Biafra: Military Invasion of Igboland, Nnamdi Kanu is also Guilty! – by Tobenna Obiano
While we strongly condemn the invasion of Igboland, particularly Abia State by men of the Nigerian army, and the intimidation, abuse and stamping upon the civil rights of the people that followed, we must also condemn unapologetically and in strong terms, the insensitivity, crass ignorance, show of arrogance, craze and foolishness exhibited by Nnamdi Kanu.
It is on record that he consistently misled to a larger extent, an intimidating population of ndi-Igbo, mostly those along the illiterate line and many who may belong to the class of the unemployed. He did a great job in telling them what they wanted to hear and they wholly bought into his thinking.
The protests, as far as they were peaceful, especially as often claimed were okay, the formation of a squad armed or not, within an independent entity was totally unintelligent and stupid. Also, the declaration to boycott, stop or interrupt the forthcoming Anambra Gubernatorial elections is also another ill-informed thinking. It’s myopic too.
It may be recalled that Ralph Uwazuluike who leads MASSOB once advised ndi-Igbo to boycott the last general census and many, especially and again amongst the illiterate class did. Today, revenues that comes to the southeast is meagre solely because of that one million dollar worth of mistake. Today, while Kanu and his IPOB asks people to boycott this forthcoming State elections, remembering the past and to avoid a repeat, Uwazuluike and his group are telling people not to boycott the election that produces democratically elected leaders.
Nnamdi Kanu’s unguarded and reckless utterances, his show of craze and consistent abuse on the entity, Nigeria and her leaders ignited the fire that is currently burning in the South East, particularly in Umuahia, Abia State. This is sad!
Unfortunately, whilst the python dances in Abia state, the Kanu man who many went as far as kissing his feet, worshiping and some ignorant fellows equating him with Jesus, as the true messiah of ndi-Igbo and others, taking him as god, Kanu has suddenly gone undercover. No one knows where and how he is. Some claim he is under house arrest, while others says he is on the run, underground. Meanwhile, his followers are been maltreated, beaten to pump, made to lie in dirty waters, some to drink from it and other classes of ill-treatments and torture which we must again, speak up against and call evil been done by the men of the Nigerian military.
Kanu caused these problems. The Nigerian security outfit knew that this is how it begins. This was how Niger delta militants began. This was how the killer squad, Boko Haram was founded. It’s from unguarded speeches, very hateful ones, to drawing huge followership brought about by sentiments of majorly brainwashed illiterates, and where the nation’s security continues to neglect them, then comes a terrorist gang. There is nothing brainwashing hasn’t done and cannot do.
For Mr. Kanu to have left behind within the prison walls some of those who stood strongly by him and fought with him shows the character he is made of. Mandela turned down in more than three occasions, an option to be released without his team from the prison. Kanu sorted for medical attention and under stringent agreement terms and conditions which were miraculously met, to have suddenly turnaround to continue, in total disregard for the court directives and bond which were signed on his behalf by different people, is an insult on an independent nation. The Nigerian Government had been more than gracious to him, they should have long rearrested him for beating his bail condition, but they let him be. The fire burning was lighted up by him.
That Kanu has dual citizenship means a lot. That his family is based abroad matters too. That some wealthy Igbo sons and daughters gift him money as donations for his push reads a lot too. And that just like Ojukwu during the Biafran conflict, none, not even one of Kanu’s close allies, family or friends have died thus far from the stray bullets of trigger happy Nigerian military or police, but mainly helpless, lowly, poor and misguided few means more than a lot.
Today, he may have more followership than Ojukwu and Uwazuluike combined isn’t in doubt, and that he is taken like a god, especially where he even introduced Judaism which in all honesty is to serve his myopic and sentimentally driven argument of the Igbos history which has less or nothing to add up to the debate is worrisome.
He who does not know where rain began beating him, will definitely not know where or when it dries up on him. We have failed to learn from history aloud and that’s why the drums of war continue to sound and genocide maybe in the offing. The acts of 1966 to 1970 pogrom is not worth repeating ever again, not here and definitely not anywhere else. Persons who have seen war never pray for a repeat, those who saw Nigerian/Biafran conflict will always conclude, “agha-ajoka”. My father would conclude, “it’s not even what you wish your enemies”.
No doubt, ndi-Igbo aren’t been treated fairly within the entity, Nigeria, but even so, not all rights are gotten by war, struggles and fight. If it did come, how prepared are we? How many Igbos have as little as den gun? Or are we gonna fight with matchets, bows, arrows, sticks and bare hands? We have no fire and gun power capacity or capability. The Nigerian army has more than enough. We must be smart enough to known when to start and when exactly to stop. Kanu pushed his luck too far and the Nigerian military having been fed up with him chose to step in before it turns into a full blown land of lawlessness where anything goes.
Again, no human-being should be put through the torture young Igbos I saw on clips are subjected to on the streets of Umuahia and Aba road. No human should go through those. It’s abuse of their rights as humans and it’s evil even before God. The Nigerian military must be disciplined and civil enough in dealing with this problem, Igbo lives matter. We are not in war time yet, they are only to come and foster peace and stop further breakdown of law and order, not to cause harm and fear amongst the people.
Ndi-Igbo are peace loving people, they obey the rule of law, they are hardworking people and they are literate and vast in many fronts.
No doubt, no nation state would tolerate the continual misdirection of the IPOB leader where he went as far as to institute what he called the Biafran Secret Service within a democratic entity, who does that? No serious-minded leader would condone that. Worse still, definitely not under the watch of a retired military General.
Next week, the world will gather in New York, United States for the usual UN General Assembly meeting. World leaders are expected to attend and the Nigerian President would be there too. Ndi-Igbo should buy into the opportunity, send representatives and make your voices heard. This is our time to shine, the United Nations is the right way to go, not street protests where our beloved ones are continually killed and the sponsors run undercover.
At the bleak of war, when it was about consuming the rest of us all back in 1970, Ojukwu ran away, flying through the Uli airstrip to Ivory Coast to seek asylum. Nnamdi Kanu is only human with no messiac power, since he is not god, even before the actual war comes, he may depart from us all.
It is good to fight for causes you believe in, but it’s more intelligent to live a coward, inorder to fight another day than to fight a hero to die wastefully. Those who die in war receive gun salute, while those who survive war receive Medal of Honor, where even medals handed down for those who died means absolutely less or nothing.
Those who fight and survive in war, tell the tales of war, while they who die in war times are used as tales of that war. Igbo parents should immediately call their children to order, let them stay alive and out of trouble. No one, not even the revered Nelson Mandela may be mourned for a lifetime, we must learn to live together as brothers or die wastefully as fools. Nigeria isn’t working no doubt, it’s either we fix it or simply breakaway peacefully, still boils down to the United Nations, not war!
Therefore, while we strongly condemn the militarization of the South East and the intimidation and show of craze and force that has followed, we must also speak truth to power and lay facts bare, Nnamdi Kanu is also guilty. Many writers and commentators have failed to establish this fact, maybe for fear of intimidation, harassment or usual insults by Biafran apologists. Also, not all Igbos want to be Biafrans. Kanu was and is guilty from a constructive, descent and unbiased point of view. These facts needs to be established.
We want Biafra, but please not through any sort of bloodshed. The struggle isn’t worth any bloodshed. We must seek and push for it through the right channels, the UN remains our best bet.
We must inform the litanies of those who have been brainwashed and misled. Igbo lives matter!
Tobenna Obiano.
