by Alexander O. Onukwue

If there is any author out there drafting a novel to be called A Man of the People, it is arguable that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would stand a great chance of influencing the lead character.

Even that will not fully capture the enigma that he has become. Love or loathe him, Kanu has stirred the boiling pot of Nigerian beans. The scattering drops of hot oil are causing little spots of burns to those who stand around it, while some part of the beans gradually roasts.

Nnamdi Kanu, like many political figures who rise from popular discontent, will eventually face a massive falling out with his base. But, in the present tense, there is little need questioning the reason for the messianic adulation he receives.

Those who follow the IPOB movement do not care about the queries for their ideologies or of what the Biafran State hopes to be built on. They don’t want any exegesis on how failing to plan implies planning to fail. None is bothered that a separate State of Biafra may lose its meaning within a shorter time than it took Leicester City to return to the oblivion of the memory of Champions. They just want glory, “freedom” and prosperity, even if for a day.

Nnamdi Kanu is enjoying this honour of premiership he has been bestowed with. He is fully assuming this role now given to him freely, despite him not offering any clear vision on where exactly they are headed. He is now being compared to the most Influential Figure of all time to walk the human earth. He will milk it to the full advantage to take the Ministry to the promised land.

But this trawler knows the seagulls only follow because they expect sardines to be thrown into the sea. Like Ojukwu before him, Kanu will know when to quit, and when he does, they should not cry that their lord has been taken away not knowing where they took him. There is absolutely no guarantee that he will be with them to the end of time.