25022021 - Way out of Nigeria’s security problems

Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 — 13
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RECEPTION: From left—Chief Chukuma Igwe, Secretary General, Ndigbo Lagos, Dr. Raymond Obieri, Chairman,
Council of Elders, Ndigbo Lagos, Prof. George Obiozor, President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Major
Gen. Obi Umahi (retd.) , President General, Ndigbo Lagos and Amb. Okey Emutchy, Secretary General, Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, during the Ndigbo Lagos civic reception for the PG, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, held at Civil Centre, Victoria
Island, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor..
BIAFRA: Igbo not at war with Nigeria
—Obiozor •Says Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB must listen to us
By Nnamdi Ojiego
& Olayinka Ajayi
THE PRESIDENT General
of the apex Igbo socio-cultural
organisation, Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, Professor George
Obiozor, yesterday, reiterated
that Ndigbo are not at war with
Nigeria, stressing that Ndigbo
would continue their efforts to
seek justice, peace and fairness
in all their dealings with everybody
in Nigeria.
Obiozor who spoke at a
grand reception in his honour
by Ndigbo Lagos, at the Civic
Center, Victoria Island, cautioned
those making utterances
that have tendencies to put
Ndigbo in danger to refrain
from it.
He said: "Everybody should
stop utterances or actions that
will or have the tendencies to
put Ndigbo in present and immediate
danger or on harm's
way. That is what my message
is in this matter.
"Igbo are not at war with Nigeria.
I want it to be noted very
clearly. And we are not planning
to have a separate existence
from Nigeria. People
should make no mistake about
it.
"On the issue of Biafra, it is
well beyond the capacity of
young men to resolve. Biafra
is a collective dilemma of Ndigbo
and it is not a child's play.
"Biafra is not a child's play. It
requires mature and experienced
handling. Children
should stop playing with fire
and children shouldn't play
with fire. Nnamdi Kanu is one
of us. He is our son and he must
listen to some of us because he's
one of us."
The former ambassador of
Nigeria to the United States of
America, described the security
situation in Igboland as a
matter of concern and national
emergency.
"The greatest affliction of
man is insecurity. With insecurity,
nothing happens. It is the
greatest challenge facing Ndigbo
in particular and Nigeria
at large. However, we thank
God that the South East governors
themselves shared this feeling
and have started taking
steps particularly, about antiopen
grazing ban; a great step
which we believe is the right
step to take towards handling
security challenges in Igbo
land."
On restructuring, Obiozor
charged the Igbo to pursue it
with pride and dignity, saying
that Nigeria must be restructured
in order to reduce hostile
Kingsley Omonobi &
Steve Oko
OTIES NITSHA—AUTHORI
of the Nigerian
Army have dismissed as handiwork
of unpatriotic elements,
a trending video alleging that
troops of 302 Artillery Regiment,
Onitsha, were given orders
to commence the killing
of people at Orlu market.
This came as the Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPOB, has
distanced its members from
the purported killing of six
children in Anambra State,
describing the allegation as
"malicious and mischievous".
Deputy Director, Army Public
Relations, Col Aliyu Yusuf
made the army position
known in a statement yesterday.
Yusuf said:“The attention of
Headquarters 82 Division Nigerian
Army has been drawn
to an orchestrated video clip
by an unpatriotic element
which is being circulated on
the social media, claiming to
be a soldier in the Nigerian
Army by name Joseph from
Bayelsa State.
“The video was recorded in
an unknown market claiming
to be privy to a supposed order
given by 302 Artillery Regiment,
Onitsha to start killing
everybody at Orlu market and
environs, Orlu L.G.A in Imo
State.
“Preliminary investigation
revealed that it was a calculated
attempt to maliciously
fabricate sensational stories
to cause resentment and
smear campaign against Nigerian
Army Internal Security
Operations.
“The supposed individual in
the video was not bold enough
to reveal his true identity as
claimed or present his so
called military uniform and
identity card which were deliberately
obscured to deceive
innocent target audience.
