₦airaland Forum

Insecurity in Southeast: Celebrating Ekpa’s arrest is diversionary, says Obidigbo

ELDER statesman, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, has described as enablers of double standards and injustice, those rejoicing over the supposed recent arrest and incarceration of leader of Biafran Republic Government In Exile (BRGIE), Mr. Simon Ekpa Njoku, in Finland.

He expressed dismay that one year after the narrow-minded regime of General Muhammadu Buhari ended, the Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu is still playing games with the state of insecurity in South East, which he said is fuelled by a combination of factors.

While noting that outright criminality from all sides, and official neglect aided by lack of seriousness are at the root of the hopelessness and despair in Igbo land, Obidigbo lamented that the Federal Government ignored the most potent cause of social unrest in the region to chase shadows.

He decried the celebration of reported 'neutralisation' of several youths, both civilians and security officers across the land, the supposed leaders of our collective tomorrow, saying that such announcements give the impression of great achievement, rather than remorse for the destruction of our youths.

In a statement made available to media on Tuesday, the elder statesman said that “the fact remains that our youths are neutralised in various parts of the country irrespective of their ethnic nationality or religious persuasion.”

Obidigbo stated: “Why is it that 54 years after the end of the civil war, the Federal Government still behaves as if injustice and unfair treatment is the best way to remind Igbo that they lost the war, despite the proclamation of no victor no vanguished? The echoes of Biafra from young people, most of whom were not even born during the war, is their own way of challenging the unfair deal against the Igbo.

“Nigeria says it is practicing democracy but flagrantly undermines the rule of law, which is the bedrock of genuine democracy just so that Igbo should not be allowed to exercise freedom of choice or enjoy fundamental rights.

“At every point in Nigeria’s march to the future, decisions are taken in such a way to suggest that strenuous efforts are being made to shroud the truth through official secrecy built around the marginalization of the Igbo. And, truth be told, the 2023 general elections showed truly that Igbo are real targets of bigotry and internal xenophobia.

“Nnamdi Kanu was kidnapped by agents of government. Kidnapping is a crime and no responsible government should be seen to be committing crime against her own citizens, especially where there are legal means of bringing offenders to book. Many Igbo believe that Biafra is spiritual. Therefore, if one leader goes down, there is the possibility that many others would still spring up.”

Obidigbo noted that just within minutes after it became imperative that Ekpa would be out of circulation, Dr. Ngozi Orabueze, a woman, mounted the saddle, stressing that “this is a pointer to the failure of Igbo political leadership, which like their counterparts from other ethnicities are very selfish and far removed from the people.”

Lamenting the double standard being applied to what concerns the Igbo, Obidigbo declared: “It could be argued that this leadership failure explains the fact that several persons from other ethnic groups have joined in advocating for the separation of Nigeria, since the Amalgamation instrument expired in 2014, without any reasonable attempt to review it holistically by all ethnic nationalities.

“But, the painful part is that even those other people that addressed the press to announce their desire for secession are walking the streets freely with nobody interrogating or threatening them with arrest. So, why is Kanu's case different, if not because he is Igbo of Southeast.”

The elder statesman maintained that Igbo has continued to receive the short end of the stick in Nigeria, stressing that the political and economic marginalization of the Southeast has become very unbearable to young people from the region.

He asserted that based on the continuing oppression against Igbo, there was nothing outside the ordinary for young Igbo boys and girls to start questioning the status quo to the extent of calling for a separate homeland or a referendum to determine their citizenship of the country.

“Referendum is a form of civic vote in matters that have direct bearing on the socio-political condition of citizens. If that is so, what offence did Mazi Nnamdi Kanu commit by asking that Igbo should be allowed their right to self determination?.

“Instead of engaging the young man, attempts were made to neutralise him. And when that failed, he ran for his dear life only to be kidnapped and forcibly renditioned to Nigeria to continue court trial for alleged debatable treason. Yet, when the court ruled that he should be let loose, the powers that be insisted on the policy of might is right,” Obidigbo stated.

The elder statesman contended that it was out of pain for the show of gross injustice and unfair treatment against Kanu and by extension Igbo, that Simon Ekpa rose to levy his protest.

He regretted that instead of tackling the root cause of insecurity in Southeast, the authorities have been scratching on the surface adding, “not every Igbo agrees with Ekpa’s style of drawing attention to the unjust treatment, but they are all aggrieved at the suffocating injustice.

