Nnamdi Kalu is sentenced to life in prison

 Nnamdi Kanu will likely be sentenced to prison for a long time today, but he will not serve up to half of it and he gets pardoned or released.

Prepare your mind for the outcome of today’s judgment, because it may not end the way many people are hoping. But one thing is clear: the young man understands the assignment more than Ojukwu, respectfully. 

He is ready to die for what he believes in, and history has shown that people with that level of conviction often get what they fight for, even long after they are gone.

This is not new. Every major freedom movement in history had a leader who was punished, imprisoned, or silenced, yet their ideas outlived the punishment.

Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, labelled a criminal and a threat. The same man later became South Africa’s president and a global symbol of freedom.

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested multiple times, attacked, surveilled, and eventually assassinated, yet his dream reshaped America.

Mahatma Gandhi was jailed repeatedly by the British Empire, but his movement eventually won India its independence.

Thomas Sankara was killed for his ideas, but today he is celebrated across Africa as a revolutionary who fought corruption, poverty, and imperialism.

Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown and exiled, yet his Pan-African vision remains one of Africa’s strongest political ideologies.

Malcolm X was demonized, monitored, and eventually assassinated, but his teachings became even louder after his death.

History has a pattern: You can imprison a man, but you cannot imprison an idea. Whether people support Nnamdi Kanu or not, one thing is certain, movements driven by conviction don’t end inside a courtroom. They continue in the minds and hearts of the people who believe in them.

Respectfully, prepare yourself. Today may not bring the outcome many want, but history has proven over and over again that struggles like this don’t end with a prison sentence.

I don’t totally agree with his ideologies, but I respect his courage, his conviction, and his willingness to stand for what he believes in, even at the cost of his life, freedom, and comfort. Not many people can do that in this country. My thoughts and prayers are with him, family, wife and young kids.