Igbo women to Buhari, call Fulani herdsmen to order

(Nigeria) Igbo Women Assembly, IWA, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the crisis between the Fulani herdsmen and various communities and villages across the country by bringing a stop to the ugly situation before things go awry.

IWA in a communique by its National President, Chief  Maria Okwo made the call after their meeting in Enugu.

The call followed last week’s arrest and detention of 76 people in Awgu, Enugu State, following their protest over the abduction of two women by some Fulani herdsmen at Umuneshi community in the area.

The women said that IWA was a civil society group comprised of women of Igbo extraction from the South East geopolitical zone, adding that its aims and objectives include “to encourage our women to attain the heights of their potentials in all aspects of human endeavour, encouraging them to be self-reliant, to promote honour, integrity and self-respect among Igbo women and youths, among others.   

Fulani herdsmen menace

 “IWA members are extremely troubled at the level of insecurity in Igbo land and other parts of the country.  Fulani herdsmen have permeated every nook and cranny of the SE causing havoc. They have engaged in kidnapping, maiming and raping young girls and women, as well as killing farmers, after destroying their farm lands. 

“This is unacceptable to us. We, therefore call on the Federal Government to, quickly intervene and bring this injustice to an end.                                        

IWA can no longer remain silent, while things continue to go awry. We fear that, if this trend continues, there may be a complete breakdown of law and order.       

Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB

 “Recently. Youths of IPOB were shot and killed during peaceful demonstrations in Aba and Onitsha: we understand that, the youths under reference, were not armed, we, therefore, consider it an act of genocide.

“IWA pleads with the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, release the leader of IPOB, to douse tension and also make room for dialogue with them, and some credible Igbo leaders.

“Conflicts are better resolved through dialogue than through the barrels of guns. We had expected the appropriate authorities, to investigate the matter, with a view to bringing to book, those overzealous, trigger happy security men, who engage in extra judicial killing of youths in cold blood. “It should be clearly, understood that, in any conflict situation, it is women who bear the brunt, since it is either their husbands or children who are affected.

“IWa believes that members IPOB are in serious grief, because of the fact that Ndigbo have been systematically oppressed by successive regimes and denied of their rights.

“This is the cause of agony for these youths, some of whose parents were not even born during the Nigeria/Biafra war.              

Abduction of underage Christian girls

“Nowadays underage Christian girls are being abducted and forced into marriage with northern Moslems.  This is an inhuman and criminal.  We are aware that freedom of religion is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Parents of these abducted girls are put through unimaginable trauma which could lead to their untimely deaths.                

Corruption

“ IWA fully supports the efforts of the President Buhari administration to bring corruption to an end and we urge him to continue till those who looted Nigeria's treasury return all stolen monies and also face adequate punishment for impoverishing the nation. IWA trusts that funds recovered will be judiciously spent on important projects.                           

Women in Buhari’s government

“IWA wishes to state that women are not adequately represented in the APC administration, and calls for the imbalance to be redressed without delay. Women should be allowed to contribute to nation building so as to move Nigeria to the next level.                                                        

Restructuring of Nigeria

“Finally IWA wishes to state, without fear of equivocation, that only the restructuring of the country along the line of true federalism, will bring lasting peace, progress and prosperity to this great nation and make it truly  the "GIANT" of Africa.

“It is an undeniable fact that Ndigbo have not been fully reintegrated into the mainstream of Nigeria, and no longer relevant in the scheme of things. This makes the NO. VICTOR NO VANQUISHED mantra of the former Yakubu Gowown’s administration after the Nigeria- Biafra civil war in 1970, a huge joke. If the situation subsists, Nigeria will not know peace, which is synonymous with justice.”