~ As Obi Achebe laments rising insecurity, crime in S’tasismt, Onitsha
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Anambra State Sgovernor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo has declared war against touts in Onitsha, the commercial city of the state.
Soludo made the declaration yesterday, when he attended the Ofala festival of the monarch of Onitsha Ancient Kingdom, Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, who is popularly addressed as Agbogidi.
Addressing Onitsha indigenes, Soludo noted that what used to be known as Greater Onitsha, which comprised of five local government areas in today’s Anambra, used to be the very cradle of Igbo civilisation, and that for Igbo land to move forward, Onitsha must first experience it.
Soludo said: We felicitate with Agbogidi on the occasion of this year’s Ofala festival, which is his 22nd on the throne. I like the projection of Onitsha Ofala by Onitsha people. It is a noble culture.
“Onitsha constitutes the Obi of Ndigbo, and for Igbo to move forward, Onitsha must move forward. That is why we are working hard so that the dry bones will rise again. This is the big city for which Igbo is known.
“We have resolved to wipe out thugs and touts in. Onitsha. Very soon, we are coming for them. We don’t know from what town they come to take over Onitsha, but we will keep evacuating them.
“In the next few weeks an operation will commence, something big will happen in Onitsha in terms of security,” Soludo said.
Meanwhile, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe has lamented the rise of insecurity and crime in the South East and Onitsha in particular.
Achebe in his ofala message yesterday said: “The country is at a dangerous crossroads politically, economically, socially, and security-wise.
“In the Southeast, we have the aftermath of the last general elections; the complex and protracted security situation involving kidnappers, political thugs, state, and non-state actors, etc., all masquerading as unknown gunmen; as well as the crippling economic strangulation of the Southeast arising from the insecurity and the ill-advised sit-at-home protest that has cost Ndi Igbo incalculable losses in finances, properties and lives.
“Our community is not immune to the above challenges. Our people are also hurting badly. Therefore, despite the Fact that the Ofala remains a celebration, we have made a conscious decision to prune down the scope of the festival for this year to more restrained levels in line with the prevailing mood in the country.
“We hope that the situation will improve significantly to enable us to resume the festival at normal levels in the future.”
On how insecurity is affecting Onitsha, Achebe said: “Like other large cities in the country, Onitsha had its own share of security challenges during the past year.
“Being the centerpiece of a massive urban spread of contiguous communities, it is virtually impossible to ringfence our community from the overall security situation in the urban conundrum.
“Also, being the main centre for economic activity, Onitsha has become the destination for the mostly jobless and transient youths from the rural communities in search of an elusive better life.
“Consequently, our main challenges remain youth unemployment, gangsters, touting, homelessness, petty and armed robbery, cultism, drug addiction, child prostitution, rape, etc.”
He lamented that the indigenous community is not spared of these pressures of urbanization, and that his council constantly struggling to maintain security in the city.
He added that the statutory security agencies are mostly reactive towards crime, leaving the Anambra State Vigilante Group (AVG) with 25 operatives, under the command of the state government and the Onicha Ado Community Vigilante Unit (OCVU), with 59 operatives under his command to cater for the security of the city.
