By Chidi Nkwopara

It is no longer news that the priced facilities in National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, Study Centre, Ezeoke Nsu, Ehime Mbano local council area of Imo State, were senselessly burnt recently, by suspected hoodlums.

What is rather news is that this damaged establishment, which came to life, through the painstaking efforts of some sons of the area, is now a ghost of its former self. Only God knows when it will fully come back to life.

It is important to note that this Federal Government establishment, was carefully sited in an area that has never boasted of any federal or state government presence, before the advent of NOUN Study Centre!

Those reading this script, may not fully appreciate the level of destruction visited on the facility by the senseless hoodlums. It is lamentable and condemnable.

The destruction, to say the least, is massive, and conservatively estimated at over N5 billion. It included the new regional JAMB Centre, a state-of-the-art auditorium, well equipped and if you like, sophisticated science laboratories and skills acquisition centres, were reduced to sheer ruins!

Strong feelers arising from this unfortunate mayhem, pointed to a large dose of misinformation, undue but senseless incitement and a possible internal smouldering fire from some people, who may be blinded by either hatred, jealousy, crass ignorance and/or sheer envy.

Whichever it is, what has become not only manifest today, but also regrettable, is that the burning of the magnificent facilities in the NOUN Study Centre, have gone down as a terrific setback to Ezeoke Nsu community, Ehime Mbano local council area, Imo State and indeed, Ndigbo in general.

Some concerned Igbo patriots have since described the incident as “a willful destruction, a gross act of arson arising from ignorance, envy and executed by unrepentant wicked and senseless fellows”.

From every indication, NOUN qualifies to be called a public property, built with public fund, to facilitate educational and it’s concomitant economic opportunities for the citizens, particularly, the youths.

For the facilitators, there was that keen interest to do more in the place. This drive, Saturday Vanguard gathered, engineered the invitation of some private sector operators, government agencies and parastatals, for partnerships, to improve the rating and standard of the establishment.

Sadly, it was the same youths, whose interests were to be served, through the establishment of the facility that were cajoled or surreptitiously incited to destroy what was designed for their eventual educational and economic growth, because it was misguidedly branded “a place for internally displaced persons”.

Outside the NOUN premises, one of the facilitators of this sound project, Senator Frank Ibezim, his brother and entire family, lost their buildings and all that they laboured for, in their lives, in the madness that followed the erroneous and misleading branding of the Study Centre as an IDP Camp! They are still counting their losses till date.

In the face of the destruction of public and private establishments, one is tempted to ask a few questions to Ndigbo.

What will Ndigbo gain by being wicked to themselves? What will any person gain by destroying public properties? How long will it take to replace lost items in NOUN? Why must noble ideas be crushed by anybody or group of people, with a sledgehammer?

What crime did the facilitators of the Study Centre commit, in bringing NOUN to Ezeoke Nsu community? Is it not proper to say that they did a good job, when they had the opportunity to advance the wellbeing of their people?

Do we realize that with this level of destruction, our relations in Diaspora, no longer think it safe to either return or send their earnings home? Will this not amount to a huge, collective economic loss to Ndigbo, if this is allowed to fester?

A villager, who didn’t want his name mentioned, said: “They did their best for the people, within the short time they served in government. They were not shortsighted in any way.

“Their action plans were strategic and intentional, through investment in education, training, agriculture, infrastructural development and human capacity building.

“All that the facilitators wanted was to invest in legacy projects that would foster development in Okigwe senatorial zone.”

Similarly, a concerned Okigwe son, Dr. Ugo Anozie, lamented: “The callous and wicked narratives I have heard, since the big loss of our time to arson, which includes the University complex, the burning of Senator Frank Ibezim’s house, the looting, burning of cars and facilities at his siblings’ houses, all for his efforts to help better his people, is most disheartening.

“There comes a time when we must tell ourselves the truth. We must repent, if we want better things to come to us. I am sickened by how terrible we have become as a people. Seriously, we need cleansing.”