…Says it may be another gathering of ‘Ebubeagu’ proponents

…Wants govs to have say in posting of security chiefs to zone

By Steve Oko

International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, has expressed doubts over the effectiveness of the proposed South East Security and Economic Summit slated for Owerri on Friday, in proffering solution to the insecurity plaguing the zone.

The group in a terse press statement issued Tuesday, said it was afraid that the summit might be another gathering of similar summit in 2021 that eventually gave birth to the controversial Ebubeagu regional security outfit .

In the statement jointly signed by the Board Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi; Head, Democracy and Good Governance, Chinwe Umeche, and Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, the group alleged that the host and venue of the summit had integrity test.

“The choice of Owerri and the Chief Host of the summit are morally questionable.  Like that of 2021 that culminated into launching of the “Ebubeagu Security arrangement in April 2022 which turned to be  friendly to the South-East enemies and unfriendly to the defenseless citizens and properties of the region,  the outcome of the 2023 South-East Governors’ Security and Economic Summit, will most likely  end up being a mere ‘talk-show’ or ‘grammar blowing arena’ or ‘an effort in futility and another wasting of public funds”, the statement read in part.

The group claimed that it derived its pessimism from several observations contained in its earlier investigate report on “Imo Mass Atrocities, dated May 21, 2023.”

Intersociety decried the rising insecurity in the zone, warning that South-East is inches away from collapsing into “Hobbesian state of nature”.

“Apart from the fact that no meaningful economic growth and development will take place under an atmosphere of grisly and egregious insecurity and other unsafe conditions as in the case of the present South-East particularly Imo State; there are no semblances of accountable governance”, it said.

“As a matter of fact, the Region is inches away from collapsing into ‘the Hobbesian State of Nature’ where life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”. That is to say that in the South-East, all the fundamental essences of limited governance has been uprooted and services meant to be rendered to the original owners of the civil limited government and governance bastardized and pushed back to them.

“The South-East peoples’ self-development ingenuities have also been bastardized and uprooted by those in charge of their public governances.”

According to Intersociety, South-East is still under the clutches of primitive security and development.

Continuing, it said: “Apart from public governances having been reduced to squander-mania, sycophancy, propaganda, falsehood, corruption and brigandage at individual state level; there are no iotas of ‘collective or joint regional development plans or policies and actions by the South-East Governors.

“Such ambitious regional development would have seen the construction of the likes of the “South-East Mega Expressway” with capacity of linking all the five South-East States and exits,  and entrances into and out of the Region connected thereto.

” It is saddening and a mockery that the Jihadist Fulani herdsmen know the shortest routes connecting the five South-East States than the five South-East Governors since 2015.

“The Jihadist Fulani herdsmen have for long remotely identified shortest bush and footpath routes through which they abduct, hold captive and move their South-East non Muslim captives around the five South-East States in less than four days and return their captives to the South-East Triangle where Enugu, Abia, Imo and Anambra meet from where they are killed or raped alive or raped to death or extorted and left alive with bruises or half dead.”

The group decried endemic cluelessness among leaders in the zone which is stalling development of the zone.

“The elusive joint South-East mega projects include shortening and reducing the distance between traveling from Awka to Enugu’s Ninth Mile/Capital City to less 20 kilometers with a new dual carriageway between Amansea/Ebenebe and Olo/Eke (Nigerian Breweries/Ninth Mile); or shortening the route between South-East State of Anambra and Rivers Wharf (less than 2 hours journey) through a Bridge and dualization of Atani-Ogwuikpere Road to link Ogbaru and Ndoni in Rivers State; or shortening the route between the South-East State of Anambra and Kogi/FCT with a dualized Road Anam River Bridge and Kogi/FCT; or a railway project linking the five South-East States with a major terminal at the South-East Triangle; or a “South-East Unity International Airport” to be cited or located around the South-East Triangle where Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi meet.”

 The group further tasked South East Governors on joint development projects to fast track development in the region.

“With the level of self-development ingenuities in the South-East Region or Igbo Land, the South-East Governors, individually and collectively, are long expected to have undertaken millennium projects such as flyovers and underground roadway and railway tunnel projects, towers, botanic gardens and forest reserves, state-of-art amusement parks, stadia, seaports, freedom squares, mega markets, artisans’ corners and skill acquisition centers with free interest loans.

“Others are the likes of unity hospitals, unity schools including a state-of-art South-East University and unity water schemes including dams and lakes with state-of-art hotels and recreational facilities attached. In ensuring all of the above, possible defense of “lack of available public funds” is indefensible because the Governors have been wasting billions on frivolities and irrelevancies including wasteful lifestyles and maddening acquisition of moveable and immoveable private properties.

“The billions wasted on “monthly security votes” for six months by the Govs, for instance, can build a “Unity Expressway” linking the five South-East States.

Intersociety argued that South East Governors should be allowed to have a say over security chiefs being posted to their states.