By Adadainfo
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has urged the Nigerian Army to exhibit best practices in handling insecurity in South East.
Ohanaeze made the request through its national publicity secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, when the GOC commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, paid Ohanaeze a condolence visit following the death of its president general, Amb George Obiozor, on Wednesday.
According to Ohanaeze, “The insecurity peculiar to the Igbo can be classified into two broad categories: the Fulani Herders-Farmers clash, kidnappings and most recently, the invasion and occupation of Igbo ancestral communities.
“The second one is youth agitations which have degenerated into IPOB, ESN, Unknown Gun Men, etc. Importantly, agitations are mostly a chain of prolonged bottled emotions seeking expressions in diverse ways.
“So while the former requires a prompt, aggressive and decisive counter security operations, the latter requires tact, diplomacy and elements of nation building. This is because one has economic and expansionist motivations while the other is driven by the natural irrepressible human aspirations or yearnings to attain full potentials in life.
“Invariably, the various forms of restiveness in the South East are simply the manifestations or the effects of orchestrated relative deprivations.
“Therefore, in handling these matters as they surely arise, it is necessary to exhibit the highest degree of empathy, humane considerations, global best practices and permissible military public relations.”
The GOC, Major General Umar Thama Musa, in his condolence, described Prof Obiozor’s death as a monumental loss for Ndigbo and the nation at large.
According to him, “Our mood was that of sorrow and depression knowing that a hero and custodian of the culture and tradition of Ndigbo is no more.
“He was a true Nigerian and an exceptional diplomat who has contributed positively in nation building and has represented Nigeria well in the international community.
“His exit will create a huge vacuum amongst the good people of South-East Nigeria and indeed the entire nation in general. His intellectual prowess, ingenuity and professionalism in handling both national and international issues was really impressive and he will highly be missed by all.”
