Igbo business people from the Southeast, led by a prominent politician cum business tycoon, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, have called on northern traders in the region to provide them with an estimate of the losses incurred as a result of attacks by Biafran agitators in the South-East for possible compensation.
At a meeting involving Igbo leaders and Northern traders in the South-East, held in Owerri, Imo State, the Igbo businessmen pledged to do everything possible to ensure the safety and well-being of the northerners living in their area.
They asked the northern traders to report all losses incurred due to the killings and destruction of property, adding that they will convene another conference in the North, and promised that everything will be fine within a short time.
Speaking during the meeting, Nwuanyanwu promised that they would ensure a return to normalcy.
“If they are honest Nigerians, we should help them (affected traders). As soon as we have people like you talking to them, we should help them,” he said.
Some Igbo activists expressed concern over the situation, saying that Igbo people have investments in various parts of northern Nigeria.
They said that there are at least 11 million Igbo people living in the northern Nigeria.
Speaking at the meeting, head of the Northern Livestock Dealers Association, Alhaji Yau Ali, said that members of the association attended the meeting because they wanted to take action on the killings of northerners in the south-east.
Members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) had recently launched attacks on government institutions, security forces and individuals, including northerners and their businesses.
