Prince Emmanuel Kanu a.k.a Fine Boy is the younger brother of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Like the elder brother and director of Radio Biafra, Emmanuel also has activism smattering his veins like waters of Victoria Falls. In this interview with OKEY SAMPSON, he spoke on various issues.

Some groups are saying if the Igbo are given the presidency in 2019, they will do away with the agitation for Biafra. What is the position of IPOB on this? 

We don’t believe in Igbo presidency because the structure of Nigeria is completely false. We don’t believe in that, what we want is Biafra and nothing less. IPOB is also not interested in restructuring the country as being canvassed by some people, whether it is regional or state restructuring. We don’t believe in that because the foundation of Nigeria is faulty, so, what we want is Biafra, we are Biafrans. What we want is referendum.

Someone may want to know, after referendum, what next?

After referendum and we agree that we want to have our own separate state, of course we start the normal documentation, the legal processes will commence and the South East people will be free.

Your elder brother, Nnamdi Kanu’s case will be coming up next month and there is this apprehension in some quarters that the bail granted him might be revoked by the court. How do you react to this?

Any attempt to arrest Nnmadi Kanu again will spell doom in this hopeless nation; any arrest, within 24 hours, there will be nothing like Nigeria again. You will arrest Nnamdi Kanu, why would they not arrest Arewa youths, they should have to arrest the Arewa youths first who had asked Biafrans in their place to leave. Why have they not arrested them? Are you telling me that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) or the Director General of DSS does not know them or where they live?  They have to stop all these rubbish. Any attempt to get Nnamdi rearrested will spell doom and they will regret it within 24 hours; the whole place will be paralysed, we are waiting for them.

The Turkish Government we were told sent an emissary to leaders of IPOB, what was the outcome of the meeting?

It was a very good one by the Turkish Government. Of course, they understand our plight and they say they are willing to work with us in every area they can; that whatever we want to stand as a nation, they will give it to us and we welcome that gesture. It is not only the Turkish Government, a lot of people are coming from all over the world and we are having constructive discussions. By the day, we are strengthening our base and that is what is happening.

There is no standing army in Biafra land today so to say, and if you gain independence instantly for instance, how are you going to maintain external and internal security of the new nation?

We have people we call volunteers and we also have our brothers in the Nigerian army who have retired forcefully; in fact, they did not retire, they left the army voluntarily and came back waiting for the day Biafra will gain independence so that they come together and protect the land.

What’s your reaction to the referendum that Arewa youths have called for in the South East?

It is a welcome development; it is in fact in line with what Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) is saying, what we want is a referendum because without referendum, there will be no election in Anambra State and the entire Biafra land; that is our stand. Quote me; this will be achieved not through arms, but through civil disobedience.

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Are you entertaining fears that this agitation could in near future be hijacked by politicians from the South East?

They don’t have that power, they have lost complete credibility. They have lost the respect of the people, they don’t have that power I’m repeating, and nobody can do it.

When Arewa youths gave the Igbo in the North quit notice, you quickly advised them to come back home. Some of them may not heed to that call because of their investment in the North put at about N44 trillion, how do you react to this?

I don’t want to be very rude to my brothers, but if they want us to do mass burial for them there, we will do it. The warning by the Arewa youths is enough for them to come back home. The truth remains that our people do not listen to their leaders. The late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu advised Ndigbo to come home and invest. Nnewi people were the ones that listened to him, go to Nnewi today and see what is happening. The Northern people have warned them to go back to where they belong and establish your businesses there, so, what are they still doing in the North? So, if they want, let them sacrifice their businesses, they have been warned. So, it is up to them to take their decision. They should come back and contribute in the development of their place. Biafra land is their place; they cannot run away from it. It is shameful that someone will leave his home and go to the North to develop that place, it is a shame.

Arewa youths in their latest statement accused the Igbo of not allowing their people to do thriving businesses in the South East while on the other hand, the Igbo are involved in booming businesses in the North. Could this be true?

It is not true; they are saying all these to justify their action. But there is a reality the North doesn’t want to face, and that is should the Igbo leave that place, it will turn to desert. They bring their cows, goats, water melon, onions and what have you to the South East and nobody disturbs them. What are they talking about, the Igbo do good businesses in the North and also contribute to its development by paying their taxes and building good houses there. Now tell me, how many Northerners doing business in the South East pay tax here not to talk of building houses here. So, I am calling on all Southerners not only Biafrans, to leave North and come back home.

In the case of Biafra gaining independence, what will be the fate of their neighbours, the Niger Delta people? 

When people say Niger Delta, it is laughable because to me, before the white man came, there was nothing like Niger Delta and that region came into being not just too long ago. Don’t make any mistake; Abia State is also part of that Niger Delta because Abia is an oil producing state as well. So, for us, you cannot tell somebody who comes from Ikwerre that he is not a Biafran. I have said this before, if you are not Biafra, you are Arewa or Oduduwa. So, Niger Delta as it is called today, is for only one particular purpose, just divide and rule. Niger Delta never existed long before now, we were known as Easterners and that is what we are. Just like when they call Calabar, before now it is Kalabari, that place was changed to Calabar. Then Rivers State as it is long before now was called Ibuocha. Even those from Ikwerre, they come from Nkwerre; some of them from Bayelsa come from Bende here. Look at Asari Dokubo, trace his history, he is from Bende. Look at Uzodinma and his title name, Ediabali of Kalabari , look at King Jaja of Opobo who came from Nkwerre area of Imo State, so, you can see that we are all one people. People don’t know all these things because they don’t want our history to be taught in schools; that is why it is taking us time to educate our people.

Going by the quit notice by the Arewa youths, does it mean that citizens from country ‘A’ cannot live in country ‘B’ assuming Biafra is achieved?

Well, that is the mentality they have. My own take is that if the Igbo living in the North want to stay there and nationalise, that is for them but whatever that comes out of it, will concern them only. My happiness is that they have been warned to come back home. But the home truth remains that the North will not be safe for them, but if they come back home which belongs to them, they will have nothing to worry about, nobody will go after them, nobody will kill them. The wise thing is for them to come back home.

What’s your advice to the Igbo? 

My advice is that they should come back home and build their place. Those living in the North should not despair over the Arewa quit notice, rather it should serve as a lesson to all Biafrans that there is no place like home. They should return and develop their place and those who are nursing the idea of leaving Biafra land to invest in other areas, should have a rethink. Ours is ours, mine is mine, this is our own place, not the North where they are being killed. In the North, you cannot go out comfortably and preach, either that they will kill you or they chop off your two hands. And they kill our people from time to time and nothing happens, so it is better they come back home since the owners of the North had asked them to leave. Just like Israel, when they were scattered all over the world, they were killed like flies, but when they realized they were Jews and they had a country, they returned home and today nobody can kill them any more. The Igbo should come back where they belong and develop the place, simple.