On Monday, the trial of Radio Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, shed light on yet another problem that could have been avoided if President Buhari and his administration addressed it quickly enough. Nnamdi Kanu, controversial and arguably insane, is the poster boy for the secession agitation calling for citizens from the south eastern part of Nigeria to pull away from the rest of the country and the government further validated his image by supporting his arrest by the Defence Security Service (DSS) back in October.

Since then, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against his detention as well as to fan the flames of the Biafra movement but, to say the agitation for Biafra started last month is not completely true. For many years, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have clamoured for the Nigerian government to look into a perceived marginalization of the Igbo people. The last administration turned a blind eye to it and the present government appears to be doing the same.

Despite not being able to garner many votes from the south east, making it a point to travel to this part of the country would have helped ease the tension that was created by a fear of revenge from the president. To compound the problem, President Buhari mentioned in July, that he is unwilling to treat people who did not vote for him the same way he would address those who did.

This statement has been reflected in his appointments, according to some. They claim he has put ‘his people’ in the better positions while the Igbo people ‘feed from the scraps that fall from his table’. Buhari did not come out to dissuade this notion, instead has proceeded as though they do not matter.

Also, there have been calls for further development in south eastern states with federal roads remaining in poor conditions for years. Anambra, Enugu, Abia and Rivers state are a few of the states that have dilapidated transport networks, with Enugu lawmakers recently declaring a “state of emergency” on federal roads in the state. Other problems that have been cited include irregular power supply and security challenges.

Therefore, it seems convicting Nnamdi Kanu would not end the Biafra agitation, because for as long as they feel marginalized, the Igbo people will not give up fighting for a sovereign state.

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