We now live in a country where human lives are no longer sacred; people are killed daily—Udungwor

Disturbed by the killings, maiming, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency and terrorism in the country, Mr. Uche Udungwor, the President, New Horizon for Peace and Charity Initiative, which idea is to promote peace globally, has called on the relevant authorities to put mechanisms in place to put a stop to the massacre and genocide committed against defenseless citizens of Nigerian. SUCCESS DAMIAN presents the excerpts:

Introduce yourself as you would want the public to know you

I am Mr. Uche Udungwor, the President, New Horizon for Peace and Charity Initiative, which idea is to promote peace globally. We always try to stress in our forum that peace has no alternative. Some of us that are so engrossed in promoting peace, it is a duty for us to ensure that peace goes universal. In fact, that is one of the very reasons that prompted the formation of New Horizon for Peace and Charity Initiative.

Now can you let us into the reason for this meeting?

Yes, I have been bothered by what has been going on in the area of insecurity in this country. It is unfortunate that we are living in a society where things are taking for granted, where human lives are no longer sacred, no dignity, people are being killed on daily basis without the government being decisive in taking actions against the perpetrators of these evil, it is bogging me, it makes me bleed, and we can’t keep quiet. I know that people have been talking about it, but I want to lend my voice as well, let the government know that one of their primary responsibilities to the citizens is to protect them from harm’s way, and if this is not done, it is a failure on the part of government.

As it is now, what do you propose as the immediate or even long time solution to these killings, kidnapping, terrorism and banditry in the country?

You see, these things started gradually, when it would have been nipped in the bud, but it was not done and it is becoming a cankerworm, which has made it somewhat complex, but be that as it may, if we should go to records, Nigeria’s military is a highly formidable military, well recognized even internationally. It still baffles me, why Nigerian military cannot quell the situation. Okay if the government has been very decisive from the onset, to address this issue; it wouldn’t have gotten to this level. However, it is not too late. What I would suggest is for the government to go back to the drawing board, look at these people, these people are not spirit, some even come in the open, to challenge, I wouldn’t say the so-called government, to challenge the government, and they are there watching, what do you make out of it? If you ask me, it looks as if the government itself has compromised, but let me not toe that line, but please as a matter of urgency the massacre must stop, the massacre is becoming unbearable. I am not a military person to tell them what to do, they are trained in this field, they know what is called strategic planning, these people, they are not too much for them to be trapped and dealt with.

A lot funds are pushed in that direction; look, they are pushing people to resort to self-help, and mind you, if we begin to have proliferation of arms, haha, I am afraid, who will survive this? So Government should please, they are able, they are capable, they have what it takes to quell this, unless they are telling us a different story. So, the ball goes back to them, let them think up what to do and stop this madness by these Fulani herdsmen. We don’t need to pretend about it again, it is open, it is glaring.

Now we are talking about Plateau State, we are talking about Benue State, Borno State, it is even happening in the east, only last week, there is a local government, Umunneochi, the same Fulani herdsmen, in Abia State, in Enugu State, all these within the past two weeks, what is really happening? We are not safe at all. Government should stand up to this primary responsibility, unless, unless they want people to resort to self-help which will not be in the interest of the society.

Do you think the military has enough equipment to prosecute this war against banditry, terrorism and insurgency, or do you think the military has been compromised?

If you talk about the military being well-equipped, a lot of budget, a lot of funds, overtime, have been budgeted for the military, so they cannot tell me they don’t have the equipment. If they say they don’t have equipment, where did the fund go to? Did they embezzle the funds? It is a question that begs for answer, they should tell us. Check the national budge, defense is always the highest, so it can never be. If they say they don’t have enough, that means the hierarchy, they have some questions to answer. They shouldn’t make us to think that there is a level of compromise, again I wouldn’t like to toe that line, let me leave that theory, but with their body language, they shouldn’t make us to believe that they have been compromised.

Allegations were that the soldiers are not treated well, your take…

You see, this is a worrisome development. Overtime we do have interactions with these soldiers, it is unfortunate the kind of stories, the kind of pictures they paint about their welfare even while at the battle field. If there are people that should be well taken care of, it should be the soldiers, especially those fighting this war. We hear a lot of stories, very disturbing stories about how they are treating them and that is why when most of them have the opportunity you see them, they bolt. They say most of the things they see, they cannot even say it. Most of the time they even accuse the hierarchy, it is a very disturbing situation.

As it is happening in Plateau, Benue, unfortunately, the Southeast is not exempted, there is a particular community called Osuihiteukwa in Imo State, no ant is living there again, houses are burnt and people are asked to leave, what is your take on this?

Again it is a very disturbing situation, I am from Imo State and I know Osuihiteukwa in Orsu Local Government Area, I have friends from that community, I know some of the members, they have not visited the community for the past 2 years and I know some of them that have relocated to other communities to settle. I have always said this, I am of the opinion, we have a state governor in the state, what is the responsibility of the governor if he cannot ensure that peace or that his state is peaceful? He is the chief security officer, and so he is duty bound to ensure that his people return to their original homeland. Now if that is not done, it is another failure. How would he feel seeing people scatter here and there, if it means having peace parley between the military, which he will lead, and the traditional institution, and then put some measures in place in two ways, if it is the people that are fomenting this trouble, take care of them, let the law take its full course on them. And then if there is an external connection to the crisis, you are duty bound to protect your people. So I believe that in no time, peace will return and the people will come back to their homeland. That is my little advice in that direction.

