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  • Group tasks Southeast governors on development

    Group tasks Southeast governors on development

    A group of Igbo lawyers in Lagos, Otu Oka- Iwu Nigeria, has urged the five southeast governors to come together and make security, education and investment proposals that will move the region forward.

    President of the group, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, while speaking at its maiden news conference in Lagos, called on the Federal and state governments to, urgently, tackle the insecurity in the region.

    He maintained that the rising rate of insecurity had crippled business activities and restrained investment in the region, adding that the sit- at- home conundrum in Igboland on Mondays  is now a norm.

    “We observe with pains in our hearts the wanton destruction of Igboland economy. The Igboland before now was bubbling with activities from Onitsha-Nnewi axis through Aba-Orlu axis. Today, the story is in the past and this has given rise to a comatose economy without direction and no substance.

    He maintained that the economy of the Southeast was really down, adding that there is a need for the state and Federal Governments to help restore economy of the Southeast by fighting the insecurity ravaging the region.

    He said: “We are a group that believes in the unity of this great country Nigeria. We have no other country to call our own.  So, for that reason, we call on the Federal and state governments to quickly address the issue of insecurity in the South-East as this has contributed to the fall in all economic and business activities as people cannot move freely. This is a very sore issue concerning the entire country as nowhere is safe today.”

    According to him, investment in education is very important, particularly technical education in order to encourage the youths, stating: “If you encourage education, you are encouraging intellectual development, mind building”, urging the government to let the youths get into technology.

    “Today, the children in Igboland appear to have lost interest in education which is signaling a dangerous trend. There was a time it was like a competition as to which of the states will take the first position in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) ranking of states after the examinations.

     “Today, what we hear is that our children are showing negative trends to pursue education or they are interested in getting through fraudulent activities. We call on the governments in Igboland to take action to reverse this unwholesome method before things get worse.

     “The ‘Aku Ruo Ulo’ cry is the Igboland to feel the impact of businesses returning to Igboland. This trend has suffered a setback because our sons and daughters appear to believe that investing outside Igboland is the way to go’, he stated.

    Unegbu, who maintained that insecurity exists everywhere in the country, noted that there was need to find a common solution to the issue.

    To him, the Federal and state governments have not given insecurity the attention it requires.

    He said: “They need to really emphasize on spending money on security, and in doing that they should be able to encourage members of the armed forces to treat people with some respect, intellectual pursuit into fighting insecurity.

    Also speaking at the event, the 1st Vice President, Otu Oka-Iwu Nigeria, Nkiru Chris-Asoluka, said Igboland has been turned into a killing field where no person old or young is safe.

     “It is the responsibility of the government both at the centre and the regions to secure the life and property of the inhabitants but from what happens in Igboland today, we are subjected to extra-judicial killings resulting in people not going out to do their lawful businesses.

  • Sit-at-home has left Southeast empty, says Deputy Speaker

    Sit-at-home has left Southeast empty, says Deputy Speaker

    • Iwuanyanwu says such protest not Igbo culture; seeks Kanu’s release

    • Insecurity in Southeast criminality, not Biafra agitation – DSS

    Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu has said that the sit-at-home observed in the region every Monday has crippled businesses and left the region empty, giving the impression that the people are lazy.

    Speaking when he received a delegation of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohaneze Ndigbo, led by its President General, Chief Emmanuel Inwuanyawu, Kalu said the Igbo race not known for self-destruction that is evident in the idea of sit-at-home or unknown gunmen.

    Kalu spoke just as the socio-cultural body called for the release of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

    In a separate forum, the Department of State Services (DSS) also described the destruction and killings in the Southeast perpetrated by some pro-Biafra agitators as criminality.

    Read Also: Insecurity and the plight of kidnap victims (2)

    The Deputy Speaker while addressing the delegation of Ohaneze Ndigbo, said  “It is not our thing. It is alien to us. We don’t kill one another. We love our trade, we love our farms. We don’t sit at home.

     “Sitting at home is for lazy people. Igbo people are not lazy people. Those in support of sit-at-home are not Igbos.

     “There is no true son of the soil of Igbo land that would support laziness and call it a strategy for secession. If you sit at home, you are a lazy man. Igbos are not known to be lazy. We are industrious, we are entrepreneurs, and we work hard to succeed.

    “The tradition of collective action and communalism has been a hallmark of the Igbo people throughout history, from building schools and hospitals to markets and farms. We are not known for self-destruction which is evident in the idea of “sit-at-home” or unknown gunmen. These tendencies are alien and abhorrent to how the Igbos are constituted; socially, culturally, and economically.

    “In addressing our present challenges, we have the opportunity to draw on the things that pull us together. We may have different political platforms, but we must realize that the commonwealth and common good are ultimately the same. Onye aghana nwanne ya,” he said.

    Kalu said that observance of sit-at-home, unknown gunmen, and other social vices were alien and abhorrent to Igboland socially, economically, and culturally.

