by Pius Adesanmi.

1. A lot of emotion is clouding interventions in what ought to be a rather straightforward matter so let me cut through the emotional carapace without having to indulge in any energy-sapping back and forth with those finding emotional and affective rationalizations for what just happened in Kaduna.

2. No. Nnamdi Kanu is no justification for what happened in Kaduna. Kanu’s offence – inciting violence against the Nigerian state – is currently being addressed and prosecuted by the state. I believe that those supporting Kanu have simply never taken the time to watch his videos or listen to his tapes. I support his prosecution and I see him as a violator and cheapener of a people’s right to seek self-determination.

3. However, it is too much of a stretch to use Kanu as a justification for the Kaduna Declaration. There is no possible justification or explanation or rationalization or “ways to understand” the Kaduna Declaration. It is lunacy and should be condemned outright. I have such aspirations in my neighbourhood here in Canada. And in trying to seek self-determination, the Quebecois have a long history of poking their finger in the face of the Canadian state. They have tried everything from terrorism to referendum. It still doesn’t mean that some ethno-cultural associations of the Anglo-Canadian tribes in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto can just jump up and order the Quebecois out of those cities, threatening violence as a response to non-compliance.

4. So many crimes have been committed by the authors of the Kaduna Declaration. I don’t even know where to start. There is the threat of ethnic cleansing against the Igbo for starters and I do not say this lightly. You are ordering Nigerian citizens out of a part of Nigeria based singularly on ethnicity? We must repeat: that portions of the Igbo want out and some have been pursuing it, in my own opinion, the wrong way, does not give anybody any right to order the Igbo or any ethnicity out of any part of Nigeria. This is so outrageous, so despicable that I cannot even begin to wrap my head around it.

5. This is profoundly insulting. We condemned this sort of madness under Fashola whose crime was deportation of some Igbo from Lagos. Now, some lunatics are threatening worse in Kaduna. You cannot order a citizen of Nigeria out of any part of Nigeria. Period. And when you threaten to do it to a group based on either ethnicity or religion, you are committing crimes that may even be beyond the purview of the Nigerian state. I hope the appropriate international bodies, from The Hague to New York, are taking note of what these lunatics in Kaduna are trying to do: order citizens out of a part of a country on the singular basis of ethnicity, failure do which they are threatening violence against an entire ethnic group, the Igbo. We have a name for such in international law. If the Nigerian authorities fail to act as I suspect they will, the international community must act.

6. Starting with Nasir El Rufai, northern Governors must act and ensure the safety of the Igbo in their domain. They must condemn this declaration unequivocally and go after the authors. This is called the Kaduna Declaration. This puts an extra responsibility on El Rufai. He must go after and must be seen to go after those bent on ethnic cleaning in his domain. He must do this as vigorously as he has gone after those he calls rumour mongers.

7. The ultimate responsibility lies with the Federal government. I must remind the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, that the Federal government is not in good standing when it comes to going after certain classes of offenders of northern extraction. No cattle herder has ever been arrested and prosecuted for anything. The Miyetti folks even have the luxury of issuing death threats and giving ultimatums in broad daylight. They have never been so much as invited by the police or DSS even when they openly threaten to kill people. Now we have known Northern youth associations threatening ethnic cleansing and violence. Openly. We are watching what the Nigerian state will do. We are watching carefully. Remember: when Nnamdi Kanu threatened violence, you arrested and are now prosecuting him.

8. An aside: I have noticed folks who have been going after Trump for his travel ban and other outrageous tendencies based on religion and ethnicity suddenly begin to find “contexts and background” for the Kaduna Declaration. How is it that you are able to see very clearly when it is America? What you condemn unequivocally for America suddenly has contexts and background in Nigeria?

I condemn the authors of the Kaduna Declaration. The Nigerian authorities must arrest and prosecute them swiftly.

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Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija