Former Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (rtd.) about two weeks ago, lent his voice to the raging issue of secessionist agitations in the country when he advised the federal government not to re-arrest the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu had been held for various crimes against the state but was granted bail in April on certain conditions which include not holding rallies, not granting interviews, not to be seen in a crowd of more than 10 people.
Justice Binta Nyako who admitted Kanu on bail but refused the others charged with him, made it clear she was doing so because of his ill health.
Kanu, well aware of the bail conditions, accepted them and provided sureties as required, but no sooner was he out of detention than he began to act in total violation of the conditions upon which he was granted bail.
To show that he was not ignorant of the terms upon which he was released, Kanu on July 1, 2017, filed an application urging the court to vary the conditions of the bail granted him by the court. Since the bail was clearly borne out of sympathy, one would have expected that the IPOB leader would have seized the opportunity to attend to his health but it turned out that the man had other plans.
The Federal Government apparently observing the affront, filed a fresh motion seeking the revocation of Kanu’s bail on the grounds that the IPOB leader had flouted the terms and conditions of the bail. In a fresh application, the Federal Government asked the court to revoke the bail and order Kanu’s immediate arrest by the police.
The Federal Government’s counter-affidavit filed in support of the motion said instead of using the opportunity of his bail to attend to his health needs, Kanu went ahead to inaugurate a security outfit known as Biafra Security Service thereby constituting a threat to national security and recalled that Kanu held a rally at his residence in his hometown, Afara-UkwuIbeku in Umuahia, Abia State on May 26 and 27, 2017, with the rally attracting a crowd exceeding 10 persons in violation of the bail conditions.
But Col. Umar (rtd) after he must have observed all these things, says he feels the action of the Federal Government in initiating the process for the arrest of Kanu is not in order and offered a piece of his mind. He said in a widely circulated piece that the intention to re-arrest Kanu is both dangerous and politically unwise. He wrote: “Mazi Kanu is not a common criminal as the government appears to think. On the contrary, he is a bitter young man fighting for a fairer deal for his Igbo kinsmen. His seeming militant approach is the result of the strong arm tactics with which the Federal Government deals with him. His long incarceration before a court granted him bail testifies to this.”
The former Military Governor also went ahead to say that the fact that there were growing agitations for self-determination, restructuring and other similar demands in the country ‘speak gravely of the way the federation is being governed’ adding that Nigeria’s unity can only be guaranteed when all its citizens feel they are getting a fair deal and all its component parts are treated justly and equitably.
Hear him: “In any event, despite what the security agencies might feel, there is nothing to fear from Mazi Kanu. He and his compatriots are people who love their country dearly and are willing to take a risk with their lives while blowing a whistle on some of our bad habits. It will be a tragic mistake to treat them as common criminals. It is evident that they are fighting a cause millions consider entirely legitimate. “Until our democracy learns to accommodate dissent, vigorous, robust, even if inconvenient, it will be incapable of serving our common good.”
To be fair to Umar, he has made several interventions in the past that confirm his sense of patriotism and personal sacrifice for the country, most especially his stand on the June 12, 1993 elections that his views cannot be waved away as trash. But this recent line of thought has been very difficult to align with his past acts of heroism.
It is therefore not surprising that the endorsement of Umar’s views would come from a quarter that had hitherto been antagonistic of his previous views.
Femi Fani-Kayode who made Umar his first victim of attack when the latter advised Obasanjo to step up efforts to develop Nigeria’s infrastructure offered what seemed like an encore to the piece by Umar.
The former Minister for Aviation in his characteristic manner, called on the Federal Government to exercise restraint on the issue saying plans to re-arrest Kanu is tantamount to fighting two wars at the same time.
“For the final time I urge the Federal Government to be restrained. You cannot fight 2 wars on 2 fronts all at once. Nnamdi Kanu is bigger than Buhari. He is a real lion,” he said on his twitter handle.
But I disagree with both comments on grounds they are only high on emotions but lacking in facts and logic. No fair minded observer would agree with Umar that Kanu does not pose any threat to the polity except of course that person has not been following what the IPOB leader has been saying.
Like the Federal Government noted in its suit, the IPOB leader has gone ahead to set up a security outfit and knowing full well he has violated the bail conditions which he has asked the court to adjust and had threatened to resist attempts to re-arrest him with violence.
This is a direct affront on the state and it is akin to saying he is above the law. It is also a call to violence which threatens the lives of citizens and which no responsible government would condone.
If Kanu is allowed to continue on this lane, the real danger would be on the after effect such would have on other groups and individuals in the country as Kanu’s activities are being keenly monitored by other groups and persons.
I recall at this point that it was the impunity with which Kanu had carried his agitation while abroad and how Igbo leaders chose to look the other way that prompted the youths in the North to serve the Igbo residing in the Northern part of the country with a quit notice.
The tendency is that if the Federal Government does not act decisively, it may encourage others who may think that the best way to avoid being arrested while breaking the laws of the country is to use the garb of ethnicity.
One wonders whether it is the same Kanu whose activities is well known that Umar was writing about when he said there’s nothing to fear about him and that this is somebody who loved his country!
Where is the sense of patriotism in somebody who calls his country a zoo and refers to all the citizens as animals? Where does the love of country lie in somebody who says he is expecting arms from Diaspora citizens to initiate an armed struggle against his country?
Where is the sense of responsibility for somebody who in a country of over 250 ethnic groups plays only his own as being over and above others in a childish attempt to show racial supremacy?
Perhaps Umar may have been deceived by the media hype that tends to portray Kanu as an Igbo leader of sorts. He is not as most Igbo do not agree with his logic and some have even questioned his state of mind. His current order on the boycott of the election in Anambra and the opposition it received has exposed him as a mere sensationalist who does not even understand the people he claims to lead..
Unlike many Igbo, Kanu has not experienced other parts of Nigeria that is why he keeps insulting all other ethnic groups.
Taking the advice of Umar and Fani-Kayode I’m afraid will be a big mistake that the country may not be able to recover from.
Nakande, a former minister of state for information and communication, wrote this piece from Jos.
