IPOB VS FG: Holding the Tiger by the tail

It is akin to holding a Tiger by the tail and when the Tiger decides to strike back, the consequences become eternally deadly. When the agitation started, the Federal Government did not take proactive actions to nip it in the bud until now that it has festered into an open sore capable of causing grave damage to the unity of the country.

The handling of the IPOB situation can be likened to how the Boko Haram situation was handled some years ago and the result has been what we see today with hundreds of thousands on innocent Nigerians being killed, rendered homeless and displaced from their communities.

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Though the IPOB leader and his members have continued to say it is not a violent organization, some of their antecedents have shown they are far from being the innocent, harmless pressure group they want everyone to believe.

Even though they could be justified in their clamour for self-etermination, instances have shown that IPOB does not pursue its course in the right way but the military action in clamping down on them as well as classifying it as a terrorist group is a pointer that nothing has been learned in history.

The Civil War that lasted three years and led to the deaths of over three million Nigerians started like a child's play when the then military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon approved the infamous police action in the South East region meant to curb some civil disorder with a mandate to quell the disturbance in seven days.

But the result was the conflagration that culminated in the war. The Army's launching the Operation Python Dance II in the South East a few weeks ago can also be likened to the Police Action of 1967.

The actions of Nnamdi Kanu since he was granted bail some months ago have been appalling, to say the least.

He has flouted every condition in his bail; he has been instigating his people against the sovereignty of Nigeria; he has made inciting statements; he has called the President derogatory names; he has insulted the nation and its people; he even went ahead to set up a secret service; but all these are not enough to unleash a battalion in the streets of Umuahia without taking the volatile nature of the environment into consideration.

Most Nigerians who are sympathetic to the course of IPOB have continued to question why the killer Fulani herdsmen who go about murdering innocent Nigerians, sacking communities and wrecking havoc all over the place have not been declared a terrorist organization.

In fact, the action has made the IPOB members seem like martyrs who are being persecuted for what they believe in and has drawn more sympathizers their way.

The South Eastern Governors have also not covered themselves in any form of glory as they allowed the problem to fester for so long, thereby turning into a cancerous sore and could threaten the collective existence of the nation.

With the hasty proscription of IPOB by the Governors, they have given them more ammunition to arm themselves and play the injured.

Other government functionaries have not helped matters with the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed declaring unequivocally that IPOB is being sponsored by disgruntled politicians and treasury looters.

The statement is very far-fetched as he did not present any facts to back up his claims. One thing Mohammed conveniently forgot was that the Biafran agitation quite predates this regime and has been on for ages.

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They have now vowed to die in the struggle and the earlier these agitation and standoff on both sides are checked, the better it will be for all Nigerians.

Nigeria will not recover from another war and all we want now is a nation that will thrive in peace and harmony.