By Tony Okoroji
Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has become an authentic national and possibly, international superstar. Among millions of Nigerians, the word of Kanu, who is not known to hold any government position, is law. When he asks people from my part of Nigeria to sit at home and not go to work, school or play, the people obey him. They will sit at home, will not go to work or play regardless of what their government says. Because of Nnamdi Kanu, Mondays have become work free and school free days for much of the South-East of Nigeria. Not even government workers go to work.
When Kanu goes to court in Abuja, hundreds of security men are mounted on his route, the way they line the road in honour of Heads of State. On the record, the security men are stationed to prevent anarchy as Kanu’s supporters and those suspected to have been recruited by the agents of the state, shout at each other, sing war songs, carry placards and demonstrate.
If someone had advised the government that putting Kanu in jail would reduce his attraction and influence, that is clearly advice by someone who has not quite studied history. The continued jailing of Nnamdi Kanu has made him a legitimate and admired activist and freedom fighter, now worshiped by a hoard of followers including many who did not quite agree with him, at first.
Does anyone recall that the apartheid government in South Africa sought to silence Nelson Mandela by locking him up in several prisons including the infamous Robben Island, for treason? Unfortunately for them, every day of the 27 years Mandela spent in jail, he became a bigger world-wide personality. Mandela left jail to easily become President of a free South Africa and one of the most admired black men ever.
Have we forgotten that the government of General Sani Abacha jailed General Olusegun Obasanjo for treason? Obasanjo left jail to become an elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, serving two terms. Obasanjo thereafter, became a citizen of the world.
Around the globe, there are numerous examples of citizens who have left jail to become leaders of their nations: Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar; Vaclav Havel of Czech Republic; Michelle Bachelet in Chile; Jawaharlal Nehru of India; Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, etc.
There are others who have not held public office but have had to be immortalized by their nations because of the moral strength and direction they exuded and the price they paid for their beliefs. Every year, the United States celebrates a public holiday marking the birthday of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jnr assassinated in 1968. In Nigeria, June 12 has become a public holiday in honour of the late Moshood Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 elections, who died in captivity.
The Nigeria/Kanu imbroglio is no longer a legal battle. It has become a mind game. To many, Kanu is not a criminal but an activist leader. This week, the nature of the fight became clearer with Kanu seizing the initiative at the Federal High Court in Abuja and making it impossible for any process that may have hitherto been considered a fair trial, to go on.
Like most great leaders in history, Kanu became a factor in Nigerian politics by his mastery of public relations: the use of words to elicit great emotions. It appears to me that jailing him has given him time out of the madness of the outside world, to polish his craft. His words spoken in and outside the court room in Abuja during the week, streamed, broadcast, rebroadcast and repeated around the world, caught quite a lot of attention and resonated with many. His loss of freedom, rather than weaken him, appears to have made him stronger.
I do not see how the Nigerian government can win the ongoing battle of words and emotions with Nnamdi Kanu. The Nigerian government cannot wash its hands off the transformation of Nnamdi Kalu into a superstar. There are many who will tell you that it is the actions of the government that have made this hitherto unknown individual with a British passport, the superstar that he has become; even with a bigger followership, while in jail.
I verily believe that former President, Muhammadu Buhari could have seized the great opportunity offered by the plea of a visiting group of Igbo leaders led by elder statesman, 92 years old, Mbazulike Amaechi and the likes of Chukwuemeka Ezeife and my good friend, Chief Goddy Uwazurike. Releasing Kanu to them would have given Buhari a moral victory. I can guess that there were people who told him that he must get his pound of flesh and he listened to them.
I verily believe that the present government has to show courage and deal with the Nnamdi Kanu matter. The sooner, the better. There is no legal route out of the matter. Several opportunities to resolve it have already been lost. The more we wait, the more intractable the issue certainly will become. God forbid that Nnamdi Kanu dies in jail!
