Anambra uncovers plan to cause ethnic, religious war on Saturday
The Anambra state government says it has uncovered plans by some politicians to cause a far-reaching ethnic crisis in the state during Saturday’s House of Assembly election.
Commissioner for information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba, who spoke to journalists in Awka, said that “the unscrupulous politicians, operating under the aegis of the Coalition for (a) Better Anambra state is ostensibly led by one Dennis Egwuonu, whose means of livelihood and place of either residence or work are unknown.”
He said that the group wants to cause a severe religious and ethnic crisis in the state which will see Muslims at war with Christians as well as pitch the Igala-speaking community of the state in a bitter fight with the Fulanis.
According to him, the secret plans which is known to security agencies is to incite Ndi Anambra by alleging on the eve of the election that the state government is building a huge mosque in the heart of Awka, the Anambra state capital and to accuse Fulani cattle herders of massacring hundreds of farmers in Anambra West Local Government Area and sucking their blood for ritual.
“The allegations by the group are patently false, as the state government is not in the business of building places of worship whether churches or mosques
“While it is noted that the primary intention of the so-called Coalition for (a) Better Anambra state is to cause fear and bitterness among the people which will be manipulated to achieve electoral gains, it is evident that the group is endangering the lives of millions of Igbo people living in different parts of the country.
“Ndigbo live in places other than their regions of origin more than any other ethnic group in the country. They work in these places as successful entrepreneurs and professionals; millions are students. When manipulative politicians carry out hate propaganda against other people living in Igboland which can lead to a grave crisis, they do not seem to recognise that Igbo people outside Igboland are vulnerable.
“These unscrupulous politicians are obviously setting up millions of our people living outside Igboland for all manner of attacks. These unscrupulous elements, manipulated by politicians who made their fortune often outside Igboland without harassment, tend to give the impression that Ndigbo are not capable of peaceful co-existence.
“This negative impression is wrong because Ndigbo are known to be accommodating, which is a critical requirement for economic and social transformation,” the commissioner stated.
He advised NdiAnambra to always disregard dangerous rumours by self-serving politicians whose stock in trade is the manipulation of primordial differences to achieve immediate electoral gains.
