Bring Back Our Girls Campaigner, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has offered a roundabout explanation for her silence on rampant IPOB killings in the southeast with a widely-mocked claim that her lack of powers as the country’s Commander-In-Chief renders her incapable of addressing the issue.
In a tweet published last night, she fired back at those demanding that she addresses the illegal restrictions violently enforced by the proscribed secessionist group in her home state, demanding that they hand her “the office (of the president) so I can urgently, decisively and effectively tackle the degenerate state of insecurity in the South East.”
But her critics responded that she didn’t require such powers when she took the northern leaders to task over the insurgency that rocked the region, notably under the PDP administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
They also pointed to her recent commentary on social issues in other parts of the country, particularly Lagos where she amplified debunked allegations that the state government targeted Igbo traders in a planned demolition carried out to maintain the integrity of buildings and prevent costly collapse.
They claimed that Ezekwesili’s silence on IPOB, which recently declared another two-week sit-at-home, is due to her lack of courage and years of indulgence under the belief that she, and others so aligned, could reap political benefits from the emotionally charged quest for Igbo-dominated Biafraland.
Indeed, Ezekwesili’s boycott of the matter on the grounds that she lacks presidential powers is not consistent with her previous actions, including her posturing as a rights activist determined to confront actors, state and non-state, violating the constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms of others.
IPOB has carried out killings, abductions, and assaulted schoolchildren in the southeast. Other activists did not lament their lack of presidential powers and have since condemned the group’s actions while urging the government to act. Meanwhile, Ezekwesili, whose home state of Anambra is one of the worst affected states, has chosen the comfort of silence while offering public opinions on other matters.