By Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma, AI-KO
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” – Ambrose Redmoon
The news came to me not as a bulletin, but as a tremor, a visceral shockwave that first registered as a disbelief in the pit of my stomach before climbing to my mind as a dizzying, electric clarity. It was a late evening call, the details spilling through the receiver in hushed, urgent tones: “He has gone to Sokoto. He is with him right now.” In that instant, the stagnant, oppressive narrative that has governed Nigerian politics – and particularly the Igbo predicament – for decades seemed to crack open. I was not just informed; I was elated, thrown into a whirl of profound thinking about the very anatomy of courage and the barren landscape of leadership we have traversed since 2000. This was the moment the script was torn up, and history, often a reluctant player, was forced onto a new stage.
Yesterday, history did not just turn a page; it held its breath in the ancient city of Sokoto. The air in the seat of the Caliphate is often dry, carrying the weight of centuries of tradition, religious authority, and political power – a dense atmosphere that seems to…
I have been privileged to receive the details of what transpired within those walls – details that go beyond official press statements and touch the very soul of our collective struggle. In that quiet room, stripped of the grandeur of office and the adversarial noise of the courtroom, two sons of Abia sat man to man. The Governor looked into the eyes of the IPOB leader – eyes that have seen the abyss of solitary confinement, the violence of international rendition, and the bitter gall of betrayal from within – and he did not see a terrorist. He saw a brother. He saw a constituent. He saw a human being whose inherent dignity is inextricably linked to the dignity of every Igbo man, woman, and child. Governor Otti reassured Nnamdi Kanu that the meticulous engagements he began over two years ago – engagements Kanu himself has been aware of, engagements he had previously confided in me about during our own dialogues – have not stopped. They have, in fact, intensified. Politics or no politics, life sentence or no life sentence, Otti’s stance has remained the granite truth, echoing the pragmatic wisdom of conflict mediators like Nelson Mandela who understood that you cannot shoot your way to peace, and you cannot jail an idea into oblivion. He went there to reaffirm the pursuit of a fair, administrative pathway to freedom, a path that acknowledges the limitations of a judiciary often seen as an instrument of state power. His message was a clear, strategic directive: “Remain calm but strong.” He assured him that the solution is no longer trapped in the endless, rigged maze of the judiciary, but in a political and administrative resolution that seeks to restore dignity to all parties involved, a nuanced approach scholars like Danielle Allen would argue is foundational to rebuilding fractured democracies.
And then, there was the moment that redefined the very geometry of the conflict. Governor Otti shared with Mazi Kanu a conversation he had with the Sultan of Sokoto. The Sultan – the spiritual head of Muslims in Nigeria, a man whose influence weaves through the fabric of Northern power – is not just peripherally aware of Otti’s efforts; he is intellectually and morally on the same page. He supports the de-escalation. But it was the disarming humanity of the Sultan’s remark that shattered the ice. The Sultan joked that Nnamdi Kanu was now “his subject” since he resides in Sokoto, and that he was planning to “turban him.” When Otti delivered this message, the room erupted. Mazi Kanu laughed loudly. He beamed with a smile that has been absent from the public view for years. Think about the catalytic power of that laughter. In a nation shredded by ethnic suspicion, where narratives of hate are efficiently merchandised for political gain, a simple joke from the Sultan to the “leader of the separatists,” delivered by a Christian Governor, melted an iron curtain of division. It signaled, more eloquently than any policy paper, that Nnamdi Kanu is safe. It signaled that the Northern establishment is listening to Alex Otti in a way they have listened to no other Igbo leader since the complex legacies of Ojukwu and Ekwueme, suggesting a bridge built not on expediency, but on earned respect.
The meeting between Governor Otti, an Igbo Christian leader, and the subsequent engagement with the Sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims and a powerful Northern institution, is a moment that deserves to be placed in the rarest annals of Nigerian history. It echoes the high-stakes negotiations of past eras where national unity was forged by principled, courageous inter-regional dialogue, such as the post-Civil War reconciliation efforts. By having the Sultan joke about “turbanning” Kanu, the Governor secured a symbolic endorsement that cuts through the simplistic, decades-old narrative of a monolithic North vs. a marginalized South East. This act built a bridge of mutual respect, demonstrating that the pathway to peace in Nigeria does not lie in political correctness or avoidance, but in the willingness of principled men to look past ideological divides and engage on the shared ground of human dignity and national stability.
