S’east insecurity wouldn’t have escalated if… IPAN

By Praise Chinecherem

An Igbo socio-cultural group, Igbos for a Progressive and United Nationhood (IPAN) has lamented growing insecurity in the Southeast.

It noted that the region would have been safer now if the people had harkened to its warnings when the violence and killings started.

National President of the IPAN, Comrade Lawrence Onuzulike was reacting to recent speech by prolific writer and poet, Chimamanda Adichie at a literary festival in Enugu.

Adichie at the event had remarked that the southeastern part of Nigeria “no longer feels like home” because of an erosion of its former tranquility and hospitality.

She attributed the shift to ongoing violence linked to armed separatist activities and the recent surge in ritual killings in the region.

Onuzulike in a chat with newsmen lauded the renowned writer for ‘hitting the nail on the head’ describing the security situation in the zone as not only sad, but embarrassing.

He said, “When the violence and killings first started in the Southeast, IPAN condemned it in the strongest way possible, because of its belief that such actions were strange and alien to the Igbo system

“But instead of Igbos harkening to the voice of reason, they were celebrating the criminals as liberators, and eventually ‘the monster grew beyond the control of the owner.’

“We at IPAN found it not only strange, but disturbing that Igbo people woke up one day and started killing their fellow human being, irrespective of the reasons given.

“This is totally alien to who we are and what we believed in that has brought us this far.

“IPAN was roundly attacked for condemning the acts, with many people calling our members ‘efulefu’.

“But, we stood our grounds on that position, because Igbos are known for the value they place on human lives.

“Anyone who commits murder in Igboland is sent on exile and upon the expiration, certain rituals are performed to cleanse the evil.

“It was surprising that all of a sudden, the same people, who were known for their high regard for the sanctity of human lives, became themselves, killers, slaughtering people in the forests.

“The most surprising and shocking was that our people were then hailing them, as ‘unknown gunmen!

“There is no justifiable reason why the Igbos would abandon their culture of respect and regard for human lives.

The Igbo leader further revealed that acceptance of alien culture introduced by the criminals on pretext of whatever pursuit, paved way for the criminality that had pervaded parts of Southeastern communities.

“Today, the chicken has come home to roost. The Southeast is no longer safe. Many people have fled. Businesses have shut down.

“Jobs are lost. People are murdered and decapitated almost on a daily basis.

“Majority of the people that supported the violence and killings have fled to either Lagos or Abuja, while the remaining few are now singing different tunes,” he regretted.

While calling on Southeast governors to be decisive in their approach to addressing rising insecurity in the area, Onuzulike advocated for unified regional security arrangement that would root out criminal elements from the region.

“All hope is not lost. Now is the time for Ndigbo to unite in total rejection of all alien cultures. Southeast must not be abandoned for the criminals to continue to have a field day,” he added.