By Vincent Ujumadu
After more than five years of abandonment caused by insecurity and violent separatist activities, peace and normalcy are gradually returning to several communities in Anambra State.
Once desolate and feared, areas such as Azia, Orsumoghu, Lilu, Isekke, Uli, and Ihiala in Ihiala Local Government Area; Ukpor, Utu, and Amichi in Nnewi South; Owerre Ezukala and Umunze in Orumba South; and parts of Ogwu Ikpele in Ogbaru are now witnessing renewed social and economic activities.
For years, the communities were held hostage by armed groups later identified as “unknown gunmen,” who terrorized residents, enforced sit-at-home orders, and imposed levies in the name of supporting the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
During the peak of the crisis, normal life collapsed — churches were shut, markets deserted, and farmlands abandoned. Marriages, burials, and chieftaincy ceremonies were impossible, forcing residents to flee to safer areas. Policemen became prime targets, with several police stations attacked and burned. Criminals soon expanded their operations to include kidnapping and extortion, even charging families exorbitant “fees” to bury their dead.
When the 2021 governorship election that brought Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to power was held, Ihiala and its environs were effectively no-go areas. The election in the local government had to be postponed due to insecurity, and even when it eventually took place under heavy security, voter turnout was dismally low.
Haunted by his own experience — including the loss of two police orderlies during a campaign event in his Isuofia hometown — Governor Soludo vowed from the onset of his administration to make security his top priority.
In his emotional inaugural address, he declared: “We can’t build this homeland by turning the sword against each other. Every criminal gang—kidnappers, arsonists, murderers—all now claim to be freedom fighters. This must stop.
I call on all stakeholders, including IPOB, MASSOB, and others in the forests, to interrogate the purpose and means of their struggle. Let us come together and rebuild our homeland.”
Soludo lamented that the weekly sit-at-home had cost Anambra an estimated ₦19.6 billion in economic losses every Monday, devastating the livelihoods of artisans, traders, and small business owners. He warned that the ongoing insecurity was driving businesses away from the state and robbing the region of its economic vibrancy.
The governor’s message was clear: peace and development must go hand in hand.
Determined to match words with action, Soludo launched the Agunechemba Security Outfit, a state-wide community policing network deployed across all 179 communities in Anambra.
The outfit, which collaborates with conventional security agencies, has been instrumental in curbing crime, dismantling kidnapping networks, and restoring public confidence. Although there have been occasional reports of excesses by some operatives, the initiative is widely viewed as a turning point in Anambra’s fight against insecurity.
Today, the results are visible. In Ihiala and Nnewi South, youths who once fled their homes are returning to rebuild their communities. Roads, churches, and markets are being cleared, and normal activities have resumed.
In Orsumoghu and Isekke, church services are now held without fear, and for the first time in three years, new yam festivals were celebrated peacefully, with masquerades entertaining jubilant crowds.
Many in the diaspora are also making plans to return home for the Christmas and New Year celebrations, confident that their safety is assured.
As Uche Nwaka, a trader at Azia Market, put it: “I never believed I would step foot in Azia again after all that happened. Soludo has truly brought life back to our people. Thank God I still have my voter’s card.”
With security gradually restored and economic life returning to the once-deserted communities, Governor Soludo’s commitment to rebuilding Anambra is yielding tangible results. From fear and flight to peace and progress, the people of Anambra are reclaiming their homeland — one community at a time.
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