Mazi Kanu’s response to the Governor was not just gratitude; it was a historic, soul-searching validation. He told Governor Otti that he was not surprised by the visit, for he had long discerned Otti’s character. But then, he said something that should make every detractor in Abia State freeze in their tracks. He told the Governor that he is proud of the giant strides being made in Abia. He said he receives constant feedback from home – reports of roads where there were once craters, reports of hospitals coming back to life, reports of salaries paid and dignity restored. And then, the immortal comparison: Mazi Nnamdi Kanu likened Alex Otti’s governance to the legacy of Dee Sam Mbakwe. For the uninitiated, Sam Mbakwe is the gold standard, the archetype of compassionate and effective governance in Igboland. He was the “Weeping Governor” who cried for his people’s neglect and then wiped their tears with unprecedented, tangible development. For Nnamdi Kanu – a man who is critically, almost constitutionally, skeptical of every politician, a man who has rhetorically framed the Nigerian political class as a “zoo” – to place Alex Otti on the sole pedestal of Mbakwe is the ultimate, earth-shaking endorsement. It atomizes the narrative of the opposition. It silences the criminal elements who try to enforce “sit-at-homes” or attack public infrastructure in the name of “the struggle.” If the prisoner in Sokoto declares that Otti is building the land like Mbakwe, then anyone attacking Otti’s government is, by logical and moral extension, an enemy of Nnamdi Kanu and the people’s welfare. Kanu declared that his only interest is good governance – the healing and upliftment of his people. He prayed for the Governor. In that prayer, a profound spiritual and political alignment between the leader of the people’s agitation and the leader of the people’s government was sealed, creating a unified front for progress that isolation and incarceration could never achieve.
The neutralization of political risk and the opposition’s narrative cannot be overstated. Every act of moral audacity carries a profound political risk, and the Governor’s visit was no exception. His opposition, particularly those who have thrived on the narrative of fear and regional division, were poised to frame the visit as a sign of radical sympathy or a distraction from governance. However, the subsequent events – the Sultan’s light-hearted yet weighty acknowledgement, the official presence of the Abia Attorney General, and most critically, Mazi Kanu’s powerful, unsolicited endorsement – completely neutralized the opposition’s potential attack. By explicitly linking Otti’s governance to the Sam Mbakwe legacy, Kanu stripped criminal elements of their moral cover for enforcing sit-at-homes and simultaneously atomized the opposition’s political platform. This visit, therefore, was a masterclass in risk management, transforming what could have been a political liability into the ultimate, unassailable mandate for the Governor.
The Socio-Economic Toll of Agitation and the Path to Stability is the next crucial angle. Beyond the political theater of the visit, a crucial angle remains the devastating socio-economic cost of the prolonged agitation and the attendant insecurity across the entire South East region. For years, the sit-at-home orders – whether enforced by true believers, criminal elements, or a paralysis born of fear – have haemorrhaged the regional economy, grinding commerce to a halt and driving away vital investment. Governor Otti’s visit, therefore, is not merely a bid for the freedom of one man, but a calculated move to unlock the immense, suffocated economic potential of five states. By engaging directly with Mazi Kanu and securing a visible endorsement of good governance over violent struggle, Otti seeks to dismantle the moral authority of those who enforce the crippling orders. His act is a message to the global investment community that a trusted, capable leader is now strategically engaging the root causes of instability, paving the way for a return to commerce, industrial productivity, and the dignified employment of the region’s youth, a peace dividend far more valuable than any political prize.
