“Call IPOB to a Peace Meeting”- Okupke

Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Jonathan on Public Affairs, has urged the Federal Government to free the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, if it means restoring peace in the South-East geopolitical zone.

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This comes as Okupe, who condemned the recent spate of violence in Anambra State, stated that the freedom and or life of the IPOB leader was more important than the November 6 governorship election in the state, which he saw as potentially defective in the face of a militarized electoral process.

This was said by the former presidential assistant on the sidelines of the PDP’s National Convention.

He said, “The Anambra State election is no doubt a security nightmare and a major cause for concern for many Nigerians. Whether we like it or not, IPOB has become an established “Army of Resistance” for self-determination in the South-East.

“Also, we must come to accept that the Biafra ideology has come to stay. Although it is self-evident that the major stakeholders of these movements are predominantly youths, the adult themselves share the concerns of these fighting youths even though they may prefer a different approach to achieving the same goals.”

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“Unfortunately also, concurrent events in the nation make the counsels of the elders untenable and therefore unacceptable to the warring youths.

“From my own projections, no fewer than 50% of normally voting population, purely out of fear and apprehension, will stay in their houses and avoid voting.”

“If this happens, the election itself becomes substantially flawed. This is because a major ingredient of democratic suffrage, ‘free and fair’, will be absent.

“While one must of necessity concede to the Federal Government that it should not normally tolerate or succumb to internal threats to peace and good order, perhaps, it’s now time to seek the seemingly elusive peace in the South-East.

“I hereby call on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, if that will bring peace in the South-East zone, especially Anambra State. Nnamdi Kanu should be released for the sake of peace and order in that region.”

Nigerians are in pain. Nigerians are suffering and we can’t afford war whether local, regional or national. We don’t need it. We need peace.

“Nnamdi Kanu is more important than the Anambra State governorship election. We need peace in all parts of this country, and if the release of Kanu will bring peace in Anambra State and the entire South-East zone, please the Federal Government should release him now.

He added, “I call on the Federal Government at this point of our national history to invite the leadership of IPOB to a peace meeting. The Government should listen to the complaints of the youths from the South-East region and see how a true solution can be negotiated.

“I say this as someone who was part of government when Boko Haram was in its wake or infancy. The presumed might of the Federal Government made it look preposterous for the government to call a rag-tag group to a negotiating table.