Diaspora Advocacy Groups Laud Enugu Monarch for Speaking Truth to President Tinubu on Kanu’s Travails

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Enugu


Three US-based advocacy groups have commended a traditional ruler from Enugu, His Royal Highness Igwe Lawrence Chikezie Agubuzu for his courage in telling President Bola Tinubu to his face to free Nnamdi Kanu.

The royal father, who is the Eze Ogbunechendo of Ezema Olo Kingdom in Ezeagu Local Government of Enugu State had on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2026 National Traditional and Religious Leaders Summit on Health, pointed out the discriminatory policies of the federal government towards the South-east zone.

He told Tinubu, who was at the event that the continued detention of Kanu was unjustified and discriminatory given that other self-determination agitators like Sunday Igboho of the Yoruba Nation movement, are all walking free.

Agubuzu told Tinubu that Kanu should be freed first and if he is not wanted in Nigeria, the Biafra self-determination activist could be returned to Kenya (where he was abducted) or to the United Kingdom, his second home.

In a joint statement, the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Ambassadors for Self-Determination, and Rising Sun Foundation, noted that Agubuzu has courageously spoken truth to power and should be praised for bravery.

In the statement signed by the trio of Dr. Sylvester Onyia for AVID, Chief Evans Nwankwo, ASD, and Dr. Maxwell Dede, RSF, the US-based groups sent “a clarion call to the conscience of Igboland”, saying that “only courage, not cowardice, can save AlaIgbo”.

“We unequivocally commend His Royal Majesty Eze Agubuzu of Enugu for his unflinching courage in telling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his face what other Igbo traditional rulers have been too weak, too compromised, or too cowardly to say: Release Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu immediately, or return him to Kenya,” the groups said.

“Let it be known that HRM Eze Lawrence Agubuzu and HRM Eze Chukwuemeka Eri are currently the only monarchs who have publicly understood the depth of the pain, injustice, and anguish inflicted upon our people by the illegal detention of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”

The diaspora groups lamented that “while Fulani herder murderers are pampered, Yoruba agitators walk free, and the Nigerian state continues to show contempt for Igbo humanity, the majority of Igbo kings and chiefs, remain silent.”

They said that the silence of many prominent  Igbo royal fathers “is complicity (and) their inaction is betrayal”.

The foreign based advocacy groups wondered the worth of “the titles and crowns of these so-called leaders if they cannot stand for the lives, liberty, and dignity of their own people.”

According to them, “AlaIgbo cannot survive leaders who place personal comfort above collective justice.”

They called on all Igbo traditional rulers “to abandon cowardice, abandon complicity, and speak with one voice”, adding that “the time for half-measures, whispers, and veiled statements is over.”

“Step up boldly for Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, or step aside and make room for leaders who will. History will not forgive those who chose silence while our people suffered injustice,” the statement said.

“The courage of HRM Eze Agubuzu and HRM Eze Chukwuemeka Eri demonstrates that moral authority, not fear of Abuja, is what preserves a people’s dignity.

“Let all Igbo leaders take note: the era of self-serving silence is over. AlaIgbo demands justice, leadership, and courage—now,” the diaspora groups stated.