Diaspora Engagement and Community Development in Igboland

The Aku Ruo Ulo Perspective

Authors

  • Emmanuel Ejike Odeh Rhema University Nigeria, Aba
  • Desmond Onuigwe Onwo Ph.D Department of Political Science, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Enugu
  • Ikenna M. Ogbuka Ph.D Department of Political Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu
  • Innocent U. Duru Ph.D Department of Economics, Rhema University Nigeria, Aba, Abia State

Keywords:

Aku Ruo Ulo Initiative, Igbo Diaspora, Diaspora Engagement, Economic Empowerment, Community Participation

Abstract

The philosophy of “Aku Ruo Ulo,” meaning “wealth should reach home,” is an important cultural ethos in Igboland, emphasizing the significance of investing and developing one's homeland with the acquired resources abroad. The Aku Ruo Ulo concept is a diaspora-driven initiative for community development in Igboland, Nigeria. This philosophy advocates using wealth earned elsewhere for the advancement and betterment of one's own country. Relying on Transnationalism Theory, this study interrogates the impact of the Aku Ruo Ulo initiative on economic investment in south-eastern Nigeria. We employed an ex-post facto research design and mixed data collection methods, combining surveys and documents. The study uses content and thematic analysis to reveal that the Aku Ruo Ulo initiative has increased economic investment in Igboland and that effective diaspora engagement has improved community outcomes. Thus, we recommend that programmes be scaled up, diaspora-community links be strengthened, and development hurdles related to infrastructure and culture be addressed.

Author Biographies

  • Desmond Onuigwe Onwo Ph.D, Department of Political Science, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Enugu

    Desmond O. Onwo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Enugu. He has published several journal articles with research interest in governance, terrorism, gender politics, elections and diplomacy.

    Department of Political Science, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Enugu

    Email: drnnaaonwo@yahoo.com

  • Innocent U. Duru Ph.D, Department of Economics, Rhema University Nigeria, Aba, Abia State

    Uchechukwu Innocent Duru is a Senior Lecturer of Development Economics at the Department of Economics, College of Management and Social Sciences, Rhema University, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. His research interest is in the fields of Development Economics, Public Sector Economics, International Economics, Financial Economics, and Human Resources Economics. He is a full member of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES). He has published articles in Asian Development Policy Review; Economy;Asian Journal of Empirical Research; Journal of Economics, Management and Trade; Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies; Asian Themes in Social Sciences Research; and Energy Economics Letters, etc.

    Email: uchechukwuduru1@gmail.com

Published

2025-07-15

How to Cite

Diaspora Engagement and Community Development in Igboland: The Aku Ruo Ulo Perspective. (2025). African Journal of Economic and Business Research, 4(2). https://journals.hu.edu.et/hu-journals/index.php/ajebr/article/view/1505

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