Dele Momodu Canvasses for Nnamdi Kanu’s Freedom, Advocates Political Resolution in South-East
Chief Dele Momodu, media entrepreneur and publisher of Ovation International, has urged the Federal Government to release IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, stressing that addressing the political and historical grievances of the South-East is key to lasting peace.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, Momodu highlighted what he described as the “decades of marginalisation and deprivation” that have fuelled separatist agitation among the Igbo people.
His statement included a clip of Kanu’s broadcast recorded shortly before his repatriation from Kenya by Nigerian security agents.
“Shortly before his abduction from Kenya by the Nigerian government, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu made this thought-provoking broadcast in which he philosophised about the reasons he and his supporters became radicalised,” Momodu wrote.
He faulted critics of Kanu for failing to appreciate the deeper context behind the resurgence of the Biafra movement.
“I have taken time to listen to his critics and discovered most of them only jumped to conclusions without proper analysis of why agitation for Biafra became reignited, attractive, and fanciful after the pogrom that wasted millions of lives and destroyed unimaginable properties in the 1960s and ’70s,” he said.
Momodu quoted Kanu as observing that “the continuing marginalisation of the Igbo, and deprivation accorded some of the most energetic and vibrant brains in Africa, rekindled the Biafra sentiment.”
The publisher warned that efforts to silence Kanu would not resolve the agitation, emphasising that political solutions, rather than legal or military measures, were needed.
“Attempts by enemies of Kanu, including his own kinsmen, to exterminate him will never solve the problem. The Igbo struggle goes beyond legalese. It requires serious political reconfiguration, and urgently too,” he said.
While clarifying that he does not support violence, Momodu urged the government to provide constructive engagement for the South-East.
“I will never support violence. But any sensible government will keep the geniuses of the South-East very busy, with productive engagements, instead of this rabid hatred,” he added.
Momodu’s comments come amid mounting pressure from political figures, civil society groups, and Igbo socio-cultural organisations calling for Kanu’s release and a political approach to resolving the ongoing separatist crisis.
