On this page of puns, humans replace words. The quantity of sentiments is uprooted and in its place the quality of ideas is planted. So, side by side, wrong is jostling with correctness, while lies are put to test in the same laboratory as unblemished truths.
“Holy! Holy!!” Soundbites of the Biafran agitations pencils Nnamdi Kanu as the saviour while at an attendance of the Yam Festival in Germany, Ike Ekweremadu was walloped as a reminder against selling the motherland cheap.
Whereas, Ike Ekweremadu was placed as an Igbo agitator at the Parliament; a position which Eyinnayi Abaribe now enjoys since he stood as surety to MNK then. Parliamentary activism is an example of activism from the top which usually bestow some seeming agitational prowess on some of the members of the ruling class so as to do two things: One – show a shadow and shallow form of struggles, and also create the opposition within the class instead of the radical Aluta from below. So you find all sorts of questionable and non-credible individuals marshalling strong points at the Parliament or even as executives (like the case of Ortom, Akeredolu, and Wike acting as radicals only to bargain within their own class.)
People like Dino Melaye, Oby Ezekwesili, Smart Adeyemi, Prof Ihonvbare, Bayo Onanuga, Festus Keyamo, Charlie Boy and the likes are activists from the top just like Ekweremadu. But within the standard of real pedigree and on the plate of characters; these individuals wallow in impunity and are addicts of corruption and such other oppressive and primitive behaviours of the rulers. They only publicly campaign to pretend with the masses, as well as negotiate within their class for more juicy positions. President-select Bola Tinubu is a legendary example of this fake activism from the top.
As this piece is about Nnamdi Kanu and Ekweremadu, let me keep fingering the buttons over the fact that since the arrests of Nnamdi Kanu who has been a leading agitator for the Self-determination of Biafra, the agitations in solidarity for his own release has been minimal, except for the Mondays “Sit-At-Home” in the South East which IPOB later cancelled, and the Court protests that became more popular and routine since Omoyele Sowore of the #RevolutionNow initiated and led actions to making sure Nnamdi Kanu was never tried in secret. Proudly, in one of these Abuja High Court actions, yours truly was shot by the police when Sowore escaped being attacked by a hired thug.
But with the sentencing to prison of Ike Ekweremadu and wife by the UK courts over the Organ Trafficking; all of the rulers, led by Olusegun Obasanjo, are united in getting the UK to pardon the criminal!
This must not be alarming. Those who rule Nigeria are legendary criminals, and they hate it when one of them is being made an example. This is why even Buhari had to pardon Jolly Nyame and others. None of them, including those who are saying juicy words to the press over Biafra, wants Nnamdi Kanu out. In fact, if Nigerian rulers (especially the Igbo ruling and business class) have chance; they would prefer to replace Ekweremadu in such criminalized case with Nnamdi Kanu. This is why none of them has taken up the Federal Government despite disobeying the courts on the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu.
Nigerians need to know that those in ruling class are one and the same. They only contend in different parties. They share the same ideas and solidarity. We must stop siding one of them against the other. We must go for the revolutionaries who are actually with the people. If the case of Ekweremadu has happened in Nigeria, nothing could have come out it. At least, Dogara who is under trial for murder, is currently agitating to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. Several of those just elected from President to Houses of Assembly are confirmed criminals!
Real progressives and activists must come out very clearly to demonstrate for the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu as Self-determination is an inalienable right. We must insist that Ike Ekweremadu does not just get jailed in the UK, his criminal assets in Nigeria should be re-seized and distributed to those who actually own them- the working people!