The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nnamdi Kanu

  • We expect better argument from Buhari – Kanu

    We expect better argument from Buhari – Kanu

    The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to offer a better argument in handling the issue of Biafra and other national questions.

    Kanu spoke at his country home in Afaraukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, while reacting to the President’s order, asking security agencies to place IPOB in the same category with Boko Haram and give the group same treatment for threatening national security.

    The IPOB leader faulted the move, saying President Buhari’s penchant to recourse to brute force to solve national problems would never work.

    He added that the people must not be “railroaded into succumbing to intimidation.”

    He said Buhari should know that there are better ways to handle issues that concern the growth and development of the country instead of resorting to threat or intimidation of the citizenry into believing in his course.

    Kanu said: “In this debate for freedom, everybody has to be heard. Buhari should defeat me with the superiority of his argument not AK 47. Some people quickly recourse to violence, hate and intimidation because they have lost the force of argument.”

    He argued that it was very wrong for the President to compare IPOB, a peaceful mass movement to Boko Haram, which is an internationally recognized terror organization.

    He insisted that President Buhari’s decision to unleash the nation’s security apparatus on IPOB has further demonstrated his dictatorial tendencies and determination to enforce national unity on his own terms and those of his people.

    The IPOB leader added: “It is the continuation of Buhari’s dictatorial and unwholesomely undemocratic approach to governance. I find it unacceptable and insulting that somebody elected by the people can turn around and dictate to them how he wants them to behave.”

     

     

  • Kanu’s no election in Anambra stands, says IPOB coordinator

    Kanu’s no election in Anambra stands, says IPOB coordinator

    The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has described the message accredited to the leader of the group and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, as false and mischievous.

    Recall there were reports in circulation that Kanu had retracted his earlier comments that election would not hold in Anambra in November which has caused confusion amongst his followers.

    Efforts to reach the Spokesman and Abia Coordinator of the group, Emma Powerful and Ikechukwu failed, but Celestine Ohajianya, Abia South Coordinator of IPOB in a telephone conversation with newsmen dismissed such reports.

    Ohajianya, who disclosed that the group was in a meeting at press time, described the report as malicious and one coming from their detractors.

    According to him, the statement made by Kanu that election won’t hold in Anambra State come November still stands.

    He stated that the position of Nnamdi was that it is either that the federal government of Nigeria holds referendum or should forget about holding election in Anambra or any part of the southeast.

  • FG urges court to return Kanu to prison

    FG urges court to return Kanu to prison

    …Counters IPOB boss’ request for variation of bail condition

     

    The Federal Government has urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke the bail it granted leader of the pro-Biafra group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and return him to prison.

    The government argued that Kanu has not only breached the conditions attached to the bail granted him on April 25 this year on health ground, he has allegedly conducted himself in manners that threaten public peace.

    It cited Kanu’s alleged threat that elections would not hold in South East states until the Fed Govt conduct referendum on whether or not Biafra should secede and instances where the IPOB leader addressed crowd exceeding 10 and threatened civil disobedience, as against the court’s directive that he must not be seen in a crowd of over 10 people.

    The government, in a counter-motion, dated August 1, 2017 filed by Magaji Labaran of the Federal Ministry of Justice, urged the court to dismiss an application by Kanu, seeking a review of the bail conditions.

    It noted that not only had Kanu met the bail conditions and was enjoying the bail, it was an affront to the court’s authority for the IPOB leader to approach the court for the review of the bail conditions, having allegedly breached the conditions.

    “The offence for which he (Kanu) is standing trial is not ordinarily bailable; the court, not withstanding, granted bail to the 1st defendant/applicant (Kanu) on health grounds on 25th April 2017.

    “Among other conditions for the bail of the 1st defendant is that he should not be seen in a crowd exceeding 10 people; that he should not grant any interviews, hold or attend any rallies; that he should file, in court, medical updates of his health status every month. The bail conditions were perfected by the 1stdefendant/applicant, which he is currently enjoying.

    “Rather than observing all the conditions listed above, the 1st defendant, in fragrant disobedience to the court order, flouted all conditions given by the court.

