I
have had to use 1000mg of acetaminophen this evening on account of an ache in
my head. It must have been a result of
the numerous engagements I've had in cyberspace since the early hours of today
on the current impasse in the Southeast.
I
am in full support of the country's military and the Show of Force in Abia
unlike more than a few individuals I engaged today. I don't believe a government is for
organizing tea parties and tolerating all kinds of shenanigans all because some
groups feel entitled or justified to foment trouble. Nnamdi Kanu's nonsense has
gone on for too long and it's high time that screenplay is yanked off our
airwaves.
He
began his problems full-time when Jonathan was President and insulted him and
just about every Nigerian on his radio station. He even insulted his own
people. He did all these and took it up
a notch by calling for the extermination of Nigerians of other extractions
apart from his. The funny part of this situation is that supposedly cerebral
individuals have excused his utterances and behavior as him just being crude
and entitled to his freedom of speech.
He
has said he'll take the president's head and boasted that security operatives
who approach to re-arrest him for flouting his bail conditions won't leave
Biafra land alive. Some people either don't pay attention or they do but can't
help their prejudice. "He has done nothing wrong" they say, "who
has IPOB killed like Boko Haram has done" others add. They don't somehow realize that seeking for
weaponry against a sovereign nation and plotting evil is treasonable.
There
may not be a universally approved definition of terrorism but the threat of
violence or scaring people is categorized as an act of terror in some
quarters. One may easily accuse the
Federal government of state sponsored terror in this case but how was the
situation in the state before boots hit the ground a few days ago?
Were
the people all into the secession or referendum thing? What is their impression of the inauguration
of the Biafran secret service? I don't know what the people face there but it
surely can't be fun. There are non-indigenes working or doing business there, do
they feel safe? Youth Corp members
concluded orientation camp a few weeks ago, did the thought of encountering a
group capable of declaring a work free day in states with sitting elected governors
stir them to redeploy?
What's
the economic barometer in the region reading? Taraba is doing large scale greenhouse
farming, Benue is selling all its yams, Kebbi
is milling rice, Edo is opening cement
plants while Kaduna is doing potatoes and feed with the Federal government
involved to various extents in these ventures.
Yes, the Southeast people are industrious but has this promise of
Eldorado slowed down the manufacturing businesses there because those who
should be laboring are off to kiss Kanuziah's feet and give their lives for
his?
One
way or another, the FG alone cannot be blamed for the rise in tension; Kanu has
a huge role in this mess as well. So if you must perch on your moral fence, do
ensure you condemn all parties involved including the governors who allowed a con
artist to direct the play.
If
you must use Scotland and Catalonia, know there are other global examples and
that these largely autonomously administered states have done quite well for
themselves instead of playing the victim stagnation card. The United States of
America have had and still have separatists groups in some locations. Some of the stories aren't pleasant at
all. Please do not help supply fuel to
this problem, the military is already involved and it is now difficult to
regulate how they will act.
Talking
about the military, there is a video of soldiers excessively dealing with
supposed IPOB members. They are flogged
and made to lie down prone in muddy water.
One young man is obviously dead while the others lay still. We don't know the full story yet but this is
part of the demerits of military action and it should not be excused now and in
the near future.
There
is another video from that sector on twitter and I watched it only a few
minutes ago. It showed young alleged
IPOB members stopping vehicles on a highway and asking for the ethnicities of
the occupants. Some had sticks while some brandished machetes. They looked inside one bus and let it proceed
after being satisfied. Ahead of that spot was a burning articulated vehicle. I
don't know what day or time that occurred but it showed that it's not all black
or white with IPOB. Are they really non-violent?
Kanu
is still speaking with all his arrogance but it's time for his people to resist
him and drown his voice with superior arguments. He surely cannot be speaking
for the entire Igbo nation. The Nigerian army is made up of Nigerians of
diverse tongues and tribes. I think it's mischievous when Biafran sympathizers
constantly call our soldiers "Aboki /Hausa" sent specifically to kill
them. I heard my friend's character in
the movie 'Half of the Yellow Sun' say this line "the Hausa soldiers are coming”
and I wondered why. I'm not sure the concept of Hausa soldiers fighting the
Civil war to specifically commit 'genocide' transmitted from that time is
accurate. I'm not certain the army
authorities sent soldiers mainly from a certain ethnicity to Abia just to kill
people. It doesn't help; this
stereotyping.
Nigeria
lost over 60 policemen and secret service operatives in 2013 when they went to
secure the Ombatse group in Nassarawa. They were ambushed, murdered and
burnt. I'm not sure we can afford such
losses again as those men left families behind.
I'm not certain Kanu's words to have our operatives killed should be
treated as just banter. No serious
nation will take such from anyone or group. We can still modify what happens
during a dialogue; when it becomes abrasive, it is like the wind.
Do
your bit in your own sphere of influence especially with respect to young
people. Shoot down fables and manufactured fake news especially those which
promote division. Call out bigots and work with authentic information, there's
this helpful tool called the internet.
Gani
Adams of the Oodua people's Congress led his group to commit all sorts of
atrocities in the 1990s while also pushing a 'Yoruba' agenda. He was eventually caught in 2001 after a
20month long manhunt by Mike Okiro and his team. Gani is a much refined man now
with a self-administered ‘General’ title. He made it to the National conference
and also got a contract alongside some Niger Delta militants to secure
pipelines under the last administration.
I wonder where Kanu and his acolytes were at that time.
Help
calm this storm and push for peace please while Kanu's breakfast is prepared.
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