The Labour Party led by Keir Starmer will form the next government in the UK and his deputy, Angela Rayner, is set to become the deputy prime minister.
This may be good news for Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who is languishing in jail in Nigeria. This is because Rayner had taken up championing the cause for Kanu in 2016. The IPOB leader was first captured by Nigerian security services during a secret visit to the country and Rayner on 24 May 2016 asked in Parliament: What recent representations has the Minister made to his counterparts in the Nigerian Government on the continued detention of the British citizen Nnamdi Kanu of the indigenous people of Biafra? Is the Minister confident that Nnamdi is receiving all his rights under international law?
The minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office James Duddridge replied: I have continued representations with the Nigerian Government on Biafran and other issues and I will continue to do so. I have met a series of Members of Parliament who have constituency interests in Biafra, and I am happy to continue to do so. The British Government recognise Nigeria as a geographic area that holds together as one country, not as separate countries.
Earlier in March that year, Rayner had called on the British government to investigate allegations of human rights abuses against Biafran independence protesters in Nigeria. She told Newsweek magazine: “There is a strong Biafran presence in my constituency and I’m concerned that we don’t sit on our morals. I expect the government to take the issue seriously and to ensure they do everything in their power to protect individuals across the world.” She added: “My role is to continue to ensure that our FCO is keeping an eye on what’s happening there and that the rule of law is applied in all cases.”
She represents Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester and attended an IPOB rally in Westminster in March 2016, addressing the protesters and joining the separatists in dancing.
Wonderful wonderful reception from many Biafran friends outside UK Parliament today @BlessedBiafrans @mefonna pic.twitter.com/dBmXHVrK3K
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) March 2, 2016
Will Rayner, now she is at the heart of government, use her position to push for what she advocated for in 2016? Kanu was released on bail after his first spell in detention and then fled the country when his home in Afaraukwu, Abia State was raided by the military in September 2017. He resurfaced firstly in Israel in October 2018 and returned to the UK later. On 27 June 2021 he was allegedly captured in Kenya and handed over to the Nigerian authorities, who flew him back to Nigeria where he continues to remain in detention, barring court appearances.
Rayner’s career has moved up since dancing in the streets of Westminster with IPOB protesters. She was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in 2020 and has since abandoned any traces of radicalism she may have shown earlier. There is no record of her ever mentioning Biafra or Kanu since. It appears she has ditched them in favour of career progression as she has abandoned other principles.
The chances of her becoming an advocate for Kanu and Biafra seem as remote as ever as she embraces the trappings of power. It is worth noting that the Labour government of Harold Wilson, during the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70 against Biafran separatists, in the words of historian Mark Curtis “facilitated the massacre of Biafrans in Nigeria to protect its oil interests”. Those big money interests still dictate British foreign and domestic policies today. Angela Rayner will be dancing to their tune and not the protest songs of pro-Biafrans.
