Insecurity: Many Diasporan Akalites may not return for Xmas.
5 min read
Insecurity, violence, social disorganization, and unending crises seem to have occupied the centre stage in the social life of Umuaka Municipal Council. Hardly a week passes by without any news of violence from the community. Just last week, Umuaka Times published a story suggesting that if the wave of violence in the community continues with the pace it has established in the community, the government of the state in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria may have no other option than to liaise with the Nigerian Army and station military checkpoints and patrols in the community. Many Akalites who read the story called the newspaper while some others outrightly opposed the motion to station soldiers said no to the involvement of soldiers in the security organization of the community.
On the same day this story hit the internet, two boys were allegedly arrested by some Isiozi youths. According to the video clip which related to the theft and arrest of the boys, they were apprehended while trying steal wires from a building construction site. Just a day after the arrest of the boys, kidnappers again stormed Ime Afor Umuaka modern market and took away a cement dealer known as Ikenna. Crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and snatching of motorcycles have continued to enjoy fertile and unquestioned hospitality in the community for at least, in the last 9 months.
The successful kidnapping of Ikenna, the cement dealer last week, to a very large extent, signaled the return of kidnappers in the community. Umuaka is critically returning to the days of Animal Kingdom, a situation where no one in the community was safe. All these crimes are taking place just three months away from December when many Akalites who live in and outside the country are expected to visit and celebrate with their families and loved ones.
From Umuaka Times findings, many Akalites have refused to travel to Umuaka for security reasons in the last two to three months. Already, there have been stories of kidnapping in the community either coincidental or targeted. In such crimes, the victims were whisked away and held hostage by their captors for financial benefits. There have also been gun attacks in some villages in the community, including arson, armed robberies and outright murder.
With all these tragic happenings in the community, many Akalites in Diaspora who spoke with Umuaka Times in the last two weeks, did not only express their serious disappointment but maintained that they would not come home during Christmas celebrations in the next four months. An Akalite in the United States had concluded his Christmas travel plans to bring home his entire family for the first time for them to have a glimpse of where their home looks like, has completely shelved the plan pending when normalcy will be returned in the community and state. Another Akalite who lives in Germany with a plan to bring home some white Germans to the community for a charity program, has not only cancelled the trip, but he has also told the Germans to forget the charity program at least for now.
A couple of weeks ago, an Akalite who visited Nigeria from Canada for security reasons, refused to travel to the Southeast and lodged in a hotel in Abuja instead. He invited his mother and one other person to come over to Abuja and stay with him for some days. From there he went back to his base in Canada and flew his mother and the other family member back to Imo State. Just recently, the lead pastor of Gateway International Church Port Harcourt, Pastor George Izunwa, suspended till further notice, the yearly 3 day medical outreach his foundation, the George Izunwa Foundation organizes in the community due to insecurity. There are many more stories that are very scary that happen in Umuaka almost daily. Many people have been warned to curtail the way promote unnecessary display of wealth in public and other activities that attract the attention of criminals to them.
Umuaka Times findings show that there are two types of kidnapping taking place in Imo State as at now. One is coincidental kidnapping and another is targeted kidnapping. In coincidental kidnapping, the kidnappers will be in a vehicle they snatched from some people and be patrolling on the road. The moment they cite any person in an expensive car or sports utility van, they will double-cross the vehicle and whisky the car owner and his driver etc away. Many people have fallen victim to this type of kidnapping in the recent past and many more are still falling prey to it. To avoid this, many big boys in the state now move in less expensive cars and SUVs with the state and some other parts of Igboland. Some hire the services of commercial motorcycle operators otherwise known as okada riders to move around. Unknown to these people, some of the okada operators participate in such criminal activities they are trying to hide from.
Another type of kidnapping is the targeted kidnapping. In this case, an informant, perhaps someone close to the target, gives information or at times sends the pictures of the prospective victim to the kidnappers. The kidnappers will then start trailing the fellow until the day they will pick him. For now, there is no way one can avoid this except to stay away from the area where he is very well known.
Akalites around the world have not kept quiet over this ugly development in the community. Many groups are meeting both in and outside the country. According to findings by Umuaka Times, before Christmas period arrives, there will be a tremendous improvement in the security of Umuaka. Some Akalites who called Umuaka Times to get information about the state of security or insecurity in Njaba LGA, Umuaka Times advised them to go ahead buy their tickets, if an improvement is recorded, they can then make use of the ticket and visit home and if it does not, they will then go for the return of their money from the airlines.
