NNAMDI KANU: THE MATADOR, HIS HERD AND THE PYTHON DANCE
By Eshiomomoh Ifoga
Economic freedom is an indispensable means towards the achievement of political freedom
…..Milton Friedman

The military incursion into the ancestral home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu might open up a vista of interesting events in the coming days. Prior to this military clean up exercise codified as “operation python dance”, the South Eastern region of Nigeria had been enmeshed in a protracted struggle for secession from the union. The Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) led by the now beleaguered leader-Mazi Nnamdi Kanu became the nonpartisan platform for this reinvigorated agitation for secession.

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s approach to self-determination was unconventional to say the least. He trudged on the strides of ethnic sentiments to brazenly attack the Federal Government of Nigeria with unprintable names. His kinsmen who questioned his credibility to lead the Igbo nation were not spared from his tirades.

Admittedly, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest, detention and subsequent release by the Nigerian government transmogrified him into a cult-hero amongst his teeming supporters. Few weeks after his release, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu became an instant demagogue flouting all the bail conditions which led to his initial arrest. As a test of his popularity, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu declared May 29, 2017 a sit-at-home day in the entire South Eastern region. The compliance to this directive which was a massive success by every parameter of judgement was beyond overwhelming. It is noteworthy that never in recent history has any man of Igbo extraction wielded so much influence on a people known for their independent mindedness.

This singular event could have been Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s best opportunity to redefine and refine the pro-Biafra ideology with a new focus hinged on regional development driven by intellectual engagements. Unarguably, the Igbo tribe is one of the most enterprising in the world. The Igbos are blessed with the innate and uncanny abilities to build business empires from the scratch. They are never afraid to start again. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unwittingly failed to harmonize the abundance of human resources at his disposal to chart a new course and direction for the people he leads. Secession should have been a non-existent item on the template. The Biafra ideology could have been the re-birth of a nation, a new way of thinking. Undoubtedly, the South Eastern region can rise to become the bastion of industrialization in Nigeria and by extension sub-Sahara Africa if effectively harnessed. A clear cut economic blue print bespoke for the development of the South Eastern region should have been the crux of the Biafran ideology. The focus of the Biafran ideology should have been the seamless integration of the five (5) states that make up the South Eastern region.

Unfortunately, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu towed the ignominious path of blind egocentrism. His penchant for spewing incendiary comments against the Federal Government became his signature. Like a folklore hero, he was worshipped by his subjects. The world was at his feet. He made himself an exalted throne held by the clouds of megalomania and deliberately became oblivious to the realities of the might of the Nigerian Army. In stone-blind defiance to common sense, he threatened to disrupt the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State. A threat to a democratic exercise was considered an affront to the sovereignty of Nigeria with a sitting President known for his zero tolerance for public peace disturbance.

Like the matador, he waved the red cape of ethnic marginalization and evoked bigotry against other nationalities in the Nigerian State. Within a relative short period of time, the IPOB army grew in leaps and bounds. A ragtag army of young men and women with faintest inkling of the Nigerian civil war was raised to spill blood for a needless struggle that comes with an ill wind which blows no good. No party wins a war. The vestiges of war are the grotesque memories of charred bodies, the loss of loved ones, the wanton and needless destruction of properties to mention a few. A country (like Nigeria) just crawling out the jaws of economic recession should avoid a descend to war by every means necessary.
To quell the rising agitation amongst the Easterners, the onus is on the Federal Government to address all the germane issues fuelling the call for secession. The Federal Government of Nigeria should be true to herself by following the dictates and doctrine of federal character in the appointments of public office holders. The truth is the Igbos need to have great sense of belonging, an impression emboldened by the lop-sidedness of previous political appointments made by this Buhari-led administration.

The Federal Government should reduce the presence of military personnel and give dialogue a chance. The proscription and the labelling of the IPOB as a terrorist group should be followed with an amnesty programme to all members who hitherto swore allegiance to secession.
As it stands, the whereabouts of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is unknown, his ardent followers and fellow secessionist apologetics should take the scales off their eyes and get involved in meaningful business enterprise to develop the economy of the East. They should realize that the constant evolution of the world we live in will continually reshape and redefine the true essence of economic freedom. The real liberty stems from economic freedom and not from the mouth of an emperor. Waiting for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to steer the ship of economic and political freedom is a wait for Godot and an open invitation to the python dance.

Hmmm Word!!!

You spoke the diplomatic truth

This should be on NewsPaper Headline Oooo

.

megawebber

I hope you are aware that kurdistan, an area that cuts across several middle eastern countries such as Iraq, will be having a referendum on secession on the 25th of this month?
This situation we are in is much more complicated than you think.

So true,you said it all at the concluding part.
Truly,Nnamdi Kanu started as an activist but deep down he’s an egomaniac who couldn’t control the attention he got,hence he misused what should have been really beneficial to him and the people claimed to be fighting for

Whoever wrote this back in 2017 could not make any point. What did Nnamdi Kanu really do that was outside the law? He is agitating for Nigeria to break up? He is allowed to do that under the relevant international laws of self determination Nigeria has signed. He insulted some people? If insult was a crime, everyone on earth would be in jail. He threatened to disrupt the Anambra elections? Take him to court lets see if there is any law on threatening to disrupt elections.

Nobody has ever been able to tell me what Nnamdi Kanu did that was outside the law.


What people would rather do is turn a blind eye to gross injustice that the federal government sent a troop of Soldiers to kill him in his house for not just cause.

Then the foolish people will call him a coward for not allowing the federal government to complete its evil mission of killing him. The wanted him to stay and be killed.

Some people think Nnamdi Kanu is the problem, they fail to see that Nnamdi Kanu only exists because Nigeria has long failed.

mimiabba:
So true,you said it all at the concluding part.
Truly,Nnamdi Kanu started as an activist but deep down he’s an egomaniac who couldn’t control the attention he got,hence he misused what should have been really beneficial to him and the people claimed to be fighting for

Nnandi Kanu did not misuse anything. His mission is Biafra and he has never deviated. Yet the government sent Soldiers to kill him even though he was unarmed and killed nobody. The same government that has never sent Soldiers to kill even one single armed herdsmen that murder Nigerians daily

Buhari has no problem send Soldiers to kill an unarmed Igbo man who killed nobody but the same Buhari has a big problem sending Soldiers against his own people who are armed and killing people