Chidi,
You remember the story of the Prophet Moses killing an Egyptian? ( Of course, that was before he received the ten commandments at Mt. Sinai...Torah Min Hashamayim …
Be assured that what happens next and what happens after that is all absolutely in the hands of the Almighty. The problem had been solved - Mr Kanu was away and now that he's back Kanu and Biafra are once again in the limelight and the fallout is such that Brother Buhari is about to be in plenty of trouble, if he as much as touches a hair of Nnamdi Kanu. So the best thing is to let him go., maybe with a slap on the wrist.
There's so much injustice in the world. Where was Muhammadu Buhari when they killed Ken Saro-Wiwa, and just a few days ago they riddled the body of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse full of bullet holes? Where will Muhammadu Buhari be tomorrow? When is he going back to London for his next n´medical appointment?
Now it's the case of the lion saying to the antelope, " Who gave you permission to drink from my stream?"
You say that you are in tune with Nnamdi Kanu's aspirations but you sometimes " criticize Kanu's method."
So the Biafrans want their own state, just like the Palestinians want their own state. BTW, I'm sure that Buhari and the North are supporting the Pals, but not supporting the Biafrans because the Biafrans are not Muslims. That's one of the reasons for Buhari's animosity and the venom he expressed, resulting in his tweet being deleted by the Powers- that- be in Twitter….
BTW, the looters, their godfathers, and the Boko people are the ones who should all be on trial...
So, today, for those against the whole rotten system and in sympathy, the main question is, apart from some formidable lawyers, hopefully, some foreign interventions, what can be done to save Nnamdi Kanu ? We can Pray for him. Hasn't he already been sufficiently savaged after being abducted in Kenya and tortured? And when they went to arrest Nnamdi Kanu, how many of his men did they not kill? It's OK to be mourning George Floyd, but Shouldn't those who killed Nnamdi Kanu's people when they went to arrest him, shouldn't they be on trial for all those deaths?
In the case of dear Jesus, we read in the New Testament that after Jesus was arrested "All his disciples forsook him and fled". So, there's not much to expect from Kanu's faint-hearted, fair-weather friends
The whole world, including Twitter, Human Rights Watch Nigeria and Amnesty International Nigeria is watching – the fallout could result in Nigeria becoming a pariah nation, and of course the end of President Buhari and his less than angelic regime….
So, let's start with the positives. So many ways or framing this :
Nnamdi Kanu's Israel connection
Nnamdi Kanu is Jewish ( which means, hopefully, he's not going to be tried by Sharia Law)
Not coincidentally a Sefer Torah Scroll arrived in Nigeria two days ago
Have e.g. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chinweizu Ibekwe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , Okey Ndibe and our own Biko Agozino weighed in on the matter? The aforementioned are Igbo stalwarts, but it's also high time for the non-Igbo stalwarts to be doing some overtime in prime time about the many injustices being perpetrated in that land and it's always better to protest, sooner than later….
Just as you say, "There are always two sides of any coin." - and when it comes to stories there can be even more than three sides to any story… so here is the less positive side, as we should also prepare for the worst.
You ask, "How many have protested on the streets affirming that Kanu is innocent?"
Are you kidding? Who in his right mind is going to do that? Innocent of what? Is it an open and shut case of an innocent man being wrongfully accused then tried, found innocent and acquitted of all the charges?
( In Shia Islam the Arabic term " Masum" is translated into English as "Innocent " then intensified as "Infallible ". Needless to say, Kanu is neither innocent nor infallible, in the normal sense in which these words are used as legal terminology in Abuja and if worth his salt and he hasn't lost his marbles, by the time the federal state persecutor is through with him, especially if the trial is held in camera, there will be no doubt about the meaning of the term " innocent". In fact, before the trial starts how do we know that Kanu is not going to already cave in, plead guilty on all counts, make a special deal with the A-G, and ask for clemency?
Of course, mass street protests throughout the country and aboard, but especially outside the military or civilian courthouse in Abuja is one of many mass actions that IPOB members and sympathisers, or even enemies can take if they want to influence the outcome of Kanu's trial – assuming that it's going to be a free and fair trial over there in Abuja. Whatever the judgment, Kanu has already accomplished more than any post-Ojukwu personage has done: He has and would have given much publicity to the Biafra cause and the longer the trial and the international coverage of it continues, the more publicity, sympathy and outrage there will certainly be. It is the whole sorry situation that is now Nigeria that will also be focused upon; Nigeria will be on trial, starting with a dissection of Twitter's deleting of President Buhari's post, President Buhari gagging twitter as a vital tool of Nigeria's social protest media, poverty, mass unemployment, terrorism, tribalism, militarism, the corrupt judiciary, Boko Haram, Fulani Herdsmen, ransom kidnappings, the Southern Governors stance about zoning, all of which will contribute to a resurgence and justification of BIAFRA ( Biafra's main problem is having your cake and eating it too: The North would ask the Igbos there to kindly go back home to their country and leave them alone.
Of course, Chidi could already write about the outcome, using the literary device known as poetic justice, whereby all his fantasy wishes could come true just like the trial by Pontius Pilate, the scourging, the Golgotha walk with the cross, the crucificion and after a miraculous jailbreak, Kanu appearing unto his disciples in Umuahia and Jerusalem.
In Kanu's shoes I would first of all question the competence of the Court to try me. Accuse the judges of corruption,
As your Brother bard puts it,
"You got innocent men in jail, your insane asylums are filled…
"You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules."
Nnamdi Kanu himself could wail a few lines like this:
"You know I just can't make it by myself
Are you too blind to see.?"There are these two outstanding fictional precedents :
Teju Cole will soon be writing the thematic sequel to Every Day Is For The Thief
--On Friday, 9 July 2021 at 11:25:20 UTC+2 chidi...@gmail.com wrote:It is okay to believe in a person and/or a cause, that is one's fundamental right, but to try to denigrate others who don't believe in what one believes is another matter.Broadmindedness recommends that we should be mindful of the imperative of divergent opinions.There are always two sides of any coin.In any case, how many of Nnamdi Kanu's supporters, including Senator Abaribe are open bon fide members of IPOB?Since the rearrest and detention of Kanu, how many have tried to visit him and refuse to turn back if denied access?How many have protested on the streets affirming that Kanu is innocent?How many post from the frontline and not from the comforts of their homes/offices?Instead, it is those of us that are labeled "enemies"(because we criticize Kanu's method) that writes and publishes anytime Kanu's fundamental rights are abridged.Most of the supporter's of Kanu, including Abaribe still holds and/or their close relations and friends still holds positions in the Nigerian system that bring benefits of all kinds to them.All of them still travel abroad with their Nigerian passports and request and enjoy Nigerian consular services when abroad.I wish the young man, Nnamdi Kanu well.When this whole thing is over, he will know his real friends and enemies.-Chidi Anthony Opara (CAO)
--
Chidi Anthony Opara is a Poet and Founder/Publisher of; PublicInformationProjects (www.publicinformationprojects.org)
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