The lawmaker representing Anambra Central in the Senate, Senator Victor Umeh, has regretted that the federal government mismanaged the situation with Nnamdi Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), noting that the government should have listened to the grievances of the group instead of declaring war on them.

In a video interview, the senator called on President Bola Tinubu to use his prerogative of mercy to free Kanu and thereby right the wrongs of Nigeria’s past leaders.

Were you surprised when you heard of the conviction of Kanu?

I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the conviction of Nnamdi Kanu. Looking at the long run battle, it was obvious that it would end the way It did. I look back at the beginning of IPOB in 2016 when the activities of the group became visible, and they had the first confrontation with the Nigerian Army in Npor, Anambra State when they had a peaceful nonviolent demonstration and killed a good number of them at that time.

I was surprised because I felt that a protest is democracy. When people don’t agree with what they are experiencing, they can protest. Even today, people still protest under democracies so I didn’t know why the protest of the IPOB would be met with the firing of live bullets that claimed the lives of some youths.

At that time, I had to condemn the killing of the youths. My reason was that at that time, there was no case of violence. Don’t forget that when the IPOB was set up, had prominent people in it, two former president generals of Ohanaeze Indigbo, the late Justice Ezeozugwu, the former chief judge of Enugu State were members of the group. In fact, he had a position given to him in the IPOB and late Dozie Ikedife of Ohanaeze Indigbo associated with IPOB and also took responsibility.

The protest was about the seeming marginalisation of the Igbo people in Nigeria. The movement was largely to stop the marginalisation of the Igbo people. They were complaining of the ill-treatment by the government. It was in the light of that that I went to radio and said the killing was not necessary and was taken too far. I felt that the government didn’t react appropriately.

Did the government reach out to you after you made the statement?

When I made that statement on the radio, I was arrested by the Department of State Security Service (SSS) in March 2016, and I was accused of inciting the youths.

A Hillux van from Awka drove us straight to Abuja, and we arrived late on the night of the 3rd of March. There were multiple interrogations by the state security officials. Around midnight, I was brought before the Director General of the State Security Service, Lawal Daura, who had a personal interview with me and he said they were grappling with the problems of Boko Haram while I’m inciting the youths to establish IPOB.

In fact, I was accused of financing IPOB, which I denied and asked them to show proof because everything they accused me of was the opposite just because I said I didn’t agree to the shooting of those youths.

After almost two hours of interview with Lawal Daura and he asked what the problem was, and I told him the government was not getting it right. I told him that if some people are complaining of marginalisation and expressing grievances, the best thing for the government to do is to call them for a dialogue and reassure them over their fears and complaints which is that the youths from the South-East were shut out from the affairs of the government and not included in infrastructural development.

So I told him that this was the crux of the matter. I told him it’s not by using the big stick to hit them. The government should listen to them as they complained that the youths were not given jobs. All they needed was assurance from the government. I told him that going the aggressive way on them would not work.

So after our exchange, he saw reasons with me and accepted that what I was telling him was the truth and he said he wanted us to be friends and he wrote down his two personal phone numbers and told me he would like us to be in touch, I welcomed his request and thanked him. I went back, and we continued to relate until he was removed as the DG SSS. He took note of all the points I gave him, and I told him that if the government changes its attitude, the people of the South-East zone that this agitation will go down because what the people are seeking is attention.

Progressively, the government failed to toe the line that I suggested to them, and this continued to worsen. Instead of using dialogue and discussion with relevant people, they released war on the youths of the South-East.

You think the government should have handled the situation better?

I would say that the government mismanaged the problem, and that led us to where we are. Check since 2016 till date, I have been consistent in my views both on television and radio.

In 2018, when the issue of IPOB started, the federal government went to court and proscribed IPOB. I was one of the plenary in the senate, and I stood up and asked where in the world have you seen where the use of court order to proscribe the grievances of people had worked. If somebody is not happy and you order the person to be happy with a court order, will that person be happy? When the problem he is complaining about is has not been resolved.

So I said the use of court order to proscribe this organisation will not lead to anywhere. The best thing for the government to do is to call them and advise them and tell them the position of the government. That was the approach I expected, but the government didn’t listen. Rather, they continued repeatedly.

It has been my view that court order will not solve the problem of the IPOB. Rather, it will be a positive action of the government directed at their complaints of marginalisation, and the government didn’t get it correctly because they were looking at Nnamdi Kanu as the problem, whereas he wasn’t. The problem was the collective complaint of the people of the South-East.

Eminent Igbo people had gone to the late former president, Buhari, to ask him to release Nnamdi Kanu to them. If they saw Nnamdi Kanu as a miscreant, they wouldn’t have gone on a delegation on behalf of the Igbo people to request his release. That means they understood and accepted what he was seeking, which was justice for the people of the South-East of Nigeria. But the then government was adamant about that visitation. The visitations were done repeatedly by various groups.

So, treating Nnamdi Kanu as an individual was a wrong action because he shares the sentiments of every Igbo person, including those in diaspora. The best way to have handled the matter would have been to invite him and his group to a dialogue. The government has done it in the past. When the Niger Delta militia were giving enormous troubles with ammunition in the Niger Delta, the late former president, Yar’Adua, invited them for dialogue and set up an amnesty programme.