“The Nigerian Army recognizes
the right of citizens to
hold and share opinions on
tension among ethnic nationalities
and move the country
forward.
According to him, restructuring
would address the issue
of hostile contacts
among Nigerians and reduce
tensions.
On his part, Ndigbo Lagos
President, Major General
Obi Umahi, rtd, described
the event as home
coming for Ambassador
Obiozor.
He however, urged him to
collaborate with south eastern
governors to give considerations
and attention to
three key areas which are:
"security of Alaigbo, requiring
an urgent need for state
police; . restructuring of the
country and president of
Igbo extraction come 2023.
"Ndigbo are not asking for
too much. They are only
asking for equity and fairness
in a country they have
contributed so much to it's
development", he stated.
Orlu mayhem: Army debunks false video
information
•As IPOB denies killing of children in Anambra
social media and not to spread
divisive contents by unpatriotic
individuals.
“This mischievous misrepresentation
of facts, misinformation
and fabrication of outright
falsehood as deliberately captured
in the video clip are being
orchestrated in the social
media to tarnish the good image
and reputation of the military.
This great disservice is
not acceptable by any standard.
“The Headquarters, 82 Division,
Nigerian Army therefore
wish to reassure law abiding
citizens that the Nigerian
Army remains a professional
force that respects fundamental
human rights and deploy
its personnel whenever or
wherever duty calls.
“It is worth to note that Nigerian
Army troops deployed
for Internal Security Operations
are guided by extant rules
and regulations as stipulated
in Nigerian Army Code of
Conducts and Rules of Engagement
in line with global
best practices.
“The general public is therefore
urged to disregard the
false information contained in
the video.”
IPOB denies
killing of children
in Anambra
Denying the allegation,
IPOB in a statement issued by
its Media and Publicity Secretary,
Emma Powerful entitled:
"it's ridiculous to link IPOB,
ESN with killing of children
in Anambra State", said mischief
makers were behind the
false report.
The pro Biafra movement
said it is inconceivable that
IPOB and ESN whose main
mandate is to defend the people
of Eastern region against
terrorists, would turn against
the same people they stake
their lives to protect.
The statement read:"The attention
of the Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB) ably led
by our great leader Mazi
Nnamdi Kanu, has been
drawn to a malicious and mischievous
report trying to link the
IPOB and the Eastern Security
Network, ESN with the purported
killing of six children in Anambra
State. Fabricated claims
like this is only akin to giving the
dog a bad name in order to hang
it.
"Those behind this lame and
poorly scripted dummy forgot
the main reason for the establishment
of ESN, and the mission
of IPOB. We came to save
lives and not to waste them. We
don't kill those we daily put our
lives on the line to save and
protect. Associating us with
such barbaric act is not only
insulting but a lie from the pit
of hell.
"But for the sake of the gullible,
we wouldn't have bothered
to signify distracting reports like
this with a response. We have
no hands in the purported incident."
IPOB also denied that those
paraded by the military were
ESN members arrested in Orlu,
claiming that security agents
only arrested innocent citizens
and branded them ESN operatives.
"We also want to debunk the
reports by the Nigeria military
that those it arrested in Orlu during
their genocidal raid and air
strike last week are ESN operatives.
" It's just unfortunate that the
Army could curiously arrest innocent
Biafran civilians at Orlu
branding them ESN
operatives.Their propaganda
cannot work.
"We equally want to warn the
Nigerian military to ensure
nothing happens to the Jewish
Rabbi Kelechi Nwachukwu
and his family as well as other
IPOB members they arrested
out of frustration following
their humiliation by the indomitable
ESN operatives at Orlu.
"We must warn Hope Uzodinma,
to ensure that nothing
happens to these IPOB members
and 33 synagogue worshipers
arrested in Orlu and
paraded in the public as if they
were criminals."
