…He’s Advocating for Ojukwu’s Biafra of the Mind, Not Secession

OHANAEZE NDIGBO PRESS RELEASE: 31st March 2026

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, as the apex Igbo sociocultural organization, is duty-bound to present a forthright appeal and an unadulterated truth to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, regarding the matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the much-publicized Biafra agitations. It is essential to set the record straight for the sake of posterity.

Nnamdi Kanu’s journey into Biafra activism began in 2001. He was a non-violent member of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and was appointed by the then MASSOB National Leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, as the Director of Biafra Radio International (BRI) in London. Later, he took over the MASSOB diaspora radio and renamed it Radio Biafra. His primary intention was to propagate the post-Biafra Civil War mantra of Dim Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, “The Biafra of the Mind.” As Ojukwu firmly stated, there is no just cause for another secession movement from Nigeria.

What led to the deviation from this noble cause was the encroachment of state-sponsored Fulani herdsmen militia during the tenure of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. This was part of what was perceived as “The Fulani-zation Agenda” against Southern Nigeria, especially the Igbos. Nnamdi Kanu successfully brought awareness and consciousness to Ndigbo about the activities of these murderous Fulani herdsmen militia. However, his efforts were undermined by two factors. Firstly, there were individuals around him with malevolent intentions. They sought to commercialize the Biafra agitation for personal fame and fortune. Secondly, the diaspora Igbo communities, many of whom were victims of Nigeria’s battered image under the Buhari administration, latched onto Kanu’s movement as a survival strategy.

It is heartening to note that the current administration under President Tinubu, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Her Excellency Iyom Bianca Ojukwu (as Minister of State) and the Dabiri Abeke-led Nigeria Diaspora Office, is working to restore Nigeria’s image that was severely damaged by previous regimes. Nigerians, especially the Igbos, are proud of these two women for changing the narrative, and the country’s image is gradually being restored.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo categorically appeals to President Tinubu’s conscience to consider the release of Nnamdi Kanu, with or without conditions. Many Nigerians and Igbos believe that, just as former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai was recently released, there should be a Presidential amnesty and pardon for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu either on or before May 29th, 2026, or during the Democracy Day celebration on June 12, 2026.

The potential release of Nnamdi Kanu from Sokoto Correctional Prison will not impede President Tinubu’s chances of winning the 2027 election. On the contrary, it will consolidate his victory. Ohanaeze Ndigbo assures that it will prevail upon Nnamdi Kanu to abide by all the necessary conditions attached to his release.

Credible intelligence available to Ohanaeze Ndigbo indicates that the opposition coalition of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s African Democratic Congress (ADC) has finalized plans to exploit Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration as a campaign strategy to sway Igbo votes in the 2027 elections. Ohanaeze respectfully reminds President Tinubu that Nnamdi Kanu is merely advocating for Ojukwu’s “Biafra of the Mind.” This concept represents the collective desires of Ndigbo to draw the Federal Government’s attention to the continuous neglect of the Southeast since the Civil War ended in 1970 and the urgent need to address the systematic marginalization of the Igbos and the rehabilitation of the Southeast’s infrastructure, which was destroyed during the 1967–1970 Nigeria-Biafra Civil War.

Nnamdi Kanu is an apostle of Ojukwu’s Biafra of the Mind, not a secessionist. He lacks the capacity to lead another civil war against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo takes this opportunity to commend President Tinubu for being the first Nigerian President since the end of the Civil War 56 years ago to demonstrate a genuine commitment to rebuilding major federal road projects in the Southeast, including the reopening of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway on March 31st, 2026.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo has full confidence that President Tinubu will release Nnamdi Kanu to Igbo leaders in 2026.

Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro
Deputy President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo

Chief Thomson Ohia
National Spokesman, Ohanaeze Ndigbo