A chieftain of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Patricia Ozonu has reminded the southeast governors that any effort to develop the region without first addressing the rising insecurity would remain an exercise in futility
She alleged that the governors have continued to look elsewhere as criminal elements make mince meat of the ordinary people.
She stated that inability to provide security for lives and property have accounted for the movement of people and businesses out of the region to other regions of the country.
The Austrian based activist, told reporters in Enugu that while the governors have concentrated efforts in securing the state capitals, nothing is being done to protect those living in rural communities.
Ozonu, who lamented a recent bomb explosion in Orlu, Imo state, stated that the development was a new phase of insecurity that had ravaged the region.
“Those who patronise the local market where the explosives went off are the ordinary people of Imo state. My concern is that since the region was torn by insecurity, we have never witnessed a situation where suicide bombers were used.
“Presently, we have graduated to that level. The explosives that went off destroyed lives, property and economic wellbeing of the people. So far, the society has not been told those behind it, nor measures taken to avert a repeat. The way those bombs came is the way it will spread if not addressed urgently.
“That is why I am not comfortable with the governors who are moving about pleading with investors to invest in their states. How can anyone invest in any environment that is unstable? How can people settle down in a place they are not sure of their security?
“We cannot continue this way. People must be protected anywhere they are in the Southeast region. You don’t talk about investments without addressing how they can be protected and preserved”, she stated.
Ozonu, also stated that it was not true that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) created insecurity in the region.
She said that the IPOB through its Eastern Security Network (ESN) has worked hard to restore security by containing rampaging herdsmen destroying farmlands.
