Igbo women under the aegis of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA) have told the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, that the insecurity ravaging the South East is not due to the presence of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but rather the activities of killer herdsmen operating in the zone.
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The CDS, during a public engagement in Omor, Anambra State, while condemning IPOB’s activities, had stated that “IPOB’s actions are detrimental not just to the South East, but to Nigeria as a whole,” and should not be supported in any form.
Gen. Musa, who was represented by Group Captain Ibrahim Bukar, further warned that the spread of unverified information “not only endangers the region but also poses a threat to national unity and peace.”
In a statement signed by its National President, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, IWA urged Gen. Musa and the Nigerian Army to instead focus on confronting the killer herdsmen displacing communities in the South East if he is genuinely committed to restoring peace to the zone. The group stressed that it is the rampaging herders, not IPOB members, who are the real threat to security in the region.
Chimezie challenged the CDS to advise the federal government to listen to the agitations of IPOB and engage the group in dialogue with a view to addressing its genuine concerns, rather than resorting to propaganda and blackmail.
The statement read:
“We want to remind Gen. Musa that IPOB members are not terrorists but our children, protesting the ill-treatment and marginalization of the South East in Nigeria. Since the civil war, the South East has been grossly marginalized by the Nigerian state.”
“From 1966, after the assassination of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, till date, no Igbo man has been President of Nigeria. Ndigbo have been severely marginalized in political appointments by successive administrations.”
“They have also been denied rightful promotions, especially those in the security agencies, which is part of the reason Igbo youths are losing interest in military recruitment. They refuse to join the military and police because they hardly get promoted compared to their colleagues from other regions. In other federal establishments, the story is the same — the South East’s quota is consistently shortchanged.”
“Our children are protesting these injustices. When they graduate like their peers from other tribes, they don’t get equal opportunities for employment. They believe they are excluded from the Nigerian structure and are protesting for inclusion and full integration. We can no longer foolishly ignore the plight of our children.”
The women also questioned the rationale behind the federal government’s policy of granting amnesty to captured terrorists while peaceful agitators like IPOB members are detained indefinitely or killed.
“Why is the federal government killing IPOB members but granting amnesty to bandits and mass murderers who continue to kill innocent citizens, including security agents? Why are our youths being killed during peaceful protests, while armed herdsmen roam our communities freely with guns?” they asked.
“Fulani herdsmen do not need AK-47 rifles in the South East because cattle rustling has never been an issue here. Their carrying of AK-47s and shooting of people shows they have an evil agenda. They do not shoot and run; they shoot and stay.”
“There have been several attacks against security agencies in the North, but how many Northern villages have been sacked in response, unlike what we witness here in the South East? Communities like Awo Idemili and Eke Ututu market in Imo State were attacked, causing mass migration of our youths out of the region.”
“If Gen. Musa truly wants to maintain peace and order in the South East, he should deploy his men to the forests to combat the killer herdsmen who are murdering our farmers and raping our women and girls,” the women demanded.
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