Insecurity at its Peak: Buhari’s tweet – A threat to the South Eastern Region

Recently, there has been series of killings and sporadic increase in the level of insecurity in the South Eastern Region of Nigeria. The challenges of insecurity in the South-east is quite enormous.

On 29th March, some suspected herders wielding machetes and AK-47 rifles invaded four communities in Ishielu local council of Ebonyi State and killed about 15 innocent persons. The Ishielu incident came barely 24 hours after some unknown gunmen had attacked Adani, in Uzo-Uwani local government of Enugu State where some six people were brutally murdered. Within the same period, three policemen were also killed by gunmen in Aguata Local Council, Anambra State, where an APGA governorship aspirant and former Central Bank Governor, Chukwuma Soludo was holding a townhall meeting.

On Monday April 26, “we saw some people in a bus approach the police station, shoot the gate open, killing all the six officials who tried to resist them.” That was how one eye witness account narrated the dare-devil attack on a police facility in Imo State that happened. Meanwhile, in the nearby city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, five security officers, including two soldiers, were also murdered in cold blood.

Last month, we had several reports of killings one of which was the cold-blooded murder of Ahmed Gulak former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex President Goodluck Jonathan and an attempt by a suicide bomber to attack a Primary School in Afikpo town, Afikpo local government area of Ebonyi state. Recently, Gunmen suspected to be assassins, on Tuesday, June 1st killed the Peoples Democratic Party youth leader in the Oru-East Local Government Area of Imo State, Kenneth Amukamara and in another news, IPOB/ESN had allegedly burnt the properties of Chief O.K Ugba who they said installed cameras in the community to monitor their activities.

What could be the reason for this high level of insecurity in the South Eastern Region? Can we say the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) is fighting a just cause? The Yorubas clamoring for an Oduduwa republic, is it the best option? Going through President Buhari’s post on Twitter, what does it tell you of the Presidency opinion in all of these?

The President via Twitter had warned that Nigerians who keep attacking security operatives as well as assets of the Government should expect the shock of their lives as the Government will not fold arms to see the destruction of lives and properties. He thereafter, mentioned that some Nigerians who are misbehaving are too young to understand the loss of lives and properties that the country suffered during the civil war, saying the Government will “treat them with the language that they understand”. This statement generated lots of comments from Nigerians who felt it was a threat and thereafter sponsored a report campaign for the tweet to be deleted. A check on President Buhari’s official twitter handle indicated that his tweet has been deleted.