While talking with a female bank manager, she made a scary revelation to me. She told me how Nigerian bank vaults are filled with monies of dead men who kept their bank accounts secret from their wives.
She explained it was against bank ethics or policies for an account officer to inform the relatives of a deceased customer of his account (without his permission). And since the man is dead, without giving his permission, the bank dubiously keeps silent about the money. She told me it is rampant among many businessmen.
She revealed many instances of dead men whose families are still suffering, while they have millions stashed in their secret accounts.
She mentioned one that happened few months back. The man died and the wife was crying all over the place, looking for money to bury him. Whereas the man had nothing less than 60 million naira in his accounts. The banker said it got to a stage that she could no longer bear it, her conscience was pummelling her. She had to go against her bank rules, and got in contact with the widow and revealed to the woman how much her husband had in his accounts and how to claim them.
She also told of another story of one man who escaped death, but his right hand got paralysed. He couldn't sign his chequebook with his left hand and he was in a desperate situation that needed him to sign papers and cheques. That was how he learnt his lesson the hard way. As soon as he got better, he immediately made his wife co-signatory to all his accounts and involved her in all his businesses. What if he had died? That was how his family would have suffered in the midst of plenty.
This stupid behaviour is not reserved for wealthy men alone, even paupers who earn little have their own complex issues.
I just read on the wall of an Igbo group where a man complained of how his friend refused to release his ATM pin number to his wife even though there was an emergency at home, and his ATM was at home.
Many orphans and widows suffering today are put in that condition by their stupid dead father.
Women and Retirees are not left out. Someone told me how a relative of hers died and none of her relatives knew that her properties were scattered all over the world. Not even one house. Not even a dime in any of her accounts... If you knew billions unclaimed in banks belong to selfish dead people, you would weep.
Banks and Bankers grow fat on these oats.
Please do the needful now that you still have the breath to do so. Of course tomorrow is pregnant and only God knows what it will deliver.
Author Unknown
Odenigbo Aka-Ikenga: Issues .Events .Historicals .News .Facts .Arts .Crafts .Culture .Tradition
Showing posts with label Letters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letters. Show all posts
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Abacha Didnt Die On Top Of Women or Of Posioned Apple -Al-Mustapha.
Former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, has dismissed claims that Abacha died after eating an apple from his concubines.
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Narrating how the former Head of State died, Al-Mustapha said contrary to insinuations, the sudden collapse of the health system of Abacha started on “Sunday, 7th June, 1998 right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him, Abacha.”
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Al-Mustapha said shortly after the hand shake, he “noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief and I informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, accordingly. He, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the Head of State.” He said, “Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m; his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him.
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He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m; the Head of State was bouncing and receiving.visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends. “They stayed and chatted together till about 3.35a.m.
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A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre. “At about 5a.m; the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality.
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Narrating how the former Head of State died, Al-Mustapha said contrary to insinuations, the sudden collapse of the health system of Abacha started on “Sunday, 7th June, 1998 right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him, Abacha.”
.
Al-Mustapha said shortly after the hand shake, he “noticed the change in the countenance of the late Commander-in-Chief and I informed the Aide-de-Camp, Lt. Col. Abdallah, accordingly. He, however, advised that we keep a close watch on the Head of State.” He said, “Later in the evening of 8th June, 1998, around 6p.m; his doctor came around, administered an injection to stabilize him.
.
He was advised to have a short rest. Happily, enough, by 9p.m; the Head of State was bouncing and receiving.visitors until much later when General Jeremiah Timbut Useni, the then Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, came calling. He was fond of the Head of State. They were very good friends. “They stayed and chatted together till about 3.35a.m.
.
A friend of the house was with me in my office and as he was bidding me farewell, he came back to inform me that the FCT Minister, General Useni was out of the Head of State’s Guest House within the Villa. I then decided to inform the ADC and other security boys that I would be on my way home to prepare for the early morning event at the International Conference Centre. “At about 5a.m; the security guards ran to my quarters to inform me that the Head of State was very unstable. At first, I thought it was a coup attempt. Immediately, I prepared myself fully for any eventuality.
AN OPEN LETTER TO MY BRETHREN IN THE "SOUTH-SOUTH"
By Donald Ekpo, Akwa Ibom State
"For as long as the Old Eastern region remain in disarray and not united, self-determination of the region will remain impossible." ~ An anonymous retired Nigerian Army Chief
The word “South-South,” even though it may sound absurd, is a name we have come to accept as a people. We can’t say exactly how we came about to be identified with the name neither can we say exactly when we were given the name, but we just know it is our name. While growing up back in the days, geography taught us about “the North,” “the South,” “The East” and “The West.” For proper definition of locations, we were also told about “The Northwest, NorthEast, Southwest and SouthEast” I can’t remember anything like the “NorthNorth”, “SouthSouth”, “EastEast” or Westwest , but here I am today, writing a letter to my South-South brethren. That is what happens to a people that are not in control of their Cultural Development or the Political and Economic Future.
That is what happens to a people that are just there for their numbers, that is what happens to people that are just kept for their services, that is what happens to people that are just custodians of wealth for a supposedly superior people, and finally, that is what happens to peoples that are slaves. Any name is suitable for them, they can only get whatever is given to them even if it is originally theirs. If in doubt, please remind me of the meaning of KUNTA KINTE.
I write this letter not because it is frustrating to see how we allowed a defrauded propaganda to position our people as the pawns in the Political Chess called Nigeria, but rather, I write this letter in an effort to request that we free ourselves from these propaganda that has lingered for too long. If our grandfathers and fathers did not ask questions, is there any divine law that says we cannot ask? We know we all belonged to the old Eastern Region of Nigeria before the Northern Protectorate took back their power after the gruesome murder of General Aguiyi Ironsi.
Just for the records, let me do us a bit of history here; Major General Ironsi as Head of State was cornered and arrested somewhere in western Nigeria on July 29th of 1966, his hands and feet were tied together, then tied to a Land Rover with a little space in between, and driven on a tarred road, face down for several kilometers. The then highest ranking Northern officer, an acting (Unconfirmed) Lieutenant Colonel was chosen to be the next Head of State ahead of serving Brigadiers, Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels of the Southern Nigeria, followed by the dreadful killings of officers and soldiers of Eastern Nigeria including our so called South South soldiers and officers.
The genocide that followed is what is recorded as the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 – 1970. As if that was not enough, the Eastern region was broken apart with the sudden creation of the then South Eastern State (today’s Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom), Rivers State (Today’s Rivers State and Bayelsa). It was during that war that propagandas were designed, created and generated to separate us from the old Eastern Region and make the average Igbo man our potential enemy in an effort to reduce their own presumed enemies. In as much as it is a bitter history, but I find it necessary to do you this preamble.
I write this letter to remind us that our region, known as the South-South today was a creation of the North for the sake of creating the disunity we face today. And moreso, it was not just for the disunity for them to win the war, but to also take away our resources, our manpower and our economic future. In 2014 when President Jonathan, a son of the so called South-South decided to re-contest the 2015 elections, Sheik Junaid Mohammed in an engagement on behalf the Northern Protectorate, reminded us that the so called South-South was a creation of the North for effective management of the Northern interest in Eastern Nigeria. How bad could this be? Can we imagine that? So while we are busy reminding ourselves that we are a different people or that the Igbos are wicked and are trying to kill us, the North is joyously taking over and owning 85% of our oil wells while the West takes over the left overs.
