The Former Nigeria Ambassador to Spain, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, has re-echoed the call for the release of Mr Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Ojukwu affirmed that “once he (Kanu) is set free, the security situation in the South-East would greatly improve.”
The ambassador made the call on Thursday in an address during the American Veterans of of Igbo Descent (AVID) it’s annual conference which took place at Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; which was made available to newsmen in Enugu.
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Stand Up for Your People”, which reflected largely on the issues facing the Igbo homeland, most especially the insecurity which has enveloped several SouthEastern States.
Ojukwu, who is the wife of late Biafra Leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, also noted the need for Igbo people in Diaspora to continue to uphold and defend their core values, sense of identity and heritage.
She said that their concerns about the security situation in the South-East are justified, adding that “this was not only limited to the South-East, but a scourge ravaging most states in Nigeria.”
The ambassador called on the five state governors of the South-East to apply their collective-will and collaborate more effectively in tackling the situation.
She noted that “the state of insecurity in Igboland is posing an existential threat to life as we know it in our communities.”
According to her, the incessant killings and kidnappings, the increasing rate of annexation and takeover of community farmlands by armed herdsmen and other dangerous invaders have taken their toll on agro and economic prospects and social activities in Igbo communities.
“Opportunistic criminal elements within Igbo-land have hitched onto the separatist agitation bandwagon to commit heinous crimes, and seem to have sufficiently degraded the capabilities of security forces with their superior firepower.
“Many people are leaving their villages out of fear and once thriving communities have become depleted and devitalised and in some cases assuming the status and appearance of ghost towns,” she said.
She called on the governors of the South-East, who are the chief security officers of their states, to intensify their individual and collective efforts towards bringing the alarming situation under control.
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Speaking, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, in his address, made the point that the current state of insecurity in Igbo-land could be traced to 2021.
“This is following the arrest and illegal detention till date of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” Abaribe said.
The senator wondered why the South-East remained the zone with the highest number of police and army checkpoints per kilometer in Nigeria.
“Yet, the so-called unknown gunmen and sundry insecurity purveyors roam about fearlessly in Ala-Igbo causing devastation without check,” he said.
He maintained that “it is only when the government and its security agencies genuinely want to tackle insecurity that it will be severely reduced across the country.”
Other speakers at the occasion include Hon. Uche Onyeagocha, a former lawmaker and past Secretary to the Government of Imo State; business mogul, Chief Kingson Njoku and Haitian Senator Jean Charles Moise among others.
President of the Veterans Association, Dr Sly Onyia, announced that AVID is presently working on establishing a direct flight from the United States of America to the South-East.
High points of the event were a banquet, speeches and award presentations that culminated at the appointment of Amb. Ojukwu as the Patroness of the AVID.
The AVID, a not-for-profit veteran organisation, is composed of American citizens of Igbo parentage who are currently serving or who honorably served in various branches of the United States military at different times, in different conflicts and theatres of war.
