Maduako Igbokwe l Wednesday, June 09, 2021
ONITSHA, Nigeria – An Anambra State based cattle dealer, Mr. Chibuike Okafor who lost over 50 cows in the unfortunate incident that happened in the State, said most of the cows in the South-East are owned by Igbo businessmen. Okafor made the disclosure on Tuesday when he met the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu.
According to him, over 50 cows belonging to him were set ablaze by angry mob when a truck transporting those cattle from north reportedly killed eight persons at Kwata junction, Awka, Anambra State. Okafor said that it was wrong for the hoodlums to believe that all the cows coming to the South-East from the north belonged to Northerners and therefore must be destroyed with little or no provocation.
“Your Excellency, I would want to tell you that almost all, if not all the cows you see in the South-East are owned by Igbo traders. What happens is that if we go there to buy the cows, we use the vehicles owned by the Northerners to bring them down here. Even some of us have our vehicles for the transportations of these cows to south east .
” We have had a long-time cordial relationship with them in this business. It will be wrong for our people to have wrong impression about the Northerners. They are good people generally speaking, especially in business” he said
Responding, the Secretary to the State Government assured the protection of every Nigerian in the state.
” We understood that our people had been in a long-time cordial joint business partnership with the north in this trade and we must not destroy this relation built over the years ” he said. He assured that he would take back all the information he had gathered about the development to the governor, Willie Obiano for appropriate action .
Chukwulobelu who had visited one of the accident victims at a hospital in Awka, enjoined cow traders and other businessmen and women in the state to embrace insurance policy to mitigate losses situations . He said that the state government has ordered security operatives to fish out hoodlums who attacked and burnt the truck-load of cows .
The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba who accompanied the SSG stated that the actions of hoodlums was antithetical to the Igbo culture that respects life and property. According to him , the culprits would not go unpunished.
“Governor Obiano has a directed a high-powered team to visit families of the deceased victims as well as the owner of the cattle and condole with him for not only the death of the animals in the accident but also the later killing of some of the animals by the mob.
“The Government and people of Anambra State abhor jungle justice and all manner of mob behaviour. Such behaviour has no place in any civilized environment.
“Like in every decent society, there are laid down procedures which aggrieved citizens and people take. Persons found guilty of irresponsible conduct in respect of the incident will face the consequences of their action” he said.
