Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State once boasted that there would be no ungoverned territories in his state. That was at the time Southern Governors were fretting and strutting over anti-open grazing laws in their respective states. Even though the anti-open grazing laws enacted by southern states eventually ended up as a paper tiger, Ikpeazu assured in those days of frenzy that his government would implement the ban on open grazing to the letter.
That was as far as it went. Ikpeazu did not match his words with action. Abia boasts of a large array of ungoverned territories, particularly in Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state.
The latest incident that points to this fact is the recent abduction of the Prelate of the Methodist Church, His Eminence, Samuel Uche. Significantly, it has taken the Prelate’s abduction for the fragile underbelly of the security agencies in the territory to be exposed. He has laid bare the audacious indulgences of murderous Fulani herdsmen. In doing this, he has exposed what looks like complicity on the part of the braggart soldier. He has charged troops of the Nigerian Army of ineffectuality and complicity in the face of crime. He has also exposed the complacency of the Nigeria Police over matters of crime and criminality. Much more than that, the Prelate’s tale draws attention to the failure of governance in Abia State.
The Prelate and two others were abducted recently somewhere along Ihube-Uturu road in Abia State. He and his entourage were released by their adductors after paying a ransom of N100 million. While all this lasted, neither the Nigerian Army, which has an outpost poles away from the scene of the incident, nor the Nigeria Police did anything that suggested that they knew about the incident. The Abia State government was much more complacent. It lacked the sense of urgency that the incident required. It did practically nothing to save the situation or douse the tension occasioned by it.
Whereas Ikpeazu and his government are still sleep-walking over the development, the Nigerian Army appears perturbed by the observations of the Prelate. It has stepped forward to tell its own story. The gist of the interjection from the army is that its troops are not guilty as charged. It has vehemently denied any complicity on the part of its troops in the crime and has gone further to threaten, rather subtly, that it will hold the Prelate and the Methodist Church to account.
While it is granted that the Nigerian Army reserves the right to clear its name and image whenever it thinks that it is being wrongly profiled, it beats the imagination that criminal elements operating in the territory under reference are practically co-habiting with military operatives in the open without consequence. Why is it impossible for troops of the Nigerian Army to burst the den of the terrorists? Is there a Sambisa Forest in the area that the army and the police cannot penetrate?
As an ordained man of God who carries the moral burden of telling truth to himself and society at large, the Prelate cannot afford not to speak out. That is why he has let us into his experience. His abductors did not hide their identity. They told him who they were and what their mission was. Apart from their avowed mission to annihilate the Igbo nation, the terrorists equally told the Prelate that they would use the ransom money to procure more arms and ammunition towards the actualization of their mission of conquest.
In the absence of any form of intervention by Ikpeazu’s government, the youths of the affected communities, particularly those of Isuochi, are showing their anger. They do not understand why military presence in their area has not been able to rein in kidnappers and terrorists. They find this confounding. They point to the presence of a cattle market operated by the herders, which they say provides cover for the criminal elements. They want the market relocated.
The angry youths have a reason. Anybody who has passed through Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway cannot but notice the menace at Lokpanta, a small community in the Umunneochi council area. This community has practically been annexed by cattle traders who live and do business there. They have converted the greater part of the highway into a market for cows. Most times, motorists spend valuable man hours trying to navigate through the traffic snarl usually occasioned by the unwholesome activities of the cattle traders. There is no order in the territory. What you have is a madding crowd in the midst of noxious odour oozing out from cow dung. The menace in that territory is very annoying and exasperating and usually calls to question the effectiveness of government in the state. It takes a governor without courage to permit such menace and lawlessness.
So, why has Ikpeazu allowed part of his state to be taken over by terrorists masquerading as herdsmen? Why has he left this portion of his state ungoverned, contrary to his earlier statement that no part of Abia State will be left ungoverned? What has changed? What has incapacitated Ikpeazu to the point of moroseness? The incident under consideration says a lot about the governor’s disposition. He appears too scared to confront situations. Who is Ikpeazu afraid of? Why is he unable to reclaim an endangered territory in his state? Ikpeazu’s action spells cowardice.
Even though the governor has less than one year to reign in Abia State, he needs to be reminded that he is not in office at his own pleasure. He is a servant of the people who must strive at all times to meet their expectations.
Ikpeazu should not remind us of his previous failures to govern when it mattered most. He failed to live up to the demands of the office of governor when troops of the Nigerian Army invaded the country residence of Nnamdi Kanu at Afaraukwu, Umuahia. Rather than take exception to the unprovoked attack that led to the death of many innocent young men and women, Ikpeazu said the invasion was part of the Operation Python Dance that the Army planned for the South East then. That was in spite of the fact that the military exercise was yet to take off at the time of the invasion.The governor could not draw a line between a plan that was in the offing and a military operation with a different mission and target. So disappointing. It is so sad when individuals who cannot take charge of their environment are drafted into public office. They can only disappoint. And that is what Ikpeazu is doing.