A former minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, has claimed that elites in the southeast are afraid of speaking up against the insecurity in the region for fear of reprisal attack.
Keyamo said this on Tuesday while speaking about the fresh two-week sit-at-home/lockdown in the South East which was earlier announced by a factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa.
“I think it is time to call a spade, a spade: the simple reason the elites in the South East are finding it difficult to speak out against those killing and dehumanising their own people in the East is the fear of reprisal attacks against their own properties and family members back home by these ‘unknown gunmen’,” Keyamo tweeted.
“I have spoken to my friends privately and they have admitted this much. Let’s not put unnecessary pressure on these elites. It’s a difficult situation for them.
“Their silence does not mean support for what is happening there. It is the responsibility of the federal government (FG) to restore law and order in all parts of the country.
“And this I am ABSOLUTELY certain that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will do. Besides, we cannot isolate a region and its elites in a country where we see ourselves as one.”
Keyamo said that he believes it is the collective responsibility of Nigerians to assist the FG in restoring order nationwide.
“The only thing I ask is that these same elites must either now be silent or totally support the efforts of the federal government (be it military or otherwise) in restoring order to that region,” Keyamo said.
According to him, when the leaders of the region initially kicked against operation ‘PYTHON DANCE’ by former President Muhammadu Buhari, they did not know that the situation would degenerate to this level.
On Monday, after four hours of a closed-door meeting, South East political leaders resolved to seek an audience with President Tinubu on the security situation in the region.
Governors, Members of National Assembly, Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly and other notable leaders of the region were part of the meeting in Abuja.
Speaking with journalists, the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said all the leaders across political party lines have decided to work together for the good of the region.
According to the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, the meeting x-rayed the prevailing security challenges in the region.
