Ndigbo Bemoan Waning Values

By Chinaka Okoro

Piqued by the unbridled slide of its customs, traditions and values for which the Igbo are known, former Minister of Information and Culture, Dr Walter Ofonagoro has advised Ndigbo to re-evaluate their lifestyle and give a thought to some very negative traits that portray the Igbo man in an uncomplimentary light.

Dr Ofonagoro gave the advice while speaking as chairman at the unveiling and launch of an audio project on Igbo character and values held at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs Victoria Island Lagos recently.

He emphasised that there was great need for the restoration of Igbo core values which have been neglected for so long, adding that the Igbo should embrace their own language and to ensure that our traditional way of doing things is not lost in the ways of the new world.

He said: "There is culture, tradition, character, abomination and so on. Ndigbo have the concepts of good and bad. There traditional laws that govern good and bad social behaviours. Ndigbo, at all times must be on the part of rectitude. Our traditional laws are akin to the laws of Moses.

"As a result of the dislodged social and cultural values in Igbo land, Ndigbo no longer fancy going home. They now carry out the traditional wedding ceremonies of their children in the cities for fear of armed robbers and kidnappers which are the ugly results of excessive love and worship of money."

He praised the organisers of the event for their foresight, even as he re-emphasised the urgent need to eradicate evil in Igbo land.

The event which was organised by Ndigbo Ethics Revival Forum (NEREF), in collaboration with Ndigbo Lagos Organisation drew together notable Igbo sons and daughters whose consensus was to "highlight and celebrate those cherished moral and ethical values of Ndigbo which, over the years, had guided their lives as a people, even as it presented an opportunity for comment on certain unacceptable traits that seek to dilute the Igbo character."

Speaker after speaker lamented the serious situation in which Igbo cultural and ethical values have been subjected to and called for a concerted effort towards redressing the situation.

In his keynote address, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ben Akabueze disclosed that the Igbo race is one of Africa's largest ethnicities, noting that the global estimates of Igbo population vary widely from 30 to 70 million.

He asserted that more Igbo live and invest outside of traditional Igbo land, even as he put Igbo investments outside the Southeast at an estimated N3trillion.

While stating that culture is about the customs, ideas, values, character, practices, and traditions, and so on of a particular civilisation, society or social group which encompasses the visual art, music , dance forms, attire, cuisine, language, mythology, festivals etc, Mr Akabueze hinted that character is the combination of qualities that make up a person's nature or personality. He further said that values are the moral principles or standards that govern a person's conduct.

Even though cultural gate-keepers often advocate the immutability of culture, Mr Akabueze posited that culture does indeed change by evolution or by external influence.

"The issue is not whether culture can change but the nature and desirability of the changes. We must actually seek to change cultural practices that inhibit development and honour but hold sacred those that are desirable," he said. 

Reeling off the core values of Ndigbo to include prudence, justice, solidarity, self-worth, family pride, integrity, bravery, hard work and communal aspiration/self help, the Commissioner lamented that rather than reinforcing our strong traditional core values, and seeking to imbibe the desirable ones we lacked, we are progressively jettisoning our core values. Greed, opportunism, falsehood and ostentation seem to increasingly characterise the modern Igbo.

Continuing, he said: "Materialism has become the cankerworm that is eating away all that is good in the Igbo value system. Traditionally, the Igbo put a premium on knowledge and competence; but today, the stereotypical Igbo man is a wealthy illiterate. Secondary school enrolment among Igbo boys continue to fall as they drop out of school in pursuit of money."

The Commissioner disclosed that in traditional Igbo society, people's source of wealth was questioned and those who acquired wealth by dubious means were ostracised, even as he hinted that "today, whenever a list of Nigerians caught in drug trafficking and '419' (fraud), you can bet that Igbo young men will predominate. Together, the Igbo nation must rise and fight this degeneracy."

On traditional rulership, Mr Akabueze decried what he called unbridled proliferation of chieftaincy titles among the Igbo, noting that the situation became worrisome when "the Igbo gradually exported the alien practice of traditional rulers to places outside Igbo land with sizeable Igbo residents. The result is that today we have Eze Ndigbo (Igbo kings) almost on a street-by-street basis in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria… There is clearly a need for the Igbo to embark on a journey of self-recovery; to return to the best of their cultural heritage…"

On how best to tackle the situation, he said the efforts already initiated by NEREF should be sustained as it is not a one-conference affair. He also advised other well-meaning Igbo groups and associations to join the fight against the sliding Igbo cultural values.

"There is need for reorientation, he said, adding that the youth must be made to believe in themselves. Some of them have given up and therefore resort to crime. The Igbo society must consciously rekindle hope in the youth. Those who are role models for the youth must be individuals who relish the core values of Igbo culture," he concluded.

Contributing, the royal father of the day, His Royal Majesty Eze K.K Ogbu IV the Enachioken of Abiriba said time has come for the Igbo to rediscover themselves by going back to those elements that made the Igbo person regarded as truly Igbo. This, he said, is because, over the years we have discovered that the younger generation of Igbo are losing sight of the real core values of the Igbo nation. And if we allow that to continue, a time will come when no body will remember what we used to be. This is the time to reawaken the spirit and let Ndigbo know exactly who they are and what they should be at all times.

On the challenges facing the Igbo nation in Nigeria he said they are enormous, even as he noted that today's event is one of the ways of resolving the problems, because, he said, when you let people know what their values are there will be a consensus towards solving whatever challenges the people are experiencing.

"The audio project," he disclosed "is just about these core values. We are using this project to reawaken the spirit of the Igbo people, especially the youth so that they would be able to appreciate the mores of their society. We are also using the project to talk to them about folktales, songs and dances so that they will understand what we are telling them concerning cultural renaissance."

In his speech, Dr Zimako O. Zimako, Head Media and Publicity Department of NEREF noted with nostalgia that "in the yesteryear, Ndigbo were able to succeed in every endeavour because the government of that period encouraged the citizens and the citizens also encouraged one another to explore, release and expand their creative energies to the limits within the labyrinth of core Igbo values. Character which embodies integrity and hard work was also at the centre of Igbo spirit.

Continuing, he said: "Part of the agenda of Ndigbo Ethics Revival Forum is to arouse the consciousness of the Igbo nation for the urgent need to reclaim our cherished values and redeem our image…There is urgent need to remind Ndigbo who they are or what they should be-a responsible, respectable, respectful and responsive race. Being an Igbo man or woman comes with some natural heavenly endowments which include elements of hard work, ability to speak the truth, technology and standing on the side of justice."

Highpoint of the event was the unveiling of the audio project and honour/ awards to some outstanding Igbo sons both dead and alive.

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More Nigerian languages risk extinction
By Niyi Odebode

In 2007, the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation organised a series of workshops to protect dying Nigerian languages. After the workshops, the organisation in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Tourism and Culture planned to embark on programmes which included mapping and documentation of indigenous languages in Nigeria and organising creative writing competition in the languages.

The world body said that from August 2008 to December 2009, it would seek partnership among state governments, private sectors, international organisations and relevant stakeholders to prevent the death of the languages through a series of programmes it had mapped out.

Two years after the workshops, investigations by our correspondent showed that many parents, particularly the elite, encouraged their children to speak English at the detriment of their indigenous languages.

A resident of Ikoyi, Lagos, Mr. Solomon Akintude, narrated his encounter with a son of his friend. Akintude told our correspondent that he had visited his friend on the last Boxing Day. "We both hail from Ekiti State. It was over a month I saw him and I decided to pay the visit," the engineer said.

According to him, both of them were in the man's sitting room, conversing in Yoruba Language, when his friend's five-year-old son came in. "After making futile attempts to understand our conversation, the boy said, 'daddy both of you are speaking a dirty language," Akintunde said.

A civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Tayo Sofenwa, whose two children, Tope and Lara, attend Kidsville School, on Odunlami Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, also said that the children were encouraged to speak English both at home and in school. When asked whether the children, whose father hails from Abeokuta, could speak Yoruba, the woman answered in the negative.

Justifying the family's attitude to the indigenous language, the civil servant said, "English language is our official language. It will be wise to get the children as vast in it as possible to prepare them for a future outside Nigeria."

Investigations showed that Nigerian indigenous languages were affected by negative attitudes of Nigerians. Last year, a member of Igbo sociocultural group, Ndigbo, Peter Umeh, urged the Igbo to preserve their language.

He said that the lgbo language was gradually becoming extinct because some lgbo children could not speak the language following the failure of their parents to teach them.

A lecturer at the Department of English, University of Lagos, Dr. Sola Osoba, explained what could have informed the engineer's son's reaction to his father's indigenous language. "Many of us have a negative attitude to our languages. We want to show visitors that our children can speak English," Osoba said.

Osoba warned that at the rate Nigerians encouraged their children to despise their indigenous languages, some of the languages might cease to exist in future. According to him, a language dies when it has no speakers. He explains that death of a language is what is called language extinction.

According to OnlineNigeria.com, out of 521 indigenous languages in the country, 510 are living languages, two are second languages without mother-tongue speakers, and nine are extinct.

The dead languages included Ajawa spoken in Bauchi State; Auyokawa in Jigawa State; Basa-Guma in Niger State; Gamo-Nigi, Bauchi State; Homa, Adamawa State; Kpati, Taraba State, Kubi, Bauchi State, Mawa, Bauchi State and Tsehenawa in Jigawa State.

One of the reasons Nigerian parents prefer use of English by their children is to enhance the competence of the young ones in the language, which is the formal means of communication in the country. A Lagos-based lawyer, who craved anonymity, said, "English is the official language in the country. The earlier a child is competent in it, the better. He can learn the indigenous language later."

But Osoba described as erroneous, the view that inability to speak indigenous local languages would promote competence in English. "We learn English in a second language environment. We don't learn it in the native speakers' environment. The fact that your child cannot speak your indigenous language does not guarantee his competence in English," the lecturer said.

Osoba stated that when one considered process of language extinction, one would know that it was possible in Nigeria because of inter-tribal marriages and attitude to local languages.

He added, "For instance, in a family, the husband may be Yoruba and the wife Igbo. Both of them may not understand each other's language. The language that is mutually understandable to them is English. To such a family, the problem is not a negative attitude."

According to experts, the common process leading to language death occurs when a community of speakers of a language becomes bilingual and gradually shifts allegiance to the second language until the speakers stop using the original language. Language extinction can also occur when their speakers are wiped out by genocide or diseases.

Linguists also believe that a language can go into extinction if it is spoken by a few elderly people. If such speakers, for example, are 50 years and above, there is a possibility that the language will die.

