For long, members of IPOB have been associated with their incessant threats to boycott elections.

However, the interesting thing about the election boycott is that the South-East voters will not obey it; only IPOB members will.

But the irony in it is that most members of IPOB did not register to vote or collect their Permanent Voter Card. As a result, the election boycott by IPOB is hollow, since they were not qualified to vote in the first place.

The reason the South-East voters will not boycott the 2019 elections is that they believe that boycotting the 2019 election is the same as voting for Buhari for another term.

The only people, therefore, who will be happy to hear that people from Igboland will boycott the elections are supporters of Buhari and the APC. Even though IPOB has argued that election boycott will force the Nigerian government to grant IPOB the chance to conduct a referendum on Biafra, it is seen as illogical by many Igbo people.

Last year, in spite of the campaign by IPOB for election boycott in the Anambra governorship election, election still held in the state, with the incumbent, Governor Willie Obiano, winning all 21 local government areas.

Since after the election and the swearing-in of Obiano for a second term, IPOB has not shown how its boycott made its call for a referendum nearer. The Anambra election was a testimony that the election boycott campaign as a way to achieve the independence of Biafra has never made any sense to the Igbo people.

The sudden appearance of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, was a major event in the recent past.

He was sighted in Israel on Friday. Knowing that there would be doubts over the veracity of the video that showed that he was in Israel, he promised to give an address via Radio Biafra on Sunday evening. And he did. The highlight of his message was that IPOB would not participate in the 2019 elections unless there is a referendum on whether the South-Eastern part of the country will remain in Nigeria or not.

There was nothing out of character in Kanu’s address. If he had changed his mind on election boycott, it would have not been in line with his stance. If he had asked his supporters to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress or Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party or any other candidate, he would have been accused of being bought over.

However having spoken with some concerned South Easterners .

Mr. Martins a regional manager of one of the new generation banks in Abia, when asked about his opinion said emphatically “It is a very stupid call and I am now suspicious of Kanu’s release and magical escape after his house and village was surrounded.

On his part, Mr. Vincent who’s a building material merchant based in Onitsha had this to say. “There’s nothing like election boycott, on that very day those who wish to vote would go out and cast their votes. Those saying election boycott would stay at home, it doesn’t make any difference”.

The people of the South-East will be more interested about registering their feelings about the administration of Buhari through their votes.

The choice of Mr Peter Obi as the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party is secondary. Similarly, in all parts of Nigeria, voters will either vote Yes or No to Buhari’s administration.

The presence of Atiku as the PDP candidate is also secondary.

If Buhari had lived up to expectation, the 2019 elections would have been “to fulfil all righteousness”. On the contrary, it will be one of the most keenly contested elections in Nigeria’s recent history, because Buhari evokes passion in people: passionate opposition or passionate support.

Therefore, Kanu does not have the capacity to convince the voters in the South-East to remain aloof in the elections of next year. The republican worldview of the Igbo does not accept such. For the Igbo to obey the directive of any living mortal like that, they have to have a compelling reason.

Finally, the 2019 elections will attract a huge turnout of voters. The only fear is what role the security operatives will play.

Will they stay unbiased or will they intimidate voters and prevent voting as they were accused of doing in the Osun run-off election? We have 5 days to find out.


https://extmediaonline./2019/02/11/igbos-move-against-nnamdi-kanu-sit-at-home/

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