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The protracted carnage in the South East has become a thing of great concern to many Igbo leaders. The killings, which occur mainly in Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo states, have defied logic and common sense. No one is spared as both security agents and innocent citizens are targets. Despite the intervention of notable Igbo leaders, the problem has continued. Disturbed at this turn of events, some concerned South East stakeholders have continued to proffer solutions to the problem. For instance, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Senator Victor Umeh, was quoted recently to have said that the Federal Government should listen to and dialogue with the aggrieved groups to reduce the killings.
According to Umeh, years of injustice meted out to the people of the South East by the Federal Government contributed largely to the unrest and killings. “Justice does not hurt anybody. But injustice hurts everybody and that is what Nigeria is experiencing. Dialogue is the solution. If someone is complaining about the injustice done to his people, you meet him and discuss it with him,” Umeh said.
Like Umeh, many other Igbo leaders have called for dialogue and political solution to the crisis engulfing the South East region. We agree with them. The Federal Government should listen to the cry of marginalisation of the people of the South East. It is the cry of marginalisation that produced militants like the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. The arrest and incarceration of Kanu is partly responsible for the present instability in the region.
Let us remember that when the Niger Delta region was embroiled in the agitation for resource control in some years back, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua applied a political solution to the problem. He granted amnesty to the militants and initiated different empowerment programmes for the youths. This effectively checked the unrest in that region.
We believe the insecurity in the South East cannot be resolved with force alone. The injustice against the zone must be addressed first. Part of the injustice is that since the advent of this democracy, no person from the South-East has become the President of Nigeria. Essentially, Nigeria stands on a tripod – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. So far, the Igbo appear to be out of the power equation. Equity, fairness and justice demand that this has to change if the nation must move forward.
Currently, different political parties are preparing for the 2023 general election. The parties are on the verge of electing their presidential candidates. It has become imperative to advise the parties, especially the two dominant ones (the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party) to zone the presidency to the South East region.
The intervention of Anambra State government on the issue of insecurity is worth giving a chance. Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo recently set up a 15-member truth, justice and peace committee to work towards restoration of peace and tranquility in Anambra State. The committee was also mandated to focus not just on Anambra but possibly on the entire South East. All the South East governors should key into the Anambra initiative and work towards resolving the crisis and bringing peace to the region.
One major part of the solution is to step up measures to create more jobs and rehabilitate the frustrated youths. No doubt, the spate of unemployment in Nigeria is alarming. It is the greatest cause of unrest and insecurity in the country. Aside from the South East, insecurity has ravaged most other parts of the country. The situation is such that Nigeria has become a killing field. When youths don’t have jobs, they deploy their energies in criminal ventures and make life uncomfortable for everybody. Government should also develop key infrastructure and provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive. If there is constant power, for instance, many youths will engage in meaningful ventures.
Political leaders, irrespective of political or religious affiliation, must rise up and do something. There is no sitting on the fence anymore. They must close ranks and form a common front against the evil going on in the South East. They must show good example first by exhibiting integrity and transparency at all times. We must change our value system.
On its part, IPOB must help to put a stop to the crisis. The leadership of the organisation has said repeatedly that it is not involved in the wanton killings in the South East. It therefore behoves on it to help in smoking out all the criminal elements who are using its name to commit atrocities in the region. It should join other notable leaders in the zone to condemn the enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home order that has crippled the economy of the zone. We acknowledge that IPOB has rescinded its directive on the sit-at-home. However, some outlaws still use it as an alibi to harass and even kill people going about their legitimate business. This has to stop.
Traditional and religious leaders as well as youth leaders should get involved in resolving the insecurity in the South East. If the various strata of leaders make their own contributions, it will go a long way in resolving the security crisis in the zone.
