IPOB’s Kanu and the road to Erehwon

AFTER more than a year and a half of incomprehensible judicial rigmarole and executive procrastination that began in October 2015, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was finally released on bail with stringent conditions. In three days, surprisingly, the bail conditions were met. Mr Kanu had been asked to (a) Produce 3 sureties, who must deposit the sum of 100m each; (b) Produce a highly placed person of Igbo extraction; (c) Produce a respected person who resides and owns landed property in Abuja; and ensure that (d) One of the sureties must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Kanu practices Judaism as his religion; (e) Must not attend any rally or grant an interview; (f) Must not be in a crowd exceeding 10 persons; and (g) Must surrender his Nigerian and British passports.
Apart from the trial itself been needless, it is doubtful whether the stringency of the bail conditions did not violate the purpose of a fair trial and the constitutionality of bail. Contrary to what the federal government hoped, the Biafra issue was kept on the front burner for the entire duration of the incarceration of the IPOB leader. In fact, by default, the previously little known IPOB had soared in significance over the months to rival the far better known Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). Instead of one or two organisations dedicated to promoting Biafran ideals, now the country must contend with three, no thanks to the government’s pigheadedness.
Mr Kanu went into detention a comical, little known figure. He has emerged in less than two years as a force to reckon with in a hydra-headed movement that may yet shake Nigeria to its foundations. The reason is tied to the reckless and tyrannical show of force by the executive arm and the abdication of a somewhat pliant and shackled judiciary. How the government hopes to defeat by force a movement that exists more in the mind than in active and tangible use of violence is hard to understand. Biafra has over the years morphed into an ideology, partly as a result of the complicity of an insensitive government that failed to understand the beginnings of the movement and was also unable to offer a closure to the fractures and contradictions that triggered the 1967-1970 Nigerian civil war.
Should Mr Kanu possess the deftness to exploit the fame foisted on him by a bungling executive arm, should he indeed be imbued with the charisma he seemed to have exuded in prison and the ideas to drive the movement in an engaging and easily accessible way, he will in the coming months present a far more worrisome dilemma, if not nightmare, to the government in or out of prison. This is often the byproduct of a government that exaggerates and places its powers far above what the constitution has provided, and one that inflates its self-importance in a destructive, pernicious manner on the road to erehwon (nowhere).

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Biafra: Buhari soft on Nnamdi Kanu, his action terrorism based – APC Chieftain, Bankole-Hameed

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Shehu Bankole-Hameed, has said the current Federal Government is soft with leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu over his agitation for Biafra.

Bankole-Hameed, who made the remark while speaking with Vanguard, stated that the IPOB should have been subjected to stiffer punishment.

According to the APC Chieftain, “I think this is truly an interesting development. Here is someone who knows that what he did embark on was nothing short of terrorism. What does he expect of the authorities?

“Body massage, hotel accommodation or what? He is lucky Nigeria is not interested in capital punishment, otherwise he may be so charged. I think the government is even soft on him.”

On whether there should be a negotiation with the South East over Biafra, Bankole-Hammed said,
“This is a very good question. What is Biafra, who are the agitators and how is the cry for it being funded? I will attempt to define Biafra as best as I can and from the perspective of average Nigerian.

“There was an attempt by Ojukwu now late, to steal away and enslave non Igbo of the then Eastern Region, while taking over the oil in the region.

“He got his own people to buy into the act, there was no justification for the declaration then, which made the concept of Biafra ineligible for negotiations.

“Many countries have such provision. There should be no force or coercion in Union. Right now, activities related to agitation for Biafra is tantamount to terrorism.”

This is coming at a time Kanu perfected his bail and was released from Kuje prison.

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Soyinka to Buhari: Declare your health status now

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka wants President Muhammadu Buhari to declare his health status immediately in order to put a stop to speculations and the attendant political manipulations.

“Why is the President hiding his state of health? He’s supposed to understand he’s public property. Me I’m still private property, that’s why I’m not in Aso Rock,” Soyinka declared yesterday in Lagos.

He spoke on the theme Sacred cow.

He added: “Once you are in Aso Rock, or you occupy a similar position, you have a responsibility to come out frankly to your citizens.

“Guarding your state of health like Donald Trump is guarding his tax returns is not what we expect from a Nigerian president.”

Presidency officials declined to respond to Soyinka’s call when contacted yesterday.

A Presidency source said it was not the first time Soyinka was making the demand and that since the Presidency didn’t react the first time, it would not react now.

The source, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said: “Your story can go without the reaction of the Presidency.

“The Presidency did not react the first time and may not react this time around.”

Soyinka also raised the alarm that the security of his Abeokuta country home was recently breached by Fulani herdsmen for the second time.

He branded the invasion as an act of provocation but said it had been reported to the police and the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Gbadebo Adedotun.

According to Soyinka, the herdsmen who also invaded the farms of his neighbours recently, came right to his doorstep and a brand new way sliced into his sanctuary and ecological preserve.

He described the invasion as rampaging impunity, noting that “we are living in a very dangerous time. The herdsmen made me convinced that it is a deliberate act of provocation.

“I don’t believe in conspiracy theory but the incidences that have taken place in the sanctuary are very alarming. The police have the records,” he said.

He recalled clashes between the herdsmen and farmers in the area and said that each time the police chased the herdsmen away, they would find a way to return.

His words: “They do not have respect for human life. They used human beings for suicidal bombing. Why should they not use cows as suicide bombers?

“…I see no other interpretation to all of this than a movement to enslave the citizens of the country and show that they are masters of the land. They are camping not as peaceful neighbours but as conquerors. One has the right to assume that any cow that comes right to one’s doorstep is a suicidal bomber.”