"For as long as the Old Eastern region remain in disarray and not united, self-determination of the region will remain impossible." ~ An anonymous retired Nigerian Army Chief
The word “South-South,” even though it may sound absurd, is a name we have come to accept as a people. We can’t say exactly how we came about to be identified with the name neither can we say exactly when we were given the name, but we just know it is our name. While growing up back in the days, geography taught us about “the North,” “the South,” “The East” and “The West.” For proper definition of locations, we were also told about “The Northwest, NorthEast, Southwest and SouthEast” I can’t remember anything like the “NorthNorth”, “SouthSouth”, “EastEast” or Westwest , but here I am today, writing a letter to my South-South brethren. That is what happens to a people that are not in control of their Cultural Development or the Political and Economic Future.
That is what happens to a people that are just there for their numbers, that is what happens to people that are just kept for their services, that is what happens to people that are just custodians of wealth for a supposedly superior people, and finally, that is what happens to peoples that are slaves. Any name is suitable for them, they can only get whatever is given to them even if it is originally theirs. If in doubt, please remind me of the meaning of KUNTA KINTE.
I write this letter not because it is frustrating to see how we allowed a defrauded propaganda to position our people as the pawns in the Political Chess called Nigeria, but rather, I write this letter in an effort to request that we free ourselves from these propaganda that has lingered for too long. If our grandfathers and fathers did not ask questions, is there any divine law that says we cannot ask? We know we all belonged to the old Eastern Region of Nigeria before the Northern Protectorate took back their power after the gruesome murder of General Aguiyi Ironsi.
Just for the records, let me do us a bit of history here; Major General Ironsi as Head of State was cornered and arrested somewhere in western Nigeria on July 29th of 1966, his hands and feet were tied together, then tied to a Land Rover with a little space in between, and driven on a tarred road, face down for several kilometers. The then highest ranking Northern officer, an acting (Unconfirmed) Lieutenant Colonel was chosen to be the next Head of State ahead of serving Brigadiers, Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels of the Southern Nigeria, followed by the dreadful killings of officers and soldiers of Eastern Nigeria including our so called South South soldiers and officers.
The genocide that followed is what is recorded as the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 – 1970. As if that was not enough, the Eastern region was broken apart with the sudden creation of the then South Eastern State (today’s Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom), Rivers State (Today’s Rivers State and Bayelsa). It was during that war that propagandas were designed, created and generated to separate us from the old Eastern Region and make the average Igbo man our potential enemy in an effort to reduce their own presumed enemies. In as much as it is a bitter history, but I find it necessary to do you this preamble.
I write this letter to remind us that our region, known as the South-South today was a creation of the North for the sake of creating the disunity we face today. And moreso, it was not just for the disunity for them to win the war, but to also take away our resources, our manpower and our economic future. In 2014 when President Jonathan, a son of the so called South-South decided to re-contest the 2015 elections, Sheik Junaid Mohammed in an engagement on behalf the Northern Protectorate, reminded us that the so called South-South was a creation of the North for effective management of the Northern interest in Eastern Nigeria. How bad could this be? Can we imagine that? So while we are busy reminding ourselves that we are a different people or that the Igbos are wicked and are trying to kill us, the North is joyously taking over and owning 85% of our oil wells while the West takes over the left overs.
IGBO bu ofu!: How can a man from Benin bear Igbo Name?
Yesterday night, a coordinator in a family of IPOB in Spain called Radio Biafra, his name is Mr Isioma from umunnede (Delta state) he said something that prompted my article this morning.
He said how can somebody say I am not Igbo we migrated from Benin and I keep asking them why is our villages, communities and Towns names Igbo? Why is our family names Igbo? Why do we bear Igbo names? I mean Benin is very close to us than the five state Igboland why is it we don't speak Benin how did our forefathers start speaking Igbo? Up till now no one has come up with any answer, there's no history that Igbo ever invaded our land or colonized us rather there are uncountable accounts of war and invasion between us and Benin which caused us to have a pinch of Benin origins among us.
I have tried as much as possible to avoid the debate of where the Igbos in Delta state migrated from but because I don't care! If they like let them come from Zamfara wetin concern me, I mean how can educated person still be deceived in this time and age with the garbage of Benin ancestry. it is very very shameful.
I have come to the conclusion to believe the story which says that the man ezechima or Ezechime was an Igbo man who migrated to benin for greener pastures and multiplied even married Benin women adding to the ones he already married he prospered to the envy of his host some of his relatives and relations joined him and eventually war started, he relocated back to his land occupying the place very close to benin with his people who later joined him.
I don't want to quote any book written by the same people who are responsible for distorting the history of our people.
How can a man from Benin bear Igbo Name? Ezechima or Ezechime.
I understand that Benin kingdom through wars installed kings of the people who helped them win their people and those families were made to swear oath of allegiance to the Benin kingdom forever.
Your name is Obi of Issele-Uku (Oligbo) His Royal Majesty, Obi Nduka Ezeagwuna (25 years old) and you went to benin shamefully and ignorantly said your people migrated from Benin, what nonsense.
Please tell us how your name instead of Osaro you are Nduka.
Until then, we can't debate the TRUTH that you are IGBO. Deal with it!
I rest my case!
My name is Aguocha Chinwendum a hardcore Biafran a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu an independent writer for the restoration of
sovereign State of #Biafra
IGBO bu ofu!
He said how can somebody say I am not Igbo we migrated from Benin and I keep asking them why is our villages, communities and Towns names Igbo? Why is our family names Igbo? Why do we bear Igbo names? I mean Benin is very close to us than the five state Igboland why is it we don't speak Benin how did our forefathers start speaking Igbo? Up till now no one has come up with any answer, there's no history that Igbo ever invaded our land or colonized us rather there are uncountable accounts of war and invasion between us and Benin which caused us to have a pinch of Benin origins among us.
I have tried as much as possible to avoid the debate of where the Igbos in Delta state migrated from but because I don't care! If they like let them come from Zamfara wetin concern me, I mean how can educated person still be deceived in this time and age with the garbage of Benin ancestry. it is very very shameful.
I have come to the conclusion to believe the story which says that the man ezechima or Ezechime was an Igbo man who migrated to benin for greener pastures and multiplied even married Benin women adding to the ones he already married he prospered to the envy of his host some of his relatives and relations joined him and eventually war started, he relocated back to his land occupying the place very close to benin with his people who later joined him.
I don't want to quote any book written by the same people who are responsible for distorting the history of our people.
How can a man from Benin bear Igbo Name? Ezechima or Ezechime.
I understand that Benin kingdom through wars installed kings of the people who helped them win their people and those families were made to swear oath of allegiance to the Benin kingdom forever.
Your name is Obi of Issele-Uku (Oligbo) His Royal Majesty, Obi Nduka Ezeagwuna (25 years old) and you went to benin shamefully and ignorantly said your people migrated from Benin, what nonsense.
Please tell us how your name instead of Osaro you are Nduka.
Until then, we can't debate the TRUTH that you are IGBO. Deal with it!
I rest my case!
My name is Aguocha Chinwendum a hardcore Biafran a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu an independent writer for the restoration of
sovereign State of #Biafra
IGBO bu ofu!
Friday, March 2, 2018
THE GENOCIDE AGAINST IGBO NATION STILL HAUNTS NIGERIA
Topics:
- THE GENOCIDE AGAINST IGBO NATION STILL HAUNTS NIGERIA
- Achebe returns with long-awaited 'Biafra' memoir
- Literaryworld: My role in Biafran war, by Prof. Chinua Achebe
- Furore over Achebe's Biafran memoir
- Achebe's new book controversy: Civil war hasn't ended -Okorie
- Attack on Awo: Has Achebe gone too far?
- Gowon, Awo behind genocide -Col Achuzia
- My role in the civil war - Awolowo
- Genocide, 'Biafran' culpability and Achebe's impressions
An article by CHINUA ACHEBE
It is my impression that Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself and for his Yoruba people - and he's being criticized for it.
