Enugu attack: South East monarchs, Anambra Governor in solidarity visit to Ugwuanyi …traditional rulers advise FG to disarm Fulani herdsmen

Traditional rulers in the south east zone of the country who arrived

Enugu yesterday in solidarity with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi have

called on the federal government to take immediate steps to disarm

rampaging Fulani herdsmen.
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State also visited yesterday

along with an entourage made up of the leadership of the traditional

rulers' council of his state and some members of the state executive

council also to show solidarity with the Enugu governor over the

killings at Nimbo by Fulani herdsmen, saying his government and the

people of Anambra state were solidly behind the government and people

of their sister state in this crisis.
Both groups of visitors on solidarity visits commended Governor for the

calibre of leadership he exhibited that worked to stave off further

bloody crisis in the wake of the Nimbo attack.
One of the leaders of the South East traditional rulers council and

Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, who was also on the entourage of

Governor Obiano, told the two governors that it was the view of the

monarchs that the people of the geopolitical zone should gird their

loins and not allow this kind of attack to take their people unawares

again in the future.
The chairman, South East traditional rulers council, His Royal Majesty

Eze Dr. Eberechi N. Dick who led the monarchs to government house,

Enugu urged the government to take the call for disarmament serious in

view of the danger herdsmen's menace poses to the sovereignty of the

country.

They declared that Governor Ugwuanyi showed effective leadership in

handling the recent attack on the people of Ukpabi Nimbo in Uzo Uwani

local government area by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The natural rulers thanked the governor 'for the able way and manner

you handled the matter without people taking the law into their hands'

and wished the injured ones speedy recovery.
Addressing the traditional rulers, governor Ugwuanyi said their visit

'is really very comforting and reassuring and it goes to confirm our

sense of brotherhood and the common grief that we share as a people'.

Governor Ugwuanyi also expressed immense gratitude to his Anambra

state counterpart for standing by him from the moment the attack

broke, informing that Obiano called him as soon as the incident

occurred and that his presence yesterday with a big entourage 'goes to

show the very special bond that exists between the people of Enugu and

Anambra states and the love and empathy they share among themselves.

On their call for disarming of the armed herdsmen, they stated that

'the government should as a matter of take proactive measures to avoid

such incident in the future by disarming armed herdsmen. Herdsmen

should not be allowed to carry arms apart from their traditional bows

and arrows'.
They posited that in the case of alleged coming of the grazing bill, the government should not dabble into it since cattle rearing is a

private business and that going into it would mean favouring one

section of the country.