According to Obidigbo, the insincerity of political leaders both from Igbo land and at the national level over the IPOB agitation and Sit-at-home protest has contributed immensely in transforming the molehill of youth restiveness into a mountain of social disaster.

He said that if the Federal Government was genuinely interested in restoring normalcy in Southeast it should start by releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu without much ado, arguing that the blind budget being expended in the process of mobilizing for the arrest or extradition of Simon Ekpa should have gone into better purposes.

The elder statesman declared: “How long will this moving round a circle continue? The Igbo are not deceived, because it beggars belief that free citizens will obey the directives of a man that is thousands of kilometers away from the shores of Nigeria when there are several elected political leaders overseeing the geopolitical zone.

“The seeming popularity of the sit-at-home in Southeast stems from the fact that majority Igbo are not happy with the ugly treatment that Nigeria continues to give them. Ekpa rose in place of Kanu and instead of abating, the cycle could continue to produce offshoots until reason prevails.

“Recently, some commentators argued that the appointment of Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu as minister of state was to douse the agitation and insecurity in Southeast. But, this is part of the misreading of the sociology of the Igbo. Igbo are united by ideology of fairness and never bow to individual whims.

“Igbo are wont to discard even their gods when they no longer reflect their purpose. That is why it is said that when a wooden idol misbehaves it would be told the particular wood used in carving it and thereafter discarded. This summarises the principle of Igbo enweze (Igbo know no king) associated with Igbo.

“In 1983, Rt. Hon. Nnamdi Azikiwe said that if you step on a worm it would turn. Therefore, the insecurity in Southeast is first and foremost caused by injustice against Igbo and wrongful incarceration of Kanu, which some criminal-minded idle hands are exploiting.

“Such criminal activities further worsen the already terrible unemployment situation as well as drive away investors and investments just thereby exacerbating the vicious cycle.”

Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/celebrating-ekpas-arrest-is-diversionary-obidigbo/amp/

Sir Obidigbo is making sense here. A well-respected statesman like this should be listened to.

There can never be any real investment in Igbo for the next ....The only alternative for SE is to remain with Nigeria as a parasite because there people won't even put substantial investment in the region talk less of foreign investment.

Toh

So for the Igbo's coming from abroad this December or those who are outside the region but are loaded, how much would they spend to hire security like the below photo?

Let people like Sir Obidigbo come out and champion the struggle for Biafra if that is what ndi Igbo wants to leave the struggle in the hands of uninformed youths and criminals is not in the best interest of ndi Igbo.

Whether Simon Ekpa is there or not, Nnamdi Kanu is there or not, the fact is, the ideology of Biafra is indestructible; it has become an integral part of our collective consciousness and is here to stay. I must admit that my own affinity for Biafra has grown exponentially, and I now dream of it every day. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government's ineptitude and insensitivity have only served to strengthen my resolve.

I was once a proud and patriotic Nigerian, but those sentiments have long since faded. I am now, and forever will be, a staunch supporter of Biafra. The day Biafra gains independence is the day I will return home permanently, eager to contribute my skills and experience to the development of our beloved nation, even if it means volunteering my services without expectation of payment.

There should be a summarize button on Nairaland.



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Stop buying airtime and use that money for suya. Claim free airtime, all network >>>https:// /bdhtehyk

Ekpa is also a big threat In charge of a dangerous group.

Noted.

Make una fall in to USB, no need for epistle.

Be patriotic for once. Set awon content creators

God bless you sir. Don't mind foolish people who don't understand the socio-economic situation in south east.

Sir obidigbo where were you before Ekpa's arrest. Eepa n para ee!

Obidigbo no get sense.

Delusional clowns 🤡 .
Always looking for others to blame for their sorry miserable low Life existence.
They must find any outside source to blame, it's never their own doing.
Even when they are caught red handed in SE Asia for drugs, they will still try to blame others.
Victimhood slave mentality.

Igbo matter

Yaribastards oya come and masturbate and convulse.

It's safe traveling to Somalia now than traveling to the south east

Nnamdiot kanu told them he will come to Nigeria n bring Somalia with him n they never asked him where he will drop d Somalia

D fool drop d Somalia for their dormat

Now many of them can't even go home this December for fear of unknown

Tell that to the families of folks that Ekpa brought to mourning mode like The Akunyilis.

