Can we put this prejudice behind us?
Posted By TheScoop on November 20, 2015
"Prior
to the 2015 Presidential election in Nigeria, majority of the people in the
south east had expressed their support for Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), the
former President, to run for a second term, and dissatisfactions with the All
Progressive Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB). The support of
the people of south east for GEJ under the platform of the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) was reflected in the outstanding votes that GEJ recorded against
PMB. The Presidential election results
revealed that in each of the five states that make up the south east the PDP
won by over 75% of the total votes cast. The same results revealed that apart
from Imo state where APC scored about 18.2% of the total votes cast, the then
opposition party scored a maximum of 5% of the total votes cast in each of the
south east states."
"Though opinions may divide across the
lines of arguments as to what triggered the current secession call by a group
called the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), it is not a myth that before now
this group and its promoter, Nnamdi Kanu, were inconnu. While popular opinions
have heaped piles of blame on PMB-led APC government for mal-handling the
arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu, which have been suggested to be the main
explanatory variable in the equation of the ongoing secession saga, it will be
hard not to doubt the validity of this logic, more especially in the context of
the role of a state (Nigeria) in ensuring peace and stability within its
territory. It is one thing (commendable) for a group in a state to pursue
genuinely enforcement of fundamental human rights of its member, and it is
another thing (lamentable) for a group to force the hands of a state through
agitation for secession to release its member who has not fulfilled the conditions
of his bail. It is frightening to see admonitions that Nnamdi Kanu should be
released and put on security radar. In all good conscience, I cannot recommend
that the federal government release Nnamdi Kanu without him fulfilling the
conditions on which he has been granted bail. For me, if the federal government
pursues (which I strongly doubt) the call of the people on the streets it will
be setting a bad and untenable precedent."
"It is a well-known fact that the
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has
been on the front burner of the struggles to establish the state of Biafra.
Despite the dogged stewardship of Ralph Uwazuruike to secure the resurgence of
the state of Biafra from the previous administrations, his cracks were not
strong enough to leave a fragment. MASSOB was emasculated during GEJ’s
administration. In 2013, GEJ branded MASSOB as one of the three
extremist groups threatening the security of Nigeria; hence outlawed the
groups. Few months after PMB took oath of office IPOB reared its ugly head and
people are dancing around the truth to call it prejudice."
Read full article here via TheScoop