    He, however, revealed that his office had unveiled a mechanism that would ultimately end insecurity in the Southeast and restore normalcy in the economic and social life of Ndigbo with a project known as the ‘Peace in The South East (PISE)’ project.

     He said very soon, his office in agreement with all the lawmakers from the region, irrespective of the political parties, would reach out to the state governors and other critical stakeholders for the launch and implementation of the project.

    The Deputy Speaker also said that the project would feature a regional security integration and political leadership that will streamline an agenda for the promotion of the Igbo cause and growth in terms of infrastructure.

    While vehemently objecting to the sit-at-home order, Kalu said that Ndigbo must extend their handshakes across the federation to restore confidence.

    He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his benevolence to Ndigbo by ensuring that the people of the Southeast were accorded a place in the political hierarchy of the country.

    Kalu also told his guest about his cordial relationship with the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, said he would be delighted in accommodating the requests of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in stamping out insecurity in the Southeast.

    He said: “Let me also state that, in our pursuit of these noble objectives, it is imperative that we draw a  clear distinction between a legitimate call for justice, equity, and fairness against criminal activities. There is a difference between the two of them.

    “Criminal activities cannot be taken to mean legitimate calls. Secession is not a legitimate call. We want to remain as one Nigeria!

    “It is a distinction that our people must be able to make. And together we must ensure that the line is firmly drawn. The Igbo Community has always been at the forefront of nation-building and positive change.

    “Go to any part of Nigeria, if you don’t see an Igbo man there, it means that place is not progressing, it means that place is not prosperous. We are everywhere, nobody is as patriotic as the Igbo man.

    “I’m here today, not just as the representative of the people of Bende, but as a representative of all Nigerians. The House of Representatives is actually named the House of the People for a reason.

    “The 10th House of Representatives led by my Principal, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, who is currently in India and who has sent his greetings and who would love to host you when he is back, as we arrange your next visit, the Honourable Speaker himself will be here.

    “And I want to say that I have a good working relationship with the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    “I want to report to you as the father of Igbo land that there is a good relationship between me and this North Westerner, who is the Speaker. He does not discriminate, he does not undermine me, he sees the potential and we are working together like twins to help Nigeria in the House of Representatives.

    “With him, we will ensure that there is justice, with him, we will ensure that there is fairness, with him, we will ensure that there is equity to all, including the Igbos.

     Ohanaeze Ndigbo seeks Kanu’s release

    Earlier in his presentation, the President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu called for the release of the leader of defunct Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, saying it will help restore peace in the South East.

    “Ohaneze has decided that we want Nnamdi Kanu released. We think that every effort should be made to release Nnamdi Kanu. If he’s released, it’s going to make it easy for us”, he said.

    Iwuanyanwu highlighted some of the proposed projects of the apex socio-cultural to include inter-state rail, and airports amongst other projects.

    Insecurity in Southeast criminality, not Biafra agitation – DSS

    Speaking on the insecurity in the Southeast, the Imo State Director of the  Department of the State Services (DSS), Wilcox Idaminabo described the violence in the Southeast being perpetrated by some agitators as criminality.

    Speaking during a one-day stakeholder’s roundtable,  organised by the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, Idaminabo, said the agitation must be separated from criminality.

    Idaminabo urged monarchs, clergymen, and Igbo leaders to speak up against the evil of insecurity in the southeast.  “What is going on in the Southeast is criminality wrapped around the ideology of Biafra. Biafra is not to kill or destroy because some traditional rulers and religious leaders cannot even stay in their communities. There is no Biafra anywhere.

    “See, when I led operations to Orsu, what we saw was gory, headless bodies, vehicles that had become abandoned, it was terrible.”

    Idaminabo queried why during elections in the zone, threats of no elections arise, saying it fuels allegations that it is sponsored by political parties.

    IPOB seeks referendum, peaceful dialogue

    In another development, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it will continue to press for referendum and peaceful dialogue rather than take up arms against the Nigerian government in its quest for self-determination.

    The pro-separatist group maintained that  IPOB is a movement formed and governed based on international laws on self-determination.

    The group, in a statement on Friday by its Media and Publicity Secretary,  Emma Powerful, said it would remain peaceful and law-abiding until all democratic and political solutions are exhausted.

    “That is why IPOB has never yet picked up arms against the Nigerian government in our quest for Biafra Independence but has insisted on freedom via a referendum irrespective of all the Nigeria State sponsored brutality against us.

    “The IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and all the members of the Directorate of States (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra are men and women of honor who understand the principles and laws governing self-determination.

    “We have severally placed the Nigeria government and the International Community on notice that IPOB is a peaceful movement, and we are ready for dialogue on the Biafra referendum anytime the Nigeria Government is ready.

    “No country or International organization will claim ignorance of IPOB’s demand. We will remain peaceful and law-abiding until all democratic and political solutions are exhausted.

    Then, IPOB leaders and members will consider the next option for Biafra independence because our freedom is a must.

