"BY HIS DEATH, ABA WAS REDEEMED"

        (OSISIKANKWU: 10 YEARS AFTER)
                -------------------------------------

Do you remember CRIMINAL OBIOMA NWANKWO, (Osisikankwu), who was killed at Ugwuati Evil Forest during a gun battle between the task force and his syndicate who had held our Aba hostage. Abia state government had described Osisi's death as "triumph of light over darkness”. But you know what? Before Kankwu's execution, he explained why he decided to form a gang that terrorised the people. Hear him:

        “We became militants because of the 
          failure of government to live up to its
          responsibilities towards us. Many of us
          are graduates. Some are university
          drop-outs, who could not continue for
          want of fund or sponsors. There are
          secondary school leavers without a
          future in school or jobs".

Eventhough Kankwu's reasons cannot be a moral justification, it still provides a pointer to government social responsibility. Whether the government has up till now lived up to Kankwu's expectation is a story for another day. Meanwhile EFCC has insisted that former governor T.A. Orji appropriated N48b as security votes while he held away.