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It is with a deep sense of responsibility that I welcome all of us to this meeting. For me it is a great honour and privilege to play host to my brother Governors from the south east and the security heads from the zone at this novel, yet very important meeting on the security challenges in the south east.
Let me profoundly thank my brother Governors for obliging me with their esteemed presence at this summit, on my humble invitation. I feel truly honoured by your presence and I want to say thank you very much for coming. Please feel at home
I know that many of us may be wondering what this summit is all about and why Owerri, Imo State. Let me say here that I initiated the idea of this meeting. Thereafter, I sought and obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to host the meeting.
Now given the recent spate of security breaches in the south east zone, and given also the wild conspiracy theories about several terrorist attacks in different parts of the south east, I was minded to convene the meeting as a necessary forum to find a common response to the security challenges assailing the zone.
I also felt that it was necessary for the leadership of the zone to use the auspicious occasion of such a summit to dispel some of the wild conspiracy theories, making the rounds on the motive of the attacks, particularly the politically and maliciously motivated one that posits that the South east states are at war with the federal government.
Let me also make it clear that the coal city of Enugu remains the regional capital of the south east. The hosting of this summit here in Owerri is not by anyway an attempt to undermine the status of Enugu as our capital, but a product of a chain of exigencies. With the recent barrage of attacks in Owerri and Imo State, I was convinced that the presence of the heads of security agencies in the south east in Imo State will positively impact the psychology of our people and boost their confidence in the ability of government to protect them.
Secondly, the heads of the security agencies by coming physically to Imo State will also have the opportunity for a firsthand acquaintance with the Imo terrain in readiness for the unified security response that this meeting envisages. More importantly, I believe that for firsthand knowledge of the south east geographical terrain by the security heads, this meeting should be rotatory, beginning from Imo State.
Having said this, the Igbo adage that the toad does not run in the daytime for nothing aptly captures the urgency that informs our gathering here on a Sunday, a day we should be resting in our respective homes. I believe the reason for this summit is therefore compelling and cogent. The need to urgently seek ways to tackle the recent security challenges assailing all parts of Igboland cannot be over emphasized.
As the saying goes, uncommon challenges demand uncommon initiatives. Or better still as the Igbo adage will say, Anu mgbata ajo oso, abganyere ya ajo egbe (when an animal runs dangerously, the hunter must shoot dangerously too) Chinue Achibe also captured it succinctly when he said that if Eleke the bird flies without perching, the hunter must also shoot without missing.
From the killings in Ebonyi and Enugu States to the murder of security personnel in Abia and Anambra and the bombings of the Imo State police command headquarters and Owerri Correctional services, the statement is made loud and clear: We are confronted by a hydra-headed monster that must be tamed with a sense of urgency, through a creative seamless synergy by the south east states, strong enough to outwit the cowardly, yet daring onslaught from merchants of carnage against our people and our institutions of authority.
While I will not easily subscribe to the school of thought that believes that the South east is under siege, I will readily agree that since the end of the civil war, Ndigbo has not witnessed such a monumental existential challenge as the one now staring us in the face. The question of how we came to this sorry state is no longer necessary. What matters now is how to get out of it fast enough and how to secure the zone from further harassment by militants and terrorists, and free our people from the accompanying fear and panic; they are forced to live with in the aftermath of the mindless attacks.
This is the agenda for this summit and it is one task that we must accomplish together or forever live with the shame that under our watch militants overwhelmed our constituted authority and subjected our people to a state of perpetual fear and trembling.
Following Monday's attacks in Owerri and the preceding ones in various parts of the south east, many people have come up with varying degrees of theories concerning the motive of the attackers and its consequences on our people. The most ridiculous of these theories is the one that posits that Igbo no longer want to be part of Nigeria hence their belligerence and predilection for war and violence.
Nothing can be further from the truth. Perhaps that is the intendment of these merchants of violence across Igboland. But that is a wicked and malicious conspiracy theory, concocted by enemies of Ndigbo. Let us therefore in one voice declare here and now that the South east is not at war with the federal government. If anything, we are on the same page in not only condemning terrorism anywhere in Nigeria but in fighting same with all the arsenals at our behest.
