Many see this as distasteful and appalling, wondering why he would fix his public demonstration for Kanu’s release on the same day many in the country will be marking one of the bloodiest and most catastrophic days in the nation’s history.
Recently, activists and the publisher of Sahara Reporter, Omoyele Sowore, started showing interest in the ordeal of Nnamdi Kanu, the embattled leader of the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB). He also began agitating for his release, claiming he did nothing wrong. Kanu has been standing trial in a Nigerian court since 2021 after he was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria in an extraordinary rendition. His repatriation to the country marked the beginning of a long, winding, arduous and torturous prosecution that will see him stand trial for terrorism in Nigerian courts.
After fleeing Nigeria in 2017 following a deadly raid on his home in Abia State by the Nigerian security forces, Kanu fled to London, where he continued his vicious and destructive campaign of hate and sedition against the Nigerian state using the infamous Radio Biafra. This dangerous, divisive and abhorrent rhetoric plunges the South East region, an enclave largely hitherto immune to the violence and upheaval that envelops most parts of Nigeria, into chaos and instability. Bloodshed, wanton killings, violent attacks and social upheavals became the order of the day. His campaign of mayhem and destabilisation turned the nation’s most thriving commercial region into a dormant and soulless entity. It stunts its growth and destroys its socio-economic ecosystem.
However, his prosecution, which was supposed to be a straightforward, open and shut case of terrorism and sedition, has not only brought to the fore the weakness of the Nigerian system but has been dogged by institutional vindictiveness, impunity, and, some will say, incompetence. It is this situation that throws up Sowore. His sudden and newfound interest in Kanu’s predicament has raised eyebrows and triggered suspicion in some quarters. Before deciding to take up a role in the uninspiring drama that Kanu’s case has become, Sowore has acquired a reputation for creating and curating contentious occurrences to draw public attention to himself or planting himself in popular, controversial and headline-grabbing incidents for sinister gains. It is this cunning disposition of his that made many wary of his sudden involvement in the Kanu imbroglio. Some have called him a controlled opposition and paid agent of the government.
The misgivings of those who cast doubt on the genuineness of his interest in Kanu’s trial were confirmed when he fixed October 20, the day for the commemoration of the ENDSARS protest, for the protest to demand the release of Nnamdi Kanu. Many see this as distasteful and appalling, wondering why he would fix his public demonstration for Kanu’s release on the same day many in the country will be marking one of the bloodiest and most catastrophic days in the nation’s history. For many, this fit into his long pathetic pattern of leveraging any event of national or even regional significance to beam the floodlight of attention on himself and whatever charade he has going on. The goal was to use the pretext of Kanu’s freedom protest to draw attention away from the fifth anniversary of the ENDSARS massacre and make himself the cynosure of all eyes and talk of the town.
Furthermore, what transpired at the protest in Abuja yesterday has somewhat lent credence to the opinion of those who are of the view that Sowore is not in the whole free Kanu campaign because he genuinely cares about the man but because he craves and covets some cult-like following and adoration that he thinks he can only get by being part of something that means a lot to the Igbos. During the protest, Kanu’s lawyer, Mike Ejiofor and his brother were arrested while Sowore somehow escaped the melee that broke out when the police fired shots and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Also when he went to the police station where Kanu’s lawyer and brother were being detained yesterday, he made a video to show that he was with them. He later left the police without them, further fueling suspicion about his real goals in the whole saga.
While there is a strong plausibility in the assertion of those who see Sowore as an opportunist who is only using Kanu to achieve an ulterior motive, we must also give him the benefit of the doubt. But while at it, we must ask some hard and pertinent questions because for someone who has at best been an indifferent bystander and at worst a silent participant in the ordeal of Kanu and the persecution of Igbos, he needs to answer questions as to why he has all of a sudden become the biggest proponent for equal and fair treatment of the marginalised people.
The first question to ask is Why now? Kanu has been incarcerated for over years now. If Sowore had begun his push for Kanu’s release, say two or three years ago, he wouldn’t have drawn the kind of suspicion and distrust that characterised his agitation today. Also, if Sowore’s goal is indeed to ensure the freedom of Kanu, there are more diplomatic, tactful and reasonable ways to do it instead of the route he has chosen, which has proven to be counterproductive and worsen an already distressful situation for everyone involved on the side of Kanu. Why did he not push for the same political solution used for Sunday Igboho, who was in a similar situation as Kanu?
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