By Lucky Isibor
A United States of America based Nigerian business Mogul, Mr. David Etute has deplored the activities of herdsmen in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State as the security of lives and property is no longer guaranteed in the once peaceful communities of the state.
Etute made the condemnation while speaking to news men at the burial of his mother and matriarch of the Etute family of Egoro-Na-Oka in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Madam Agnes Omosefe Etute.
He said the security of the Ekpoma- Egoro-Na-Oka- Ebudin road which links Ekpoma with the southern part of the Local Government Area, has been compromised by the herdsmen who now rob motorists on the road round the clock.
Etute disclosed that he spent a humongous amount of money to provide security for his mother’s corpse in transit between Ekpoma and Egoro-Na-Oka, to forestall it’s theft as the corpse of a middle aged man was seized by the herdsmen to block the road a week earlier.
“I spent a lot of money to provide security to convey the corpse of my late mother from Ekpoma to Egoro-Na-Oka. This is money I never budgeted for. I have to utilise the money I budgeted for the empowerment of youths and women in memory of my late mother”, he said.
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have been terrorising motorists on the Ekpoma-Egoro-Na-Oka- Ebudin road in the past five weeks. The menace has caused untold hardship for motorists and commuters on the route as passengers have to pay twice the normal fare to access Egoro-Na-Oka and it’s environs through Opoji, Igueben and Ebudin, a route likened to the proverbial Israelite journey.
Etute who is a US based mortgage and property consultant, appealed to the Federal Government, Edo State Government, the police and all security agencies to provide security for commuters plying the Ekpoma- Egoro-Na-Oka-Ebudin road to ease the evacuation of farm products from the largely agrarian communities.
While assuring of the commitment of Nigerians in the Diaspora to invest in their respective communities as a way of giving back to the society, Etute said, “Those of us out side Nigeria want to come home to invest, create employment and build human capacity, but the security situation is scaring.
“It is against this backdrop am appealing to the federal government, Edo State government and all the security agencies to come together and put strategies in place to arrest the abysmal security threatening our very existence as a people”, Etute said.
