See how Kanu runs his mouth

“When suffering knocks at your door and you say there is no seat for him, he tells you not to worry because he has brought his own stool”-Chinua Achebe

They say, be careful what you wish for, you might get it. The self-styled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, generalisimo Kanu, seems to be banging his drum loudly but the message is abstruse, it is unsure what beat is that the listeners are dancing to: is it for peace or war or a different beat all together? Nonetheless, it is unclear if the the message is in the drumming or the drummer. It is becoming hard to decipher so possibly everyone is dancing to the beat of this drummer differently.

He has poured scorn on every Nigerian, he calls them animals who live in a Zoo, and yet he brags of his ability to unite but he is alienating friends and kin. He should know that it is not what you are called but what you answer to. It really is not smart to name call. He has flip flopped on what the movement and cause is; a secession or establishing Biafran within Nigeria,or is it by peaceful means or by civil war as one minute he talks war, then he talks peace. Whatever it is, he talks a good game.

He claimed to have been offered the government of a Biafra Republic while in prison with only the five South East states as the component parts but he rejected it because, according to him, it did not constitute the complete Biafra, and he told federal government, he wanted a Biafra with Rivers and Benue states. And also he was offered an oil block and a mansion in Dubai to renounce the cause but he insisted on the actualization of Biafra.

Since this cannot be verified, one can only assume how fatalistic the spin is, to propel Kanu in a saint like aura; someone who was prepared to stay in captivity for the sake of the freedom of his people. So now, the people are in his debt for his selflessness and heroics. And the man will make sure they do not forget it and what stuck to beat the people at every given opportunity.  What a stroke of genius but, the trouble with this tall tale is Rivers, Delta and Benue states aren’t keen to be part of the Biafran Republic. So where does it leave Emperor Kanu?

But of course, Kanu can do the impossible: he said that he would ensure that Ohanaeze Ndigbo ceased to exist on the 19th of November 2017. Now that is talking big, real big talk, very braggadocios and only time will tell if it is only talk or the man indeed can walk the talk. This charismatic generalismo should know, many are hanging on to his very word as gospel, some are sure this is the second coming while others merely shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes and take what he says with a bucket of salt. Seriously, you don’t insult a whole nation then want to be invited to sit at the table and break bread. This man is revelling in his own hype and all the adulation that stokes his ever expanding ego, he has to understand with power comes great responsibility Kanu said; “We don’t fear our enemies. That is why I will go to Lagos to preach this gospel. I will do it”.

Kanu, please come to Lagos. Igbos have lived, thrived and multiply in Lagos and they are Lagosians and proudly so. For those who wish to divide, they must be ready to face a united front. People have lived and intermarried, form partnership and friendship for decades and Kanu wants to undo that because he says he can?

Kanu said that any Igbo who want to be a Nigerian is evil and a child of Satan. See the trouble with Kanu?  He went on; that Hausa/Fulani have terrorized the Igbo socio-political organization into a “position of silence and stupor, and that all those idiots with Biafran names that say they want to be Nigerians are pigs.  Name calling does not help the cause; in fact, it shows a level of desperation, an all time low and the depth of immaturity, really a sign of what is to come for those who are  hell-bent in throwing their lot with Kanu, at the helm. If this is the glimpse of the future Biafra then it isn’t looking well if one person can run his mouth on fellow kin for exercising his right to an opinion or a choice?  Kanu spares no one from his rants and tongue lashing.

“Don’t Yoruba Pastors come here? Don’t they come here to pray? Some of you worship at Yoruba churches and contribute your money there. Is that not so? That is why they don’t want you to be free. We want you to be free; because if you are free, you won’t contribute money for them. If you are free, how can they send their children abroad” not sure Kanu understands the freedom to worship where you like and how you like is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution. And where and with whom people have never been on tribal lines so is casting aspersions of financial exploitation and servitude is taking the cause to another level. And of course, Kanu has not finished, he casts his verbal net further;”some media houses in Lagos don’t understand how powerful IPOB is. They sit down and write rubbish. So, I will go to Lagos to rattle them. I understand some people are worried”.  Kanu is free to go anywhere he pleases, he is a Nigerian after all, and as long as he conducts himself like any other Nigerian citizen, he has to obey the law of the land or face the legal consequences.  If he wants to rattle the media or Lagosians in general, then he should be prepared to face the music because he has thrown the gauntlet and made his intention clear. If he rattles the cage, he should be ready to face the result.

Like an emperor, Kanu pronounces that:”come the 19th of November, Ohanaeze Ndigbo will cease to exist. They drove themselves away. I am not in competition with anybody.” Really? Is that conciliatory tone or a dig for transcendence?   This man likes to boast and he reminds those who care to listen; my father is a traditional title holder. So, I am not going to disrespect anybody. I formed, by myself, the Council of Elders of the People of Biafra.

Kanu: “The thing that are impossible to do, that is what I want to do. That is who I am. The thing that will happen in 20 years to come, let it happen now” Okay, the man now talks in code. This same man that insults Igbo elders and leaders and trespasses on hallow ancestry Nri land? Kanu has got form and he is constantly stepping and bypassing traditional norms and insulting the very tribe he espouses. The struggle should never be about one person and this drummer shows that is all about him. Time for people to think for themselves, is this the hallmark of a leader? Time to look before you leap. What I know is, friends regardless of their tribes, are valued because they are good people and we always be friends because of our shared interests, love for one another and a deep understanding and no one will break that friendship.

Kanu, certainly knows how to make enemies and alienates friends. This man is good at whipping hatred and tribal sentiments but, he offers no solutions. If you want to build and have vision by all means, share it and let those who wish to buy into it, do so. Kanu can not do this. Nigeria is far from perfect and many things have gone wrong in the past that call for justice and reconciliation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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