    For those opposing our peaceful approach and demand for a referendum and dialogue, you can chart your own course.”

    He said that “Biafra ideology can be wished away or perhaps stopped by guns, bullets, extrajudicial killings, and illegal detentions.

  • Southeast senators: our zone deserves more ministers

    Southeast senators: our zone deserves more ministers

    The senator representing Enugu West Zone, Osita Ngwu, has said that the Southeast Senate Caucus will not relent in its quest for more ministerial slots for the region.

    Ngwu told reporters in Enugu that although President Bola Tinubu may have fulfilled the constitutional requirements by appointing a minister from each of the five states in the region, he will lister to the agitation of the senators for more slots.

    Currently, Southeast has five ministers in the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    The senator said the Southeast Caucus has not been comfortable with the five ministerial slots, adding that it will employ dialogue to achieve its desire for more appointments.

    Read Also: Medical doctor bags two years in jail for stealing hospital beds in A’Ibom

    Ngwu said Southeast should not be relegated to the background  when some zones have 10 10 slots.

    He expressed satisfaction that Senate President Godswill Akpabio had already waded into the issue.

    Ngwu said: “His Excellency, Senator Akpabio is a man who works his talk. We don’t have any doubt as to his intervention because he assured us he is going to take it up with President Bola Tinubu to redress the injustice. We see it as injustice to the Southeast and we have spoken.

    “So, we will be patient to know the feedback the Senate President is going to give back to us. We are not going to rest. We will continue to talk about it until the Southeast is given Its due place in Nigeria.”

  • Southeast reawakening

    Southeast reawakening

    The summit on economy and security, organized by governors of the southeast region in Owerri, Imo State, last week, should portend a reawakening of the region. As if under a spell, the region has been ensconced in severe insecurity in the past few years, such that going to some communities was akin to visiting a war zone. At the height of the insecurity, state capitals were not even safe, as a Correctional Centre in Owerri was attacked and 1844 inmates released. Citizens dared not ride in any vehicles that gave them out as being affluent, or seemingly an official of government.

    Part of the trigger was the activities and subsequent detention of Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The other trigger was the activities of the herdsmen, and kidnapping and attacks by armed groups. Following the detention of the leader of the IPOB, his followers decreed a sit-at-home every day he was taken before a federal court to answer the charge of treason. When it appeared the sit-at-home on court days were not achieving the desired result, IPOB leaders decreed a sit-at-home every Monday of the week. And where the directive is disobeyed, enforces were sent into the streets with devastating consequences. 

    As if bad was not enough, the herdsmen added salt to the festering injury, as they attacked communities, to enforce open grazing. They worsened the situation when they turned to kidnapping for ransom as business venture. Going to farms and even driving on lonely highways became a security risk, and many were kidnapped and huge ransoms extorted from relations of the kidnapped. With security agents sometimes accused of compromise or completely missing in action, the southeast governors met in Owerri, in 2021, to raise a regional security network to confront the menace.

    Accused of prevarication and division within themselves, IPOB which was posturing as an alternative to the elected government officials, quickly formed the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and set their own rules to fight the herdsmen attacks. Sooner than later, a local variant of kidnapping for ransom mutated in the region and going to the region became the worst nightmare. Some of those who dared had heart rendering stories to tell, sometimes with relations working in concert with kidnappers to effect maximum damage.

    Slowly but surely, the economy of the region began to grind to a halt as going to the region for business or leisure was considered a risk even by natives. Coupled with the devastating economic meltdown of COVID19 and allied challenges, and mismanagement of the national economy by agents of governments at the federal and sub-national levels, pauperization of the people became the regional ethos. Victimized by nationwide general economic crisis and home grown calamity, the people of the region sunk deeper into multi-dimensional poverty.

    The security challenge got so bad that many police stations in the rural areas were shut down, as they became targets of attack by those referred to as unknown gunmen. While accusing fingers were pointed at members of IPOB and their security arm, ESN, their spokesman, fancifully called Emma Powerful, continually denounced the accusation, stating that they are a non-violent organization. When the sit-at-home became an object of public odium, IPOB called off the protest, asking the people to go about their business on Mondays. But with the division within IPOB, championed by Simon Ekpe, living in Finland, a countermand order ensures that sit-at-home endures.

    Read Also: Group to Tinubu: appoint more people from Southeast

    The effort by state governors to forcefully end the sit-at-home has worked fitfully, in some state capitals and a few commercial cities, where the government can ensure reasonable security. But of course, businesses thrive where there is security and less fear and trepidation. So, the governments of the region know that they can only end the sit-at-home if the people and businesses feel secured, and not in obedience to their command or the arms of the federal armed forces. A further unhealthy dimension was the addiction to a dangerous illegal drug called methamphetamine, known in local parlance as mkpuru mmiri, by some youths.

