Nzuko Umunna condoles with Pa Fasoranti, warns FG on descent into lawlessness

 

The pan-Igbo think-tank group, Nzuko Umunna (NU), has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to overhaul the country’s entire security architecture and design an effective framework to arrest the insecurity threatening the unity and continued existence of the country.

NU, in a statement Monday condoling with elder statesman and leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, on the killing of his daughter, Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, over the weekend on the Benin-Ore Highway, by gunmen alleged to be Fulani herdsmen, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to arrest the country’s descent into lawlessness.

“We received with shock the killing of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter of nonagenarian and Afenifere Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti by suspected herdsmen.

“We commiserate with Pa Fasoranti over this tragic incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the entire Yoruba nation.

“It is instructive that even at a ripe old age, Pa Fasoranti is still at the barricades battling for the soul of Nigeria.

“It is therefore very ironic and troubling that the 94-year-old elder statesman is made to suffer this heartbreak in his old age. No Nigerian deserves to go through this,” the group said while calling on the President to ensure that the killers of Mrs. Olakunrin were arrested and speedily brought to justice.

The influential Igbo group in the statement co-signed by its co-ordinator, Mr. Ngozi Odumuko and secretary-general, Paschal Mbanefo warned that if the current spate of insecurity was not tackled with the decisiveness it deserved, the country risked being plunged into a cycle of violence that would make the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi seem like a child’s play.

According to the statement, “The rising spate of insecurity in Nigeria is highly unacceptable. Nigerians are no longer safe in their homes and in the streets. This is bound to scare away investors. Investment thrives in an environment that places premium on security and law and order.

“It will require political will at the highest level of governance to stem this unremitting descent into lawlessness. The government must show in clear terms that it has the capacity and sagacity to navigate these slippery slopes. The time to act is now!”

Nzuko Umunna while calling on Nigerians to be more vigilant and support government’s effort at rebuilding the country into a “united and prosperous nation devoid of banditry, cattle rustling and all forms of criminality,” also warned on the danger of resurrecting the suspended Ruga Settlement program, for Fulani cattle herders.

“It must be said that Nigeria is clearly at the crossroads now. Aside from the security situation which has seemingly spiraled out of control, the ill-advised Ruga scheme which has been overheating the polity must be scrapped without delay,” it advised.