Maduako Igbokwe I Saturday, June 19, 2021
ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria- Chancellor of Gregory University Uturu, Prof Gregory Ibe has called on elders and leaders of the South-East to urgently convene a crucial meeting of key stakeholders of the region to address the worrisome and escalating violence in Imo state.
Prof Ibe made the call while reacting to alarming reports of odious and heinous acts of arson being perpetuated by unknown persons in Imo State. Decrying the tragic consequences of the sustained destructive onslaught on Imo, Prof Ibe enjoined Igbo leaders to intervene “in order to halt the imminent degeneration to anarchy in a place that once enjoined the status of the most peaceful state in Nigeria”.
According to Prof Ibe, “against the backdrop of the alarming increase in cases of vandalism, arson and murder, being presently perpetuated by unknown persons in many parts of our dear Imo state, I am constrained to request our leaders to, as a matter of emergency, convene a crucial meeting of stakeholders of the South East region in order to get to the root of the matter and proffer workable solutions to any identified problems”.
Emphasizing the strategic role of stakeholders in conflict resolution, the renowned university don advocated the summoning of political, religious, traditional, business, women and youth leaders from the region to a meeting that will focus on identifying the immediate and remote causes of the crises.
Speaking further, he said,” I call on the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor, to rise to the occasion by appointing a select group of revered Igbo Elders and Leaders, whose mandate will be to organize this all important meeting. After many years of hosting the World Igbo Summit, our Igbo Renaissance Centre remains a reliable resource centre that can support this initiative by delivering relevant well- researched documents, including a 50 year vision plan for Ndigbo to the organizers.
“We cannot continue to keep quiet and allow the wanton destruction of hard earned public and private infrastructure in Imo state, a situation that is currently threatening the entire South East by driving away investors from our region. Let us act fast by confronting this cankerworm headlong and by so doing block the hole through which water has been flooding our boat”.
He also advised all aggrieved parties to sheath their swords in order to stimulate the enabling environment for the proposed meeting.