    I have tried to trace a trajectory of the grave insecurity and economic woes bedevilling the southeast region, to help those tasked to find the solution. As the Igbos say, he who does not know where the rain started beating him, would not remember where and when it stopped. Interestingly, it was in the same Owerri that the governors met in 2021, after the Correctional Centre attack, and they couldn’t meet the great expectations of setting up a regional security outfit. Perhaps, that effort was consumed by the 2023 general elections which polarized the governors.

    Would any good thing come out of Nazareth this time? Maybe. At the recent summit, all the governors canvased the need for unity of purpose, both in dealing with security and the economy. A proposal by the host governor gladdens this column, considering its exertions for such a unity of purpose in the past. Gov. Uzodimma postulated: “There is need for the Igbos to turn within themselves for solutions, pool resources together and cooperate in order to be able to contain the dangers posed by insecurity.”

    He further canvased: “The South East Economic Development Fund will go a long way in financing research that will bring prosperity to the people.” It will be a thing of joy if the governors can set up such a fund and effectively fund it. As I have argued previously on this page, the states in the zone should take advantage of their natural strength in agro-allied industrialization. There are very fertile agricultural belts in all the states in the region which can be turned to the food baskets of the region.

    States in the region also have enormous mineral resources, which they should tap into. For starters, the Nkalagu cement factory which used to be the flagship of the Eastern Nigeria, while Michael Okpara held sway as regional premier; and the abundant coal deposits in Enugu, which are comatose should receive interest from such pool of common funds. As originally envisaged, there are now several universities and research institutions which can churn out research to optimize the natural endowments. With the recent constitutional amendment, regional generation and distribution of electricity and inter-state railways should also attract their common interest.

    Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her address professed the major challenge, which is the lack of unity amongst the governors. Of course, in the search for unity, they must work in concert with other Nigerians. The governor of Anambra State had that in mind when he said: “We need not just ourselves, we need Nigeria. Ndigbo needs Nigeria and Nigeria needs Ndigbo. Ndigbo needs Africa and the world and the World and Africa need Ndigbo. As an itinerant people, we cannot be an intolerant people.”

  • How Southeast can overcome insecurity, by governors, leaders

    How Southeast can overcome insecurity, by governors, leaders

    • ‘Unity, economic growth critical’

    For peace, political and economic renaissance to happen in the Southeast, southeasterners must learn that there is power in unity, say governors and leaders of the zone.

    They said that by working as a team, the insecurity, agitation and infrastructure deficit in Igboland would be overcome and development accelerated.

    The governors — Charles Soludo (Anambra), Hope Uzodimma(Imo), Alex Otti (Abia), Peter Mbah (Enugu) and Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi) — spoke yesterday at the Southeast Economic and  Security Summit in Owerri, Imo State.

    Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo Iweala; Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, were some of the other Igbo leaders who spoke at the event.

    The theme of the summit, organised by the Southeast governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is: Southeast Beyond 2023, Time for a Reset.

    All speakers were on the same page that individualism and divisiveness in the Southeast had impeded the development of Igboland.

    Just as they listed the obstacles to positive changes in the zone, they were in unison that the solutions rested on the people.

     Host governor, Uzodimma, said that Ndigbo could not afford to drift further. He called on all to be united to achieve a common goal.

    His words: “We have allowed ourselves to be strangulated.  We have willfully allowed ourselves to be divided. And the scripture says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. 

    “Some of our brothers even refused to be referred to as Igbo. That is how sorry and sad our story is.  

    “That is why the Igbo have become distant from the politics of the Igbo. So, what do we do? Do we allow ourselves to continue to drift?  To end this, we have to tell ourselves some bitter truth.

    “Unfortunately or fortunately, the challenge of insecurity is bringing us together. We are now surrounded by dangerous criminals who want to decimate us and take over Igboland. We are facing the worst form of insecurity where we are divided.”

     Uzodimma’s counterpart in Anambra State, Soludo, challenged the Igbo to first believe that they have the capacity to turn things around in the Southeast even in the face of insecurity and other challenges.

    Soludo said it was imperative for the Igbo to know that the Southeast is far from being the most insecure place in the world.

    Read Also: Mbah urges Southeast residents to patronise UK Visa Centre in Enugu

    His words: ‘’It is very good to lament but I would rather like to see a glass as half full than half empty. The Southeast is ready for business and we must believe in our ability to turn things around and get our zone going again.

    “That must be the outcome of this particular summit. We can lament about insecurity and so on; this is not the most insecure place in the world. Other places are thriving despite their own insecurity.

      ”We must be determined to move our place forward despite the challenges.”  

    He urged Southeast indigenes not to wait for all the problems to be solved by the governors before investing in the zone.

     ”If we, as Igbo, don’t stop seeing only gloom and doom, our land will be desolate,” he warned.

    The governor advised that there was an urgent need for the Southeast to partner the rest of the country, people in the diaspora and the international community.

    He said: “We need not just ourselves, we need Nigeria. Ndigbo need Nigeria and Nigeria needs Ndigbo. Ndigbo need Africa and the world and the World and Africa need Ndigbo. As an itinerant people, we cannot be an intolerant people.

