South-East Politicians Secretly Jubilating Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Conviction – Mahdi Shehu Alleges

Public affairs analyst Mahdi Shehu has accused prominent political leaders from the South-East of secretly celebrating the conviction of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

In a statement shared on his X handle on Thursday, Shehu claimed that several politicians from the region played quiet but influential roles in Kanu’s prolonged ordeal and now feel relieved that a major political challenger has been weakened.

According to him, many governors, senators, ministers, and political appointees view Kanu as a figure whose popularity could overshadow theirs, thereby threatening their political relevance.

Shehu alleged that these leaders distanced themselves from Kanu “out of cowardice, fear, greed, and betrayal,” and are now privately congratulating themselves following his conviction.

He added that many of them will “sleep peacefully” knowing that what they consider a “brother enemy” is being tormented. Some of them, he claimed, may even hold quiet thanksgiving prayers in private chapels to celebrate what they perceive as the suppression of their biggest political rival.

“Mazi Kanu, their biggest political threat, has been convicted. They have achieved their aim of seeing him suppressed. They owe President Tinubu an inordinate silence as a sign of approval for Kanu’s conviction,” Shehu wrote, warning that their “insatiable appetite will continue to grow until they meet their waterloo.”

Shehu also referenced the words of literary icon Chinua Achebe, noting that no leader can be greater than the people they claim to represent. He quoted Achebe: “No man however great was greater than his people; no one ever won judgment against his people, and the death that will kill a man begins as an appetite.”

Expressing optimism that Kanu will eventually regain freedom, Shehu compared his situation to that of individuals who previously clashed with the Nigerian government but later walked free, including Gani Adams, Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, and former Boko Haram commanders.

“It is only a matter of time before Kanu is freed in a country where drug barons, arsonists, treasury looters, thieves, murderers and treasonable felons are released under questionable amnesty programmes driven by nepotism and selectivism,” he added.