Uchechi Okwu-Kanu, the wife of the embattled director of Radio Biafra, has said that her husband will not relent in his agitation for the Independence of Biafra states if eventually released.
Uchechi made this declaration while speaking in an interview with the IBTimes UK. She emphasized that if her husband (Kanu) stops after being released, it means that he’s been defeated or he doesn’t know what he wanted in the first place.
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other pro-Biafran groups call for the independence of territories that formed the Biafran Republic, in 1967 and re-annexed to Nigeria in 1970.
Kanu, who is the leader of the movement, was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy, intimidation and belonging to an unlawful society. Biafra leader pleaded not guilty.
Uchechi Okwu-Kanu said: “It is the British who laid the foundation of Nigeria… And these people [ethnicities and tribes of Nigeria] are of different culture, different religion, different belief, different understanding of life.
“So we all are different in several ways, in every way. So, we are not actually meant to be together. You must have heard about the Biafran war. My mom was born then, a few years before the war. We sort of defended ourselves. We defended ourselves for over a long period of time,” she added.
Kanu’s wife continued that Biafrans are now suffering, despite supplying resources to other parts of Nigeria.
“We don’t have better schools, we don’t have better roads, we don’t have anything, not even jobs.
“So that is why what they are doing is to leave. So, I would say referendum is not a bad idea, it is not a bad option, but the people need to understand why we want Biafra.
“And that’s what NNAMDI KANU is doing, sanitizing his people, creating awareness. And you can see that a lot of people have woken up from their slumber. Most people who are sleeping have come to realize that this is really what it should be. I mean, if he is released and then he stops, it means he’s been defeated or he doesn’t know what he wanted in the first place.
“But if you know the reason why you are asking for something: you are asking for bread because you are hungry, and then you are thrown into jail. Then you released from the jail, but still didn’t receive your bread, you are still hungry. So he would continue, he will, yes,” Kanu’s wife concluded.
