Nnamdi Kanu’s Arrest Has Turned To An International Embarrassment For Nigeria.

It all started as a joke but now it has turned to an international embarrassment for Nigeria. The continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigerian government appears to be a script that will end badly.

If one was to retrace the events that led up to this current agitation, one might begin to understand the dilemma the FG has gotten itself into. Let us start with the question – who is Nnamdi Kanu?
Almost everyone knows or at least has heard about Nnamdi Kanu. However, before this time, who knew about him? Very few people. He has however now been elevated to the position of the likes of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. According to him, he is simply fighting for the freedom of his people.
How The Government Goofed.

Nnamdi Kanu operated an online radio platform that few people knew of. He added an analog radio station that operated in the South-east of the country and still not much people knew of him. How did his radio station and struggle get so popular? The federal government gave him free advert.
It was the federal government that made most people know there was such a thing as Radio Biafra. The announcement that they had jammed the radio station and arrested its operators brought the news into the main stream. It got worse when this news turned out to be false as the station was (and is) thriving.

The followership of Radio Biafra grew from this point on as more people identified with his views. Everything however plateaued and it all appeared to have hit its ceiling. People were calling him names, saying he was inciting people from the comfort of his abode in the UK. The gentleman decided to take the struggle to the next level by coming home.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Nnamdi kanu is visiting Nigeria. He had visited Nigeria earlier in the year to mark Biafra day. There was a rally in the South-east where he spoke. This is not common knowledge because many did not know who he was much less the rally that took place.

The FG continued to dig its own grave deeper by taking a thoughtless action. Kanu announced that he would be coming to Nigeria. This alone should have caused a more intelligent person to pause and think. Why will this young man announce his coming to Nigeria? He came as he promised and was immediately arrested by the DSS in his Hotel room in Lagos.

What has happened since his arrest will testify to the wisdom or foolishness of the FG in arresting him. Someone asked an interesting question. He asked, what is the worst that would have happened if Nnamdi Kanu had not been arrested? Answer: likely a few rallies here and there organized by him. The case today is totally different. Thousands are protesting daily around the world.
 

Just as IPOB announced upon the arrest of their leader, the FG really played into their hands. Nnamdi Kanu appears to be acting out a prepared script. Someone who also believes in Biafra got in touch with Kanu while he was still in the UK and he told Kanu that though he believed in the struggle just as much as him (kanu), he said he did not like kanu’s modus operandi. He told Kanu that he believed he could be more civil and refined in his speeches.
Kanu’s answer was both insightful and indicative of the planning and intelligence that had gone into this struggle. Kanu explained to him that their approach was very deliberate. All the abuse and cursing was simply a tool to gain attention. He used an analogy to explain his strategy.

Two persons were suffering headache of the same severity and went to the hospital. One went in quietly and asked for a doctor while the other came in shouting and calling for help saying his head was killing him, he asked, which of these two will be attended to first? His answer shows that he was playing a psychological game.

So far, his plan has worked perfectly. His arrested has ignited the fire in millions more and pushed thousands into the street to protest his continued arrest. There is next stage which will be determined by whatever action the FG takes next. The protests which have hitherto been surprisingly peaceful is sure to turn violent if anything happens to Kanu.
 
The FG must pick up its brains and thinking cap wherever it left it and begin to think at the same level of intelligence as their captive. Someone said, you do not fight an ideological revolution with force. You fight it with superior argument.
 

It is time for the FG to swallow its pride, release this gentleman and salvage whatever they can from this debacle. The longer it lasts, the more the struggle will get entrenched and the more the unity of Nigeria (if there was ever such a thing) will be severely threatened. It is now very clear that Nigeria must be restructured if this struggle will end.