In the previously peaceful horizons of the South East, a dark storm stirs. Insecurity, in the form of a dark shadow, lies low over the peopl...
In the previously peaceful horizons of the South East, a dark storm stirs. Insecurity, in the form of a dark shadow, lies low over the people, taking lives, closing businesses, and planting fear in places where previously there was hope. In the middle of the chaos, it is natural to wonder: Where are the Biafran politicians? What role—if any—are they playing in tackling the bloody insecurity sweeping over the land and in pursuing the long-awaited freedom of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the symbolic IPOB leader?
The political elites of the Southeast have been caught in between for months—indeed years—now: between a hungry and aggrieved population and a centralized federating power that expects to be heard from them. Many of them, however, have chosen to tread a calculated silence punctuated with occasional empty words that neither speak to the cause of insecurity nor effectively campaign for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Insecurity: A Tragedy in Slow Motion
Towns have been converted to ghost villages, and roads previously linking families now contain bushes and marketplaces, the backbone of Igbo trade, abandoned in fear. Bandits, unidentified armed men, and state security agents engage in a bewildering war where civilians stand to lose the most.
But instead of creating a unified regional security framework, most South East politicians appear more interested in personal survival and elections. They attend forums and conferences, issue press statements, and talk of "strategic engagement," yet the on-the-ground realities show a vacuum in leadership.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu: The Elephant in the Room
Meanwhile, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's situation is an open sore. His ongoing detention in disobedience to a court order to release him indicates a chilling deterioration of the judiciary's and civil liberties' independence. But with some exceptions, the voice of the politicians from the South East has been stifled.
Instead of waging a vociferous legal, political, and diplomatic campaign to secure Kanu's unconditional release, most politicians want to steer clear of the topic—fearful, one supposes, of getting political blowback in Abuja or being seen as sympathetic to secessionism.
Only a few political leaders who have dared to come forward do so hesitantly and recommend "political solutions," all the while refraining from confrontation with the government. History shows that effective leadership cannot exist without courage.
A Call to Courageous Leadership
The South East yearns for visionary leadership—individuals who will not be political chameleons but genuine servants of the people. All that is asked is that they secure the land, protect the inherent human rights of its people, and restore the freedom of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Biafran politicians need to understand that history judges with stern eyes. Their lives will not be judged by the degrees to which they travelled through political hallways but by whether they took a stand at the moment of reckoning.
Until then, the questions remain unaddressed and weighty: What do the Biafran politicians actually do? How soon will they prioritize the people ahead of personal aspirations?
The South East awaits.
Written by
Uchechukwu Orjiakor
For Enugu State Media Team
No comments