…Roar ‘enough of tears, sorrow, blood’ in region
From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
Igbo women have risen in unity against what they described as self-destructive lethargy and actions that have mired the Southeast region, calling on all to join forces to restore peace in the geo-political zone. Declaring that “enough is enough” of the tears, sorrow and bloodletting in Igbo land, the women under the aegis of Nkata Ndi Inyom Igbo (NNII), warned that the alarming insecurity in the region must not be allowed to persist, if Ndigbo would retain their dignity.
Speaking on the issues at the 3rd Annual Conference of the organization which held at the Old Government Lodge, Enugu, the Founder and President General of NNII, Iyom Josephine Anineh, noted that insecurity has made development in the region impossible.
She said: “The Motto of our association is ‘Partnering for Development.’ But in the three years of our group’s existence, our region, the Southeast has been a theatre of insecurity and as such, the development in our motto has been literally non-existent. As women who had high hopes of partnering with our men and young people to develop our homeland, we are totally disappointed that all we see and feel are tears, sorrow and blood.
“As daughters, sisters, wives and mothers, we the women have looked on as our region is mired in self-destructive lethargy and actions. We the women are the greatest victims of the insecurity in the land.
“Nothing seems normal anymore. We are losing the human capital as we lose our productive men, we are suffering the losses of our sons and husbands and we look on as investors scamper out of the Southeast to other states because there is fear and anxiety in the land. Our children, our hope for the future are all running away from home and those who remain are unemployed while those outside who feel like hearkening to the ‘aku luo uno’ mantra are reluctant to come home because we literally have a Hobbesian state in Igboland where life seems to be brutal, short and nasty.
“We the women are concerned and knowing our capacity to broker peace rooted in our historic antecedents, we are stepping up through this conference with the theme, ‘Women: The unifying force for peace building.’ We are, therefore, bringing the Nkata home to you all our dear brothers and sisters. We are ready as women to initiate the moves that can return peace to our region.
We have sadly looked on, but it is obvious we all need a team spirit for the wrongs to be righted. “Every other region in Nigeria might not be an Eldorado, but there seems to be some synergy that promotes peace and unity that sadly seems to be lacking with us. We have extended a hand of fellowship to most women across Nigeria as we believe that women and the pursuit of peace is a global phenomenon we can tap into at this time. We must all look in the mirror to see what ails us and how we can partner for the progress of the third tripod in a Nigeria that seems to be at the crossroads, politically, economically and socio-culturally.”
Anineh stressed that the Southeast needed the urgency of now to address the insecurity that has made the region lose billions if not trillions of naira “for a region known for its industry and commerce,” warning that “we must steady the ship of the region before it sinks like the titanic which even though supposedly built to be strong sank in a very historic manner. We must urgently discus peace and we as women are here to do our bit.”
She called for a return to the core values and history to realize that women as “Adas in the families and as Ndi Inyom are the centerpiece of peace talks in our communities. The mono leadership of the men seems to have failed, we are here to partner for development.”
In her keynote speech, Mrs Ene Obi, commended the leadership of NNII for bringing them together to discuss way forward for the zone and also the nation, tasking Igbo women professors and other leaders to see the mentorship of younger ones as priority and to carry them along to ensure “they’re lifted up above their life expectations for a future development.”
The Board of Trustee Chairman, Dr Regina Amadi-Njoku, expressed the concern of the women over the insecurity in the zone as they become worst casualties of conflicts that lead to insecurity, insisting that no society develops without security, justice and peace. Insisting on the Southeast region returning to those values of community, interventions, accountability, peace-making and good moral ethos, she said: “Many are in captivity while many more live in fear or have been displaced and become refugees in Igboland. Many that are outside the Southeast are too scared to make the valued journey to our home land. This has dire socio-economic consequences. We are, therefore, here today to rub minds, to proffer solutions in unison so that we can harness the values of the complementarity that prospered our forebears.”