₦airaland Forum

Until last month when Mr.
Nnamdi Kanu, director, Radio
Biafra, was arrested in Lagos,
only a few people knew about
the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB), a group interested in the
actualisation of a separate home
state for the Igbo. Today, that
hitherto obscured group has
come to national limelight, with
the “release Nnamdi Kanu”
protests across the South East
and South South.
Indeed, since Kanu was arrested
in a Lagos hotel, a few hours
after he arrived the country,
members of the IPOB have
marched in the streets of Port
Harcourt, Aba, Asaba, Enugu,
Awka and other cities, to register
their anger over his detention.
With what is happening, you
could wonder how Kanu, who
lives in London, was able to have
such followership, which is
becoming a movement.
When the news of Kanu’s arrest
broke, I remembered the first
time I met him in London, three
years ago. It was a chanced
meeting made possible by a man
I knew in the course of my job
and who, incidentally, knows
Kanu. He also lives in London as
Kanu. I had travelled to Britain on
vacation and called Chukwuma to
tell him I was in London. He
promised to make out time and
see me. The meeting did not hold
until about one week. It was a
cold Sunday afternoon in
September 2012. Chukwuma had
called me on phone to announce
that he was coming to where I
lodged. Since I had a shopping
programme that day, I told him I
would not be in. I had scheduled
that Sunday to go to the famous
Liverpool “Sunday Market,” in
London to do some shopping. He
volunteered to meet me there in
the afternoon, after I would have
finished my business.
As promised, my friend was at
Liverpool Station, in Central Lon­
don, our agreed rendezvous.
When we met, the first time
actually as we had been speaking
on phone, he told me he was
going to introduce me to
somebody I may have heard of,
who was in a car parked some
metres away. We trekked from
the Liverpool Station to the car in
that freezing weather. In the car
was this young man, handsome,
smartly dressed and soft-spoken.
My friend had introduced him as
Nnamdi Kanu, director of Radio
Biafra. It was a pleasant surprise
that I was face-to-face, on a
platter of gold, with the man
behind Radio Biafra, a station,
which, at that time, was
becoming popular among Igbo
across the world. As a journalist
and Editor, Saturday Sun at that
time, I saw a big news and
considered myself lucky. I had
instantly asked for an interview,
which Kanu approved, but said it
would hold in Nigeria when he
visited. He eventually visited at
about March/April in 2013 and
Saturday Sun, which I edited,
interviewed him in Lagos.
On that Sunday, in London, Kanu
had offered to give me lunch, in a
place where we would sit down
and have an informal chat. He
drove around Central London, to
find a restaurant. It took us some
time, owing to parking, which is
a problem in Central London.
Eventually, we ended at a Spanish
restaurant, in a street we were
lucky to get parking space.
Chukwuma had recommended
Paola, a Spanish delicacy, which I
could not eat eventually. In the
Paola, there is rice and half
cooked seafood in shells, which I
did not find funny. As I
pretended to be eating the Paola,
we talked, I had sized Kanu up.
He’s a smart youngman, well-
schooled, likeable and passionate
about what he was doing. From
the way he spoke, one could see
his passion to see that Igbo are
better treated and recognised. He
spoke of deprivation and
marginalisation of Igbo. He was
angry with many Nigerians,
including Igbo bigwigs, who he
said had sold out.
Kanu told me about his
relationship with the late Ikemba
Nnewi, who led the defunct
Republic of Biafra, during the civil
war. He spoke of a meeting he
and others had with Ojukwu in
London, where the late Biafra
leader talked about a successor.
He boasted how he and his
group members made it possible
for Ojukwu to appear on BBC’s
Hard Talk.
I remember him asking no one in
particular: “Who has ever or­
ganised Ojukwu to appear on
BBC’s Hard Talk? We did it.
Nobody has done that for him
before. We in London did it. The
fact that we don’t shout and
come to newspaper all the time
doesn’t mean we don’t know
what we are doing.”
I must say that before then, the
talk about Biafra was
synonymous with MASSOB
