Release Nnamdi Kanu now to prove to us you want peace in Southeast & Igbo land—Igbo women to Tinubu

Igbo women have challenged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to heed the pleas for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu if truly he is committed to the restoration of peace to the South East region.

This is as they issued a 14-day ultimatum to a former Presidential Spokesman and current media analyst, Dr Rueben Abati, to withdraw an alleged anti-Igbo comment or face court action.

The women who spoke yesterday under the eagis of Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, during the inauguration of the Abia State chapter of the organization, traced the unabating tension and insecurity in South East to Kanu’s continued detention.

National President of IWA, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, who addressed a press conference in Umuahia, said the way the Federal Government could prove that it was truly interested in the return of peace and progress of the region, was to free Kanu in line with the overwhelming desires of the people.

IWA expressed dismay that instead of engaging Kanu and Igbo youths in a dialogue over their grievances, the Federal Government decided to clamp him into detention, and use sledge hammer on the agitators who according to the women, “are mere protesters.”

Lolo Chimezie said:”We request that you release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally. We have done our investigations and found out that IPOB is a non arms-bearing organization.

” Criminals are hiding under Kanu’s continued incarceration to wreck havoc in the South East. So, his release is needed to restore peace to South East”.

IWA queried the alleged engagement of a former militant to guard South East, and challenged the Federal Government to come out clean on the allegation.

According to IWA, insecurity has continued to spike in the zone ever since a certain former Niger Delta militant leader claimed he was engaged by the federal government to secure South East.

IWA which also said that “South East is militarised”, expressed worry that despite the heavy deployment of military on South East roads, insecurity had refused to abate.

” Insecurity is getting worse in South East despite the presence of the military. Now their presence is scaring our youths from coming home.

” Our people are now scared of coming home even to bury their dead or conduct marriage ceremonies. There is fear everywhere in South East, and this is taking a toll on the region’s economy as investors turn to other zones.

” South East is under siege. Some villages have been sacked. Before now, South East was very peaceful. We the Igbo women are concerned and we want peace to return to Igbo land.

” Somebody of questionable character came out on national television and said he was contracted to guard South East. Since then, the federal government has neither denied or confirmed it. We noticed that since the time he said he was contracted, unknown gunmen have been carrying out attacks in South East. Who are these unknown gunmen? What kind of security is a former militant providing in South East?”

IWA further called for the dismantling of multiple checkpoints on South East roads which, according to the women organization, has become “extortion and humiliation points” for motorists and commuters.

The pan women organization rather advocated constant patrol of South East roads by security agents, arguing that such strategy will be more efficient.

IWA also called on South East Governors to resurrect community vigilante groups which it said were disbanded in some states.

The group, however, commended Enugu and Abia State Governors for their spirited efforts to improve security in their respective states, urging others to copy them.

On the alleged anti-Igbo comment by Abati, IWA called on the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to sanction him.

IWA said Abati’s alleged claims that Igbo people do not sell their land to outsiders, was false and untenable.

Describing the said comment as “genocidal”, IWA which said the Nigerian civil which claimed millions of Igbo lives was caused by twisted narrative, argued that Abati’s remark could equally spark unwarranted attacks on the Igbo.

” We want to call the attention of NBC to the utterance by Rueben Abati. He said Igbos don’t sell land to outsiders which is incorrect. Such a remark is genocidal. The civil war was caused by comment tagging the military coup as Igbo coup, and Northern youths believed that Igbos killed their military officers. So, they went on killing spree and killed over 3000 Igbos on the street. That was what led to the civil war.

” The hate speech by Abati is capable of sparking another genocide against Igbo and we won’t tolerate that. We want him to withdraw the utterance and publicly apologize to Ndigbo. What he said is false. It’s either he withdraws it or he will hear from us.

” We have a letter for him and we give him 14 days to apologize or we initiate a court action against him”.

On the forthcoming election on Ohaneze Ndigbo, IWA charged the apex Igbo sociocultural organization to get things right and regain the confidence of the people.

In advised against any disruption of the long standing policy of rotating the office of Ohaneze President General among the seven Igbo speaking states.

IWA said it was the turn of Rivers State to produce the next Ohaneze PG, but warned that Rivers should present a true Rivers’ son instead of allowing somebody from another state to snatch their slot.

” Ohaneze should start doing things right if they want to regain the trust and confidence of the people. It’s the turn of Rivers to produce next Ohaneze PG but if they don’t have any candidate, it’s better they withdraw instead of allowing somebody from the backdoor to take their slot.

” They should not sneak in somebody from Imo, a Prince in Egbema whose brother is a king in Egbema in Imo State to cross over to Rivers and become Ohaneze PG. Ohaneze should redeem its image. It must not allow someone from Imo to cross over to Rivers under any guise to become PG of Ohaneze”.

Earlier in a keynote speech, former Commissioner for Women Affair, Abia State, Lady Chinedu Brown, called on Igbo women to form co-operative societies for easy access to funds for economic survival.

She encouraged Igbo women to also engage in commercial farming to help boost the economy of the people.

Another keynote speaker, Professor Nkechinyere Ohaike of the National Institute for Nigerian Languages Aba, urged Igbo women to proudly speak Igbo language to their children to avoid the language going into extinction.

The Professor of Translation Studies/Igbo, who spoke on:”Reviving Our Heritage:Strategies for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture in the Face of Extinction”, regretted that many Igbo mothers are shy to communicating with their children in their mother tongue.

She also regretted that many private schools in Igbo land penalize their pupils and students for speaking Igbo, when ironically, most of their teachers cannot effectively communicate with English language.

Professor Ohaike who argued that a child “loses nothing but gains much” in learning communication with his mother tongue, urged Ndigbo to be proud speakers of their language.

The immediate past Executive Director of the National Roots Crop Research Institute, Umudike, Dr Godwin Asumugha, commended IWA for its spirited efforts to revive Igbo language and culture.

Several other speakers including Pastor Nnenne Iroakasi, Mrs Ijeoma Umunna, among others, emphasized the need for the promotion of Igbo language and culture by the women folk.

They also urged women to stop sacrificing local menu on the altars of foreign and imported foods which often have no nutritional values.

They attributed the spike in strange ailments and terminal diseases especially cancer to the craze for over processed foods and junks.