..Almost 30 years before Rwanda, before Darfur, more than 2 million people – mothers, children, babies, civilians – lost their lives as a result of the blatantly callous and unnecessary policies enacted by the leaders of the federal government of Nigeria.
As a writer I believe that it is fundamentally important, indeed essential to our humanity, to ask the hard questions, in order to better understand ourselves and our neighbours. Where there is justification for further investigation, justice should be served.
In the case of the Nigeria-Biafra war there is precious little relevant literature that helps answer these questions.
- THE GENOCIDE AGAINST IGBO NATION STILL HAUNTS NIGERIA
- Achebe returns with long-awaited 'Biafra' memoir
- Literaryworld: My role in Biafran war, by Prof. Chinua Achebe
- Furore over Achebe's Biafran memoir
- Achebe's new book controversy: Civil war hasn't ended -Okorie
- Attack on Awo: Has Achebe gone too far?
- Gowon, Awo behind genocide -Col Achuzia
- My role in the civil war - Awolowo
- Genocide, 'Biafran' culpability and Achebe's impressions
An article by CHINUA ACHEBE It is my impression that Awolowo was driven by an overriding ambition for power, for himself and for his Yoruba people - and he's being criticized for it.
..Almost 30 years before Rwanda, before Darfur, more than 2 million people – mothers, children, babies, civilians – lost their lives as a result of the blatantly callous and unnecessary policies enacted by the leaders of the federal government of Nigeria.
As a writer I believe that it is fundamentally important, indeed essential to our humanity, to ask the hard questions, in order to better understand ourselves and our neighbours. Where there is justification for further investigation, justice should be served.
In the case of the Nigeria-Biafra war there is precious little relevant literature that helps answer these questions.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Letters to Buhari: Kudos, knocks trail Obasanjo's advise to Buhari
Topics:
- Kudos, knocks trail Obasanjo's advise to Buhari
- IBB’s full text on 2019: Towards national rebirth
- Nigeria’s Messiah from Adamawa?
_______________________________________________
Kudos, knocks trail Obasanjo's advise to Buhari
~Vanguard Nigeria. Wednesday, January 24, 2018.
…Obasanjo to Buhari: Go home, forget 2019
…Calls for a third force to bail out Nigeria,
…Buhari, Tinubu, Akande, APC NWC meet
…Amaechi, Adebanjo, Junaid Mohammed, Okorie, Ozekhome, ACF, others speak; Presidency keeps mum
LAGOS - Alleging gross incompetence in the face of challenges of state, former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, yesterday, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to sidestep calls for a second term and join him and other former leaders in the rank of statesmen.
President Obasanjo in a scorching 3,564 word statement, lamented that his hope that Buhari would help birth change when he supported him in 2015 had been grossly derailed in the face of what he said was the President's failure to rise above his deficiencies.
While affirming that he was not unaware of Buhari's shortcomings in the areas of the economy and foreign affairs, areas he said he expected him to have sought help, President Obasanjo, however, blasted him for promoting clannishness in governance which had led to increased divisions in the polity and a culture of buck passing.
Obasanjo said his disappointments with Buhari, however, did not mean that the political opposition in the shape of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was any better.
While noting the appropriation of the opposition party by some forces he said would not offer any change, the former Nigerian leader called on patriots to join him in a third force which he said should birth the change that would take Nigeria to its place of glory.
The Obasanjo Statement
President Obasanjo in his special press statement, entitled THE WAY OUT: A CLARION CALL FOR COALITION FOR NIGERIA MOVEMENT, said: "Since we are still in the month of January, it is appropriate to wish all Nigerians Happy 2018. I am constrained to issue this special statement at this time considering the situation of the country.
"Some of you may be asking, 'What has brought about this special occasion of Obasanjo issuing a special statement?' You will be right to ask such a question. But there is a Yoruba saying that 'when lice abound in your clothes, your fingernails will never be dried of blood'.
"When I was in the village, to make sure that lice die, you put them between two fingernails and press hard to ensure they die and they always leave blood stains on the fingernails. To ensure you do not have blood on your fingernails, you have to ensure that lice are not harboured anywhere within your vicinity.
"The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today. With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of 'blood'.
- Kudos, knocks trail Obasanjo's advise to Buhari
- IBB’s full text on 2019: Towards national rebirth
- Nigeria’s Messiah from Adamawa?
_______________________________________________
Kudos, knocks trail Obasanjo's advise to Buhari
~Vanguard Nigeria. Wednesday, January 24, 2018.
…Obasanjo to Buhari: Go home, forget 2019
…Calls for a third force to bail out Nigeria,
…Buhari, Tinubu, Akande, APC NWC meet
…Amaechi, Adebanjo, Junaid Mohammed, Okorie, Ozekhome, ACF, others speak; Presidency keeps mum
 |
| Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, during his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday, April 7, 2016. |
Obasanjo, yesterday, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to sidestep calls for a second term and join him and other former leaders in the rank of statesmen.
President Obasanjo in a scorching 3,564 word statement, lamented that his hope that Buhari would help birth change when he supported him in 2015 had been grossly derailed in the face of what he said was the President's failure to rise above his deficiencies.
While affirming that he was not unaware of Buhari's shortcomings in the areas of the economy and foreign affairs, areas he said he expected him to have sought help, President Obasanjo, however, blasted him for promoting clannishness in governance which had led to increased divisions in the polity and a culture of buck passing.
Obasanjo said his disappointments with Buhari, however, did not mean that the political opposition in the shape of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was any better.
While noting the appropriation of the opposition party by some forces he said would not offer any change, the former Nigerian leader called on patriots to join him in a third force which he said should birth the change that would take Nigeria to its place of glory.
The Obasanjo Statement
President Obasanjo in his special press statement, entitled THE WAY OUT: A CLARION CALL FOR COALITION FOR NIGERIA MOVEMENT, said: "Since we are still in the month of January, it is appropriate to wish all Nigerians Happy 2018. I am constrained to issue this special statement at this time considering the situation of the country.
"Some of you may be asking, 'What has brought about this special occasion of Obasanjo issuing a special statement?' You will be right to ask such a question. But there is a Yoruba saying that 'when lice abound in your clothes, your fingernails will never be dried of blood'.
"When I was in the village, to make sure that lice die, you put them between two fingernails and press hard to ensure they die and they always leave blood stains on the fingernails. To ensure you do not have blood on your fingernails, you have to ensure that lice are not harboured anywhere within your vicinity.
"The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today. With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of 'blood'.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Northern Agenda: NORTH'S ISLAMIC AGENDA, MAKES BIAFRA INEVITABLE
Written by E. O. Eke
Email: eoeke@aol.com
Monday, June 5, 2017
Igbo land is part and parcel of the geographical expression called Nigeria. I have hoped and prayed that Nigeria would continue to move towards secular democracy.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case and there is no evidence to suggest that those whose delusion that Nigeria is Allah's gift to them are about to regain their insight.
The death Nail to Nigeria as a united country would seem to have been hammered in, when the northern states adopted sharia laws. Since then, Nigeria has been fighting a losing battle to preserve her secular democratic values, unity and survival as a country.
The utterances and policies of Buhari and governors like El Rufai of Kaduna state and Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state, which advocate and propagate the intolerant and ugly face of Islam has not helped. Even more worrying is the increasing assertive pronouncements of the Sultan of Sokoko, Abubakar Sa’ad, which seek to impose Islam all over Nigeria.
The resurgence of nepotism under Buharii, which has resulted in all major positions in Nigeria being headed by Fulanis or northern Muslims is tantamount to hooking Nigeria on life support.
It is an attempt to hold Nigeria together by force for sectarian objectives and it is unsustainable. It cannot infuse life into comatose Nigeria. Gladly, the good thing about life support is that it is switched off in the end.