Some languages are endangered when there is a possibility that they may go into extinction, According to Herman Batibo, in Language Decline and Death in Africa, a language is endangered when there are fewer than 5,000 people speaking it; when the speakers are minority and they have negative attitude to their language; and when parents no longer teach their children the language.

Advising Nigerians to protect their languages, Osoba said that more roles should be assigned to them. He suggested that the languages should be codified. The lecturer noted that some indigenous languages were not codified. Osoba also said that books and newspapers should be written in the languages.

Also, a former Dean of Faculty of Social SciencesUNILAG, Prof. Lai Olorode, said those who discouraged their children from speaking their languages were culturally illiterate. According to him, such children are always alienated and lack confidence. "Inability to speak indigenous languages does not make a child intelligent," he said.

Olorode disclosed that some Nigerians had been coming home to get teachers who could teach their children indigenous languages. He wondered why those who were resident in the country should have negative attitudes to their languages.

According to him, with what is happening in the United States, particularly the inauguration of Barack Obama, every African should be proud of his culture and language. "We are in the era of globalisation. We should not allow our languages to die," he said.
Source: Punch, 29^th January 2009.

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The Martyrdom of Kaduna Nzeogwu
^{Written by Emma Okocha}

^{''When you hear British government officials thunder about election malpractices these days, you think butter will not melt in their mouths.}

^{But in1956 and1959, the British deliberately influenced Nigeria's independence elections so that the Northerners would dominate the country following independence. ... Northern domination of Nigeria has caused so much angst leading to the coup of January 1966 and the civil war [1967-1970]. The Northerners never wanted the British to leave. They feared the Southerners more than the British.}

^{The British and the Northern elite worked so closely together that differences of policy could hardly exist. The British claimed that the Northerners must have 50% of all the seats in the Federal legislature. Whoever controlled the NPC controlled the North and the whole of Nigeria.'' -Harold Smith, former British Colonial Officer, New African May 2005 page10.}

^{''The 1966 Coup plotters planned to hand over power to Awolowo. People were told that it was an Igbo coup but that is not correct. The plan of the coup makers was to release Awolowo from jail and make him their leader.'' -Odia Ofeimun Private Secretary to Chief Awolowo, on the 20th Anniversary of the Passage of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sunday Guardian May 6, 2007.}

^{"After the January coup, the head of my department Mr. N.V.Kirby {Territorial Controller, North] called me me up to take care of the personnel in the exchange and some other P&T installations in Kaduna. A few hours later, out of sheer curiosity I went to the Sarduana's house. I was amazed to find that all the Northerners there showed no signs of grief. Some Hausa friends told me me that the coup was Godsend, but that its only fault was that nobody was killed in the East.'' -Daniel Godo Princewill, January 15, Eyewitness Account, Kaduna.}

^{"The Major General had taken over the 4th Battalion in Ikeja and was in command of the southern forces. The northern forces seemed to be under the command of one Major Nzeogwu.'' -Col Victor Banjo on the afternoon of January 15, to Col.Ejike Aghanya [also see Behind The Screen, 2005 page3]}

^{"Until my final day, I will continue to regret my fateful mediation, leading to the capitulation Major Nzeogwu to General Ironsi. Under my helpless escort, after his surrender in Kaduna, Nzeogwu was arrested, humiliated and thrown into jail on arrival at the Ikeja airport. Ironsi failed to keep his words, his soldier's honor as per our agreement with the January 15 boys. I'm guilty and it is my eternal sin to have failed the young man and his very popular revolution.''}

^{Brigadier Conrad Nwawor, only living Nigerian military officer decorated by the British for gallantry and leadership. Commander of the 1966 Midwest Fourth Area Command and War Commander, Elite Biafran 11 Division, with the author at Christmas in Onicha Olona, Umuezechime, 1994.}

^{They were only two known Nigerian soldiers to have been decorated with the Victory Cross by the British. While Brigadier Conrad Nwawor is the only living officer to be so honored, Colonel Adekunle Francis Fajuyi was infact the first to turn the page in the military history of the Nigerian Army.}

^{As a Major and serving under the United Nations, in the Congo, he became the first officer of the Royal Nigerian Army to be so honored. Displaying a high degree of leadership and ability he had on many occasions, personally beaten off attacks by hostile Katangese tribes men who in one dangerous instance, had ambushed and derailed the train that was moving his company back to base. The January 15 boys respected his badge and he was informed about the coup. His defense of the boys was not forgotten by Danjuma and his boys in Ibadan, on July 29th 1966, the night of the of the so called revenge putsch.}

^{The coup's primary aims according to Major Wale Ademeyoga was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo and appoint him the Prime Minister of Nigeria. The other end games of the revolution were; To end the street bloodbath in the West. Since the rigged western Nigerian elections, lots of civilians were being buthered and roasted by party thugs. According to Lateef Jakande, in the Comet, January 15, 2000, ''the first coup by Nzeogwu was well intentioned.}

^{The situation in the country had deteriorated. As you will recall, there was violent reaction in the western region against the impositon of the NNDP on the west by the Federal Government.''}

^{Elsewhere, we had discussed the Tiv invasion and the equally violent reaction from the the native Tiv rioters who were called the Temtios because they found pleasure in breaking heads to pieces. According to the Nigerian Headline, "The political situation in Tiv Division in 1964 and beyond was comparable to a volcano, that was always erupting.}

^{Even though, there have been violent disturbances in the Tiv Division in 1939, 1947, and 1960, the Federal Government in November, 1964 decided for something drastic and definite to arrest the deadly eruption in the Division that same year. The Government on the advice of the Kaduna controlled NPC poured in soldiers to replace the Police.}

^{The advent of soldiers resulted in more sadism and the savagery recorded unprecedented civilian casualties from Lafia to Gboko, Daudu and Makurdi, were the natives armed with poisoned arrows and charms confronted the trigger happy soldiers loaded with automatic weapons and machine guns. One of the officers sent in to restore normalcy by all means, was Colonel Yakubu Pam. He was appointed the Officer Commanding Army operations in the Tiv Division.}

^{A familiar name, Malam Tanko Yesufu was appointed Provincial Commissioner. As he continued his scotch earth, wipe out of the stubborn Tiv resistance, his recce commander Major Christian Anuforo, with a Bsc in Mathmatics was revolted by the sheer bestiality of the whole unprofessional operations.}

^{He refused orders to move his armored cars against the Tiv people adding that he was not trained to mow down civilians. He was recalled to Kaduna and was about to be decommissioned when he ran into January 15 boys. With his gory experience in Tiv land it was not difficult convincing him to join in seeking the death of the rabid Nigerian first republic.}

^{Overall, the perspective of Alan Feinstein's Biography of Mallam Aminu Kano, the late Nigerian politician provides an appropriate background to reconciling the impact of the January 15 event to the people of the North, considering the fact that he was the leader of the Talakawas [the masses in the street]. Mallam Aminu Kano was the bridge between the south and the north, men and women, the Muslims and the men of the book.}

^{Feinstein stressed that while ''his efforts at repair and rebuilding of political alignments were going on in Kano a region -wide effort was progressing simultaneously in the southernmost sections of the north, known as the Middle belt; the move toward an independent state had progressed even further than in Kano to the point where the disaffection with the dominating NPC super structure had precipitated riot among the Tivs in 1960 and again in1964''}

^{The United Middlebelt Congress, led by Joseph Tarka eventually aligned with NEPU to form the NPF, which supported the break up of the monolithic northern region to give adequate voice to the larger minority.'' In uncovering the festering bitterness and near explosions between the conservative NPC, supported by the traditional northern elites, the Emirs, the top civil servants as was ordained by the British, on one hand, the NPF surge and portent alliance with the southern progressive [UPGA] led to the polirisation of the Nigeria political forces.}

^{The NPC sledge hammer descent on the northern opposition almost wiped out all the democratic and legally recognized institutions of descent in the north. In the north, opposition candidates were denied filing of nomination petitions and campaigns and party meetings were flagrantly prohibited .}

^{Political refugees flocked to Kano, as homes and farmlands were burnt, and many were thrown into prisons. By the close of 1965 elections, the NPC with the effective control of the regional state apparatus viz, the local authorities, the Emirs of the North, the Police, the party was no longer worried about the north but knew they can only dominate the country with the ability to sustain the unpopular Akintola NNDP in the west.}

^{Lord Acton , the liberal catholic scholar had posited that historian's first duty 'was not to debase the moral currency'. He believed that the historian must always point out the good and the evil in the actions that men took in the past.}

^{However, in order to do this justly, we must first establish what they actually did and also have an understanding of what was considered to be right and wrong in that particular era. Lord Acton maintained, we may decide that we are justified in condemning them, only after considering the ideals and actions as they are portrayed. Jumping to conclusion based on a study of only a part of the source of information, convicts us of intellectual dishonesty.}

^{That was the unchallenged dishonesty of General Danjumah when in an interview with Dr.Edwin Madunagu of the Guardian he attempted in futulity to justify his revisionist putsh of the July 29, 1966 by accusing the revolutionaries of ''killing my brother northern officers.''}

^{Drawing on the intimate profiles of the major actors of the January uprising, we reveal the soul of soldiers who were Napoleanic in the faith for the country and were ready to sacrifice themselves to accomplish their mission. Signifcantly, the majors elected to lead and stay in front without employing any surrogates as was the case with the series of the other Nigerian coups that followed .}

^{But who are indeed these brother northern officers that fell on the night of January 15? We had expected the very respected Mathematician Edwin to press it on. Lt Colonel Yakubu Pam. The officer that was tainted by the Tiv operations. Lt.Colonel Aborgo Largema, commander of the Ibadan second battalion.}

^{A serously compromised commander who was accused of using the federal troops against the popular and violent anger in the streets of wild west. British intelligence according to Smith was aware that this commander had finalized plans with the conservative power bloc and with the understanding of Brigadier Ademelegun were to destroy the intellectual and human rights/ progressive movement of the west.}

^{These Ibadan school were the brain and the fuel of the violent resistance of the unstable west. On target to be eliminated were Wole Soyinka, Tunji Otegbeye, Christopher Okigbo, Tai Solarin etc. It is possible that as the chief of Nigeria Army intelligence Major Chukwumah Nzeogwu must have intercepted the thread and decades after, we confirm the singular reason the revolution was rushed to January 15.}

^{For according to Wole Soyinka , in 'The Man Died', he speculated on the belief that his Human Rights fighters were to be crushed and the west totally normalized by force by January 17, 1966. It was to be very bloody.}

^{Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, Colonel Kur Mohammed very fine officers but were listed to be arrested on account of fact that the coup would not succeed if they were still in command of their units.}