My people, we must look at this with analytical, unclouded eyes. This visit was not just a humanitarian gesture; it was a strategic masterstroke that exposes the hollow emptiness of the “Abuja politicians” who claim to represent us while mastering only the art of subservience. Look at the deliberate composition of Governor Otti’s delegation. He went with the Attorney General of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwanna, SAN. This signals that the visit was grounded in law and statecraft; it was not a clandestine, deniable meeting but an official state function involving the chief law officer, giving it a gravitas that transcends mere symbolism. He went with Prince Emmanuel Kanu, Nnamdi’s younger brother. This signals familial unity and respect, preempting the rumor mongers and showing that the biological family and the political leadership are moving in conscious lockstep. He went with his top media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, ensuring that the story is told correctly, its nuance preserved against the inevitable distortion from the propaganda machinery of a bitter opposition. Now, hold this image against the behavior of the so-called “elites” of Abia and the South East. For years, we have endured Senators, House of Representatives members, and Ministers who boast of having the ears of power. Yet, when Nnamdi Kanu was violently renditioned, they were silent. When he was subjected to conditions meant to break him, they were silent. When he was sentenced to life imprisonment, some of them – God forgive them – privately toasted to his demise, believing his incarceration removed a thorn from their political flesh. They use his name to campaign, shouting “Igbo Presidency” and “Marginalization” when it suits their electoral theatrics. But when the fire is hottest, when principle demands a walk into the furnace, they are conspicuously, morally absent. Alex Otti has exposed them all. He has demonstrated that you do not need to be a sycophant to get consequential things done in Nigeria. You need integrity. You need to be a partner who can be trusted. The reason the Sultan and the Sokoto State Government welcomed Otti and facilitated this visit is that they respect him. They see a man who is not coming to beg for contracts or oil blocks, but a leader coming to seek justice for his brother, a quality that commands respect across any cultural or religious divide.
The Re-engagement of the Diaspora and the Re-channeling of Resources is a vital consideration here. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s struggle has always been fiercely supported by a vast, influential, and financially potent Igbo Diaspora. For years, the energy and resources of this global network – spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia – have been channeled primarily into funding the separatist agitation and maintaining a powerful, often adversarial, global propaganda machine. The Sokoto visit fundamentally alters this dynamic. By demonstrating genuine courage and providing a credible, administrative pathway for resolution, Governor Otti offers the Diaspora a vital political off-ramp. He is signaling that their immense resources and intellectual capital can now be re-directed from protest and confrontation to active investment in the Rebirth of Abia and, by extension, the entire South East. This shift of focus – from funding a struggle to funding development – is perhaps the most significant long-term strategic win, transforming a global network of opposition into a powerful coalition for reconstruction.
The Governor’s assurance that the matter will be resolved “administratively” is the most critical and forward-looking takeaway for our collective future. We have seen the brutal limits of the purely legal route. The Nigerian judiciary, in matters of such high political voltage, can become a labyrinth where justice is held hostage, a tool for infinite delay. The life sentence was a message from the state, a door slammed shut using “the law” as its lock. By visiting Sokoto, Otti is picking the lock on the window of “Political Solution.” He is patiently building a national consensus, arguing that Nnamdi Kanu is more valuable as a free man helping to stabilize and develop the East than as a martyred symbol festering in a Sokoto cell. He is leveraging his tangible, celebrated performance in Abia – which has garnered surprising national respect – as political capital to bargain for Kanu’s release. He is telegraphing to the Federal Government: “I am fixing the economy and security of the East; give me the man who can help me cement this peace.” This is high-level statecraft, the kind of strategic thinking we have desperately lacked since the visionary days of Michael Okpara, a thinking that understands power as a tool for resolution, not just domination.
The Administrative Pathway: Grounding the Political Solution in Law remains the most potent aspect of the resolution. To fully appreciate this masterstroke, one must consider the limitations of the Nigerian judicial system in politically-charged cases. A judiciary, however independent, can still be constrained by the prevailing political climate. The administrative route, however, transcends the procedural labyrinth of appeals, counter-appeals, and the technicalities of law. It implies a direct engagement with the highest executive authority, leveraging constitutional instruments such as the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy or a broader political amnesty framework. By involving the Attorney General of the State, Otti grounded the mission in statecraft and law, signaling to the Federal Government that this is not a sentimental plea, but a carefully constructed political negotiation. This approach reframes the issue from a criminal problem to a conflict resolution challenge, appealing to the President’s legacy and authority to bring closure to a costly national distraction.
