Op-ed: Why Peter Obi’s unwillingness to condemn IPOB/UGM is going to haunt him
Anyone who cannot see the link between the activities of the Unknown Gunmen (UGM) in the south-east and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) – under Simon Ekpa, the de facto leader controlling the group from Finland following Nnamdi Kanu’s detention – is either disingenuous or turning a blind eye to an obvious reality. The unwillingness of Peter Obi to condemn the growing killing and kidnapping is deeply worrying.
Let’s make something clear: UGM does not represent the totality of the agitation of the desire for Biafra. Many Igbos who are sympathetic towards the Biafran dream do not necessarily support the growing terror being unleashed in the region by UGM and Ekpa’s brand of agitation. It is the reason why some of them are still strongly in support of participating in the 2023 general election, something Ekpa and his loyalists have vowed will not take place in “Biafraland”.
In the past year, the southeast has become a theatre of attacks. From burning police stations and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission to random kidnapping and killing of people on the road and in markets. Prominent southeasterners have fallen victim to these attacks including Chike Akunyili, the husband of Peter Obi’s friend, Dora Akunyili. To fund their dastardly act, innocent people are being constantly kidnapped for ransom.
The situation has gotten so terribly bad that the communal homecoming that typifies Christmas celebration in the southeast has been reduced to a whimper. Instead, those living outside of the region chose to spend the holiday in other cities while those living outside the country were forced to spend Christmas in Lagos and Abuja. A culture of sustained communalism is being eroded as a result of the nefarious actions of UGM.
Surprisingly, Peter Obi has been reluctant to take a strong stance against their action instead lumping it together with all the unrest in the nation and describing all of them as agitation each time he is explicitly asked if he would condemn them. Perhaps he is being careful not to lose support in the south east, his biggest political base.
The closest he has been to criticising them is saying “Biafra is not in existence… as he is contesting as a Nigerian for the presidency.”
In two separate video interviews, one conducted by Kadaria Ahmed and the other by Seun Okinbaloye, Obi was asked if he would condemn the activities of IPOB and UGM. His response was that he could not condemn it when he had not had details of their activities yet. He said instead he would dialogue with all agitators if he becomes president.
He said: “I can’t condemn ESN because I’m not sure who is doing what. You can only condemn people when there is a process in which they have said this person has done something.”
While his response sounds diplomatic, the action of IPOB and UGM has already gone past that. Any group that tries to make a statement by killing innocent people has lost the right to be at a negotiation table. That would be an insult to the innocent lives lost.
In his Armed Forces Remembrance Day statement, Obi specifically mentioned ISWAP and Boko Haram as extreme groups while noticeably refusing to acknowledge that IPOB and UGM belong to the same proscribed bracket.
There is already a cloud of accusations hanging around Obi’s neck that he is sympathetic to IPOB. A recent statement by Simon Ekpa that “Peter Obi is part of IPOB, both physically, spiritually and otherwise, he lied” further reinforces this rumour. This can have a dire effect on his presidential ambition and make it difficult for him to get support in the north, the region he has not made sufficient inroads in his presidential bid. Not explicitly condemning their action will make it difficult to shake off the accusation that he is sympathetic towards them and that will be detrimental to his political kite which is flying high at the moment.
