ESN, Ebubeagu, Etcetera: Abuse And Misuse Of South East Human Capital, By Ij Onuigbo
Misuse, abuse, and gradual demise of Biafran able bodies is the Collateral damage emanating from the egoism of the south Eastern political, social, and civil leadership; and this seems to now be the order of the day. How many youths have perished from the clash of egos currently ongoing in the South East? Perhaps you can tell me because I can no longer keep count. At least every couple of days, if not daily, I find graphic photographs of maimed, and slaughtered corpses scattered on the streets of South Eastern region along with videos of burning cars and houses. The region is fast becoming a war zone comparable to Iraq before our very eyes. My people, don't you see that you have missed the mark? Can't you see that you are defeating the purpose? At the rate you are going, the working age group might all be dead by the time you get Biafra, or the potential fighters would all be disabled if not dead when you really have to go to war with the real enemy; not to mention that you are making the region more unsecure for the common people to enjoy their daily lives. Let that sink in. I hope you are getting the point.
No one can argue the fact that the leaders are incompetent and need a wake-up call. No one can argue the fact that South East Region political leadership have been failing the people, and no one can argue the fact that Nigeria needs an immediate intervention; on the other hand, majority of the stakeholders do argue and disagree about how that intervention should take place. So, the BIG problem now is that no one among the self-proclaimed and all-knowing leaders and individuals from the South East, both home and abroad, is able to coordinate and bring those majority who agree on the need for intervention to work together for a singular purpose and the greater good; that is a humongous SHAME on the Biafra people. You mean to tell me that you cannot coordinate yourselves and achieve one goal? If adults cannot coordinate themselves to act right, what do you expect from the youths?
What is happening now is consequences of disunity and lack of synchronicity and synergy which some of us were trying to prevent when we began to call for unity among the pro-Briafran groups, the various ethnic nationalities, the south Eastern politicians and the Ohaneze. There is no way that one group can decide for a whole region to separate from Nigeria. That life changing decision requires the input of all our people, so these angry people causing havoc need to understand that they are going about things wrong. Let us hope that now, the wise people among these groups can start to see the need for unity and synergy among all stakeholders. Unity of purpose among all in the region is paramount for your survival, and even much more needed to face the enemies on the outside. You are doing your enemies a big favor by the continuous killing and maiming of your own people, especially now that the Fulani terrorists are targeting the region.
None of you leaders are innocent in this matter. Governors, you constantly neglect your responsibility to protect the lives and properties of the people; and that led Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) to create his own security, ESN (Eastern Security Network), to protect the region. Let us not forget to mention the controversial unknown gunmen who are mostly responsible for the killings and arson currently happening. Some of the local town’s leadership, out of fear of the unidentified gunmen and ESN, have also created their own security; and now, you governors have created your own security - Ebubeagu. Furthermore, Kanu, you need to understand that the Biafra youths do not belong to you to do whatever you want, just because they support and follow you. You are wrong for taking the law into your own hands to create ESN, because you do not have the authority to create a security outfit for the whole region since you are not elected to a political office. In creating ESN, you have hijacked the human capital belonging to the states.
All of you leaders are disrupting the proper functioning of the states and costing these youths potential employment as well as endangering their lives, their families, and their future. Here is what it should look like in the perfect scenario with unity of purpose, the regional governors would enlist Kanu, for example, to command a security outfit that protects Biafra land and the people from the terrorist infiltrating the region because he has the backing of large population of Biafra working aged people who listen to him. In that scenario, there will not be three or four different groups of security outfits operating in the same region. There would instead be various groups of the same security outfit, one each serving in a particular state. These forces will be properly identified by the local communities they would also be in the state human resource database as employees of the state who get standard employment benefits and eligibility for retirement. In so doing, you create needed employment and reduce jobless numbers.
On the contrary, what we have is Kanu, the governors, and the ohaneze creating individual security groups to fight each other; and most of these forces, especially that of Kanu, most likely not getting properly compensated for their work, since he relies on peoples’ donations to fund the Eastern Security Network. You all are causing chaos and endangering the lives of the people you are supposed to protect and that is wicked and selfish. It must stop. You must stop playing selfish games with the lives of these youths who trust you. There is a better way to get Biafra if that is really what you want, and it starts from making peace among yourselves and working together. You cannot avoid working together if you really want the progress and safety of our people.
Do you not know that a house, a region, or a nation divided against itself will not stand? The division and fight going on among you is a recipe for disaster and failure. I believe that is what people call “dead on arrival.” And this is exactly the reason why many of our people question your ability to govern Biafra if given the freedom to go. If you people cannot even agree on what you want as a people, how the “hell” do you think you can pilot a nation if given the chance? Please stop the madness, get to the drawing board, and do your homework first by talking to each other on a round table to agree on what you want before asking for something bigger like a nation for yourselves. Make peace and agree on what you want first before looking to any country to come to your aide. It is that simple.
Ij Onuigbo is a U.S. Army Veteran, Human Rights Activist, and a Humanitarian.
You can follow her on Twitter: @ij_onuigbo
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