^{These senior officers were not different from Colonel Shodeinde in charge of the Brigade headquarters in kaduna. The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi and Arthur Unegbe, Quartermaster General were also listed and targeted to be demobilized for the same reasons.Never a supporter of any type of killing, be that of civilians in Kano, Ibadan or Gboko.}

^{All the deaths were regretable but it will be disingenuous to pronounce that the blood letting was instigated by tribal motivations Like the Supreme Commander who managed a miraculous escape from his abductors, Arthur Unegbe like his other senior colleagues were all gunned down by patriots who were out to sacrifice a few of them to win the best for all.}

^{As was predicted, the survival of Ironsi led to the death of the revolution and the eventual martyrdom of Kaduna Nzeogwu who had in all his short austere life worried about Nigeria and even surprised Remi Obasanjo that he would not be getting married!}

^{In the many years that have passed, the young majors have been betrayed by the Awoists, the Northern masses, the Tiv nation, the Igbo senior officers led by Colonels Ojukwu, Madiebo, Major Obienu,Air force Captain Nzegwu, Majors Igboba, Okwechime, Awuna.}

^{These senior officers did more than any other group to frustrate the only true Nigerian revolution that was January 15.}

^{Three of them before the coke crew paid the supreme sacrifice for their misunderstanding of the Nigerian unforgivable feudal Leviathan. Major Obienu who was supposed to secure the January 15 Lagos operations, failed to show up with his armored unit from Abeokuta on the Zero Hour.}

^{Without any armored support the Majors were unable to consolidate their hold of the strategic Ikeja garrison and that was the distraught mind that began the shooting of the arrested officers and marked the beginning of the failure.}

^{In July 29, 1966, Major Obienu was one of the first officers to be shot in Abeokuta by northern soldiers. Under the orders of Ironsi, brilliant Col Igboba from Ibusa was the main officer who ruined the revolution in Lagos. As Commander of the Biafran Midwest operations Col. Victor Banjo did not forgive him for his role in January 15.}

^{He handed him over to Benin hordes who awaited Col. Muritala Mohammed and Ogbemudia'a retake of Benin, in September 21, 1967.}

^{Then they cut off his head. Captain Nzegwu immaculate former officer of the British Airforce was supposed to fly on the night of January 15 and release Chief Awolowo from Calabar prisons. Even if everything had failed but the Chief was released, there could have been an unprecedented earthquake from Ilorin to the Lagos Atlantic!!}

^{Nobody would have stopped the revolution for the people were already in the streets fighting and dying for their ballots to be counted. The Airforce Captain Nzegwu from the prominent Onitsha family never made it to Calabar. In July 29, 1966, he paid with his life as a northern NCO bludgeoned him to death.}

^{Finally, why did the very audacious western leader, Chief Awolowo never for one day made any commentary about Nzeogwu and the Majors' plan of making good the chief's lifelong ambition?}

^{In the many years that followed his death and the bastardization of his revolution why have we not heard from veteran politician, Anthony Enahoro and other well informed Midwesterners like Chief Bokolor? What happened to most of his trusted accomplices like Captain Sawntong and the other Middle belt officers who saw action in January 15, 1966? For one more thing.}

^{While others planned and executed coups for themselves to climb into power the January exercise was to uplift a man the Majors think can offer the best for Nigeria. Nzeogwu was not even to be heard from. If not for the Lagos disappointment the announcement was to be made by Major Ademeyoga . For whatever reasons he never made that announcement even though he was at the NBC station.}

^{As we celebrate another January 15, we are satisfied that time and history will be kinder to those boys. In one fell swoop the uprising restored normalcy to the burning cities and villages of the wild west. The revolution stopped the hidden and planned extinction of the Tiv freedom fighters. Aminu Kano and the Talakawas were saved from obliteration.}

^{The uprising postponed the emerging class warfare among the Igbo nation. Ojukwu's declaration of Biafra had sharpened the contradictions. In that experiment, the January boys returned as the commanders of the ill fated Midwestern expeditionary campaign.}

^{Still, impassioned by their unfinished mission and ready to sacrifice for a united but uncontaminated Nigeria, Col.Victor Banjo, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Alile, Agbam as was the case in January 15, were willing to sacrifice Gowon, Ojukwu and his Biafra to get to Lagos and Nigeria.}

^{In the end, they were eaten up by the revolution. In his lamentation, Wole Soyinka in 'The Man Died', cried for the loss of his friends....''And Victor Banjo, if ever a revolution was lost to history, not now in one of those moments but by days!}

^{What kept him in Benin while the naked underbelly of Lagos lay in its gross inert corruption, waiting only to be pierced?...Banjo forgot that his was a nation of fence -sitters, that in crisis , established power begins by an advantage which exerts a psychological paralysis on all but the most uncompromising few.}

^{The revolutionary base, supposed to be consolidated by his continued presence in the Midwest began to crumble''.}

^{He paid with his life. And with him Alale, Ifeajuna, Agbam.
Source: Vanguard, 15th January 2009.}

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QUOTE

"Ndi Igbo should not allow the Civil War to depress indefinitely our adventurous spirit, which has led to the export of this precious human capital. Rather, we should galvanise our myriads of talents to develop not only the Igbo nation but also Nigeria." ...

Achebe listed good governance in the Southeast, job creation, education, urban and rural development, abrogation of Osu caste system, and rejecting of religious fanaticism and ethnic intolerance, as his thoughts on the way forward for the development of Ndi Igbo......

"Ndi Igbo should organise pressure groups and insist that budgetary allocations to local governments and state governments continue to be published every month, as has been the practice in the recent past. If government refuses, Igbo institutions should seek out and publish such allocations. " ....

"Ndi Igbo must diversify our economy and create jobs that are not based on the oil sector. The greatest importers of oil and oil products such as America and Europe are working feverishly to decrease their dependence on imported oil from countries such as Nigeria. We have no choice but to see the clear writing on the wall concerning the future of fossil fuels."..... .

"Our young men are not attending secondary and post-secondary schools. If this development persists, it may cause a deep chasm in the intellectual and creative/innovative capability of Ndi Igbo. We must make education relevant to our youth and establish night schools for traders who work in the markets during the day. Let us encourage young traders to pursue business degrees, including MBA, and our government should provide teachers for this purpose and invest in professional teacher education.". ....

"However, there is an ugly under belly of this great success. An endemic obsession for materialistic accumulation has taken a hold of Igboland and has the dire possibility of eroding, permanently, the moral and intellectual capability of an entire society." ....

"Several studies have clearly indicated that when women are well educated, the entire society benefits positively in overall standard of living. The dehumanisation of our women through acts such as wife-beating, funeral rites that take away the dignity of our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters must be abolished,". ......

UNQUOTE

My People:

1. I rise to hail Dede Prof. Achebe! In fact, there should be an Achebe in every Nigerian group, to be told some home-truths.

2. I welcome in particular his call for the abrogation of Osu caste system in all of its ramifications. Obviously, Prof. Achebe does not believe in statements by other people that that obnoxious discriminatory practice has already been abrogated. It is the elephant in Ndigbo's cultural room, in addition to the "endemic obssession for materialistic accumulation. " Outside of those two shortcomings, the Igbo society is a near-perfect one.

3. If someone else had written what Prof. Achebe wrote now, he would be called an "efulefu" (if Igbo) or Igbo-hater (if non-Igbo)! Abegi...

Ndeewo nu! Igbo kwenu! Igbo Kwezionu! Nigeria kwenu ! Africa kwenu! America, Hi!

Maazi Bolaji Aluko
Igwe I of Ode-Ekiti

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Within the Internet lies Africa's clay of wisdom

by Philip Emeagwali
emeagwali.com 

According to history books, gun-wielding European slave traders kidnapped one in five Africans and transported them across the oceans to the Americas. A less visible, but no means less drastic technological tool of suppression, is the compass, a device used worldwide for navigation. In the same way that Britain used its maritime knowledge and the US harnessed its intellectual capital to rule the world, the early slave traders used the simple compass to wreak havoc on civilization.

It is a sad fact that the innocuous navigation tool originated during and was fuelled by the Atlantic slave trade. The technological development of the innocent compass, invented in China for religious divination 2,000 years ago, allowed Africa to be ravaged in unspeakable ways.

It was the compass that created the Atlantic slave trade, enabling the early colonial navigators — and their blood merchants — to chart an accurate course from Gorée Island, off the coast of Senegal, to Brazil; paving the way for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which began on August 8, 1444. This trade in human merchandise covered four continents and lasted four centuries, and serves as a shameful beacon for the depravity of human greed and conquest.

The compass became the de facto weapon of mass destruction, which led to the de-capitalization and decapitation of Africa. It created the African Diaspora with one in five people taken out of the motherland. It was the largest and most brutal displacement of human beings in human history. 

Today, it is hard to imagine that such destruction and the wholesale abduction of a race could result from a tool as common as the compass. Yet, as a people who survived the slave trade, we must draw our strength from lessons learned from the past and draw our energy from the power of the future. And the power of the future lies in "controlling" technology and harnessing it for the benefit of mankind, not for his destruction.

The people of Africa must take note that the Internet is our modern-day compass, and within it resides our own clay of wisdom. As we prepare for our great journey into the cyberspace of the future, with its technological promise — its clay of wisdom — we must understand the strategic value and potential of this all-important tool. Our image of the future inspires the present and the present serves to create the future.

Africa's lack of substantial technological knowledge of the Internet and its potential may lead it to be assaulted or manipulated in unexpected ways, just as it was devastated generations ago for the lack of a simple compass. We didn't recognize the power of the compass then; the danger is that we don't recognize the power of technology today. While Africa merely contemplates the future, the West, the quickest off the mark to wield technology's weapons, actually makes the future.

This fact, and how the power of technology can be wielded against the poor, was brought home to me clearly when I received the following email recently:
"About a year ago, I hired a developer in Africa to do my job. I am paying him $12,000 a year to do my job, for which I am paid $67,000 a year," the sender wrote. "He's happy to have the work and I'm happy that I have to work only 90 minutes a day. Now I'm considering getting a second job and doing the same thing." 

Technology in the hands of others has been used to exploit Africa for centuries. But now it's time for Africa to grasp technology and finally embrace the modern age's clay of wisdom and advancement. Africa has the chance to show the world how technology can be used for good, not evil. And the people of Africa can use today's technology, not to mimic their own exploitation, but to right the wrongs of the past and empower themselves with the same tool that has been used to oppress them in the past. Africa can provide a shining example for the world in using technology for its own upliftment and the benefit of mankind.

This time, it is our choice.

Transcribed from a speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali at the African Diaspora Conference in Tucson, Arizona. The entire transcript is posted at emeagwali.com.

