All over the world, the opinion of notable leaders is usually considered a reflection of the wishes of the people. It may not be an understatement to say that the Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu ranks amongst the notable leaders in the world today. Having founded and superintended over IPOB, which unarguably is currently the world’s largest nationalist movement, no reasonable person can say otherwise.
Few days ago, Mazi Kanu had stated, amongst other things, that there will be no election in Anambra State unless Gov Hope Uzodinma is removed as governor of Imo State. Judging by his antecedents, it would be unwise for anyone to take that comment for granted. It is public knowledge that almost all, if not all, the things that Kanu had said in the past had always come to pass. And it may be foolhardy for any body to think that this particular one may be an exception.
As the leader of a global nationalist movement with a large followership in Imo state, it may not be out of place for one to also opine that what Kanu said is clearly a reflection of the wishes of the people. It doesn’t require rocket science for anyone to establish that the remote causes of insecurity in any place is usually traceable to societal injustice. When the people feel cheated by the politicians and bourgeois, they tend to express their grievances via both legitimate and illegitimate means.
Sociologists will agree with me that this phenomenon is responsible for the escalating insecurity in Imo State. Imo was once the most peaceful state in Nigeria, until the Supreme Court removed Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as the duly elected governor and installed Sen. Hope Uzodinma from an obscure fourth position. During the 2019 Imo State governorship election held in Imo State, Ihedioha won by polling 38.29% of the total votes, defeating Hon. Uche Nwosu who got 26.66% of popular votes.
The results of the election clearly showed that Ihedioha was popularly elected with the people’s mandate. It beat the imagination of Nigerians, and even the global community how the Supreme Court arrived at their decision to declare someone who came fourth in an election winner. Many judicial analysts and even lawyers cried blue murder as the judgment was viewed as a crude subversion of the will and mandate of the people. The people protested and are still protesting that apparent injustice till today. And Imo indeed, has known no peace ever since and may never know peace untill the wrongs are made right.
In addition, the injustice of the January 14 Supreme Court judgement also went beyond the realm of subversion of the will of the people. It further breached the fragile harmony and compounded the latent zonal mistrust that had existed between the senatorial districts in the state. It is a historical fact that since the return to democracy in 1999, the Imo West senatorial district (Orlu zone), which is Uzodinma’s constituency, has ruled the state for 17 years consecutively, and still counting. For peace to reign in any civilized society, there is always a need for balance of power, equity and justice.
America, UK, and most parts of the civilized world are stable and peaceful due to the observance of equity, justice and balance of power in governance. How can any literate person believe that there will be continual peace in Imo State when one zone is perceived as marginalizing the others? Based on the foregoing, it may not be out of place for one to say that the remote cause of the present high rate of insecurity in Imo State may have its roots in the January 14, 2020 hijack of the people’s mandate. It appears so because the masses tend to always resist an unwanted leadership.
Democracy it is said, is government of the people by the people. If that is the case, it then means that the wishes of the people must always prevail, otherwise there will be anarchy. Yes, the people are bound to revolt as long as their mandates, rights and privileges are continually trampled upon by politicians using the instrumentality of the state. Criminologists will also agree with me that no crime of any form or shape, be it an insurgency, banditry, revolution, and so on, can succeed if they people are not in support of it.
But where you see such vices thriving, then it means that it has the tacit approval of the people and in that case, no effort made by government to curb it will succeed. If you have to arrest the situation by use of force, then you may have to arrest majority of the people. Having said that, it may not be out of place to conclude at this point that the escalation of insecurity in Imo State is the consequence of societal injustice.
Which requires political solution, instead of merely beefing up an obviously incapacitated security system. Or the chasing of shadows with the phantom Ebubeagu. Nnamdi Kanu’s comment may have once again profered solution for the return of peace and security in Imo State. It is now left for the relevant stakeholders to take note and take necessary action, or wait untill the system collapses beyond redemption under the weight of escalated insecurity.
Ekene Bob-Ekechukwu Esq
Public Affairs Analyst
24/04/2021
