ABOUT NIGERIA DEMOCRACY DAY - THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR IT

~Anonynous Author

Many of the people on the list below fought for democracy.  Liberty is a delicate flower.  It demands vigilance.  Sometimes it demands sweat, and, sadly, blood.  Thanks to does who gave their all that we can have a voice. 

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Culled from University of Pennsylvania - Africa Studies Center

NIGERIA CIVIL LIBERTIES ORGANIZATION, 1/2, 1/7/98

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LIST OF DETAINEES

• Find stated below the updated list of political detainees

in Nigeria

Name + Position + Place of Arrest + Date of Arrest + Detained

At + Remarks

POLITICIANS

1. Chief Bashorun MKO Abiola + President Elect + Lagos 23/6/94 + Abuja + Detained for declaring himself as President and winner of June 12 1993 election 

2. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo + Former Head of State + 19/3/95 

3. Chief Frank Kokori + NUPENG Secretary General + Lagos

20/8/94 + Bama

4. Chief Milton Dabibi + former Sec.Gen PENGASSAN + Lagos 

5. Otunba Biyi Durojaiye + Lagos + 12/8/96 

6. Dr Beko Ransome Kuti + Chairman, CD + Lagos + 27/7/95 

7. Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki + Sultan of Sokoto + Sokoto + 4/21/96

+ Zing in Taraba State + Yet to be charged to court or accused

of any offence 

8. Mr Polycarp Nwite + Ex-Senator + Lagos 6/8/97 + unknown + Arrested and detained without any reason

JOURNALISTS

9. Mrs Chris Anyanwu + Publisher, The Sunday Magazine (TSM) Lagos + 4/6/95 + Convicted by + Patrick Aziza led tribunal for being accessory after the fact of coup 

10. Mr Kunle Ajibade + Editor, The News Mag. + Lagos + 23/5/97 

11. Mr George Mbah + Asst. Editor, Tell Mag. Lagos + 5/5/97

12. Mr Ben Charles Obi + Editor, Classique + Lagos 4/5/97

13. Mr Alumona Jenkins + Editor, The News Mag. + Lagos +

8/11/97 + DMI

14. Mr Onome Osifo-Whiskey + Editor, Tell Mag. Lagos + 9/11/97 + DMI

15. Mr Hamid Danlami + Publisher of Al-Mazan, a Muslim

Newspaper 

Otu Odu of Onicha Ado N’Idu Historical Fact

 Shared by Nwafor Obinna Stanley

In Onitsha tradition and custom, there are four cardinal institutions; The Obi, Ndichie, Agbalanze and Otu Odu.

These four institutions work in their individual capacity to ensure progress, peace and development of Onitsha people with relevant supports from other subordinate groups. Otu Odu however is an exclusive prestigious society for Onitsha women who as either indigenes, direct relations (Nwadiani) or by marriage, have distinguished themselves in their respective capabilities in life and have been found worthy in character.

Odu literally means Elephant Tusk and in Onitsha tradition, Igbu Odu in clear terms mean wearing of Tusk, it is a rite of honouring a woman after creditable service in life. It used to be conferred as a form of appreciation on a mother by her children at a certain age, on a dutiful wife by her husband.

It is observed as a ceremonious adorning of a woman with Elephant Tusk which is won on both hands and legs. In other cases nevertheless, the ceremony is performed to be worn either on the hands or the legs respectively as a mark of status in the society.

Elephant Tusk significantly because it is rare in quality and possession, ornate and expensive. This calls for the historic importance attached to it in the whole of Africa, making it one of the most sought after ornaments even by the whites who visited Africa earlier in the days.

Till date Elephant Tusk is still precious, a symbol of wealth, regal and beauty. In most African cultures it is used to depict class and authority, especially in Onitsha.

