Why FGN Must Release Kanu Unconditionally Before May 29

Why FGN Must Release Kanu Unconditionally Before May 29
Nnamdi Kanu
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It is now barely a few days before President Muhammdau Buhari’s maladministration finally gets to shamefully bow out of office. While Buhari himself now struggles to comprehend the powerful stings of the ephemerality of power and the transient nature of power becomes his daily reality, he could still be reminded one more time that perhaps they are a few actions that he could take to reduce the moral burden he will face post the 29th of May and one of them is ensuring the release of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. 

Before President Buhari came to office, Kanu was almost unknown and there was no way he could boast of 10 percent of the popularity he now enjoys. The well-orchestrated policy of marginalisation against the South East which his government embarked on was all Kanu needed to rise from relative obscurity to public consciousness. Again, Kanu will have continued to make his claims and wide calls from the fringes not until Buhari decided to give him popularity and ensure he goes mainstream when he decided to use the media regulator to jam Kanu’s signals. The day the radio frequency of Kanu was jammed by the National Broadcasting Service (NBC) was the day many Nigerians who didn’t know Kanu decided to Google him for the first time and he was well on his way to becoming one of the most popular human beings in Africa.

Not done with making Kanu popular, on the 15th of October, 2015, Buhari arrested Kanu when he visited Nigeria, and that was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Kanu’s followers and adherents saw a massive leap and he immediately became a symbol for the consciousness of the marginalised people whom he represents.

Perhaps, Buhari may have one or two regrets about Kanu and silently wish he never happened, however, one thing he can never change is the fact that after the 29th of May, reality will be catching up with him before he retires to live the rest his life in absolute regrets.

 

Buhari was a silent monster while in office. He was that cold-blooded god and power bacchanalian deity who terrorised everyone to submission and must be appeased on the altar of obsequious, servile, and sycophantic coven. The most bizarre part of this was that Buhari covered this part of himself with a hypocritical silence for the most part of his stay in office.

 

For eight years, the Buhari government went after people who demanded self-determination and ensured that they were ‘brutally prosecuted’ and dehumanised. In some cases, they were even renditioned to face trial and possibly jailed. For Buhari calling for a referendum which was a very legitimate call was akin to calling for war in the country and hence treated as treason. Rather than finding out ways of developing a channel to address the root causes of the renewed Biafran agitations in the South East under him, he chose vindictiveness and brutality which were obviously not in the general interest of peace, security, and national integration.

As if that was not enough, Buhari’s government proscribed IPOB and designated them a terrorist group when they had just placards. As expected, that move radicalised them, and as they say, the rest is history!

Buhari supervised a dark era in the history of Nigeria where protesters were killed and ‘repentant’ terrorists were treated like Kings while being rehabilitated. His government gave cover and immunity to marauding Fulani herdsmen who were brazen about killing farmers they disagreed with and forcefully taking over lands they admired. The atrocities which the Buhari maladministration supervised are too numerous to mention and they will hunt him for the rest of his days on earth, however, there is a little lifeline, he can still remedy some of the situations by trying to rewrite some of those negatives before he says his goodbye.

Read Also: Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Needs To Push For The Release Of Kanu

A few days ago, he was quoted to have apologised to Nigerians. That was a good step, but they was nothing remorseful about that apology. The only way he can genuinely prove his regrets is by making certain restitutions such as releasing Kanu before he leaves office to close that dark era.

 

The Buhari government failed to learn lessons from the unfortunate but avoidable insurgency in the North East, which has now spread to other parts of the country. The Boko Haram issue eas escalated as a result of the arbitrary detention and subsequent killing of the Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf in 2009. Sadly, Buhari is bent on making the same mistake which will surely not augur well for Nigeria and the peace she craves.

Kanu’s current travail is heart-wrenching. He was arrested by Interpol and renditioned to Nigeria from Kenya, after being intercepted in the East African country on Sunday, the 26th of June, 2021. If the details made available by his legal representatives are anything to go by, Kanu was never subjected to any form of extradition hearing or proceedings throughout his illegal and horrific detention in Kenya before his rendition. It was a pure case of kidnap by President Buhari and the gang of criminals he oversees.

Kanu was basically bundled back to Nigeria to face trial in Nigeria for charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja, in response to years of separatist agitation for an independent Republic of Biafra through his IPOB group.

Several pleas on Buhari to release him have fallen on deaf ears and not even the judgment from the court of appeal or the failing health of the agitator has come close to changing Buhari’s mind. On 13th October 2022, the Justices of the appeal court unanimously agreed that the extraordinary rendition of Kanu, which was never in any way denied by the Federal Government, actually constituted a flagrant and egregious violation of all known international laws and treaties on extradition to which Nigeria is party, and thus, is supposed to obey. They ordered that Kanu be immediately released after they discharged him. Buhari never obeyed that order.

Who will have imagined that Buhari’s rascality will have graduated to the point where even the court had to strongly deprecate the cavalier attitude of his government in treating the serious issues of Kanu’s abduction and extraordinary rendition with levity and utmost whimsicality, sadly, that is exactly where the country is at the moment.

That Buhari has continued to hold onto Kanu against a valid judgment of the court clearly shows that he either has bad advisers or his advisers do not like him. The continued detention of Kanu is not doing him any good and that is something he must understand. Releasing Kanu will before he leaves office is one action that can help remedy his broken image and offer him some breathing space after he leaves office.

Buhari and other current temporary power wielders should have learned from people who served in various offices before them to act with moderation, modesty, circumspection, and humility while they held sway. This is because, after they leave office, even roading emperors can be turned into cringing vassals. It will only take a few days after they leave power before the cookies come crumbling.  The transience and ephemerality of raw might and strength should teach them lessons about life but have Buhari and his goons even been paying attention? 

One of the best decisions he can take before he leaves office on the 29th of May is to release Kanu whom his government brought to the limelight. He wouldn’t lose anything if he decides to instruct his attorney General, Abubakar Malami to withdraw the appeal that the federal government illegally instituted at the Supreme Court and free Kanu. That singular move will etch his name into history books and posterity may have some pity on him. However, if he remains adamant and refuses to release him, it will only take just a few days after he exists office for reality to set in the vanity and vain gloriousness of the illusion, and delusion of grandeur of power and influence begins to hit him. The choice to choose the positive and negative sides to the debate in his mind is certainly his and of course, time is running out.

Africa Digital News, New York

 

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