From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Chief Ikechukwu Ndubueze is the president general of Afara Ukwu, the community of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In this interview, he talked about how the community is feeling over the arrest of their son, insisting he did nothing wrong.
He equally spoke about the community’s plan of sending a delegation to the Federal Government to seek the release of the IPOB leader, who he said was not Nigeria’s problem. Excerpts:
As the President General, could you tell us the mood in Afara Ukwu following the arrest of your son, Nnamdi Kanu?
There is no way the community will feel well or okay over the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu; in any case, he is our son. We are still confused about the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu. Number one, they said he was extradited from the United Kingdom, which that country later denied, they have said Singapore, they have said Brazil, they have said Guinea, and also they have said Central Africa. The question is, in all these, were due process followed? These are some of the things we are confused about. In anything, Afara Ukwu is a very peaceful place that has co-habited peacefully with heads of various government agencies. For instance, from Nnamdi Kanu’s house to the official residence of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 9, is about three poles. The house of Police Commissioner of Abia Command is about three poles as well from Nnamdi Kanu’s house. The quarters of the Controller of Immigration in Abia is about five poles; the one of Prisons, is about five poles as well and the Abia Government House as about 10 poles. Even the Federal High Court Judge, the quarters is about four poles to Nnamdi Kanu’s house and all of them can attest how peaceful our community is. Come to think of how the Igbo are being treated, how they are being marginalized in Nigeria, you will agree with me that Nnamdi is making a point. If he is not making a point, he would not have had followers. What the Federal Government should do is to get people together and talk over some of these things. Now, there is no peace all over Nigeria, banditry, kidnapping and the menace of the Fulani herdsmen and the only problem the Nigerian government think it has is Nnamdi Kanu who had only his mouth, which made them to arrest him before and made him popular. The same thing is happening again; I don’t know why they think they will handle his matter this way, I don’t know, the community is still confused. The community will meet soon and thereafter, they will be able to know what to say. Nnamdi Kanu definitely is not the problem of Nigeria.
If after meeting the community finds out due process was not followed in their son’s arrest, will they take legal action against the Federal Government?
Well, as at now, the community inasmuch as I may not know what will be the outcome of the meeting, but I know that the community would like to use peaceful means to look for solution to everything that is happening. I believe the community will go for peaceful means because they have been a peaceful people all these while and they will not change now.
Going to court is also a peaceful way, will the community contemplate that?
Like as I said earlier, I wouldn’t know for that as at now, the most important thing is that you will go to court when you have exhausted all other peaceful means, you can then resort to court. There are some other means which I believe the community can use, like sending delegations to talk with government one on one and all that. It is when all of these fail, that we can now think of heading for court. For now, no decision has been taken until we meet.
Nnamdi Kanu, your son, you said remains a peaceful man just like your community. But the Federal Government is linking him up with the insecurity in the Southeast through ESN. What do you have to say?
Well, I can’t say anything about that because many a times, it’s just like during the #EndSARS protest, it was a peaceful movement until it was hijacked by some people. What is happening in Imo State and all that, they know it is political, the Imo State government knows that it is political.
This is barely one year Afara Ukwu community buried its monarch, Eze I. Okwu Kanu and the wife who happened to be Nnamdi Kanu’s parents and now, this, how do you feel as a person?
It’s not about me as a person. Like I said earlier, the community as a whole is not happy and that is that. Every other related issue will be after the meeting.
Will you be sending the delegation to the Federal Government?
We will start from the state, then we have our representative at the National Assembly, we have the minister there, we will look at all these avenues for a way out.
It has been rumoured that a woman was used as a trap to get Nnamdi Kanu. As a person you’ve known for long, do you see him falling into such a trap?
That’s blatant lie because they’ve not been able to say this is where they arrested this man. When you have called so many countries and some of them denied, so, how do we believe the story of using a woman to lure him? That one is a cock and bull story.
Afara Ukwu community has no traditional ruler as we speak; people were thinking you were looking the way of Nnamdi Kanu to replace his late father. Now that he is arrested, what will the community do?
We are at a process, it’s barely a year our late monarch passed on, and replacing him is not a thing you will rush. The community that will produce the next traditional ruler has been written by the development union to start preparing, so, it’s not a thing anybody would rush. It’s not true the community was contemplating making Nnamdi Kanu the traditional ruler of Afara Ukwu, it has never happened, nobody has ever thought of that. Even he himself knows the issue of the community’s Eze is not in any way close to their family again. It is not hereditary, it is rotational, so, Nnamdi Kanu knows about it.