For the first time since the 2023 general elections, the five Governors of the South-East geopolitical zone, met last week in the Lion Building, Government House of Enugu State, to explore solutions towards resolving the insecurity in the region.

Apart from the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Senator Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State and newcomers – Dr. Alex Otti of Abia, Dr. Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State – were in attendance. The main focus of their meeting was the pall of insecurity hanging over the zone for the past seven years, and the need to create a better economic future for the people.

The South-East has become a hotbed of armed separatist groups, including the Eastern Security Network, ESN, formed by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, to protect the people from armed Fulani herdsmen invaders. The armed herdsmen, who have become the foremost terrorist network in Nigeria after the decimation of Boko Haram, operate hundreds of camps in South-East forests, making farming activities unsafe.

Also, many ESN cells have turned rogue. Coupled with the menace of the faceless Unknown Gunmen and other sponsored mercenary groups deployed to make life hellish for law-abiding citizens, the South-East is in need of special efforts to restore peace and order.

The most troubling security challenge of the zone is the menace of the “sit-at-home” armed enforcers who frequently pop up, apparently out of nowhere to harass, kill and maim those who defy their illegal order. Since IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested and detained in June 2021, the separatists have forced the people to boycott economic activities on Mondays.

Though IPOB claims to have cancelled the “order”, some of its factions still enforce very prolonged and punitive sit-at-home directives with firearms. This has crippled economic activities and even affected the educational development of the zone. Some of the governors have been taking steps to halt the reign of terror in their states. For instance, Governor Otti recently launched “Operation Crush” with brand-new security vehicles and gadgets for the security agencies. The same is true of Anambra and Imo states.

However, beyond these individual efforts, we call on the Governors, the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and relevant Igbo leaders and elders to look beyond the surface and address the root causes of the insecurity. The marginalisation that intensified under the Muhammadu Buhari regime, which stoked separatism, has not abated.

Factionalisation of separatist groups, negative influences of extremist diaspora elements and the possible involvement of politically-motivated, externally-sponsored agents of terror must be considered. Unless these other factors are addressed, mere continuation of the same old security “operations” could remain a waste of time and resources.

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