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Abia Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said his government, the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and the entire South East were following the ongoing trial of Nnamdi Kanu to ensure he gets a fair trial.
Ikpeazu, in an interview with Daily Sun, also said if the agitations of IPOB represent the hope of the region that the South East cannot go against it. “I want to say for the first time since this agitation started, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, which is the leading pan-Igbo socio-cultural group has expressed serious interest in making sure Kanu gets fair judgment and a powerful delegation, led by Chukwuemeka Ezeife, was sent there and they are monitoring the trials. Our government is also monitoring and in contact with the family and other concerned institutions. What it means is that collectively, all of us are interested that Kanu will be given a fair trial and if the interest of IPOB represents the interest of the masses of this geo-political zone, it means we must not do anything that will seem as if we want to cut our nose to spite our face.
“What it means is that collectively, all of us are interested that Kanu will be given a fair trial and if the interest of IPOB represents the interest of the masses of this geopolitical zone, it means we must not do anything that will seem as if we want to cut our nose to spite our face.”
He urged the group to shelve the sit-at-home scheduled for today and allow the people to go about their daily bread, even as he said a sit-at-home will disrupt the ongoing National Examination Council.
“What will be the logic behind asking our children not to go to school? On Monday, they will be writing mathematics in the National Examination Council (NECO), it is a national examination. What will be the logic behind asking our people not to go out to eke out a living? We are already crying that we are marginalised and also pressed hard by the consequences of COVID-19 and EndSARS protests. If our children and grandchildren become illiterates in the future, have we hurt our perceived enemies in anywhere?”
He said the South East must be creative and fashion better ways to fight their perceived enemies without hurting the interests of their people.
“Let me say this on record; if we have enemies anywhere, I believe there is a way to address them. If we have people waging war against us, and then our response is that we will not go to market and not to go to school, whatever they are doing to ensure that we behave in that way, they will do it. So this will be counter-productive against Kanu because withholding him can affect our economic base and make us illiterates. I think it is not the right thing to do. It should not even be contemplation. Therefore, I will urge everybody to go about their normal business”, he said.
