Revisiting Benjamin Kalu’s South East peace initiative

While i support every genuine effort to stem the alarming wave of insecurity in the South East geo-political zone, I have strong reservations about the peace initiative, championed by the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.

The peace initiative tagged “Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), was unveiled last December by the Vice President of Nigeria, Sen. Kashim Shettima, at a widely attended ceremony in Kalu’s home town, Bende in Abia State. The unveiling of the project doubled as a grand reception/homecoming for the Deputy Speaker.

PISE-P aims at promoting the use of non-kinetic approach in tackling the security challenges in the South East, as well as facilitating reconciliation among communities and individuals affected by past conflicts. Among dignitaries at the colourful launch of the project include the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Deputy Senate President, Barau Jubrin, National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, and Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Gilbert Ibezim.

Beyond the razzmatazz of the launch, the project bears more telltale signs of an attempt by Hon. Kalu to gain political relevance, than an honest effort to address the security challenges bedeviling the South East region. From my observation, it was poorly conceived, under resourced and scruffily put together. Why did I say so?

First, the title “Peace in South East Project” suggests that the region, dominated by the Igbo ethnic group, is at war. If that was what the initiators of PISE-P meant, I have some posers for them. If the South East is at war, who is the enemy? Are we fighting with the Nigerian State or are we fighting among ourselves? What are we fighting over?

While we wait for the promoters of this project to respond to these posers, I don’t think it is correct to say that the South East is at war because of the prevalence of insecurity in the region. Insecurity is a national malaise and not peculiar to only one region. There is Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, banditry in the North West and parts of North Central, and farmers/herders conflict across Northern Nigeria and even some parts of Southern Nigeria.

For instance, on the eve of Christmas, nearly 200 people were massacred in some communities in Bokkos local council of Plateau State. A few days after, Bandits returned to Abuja-Kaduna highway and abducted no fewer than 80 travelers. We have not forgotten the massacre of innocent worshippers in a Catholic Church in Ondo State, South West, Nigeria, in 2022.

Hence, I feel disappointed when political leaders from the South East (Hon. Kalu inclusive) blame the widespread insecurity in the region on the activities of secessionist agitators. If truth be told, the region was a hotbed for armed robbery and kidnapping before the arrival of the Unknown Gunmen, linked to the activities of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and their militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The activities of this proscribed group, including the Monday sit-at-home- order, merely heightened the insecurity in the region.

I remember that way back in 2013 when Peter Obi was the Chairman of South East Governors Forum, insecurity dominated the agenda of meetings of the forum. Have we forgotten the Ezu River floating corpses saga that occurred during the Obi era? Prior to this period, insecurity brought about the deployment of Bakassi boys in Onitsha and Aba, the commercial hubs of the region.

The root causes of insecurity in the South East are not different from that of the other troubled regions of the country. They include bad governance, incompetent leadership, corruption, illiteracy, poverty, youth unemployment, environmental degradation, poor policing, human rights abuses and social injustice. Hence, any effort to tackle insecurity whether in the South East or any other region, should holistically consider these causative factors. It should not be a serendipitous (chance) affair.

Also, I noticed the absence of synergy with other critical stakeholders in the conception, resourcing and execution of the PISE-P project. Insecurity cannot be tackled by what the Igbos call “Ike Otu Onye” (one man’s power). Igbos believe in the concept of “Igwebuike,” meaning that there is strength in numbers. From all indications, Governor Uzodimma and the Obi of Onitsha merely attended the launch of the project in Kanu’s Bende hometown as guests and not because they were involved from onset. The Deputy Speaker ought to have fully involved all the five governors and his colleagues in the National Assembly from the region, Ohaneze Ndigbo, traditional rulers, religious leaders, Igbo intelligentsia and other critical stakeholders in the project.

He should have taken a cue from Ohaneze Ndigbo, which at the last Imeobi Day in Enugu, inaugurated a committee on Employment and Skill Acquisition as part of its determination to use non-kinetic approach to end the menace of insecurity in the region. The membership of the committee comprises politicians of different party affiliations, seasoned technocrats and distinguished academics. The representatives of the Ministries of Education from the five states of the region were included in the committee.

The choice of Kalu’s hometown for the launch further questions the motive of the initiators of the project. I think it would have been more strategic to hold such an event in Enugu, which is historically the capital of the South East region, being the capital of the old Eastern Region and the defunct East Central States. It is not a coincidence that Enugu hosts the secretariats and meetings of the South East Governors Forum and Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

Frankly speaking, I don’t see how conferring traditional title on the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, will end the insecurity in the South East. Borno State, Shettima’s home state is still battling with insurgency. If Hon. Kalu is sincerely concerned about ending insecurity in the zone, he ought to have looked beyond the glitziness and start doing what needs to be done.

In the 1960s, the World Bank rated Eastern Nigeria among the fastest growing economies in the world, alongside the Asian Tigers like Singapore, Taiwan and Bangladesh. In those days, substantial large-scale industrialisation occurred in the region, which established the first truly indigenous university, the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). Many of these industries, substantially owned by government, employed the skilled manpower produced from UNN.

The industries were the drivers of economic growth and job creation in the region. Painfully, the Nigeria-Biafra war truncated almost everything. After the war, incompetent political elite, rather than revamp the industries, became undertakers for them.

Today, the economy of the region is largely driven by the organised private sector, but their efforts are like a drop of water in the ocean. We have an industrial hub at Nnewi, which hosts a Motor Manufacturing Company and several other industries. Aba, a hub for the fashion industry produces shoes and wears, not only for the local market but export to other African countries. I challenge the Deputy Speaker to take a tour of these industrial hubs, which are capable of creating millions of jobs, if their potential is properly harnessed.

Such a tour will expose him to the numerous challenges manufacturers are facing in the region. They suffer from limited government support, poor access to finance, harsh business environment including multiple taxation, insecurity, epileptic electricity supply and dearth of infrastructure. The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the South East have limited access to MSME funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI), among others. There is a lot of work for the Deputy Speaker in this regard.

Finally, if Hon. Kalu wants to tame the insecurity in the South East, he should take advantage of his exalted position in the House to champion a bill for the establishment of state police. This will strengthen policing in the South East and other regions. He should also initiate and support bills, geared towards good governance, social justice, literacy, youth employment, environmental protection, promotion of human rights and industrialisation.

• Nzomiwu, a development communicator and political scientist, wrote from Awka, Anambra State.