24/10/2025
A WAKE UP CALL TO NDI IGBO BEFORE IT BECOMES TOO LATE.
KANU: WHY I HARDLY REPLY COMMENTS IN SOME POSTS!
Firstly, I don't claim to be more intelligent than anybody. I only stand by what I know to be true. What I see as the truth might been seen as the opposite by others. On this I don't engage in serious argument. I simply walk away most times unless in very few cases or when insults are involved.
If you must be a good judge, you don't base your judgements on the branches of cases but on its roots and the abilities to do this is very difficult. Most students of Nigeria history will remember what happened long ago during the Ogoni movement led by Kenule Saro-Wiwa in his heydays as the president of the Movement For The Survival Of Ogoni People (MOSOP). Saro-Wiwa got angry because of the way Ogoni people and lands were being exploited as oil were massively explored from their lands with no benefits being given to the land in return excepting environmental pollution and degradation. Their rivers got polluted by oil activities leading to the extermination of all the aquatic life, a process that ended up denying Ogoni people from their natural profession of fishing, an action that caused Ogoni people lots of poverty and pains. For this reasons, Saro-Wiwa through the formation of MOSOP asked that the then military government do a clean up of Ogoni land and also employ Ogoni people who are qualified as staff in Shell Oil Company exploring oil in Ogoni land. But rather than agree to his terms, the military government empowered some Ogoni people to rather work against Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP telling the world that all was well with Ogoni land. This way there was a big problem as Ogoni was now at war with themselves instead of joining together against the government for Ogoni survival and liberation. And the fallout was the gruesome killings of the Ogoni people empowered by the government against their people by MOSOP led by Saro-Wiwa, though Saro-Wiwa was never directly involved in their killings but so long his group killed them, he was said to be involved. I remembered that Chief Gani Fawehinmin handled the case in defense of Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP at the period free of charge though, the tribunal set up in respect of the case frustrated Gani from the case as he saw that the tribunal was working judgements to trial instead of trial to judgements. Las las, the tribunal sentenced Saro-Wiwa and his MOSOP leaders to death. Now a government who couldn't do a cleanup in Ogoni land has enough money to pay some Ogoni people to disrupt the activities of those who wants better life for Ogoni people and lands.
You might not know that Saro-Wiwa was an extraordinary intelligent man; an environmental activist, writer/author of many books amongst which was FOREST OF FLOWERS, a book I was privileged to read. Military government under Abacha ended up giving go ahead to the ex*****on of Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP leaders without giving options for appeals and against international communities outcry, a characteristic synonymous with military government. And the ex*****on was carried out I think in the evening. That was how Saro-Wiwa who wanted a better life for his people was executed with nothing done to alleviate the plights of Ogoni his land and people. To make it worse, he was roped into a murder case by government arrangements.
Happenings in the southeast today is the exact replica of what took place in Ogoni land back then
The analysis above is a replica of the Nnamdi Kanu case in the southeast today. KANU and his IPOB represent Ken Saro-Wiwa and MOSOP while those who had issues with IPOB and Kanu are like the government empowered saboteurs in Ogoni crying daily that Kanu did this or that. But, they will never tell you that they are working against the interests of their lands.
Kanu, like Saro-Wiwa is never in this struggle for self benefits and I don't think he has past criminal records before starting this movement. So, his crime is all about fighting for his people, a process that has got lots of casualties mainly from the saboteurs. Sadly today, many are looking at the Igbo killed in the struggle more than the original ideas of the liberation. But I must say one thing here: I am never in the support of the killings by IPOB but the killings was never the original motives of the struggle. They were the mere branches of the struggle and never the roots.
Fast forward, long after Saro-Wiwa was killed, the same government under civilian rules in Nigeria discovered that Saro-Wiwa and his co MOSOP leaders were wrongly murdered; granted them pardon, and were even given national honour making them heroes. Today, Ogoni land is being given lots of attentions by government as the environmental pollution of the land is being handled now and a university visited there too, a process Saro-Wiwa asked for and was being killed for. I can see same happening with Kanu again. A reason I see Kanu as a hero.
Thomas Aigbogun Johnson Asushei Sanni
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