“Why would any idiot want me to be in a stupid country like Nigeria?” - Nnamdi Kanu tells Al Jazeera

On the commemoration of the 50th year of Biafra,  IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu opened his doors to international news site, Al Jazeera. It was the first interview the secessionist leader would grant since he was granted bail..

In Al Jazeera’s comprehensive report, it was revealed that “dozens of people waited to see Kanu” in his home while men dressed in black secured the compound. The report said, “They refer to Kanu as, “our supreme leader” or “his royal highness“.

Kanu told the news site: “I can’t go outside to call for a press conference. I can’t go on Biafra Radio to broadcast. I can’t allow large [groups of] people to basically congregate outside to see me … it’s like asking me not to breathe”.

Speaking on Nigeria and the marginalisation of Igbos in the country, Kanu lamented on preexisting issues that prevent Igbos from contesting for the presidency and holding top positions in the military.

He said, "I'm not allowed to contest for the presidency of Nigeria because I'm Igbo. I'm not allowed to aspire to become the inspector general of police because I'm Igbo. I'm not allowed to become chief of army staff because I'm Igbo. What sort of stupid country is that?" Kanu asks. "Why would any idiot want me to be in that sort of country?"

Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested in 2015 on an 11-count charge including treasonable felony, has been widely accepted as the messiah of the pro-Biafra movement.

"Kanu is my saviour," says Sopuru Amah, a senior student at one of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, told Al Jazeera.

"Just like Jesus was sent to save the world, Kanu was sent by God himself to save the Igbo people."

Kanu's bail conditions prohibit him from being in a crowd of more than 10 people, leaving the country and giving media interviews.

But says he doesn't care if he is flouting one of the terms for his bail.

"I don't care. I can't go outside to call for a press conference. I can't go on Biafra Radio to broadcast. I can't allow large [groups of] people to basically congregate outside to see me … it's like asking me not to breathe," he said

He says the demand for the secession of the South East from Nigeria is because the nation is not functioning and can never function.

Kanu said Nothing is working in Nigeria. "There is pain and hardship everywhere. What we're fighting [for] is not self-determination for the sake of it. It's because Nigeria is not functioning and can never function." "