Those who want Biafra on their own terms should not underestimate the fact that Buhari is heading a government, which has equipped and empowered the army and police to become a massive coercive apparatus with which to crush those who seek freedom from Nigeria on their own terms.
Therefore, when Buhari says, Nigeria will not tolerate Biafra, it is not an empty threat. It is an expression of his intention to use disproportionate force to suppress any agitation and intimidate the undecided.
It also amuses me because Biafra has already been made inevitable by his actions and and the action of those, who violet the constitution of a secular democracy and abuse their powers to pursue ethnic and Islamic agenda and, implement discriminatory policies.
Email: eoeke@aol.com
Monday, June 5, 2017
Igbo land is part and parcel of the geographical expression called Nigeria. I have hoped and prayed that Nigeria would continue to move towards secular democracy.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case and there is no evidence to suggest that those whose delusion that Nigeria is Allah's gift to them are about to regain their insight.
The death Nail to Nigeria as a united country would seem to have been hammered in, when the northern states adopted sharia laws. Since then, Nigeria has been fighting a losing battle to preserve her secular democratic values, unity and survival as a country.
The utterances and policies of Buhari and governors like El Rufai of Kaduna state and Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state, which advocate and propagate the intolerant and ugly face of Islam has not helped. Even more worrying is the increasing assertive pronouncements of the Sultan of Sokoko, Abubakar Sa’ad, which seek to impose Islam all over Nigeria.
The resurgence of nepotism under Buharii, which has resulted in all major positions in Nigeria being headed by Fulanis or northern Muslims is tantamount to hooking Nigeria on life support.
It is an attempt to hold Nigeria together by force for sectarian objectives and it is unsustainable. It cannot infuse life into comatose Nigeria. Gladly, the good thing about life support is that it is switched off in the end.
Those who want Biafra on their own terms should not underestimate the fact that Buhari is heading a government, which has equipped and empowered the army and police to become a massive coercive apparatus with which to crush those who seek freedom from Nigeria on their own terms.
Therefore, when Buhari says, Nigeria will not tolerate Biafra, it is not an empty threat. It is an expression of his intention to use disproportionate force to suppress any agitation and intimidate the undecided.
It also amuses me because Biafra has already been made inevitable by his actions and and the action of those, who violet the constitution of a secular democracy and abuse their powers to pursue ethnic and Islamic agenda and, implement discriminatory policies.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
The rivers of blood in Asaba by Femi Fani-Kayode
Written by Femi Fani-Kayode.
This essay is about one of the most horrific events that has ever taken place in our history and one of the most graphic examples of ethnic cleansing that took place during our civil war. It is an event which mortified the civilized world and which brought our nation and Armed Forces opprobrium, disdain, contempt and shame. It is an event that turned the earth red with blood and the sky black with death on the accursed day that it took place.
It is also an event which successive governments have attempted to brush under the carpet, forgetting that we owe it to God and to the killed innocents to establish the facts, set the record straight and let the truth prevail. Whether anyone likes it or not what happened in Asaba on October 7th 1967 will constantly be revisited and one day, when history is taught in our schools, it will be a reference point for all that is sordid, unclean and reprehensible about our turbulent and ugly past.
One day it will remind us of the depth of the brutality and sheer callousness that often prevailed in the old Nigeria and hopefully we shall garnish that reality with the firm resolve that such a thing will NEVER happen again. The facts are as follows. The Commanding Officer of the Second Division of the Nigerian Army that retook Asaba from Biafra was Lt. Colonel Murtala Mohammed. He was to become Major-General Murtala Mohammed and our nation's Head of State within the next eight years. One of his key officer's and the man that actually led the soldiers into Asaba on that day was Lt. Colonel Ibrahim Haruna (better known as Lt. Col. IBM Haruna).
He was the commanding officer whilst one Major Ibrahim Taiwo, who actually gave the orders for the massacre to commence, was his second in command. According to Wikipedia, "the Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5 1967 and began ransacking houses and killing civilians claiming they were Biafran sympathisers. Leaders summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for "One Nigeria." Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria." At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osawa village. Federal troops revealed machine guns, and orders were given, reportedly by Major Ibrahim Taiwo, to open fire. It is estimated that more than 700 men and boys were killed, some as young as 12 years old, in addition to many more killed in the preceding days. The bodies of some victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. But most were buried in many mass graves without appropriate ceremony.
Many extended families lost dozens of men and boys. Federal troops occupied Asaba for many months, during which time most of the town was destroyed, many women and girls were abused or forcibly "married," and large numbers of citizens fled, many not returning until the war ended in 1970". Permit me to give a more vivid account. When the Federal troops "liberated" the town of Asaba from the Biafran Army, they invited all the young boys and old men into the town- centre for a briefing. READ ALSO: Breaking: Jubilation as tribunal upholds Edo state governor's election (photos) Most of the men that were of fighting age had fled the town and retreated into the east with the Biafran army. The people left behind were mostly women, children and the elderly.
At Ogbe Asawa the old men and young boys were asked to come out and report in the town square. Consequently no less than 1000 boys, some of whom were as young as 10 years old and elderly men, some of whom were as old as 80, left their homes and proceeded to the town centre for what they believed would be a pep talk and a happy reunion with Nigerian soldiers.
 |
| Femi Fani-Kayode |
It is also an event which successive governments have attempted to brush under the carpet, forgetting that we owe it to God and to the killed innocents to establish the facts, set the record straight and let the truth prevail. Whether anyone likes it or not what happened in Asaba on October 7th 1967 will constantly be revisited and one day, when history is taught in our schools, it will be a reference point for all that is sordid, unclean and reprehensible about our turbulent and ugly past.
One day it will remind us of the depth of the brutality and sheer callousness that often prevailed in the old Nigeria and hopefully we shall garnish that reality with the firm resolve that such a thing will NEVER happen again. The facts are as follows. The Commanding Officer of the Second Division of the Nigerian Army that retook Asaba from Biafra was Lt. Colonel Murtala Mohammed. He was to become Major-General Murtala Mohammed and our nation's Head of State within the next eight years. One of his key officer's and the man that actually led the soldiers into Asaba on that day was Lt. Colonel Ibrahim Haruna (better known as Lt. Col. IBM Haruna).
He was the commanding officer whilst one Major Ibrahim Taiwo, who actually gave the orders for the massacre to commence, was his second in command. According to Wikipedia, "the Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5 1967 and began ransacking houses and killing civilians claiming they were Biafran sympathisers. Leaders summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for "One Nigeria." Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria." At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osawa village. Federal troops revealed machine guns, and orders were given, reportedly by Major Ibrahim Taiwo, to open fire. It is estimated that more than 700 men and boys were killed, some as young as 12 years old, in addition to many more killed in the preceding days. The bodies of some victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. But most were buried in many mass graves without appropriate ceremony.
Many extended families lost dozens of men and boys. Federal troops occupied Asaba for many months, during which time most of the town was destroyed, many women and girls were abused or forcibly "married," and large numbers of citizens fled, many not returning until the war ended in 1970". Permit me to give a more vivid account. When the Federal troops "liberated" the town of Asaba from the Biafran Army, they invited all the young boys and old men into the town- centre for a briefing. READ ALSO: Breaking: Jubilation as tribunal upholds Edo state governor's election (photos) Most of the men that were of fighting age had fled the town and retreated into the east with the Biafran army. The people left behind were mostly women, children and the elderly.
At Ogbe Asawa the old men and young boys were asked to come out and report in the town square. Consequently no less than 1000 boys, some of whom were as young as 10 years old and elderly men, some of whom were as old as 80, left their homes and proceeded to the town centre for what they believed would be a pep talk and a happy reunion with Nigerian soldiers.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Tackling unitary features of Nigeria’s federal system
Written by Ladipo Adamolekun
Professor Ladipo Adamolekun writes from Iju, Akure North, Ondo State.