Uzodinma lauds Buhari over
Nigeria’s exit from recession
O WERRI—GOVERNOR
Hope Uzodimma of Imo
State has commended President
Muhammadu Buhari’s
deft management of the economy
which resulted to the
country’s exit from recession,
just as he predicted that the
President would soon overcome
the security challenges
in the country.
He said only a leader with
the patriotism, vision and determination
of President Buhari
would have seen Nigeria
through recession within five
years, adding that the same
zeal and vision will navigate
the country out of the present
security situation in the country
Ṡpeaking with reporters in
Owerri, Governor Uzodimma
noted that it was remarkable
that the president was not responsible
for any of the recession,
yet he fought gallantly to
steer the economy to safety.
He also recalled that while
notable World economies including
UK,US, Japan,
France and Switzerland
among others were still battling
with Covid-19 induced
recession, Nigeria was out of
it due mainly to Buhari’s hardwork.
“If you recall, the first recession
occurred as the President
was assuming office and the
second one came about as a
result of the Covid 19 pandemic
which devastated the
world economy, but our president
rose to the occasion in the
two instances,” the governor
said.
According to him, just like
Japan overcame recession in
2015, Buhari also led Nigeria
Okorocha: Igbo rights groups
attack Uzodinma
By Anayo Okoli &
Chidi Nkwopara
ENUGU—ANGRY reac
tions have continued to
trail the alleged intervention
of the Presidency when Senator
Rochas Okorocha was arrested
weekend by the police
in Owerri for breaking the seal
of Imo State Government.
While the Commissioner
of Information and Strategy,
Declan Emelumba,
claimed that the police released
Okorocha late Sunday
night on health
grounds,", the former governor
disclosed that he was released
through the prompt
intervention of the Presidency.
IGBO elite group, Alaigbo
Development Foundation,
ADF, has condemned the invitation
of the military by Governor
Hope Uzodinma of Imo
State to overrun Orlu zone,
warning that Ndigbo will n ot
forgive him if he pushes the
Federal Government to declare
war on Igboland.
ADF urged Uzodinma to
“moderate his extreme s lavish
loyalty to the Northern
to achieve the same thing by
repositioning the economy.
On the security challenges
in the country, the governor
noted that both state governors
and local government
chairmen should equally
take responsibility for the security
situation in their areas
of jurisdiction, noting that security
was the collective responsibility
of all stakeholders
He argued that the same
tenacity from the president
which propelled the country’s
exit from recession will
soon bring about a lasting
solution to the security challenges
in the country.
He commended the president
for being proactive last
year by setting up the Economic
Sustainability Committe
which fashioned out
ways of mitigating the effects
of the pandemic in the
country”s economy.
He was also happy that the
massive job creation embarked
upon by the federal
government including the injection
of funds into the economy
accelerated the exit from
recession.
Uzodimma said it was
clear that Buhari has delivered
on his campaign promises
of reinvigorating the
economy and will overcome
the security challenges sooner
than later.
Canvassing support for the
president from Nigerians, the
Imo governor said Buhari
was more than determinebd
to turn the country around,
the current challenges notwithstanding.
Caliphate rulers and show
loyalty to the people of Imo
State."
Another leading right
group, International Society
for Civil Liberties and Rule of
Law, Intersociety, also described
it as “sad” and lamented
that the governor decided
to compromise the security and
safety of his own people by aiding
the unspeakable state violence
against his own people
and the state.
ADF, in a statement by its
spokesperson, Chief Abi Onyike
said: “Governor Hope Uzodinma
should be advised to moderate
his extreme slavish loyalty
to the Northern Caliphate
rulers. He will not be forgiven
by Ndigbo if he pushes the
Federal Government to declare
war on Igboland.
“He should show loyalty to
the people of Imo State and
stop behaving like a surrogate
character. Afterall, no
other Nigerian governor has
ever invited the military to
invade his domain.
“He is becoming a major
problem by his poor governance
skills and treacherous
anti-Igbo posturing”.
C
M
Y
K