    “The 1st defendant equally incited his members to disrupt, disallow and boycott elections in South East states, starting with Anambra State gubernatorial election scheduled for November 18 if the Federal Government failed to hold referendum for the realisation of the state of Biafra.

    “The 1st defendant has already declared the bail conditions given by the court unconstitutional before approaching this court with the application for variation. Rather than showing remorse for his actions, the 1st defendant approached this court with an application for a review of the same conditions for the bail which he grossly flouted.

    “Considering the above, that the 1st applicant has violated the conditions on which the terms of his bail were premised, we urged this court to commit the defendant to prison by invoking the provision of Section 173(2)(B) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

    “We categorically state that justice would have been denied the state by this court, if the state is not protected from the offences being perpetrated by the 1stdefendant/applicant, who is currently on bail,” the Fed Govt said.

    Kanu and four other suspected IPOB members – Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Bright Chimezie – are being tried before the Federal High Court, Abuja on offences relating to conspiracy and treasonable felony.

     

  • Kanu deceiving Ndigbo – Okorocha 

    Kanu deceiving Ndigbo – Okorocha 

    …says Igbo will lose N3 trillion

     

    Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Monday warned that the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu is deceiving Ndigbo with the promise of the actualisation of Biafra.

    The Imo governor, said that any form of war now will cost the Igbo N3 trillion both in properties and assets.

    Okorocha who spoke while giving Staff of Office and Certificate of recognition to traditional rulers, lamented traditional rulers have kept mute while the cloud is gathering over activities of Biafra agitators.

    According to him, “on IPOB, the cloud is gathering, nobody is talking, even our traditional rulers, Pastors and leaders, this is bad for our people. If you will remember vividly that few years ago, during the Civil War, it was a similar story. That was how it all started. At that time, we believed that the Ohafia warriors will be able to fight and disseminate the North”.

    He continued “Now we are been deceived that IPOB will drive away Nigeria and give us Biafra. Even our Pastors, men of God and some leaders in the rural areas, nobody is speaking out against this action and the song of war is coming gradually like a desert encroachment. We fought the war and it was believed that the Igbos will learn from it but they still went ahead and developing the resources of other regions.

    “There are 5 million Igbo living outside the shores of Igbo region. Any form of war will cause the Igbos over 3 trillion naira loss in properties and assets. No sane person will spread the message of division and war because it does not benefit the Igbo in any way. I urge you traditional rulers to speak against it and educate your people on the true state of things. Igbo need to build bridge of unity across the nation”.

     

  • Nnamdi Kanu violated bail conditions – Minister

    Nnamdi Kanu violated bail conditions – Minister

    The Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), on Friday accused the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, of violating the bail conditions granted him by the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    Dambazau said at a news conference in Abuja that it is left for the court to determine what steps to take on the IPOB leader and to what extent he violated the conditions when his trial resumes.

    He said the Federal Government has no immediate plan to re-arrest Kanu.

    The minister said: “The issue is that yes Nnamdi Kanu violated bail conditions but it is not time yet for him to go back to the court for trial. We have this assumption but I think it is left for the court that gave those conditions to determine whether those conditions were violated or not.

    “If those conditions were violated, the court knows what to do. We cannot assume that those conditions are being violated. Yes the public knows those conditions were given but the determination of the extent of violation will be left for the court.

    “It is not like the police will go after Kanu to arrest him on the grounds that he violated the bail conditions. Kanu will have a day in court and the court will determine his fate because it is the court that gave those conditions.”

    He also said leaders of the Northern youth groups that were behind the eviction notice given to Igbos in the North have been invited for questioning by the Department of State Services (DSS).

  • Nnamdi Kanu unsettles Ndigbo

    Nnamdi Kanu unsettles Ndigbo

    His progress and cult following have left many Igbo people feeling doomsday is near, but there is enough opposition to prove to the leader of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu that he is not having a jolly ride, writes OKODILI NDIDI

    From an inconsequential irritant he has morphed into something of a cult hero, drawing a large following anywhere he goes. And that is the worry in the Southeast, where many think that Nnamdi Kanu and the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) he founded are dragging the people to the precipice. A wave of fear is sweeping across the region. Everyday thousands of youths and the elderly pour out into the street to demand for Biafra. This mass movement, which can only be compared to the Arab Spring, has sent jitters down the spines of political, religious and traditional rulers in the zone. Though not armed, IPOB members’ intimidating number is enough to create serious security concerns. It has even become worse as security operatives are rendered helpless in an attempt to avert any clash with the rampaging group, which could result to massive loss of life.

