Alleged ethnic cleansing, influx of Northern youths to South East: ASETU petitions United Nations – Vanguard

By Anayo Okoli

ENUGU- ASSOCIATION of South-East town union, ASETU, the umbrella body of all the town unions in the South-East geopolitical zone has petitioned the United Nations over the influx of young men from theNorthern part of the country who are being smuggled to the zone in droves by yet to be identified persons, warning that the action constitutes danger and security risk to the people on the zone.

ASETU lamented that these illegal movements were taking place at very odd period when both the Federal and all the State Governments have taken measures to restrict movements across the country as a way offlattening the spread of the rampaging coronavirus global health crisis.

In a petition jointly signed by the National President of ASETU, Chief Emeka Diwe, the National Secretary, Chief Gideon Adikwuru and the presidents of the five South-East states, the association alleged that the aim of the invasion is for purpose of ethnic cleansing and land grabbing agenda and urged the United Nation to intervene.

Entitled Ethnic cleansing and land grabbing agenda in Eastern Nigeria, the petition said: It has come to our attention that able-bodied young men from Northern Nigeria are being smuggled into the South East and Eastern part of the country in droves.

This is in spite of the nationwide lockdown, the ban on interstate travel and the 1000 kilometers distance between many parts of North and South on roads which are manned by the Nigerian security agencies.

The volume of people arriving, the age of the people arriving and frequency and timing of their arrival in spite of the ban interstate travel due to the COVID-19 situation, indicates that this is a coordinated effort masterminded by an unknown group.

In the last five years, a number of bizarre events have occurred, including the bizarre over the polarization of the countrys security council membership towards people from the North, the numerous reports of helicopters dropping off packages in the middle of forests in Igbo land in the middle of the night and other bizarre occurrences.

Now we have the strange arrival of able-bodied young men in such a coordinated fashion. These bizarre occurrences can only make sense if there is an equally bizarre plan at foot.

This letter id to alert that, should there be any seemingly random attack in the South East and Eastern part of Nigeria, it is not at all random but part of a carefully choreographed attack that appears to have been carefully planned over the years and, in an insidious military fashion, is being executed to take advantage of the confusion and weakness caused by the COVID-19 situation.

It is not clear who the chief proponents of this agenda are but it is clear that these are important people of means in and outside the Government. Building on the menace of herdsmen that have terrorized many in the eastern part of the country, this additional effort joins in furthering the agenda of dispossessing people of their lands and forcing a different religion and lifestyle on them.

We in the South East and Igbo land will not allow this to happen. We urge you to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria not be a supporter of this initiative and not to acquiesce to it by omission or commission. The Government of Nigeria must identify all those that are part of this sinister plot and put an end to it immediately.

If these plans are not evil in nature, why would this secret group of Northerners that are masterminding this be obsessed with land in the South-East; for example out of when out of the 19 states of the north, 13 of them are larger than the combined landmass of the 5 South-East states.

Only an agenda of domination, ethnic cleansing and land grabbing can explain this interest.

We hereby ask the United Nations, the United States of America Government and the International Community to do all in their power to halt this barbaric endeavour which has gone on under the watch of Federal Government of Nigeria for years now.

On behalf of all Igbo people in and outside the South East of Nigeria, we thank you for coming to our assistance, ASETU said.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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Alleged ethnic cleansing, influx of Northern youths to South East: ASETU petitions United Nations - Vanguard