Igbos And Biafra

I have been patiently and anxiously watching the Igbos, one of the ethnic nationalities that make up the federation of Nigeria, their agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra and of course Nnamdi Kanu, the illegally detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra , a young man doubtless imbued with a fighting spirit which is rare in other Igbos save the late Biafran warlord Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Kanu has been detained for quite sometime now for no just cause if you ask me. The young man was swooped on by Nigeria's secret police in metropolitan Lagos Nigeria and has been illegally detained ever since after a series of court injunctions that the young man be released unconditionally. These court orders have fortunately fallen on deaf ears.

Kanu is being detained by the Nigerian government for operating a pirate radio station. He is , in fact , not the only Nigerian that has committed that ''offence''. About two days ago President Muhammadu Buhari played host to Prof. Wole Soyinka, the man who also operated a pirate radio station in Nigeria - Radio Kudirat - and has not been arrested and duly charged ever since. The Nobel Laureate operated the said radio to free Nigeria and Nigerians who were caught in the agonizing web military jackboot under late Sani Abacha.

In a similar vein, Nnamdi Kanu, having seen the servitude his people have been subjected to via marginalization in the contraption called Nigeria rose to free his people. We have had many 'KANUs' in history and even in pre-independence Nigeria calling to mind the late Chief Anthony Enahoro who moved the historic motion for Nigeria's independence in 1957.

Kanu far from being an egocentric loner is a man who wants to see the freedom of an oppressed people whose rights have been taken away by a tribe of hemogenic overlords who have resolved to annihilate a region and a people over an age-long feud that triggered off the historic Nigerian-Biafra revolution in the Gowonist days. The peace supposedly brokered at Aburi in faraway Ghana has not succeeded in resolving anything as deadly grudges and hate persist and this has often found physical expression in wanton killings of the Igbos in the north and by extension via marginalization which is evident in the region. There is no denying the fact that there is a dearth of infrastructures throughout the southeast that leaves the region in a very sorry and pitiable state.

These and other reasons informed the young man's interest and desire to sensitize his people via the pirate radio for self-determination. He has not committed a crime after all if we all need reminding.

Kanu has not been found plotting to violently overthrow the government or anything near it. He has not been caught or implicated in any arms deal. Hence why have the Igbos decided to stay aloof? Some have been shamelessly seen at different points in time speaking against his avowed desire to free his people from the ongoing bondage superimposed on them by the hegemonic northern overlords.

Money may have doubtless changed hands over KANU, a ploy that has been employed by the regime in Abuja to frustrate the Biafran struggle. Sometimes, I sit hand on chin, mouth agape with incredulity over remarks and utterances emanating from self-styled Igbo leaders particularly the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, 'Oba' Joe Igbokwe and others. Rochas was once quoted to have said that a million Kanu is no match to him. This, of course, is not true!

The governor with an overestimated sense of self-worth would be disillusioned the day their popularity is tested at the polls. Conversely, I make bold to say here he is no match to Nnamdi Kanu all things considered and that makes Kanu the current undisputed leader of the Igbos.

One incontrovertible fact the Igbos both at home and in the diaspora ought to know is that Kanu has actually not committed any crime worthy of a custodial sentence. His continued detention is none other than one of the covert plans to annihilate the Igbos with the collaboration of certain Judas in the region who have been blindfolded by the love for money.

If you genuinely have Igbo blood running in your veins, you would be better advised to relay this message to your friends and relatives until a potent force is mobilized against the oppression, marginalization and planned annihilation of the Igbos in the contraption called Nigeria. Not until the Igbos rise to speak with one voice and identify their common enemy they will ever remain traditional enemies of their tribe.

*Iyoha John Darlington, a social critic, political analyst and public commentator on national and global issues.