Ebonyi, Ebubeagu and the eccentricities of insecurity -By Kene Obiezu

As unbridled insecurity continues to consume vast swaths of Nigeria, the unscrupulous and unaccountable among Nigerians have finetuned a tendency to weaponize insecurity. Be it in weapons of witch hunt disguised as policies of government or tools of political propaganda designed to discredit political opponents, there is a growing tendency to use insecurity as a sweeping excuse for all manner of sheer brigandage and impunity in the name of the state security.

There is no denying that insecurity has steadily emerged as Nigeria`s most pressing challenge. For many years now, Boko Haram has pounded the Northeast, turning the region into one giant slaughter slab for Nigerian soldiers and civilians alike. While the battle has raged, bandits have set up flourishing operations in the Northwest, forcing largely agrarian communities to fund their own pain.

The Southeast used to enjoy a peace of the graveyard until IPOB, rallying under its fire-spitting leader, who now sips the silence of incarceration in Abuja, decided to forgo more peaceful methods of agitating for Biafra. Random but rampant killings and arson have since convulsed the region, greatly endangering the livelihoods of people who depend on security to fend for themselves.

Enter Ebonyi State.

Under a governor who switches political parties as much as he changes his stance on issues, the ‘weak man’ of the Southeast has retrogressed since 2015.A plenitude of reasons has contributed to this situation.

Firstly, in came by election a governor that has perfected the art of hunting with the hound and running with the hare. Elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, the governor spoke from both sides of his mouth for many years before finally swapping his party for   the ruling party. Many were left shellshocked.

 His antics have since taken on the ugliest of dimensions. In his bid to make those at the center feel warm in spite of the chill that sweeps the country, the governor has made his own people as cheap as chips. He has also been feverish in his attempts to cheapen the entire Southeast. Yet, he is the man who wants to make history by becoming the first Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.

Nigeria has a disturbing abundance of men who cannot be trusted with little things. Yet, these men, tin gods in their own enclaves where they ride roughshod over men and beasts alike, have their eyes greedily set on the big things. But the question remains whether they will be able to cope with big things given how mightily they have struggled with the little things.

Under Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB has morphed into the very monster it seeks to slay for the Southeast by pulling it out of the country. Under its foolhardy methods, insecurity has become a staple in the region just as incredulous sit-at-home orders continue to ground economic activities among a people who owe their stunning recovery from the despair of the civil war to the sheer defiance of their entrepreneurial spirit.

So, with the escalation in the activities of the IPOB, insecurity seeped into Ebonyi State, aided of course by the governor`s incendiary tough talk. The governor`s response has been the Ebubeagu outfit which is similar to Amotekun in the Southwest and its remit is to rein in the hydra that insecurity in Ebonyi has become.   

But on the back of the recent violence in parts of the state, there have been outcries that Ebubeagu has been weaponized by the state government against the opposition. If this be true and it would seem it is given the antecedents of those at the helm of affairs in the state, it would reinforce the fears many have over the creation of state police.

It is in the interest of every Nigerian that every community in Nigeria is secure for all and sundry; it is in the interest of every Nigerian that Nigerians everywhere especially in Ebonyi state are able to go about their normal activities daily without fear of attacks. However, this should not come at a cost that is rather disproportionate. If this be the case, the operations of the Ebubeagu outfit in Ebonyi state must concern Ebonyians and neutrals alike.

Already, there have been communal violence, a beheading and arbitrary arrests. The situation does not bespeak a state where security is in charge but one where chaos is only beginning.

It remains to be seen how the situation develops. But Nigerians must ask all those fomenting trouble in Ebonyi to account for their actions. They must also look keenly towards the Southeast, an outfit that is living up to its rogue reputation and a governor that is as flippant as they come.

While they do this, in a man who want to be president, Nigerians can look at the men who want to lead their country.

Kene Obiezu,

Keneobiezu@gmail.com