Media entrepreneur and publisher of Ovation International, Dele Momodu, has joined growing calls for the release of detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In a post shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, the former presidential aspirant urged the Federal Government to address the root causes of separatist agitations in Nigeria’s South-East.
Momodu accompanied his post with a clip from one of Kanu’s previous broadcasts, recorded shortly before his controversial repatriation from Kenya by Nigerian security operatives.
He argued that the Biafra movement stemmed from what he described as “decades of marginalisation and deprivation” experienced by the Igbo people.
“Shortly before his abduction from Kenya by the Nigerian government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made this thought-provoking broadcast in which he philosophised about the reasons he and his supporters became radicalised,” Momodu wrote.
The veteran journalist criticised those who condemn Kanu and his supporters without, in his view, understanding the historical and political factors driving the agitation.
“I have taken time to listen to his critics and discovered that most of them jumped to conclusions without proper analysis of why the agitation for Biafra became reignited and attractive after the pogroms that claimed millions of lives and destroyed properties in the 1960s and ’70s,” he said.
Momodu also quoted Kanu as saying that the “continuing marginalisation of the Igbo and deprivation accorded some of the most energetic and vibrant brains in Africa and globally rekindled the Biafra sentiment.”
He warned that any attempt to silence or eliminate Kanu would not end the separatist movement, stressing that the crisis required political rather than legal or military intervention.
“Attempts by enemies of Kanu, including his own kinsmen, to exterminate him will never solve the problem. The Igbo struggle goes beyond legalese, it requires serious political reconfiguration, and urgently too,” he stated.
While clarifying that he does not condone violence, Momodu advised the government to meaningfully engage the South-East through inclusion and opportunity.
“I will never support violence. But any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South-East very busy with productive engagements, instead of this rabid hatred,” he added.