Klington:


Yaribastards oya come and masturbate and convulse.

yeegbobastards u don turn your home to Somalia all in d name of hate

Do they even love themselves as they proclaimed. They are only interested in South south oil and that's why they are the one championing Biafra. I will support them with my full chest if the can let go of south south and hold unto that tiny 5 states. But a single dot of land from south south will not go with them.

Arrest this man

Na wah oh. If Govt deploy security, wahala. Govt no deploy security, wahala again. This corny behaviour and dishonesty is counter productive.

Honestly, Igbos brought this upon themselves...!

When you bring in insect-infested firewood into your house, there can be no way to keep the lizards out.

You don't cut off your nose to spite your face

When you fail to pull out the rotten tooth, you clearly end up jeopardising the entire oral cavity.


These are actually well known Igbo adages...!


When we were warning and counseling, the same people crying now mocked us and said we should leave their freedom fighters alone.

Oh well...!

If something is not beneficial or not working the way it should, then it’s should be discarded.
So many non state actors have hijacked the movement to perpetuate all sorts of criminal activities.
Open daylight robbery , extortion, intimidation, restriction of movement, parading with all sorts of weapon is not part of a healthy society. Let’s call a spade a spade.
Ndi Igbo need a rethink. Breeding of illegal gangs and groups is a backward option that is causing serious setbacks within alot of communities.
Let be truthful to ourselves. We have missed it, let’s not flog this dead horse.

ok

Nnamdi Kanu is a terrorist and should be treated as one. Video evidences are all over the Internet.

All these emotional appeal and manipulations will not work. The families whose people were murdered in cold blood due to Simon Ekpa and Nnamdi Kanu's activities deserve justice.

This man talking is illogical.

When these people talk about marginalisation, they should always endeavour to give us examples of what the Federal Government is doing for other regions but not theirs so we can have proper understanding of what they meant by marginalisation

MadamVanessa:




Whether Simon Ekpa is there or not, Nnamdi Kanu is there or not, the fact is, the ideology of Biafra is indestructible; it has become an integral part of our collective consciousness and is here to stay. I must admit that my own affinity for Biafra has grown exponentially, and I now dream of it every day. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government's ineptitude and insensitivity have only served to strengthen my resolve.

I was once a proud and patriotic Nigerian, but those sentiments have long since faded. I am now, and forever will be, a staunch supporter of Biafra. The day Biafra gains independence is the day I will return home permanently, eager to contribute my skills and experience to the development of our beloved nation, even if it means volunteering my services without expectation of payment.

the tribalism in Nigeria stinks, no thanks to the kind of leaders we have. People who see from their sectional lens alone. I don't know what rocket science it's to unite a country. They seem to make very easy things look difficult.

The last 2023 election is nothing but a unity breaker, and nothing serious has been done by this govt to heal the wounds. Tribalism and ethnicism is our greatest problem.

Am
Impressed at the write up, all he said is true

Kau

Wisdomkosi:
Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/celebrating-ekpas-arrest-is-diversionary-obidigbo/amp/

Correct 💯.

Man is bold and fearless.
Mr. Obidigbo is a true speaking truth without fear to those the unjust Nigerian authorities that needs to hear it.
More and all other Igbo leaders must be bold like this to address the injustice against them.
Nigeria is incomplete without Igbos and will continue to experience huge avoidable problems if she continues in the path of hostility towards Igbos until they do them well and the funny thing is that Igbos will continue to succeed and dominate inspite of all the animosities against them.

All these useless Ibo elders are very mad
What’s the correlation between insecurity and releasing Nnamdi Kanu?

MadamVanessa:




Whether Simon Ekpa is there or not, Nnamdi Kanu is there or not, the fact is, the ideology of Biafra is indestructible; it has become an integral part of our collective consciousness and is here to stay. I must admit that my own affinity for Biafra has grown exponentially, and I now dream of it every day. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government's ineptitude and insensitivity have only served to strengthen my resolve.

I was once a proud and patriotic Nigerian, but those sentiments have long since faded. I am now, and forever will be, a staunch supporter of Biafra. The day Biafra gains independence is the day I will return home permanently, eager to contribute my skills and experience to the development of our beloved nation, even if it means volunteering my services without expectation of payment.

God bless you awesomely Nwada anyị. We love it more when people like you from the coastal region of Biafra speak this way