Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has declared that for the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to be accepted, Nigeria must undergo a restructuring process where all the geopolitical zones will have a stronger footing under a weak federation.

Okorocha spoke on Monday as a guest lecturer at the 9th Edition of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Annual Lecture in Abuja. He insisted that change can only be actualised in the country when the dividends of democracy get straight to ordinary masses rather than the current system of concentrating them on politicians and their cronies.

The governor also spoke on his last week's encounter with the Movement for the Actual- isation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). According to him, the MASSOB leaders presented issues which must be addressed by the Federal Government to make every section of the country have a feel of the new change.

Okorocha's call for the restructuring of the polity came on a day the military again warned that it would not tolerate the ongoing clamour for the dismemberment of the country. The warning came from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, which threatened that the military might invoke the rules of engagement against pro-Biafra agitators if their actions/protests continue to undermine public peace and is a threat to security and unity of Nigeria.

Speaking on the topic: "Managing Change in A Democracy: The Nigerian Situation", Okorocha regretted that rather than moving the country forward through democracy, the return to democracy had produced selfish politicians for Nigeria who only think of how to remain in power, rather than how to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

He said: "I will tell Nigerians how I passionately feel about the change and unity of this country because of my deep concern for this generation and the generation of Nigerians unborn. In other words, with the coming in of President Muhammadu Buhari, this is an opportunity for us to get it right and if we do not get it right now, we can as well forget it.

"That is why this topic is very crucial at this moment. This is because the idea of Nigerians, in electing him as president, is to actualise the needed change in a radical manner. The APC change mantra is not only about changing the government; it evolves around changing both the government and the system because if you change the government without changing the life of the masses who actualised the change, then change has not taken place holistically as is required.

"A nation that understands the real message of change in a democratic setting always grows from strength to strength, while a nation that fails to understand it the way it is meant to be, degenerates from one problem to another.

Democracy in Nigeria has given us politicians who only be- gin to think of how to remain in office as soon as they are elected, rather than how to put food on the tables of the people who elected them.

"This is not the type of change we are clamouring for through the APC government. We are looking for leaders in a democracy and not managers of democracy and I thank God that today we have found that leader in President Muhammadu Buhari.

"Nigeria is the sleeping giant of Africa with a population of more than 160 million people; we have dedicated youths with several God given resources which could change their lives, yet we are considered as underdeveloped in the world.

A nation that has stayed together for over 100 years but got its independent over 50 years ago is regrettably still struggling on how to get it right. After all these years, we are still sitting here, discussing on what to do so that we can rescue our country. I think it calls for a deep reflection and that is why I have to say it the way it is no matter whose ox is being gored" he declared.

On his encounter with the leadership of MASSOB in Owerri, Okorocha said: "Last week, when I got a security report that MASSOB said they will storm Imo to protest and that was where they threatened to carry out a catastrophic destruction, having heard that they pro- tested in Rivers and Anambra states and some of their members were killed, I held a state council meeting and I immediately contacted the President and security and I urged that there would be no shooting of any of their members.

"We gave adequate protection and they were followed with armoured tanks and they went round. As they went, they prayed at every junction until they completed their peaceful protest. With that, they ended their protest in the state without a single loss of life. As a result of that, in the night, my Chief of Staff told me that he got an unknown call that MASSOB leadership said that they would want to have an audience with me.

"Immediately, I called Mr. President and he told me to go ahead. Honestly, it was a very unpleasant situation because after passing through a series of security search and screening, I still was not comfortable with their presence because I saw the faces of agitating people who have denied themselves several things.

They were all addressing themselves as late this or that, meaning that they have considered themselves dead already. When they were reeling out their grievances, I became touched. They were aggrieved that some of them were killed and displaced in the North East by the Boko Haram insurgency and they ran back home as abandoned people.

"Most of them are orphans because they have lost their parents in the hands of Boko Haram and government abandoned them. Most of them complained that they were part of the Niger Delta agitators, but when it was time for amnesty, they were not considered by government because of where they come from. "Others complained that they have more than 160 of their members who were killed by government and their corpses are littered everywhere. These are their reasons of agitating for the State of Biafra because they want government to know that they are still a people that must be attended to. This is an ill wind that blows no one any good," he said.

In a press statement, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division Enugu, Col. Hamza Gambo, said the Army might not continue to stomach the demonstrations orchestrated by MASSOB, the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and affiliate groups that tend to 'increase a sense of insecurity across the regions."

The Army pointed out that in as much as freedom of speech, expression, association and assembly is guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, on no account should the rights be abused. Gambo acknowledged that in as much as the Constitution allowed freedom as contained in Sections 39 (1) and 40, Section 212 (2) mandates the Armed Forces of Nigeria to "suppress insurrection to restore order when called upon to do so."

"To this end, if and when the Nigerian Army is called upon to play its legally mandated role, it shall do so with utmost sense of duty and responsibility to the nation," he added.

SOURCE: http://www.authorityngr.com/2015/11/Okorocha-urges-restructuring-as-military-warns-pro-Biafra-agitators/

Sacrifices everywhere

Summary please

Good one Rochas. Comments as this will definitely endear you to your people even as you're in APC. Fight for your party when you can, but fight more for your people when it matters.

