The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor, said on Thursday the people of South-East preferred a political solution to the travails of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
President Muhammadu Buhari had about two weeks asked the activist to defend himself on the alleged treasonable felony charges hanging on his neck at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The President’s remark ended all hopes of a quick release of the IPOB leader who was brought back to the country on June 27 last year.
Obiozor, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, urged President Buhari to use his exclusive right of the prerogative of mercy to solve Kanu’s matter and douse the tension in the South-East.
He said: “We in Igboland have made it categorically clear that we prefer a political solution to Kanu’s case — a dialogue to end it. It is clear to the rest of Nigeria.
“And we have repeatedly said that the Igbo nation is not at war with Nigeria. Therefore, what is happening can be handled. I will use the words ‘political solution’ as the answer. Dialogue is the answer.
Just as in other sections of Nigeria, in some areas of Nigeria, people who behaved like Kanu have been forgiven, given amnesty and integrated into the country.
“So, what we are asking is for Mr. President to use the prerogative of mercy to look into the situation in the South-East.
“Prerogative of mercy is exclusively the right of the President. We are not talking about the court. We are not talking about the use of force. The use of force is dangerous for everybody and it will definitely not solve the problem. It will make it worse.
“We are not new to Nigeria’s politics. We saw in South-South — Niger Delta Avengers, MEND — and the rest, even the present Boko Haram, those who said they are repenting, how they are being rehabilitated.
The problem of federalism is that the sensitivity is very much on the surface. If you don’t do one as you have done others, you will have a problem.”
