Copyright 1993 InterPress Service, all rights reserved.
Worldwide distribution via the APC networks.
NIGERIA: HARD LIFE FORCES REVERSAL OF EXODUS
an inter press service feature
by tony obiora
nnewi, eastern nigeria, sep 7 (ips) - the thousands of igbo people
who hurriedly left nigeria's large towns for fear of political
violence are finding the going tougher in their home areas.
jonathan unigwe last month moved his wife and four children and
all his belongings from lagos.
the motor spares dealer was only 10 years old when the 30-month-
old nigerian civil war, which killed between 500,000 and two
million igbo civilians, ended in 1970.
''i don't pray to see war again,'' he says, adding that he
hopes to settle down and continue his trade in this town, 40 km
from enugu in eastern nigeria.
but unigwe and his family now share a three bedroomed bungalow
with his 70-year-old mother and the six-member family of his
younger brother, who also returned home from the northern city of
kano following rumours of impending war.
''expectedly, the facilities in the little house are
overstretched. my problem is that the number of people i feed has
increased and the stock of food, including two 50 kg bags of rice,
is fast running out'', says unigwe.
an estimated 100 returnees to the eastern part of the country
died in road accidents during the rush to leave nigeria's major
cities following the annulment of the jun. 12 presidential
election.
a bloody confrontation with the former military government
looked imminent when the social democratic party, which is widely
believed to have won the election, human rights organisations and
trade unions demanded a transfer of power to an elected civilian
government.
instead former president ibrahim babangida installed an interim
government headed by ernest shonekan, giving rise to fears of
violence.
the homeward journey was fraught with danger. incidence of
armed robberies on the more than 1,000 km highway through mangrove
forests were rampant.
many returnees, such as bathlomeo ukata, lost property worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars to organised armed robbers along
the route.
the armed robberies notwithstanding, ukata had also decided to
set up a shop at onitsha about 45 km from here.
however, the high rental charges of up to 200 dollars per month
have forced the trader to shelve the idea of investing there for
the time being.
ukata says shuttling between onitsha and nnewi every morning
will cost him a large percentage of whatever profit he hopes to
make from owning a shop in onitsha.
because of the sudden flood of people from outside, transport
costs from nnewi to onitsha have risen by 250 percent during the
past month to about 1.5 dollars per single trip.
the cost of food has also risen markedly, forcing workers to
adopt new feeding patterns.
''i have asked my wife to evolve a feeding arrangement that
must conform with the salary i earn as the influx of our people
have made my monthly feeding allowance of 1,000 naira chicken-
change,'' says obinna igwe, a civil servant, who earns about 2,000
naira (about 100 dollars) a month.
the petrol scarcity has further compounded the problems of
those who moved in from other cities.
since the tension caused by the country's political impasse has
now eased, many people now wish to go back to the larger cities.
''now that things have settled down a bit, i want to get back
to lagos, but that might not be easy as i need to raise enough
money to move my goods and family back to lagos,'' says unigwe,
who fears he might even have lost the shop he abandoned.
those who fled the cities also fear landlords may hike their
rents on their return.
the anambra state governor, chukwuemeka ezeife, has appealed to
landlords not to increase house rents or stallage fees when the
people start returning to their various places of businesses.
''landlords should not increase house rents as the returnees
will be bankrupt, having exhausted their earnings at home,''
implores ezeife.
another leader from eastern nigeria, onyike onyike, is quoted
by the 'guardian newspaper' tuesday canvassing for understanding
the plight of the igbo people in taking decisions to return home.
''this country is what it is today because of the igbos. they
are a stabilising force in the country. if they align wholly to
any side, there will be trouble,'' warns onyike.
(end/ips/tb/gk/93)
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