Kaa Crisis: Ex-Students Leader Counts Losses
3 min read
Gift EREBAH
A former president of the National Union of Andoni Students, NUAS, and victim of the Kaa crisis in Rivers State that happened few weeks ago, Mr. Ifuk Festus Oguichen has expressed sadness over the rift between the Kaa and Andoni youths at the Kaa market and explained how such rifts could have been avoided. He stated this in an interview with TNN within the week.
A few weeks ago, there were serious gun shots, dynamites explosion, vandalization of property that forced people to scamper for safety waterside. It has become glaring that the waterside doesn’t seem to be a safe space anymore, as the Andoni and Kaa youths have turned it into a place of unrest.
Festus, victim of the ugly incident, in his post shared on his social media page lamented that “lll my investments in Kaa market gone for what I know nothing about. God have mercy.” He also shared a picture of the Isiokwan River, and said “ oh this River! Who shall help Isiokwan people and Cross a bridge to our land?
Speaking to TNN, Festus explained that, if there was a bridge crossing the river to Isiokwan, it would have gone a long way in preventing the Kaa crisis from happening, because some of the Andoni people will have access to their land without going through the Kaa waterside.
“The Isiokwan district, there is no road that leads to that place, it’s disheartening, it’s bad. Our politicians have not done anything about it. This place has been like this since Andoni and Ogoni war, that place has been like that. If there was road that connects to the other side, I think these things won’t have happened. There is no road.
“The River has affected us a lot, your coming home, you pay money, because each car you park at Kaa, you have to pay money even if you are, even if you are parking in that place one week, you pay complete one week money for them to secure your car for you because you cannot drive down to your community.”
He also stressed that the moment their people comes with anything, even if they want to build a house, they are instructed to pay “matching ground” before one can pass through the Kaa waterside because they will pour whatever they brought at the waterside, which has really affected their people.
“What you ought to have driven down to your own house, people are now stopping you because is their land and they are telling you what to do. We need road in Isiokwan. Even when this insecurity was too much there, they brought in Army because Ajakajak, I must say, I must confess, it’s my place but it has been a notorious community.
“So when they bring in those security men, they say they can’t stay there because there is no road. People can just come and ambush them and that would be the end of their lives and everything. This thing would not cost much, just one flyover to Port Harcourt. Government should please come to our aid.”
However, Festus also spoke about the sad state of the market and how it has affected the people,
“Businesses have been affected, as I speak to you, there is hunger, not just us, both the Ogoni and Andoni, because that is the major source of livelihood there. The market has been opened, but nothing serious is happening.
