Food for Thought: ‘’Now more than ever, people have a hunger to believe in
something…bring people together around a cause and you create a motivated
force.’’
– Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War.
Brief Biography of Nnamdi
Kanu
Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu Kanu or Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as he is
popularly called, was born circa 1970 to a traditional ruler, HRH Eze Israel
Kanu and Lolo Ugoeze Nnenne Kanu of Isiama Afaraukwu, Ibeku near Umuahia, Abia
State. He attended Library Avenue Primary School (now part of the Abia State Government
House, Umuahia) and Government College Umuahia for his Secondary school
education before proceeding to the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). He reportedly
didn’t graduate from UNN but bolted to the United Kingdom to complete his
tertiary education. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – Director of Radio Biafra was a regular Joe
Bloggs plying his trade in the United Kingdom until the Buhari administration
(in)advertently transformed him into a brand, a force, an international figure
and a folk hero of some sort. Mazi Kanu was a vitriolic foot soldier of Chief
Ralph Uwazuruike-led separatist ‘’Movement for the Actualization of the
Sovereign State of Biafra’’ (MASSOB) but he reportedly parted ways with
Uwazuruike afterwards and pitched his tent with another separatist platform –
the ‘’Indigenous People of Biafra’’ (IPOB). Before his arrest, not many people
knew about him or listened to his exuberant rants on his online London-based
Radio Biafra. Like many youths of his age bracket, it appears Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
was disillusioned with the Nigerian project, particularly his perceived
marginalization and injustice meted out to people of his Igbo ethnic extraction.
On 5 September 2015, he was a guest speaker at the World Igbo Congress held in
California during which he allegedly demanded for weapons that would be used to
actualize Biafra. Kanu’s outburst at the World Igbo Congress became his
undoing.
 |
| Nnamdi Kanu |
Nnamdi Kanu’s Arrest,
Prosecution And The Rebirth of Populism
Kanu was arrested at Golden Tulip Essential Hotel by Nigeria’s ‘Secret
police’ - the Department of State Services on 14 October, 2015 when he breezed
into Nigeria from his London abode and remained in detention since then
notwithstanding court rulings granting him bail. President Buhari made a faux
pas during his first media chat in December 2015 by publicly mumbling that the
ilks of Nnamdi Kanu and the erstwhile National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo
Dasuki, will not be freed on bail because of the severity of the offences they
had committed. Same treatment – continued detention despite bail by courts of
competent jurisdiction - is dangled on the leader of the Shiite Muslims in
Nigeria, Sheik El Zakzaky. The impression this creates is that Buhari doubles
as the President and the judiciary. President Buhari’s administration’s cherry-picking
of what court orders to obey is an affront on the judiciary and is not in
keeping with Mr. President’s oath to uphold the rule of law and the
Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
After nearly two years in detention, on 25 April 2017, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High
Court, Abuja granted bail to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, according to her on ‘’health grounds’’ but other
co-accused persons: Messrs. Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Chidiebere
Onwudiwe were not granted bail. Kanu’s mien since his release foretells he may
have been humbled and acculturated by his prison experience and stringent bail
conditions? It is unlikely his speeches would continue to be as blunt,
undiplomatic and virulent as it used to be. The release of Nnamdi Kanu on the
guise of health grounds is apparently an exit strategy out of a quagmire that
became one of the Achilles' heel of the Buhari administration. While Aba – the
commercial hub of Abia State, Enugu, other Igbo-speaking states and parts of
the South-South were agog over Nnamdi Kanu's bail, other regions of Nigeria seem
disappointed. This is understandable. It epitomizes the inherent
politico-ethno-religious dichotomy in Nigeria. The contexts may be slightly
different but recall the wild jubilation which greeted the release of James
Ibori, Major Almustapha, Ganiu Adams (OPC Leader) from prison at different
times. Ever wonder why Chief Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a Tompolo, a man
declared wanted by the Nigerian government is deified in the Niger Delta? For voicing
out and standing up against the establishment, the popularity of Governor Ayo
Fayose of Ekiti State and Senator Dino Melaye soared. These geezers share
certain traits in common: they are rabble-rousers, enjoy grassroots support,
and they appeal to the sensibilities of the man on the street. Same way a
political neophyte – Mr. Donald Trump emerged the 45th President of
the United States of America against all odds largely by telling disenchanted White
Americans what they yearned to hear.