Lol

Decapo:
Summary please

read and summaries for yourself brother

I went to see my friend in kubwa his 2yrs old son shouted epaaa, I looked up and saw electricity was back, I told him when I was his age I used to shout epaaa, now am an old man still shouting NEPAaaa. Who knows maybe my friend's son will tell the next generation his experience also when they will shout epaaaa.

That was always going to be a possible solution.

Country's structure needs to be seriously revised.

God is marvellous...
He works in a mysterious way....
Who will ever believe that God can use mallam okorocha to speak out of the plight of biafrans who considered themselves dead and address themselves as late.
Hmmm.
Odikwa egwu.
All hail Biafra

I refuse to believe this came from Gov Okorocha, maybe this is a misplaced identity.

PedroJP:
I refuse to believe this came from Gov Okorocha, maybe this is a misplaced identity.

lol why

I'm impressed by both sides. My cooler heads prevail. Kwenu.

holysina:


lol why

My dear, i no go believe this till i confirm say, no b mockery him dey do, he wasn't under any influence(drug and spiritually) and he no dey suffer from malaria too.

PedroJP:



My dear, i no go believe this till i confirm say, no b mockery him dey do, he wasn't under any influence(drug and spiritually) and he no dey suffer from malaria too.

chaii bros u w****d o

hmmmn late this and late that,Biafra or death

For this, I will not call him Abokiocha today but let it be real that this is actually from him.

Hmmm... I don't believe this. Did Okorocha really said this? Wonders shall never end

Rochas Okorocha have seen the hand writing on the wall that the struggle to actualize a sovereign state of Biafra will be successful hence he is finding a medium for Biafra to consider him as though he Is with them.

Rochas should remember what happened when he contested the presidential primary in 2003 when him and some other candidates staged a walk out after addressing the delegates at the podium realising that the process have been planned in favour of a northern candidate (Buhari). Rochas is loved by the 'average north' but they can't vote him against any northern candidate.

Its not too late if he wakes now. He is still a brother.

Hmmm. Still watching in 4D

There's hope for Okorocha.

Nigeria has one of the most wicked government in the history of mankind.

Read this extract

cmart09:

CyberWolf post=40059610:
The attention of the Proudly Anioma-Proudly Igbo Group of Nigeria, a friendship/family group of Anioma people and their eastern Igbo kith and kin has been drawn to a “Press Release” written by some deluded individuals claiming to speak on behalf of the entire Anioma people. To begin with, it is important to note that the said group “Ndi-Anioma” as they call themselves is not the umbrella body of the Anioma people at home and in the Diaspora. This responsibility lies with the Izu-Anioma organization head by Brig. Gen Alabi Isama (rtd), the Ajieh-Osa, Anagba and Ochiagha of Utagba land. In the charter of Izu-Anioma, the Anioma people were not defined as an “ethnic group” but rather an umbrella body covering the people identified in the course of Nigerian nationhood as West-Niger Igbos, Western Igbos, then Midwest Igbos , Bendel Igbos and now its often called Delta Igbos. Anioma is a political identity covering the entire area and was coined by the venerable Chief Dennis Osadebay in the late 1970s. It is important as well to note that our leader, Gen. Isama has stated in several fora and without any bit of contradiction that Anioma people are Igbos. We of the Proudly Anioma-Proudly Igbo organization concur with his assertions. Therefore any claim, a self-seeking one for that matter by a group of political wannabes parading themselves as “the umbrella body of Anioma people” should not be taken by the general public seriously. Their rant is not worth a pinch of salt. We are aware that those parading themselves as “umbrella body of all Anioma people” have their loyalties tied to a particular political party in Nigeria. With such interests, their unfounded claims should not be taken by the public seriously.

As stated by one of our leaders Col Achuzie, the Ikemba of Asaba, we believe that the issues leading to the end of Biafran war and the pacification which followed thereafter has not assuaged a good percentage of the Igbo people of Nigeria that they have been fully integrated in the country. Many of them still feel they have been treated as second-class citizens and there are empirical evidences to suggest that some of these claims have some taints of truth and reality in it. Among some of the issues include the slicing off of some Igbo communities out of core Igbo states and merger to other states. We can give examples:

[b]1. The area of Ndoki south covering the present Oyigbo (originally Obigbo) transferred from the old Aba division and lumped to Rivers State in 1976. Also, in the 1980s, three Ndoki villages namely Ohaobu, Mkpukpuaja and Ogbuagu villages carved from the then Imo State and lumped to Etim-Ekpo LGA of Akwa Ibom State. It is noteworthy to state that Oyigbo LGA apart from Oloibiri was the first place in Nigeria to produce oil and gas in commercial quantities (at Afam). Unlike Oloibiri which has dried-up since the 1980s, Afam and other Oyigbo oil-fields keep yielding vast quantities of petroleum.

