The Chairman of Southeast Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi rubbished the security outfit set up by the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Nnamdi Kanu, in a statement released a few weeks ago, said IPOB launched the security outfit because of the failure of the governors in the Southeast and South-South region.
He accused the governors of sleeping over what he called the mass killings of the people of the area.
He said, “Having waited for many years for our governors to secure our land as Yoruba governors did to no avail, we, the people of the East comprising of South- East and South-South have resolved to defend our land from the ravages of terrorism and extrajudicial killings.
“We can’t allow what happened in Obigbo to repeat itself. It has fallen on this generation to defend our land against the ravages of Fulani terrorism and the hegemonic tendencies.
“For years, our mothers have not been able to visit their farms for fear of being raped and cut to pieces. Our invaders, some of them from Sene-Gambia, are in our villages raping and killing at will.
“Delta State Government has inaugurated Operation Delta Hawk, a new security outfit in the classic fragmented approach of the East to issues of national importance.
“The West were united in their effort to combat terrorism in their territory, even Miyetti Allah, had the guts to float a vigilante outfit the spread to every nook and cranny of Nigeria with the support of the Presidency and northern governors.
“But in our land, governors in the East cowardly allowed themselves to become fragmented out of fear of displeasing their masters.
“I present to the world our first and last line of defence, the Eastern Security Network to bring to an end years of terrorism in our land.
However, Umahi, who spoke with The Vanguard over the weekend, described IPOB’s security outfit as laughable.
The governor urged the public to ignore the outfit, adding that the region remains safest in Nigeria.
Umahi said, “Our region remains the safest, and nobody can deny this. And so, our brother said he had formed a security outfit for the southeast. It is very laughable and should be ignored. I commend the southeast governors very highly. It is only the southeast that the leaders are being criticized openly.
“The governors must protect the lives of the citizens and also the citizens of other regions living in their states that are not from the southeast.
“I want them to ignore the side distractions. They are doing a lot in the education of our people, payment of salaries, infrastructure development, and most especially the security of our people.
“No governor will come open to tell you A to Z of what he is doing about security. But I want it to be debated whether the southeast is not the safest in the country. We need to warn that our youths should desist from being engaged for the destruction of lives and property.”
He added, “Whether we like it or not, we are confronting global challenges, and Nigeria is not an exception. So, we thank God for the courage, ability, and the health God gave our president to steer the ship of our nation in a very challenging time like this.”

By Michael Adesina