-Ndigbo must defend themselves –Abia monarch
As the search for solution to the menace of insecurity threatening South East geo-political zone continues, former Leader of ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ohuabunwa, has said that dialogue with the perpetrators and aggrieved youths had become inevitable.
Senator Ohuabunwa who spoke in an interview with Vanguard in Abia urged the federal government to sincerely engage youths from the zone with a view to addressing their genuine grievances in the interest of all.
He wondered why the Federal Government that dialogued with Niger Delta militants when they were agitating would be reluctant to dialogue with aggrieved youths from South East.
The former Leader House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to “quickly open up a channel of communication with youths from the zone and give them a listening ear for the country to move forward”.
Similarly, the pioneer Director General of National Directorate of Employment, NDE, Chuku Wachuku, urged the Federal Government to quickly engage the perpetrators of insecurity as well as aggrieved Igbo youths to find out why they are not happy.
Wachuku told Vanguard in an interview that using brute force against the perpetrators would not profer any solution to the challenge.
“It requires understanding and dialogue. Government should sit down and dialogue with the youths.
“This won’t be the first time such thing will be happening in Nigeria. It happened in Niger Delta and Government pacified them, retrained them and gave them hope.
“It is happening in the North. They are also being pacified. So, South East can’t be different. You don’t selectively treat people punitively.
“There is need to sit down with the perpetrators. They are human beings. Find out their grievances and get to the root of the problem. Government should begin to address the genuine concern of the youth.”
Wachuku advised against using force to confront the insecurity in the zone as that, according to him will aggravate the challenge.
The Abia Central Senatorial aspirant however, urged the perpetrators to lay down their weapons and embrace dialogue, saying that the victims of their actions are mostly their kinsmen.
“We need to ask our people to embrace peace. They need to sit down with government and embrace its hand of fellowship if offered.
“They should stop the senseless killings and destruction of our economy. It’s time for peace and dialogue”.
In his own reaction, the traditional ruler of Isuochi ancient kingdom, HRM Eze Godson Ezekwesiri ( Ochi of Isuochi), said Ndigbo should be ready to defend themselves against those behind the festering insecurity in the region.
“Ndigbo need to rise like warriors and defend themselves. You don’t carry war to a man’s doorposts and expect him to be watching just like that. We need to get up and defend our land against the invaders”.
Vanguard News Nigeria
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