~Vanguard Nigeria. Monday, May 22, 2017.
BETWEEN January 1966 and September 1999, the military politicians who ruled Nigeria for close to 30 years - from Aguiyi Ironsi to Abdusalami Abubakar - introduced unitary features that were inspired by their military culture but were inconsistent with the features of the negotiated federal system introduced in 1954.
It was in reference to this negotiated federal system that Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa made the following observation in 1957: "The federal system is, under the present conditions, the only basis on which Nigeria can remain united" . The extreme example of the military leaders' unitary mind-set was Aguiyi Ironsi's infamous "Unification" Decree of 1966 that precipitated the civil war.
Centralism and uniformity were the two directing principles of the unitary features that the military rulers foisted on the country. Two crucial illustrations relate to (a) the concentration of powers at the centre (reflected in the skewed allocation of functions between the central and sub-national governments in the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions) and (b) a distorted revenue allocation formula that assigns 52.68% to the federal government, 26.72% to state governments and 20.6% to the local governments. At a more subtle level, the centralist and uniform orientations of the military were progressively transmitted to many federal parastals. My favourite example is how the National Universities Commission, NUC, metamorphosed from being a buffer between the government and the universities during the pre-military era into an over-powerful and control-oriented government parastatal with very extensive powers used to dictate uniform policies to all the universities.
Of the country's four presidents since the return to civilian rule in 1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar'Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari - only Yar'Adua understood the dangers posed by the unitary features of the country's federal system. And he formally committed to initiating the abrogation of anti-federal laws, that is, laws that underpin the unitary features. ("I have also directed that all laws be examined that go against the federal system so that they will be amended to be in conformity with the federal system of government" ) – interview with London's Financial Times reported in various national newspapers, May 20/08). Concretely, he cancelled the contracts for building health centres in all 774 local government areas that his predecessor had unilaterally awarded without consulting state governments. Unfortunately, his presidency was short-lived because of sickness and death and his commitment to remove the unitary features of the country's federal system was abandoned by his successor.
Whilst the two former military rulers who have become presidents under the civilian dispensation - Obasanjo and Buhari – are unsurprisingly comfortable with the oxymoronic unitary federalism they had imposed on the country during their first coming, Jonathan's failure to follow in the footsteps of Yar'Ardua is evidence that not all civilian presidents would be anti-unitary federalism.
Professor Ladipo Adamolekun writes from Iju, Akure North, Ondo State.
~Vanguard Nigeria. Monday, May 22, 2017.
 |
| Tafawa Belewa |
It was in reference to this negotiated federal system that Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa made the following observation in 1957: "The federal system is, under the present conditions, the only basis on which Nigeria can remain united" . The extreme example of the military leaders' unitary mind-set was Aguiyi Ironsi's infamous "Unification" Decree of 1966 that precipitated the civil war.
Centralism and uniformity were the two directing principles of the unitary features that the military rulers foisted on the country. Two crucial illustrations relate to (a) the concentration of powers at the centre (reflected in the skewed allocation of functions between the central and sub-national governments in the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions) and (b) a distorted revenue allocation formula that assigns 52.68% to the federal government, 26.72% to state governments and 20.6% to the local governments. At a more subtle level, the centralist and uniform orientations of the military were progressively transmitted to many federal parastals. My favourite example is how the National Universities Commission, NUC, metamorphosed from being a buffer between the government and the universities during the pre-military era into an over-powerful and control-oriented government parastatal with very extensive powers used to dictate uniform policies to all the universities.
Of the country's four presidents since the return to civilian rule in 1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar'Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari - only Yar'Adua understood the dangers posed by the unitary features of the country's federal system. And he formally committed to initiating the abrogation of anti-federal laws, that is, laws that underpin the unitary features. ("I have also directed that all laws be examined that go against the federal system so that they will be amended to be in conformity with the federal system of government" ) – interview with London's Financial Times reported in various national newspapers, May 20/08). Concretely, he cancelled the contracts for building health centres in all 774 local government areas that his predecessor had unilaterally awarded without consulting state governments. Unfortunately, his presidency was short-lived because of sickness and death and his commitment to remove the unitary features of the country's federal system was abandoned by his successor.
Whilst the two former military rulers who have become presidents under the civilian dispensation - Obasanjo and Buhari – are unsurprisingly comfortable with the oxymoronic unitary federalism they had imposed on the country during their first coming, Jonathan's failure to follow in the footsteps of Yar'Ardua is evidence that not all civilian presidents would be anti-unitary federalism.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Trump’s musings about Nigeria
Written by Lasisi Olagunju
~Nigerian Tribune. Monday, August 8, 2016
When I said the November 8 election would be rigged, Obama said my statement was ridiculous. He is dumb. What does he know about election rigging. Has he heard of Nigeria before? I mean, that is one country that has a robust history of election infractions and I have taken my time to study how they do it. I had to, especially when I know they are Obama’s second cousins. You know Nigerians and Kenyans look alike. Look at them again. They are capable of anything. So, I read them and use them as template in assessing what guys may be planning here.
Obama said it was ridiculous, that he didn’t understand what I meant. I said so, he is dumb. If he doesn’t understand anything, why can’t he read? At least I spoke with Washington Post’s Rucker last week. Brilliant fellow — although all journalists are the same — they don’t like Trump — just look at the CNN — I call that one Clinton News Network. They hate Trump. They are haters. Every minute, it is Clinton positive and Trump negative. If I have my way, I would import a Nigerian military law that says jail for journalists who embarrass public figures. Or I simply close down their television stations and newspapers. Anyway, they are even dying. Twitter is killing them every minute. And I am the master there. I tweet away their lies. But they don’t know. What really do they know? They are too inebriated in their anti- Trump project to notice that it is getting dark in their world.
Yes. Obama should have read my Post interview. I exposed their rigging plans. Or, maybe, he is pretending. Anyway, whatever – I explained to the Post that the voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development. I said we may have people vote 10 times. Listen to what I said: It’s inconceivable that you don’t have to show identification in order to vote or that that the identification doesn’t have to be somewhat foolproof. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if the election is rigged. There’s a lot of dirty pool played at the election, meaning the election is rigged. they’re fighting as hard as you can fight so that that they don’t have to show voter ID. So, what’s the purpose of that? How many times is a person going to vote during the day? If you don’t have voter ID .?.?. Multiple times. How about like 10 times. Why not? If you don’t have voter ID, you can just keep voting and voting and voting.
That is what I said in the Washington Post interview and a lot of haters think I don’t know what I am saying. Look, I said I have studied all scenarios. You want to know if I sent investigators to Nigeria as I claimed I did with Hawaii in April 2011? You remember that episode? They were jittery then because I was going to burst their birther lie. And why didn’t I? That is not a story for today. Was I in Nigeria? The Nigerians are fantastic people. In that country, if you have enough money, you can hijack any of their political parties and buy or shoot your way to power. It does not matter whether you gave or have any clue or not. Money and bullets do it in that country. Yes, I took the Republican Party from the bosses. But I didn’t shoot anyone. I didn’t steal it. I mean, I just took it. They were dumb. They are still dumb. I gave them enough notice.
