Nigeria Has ‘Expired’, Time To Go Our Separate Ways — Northern Elders Finally Agree With Nnamdi Kanu’s long-held position

Nigeria Has ‘Expired’, Time To Go Our Separate Ways — Northern Elders Finally Agree With Nnamdi Kanu’s long-held position

 

 

 

Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, the Special Counsel for Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has responded to recent remarks by Northern Elders Forum (NEF) convener Prof.

 

Ango Abdullahi, stating that the Northern region of Nigeria has now aligned with Kanu’s long-held position that the country’s foundational structure has effectively “expired.”

 

Ejimakor’s comments came on Tuesday, in reaction to Abdullahi’s statement made on Monday during the National Dialogue on a Home-Grown Parliamentary System of Government, held in Abuja, Abdullahi had suggested that the legal framework that created Nigeria in 1914, through the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates, expired a decade ago. He went on to emphasize the urgent need for significant political and economic reforms in the country.

 

Abdullahi explained that the British colonial authorities had established Nigeria by merging various ethnic and linguistic groups, with the expectation that the territory would eventually evolve into a cohesive and stable nation. However, the 1914 edict, which gave rise to the country, was designed with a specific timeframe.

 

According to Abdullahi, the legal instrument for Nigeria’s existence as a unified state was intended to last for 100 years, implying that it expired in 2014. The edict’s purpose was to determine whether the country would grow into an indissoluble nation-state or fragment into separate groups after the 100-year period.

 

 

 

Reacting to this statement, Ejimakor highlighted that Abdullahi’s comments represented a notable shift in the position previously held by the Northern political elite and the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

He pointed out that when Nnamdi Kanu first made a similar assertion during a broadcast on Radio Biafra years ago, he faced severe repercussions, including charges of secession and terrorism. Kanu was arrested, rendered to Nigeria, and has been detained for over three years while awaiting trial.

 

Ejimakor further emphasized, “To be clear, Mazi Kanu’s assertion, which the North has now acknowledged, was that the legal framework upon which Nigeria was founded in 1914 had a fixed duration of one hundred years, which expired in 2014.” He continued, “This very broadcast was a key reason for Kanu’s arrest, rendition, and detention. He was charged with secession and later terrorism for simply stating what the North has now publicly conceded.”

 

In light of this development, Ejimakor raised the question of whether it was not time for the Nigerian government and the Northern leadership to reflect on Kanu’s predicament and offer an apology.

 

He asked, “Given that the North has now made the same claim for which Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was detained and charged, is it not time for the Federal Government, and even the North, to acknowledge the validity of Kanu’s position and apologize for the wrongs done to him?”

 

 

This response has added a new layer to the ongoing political debate surrounding the structure of Nigeria and the future of its unity, as Kanu’s legal team continues to press for his release, while his position on Nigeria’s expiration remains a central issue.