Politics
NEWS of the capture, in a foreign country, of Nnamdi Kanu, and his secret return to Nigeria, reminded me of two things. One was the 1984 attempt, by the Buhari military govt, to kidnap Alhaji Umaru Dikko, a fierce critic of the govt, and transport him from London to Nigeria, for ‘trial.’ Dikko had been captured on the streets of London, drugged, crated and delivered to the Nigeria Airways plane that had been waiting at Stansted Airport for the cargo.
The unprecedented attempt failed; the British Police was alerted, just in time, to prevent take off of the plane. A niggling thought: has the General’s team finally succeeded in landing a human cargo?
The second was the joke, joke?, of the big American lawyer who had trained his son through the best, and most expensive, law schools, to become a lawyer. The son graduated in flying colours, and soon joined his father’s firm.
It happened, one one of those days Dad wasn’t in court, son took charge, and had what he considered a very successful day. In some excitement, he went back to the office, and announced to his dad; ‘Dad, you know that Jone’s case, the one we have been prosecuting for the last 20 years, I had it concluded today, and we won!’
‘OMG,’ screamed his dad. ‘Son do you realise what you have done? You have killed our firm’s cash cow. It was that lawsuit that paid your fees through college, and without it, this firm is going to be a lot less buoyant!’
So, now that they have got Nnamdi Kanu, what next?
Are they rejoicing?
There are quite a few reasons why the drumbeat of celebration may be muted in the General’s quarters.
- Ostensibly, Nnamdi Kanu and his activities were the reason General Buhari sent the Nigerian armed forces into the South East, to teach them a lesson, in the language of of the Nigerian Civil war. Citizens in this part of Nigeria, apparently, are a people whose uppity, arrogant ways, awaken the basest instincts of hatred in the General. They would need to be dealt with, Kanu or no Kanu. Now that the very appealing Kanu reason is no longer available, being in custody, the General will be hard- pressed to find another excuse, plausible enough, for sustaining the present siege.
- Now that the whole world knows that they have got him, the govt will have to put Kanu on trial, with all the attendant risks that will entail. No matter how many charges they may bring against him, there is a certainty that Kanu too will have his day in court; and who knows what he knows; what secrets he may reveal?
- If they try to give him The Dasuki Treatment, it may not work in this case. It may be recalled that when confronted by similar risks in the Dasuki ( former National Security Adviser’s) case, the Govt went all out to frustrate his trial, through legal, and mainly illegal means. They kept him in detention for several years in defiance of court orders granting him bail, at the same time refusing to bring him to court, whenever proceedings got to a point where he might have been compelled to give evidence. They eventually released him, and since then his trial has not proceeded.
The Nnamdi Kanu case will certainly be different. First, because there are issues about how he was brought to Nigeria, – (was he arrested and legally repatriated? Was he kidnapped in a foreign country?), – international attention will be focused on his trial, with all the problems that can create for the Govt.
Then there are the many problems which the seemingly well-organized IPOB in diaspora can create across many countries. They have already demonstrated their capacity for organizing protests. They will make sure Nnamdi Kanu is not forgotten in detention
There are, probably other potential complications that will emerge with time. What it looks like, is that the gallant security-men who brought Nnamdi Kanu back, may have brought home the proverbial ant-infested firewood; the lizards will surely come to visit. In the circumstances, triumphal celebrations for now, may be somewhat premature.
July 01, 2021 @ 16:50 GMT|
Tags: Now that they have got Nnamdi Kanu so what?
