If Nnamdi Kanu did not see this day coming, then he was hopelessly naive. I’m sure he knew it was just a matter of time before he was arrested. So, I will not judge or blame Kanu for being arrested. Rather, I will judge and blame him on the basis of the succession plan he put in place in the event of his arrest. A revolution is an idea, and a revolutionary is a conscientious idealist. You can’t arrest an idea nor imprison a conscience.
So, Kanu’s arrest is not a personal failure. He, in time, will be free. What will be a personal disaster, one Kanu cannot bounce back from, is a failure to have a viable and sustainable succession plan in place. Many of us who had taken serious exceptions to Nnamdi Kanu did that, not because we didn’t believe in his cause. No, we believed in his fight for justice and equity for the Igbo. We were simply opposed to his style and strategy.
Kanu lacks discipline. It is all about him. It is his way or warfare. He sees himself as a god among the Igbo. He has no respect for anybody or anything. He demands total submission and uncritical worship. He is intolerant of alternative viewpoints. He sees himself as an intellectual with the monopoly of Igbo philosophy. Problem with that is that he is not. Not even close.
In his quest to become the king, deity, and supreme leader of the Igbo, something that has no historical reference, Kanu alienated wise counsel, heard only his own voice, and smelled the whiff of his own scent. Those who balked him, in authentic Igbo republican egalitarianism, were showered with invective and puerile threats.
Nnamdi Kanu mocked, ridiculed, and questioned the collective paternity of ndị Igbo from Enugu state because C.C Onoh’s state was not in total lockdown as Kanu had commandeered. Kanu can be that petty. He burnt way too many bridges. But those are personal foibles. Kanu’s cause and courage were never in doubt. His cause was sound, but his strategy was flawed.
Nnamdi Kanu’s cause must continue. A new leader must emerge. It remains to be seen whether Kanu’s personal foibles carried over to his vision for the struggle. If a new leader does not emerge, consistent with a succession arrangement, then, Kanu has failed. Ndị Igbo do not rise or fall at the foot of any one man. We are ardents of ideas, but never adherents of ideologues. Justice for the Igbo is a matter of existential exigency, not a point of personal privilege. So, may the next Nnamdi Kanu please stand up.
