming to Aba or southeast will look for elsewhere to be doing their business on Monday.

“For governors of other zone, it is to see this as an opportunity to improve the economy of their states by ensuring that the state have what drives people to the southeast.

“I am sure that there are people including shoe makers who are not finding it funny with the every Monday sit-at-home and are willing to go to elsewhere to establish their business.

“Those in Lagos backing what is happening in the southeast on Monday, do they close their shops on Monday’s? The answer is obvious No.

“If we don’t want to lose the few strong businesses that we have in the southeast, it is time we have a rethink.”