In what reinforced the assertion of the existence of an undercurrent deep-seated act of sharp discriminatory practice and repulsion being perpetrated by a section of the Igbos against other Igbo extractions in the same South – East geopolitical zone of the country surfaced when Ifeanyichukwu Eluu, a Pastor from Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, relocated to Anambra State recently.
Eluu, the thoroughly embarrassed indigene of Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State, shared his experience online on how a landlord hurriedly refunded his house rent and sent him packing on hearing that he is from Ebonyi State.
The Pastor said he lost the apartment he paid for and parked into after the landlord was told that the new tenant is an Ebonyi man, generally referred to as “Ndi Abakaliki.”
The Pastor shared his disappointment on his Facebook handle, stating that the full money he paid for the apartment was sent back to him by the landlord same day he parked in, directing him to vacate his property as he is an “Abakaliki man.”
Eluu felt palpably “insulted” that the landlord’s could exhibit.such level of discrimination against fellow brothers – Igbo against Igbo.
He wrote:“The last experience I had, getting an apartment in Anambra state wasn’t a good one. I had paid 100% for the apartment to the caretaker, preparing to settle in after signing the necessary tenancy agreement the following day.
“But there was a reconsideration afterwards, we had stayed for a longer time in a hotel. So, we needed to quickly move into the property, of which we informed the caretaker about the move. We rushed to get the basic things to equip the house right away and the same evening, we moved into the house.
“Around 12 midnight, I saw an alert of the exact Money I paid to the caretaker. I called him right away, he said the landlord refunded the Money when he heard we’re from Ebonyi state,” Abakaliki” as generally refered.
“I felt so insulted, embarrassed, as well, very concerned at such level of discrimination against fellow brothers.
“The last place I finally got a house, the Man asked where I’m from, I told him “Afikpo”. Then he said, okay, I know Afikpo, they are partly Abia state, I can consider you, that’s how we settled. But I wasn’t happy that I had to route through such bias just to get a house to live in
“Please, let the concerned handlers review this in time, hence the maxim “Igbo bu ofu.”
Similarly, The Daily Crucible reports that in October 2023, a group of elders drawn from 24 indigenous communities of Aba North and Aba South in Abia state rejected Governor Alex Otti’s appointment of Anambra billionaire, Ide Udeagbala, as the Mayor of Aba City.
The people described the appointment as an aberration and an attempt to throw the indigenes out of their homeland.
Otti had appointed the industrialist as Aba mayor amid controversy, stressing that the era of indigenes and non-indigenes sentiment was gone in the state.
According to him, only merit would determine who got what in his administration.
The new mayor hails from Ozubulu in the Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State and a graduate of Harvard University.
But the natives of Aba Ngwa have rejected the decision, describing it as an insult to the sensibilities of Aba indigenes.
