APC governors preach unity in South East, hail Ugwuanyi’s maturity

Since April 25, when the backwater community of Ukpabi Nimbo in Uzouwani Council, Enugu State was jolted out of its innocence by suspected marauding herdsmen, the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has found himself vacillating between emotions. He wept in Odo-Ndimo; dined in Abuja, and has not only played host to several meetings, he has welcomed hordes of groups all showing solidarity.

Shortly before he was lost in the embrace of his fellow governors, in effusive backslapping and camaraderie, on Tuesday, at the Lion Building, he had wiped the tears of wailing women who were led in protest by women organizations at the gates of the Government House.

This was a day the Government House was invaded by butterflies and moths, (maybe they flew in for condolence) necessitating an emergency fumigation of the premises and workers and visitors were forced to wear facemasks. The last time people remembered the fumigation of the Government House in that manner was when one time deputy governor (Sunday Onyebuchi) to immediate past governor Sullivan Chime was accused of rearing chicken.

Latching on the commendations of groups and politicians on Ugwuanyi’s handling of the matter, the delegation of All Progressive Congress (APC) governors harped on the unity of the nation above all political affiliations.

The leader of the delegation – Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the APC Governor’s Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha hailed the display of matured leadership by Ugwuanyi, in the heat of the killings by the herdsmen in Odo-Nimbo.

In the delegation were: the Governor of Borno State and Chairman Northern Governors Forum, Kashim Shettima, the governor of Jigawa State, Badaru Abubakar and the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Others were the deputy governors of Yobe State, Abubakar Ali and Kogi State, Simeon Achuba.

Shettima, while promising that the matter was being handled with all urgency and very soon, the culprits will be brought to book, said that but for the conduct of Ugwuanyi, the incident of the killings might have escalated.

Okorocha said that the condolence was beyond party affiliations because, “if there is death in one party, it affects us all, and we have come to show genuine concern. Our brother governor has shown maturity in the way he handled the matter. In other countries this matter would have degenerated into retaliation.

“We are here because you are one of us and this nation of ours is one irrespective of political party affiliation. We are APC governors, you are Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but in death there is no party. We have come here to show our genuine concern over this loss and to commiserate with you and the good people of Enugu for this moment of grief, pains and trial.”

The Imo Governor appealed for calm and unity while sympathizing with the victims and the bereaved. Okorocha reassured that those who perpetrated the criminal act would be found and brought to book.

According to him, “We want to condemn in its entirety any criminal activities in whatever form or shape that it takes, a criminal is a criminal and we see this as an act of criminality. Most often in our country, rather than treat the issue of criminality, we tend to trivialize it, either associating it with a party or tribe or religion. But a criminal in Borno is the same thing as a criminal in Enugu and any other state. So we must begin to separate criminals from where they come and begin to treat them as criminals. We hereby condemn it in its entirety and we want to assure the good people of Enugu that we will join hands with the Federal Government to make sure this is the last of such in the whole of the country.”

Commending further the conduct of Ugwuanyi and his handling of the crisis, Okorocha noted: “It is important also to state that your government and people of Enugu State have shown maturity in handling the matter of this level of provocation. In some areas and countries, it would have been a different story by now, if you had embarked on retaliation. So first we want to commend you and good people of Enugu, especially our traditional rulers for holding forth and making sure that this did not lead into ethnicity or tribal sentiments.

“We are not unmindful of the fact that these families are going through difficult times, please extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families and this is the time they will also speak on the unity of the country rather than concentrating on the ethnic, religion or the party that divides us. Let us think about the unity of the country.”

Echoing some of the views of Okorocha, Shettima said the APC governors’ forum considered it its duty to bring “condolences to our brothers and sisters and particularly the people of Enugu because in the best tradition of our people, we must mourn with our compatriots, just like we rejoice also with them.

“It is particularly important to us to express our heartfelt sympathy because as victims associated with Boko Haram, we know the meaning of killing. We have lived with that for over seven years and we have been surviving largely because of the sympathy we have received from our compatriots all over the country including the sympathy of the people of Enugu.

“In our last meeting with the president, we acknowledged the enormous contributions of the people and government of Ebonyi State to the victims of Boko Haram in Borno. Ebonyi does not belong to the APC states but a South East state and Christian state but in the spirit of love they showed support to the people of Borno.”

Paying tribute to Ugwuanyi, the traditional and religious leaders in the state for their restraint, Shettima admitted that: “times like this call for sobriety, maturity, level headedness. It is easier to play to the gallery; it is much easier to start up the fire of division, it is much easier to call for revenge but our good people of Enugu who have a history of making the first Hausa man as the first mayor of Enugu, that shows the magnanimity and large heartedness of the people of Enugu.”

According to Shettima, who viewed the importance of the contributions of the Igbo to the development of many communities in the country and noted that no community in the country was complete without the presence of an Igbo, added: “the Igbo are Nigeria’s Jews because they are in every part of this country. The Igbo are very industrious, very forgiven and very enterprising people and very accommodating people. We must build this nation together as brothers and sisters. We are much grateful for not allowing this problem to spill over.

Ugwuanyi, supported by some traditional rulers, said that the visit has “confirmed that Nigerians, all over the country, do share a common sense of grief and loss with us, over this unfortunate incident. I have also previously expressed our gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari along with members of the National Assembly, various leaders of thought and indeed the generality of Nigerians, for the visible concern and outrage they displayed over the incident and for the sympathy they shared with the people of Enugu.

“We are already taking concrete measures to step up security in Enugu especially through the reactivation and revitalization of neighbourhood watch associations in every community in the State. This is geared towards ensuring a holistic and concerted approach to security challenges in the state with all communities and relevant organizations being fully involved.”

Despite the killings, he rested that: “Enugu has always been and will remain a home for all Nigerians. It is indeed worthy of note that the first elected Mayor of Enugu was Alhaji Umaru Altine, from Katsina State and whom, only two weeks ago; we conferred with a posthumous award for his contributions to the development of the city. We will continue to welcome our compatriots from various parts of the country who may also wish to bring their businesses to Enugu.”