The need to urgently, decisively and effectively tackle the near degenerate state of insecurity in the South East and other parts of the country cannot be overemphasized.
The situation in the South East, in particular, is being orchestrated by one man, Simon Ekpa, who is not only fanning the embers of war but beating the drums as well in far away Finland .
The 38- year old Nigerian, who holds a Finnish citizenship, in his actions and utterances, is complicating an already seemingly unmanageable scenario of insecurity.
Recently, the self-acclaimed Biafra Prime Minister and freedom agitator, issued a two-week sit-at-home order in the South East.
He posted on his social media handles that “Following the demand by the Biafra people for more sit at home civil disobedience, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE) and Biafra De Facto Government In Homeland wish to notify Biafrans that there will be a sit-at-home civil disobedience starting from 31 July, 2023 to 14 August, 2023.”
Simon who ordered people to sit-at-home last week, gave five reasons South Easterners must obey and adhere to the recent order.
He noted that the immediate and unconditional release of the IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was sacrosanct, insisting that the sit-at-home order was to facilitate the freedom of Biafra nation.
“The sit at home will, therefore, take place in the following order: Monday, 31 July, 2023 to Friday, 4 August 2023 and there will be total lockdown in Biafraland.”
Simon, who is said to have his family members overseas and, therefore, has no affinity with the Nigerian project, has been instigating sit-at-home, violence and killings in the South-East through destructive commands and orders to his foot soldiers from faraway Finland.
The intriguing aspect of the Ekpa idiocy, in our view, is that some people in the region and even the governments in the area are so lily-livered enough not to see the so called orders for what they are, the effusions of a deranged mind which ought to be ignored by any right thinking person.
Already, innocent residents have been killed in the South-East by gunmen and security operatives, especially in the last two years since the incarceration of Kanu mid-2021.
We find it rather strange that within this period under review, a renegade group which which claims to be fighting for self determination would turn on its people and make the zone the epicentre of violence with a gradual slide into anarchy.
Last weekend, videos surfaced on various social media platforms where alleged members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate Eastern Security Network (ESN) were seen shooting sporadically and attacking residents in Irete and Amakohia areas of Imo state with the sole aim of creating apprehension amongst the populace and forcing them to obey an unlawful sit-at-home order by the same Simon Ekpa
Indeed, the region has witnessed unprecedented loss in both human and material resources.
According to an investigation by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), the South-East micro businesses wasted 71 sit-at-home Mondays between August 9, 2021 and December 19, 2022, losing N5.375 trillion ($12.215 billion) in the process,.
Simon’s actions is wearing the patience of Nigerians thin and if deliberate efforts are not taken to arrest this trend, the damages at the end of the day will be collosal.
His attitude, which outrightly smacks of utter disregard for the sovereignty of the country, with no consideration also for the region where he is from, is both dangerous and disturbing.
The insurgency that has engulfed the North East and the North west as a whole today is as a result of the malfeance of a few, which has degenerated to the situation we find ourselves in presently.
We are deeply concerned that if the self acclaimed Biafran leader is not checked now, his acts are capable of pushing the country to the brink of a full-scale war, and potentially destabilize the entire region.
There’s, therefore, need to rein him in through diplomatic means since he holds a citizenship of Finland.
Hence, we lend our voice to that of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria ( HURIWA), calling on the Federal Government to immediately cut off diplomatic ties with Finland to compel that country to arrest and depot the miscreant.
And on the home front, we appeal to the newly appointed service chiefs to get to work immediately and prioritise solution to the insecurity in the zone and guarantee the security of lives and properties of the residents of South East region.
The world already has its hands full already for another full scale war to burst out from Africa’s most populous country when it’s still contending with that of Sudan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Europe.
The time to act is now.
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