Jackson Ude, a former Director of Strategy and Communications to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has expressed outrage over the ongoing killings and rights violations in Nigeria’s South East region.
Ude criticized the federal government’s perceived inaction, labeling it “despicable, irresponsible, and dangerous.”
He condemned the bloodshed and restriction of freedoms resulting from the sit-at-home order enforced by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Ude described the federal government’s lack of decisive intervention as a neglect of its duty to protect its citizens.
“The most civil way to achieve this Biafra State is to use a political party platform, elect people into the State Houses of Assembly in the South, and have them all sign a referendum for a Biafra State. The idea that a Biafra State can be achieved through a ‘sit-at-home’ order and the continuous killing of our people is not only childish but criminal,” he stated.
Ude also expressed disappointment in Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, the socio-cultural group representing the Igbo people, for what he called their “lackluster attitude and silence” while violence persists.
“I am also thoroughly disappointed in the lackluster attitude and the silence of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo while our people are killed by a few armed individuals,” Ude lamented.
He criticized IPOB’s sit-at-home directive as counterproductive, noting that it has deprived many of their means of livelihood amid widespread poverty and hunger.
“Our people have not done any wrong going about in search of their daily bread at a time poverty and hunger has enveloped the country. How does it make sense to continue denying the people you seek to protect their daily means of livelihood by enforcing a ‘sit-at-home’ order, turn around and kill them, and then claim to be protecting them?” he questioned.
Ude also decried the actions of those enforcing the sit-at-home order, describing their killings as reckless and perilous.
“The continuous killing of Igbos by Igbos under the guise of enforcing a ‘sit-at-home’ order to press for a Biafra State is highly irresponsible and condemned. All well-meaning and patriotic Igbos must rise up in unison and condemn the wanton killing of Igbos in South East Nigeria,” Ude said.
He called for a political approach to addressing the agitation for Biafra, advocating the formation of a political platform to push for a referendum. He also emphasized the need for the federal government to act decisively in halting the bloodshed.
Additionally, Ude stressed the importance of releasing IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that his release could end the sit-at-home orders and ease tensions in the region.
“We must intensify the call for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. This is one way the shenanigans of the ‘sit-at-home’ enforcers would end. If this does not stop, another insurgent group might begin the protection of our people from the ‘sit-at-home’ enforcers, a situation that might throw the whole region into serious chaos. Igbos have suffered enough!” he warned.
Ude urged all stakeholders to work towards a peaceful resolution, emphasizing the need to end the suffering and insecurity plaguing the region.