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Africa Must Produce or Perish

By Philip Emeagwali
emeagwali.com 

Imagine that it is May 25, 2063, the 100th anniversary of Africa Day, a day for reflecting on Africa's successes and failures. The newspaper headline announces, "Last Remaining Oilfield in West Africa's American Territory Dries Up."

The article continues: "The last patch of rainforest will soon be empty land scarred by oil pipelines, pumping stations, and natural gas refineries. Wholesale pollution will be the environmental legacy for future generations.

"Africa's offshore oil reserves will ebb away. Abandoned oil wells could well become tourist attractions, and oil-boom settlements will be transformed into derelict ghost towns.

"In a world without oil, air travel will disappear, and people will voyage overseas on coal-powered ships. Farmers will use horses instead of tractors, and scythes instead of combine harvesters. As crops diminish and populations soar, famine will grip the globe. With no means to power their vehicles, parents will be housebound, without jobs, and children will walk to school."

This scenario could become a reality, because we no longer have an abundant oil supply. We know oil exists in limited quantities and that most oil wells dry up after 40 years. It is as certain as death and taxes. Rather than debate the exact year when we will run out of oil, I prefer to imagine that we have already run out. It may come sooner than any of us expect. Our heirs will thank or curse us for how much oil we left for them. Instead of asking, "When will Africa run out of natural resources?" we should ask, "When will Africa be unable to export raw materials, either for lack of our own oil or because foreign markets have themselves dried up?"

A $100 bar of raw iron is worth $200 when forged into drinking cups in Africa, $65,000 when forged into needles in Asia, $5 million when forged into watch springs in Europe. How can this be? European intellectual capital – the collective knowledge of its people – allows a $100 raw iron bar to command a 50,000-fold increase! It could be said, therefore, that a lack of intellectual capital is the root cause of poverty.

Without African intellectual capital, iron excavated in Africa will continue to be manufactured in Europe and exported back to Africa at enormous cost. To alleviate poverty, Africa needs to cultivate creative and intellectual abilities that will allow it to increase the value of its raw materials and to break the continent's vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is not an absence of money. Rather, it results from an absence of knowledge.

In oil-exporting African nations, multinationals such as Shell (selling rigs for a 40% royalty on exported oil) are getting rich, while the oil rig workers remain poor. Instead of addressing the underlying causes of poverty – minimal productivity resulting from a lack of intellectual capital – Third World leaders have focused on giving false hope to their people.

We need less talk about poverty and more action to eliminate it. So how do we do this? Education has done more to reduce poverty than all the oil companies in the world. So it is disheartening to realize that few leaders believe that their people's potential is far more valuable than what lies beneath the soil.

Intellectual capital, not higher wages, will eliminate poverty in Africa. If we all demand higher wages, we will end up paying the higher wages to ourselves. Intellectual capital will result in the creation of new products derived from new technologies. The end result will be not just a redistribution of wealth, but the creation and control of new wealth.

And Africa's power to reduce poverty will open the floodgates of prosperity for millions of people. One catalyst for such prosperity could be telecommuting. If 300 million Africans could work for companies located in the West (just as millions of Indians do), then both regions would benefit. The strategy would be to recognize the labor needs of the global marketplace, and enable Africa to fulfill those needs.

For example, tax preparation experts living in Africa, where labor is cheaper, could fulfill the needs of US-based accountants. Furthermore, the time difference could allow for a fast turnaround in service. It is clear that knowledge and technology is crucial to alleviate Africa's poverty.

Africa will perish if it continues to consume what it does not produce, and produce what it does not consume. The result will be a depressing cycle of increasing consumption, decreasing production, and increasing poverty. We are missing a golden opportunity by not using the trillion dollars earned by exporting natural resources to break Africa's cycle of poverty.

We are at a crossroads where one signpost reads "Produce" and another reads "Perish." We risk becoming like the driver who stops at an intersection and asks a pedestrian, "Where does this road lead?"

And the pedestrian replies, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know," the driver replies.

"Then it obviously doesn't matter which road you take!" replies the pedestrian.

If we adopt the same attitude as the driver, Africa will have lost its chance to "choose" its future.

For decades, power in post-colonial Africa rested in the hands of those with guns, not those with brains. We were not always at war with our neighbors, but we were always at war with poverty. And we spent more on guns than on books and bread.

Africa's choice is clear: produce or perish. However, it is important that we do not blindly choose the lesser of two evils – producing what we cannot consume or consuming what we cannot produce. We can avoid this. My wish is that by the end of the 21st century high-end products in New York City will sport the label: "Made in Africa."

We cannot look forward to our future until we learn from our past. Five thousand years of recorded history reveal that technology was ancient Africa's gift to the modern world. Forty and a half centuries ago, geometers in Africa's Nile Valley region designed the Great Pyramid of Giza, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. That man-made mountain remains the largest stone building on Earth. It is an icon of engineering, and testifies that Africa was once the world's most technologically advanced region.

It is absolutely imperative that Africa regain its technological prominence, which will enable it to produce what the world can consume. When we do that, Africa will finally be eating the fruits of its own labor. When Africa has regained its technological prominence, the world's leaders will seek it out. And, like a rainforest renewed, Africa will flourish again.

Transcribed from a speech delivered by Philip Emeagwali to the African community in Valencia, Spain. The entire transcript and video are posted at emeagwali.com.

Philip Emeagwalihas been called "a father of the Internet" by CNN  and TIME, and extolled as "one of the great minds of the Information Age" by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize, the Nobel prize of supercomputing.

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'Nigeria Was Designed At Independence To Fail But God Has Held Us Together'

Motivator and conference speaker, Paul Adeolu Adefarasin is founder and Senior Pastor of House on the Rock. He is well known for his message of hope, healing and empowerment. In this interview with BISI ALABI WILLIAMS, he spoke on PETRA Coalition, a forum for pastors of churches, ministers and women in ministry.

The PETRA Coalition

WHAT we have is an assimilation of several churches coming together under the banner of the Petra Coalition. We are grooming a much happier church, working together to achieve more. We are closing the ranks between churches that are often divided by dogma, denomination and doctrine, so that we are able to synergise as one body. As a result, we are much more effectual in our objectives in establishing God's kingdom on earth and instituting righteousness, justice and equity as a standard for national.

Network strength

The church is midwifed by the PETRA Coalition and a central working committee. Some of that facilitation comes from my local church only because that's what is presently obtainable. There are at least five hundred participating churches and about three hundred representatives. Together, we have about eight hundred churches. Our membership across the country represents at least 2000 to 2500 churches. So, it's a significant network.

Interestingly, it seems a bit stronger in Northern Nigeria than it is in the South. What we are doing is giving inspiration, counseling, direction and opportunity for kindred fellowship among pastors in this present time.

Participants on board

What we have are capable people from all walks of life, and if we are able to bring them together, as we are already doing, God can deliver his plans and possibilities for our great nation. Those possibilities include better healthcare, national development, rehabilitation of impoverished communities and power generation. As you see today, we have people from every major church in the Lagos Metropolis and many other churches across the country.

Representing those churches are doyens of industry, banking and finance, manufacturing, private sector, oil and gas. All these people are part of the process of establishing righteousness and justice, which is what our nation needs. This is how the Christian can be a part of the process of contributing responsibly to the development of the country.

Challenges in bringing the people together

You don't have to be a Christian to recognise the problems. Hence, responsibility is laid on all Christians not to be a part of the problem but part of the solution. So, when we call on the people, they come easily. This may also be because of the credibility of the coalition and the organisation.

Hence, there is a high level of subscription. Of course, we leave nothing to chance. We make choices and do what we are expected to do to increase our database. We develop this, day to day, in the public and private sectors, so that we can call and reach our people when the need arises.

Vision

First of all, this group is not looking for credit. It's not looking for glory or for measurement of success. It is not just another church. It is ideologically the Christian church in Nigeria. She is pre - existent to Nigeria, in that the church has existed long before Nigeria became a nation. When I say the church, I am not talking about a denomination or an organisation. I mean the Christian church as documented in the Scriptures. And all we are saying is let the church return to the original calling, when the Christian faith was first delivered to the saints.

The church, all through the New Testament, has always had a divine mandate placed upon her by the fact that she lives in the community, and she has responsibility to promote the values of God and His kingdom. So, there's propagation of the unity of the church and its responsibility to represent her King in righteousness, equity and justice and in development.

Measure of success

I believe that, over time, you will be able to see actual results in the polity and in the market sector. In coming together, we have a unified sense of cause. We are streamlining our objectives, so that they can be easily identified. We will begin to lobby strongly for the things we believe in, so that we see progress and development in this land. As things are today, everyone is a witness that you can't just build anyhow and anywhere in Lagos.

The laws are better enforced today than in previous administrations. So, we have to lobby for stronger representation. We will ensure that those who we identify as Christians are held accountable to their creed. Just like Queen Esther occupied the most influential position in the land. She used her influence to avert a catastrophe that threatened to engulf her nation

How can one become a part of this?

You are already a part of this! You are using the platform of media to get the message out, saying it's time to join hands together, to get accountable to our creed, to righteousness, justice and equity. It's time to stand up and do the right thing. I believe that this is what you are doing by giving your best practices and airtime to our programme.

So, you are a part of us and we appreciate that very much. Christians, who are in the church, are the people that will get involved in politics and allow righteousness to reign. God will use them to enthrone justice, equity, development and progress in Nigeria. God is looking for men with generational antecedents, men with a heart for public service, who will deliver true service.

Is disintegration the best option for the country?

No, it is not. It is the people who are not well informed that see disintegration as a better option. The marriage, which brought Nigeria forth, as a nation, was unjustly contracted by colonial midwives, under the guise of granting independence to a nation. Nigeria was designed at independence to fail but God has held us together. It was a deliberate design to hamper the progress of Nigeria and Nigerians. It is a miracle from God that has kept us together as a nation. The Bible says that if the foundation is faulty, what can the righteous do. Nigerians must have a sovereign national conference.

In the next five years, we must have a sovereign national conference. Otherwise, I personally predict that Nigeria will disintegrate. Although it is not my wish, it, however, will, unless something is done. If we are not careful to ensure that all the federating units of the country sacrifice their own personal ambition for the greater good, this country will disintegrate because it is already tottering at the brink. I believe that Nigeria can be one. It can become a true federation, which I don't believe it is presently. We must decide on what we want as a nation, whether it's a confederation, a loose federation or a federation.