    Since his release from detention, the IPOB leader has crisscrossed the Southeast states, riding on his growing popularity, especially among the youths to stamp his authority. Everywhere he visits, he takes time to lampoon Igbo leaders, who are averse to the Biafra agitation.

    The leadership of the Pan-Igbo Socio-cultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo, has been at the receiving end of Kanu’s tantrums. He accused them of conniving with the ‘enemies’ of the Igbo against the Biafra agitation.

    Most troubling is his directive that elections should not hold anymore in the Southeast. This has continued to elicit controversies but it is also gaining traction by the day. In Anambra State where an election is due in November, politicians and security operatives are already in dilemma over the situation. Buoyed by the order of their leader, IPOB members in the state have started to implement the directive against the advice of Igbo leaders and traditional rulers, who maintained that the directive portends danger for the zone. But the adamant members have begun to harass politicians and disrupt political rallies to drive home the no-election-directive.

    During his tumultuous visit to Imo State, Kanu restated his position that there will no longer be election in the Southeast, except a referendum that will usher in the sovereign state of Biafra.

    Kanu who arrived Owerri in a long convoy of vehicles and thousands of flag-waving IPOB supporters, was cheered by a mammoth crowd as he moved through the streets. Addressing the crowd, Kanu insisted that there is no going back on the agitation for Biafra.

    He said, “I will die installing Biafra. It is Biafra or nothing. I am in Owerri to continue with the message of Biafra. Nobody can stop us. We don’t want restructuring, it is either Biafra or nothing.

    “We have said no to those pretending to be representing us. There is no hope in Nigeria, there can never be justice in Nigeria. Biafra has finally come to stay. Don’t be deceived, I told Ohaneze that restructuring will fail, has it not failed today. That is why I have directed that there will not be election in Biafra land in 2019. We are starting with Anambra State. We don’t want elections anymore. It is referendum or nothing”.

    The pro-Biafra rally did not go unchallenged in Imo State. A coalition of youth organisations, including the Nigeria Youths Unity Forum, One Nigeria Group, Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN) and ex-militants disrupted IPOB’s gathering, telling its leader to stay away from Imo.

    The groups insisted that Imo State does not support Biafra agitations nor belong to any secessionist group, but believes in one united and prosperous Nigeria.

    But the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu vowed to die rather than abandon the Biafra agitation.

    Earlier, hundreds of IPOB supporters, who were adorned in Biafra regalia and flags, gathered at strategic locations in Owerri, the state capital, resulting in heavy gridlock around the capital city.

    But the groups who converged at the Heroes Square, the supposed venue of the IPOB rally, in very large number, warned Kanu to take his agitation to other places outside the state.

    Speaking with journalists, the national coordinator of the One Nigeria Group, Comrade Azunna Andrew, “we believe in the sovereignty of the Nigerian nation and will never be part of any secession plan”.

    Continuing, he said, “We are in support of one Nigeria even in the face of seeming injustice. Anybody agitating for Biafra or any other thing has the right to do so but it must be outside Imo State. No Biafra rally will hold in Imo State”.

    Also speaking, the coordinator of the Nigeria Youth Unity Group, Prince Emeka Igwe, maintained that the youths in the state, especially members of the group are fully in support of one united Nigeria. He stressed that the pro-Biafra groups currently beating the drum of war are ignorant of the consequences of their actions.

    “We have not forgotten what our people suffered during the civil war and we are ready for a repeat of that,” he said. “We believe in restructuring of the country and not secession. We are here to say that Imo State stands for one Nigeria”.

    The National Speaker of the Youth Assembly of Nigeria (YAN), Samuel Godstime, who also mobilised hundreds of youths across the state against the IPOB rally, said that those agitating for Biafra need re-orientation.

    “We believe in one Nigeria,” he said, “where every Nigerian, irrespective of their ethnic or religious groups, can achieve their potentials. We want peace, we don’t need war. So we are here to show solidarity with the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha and President Muhammadu Buhari”.