Back to my Washington Post interview. I chose my words in that interview from the Nigerian political lexicon. Rigging; Multiple voting; Voter ID – they actually call that one PVC — Permanent Voter Card. Even Nigerians, crooked as Hillary, now give what they call PVC to voters and they pretend showing it at their elections. And, has that helped them? They still vote and vote and vote. And there is no standard – children vote there and no one complains — including the unfair media- since they do pre-election agreement with everyone on who should be made winner. Ridiculous. That is what I won’t take here. Imagine what I saw at the beginning of this business – in Louisiana and Colorado. The more votes I won in those states, the fewer the delegates. Crooks! I stopped them. As I told the Post, I am now accustomed to the world of politics and I will continue to run them off the stage. They ain’t seen nothing yet.
~Nigerian Tribune. Monday, August 8, 2016
When I said the November 8 election would be rigged, Obama said my statement was ridiculous. He is dumb. What does he know about election rigging. Has he heard of Nigeria before? I mean, that is one country that has a robust history of election infractions and I have taken my time to study how they do it. I had to, especially when I know they are Obama’s second cousins. You know Nigerians and Kenyans look alike. Look at them again. They are capable of anything. So, I read them and use them as template in assessing what guys may be planning here.Obama said it was ridiculous, that he didn’t understand what I meant. I said so, he is dumb. If he doesn’t understand anything, why can’t he read? At least I spoke with Washington Post’s Rucker last week. Brilliant fellow — although all journalists are the same — they don’t like Trump — just look at the CNN — I call that one Clinton News Network. They hate Trump. They are haters. Every minute, it is Clinton positive and Trump negative. If I have my way, I would import a Nigerian military law that says jail for journalists who embarrass public figures. Or I simply close down their television stations and newspapers. Anyway, they are even dying. Twitter is killing them every minute. And I am the master there. I tweet away their lies. But they don’t know. What really do they know? They are too inebriated in their anti- Trump project to notice that it is getting dark in their world.
Yes. Obama should have read my Post interview. I exposed their rigging plans. Or, maybe, he is pretending. Anyway, whatever – I explained to the Post that the voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development. I said we may have people vote 10 times. Listen to what I said: It’s inconceivable that you don’t have to show identification in order to vote or that that the identification doesn’t have to be somewhat foolproof. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if the election is rigged. There’s a lot of dirty pool played at the election, meaning the election is rigged. they’re fighting as hard as you can fight so that that they don’t have to show voter ID. So, what’s the purpose of that? How many times is a person going to vote during the day? If you don’t have voter ID .?.?. Multiple times. How about like 10 times. Why not? If you don’t have voter ID, you can just keep voting and voting and voting.
That is what I said in the Washington Post interview and a lot of haters think I don’t know what I am saying. Look, I said I have studied all scenarios. You want to know if I sent investigators to Nigeria as I claimed I did with Hawaii in April 2011? You remember that episode? They were jittery then because I was going to burst their birther lie. And why didn’t I? That is not a story for today. Was I in Nigeria? The Nigerians are fantastic people. In that country, if you have enough money, you can hijack any of their political parties and buy or shoot your way to power. It does not matter whether you gave or have any clue or not. Money and bullets do it in that country. Yes, I took the Republican Party from the bosses. But I didn’t shoot anyone. I didn’t steal it. I mean, I just took it. They were dumb. They are still dumb. I gave them enough notice.
Back to my Washington Post interview. I chose my words in that interview from the Nigerian political lexicon. Rigging; Multiple voting; Voter ID – they actually call that one PVC — Permanent Voter Card. Even Nigerians, crooked as Hillary, now give what they call PVC to voters and they pretend showing it at their elections. And, has that helped them? They still vote and vote and vote. And there is no standard – children vote there and no one complains — including the unfair media- since they do pre-election agreement with everyone on who should be made winner. Ridiculous. That is what I won’t take here. Imagine what I saw at the beginning of this business – in Louisiana and Colorado. The more votes I won in those states, the fewer the delegates. Crooks! I stopped them. As I told the Post, I am now accustomed to the world of politics and I will continue to run them off the stage. They ain’t seen nothing yet.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
THE IGBOS: ONLY A FOOL BREAKS HIS OWN HEART
Written Nnanna Ijomah - New York, New York, USA
Email: Nna2ijomah@aol.com
The title of this article was inspired from the lyrics of a popular song titled "Only A Fool" made popular by Mighty Sparrow, the Trinidanian Calypso King of the World. If I may paraphrase some of the lyrics, it goes as follows. 'Why do I keep fooling myself when I know you love someone else. I pretend I don't see. I have to admit it that even though you hurt me so, I still can't forget it and if I were a man, I will let you go. It's no use trying to hang on to a love already gone. Hence only a fool breaks his own heart." The lyrics of this song appropriately epitomize the situation the Igbos have found themselves in present day Nigeria. As much as I am not advocating for secession, it is my considered opinion that it is high time the Igbos come to fully realize that it is a complete waste of time trying to please people who do not wish them well. Trying so hard to get other ethnic groups to hug and embrace them as an important component of Nigeria. Is it not ironic that 46 years since the end of the Nigerian civil war in which they lost, the Igbos are still striving to be fully readmitted into the country and accorded their place as citizens with all the benefits of full citizenship?
There are some who keep asking the question, what do the Igbos want? The answer is simple. They are not asking for too much. They only ask to be treated fairly and not like second class citizens in a country where they were at the forefront in its fight for Independence. They ask to be given a chance to aspire for the highest office of the land and not schemed out of contention each time the opportunity comes up. We all know what happened to Dr Ekwueme after he had worked so hard for the formation of the PDP. The truth whether we like to admit it or not is that there are some in this country who will do everything possible, including forming incompatible political alliances just to deny the Igbos that chance. No one has to take my word for it .
All I ask is that those who doubt my contention, go read the comments by no less a person than the present Emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi who in his speech during the 1999 Constitutional Conference, said as follows, " There is a new Igbo man who was not born in 1966 and neither knows or cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were never Biafrans, but were born Nigerians but suffer because of the actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide it is better to fight their own war and may find honorable peace than to remain in this contemptible state of perpetuity." He went further to say, "The Northern bourgeoisie and the Yoruba bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos." Then he warned that, "if this issue is not resolved immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria's problems."
Email: Nna2ijomah@aol.com
The title of this article was inspired from the lyrics of a popular song titled "Only A Fool" made popular by Mighty Sparrow, the Trinidanian Calypso King of the World. If I may paraphrase some of the lyrics, it goes as follows. 'Why do I keep fooling myself when I know you love someone else. I pretend I don't see. I have to admit it that even though you hurt me so, I still can't forget it and if I were a man, I will let you go. It's no use trying to hang on to a love already gone. Hence only a fool breaks his own heart." The lyrics of this song appropriately epitomize the situation the Igbos have found themselves in present day Nigeria. As much as I am not advocating for secession, it is my considered opinion that it is high time the Igbos come to fully realize that it is a complete waste of time trying to please people who do not wish them well. Trying so hard to get other ethnic groups to hug and embrace them as an important component of Nigeria. Is it not ironic that 46 years since the end of the Nigerian civil war in which they lost, the Igbos are still striving to be fully readmitted into the country and accorded their place as citizens with all the benefits of full citizenship?
There are some who keep asking the question, what do the Igbos want? The answer is simple. They are not asking for too much. They only ask to be treated fairly and not like second class citizens in a country where they were at the forefront in its fight for Independence. They ask to be given a chance to aspire for the highest office of the land and not schemed out of contention each time the opportunity comes up. We all know what happened to Dr Ekwueme after he had worked so hard for the formation of the PDP. The truth whether we like to admit it or not is that there are some in this country who will do everything possible, including forming incompatible political alliances just to deny the Igbos that chance. No one has to take my word for it .
