The latest posting of Police Commissioners across Nigeria by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) just days to the presidential election billed for February 16, appears to be compounding Buhari’s political woes in Eastern Nigeria.
The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. They are an ethnic group native to the present-day South-Central and South-Eastern Nigeria. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River – an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section.
Their apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is seeing in the latest development another act of marginalisation and victimization by the Buhari administration, lamenting that only two of their sons were made police commissioners, whereas some zones produced seven.
According to the group, the only two Igbo CPs were sent to war-torn Zamfara and Borno states, recalling that the re-election seeking President Buhari allegedly insulted Ndigbo by saying in Anambra State that the postings were based on merit ‘’and that is why the South East zone is completely absent in the security apparatchiks of the country’’.
President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, who made this public, is accusing Buhari of pushing further his hatred for the Igbo and urged his kinsmen to make the most of the February 16 election by voting wisely.
Ohanaeze had recently endorsed the candidacy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, who is the main challenger of Buhari in the fast approaching election.
Nwodo said, ‘’the current postings by the Police Service Commission (PSC) has once more vindicated the position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide on the mindless victimisation and marginalisation of Ndigbo by the President Buhari-led Federal Government.
‘’A cursory look at the list of the newly-posted Commissioners of Police to States throughout the country indicates the obvious lopsidedness in both the number of Ndigbo affected and their states of posting.
‘’The whole of the seven Igbo-speaking states in the country has only two Commissioners of Police while some single states have two or more and some geopolitical zones more than six or seven.’’
On how Buhari insulted Ndigbo, Nwodo said, ‘’in other words, no Igbo man or woman is intelligent or brilliant enough or has his confidence to head any of the security apparatus of Nigeria, and to butress his point, only two Igbo officers are meritorious to be appointed Commissioners of Police in charge of States. To further rub it in, the only two are posted to the most hazardous war-torn areas of the north –Zamfara and Borno States.
‘’It is worthy to note that Ndigbo have always formed the majority of soldiers posted to these war zones and have paid their dues including producing a worthy General Officer Commanding troops and who distinguished himself there. What have Ndigbo done to this administration to deserve this ill-treatment? The Nigeria/Biafra War ended nearly fifty years ago.Why the continued marginalisation?
‘’This kind of discrimination should not be lost on Ndigbo,especially at this period of reckoning and payback. It would be remembered that two brilliant Deputy Inspectors General of Police were recently retired by this administration to pave way for the appointment of the current Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
‘’If Mr President loves Ndigbo as he is canvassing, why didn’t he try to balance the glaring absence of Ndigbo at a table where the security of this country is decided? Ndigbo shine your eyes! Shine your eyes and vote wisely.’’
