. says Tinubu can’t pretend not to know that 98% of Ndigbo’re not happy about Kanu’s conviction, Igbo suppression, marginalization
By Chuks Eke
Senator Victor Umeh representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone of Anambra state has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to listen to voices of wisdom by exploring the chances of releasing the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, Nnamdi Kanu from the prison on a political ground as quickly as possible as a step towards kick-starting the much desired reconciliation and rehabilitation process aimed at restoring peace and sanity in all parts of the country.
This, he said, is because Tinubu cannot pretend not to know that more than 98 percent of Ndigbo are behind Kanu’s agitation and as such are not happy that Kanu was convicted amidst the alleged ongoing suppression and marginalization of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
In a telephone chat with newsmen on his reaction to the sentencing of Kanu to prison for life by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, last Thursday, Senator Umeh added that Nigeria is so divided, fractured and even sitting on a keg of gunpowder so much so that the federal government should quickly commence a healing and reconciliation processes before it explodes and plunges into an unending chaos.
He suggested that the starting point for healing and reconciliation is first and foremost to release Kanu on political ground, then invite all aggrieved groups and agitstors to a round table discussion, listen to their grievances and find a lasting solution to the agitation to restore peace and tranquility, just like former President Yar’adua did in Niger-Delta and succeeded in getting the militants to lay down their arms and tow the path of peace.
According to Umeh, “some people are thinking that the case is between Kanu alone and the federal government. No. Ndigbo are just speaking through Kanu. The case is between Ndigbo as a whole and the federal government. It did not start today or during this Tinubu regime. Some past regimes inherited the problem but they could not solve it”.
“So, I must say that it will be easier for the federal government to engage with Igbo people only if Kanu is released. If the government had listened to some of us who have been conveying the message of maginalization from Ndigbo, the situation would not have gotten to this critical stage”.
For instance, apart from the fact that some of us in the Southeast caucus at the Senate chambers have always spoken the mind of Ndigbo during plenaries to the extent that each time I stood up to speak, some Senators from other ethnic tribes will jokingly ask me if Southeast is still being marginalized, I and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, leader of Igbo Senate caucus had earlier had an audience with the National Security Adviser, NSA about Kanu’s case but nothing positive came out of it. Before then, 10 of us in the Senate had equally had an audience with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi where we discussed extensively about the Igbo agitation but to no avail”.
“I wasn’t surprised on Thursday when I heard about the jailing of Kanu for life because looking at the long drawn battle between IPoB and the federal government, it became obvious that it would end this way. IPoB’s activities became visible way back in 2016. It was in the same 2016 when they held a peaceful protest at Nkpor that soldiers from the Nigerian Army military cantonment in Onitsha fired live bullets at the IPoB peaceful protesters and killed quite a good number of them”.
“Thereafter, I personally went to radio and television stations and condemned the killings by the soldiers for using live bullets on peaceful protesters who were merely complaining of ill treatment by the Nigerian government. After condemning the act in radio and television interviews, officials of the Department of State Services, DSS descended on me”.
On March 3, 2016, the DSS officials arrested me in Awka, Anambra state and took me down to Abuja in a Hilux van. We arrived Abuja in the night of same day and they interrogated me for hours before handing me over to their then Director-General, Lawal Daura who accused me of inciting Igbo youths against the federal government and that he heard I was even their financier but I denied being their financier and asked him to show a proof”.
“I told him that government was not getting it right and that the best thing is for the government to call those complaining about marginalization together, listen to them and assure them that you will address their case, rather than weilding a big stick against them”.
“After taking note of all the things I told him, Daura reasoned with me and assured me that he would do his best towards that direction. But progressively, the federal government failed to tow that line of reasoning and here we are today. If government had listened to Daura then, all these crisis would have been over by now”.
“Therefore, I would like Tinubu to refuse the advice some people are giving him against Kanu because it won’t take this country to any where, rather it will continue to create more confusion It will be easier to engage Igbo people in heart-to-heart dialogue after releasing Kanu from the prison because 98 percent of Ndigbo are not happy about Kanu’s imprisonment The country is so divided now that even Kanu’s case is a minor problem compared to what is currently on ground”.
“The ball is now in Tinubu’s court to do the needful. When Tinubu visited Anambra state recently, I called on him through the sideline to release Kanu and begin a reconciliation process but is like he did not heed my advice hence we got to where we are now. Let the government make peace with people who have one grudge or the other. There must be a change of attitude towards protesters before you can have genuine peace”.
“That was how the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 9 started and snowballed into hanging them because they were calling for a clean up of Ogoni land and now government is regretting it and giving them post-humours honours. The same thing happened during the apartheid regime in South Africa that landed Nelson Mandela in prison for 26 years and then Mandela later came out and became South Africa’s president”.
“Let me believe that government will begin to review the actions and steps it has so far taken in this Kanu’s matter. I said it before that 10 Senators had earlier gone to Fagbemi and asked him to file a nolle prosequi to release Kanu and he assured us of doing that but not guaranteed before Abaribe and I went to the NSA in search of peace but inspite of all these efforts, the court sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment”.
“All eyes are now on Tinubu who has the power under the law to make hay while the sun shines”, said Umeh.