All I ask is that those who doubt my contention, go read the comments by no less a person than the present Emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi who in his speech during the 1999 Constitutional Conference, said as follows, " There is a new Igbo man who was not born in 1966 and neither knows or cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were never Biafrans, but were born Nigerians but suffer because of the actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide it is better to fight their own war and may find honorable peace than to remain in this contemptible state of perpetuity." He went further to say, "The Northern bourgeoisie and the Yoruba bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos." Then he warned that, "if this issue is not resolved immediately, no conference will solve Nigeria's problems."
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Igbo versus Yoruba:- The Igbo-Yoruba feud
Topics:
______________________________________
- The Igbo-Yoruba feud
- Time to end the bad blood between the Yorubas and Ndigbo -Femi Aribisala
______________________________________
The Igbo-Yoruba feud
By Chuks Iloegbunam - Vanguard, Nigeria.
Mr. Iloegbunam is the author of Ironside, the biography of General Aguiyi-ronsi.
THE feud between the Igbo and the Yoruba ethnic groups is contrived, just like the feud between the Igbo and the Ikwere. Whenever these feuds take centrestage, the impetus is invariably traceable to the divide-and-rule imperative, which inevitably profits the oligarchy of northern Nigeria. Every other explanation adduced in the explanation of the phenomenon can only be peripheral. It is important to make this point from the outset, before going about the business of explanations - for the benefit of those who may genuinely be ignorant of a crucial factor in the continued inability to resolve some of the more critical of Nigeria's contradictions.
Femi Aribisala, one of the more perceptive of the motley coterie of columnists currently on the national stage, discussed the origins and manifestations of this feud in an incisive article entitled Time To End the bad blood between the Yorubas and Ndigbo (Vanguard January 12, 2016). "What is the basis of all this hate?" Mr. Aribisala asks."In the sixties, the Igbo were slaughtered in pogroms in the North. However, the principal exchange of hateful words today is not between Northerners and Easterners, but between Easterners and Westerners. Why are these two ethnic groups so much at loggerheads?"
The straightforward answer is that it serves the interest of the "core" North to keep the South permanently in mutually assured destructive contention on largely immaterial issues. It happened between the Igbo and the old Rivers State in the wake of the Nigerian civil war. It was suddenly and conveniently "discovered" that the Ikwerre were not and had never been Igbo. The people went into a flourish of re-spelling: Umuomasi became Rumuomasi; Umukrushi became Rumukrushi; Umuola became Rumuola; Umueme became Rumueme.In truth, all these represent no more than distinct dialectal spellings of Igbo root names typical to the areas around Port Harcourt. But the re-spelling exercise was used to manufacture an entirely new ethnic group.
The acclaimed writer, Professor (Captain) Elechi Amadi, who led the group that lent intellectual weight to this fad,went further to celebrate in fictional terms the political marriage between Rivers people and Northern Nigeria. Yet, he did not see it fit to change his name to Relechi Ramadi. Of course, the contrived ethnic dissonance achieved its purpose. While the fight raged relentlessly on "Abandoned Properties", mostly mud houses built in the 1930s and 1940s, the "core" North moved in and harvested the oil rewards.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
What do the Igbo want?
Written by Obi Nwakanma, Vanguard Nigeria.
In an angry retort to a question thrown at him in his recent Media chat, President Muhammadu Buhari asked, "What do they (Igbo) want?" "Who is marginalizing them?" In his own defence, he said the Minister of state for oil in his government is Igbo, the Minister for Science and Technology is Igbo, and of course, the Governor of the Central Bank too. He might also have added the Foreign Minister Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Labour & Productivity (it used to be Establishment), Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister for Transport, Rotimi Amechi, the Minister for Trade, Industries and investment, Dr. Okey Enelemah, and the junior Minister for education, Anthony Anwuka. On the face of it, the president would be right to say that he has Igbo as members of his Executive Council.
His critics would of course be quick to respond that Buhari was hampered by a constitutional requirement that compelled him to effect plural representation in his cabinet, willy-nilly. They would say were it not for the constitution, the president would, left to him, not have had any Igbo in his cabinet, given his known historical predilection. The evidence, they would say, is in the constitution of the cabinet itself: Ibe Kachikwu is not the Oil Minister, he is the junior Minister for oil.
The president is the oil minister. Nonetheless, oil is Nigeria chief commodity; that which gives it its sex appeal, and Kachikwu is no doormat and his position not insignifcant. The Foreign Ministry portfolio is a sinecure position, at best. There was a time when it would have carried some weight. In those years Nigeria carried its weight in the international scene. Today, the Nigerian Foreign Ministry is no more than a clearing house for the great powers to which Nigeria is now just a proxy nation. A foreign minister is as powerful as his nation in the international arena, and Nigeria seems increasingly insignificant, even as a notable voice in African affairs.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Open letter to Nnamdi Kanu
Written by Bayo Olupohunda - The Punch.
Twitter: @bayoolupohunda
Dear Sir,
 |
| Bayo Olupohunda |
I hope this letter meets you in good health. This is important considering what I guess may have been your ordeal as a guest of the Department of Security Services. Going by the antecedents of Nigeria’s secret police, I believe as they say in this clime that with the court judgment, God is keeping you alive and well enough to be given an opportunity to reflect on the first phase of your struggle even as you look into the future which is the subject of my letter to you. For you and your inner circle friends, this must not be a time for chest-thumping and talking tough.
This moment calls for deep reflection and soul-searching. It must be a time to be away from the maddening crowd and have a reflective assessment of the first phase of the struggle. For the records, let me state that I first became aware of your agitation, and have listened to Radio Biafra, since early 2013. But this will be my first public intervention since your arrest and incarceration in October sparked worldwide protests. It may not be the last as our country continues to debate the broader issues of citizenship, marginalisation, and nationhood and of course, the Biafran question which you have now become a villainous hero, depending on whose side of the divide one is.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Democracy is the greatest threat to world peace
Written by Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba, Boston, Massachusetts.
~The SUN, Nigeria.
The first half of the 21st century is turning out to be decades full of fear around the globe including the developed nations, the emerging countries, and the undeveloped areas of our earth. One can argue forcefully and convincingly that these fears are directly linked by the decision of USA-led Western Countries to enthrone what has been called Western Democracy in countries far and wide and to do so by the doctrine of "Regime Change."
Former USA president George Bush II introduced the practice by the invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 in the pursuit of 9/11 bombers followed by the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003 "to establish democracy in the Middle East".
Since that first blunder further regime changes had followed such as Libya . Nigeria came along afterwards although without military efforts and it is just a matter of time when the regime in Syria would be toppled by the western countries by force to establish democracy.
Various Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia , Egypt , and other countries are all traceable to this March 20, 2003 Iraq invasion, and occupation.
Each of these wars and invasions was instigated by strong men (usually men) who rule their country with strong hands AND who stood up against any dictations by US or her allied Western Countries. The process begins with accusations of corruption, longevity, lack of freedom as defined by the West; the accusations are followed by economic sanctions that create discontent and woes in the target countries, which in turn create enemies of the regime. The regime tightens its stranglehold on the population and more tightly on its enemies. As both sides become hardened, US and the West provide economic resources to the regime's enemies and when necessary weapons if civil war looms. After freezing of the assets of the target regime coupled with the already biting sanctions the regime looks weak and unstable; the country is labeled a "failed country" and the need for "Regime Change" is advanced.
ON RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AND ETHNIC HATRED
Written by E O Eke
Email: eoeke@aol.com
E O Eke is qualified in medicine. At various times he has been a General medical practitioner, Medical missionary, Medical Director and senior medical officer of health in Nigeria. He specializes in child, Adolescent and adult psychiatry and lives in England with his family. His interest is in health, religion philosophy and politics. He cares for body and mind.
s the agitation for Biafra grows, it would seem that the threat to the existence of Nigeria is the people protesting against marginalisation.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that the peaceful protest for Biafra by Igbo youth, who have borne the consequence of marginalisation and discrimination against Igbos, does not threaten the existence of Nigeria. What Igbos say loud and clear is that they can no longer accept the status quo that limits their rights and make them second class Nigerian citizens.
