The Seriki Hausa in Anambra State, Alhaji Garba Haruna, says many members of the Arewa community in the state considered it home due to their longevity there.
He explained that some families have lived in the state peacefully for over 100 years and have become part and parcel of its history.
Haruna said he has lived in the state for over 50 years and his father was elected councillor in 1971.
“My father was here before the civil war and during the war, he took us back to the North and we came back to Anambra after the war,” he told The Punch.
Asked if anything has changed since then, Haruna said, “In Anambra State, we don’t have a problem. We have been living very peacefully in Anambra State.
“Some of our parents lived here for over 100 years and they lived peacefully too.
“In 1971, my father was a councillor here and the late Eze Ize Ndigbo was his secretary.
“This is to show that there has been a cordial relationship between indigenes and non-indigenes.
“The only problem that comes is this IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) issue.”
According to him, the IPOB’s activities have altered the security dynamics in Anambra.
“It started because of IPOB and they came with a mission. They want to get freedom for Biafra. It is a good mission because it is their right, but the bad ones among them have spoilt the agitations and complicated the issue for them.
“When they started at the beginning, they were doing it peacefully, sometimes, they marched peacefully across the state, even they passed through our communities and they never had issues with us or anybody.
“However, the peaceful agitations had been hijacked and now we see shootings and killings everywhere,” he said.
Reacting to the recent killing of a pregnant Hausa woman and her four kids in Anambra recently, the Seriki Hausa said, “It was very unfortunate. You know before then, between last year and this year, we have lost more than 30 people, especially in Anambra South, which comprises about seven local government areas and this incident happened within six months.
“When the unknown gunmen killed that woman and four kids, it shocked everybody because since the killings started, there has never been a day they killed any woman or killed any child.
“This particular killing provoked everybody, even the people in the North. We, however, have been telling our people that it was not a targeted attack because those “bad boys” just kill anyone that comes their way without caring. We prayed to the Almighty Allah to look into the issue and God answered our prayers. The problem did not escalate.”