    The Chairman, Board of Trustee (BoT), Imo State Council of Youths, Comrade Jeff Nwoha, maintained that what is more important to the people of the State, mostly the oil producing areas, is resource control and not secession.

    He said, “Our state governor has continued to preach the unity of the country and we are here to support him. We don’t believe in the agitation for Biafra, all we want is resource control. But we must commend the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, because we have never had it this good before”.

    Ex-agitators, who were also gathered for their monthly meeting, also warned the Kanu-led separatist group to desist from organizing any form of pro-Biafra rally in the state.

    Ohimili Arinze, who spoke on behalf of the former militants, said that they believe in the unity of the country and will continue to support the state Governor in his pursuit of a united Nigeria, “we don’t want to hear anything like Biafra in Imo State, we are fully in support of one Nigeria and we will not allow any self-serving group to come and disrupt the peace we are enjoying in Imo State”.

  • Nnamdi Kanu as unlikely hero

    Nnamdi Kanu as unlikely hero

    SOME newspapers estimated the crowd that welcomed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, into Ebonyi State last week to be about 100,000 strong. Media establishments in Nigeria lack the scientific tools to confirm that figure. But obviously in defiance and violation of his bail terms, the young revolutionary has continued to travel, address supporters, meet with people in excess of the number specified on his bail, and suggest that it negated his rights as a human being and citizen to be gagged by a court. Mr Kanu is intransigent and impulsive; but he is popular and, more alarming to many Igbo leaders, that popularity is intensifying rather than waning. Except he does something spectacularly and grandly wrong and offensive, it is hard to see his popularity decline as long as Nigeria refuses to recognise the unworkability of the union.

    Amazed by the huge support he received from Ebonyi on Monday, especially the almost unmanageable crowd that welcomed him into the state from neighbouring Enugu State, he roared that he would shut down the state for three days on his next visit. He gloated that the visit and the crowd convinced him that Biafra, the cause he and hundreds of thousands of Igbo people have dedicated themselves to in one form or the other, was unstoppable. In fact, many groups dedicated to the same cause have lent support to the IPOB campaign, increasingly assured that Biafra was, with each passing day, becoming a tantalising prospect. And with each passing week, a showdown of some sort appears to be looming between the region’s traditional political leadership and the young revolutionaries for whom Biafra is more than a romantic idea.

    A few weeks ago, Mr Kanu made the precipitate announcement that the November Anambra governorship election was untenable without a referendum on Biafra. A few other groups allied with IPOB also suggested that if restructuring of Nigeria did not begin before the November Anambra poll, they would join IPOB to stall it and ground the whole region. That announcement was greeted with derision, with Mr Kanu himself doing a volte face and waffling about listening to the cries of his people and then modifying his opinion on the poll. But as he continues his tours, and as he perceives that power and influence in Igboland appear to be shifting away from the traditional political leaders whom every Nigerian is familiar with, he has stiffened his resolve on Anambra and reiterated his group’s determination to link the poll with a referendum on Biafra.

    Igbo leaders have a battle on their hands. If they stare Mr Kanu in the face and blink first, they will lose respect and influence. Yet their minds and instincts tell them that Mr Kanu, despite his huge popularity and uncanny identification with and exploitation of the Biafra concept, is indeed a shallow, pedantic and untested megalomaniac. Their own reluctance to mine popular disaffection in the Southeast years ago, not to say provide the kind of leadership the region needed to secure its rightful place in the nation, made the rise of activists like Mr kanu feasible. If care is not taken, the activists could soon become militants. How to, therefore, confront Mr Kanu is the big dilemma Igbo leaders face. Worse, they must now struggle to reclaim the leadership they took for granted, but which is being chiselled away by groups like IPOB and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

    The more restrained and diplomatic Igbo leaders were not helped by the unctuous style of the Goodluck Jonathan government, which unreasonably positioned Igbo technocrats to be despised by their competitors in the corridors of power, and by the generally spiteful and antagonistic style of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency, which almost totally alienated the Igbo from the centre of power. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Igbo leaders must now walk a tightrope between coaxing an unwilling presidency to make concessions and kick-start the process of restructuring the federation, and weaning Igbo rank and file from the intoxicating utopia peddled by Mr Kanu. But even if Igbo leaders, in spite of themselves, possess that uncommon talisman, there is nothing to suggest they have the luxury of time. Mr Kanu and other pro-Biafra groups appear dead set on forcing the issue by as early as November when the Anambra election would hold.

