….Give reasons for groups agitation

By Steve Oko

UMUAHIA—Igbo women have told the Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, to go after the killer herdsmen displacing communities in the South East, if he is genuinely committed to the restoration of peace to the zone, declaring that the rampaging herders, and not members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, are the problem of South East.

The women, who spoke under the aegis of Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), were responding to a recent caution by the CDS to the people of the Southeast against promoting the activities of IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), particularly through social media.

The CDS who spoke during a community engagement in Omor, Anambra State, said that the spread of unverified information “not only endangers the region but also poses a threat to national unity and peace.”

The CDS who was represented by Group Captain Ibrahim Bukar, said that “IPOB’s actions are detrimental not just to the Southeast, but to Nigeria as a whole,” and should not be supported in any form.

But IWA, in a swift response, argued that contrary to claims by the federal government, “IPOB is not a terrorist’s group but a peaceful movement protesting the marginalisation and continued exclusion of the Southeast from the scheme of things in Nigeria.”

IWA, in a strong – worded statement by its National President, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, challenged the CDS to advise the federal government to listen to the agitations of IPOB and engage the group in a dialogue with a view to addressing its genuine concerns, instead of resorting to propaganda to blackmail its members.

The statement read: “We want to remind Gen. Musa that IPOB members are not terrorists but our children who are protesting the ill-treatment and marginalisation of the Southeast from the scheme of things in Nigeria. Since after the civil war up till now, the Southeast has been grossly marginalized by the Nigeria State.

“From 1966 after the assassination of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi till date, no Igbo man has been President of Nigeria. Ndigbo has been marginalized in political appointments by successive administrations in the country.

“They have been denied their rightful promotion especially those in the security agencies. And that’s part of the reasons Igbo youths are losing interest in military recruitments. They have refused to join the military and even the police because they hardly get promoted unlike their colleagues from other tribes. In other federal establishments, the story is the same. The quota of the South East is always short-changed.” 

“So, these are the things these children are protesting. When they graduate from school like their fellow youths from other tribes, they don’t get equal opportunities for employment. That’s what they are protesting because they believe that they are not included in the Nigeria structure. They feel unjustly excluded.

“They want inclusion and full integration into the Nigeria system. We can no longer foolishly shy away from the plights of our children.”

The women queried the rationale behind the constant release of captured terrorists who claim to have repented while peaceful agitators like IPOB members are held in perpetual detention.

“Why is the federal government killing IPOB members but granting amnesty to bandits and mass murderers who have not stopped killing innocent citizens including security agents? Why is government killing our youths on peaceful protests but allowing armed herdsmen on killing spree to keep roaming our communities with guns?

” Fulani herdsmen do not need AK-47 in the Southeast because there has never been any incident of cattle rustling in the region. For them to carry AK-47 about, shooting people shows they have an evil agenda because they don’t shoot and run but shoot and stay.

“What IPOB is demanding is legitimate. It’s their right. Our findings indicated that IPOB is not the cause of the mayhem in the Southeast. Those causing mayhem in the zone are criminal elements and killer herdsmen. If the CDS truly loves the restoration of peace in the Southeast, let him advise the federal government to listen to IPOB and engage the youths in sincere dialogue and address their grievances. We are tired of all these endless blame games.

“Gen. Musa should understand that the problem of the Southeast is not IPOB: our problem is the rampaging Fulani herdsmen busy displacing communities across the zone. If Gen. Musa wants to maintain peace and order in the Southeast, he should move his men to the bush to combat the killer herdsmen killing our farmers and raping our women and girls.”

Igbo women, who insisted that IPOB is a peaceful movement, accused the federal government of mismanaging the group’s agitations.

“IPOB made it known that it is a peaceful organization right from the beginning. But security agencies continued to kill the members even during peaceful protests. They have been fighting for freedom without firing a bullet. And from our own investigations, they have maintained that peaceful disposition. We see their protests on social media, and we have never seen them with arms. They have remained a peaceful organization.