     “This is a new dawn in the Southeast region. We need a plan. We all have ideas. We just don’t need a two-year or one year, we need a 100-year plan.  We need an agenda of homeland consciousness.

    Governor Otti of Abia State said as governors, “we must be willing to engage our youths by running an open-door policy. The life and freedom of every individual must be protected and guaranteed. Leaders should work towards cutting off the supply of hard drug damaging youths in Igboland.”

    Also, Nwifuru noted that the summit came at the right time because the region needs peace to develop.

     Nwifuru, who was represented by his deputy, Patricia Obila, suggested that insecurity and other vices in the Southeast could be minimised if parents monitored their children.

     ”This security summit came at the right time. We have to sit together as one family.  We have come of age.  We need to talk to one another.  Look at each other.  

    “We need peace.  As a mother, what have you been able to do, have you talked to your children? Do you know where your children are? The vices we see started from homes. All we need is to believe in ourselves. “We have to come together and harness what we have,” the governor said.

    His Enugu State counterpart, Mbah, called for a non-lenticular approach to ending insecurity in the zone.

    “We have a commonality of everything.  What we should be talking about now is how to meet regularly with security agencies on insecurity in our area. I think what we should do is set up a command and control centre.

    “We should look at the non-kinetic approach to dealing with this insecurity because some of our youths are being deceived.

    We have to meet our community leaders and find a solution to the insecurity in our land.”

    *Why Southeast is divided, says Okonjo-Iweala

     WTO chief, Okonjo-Iweala, blamed the economic and security challenges in the Southeast on disunity among leaders and the people.

    She advised Ndigbo to shun self-centredness, and embrace teamwork to drive the zone’s economic growth.  

    Okonjo-Iweala said:  ”We have lost focus. We have lost sight of our biggest community assets. We are fragmented as a people.  We don’t support each other instead we attack and undermine each other.  We are too individualistic. An individual can be good but better when we come together with others as a body.

    “I am sure you want me to mention the gaps in infrastructure. I don’t think it is our biggest challenge. Our biggest challenge in the Southeast is ourselves.  We have often been our worst enemies. We have allowed ourselves to be divided.

    “We have lost sight of our biggest community assets. We are fragmented as a people. We don’t support each other instead we attack and undermine each other. We are too individualistic. An individual can be good but not when we come together as a body.”

    The director-general, who spoke via telecast, however, noted that there was a bright side to the challenges of the Southeast.

    “If the problem is us, it means the solution also lies in our hands.

    “To do this, we must exercise joint leadership and that is why it is important that you are taking this (summit) step now.

    “Another big challenge is security; this partly arose from our fragmentation. Insecurity in our region is sending wrong signals about whether one can invest in the Southeast.”

    She commended the governors for partnering the Federal Government in its efforts to overcome insecurity in the Southeast.    

    “The lesson for us is clear, you cannot have development without security and you cannot have security without development and above all we need good governance.

    “To take this region forward, the security problem needs to be solved. The Federal Government obviously has an important role to play but there is much to be done at the state level and that is why I commend your leadership.”

    The former Finance minister urged the governors to pay more attention to the fiscal performance of their states.

    She drew their attention to a Budgit publication that ranked all 36 states in terms of performance.

    “The 2022 edition of the report showed that Abia State is not doing too badly compared to others. In fact, Ebonyi runs consistently in all indicators ranking among the Top 10.

    “At this stage, we need to do better on internally generated revenue, we need to prune our borrowing down and improve our capital expenditure. “Governors, state legislators and local government chairmen must continuously ask themselves: Are we using our fat allocations wisely.”

    *Anyim calls for rethink of the Biafra agitation

    Anyim, who chaired the event, expressed joy that it came after a long time.

    “We are here today (yesterday) to collectively find a solution. We are here to show we are more cohesive. We are focused on achieving security and economic plans for us,” he told the governors and other stakeholders.

    Anyim, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, painted a grave picture of life in the Southeast.

    Calling for rethink of the Biafra agitation, and strategies to deal with insecurity in the zone, he warned that going by recent developments, the Southeast risked losing economic and political relevance in the country.

    He noted that the insecurity and agitation for Biafra by some people were already taking a heavy toll on the people. Anyim lamented that criminal elements were using the agitation as cover to thrive.( (

     Anyim said:  ”In the last four years, every Monday has been declared by some non-state actors as a sit-at-home day. The enforcement has been brutal, leading to enormous loss of lives and property.

     “It is estimated that hundreds of lives and hundreds of billions of naira have been lost to the sit-at-home order.”   

    “Life has become very difficult in the Southeast and almost every successful person in the South East is in self-exile. If care is not taken, very soon, none of us will come home, no matter the number of security personnel you carry.

    “Social and economic activities have been dislocated, businesses have collapsed, no social activity can any longer simply take place in the zone and no new businesses are being attracted. If care is not taken, very soon every means of livelihood in the zone may dry up.”

