ICHEOKU says playing a devil's advocate, who is even a Nigerian in the real sense of it, strictly construed? What is paramount is that there is enough evidence to read the citizenship of a person within the geographical entity which he or she calls home. Afterall, a country is merely a geopolitical construct, within an accepted and agreed, and also recognized delineating borders and boundaries. Such borders and boundaries can under some circumstances be expanded to take in new acreages as well as everything on it. Sometimes too, it can also be shrunk by ceding territories to neighboring countries, as was done with the former Nigerian Bakassi peninsular. The law of the land is unequivocal that what is on the land belongs to owner of the land, except where expressly excluded. Therefore, any new territory being acquired or ceded, comes with all the baggage thereon, including its citizens.
There is no country in the world that did not go through the process of formation, including the United States of America. At independence in 1776, America started off with only thirteen States, with Delaware being the first State. The other States subsequently started joining the Union, with Hawaii being the last State and became what is today known as the United States of America. So, it will be a self defeating argument for anyone to make that because the rest of the 37 States, especially Hawaii, which was admitted into the Union as a State much later in 1959 and long after America was forged, came subsequent 1774 independence, that their citizens are not Americans enough.
Ditto the five Southwestern States of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California which were previously Mexican territories before America took them over. Louisiana and Alaska were also purchased after 1776 from France and USSR respectively. So are American citizens from these mentioned States not "real" Americans simply because they were not part of America when America got her independence in 1776? How about Sicily and Napoli as well as the Southern Island of Italy, which were later annexed to the mainland to become what is today known as Italy. Are Sicilians not Italians enough just because they joined the party after it had already started? Okinawa Japan is still protesting their annexation by Japan; but are Okinawans not Japanese for the purposes of continuing this argument?
Even without going too far on a frolic of exploration, how about those Biafrans who were born during the Biafran war, when Southeastern Nigeria seceded from Nigeria and was a full fledged independent country, with its own currency and a functioning government which lasted for three long years. So, are these people not Nigerians for the purposes of furthering this debate; moreso, since there is no existing gazette anyway formally readmitting the then surrendering Southeastern Nigeria Biafra back to Nigeria. So, is it a safe argument to make that Biafra is still not part of Nigeria because they seceded, which automatically would disqualify everyone from the region from participating in the affairs of Nigeria, especially those who were born between 1967 and 1970, for not being born in Nigeria and therefore does not enjoy full Nigerian citizenship rights.
ICHEOKU says had once personally canvassed the argument, albeit sarcastically, that both leading candidates in the February 16th, 2019 presidential elections, Muhammadu Buhari and Abubakar Atiku, are not Nigerians. That Buhari's duck-seller father met his mother during one of his market trips to Daura and therefore inherited the nationality of his father, thus made him technically a citizen of Niger Republic, just like his father. A matter made worse because the elder Buhari never applied nor received Nigerian citizenship by naturalization, which would have otherwise conferred citizenship on his son Muhammadu Buhari. At the time of Buhari's birth, the elder Buhari was an itinerant trader shuttling between Niger and Daura, but later settled down in Daura just to be with his wife, the mother of Muhammadu Buhari.
As for Atiku, ICHEOKU had argued then that because he was born in Cameroonian Adamawa Highlands before it became part of Nigeria through the referendum of 1963, that Atiku is also, technically, a foreigner. Continuing, ICHEOKU alerted that Nigerians will be forced to chose between two foreigners as their president, one, a Nigerien and the other, a Cameroonian. But these were mere political jiving and nothing more, period. So, it is somewhat surprising that anyone would take this to heart and make it a basis for a serious discussion, regarding who is qualified for this election.
But assuming that the Nigerian citizenship of both candidates were even seriously triggered, ICHEOKU makes bold to say that Abubakar Atiku is even more Nigerian than Muhammadu Buhari, because in his case, there was a formal step that made him and his Adamawa Highlands kinsmen Nigerians. A plebiscite was conducted and they decided to to join Nigeria; unlike in Buhari's case where there was no recorded process which made Buhari's father a Nigerian, which would have conferred citizenship on his son Muhammadu Buhari. So, if both men's circumstantial backgrounds were strictly considered, both would have suffered the same fate of not being born Nigerians for the purposes of running for president. But the imperative here is that both men are duly recognized, rightfully entitled and so privileged Nigerians. Buhari was born in Nigeria by a Nigerien father and Atiku was born in a land which later became part of Nigeria. So, except for needless mischief, the question of both men's nationality or their Nigerian citizenship status is moot and a case closed.
