IPOB Agitations: Should Nnamdi Kanu Be Released For More Peace In The Region?

By Blossom Chukwu

As it is popularly known, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is a nationalist separatist group that aims to restore the Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria, prior to the Nigerian Civil War, and later rejoined Nigeria after its defeat by the military. Since 2021, IPOB and other Biafran separatist groups, have been fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in the South-East region, against the Nigerian government.

The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, recently told President Bola Tinubu how to shut Finland-based, Simon Ekpa activities in the South-East region. Ohanaeze spokesperson, Alex Ogbonnia said the way to shut Ekpa up, is for President Tinubu to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), in Abuja.

Ogbonnia claimed that Kanu’s release will relieve the tension in the South-East. He said if Kanu is released, the likes of Simon Ekpa would not have anything else to say. In his words, “No person can use Nnamdi Kanu as an excuse to cause mayhem in the country.” He added that the arrest of the IPOB leader and the region’s social inequality, are what led to the agitations in the South-East. He noted that if Kanu is released, Ekpa will have no excuse to cause mayhem in the region anymore.

Meanwhile, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo socio-cultural organisation, has also urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency over the sit-at-home orders in the region. Ohanaeze said, declaring a state of emergency, would send a strong signal to the South-East Governors, who would be compelled to find a lasting solution to the order.

It will be recalled that the Biafra agitator and factional leader, Simon Ekpa, had severally declared sit-at-home in the South-East region. The order by Ekpa had aggravated the crisis in the region, a situation that had led to an attempt to cripple the economic activities of the region.

In a related development, the Igbo National Council (INC), a socio-political organisation, has called on the Governors of South-Eastern States, South-West region and the North-Central region, to declare a state of emergency on terrorism and insecurity ravaging Nigeria.

The Group said the escalation of terrorism, banditry and wanton killings in the Igbo nation in recent times, calls for thorough forensic audit of the insecurity in these regions and urgent overhaul of the nation’s security architecture. The INC made the call in a statement signed by its National President, Chilos Godsent, while expressing worries on the state of terrorism and insecurity in the Igbo nation States, the South-West and North-Central regions of Nigeria.

The Igbo council urged State Governors to deploy the use of local traditional vigilante outfits, to combat terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and all criminal elements terrorising the people.

As a further reaction to the calls for state of emergency, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has kicked against the call for President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the South-East region. He said a state of emergency would not achieve the desired results, insisting that it would only aggravate issues and become a massive public relations success for the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.

Instead, he advised the President to set up a South-East Development Commission, and spend the money he would have used to send soldiers into the zone, to ensure rapid infrastructural development in the South-East. In a statement via his verified Twitter handle on Monday July 17, the social critic advised that efforts should be made to convince Tinubu to release the incarcerated leader of the IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on the condition that he would give up violence to pursue his agenda.

While advising Tinubu not to inherit former President Muhammadu Buhari’s enemies, Omokri claimed that Kanu was a victim of the circumstances created by Buhari. He wrote that, “What lovers of Nigeria ought to do to bring peace to the Southeast, is to convince President Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu on the condition that Kanu will promote any political or social policy he has, peacefully and democratically”.

Political analysts are of the opinion that Omokri made a good point, as he continued, stating that “If a state of emergency is declared, and soldiers and other security forces are deployed in the Southeast, it will lead to clashes with Mr Kanu’s supporters, who are not cowards, and recreate and entrench the type of atmosphere that led to the emergence of Nnamdi Kanu, and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra movement in the first place”.

He added that “If instead, President Tinubu sets up the Southeast Development Commission and spends the money he would have used to send soldiers into the zone to ensure the rapid infrastructural development of the Southeast, not only will he reduce anti-Nigeria sentiment amongst the Igbos to the barest minimum, even he can expect massive votes from that region in future elections.

Meanwhile, as a follow up to the Federal Government’s claim that the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, would raise security concerns, the Global Igbo Alliance, GIA, has argued that Kanu’s release would restore peace and security in all corners of the eastern region of the country.

A statement signed by the Group’s president and secretary, Dr. Christian Duru and Mrs. Chinwe Eboh respectively, had earlier called on the then President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, to unconditionally release the IPOB leader, as it would fruitfully douse the tension in the region and fulfil the legitimate expectations of Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora.

The GIA called attention to the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in Abia State, in favour of Kanu, stressing that even before the ruling, the Court of Appeal not only ruled in Kanu’s favour, but also acquitted him of all charges.

