The traditional ruler of Umuanyi autonomous community of Uturu, Isuikwuato LGA of Abia State, HRH, Eze Ogbonnaya Uwadiegwu has cautioned President Bola Tinubu against going ahead with Niger Republic war. He rather, advised the President to utilize the available manpower and resources in the Nigerian military in flushing out criminal elements operating in various parts of the Nigeria and tormenting the citizens.
Eze Ogbonnaya who was a former defence correspondent of defunct Concord Newspapers, gave the advice in Umuahia on Tuesday after the inauguration of the newly appointed Chairman of Abia State Council of traditional rulers, Eze Linus Nto Mba.
He made it clear that about 7 Northern States share boundary with Niger Republic which means that any war declared on the Nigerien military junta may be viewed indirectly as a war declared against the Northern Nigerian population. According to the monarch, Hausa/Fulani population in those border States will be hit hard if a military action is carried out in Niger, saying that it would create total crises including mass refugee turmoil.
He advised President Bola Tinubu to listen to the counsel of the Nigerian Senate and other eminent citizens and refrain from going ahead with the proposed war, no matter any foreign advice or pressure. According to the royal father, Northerners of Fulani and Hausa extraction may rise up against the government of President Tinubu if he goes ahead with a military intervention, adding that the 7 Northern States would not watch and allow their homes to be turned to theatre of war and destruction.
He wondered why the country has not learnt any lesson from the Liberian war where the Nigerian soldiers perished in a war without the country gaining anything. “What did we gain from Liberia, how many of our companies took part the Liberian reconstruction after the war? What did we benefit”, he asked.
He further made it known that though President Tinubu is a Muslim, the overriding tribal interests of indigenes of border communities , economic and safety concerns would still dominate the minds of any Northerner, which according to him, entails that the President should not go ahead with the war.
On the insecurity troubling his Uturu community as a result of criminal activities, Eze Ogbonnaya Uwadiegwu commended Governor Alex Otti for launching Operation Crush outfit but urged Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State to collaborate with his Abia State counterpart in securing the Imo-Abia boundary point between Okigwe and Uturu.
He identified the 5-Km area of Okigwe -Uturu road as travelers and indigenes’ nightmare because of incessant kidnappings, robbery, raping going on in the area, lamenting that bandits operated in the crime flashpoint despite the presence of different security agencies. The traditional ruler therefore threw his support to the newly launched Operation Crush outfit by Abia State government, saying that the initiative could help in driving away criminal elements from Uturu forests and other parts of the State.
Eze Uwadiegwu also called for cordial relationship between traditional rulers in Abia and their subjects towards maintaining development and security.
