Momodu contended that the Biafra movement stems from years of marginalisation and deprivation of the Igbo people.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Ovation Magazine Publisher and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has advocated for a political settlement of the treason charges brought against the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, warning that silencing him won’t stop insecurity in the Southeast.
Momodu shared his advice on Tuesday in a message on X (formerly Twitter), which included one of the IPOB leader’s past broadcasts.
In the now-trending post, Momodu reflected on Kanu’s prolonged detention and contended that IPOB was born out of years of marginalisation and deprivation suffered by the Igbo people.
Speaking via his verified social media page, the veteran journalist quoted Kanu: “Shortly before his abduction from Kenya by the Nigerian government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made this thought-provoking broadcast in which he philosophised about the reasons he and his supporters became radicalised.”
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Momodu went on to fault those who condemn Kanu without considering the historical and political circumstances behind the renewed agitation. He stated: “I have taken time to listen to his critics and discovered most of them only jumped to conclusions without proper analysis of why agitation for Biafra became reignited, attractive, and fanciful after the pogrom that wasted millions of lives and destroyed unimaginable properties in the 1960s and ’70s.”
He further asserted that the “continuing marginalisation of the Igbo… rekindled the Biafra sentiment.”
Momodu cautioned that efforts to silence or eliminate Kanu would do nothing to resolve the ongoing crisis. He argued, “Attempts by enemies of Kanu, including his own kinsmen, to exterminate him will never solve the problem.”
He also emphasised that the Igbo struggle required “serious political reconfiguration” rather than repression.
Momodu concluded: “I will never support violence. But any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South East very busy, with productive engagements, instead of this rabid hatred.”