The Nigeria of your dreams

I see a place where we don't have the insecurities that exist today; a place of wonderful job opportunities where the youths can achieve their dreams, a place where our children can realise their dreams, a place where everyone is free to pursue their dreams and actualise their potentials. I see a nation where everything works, where children can go to school and come home in peace, where people can walk on the streets and no one will harass them. I see a responsive and responsible leadership; a God fearing people, who sincerely love one another and work together for a great nation; a place where the best will serve the best. The list is endless. But it is the Nigeria of my dreams.
Source: The Guardian, 11^th April 2010.

Ndigbo - Strategising for the Future

By Daniel Kanu

The Issue of formidable unity and the way forward for Ndigbo was at the front burner recently, at a dinner organised by Ndigbo Lagos, in honour of the new president-general of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue.

It was as if the gathering was designed to mark a new dawn of Igbo unity - in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

It was a gathering of prominent Igbo sons in search of a solution to re-enact their cherished values as an enterprising and hard working people.

Most especially the occasion provided a veritable platform for soul searching, articulation of a roadmap for a new beginning and a re-awakening for a people that have suffered pronounced set-back and socio-economic and political neglect since the end of the civil war.

The fate of Ndigbo in contemporary Nigeria was brought to the fore at the occasion. Although some believe that Ndigbo have had much talk shop on the issue of their neglect, many still believe that what is important is to develop the will power to confront any problem, no matter how monstrous it may appear.

From the beginning of Independence till date, a lot of economic and political blue prints have been marshalled out to make Ndigbo able to stand on its own and cater for the overall needs of their people. But, somewhere along the line, they have become political issues, which eventually end up in the dustbin of history.

The very robust ones put in place during the First Republic could not stand the test of time because they too were abandoned, as crude oil boomed, to the detriment of the people. Today, the zone is grappling with a lot of problems that have refused to go away.

But, Ambassador Uwechue set the tone when he asserted: "I feel greatly elated by the event we are witnessing today. Let us not forget our past, for I can recall that when things were based on merit, fairness, equity and justice we know where we were in relation to other ethnic groups. Nobody should feel apologetic. No Igbo person has any reason to apologise to any person, because we built and sustained this nation.

"We will use our population to our advantage. Unity is our strength, we should stop mouthing it rather, we should practice it. Let every Igbo stop bothering about what others think about us, rather let us rise and speak with one voice and, no group can match us.

" I am speaking today not as a diplomat, but as a full-blooded Igbo. Any greatness that was recorded at any point in time has Onye-Igbo as partner in that feat. Let's even look at recent records: the Charles Soludo, Oby Ezekwesili, Mrs Okonjo Iweala, Mrs Dora Akunyili, etc., - all left their imprint. There is every reason for us to celebrate among ourselves, among brothers, friends and sisters."

According to the diplomat, what the Igbo want is very simple: the best for Nigeria, because, when it is good for Nigeria, it will also be good for Ndigbo.

"It's high time we retraced our steps with a view to reversing the trend. And, we must do it now for the sake of our children," he stressed.

The challenges facing Ndigbo, Uwechue, said are the Igbo unity, networking and empowerment, gradual disappearance of Igbo language, cultural heritage and identity.

The newly elected President who held the gathering spell bound also threw another challenge to his kinsmen, when he chargrd: "Some of us are now asking the inevitable question: what the fate of Ndigbo existence is in the near future, with this growing challenges and constraint? One would have thought that in the face of the growing global ethnic identity drive, Ndigbo would need to look to our strengths which increasingly will lie in the talent and diligence of our people: our demography, our capacity and ability to refocus and re-educate ourselves and bounce back."

Ndigbo, he advised, should to shun selfishness and internal strife in order to progress and, above all, take their collective destiny in their hands if they must make headway; as selfishness, bickering and other vice must be jettisoned, if they must get to the promised land."

For Dr Sylvan Ebigwei, President-General, Aka Ikenga, an intellectual think tank of Ndigbo, there is the need to take vital step that will be aimed at re-orientating, re-branding and re-focusing the psyche of Ndigbo, to properly integrate in a society it has paid so much sacrifice, including a civil war.

Ebigwei stated: "We are a strong people. We are an enterprising and creative people. We have competitive spirit and self-confidence. We are daringly adventurous and can take ourselves to any height. We, therefore, have no business remaining backward, even if any adversary wishes us to remain down."

Mrs Njideka Anyadike, former governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stressed that the era when Ndigbo were treated with disdain and levity because of absence of a leadership structure was over, urging all to continue to forge a formidable umbrella organisation that would always champion their cause.

She urged the new leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo in the country under the able leadership of Uwechue to be tolerant and to accommodate all kinds of opinion, while members should accord the leadership their loyalty and commitment to achieve success.

" We shall marshal new development strategy and pass the information to all our kindred to abreast them on the new wave of Igbo unity, and those groups that believe that Ndigbo cannot unite will be living in old times."

The major problem, bedeviling the people of the South East geo-political zone, in the thinking of many, is not that of building infrastructures or increasing the statutory allocation to the five states in the zone, but that of harnessing and galvanising the vast potentials that abound in the zone.

It is believed that some of the things that ought to have become a thing of the past are now major issues for discussion, leading to cries of marginalisation and the wanton deprivation suffered by the people everywhere including their very communities.

To many, it appears the economic status of the zone has taken a nosedive into the abyss, while the very infrastructure which the successive administrations have claimed to build have all given way and the people are merely existing in their states and communities, wasting away, and virtually eating out of the bread of sorrow.

Dr Ossai Ossai told Daily Independent that Ndigbo has remained an endangered specie in Nigeria as they have remained haunted.

"Elsewhere across the nation, Igbo people are being haunted down and butchered in different ethnic, political and other crises, which had engulfed the nation at one time or the other."

The reason for this continuous heavy loss on the side of the Igbo in various parts of the nation, like the recent happening in Jos, Plateau capital, to many analysts, is not far-fetched. It stems, they say, from the fact that their leaders have failed woefully to understand the endowment that God has bestowed on them, or if they do, have failed woefully to harness them to their advantage.

There is also the contention that those speaking for Ndigbo have not sincerely carried the groups' interest along, rather their personal interests.

" They had not only abandoned their responsibility to those who put them into power, but have aligned with others to undermine and impoverish, as well as risk the people's lives," regretted an aggrieved Igbo lady who pleaded for anonymity.

"In stead of speaking with one voice at different fora, these our leaders are more conscious of how the benefit of their current engagements can provide insurance for their fourth generations," she added.

It appears it was in the realisation of this woeful failure of leadership that the present call for change is coming.

Saint Iyk Ekeh argued that it would be counter productive if the unity of the South East, continued to be subsumed in the partisan politics of Igbo leaders and their followers, positing that it is only then would the area be able to undertake projects as a united body which would trigger economic growth as well as generate employment.

According to Ekeh, "the beauty of the gathering lies in the message of its import that sent a serious signal to those who thought that Ndigbo couldn't work together. We have discountenanced our diverse religious, cultural and political inclinations to work together for the common good of our people."

Many who spoke at the occasion including former Governor of Lagos State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, alluded to disunity in Igboland, which had contributed much to their sorry position in the nation's polity.

Joe Igbokwe stated, pointblank, that it is either Ndigbo work together for the good of the people or risk being consigned into obscurity, stressing that Nigeria is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex.

Igbokwe said that Ndigbo must defend themselves politically because it would be in their disadvantage to separate in a country they have suffered to ensure its development.

He said the country was rubbing the South East close to N400 billion since the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, pronounced that an additional state would be added to the region.

"For the past 38 years - after the unfortunate civil war - Ndigbo has been in constant search of a vibrant and virile leadership. This lack of leadership has robbed the people of the social, economic and political benefits due to them, and left the people, painfully, marginalized," he reasoned.

Igbokwe, who argued that the thinking that any Igbo man could be bought, described such a notion as not only nauseating but a negative allusion

It is believed that Ndigbo lost great opportunities that came their way in their march to nationhood, but what is important is that the people have demonstrated in unmistakable terms in their different submissions at the occasion that they are ready for moral renewal and rearmament.

But, to some observers, what the people of the region are asking for is no longer long speeches and verbose expositions, but action on the part of its leadership. The people are not only expecting the putting in place of infrastructure such as roads, industries that would create employment opportunities for their teeming youth, but above all unity among the people.

In the majority view, the challenge is now to present a united front politically with visionary leadership.

© Daily Independent
29 /12/2008

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Rising Number Of Igbo In Overseas Prisons Worry Leaders
From Lawrence Njoku Enugu

The number of Igbo serving various prison terms outside the country, those already executed and the ones facing death sentences for various offences were said to have formed the nucleus of discussions on Friday, in Enugu, as political leaders of the South East Zone met.

The Guardian gathered from a source at the closed door meeting, which was attended by the five Governors in the Zone, serving members of the National Assembly led by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, as well as other leaders of thought deliberated on the situations of the affected Igbo with a view to assisting them.

It was gathered that about 2400 Igbo are serving various jail terms outside the country. Of the figure, 3 was said to have been executed in Indonesia while 18 is facing death sentence in the same country. About 1500 is also said to be serving various prison terms in South Africa.

Although, details about how the leaders intends to assist the affected persons was not made public, but it was, however agreed that poverty and unemployment ravaging the South East Zone have contributed to the rising number of inmates, stressing that ,there was need to make the economic situation of the zone more attractive.

Ekweremadu, who briefed reporters at the end of the meeting, said all the South East Governors and members of the National Assembly from the Zone have resolved to work together irrespective of party affiliations for the general interest of the zone. Add that several issues affecting the zone, including the ecological problems and the state of infrastructures were discussed.

While describing the meeting as a very good development for discussing matters affecting the zone, he said, it has also for the first time brought political office holders, irrespective of the political party, together for peace. Adding that the meeting will henceforth be held on quarterly basis.

Another source however, disclosed that the meeting also discussed a common position on state creation for the zone.
Source: Guardian, 30^{th November 2008.}

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Biafra Foundation
1629 K Street, N.W, Suite 300
Washington DC 20036
Phone: 202-508-3798, Fax: 202-508-3759
Email: Biafrafoundation@yahoo.com
VOBI 12 12 08

SO ONYEIGBO IS NOW WORTH NOTHING IN NIGERIA

Ndigbo, so it has finally been established that an Igbo man alive or a dead, woman or child is worth nothing, not even a kobo in Nigeria. Ndigbo themselves have now clearly shown the Hausa Fulani Yoruba that Onyeigbo in Nigeria is as worthless as a piece of garbage. In fact it is not only Igbo, it is now also Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo – all of you have now shown Ndiawusa/Fulani na NdiYoruba that you are as worthless as garbage. No wonder the Hausa Fulani Yoruba treat you like garbage. All of you so called leaders of these Nations, or ethnic groups; all of you should hide your heads in shame. In fact your children should look you in the eyes and spit in your faces; the youths of your respective communities should drag you out in the Public Square and throw shit at you. Why, because you have just demonstrated that you, so called leaders – political leaders, religious leaders, so called traditional rulers; all of you are not worth the piece of shit that the youths will throw in your faces. You have become redundant nonentities, without redemption and without value.