It is up to the government to offer a coherent and acceptable responses. A good, sensitive and honest government can easily take the oxygen out of the Biafran protest by addressing the marginalisation of Igbos and implementing even development agenda, which remove institutionalised discrimination and marginalisation of Igbos and give then a sense of belonging.
What really threatens the Nigerian nation is corruption and criminality of the ruling elites and, religious extremism of the type prevalent in North Nigeria, which has given rise to sharia Lawson the region and Boko Haram.
While the government can deal clinically with the danger the Biafran protest presents to the existence of Nigeria, it cannot do so with extreme Islam, which seeks to impose Islamic law in the country and introduce Islamic education in our schools. More so, when some people in important position share the dream of an Islamic Nigeria and are complacent in the attempt to actualise it. Therefore, the ball is squarely in Buhari's court and it is up to him and his advisers to produce a coherent and reasonable response.
What imperils the unity of Nigeria are:
- The continued effort by Saudi Arabia to export Sunni Wahab Islam to different parts of the world and Nigeria
- Terrorist activities of Boko Haram group.
- Continued refusal of the Nigerian state to expose those behind Boko Haram.
- The apparent inability of the Nigerian government to fight corruption across the board by institutional reforms and selective targeting of corrupt politicians .
- Corrupt and morally bankrupt judiciary.
The above would only embolden militant and extreme Islam, which will only become more intransigent and determined to impose its sectarian and primitive ideology on the whole of Nigeria as a cure for endemic corruption.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
DELTA IGBO AND THE EAST: TYPICAL TWISTS IN ORAL TRADITION
First published on Aka-Ikenga.com: 6/22/09, 6:31 AM Western African Time
Ossie Ezeaku -Antwerp , Belgium
Email: ezeaku50@yahoo.com
African peoples have long relied on oral accounts to learn about their past. But the down side of this tradition remains its vulnerability to embellishment. The absence of written records, passage of time and the hunger for greatness have made the method the most unreliable.Egypt Egypt
Addressing the historical factors that shaped the modern Igbo was vital for the knowledge of not only the present and future generation of Ndigbo, but for none Igbos alike. Thus, modern day discussions on this particular subject, for posterity's sake, should be devoid of politics.
In that context, to divorce either the Igala or theBenin Benin Nigeria
Ossie Ezeaku -
Email: ezeaku50@yahoo.com
African peoples have long relied on oral accounts to learn about their past. But the down side of this tradition remains its vulnerability to embellishment. The absence of written records, passage of time and the hunger for greatness have made the method the most unreliable.
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In that context, to divorce either the Igala or the
IGBOCENTRISM AND ANIOMA ETHNIC IDENTITY
Written by Dr. Kunirum Osia - USA
Email: Osiadi@aol.com
Kunirum Osia is the former Founding National President of Anioma Association, USA, Inc.
For decades we, Anioma people, have been buffeted back and forth by people attempting to impose a persona on us. Some described us as being neither here nor there. Others do not give us chance to define and describe who we are as a people. We know exactly who we are. We have no confusions about our geography and genealogy. We know that identity is like gold. Just as the gold bar stands behind a currency as a guarantee of its legal tender, so is identity to an individual or a group. The analogy is only partial, of course, the price of gold may rise or fall, but we tend to pride ourselves on the stability of our identity. Anioma ethnic identity is a value we must guard. In recent times we have contended with the intrusion into Anioma world what we might call the concept of, albeit, reality of Igbocentricism.
By Igbocentrism or Igbocentricity we mean an existential point of view that puts Igbo at the centre of Igbo people's cosmology. Central to Igbocentrism is the idea that people believed or assumed to be Igbo must acknowledge, understand and love their "Igboness" so as to understand and deal with non-Igbo. It is a conceptual approach to human relations from the Igbo point of view. It is an Igbo-centeredness of interpretation of such relations and quotidian realities. Because the vast majority of Anioma people speak dialects derived from the Igbo language, it is assumed that they are "Igbo." Anioma history records individuals from diverse origins. There are in Anioma the "Olukunmi" who speak a variant of Yoruba spoken around Owo. Ebu people in Anioma speak Igala as their mother tongue.
While language delimits cultural fields, it is not permanent because people have mastered more than one language. Language is one of many indices of a culture. Language is not enough to define who a people are. Because Americans or Australians speak English does not make them English. Because Mexicans, Cubans, or Argentineans speak Spanish does not make them Spaniards. The nationals of these countries will not introduce themselves as "English" simply because they speak English nor as Spaniards because they speak Spanish. Those of them who can trace their origin toEngland or Spain
Email: Osiadi@aol.com
Kunirum Osia is the former Founding National President of Anioma Association, USA, Inc.
For decades we, Anioma people, have been buffeted back and forth by people attempting to impose a persona on us. Some described us as being neither here nor there. Others do not give us chance to define and describe who we are as a people. We know exactly who we are. We have no confusions about our geography and genealogy. We know that identity is like gold. Just as the gold bar stands behind a currency as a guarantee of its legal tender, so is identity to an individual or a group. The analogy is only partial, of course, the price of gold may rise or fall, but we tend to pride ourselves on the stability of our identity. Anioma ethnic identity is a value we must guard. In recent times we have contended with the intrusion into Anioma world what we might call the concept of, albeit, reality of Igbocentricism.
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While language delimits cultural fields, it is not permanent because people have mastered more than one language. Language is one of many indices of a culture. Language is not enough to define who a people are. Because Americans or Australians speak English does not make them English. Because Mexicans, Cubans, or Argentineans speak Spanish does not make them Spaniards. The nationals of these countries will not introduce themselves as "English" simply because they speak English nor as Spaniards because they speak Spanish. Those of them who can trace their origin to
Friday, October 23, 2015
We saw nothing, heard nothing, did nothing
By former President Olusegun Obasanjo
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| Chief Olusegun Okikiola Obasanjo, GCFR |
Chief Olusegun Okikiola Obasanjo, GCFR, former military head of State and former president, delivered this lecture entitled The Rwandan genocide: We saw nothing, we heard nothing and we did nothing as a Keynote Message at the Public Presentation of Rwandan Genocide: Historical Background and Jurisprudence authored by Segun Jegede; at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos On Wednesday, October 13, 2015.
WHENEVER I contemplate the Rwandan Genocide, in my capacity as a former President of Nigeria, or as a former Army General or just simply as an African, I always feel that, in a profound sense, the contemporary state system, at the national, regional or international community levels, needs to be radically rethought. The reason for this cannot be far-fetched: the global community had seen nothing. It has heard nothing. It has done nothing that can suggest that genocide has been thrown into the dustbin of history. Consequently, the world and its current democratic values are still under threats of political uncertainties and irrationality.
What led to Genocide?
The question that continues to elicit attention is simple: how did Rwanda get to the point of commission of acts of genocide? Rather than being the disparate ethno-cultural groupings which the Tutsis, the Hutus and the Twas are said to be, history clearly shows that ethno-cultural, as well as socio-political cleavages in Rwanda, were markedly insignificant, if not non-existent.
In fact cultural, linguistic and religious homogeneity overlaid the indigenous vocations of pastoralism, agriculture and hunter-gathering vocations.
It is known, however, that it was colonial intrusion which served to disrupt in very profound ways the hitherto existing inter-communal harmony and amity. Arbitrary classification of social groups, based on their material status and conditions, was the colonial and post-colonial considerations which informed the evolution of the Rwandan state, as well as the processes of its subsequent political development.
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