The insecurity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria is getting worse. The level of violence over there keeps getting worse with each passing day. Anambra state used to be one of the most secure states in the Southeast and in Nigeria. The so-called unknown gun man is running wild. Southeasterners are now sitting at home every Monday even though a faction of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have called off Monday sit at home order they promulgated earlier. It appears that a faction of IPOB do not agree with the cancellation of the order and are still enforcing it. The result is that Southerners are afraid to come out of the homes on Mondays. The cumulative impact of all these is that the region’s economy will gradually collapse if this disruption continues for extended period. When it comes to economies everything is inter-related. A person who cannot work cannot make money to pay their rent or buy food. The property owner and the trader who depends on that expenditure cannot afford to meet their expenses and pay their rent and the cycle will keep churning until everything collapses. Very soon companies will start relocating from Southeast to better secure regions.
IPOB just issued another one week stay at home order from November 5th to November 10th even though Anambra Gubernatorial election was scheduled to take place on November 6th, 2021. This will ensure that insecurity will worsen, and they may be a blood bath on election day. The federal government is adamant that election must hold but IPOB is saying no. The election should hold. Anambra citizens will be the loser when the dust settles. The grass suffers when elephants fight.
With all the chaos in the Southeastern region, the federal attorney general, Mr. Malami stated recently that the federal government is considering imposing state of emergency in Anambra state before the upcoming gubernatorial election. He also suggested few days ago that the Federal government should send fighter Tuscano jets to Anambra state.
Attorney general of the nation cannot continue to make such statements since it is tantamount to pouring gasoline on fire. His utterances are certainly ideas that must have been discussed within the executive branch. The idea of declaring state of emergency in Anambra state and removing the state governor is extremely dangerous. It will backfire big time. Anambra indigenes will not accept and will not cooperate with whoever is appointed military administrator of Anambra state. It is very unlikely that military force will solve the ongoing disturbance and insecurity in the Southeast. Political marginalization and lack of equity, justice and fairness is the primary reason for the problem in the Southeastern Nigeria. It is the reason IPOB has some support in the region. Whoever is appointed military administrator will quickly realize that he or she cannot function and will be powerless to stop -the violence. I am glad that president Buhari disassociated himself from Mr. Abubakar Malami statement.
Another thing the federal government should not do is to impose an All-Progressive Congress (APC) candidate on the people of Anambra state via a sham gubernatorial election. The federal government may think that having a friendly state governor will help them take care of the dismal security situation in Anambra state. That too will make the situation worse. Unpopular government cannot garner enough support to do much. Most of Anambra citizens will discard orders from him or her. Support for IPOB will quadruple if such scenario takes place.
Problem in the Southeast cannot be solved by military force. Most Nigerian must muster the courage to make Southerners feel less politically marginalized. Presidency of Igbo extraction will be the quickest way to solve this problem. No Igbo man or woman will ever talk of marginalization after 4 or 8 years of an Igbo presidency. Nigeria can survive and even thrive under and after 4 or 8 years of an Igbo presidency. The fact that an Igbo man has not been an executive president of Nigeria is appalling. It is not due to lack of trying.
United State of America made considerable effort and elected Southerners as president after American brutal civil war to give the South a sense of belonging and to promote reconciliation between the north and South. That act of good will did achieve intended result. No serious person in the United States today is talking about secession. The division in United States today is based mostly on governing ideology between the two major political parties. Nigeria can do the same and achieve similar result. Whatever has to be done to secure unity of Nigeria should be done quickly before it is too late. Nigeria is becoming ungovernable. I have never seem this type of chaos and insecurity in Nigeria in my life time except during the civil war. If rotational presidency is necessary to give all regions of Nigeria a sense of belonging, that should be done. Every region in Nigeria has capable people that can lead Nigeria.