For some months now, tension has heightened in the South East and parts of the South South geo-political zones.

The tension is owing to the activities of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its security outfit, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).

The groups were accused by the Federal Government of being responsible for the burning down of government facilities, killing of policemen and other security agents in the area.

Only last week they were accused of being behind the murder of Dr Chike Akunyili, the husband of the late former Minister for Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili, at Umuoji in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday evening.

That is in addition to the burning of some private residencies of some individuals in the area, including the touching of the house of the Imo State Governor, Chief Hope Uzodinmma, in his Awo Omuma country home.

The allegation by the Federal Government and its agencies in alliance with some state governments in the zone, led to the killing of many Igbo youths in the melee that followed. Several youths branded members of IPOB or ESN have been mowed down by security agents in the area in rather controversial circumstances.

While the government claimed to have killed IPOB members and commanders of ESN, allegations of extrajudicial killings are rife, with many saying that the security agents are killing, maiming and destroying at their whim. We had expected that the arrest and detention of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, by the government would have brought some sanity to the zones. But it appears things are not improving.

The number of security agencies on the roads, searching, frisking and harassing innocent citizens in the name of looking for IPOB/ESN members has not abetted.

On the stretch of the Aba- Owerri road alone, there are no fewer than 30 checkpoints manned by soldiers, policemen, Civil Defence Corps, the Federal Road Safety Corps and many other agencies of government. Incidentally, while some are on the road to search for criminals, others are on a bazaar, extorting commercial drivers and other motorists.

While we acknowledge that there is need to curtail the activities of the separatists, we do not think that stopping ordinary citizens from moving freely is good for the zone.

Already, businesses and other concerns in the area are suffering collateral damage as a result of the face-off between the government and the group. Every Monday now for the last couple of months, people have been frightened into staying indoors, while vehicles have been damaged and business and other activities grounded, owing to a sit-at-home order by IPOB to South Easterners over the continued detention of Kanu by the Federal Government.

This has been a recurring event in the zone, leaving us to wonder who is in charge of the states – IPOB or the elected state governors. It is very clear that governments in the East have lost control of their states to Kanu and his supporters.

Otherwise, how can the people of the region obey Kanu and IPOB against the directives of the government and even the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo? We believe that it is a very worrying sign that needs to be addressed by leaderships at all levels in the South East.

That would also exculpate the governors and leaders of the area from the blames that might follow the activities of the group. Can we say for sure that governors of the area do not control what happens in their states?

Is it safe to say that IPOB has become more powerful than state governments in the area, such that their words supersede those of the states’ elected chief executives? We are worried that sadly, governors of the zone have become lame ducks in the unfolding scenario.

We recall that around 2006, when Nigeria held its last population census, the then Ralph Uwazurike-led Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had played the same role IPOB is playing now.

MASSOB actively discouraged South Easterners from participating in the exercise. The result is still showing today as the region has turned out to be the least populous of the six regions in the country.

Sadly, after Kanu toppled him for lack of transparency and formed IPOB, Uwazurike appears to have seen the light and is back to Nigeria. But the damage he did to the South East is still hurting the zone till date. It was a similar scenario with registration of voters in the region then. We have no doubt that many people in the zone are disenchanted with President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

That is ostensibly because of the lopsided appointments of the administration, its actions and inactions against the zone. But we can conveniently state that Buhari has a fixed tenure that would end on May 29, 2023. On that day, the Buhari administration would become history like others that came before it. That is the beauty of democracy.

But can we say that the havoc being wreaked on the South East by IPOB will stop with Buhari?

The answer is a big no! That is because the economic loss, the figures and facts that are being accumulated now, will haunt the region, even after Buhari has left office. Talk of self-destruction.

That is why we strongly believe that by whatever means possible, governors and leaders of the zone have a serious job in their hands to stop the secessionist group and re-orientate their people towards working for the greater good of all.

We do not believe that there are no leaders that can talk to the activists in the region.

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