6th December 2025, NewsOrient, Opinion, Column, Governance And Development, Law And Society, News
By Emeka Nwosu, PhD.

There had been heightened tension in the entire South East of Nigeria since the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court in Abuja on November 20, 2025.

Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, governor of Abia, the home state of Kanu, has risen to the occasion to ensure that tension does not escalate and that Kanu`s conviction is set aside through a political approach.

In the light of the judgment, Governor Otti had appealed to the people of the state to remain calm, promising that necessary political steps would be taken to secure Kanu`s freedom.

Addressing the people in a televised broadcast, the governor admonished all aggrieved youths not to take laws into their hands, assuring that diplomatic channels would be followed to ensure that the needful was done.

It is for this reason that he has embarked on a quiet diplomatic offensive, reaching out to relevant authorities and influential leaders of thought in the country to see to it that this long running crisis is brought to a conclusive end.

Last week, in what was seen as a bold strategic move, Otti flew to Sokoto on a solidarity visit to Kanu who is being kept at a medium custodial centre in the seat of the Northern Caliphate.

It was a morale-boosting visit which went a long way in reassuring Kanu that he was not alone in his travails.

In the well-executed trip, the government of Sokoto State played host to Otti and made his mission eventful. He was provided with the necessary logistics and state officials who accompanied him on the soul-lifting visit to Kanu in the prison.

News reports indicated that Kanu was pleased to receive the governor as he thanked him for finding the time to come on the visit. He also reportedly appreciated the governor for the quiet efforts he was making to bring his travails to an end, adding that he (Kanu) was impressed with the gladdening news of the developmental strides of Otti in Abia State.

Governor Otti, while in Sokoto, was received in audience by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, who traded banters with the governor and, in a lighter mood, promised to turban Kanu as a high-ranking official of the Caliphate.

The visit to the Sultan is seen by political observers as something that was more than symbolic and ceremonial as Otti was believed to have solicited the assistance of the respected traditional and religious leader who is the head of all Muslims in Nigeria, as the push for political settlement gains traction.

Otti`s quiet diplomacy is a welcomed development which will certainly go a long way in unlocking the right doors and levelling all hills that have stood as a hindrance to the resolution of the seemingly protracted matter.

Otti was similarly received by the Igbo community in Sokoto who accorded him a very warm reception. He commended them for their unity and sense of purpose and urged them to be good ambassadors in the state.

On the entourage of the governor were the Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechukwu Uwanna (SAN), his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, and the younger brother of Kanu, Emmanuel Kanu.

He sounded very confident after his Sokoto mission. He told newsmen:
“While Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is free to appeal his conviction, I am happy to inform you that I have activated, and will continue to work on, the already agreed strategy until his freedom is secured”.

As a follow-up to his Sokoto trip, Governor Otti visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday where he reportedly sought a presidential reprieve for Kanu.

The discussions were believed to have centred on a political solution.

Feelers from the discussions suggested a silver lining in the horizon.

The people of Abia have implicit confidence in the capacity of their governor to walk his talk.

Given his personal relationship with the President, nurtured over the years when he was a Banker in Lagos, there are heightened expectations that Otti`s quiet diplomacy may after all be the efficacious wand that had been missing in the mix all along.

Dr. Nwosu, a Public Policy Analyst, writes from Umuahia.
Email: cdnwou2@gmail.com

~ Published By NewsOrient Network

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