     He added that the weaponisation of politics had contributed to the insecurity in the Southeast    

    Anyim said: “Heavy arms and ammunition have become instruments of political campaigns, resulting in gross voter apathy. If care is not taken, very soon, the Southeast will lose national political relevance as votes from our land will no longer be of any consequence.

    “Crime and criminality have become widespread in the Southeast because common criminals have taken advantage of the agitation to advance their evil enterprise.

    “There is a nexus between the high level of insecurity in the Southeast and the fact that some criminal elements are unleashing mayhem under the cover of agitation for Biafra.

    “We must emphasise that the circumstance that led to Biafra agitation in 1967 is not the same as what is happening today.

    “Therefore, we must endeavour to point out the difference in the present agitation.

    “Today, we do not have anything that in any way approximates the situation in 1967. There is absolutely no consensus on the purpose, content, method, and boundaries of today’s Biafra agitation.

    “I therefore call for a rethink by all those involved in this agitation. In rethinking the Biafran agitation, we need to honestly articulate what have been the outcomes or impact of the agitation so far.”

    For Senator Anyim, the situation can be turned around by providing the youth and those in authority with data on the real losses and consequences of insecurity in the Southeast.

    He also called for a return to the economic systems that made the Southeast a model of economic strength and growth in the past.

    Anyim pointed out that the attention of governments in the zone has shifted, with governors paying little or no attention to the development of industrial estates and corridors.

    This, he explained, may be responsible for the upsurge in crime.

    He also faulted the weakening of the Southeast’s social entrepreneurship and apprentice system, which was very popular in the region in the 1970s and 1980s.

     Anyim called for a new approach to politics by the Igbo as the current trend was worsening insecurity.

    “I observed that in the 1960s, government officials and elected representatives struggled to make ends meet. But, today, the shortest cut to affluence and fame is to have access to government appointments or to be elected as an honourable member. This has created an unhealthy competition in the politics of our time, leading to the militarisation of our political processes and consequential effects on insecurity.”

    *Iwuanyanwu to aggrieved politicians: Sheathe your swords

    Iwuanyanwu, who also noted the political violence in Igboland, said as a father, he would take steps to ensure peace in Igboland.

    He called on all aggrieved political actors in the Southeast to sheathe their swords and embrace peace. 

    The Ohanaeze leader said: “I am going to direct that all aggrieved parties should sheathe their swords. I don’t feel happy losing any of my children or seeing any soldier being killed or property being destroyed.

     ”As a leader, I accept the fact that among the Igbo I lead, they are criminals. It is my duty as a father to take steps to ensure that I bring peace to Igboland.”

     He added that he would work closely with the governors and other stakeholders to make the summit an annual event.

  • ‘No herdsmen expelled from our community’

    The people of Agbada Nenwe in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State, members of the Hausa/Fulani community and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in the Southeast have dissociated themselves from a video trending on social media over the purported expulsion of some herders and their cattle from the community.

    The police had denied that no such incident happened, explaining that after preliminary investigations, it was revealed that what transpired was “only the movement of cattle and herders from Cross River State, through Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, and a neighbouring town for grazing”.

    The police added that “such transit had nothing to do with escorting herders and their cattle out of Agbada Nenwe community”.

    When Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi led the Commissioner of Police, Director of Department of State Services (DSS), Garrison Commander, 82 Division of the Army, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Commandant of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other stakeholders on a fact-finding visit to Agbada Nenwe yesterday, the traditional ruler, Dr. Francis Imo, said the video is untrue, stressing that “nobody drove the Fulani community out of Agbada Nenwe”.

    The monarch added that they enjoy cordial relationship with the Fulani community, noting that “no cow has ever been killed in this kingdom; no Fulani man has ever been hurt”.

    He said: “We have continued to maintain peace as directed by Governor Ugwuanyi, who has always urged all the traditional rulers to maintain security and unity of the country, to make sure that we live peacefully with one another”.

    Chairman of Aninri Ezekiel Chukwu said immediately he got wind of the rumour he “rushed to the community with the security agencies in the council and could not establish the occurrence of such incident”.

    The council chairman assured the people to continue to go about their normal business without fear or panic. “We are assuring you that we will continue to maintain peace and security of lives and property,” he said.

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    On their part, leaders of the Northern community and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Southeast zone, who thanked Ugwuanyi for his commitment to peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians resident in the state, said they have not come across any herder or Fulani man who has complained of molestation or being chased out from the community.

    The Sarkin Hausawa, Alhaji Abukakar Yusuf Sambo, said: “We have been enjoying peaceful co-existence in Enugu State, and we are here to say that mischief makers will not succeed.”

    Chairman of MACBAN Alhaji Gidado Siddiki cautioned the people against “the harm our individual or group’s unruly act can cause the wider society beyond our immediate environment”.

    “It is my sincere plea that while we genuinely seek our individual or group interests, we encourage collective good of all and healthy cohesion for virile nationhood.