It described the Government’s claim that Kanu could not be released because of security concerns; as a development that runs contrary to the civilised norms by law-and-order, and called on local and international bodies, human rights commissions, diplomatic representatives, and all relevant agencies, to prevail on the Nigerian government to release Kanu unconditionally.

As the debate continues on the release or continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, residents in the eastern region, particularly Enugu city, have lamented the negative impact of the frequent sit-at-home orders by non-state actors in the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria. They made their feelings known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu State.

The residents, among whom are traders, artisans and legal practitioners said their various means of livelihood were being drastically affected. A trader, Mr Jude Uwazurike said that his business was gradually decreasing by the day, as a result of frequent closure of the market.

He said: “I sell clothes (abada) at Ogbete Market and I can say without mincing words that I was doing well in my business before now. “However, as I speak, I am just managing to survive because this issue of closing shop every Monday and sometimes in the week, they just order people to remain indoors for days is no longer a joke”.

He said that he used to travel to Aba, in Abia State weekly to buy goods, but lamented that he rarely travelled these days, due to lack of sales. Uwazurike appealed to the relevant authorities to do something by either releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, or in the alternative, rejig the security apparatus in the region.

In the same vein, Mrs Nnena Okpo, a dealer in perishables at the Holy Ghost market, said her business had almost collapsed due to sit-at-home orders. Okpo said she was losing hope about the situation in the South-East zone, unless something was urgently done to change the situation.

In her words, “It is no longer funny, the whole thing looked like a joke when it started in 2021, but today you can count a number of businesses that are still standing strong. I deal on perishables, apart from Monday sit-at-home order by IPOB, now someone stays in Finland and gives directive for seven days lockdown, not minding what people go through”.

She said it had been difficult to survive in the business because of the perishable nature of her business. “I have to eat from the business and watch the rest perish. I see my goods, my money rottening and there is nothing to do,” Okpo said.

A legal practitioner, who did not want his name in print, also said that the lockdown in Enugu State and the entire South East was taking a huge part on the legal profession. According to him, many people thought it was only businessmen and women that suffer the consequences of sit-at-home. “The truth is that, we in the legal field, suffer it the more. Litigants also suffer as a result of postponement of cases”.

An intra-state bus driver, Mr Emeka Agbo also decried the situation, describing the perennial sit-at-home orders as dangerous. “We know that we are fighting a cause but I think some people are really going too far by impoverishing the people with hunger”. According to him, declaring seven days sit-at-home was inviting hunger into his family. “I don’t have any other work doing than to drive from Obollo-Afor to Enugu, and come back, and the management pays me my little commission which I take to my wife and children”.

It will be recalled that the Factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, had earlier announced that there will be a two-week sit-at-home in the South-East. Ekpa tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday July 18, to issue a fresh threat of another lockdown.

According to him, “The sit-at-home is to take place in the following order: Monday, 31 July, 2023 to Friday, 4 August 2023, there will be total lockdown in Biafraland.” He said that on Saturday, 6th August, and Sunday, 7th August, the two-week long sit-at-home will go on break as all Biafran markets will be opened.

As it is typical of calls for sit-at-home, he said “We hereby call on all market leaders to strictly adhere to this order and treat it with utmost seriousness. We also call on all oil companies operating in the Biafran territory to shutdown oil exploration on these dates, to avoid the anger of the Biafran people, which may come with heavy consequences.”

The sit-at-home order came hours after a closed-door meeting of South East political leaders, where they sought audience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on resolving the security situation in the region. Governors, National and State assembly members and other notable leaders of the region were part of the meeting in Abuja.

According to the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, the meeting x-rayed the prevailing security challenges in the region. According to him, “While we acknowledge the efforts of the Federal Government in the past, we are optimistic that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we will receive adequate interventions necessary to nip the menace in the bud.”

On what should be done about the situation, analysts have said there is a need for re-orientation among the youths. They should be trained in different forms of orientation programmes to understand that they can never have true success by taking advantage of other individuals and the state apparatus in whatever way. In addition to this, the judiciary should be strengthened to be able to enforce laws. This is because we have enough laws as a country, but have always had the problem of enforcing the laws.

Another aspect that has been strongly suggested, is the fact that the Government has been advised to fully work on a deliberate plan towards improving intelligence gathering, for the protection of lives and properties of those in the region and beyond. We all look forward to a greater Nigeria,