The situation today is simple: Nnamdi has brought ridicule upon Ndigbo. For all the boasts and rants, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, and nothing happened. Nigeria didn’t shake. Heaven didn’t fall. Business is going as usual.
ESN is nowhere to be found. His 2 million men were nowhere to be found. He who played God was shunned in court. He pleaded with his lordship in the court. From the beginning, it was about using the mouth to fight, incite, and instigate. It’s a shame I once identified with such a man.
Compared to bandits and terrorists in the northern region, Nnamdi Kanu got unfair treatment. But he should have known the history; an Igbo man is always a target.
When he founded and armed ESN, I asked a simple question. Can you deliver Biafra to us with this decision? Eventually, ESN delivered death and deserted villages. Nnamdi Kanu failed woefully. He should embrace the consequences of his actions like a man. A soldier’s death is the price of his profession.
Biafra has now suffered a significant blow, and it’s clear the concept of Biafra has been destroyed by Nnamdi Kanu. He met a strong Biafra but left a weakened Biafra without a fear factor.
He met a Biafra that fought external enemies but left a Biafra that killed Biafrans. He met a Biafra of patriots but left a Biafra of donations for embezzlement.
He met enthusiastic Biafra without any stain but left a Biafra with a terrorism mark. He met a Biafra whose leaders had never been sentenced to life and left a Biafra whose leader got a life sentence. He met a Biafra that won public opinion but left a Biafra with defeated public opinion. You can paint it all you care; Biafra lost squarely.
I am not happy that Nnamdi Kanu got life imprisonment. I did everything I could to help him. I told him that his mission was suicidal; two things were involved: either he wins and stays alive or loses and dies. He eventually lost, and life imprisonment was better than a death sentence.
We can now look back and say we lost innocent souls for nothing. We can look back and confirm we destroyed our land for nothing. We can now ultimately agree that there is time for everything, time to rant and time to cry. Time to begin and time to end. Time to play God and time to play corpse.
We should go back to the drawing board with a marker and boldly write ‘Failure.’ There is always a chance to start afresh, but most importantly, a chance to learn from our mistakes.
The main mistake I want us to take into consideration is we lost our land immediately. Nnamdi Kanu established ESN, handed them guns, and used them for self-aggrandizement. He boasted he had 2 million men and could play God. He lost his way and became a ‘tyrant.’
Nnamdi Kanu didn’t fail because he acted unruly, but because freemen kept silent while he blossomed negatively. Freemen hailed him when he activated self-destruct. Freemen kept silent while evil festered. So, those that kept silent were responsible for the monster that plagued us.
Nnamdi Kanu thought he could play games with Biafra. He thought he could waste our time while enriching himself with donations. He thought he had arrived where no one could dare.
Yet, since the Abuja Federal High Court ruling against Nnamdi Kanu, it has been from one screaming and wailing to another. Opinions filled the Internet space and complaints about injustice against him. I have not had a breath, and the choking manner of the reactions left me wondering the kind of world we are in.
When Simon Ekpa was sentenced in Finland, the jubilation deafened me. These same people complaining and wailing were the same people celebrating. They said Simon Ekpa has been rightly taken care of and advised others to learn from the mistakes of Simon Ekpa.
They faulted Simon Ekpa for speaking on social media platforms and inciting terrorism against the people of the Southeast. They blamed Simon Ekpa for causing the death of soldiers, civilians, and others.
Recall that Simon Ekpa never stepped foot into Nigeria; in faraway Finland, he was blamed for everything wrong with our people. He swallowed it, and he calmly accepted his fate. He didn’t intimidate the judge that handed down his sentence, maybe because we were all against him.
Lest you forget, Simon Ekpa is Nnamdi Kanu’s disciple. He took over from Nnamdi Kanu and did exactly what Nnamdi Kanu was doing before his arrest in Kenya. He took over the organization Nnamdi Kanu founded and upheld the ideals of the organization. He was a disciple that followed the footsteps of his master to the letter.
Finland quickly jailed him, and it was not injustice. Finland prosecuted him, and we hailed the law of Finland. Finland confiscated everything he had, and we hailed the judges in Finland. Finland did great and upheld the law by jailing Nnamdi Kanu’s disciple.
Simon Ekpa was jailed on grounds of inciting the public to commit terrorism. The same charge Nnamdi Kanu faced in Omotosho’s court. It’s alright, my brother; Simon Ekpa deserves everything that happened to him.
When members and leadership of IPOB were laughing and celebrating the judgment against Simon Ekpa, I watched in pity. I felt in them what it means to be lost. I saw the deadly fangs of desperation consuming them. I saw a child crawling into the woods of wolves without any guardian.
Nnamdi Kanu was handed life imprisonment, while his disciple had a few years’ sentence. In practice, Oga is supposed to take the major blame, while Nwa Boyi gets part of the blame. And the situation accurately reflects that the bulk ends with Nnamdi Kanu.
Adeyinka’s grandson was imprisoned in the UK, and we hailed the law. He was imprisoned for incitement. Finland did justice. The UK did justice, but Nigeria did injustice when it sentenced the Oga Kpatakpata of them all?
This country is gone for good, not necessarily because the government is corrupt, but because the people of this country lack common sense. They act according to weather, without principles or beliefs.
Ifeanyi Chijioke.
