LONG BEFORE KANU CROSSED THE RED LINE BY TIM NYIOR

KANU.

Thoroughly and absolutely convinced of the instability of Kanu's mind, the illogicality of his thoughts and the impracticality of his intentions, and believing him of over-indulgence, of perhaps, a special specie of genetically modified weed, I had consciously refrained from according him more than a passing thought. I make no pretenses about my feelings towards Kanu, as a person, neither am I subscribable to political or social correctness in my description of him. Kanu is an idiot.
Believing my assertion to be true, crystal clear and evident, he merits no further emphasis, as I look beyond him.

BUHARI.

Antecedents and anecdotal references form the core considerations for recruitment or leader selection, which is what calls for the interrogation and scrutiny of one's curriculum vitae before employment, selection or elections.
At Buhari's third attempt at the presidency, the marketability of his candidature was essentially, and almost exclusively, anchored on his 1984 perception of integrity and incorruptibility.
However, in periscoping Buhari's antecedents as president, one was faced with his famed incorruptibility on one hand, and on the other, his undoubted tyranny, doubtless sadism, proven despotism and avid regionalism.
If Buhari was asking the world not to judge him on the basis of his 1984 tyranny and dictatorship, then on what basis was he asking Nigerians to elect him, since it was in exercise of those powers that his reputation was built, and upon which, lay his electoral credibility? Why did we have to embrace the positives in isolation of the negatives? I had wondered.
Today, at Kanu's prompting, the tyranny is back upon us through the willing instrumentality of government security institutions like the DSS, EFCC etc, and most majorly, through the conspiratorial cooperation of the Nigerian military.
Appareled in Agbada, in place of Khaki, Buhari's outward appearances travel parallel lines with his soldiery mindset, tyrannical inclination and militaristic grooming.

THE PYTHONIC DANCE.

As a Tiv man, who has had the tragic "privilege" of suffering Nigerian Army brutality, who has witnessed the horrifying barbarism and untold savagery of a general in civilian clothing, who has been at the receiving end of military cruelty and who has had to endure the agony of losing hundreds of brothers, relations and friends, it will be a great disservice to the souls of the departed, for me to wish that havoc upon any other community in this country.
A military that is defiant to international conventions of war, resistant to rules of engagement and incapable of distinguishing civilian from foe, is not one to wish upon anyone.
Mindboggled by the criteria for the deployment of its troops, I dare to state, that by whatever considerations, there is a biased selectivity in our military deployments.
Kanu's idiocy regardless, he is not known to have shed blood, unlike the rampaging Fulani terrorist herdsmen, through whom we have lost thousands, and by whose hands blood has flown on the River Benue.
Without the honour of a single pythonic dance in the Benue valley, the Nigerian military infrastructure watched from a distance, as the lives of the innocent, of children, women and the elderly were brazenly snatched.
That eastern macabre dance will not have me as a spectator.
While it remains impossible for Kanu to have my support, it is practically unthinkable that I support the invasion of Igboland.

NIGERIA.

Stopping Kanu, jailing Kanu or even killing him is easy, and can only serve as a short-term measure.
The unenviable and onerous task, and the long-term measure is to kill the idea he represents.
The favourable circumstances that will permit a dim-witted Londoner like Kanu to instantly command such followership of millions, the environment that allows the learned and the great minds of the east to subordinate their senses to this rascal, and the political situations that fester the germination of such hatred and suspicion are the issues to be addressed.
Many more Kanus will materialize across the country, after this one, if we fail to address the real issues and elect to chase shadows.
Kanu is not the issue, has never been the issue and will never be the issue. The political imbalances, the non-adherence to true federalism, resulting to extreme power at the center, the domination of one region over the other, the allocation and sharing of resources, despotism, sectionalism, etc etc remain issues, when addressed, will permanently forestall the potential proliferation of future Kanus.

The red line beckoned to Kanu, as is beckoning to many more. Long before he crossed it, the ground had been prepared, had been watered, and the east was ready and waiting.