Our Royal Fathers, My dear elders, brothers and sisters. I woke up this morning with pains in my heart. Our once peaceful and great land, Ane-Igala, has become so insecured that lives have become shortish, brutish and nasty and we have nothing to show for it in our land.
I wish to crave your indulgence to share my thoughts on the current state of things in kogi East.
I am bewildered by the state of events in Igala Kingdom where we have turned against ourselves for political reasons. Our land is being plundered and layed desolate because of pecuniary gains. For peanuts our youths are being used and are shedding the blood of their Igala compatriots.
In the last election, in 2019, one of our youths who just passed out and was serving as a corper was gunned down in cold blood because of thuggery. An innocent Igala woman was burnt alive because of politics and other heinous and inconceivable activities being perpetuated against the fatherland.
Not too long ago Ejule, one of the popular commercial nerve Centre in Ofu Local Government witnessed bloodbaths and many people were either killed or injured. Properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed or burnt down. All these are traceable to political differences. Democracy is about choices. Democracy is not about forces or gunshots. We cannot be forced to belong to one political party. No it is not allowed in democracy.
If I may ask, are the Igala the most hungry in kogi that we are being used against each other. Why is there peace in Ebira land and elsewhere in kogi but not our beloved Igala land. Are these criminals being used in our land not known to us? Are their parents and siblings not amongst us. If they are why do we allow them to plunder our fatherland and put fears in our helpless people?. Why have our own leaders in the local governments in our land turned their backs against our land. Whose interests are those representing Kogi East representing?. Do we have leaders and Elders in Kogi East. Why the deafen silence of all our elders and representatives in the faces of these bloodbath and letting in Kogi East and Ane-Igala in particular.
I wish to request that all Igala sons and daughters urgently come together to put an immediate end to this ugly trend. Whatever way this can be achieved must be contemplated and urgently addressed to safe our collective pride as a people. It could be in the form of a national conference or any other conceivable means but must be done before the election to restore our pride as a people.
The elders in of our land must immediately take the gauntlet and bring this ugly trend to an immediate halt. The land of Igala is dare need of peace. Let us come together as a people to love our land. No one should die for any political party. The blood of innocent Igalas killed to secure political offices is crying to heaven for peace in Kogi East. Enough is enough. Let our people see reasons to play politics without bitterness.
No blood of any human being, let alone the blood of Igala is worth the political ambition of anybody. May God in His infinite wisdom grant us the needed fillip to scale this huddle. I so pray. I appeal to us all to do all for peace to rein in Igala land and Kogi East.Time to refuse to use ourselves as sacrificial lamps for political ambitions of our oppression is now. Let us do it together and say no to political thuggery and thugs in Igala land.