Group Berates Igbo Leaders For Not Speaking Against ‘Military Invasion’ Of S/East

The Eastern Union, Tuesday, declared its support to the recent call by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe for Eastern leaders to be more responsive in protecting the people of the region from the military.

Recall that Senator Abaribe, representing Abia South in the National Assembly, recently called on Southeast leaders to ‘jettison politics and political aspirations’, and look into incessant invasions of the zone by soldiers with its attendant casualties.

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According to Abaribe, “In Nigeria today, the Igbo land has military checkpoints than other regions. Why should soldiers be mounting roadblocks instead of paramilitary agencies? It’s very unfortunate, and you can see what is going on. The way soldiers attack innocent people here is not how it happens in other regions.

“We all saw what went down in Yoruba land, and how political leaders stopped the crisis through dialogues. But here, we abandoned our people and watch them killed in broad daylight, yet we say nothing about it. Boko Haram and bandits do kill soldiers and innocent people; do soldiers also go after the people the way they do in the East? If this continues, a time would come when our youths would revolutionalize and that will be on our head.”

The national president of the Eastern Union, Hon Charles Anike, told our correspondent in Abuja that, “We lend our voice to the stand of Sen Abaribe over the unwarranted killings and militarization of the region. The killings have become a ritual at any slightest provocation. If nothing urgent is done, our youths would be left with no other option than to obey the law of nature of self-defence.

“The hatred on Ndigbo by the present administration is no longer debatable. If what is happening in other zones, security-wise, happens in the East, we are very sure that everybody would be murdered without any remorse by the Nigerian Army.

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“It is a big shame that the Nigerian Army can be chasing rats while their houses are on fire? And more shame to Igbo leaders who remain silent in the face of all these heinous crimes committed on their ancestral homes.”

The union called on the region’s leaders to borrow a leaf from their Yoruba counterparts. According to Anike, “Yoruba leaders have come out to rally round Mr Sunday Igboho, and that has handicapped the enemies. But in the Southeast, someone will boldly and publicly refer to our youths as militants and other such derogatory words. We call on our eastern governors and leaders to come out clearly with zonal security outfits to put serious security checks on the zone like other zones, but to no avail.

“Yet they publicly criticize and disown the Eastern Security Network set up by the IPOB. APC leaders in the East should learn from Gov Akeredolu of Ondo State, who has shown clearly that he was Yoruba before becoming an APC member. Why can’t our leaders in the East sincerely work together for the good of our people? Why would those in the National Assembly not support Senator Abaribe, who has remained the lonely voice in the wilderness?”

The union further called on security agencies to direct their expertise to crisis-ridden parts of the country, adding that, “We can’t afford the continued shedding of our people’s blood. We challenge the Nigerian Army to show bravery by confronting the Boko Haram and other terrorists that are gradually taking over and constantly questioning the sovereignty of the Nigeria.”

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