    Mr Kanu relishes his influence, particularly the manner of its growth. He is the main topic in Igboland today, and a hero among the common people. He knows how to entrance a crowd and give them the opium they crave, the intoxicant the traditional Igbo political leaders despise so ardently and offhandedly. Though his illogic and megalomania are smothered by his dubious eloquence, he has managed to sustain a distinct and irresistible charisma that takes advantage of these times and the people’s frustrations. Unhorsing such a fiery young man will be a tough job. What is even more frightening is that he feels impelled by the mood, if not the spirit, of the time to go for broke. He, therefore, seems smartly unwilling to postpone a showdown with the aging and distracted Igbo leaders, believing unsurprisingly that he could take them on, and defeat and supplant them. For a man so fiery and charismatic but quite intellectually and temperamentally ill-equipped for leadership, it would be a tragedy if that showdown were forced, not to say won by him.

    The Igbo have a genuine cause to fight, especially in a dysfunctional nation so dismally unable to govern itself. But that cause requires the leadership of a robust mind (or a collegiate), one that understands what the moment demands, someone able to combine the spirit of an activist and the intellect and judgement of a courageous visionary. Mr Kanu is not that man, though he pretends to be. Igbo leaders have their work cut out for them. The best way to approach that historic responsibility is to ensure that Mr Kanu does not force the issue in November. They must buy time, put their house in order, and produce the right kind of leaders able to gently wean restive Igbo populace off Mr Kanu’s macabre gastronomic delight and ensure that in the ongoing national power and influence struggle the Igbo are not left holding the short end of the stick.

  • Anambra Election: Panic as militants back Nnamdi Kanu on boycott 

    Anambra Election: Panic as militants back Nnamdi Kanu on boycott 

    Some  Niger Delta militant groups have declared their support for the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),  Nnamdi Kanu over his decision to boycott  the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.

    The groups, Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), Niger Delta People Democratic Front (NDPDF) and Rainbow Marabas Squad (RMS) said they are unhappy over the May 30, 2016, when soldiers allegedly massacred harmless and innocent IPOB members.

    Leaders of the groups, General Ben (CML), General Playboy (NDPDF) and General Aneaja (RMS),  in a statement issued via online after their meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,  demanded for justice for the victims of the May 30, 2016,  Biafra Day celebration killings.

    Convener of the meeting, General Ben, stated: “Federal Government should address the injustice meted out to innocent and harmless IPOB members, while celebrating Biafra Day.  The election in Anambra State should not hold and will not hold.  That injustice must first be addressed before any election will take place.

    “Southern political leaders, who are romancing with Federal Government to truncate and jeopardize Biafra struggle because of the selfish aggrandizement, will live to regret their actions because, we will not forget them.

    “Any attempt by Federal Government to take us for granted, should be resisted.  We advise Anambrarians to boycott that election.  Any person that flouts our order does that at his or her peril.  Nobody is our target, but don’t make yourself our target”, the groups warned.

    Reacting to the recent quit notice to the Igbo people living in the North by Arewa youths, and the similar ultimatum by their colleagues (militants) to the Northerners in the Niger Delta, the groups said they did not see it as a threat.

    According to them, it was an opportunity for the Southerners to realise and address their agitations properly with zeal and commitment.

    They advised Southerners, particularly Igbo people, living in the North, not to be carried away by whatever assurances they might have received from any quarters concerning their safety, insisting that they should heed to the order.

    Ben stated: “We do not see it as a threat, but a welcome development. It should not generate disaffection.  But should be accepted with commendation because it would give the agitators opportunity to champion their course with the necessary zeal it requires.

    “In essence, the deadline should stand, both for the South Easterners in the North, and the Northerners in the Niger Delta region and South East. And our people should return home.  Every Southern is our brother or sister, whether from East, West or South.”