THE IGBO DELTA STORY

#igbohistory3000bc

According to Dennis Osadebey in the book, Building A Nation, Nnebisi was the

son of a Nteje woman, Diana, who had gotten pregnant to an Igala man, Ojobo
 

Nnebisi grew up in Nteje thinking he was of the kindred, but one day, after a quarrel, he was told that his father was not from there, so he could not take part in land sharing. 

He thus left Nteje with his followers and followed a route which brought him to the great river. If you look at a map of those areas, it is quite easy to trace the route taken by Nnebisi, which must have taken him through Nsugbe, and then along the Anambra River (Ọma Mbala), and then t the point where the Anambra River joins the Niger River.
 
That precise point where the Anambra River joins the Niger Rivers coincidental, the precise point where you can take an eight-minute boat ride and land at Cable Point in Asaba. Nnebisi and his people crossed landed at Ikpele Nmili and decided to plant their crops there for the year. A year later, after a great harvest was (of course the area is rich in alluvial soils brought from upstream by the river), they decided to settle there. 

Nnebisi called the place Ani Ahaba (We have settled in this land), and four hundred years later, some white chap hearing the name that the natives called their land, wrote Asaba in his map, and not Ahaba. That man was Carlo Zappa, an Italian priest who was appointed Prefect of the Upper Niger by the Catholic Church.

Zappa spent a lot of time converting the natives in both Asaba and Onitsha, and to Ojoto, East of the Niger, and Agbor, West of the Niger.
A look through Catholic records during the Ekumeku resistance will show that at the turn of the century, most of the Catholic priests in what is now the Diocese of Issele Uku in Delta State, came from the Onitsha area, as they were all under the same ecclesiastical province
 
A look at the roll call of the dead from the Aba Women’s affair of 1929, shows that the wife of the Sanitary headman in Opobo was from Asaba, which kind of tells you the direction in which people went before the split of Southern Nigeria into East and West in 1954.
Up until that point in 1954, many from the Igbo speaking areas just west of the Niger River, found it easier to cross the river to do their business.
And why not? 
The distance between Asaba and Owerri is just 102km.
Asaba to Enugu is 125km, while Asaba to Umuahia is 142km.

All of these places are closer to Asaba than Warri, which in modern Nigerian geopolitics is in the same state as Asaba. Warri is 176km from Asaba.
The Asaba man, when he arrives in either Enugu, Owerri or Umuahia, speaks the same language as the people in those places, barring the normal dialectal differences that occur in languages that are spread over large geographical areas.
This same Asaba man would arrive in Warri, and would be at a complete loss as to what the native in Warri is saying…

Yes, I Will Fight Again if… - Chukwuemeka Ojukwu

  ✍ Tell Magazine, Monday, 05 December 2011 12:22 

Sent by Nevbechi Nwoye Emma Anazövba

(Excerpts of interview the Ikemba granted TELL magazine in March, 1993, over 18 years ago, after he was disqualified to contest the presidential primary election of that year)

You have said that some people, cynical of your candidacy, accused you of going to only fight for the Igbo cause…?

 Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu 

Isn’t that bunkum? It is, it is. In 1966, when General Ironsi died, I opposed Gowon because I said the next person should take over, Ogundipe fled and moved to England. I continued opposing, saying that the next person should take over, Adebayo, a Yoruba. I moved on, we fought a war.  At the end of it, I went into exile. I came back. I am accused of having worked with a Hausa man, Shehu Shagari, in the NPN, a Hausa-Fulani. In this ongoing exercise, the first person I supported totally was Dr. Olusola Saraki, Yoruba of Kwara origin, Yoruba-Fulani. I came to the Island Club, Lagos, to talk about the East, and the West finding an understanding. This is the arch tribalist that really fights for the Igbos and nothing else? When (MKO) Abola gets up and he is considered a candidate, nobody says he is Yoruba. But when Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu gets up, he is a tribalist, he is always fighting for the Igbos. I am proud to fight for the Igbos because somebody must fight for them. I am as Igbo as you accused me of being. If you forget accusing me of my Igboness, I will be forgetfully a Nigerian completely. I cannot be intimidated out of this country. I have put in so much into this country, I cannot be intimidated. 

