Cow Ban In South East From April Irreversible, IPOB Declares

The indigenous people of Biafra, Ipob recently declared that there was no going back on the decision to ban movement, sales, and consumption of Fulani cows throughout the SouthEast with effect from April. The reason for the ban was due to the incessant killings committed by Fulani herdsmen in different regions of the nation. In a bid to preserve the Eastern Region, the Ipob group was hell-bent on ensuring that such killings do not occur in the region.

Their utmost desire is to preserve the people in the East, and ensure that they move to their respective destinations without fear or harm. In a statement by its media and publicity secretary Emma Powerful, he claimed that over N3 Billion naira was spent on cow meat annually. He further stated that spending such an amount is insane and such wastage must stop. He called on those dealing with Fulani cows in the region to look for alternatives immediately, stating that any herdsmen caught grazing will not be spared.

I understand the motive to prevent the eastern region and it is highly commendable. But then, this decision by Ipob has passed a very provocative signal and posed a serious threat to the northern commercial interest in the South-East and by extension to the physical wellbeing of Northerners living as minorities among Igbo communities.

It was discovered that the northerners have vowed to take revenge on this law by boycotting all businesses operated by Igbos in the North. Ipob had to come out to clarify that its proposed ban in April on cow grazing in the Eastern region is not a declaration of war against the North, but rather a necessary step put forward to stop unprovoked killer herdsmen.

They however declared that eating meat was not banned in the South East, but rather the ban was placed on herdsmen bringing cows into the region that destroys farmland, kills the people, rapes women, etc. Ipob has urged the people in the Southeast to venture into goat and fish farming before the ban becomes effective in April. They further stated that the people in the region should brace themselves and plan so no one will be taken unawares. The indigenous people of Biafra, Ipob in a bid to ban cows in the region have promised to assist any farmer in the SouthEast that wants to breed local cows popularly known as “Efi-Igbo”.

I won’t blame Ipob for taking such drastic irreversible steps because it seems killer Fulani herdsmen always get away with their evil crimes without proper prosecution from the government. There has been the failure of security agents to identify the perpetrators to bring them to justice. Seeing all these, Ipob felt since no proper prosecution was carried out, rather than just wail without any help in view, they decided to enforce their decision. According to them, they disclosed that it is better for the people in the Eastern Region to be alive without eating Fulani cows than a desire to eat and be killed.

Before Ipob got to make this irreversible decision, they disclosed that they have made several appeals to the federal government to stop the Fulani herdsmen from their atrocities, but rather the government treated it with levity and looked away, leaving communities helpless at the mercy of killer Fulani herdsmen. Ipob observed that if this issue is not nipped in the bud, it will escalate into something deadly. So rather than sit and watch these men destroy their land and people, they will act as a big brother enforcing laws to ensure that the people in the South East are shielded from Fulani attacks.