Protest for Nnamdi Kanu: Open Letter to Igbo Traders in Abuja, By Onwuasoanya FCC Jones

If you close your shop in solidarity with Sowore over a purported protest for Nnamdi Kanu’s release, you would not only be joining Sowore, Aloy Ejimakor and co to dance on the graves of thousands of innocent Igbos who fell victim to Nnamdi Kanu’s actions and utterances, you would also be further endangering your livelihood.

Nnamdi Kanu destroyed the economy of the Southeast through senseless Sit-at-home orders and other violent acts he incited and commanded his foot soldiers to execute, Sowore is trying to lure you into extending the destruction to Igbo businesses outside the Southeast.

I will assure you that Sowore does not lose a penny. The protest is part of his business. He makes money from it just like you make money from selling the goods in your shops. If you decide to close your shops in order to go help someone else sell his goods, then, you are not wise.

Besides receiving his pay in thousands of dollars, steadily, for acting as Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor has been accused by an investigative journalist of leveraging his popularity with Nnamdi Kanu’s case to negotiate contracts with the federal government. He rarely visits his home in Urualla, in Ideato North of Imo State. He shuttles between Europe and Abuja. So, if anything goes wrong, he will continue to make his money, while you might continue to suffer for a long time for choosing to shut down your businesses.

It is necessary to remind you that this protest is unnecessary, even for those who genuinely want Nnamdi Kanu to be released. This protest will not set Nnamdi Kanu free. It is a mere show designed to keep Nnamdi Kanu longer in detention, while raising more funds for Aloy Ejimakor and other businessmen and women making money from Nnamdi Kanu’s prosecution.

The federal government is not holding Nnamdi Kanu illegally. The federal government has shown a commitment to speedily prosecuting Nnamdi Kanu, and as at this moment, the FG legal team has closed their case against Nnamdi Kanu. What is left is for Nnamdi Kanu to defend himself by arguing against the accusations leveled against him. If Nnamdi Kanu is able to disprove the FG’s case against him, he will be freed. He will not be held in detention for one day extra, as long as the options of appeal are exhausted.

Also, it is to Nnamdi Kanu’s benefit that his case in court is concluded. Even if he is convicted, there would now be a good rationale to campaign for amnesty to be granted to him. If he is not convicted, he cannot be granted pardon.

Apart from taunting the Southeast over the huge losses we have incurred over these past years as a result of Nnamdi Kanu’s actions and utterances, Sowore’s mischievous campaign endangers efforts by Southeast political leaders to explore political solution to the issue of Nnamdi Kanu.

If you go ahead to shut down your shops in solidarity with Sowore, the FCT administration has the right to revoke your ownership of those shops or implement other sanctions that might greatly imperil your business. Even if the government does not act, the people you reside in their lands might choose to retaliate by making your business environment difficult, since you could inconvenience them by shutting down your shops.

You must be wise as a true Igbo man or woman and resist the temptation of using you to achieve some political agenda by some people. There are insinuations in some quarters that some subversive elements have already mapped out plans to hijack the protest and use it as a platform to call for change of government. People are already making references to the recent upheaval in Madagascar as a possible outcome of this protest. The Igbo man must not be used to actualise such an unwholesome agenda.

Uche unu diri ya.

Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD is the immediate past Deputy Youth Leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

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