Rising from a meeting in Enugu on Saturday June 19, 2021 the South eastern governors forum unequivocally condemned the activities of “violent secessionist groups’’ in the region and other parts of the country.
In a communiqué released after the meeting the forum pledged its commitment to a united Nigeria, saying that the impression created that South east leaders were silent about secessionist agitations in the region were not true.
In doing this, they have followed the commendable footsteps of their South west counterparts who issued a similar statement after their recent meeting in Lagos.
The statement came as welcome relief to the nation following the spate of targeted attacks at security personnel and destruction of government buildings by gunmen whose unmistakable intention is in furtherance of their agitation for the secession of the south east region from the country.
Although it was the wish of many that the statement from the South east Governors should have come earlier, especially when the attacks had taken a frightening dimension almost on a daily basis, it is still a positive development. Since the statement was released it has become noticeable that the attacks are petering out and normalcy is gradually being restored to the region.
For coming out to make this statement boldly and emphatically the South eastern governors deserve our commendation. But a lot more needs to be done.
The Governors should go beyond words to act constructively towards reassuring Nigerians from other parts of the country who had to flee the region following the targeted attacks on them by the criminal elements that their lives and livelihoods are guaranteed. Those who lost their properties to the activities of these groups should be compensated as part of the moves towards reassuring them that they are free to live anywhere in Nigeria as enshrined in the constitution.
We note that the attacks on security personnel and government institutions may have been intended to achieve the effect of making the people of the region to lose confidence in the ability of the security institutions to safeguard lives and property. This is in order to allow the criminal elements a free reign to perpetrate their activities on defenceless law abiding citizens of the region. This is clearly unacceptable.
In this regard the governors must also work with the security institutions stationed in the region to identify and bring the perpetrators of these dastardly acts to Justice. We urge a thorough investigation into this and those found guilty no matter their status should be punished according to the provisions of the law.
The lessons that we need to draw from all these is that we have come a long way as Nigerians having integrated in many ways. In the desire to pursue our individual and group interests, we must always be mindful of this fact. It therefore behoves on us to seek peaceful and democratic means in seeking redress for whatever grievances we may have rather than resorting to violence which will certainly be counterproductive.
