Kwechiri Security: Is Uzo-Uwani council chair sincere to his people?
Chairman of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Council of Enugu State, Barr. Chijioke Ezugwu, has made a bold step – at least, in words. He launched “Operation Kwechiri” security outfit to fight insecurity in all corners of his council.
Announcing his resolve to serve his people peace, Ezugwu tried to boost the confidence of Governor Peter Mbah’s representatives who attended the event on Thursday. Particularly interesting were his readiness “to lay down my life for the people of Uzo-Uwani”.
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It was, of course, a careless hyperbolic rhetoric but the governor’s officials played along nice.
The Senior Special Assistant Security, Mr. Vincent Onyeabor, who represented the governor, expressed joy as he could “see the support, empowerment and other things being provided” for the safety of Uzo-Uwani.
Uzo-Uwani has witnessed recurrent, deadly attacks since 2016. The Nimbo massacre – where over 500 armed Fulani herdsmen swooped on the sleeping villages of Ekwuru, Nimbo-Ngwoko, Ugwuijoro, Ebor, Enugu-Nimbo, Umuome, and Ugwuachara and slaughtered nearly 100 people – occurred in Uzo-Uwani.
That time, the chairman of their Local Government, like the present one, talked tough; former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi wept and promised “accelerated help”. But those were empty words; they came to nothing. And Fulani herdsmen has continued to kill people in their numbers without consequences ever since then.
While the people hope that Ezugwu’s “Operations Kwechiri” security meets it’s purposes, a lot of others are sceptical that the launch was yet another political event – like many others.
Until a Fulani herdsman – even one person – is prosecuted for the killings, then there is nothing any politician can to say to convince a common man in Uzo-Uwani that anyone really mean to “lay down” his life for them? After all these people watched Barr. Chijioke Ezugwu and state officials leave after the speech, well shielded by armed guards.