  • Declare IPOB terror organisation, Northern youths tells UN

    Declare IPOB terror organisation, Northern youths tells UN

    A coalition of Northern youth group Friday wants the United Nation to prevail on the Nigerian government to declare the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader Nnamdi Kanu as terror group in line with international conventions which the country is signatory to.

    The group wants the United Nation to invoke the relevant conventions and statutes which Nigeria was signatory and compel Nigeria to declare the group as a terror group, pointing out that IPOB and its leader has contravene several provisions of the UN.

    Addressing a news conference in Abuja, spokesman of robe group, Alhaji Shettima Yerima also demanded that UN should intervene by initiate “processes of fir a peaceful referendum as the only option to finally settle the Biafra issue.”

    The group had earlier given an ultimatum to the Igbos living in all part of the north to vacate before October 1, 2017, an action that has received wide condemnation.

    Shettima said: “has finally crossed the boundaries of Nigerian laws and has blatantly breached international laws that specifically friwn at the use of terror ti achieve a goal.”

    He said they have sent a twenty pages petition to the United Nations dated 12th July, 2017, entitled: “Request for urgent intervention brought pursuant to the UN declaration on minorities; European framework convention; UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007 in resolution 61/295.”

    They described as peak of insolence a statement credited to Nnamdi Kanu that he would order former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his entire family killed.

    While commending the efforts of the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and other regional leaders toward ensuring lasting peace and stability in the country, Shettima alleged that Kanu and IPOB remained undaunted and “even intensified their violent divisive campaign whuch is the main borne of contention.”

    They, however, demanded that “the UN invokes the relevant stattutes to which Nigeria is a signatory to pronounce Kanu and IPOB as terror outfit proscribe their activities and initiate criminal actions against them.

    “Since it is becoming all the more obvious by the way IPOB and Kanu enjoy massive support from the Igbos back home, the issue of the drive for Biafra nation is still a boiling issue. We urged the UN to intervene by initiating processes for a peaceful referendum as the only option to finally settle the Biafra issue.”

     

  • Between Ohaneze Ndigbo and Nnamdi Kanu

    Between Ohaneze Ndigbo and Nnamdi Kanu

    OF all the canniness shown by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in exploiting the disaffection in Igbo land, his impetuousness and lack of depth are hard to disguise. The more Igbo youths flock to his side of the alienation, marginalisation and skewed federalism argument, the more he appears carried away by an incredible sense of self-importance. This attitude recently made him despise his bail terms to issue the order that the November Anambra would not hold if referendum on Biafra was not conducted. He did not say what the implications of a vacuum in government would be.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra rightly denounced the order as presumptuous and imperial. So, too, did the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The apex socio-cultural organisation of the Igbo, the Ohaneze Ndigbo, was even more scathing in condemning Mr Kanu’s peremptory order. Said Ohaneze’s president-general, John Nwodo: “News that reached us in the past few days that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, has declared that there will be no election in Anambra State in November is shocking and disturbing. I hereby countermand that declaration as President-General of Ohanaeze. Whereas Ohanaeze understands the marginalisation and unfair treatment of Igbo which have given rise to self-determination movements in Igboland, leaders of these movements must not arrogate to themselves the supreme leadership of Igboland. Statements of the kind credited to Nnamdi Kanu are provocative, misleading and unproductive. Why should Anambra people be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader? Why should any of us who are not from Anambra, no matter how highly placed, descend into the arena and dictate for the Anambra people when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for?”

    Chief Nwodo continues: “Anambra, nay Igbo, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria. Yes, some of us want Biafra. Yes, some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present Federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or unjust. Our approach to reforms of our laws, even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring, must be lawful.”

    The curious fact is that no Igbo group has condemned the reasons for the agitations. They need not condemn them, for everyone can see where the problem is coming from. What Igbo leaders are beginning to do, as Mr Kanu overreaches himself, is to rightly and sensibly curb the young firebrand’s tactless and incendiary methods. But in balancing things in the Southeast, more moderate and sagacious Igbo leaders must find ways of justifying their leadership, viz-a-viz the frustrations of the youths, if they are not to make themselves irrelevant in the Igbo people’s search for their manifest destiny within or outside the Nigerian context.