    “I thank the government of Enugu State, and indeed the governments of the Southeast states, for their nurturing cordiality among residents of their states and other persons whose businesses are of economic value”.

    Ugwuanyi appealed to peddlers of false news to note that Enugu is a peaceful state.

    The governor maintained that “Enugu State, as we declared during our first ever Oganiru Investment Summit, is open for business and a home for all”. He reassured both the indigenes and non-indigenes of the community that the state is secure and remains one of the most peaceful state in the country.

    “As a government, we assure and reassure both the indigenes and non-indigenes of this community that Enugu State is secure and remains one of the most peaceful states in the country,” he governor added.

  • ‘Only Bayelsa has cardiovascular lab in Southsouth, Southeast’

    The only functional cardiovascular laboratory in the Southsouth and Southeast is in the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital (BSH), Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, it was learnt yesterday.

    Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Dafe Emmanuel, who stated this, said since the hospital was inaugurated, the lab had been servicing patients from the 11 states that make up the zone, as well as from other parts of the country.

    According to him, a similar laboratory at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, has been non-functional the last three years. The one in Akwa Ibom State has also not been functioning.

    He said: “In the Bayelsa Specialist Hospital, we have a functional cardiovascular laboratory which serves the whole of Southsouth and the Southeast. This is the only functional cardiovascular lab in these regions.

    “Other cardiovascular labs working in Nigeria are the three in Lagos and one in Abuja. The one in Abuja serves the whole of the north and it is privately run. In Enugu State, the Federal Government tried to establish one but it never worked.

    “There is one in Akwa Ibom State established by the former governor which has been shut down in the last three years. There is one coming up in Owerri, which is privately driven. So, these are the only functional labs. Only about five functional cardiovascular labs are in Nigeria; this is how terrible it is. No wonder people die every day.”

    Dafe boasted that the efficiency and proper management of the laboratory has led to its success story.

    The Community Chief Executive Officer (CCEO) of BSH, Cynthia Oye, said though the hospital is state-owned, it is being managed by a private organisation, Oyesis Global Network.

    According to her, the hospital was also equipped to undertake other critical health procedures other than cardiovascular cases, adding that BHS was effectively handling stroke and kidney cases through state of the art machine.

  • ‘Buhari will win Southeast’

    Anambra South Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Andy Ubah is confident of President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in Saturday’s election.

    He urged Igbo to vote for Buhari as voting against him would not stop his victory.

    Ubah, who addressed party faithful yesterday at a rally in Nnewi, urged them to resist the mistakes of 2015 when the party did not get enough votes in the Southeast.

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    He said: “It is obvious that President Muhammadu Buhari will be re-elected on Saturday. Whether you vote for him or not, he will win.

    “It is unfortunate that in 2015, only 10 million votes were recorded for Buhari in the Southeast. But this time, I want Anambra South alone to give him not less than 1 million votes.”

  • Southeast to Buhari: give us IGP, Security Council slot

    The Igbo tendered yesterday a list of requests as President Muhammadu Buhari visited Onitsha, the Southeast’s business and commercial honeypot, to push his re-election bid.

    They demanded that Buhari should:

    • appoint a Southeasterner as Inspector-General of Police (IGP);
    • stop Boko Haram’s insurgency and herders-farmers clashes; and
    • address marginalisation claims made by some regions.

    The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is Mohammed Adamu from Lafia, Nasarawa State. He succeeds Ibrahim Idris, who retired on January 15.

    It was a huge carnival in Onitsha, as thousands thronged a rally addressed by the President.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign train berthed in Anambra State with Buhari, who is seeking re-election, inaugurating the Mausoleum of the First Republic President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, in Onitsha.

    The late Owelle of Onitsha’s final resting place was completed by the Buhari-led administration after years of abandonment by previous governments.

    Among the sea of people were traders and artisans, who thronged the expansive Holy Trinity field in Onitsha, where Buhari and other leaders took turns to address the rally.

    Party faithful sang the President’s praise repeatedly at the rally.

    Before inaugurating the mausoleum and the courtesy visit to the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe, the President was welcomed to the state by Governor Willie Obiano.

    The first port of call for the President and his entourage, comprising Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and some ministers, were the Obi of Onitsha’s palace, where Igwe Achebe, received them in the company of members of his cabinet.

    In line with the Onitsha tradition, Igwe Sunday Okafor spoke for the Obi of Onitsha.

    He prayed for Buhari’s success and tabled the requests, which are believed to be the Southeast’s.

    He also reminded him of the appointment of a Southeasterner into the Security Council.

    The monarch praised Governor Willie Obiano for   seeing   that the   Inosi   Onira   compound of the late Owelle Azikiwe was kept in good shape.

    Buhari said the inauguration of the mausoleum confirmed Anambra as his home and one of his strongholds.

    He said: “I have nothing to say than to remind you of the situation we met this country, and the promises we made to you.

