A traditional leader from Enugu State named Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu ambushed President Bola Tinubu last week during a health summit for traditional and religious leaders inside the presidential villa in Abuja when he pointedly asked him to either send Nnamdi Kanu back to Kenya or unconditionally release the convicted Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader.
Given the chance to speak before the assembly, Igwe Agubuzu made the demand.
The demand was seen as brave by many, particularly in light of the fact that numerous political figures who were meant to spearhead such initiatives have all remained mute out of fear.
President Tinubu, who never anticipated such a demand coming at that point, was observed giggling uncontrollably when Agubuzu was discussing Kanu’s experience and how his plight was comparable to that of Sunday Igboho, the Yoruba self-determination activist.
Nonetheless, Nigerians at home and abroad have continued to praise and applaud Igwe Agubuzu’s demand.
In a statement, three American Igbo advocacy organizations—American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Ambassadors for Self-Determination (ASD), and Rising Sun Foundation (RSF)—backed the call and commended the Enugu monarch for telling President Tinubu what many others have neglected to tell him.
Dr. Sylvester Onyia, AVID, Chief Evans Nwankwo, ASD, and Dr. Maxwell Dede all signed the statement, which read: “We firmly applaud His Royal Majesty, Eze Agubuzu of Enugu for his unwavering bravery in telling President Bola Tinubu what other Igbo traditional rulers have been too cowardly, too weak, or too compromised to say: Release Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu immediately or return him to Kenya.”
Notably, only Eze Agubuzu and Eze Chukwuemeka Eri have openly acknowledged the extent of the suffering, unfairness, and distress that Kanu’s unlawful arrest has caused our people.
“The majority of Igbo kings and chiefs, including the Obi of Onitsha and Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, remain silent while Fulani herder murderers are pampered, Yoruba agitators go free, and the Nigerian state continues to show contempt for Igbo humanity.” Their inaction is treachery, and their quiet is complicity.
“If these so-called leaders are incapable of defending the lives, liberty, and dignity of their own people, then what are their titles and crowns worth?” the question is straightforward. Leaders that prioritize individual comfort over social justice cannot be tolerated by the AlaIgbo people.
The organizations urged all Igbo traditional leaders to speak with one voice and forsake cowardice and complicity, emphasizing that the days of veiled comments, whispers, and half-measures were ended.
“Take a stand for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with courage, or move aside to give space to leaders who will. The statement went on, “Those who chose to remain silent while our people suffered injustice will not be pardoned by history.”
Agubuzu’s bravery was praised by the groups, who said that he showed that moral authority—rather than fear of Abuja—is what upholds a people.”
Similarly, Igwe Agubuzor has been characterized by Prof. Leo Obinna, a lecturer at Michael Okpara University in Umudike, Imo State, as a brave and fearless monarch whose views are in line with that of the majority of Igbo.
“We demand that Nnamdi Kanu be released by President Bola Tinubu without conditions. Igwe Agubuzor is an audacious and brave monarch. Our thought is all he told the president.
Few leaders will have the same style of speech. He has my respect and my admiration.
“Sunday Igboho and Kanu both committed the same well-known crime. The Ooni of Ife is reportedly attempting to bestow upon Igboho one of the highest honors in Yoruba country, while our own Kanu is incarcerated,” he claimed, adding that Igboho had been pardoned. “Kanu would have been freed if it had been in other countries where justice and equity are paramount,” he stated.
A lawyer named Godwin Chinonye welcomed Igwe Agubuzor’s appeal for Kanu’s, but emphasized that the IPOB leader accomplished nothing.
“The traditional ruler’s statement was absolutely accurate. Kanu and others were let free in different areas. The traditionalist’s remarks are commendable, he remarked.
The monarch is “the type of leader the Igbo need at this point in time; people who will speak truth to power,” according to Okezie Ohajuruka, a lawyer from Umuahia, who praised Agubuzu’s remarks.
Ikechukwu Ndubueze, the former president general of Kanu’s village, Afaraukwu, Umuahia, also praised Igwe Agubuzu for speaking the truth to the president.
“If the IPOB leader were from another tribe, he should have been freed long ago,” he stated, and urged other Igbo leaders to speak up in order to secure their son’s freedom.
It is unlikely that Kanu would still be incarcerated if he were a Fulani or Yoruba man. But they would want him to die in prison because he is an Igbo man,” he stated.
