By Rev. Fr. ChukwuEmekalum Nwosu, OP.
There is a trending news that yesterday, suspected Fulani herdsmen, but Fulani terrorists, invaded Nkalaha Community in Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi. At the end of their heinous violent attack, fifteen people were left dead, and several others seriously wounded. The gruesome pictures (which I will not display here, having had running battles with Prof. Nwosu, on supposed infringements), reminds one of the kind of gruesome images that were shown after similar attacks in places like Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, etc. The patterns are the same.
There have been several warnings that these criminals will not stop their dastardly act in the North and Middlebelt but will extend their criminal atrocity to the East. The attacks at Nkalaha community demonstrates that they have gradually begun their mission of sowing seeds of terror in the SE. They have started in Ebonyi State, the underbelly of the SE, but will they stop there? Certainly not!
The attack on Nkalaha community underscores the importance of IPOB’s security outfit, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). Without the ESN the SE will soon be witnessing the kind of brutal murders that had long been taking place in the North and Middlebelt. It is always foolhardy for anyone to think he or she is immune from violence when it is happening elsewhere. Nnamdi Kanu, hate or love him, foresaw this, just like he foresaw many other things and decided to establish the ESN to secure the SE. Yet, the greatest critics of this initiative are Igbos, especially the self-centered and tunnel-visioned Igbo elites and political misleaders, who are ready to sell their entire family for few pennies. Yes, rather than rally round ESN, many of us were excoriating the outfit and questioned why anyone should establish a security outfit outside the law. I do not understand the madness that has stricken our Igbo elites and businessmen, who think only about their comfort and large business investments outside the SE.
Of course, the Igbo politicians are loathsome houseboys who outdo themselves to please their Fulani masters. Nnamdi Kanu was very right in not ever wanting to dine with them even with the longest spoon. He knew it would be like dinning with Lucifer. They would long have sold him out. He was right in despising them. He knew that these are worthless men who have no single interest of the people. Governor Umahi has been one of the SE governors that have pandered to the whims and caprices of the Fulanis, with the hope of playing the second fiddle in 2023. Under his watch 15 men were brutally slaughtered like cows. Yet, he is among those who would denounce ESN.
And what of the Obi of Onitsha? Where did he get the money to establish a security outfit? What makes the security outfit he rolled out any more legitimate than ESN? Who is the piper to whose music he is dancing? If he is so concerned about the security of the SE, why did he not endorse ESN? Why create a rival security outfit that will only end up causing an internal conflict in the SE, thus paving way for the Fulani invaders to have a free run over of the SE? Who is financing his security outfit? Do we blame IPOB for treating him with contempt and for threatening him? Most of our Igbo leaders or rather misleaders are utterly despicable.
I often wonder when I hear people call on the government, whether Federal or State, to deal with the threat of the Fulani invaders. I wonder if those who make such statements have their brains located in between their thighs. How can you ask the same institution that sponsors and endorses these criminals to stop them from causing havoc? Does that make sense? The stupid question some will ask is: “Do you have any evidence that the Federal Government is sponsoring them?”
What happened at Nkalaha may be the beginning of worse attacks to come. But it is not too late for the people of SE to rally round ESN and ensure that unemployed young men and women are enlisted in ESN. It is our responsibility to ensure that the ESN is well-funded and well-armed. Every Igbo man or woman should contribute financially and otherwise to the ESN. We can continue to pretend to be law abiding citizens in a lawless country and under an utterly lawless government, but that will be the end of us all.
In fact, I will even advocate that anyone who rats on ESN should have a taste of what these brutal invaders do to innocent children, women, and men. Yes, since those who think that ESN is a threat to them and their community and therefore, go on to betray them to the lawless government forces, they and their entire family should have a taste of what it means to come under the attacks of the Fulani invaders.
Finally, I have no fear or apologies, to unequivocally and publicly, express my unqualified support for the ESN, so long as they have taken on the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and properties of the people of the SE. The right to self-defense is a natural law and is consistent with every religious and spiritual value. Since the Federal and State governments have chosen to support terrorists, we the people of the SE have no option than to protect ourselves. We cannot allow foreign or local terrorists to overrun our lands and murder us both in broad daylight and under the cover of darkness. Enough is Enough.
~~Rev. Fr. ChukwuEmekalum Nwosu.
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