From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The recent reorganisation of Onitsha-Ado Vigilante Service in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State, has pitched Anambra Elders against leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
A tweet from Kanu’s verified Tweeter handle, on March 21, 2021, had alleged that the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, revived the vigilance group on the prompting of the Presidency and the Miyetti Allah, to counter the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in the commercial city and its environs.
Reacting to the development, a group under the auspices of Anambra Elders for Equity and Justice has cautioned the IPOB leader. Stating their position in a letter written, on behalf of their behalf, by Ejiofor Okafor, the group condemned the threat from Kanu, warning that Anambra people would hold him responsible should anything untoward happen to the monarch.
But the IPOB leader, yesterday, denied the insinuations making rounds that he insulted the Obi of Onitsha, insisting that he has great respect for the monarch and will continue to hold him in high esteem.
According to the elders, Kanu had warned Igwe Achebe not to “allow his office to be used by Fulani Janjaweed terrorists in Aso Rock to foment trouble for ESN around Onitsha and environs; otherwise it will end in tears for him and his local Miyetti Allah-funded vigilante named Onitsha Ado.” They argued that by so doing, he issued a direct threat to “Agbogidi and also the Onitsha Vigilante Service.”
The elders noted that the vigilance group in Onitsha was formed 19 years ago, long before Kanu contemplated his IPOB and ESN, adding that they were worried why he singled out the revered monarch for attack when every community in Igboland operated a vigilance group or security outfit. They also accused Kanu of trying to stifle alternative voices in the region.
The elders then stated in the letter: “We must warn you to desist from further denigrating Agbogidi for we are at a loss understanding why you’re intent on destroying his laudable attempts at safeguarding his domain and we’ll have you know that it is not a worthy Igbo trait to be seen insulting your elders, let alone someone as high and revered as the Obi of Onitsha who is old enough to be your grandfather.
“We know you currently brim with supreme arrogance and an incredible Messiah complex but like that child who pointedly and rightly raised the issue of the king’s nakedness whilst others applauded his non-existent resplendent robes, you need to be told that if you have any modicum of honesty, you should by now use same Twitter platform to tender an unreserved apology to the Obi of Onitsha and his people for that baseless and unwarranted attack.”
However, a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, insisted that Kanu’s comment merely advised the monarch and the security outfit against being used by the Fulani and the powers-that-be to fight the ESN.
“IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, never insulted the Obi of Onitsha as being mischievously misconstrued by these dubious characters and traitors in our land,” he stated. “They only want to twist facts for a piece of bread and crumbs from the Caliphate. The fact remains that our Leader, Kanu, has enormous respect for the Obi of Onitsha and holds him in high esteem.
“Our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, supports every genuine security outfit set up to protect our land and forest and to secure our mothers, wives and sisters from the incessant rapes and killings by Fulani terrorists. But any security outfit set up to attack ESN cannot be allowed to exist.”