The recent directive by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, calling for a seven-day sit-at-home across South-Eastern Nigeria to protest the continued detention of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, by the Department of State Services, DSS, ahead the governorship election scheduled for Saturday, November 6 in Anambra state, is indeed a worrisome development. Expectedly, groups, men and women of goodwill, across the country have rightly called for restraint by all stakeholders, given the ominous implications of truncating the election for whatever reason, which may be counterproductive and inimical to the sociopolitical and economic life of the region at this time.

For example, Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, the National Publicity Secretary, Ohaneze Ndigbo, a sociocultural body, said in a statement that much as it supports any group protesting the Igbo marginalization in the project Nigeria, such should be done with restraint, maturity and wisdom. The group called for dialogue, negotiations in coalition with other stakeholders. It is against this backdrop that the Ohaneze Ndigbo appealed to the separatist group to rescind its sit-at-home decision in the interest of the Anambra state election and to seek a political solution to the Nnamdi Kanu continued detention.

We do not wish to take the IPOB threat for granted, given the apparent success of the Monday sit-at-home order that security agents and the state governors have not been able to overturn several weeks after, leading to the huge economic losses in the region, including school children, a situation that forced the Anambra State Government to adopt Saturday as a replacement for what is now popularly called “Ghost Monday.”

There is no doubt that the long-running sit-at-home order is a significant source of pain for people who have seemingly kept faith with the cause of IPOB. The order is taking a turn for the worse, because forcing people to sit at home for seven days in a stretch, and shutting down businesses and the entire south-east economy is an obvious bid to scuttle the Anambra gubernatorial election.

In fact, the South-east region has been largely embroiled by insecurity, including the attack believed to have been perpetrated by IPOB militia, who attacked and dispersed students preparing to write the English Language paper in the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination. The incident, which occurred at the Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkume, in Njaba Local Government area of Imo State on Monday, September 13, 2021, is not only condemnable, but way beyond the extreme. The school attack followed other heinous incidents of violence occasioning killing of innocent citizens, which have also been tied to IPOB and its recent violent approach to executing its self-determination campaigns for the Igbo nation. For instance, gunmen also believed to be IPOB soldiers, struck at the parsonage of St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Ihitte-Ikwa, in Orlu Local Government Area of the state, the following day where they gruesomely murdered the parish priest, Rev. Emeka Merenu. Although, spokesman of IPOB, Emma Powerful, has dissociated the group from the heinous murder of Rev. Merenu and any killings, there have been no denials of his comrades being responsible for disrupting the exams at the Nkume. Notwithstanding its denial of the murder, which we insist, is reprehensible, unacceptable and totally condemnable, IPOB must be told in unmistakable terms that introducing violence and intimidation to its campaigns will only worsen its cause. IPOB must be circumspect and exercise caution in the manner it is prosecuting the campaigns for recognition of the Igbo nation within the Nigerian political equation.

Without doubt, the Igbo have suffered unjust and untold marginalisation within the Nigerian nation since after the civil war, which is why the average Igbo appreciates the group’s crusade which has brought their plight and the injustices meted to them by the Nigerian ruling elite to global awareness. The IPOB, no doubt, resonates with a large majority of the Igbo nationality who sympathises with Kanu and do not believe he has done anything to warrant the Federal Government’s action against him. They want Kanu set free.

In that instance, we believe the Federal Government, rather than resolve to military offensive, long-winding court trials, or long-term detention, should employ more of pragmatic political solutions to cases of ethic agitators with defined causes like Kanu and Mr. Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, widely seen to be fighting the cause of the Yoruba nation. This becomes a more reasonable and fair approach to calm frayed nerves, especially considering that the same Federal Government sees nothing wrong in dialoguing with, and even pampering kidnappers, terrorists and bandits who wreak massive havoc on the nation and innocent citizens, frittering huge sums of money as inducement for the criminal elements to drop their arms and embrace peace.

We, however, warn the leadership of IPOB to redefine tactics for prosecuting its campaigns, because shutting down the South East every Monday, and scuttling the Anambra election by ordering a sit-at-home, will inflict more pains on Ndigbo already burdened by hardships. This will certainly paralyze the economic and social lives of the same people whose cause the group believes it is fighting. Already, available reports say the economy of the South East zone has lost an estimated N50 billion so far, due to IPOB’s lingering sit-at-home order.

(Adopted from Daily Independent)

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