The Biafran bail question

By Joseph Edgar…

The Federal Government has finally asked the court to revoke the bail conditions given to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Biafra secessionist movement. This has been long coming as Kanu, in his deeds and utterances, never respected these conditions. He went about his actions with a mockery that continues to amaze me.

As expected, his kinsmen in the Ohaneze have come out to decry this move citing preferential treatment for the Arewa people who, according to them, have not been treated like Kanu even though they seem to be breaking the same law.

The difference here is that Kanu is on bail, based on conditions handed out by a competent court of law. During this period, he has held rallies with thousands in attendance and has been alleged to set up an intelligence platform, all these showing undue disregard for the state of Nigeria. When he was sticking out his tongue at the law, the Ohaneze did not come out to warn or even attempt to push him into a position of conformity. Now, it has gotten to the point where if nothing is done the Federal Government will begin to look like a giant with a clay feet, they have risen to throw the ethnic card which put us in this situation in the first place.

For me, I think Kanu and his advisers are not reading the true political climate in an expert fashion. The coming Anambra polls has put a lie on his assumptions and claims thereby putting his potential loss of face in the event of a referendum quite clear. The polls have thrown up more registered voters than ever before. Many more people -over twenty potential candidates I believe- have indicated interest in vying for the position. He himself did not help matters with his turnaround pronouncement on the elections. He first vowed that there would be no elections in Anambra and then turned around to say there would be elections. All these have sent different signals to the populace who themselves have shown tremendous believe in the sanctity of our unity by going out in their millions to register and carry out sane primaries within their parties.

Read also:  From young leaders to old Looters; the trajectory of a failed generation.

Economically, we have just been told that the Igbos are leading in the issuance of Nigeria Passports. This could be tied to their mercantilist nature. They are nomadic traders who do not respect borders in search of the commercial Eldorado. Most of them do not see how an enclave (Biafra) would fulfil their trading ambitions, hence the continuous renewal and issuance of Nigerian Passports.

They still control a vast size of the ‘below the radar’ economy with holdings in trading, real estate, services, automobiles far out stripping that held by any cluster within the federation. All these points to the fact that this Biafra project is but a minor distraction which attracts only those who have fallen by the way side, both politically and economically.

This is why the government must be seen to act not only to stem this insurgency but to also serve as a deterrent to would-be copy cats in other regions. The continued unity of this country cannot be trifled with and I support whole heartedly the President’s inaugural speech after coming back from his vacation where he said a lot of national red flags had been crossed in his absence and that they will no longer sit and watch some young people play with fire after fighting ad sacrificing so much during the civil war to keep Nigeria one.

No more distractions, let due process take its cause. We have a country to build.

 

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