By Emma Ogbuehi
The threat by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra to declare a week-long shutdown of the south east, if its leader, Nnamdi Kanu is not released unconditionally on or before November 4, has put political parties in Anambra in a fix.
IPOB raised the fear of a possible lockdown in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful following the adjournment of Kanu’s court case to November 10th by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
It read: “Following the adjournment of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s court case to 10th of November 2021, by the Federal High Court Abuja, we the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafra land from 5th of November to 10th of November except Sunday, November 7th, a day our people worship the Almighty God, Chukwu Okike Abiama, if the Nigeria Government fails to release our leader unconditionally before 4th of November 2021.
“Our leader, onyendu Mazi Nnamdi must be released unconditionally on or before November 4, 2021 because he has not committed any offense known to any law.
“Failure to release our leader onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on or before November 4, 2021, our one week sit-at-home begins on November 5, 2021 till November 10”.
If the organisation makes good its threats, the Anambra governorship election, slated for November 6, may be affected, as voters may not come out to cast their votes for fear of their lives.
Arrangements are already at advanced stage for the poll. To underscore the level of preparedness by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Commissioner for Information, Festus Okoye, had in a recent television interview, remarked that postponing the election is not an option.
Though the major political parties in the state, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Young Progressives Party (YPP), are not speaking out on the impacts of the IPOB threats on their preparations, our correspondent gathered that they are seriously bothered with the uncertain development. An official of the media office of the APGA candidate, Charles Soludo, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the threat has in a way affected the zeal with which their flag bearer is moving. Though insisting that the APGA candidate is the man to beat in the election, he expressed fears that the threat may result to unintended consequences.
Similar fear resonates in PDP and ZLP. The main fear in PDP is that the federal government may exploit the fear already in the system to manipulate the poll in favour of the APC candidate. Emma Okoye, a PDP member who spoke with our reporter however maintained that “the PDP is ready for the election and prepared to deal with any untoward action to favour any person or party, unduly. Our candidate, Val Ozigbo, is the people’s choice. We will resist any move to manipulate the poll against him”. According to him, the party is not taking any chance on the matter.
In ZLP, the fear looms large on the threat providing room for manipulation of the poll. Members however argued that the ZLP candidate, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, remains the people’s choice. In the APC camp, the prayer is for IPOB to rescind the threat for the party’s candidate, Andy Uba, to have a sweet victory on November 6.
Sit-at-home threats by IPOB, are usually treated with seriousness in the south east, by compliance or compulsion. Each Monday the order is observed, the economy of the region is shut and movements halted. Enforcers of the directive are also known to be brutal in going about its compliance.