It is now more than one week since the Hausa Fulani Islamofascists killed hundreds of your sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, friends, neighbors, and inlaws in the northern city of Jos and surrounding communities. They did not just kill them, they slaughtered them like sheep. Then they set upon their property and looted and burned them. First they went to the markets. Motor parts market they looted it carrying away all sorts of motor parts including engines of cars and buses; second hand clothing market they looted it carrying away bales and bales of expensive textile; electronics market they looted it gleefully carting away television sets, other electronics, electric fans, cell phones, refrigerators, etc. When they finished they turned their attention to lock up shops – systematically they looted lock up shops belonging to Ndigbo and other people from Eastern Region. They know that Igbo traders keep much of their money in the market stalls and in their shops. Guess what happened? Many of the Hausa Fulani jobless barbarians loafing around the day before with goworo colored teet became instant millionaires – carrying away millions of Naira which Igbo men and women labored for years accumulating. When they finished taking everything they wanted they set about setting whatever was left in the markets and lock up shops ablaze. They burned down the markets and burned down the shops – all to ashes.

Then they looked at what they had done and felt happy. But they were not yet finished with the foolish Igbo and their brothers from the East. They went to their houses, looted their personal property and then set those private houses ablaze. Igbo women and girls who happened to be home became easy prey and were repeatedly raped by these savages. Finally they remembered the churches – those magnificent edifices that the Igbo and their brother Easterners spent years collecting money and building – the Hausa Fulani took their petrol bombs and matches doused each and every one they could get to and set them on fire. Mission accomplished – Allah Akhbaar!!! They intoned and then they went home and celebrated.

As the Hausa Fulani were killing Ndigbo and their brothers as usual – they have done this routinely more than thirty five times for almost thirty years; yes as they were killing Ndigbo and their brother Easterners as usual they ran into and killed about one hundred and thirteen Yoruba men and women by mistake. What happened? All hell broke loose. Yoruba governors, political leaders, religious leaders, and traditional rulers, all condemned in the strongest terms the killing of their people and warned that any more of such nonsense will be met with grave reprisal. The governors immediately sent luxury buses to Jos and environs to evacuate Yoruba citizens and bring them back to Yoruba land. Even the governor of Benue State also sent luxury buses to Jos to evacuate Tiv and Idoma citizens back to Idoma and Tiv land. So much for One Nigeria! These leaders did not mince words in telling the Hausa Fulani that any violence meted out to their citizens will be matched by retaliation that will shock them.

For one whole week now we have been waiting to hear from Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, and Urhobo governors, political leaders, religious leaders, so called traditional rulers, intellectuals, delusional people who call themselves "Eze Ndigbo of Jos, Lagos, Sokoto, Kaduna, Ibadan, Kano, Maiduguri, Lagos, Ibadan etc. where are they? Where are evangelist this and pastor that; bishop this and Arch Deacon that; prophet this and savior that? Olee unu now? All the governors from Eastern Region and Delta – where una dey now? All those former governors who claim that every Fulani man is their brother – Orji Uzo Kalu who ties dirty black rags on his head and calls it turbaning, did you tell your blood brother Umaru Yar'Adua and his savage Hausa Fulani brothers to stop killing our people? Where is Alex Ekwueme, Anthony Anini, Edwin Clark, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Anthony Enahoro, Vincent Ogbulafor, Ojo Maduekwe, where are they? They are in Abuja negotiating contract deals with Ndiawusa, and begging NdiYourba for money. Where is Sam Egwu, Chimaroke Nnamani, Godswill Akpabio, Lyle Imoke, Attah, Uduagham, onye ohi James Ibori, David Ejoor, Samuel Ogbemudia, Pius Anyim? Where is Chinweoke Mbadinuju, Peter Odili, Arthur Nzeribe – where are they? They are hiding in our towns and villages where they are busy killing our people and stealing their land – big man for nothing. Where is Chekwas Okorie, Babangida's houseboy? May be he is waiting for Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu to say something and then Babangida and the Sokoto Caliphate will tell Chekwas to insult Ojukwu. That's when he will open his stinking mouth. Where is Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and all those thieves masquerading as political leaders of the Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo – where are they?

Where are the Cardinals and hundreds of Bishops, Apostles, Evangelists, etc we have in every village, town and city in Eastern Region – where are they now? They are waiting for the cows and goats that will be given to them by the poor suffering masses on Sunday during offertory after which they'll tell them that Heaven is their reward – God will reward them with paradise when they die – it is best for them to be poor now but the clergy must not be poor- the clergy must live in very decent houses, drive very good cars and eat the fattest goats and cows. Don't even talk about the bishops of the Evangelical Churches who squeeze every naira out of our poor masses every Saturday and Sunday. In fact some of them now keep armored bullion vans in the Church compound to take the millions they con out of the poor people to the bank as soon as service is over. But they will never stand up and speak out on behalf of these poor people; they will never defend these poor people; they will never fight for them even as the Hausa Fulani Yoruba enslave them, persecute them, murder them in thousands and take their land and the resources in their land. They will never condemn the fake leaders, the rogue politicians who collude with the Hausa Fulani Yoruba in persecuting our people, enslaving them and robbing them of everything that makes them human. No, rather they put them in the front pew in their churches and glorify them as heroes.

Where is Jonathan Goodluck? Is he still the vice president of Nigeria? Where is Inspector General Michael Okiro and Assistant Inspector General Onovo. The last time we checked both were still Ndigbo. Even Jonathan Goodluck whose middle name is Ebele is Igbo. Where are all the big Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo Generals, Colonels, Captains, Majors in Lucifer's army in Nigeria – where are they? Olee ha now? All our big professors in our big universities; our big lawyers – where are they now.

All these people were there as our people Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo were massacred in Jos one week ago; their businesses looted and burned, their houses looted and burned, their churches looted and burned and not one of these groups, not one of these individuals asked the question how many of our people were killed in Jos. Not one of them took any steps to find out how many of their people were killed by the barbarians in Jos, not one of them cared to arrange to have the bodies of their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers murdered in Jos sent back to their homes in the East for decent burial. As the Yoruba and the even the Tiv evacuated their people living and dead and published the exact figures of their people killed, the Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo did not care. Ha ! Haa!! Haa!!!. Alu. As far as they are concerned their people are worth less than garbage. And so it was that our people killed in Jos by the barbarians were buried in mass graves like garbage. See how low our people have been reduced in Nigeria to be treated worse than garbage. Our people have adopted the philosophy of "so long as it is not me, I don't care." But next time it will be you.

The international community has learned not to care about you since you don't care about yourselves. The whole world was paying attention to India where less than two hundred people were killed by terrorists at the same time that over five hundred of our brothers and sisters were being slaughtered in Jos. Last weekend there was four days of unrelenting riot in Greece because the police shot and killed one 15 year old boy. When asked why they rioted one of their leaders said: "If we don't teach them a lesson then they will kill another person and believe that it is okay and that nothing will happen." You see in life if you say that you are then other people will say that you are. If you shut up, give up your freedom and never defend yourself even your chi will shut up and never defend you. Youths of Eastern Region, Igbo, Ijaw, Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan, Urhobo a word is enough for the wise. You can fight for your freedom, your future and your destiny or you can wait in vain for your brothers and sisters begging for contract in Abuja and Lagos to save you. They will never do it. The choice is yours. All we will keep telling you is that Biafra is your only hope. Without your freedom you are nothing and not even your life will be spared.

May God bless you all and the sovereign independent State of Biafra!

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Email: Biafrafoundation@yahoo.com
VOBI 11 28 08

Dear good people of Eastern Region [Biafra]

We ask each of you individually to sit down quietly in your respective homes, flats, or wherever you are, reflect and then ask yourself this hard question: Has Nigeria destroyed my soul? All of us are human beings created by God who endowed us with free will and the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. This knowledge of good and evil and the free will to exercise judgment is what makes us Homo Sapiens; that is what bestows on us the title of Human Being different from beasts and wild animals. Without this knowledge and free will we will just be like monkeys, baboons, dogs and goats. When a human being ceases to demonstrate this knowledge of good and evil and or purposely perverts the judgment demanded in making that distinction between good and evil then that person ceases to be a human being and gets relegated to the level of an animal, a beast; like dog, cow, goat or pig.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Nigerian leaders have since descended to the level of beasts. They behave like baboons, monkeys and goats. Their souls have been destroyed by One Nigeria. So the question that we are asking you today is: Are you one of the people whose soul Nigeria has destroyed? Are you one of those people who Nigeria has reduced to the status of an animal; a goat; a donkey or a pig?

Here is a description of the rulers of Nigeria from 1970 till today including those who call themselves rulers of our people in the Eastern Region, in occupied Biafra; those who were imposed on our people by Satan Nigeria. These people have reduced themselves to the level of animals as you can see from these quotations taken directly from the Bible. Obviously men and women like these people existed in history and were eventually destroyed by their own evil and wickedness.

For in their mouth there is no sincerity; their heart teems with treacheries; their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit. Punish them oh God; let them fall by their own devices Psalm 5: 10-12. They are filled with all iniquity, malice, immorality, avarice, wickedness; being full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity; being wisperers, detractors, hateful of God, irreverent, proud, haughty, plotters of evil; foolish dissolute without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. They have not understood that those who practice such things are deserving of death. Romans 1: 29-32. All have gone astray altogether. They have become worthless. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Romans 3:12-14. Sin speaks to the wicked man in his heart; there is no dread of God before his eyes; for he beguiles himself with the thought that his guilt will not be found out or hated; the words of his mouth are empty and false; he has ceased to understand how to be good. He plans wickedness in his bed; he sets out on a way that is not good with no repugnance for evil. Psalm 36: 1-5. Small and great alike all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice fraud. They are odious; they have done abominable things; yet they are not at all ashamed; they know not how to blush. Hence they shall be among those who fall. Jeremiah 6:13-15.