Like I have propounded time after time, Igbos are not at war with anyone neither is anyone at war with Ndigbo. The fact of the matter is that Igbos are the highest stakeholders in Nigeria. In most cities in Nigeria outside Igboland, our people constitute the second largest in population, after the indigenes of the state. Our people have more stakes in real estate in virtually all the major cities in the country. Our people control the commanding heights of commerce all over the country. So who has more stakes in Nigeria than the Igbo? As I said at a different forum recently, no sane man will urinate into a well he and his family drink from. I know for sure that Igbos are wise enough to know that.
What Ndigbo wants is justice, equity and fairness. A Nigeria that provides a level playing ground for all citizens. That is what we want, not Biafra. And we believe we can get what we want through constructive and tenacious engagement with fellow Nationals and relevant institutions, not by violence or war. Igbos have seen war, not in storybooks or in movies but real war. No right-thinking Igbo, who experienced the excruciating and devastating effects of the civil war on Igboland and our people, will vote for another war. The young and inexperienced may zealously want to beat the drumbeat of war, but it is our duty, as their parents and elders to talk them out of it.
Those creating the erroneous impression that Igbos want to leave Nigeria are either naive or mischievous. Igbos need Nigeria just like Nigeria and Nigerians need Igbos.
We also have those who see what is happening as a dress rehearsal for 2023. The motive here is to create again an erroneous impression that Igbos are not united and therefore unfit to produce the next president of the country. This again begs the question. I don't think there is any ethnic group in Nigeria that is as united as Ndigbo. We all can't be in the same political party just like other ethnic groups are not in one political party. In fact, we, the Igbo, are more united than any other ethnic nationality in Nigeria, through our shared struggles, our chequered history and our deep-rooted extended family traditions and brotherhood. These values make our belief and commitment to a united Nigeria beyond reproach.
Therefore we should jettison these conspiracy theories and treat this security threat purely for what it is. As a region, there is an absolute need for us to collaborate and work out a solution. Like our people say when we urinate together it foams.
Besides, security does not belong to a political party. It concerns everyone equally, no matter the political party. Therefore as leaders, I think we must put politics aside and fight a common enemy; the threat to our security and safety. Any politician that seeks to gain political capital out of a security challenge must be a descendant of Satan himself, whose stock in trade is to profit from the agony of the human race. We must put our heads together in one accord and give all at our behest to safeguard Igboland from terrorists and mindless militants.
In the same token, the security agencies in the zone need to work together through intelligence gathering and sharing. For me, intelligence is key to fighting crime. To this end, the envisaged new south east collective security programme must include well-oiled and regular machinery for intelligence gathering and sharing. The process will require new technology and must be faultless and impregnable.
Equally, our security chiefs should let us, the stakeholders, know their logistics constraints and how we can assist them to surmount those challenges. From logistics to equipment and technology, they should come up with a comprehensive list of what they need to ensure that never again shall the south east zone be a theatre of mindless brigandage and terrorism.
Yes, security is not what is to be discussed in the open, yet we must however open ourselves to honest debate on how best to tackle this challenge. Igwebuike (Unity is Strength) should be our guide as we move to reclaim our land from bandits and terrorist
So what do we hope to achieve with this summit? I dare say quite a lot, to wit:
1. To make a bold, unequivocal statement that we strongly condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria; south east, north east or anywhere.
2. To make it absolutely clear that we are not working at cross purposes with the federal government, with respect to security challenges in the country. But that instead we are on the same page with the centre in the resolute resolve to fight terrorist and bandits to finish.
3. That the political leadership in the south east are determined to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone.
4. That to achieve this, all the relevant stakeholders in the south east, the political class, the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia are resolved to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five south east states to ensure total success in the fight against crime.
5. That the heads of all the security agencies in the south east have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone.
6. That to fast track crime busting in the south east, the heads of security agencies will draw up a comprehensive list of their logistics and material needs for sustainable success in the fight against criminality, for the immediate provision by the leadership of the south east.
My esteemed brother Governors, Distinguished security heads and special guests, I believe that if we achieve this at this meeting we would have laid a solid foundation for success in our resolve to urgently reverse the security narrative in the south east. I also think that there is a need to set up a joint committee of security personnel, political and civil leaders to coordinate and monitor the implementation of whatever we agree here today
On this note, I want to thank all of you for your attention. I wish all of us very fruitful deliberations.
Thank you all and may God grant you journey mercies back to your respective stations.
Sen. Hope Uzodimma
Governor, Imo State
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