INSECURITY: ANAMBRA MARKET CHAIRMAN URGES SOLUDO TO BEEF UP SECURITY
By Juliana Nwachukwu :
The President General of Building Materials International Market Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State, Chief Jude Nwankwo, weekend urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to beef up security aimed at curtailing the incessant crimes in the state.
Chief Nwankwo who made the urge stressed the need for equipping traditional rulers, Presidents General and others who know their terrains with a view to make the state livable.
“It is of prime importance to equip the Igwes, PGs, market leaders to fight crime in their respective communities as all communities know the bad eggs among them.
“Security is too costly to be maintained but our government needs to sit up, add more money to security. Soludo is an economist and he manages the state’s resources judiciously which resulted in all the infrastructural development in the state.
“Let him equip the Communities, Igwes, PGs, so that they would be held responsible if anything happens in their respective communities, this cult issues must be eliminated, they must be exposed.
“What is happening now requires non kinetic approach, it is unacceptable, the security agents need to fight crime, solar CCTVs are supposed to be installed in all the markets in the state. These are ways to follow to curtail all these crimes in the state,” he stated.
Speaking further, Nwankwo who is the ASMATA Patron, commended the governor for his efforts in making sure that businesses, markets open on Mondays, noting that he has the interest of the masses at heart saying, ” You can’t fend for yourself while staying at home”.
He said traders fear unknown gunmen who claim to be protesting against the detention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kalu, saying that they cannot be attributed to Nnamdi Kalu as their actions and inactions portray them as criminals who kill and maim people.
“Traders are ready to go back to businesses on mondays but whenever it seems the business is gradually reopening, they come with threats, doing one thing or the other to show their presence.
“Gov. Charles Soludo in his protest for the release of the IPOB leader had visited President Buhari but at the end of the day, he wasn’t released.
“The lasting solution for this release of the IPOB leader is for all the Eastern Governors, House of Representatives in Igbo land to come together with sincerity, go to Aso Rock and protest for the release of Mazi Kalu, I think there is no other way.”
According to him, As soon as he is released, people would come out for their businesses, the truth is that even if we open now, you know most markets in Onitsha and environs mostly deal in wholesales and are being patronized by people from outside the state: Abuja, Kaduna, Cameruon, Togo, among others.
“With these threats and all that, the outsiders would not come on Mondays to patronize us, and when you open without anyone patronizing you, you would be discouraged to come out again unlike Awka, Enugu who deal in retails, they have their customers around them,” Nwankwo further explained.
*Juliana is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State