Take a close look at all the people who have ruled Nigeria since 1967. Is there any one of them who does not perfectly fit the description above? Begin the Yakubu Gowon the baby killer who starved millions of innocent babies, nursing mothers, pregnant women to death while pretending to be a Christian. Oh yes he still went to church every Sunday; and even now he has been running all over Eastern Region organizing what he calls Nigeria Prays. What he is organizing is actually Devil Worship because his soul has since been occupied by the Devil. Do you want to talk about Murtala Mohammed, the savage who organized the slaughter of thousands of unarmed innocent men who were doing a dance of welcome for him and his men at Ogbeosowa in Asaba and 300 men women and children who were praying in the Apostolic Church in Onitsha. The massacres in Asaba and Onitsha were repeated in Warri and Sapele. Do you want to talk about Olusegun Obasanjo, the motor park tout whose naked hatred of the Igbo has virtually consumed him. Before he dies this hatred will make his insanity so sever that he will take off his clothes and walk the streets naked like his good friend and fellow Igbo hater so-called Christian, mad man Theophilus Danjuma. How about Shehu Shagari, the sly deceitful serpent who participated in planning and organizing the slaughter of 100,000 Easterners in the three cycle pogrom of 1966 carried out all over Northern Nigeria. Doesn't his tongue speak only deceit, and isn't h is mouth an open grave? Do you want to talk about the barbarians: Ibrahim Babangida, the snake, the gap toothed Dracula that feeds on human blood. Isn't he so evil that he actually called himself "the evil genius?" He should simply have called himself Satan. How about Sanni Abacha, the savage. Well his soul is now roaming the plains with other wild animals at night. Don't even bother to talk about the Islamofascist terrorist Muhammadu Buhari; the pathological thief Abdulsalami Abubakar, or the psychotic leper, the mentally deranged criminally insane Umaru Yar'Adua. Bring all these people together with their ministers, advisers, and special assistants etc, and you begin to understand why Nigeria is a failed state.

But that is not our problem now since everyone in the world believes and knows that Nigeria is a dead State. The world is only waiting for it to disintegrate into its component parts. We are now more interested in the people called leaders in Eastern Region, occupied Biafra and the damage they have done and continue to do to our children, people, communities and our culture since 1970.

Look at the people the Hausa Fulani Yoruba have foisted on you and called them your leaders; governors, commissioners, ministers, senators, assemblymen, local counselor. Look at those they have foisted on you as so called traditional rulers. Look at those people and you will immediately agree that apart from a handful, 99% if these people are rogues, cheats, liars, con men and women, 419ers, armed robbers, convicted felons, men and women without soul or morality, bastards, vagabonds, lazy, indolent, incompetent fools, highly unintelligent, unimaginative crooks, men and women talented only in evil and wickedness; people without scruples or conscience, psychopaths and sociopaths who will do anything to destroy the society in which they live and treat their fellow brothers and sisters like garbage; people whose only goal in life is to steal and rob anyone near them including their own parents, brothers and sisters; indeed these men and women are the dregs of society. In decent organized society most of them would be in jail for their criminal behavior for a very long time.

Go back to Ukpabi Asika who watched gleefully as his brothers and sisters, fellow Igbo men, women and children were slaughtered in cold blood in his own town of Onitsha/Asaba by the Hausa Fulani Yoruba army of vandals. Think of Eugene Esuene who watched as the all Yoruba 3rd Marine Division of the Nigerian army slaughtered his people in Calabar and Ikot Ekpene, starved thousands of children in Ikot Ekpene prison until they died or turned into skeletons. Think of the other rulers then from Benin to Calabar who watched will satisfaction as their brothers, sisters and neighbors – Anang, Efik, Ibibio, Igbo, Ijaw, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko , Esan, and Urhobo ; neighbors with whom they have had a long history of intermarriage and social interaction were massacred by the Hausa Fulani Yoruba jihadist army. Look at these people and you will see that Nigeria destroyed their soul. They were no longer human. They had descended to the level of beasts.

Fast forward to the 1980's, stretching into the 1990's and on to the present day. Look at the so-called governors, ministers, senators, representatives, and assemblymen and women. What did those ministers and governors do for you the people. Orji Kalu Jubril Aminu's house boy asked the Igbo to apologize to the Nigerian barbarians for starving millions of our people to death and looting our personal effects. Then he turned around and stole every penny the Satanic government of Nigeria gave to the people of Abia State, killed so many citizens of Abia State while literally selling Abia State to the Hausa Fulani. The other governors of Eastern Region did exactly the same thing. Chimaroke Nnamani, Sam Egwu, Lucky Igbinedeone, James Ibori, Lyle Imoke, Donald Duke, Victor Attah, Peter Odili, Achike Udenwa, Chris Ngige, Arthur Nzeribe and other senators, representatives, assemblymen councilors all have turned themselves into thieves, liars, cheats robbing their own people of the little money that Satanic government of Nigeria gives them and then denying them even the basic amenities of life. These people are lying to their people and condemning their own people to slavery at the hands of the Hausa Fulani Yoruba. Even our clergy are not spared. They have drunk the poison of One Nigeria. Even some of the leaders in the Niger Delta are negotiating with the Hausa Fulani Yoruba Satanic government of Nigeria to give them one quarter of the money that rightly belongs to them. Well we now know that these men are one quarter men. They are no longer full men.

This very sad situation to which our people have been subjected by even their own sons and daughters is what demands that we work ever harder to actualize Biafra for our people who are now being persecuted by even their own sons and daughters. We challenge the leaders of the Biafra to examine themselves and make sure that they have not been infected by this deadly Nigerian disease. They must reassure themselves and the citizens of Biafra that words from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is not filled with destruction; their throat is not an open grave; that they do not with their tongue speak deceit; that they have not become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity; that they are not full of deceit, and malice and that they still have their eyes on the ball –the actualization of Biafra. This is the challenge of the leaders of the different Biafra Movements and they must take this challenge very seriously.

May God bless you all and the sovereign independent State of Biafra!

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VOBI 11 28 08

If you still believe in one Nigeria

If you are a citizen of Biafra, if your parents and ancestors are from the Eastern Region, if your home is in the Eastern Region from Sapele/Warri through Bonny/Port Harcourt to Calabar/Ikom; from Obudu, through Nsukka to Ella; if you come from anywhere with in this area and you still believe in One Nigeria, you ought to ask yourself some critical questions: "Why do I still believe in One Nigeria that is growing backwards into the stone age; what is life like in Nigeria – is it like being in paradise or being in hell; why is it that everyone who has the opportunity to do so escapes from Nigeria in the blink of an eye; what part of life in Nigeria can be said to be attractive to any decent human being; why is it that all over the world anyone who calls himself a Nigerian no matter how highly placed is immediately deemed to be a thief, a robber, a con man, and a bank robber, an evil person and immediately treated with the worst disrespect and ignominy? The reason is simple. Nigeria is seen as the major center of evil in the whole world today. Nigeria and Nigerians are seen by the whole world as evil.

So why would any sensible, self respecting man or woman want to be associated with evil, want to be a citizen of evil and want to live in evil? Which human being rich or poor, educated or illiterate, strong or weak, white, black, or any other skin tone would like to be part of the most corrupt bastards in the world, the dumbest and most stupid leaders in the world, the most arrogant and dishonest people in the world. Why is it that intellectuals, business entrepreneurs and even common folk who were driven out of Nigeria by successive military and civilian governments go on to become really successful people and even world leaders in their fields once they settle in other countries of the world than Nigeria? Have you seriously asked yourself why people from Eastern Region find it so very difficult to succeed in Nigeria unless they turn themselves into slaves of the Hausa Fulani Yoruba or are willing to kill their parents, brothers, and sisters, uncles and aunts; destroy their communities, towns and cities; steal everything that their communities have and send to them to Ndi Awusa na Ndi Yoruba?

Dear good people of Eastern Region, at home and in the Diaspora hear this and hear it very clearly you have no future in Nigeria; your children have no future in Nigeria. The only thing that await you in Nigeria is slavery, poverty, untold suffering, and murder at the hands of corrupt barbarians in the Nigerian government and their agents called army and police. We repeat this to you again, you have no future in Nigeria. It does not matter what you have now you have no future in Nigeria. The Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy, the Sokoto Caliphate, and the Nigerian government will never allow you to freely express your high intelligence, gigantic talent and skills, and humongous ingenuity and creativity. As early as the fourteenth century when our ancestors came in contact with Europeans and other people from other lands those people recognized that we the people of Eastern Region are very intelligent, creative, talented, and very enterprising. They exchanged ambassadors with our leaders and our governments then; they traded with our people – they sold goods to us and we sold goods to them; they saw that we had our own nations and governed ourselves very effectively and efficiently. The Kingdom of Biafra stretched from nine miles after Benin in Igboakiri all the way to Southern Cameroon to Gabon. The Kingdom of Benin stretched from Benin to Eko or modern day Lagos. Biafrans established powerful trading posts at the entrance to big markets of the interior. King Jaja an Igbo man established and controlled the palm oil trade at the mouth of the River Niger at Opobo. The Oba of Benin controlled trade from Benin to Lagos. Greedy British traders resented the control being exercised by King Jaja and the Oba of Benin. The British government declared war on the Oba of Benin and his people and slaughtered them. Seeing that they could not defeat King Jaja in a military conflict they begged him to come onto their ship to sign a treaty, a trade agreement after giving him guarantee that they were only going to sign a treaty on trade with him and that he was not going to be harmed, kidnapped or killed. Once onboard their ship they kidnapped him and sent him into exile and he never came back to his land again. With the two powerful leaders and their armies destroyed the British took over trade in our land and also hated our people for having the effrontery to stand up for their rights, to exercise their freedom and assert their rights over their private property.

