What are they smoking at IPOB?

The announcer was part of a group of Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) demonstrators who took to the streets of Onitsha, Anambra State, last Friday.

His voice was raspy and guttural. And he made sure to conceal his looks like the trickster he probably is.

The protesters threatened fire and brimstone as they trudged and pranced along; issuing threats and warning that there’d be no governorship election in Anambra on the scheduled date of November 18.

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They could well have been bluffing, but it doesn’t matter right now what they wanted to achieve.

What matters is that a group of renegades draped in Biafra flags and wrappers, took to the streets of a territory controlled by the federal republic of Nigeria and issued misguided and flippant threats—dancing every step of the way to songs no one would normally dance to.

That IPOB has since been classed as a terrorist organisation is a moot point to make at this point. However, I would advise the federal government against heavy handedness this time as Anambra prepares to vote next weekend.

There’s likely going to be heavy police and military presence across Anambra all week. But it would be foolhardy for law enforcement to engage IPOB elements or civilians in duels of whatever coloration in order not to exacerbate an already tense or volatile situation on the ground.

Anambra this week presents a Catch-22 scenario for the federal government. I would plead for more civilised ways of managing conflicts like water cannons, police batons and rubber bullets where necessary.

I also expect traditional, religious and political leaders of the Southeast to rein in their young and wrong-headed ahead of the vote. IPOB members must be smoking a special brand of weed that obscures commonsense and logic. But now isn't the time to find out what brand of weed that is.

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In any case, Nigeria must be careful not to match tomfoolery with more tomfoolery before, during and after the Anambra election.