HE IS AN IGBO HATER – OHANAEZE

By NBF News

The Igbo apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has described Senate President, David Mark as hater of Ndigbo for calling for a state of emergency to be declared in the South East.

Arising from an emergency meeting in Lagos on Thursday, the President of the Lagos State Chapter of the organisation, Chief Oliver Akubueze said that declaring state of emergency in the region was unnecessary as there was no breakdown of law and order.

He said while Ohanaeze was strongly opposed to the issue of kidnapping, the Senate president went too far in his recommendation.

Akubueze said the issue of kidnapping had become a national problem and that Federal and State governments should collaborate to eradicate it.

His words: 'We, the members of Ohanaeze, condemn in its entirety the statement by Senate President that state of emergency should be declared in the South East geo-political zone because of the issue of kidnapping. While we strongly condemn the spate of kidnapping, we reject the call by David Mark because there is certainly no reason for that. There is no breakdown of law and order in the region.

There is no violence. Then what is the reason for the call for the state of emergency? As a statesman, David Mark should be above playing to the gallery or making statements that have the capacity to provoke anger in a people that has been managing themselves with fortitude.'

Akubueze noted that kidnapping was not peculiar to the Igbo as it is a national phenomena.

According to him, David Mark should come out in the open to declare his mind about the people of the region instead of hiding under kidnapping to make hate statements, adding that on several occasions there had been breakdown of law and order in the other parts of the country and he did not call for state of emergency.

Contributing, the leader of the Igbo in Ikeja, Eze Uche Dimgba expressed disappointment at the call by the senate president.

According to him, Igbo leaders were cooperating with law enforcement agencies to fish out the bad eggs in the region. Eze Dimgba said from origin, the Igbos were not known as kidnappers, adding that the state of the economy and the utter neglect of the region in terms of federal presence contributed to the crime in the region

He said David Mark should ask himself from his days in the military up till now, how many projects, federal governments had cited in the South East.

'David Mark is one of the problems of the South East region. When we talk of marginalization, his name is very conspicuous. We have not forgotten some of his statements as a military officer and a minister of communication. However, I know that Nigerians now know better. We are against kidnapping and we are having sleepless nights over it but it is only a hater of Ndigbo that can call for a state of emergency because there is simply no reason for it. When people are being killed like fowls in the other regions, what did he say? Was he sleeping then and is just waking up.'