Recurring Agitation For
Actualization of Biafra Predates Nnamdi Kanu
Some
people speculate that the renewed quest for Biafran independence is sequel to a
Goodluck Jonathan’s inability to win the 2015 presidential election and that
the game-plan is to undermine the Buhari administration. This is far from the
truth. Renewed quest for Biafra independence predates the emergence of Buhari
as president of Nigeria. Apart from MASSOB (founded in 1999) and the new kid on
the block - IPOB, there is also the Biafra Zionist
Movement (BZM), all agitating for an independent Biafra. Chief
Uwazuruike was at the forefront of Biafran independence during the presidency
of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. Biafra is akin to an ideology ingrained in
the hearts and minds of a plethora of Igbo people, old and young. Perhaps this
explains why Chinua Achebe’s parting gift, his last book – ‘’There Was A
Country’’, is a pointer to Ndigbo of an impressive dream that petered out. In the words of Nobel Laureate Professor Wole
Soyinka, ‘’once an idea has taken hold, you
cannot destroy that idea…’’. “You may destroy the people that carry the idea on
the battlefield, but, ultimately, it is not the end of the story.” “Let’s not
take this position of ‘don’t even talk about it’, ‘under my watch this will
never happen’, don’t say things like that. Professor Soyinka went further to
say, “Listen to Biafrans and ask them why they want to stay (and say) ‘this is
what we are ready to push as the overall authority in this area’. “Don’t go
around saying ‘the sovereignty of the country is indivisible, it’s
non-negotiable’ all that kind of language will only make matters worse,” he
said.
Why Igbos Continue To Be Enchanted
With Biafra
Granted
not all Igbos are at the forefront of the Biafra project but scores of Igbos
that I know share some emotional attachment to Biafra and they agree that
Nigeria is not fair to the Igbos. I discussed some very salient reasons why the
call for balkanization of Nigeria and quest for Biafra refuses to fizzle out 47
years after the Nigeria-Biafra civil war in my essay: Dissecting
The Recurring Agitation For Balkanization of Nigeria. Renowned Nigerian
writer and historian – Mr. Max Siollun’s narrative: Nigeria
is coming apart at the seams
also provides an insight why Biafra is on the front burner. Mr. Siollun queries, ‘’Why is the
southeast once again considering secession when the region’s last attempt
resulted in such horrendous suffering?’’ He provides an answer, saying, ‘’for
three decades after the [Nigerian civil] war, military dictatorships suppressed
all secessionist talk, leaving Igbos to wonder silently about what might have
been. But after the country transitioned to democracy in 1999, latent
separatist inclinations began to resurface once again. The resurgence of the
Biafran secessionist movement is symptomatic of a much deeper problem with the
Nigerian state. The federal government’s chokehold on states and ethnic groups
is fueling multiple demands for autonomy and the right to manage resources at a
local level — demands that could ultimately lead to a fracturing of the
country. A deep disillusionment with the Nigerian government also lies at the
heart of the Biafran dream of independence. Igbos have long felt marginalized
and excluded from economic and political power by the Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba
ethnic groups, which have dominated national politics and the bureaucracy since
1970. Many Igbos believe that the federal government (and their fellow
Nigerians) have never forgiven them for seceding in 1967, and have
discriminated against them ever since. Younger
Igbos born after the civil war tends to be more militant about Biafra in 2016
than their parents and grandparents, whose memories bear scars from the
previous attempt at secession.
Inequality, Injustice, Nepotism, Marginalization
Fuels Instability in Nigeria
In
2015, former president Obasanjo reportedly submitted that Boko Haram has ‘legitimate
grievances’ and that the Nigerian government should dialogue with
the insurgent Islamic Sect. If they do, it also follows that Igbos have more
than enough legitimate grievances and justification for agitating for an
independent Biafra. You criminalize folks advocating
for the balkanization of Nigeria yet nothing is done to curb the entrenched
injustice, marginalization, subjugation meted out to parts of the country. One seldom
hears of a Boko Haram member been prosecuted but scores of unarmed Biafran agitators
are killed and others locked up in different jails across Nigeria. Apart from
the brazen nepotistic and lopsided
political appointments orchestrated by the current administration, Premium
Times reported how Nigeria’s internal ‘Secret police’ - the Department of State
Services (DSS) or the State Security Service (SSS) as they are sometimes
called, is enmeshed in a lopsided recruitment scandal. Nepotism (na mu ne, in Hausa language) which this
current administration has taken to new heights, is possibly the worst variant
of corruption. According to Premium Times, an analysis of the 479 newly commissioned
DSS cadet officers on geo-political basis reveals that 165 are from the
North-west, North-east 100, North-central 66, South-west 57, South-east 44 and
South-south (42). By way of comparison of what looks like Alhaji Ahmadu Bello’s “Northernization Policy’’, the
entire 5 South-East States (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo combined), got
44 slots while 51 cadet officers were enlisted from
Katsina State, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari and the
Director-General of the SSS, Mr. Daura.
Of course it doesn’t matter that Section 14, subsection 3 of the
1999 Constitution of Nigeria states that: “The composition of the Government of
the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be
carried out in such manner to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the
need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty thereby
ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or
from a few ethnic or sectional groups in that government or any of its
agencies”.
Cut-off
marks for admission into Federal Unity Schools for the 36 States in Nigeria
shows Imo – Male (138), Female (138) while
a bastardized, so-called ‘’educationally less developed states’’ and quota
system construct pegs the cut-off mark for students from Katsina at – Male (60)
Female (60). A similar trend plays out for admission into universities and polytechnics.
