Lotanna Ojukwu has appealed to President Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in order to solve the problem of security and restore order in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Ojukwu expressed his grievances over the loss of lives and the terrorizing of citizens in the South East due to the sit at home order that was called for by IPOB members to call for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. He said, “One-Fifth of the country is being held hostage. People are not able to go about their business, children are being flogged, teachers, they can’t go to work. It’s really a very terrible and shameful situation. One that affects our economy, it affects the morality of anybody who is aware of what is going on.
“I feel ashamed and I know that the president has stated that he wants to tackle security in Nigeria. People have been killed for coming out to do business and it is a very terrible shame. I believe that the security situation is a low hanging fruit for president Tinubu who has proven himself as a man who wants to attend urgently to certain pressing issues. I believe that when one-fifth of your country is being prevented from performing their day-to-day livelihood activities, it is something that you must attend to urgently.”
Ojukwu then shared his beliefs that Biafra was not the best bet for the Igbo man when he saying that the Igbos became an “accidental Biafra” due to he killings that happened during the civil war, as they felt they were unwanted by the rest of Nigeria. He said, “Most Igbo’s do not believe in Biafra, what they want is an equal playing field in Nigeria. People are using the fact that the Igbo man does not feel he gets a fair share, does not feel that he is being treated equally. They are using that to take Nigeria as not good for the Igbo man.
Ojukwu went on to say“The Igbo man is, he was an accidental Biafran. When I say accidental, it was that feeling of not being wanted. The killing and the program that took place that saw 80,000 people killed in 1966 left my brother no choice. The people, the national assembly of chiefs and elders within the eastern region convened and demanded of him that he declare the state of Biafra or that he secede. That is really what led to Biafra coming into reality. Today, Igbo’s still feel that they are marginalized, they feel that they are not given an equal opportunity in Nigeria. And this is what Nnamdi Kanu fed on and this is what Ekpa is feeding on today, and this is at the roots of the problem we are having”
Ojukwu then reiterated, “Personally, I believe that Nigeria is by far a better and larger theatre for the Igbo man who loves to travel, read and to carry on his enterprise worldly. We don’t want to be restricted solely to the five states of the south-east. We want to be free to travel the world and to be part of the world.
Ojukwu then advised on how Tinubu could control the issue of insecurity, saying, “The people carrying out these atrocities say that they want Nnamdi Kanu to be released. President Tinubu has said he is a law-abiding president, and the courts have said that Nnamdi Kanu should be released. I will like President Tinubu to talk with Nnamdi Kanu, also, use diplomatic channels to talk to Britain and to talk to Finland.”
He then explained that the diplomatic channels should be made with both countries as Nnamdi Kanu has a dual nationality, and one of them is Britain, and as such, Britain could also ensure that Kanu does not make inciting comments to Nigerian citizens. Also, as Simon Ekpa lives under the shelter of the Finnish government, the Finnish government could also constrain him from making certain comments to Nigeria, as the citizens were troubled over some of the things he had said. “So, I will like Tinubu to keep these things in perspective, and see that releasing Nnamdi Kanu will go a long way to bring down the pressure or the appeal of these two characters who want to lure Ndi Igbo from the body of where most of them want to belong.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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