The Abia State government's Commendable Move to Convert Fulani Terror Den In Lokpanta To a Non-residential Market Square

 The Abia State government's Commendable Move to Convert Fulani Terror Den In Lokpanta To a Non-residential Market Square Alex Otti The ...

 The Abia State government's Commendable Move to Convert Fulani Terror Den In Lokpanta To a Non-residential Market Square

Alex Otti

The Abia State government's Commendable Move to Convert Fulani Terror Den In Lokpanta To a Non-residential Market Square

The Governor Otti's administration of Abia State government has taken a drastic step towards enhancing security and curtailing the reign of notorious Fulani Killer Herdsmen terror in the state and environs. The recent initiative of Governor Alex Otti with regards to the cattle market in lokpanta, which has long been a hub for abductions, Surprise attack on unsuspecting travellers plying through the Lokpanta-Umunneochi-Uturu Connexion, is an applaudable decision. Although the resolve has expectedly drawn criticism from certain quarters, it is wise because the scandalous Fulani Herdsmen situates their operational bases inside that cattle market. 

It is important to highlight that the menace of these Killer Herdsmen who have plagued the Southeast region for years, using lokpanta as a springboard for expansion, was actively enabled by Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia state (1999-2007) and current Senator for Abia North Senatorial district. Kalu for his selfish political ambitions sacrificed the ancestral land belonging to the Indigenous people, to these festering Cattle open grazers from the Sahel, to inhabit without checkmate or regulation. 

However, for many, especially the law-abiding citizens/Indigenes living in this axis, who are first-class victims of these terror campaign, this move symbolizes a gleam of hope on the horizon. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has long voiced concerns about the activities that have plagued Lokpanta and the surrounding areas, and had on certain occasions stepped in through the Vigilante group under her Command – Eastern Security Network(ESN), to intervene against these terrorists. These concerns about the "Fulani Herdsmen terrorism threat" which has been blatantly ignored by the political class in the Eastern region, is now fortunately acknowledged by Otti's government.

Nevertheless, the aftermath of this decisive action led to sharp criticism targeting the State Governor himself, accusing him of forceful eviction of the Northern Community from the state, through this policy. But, this is far from the reality as the sole aim is simply to deny the terror perpetrators from having the luxury of operational strand for launching their terror activities against members of the public. The law-abiding citizens from the Northern Community have no problem in their sojourn in the South-East. Their local hosts naturally and culturally are imbibed with the spirit of accommodation and hospitality, thus they do not face any scourge of expulsion or segregation of any sort.

Enhancing security and protecting citizens are basic priorities of a functional government. While the successive governments at the Federal level have failed woefully at this task of securing lives and properties of citizens across the country, peripheral governments striving to mitigate the insecurity shock, should not only be roundly supported, but also appreciated. 

Hence, it is imperative that patriotic citizens, civil rights groups and other well-meaning organizations in the South East solidarises with this decision aimed at eradicating terrorism in the state and environs.

This initiative by the Otti's adminstration undoubtedly, is one of the most significant security measures taken in the past three decades, not only in the state, but in the entire Eastern region. Amongst other benefits of this move, it not only promises true and meaningful security prospects in the region, with regards to the interstate terror operations coordinated primarily from this lokpanta axis, but will also contribute to the rejuvenation of the economic liveliness in the East, and facilitate the re-industrialization of Abia State to the economic hub it has been known for, seeing security is an incentive for economic development. 

 

Chidiebere Obulose, reporting 

For Family Writers Press International