Sit-at-home: Don’t declare state of emergency in South-East, Omokri begs Tinubu

Former presidential spokesperson, Reno Omokri, has warned that moves by President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the South East will further aggravate the chaos.

Issuing the warning in a tweet on Monday, Omokri suggested that prominent Nigerians should prevail on President Tinubu to ensure that leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu is released on conditions that he will give up violence as a means of pursuing his agenda.

“I am not sure the request for President Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the Southeast will achieve the desired results. In my opinion, it will only aggravate issues. Let’s look at the challenge holistically instead. Why are there sit-at-homes in the Southeast? It is due to the continued incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu. Now, Nnamdi Kanu himself was a response to former President Buhari’s attitude towards the Southeast. He considered the region a “dot in a circle” and shortchanged them because “constituents, for example, that gave me 97% cannot in all honesty be treated on some issues with constituencies that gave me 5%.” But Buhari is gone, and that class of 1966 mentality, which fought the civil war, is no longer in control of Nigeria’s affairs,” Omokri wrote.

“There has been a change of guard. 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 Mr Kanu will give up violence as a means of pursuing his agenda, and that he would promote any political or social policy he has peacefully and democratically. With Muhammadu Buhari out of the picture, I am not sure Mr Kanu will reject such conditions. And if he is freed, the sit-at-homes will die a natural death,” he added.

The former presidential spokesperson suggested that releasing the group’s leader will be “ a less expensive way to resolve the crisis.” adding that fewer people will die.

He further warned 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 will 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.

“ The state of emergency will be a massive public relations success for IPOB, and recruitment into the group will increase, along with anti Nigeria sentiments amongst moderate Southeasterners. But if, instead, President Tinubu sets up a 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. It is not every time that force and state of emergency works,” Omokri added.

Recall that gunmen allegedly from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have persisted in enforcing the sit-at-home order on Mondays as a result of the President Bola Tinubu-led government’s refusal to free the IPOB’s leader, who was detained by the previous Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

 

Factional leader of the group Simon Ekpa has however threatened to extend the enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home order to Lagos following the failure of the government to release Mr Kanu.