Ekweremadu’s Nuremberg treatment, politicians and cry of Nigerian masses

Patrick Okohue

The Nigerian political environment has been awash since the weekend following the attack on former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu by some aggrieved members of the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) at the 2nd Annual Igbo Cultural Festival held in Nuremberg, Germany.

Senator Ekweremadu who was attending as a speaker/special guest of honor at the event organised by the Ndi-igbo Germany community was beaten up and egged publicly.

Ekweremadu was dragged around and stoned with different objects, around the venue of the event.

The lawmaker was later whisked away in a car, after several attempts to stop him from escaping.

In a video which has gone viral, one of the attackers was heard saying “imagine, people are dying on a daily basis, people are wailing on a daily basis and we are here enjoying.”

This incident is currently generating controversy across the political and social divide and the traditional media and social media is still awash with both condemnation and a few show of understanding for the actions of the attackers.

Among the first set of persons to respond to this development and understandably so, is the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who condemned the Saturday’s attack on the former deputy senate president and current serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

This is even as the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-East zone, Mr. Austin Umahi and Chairman, National Assembly New Media Forum, an umbrella body for Online journalists in the National Assembly, Comrade Yemi Itodo all joined to condemned the attack on Senator Ekweremadu.

In a statement personally signed by Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, she said “The incident is an embarrassment to the country.

“According to reliable sources, some of the culprits who perpetrated the act have been apprehended and we call on the German government and law enforcement agencies to ensure that there are consequences for their actions.

“It is also shamefully pathetic that an event which was nobly put together by the Ndi-Igbo community in Germany whose members make up the majority of Nigerians living in Germany, to amongst other things provide a forum for the Diasporans and various stakeholders to network and to facilitate a better cooperation between German and Nigerian businesses, ended up in such a disgraceful manner.

“We appeal to Nigerians to be of good behavior wherever they find themselves because such incidents tarnish the image of the country.”

The PDP in a press statement from Umahi’s Media Office also frowned at the action of the group against Ekweremadu who he said has been at the forefront of the struggle against the marginalisation of Ndi-Igbo in the Nigerian Federation.

The zonal Chairman said he was overwhelmed by surprise that some individuals could hide under the name of the proscribed IPOB to attack Ekweremadu after all his efforts as the leader of South-East Senate caucus in the 9th Senate to secure the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the self acclaimed leader of the group, from detention.

He said for Senator Ekweremadu to have travelled to far away Nurnberg in Germany to attend the second annual festival and convention organised by Ndi-Igbo residents there, was a demonstration of his undying love for Ndi-Igbo, which he has been exhibiting over the years.

Umahi urged Ekweremadu not to be discouraged by the attack; but see it as one of the many sacrifices he has to pay in pursuit for justice and better treatment for Ndi-Igbo both within and outside the country.

He also called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the dastardly act to serve as a deterrent to others.

Also speaking on the incident, Comrade Itodo, said Senator Ekweremadu is not just a lawmaker, but one of the few capable hands in the leadership of the National Assembly in the last two decades of the nation’s democracy.

“He is an asset to the legislative arm of government and the nation at large, who is well revered both by Nigerians and even foreigners,” Itodo said.

Ekweremadu’s wealth of experience and commitment as Deputy President of the Senate for many terms is a great contributor to the sociopolitical developments of this great country and does not deserve the treatment meted to him by his kinsmen, Itodo said.

Also speaking on the attack, Orji Kalu, the Senate Chief Whip, condemned the attack on Ekweremadu.

Reacting to the incident, Kalu, a former Abia State governor and a senator on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), described the act as uncivilized, unacceptable and barbaric.

In a statement signed by his media office, Kalu urged the people of the South-East to respect leaders at all levels.

Kalu appealed to the Embassy of Nigeria in Germany and the German government to ensure that those behind the act were made to face the law.

According to him, “After watching a viral video of the physical attack on former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweramadu, I was not only disappointed, but irritated and disturbed with the action of some members of IPOB.

“The assault on the senator is a slap on Igbo leaders regardless of age, party affiliation and religion.

“The perpetrators of the uncivilised act must face the wrath of the law.

“Senator Ekweramadu is not only one of the Igbo leaders, but also a prominent Nigerian and as such should be accorded due respect by all and sundry at home and abroad.

“For the South East to move forward, the people of the region must embrace dialogue as a way of resolving pertinent issues and eschew violence.”

But, a former Minister of Aviation and a fervent critic of the present government, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted differently to the incident.

Fani Kayode, who took to his Twitter page, described the incident as an eye-opener to every southern leader.

According to him, “What happened to my friend and brother Sen. Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany at the hands of IPOB is an eye-opener and clear signal to every political leader in southern Nigeria.

“The people of the South are getting angry and you either stand up and defend them or stand aside.”

While the incident and the real reasoning behind the attack remains in the realm of conjecture, some Nigerians are of the view that this may just be the beginning of such attacks on top Nigerian politicians abroad.

