The Social Demoratic Party candidate in the 2019 Imo State governorship election, Dr Collins Osuagwu, has carpeted South East leaders on their silence over the continued detention of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Osuagwu, who stated this on Monday, said a time like this when an Islamic cleric and many northerners had become spokespersons for bandits, Igbo leaders needed to be equally heard as their region’s voice.
Osuagwu, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Zeus Marina Oil and Gas LTD, said the failure to speak up on the matter portrayed the Igbo as lacking the courage to defend their own.
The Germany-based oil magnate said that “persons like Sheikh Ahmad Gumi had repeatedly canvassed amnesty for bandits who he described as aggrieved against the society and the Yorubas have continued to rally round support for their own Sunday Igboho, so it is high time our illustrious sons and daughters speak for Kanu.”
Osuagwu, who said he was not an IPOB member, called for unity of purpose among the Igbo even as he urged every Igbo man to be their brothers’ keeper and continue praying for Kanu.
“Almost everything Kanu said earlier is happening today. Government’s accusation against him can’t be compared with Boko Haram, bandits, Fulani herdsmen havoc. Those of our brothers attacking and fighting him before his extradition should also speak up now that the people of the north are calling on federal government to give amnesty to killer herdsmen, who have raped, killed and rendered families homeless.
“It is disheartening that we are busy fighting our own as most Igbo leaders are ready to sell off everything to get another political appointment.”
Osuagwu said the leadership vacuum, discontent and disconnect created by “selfish leaders in Igboland resulted in disillusionment among the common people in the region otherwise the youthful energy that went into pushing for the region’s exit from the rest of Nigeria would have been put into good regional/national use.”
He pointed out that though Kanu’s tactics may not have been the most encouraging but his cause is a legitimate one within guaranteed human rights documents and all extant public international law instruments and protocols; even those to which Nigeria is a signatory or an undersigned.
He condemned attacks on security agencies and their stations as was seen in the suth east.
Speaking on 2023 election, Osuagwu, who blamed corrupt politicians on his performance in the 2019 gubernatorial election in Imo State, said people must not repeat mistakes they made in 2019 as they inch closer to another defining election.
“I’m calling on the people of Imo to vote for a young and competent governor come 2023 because some of these corrupt politicians are already warming up for another round of election cycles that will never provide any tangible development or appreciable progress for our state,” he said. ##
