By Collins Opurozor, Owerri.
For two years, vandals, kidnappers, armed robbers, terrorists and bandits have found a blissful sanctuary in Imo state. This is chiefly owed to the failure, if not total absence, of governance in Imo. Their onslaughts against innocent citizens have only increased with time.
Killings of genocidal proportion, massive car snatching, arson and abductions have become daily facts of life. From the valleys of Orsu to the plains of Orlu, and from the hills of Ideato to the rocky terrains of Okigwe, various bands of active armed criminals have encircled Imo state. For the helpless citizens, personal safety is now in hands of God. This reality has thrown naked the insincerity, cluelessness and ineptitude of the accidental and unelected ruler of the state, Chief Hope Uzodinma.
Instead of taking steps to provide this irreducible expectation of political governance, which is the security of lives and property, Uzodinma, at the peak of the orgy of violence, suggested to the killers never to be lenient with his political opponents. At some other times, he had said he would name his opponents who would be crushed. For him, every opportunity must exploited to settle political scores, and even killings are necessary for regime protection.
This time, after leisurely wasting nearly three months in Abuja, Chief Uzodinma only stepped into Owerri two days ago. He returned with something shocking, a story that got the already distraught citizenry more distressed. He announced that he had unconditionally forgiven all the killers, bandits, kidnappers, hoodlums and arsonists who inhabit the forests of Imo and who have made the state a city of blood. He went ahead to describe this as amnesty.
Curiously, some hours later, kidnappers, car snatchers and bandits went gaga. Imo had been officially declared a safe haven for their unbridled criminality. They could now operate unchecked. They could kill, rape, maim and set everywhere ablaze with the audacity and seal of state authority.
Yesterday, therefore, ravages were scaled up in Imo and demons let loose. The terrorists jumped out from their hiding places, intensified their campaigns of terror and death, and carried out series of criminal activities along Okigwe-Arondizuogu-Nnewi Expressway. It is now a terrible situation in the state!
But then, one misinformation by Uzodinma that must immediately be dispelled is that he has granted amnesty to the rampaging terrorists. No. There is no such thing as amnesty. Amnesty as a security strategy is a very comprehensive process which has components, phases and targets. Again, the groups for which amnesty is designed are always known and defined. Weapon demobilization or disarmament is just a phase in the process. A reintegration program is always central. But before all these, a robust engagement which addresses the basic questions that necessitated the insurgency is critical. The reality is that Uzodinma has no plans for any of these, if at all he understands what they mean.
Come to think of it, how can you grant amnesty to people who today are described as unknown? How can Uzodinma talk about amnesty when he constantly misleads Imo people by accusing his political foes of masterminding the inferno in the state? Where is Prof. Lai Olurode, the man whom Uzodinma declared wanted for saying that his legitimacy crisis is part of the reason the insecurity in Imo has become intractable? How can you solve a problem without proper diagnosis?
If the issue in Imo, for instance, hinges on separatist fundamentalism, how has Uzodinma addressed it? Or is the issue mere criminality without any underlying ideological drive? How too has the man dealt with it? Principally, how has Uzodinma tamed the unemployment wolf in Imo, which makes nearly eighty percent of the youths susceptible to crime?
It smacks of self-deceit for Uzodinma to talk about amnesty when he has not told Imo people the whole truth about whom the aggressors are! His shameful inability also to secure the lives and property of Ndimo is something that ought to have made him to resign by now. But shame obviously must have taken flight from a supposed governor who could describe himself as the disgraced and banished athlete, Ben Johnson.
There are now serious suspicions in Imo that a bigger calamity might just be ahead. By forgiving those who engage in mass murders, abductions and banditry, Imo people are deeply troubled about the real intentions of Uzodinma. Many in Imo fear that, since elections are now around the corner, allowing criminals take over Imo must have been contrived so as to cause a total collapse of security. For them, this is aimed at scaring the electorate away from voting in order to orchestrate massive electoral fraud. The intention, as many think, is to perpetuate the unpopular regime of Uzodinma in power.
It is common knowledge that the bad governance in Imo has made young people eager to to participate in the electoral process. The upsurge in voter registration in the state testifies to that. And they have one target: to weed out Uzodinma and all the he represents. Has Uzodinma, therefore, eventually surrendered Imo to terrorists because of his fear of a looming defeat? Is that his counter strategy? Should everyone in Imo be wiped away because one man wants to continue to be in power? These questions agitate the minds of so many people in Imo, and it is only Uzodinma that can address the fears.