Now we have a Commander in chief who is aware of these abnormalities, but rather than talk about this crisis they are talking about election, they are talking about 2027, so what advice do you have for the president?

Sometimes I weep and sometimes I feel like saying it is unfortunate, that one is a Nigerian. I want to quote Anthony Cardinal Okogie, I recalled some years back under the Youth Development and Empowerment Foundation, when we paid him a courtesy visit, I recalled him saying that the future of the Nigerian youth is so bleak, that he regrets being a Nigerian. Now it baffles me that a nation will be on fire and instead of finding ways to put out the fire, people are talking about things that are not even important, as far as I am concerned, they are not important, this is 2025 and you are talking about election that is coming up in 2027.

Now let’s look at Plateau State, places like Bokkos, Mangu, Riyom, the communities have been deserted, people are killed and when the nation is supposed to be mourning and finding a way to put a stop to all this madness, people are gallivanting from one place to the other, talking about 2027, that goes to show you how deep down we have gotten to as a society, society without conscience, leadership without conscience, how do you explain that? Please, those gallivanting for 2027, it is an unfortunate situation, it is an unfortunate development. The government is duty bound to ensure this country is peaceful, but anything short of that is counterproductive. You are interested to be governor, you are interested to be president, when the country is burning, it is another failure and God will hold them accountable.

Not quite long the government of United Arab Emirate (UAE) released names of suspected sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria, but till date our government felt deaf ear, even Goodluck Jonathan told the world that there were Boko Haram in his government, people in high political hierarchy have been named as key sponsors of insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria, arrested terrorists are confessing, why is government not investigating, querying and bringing to book these people? Allegation is not proof, what is our leadership afraid of? Your take

Again it is unfortunate. It is said that he who must go to equity must go with clean hand, because the authorities may have been compromised, maybe at one point or the other, they were allies, so where is the moral right? Even when they see it, this is the person; they don’t have the moral right because they have something to shield, to cover. So they would not have that moral right to question or query because they want to save their own head; that is the big mess we are in.

From the pattern of killings in Benue and Plateau, it is obvious a group of invaders want to take over the country or part of it, on the other hand another group is agitating for self-governance, and now while one group appears to be getting favourable attention, the other don’t, what is happening?

Double standard, that is double standard, there is no sincerity in all of this. Nigeria as a country is too complex, complex in the sense that they don’t have the same measure for everybody; we have first class citizens, second class citizens, third class citizens and even non class citizens: in this order Nigeria addresses each and that is why these things are not done in the proper way. I am not a prophet of doom, but at some point Nigeria will go down, because when you push some people to a certain point, the next thing is to react, and you cannot predict the level of reaction. So Nigeria should once again look inwards; they know all this, they have the power, the authority, to correct some of these anomalies, but because of selfish interest, yes, they refused to.

As it is now, what do you think the government can do to take care of victims of these recent attacks especially in Benue and Plateau?

You see, sometimes because it is not affecting you, you wouldn’t know the gravity and the level of pain that these things inflict on the people. Let the government reach out to these victims, they should conduct and know the level of damage, treat people on individual basis. There are funds meant for such situations, go to them, know the level of damage, then address them, those whose homes have been burnt down, get them new homes, set them up with some petty trading. And then, set up a very strong security network, the government must set up a very strong security network that will prevent future occurrence. Sometimes what I don’t understand is this, the government, our military, they have what it takes, but this still baffles some of us why they cannot quell this, it is a problem, real problem.

We also hear that those causing problems in the Northern Nigeria, bandits, terrorists and insurgents depending on your nomenclature, are foreigners. What is your take?

You see, I know that we have regional joint security outfit, there is something they called them, you see, like I always say, without sincerity of purpose no matter whatever activity will end in futility. Let me say this; from our own end, are we sincere in the project? If we are not sincere in the project it will only be a jamboree without any result, without any meaningful impact.

And because some people are giving it a lot of coloration, which they are not even making a mistake, such things will not help us. So for this thing to work, they should align with the regional military. If you check out, those other countries, they are doing extremely very well, if you check out, there were some of these things recorded a few months ago from one of the neighboring countries, their own defense did that, now if Nigeria can come out and say this is what we want to achieve with that collaboration, it can be achieved and criminality will be brought down to the barest minimum.

The problem here is the will, just the will. There is no grammar there that will tell us it is this or that, it is the will. And if we have the will, within months, the problem of insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping and banditry, will become history.

So your organization, New Horizon for Peace and Charity Initiative is calling for peace in Nigeria.
Of course, yes, and that is why we are here, to lend our voice, let the government know that we are interested in the peace of the nation, and they should stand up for the challenge.

.