‘Armed robbers disguising as herdsmen’

The chairman of Air Peace airlines, Mr. Allen Onyema, has said some armed robbers are hiding under the banner of herdsmen to commit crimes in some parts of the country.

Onyema spoke during the burial programme for his late father, Chief Michael Chukwuka Onyema, the Nze Onyebuchi of Mbosi at Mbosi Town in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.

He recalled that during the Niger Delta struggle, “some armed robbers from other parts of the country joined because it was fashionable to be called a militant.”

“So, everything was being blamed on Niger Delta youth. The same thing is repeating itself. I can tell you for sure that some people have gone into banditry and armed robbery and call themselves herdsmen. Not everything is the way you heard it,” he noted.

Onyema, who is the Chairman of Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), said the presence of the Miyyeti Allah group, the Ijaw Youths, Arewa and other ethnic nationalities at his father’s burial, symbolises his belief in one Nigeria.

“My dad died believing in humanity. He never discriminated, he believed in mankind. He never believed in those vices that tear us apart. We have people from all over the 36 states of Nigeria that are here. We have people from Europe, America all over the world,” he said.

In attendance were Governors Willie Obiano (Anambra), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta) and Godwin Obaseki (Edo); former Governor of Anambra, Mr. Peter Obi; Senator Ben Obi,  President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. John Nwodo.

In a brief remark, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, described late Pa Onyema as an embodiment of diversity as reflected in his son’s generosity in employing people in his airline without nepotism.