In fairness to Abubakar Atiku, ICHEOKU reiterates that he is a Nigerian as of right, just like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and any other person holding a Nigerian passport or other identifying Nigerian documents. And truth be told, if all the veneers are completely pulled back or the bone stripped of all the flesh, nobody in the real sense of it is indeed even a Nigerian. Every Nigerian took the ancestry of their pre-1904 amalgamation indigenous forebears, before they were clobbered together and baptized Nigerians when the colonial masters named the resulting geographical space Nigeria. Hopefully this matter will now rest and everyone and anyone still pursuing the argument of where either candidate was born or their not Nigerian enough for the purposes of the presidency, should please back off. It is defeatist and also questions the intellectual capacity of such protagonists.
Unfortunately, this is yet another needless distraction from the Biafran quest, the first being the Jubril el Sudani maniacal nonsense. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must endeavor to pull himself together and reorganize his thoughts as he is steadily loosing his logical cohesiveness. Whatever happens, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must guard against entirely losing his credibility or inadvertently force the people to start questioning his overall mental equilibrium and soundness of the mind. As a leader of IPOB, he should understand that a lot of hope are vested on his shoulders, admitted he has given so many other former admirers reason to question both his motive and methodology. Possessing such a questionable disposition is not a good attribute for any leader to have.
The Atiku being a Cameroonian and Buhari being a Sudanese idiocy must end forthwith and in order to avoid further erosion of the respect and credibility left with him. He should focus his attention solely on propagating the Biafran cause which helped foist him on the world as an acknowledged leader of IPOB and also understand that leaders do not make unguarded and easily debunk-able statements. If only he can find the humility to stop thinking and seeing himself as the "god" of Biafra and allow people with real knowledge to help him with the quest going forward, he will be much better at what he is doing.
But such thoughtless and unguarded spitfire outbursts, simply manifest a fatigue syndrome, which is understandable; considering the traumatic experience of this past two years in the hands of the Nigerian authorities, which resulted in a long detention. It is also clear that frustrations because of the seemingly stalled effort is beginning to weigh him down and this needless acting out is symptomatic of it.
A leader normally does not obviously covet the crown so much as to suggest the effort is for a personal deification and aggrandizement. They pretend reluctance. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must curb his enthusiasm, showiness and stop parading himself as a Demigod, whose feet must be kissed and the ground on which he walks on, worshipped. Like every bona fides Biafran, ICHEOKU admires his courage and fortitude; but laments that his rudderless approach, his god-complex, egotistical propensity and the two distractions of Sudanese and Cameroonian cockamamie, are now big dents on his otherwise attractive image of a man on a mission to salvage a people.
ICHEOKU has strong doubt if he will ever fully recover from the self inflicted wound, particularly as to his integrity and credibility. The worst thing any person can do to them self is to cause the people who once held them in very high esteem to begin to question their own judgment and wondering how they fell so easily for such a fluke or at worse questioning the mental acuity of their once revered hero.
Anyway, it is not late for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to do some serious introspection and refocus himself back on the big picture Biafran project, which made him who is. It is the real Ebeano which attracted millions of otherwise non impressionable people and he must not take their affection for granted nor allow his newly found fame to otherwise live rent free inside his head.
The leaders of Biafran land who he was able to meet, including the late Alex Ekwueme and Joseph Achuzie, Ben Nwabueze, governors and political, spiritual and commercial leaders, as well as many intellectuals believed in him as a leader and not an Emperor Moon before who they must bow. Alongside millions of other Biafrans, these select Biafrans will like to get their former Nnamdi Kanu back. But this all over the map, conspiracy theorist, rabble rousing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, must return back to wherever hellish pod he sprouted from. The entire Southsouth and Southeast Biafrans, as well as friends and admirers, want their original Nnamdi Kanu back, period. Enough of the needless distractions.
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