Since then successive British governments have hated our people, the peoples of the Kingdoms of Biafra and Benin and have continued to punish our people for standing up like men of valor. They have continued to subject our people to unimaginable and unconscionable cycles of torture and death. Sometimes they do it directly by themselves but often they use the Hausa Fulani and the Yoruba as surrogates to slaughter our people. Notice what they did during the Nigeria Biafra War. Watch what they are now doing using the Oil Companies like Shell; the so-called Nigerian government which is actually the British government using Hausa Fulani Yoruba savages as stooges. Think of this where did Sho Sho boy Yakubu Gowon, mad barbarian Murtala Mohammed, area boy motor park tout Olusegun Obasanjo, Simpleton Shehu Shagari, Islamofascist terrorist Muhammadu Buhari, the savage, snake, gap-toothed Dracula Ibrahim Babangida; the night prowling barbarian Sanni Abacha and the leprous recluse Umaru Yar'Adua; where did they learn the art of governance, where will they borrow the brains to rule people like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Prof. I.E.Eyo, Dr. Nwafor Orizu, Dr. M.I.Okpara, Chief Dennis Osadebey, Chief Jereton Mariere, M.T. Mbu, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Prof Eyo Bassey Ndem, Chief Ekukinam Bassey, Dr. S.E. Cookey, Justice G.C.M. Onyiuke, Justice Louis Mbanefo, Prof. Kenneth Onwuka Dike; Chief Margaret Ekpo, Dr. K.O. Mbadiwe, Chief Frank Ugbut, Chief Frank Opigo, Dr. Alvan Ikoku, Dr. Ifegwu Eke, Chief Ralph Uwechue, Prof Eni Njoku, Mr. I.S. Kogbara, C. C. Onoh, Mr. S. N. Dikibo, Chief N.U. Akpan, Dr. Okechukwu Ikejiani, Prof. B.I.C. Ijeoma, Justice Aniagolu, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Justice Nnaemeka Agu, Justice Eze Ozobu, Justice Graham Douglas, Chief Oyibo Odinammadu, Ken Saro Wiwa, Chinua Achebe, Prof Claude Ake, Prof Chike Obi, and the thousands and thousands of high level intellectuals and administrators the people of Eastern Region produced. Where, where will they steal the brains? They can't get it anywhere. And so it has been that the blind, deaf and dumb have been ruling highly intelligent men and women with their sights and hearing intact. Why would Nigeria not be in miles deep bottomless pit? Nigeria belongs in this bottomless pit and will never make it to the surface. That is the truth and that is what the British love. That is why they are solidly supporting the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy and the Sokoto Caliphate.

That is also why they have supported the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy and the Sokoto Caliphate in imposing thieves, robbers, and high time criminals on our people and called them governors, senators, representatives, ministers etc. Look at these people and judge for yourself how many of them you will allow into your house as a guest not to talk of as a friend: James Ibori, a thief and a felon, Lucky Igbinedeon, Alamesiagha, Jonathan Goodluck, Peter Odili, Orji Uzo Kalu, Achike Udenwa, Chimaroke Nnamani, Chris Ngige, Chris Uba, Nnamdi Emmanuel Uba, Sam Egwu, Theodore Orji, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Godswill Akpabio, Timipre Sylva, Liyle Imoke, Rotimi Amechi, Ikedi Ohakim, Sullivan Chime, Emmanuel Uduagham, Arthur Nzeribe, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and hundreds of others who are actively collaborating with the Hausa Fulani Yoruba government of Nigeria and the Sokoto Caliphate in destroying our people, our communities, our families, and our future. Peter Odili, Orji Uzo Kalu, James Ibori stole all the money given to their states, transferred much of it back to NdiAwusa na NdiYoruba and kept whatever was left to themselves. They did this while our children had no schools, were taking classes under trees like animals, for lack of court buildings judges were holding court in the shades of trees as if we were living in the early 19^th century, and our people were dying in thousands everyday due to lack of hospitals, doctors and medicines and the children are dying of kwashiorkor as the rogue governors and politicians steal everything.

Look at the Nigeria that you live in: the British government and courts are helping James Ibori hide the billions he stole from the people of Delta State as well as the stealing he did in their country; gap-toothed Dracula Babangida and his family are enjoying vacation in one of the most expensive places on earth, Monaco – they flew there and to other parts of Europe in their very expensive private jet they bought with your money; Yar'Adua's children were photographed playing with thousands of dollars worth of foreign currency, real money in their house; Maurice Iwu who conducted the worst election in the history of the world is telling the American people to come to Nigeria to learn how to conduct elections. This was after the Americans had elected Barack Obama a poor black man president of the United States of America; Umaru Yar'Adua stole the presidential election and confessed so. Very soon he will celebrate his second year in office as president of Nigeria while the case is lingering in the Nigerian courts. There is massive, overwhelming evidence that area boy Obasanjo and his criminal gang of governors, ministers and senators stole billions of dollars of government money. Have you heard anyone asking them any questions?

If you are Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw, Igbo, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Isoko, Esan Urhobo; If you come from around Warri, Sapele, Aboh, Agbor, Ogwashi, Asaba, Degema, Bonny, Brass, Ahoada, Elele, Andoni, Opobo, Ogoni, Eket, Uyo, Abak, Ndoki, Ikot Ekpene, Calabar, Enyong, Ikom, Obubra, Ogoja, Abakaliki, Afikpo, Bende, Umuahia, Aba, Owerri, Orlu, Okigwe, Awgu, Nsukka, Awka, Onitsha, and Enugu; if you come from any of these places hear this and hear it clearly, continuing to be in One Nigeria or to talk about One Nigeria is the greatest tragic error you will ever make in your life. It is the worst danger, the greatest injustice you can do to your children and your family. It is like putting your children and indeed your entire family in a windowless room without lights, a room filled with a dozen deadly cobra snakes and then locking the only door into room behind you. You have guaranteed that your children, your family will all die gruesome, painful deaths. It doesn't really matter how rich you think you are today it will eventually happen to you and your children.

It is on this account that we are now calling on all our people from the communities we have enumerated to resolve to act together like one people to pull ourselves out of this evil called Nigeria. Nothing good will ever come out of Nigeria. It will always be evil and more evil. Fight to actualize Biafra; fight for your freedom; fight for your liberty; fight for justice; fight for your own liberation; fight for your children; fight for the liberation of your family; fight for the liberation of your communities; fight for the preservation of your culture,; fight for the preservation of your ancestral land and the future of your children and families. That is your only option.

May God bless you all and the sovereign independent State of Biafra!
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Ikemba, Unachukwu and the Rest of Us

HE who the gods want to destroy they first make mad. That was the sober conclusion I arrived at after reading a nasty piece posted by one Vin Unachukwu on the internet. In that write- up, Unachukwu showed great disrespect to the greatest Igbo icon alive, Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, by calling him unprintable names simply because the Ikemba had once more lent his voice to an obvious truth concerning the conduct of the February 6 Anambra election by Maurice Iwu's INEC.

The occasion was the courtesy visit by Iwu to Ojukwu in which Ojukwu commended Iwu on the outcome of that election and declared that if Iwu would continue to conduct such an election then he, Ojukwu, would endorse him to serve a second term as INEC boss.

For those who have forgotten, that election was the first time in a long, long while in the country that the votes cast by people were allowed to count. In 2003, the man Unachukwu is today supporting, Chris Ngige, was thrown up by INEC as the winner of an election it was very clear he never won. Ngige polled below 40, 000 votes to Peter Obi's 600, 000 but was still declared winner. The likes of Unachukwu never made a whimper even when it was clear to a kid that the declaration of Ngige as winner was a day light robbery.

Of course Obi went to court to challenge him and won, with the courts declaring Ngige as never being a governor. Yet Unachukwu is today still backing such a man who further showed a bad example by allegedly swearing an oath at a deadly shrine in Okija before things fell apart between him and his godfathers. This had caused Anambra all manner of problems, including the burning of the state, until Obi came to change things.

Today, Unachukwu has conveniently failed to compare those two elections just because, probably as a bird of same plumage, he is flocking with Ngige. He condemned Ikemba for 'endosing' Iwu, which betrays his poor grasp of English. Note that Ikemba stressed that "I will endorse Iwu if he continues this way", meaning that if Iwu continues to conduct such a transparent election as the one in Anambra, he will continue to gain the backing of Ikemba.

I was among those that castigated Iwu until the Anambra election. Although I am still watching him closely, I am impressed by his conduct of the Anambra election. It seems to me that Iwu is trying to show some repentance for past misdeeds. Even God told us in the Bible that there is always a great joy in heaven when a sinner repents. Looks like Iwu has repented, that's why great discernible minds like Ikemba have been hailing him. At least Iwu is better than the Unachukwus and Ngiges who are yet to acknowledge their 'sins' against the state.

It is time they repented because the clock is ticking away to a time when there will be no repentance. The election was not perfect, given logistics problems but the positive thing was that every cast vote counted. INEC's mistakes affected everybody and it was clear that given the margin of victory by Obi, he would have won by a far greater margin had everybody voted. That's why I even support the idea of a rerun so that Ngige will be thoroughly thrashed once and for all.

From the actions of Ngige and those like Unachukwu, it is clear that theirs is a classic case of if we don't have our way, let the state burn. Is that what Anambra needs at this time? Mature and responsible politicians have acknowledged Obi's victory, including those he beat like Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Andy Uba, Okey Nwosu and others, including Soludo who refrained from going to court. Other eminent citizens of the state have equally endorsed that election.

They include former governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former deputy governor in Ngige's illegal regime, Okey Udeh, PDP's Senator Joy Emordi, Tony Nwoye, Uche Emodi – both former chairmen of Anambra PDP – Olisa Metuh, South East zonal vice chairman of PDP, royal fathers, traders and market unions, Beatrice Ekwueme – wife of former Vice President of Nigeria, Alex Ekwueme, among others. They all showed their acceptance of the election result by attending Obi's swearing in on March 17. There's simply no stopping of a moving train.

Ngige can go to court if he likes but that won't get him anywhere even though I pray it does so that Obi will continue to thrash him. Ngige's era is gone but it appears he does not know it. Can someone please help me remind him?

Mr. Anyiba, a commentator on national issues, writes from Awka, Anambra State.
Source: Vanguard, 2^nd April 2010.

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Okafor gets Canadian excellence award

Nigerian-born university lecturer in Canada , Professor Obiora Okafor,  has been awarded the prestigious nationwide, 2010 prize for academic excellence by the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, CALT.

Okafor, who hails from Ukpo, Dunukofia local government area of Anambra State, is the first African and black person in history to receive a top Canadian nation-wide award for academic excellence for his outstanding contributions to legal research and teaching in Canada and around the world.

According to a press statement by the association, "he is the first African ever to be promoted to the highest academic rank of full professor at a Canadian University .

"Professor Okafor has previously received many other honours and awards, including the Governor General's Academic Gold Medal and Award of Excellence of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers.

"One of the leading international law and human rights experts in the world, he has also served as an expert panelist for the United Nations working group on people of African descent. Professor Okafor who received his PHD in 1998, teaches at the famous Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Toronto Canada , Canada 's top Law Faculty and one of the leading global law schools in the world.

"He has published 7 books, edited 3 special issues of leading academic journals and written over 60 scholarly papers and book chapters. His latest book on African human rights system was issued by Cambridge University Press", the association stated.

Reacting to the award, Okafor expressed happiness that he has been accorded recognition for his contributions to legal research and teaching in Canada and around the world.

The professor of International Law expressed gratitude to the prestigious Association for the award, saying that the honour would spur him towards making greater contribution to legal research and teaching and academia in general.

Okafor who promised to continue making Nigeria proud, also expressed gratitude to all those who have contributed to the success of his career, including members of his family, colleagues, friends and well wishers.
Source: Vanguard, 18^th July 2010.

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