A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from Abia State and former Senatorial Aspirant, Naval Capt Jerry Obike Ogbonna (Rtd), has warned the Federal Government against mustering forces to fight the unknown gunmen ravaging the southeast zone.
He said the warning was coming in order to avert the activities of the unknown gunmen taking a dangerous toll until the Boko Haram sect that turned to terrorist organization and have sustained their attacks on the people of the Northeast and Northwest.
Capt Ogbonna gave the warning during an interview with DAILY POST on Sunday, on the heels of the alleged threat of war in the southeast zone by President Muhammadu Buhari following the attacks on security formations and the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across states of the southeast.
He maintained that the use of force cannot end the nefarious gunmen attacks in the east, urging the Buhari led administration to restructure the economy and create jobs.
His words, “Who are the unknown gunmen? IPOB has denied they are not their members. The police are insisting they are ESN, the militant group of IPOB. Could it be that enough investigation has not been done by the investigation agencies and a preconceived idea is being fed to President Muhammadu Buhari. He is paranoid about another conflict in the southeast being part of the generation of officers that fought to keep Nigeria one. So, you can’t blame him.
“I also do not support any Biafran movement because it disrupted my teenage life. We had to stop our education and roaming around not sure when we could get back to school. I remember that as soon as the war ended we were trekking from Ovim, my home town to Uzuakoli Methodist College just to be part of an orderly school activity. We used to cook our food and attend classes. I cut my A level studies at Federal Government College, Enugu, to join the Nigerian Defence Academy because it provided me with a short cut to cover up the two years we lost in the war. In addition, it provided the opportunity to travel to the UK for my undergraduate degree in Engineering. I will never forget to say that in NDA i was a Nigerian Officer Cadet despite coming into NDA when the war just ended. No one can convince me that one Nigeria is an illusion.
“The current security challenges in the country are exacerbated by the current unemployment situation in the country, north and south of the country. There is a state of hopelessness among the youths, 65% of the population.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should not muster forces to fight the unknown gunmen as we started with Boko Haram 11 years ago and that war is still ongoing. Buying all the weapons in this world will not end the war.
“The solution is to restructure the economy and create jobs. Just as PMB is developing infrastructure like trains we should also develop industrial infrastructure and procure process industries for our raw materials.
“As little as $30,000 can purchase a cooking oil process factory. Next door to my local government is Umunneochi with a huge plantation of cashew trees. There is no local government in Nigeria that does not have some raw materials. Stop spending billions of dollars buying military weapons. Enough of shooting our desperate children who are looking for a career and part of the national cake. Let’s have calm and peace for a change