Former spokesman of President Bola Tinubu in the region Dr. Josef Onoh has asked South East Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other groups and individuals requesting the release of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu from detention to first engage with the families of the victims who suffered one casualty or the other from violence associate with IPOB.
Onoh said that the southeast leaders have continually suffered from willful Amnesia by denying the dangers posed by IPOB activities in their region.
He compared the Igbo leaders’ position to J. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) who refused to believe that there was such a thing as ‘organised crime’ in America, until the 1957 Apalachin summit that finally motivated him to take a public position.
Onoh said it was preposterous for the Igbo leaders to continually make requests to President Tinubu for the release of Kanu without first of all expressing concerns for the victims of Kanu’s lethal force by setting up a commission of enquiry into the matters involved with the criminal elements associated with IPOB.
He noted that President Tinubu is a freedom fighter who engaged conventional methods to negotiate democracy in Nigeria and would not be less concerned in any freedom negotiation that upholds the tenants of the rule of law and engagement.
Onoh was reacting to different pleads to President Tinubu by Governors in the south east, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and others to release to the IPOB leader without any condition attached.
Those who made the requests include Governors Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra); Peter Mbah (Enugu) and new President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, among other politicians.
Onoh stated that to his knowledge, the persons and groups making such requests have never engaged with the victims such as the families of the police officers who died in the hands of criminal elements purporting to be fighting for Biafra restoration.
“Even IPOB had come out to claim their non involvement in some of these dastardly acts and have volunteered to work with the government and security agencies to fish out the criminal elements that have hijacked their organization, but the immediate past governors of the south east refused to engage them.
“Infact they were enjoying the mayhem and sit-at-home. They played the role of victims more than the affected, showed no support for the security agencies nor the safety of the indigenes, visitors and residents of their states, rather they protected themselves in their respective Government houses while others were killed by the criminal elements, including men and women of our security agencies.
“What did we say to the family of Dr. Chike Akunyili who was savagely murdered in the open street, Joe Igbokwe who’s house was burnt, attack on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah that resulted in the death of his security aides; attack on Former Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State, Staff of the America Embassy who were recently murdered in Anambra State, just to mention but a few.”
He said that it was unconscionable, inhuman and an exacerbation of injury, for the Igbo leaders to be making demands for the release of Kanu, towing their lines without recourse to the damages already done to the psyche of the victims and their relatives simply because they were not sincere with their requests but rather playing politics with Nnamdi Kanu’s release.
He said that what the south east leaders are doing is playing politics with Nnamdi Kanu and have failed to resolve the matter squarely, adding that apart from engaging with the families of the victims of IPOB violence, Ndigbo should collectively tender an apology for the atrocities of the criminal elements in IPOB.
“I’m not against the release of Nnamdi Kanu, after all I’ve said it before that the release of Kanu is more important than Senate Presidency being zoned to the south east, but our southeast leaders and Governors must take responsibilities of some actions and not just Nnamdi Kanu and members of IPOB.
“When we wrong someone we know, even unintentionally, we are generally expected to apologize. The person we hurt feels entitled to an admission of error and an expression of regret. We, in turn, try to ameliorate the situation by saying, ‘I’m sorry,’ and perhaps make restitution. Till date no restitution has been made to surviving families of IPOB victims.
“But when we’re acting as leaders, it’s not just to use release of Nnamdi Kanu to play politics or publicise it in media by asking Mr. President to release him, the circumstances are different. Leaders are responsible not only for their own behavior but also for that of their followers, who might number in the hundreds, thousands, or even millions as the case of IPOB.
“The first question then is, who exactly is the guilty party? The degree of damage is an issue as well. When a leader feels obliged to apologize, especially for a trespass in which followers were involved, the harm inflicted was likely serious, grievous widespread, and enduring.
“Since leaders speak for, as well as to, their followers, their apologies have broad implications. The act of apology is carried out not merely at the level of the individual but also at the level of the institution. It is not only personal but also political. It is a performance in which every expression matters and every word becomes part of the public record as shown in the way they call for Nnamdi Kanu’s release is now made public record by various actors in the south east.
“So the Igbo leaders including Nnamdi Kanu and all IPOB agitators should first engage the families of the victims of criminal elements within IPOB, show remorse, apologise to them even though it will not bring back their loved ones, yet it will surely go a long way; but not to come haphazardly to score cheap political goals and make it look as if Asiwaju does not want to release Nnamdi Kanu,” he said.
