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It
is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or
to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government
should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by
protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of
others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line
they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to
serve (Henry George)
Rather than tackling the myriad problems besetting Nigeria, President
Buhari goes about looking for whom to arrest and detain. Buhari has not
jettisoned his dictatorial tendencies, as he wants to gag the press and
abolish freedom of speech and association. He still thinks that he is a
military ruler. The arrest of Nnamdi Kalu for operating Radio Biafra
was a catastrophic blunder by this administration. Nnamdi Kanu, the
Director of Biafra Television and the Leader of the Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS),
after he had flown from the UK, to Lagos. We learnt he is being held in
an underground cell, and, in the midst of other hardened criminals, and,
that he is not eating the food they are offering to him, fearing that
he might be poisoned. It is remarkable how Nnamdi Kanu has been making
Buhari tremulous all along! According to Vanguard, Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist movement that
call for the independence of Nigeria’s former Eastern Region –
proclaimed the Republic of Biafra in 1967 and re-annexed to Nigeria
three years later, following a civil war that claimed between one and
three million lives.
Mr. Kanu has been granted bail, but has not been released, as he is yet
to meet the bail conditions, and has been denied access to a lawyer. His
arrest has led to pro-Biafra rallies and demonstrations in Port
Harcourt, Asaba, Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Owerri, Umuahia and all over Igbo
land. Unfortunately, those rallies and demonstrations have led to the
killing and maiming of some of the pro-Biafra demonstrators. The federal
government that Buhari is leading has ordered police to shoot unarmed
people protesting the detention of Nnamdi Kanu. Buhari went to the
United Nations some weeks ago to preach freedom for the Palestine
people, and their right to have their own nation, while here in Nigeria,
he is doing something else, and has ordered the arrested of a young man
who is only using his Radio Station to bring hope, enlightenment and
knowledge to his people. How can Buhari make a speech at the United
Nations supporting freedom, and self determination for
other peoples, but, in his own country, peaceful demonstrators against
the unlawful detention of Nnamdi Kanu, who is asking for the freedom and
the self determination of his people, are being shot, maimed or
arrested? The whole thing smacks of self-deception.
Buhari has turned Nnamdi Kanu into an instant hero; even the Member of
the British Parliament representing Nnamdi Kanu’s constituency has
joined the fray among other world leaders. We just read where the Member
of Parliament representing Camberbell and Peckham in the British House
of Commons, Ms. Harriet Harman, has petitioned the House of Common for
the illegal detention her constituent member is exposed to in Nigeria.
The British MP had in the petition requested that the Nigerian
government to immediately release Nnamdi Kanu or charge him to court for
offences committed.
President Buhari, as the fugleman or leader, should beware of his
actions and utterances. Nothing lasts forever. He might heed the warning
of Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness
before a fall”(New Living Translation), and, George Ayittey (1945) wrote
that “Dictators cause the world’s worst problems: all the collapsed
states, and all the devastated economies…leaving in their wake trails of
wanton destruction, horrendous carnage and human debris”. Buhari should
know that all those people protesting in the former Eastern Region are
not only doing that because of Nnamdi Kanu, but, are also using the
opportunity to vent out their disappointment, frustration, anger and
hatred for the ruling class.
For those who were fooled initially by the messiah-like portrayal of
Buhari, and who now remain concerned over the direction of Nigeria under
a man, whose leadership resembles that of an imperialistic president,
what more could be expected from one elected to Aso Rock, whose
perceived self image is paramount, and who had never before even managed
anything well? One thing is that history tells us that narcissistic
pride (love) of self and false aura of superiority, such as surrounds
and abides in President Buhari, is bound to be pierced in time. In the
midst of turmoil and unrest Buhari is creating, the people of Biafra
have not given up hope, as some believe that the “bone shall rise
again”. Only time will tell!
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