Media entrepreneur Dele Momodu says the renewed agitation for Biafra stems from decades of marginalisation and deprivation suffered by the Igbo people.

In a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, Momodu reflected on the continued detention of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and called for his release, warning that attempts to silence him would not end the agitation.

“Shortly before his abduction from Kenya by the Nigerian government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made this thought-provoking broadcast in which he philosophised about the reasons he and his supporters became radicalised,” Momodu wrote.

He criticised those who dismissed Kanu and his followers without understanding the historical and political roots of the movement, arguing that renewed calls for Biafra were driven by legitimate grievances rather than blind fanaticism.

“I have taken time to listen to his critics and discovered most of them only jumped to conclusions without proper analysis of why agitation for Biafra became reignited, attractive, and fanciful after the pogrom that wasted millions of lives and destroyed unimaginable properties in the 1960s and ’70s,” he stated.

According to him, the “continuing marginalisation of the Igbo, and deprivation accorded some of the most energetic and vibrant brains in Africa and globally, rekindled the Biafra sentiment.”

Momodu warned that repressing or targeting Kanu, even by some of his kinsmen, would not resolve the underlying political issues fuelling separatist agitation.

“Attempts by enemies of Kanu, including his own kinsmen, to exterminate him will never solve the problem,” he said, adding that the Igbo struggle “goes beyond legalese” and demands “serious political reconfiguration.”

While reiterating his opposition to violence, the veteran journalist urged the federal government to adopt a constructive approach toward addressing the South-East’s grievances.

“I will never support violence. But any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South East very busy with productive engagements instead of this rabid hatred,” he said. (TRIBUNE)