How political differences, pride fanning insecurity in South East

…As governors prefer to work in silos

Many stakeholders in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria are of the view that the governors lack effective leadership in tackling insecurity in the zone.

It is believed that if the governors were serious enough, they would have found a lasting solution to the worsening insecurity in the region.

But they may have allowed politics and party differences to divide them, as stakeholders in the region are of the view that they refused to fund #Ebubuagu, a joint security outfit proposed to tackle insecurity in the zone.

Ebubeagu, with headquarters in Enugu, was charged with the responsibility to coordinate all the activities of vigilantes in the South-East and check the rising insecurity in the region. It was fashioned after ‘Amotekun’, the South-West security outfit.

However, instead of jointly funding the Ebubeagu outfit, the governors resorted to handling its formation individually, with different names and modes of operation.

In Enugu, they call it Forest Guards/Neighbourhood Watch with poor training and funding. In Ebonyi, though they call it Ebubeagu, it is funded by the Ebonyi State Government.

Anambra State runs Anambra Vigilante Services, which Governor Charles Soludo effectively funding the outfit, and they have begun to record gains.

Abia State had Homeland Security outfit, before the formation of “Operation Crush”, while Imo calls hers Ebubeagu; but lack the original operational manual and therefore, not effective to tackle the ferocious insecurity in the region.

At a point, the South-East Governors’ Forum announced that they would jointly execute the construction of major highways and rail lines, interconnecting the states to boost economic activities in the region, but the plan ended on the paper that it was written, as an item in a communiqué of their meeting.

Obi Umahi, a retired major general, who was the chairman of the South-East Security Committee, charged to draft a framework for the establishment of Ebubeagu, resigned his appointment, citing lack of support from the governors, who established the outfit.

Umahi had expressed his concerns about the impact of insecurity on the socio-economic well-being of the people in the South East region.

While explaining why Ebubeagu Security Watch hasn’t been as effective as envisioned, Umahi

said that the outfit needed to establish a coordinated and synergised information structure across the entire South East region to succeed.

He pointed out that Ebubeagu was currently operational in only two out of the five states in the region, and that this was insufficient to guarantee its success, as criminals would exploit any gap.

He stressed the importance of a seamless flow of information and tactics from local points to Ebubeagu and the central controlling structure, and vice versa.

Umahi suggested that the South-East governors should implement a unified security system simultaneously and uniformly.

While acknowledging the South East governors for their security initiatives, Umahi urged them to do more to combat banditry in the region.

He commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for his decisive actions regarding the Lokpanta Cattle Market in Umuchieze, Umunnochi LGA of Abia, which he believed was a crucial step in securing the state.

Umahi lamented that some evil persons had hijacked the Monday sit-at-home orders to harm innocent people in the South East.

For Charles Chilekezi, a professor and media consultant, South-East governors are not collaborating, because they have little or no security agenda.

Even if they have agenda, the bitterness along party lines and affiliations will not allow them to collaborate, Chilekezi observed.

“In the five Southeastern States, Anambra is in the hands of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Imo is in the hands of All progressives Congress (APC), Enugu is in the hands of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abia is in the hands of Labour Party (LP), while Ebonyi is in the hands of APC.

“You know the level of bitterness across party lines. These governors are operating like strange bed fellows. Don’t mind about South-East Governors Forum and that kind of stuff, those things have no meaning.

“If for any reason they go to meetings and discuss on mutual benefit of the entire South-East and put aside political affiliations and deep feelings of differences, we wouldn’t have any problem.

“For example, if you look at what is happening in Imo State, the governor in Imo has proven incapable of providing security of any type. Look at the way people are been killed everywhere and recently; all the bandits expelled from other states have flooded Imo.

“You can see that the entire Local Government Areas in Imo are now being occupied by Fulani bandits. Owerri North, Owerri West, Okpala, Okigwe, Mbano, Obowo, just name it. Between Aba and Owerri, the common link between Aba and Owerri, these days is being ambushed, by Fulani bandits and their cohorts, who are now quartered in the forests, just like they were quartered in Umuneochi-Lokpanta-Okigwe axis in Abia State, before the coming of Governor Alex Otti.

“However, you could see the resolve of a man like Alex Otti when he formed ‘Operation Crush,’ a multi-force initiative to flush out banditry in Abia.

You can see how easy it has become that banditry is no longer in Abia within that short period and that is where the political resolve is available, but in Imo where there is no such resolve, you can see that bandits from the North are now coming into the state,” he said.

According to him, “Bandits now abduct people on the highway and the Police and Army and other security apparatuses that pretend to be available in Imo are not able to do anything about it.

“Villagers can no longer go to the farm, people cannot move freely, people are no longer safe on federal highways in the entire Imo State axis.

“And again, look at what is happening in Anambra. Soludo seems to be confused, he doesn’t know what to do. He is now after people, who operate churches and shrines. If he is serious, he should copy what Otti is doing in Abia and replicate same in Anambra.”

The professor also attributed the lack of collaboration among the South-East governors to pride. “They also have pride; nobody wants to copy what the other person is doing better than him.”

Obinna Nwagbara, executive director, Youth and Students Advocates for Development (YSAD), urged governors of Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo to join the Anambra State Governor in the campaign against “charms for wealth” among young people.

He said that South-East governors should be intentional about driving development to the rural communities, while Local Government chairmen should be allowed to use the money for the local governments to address the needs of the people.

According to Nwagbara, most young people are frustrated, as a result of unemployment and poverty in the land and the combination of these push them into crime.

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Goodluck Ibem, president general, Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), observed that insecurity in the South-East will end, if Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is set free, by the Federal Government.

He alleged that hoodlums are using Kanu, as an excuse for their criminal activities.

“So many criminals are hiding on the guise that they are fighting for the release of Kanu to commit crime. So, when he is released, we will now know the cause of insecurity, if it continues.”

He appealed to the Federal Government to release Kanu for peace to reign in the region.

For Chilekezi, the only solution to insecurity on South-East lies with communities and not political leaders.

He urged communities to form alliances, because at the end of the day, it is members of the communities that suffer the brunt of insecurity.

According to him, community members are the victims, they are the ones abducted, injured, killed, and made homeless all the time. So, they have a duty to protect themselves.

“The Town Unions and Local Governments have to collaborate, form vigilante groups, form intelligence units and groups and flush these hoodlums out of Igboland.

“Remember that what brought out Igboland from the trauma of the civil war and into the annals of the new developments in Nigeria came from communal efforts.

“They never relied on the government, because there has not been any genuine intention to develop the South-East since after the war. Everything has been lip service and deceit.

“And because we have not been able to grind out good political leaders, who are able to decode the structure of this country and the grand conspiracy against Igboland, from 1966 to now, our only escape route is still the old communal effort,” he said.