(Movement for the Actualisation
of the Sovereign State of Biafra).
Nothing much was heard of
IPOB. The other group, which
reared its head was Biafran
Zionist Movement. However, from
what Kanu told me at the
meeting, IPOB was getting more
global interest than the other
groups. He talked about his trips
across the world, to meet with
Igbo who loved Radio Biafra and
wanted to meet one of the men
behind it. This had taken him to
United States, Canada, Sweden,
France, Germany and other
nations. He talked about the case
IPOB instituted in Owerri against
“Nigeria.”
The Radio Biafra director made it
clear that he was not just angry
with the leadership in Nigeria,
which he said had neglected the
Igbo people and the South East,
as bad roads and decrepit
infrastructure dot the landscape,
but also with Igbo elite, who he
said had compromised and,
therefore, do not fight for the
interest of the Igbo. He said that
was why he always attacked
them on Radio Biafra.
What’s his relationship with
MASSOB? Kanu said that he had
issues with the group’s leader,
Ralph Uwazuruike, revealing that
he once had a raw deal with
MASSOB, whose members
kidnapped him during one of his
visits to Nigeria. According to
him, he had come to Nigeria for
his traditional marriage
ceremony but ended in MASSOB
gulag.
Why would MASSOB or anybody
for that matter kidnap Kanu? “I
was kidnapped because I told
him the truth. I told him that he
cannot print Biafran passport
and be selling to people when
he, as the leader of MASSOB, is
travelling with Nigerian passport.
You don’t deceive your people. I
told him that carrying Biafran
passport was tantamount to
treasonable felony. It is not right
as the leader of a group to be
amassing wealth when people
are poor,” he said.
The Radio Biafra director
revealed two occasions he
invited the MASSOB leader to
London, where they talked about
working together to help Igbo.
Said he: “I told him that the best
thing for us to do was to have a
movement where we can create
jobs for our people. And these
are the ways we are going to do
it. He never listened to any of
those pieces of advice we gave. I
advised him personally to turn
the Freedom House he built with
the money contributed by the
people in his father’s compound
to more or less an open house
for the people to come, but that
is his private residence.”
He expressed anger that MASSOB
was infiltrated by the Federal
Government, alleging: “It was
then that it occurred to us that
the powers-that-be, ostensibly
the late Umar Yar’Adua, called the
five eastern governors and asked
them to ask Uwazuruike what he
wanted as a sort of settlement so
that he can stop what he was
doing. That was why they were
campaigning for the PDP. They
campaigned for Ohakim the last
time Ohakim contested in Imo
State. I can tell you today even
MASSOB members are revolting
now because they know that
their leadership is fraudulent and
decaying. And unless they get
away from the scene completely,
we can never get Biafra because
their own brand is tainted and
we cannot have it anymore.”
When I asked Kanu how he
escaped from MASSOB’s prison,
he talked about how people he
did not name, who learnt about
his ordeal, gave the MASSOB
leader a 24-hour ultimatum to
release him or they would bring
down his place.
On Radio Biafra, Kanu said it was
a way to expose the bad hap­
penings in Nigeria. He regretted
that there was no time to take
me to Radio Biafra studio, but
boasted that it was equipped to
international standard.
The Radio Biafra director
revealed that Igbo, who believed
in what he was doing, were
ready to confront “the enemy
head on,” saying that South-
easterners were suffering in
Nigeria.
In the course of our discussion, I
never knew that time was flying,
until I looked at my phone’s time
and realised that it was 7pm. It
was time to go. Kanu and
Chukwuma drove me from
Central London to Hayes area of
London, where I stayed. He
promised to get in touch with
me any time he visited Nigeria.
In the early part of 2013, he
visited and made the first
broadcast of Radio Biafra from
Nigeria. Using his laptop, Internet
and other devices, he hooked
onto London studio and
broadcast to the world, he later
boasted. It was during the visit
that Saturday Sun interviewed
him in Lagos.