For us in Abia State, this visit is a mirror held up to our political soul. It forces us to look at ourselves and ask with brutal honesty: Who is truly representing us? We have leaders who have spent decades swimming in the corridors of federal power. They have held the Senate Presidency. They have been Governors. They own private jets and media empires. Yet, what have they done for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, a son of this very soil? Their contribution has been mockery. Their contribution has been provocation. Their contribution has been cold political arithmetic, calculating how to use the insecurity in the region to rig elections and maintain their fiefdoms. As 2027 draws nearer, you can already see their hands moving in the old, familiar patterns. They are hoping to exploit raw emotion. They are preparing to come back and say, “We will release him if you vote for us.” But today, His Excellency has closed that door gently, firmly, and wisely. He has shown that you don’t wait for election year to show compassion and courage. You do it when it is hardest. You do it when the sentence is fresh and the fear is palpable. You do it when it is politically risky. Otti has reclaimed the moral mandate of Abia State. He has shown that he is the true father of the state – not by age, but by the boundless size of his heart and the unbreakable strength of his spine.
The tides, I tell you, are turning. The visit to Sokoto has fundamentally shifted the atmospheric pressure in the South East. The suffocating despair that followed the life sentence judgment has been replaced by a cautious, sturdy hope. Nnamdi Kanu is in high spirits. He is laughing. He is praying. He is watching Abia rise under Otti’s hand. The Sultan is joking about turbanning. The bridge across the Niger and the Benue is being rebuilt, not on the shaky, rotten pillars of political transactions, but on the solid concrete of mutual respect and serious administrative engagement. Abia will not bargain away its conscience. We will not be intimidated by life sentences or the posturing of Abuja politicians. And truth – like Nnamdi Kanu’s famous, defiant challenge, “Show me the law” – remains undefeated. But now, it is coupled with a new, more profound challenge from Alex Otti: “Show me the humanity.”
A New Paradigm of Courage: From Transactional to Transformational Leadership is what we are witnessing. This essay highlights “courage,” but the depth of this courage lies in its philosophical departure from decades of transactional Nigerian politics. Historically, Igbo politicians sought access and influence by demonstrating subservience, by securing contracts, or by quietly lobbying for appointments. Otti’s move is transformational: he has chosen a path of principled confrontation, asserting moral authority not through begging, but through an unimpeachable record of governance in Abia. He has shown that to be respected in Nigeria’s complex power structure, a leader must first demonstrate loyalty to his own constituents, even at personal political risk. This act serves as a powerful new political hermeneutic for the younger generation, redefining leadership not as the ability to acquire wealth or access Abuja corridors, but as the willingness to sacrifice political comfort for the dignity and welfare of the people, an ethical foundation that the older, “tame” political class can no longer contest.
Let us conclude by recognizing that what we witnessed is a rare entry into the annals of consequential leadership. It is a case study in how a single act of moral audacity can rewire a nation’s circuitry of conflict. Otti did not just visit a prisoner; he performed an act of philosophical statecraft, asserting that true sovereignty lies in the courage to embrace one’s own, even in the lion’s den. He demonstrated that the most potent power is often not the power to punish, but the power to connect, to humanize, and to negotiate from a position of unassailable dignity. This Sokoto Declaration, therefore, is more than a political event; it is the key for understanding the rebirth of a conscience. It argues that the future belongs not to those who build higher walls, but to those who, with clear eyes and steady hearts, walk into the fire to plant a seed of peace. Those who walk with this truth and humanity today are not merely leading a state; they are scripting the first principles for a new, more humane political dawn for Nigeria itself. May this flame they have kindled in Sokoto’s dry air become an inextinguishable beacon.
May God strengthen Governor Otti, the modern-day Mbakwe.
May God preserve Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and hasten his return.
And may God steady all who genuinely seek peace, justice, and a New Abia.