Soyinka is unhappy that the security agencies are shirking their responsibility of protecting the citizens who are now left to look after their safety.

He asked Nigerians to wake up the nation’s leadership on life and death issues especially on one’s land.

He said: “Herdsmen are worse than Boko Haram. Some kind of action is required, maybe declare a day of beef boycott to compel the leadership to take holistic action.”

On the plan by the government to create a grazing corridor for herdsmen, he said:”Creating corridor for cattle grazing will compound the problem, I do not think that is the solution,” adding that creating ranches for the herdsmen could be part of the solution.

Herdsmen had last year attacked Soyinka’s home while he was away abroad.

He had said then that he returned from a trip outside the country only to “find that my home ground had been invaded, and a brand-new ‘Appian way’ sliced through my sanctuary.”

On his US green card issue, he said he is done with it and completed all formalities at the US Embassy, Lagos where he was issued a non-immigrant visa that enables him travel to US when he desires.

“Since October last year, I have been in and out of US six times using the non-immigrant visa,” he said.

The president’s health status featured at a separate forum in Lagos yesterday with his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,Mr.Adesina saying :“There is no need for apprehension.”

Adesina spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the of the launch of the book Against The Run of Play  written by Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman of THISDAY editorial board.

“God spared the president the first time. Remember he said that he has never been as ill as he was before,” he said.

“ The same God that spared him will also ensure that he returns to full health. Nigerians prayed and God answered, Nigerians are still praying and God will still answer.”

Asked to respond to calls by some Nigerians that Buhari should resign on health ground,Adesina said the opinions of a few people demanding the president’s  resignation could not,  in anyway, override the verdict of the 15million Nigerians that elected him into office.

But he conceded  while the Buhari should  resign agitators have a right to their opinion.

“Saying the president should resign is an opinion but don’t forget that 15 million people elected the president so if one or two people express their opinion, will their opinion override that of 15 million people that voted for him?” he said.

“Those who are expressing their opinion have rights to their opinion.”

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Why FG should concede SGF slot to South East—Ezeife, Iwuanyanwu,others

The South East is unrelenting in its quest for the Office of Secretary to the Federal Government, following the suspension of the incumbent, David Babachir Lawal.

There are speculations that Lawal may not return and that the presidency is already searching for a replacement.

Political leaders from the South East have launched a campaign for President Muhammadu Buhari to give the position to the zone, citing the need to reverse the view that the administration is marginalizing the zone.

Frontline Igbo leader and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, believes the South East has got nothing tangible so far from the Buhari government and that it would expect that if there is such a vacancy, the Federal Government  will reserve  it for  the region.

”If you look at the whole thing that they are doing, it appears as if people don’t exist in the South East,” he told The Nation.

“We have people who are qualified to hold this position in the APC. They should look at our people in the APC and appoint one of them.”

A former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, is also of the view that the position should naturally be conceded to the South East.

His words: “Nigeria has six principal protocol offices.  The North West has the President; the South West has the Vice-President; the Senate President is from the North Central; so are other zones except the South East.

“Our constitution prescribes federal character, but the South East zone is conspicuously absent, blatantly removed from these positions. The position should automatically come to the South East.”  He added: “Usually, anyone who should be the SGF is effectively someone who knows where the switches in government are, so that if anybody switches on, he switches off.

“That was why, in the past, it was only retired permanent secretaries that qualified to be made SGF. Somebody who has worked as a governor is also qualified because he has worked with so many permanent secretaries.”

While supporting the call that the SGF position to go to the South East, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group,Nnia Nwodo, said:  ”I think we should go beyond the stage of determining who should occupy an office on the basis of  zone to competence. The entire federal appointments have violated the federal character and shortchanged the South East and shortchanged the policy of the APC to zone the SGF position to the South East.

“They ate their own words. We are going to court to challenge the president for non-compliance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“A lot more has been done in denying the South East their due at the centre. I hope the president will use this opportunity to correct a lot of things. But far more important is that he should look for somebody competent from the South East. We want quality people to man important positions.”

But he said Ohanaeze will not lobby the presidency for the position to come to the zone, saying: “I am not interested in lobbying anybody to recognize the zone. The president is supposed to be the father of the whole country. He has sworn to the constitution and I expect him to respect his oath of office.”

The call also got the support of First Republic Minister and nationalist, Mbazulike Amaechi, who ,in a telephone interview , said: “If the president now believes that there should be fairness and equity and justice and that Nigeria should be a true federation, he should give the post of the SGF to the South East.

“You put somebody in Foreign Affairs and another in Science and Technology. To me, those are insignificant positions.

“It shows that he doesn’t want the Igbo. If he changes his mind now, it will douse tension in the country. He will regain the confidence of the Igbo people if he does this.

“Ogbonaya Onu had been a chairman of a political party that sponsored President Buhari twice. He has been so faithful a man. He is a quiet and principled Igbo man. He is not like these other ones that jump from one party to the other. If he (Buhari) actually wants somebody who will be loyal to him, he has him (Onu) there in Abuja.”

On his part, the national chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, said the call for the replacement of the suspended SGF is misplaced and premature because he has not been indicted.

Even if the seat becomes vacant, Okorie said, whoever occupies the position lies within the purview of the president.

He said: ”He knows who he wants. Even though it is provided for in the law of the land, it is not one of those offices that is subjected to federal character.  It is the president’s prerogative as far as I know.

“ If the president gives it to the South East, I will definitely be happy.

“I am not keen on what position my people occupy, but what the government does for my people.  Our people occupied positions in the past and there was nothing to show for it.”

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