Igbo diaspora group cautions south east leaders against remarks that threaten citizens’ lives

A group, the Concerned Citizens of Igbo Nation in Diaspora (CCIND), on Tuesday, called on the leaders in the south eastern region to desist from making comments that could endanger the citizens’s lives.

The Spokesperson of CCIND, Emeka Livingstone, gave the advice in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.

The group’s reaction followed a statement allegedly made by Gov. Charles Soludo of Anambra on July  6, claiming that “99.99 per cent of alleged kidnappers arrested in Anambra are Igbos.”

Livingstone described the statement as “shocking.”

“In as much as we encourage our leaders who eschew evil and lead aright, it becomes very worrisome when these leaders resort to reckless public criticism of their own citizens whom they are supposed to protect.”

He expressed concern that Soludo did not provide evidence as to how many of such arbitrarily quoted figure had been prosecuted and convicted.

“Soludo’s reckless claims did not only exonerate the herdsmen terrorists in Alaigbo but also gave a free pass for further invasion of farms and forests of Igbo land by these herdsmen.”

He said the remark had also given the enemies of Ndigbo an opportunity to spin false narratives and propaganda against the Igbo nation.

“Governor Soludo’s unverifiable allegation did not put into account the multiple hit-and-run attacks by armed herdsmen in several villages in the state that occurred during the immediate past governor’s regime.

“Governor Soludo’s unproven allegation fell short of telling his Igbo audience in Maryland, USA, how many of the alleged suspects have been lawfully tried and convicted before arriving at his arbitrary figure of 99.99 per cent.

“Interestingly, few days after governor Soludo’s unfounded assertion, some youths In Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra, where he governs, apprehended three armed Fulani herders who chased and shot at a young Igbo who confronted them for intruding into his farm.

“But Governor Soludo has avoided addressing this development and doing nothing to stop the incessant mayhem caused by these herdsmen in the state.

“In these perilous times, we are minded to caution that our leaders should desist from making sweeping statements that potentially endanger the lives of Igbo youths and setting them up for human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings,” Livingstone said.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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