Peace returns to Enugu community after 20 years of crisis

Peace has returned to Ogugu community in Awgu local government area of‎ Enugu state after 20 years of crisis and legal tussle that stalled development in the area.

Addressing newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday, the newly elected President-General of Ogugu Progressive Union General Assembly (OPUGA), Chief Paulinus Obiora Ofido, stated that the community was now poised to recover lost grounds in terms of development projects through partnership with government and communal efforts.

Ofido explained that through the intervention of well-meaning indigenes of the community as well as the State Government through the Ministry of Rural Development headed by Ozo Gab Onuzurike, all the court cases numbering nine at a time were resolved with an election that produced the new executive headed by him.

He said that with the resolution of the Town Union squabbles that created two factions before now, the community will now work towards the election of a new traditional ruler for the community, a case that is also in court.

“The state government brought peace to my community. We are extremely grateful to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. For this reason, we shall remain supportive of this administration and will massively vote Governor Ugwuanyi for second term come 2019,” he said.

Ofido, who lamented the impact of the crisis that enveloped the community added: “It is equally undisputable that the finance of the community was wasted on litigation over these crises.

“The last court case between OPUGA and some Ogugu people lasted for six years and at the end, the court asked us to go home and resolve our problems.

“We therefore wasted our money, time and efforts for all those years. Police, Court workers and lawyers fed fat on Oguge money as a result of this quagmire.

“Our collective sensibilities were insulted by the court. They used our money to train their children in schools, develop their areas etc. apart from these financial loses, relationship between brothers, sisters and friends have been severed by those crises.

“In some families, members no longer come together to hold family meetings because they are afraid of each other. Development in the town was stalled and security generally collapsed. While other towns around us are moving forward, Ogugu is stagnant as it is engulfed in court cases which have retarded our development as a town,” he said.
Ofido also stressed that it was time for the community to work together again.

‎The town union president general listed his priority to include working to ensure full restoration of peace by healing all wounds, instituting quarterly inter-denominational church service to seek God’s face, rehabilitation of existing borehole and reticulation of water to all parts of the community, renovation of the community secondary school and engagement of youths in useful projects including floating of a football team to be registered with the state football association.

“We shall drive the think-home philosophy for our people to site industries at home to engage our youths; some of my people we consulted both within and outside the shores of Nigeria are already responding. Also, we have spoken to our women and the two factions have agreed to come together and we will soon conduct elections to bring them together,” he said.