A former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Bianca Ojukwu, has decried the deteriorating security situation in the South-Eastern part of the country.
She made this known at the annual conference of the American Veterans of of Igbo Descent on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, made available to journalists in Enugu State.
The theme of the conference is ‘‘Stand Up For Your People,” which focuses on the current security challenges facing South-Eastern Nigeria, the homeland of the Igbo ethnic group.
The widow of the late Biafra leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, also called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra.
She said, “Once he (Kanu) is set free, the security situation in the South-East would greatly improve.’’
She also called on Igbo people in the Diaspora to continue to uphold and defend their core values, sense of identity and heritage.
According to her, their concerns about the worsening security situation in the South-East are justified.
She noted that the security situation was not only limited to the South-East, but a scourge ravaging most states in Nigeria.
Ms Ojukwu also called on the governors of states in the South-East to combine their collective will and collaborate more effectively toward tackling the security challenge.
“The state of insecurity in Igboland is posing an existential threat to life as we know it in our communities,” she said.
She decried the incessant killings and kidnappings, the annexation and takeover of community farmlands by armed herdsmen and other dangerous invaders.
According to her, the menace has taken their toll on agro-economic and social activities in Igbo communities.
She said, “Opportunistic criminal elements within Igboland have hitched onto the separatist agitation bandwagon to commit heinous crimes, and seem to have sufficiently degraded the capabilities of security forces with their superior firepower. Many people are leaving their villages out of fear and once thriving communities have become depleted and devitalised and in some cases assuming the status and appearance of ghost towns.’’
She called on the governors of the South-East, who are the chief security officers of their states, to intensify their individual and collective efforts towards bringing the alarming situation under control.
Also speaking, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia North), said that the current state of insecurity in Igboland could be traced to 2021.
“This is following the arrest and illegal detention till date of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” Mr Abaribe said.
The senator wondered why the South-East remained the zone with the highest number of police and army checkpoints per kilometre in Nigeria.
“Yet, the so-called unknown gunmen and sundry insecurity purveyors roam about fearlessly in Ala-Igbo causing devastation without check,” he said.
He said, “It is only when the government and its security agencies genuinely want to tackle insecurity that it will be severely reduced across the country.”
Other speakers at the occasion included a former lawmaker and past Secretary to the Government of Imo State, Uche Onyeagocha; business mogul, Kingson Njoku and Haitian Senator, Jean Moise, among others.
AVID President, Dr Sly Onyia, announced that AVID was presently working on establishing a direct flight from the U.S. to the South-East.
The conference also featured a banquet, award presentations and the appointment of Mrs Ojukwu, who is a former Miss Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant winner, as the patroness of AVID.
The AVID is a non-profit organisation comprising U.S. citizens of Igbo parentage.
They are either currently serving or have served in various branches of the country’s military at different times, in different conflicts and theatres of war.
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