The recently elected President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in FCT, Nze Ifeanyichukwu Obasi-Nweze (Mmuo!) has said he joined the leadership race of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural group to give a true face of what Ndigbo represents.
Nwaeze was elected and sworn in September and later subsequently handed over the mantle of leadership during the 2021 Igbo Day celebration.
In an interview with ABN TV on Friday, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leader expressed dissatisfaction that the picture people paint about Ndigbo is wrong and does not represent whom they are.
“The Igbo man is trustworthy. The Igbo man works for a living. The Igbo man believes in merit. That is what we want to do.
“Those who are chanced as it were are people who are idle. I don’t want to use the word ‘charlatans’ for the negative implication of it. You find people who are either unemployed or under-employed showing their faces as representing Ndigbo.
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“They paint the picture that is not Ndigbo. They paint a picture of people who grab at anything. They paint a picture of people who are only interested in filling their personal pockets.
“Remember people like Michael Okpara, and what they did in those days. When you are travelling along the major highways, you see cashews everywhere, they did not just come into existence. Somebody strategically planned that those cashews should be there” he said.
Speaking further, Obasi-Nweze said the only way things can be done the right way is for the right people to start indicating interest in leadership, insisting that that is what he is poised to achieving.
According to him, one of the first things Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT, which also covers the 19 northern states is targeting to achieve is a permanent structure where Ndigbo in the Northern region will be meeting to discuss the welfare of their people.
Obasi-Nweze further alleged that some individuals he did not mention received money and landed property on behalf Ndigbo and converted them to personal use.
He insisted that he is here to change that, adding that that is not what Ndigbo are.
