…begs President to release Nnamdi Kanu to tame insecurity in SE
By Innocent Onoh
The Southern Solidarity Alliance, SSA, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to act fast to secure Southern Nigeria from the rising activities of rampaging terror groups and bandits including herdsmen committing all manners of atrocities and criminal acts against the people of the region.
SSA, the umbrella body of professionals championing the course for the well-being of southern part of Nigeria, made the appeal in an open letter to the president tagged
The letter was signed by the association’s all key executive members namely, Ndubuisi Okafor ,
National Coordinator ; Success Ikpasa,
Deputy National Secretary ; Barr. (Sir) Aaron Nwachukwu, Deputy National Coordinator (SE); Engr. Ajibola Lawson,
Deputy National Coordinator (SW) and
Hon. Ufuoma Onemu Adievuwhare,
Deputy National Coordinator (SS).
According to the letter, “We write to you today as the Nigerian leader and indeed the most senior Southerner in the Federal Government of Nigeria, to express our deepest concerns, and that of the vast majority of Southern Nigerians about a number of issues concerning our survival as a people. These are insecurity in the South, Bad Federal roads and the Need to check the worsening disunity in Southern Nigeria.”
On insecurity in South Nigeria, the association alleged that it is caused “by the coordinated attacks on the Southern States and communities by Fulani herdsmen, who occupy the Southern forests; attacking our people at odd times of day/night and slaughtering our people in good numbers.”
“They also reportedly rape our women.They then “disappear” without traces as none is arrested, tried and sentenced. At other instances, they herd their cattles into the farmlands in Southern Nigeria; and feed their animals on the crops in the farmlands. They even harvest the crops for their animals. They kill farmers on their farmlands in the process. The worst of all is that it is never in the news that the police and the military counter these killers and economic saboteurs just as they counter the terrorists and bandits in the North and the so-called ESN in the SE. We have seen these serial attacks by the Fulani herdsmen in Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Ebonyi and Enugu States. There are also cases of similar terrors- kidnapping and killing in other Southern States including Delta, Rivers, etc,” it explained.
According the the SSA, the general insecurity in the South East is also ” traceable to the clampdown on pro-Biafran agitators arising from the arrest and long incarceration of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB. The killings and economic losses are avoidable.
We are concerned that these killings and insecurities are wasting innocent lives, endangering the lives of the people and law abiding residents of Southern Nigeria, worsening incident of hunger in Southern Nigeria and is affecting the economy and development of the region. It’s also making the South a very unsafe place to invest,” it noted.
It therefore appealed to the president for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, “who was freed in the past by courts of competent jurisdiction.”
“His continued detention is unjust,” observed SSA.
“Your government should take closer look at the insecurity situation in the SE, and work sincerely with stakeholders to demilitarize and restore peace to the zone. That you please use your good offices to prohibit open grazing across the country since it has become a source of terror, horror and death to our people and all Nigerians. Cattle owners should establish ranches. Criminal gangs and terrorists parading themselves as herdsmen should be declared terrorist groups and treated as such. Prohibition of illegal occupation and habitation of forests by terrorist herdsmen and bandits. The NAF should be authorized to, in conjunction with communities in Southern Nigeria, flush out all herdsmen and bandits from our forests. In the 21st century, no one should be permitted to live in a forest, from where they terrorize Nigerians.
Communities across Southern Nigeria and beyond should be empowered to establish well-armed vigilante groups, to protect their communities,” it added.
The association which also expressed profound appreciation to president Tinubu over the commencement of the construction of Lagos-Calabar coastal road, however drew his kind attention to the need to reconstruct or upgrade some strategic roads in the region that are in very deplorable state.
The roads are Ipele- Isua, Benin – Auchi, Nsukka – Enugu, Sagamu – Ore, Ore – Benin Road, Benin – Asaba Road, Onitsha – Owerri – Aba, Onitsha – Enugu Exp., Enugu – P/Harcourt, Umuahia Ikwuano- Ikot Ekpene, Uyo – Calabar, Enugu – Nnokpanta, 9th Mile – Opi junction- Obollo Afor – Makurdi, Amichi – Ezinifite – Amaruru – Ihitenansa – Orlu, Ibadan – Ife – Ilesha, Ife – Ondo – Ore, Ughelli – Patani – Port Harcourt, East-West Road and Ibadan- Iwo- Oshogbo Roads.
Additional, the association made strong case on the need to check disunity in Southern Nigeria.
It said, “We are worried and pained that there is serious worsening disunity in Southern Nigeria; most of all concerning the divide and rule of the Federal government. The South East and Southsouth suffered terrible marginalization under the government of General Buhari. It is not getting any better under your government Sir. It is as if the SW is at war with other Southerners. It is not so and cannot be so. We are all bound together by flesh and blood. The South is one and by the special Grace of God, you are occupying the Southern slot of the North/South power rotation.”
“Mr. President Sir, It is within your power to stop and reverse the festering marginalization of SE and SS by your government. If the two could not get what was due to them under a President of Southern extraction, would it be possible under a President of Northern extraction? We must run on equity and fair play.
We will be glad if your presidential attention is fully focused to address these matters with the sense of urgency they deserved,” it added.