By Uche Aguoru
I have carefully investigated the unfortunate incident that led to the slaughter of unarmed Igbo youths on Sunday the 23rd of August 2020, and I strongly condemn without hesitation the killing of unarmed IPOB members in Enugu for no other offence other than holding a meeting.
While I am not in support of any unlawful gathering since the Federal government deployed the supremacy of the law to proscribe IPOB and declare it a terrorist organization either wrongly or rightly, It is barbaric, condemnable, unacceptable, uncivil, crude, wicked and devoid of any atom of acceptable standards locally and internationally to use lethal weapon on unarmed and harmless youths for whatever reason/s.
I had expected the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces to direct those bullets and energy used in felling 21 unarmed youths in Emene, Enugu to the fight against Bokoharam or even rescue southern Kaduna residents who are being killed daily by insurgents.
Every Igbo Man/Woman irrespective of political standing should stand up in protest and condemn this unprovoked killings of our brothers right here in the heart of Igbo land. Truth be told what has laid the basis for the renewed aggressiveness and re-energized odyssey for self-determination leading to a large number of Igbo youths identifying with IPOB is chronic and worsening poverty, entrenched and intensifying inequality, humiliating display of extreme wealth by politicians in a society where majority of its citizens are living in abject impoverishment, perceived marginalization of the Igbos and pervasive sense of impunity in the context of egregious human rights abuses by Nigerian security personnel including lopsided make up of service chiefs and presidential appointments under the present government.
How can I explain to my children that during my time that BOKO HARAM, globally identified as the 2nd most dangerous terrorist group in the world whose members have carried out heinous crimes against humanity such as mass murdering, arson, suicide bombing, rape, kidnapping of women and children and threatening the peace and security of the entire nation is being pampered by the federal government to the point of sending some of the returned terrorists abroad and paying them to further their education while some hapless youths whose only crime is holding a meeting is hacked down by the bullets meant to protect them, why is it that up until this minute no Fulani herdsman despite the wanton killings and bloodletting being perpetrated by them daily have been prosecuted or their acts condemned by the authorities despite some people coming public to own up and defend such actions each time it happens.
While I plead with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra to stop inciting our youth population unto death from a cozy, comfortable and peaceful distance, the federal government should avoid the use of brutal force and instruct the security agencies not to deploy maximum force in dealing with IPOB members.
Truth is nobody believes in this country called Nigeria even the ruling class, until the brazen injustice being served to the south eastern partition of this country is addressed no matter how many or how often you kill IPOB members they cannot be deterred but rather much more energized and determined to pursue their belief taking cognizance of the fact that the United Nations General Assembly recognizes the struggle for Self-determination as a legitimate right of a people.
Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia
