October 27, 2008
Let me get started by recalling a quote from celebrated Catholic Nun, Mother Teresa of Calcutta “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we all belong to each other”. This peace which we all yearn for has eluded my state. Some of you may have reported the ongoing crisis in Ezillo in Ishielu LGA, where two communities who have co-existed for decades have been killing themselves since April, 2008 till date.
Apart from the fact that Ebonyi State has not witnessed any meaningful development since the emergence of democracy, this unseemingly ending crisis is a good reason for further under-development of the state by her leadership.
It may interest you to know that Ebonyi State was created, thanks to the leadership of Late Gen. Sani Abacha in 1996, to address an age -long criminal neglect of Nigerians citizens in that part of the country.
Twelve years later, democracy in the state is practiced more in the breach, infrastructural facilities are either dilapidated or non-existent, unemployment is on the increase. Only recently 5,000 Ebonyians from the State Civil Service were sent to the labour market by way of retrenchment, even as there are no provisions to absorb new grandaunds. The government in our state as presently constituted is not representative with deliberate exclusion of a major ethnic/tribal group.
It is against this background that frustrations have built up to such a crescendo whereby helpless citizens rather than coming together to find a way of addressing their continued neglect, have transferred anger on themselves. How can one justify the ongoing unprecedented wanton destruction of lives and properties, abductions just by a mere disagreement between two individuals for ownership of a spot in their daily market to mount a call centre?
These are People who have lived together, intermarried, worshiped together. As if scales fell out of their eyes, these same people suddenly realized that some are “aborigines” and others are “settlers”. This is the unfortunate basis for the ongoing fratricidal killings in Ezillo, Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi State.
You all know that human history is all about migrations. The Ezillo people migrated ages ago to their present abode. But inter-ethnic rivalries and wars accompanied such early migrations, Ezillo people were not different. The history which has remained undisputed is that Ezillo and their more populous neighbor – the Ngbos were at war, to the extent of Ezillo being overran and extinct. This prompted elders of Ezillo to cry out to their Southern- most powerful neighbors – the Ezza specifically umuezekoha and umuezeoka communities for help. Like the Gurkas in Falkland for the British, the Ezza in their love for peace,fairness and justice heeded their request and sent their finest armies. Of course, this changed the course of the war as the Ngbos were pushed back to their present borders and peace was restored in Ezillo. The Ezillo elders in appreciation, donated part of the disputed land to their Ezza-liberators to inhabit and therefore form a
protective shield for Ezillo till date.
Gentlemen, this is how these two Communities came together to coexist since early nineteenth century. The grand and great grand children of this friend-of- Ezillo- in need are now being haunted and killed as unwanted occupiers by some misguided youth of Ezillo, actively supported by their well placed collaborators both within and outside.
There is no doubt the fact that there are patriotic peace-loving people of Ezillo who have great sense of history and are working tirelessly to inform their children of true position of events. Obviously, youthful exuberance and quest for material acquisition seem to drown this voice of peace and reason at least for now. I urge such elders of reason not to relent in their efforts but to keep talking. I firmly believe that actions and inactions of government at all levels in the State have directly and indirectly fueled this crisis.
My investigation has revealed an unholy relationship between the disbursement of monthly allocations to local governments in Ebonyi State and upsurge in the crisis.
The actions of the state government since hostilities broke out have continued to beat the imaginations of many Ebonyians and Nigerians of the 21st Century. For example, at the onset of the crisis, our reversed Governor,Chief Martin Elechi at the meeting of Ebonyi elders in Abakaliki, was said to have canvassed the traditional oath be administered on the warring parties to determine ownership of the disputed spot. I sincerely recommend this proposal of our governor to the Chief Justice of Nigeria in resolving all thorny electoral disputes including his own.
Next, the Ebonyi State government set up a Peace Committee headed by a traditional ruler, Eze Chibueze Agbo. Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong in having a Peace Committee but the headship leaves much to be desired. Eze Chibueze Agbo is a traditional ruler in Ngbo, a people who just came out of conflict with Ezzas living in Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government and agelong hatred for the Ezza people. I leave it to you what verdict, conclusions; recommendations will come out of such an ill-structured Committee.
As if that was not enough, the Executive Governor of the State in his address to State on 2nd October, 2008, further compounded the matter. The highlights of his address on the crisis among others issues were the imposition of dusk-to-down curfew; deployment of troops to the villages, with reaching orders to shoot-at-sight, creation of an Ezza enclave and resettlement of the Ezzas from their traditional land.
Additionally, the Ezzas were banned from having their own traditional leader; practicing their age-long traditions, owning schools, hospitals, markets, in short ordered to jettison their cooperate identity. This is part of the new deal-gospel of peace according to “Ochudo” (Peace seeker).
In all of these, the impositions of curfew, the deployment of troops though without sequel are in order though temporary. Our fears with the deployment of soldiers were confirmed; when only yesterday when they (soldiers) invaded Ezza community in Ezillo unleashed mayhem on helpless and already highly grief-stricken people, taking some of them hostages.
But one cannot reconcile the creation of an enclave for a people in their own land. The forced conscription of Ezzas into non-existent entity with attendant loss of their identity may well be an Achilles’ heel of the government peace efforts. One wonders if peace can be decreed.
Having carefully examined the genesis of the crisis and the peace efforts been adopted so far, it is important to state at this point that the State Government is playing ostrich. Going by the 1999 Constitution every Nigerian, irrespective of his tribe, who has resided in a particular place for up to a period of 10 years, has the right to vote and be voted for, for all positions in his area of abode. This right, guaranteed Ezzas like every other Nigerian by this all-important national document, is withdrawn by a wave of hand by our Governor.
1. We hereby implore the Federal Government, Civil liberties organisations to urgently intervene and restore the constitutional right of all Ebonyians including the Ezzas.
2. We urge all Ebonyians whose rights are so infringed upon to take all available legal steps to reverse this unkind, undemocratic, despotic decisions of the Ebonyi State Government
3. We urge the State Government to engage the Ezillos and Ezzas, long -term friends in an open, frank and constructive, dialogue with neutral and unbiased arbitrators with a view to instilling confidence and mutual understanding rather than the present policy of segregation and ethnic cleansing on Ezza- Ezillo.
4. The State should, in order to create atmosphere for dialogue, directly administer Ishielu Local Government from Abakaliki, if not permanently, at least temporarily till the complete cessation of hostilities and restoration of enduring peace.
5. In the event that the State Government and the Ezillo adamantly insist on resettling the Ezzas in Ezillo, the Ezzas should have unfettered right to demand reparations not only for the land, but the human cost suffered in the defense of Ezillo. The state Government should be ready and willing to pay the agreed compensation in that case.
6. We sincerely urge the State Government to pursue this peace process with human face by providing the necessary monetary and material assistance to all victims on both sides of the divide instead of the ill-advised policy of segregation.
7. The Ebonyi State Government should urgently reverse the ugly trend of excluding the Ezzas in governance at both State and Federal levels, at least the various nominations to positions at state and federal levels are clear testimonies. This will not only restore confidence but instill since of belonging to all Ebonyians, which is not the case presently.
Thank you
BEN-BRIGHT MKPUMA
PRESIDENT+234 (0) 808 773 3337
E-mail:[email protected]; [email protected]
(Advocates for Peace & good governance)
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