At that time, you’ll see heads of the militia wearing bullets around their bodies entering in the creeks, threatening and blowing up pipelines. The then government didn’t wage war on them. Rather, they chose the amnesty approach, and through that process, they laid down their ammunition and accepted the amnesty programme. From there, peace was restored to the Niger Delta region.

When Boko Haram terrorists started their own, the government didn’t unleash war on them. They were asked to stop terrorising Nigerians, and those who accepted government treaties were given amnesty and were rehabilitated. About one thousand of them accepted the amnesty programme and were absolved. That is the best way to pursue peace.

When people feel they are no longer wanted and are being treated like they are not Nigerians, they will continue to fight, and the worst thing to do to a man who is aggrieved is to ignore him. If you ignore him, he will continue to do things to get your attention, and that was how this matter developed and got to this point. The South-East of Nigeria has become a theatre of absurdity because the government didn’t listen to anybody and didn’t go to the way of peace. They refused to use the approach they used to calm the militia of the Niger Delta and North East on the South-East youths. They were the same type of agitations but different types of colouration.

As it is now, the government has stretched its own wall to the limit. Sometime early this year, the senators of the South-East of Nigeria wrote the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to seek peace over the matter. Our plea was that he prevails on the release of Nnamdi Kanu, and let’s see how we would recover the ruins in the South-East due to the breakdown of security. He told us he would explore our plea but wasn’t guaranteeing us anything.

I recall that Sowore and Igboho were charged with treasonous felony but we are not hearing about their prosecution. So we were hoping that the government would do the right thing in Nnamdi Kanu’s case and help us achieve peace in the South-East, but it didn’t happen. We waited, and the killings and kidnapping continued in the South-East.

One day, I and Enyinnaya Abaribe, sought to see the National Security Adviser who gave us an appointment, and we spent nearly two hours with him and appealed to him to help us solicit the government’s support to restore peace in the South-East and end the carnage going on there.

The National Security Adviser had a feeling that so many factors were involved in the matter, and we said release him, and if he continues in his agitation, we will say the government has done its part. All these are to show that we haven’t been sleeping on this matter and to show how much effort we have made so far.

The court has delivered its judgement, and we saw the verdict coming because we have been following the developments in the matter and having sentenced him to life imprisonment I will only say that the government still mismanaged the situation. His sentencing to life imprisonment does not go well with over 98 per cent of the Igbo people. We are part of the Igbo people I’m talking about. I have been in a leadership position for the past 26 years, so I know the feelings of our people, and that’s why I speak in this matter.

When President Tinubu visited Anambra State this year, I told him by the sideline to release Nnamdi Kanu, that that is one thing he would do for the Igbo people and begin a healing process of reintegration of the Igbo people in Nigeria.

The Igbo people feel marginalised and cannot be given the opportunity for leadership in Nigeria. So when people are frustrated, there is nothing you don’t expect.

Now that the sentencing has been concluded, my message to the federal government is that it is better to seek peace with people who have one agitation or the other against Nigeria.

You cannot continue to ignore people who said they are not happy and are not carried along in the affairs of the government of Nigeria. It’s not only the Igbo people. Any group of Nigeria that has grudge against the government should be assured. The government must have a change of attitude.

Let it not be the case of the Ogoni people where Saro Wiwa was fighting against the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta caused by oil exploration activities and was sentenced to death with no opportunity to appeal the judgment because it was unfortunately a military era that time.

What has happened to Nnamdi Kanu is a total disregard for a good approach to governance. I believe personally that the government of Nigeria could have done better than what they have done. Conscience is an open wound. Only the truth can heal it. People continued to do all kinds of heinous crimes in the South-East because the government didn’t help in the situation. Eastern Security Network (ESN) came up all because the government didn’t do what they requested.

Now that he has been jailed, I believe the federal government will begin to review the steps taken on this matter previously. President Tunubu is the president of Nigeria, and he is in the position to right the wrongs of the past leaders. What started like a small thing has turned into a global issue. If the government had listened to us like the then DG of the SSS, Lawal Daura was approaching the matter, it would have rested long ago. But because some people wanted to push the matter to the limit and now that they have gotten to where they are, I only pray for peace in the South-East and all part of Nigeria.

If you have the opportunity to meet the president, what will be your message to him?

If I have the opportunity to speak with the president, I will ask him to exercise his prerogative power of mercy. Recently, he granted presidential pardon to some people who were convicted for murder and all kinds of crimes.

I will also ask the president to refuse the advice anyone is giving him on Nnamdi Kanu. He should not see Nnamdi Kanu as their problem. He should review the feelings of the Igbo people and find out why they feel bad about Nnamdi Kanu’s case. There must be an end and a time to say let us bury the hatchet. Then Nigerians will come together and begin to bring everyone together. The country is so divided now. Anyone who is not saying the truth is deceiving himself. The major step is for the president to release Nnamdi Kanu and call the Igbo people together. (The Sun)