Source: www.sunnewsonline.com/new/face-to-face-with-nnamdi-kanu-the-man-behind-radio-biafra/

Whoever takes this joke serious is on aloooooooooooong thing

Now he has made himself populare enough!

This is what passion can do. Nnamdi Igbos' support the Biafra course.

Megalomania.

the ONLY AFRICAN INSTITUTION TO BE RATED NUMBER ONE IN THE UNIVERSE = RADIO BIAFRA

calmbabadee:
Whoever takes this joke serious is on aloooooooooooong thing

if he's a joke then, why is he given you jobless, good for nothing and cowardly yorubas sleepless nights?

I don't believe this tales, every fact there can be gotten from radioBiafra. Biafra is not just about Igbo, it is about Biafra. I see some divide-and-rule ingredients there.

Kanu is fighting for the restoration of Biafra
Not some phantom igbo marginalisation

I don't take this article seriously

From 'they cannot do us anything, we are indestructible'

To 'they have fallen into our trap'

then 'you must release him'

now 'buhari, we beg you, just release our son'




Zombies.

iamkeyz:
the ONLY AFRICAN INSTITUTION TO BE RATED NUMBER ONE IN THE UNIVERSE = RADIO BIAFRA

rated by your monkey arse rating firm abi? Biafrans and lies are like.......aki na ukwa.

zombies.

Kestolovee95:
I don't believe this tales, every fact there can be gotten from radioBiafra. Biafra is not just about Igbo, it is about Biafra. I see some divide-and-rule ingredients there.

@ "divide and rule ingredient"
As expected
Every trick is applied in order to destroy the movement
Biafrans should be aware and prepared for this by now


The article is obviously a fraud

theDEVILisHERE:
@ "divide and rule ingredient" As expected Every trick is applied in order to destroy the movement Biafrans should be aware and prepared for this by now

The article is obviously a fraud

We already know the divided and rule tactics, it's dead on arrival.

Kanu is now a great man indeed. Everyone is trying to identify with him

And people call uwazurike an Igbo leader? What a fraud!

He was selling BIAFRAN passports, number plates and even exchanging currencies.

Uwazurike was paid by Obasanjo's govt. He is a scam.

Little wonder he could not identify with IPOB, he didn't want his ill wealth source to dry up.

Uwazurike, we will remember you soonest! Better attone for your sins now by sponsoring and encouraging the struggle.

My fellow biafrans, raise the flag!

With all due respect to your opinions, what is happening in nigeria, is a foundational issue,the early leaders never took the uniform of a nation, these might be b'cos of some common characteristics are not atributed them as a nation "language,tradition,customs".on these three is where a nation is built, now these people do not want to stay any longer b'cos of some obvious reasons, To me, it is just like someone is staying with you, one day he decides to go, would you allow this person to go, if you would, FINE, if you won't why?

my stead on the issue of biafra is not important, we allow the old brigade to rule us, to the brigade, nepotism, injustice, stealing is a virtue, until we realise that these are bad(we know they are,that's why we have conscience) been civilised will be so far.

naijapips02:
rated by your monkey arse rating firm abi? Biafrans and lies are like.......aki na ukwa.

zombies.

see what you have done to yourself,because you could not keep your nose off biafran threads,you are now termed "failed blogger abi na porn blogger" .

Continue,you hear.

vayne:
see what you have done to yourself,because you could not keep your nose off biafran threads,you are now termed "failed blogger abi na porn blogger" .

Continue,you hear.

He gets only one view, even tho he impersonate Seu.n.


Very bad.

End time

EasternPride:
He gets only one view, even tho he impersonate Seu.n.


Very bad.

guess who view those shit




[size=20pt]Naijap*ip a.k.a the failed blogger [/size]

My meeting with him was in the DSS prison. He was so lean that he was begging to be fed.

DSS COOK: Shey ur hunger strike don finish ni?

KANU: oga, so, u don take that statement serious like dt? person no fit follow u play again?

I think say maybe na ozil u meet sef mctheww, so na namdi dey inside d motor