Traditional rulers in the south east zone of the country who arrived
Enugu yesterday in solidarity with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi have
called on the federal government to take immediate steps to disarm
rampaging Fulani herdsmen.
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State also visited yesterday
along with an entourage made up of the leadership of the traditional
rulers’ council of his state and some members of the state executive
council also to show solidarity with the Enugu governor over the
killings at Nimbo by Fulani herdsmen, saying his government and the
people of Anambra state were solidly behind the government and people
of their sister state in this crisis.
Both groups of visitors on solidarity visits commended Governor for the
calibre of leadership he exhibited that worked to stave off further
bloody crisis in the wake of the Nimbo attack.
One of the leaders of the South East traditional rulers council and
Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, who was also on the entourage of
Governor Obiano, told the two governors that it was the view of the
monarchs that the people of the geopolitical zone should gird their
loins and not allow this kind of attack to take their people unawares
again in the future.
The chairman, South East traditional rulers council, His Royal Majesty
Eze Dr. Eberechi N. Dick who led the monarchs to government house,
Enugu urged the government to take the call for disarmament serious in
view of the danger herdsmen’s menace poses to the sovereignty of the
country.
They declared that Governor Ugwuanyi showed effective leadership in
handling the recent attack on the people of Ukpabi Nimbo in Uzo Uwani
local government area by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The natural rulers thanked the governor ‘for the able way and manner
you handled the matter without people taking the law into their hands”
and wished the injured ones speedy recovery.
Addressing the traditional rulers, governor Ugwuanyi said their visit
‘is really very comforting and reassuring and it goes to confirm our
sense of brotherhood and the common grief that we share as a people”.
Governor Ugwuanyi also expressed immense gratitude to his Anambra
state counterpart for standing by him from the moment the attack
broke, informing that Obiano called him as soon as the incident
occurred and that his presence yesterday with a big entourage “goes to
show the very special bond that exists between the people of Enugu and
Anambra states and the love and empathy they share among themselves.
On their call for disarming of the armed herdsmen, they stated that
“the government should as a matter of take proactive measures to avoid
such incident in the future by disarming armed herdsmen. Herdsmen
should not be allowed to carry arms apart from their traditional bows
and arrows”.
They posited that in the case of alleged coming of the grazing bill,
the government should not dabble into it since cattle rearing is a
private business and that going into it would mean favouring one
section of the country.
