Why is the southeast so militarised? – Kanayo O. Kanayo

In a video posted to his Instagram account on October 23, 2024, the actor sat in a moving car and compared his journey from Ibadan to Lagos with the experience of travelling in the Southeast, where numerous checkpoints have become a source of frustration for people.

“I left Felele Olorunsogo area of Ibadan this morning at 7:15, and this is exactly 8:15, and I am in Lagos. I found out one thing, over the distance of 80 kilometres, I didn’t see one police checkpoint. I didn’t see an army checkpoint either. Have you ever plied the Onitsha Enugu checkpoint road and counted the number of police or military checkpoints?” he said.

As he continued his journey to Lagos, he asked his viewers, “I’m still on the road, I’m in Lagos now. Why is the South East so militarised? So policed that you can’t go more than 200 kilometres without a checkpoint?”

Kanayo highlighted some of the issues travellers face while plying those roads with numerous checkpoints.

He added, “I need to ask this question because the delay in journeys and the humiliation people go through need to be pointed out. I’m saying the same distance from Enugu to Onitsa has so many checkpoints. They humiliate people so badly that most times everybody in the vehicle is asked to come down with their hands up.”

“Let us understand, is the south-east still part of Nigeria? Have the representatives seen the state of federal roads?” he asked.