Do some people wish you were outside?

Oh yes, of course.

Can you give an example?

Wouldn’t you even consider 13 years exile enough punishment for anything? But there were Nigerians that went round barracks trying to mobilise troops to mount a coup d'état (against my return in 1982). There are people today who refuse that I should have opinion on anything Nigeria.  

You talk of mounting a coup d'état to prevent your return?

Oh yes, yes.  

You haven’t said anything about the politics against or about your return to the country. Could you seize this opportunity to do that?

I was in exile, there was a negotiation with my host, President Felix Houphouét-Boigny. I was invited at a certain stage, we discussed and we came back. On returning, I understood that there were very many movements, individual movements against my return… The fact is that it has been said in many, many publications that General (Theophilus) Danjuma opposed my return. You can take it over from there…  

How did you feel at that moment?

How did I feel? How would you feel? It was the highest point of one’s career. Exhilaration, so many emotions all crowded in. You saw but you didn’t see, you felt but you didn’t feel. You were sort of being transported on a sea of heads. And more than that, you found yourself floating on a bed of love. People who have come in to say to you, “Onye Ije Nnoo: welcome.”  

Did you feel it was the ultimate justification for whatever cause you have led in the past?

DANGER OF GRADUATES THAT DON'T THINK BEYOND THEIR CERTIFICATES

- Anonymous Inspirational Writer

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”

— Albert Einstein

The greatest form of disability in life is not knowing your ability. Your winning edge in life is not the degree you have acquired or the certificate you possessed, but your ability to solve problems.

Whenever I interview graduates, I am not so keen on their qualifications; I am only keen on their special skills, experiences and their unique approach to problem-solving. Most of them cannot even apply the knowledge they have acquired in school to solving life problems. The 21st Century employer doesn’t necessarily pay you a salary for the certificate you possess, but for the problems you can solve.

The reality of life is that there are more employable graduates than the available jobs, and it is only graduates that can actually think beyond their certificate that would eventually find their own place in life. Mark Twain said: “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” The proof of going to school is your certificate, but the proof of your education is in your ability to solve problems through innovation and creativity.

Graduates that cannot solve problems are liabilities. Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree; it is about widening your knowledge, thinking creatively and absorbing the truth about life. We must see our education beyond our certificates. Many people spend their precious years in school only to end up acquiring certificate, not education. Einstein said: “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Have you ever heard of the creativity term, ‘think outside the box?’.

One of the major reasons why most graduates are poor is because they cannot see and think beyond their certificates. I have seen engineering graduates work as bankers. I have seen medical doctors with great skills in web and graphic designs. I have seen lawyers that are very dexterous with finances. The list is endless!

The basic truth of life is that the skills needed to be much sought after and become more successful in life are not really found within the walls of the classrooms. Your certificate is just proof that you are teachable; it does not suggest what you are totally capable of doing. You are full of possibilities when you think beyond your degrees and certificates.

If you remove your certificate from the picture, what are those things you can do effortlessly so well? You would definitely need the knowledge you have acquired in school, but they must not define your limitations. Don’t allow your certificate to put a limit on what you are capable of doing. Your education goes beyond acquiring certificate; it is your ability to solve problems. While schooling leads to confinement, education is an adventure. While schooling makes us learn through rules and facts, education makes us learn through exposure.

OWERRI Historical: "OWERELA IHE MARAYA AKA"

By Njemanze and Njemanze

Owerri is the capital city of Imo State in the south eastern part of Nigeria in West Africa. Populated
majorly by the people of igbo tribe, Owerri is arguably the most cosmopolitan city in the entire south east today. 

Like most other towns/cities in Africa, the history of Owerri is steeped in valour, courage and victory.

