Say enough is enough
Attack on any Igbo soil is an attack on Nigeria—Iwuanyanwu
By Anayo Okoli, Emman Ovuakporie, Vincent Ujumadu, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Chinenyeh Ozor
As condemnations continue to trail the massacre of no fewer than 40 people of Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu by Fulani herdsmen last Monday, Igbo youths under the aegis of Ohaneze Youth Council (OYC) have given the herdsmen three days to leave Igbo land or they will be forced out.
The Igbo youths gave the herdsmen till Monday to vacate all Igboland saying enough is enough even as it was gathered that the attack by the herdsmen has forced nursing mothers, widows, children and bedridden patients from the affected communities into exile. An Igbo traditional ruler, Igwe Rowland Odegbo and Champion newspaper publisher, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu also condemned the massacre and tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Rising from an emergency meeting held in Enugu on Thursday, the Igbo youths in their communique noted that the herdsmen “are off-shoots of Boko Haram and must not be allowed any breeding ground in Igbo land. Any herdsman who fails to quit South East by Monday will have himself to blame”.
The communique was signed by the National Vice President of the group, Mazi Obinna Achuonye and the Chairmen of OYC in seven Igbo- speaking states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Imo and Rivers.
According to the communique, “never again will Igbo youths fold their arms and watch our people being massacred by blood-sucking terrorists under the guise of herdsmen. Urgent times need drastic measure. We warn all violent Fulani herdsmen to vacate our farmland, our backyards, our territories and boundaries on or before Monday next week.
“Even though Ohanaeze Ndigbo will meet over the weekend to discuss this menace, Igbo youths will not wait until our people are massacred again before we take action.
“If after Monday and the herdsmen are still around, we will direct Igbo vigilante groups set up by OYC in all the 95 Local Government Areas in South East to force them out”.
Continuing OYC said it had also uncovered plots through its intelligence unit that Ebonyi State has been marked as the next target of the rampaging herdsmen.
“We have uncovered plots that their next target is Ebonyi State. They are coming from Taraba State to attack Ebonyi. We want the Governor of Ebonyi State and all the security agents in the state to be at alert”, OYC alerted.
OYC claimed that Igbo youths were already collaborating with Ijaw youths and Middle Belt youths on how to defend their people as the Federal Government under Buhari has failed to protect them.
“Ijaw youths, and Middle Belt progressives are already waiting for the expiration of the deadline on Monday. Fulani herdsmen have pushed us to the wall, time to take action is now or never”, it warned.
Nursing mothers, widows, bedridden patients now in exile—Rep
Meanwhile, the barbaric murder of over 40 persons in Igboland by Fulani Herdsmen has forced nursing mothers, widows, children and bedridden patients in the area into exile, a member of the House of Representatives Chime Oji has said. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/enugu-massacre-leave-land-now-igbo-youths-tell-fulani-herdsmen/