    “So, the best we can do for our country is to return the APC to power. The biggest gift we can give to our country is security and sufficiency of economic prosperity.”

    The President said the APC administration had so far addressed the security situation in the country, regional development and equal ministerial appointment.

    He said the economy was recovering and the country on the track of development.

    The President said: “The larger population is made up of youths between the ages of 35 and below. Nigeria has lots of work to do, to get you employment.

    “We have stopped spending our foreign reserve to import rice; there is sufficiency in rice and we now produce it locally, including the Anambra rice.”

    Buhari said the mandate given to him by Nigerians required their support, especially for peace and economic development. He said his administration would use all recovered looted funds for the well-being of the citizens.

    He, however, promised that his administration, if re-elected on February 16, will continue to make life easier for all by fighting corruption and insecurity.

    Buhari said: “The anti-corruption fight is difficult in the current democratic dispensation, compared to the period I was a military Head of State, when those who looted the economy were arrested and prosecuted.”

    The President said he had reached an agreement with militants in the Niger Delta on how to protect and ensure safety of natural resources.

    He also said the government was tackling kidnapping for ransom, herders/farmers clashes, armed banditry and remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Buhari, therefore, called on the Anambra people to vote for all APC candidates in the forthcoming general elections to enable the party complete all ongoing projects across the country, particularly in the Southeast.

    “We have made some progress. What you need to do is to come out on the day of the election and vote for the APC from top to the bottom,” the President said.

    He assured the electorate that the APC administration will not betray Nigerians and will not allow anyone to do so.

    APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole said that the fundamental issues of the campaign were the pronouncements by the PDP that they were ready to change from their old ways of fraudulent administration”,  which he said were all lies.

    He said the people should resist that move by not voting for them.

    Oshiomhole said: “With what I have seen here today in this light of the nation state, the APC has already won the general elections.

    “I am, therefore, calling on you to ensure that you vote for all of the candidates of the APC from top to down during the general elections.”

    APC Campaign Council Director-General Rotimi Amaechi urged the electorate to vote the party all through to ensure a smooth running of the APC administration.

    He said: “Whereas the PDP was in power for 16 years, the APC in power for three years had accomplished far more, including rail, roads and fiscal prudence”.

    Amaechi, who is the Transportation minister, urged the electorate to reject the PDP, which he said, should be blamed for the deplorable condition of roads in the Southeast and the Southsouth.

    Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige said Nigerians needed a stable and people-focussed government to develop the country forward.

    Ngige said: “Join us in this journey to the ‘Next Level’ of a prosperous, strong and stable Nigeria.

    “We have worked hard to fulfil our promises and while the road may have been difficult, over the last three and half years, we have laid the foundations for a strong, stable and prosperous country for the majority of our people.”

    The state coordinator of the Buhari Campaign, Senator Andy Ubah, said the large turnout of supporters at the rally showed that the APC and its candidates will win the February 16 presidential election and March 2 governorship and Assembly elections convincingly.

    The party’s senatorial candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, Sylvester Okonkwo, noted that Buhari’s achievements were not only completing and commissioning of Zik’s mausoleum, but working on abandoned federal projects in the Southeast and training and empowering of youths across the country.

    Okonkwo said the President had shown enough love to the Igbo, predicting that he (Buhari) would rake in enough votes in the state and Southeast in general during the 2019 election.

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    According to him, the completion and inauguration of the mausoleum was the fulfilment of the promise Buhari made to Azikiwe’s son, Chukwuma, before he died in 2014.

    “It was there that Mr. President in discussion with Chuma Azikiwe, lamented the ugly state of Zik’s mausoleum, his last resting place.”

    The state acting chairman of APC, Basil Ejidike, said the President’s promise had come to pass.

    Others at rally were: APC National Youth Mobiliser Tony Nwoye; former Senate President Sen Ken Nnamani; Charles Odedo; Lady Sharon Ikeazor and all the APC candidates vying for various positions in the state.

    The presentation of party flags to the candidates was one of the highpoints of the  rally.

  • Obaze: Southeast risks backlash if PDP loses

    ANAMBRA State Coordinator of Atiku Abubakar/Peter Obi ticket Oseloka Obaze has said Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in Southeast risk a backlash from Ndigbo, if the party loses in the zone.

    Obaze, who addressed reporters yesterday in Awka, said the postponed Southeast zonal rally of the party would hold in Owerri, on January 22.

    The choice of Imo State according to Obaze, was to show the party’s seriousness in winning the state.

    Obaze said even if President Muhammadu Buhari won the election, there were no assurances the governors would.

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    He said: “If they don’t work hard and our party loses, there will be a backlash from Ndigbo after the election. Even if Buhari returns, there is no assurance they will win their elections. It will be inimical if they work against PDP after campaigning for their offices.”

    The campaign chair said PDP would concentrate on issue-based campaigns rather than hate speeches, fake news, thuggery and name-calling.

    He feared that about 15 to 18 million voters could be disenfranchised because of non-collection of PVCs.