Yet when it comes to enlistment into the DSS or any other federal agency, an
educationally less developed Katsina State fields more candidates than the five
South East States. When it comes to sharing crude oil proceeds from the South,
it trickles to other parts of the country but not so for political appointments
notwithstanding the federal character principle. Zamfara state entrenched Sharia
and forbids alcohol yet it receives tax deductions from alcohol as federal
allocation.
The Unity of Nigeria is Negotiable!
Different parts of Nigeria have at different times clamoured for
independence or secession. It started with the North; the South-West once
angled for Oduduwa republic which heightened after the incarceration of Chief
MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Mr.
Adaka Boro instigated secession and establishment of a Niger Delta Republic
even before Biafra was conceived and declared. Beyond Nigeria, some parts of the
United States such as California threatened to divorce from the United States aftermath
of Donald Trump’s presidential victory. They were not hounded or criminalized. One
hundred and fifty years after the American civil war (1861-1865), Confederate
flags are still displayed by folks sympathetic to the Confederates. They are
not criminalized. It is understandable why privileged Nigerian leaders (Igbo
elites inclusive), politicians and individuals appropriated oil blocks and who
continue to benefit from the status quo are wary of the disintegration of
Nigeria. The elites cherish stability, certainty. If one may ask, why is
President Buhari stridently advocating for the independence of Western Sahara
yet vehemently opposed to the probability of Biafra? If
proponents of ‘One Nigeria’ are comfortable with the status quo and they are
confident that Ndigbo, the Niger Delta people, have a good deal in Nigeria, why
not organize a plebiscite to this effect rather than force their wishes down
the throat of others. If indeed we are truly #OneNigeria, why is the North frantic
over the prospect of power slipping away from their hands due to president
Buhari’s health challenges. You can’t force a party to a marriage to remain if
s/he wants out. From Scotland to Quebec, to
Catalonia, to Western Sahara, separatism and quest for self-determination is an
inalienable right enshrined in
Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. Fast-forward to 2017, the Scots
are yet to give up on Scottish independence even after a referendum in 2014 to
that effect didn’t pan out well. If Scotland with
quasi-independent status quests for full independence, agitation for Biafran
independence will not fizzle out soon, with or without Nnamdi Kanu. The earlier
the Nigerian establishment, oligarch stopped playing the Ostrich, the better. The
home truth is that the foundation of Nigeria is patently faulty. This
prevailing political marriage which the British forced on disparate
nationalities with varied cultural and religious leanings is to say the least,
not working. This explains why the fault lines, centrifugal forces at play in
Nigeria continues to outweigh the centripetal forces.
British Primordial Self-Interest in
Nigeria
Nigeria,
a product of British amalgamation in 1914 is obviously created for British egocentrism,
easy administration and not for the interest of the ethnic nationalities that
make up the present day Nigeria. But Nigeria is no
longer a baby that ought to be breastfed or spoon-fed. Parents don't go about
dictating to their adult married children to remain in abusive marriages. While
the US whines over alleged Russian hacking and interference in its latest
presidential election, the US, UK, France find nothing wrong in toppling
governments and meddling in the domestic affairs of African countries. A
recent statement credited to the British High
Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright, to the effect that, the United Kingdom, will not allow Nigeria to breakup, is
seen as an insult by many Nigerians, especially those of Igbo extraction. Why did
the United Kingdom allow Scotland to determine through a referendum whether or
not it wants out of the United Kingdom and also sanctioned Brexit yet they are
bent on suppressing the wishes of sections of Nigeria that seek independence.
The British will do well to stop playing God, meddling and deepening the quagmire
they masterminded and foisted on people from heterogeneous cultural and
religious backgrounds.
Conclusion
Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, a gadfly would have passed unnoticed if the
Buhari administration didn’t arrest and banish him in prison. Like a brand, Kanu now enjoys messianic
following amongst the Igbos to the extent that many Igbo politicians want to be
identified with him. Another salient lesson in this is that more often than
not, soft power and diplomacy not brute force, go a long way in settling
conflicts. Diehard Biafra activists have continued to stage peaceful
demonstrations in the face of intimidation and extra-judicial killings by
Nigerian security agents. Just as emasculation couldn’t stifle the Shiite
group, deployment of military arsenal didn’t tame the Niger Delta militants. Despite
the military prowess of the United Kingdom, brute force didn’t end ‘’The Troubles’’, the
sporadic internecine violence with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Neither did
brute force end the conflict between the Colombian government and the ‘’Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia’’, otherwise known as the Farc rebels. No wonder
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), opined that, ‘’to jaw-jaw is always better than
to war-war.’’ The least that can be done is to restructure Nigeria, have a very
weak centre. At the risk of been branded an unpatriotic pessimist or cynic, my
take is that Nigeria will likely continue to remain unstable if this country is
not rejigged. An Igbo adage says, ‘’you don’t beat a child and insist he or she
must not yell’’. Experience tells us that s/he must yell.
Written by:
Don Okereke, a leading security analyst/consultant, writer, and an ex-serviceman. He can be reached via his Twitter handle:
@DonOkereke
May 5, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment