The Igbo Youths Movement (IYM), the leading umbrella organization for Igbo youths, has issued a cautionary statement emphasizing that engaging in frightening and abuse against fellow Nigerians will not yield the desired outcome of securing the Nigerian presidency for the Ndigbos people. They explained that it is immoral to make Ndigbos’ political choices appear to be the only viable option by threatening and forcing others into compliance. Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, founder of the Igbo Youth Movement and deputy secretary of the Igbo Leaders of Thought, said in a statement headlined “Unrestrained Abusive Mob, Not In Our Character” that mob attacks against fellow citizens with opposing political beliefs will not lead to the Igbos taking over Aso Rock.
Ugochukwu-Uko who is also the Secretary of Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, noted that while the elections took place over six months ago, some of the Ndigbos are still struggling to get past the filthy and abusive mannerisms of mob attacks employed by certain people during the elections. As he put it, “silence becomes acquiescence” in situations like this. The unchecked and often unjustified mob onslaught of denigrating anybody with different political beliefs that has been linked to the recent election is harmful, unhealthy, and useless.
This egotistical attitude towards others is quite un-Igbo.
According to him, insulting revered religious clerics only because they urged people to respect and support political leaders would lead to regional isolation and make it harder for the tribe to find friends when needed. This egotistical attitude towards others who have differing opinions, so common in the year 2023, is quite un-Igbo. He claimed the Igbos were intimidating other Nigerians and giving the impression that they were desperate for power. No one in history had risen to political prominence by hurling abuse and insults at others who held different perceptions, he remarked.
Rather, Ugochukwu-Uko argued that it actually makes it more challenging to gain the trust and support of people in times of distress, noting that its crucial to work together and value the opinions of others. He said they were creating a dreadful picture of a destitute horde of desperadoes, unmindful of other people’s sentiments, by sounding desperate for power and abusive to others, frightening their fellow citizens. Meanwhile, he said the tribes are not like that. The diligent patriotic Ndigbo who reside across the country alongside other Nigerians will not be repurposed by the 2023 election season.
It’s unethical to be loathsome by threatening and frightening.
He continued by saying that it cannot overnight turn the tribe to abusive beings who assault fellow citizens whose only fault is voting for a different candidate. He said they could be making a political mistake here. To be successful, there is a need for the help of others. It’s unethical to make ourselves loathsome by threatening and frightening people into believing they have no other option than to adopt our political stances. If we don’t backtrack now, we’ll endanger ourselves tomorrow and give our future adversaries cause to unite against us, Ugochukwu-Uko noted.
Instead, Ndigbos should channel this naive energy, into tackling disgusting dreadful and atrocious meaningless ideas demeaning the region’s credibility. Such as spiritual immorality, awful sinfulness and demonic wickedness like leaders telling youngsters that fetish rituals could make them instant and abundant fortunes over education and hardwork. This mindset, he said, is damaging the future of the region. Therefore, there is a need to quickly save the lost souls by diverting them from the prevailing ignorance as the region’s political leaders probably appear to be in support of such acts.
Healing the land requires getting to the source of the problem.
Moreover, it is crucial to refocus efforts on making sure the correct political moves are made in order to stem the damages in the region. It’s right that we speak with one voice and share the facts. Healing the land requires getting to the source of the problem and the only way to stop the spreading unrest is to prevent it from happening. Instead of giving up on the country, we should work towards establishing genuine federalism, devolving authority, developing the region’s infrastructure, and addressing the problems that sparked the unrest. Also, instead of criticizing and abusing other Nigerians we would do better by tackling our own regional concerns from the ground up, he concluded.
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