OPINION: IPOB, Military And Breath Of Fresh Air In South-East By: Zagazola Makama
The sustained massive descent of the military on insecurity in the South-East region in recent weeks has not just brought a breath of fresh air to the terrorized Nigeria’s most-commercially-vibrant region but also delivered joyful tidings to its peoples that the ‘dreadful’ terror group tormenting them, IPOB, can be banished to the pages of history anytime, any day.
IPOB has, over the last couple of years, not only suffocated a significant section of the region’s economic activities, especially with the most devastating and unacceptable restrictions on commercial activities, but threatened its political stability as an integral component of Nigeria.
The activities of the group showed frightful signs of shaking the foundations of the country’s nation-statehood. Our nation-statehood as Nigeria has to be maintained, considering the emerging global political and economic realities.
Practically, the activities of the criminal IPOB has been unacceptably restructuring and redirecting the five-state region towards a state-within-a-state arrangement between it and the Nigerian nation, priming the region for possible cessation.
The military, therefore, with its strategic increase in deployments if troops, launched its Operation Golden Dawn. Strategically scaling up and fine-tuning the operation, the military has accurately and sharply swooped at all forms terror unleashed by IPOB on the region with every needed decisiveness and finesse.
In a dispassionate assessment, every southeasterner, who no more cowers at the threat of any IPOB militia to not only his or her commercial activities but even his or her life, now jubilantly talks of seeing light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the end of terror and related criminality.
The flurry of fake news planted by IPOB, with which the social media is currently awash, are depressing signs of an anguishing, languishing and dying group not only suffering humiliating defeat but getting wiped out fast for the South-East to continue breathing fresh air economically and politically as a critical component of a proud and prosperous Nigeria.
For instance, IPOB has fabricated the fake news going viral in the social media that officers of Operation Golden Dawn have constituted a part of insecurity in Enugu by turning a blind eye on the activities of ‘Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen,’ arguing that Enugu State is no longer in the Hands of God.
This fake news precipitated unfortunate comments from southeasterners who are either truly ignorant or chose to be so on the mischiefs terror groups deploy to deceive people about the actual state of their strength and existence.
Lies, since time immemorial, have constituted one of the most-potent weapons of psychological war. And IPOB is deploy this weapon through the social media.
The group has conjured up the news that herdsmen killings in the South-East are organized by Nigeria government through the region’s state governors, troops and the police.
To every dispassionate southeasterner, this is everything but the truth.
The truth is troops of the Nigerian military are practically seen patrolling all the nooks and crannies of all the five hitherto IPOB-infested states day and night to pull them out of the depth of terror and all other related crimes into which they had been sinking fast.
Uncountable families across the region had lost loved ones and properties, especially in the ember months when criminals unleash terror in various forms.
In a dispassionate observation, the Operation Golden Dawn is fast restoring the golden joy of the ember months with southesterners now joining their fellow Nigerians in arrangements for a joyful Christmas, a satisfying stocktaking of the outgoing year and plans for a prosperous new year.
To every sane and well-wishing southeasterner, the viral take news all over the social media that troops of the Nigerian military are aiding terrorists is a conspiracy by criminal-minded Nigerians who have sworn to ensure that no section of the country enjoys any peace.
Their scheming towards the apocalypse of Nigeria seems ending in jeopardy considering the successes of the military in the war against insecurity and all forms of criminality designed against the country.
With the troops sustaining the tempo of their successful operations in the South-East, the more IPOB and all other criminal elements plan against the region as a critical component of a prosperous Nigeria, the faster their evil plans come to naught; and the deeper they sink into eternal frustration.
Thus, the more the South-East breathes fresh air.
Zagazola Makama is a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad
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