The complicated security situation in the South East has entered its conspiratorial stage. Those who were, ostensibly, brought into the mix to provide solution have become the enemy within. They are the face behind the mask of destruction and bloodletting.
The dance of death began with the demonization of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Until September 2017, IPOB was just a group of separatist agitators. They were unarmed. They were harmless. All they wanted was their dream country- the Republic of Biafra. The agitators, whoever they were, were not taken seriously by the cream of south east population. They were largely seen as idealists out to message their mental flight. But the Nigerian state perceived them differently. It saw IPOB agitation as an affront. A threat to the territorial integrity of the country. Consequently, it began to hunt them. Many were killed in the process. Regardless of that, the group remained non-violent.
But everything changed on 10th September, 2017. On this day, the Nigerian Army which was billed to commence the second edition of Operation Python Dance in the south east in a few days to come invaded the country home of the leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in Afaraukwu, Umuahia. A good number of IPOB members were mowed down. Others were injured. Kanu himself escaped death by the whiskers. He was not seen or heard about again until he was spotted in Israel several months after. The Afaraukwu incident marked a major turning point in the activities of IPOB. It got them to realise that they were easily expendable; that they could be herded into death in one fell swoop if they did nothing to protect themselves. This was how the agitators took to self-defense.
The situation was not helped by the then south east governors led by the sell-out called Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. He got his morose and timid counterparts to agree that IPOB should be outlawed in the zone. This was days after the Federal government of General Muhammadu Buhari proscribed the group and declared it a terrorist organization. The acquiescence and concurrence by south east governors of the time was like throwing faggots into a blazing fire. It provoked discontent. However, the situation got very messy when Kanu was abducted in Kenya and subjected to extraordinary rendition by the Nigerian government. After months of fruitless agitation for his release, IPOB went under. It became a guerrilla body.
In all of this, south east governors acted like accomplices. They neither protected the agitators nor condemned their incessant massacre by agents of the federal government. The situation deteriorated further when the same governors, in the bid to neutralize IPOB, formed the Ebubeagu militia group. Today, Ebubeagu has been converted to a private army of some of the governors. They are routinely deployed for purposes of vendetta and intimidation. With Ebubeagu in place, the war of supremacy in the south east has become a triangular one involving federal security forces, IPOB operatives and Ebubeagu militia. Each contending group wants to take control of the situation. And the south east, the home of the IPOB agitators, is the theatre of the warfare . The situation has got out of hand. Nobody understands anymore who is doing what.
It is this ugly situation that the new crop of south east governors want to confront. Their words and actions in recent weeks suggest that they desire order in the security disorder in their part of the country. All but one of the governors, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, are new kids on the block. The same thing is true of the Ohaneze Ndigbo President-General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who assumed office recently. Together, they appear poised to deal with the blight of insecurity in the south east. To give expression to their desire, they have proposed a meeting with the President. They want to consult and confer with him on this matter because, according to them, the insecurity plaguing the zone is beyond the capacity of the states.
Unfortunately, the governors and Ohaneze are toeing the wrong path. Rather than look outwards for solution, they should look inwards. The problem they are exporting to Abuja emanated from home. It can only be solved by adopting a home-grown solution. The first way to go is to disband the Ebubeagu militia. This amorphous group has created security problems of enormous proportions since it came into being. As I noted earlier, governors have deployed them into killing squads. The new crop of governors who are talking about arresting the slide in the security situation in the zone must understand this. Do they need Ebubeagu for anything? What purpose has it or can it serve in securing the south east? They should ponder this. As they do so, they must acknowledge the fact that the unorthodox outfit has contributed nothing except to complicate and compound an already bad situation.
The second is to look in the direction of federal security agencies, particularly the army and the police. Are they securing the south east in any way? That is very debatable. In seeking to flush out the separatist agitators, these federal forces have ended up killing many young and innocent south easterners who they recklessly label as IPOB members.
Finally, I smell enemy action in the way insecurity in the south east is being handled lately. The objective of federal security agencies is no longer to decimate the separatist agitators. The civil populace is now the target. The trigger has been turned on them while IPOB is being blamed for every crime committed.
What I witnessed in Owerri last Monday says it all. On that day, Owerri witnessed a total lockdown. It has never been so since the sit-at-home regime ordered by IPOB started. What I found curious was that the security agencies, notably, the army and the police, were also off the streets. This was while some gun-toting elements took over the streets and killed quite a number of those who ventured to come out. So why were the army and the police off the streets? Why did they allow the killers, whoever they were, a free reign? Why didn’t the security agencies confront them? The scenario appears conspiratorial. This should be food for thought for those who want an end to the cankerworm ravaging the south east.