An Igbo socio-cultural group, Igbos for a Progressive and United Nationhood, IPAN has bemoaned the spate of insecurity in the Southeast, regretting that had the people harkened to its warnings when the violence and killings started, the region would have been a whole lot safer today.
The National President of the IPAN, Comrade Lawrence Onuzulike gave the view in an exclusive chat with journalists in Awka, in response to a recent speech by prolific writer and poet, Chimamanda Adichie at a literary festival in Enugu.
At the event, Adichie 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.
Reacting to the comments, the IPAN President, Comrade Onuzulike regretted that the security situation in the Southeast is not only sad, but very embarrassing, applauding the renowned writer for ‘hitting the nail on the head.’
Onuzulike recalled how, when the violence and killings first started in the Southeast, the IPAN condemned it in the strongest way possible, because of its belief that such actions were strange and alien to the Igbo system
He, however, regretted that 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 beings, 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!” he lamented.
The Igbo leader emphasized that there is no justifiable reason why the Igbos would abandon their culture of respect and regard for human lives.
He further revealed that the acceptance of the alien culture introduced by the criminals on the pretext of whatever pursuit, paved the way for the criminality that has pervaded parts of the 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.
Onuzulike, however, noted that all hope is not lost, insisting that now is the time for Igbos to unite in total rejection of all alien cultures, warning that Southeast must not be abandoned for the criminals to continue to have a field day.
He called on all the Southeast governors to be decisive in their approach towards addressing the rising insecurity in the region, advocating for a unified regional security arrangement that will root out all criminal elements from the region, irrespective of whatever guise.
