By Fidel Ozugha
The current wanton killings in Igbo land and other parts of the country has compelled an Igbo organisation to place a demand of an urgent security action by the southeast governors.
The group, Igbo Ekunie Initiative (IEI), is a formidable coalition of Igbo professionals and patriots across the homeland and the diaspora — is raising a red flag and sounding the alarm over the worsening state of insecurity in the Southeast.
In a press release signed the President, Chief Chigbo Uzokwelu and Secretary, NzeIfeanyi Asiegbu, and made available to The NationGuardNews, the group said, ”We can no longer afford to sit on our hands while our communities are ravaged by kidnappers, bandits, drug traffickers, and lawless elements who have turned the region into a battleground.
”The Igbo Ekunie Initiative is calling – in the strongest possible terms – on the governments of the five Southeast states to end the foot-dragging and immediately activate the regional security network known as ANYAOHA.
”This outfit, agreed upon in principle during the 2023 Owerri Security Summit, was designed as a united Igbo-led response to our peculiar security challenges. Yet, nearly two years later, Anyaoha remains a mere concept gathering dust, while our people suffer, die, and live in fear.”
In a subtitle part of the release, ‘Enough is Enough,’ the group enjoined the Southeast governors to demonstrate leadership and political will by establishing a fully operational Anyaoha Security Outfit — one that is professionally trained, locally recruited, community-driven, and adequately supported.”
Igbo Ekunie Initiative warned that ”this is not the time for tokenism or fragmented efforts. The region requires a joint, well-coordinated, and robust security architecture that works hand-in-hand with the police, civil defence, and neighboring state structures. Piecemeal responses will not defeat the rising tide of lawlessness.
The Igbo Ekunie Initiative warns that continued inaction or delay will be seen as a betrayal of the Igbo people’s trust and a dereliction of the sacred duty of governance. The cost of silence is too high, and our people cannot continue to live in fear in their ancestral land.
“We demand action, not platitudes. The time to activate Anyaoha is now. The bloodshed must end. Ndi Igbo deserve safety, dignity, and peace,” said Chief Chigbo Uzokwelu, President of Igbo Ekunie Initiative.
IEI also urges the immediate mobilization of resources for training, equipping, and sustaining the personnel of Anyaoha. This includes clear legal backing, operational command structures, and collaboration with traditional institutions and community watchdogs.
The group further called on every well-meaning Igbo son and daughter-from business leaders to civic groups, youth organizations, town unions, religious leaders, and diaspora communities-to rise and support this clarion call for safety and survival.
‘Let history not remember this generation of leaders as the ones who failed to protect AlaIgbo. Let the Southeast rise united and defend its people.
”The Igbo Ekunie Initiative will not relent until tangible security frameworks are in place, and peace is restored across our land. Let the Southeast stand strong. Let Anyaoha rise,” the group said.
President, Igbo Ekunie Initiative, Chief Barr Chigbo Uzokwelu
