Diaspora Groups Renew Pressure on South-east against Ruga

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Following inkling that the federal government is still bent on acquiring lands for ranching, the governors of the South-east states have, again, been asked not to get involved in the agenda of “federal land grabbing” for disguised Ruga project. 

The latest warning was handed down by three South-east Diaspora groups based in the United States of America, including Ambassadors for Self-Determination USA,  American Veterans of Igbo Descent(AVID), and Rising Sun Group. 

In a joint statement issued yesterday , made available to the media via e-mail, the three groups insisted that no land should be allocated in the South-east for government to give out to individuals to engage in ranching. 

The statement was  signed by Ben Nwankwo and Evans Nwankwo Executive Directors of Ambassador for Self-Determination USA;  Chief Sylvester Onyia, President, American Veterans of Igbo Descent AVID; Maxwell Dede and Rev Father Augustine Odimegwa of the Rising Sun Group. 

According to the groups, any move by the  federal government to acquire land for ranching is a disguised way to introduce Ruga which has been rejected in the southern states. 

“We, the concerned people of Igbo land, have said it before and we are saying it again:there is no land for Ruga anywhere in Igbo land – not today, not tomorrow, not ever,” the groups said. 

“We will resist it with everything in us. RUGA is not about peace or development. It is a private business disguised as a government policy. It is a hidden plan to take over our ancestral lands and hand them to Fulani settlers, using agriculture as an excuse.” 

The Diaspora groups reminded Ndigbo and the rest of southerners that the “Ruga project and the so-called National Waterways Bill are part of the same evil plan (of) seizing control of our lands, rivers, and streams and give them to outsiders.” 

“We rejected this plan before, and nothing has changed to make us accept it now,” the groups stated. 

The Diaspora groups explained their stance against Ruga, saying that the South-east zone has no land to spare owing to its space constraints as “Igbo land is small and densely populated.” 

“We are over 800 people per square kilometre, making us the most crowded region in Nigeria. We are already struggling to find land for farming, housing, and industries. So how can anyone expect us to give out land for cows? 

“If the government is serious about ranching, let them go to Niger State, which has over 76,000 square kilometres of land – far more than the whole of the South-east put together,” the groups said. 

They also pointed out the insecurity issues associated with Ruga, citing the mass killings in Benue State where people hitherto  were “welcomed as so-called herders (and) today Benue has become a killing field.” 

“We reject a plan that will turn us into strangers on our own land, where outsiders come, settle, multiply, and eventually take over our communities. That is reverse colonisation, and we will never allow it.”

Quoting reports by human rights organisations, the groups noted that “over 1,800 people have been killed by armed herdsmen from 2018 to 2023, adding that even here in Igbo land, Lokpanta cattle market in Abia State has become a hotbed of crime, kidnapping, and killings.” 

They argued that creating Ruga in the South-east was akin to allowing the security problems being experienced at Lokpanta to spread across the zone. 

“We cannot allow people who may become killers of our women and children tomorrow to settle on our land today,” the Diaspora groups insisted. 

They recalled that it was the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu that first raised the alarm and stood up for our people when this Ruga and waterways matter started under President  Mohammadu Buhari. 

“They educated our people, led peaceful protests, and helped rural communities say no to this evil plan,” the groups adding that nothing has changed about the evil intentions in Ruga. 

The Diaspora groups, therefore, specifically sent “strong warning” to Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State and other political leaders in his mould “to stop playing with Igbo lives, and stop negotiating with our blood” as he was “not elected to sell our land or our future.” 

They called on all South-east traditional rulers, town unions, youth groups, market women, churches, and every community to stay alert and resist any move to set up Ruga in their areas in whatever guise.