Akajiugo condemns escalating violence in Umuaka.
3 min read
A Kano based Akalite and the principal partne M.N. Duru and company, Chief Marcel Duruchukwu, Akajiugo 1 of Umuaka, has condemned in strongest terms, the spate of violence emanating from Umuaka Municipal Council in the recent time. Chief Duruchukwu disclosed this in a message he sent to Umuaka Times Institute, the whatsapp group of Umuaka Times newspaper last week, while reacting to the recent killing of an Obeakpu youth by his fellow youth following a gambling disagreement. In the message, the Akajiugo lamented; “I weep for our community. I am aghast at the rate of violence that takes place daily amongst our people, especially the youths. Taking of human life which traditionally is regarded as the greatest aru in our Igbo culture, has now become the norm! It is very sad and unfortunate. I don’t know how we got to this pass, but I think that something needs to be urgently done to correct this anomaly. Or we shall drift into anarchy and chaos! Our traditional, political and religious leaders, must rise to the occasion and begin to address this issue.”
Akajiugo who did not only wonder why social disorganization and violent disputes have gone so bad in the community, also tasked the government and other institutions to bring back and reintroduce in the school system, the core Igbo values and moral upbringing to the youths.
“We seem to have lost our way completely. We must go back to the drawing board and reintroduce our core Igbo values to the young ones. Core Igbo values must be identified and reintroduced in our educational syllabus both in our schools/Churches and in our homes. Respect for elders, dialogue, and communal arbitration and sanctions must be seriously encouraged.”
Still condemning the violent and criminal activities of the youthful Akalites at home, the attorney warned about the impending doom that may befall the community via inter and intra village wars if proper intervention is not initiated. “The idea that a group of young persons would take up arms and attack another set of young men, without reporting their grievances to the elders is simply incredible and rankles the mind! Soon, if nothing is urgently done, we shall be having inter and intra village wars! May God forbid!”
On the issue of no police station in Umuaka or Njaba LGA as at present, the senior lawyer appealed to the people of the community to create a temporary alternative body that will be in charge of community policing and keep the community safe for now. “Since the police have been driven away, society must evolve a system to safeguard itself. In the days of our forefathers, when we had no police, society of that era evolved a system that managed the affairs of their time. Everything that is happening now would one day be resolved one way or the other. We must not lose hope. God has not forsaken us and will not.”
Still pained by the death of the innocent young boy named Chidiebere Okpara, Akajiugo concluded; “Sad, such a young and promising boy is gone just for nothing, leaving his parents and relatives in great anguish. We are losing it. We are, and it is our collective fault. For too long, we abandoned the leadership space to morons, nincompoops and charlatans. See where they have driven us to, the very edges of a precipice! What is so disgusting, is that even in our precarious position, we still hail them and proclaim their sagacious nature! I still pinch myself from time to time hoping that I will wake up from this outrageous nightmare! I still can’t believe it is reality. But alas it is, sadly so.”
As at press time last week, Umuaka Times correspondent in Imo State was yet to confirm if any arrests towards the killing or burning of some houses in the community have been made. There is a big suspicion that the perpetrators of the crime may be at large.
