Checking Resurgence Of Cult Wars

The resurgence of cult wars in Riv
ers State, only few months from the
2015 election is, indeed, mind-boggling, and does not give anything to cheer.
Only a few days ago, the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Leyii Kwanee alerted the public of the activities of some cultists in a community in Khana, which forms part of his constituency. The culprits, he said unleashed   mayhem on the people leaving scores of people seriously injured and the community’s traditional ruler scampering into safety.
He had, in a press statement, linked the ugly incident to the activities of those he described as desperate politicians in the area.
Alarming as that may be, the recent clash of cult groups in Ibaa community, Emohua Local Government Area,  which reportedly claimed nine lives and displaced  thousands,  is to say the least, worrisome.
According to reports, 8,000 indigenes of the troubled Ibaa community have been displaced following the clash of youth cult groups in the area. Of this, 5000 are said to be putting up at the Community Secondary School, Rumuji while 3,000 others have fled to neighbouring communities. And as at press time, the death toll resulting from the clash was put at nine, most of whom were said to be members of the  community vigilante group and  other innocent  persons.
Although, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Emohua Local Government Area, Hon Godstime Orlukwu had reportedly tied the crisis to chieftaincy tussle in the community, the Ibaa cult group clash, and some others before it, have brought to the open the continued existence of cult groups across Rivers State. It lends credence to the fact that these groups that were thought to have been eradicated some years ago by the Rivers State Government apparently operated underground .
Reports at our disposal state that these groups are all over the state but are  more vicious in Ikwerre, Etche, Kalabari, Abua and Okrika speaking local government areas. Worse still, they also have access to all forms of weapons that they use to intimidate local leadership.
While we commiserate with the families of the dead and sympathise with the good and law-abiding indigenes of Ibaa, we think that all well-meaning persons should condemn youth cultism, especially its resurgence in Ibaa and other communities.
Even if the Emohua Council has promised to set up a committee that would bring the warring factions in the lingering crisis to a roundtable, The Tide still wonders what the security community is doing to check the activities of youth cultism in Rivers State, not just in Ibaa.
That some youth would hold communities, even sections of the state capital to ransom by brute force, in the very presence of security operatives is condemnable and unacceptable.
While we expect the State and Federal emergency management agencies to attend to the internally displaced persons, we urge the security agencies to take up the challenge of ridding Rivers State of these undesirable elements, especially before the 2015 polls.
It is hoped that the traditional rulers and the mis-directed youths would no longer enjoy the support of anyone, no matter the reason adduced for their actions.
At this critical moment of our national life, in which everyone is expected to make sacrifices and help transform the country, our youth should be the change agent. Chiefs and politicians must stop using them to settle petty disagreements and their narrow, selfish political interest.