Nigerian Army has occupied Okpare, another Ughelli South Local Government Area community in Delta state over another doubtful peace mission.
From the feelers we are getting, it is obvious the Nigerian Army, for self reasons best known to the authorities, are willfully not learning from past painful and shameful lessons.
We are compelled to raise this alarm, calling on President Bola Tinubu, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Inspector General of Police, Director-General DSS, Ughelli South LG Chairman and other relevant authorities, to call the Nigerian Army to order before they induce another Okuama tragedy in Okpare.
From what is now in public domain, Okpare town is thrown in communal leadership tussle. The Community’s President General, Okiemute Otoka claims the military personnel were deployed to truncate the Annual Conference of the community slated for today (Thursday).
For most communities, the Annual Conference is the highest decision making body of the people during which, not only the annual report of the community would be presented, but key actions, including impeachment can be preferred against erring leaders.
PG of Okpare alleged that some community elders and leaders who illegally sold community lands without approval of the annual conference were behind the invasion of the community town hall by the military.
Apparently, the inducement of the soldiers into occupation of the community is to truncate the conference is to prevent sanctions against the said erring leaders.
By every argument and calculation, this is another doubtful peace mission by the Nigerian Army. Like the unfortunate Okuama incident, it is not the place of soldiers to occupy communities in isolation of the Police with primary duties to enforce internal law and order.
They have no such powers to meddle into communal conflicts. Universally, the only time soldiers can come into communal peace keeping is when the situation has gotten out of hand and the Police declaring they have been overwhelmed and calling for military backup.
From all indications, the brewing Okpare communal unrest does not call for the military meddling. As always the real sponsors of the military invasion of the7 community are faceless. They may not be the defaulting community leaders, those using them to assert their sphere of influence.
Often when the veil is removed, they are political officeholders abusing their powers to perpetuate dominance over community leadership.
This is where, Tinubu, Oborevwori, Egbetokun and DG DSS must come in. We don’t want a repeat of Okuama in Okpare. The soldiers in Okpare must vacate immediately.
This was how Okuama snowballed into the tragedy that still haunts the community till date. As Chief Security Officer of Delta state, Oborevwori was kept in the know when soldiers were induced for an illegal peace mission into Okuama. They were not authorised on the ill-fated mission, the result, a disaster.
The IG of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun must rise to the occasion. He must not fold his hands, allows his men to compromise and become spectators as Army usurp their responsibility. If the Police is not compromised, they must cry out over the Army occupation of Okpare.
For Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, he must summon and charge his political appointees from Okpare to nip in the bud, the brewing crisis. They are usually at the heart of sponsoring such crisis.
For Tinubu, we don’t want another Okuama crises in Delta. We have not overcome the pains of the still flowing from March killing of soldiers.
The President should call the Army to order. He should ascertain who ordered the abuse of power in the military meddling into a communal crisis it has no authority to dabble into.
In all these, Okpare as a community and Olomu Kingdom must also desist from petty leadership tussle. It is shame on Okpare elites to resort to military deployment to settle communal differences.
All said and done, we don’t want a repeat of Okuama in Okpare.
Zik Gbemre
December 26,2024
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes