From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Irked by the deaths of some Igbo people and others from various parts of the country who lost their lives while struggling for palliatives in Anambra, Abuja, and other locations, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has advised philanthropists from the South-East to stop sharing food items and instead focus on empowering people to fend for themselves.
The group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, gave the advice in a statement released to newsmen, saying the deaths could have been avoided if proper empowerment opportunities, such as providing farm seedlings and equipment, had been ensured.
He said, “There is a saying that goes like this: ‘Teach a man how to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime, but if you give a man a fish, he will only eat one meal.’ Therefore, we must avoid the repeat of the ugly event of December 21, 2024, by empowering and employing our people to reduce the state of engineered poverty that is ravaging Nigeria.
“To address this poverty menace, IPOB is calling on all Igbo philanthropists to stop sharing food items with the people. Instead, provide them with seedlings for planting so they can return to the farm to produce what they will eat. Empower our people to go back to the farm by sharing natural seedlings as a means of reducing hunger in the land.
“We also encourage wealthy Igbos to help struggling youths engage in useful endeavours and secure employment to address the issue of poverty. Most importantly, IPOB has called on our people to bring their investments, factories, businesses, ministries, and agencies home to Alaigbo to create employment opportunities for our teeming youths.
“Ndigbo are known for their hardworking and self-sustaining way of life. IPOB commends the efforts of Igbo philanthropists. However, we wish to discourage the sharing of food items. We must not create a culture of dependency like what is obtainable in the northern region of the zoo called Nigeria.”
As a way of avoiding such deaths in the future, he added, “Anyone that wishes to distribute palliatives in the future should ensure that proper procedures are put in place to avoid stampedes and other harms to our people. Such free food distribution can be done in villages instead of one central place with an overwhelming crowd, and security must be put in place to ensure orderly distribution.”
Powerful also exonerated the donor of the palliatives in Anambra State, Obi Jackson, who, he said, has been assisting the downtrodden for years. However, he blamed the Federal Government for causing hunger in the country.
He said, “It is noted that the philanthropic action of distributing free food items to women in the Okija community and beyond by Obi Jackson during Christmas has been going on for years. His good gestures should not be discouraged or demonised.
“In a sane country, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that poverty is not weaponised. Nigeria, as a country that has failed her citizens, is the reason people like Obi Jackson step in to provide palliatives for poverty-stricken citizens.
“Nigerian politicians have weaponised poverty, which is why more than 80 Nigerians have died so far in December 2024 in Anambra State, Abuja, and Ibadan. As such, Obi Jackson will not be blamed for lending support to the hungry citizens, even though it resulted in the unfortunate deaths,” Powerful stated.