I am eager to speak to Nnamdi Kanu. Nigerian Army’s “heavy boot” response to pro-Biafra sentiment is “not the solution - Obasanjo somersaults on Biafra agitation

I am eager to speak to Nnamdi Kanu. Nigerian Army’s “heavy boot” response to pro-Biafra sentiment is “not the solution - Obasanjo somersaults on Biafra agitation

Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that he was now eager to speak with Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This was a big somersaults on Biafra agitation from Obasanjo's earlier position when he declared Biafran agitators as miscreants and asked the Nigerian government to stop Kanu by all means.

In this sudden new position, Obasanjo said that President Muhammadu Buhari must meet with Kanu before violence between the army and separatists escalates into a full-blown conflict. 

Obasanjo speaking in London, with Newsweek said that “I don’t see anything wrong in that (Buhari meeting with Kanu). I would not object to that; if anything, I would encourage it,” 

“I would want to meet Kanu myself and talk to people like him, people of his age, and ask ‘What are your worries?’ Not only from the southeast but from all parts of Nigeria.” 

I am eager to speak to Nnamdi Kanu. Nigerian Army’s “heavy boot” response to pro-Biafra sentiment is “not the solution - Obasanjo somersaults on Biafra agitation

Obasanjo further said that the Nigerian Army’s “heavy boot” response to pro-Biafra sentiment is “not the solution,” but adds that the secession craved by IPOB is not the way forward either. 

“We need to satisfy the youth in job creation, in wealth creation, in giving them a better, fulfilled life, in giving them hope for the future,” says Obasanjo. 

“There’s no easy way out. 

“Those who fought in the war in Biafra will not want to fight any other war. 

“I have fought one war too many in Nigeria; I don’t want to see another.”