2. Egbema communities now in Rivers State. Egbema has 16 villages and out of these 16 villages , 3 namely Mgbede, Aggah and Okwuzi has the largest reserves of oil and gas in the community. This is apparently the reason they were lumped to Rivers while the other 13 villages were left in Imo State where they had to contend with more modest reserves of the commodity.
It is important to note that this “punishment” at least as perceived by many Igbos did not end up with the eastern Igbo people. The Aniomas or Western Igbos had to lose Ndoni area to Rivers State and Osekwenike-Onyah area to Sagbama area of Bayelsa State. Just like the other examples I gave, all of these areas are oil-producing. It is often claimed that the Nigerian Civil war was a war fought over oil and gas and the actions of the federal government just like these examples seems to reflect suggest that the federal government had intended to give a tag of non-oil producing to Igbo areas including Anioma. While it is interesting to note that parts of Igbo land has been excised and lumped to other states, a good part of Itsekiri land embracing what is defined as Ugbege area was lumped to Ondo State; A state where Itsekiri people are not indigenous. This is one just an example of the double standards in Nigeria which seem to swell such protests. It therefore lies with the federal government to initiate moves to douse such feelings of alienation or punishment for the war. A common song by Peter Tos , which has one of its iconic lyrics “Everyone is crying out for peace but no one for justice” brings to the fore what we are trying to pass across here.[/b]

Prof Chinua Achebe’s book “There was a Country” puts to rest any country called Biafra. There was indeed a country called “Biafra”. However, Col Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu talked on a “Biafra of the Mind”. This “Biafra of the Mind” has in our opinion different dimensions to it. Biafra is a part of the history of Nigeria and there is no way we can forget about it collectively as Nigerians and more importantly as Igbos. Therefore, anyone in whatever guise declaring “Biafra died permanently in 1970 with the surrender speech made by Philip Effiong” is being comical. In the United States of America, people freely talk about the Confederate States of Southern USA and the old Confederate flag is embedded in the state flags of many Southern States because it is deemed as a part of their heritage. Telling Igbos and other Nigerians who suffered a lot to pretend that no Biafra of the Mind exists is a sheer display of wickedness and irresponsibility. There is nothing to ever stop a war which led to the death of one-seventh of the Igbo people and left much of Anioma land decimated.
Anyone who claims that a “few resentful people of South-East origin” are the ones behind the protests. We have seen some pictures of the protests and such pictures do not seem to suggest that the protests were the handiwork of a “few resentful people”. It seems to demonstrate a mass movement among the youths of the South-east region in particular and areas of the South-south as well. Protest like this as far as it is peaceful is a hallmark of a vibrant democracy. Laying accusing fingers on MASSOB is diversionary. The government must do the needful and address the grievances of these people no matter how “stupid” it would seem. The idea of trying to separate Anioma from Biafra is laughable. In the 1960s when the Biafra war was fought, the Aniomas were drawn to it. The reason is not far-fetched; the war was perceived as a rebellion of Igbos and Aniomas being western Igbos were involved. This is not a peculiar case. From Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo were drawn into the conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi.

This is sadly a feature of ethnic politics which manifests at times as war in Africa. Gen Obasanjo who was a major actor in the Nigerian Civil war and former president, did not hide his understanding that Aniomas are Igbos. In his Niger Delta Special Development Initiative of 2005, he had Imo, Abia and Anioma area of Delta removed as beneficiaries. Yet he had Ondo and its rocky capital city of Akure included as “part of the Niger Delta”. The said inventive maps claimed by these people who represent just themselves and no one else in Anioma is a proposal and it’s in tandem with International law and practices. It was the case with South Sudan. In the original proposal Southern Blue, Abyei and Nuba were proposed and this was adopted in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of Sudan and South Sudan. Abyei was to decide after a referendum while Southern Blue Nile and Nuba would decide after popular consultation. Claiming that the “expansiveness of Biafra” has anything to do with oil is ridiculous.

[b]Firstly the price of oil has crashed significantly and there is nothing to suggest that in future, oil will be “black gold” it used to be. Besides the southeast region even with the exclusion of the areas annexed and lumped to Rivers has some reserves of the commodity. Anioma herself also has oil. But anyone who thinks that the future of Anioma , the larger Igbo race or Africa lies in oil or other commodities has serious issues. The main drive of development is human capital no less no more. Igbos has this factor perhaps more than any other group in Nigeria.
It is also worthy to note that several Anioma people are well-disposed to the protests and the involvement of Anioma towns of Agbor and Asaba towns without any opposition in whatever guise confirms this point of view. This can be collaborated by the opinion of Col Joe Achuzie, the Ikemba of Asaba. The fact that our rulers and other leaders have kept a dignified silence to the matter would indicate that we are not hostile to such protests as far as its done peacefully and orderly.[/b]

It is therefore not the responsibility of a faceless organization to claim to have “made a position”. Those who are making the position are just a group of politicians based mainly in the UK using their paid lackeys to make some noise for them. They hope in return for “loyalty”, the ruling APC would share some “cakes” for them. This we know very well. Let us state once again that these faceless people do not represent the Anioma people. Our prime organization is the Izu-Anioma. Before we conclude let us dwell a bit on the points they raised.

.

I can't believe this. Is this really coming from Rochas?