Chieftain of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prince Richard Ozobu said that the South East Governors should henceforth be serious with the insecurity challenges in the region by bringing out the security funds they appropriate, to train local Igbo traditional security force in every local government, equip them and link the outfit up with the federal police.
Condemning the fate that has bequeathed the emergence of Ebubeagu, Ozobu noted that security outfits were not founded overnight in the manner it came, regretting that the type of traditional security arrangement that Ndigbo used to have has collapsed.
“It has always been be your neighbour’s keeper and watch out in the environment where you leave, where the local government is working properly and existing as it should be. These days you don’t know what is going on. Are the Ebubeagu properly trained? This issue of unknown gunmen, we have never had such issue before. I don’t know what the south east governors are doing, I really don’t know what they are doing or not, I don’t know! All we hear is Ebubeagu in Abakaliki and we saw them wearing uniform, but is that it? What about the necessary training, communication equipment? Is it registered and connected with the police force, or what is it?
“What Ndigbo can do now is to go back to their traditional days of be your neighbour’s keeper. We normally have vigilantes in the villages, many years ago when I was a child. You know people in your environment and the people who are around you and at certain times the gates are locked and people cannot pass. It is linked up with the traditional rulers, with the local government system and the police. Now the whole thing has collapsed and now you are talking about Ebubeagu, is it because of the lion, is that what people should be afraid of?
“We should be talking about how to get them trained and link it up with the traditional police force that is in charge of security and this should be local government by local government because each police should know the environment they operate and linked up with the police force. You can never have enough policing to police any system in the world. We should also be talking about cameras powered by solar system.
“People going around demolishing police environment and all that, what are they looking for if it is not sabotage against our people? It’s embarrassing, these armed men going about, who are they?
“What should be done is that the state governments have to bring funds, what are they doing with the security funds that they have, each time you here about security fund, security fund, what are they doing with the security funds, are they training the police force?