It all started in the 14th Century. An Aristocrat named Oha, with his wife, Arugo, had two sons. the first Son was Ekwem while the second was Ndum. they lived in a village called Umuori in Uratta  which is located in present day Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

Oha the Aristocrat became old in age and died after a brief illness. By the igbo custom, the first son (usually called Opara in igbo culture) is required to provide the funeral cow.

Now, it is almost a taboo for an aristocrat to be buried in igbo land without the slaughtering of a cow, the burial would be deemed inconclusive. the passage of an igbo aristocrat is not a trivial issue even till this day. i witnessed the burial ceremony of an Ozo title holder in Onitsha, OMG! it was then i realized that the Oyinbos lied to us. Its a lie, not all men are born equal. an Ozo or Ichie title holder is not equal to a commoner. Mba! those are indeed aristocratic titles. The beauty of the African culture is that it always balances. so, while the Ozo or Ichie title holder has more communal priviledges, they also are expected to display more communal responsibilities.

So, Ekwem being the first son of Oha was supposed to provide the cow for their father's funeral. However, Ekwem was a man without means. Though a very honourable man in his own right, sometimes, honour is not synonymous with wealth. So that their father can have a befitting burial, Ekwem requested that his younger brother who was more wealthy should assist to buy the cow. Ndum bought the cow for the funeral. Thereafter, things were no longer at ease for the family as Ndum demanded to be given the head and heart of the cow since he was the one that bought the cow. Tufiakwa!

Ah Yoruba people !!!

 Author Unknown (received as 'Forwarded Many Times' via WhatsApp)

Ah! I remember the giddy days and fervor with which the Yoruba's campaigned for Buhari! How their girls would kiss his poster. How they did t-shirt aso-ebi's with Buhari and Osibanjo's picture where they were drinking sachet Milo tea! Ah those heady days! Days where the Yoruba's poured online warriors all over the internet to sell Buhari's candidacy, a man they dressed in borrowed garbs from the East and West but never in Fulani attire!

A man they insanely loved to the point that they hated anyone who said otherwise and called them "thieves" or beneficiaries of PDP "looters." Yoruba imams, pastors and babalawo's praised and prayed consistently for Buhari and earnestly yearned for his leadership because, to them, he would rule with hate for corruption, nepotism, ethnic chauvinism and he would be a President for all. They cursed all in opposition and labelled them with all sorts, such was the hate emanating from the very top of religion/religious leaders. Indeed for all! Yoruba intelligentsia all lined up and outdid themselves with beautiful prose in awe of Buhari!

You were hated in class, in the market, in church, in mosque, on the streets and in friendly gatherings if you dared speak against their messiah - Buhari! Such was the love that friends cut ties, religious institutions blacklisted anyone who did not toe the Buhari line. It was a complete wipeout of opposing voices of reason or call for closer scrutiny of the man they were selling! Even their revered poet body-shamed a fellow human being with the appellation - "shepopotamus." Such was the hate that it didn't matter the victim was a woman!

The myth about "Nkwobi" - Business or Betrayal ?

By Izu Osuigwe

I believe 419 started in Nigeria through the invention of nkwobi, one of the worst awful and deceitful creations, nkwobi is the precursor of Yahoo-Yahoo. No circumstances can change my opinion on this matter!

How can the big wooden bowl promise so much, yet deliver so little?

Constantly, bros constantly! It does not matter how often you change location, street or state, same result would be obtained once you are lured into the respective nkwobi joint.

Its evident, one of the mandatory subjects to be passed before one is certified a master chef in nkwobi preparation is OBT! Obtaining by false pretence!

After a wait of 60 minutes, the waiter carrying the nkwobi, seems to be affected by the weight of the delicacy.

You wash your hand and select one kpomo, another small kpomo, then the betrayals start piling in!

First betrayal? What you took as hunks of meat were actually chunks of huge dry bones moistened with oil and little gristle attached.