According to them, the mere fact that the incident seems to be getting no reprisal from either the Nigerian Embassy in Germany or the German Government may go a long way to embolden other Nigerian nationals resident in foreign lands to do similar thing to top Nigerian politicians when they travel abroad.

They reason that many Nigerians living in foreign lands are not doing so because they prefer living there to living in their own land, but because they have no better opportunity at home.

According to them, these Nigerians have been exposed to better life outside the shores of their country and seen what is possible and what leaders of other countries with less endowment have done for their people, but not Nigerian leaders.

For them, these leaders are heartless, and if nothing is done to those who dared revolution against government officials abroad, the same thing that Omoyele Sowore attempted to organize at home for which he is still incarcerated, it is better the humiliation continue outside the shores of the country since no one is allowed to freely protest in the country.

The reasoning may not be farfetched, as some incidents in history have shown that it can be done and indeed it has been done in some countries.

There is a story of what happened in Dutchland in 1672, when a mob of angry Dutch killed and ate their Prime Minister

In 1672 the Dutch Republic was at war with England and France. Many thought that Johan de Witt, the ‘Grand Pensionary’ – in effect, prime minister – of the republic had failed, and wanted strong leadership from the young Prince of Orange: Willem III, later William III of England.

The House of Orange was the nearest the republic had to royalty, while de Witt and his supporters – including many among the powerful merchant class were republicans.

An unsuccessful attempt was made on de Witt’s life, and his brother, Cornelis was arrested on trumped-up charges of plotting to assassinate Willem. It was while visiting his brother in prison that de Witt was eventually killed, on 20 August, by a mob that had gathered outside – both brothers were hanged and mutilated.

Willem’s complicity in this is unclear, though he failed to prosecute the mob’s ringleaders. There are accounts of some among the mob taking parts of the bodies, and eating them.

Although the stories may have been exaggerated, people did often take ‘souvenirs’ of executions, such as those who dipped handkerchiefs in the blood of King Charles I.

Also in 2014, One of Kiev’s prominent politicians Vitaly Zhuravsky, once a member of former President Viktor Yanukovich’s Party of the Regions and now a member of the Economic Development Party, came face-to-face with an angry mob outside Ukraine’s parliament.

Having a history of authorising bills placing restrictions on anti-government protests and criminalising libel did not appear to play well in his favor.

Protesters, shouting profanities, tossed the neatly dressed lawmaker into a trash can, dousing him with water and clocking him with a tire. Zhuravsky was ultimately able to crawl out of the bin and escape the mob.

Conscious of the possibility of today’s reality, a former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo about three years, warned Igbo leaders to take the issues of restructuring, debate on Biafra and other matters affecting the South East geopolitical zone seriously, to avoid being violently confronted by the youths in the nearest future.

Soludo gave the warning on Thursday, September 29, 2016 while reviewing a book titled ‘The Politics of Biafra and The Future of Nigeria,’ written by a former House of Representatives member, Chike Ofodille.

He stated that it was necessary for Igbo elite, intelligentsia and leaders of thought, to sit down and commence the debate on whether or not Biafra should be, instead of playing Hyde and Jekyll on the matter.

While political watchers are saddened that the frustration of Nigerians over the alleged bad governance in the country has gotten to the level it is today, they warned that political leaders are likely to face more humiliating treatment from many Nigerians abroad, who are not there of their own volition, but pushed out of the country due to their inability to find a meaningful alternative at home.

These Nigerians believe that besides fears that many more politicians will be given the Nuremberg treatment, that like a video currently going viral on social media made by a New York, United States of America based Nigerian from the South West region of the country,

charging Nigerians abroad to beat any Nigerian political office holders found anywhere abroad and send them back home, even their children schooling abroad should receive the same treatment, may become a reality.

There is the fear that the children of some of them who are either schooling abroad or living abroad off their rich parents who in turn are living off the commonwealth of the Nigerian people may be the next target, as they may be marked for such attack or public humiliation.

It is therefore the opinion of concerned Nigerians that while the Nuremberg, Germany incident should be condemned by all well meaning Nigerians and everything done to bring the perpetrators to book, a note of warning should also be sounded to those holding political powers today to use their offices for the good of the people.

While it is clear that it is only a foolish parent that will wait for their children to cry before feeding them, it will also not be a good thing for those in government to wait until the people starts carrying placards before they do what is right.

Quote; There is the fear that the children of some of them who are either schooling abroad or living abroad off their rich parents who in turn are living off the commonwealth of the Nigerian people may be the next target, as they may be marked for such attack or public humiliation.

It is therefore the opinion of concerned Nigerians that while the Nuremberg, Germany incident should be condemned by all well meaning Nigerians and everything done to bring the perpetrators to book, a note of warning should also be sounded to those holding political powers today to use their offices for the good of the people.