By Charles Otu
I write as a concerned citizen of Afikpo and indeed Ebonyi State first, in strong condemnation of the orgy of violent killings that has lasted between Amasiri in Afikpo Local Government Area and Oso-Edda in Edda Local Government Area yet under the same Federal Constituency.
THE ISSUES, AS I UNDERSTAND THEM…
The contention over ownership of some parcels of land at the Okporojo farm settlement has become deeply troubling that some of us have ever wondered why the State government had delayed in parcelating the places under contention and taken over it for the interest of peace and harmony of both communities. The invitation of the military to build a base there was welcomed. But the latest reports of senseless beheading of Oso-Edda natives at Okporojo by unknown gunmen (as we have read in the news so far) has further deepened the crisis.
Even though Amasiri claims ownership of the said land and has consistently maintained they have archival records to this effect, the persistent attacks each time the farming season is setting in should trouble everyone including the claimants because nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is worth cutting down lives we cannot create.
The resurgence of this crisis dates back to 2014 when lives were also lost allegedly on both sides. For a people who share so much common affinity such as; Ikwu (matrilineal lineage), inter-marriages, cultures and customs and lots more in common, a more brotherly approach and wisdom ought to have prevailed over the senseless massacres and arsons we are currently witnessing.
ENTERS GOV. NWIFURU’S EXTREME MEASURES… WILL IT NOT DEGENERATE AN ALREADY UGLY SITUATION?
The Ebonyi State government under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has officially wielded what I may consider a machine gun against Amasiri community over the latest killings in Okporojo. Unless perhaps wisdom and probably an intervention from ‘the above’ prevails, Amasiri has become and may remain a ghost town for sometime with retaliatory killings, harassments and uncanny intimidations of those who are already trapped in the community by officers of the Nigerian army and the police.
Whereas, some of us had waited to see if there could be other reasons for the Governor’s proclamation that all structures in the community have been collapsed with all appointees of government sacked, we have not seen or read, or at best to put it more succinctly; the Nwifuru Francis administration has not given the public a full brief as to it’s findings perhaps working with intelligent reports from the security agencies as to why he made the bold decisions at Okporojo.
Rather, hours later, the Governor further fired from more Bazuka cylinders; ordering that schools, markets, shops, hospitals, all government institutions and structures in Amasiri be shut down. He even wants the law creating the Amasiri Development Centre to be repealed and the DC delisted as the closest government to the people.
One is tempted to probe: What does the government know about the latest crisis that we don’t know and they do not feel it is worthy of the knowledge of the general public? If two communities are at war, is there wisdom in leveling one community and leaving the other? Why punish even children and deny them their rights to basic education? How about getting the actual perpetrators and bringing them to book?
The atmosphere in Amasiri is already turbocharged! Why deploy more force knowing fully well that the security agencies may react at any slightest provocation and even shoot and kill more people as it is now currently being claimed? I can’t wrap my head around the logic of all these and as a concerned citizen, I demand sincere answers from the government. The situation of shutting down everything including hospitals in Amasiri is that even the aged may be killed by sickness and hunger including women and children.
Even during the civil war, people were still provided with foods, water and essentials by the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies. Is the Ebonyi State government not already violating the fundamental rights of people of the concerned community? In the stoccato reactions of the government, I feel and sense a script, suspectedly a political one at that.
Why do I have this ugly feeling? Amasiri is not the first and only community that have witnessed communal war. Yes, you may recount their ordeals with other neighbouring communities but what happened in Oso Edda has not claimed more lives than the Ezza-Ezillo or Effium clashes. What about the Izzi vs. Ikwo communal clashes that claimed many lives and was later resolved by Ezza elders at Nchionu, Onueke?
THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO PROVIDE MORE DETAILS…
I repeat that unless and until the Nwifuru government offers more reasons for it’s actions rather than the emotional and reactionary releases it has made to the press, some of us would continue to insist that as a leader you do not solve a problem by creating more problems which in this instance could even lead to a terrible humanitarian crises.
It is enough to station soldiers in both communities on consistent patrol but the pictures and videos we are seeing of shootings, killings and maiming or unarmed citizens doesn’t speak good of a government that swore by the constitution to protect lives and property. For at the end, peace can yet be fostered between these two brothers but the action ls we took, hastily, in anger or even emotionally would live beyond our existence on earth!
Ebonyi State government, I believe can and should do better by rethinking it’s pronounced measures.
- Charles Otu, is a deeply concerned Afikpo citizen.
