Media entrepreneur and publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu, has called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, the former presidential candidate also urged the government to address the “underlying causes” of separatist agitation in the South-East.
Momodu’s statement featured a broadcast clip of Kanu recorded shortly before his repatriation from Kenya. “Shortly before his abduction from Kenya by the Nigerian government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made this thought-provoking broadcast in which he philosophised about the reasons he and his supporters became radicalised,” Momodu wrote.
He argued that the agitation for Biafra is rooted in “decades of marginalisation and deprivation” suffered by the Igbo people.
Momodu faulted those who condemn Kanu and his followers without, in his opinion, understanding the historical and political context of their agitation.
“I have taken time to listen to his critics and discovered most of them only jumped to conclusions without proper analysis of why agitation for Biafra became reignited, attractive, and fanciful after the pogrom that wasted millions of lives and destroyed unimaginable properties in the 1960s and ’70s,” he said.
The Ovation publisher noted that Kanu, in the broadcast, argued that the “continuing marginalisation of the Igbo, and deprivation accorded some of the most energetic and vibrant brains in Africa, and globally, rekindled the Biafra sentiment.”
Momodu warned that attempts to silence Kanu would not end the agitation, insisting that the situation requires a political, not legal or military, solution.
“Attempts by enemies of Kanu, including his own kinsmen, to exterminate him will never solve the problem. The Igbo struggle goes beyond legalese. It requires serious political reconfiguration, and urgently too,” he stated.
While clarifying that he does not support violence, Momodu advised the government to engage the region constructively.
“I will never support violence. But any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South-East very busy, with productive engagements, instead of this rabid hatred,” he added.
Momodu’s comments come amid renewed calls from various political leaders, civil rights groups, and Igbo socio-cultural organisations for Kanu’s release and a political resolution to the separatist crisis in the region.
Share On:
CLICK HERE TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC/VIDEO