No vote Order, Nnamdi Kanu and the struggle for Biafra
Posted by Factnews | 7 years ago | 2,633 times
By Iroha Iyk
No vote Order, Nnamdi Kanu and the struggle for Biafra.
I must acknowledge that the struggle for secession has taken a different dimension.
After the civil war, the country has come to realize how strong people's resolve could deal a blow to our ironic unity.
Its easy to conclude that Buhari's presidency armed the Biafra agenda by spilling unpatriotic utterances, lopsided appointments as well as unequal development in the country. Better put, Biafra gained momentum due to Buhari's body language.
I have argued severally, to me, i believe the heroic attention given to Nnamdi Kanu was because he was incarcerated. I blame the federal government for lacking in strategy.
Emotion comes into play when people understand a region is being marginalized due to their voting pattern which could've been corrected had the presidency taken cognizance of people's intelligence in this 21st Century.
The Sit at home order reminded the entire Country how unified the Igbos have become in the face of partiality and unequal distribution of wealth.
It has been a tradition to remember our fallen heroes. 50 years is a milestone, just that the sit at home opened up another chapter of strategy that was globally recognized. Nnamdi took advantage of his followership to press down what could be described as the best form of agitation since the struggle continued lately.
Personally, I would have suggested such date is set aside to organize lectures where the younger generation of Igbos will have a better understanding of the history of Biafra perhaps to be told by veterans and other scholars of Igbo extraction.
That the Sit at home order succeeded does not automatically mean that a no voting order will succeed. People are in this world for different purposes. Its good not to test one's power on the basis of popularity and attention.
Igbos are not people to be pushed around. Sometimes, its detrimental to continue to try your lucks on matters of great concern with a onerous order that will not be generally accepted.
Igbos are intelligent people and may be pushed to begin to evaluate Kanu on his capacity to think and strategize because many Igbos are listening to Mazi Kanu on the basis that he has been bold and honest in the face of unjust trial.
I read my friend Charles Ogbu when he asked if agreeing with everything Kanu thinks is the way forward, even when we know he is progressing in error?
To paraphrase Ogbu, a contrary view has been seen as not in support of Biafra. Should we all assume Kanu is omnipotent and follow him with blind loyalty. This is exactly the mindset that makes people engage in suicide bombing without questioning their imams. Following someone without room for constructive criticism is tantamount to foolishness. We need to be careful so we don't mislead Kanu with hero-worship.
A look at the revenue sharing formula in the country will explain that a fraction goes to regions based on their population, landmarks amongst others. These ,many achieved during census.
I can recall , the Government of Dr.Orji Uzor of Abia State took same lane when he directed Igbos to Stay at home during the last Census without understanding the political angle to it. We are still suffering the spill over of the declaration till date.
Census determines population of people in a certain area which could be a basis for creating constituencies, districts, Local Governments, Wards etc. Wherein sit-at-home was to respect our lost heroes. Vote order has no basis and will not achieve anything.
In Nigeria, a winner in a keenly contested election is one who comes out with majority of votes casted despite the number of voters.
Practically, where only 20,000 electorates participate in Anambra election, a winner will definitely emerge. Permit me to put it rightly, the no vote order is something we should never consider in our history.
I will continue to say it, Biafra will be achieved when there is a direction. I know I will be called a traitor for not aligning with several populists, but believe me, the world leaders will listen to leaders not people that are agitating on the street.
I am a strong advocate of a round table discussion and wide consultation, anything short of that will be counterproductive.
In November, Anambra will elect a Governor, there is no doubt about that. That the person will be elected by 2000 persons will not matter. We all have equal rights to exercise our franchise and anything short of that will breed anarchy which will not be taken lightly by the federal government.
How has the agitation faired? Igbos are beginning to unite. People will definitely disagree on certain issues, that will not make them less Igbos.
I personally think elders should step in and make us understand where to go. The only issue is that some of the elders who fought civil war will never ask for a repeat of such horrible situation . Perhaps the reason they are shying away or rather distancing themselves from Nnamdi Kanu's war drums.
From onset, I have said that until our elders come up with better directions, I am afraid it will take ages to achieve Biafra.
We need people in all levels of government to discuss Biafra if we all agree such is our agenda, though I prefer restructuring, but the no vote order is suicidal to the fight and will continue to put us in a state of irredeemable comatose should we fail to exercise our franchise.
The multiplier effect is that tomorrow, Kano State will bring 5 million votes as against the 30,000 that Anambra will churn out which will definitely not stop anything governance in Anambra and the Country at large.
Its important we realize that we will not achieve Biafra before November. If we cannot stop using Naira before November, then we must partake in everything Nigeria while the agitation continues.
No, we won't make the mistakes again.
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