By Emma Ogbuehi
The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Peter Obi, has expressed disbelief on the reported attack on school children in Anambra State, describing it as ‘un-Igbo, out of place and misguided aggression.”
Obi who made the observation in a meeting with journalists at Lagos Airport said he did not believe any Igbo man should contemplate attacking innocent school children, more so those taking their WAEC exams, to compete with the rest of West Africans over academic excellence. He said that education should ideally be treated as something sacred, because it is not just about the future of the children, but also the future of the society.
Wondering what informed the attack in the first place, Obi said it was perplexing against the fact that the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) IPOB had issued countless press releases suspending the Monday sit-at-home and therefore could not logically be responsible for the attack.
Based on his observations, Obi called for proper investigations to unravel those behind the attack. His words: “Since IPOB has announced suspension of sit-at-home, it is reasonable to suspect that other forces might be hiding behind IPOB to draw back the South-East through such acts as well as the needless call for stay at home on Mondays, a critical day for business/official work, which is only hurting the economy of the South-East.”
Reflecting on the effect of present state of affairs on the economy of the South-East, Obi asked: “Would investors come to the zone under the present condition? Would established businesses not think of leaving the South-East under such a condition? Would traders from neighbouring countries that flock Aba and Onitsha on Mondays not seek and stick with alternatives? Would some industries not think of re-locating?”
Obi called on political leaders to further strengthen their collective engagements with the view to charting the best path for the South-East.