Yoruba and Hausa communities in Enugu have hailed Igbos in the South-East as accommodating and hospitable.
A cross section of the Hausa and Yoruba communities living in Enugu described people of the zone as “very friendly”.
“The Igbos are easy to cohabit with and are detribalised in terms of employment, business and other forms of benefits,” they said.
Speaking in separate interviews on the need to promote co-habitation and national unity, they said they had lived all their lives in Enugu, without any form of harassment.
The Oba of Yoruba in Enugu,Adebayo Olatunji, said he settled in Enugu in 1979.
“I have never been discriminated against,” he said.
Mr Olatunji, who hailed from Ede in Osun described his relationship with Enugu people as “very cordial and conducive”.
“I would not have lived in the state for 46 years if they were bad people. I’m married to an Igbo woman from Nsukka and I had my first child in Enugu in 1988 whom I named Uzodimma meaning that my coming to Enugu has favoured me,” he said.
According to him, all the members of his family speak Igbo language fluently.
Mr Olatunji, who said he participated actively in politics in Enugu, recalled how he was a local government ex-officio member during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
“So I am encouraging other tribes that want to come to Enugu not to fear as the state is secured, loving and calm. It is a nice place where one can relax,” he said.
Similarly, the Sarkin Hausawa of Enugu, Abubakar Sambo, said he had become part of Enugu, describing its people as his brothers and friends.
Mr Sambo stated that he and other Northerners had never been discriminated against as the people of the state saw them as their brothers.
“I was born and brought up in Enugu and as I speak to you, I am a senior special adviser to Governor Peter Mbah on special duties. So, you can see how related we are with the Igbo people here,” he said.
The sarkin said that most of his friends are Igbos, adding that they lived like brothers and sisters.
“We move together, play together and eat together. Enugu is beautiful and has wonderful people that are very accommodating,” Mr Sambo said.
He disclosed that a number of Northerners coming into Enugu in the last two years increased due to the cordial relationship existing between the Hausa community and Enugu people.
Tayo Adenaike, a native of Ogun, said Enugu had become his adopted state after spending 51 years and getting married in the state.
He acknowledged the initial hiccups when he planned to come to Enugu as most Yorubas in those days thought Igbos were human eaters.
“I came to Enugu in 1974 for my university education at the UNN and since then, I have been living here. I have never been discriminated against in employment until I started doing my personal business,” Mr Adenaike said.
Mr Adenaike disclosed that due to his relationship with the Enugu people, he bagged the traditional title of ‘Nwanne di na Mba’ meaning a brother in the diaspora at Udi.
“The people are so loving, calm and hospitable; the insecurity is not the way people say it,” he said. “An Igbo man gave me my first job and accommodation before I started my own business in the state. I am also married to an Igbo woman.”
Emmanuel Akpan from Akwa Ibom, said he had been living peacefully with Enugu people since 1978.
“They are my brothers because I work and interact with them daily,” he said.
NAN
