Former Nigerian ambassador and widow of Biafran leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Bianca Ojukwu, has condemned the life imprisonment handed down to Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Bianca, who is Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, called on Nigerians, particularly the Igbo, to remain calm and pursue political solutions.
Ojukwu, who recently returned from a monitoring assignment in Zanzibar, described the court judgment as “not the outcome anyone hoped for,” stressing the need to avoid actions that could escalate tensions within the country or abroad.
“There comes a time in the history of a people when there is a need for calm. I advise Ndigbo and Nigerians as a whole that such a period is now,” Ojukwu said in a statement on Friday.
She urged restraint, warning citizens against responses that could inflame an already charged atmosphere, noting that “a word is enough for the wise.”
Ojukwu emphasized that the way forward should be through strategic engagement rather than anger, urging a united front of Igbo leaders—including governors, senators, lawmakers, traditional rulers, clergy, and business leaders—to interface collectively with the Federal Government.
“Beating the drums of fury and sabre-rattling will only generate diminishing returns and, in the worst case, yet another wasteland,” she warned.
She described dialogue as the most effective means of de-escalation, stressing that the struggle for justice, equity, and fair coexistence for Ndigbo must continue peacefully.
Despite the shock caused by Kanu’s sentencing, Ojukwu maintained that there is room for a resolution that could “reduce national anxiety and societal trauma.”
“I reassure Ndigbo, Nigerians, and our foreign partners that prospects remain for resolving this impasse. Now is the time for a joint engagement involving all South-East states to seek a political solution,” she added.