Between Asari Dokubo And Nnamdi Kanu: Who Blinks First?

If there is any topic Nigeria’s political historians will not skip or rather hide in the process of documentation for the sake of posterity, it is unarguably the threat made by Mujahid Asari Dokubo in 2013 that there would be blood in the streets if now former President Goodluck Jonathan was not reelected president in the 2015 election. There is no doubt that his threat caused panic and concern among Nigerians so much that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Organization (APCPCO) at the time was compelled to urge then President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) to call Dokubo to order as it was emphasized that he threatened to wage war against the country in the event that their “son” loses the presidential election.

Against the foregoing backdrop, if anyone that thinks the foregoing threat made by Dokubo some years ago was threatening enough, then it means he has not heard of his latest threat. If the news that is now trending on social media space is anything to go by, he has dared President Muhammadu Buhari by proclaiming a Biafran government. In a statement on Sunday, Dokubo declared himself as the leader of the new Biafra defacto Customary Government (BCG).

As conveyed in a statement issued by Uche Mefor, BCG’s Head of Information and Communications, and signed on his behalf, the former militant leader named those who would serve as leaders of BCG.

As copiously quoted by DAILY TRUST, he said, “We as people have resolved that as Biafra, it’s time for us to take our destiny in our hands and bring freedom to ourselves and our children and the generation of Biafrans yet unborn. I hesitate a little but I thank God that it’s time for us to do our duty and our service to motherland, I have accepted this role. I have dedicated my life hundred percent to play this role.

“My first act today in taking this position is to name those who would be on the driver’s seat to navigate through this period of tempest, this period of uncertainty with me. I want to call on our brother, George Onyibe to come on board to join as the secretary of the defacto customary government of the State of Biafra. He will take care of the administrative, day to day administration of the Biafra State.

“I also call on our brother Emeka Emekesiri to take care of the legal needs of this nascent government. My brothers and sisters, the four of us will kick start the process, others will come on board. We want volunteers who are committed, we want volunteers because there is nothing anymore. We are the people who have volunteered to salvage ourselves and the rest of us.

I also call on Biafrans in the various province of the Biafra nations in Aba, Abakiliki, Anang, Awka, Calabar, Degema, Eket, Enugu, Nsuka, Ogoja, Oji River, Okigwe, Onitsha, Opobo, Orlu, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Umuahia, Uyo and Yenegoa province. We are going to proceed to set up provincial structures of government starting with provincial assemblies and provincial governance and administrators.”

At this juncture, it may not be wrong to say that with his proclamation that the acclaimed Niger Deltan Militant has seemingly looked into Mazi Nnamdi Kalu’s eyes. Then, given the fact that there is no love lost between them, the question of who blinks first has now become the question on the lips of political analysts and political observers.

In as much as critics of this piece may be wondering on why would anyone be expecting one of the warlords to blink first, it is expedient to say that Nnamdi Kanu, a British Nigerian and Biafra political activist has literarily been nurturing the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which main aim is to create an independent state for the people of old Eastern Region of Nigeria through referendum as his pet project. In the course of the struggle, he was arrested on treason charges on 14 October 2015 and was detained for more than a year, despite various court orders that ruled for his release. When in court, Kanu appeared regularly wearing a Jewish prayer shawl and head covering. He said in court, that he "believes in Judaism" and considers himself a Jew and oftentimes has led his Biafran people to various Jewish prayers and religious observations. On 28 April 2017, Kanu was released from prison on bail.

Analyzed from the foregoing perspective, it would be expedient to proverbially ask, “Why would a farmer clear a farmland, and another farmer comes in to plant?”

That there is no love lost between them cannot be farfetched as they have for the umpteenth time been literarily hurling brick-brats at one another on media space so much that not few were surprised over Asari Dokubo’s proclamation on Sunday, March 15, 2021.

In one of their landmark altercations, Dokubo in June 2020 challenged Nnamdi Kanu to swear if he has not been collecting money from governors.

It would be recalled that on Sunday May 31, 2020 that Nnamdi Kanu accused Dokubo of collecting N20million from him in 2016.The money, he said, belongs to IPOB. He then challenged him to swear on the Quran to deny the allegation.

“ASARI DOKUBO, if you claim that I didn’t give you money and I didn’t send people to discuss with you, make a video and swear with your Koran, SWEAR WITH YOUR RELIGION AND DIE.

“You are an idiot, you are a thief, over-bloated swamp pig”, Kanu said. In his reaction, Dokubo replied him in a video.

He also asked Kanu to swear on the Bible or the Torah, since Kanu says he is a Jew, if he has not been collecting money from South East governors.

Dokubo claimed Kanu’s payoff runs into hundreds of millions and that he collects money even beyond the region. He further made a claim that will shock IPOB members.

Dokubo alleged that Kanu has been betraying the IPOB members to the DSS, the secret police.

Analyzed from the prism of their frosty relationship, it would be a misnomer to ask that with the latest development, “Who blinks first between Asari Dokubo and Nnamdi Kanu?”