By Kalu Nwokoro Idika
The obsession that comes with power and fame can truly remold a man into an unimaginable being. Power and fame have made many men who were once honest to lose their foothold and became men of plenty tongues. In buttressing this point further, I shall digress briefly by citing a short analogy of how power and fame can change a man and make him a person of unsteady tongues. There is this award-winning movie series called Game Of Thrones. An American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. In this epic making movie, there was a controversial character named Lord Baelish whose nickname is Littlefinger. Littlefinger is the master of coin on King Robert’s small council.
Baelish’s major character attributes were his cunning and boundless ambition. Originally, he comes from a minor family with little wealth or influence. Baelish used manipulation, bribery, and the connections he enjoyed at Riverrun to gain power and prestige in King’s Landing. Because of his obsession for power and influence in King’s Landing, he betrayed Lord Stark through his multiple tongues which led to Stark’s painful public execution by a desperate Queen Cersei Lannister. Mr. Littlefinger deceived and pitted close allies of the throne. He backstabbed and never kept promises he made even to his friends that trusted him the most. He wasn’t a man of his words but a man filled with multiple tongues.
Back to the issue at hand. Nnamdi Kanu is not a man of his words but a man with many tongues. He is like Lord Baelish of Game Of Thrones. Does it echo surprisingly? It shouldn’t because time and events have vindicated my assertion. Since the emergence of IPOB, the managers of the movement have made elephant promises with no single one coming to fruition. I’m yet to see some of the promises that propelled and assembled many of us for the restoration of our beloved Nation, Biafra. Now, let’s look at some of the promises IPOB and their leader never honored. I will only discuss 3 out of numerous of them.
We were told some time ago that over 40 million ballot papers have been printed for the Biafra referendum. It was all over the news. Jingles about the referendum were produced. Journalists from Umuchukwu Writers and Family Writers Press were mobilized to different units, zones, and states to sensitize the people. The mock referendum was conducted in various units and zones but at the peak, it became a vow that was never honored. 40 million ballot papers, we didn’t see and the much-touted referendum became tales by moonlight! It’s now a thing of the past. Probably, to Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and his friends, the promise of a referendum is just one of those abracadabras that characterize their own method of freedom fighting.
We were also told that elections in 2019 will be boycotted. And that election boycott will quickly restore Biafra. Millions of our people were persuaded not to do voter registration. Even the little number that registered were asked to abandon their Permanent Voters Card at the INEC office. ‘Election Boycott’ became one of the commonly used terms. Journalists were given a marching order to write tirelessly in other to convince our people why the election boycott is the way forward. But when we thought we had one purpose, a sudden revise was made. A voice on radio Biafra without minding the collateral damage he was about to inflict on the region, announced the suspension of the boycott. To add salt to the injury, we were also lied to that our terms and conditions have been met which is also known as ‘SIGNED AND SEALED DEAL’. To date, Nnamdi Kanu that claims to be a sincere leader is yet to tell us the content of the deal. The whole shenanigan has been swept under the carpet. The few who had the guts to question the content of the deal were asked to shut up and branded saboteurs.
If Nnamdi Kanu is genuinely serving Biafrans and not a man of many tongues, why can’t he tell us the content of the deal? At least, Biafrans have the right to know the content considering the damage it caused them in 2019. If indeed the deal is not for any selfish gain, present it to us. Needless to say that this promise was never honored.
After Kanu’s reappearance in Israel, he told Biafrans that IPOB shall embark on Hitech Farming. And it will be in partnership with some unknown partners in Israel. That very vow was another fiasco. No one is talking about it. These were empty promises he never met. Biafrans have been suffocated with bogus promises that never saw the light of the day. When will all these dramas end? Leaders are meant to honor their words. Altruistic leaders do not make promises without actions to match them. Do we still need the witch of Endor to remind us again that Nnamdi Kanu is a leader with many tongues? A man who can make thousands of promises in a minute and end up disappointing when the cock crows.
Moreover, in one of Nnamdi Kanu’s recent broadcast, he said in few months Biafra will be restored. I am waiting. Let it not go the way of others because I will be here to call him to account for it. However, it’s quite unfortunate how power and fame changed and made a man to live with many tongues. IPOB leaders should change and learn to keep to his words. The era of dribbling our people with elephant promises must stop. Promises are meant to be honored.
Kalu Nwokoro Idika is a writer and investigative journalist
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