NNAMDI KANU, BIAFRA AND OTHER SEPARATISTS.

Since Nnamdi Kanu was released from detention, not much as been heard from him. Anyway, that is part of the conditions of his bail- that he neither grant interviews or attend rallies. Needless to say, it seems Nnamdi Kanu has been nipped.

What better way to keep guard of a cat other than belling it. Nnamdi Kanu has so far been successfully belled. His bail condition makes it difficult if not impossible for him to sustain his secession movement. At any moment he defaults on any of the conditions, he would be taken back into detention. Keeping in mind how tedious our court proceedings can be, Nnamdi Kanu's case can extend to a (very) long period of time. His bail bond remain applicable until whenever judgement is passed. By implication, this silence will remain so until then.

Nnamdi Kanu gained prominence in 2008 as the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He relaunched the Radio Biafra and began broadcast again. I listened to the broadcast of the station one day I was in a bus. The broadcast was nothing short of inciteful. In my brief stay in the bus, I saw the momentum the broadcast was building in the passengers. If the content of the broadcast I heard that day is characteristic of the broadcast of the Station (as they say), then the Station is capable of inciting war in few years.

One thing most critics do not understand while speaking "the truth" (as they always claim) is that if  the mantle of leadership is bestowed on them, they may not even achieve any better. The present administration is an undisputable proof of that. President Buhari used to occupy the headlines with criticism and grand plans on how he would have done it better. But look at the state of the Nation today.

The same definitely applies to the agitation for the independence of Biafra,as they believe it would end the marginalization against the Igbos. The only thing about marginalization that it would change will be who the "marginalizer" is. I had asked before, "by seceding, would we not just break-out with the fraction of the problems that plagued us in Nigeria, and still domicile it in our new independent Nation?"

Nnamdi Kanu received some prominent political leaders while in detention and has been spotted with more political leaders since his release. This points to a romance with politicians. If things continue this way, his agitation may gain an indelible political print. I do not know if Nnamdi Kanu and his supporters outside the political circle realize that if/when the independence of Biafra is realized, the new Nation would assume the same status as every other independent Nation. Given the modern trend, it would likely operate a democracy where leaders are elected and have a defined duration of stay in office.

This means that the new Nation would be governed based on the ideals of democracy(an ideal most African Nations are far from getting right),not the ideals of Nnamdi Kanu. Nnamdi Kanu would be qualified to stand for elections just like every other citizen of the new Nation. Politics would come into play and all we have learned about conducting elections would be applied. In the end, it would all boil down to politics. The same politics that is currently not favoring us, hence the agitation for an independent nation.

Africa has more than a few Nations with brewing secession movements. Most African Nations gained independence from colonial rule in the middle and last decades of the last century. It is almost a joke that it appeared as though most Nations began secession movements as soon as their country gained independence. Name them- our own Biafra in Nigeria, Katanga of Congo, Casamance of Senegal, Cabinda of the Angola, Zanzibar of Tanzania, Somaliland of Somalia, etc. One may say Eritera and South Sudan are sucess stories of secession movements and may even be tempted to advise the agitating Nations to look to them for hope. But their success can rightfully be described as a pyrrhic victory, given that they faced and still face the full brunt of everything.

Whatever literature has made of the Biafra war experience hardly capture the experiences of those that lived through the war. Secession has never been easy, it always degenerates to conflict, violence and war. There is an adage that says "it is only a person who has never seen war that beats the drums of war. What does Nnamdi Kanu, a post-Biafrian war child and all his youthful followers know. Worse still, Nnamdi a dual citizen who can return to his other home country when all that is left are rubbles.

We have seen the "rise and fall" of different groups;  Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), etc. Some people say that they are usually politically motivated as they always rise whenever their leader precieves that his people are not "well-fitted" in a present administration. This makes a mockery of passionate fights as these movements die - down after some bellies become full.