AS top research fellows from Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and Indian Council on World Affairs (ICWA) ended a two-day conference in Lagos, a strong case has been made for better relations between India and Nigeria as well as other African countries.

According to speakers at the two-day event entitled Second India-Africa Academic Conference, the relations between India and African countries should transcend trade bilateral relations into India, with its rich credential as the oldest democracy, promoting democracy on African continent and using its position as a regional economic and military power to promote joint causes.

They also proposed a more active intellectual collaboration and exchange between research organisations in India and Africa like the current one between NIIA and ICWA to generate ideas and inputs for the formulation of policies to enhance diplomatic co-operation.

Those who canvassed these positions included Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru; former Minister for External Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi; India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Mahesh Sachedev; Director- General of NIIA, Prof. Bola Akintenrinwa; his counterpart in ICWA, Ambassador S.T. Devare among others .

Ashiru commended the rapid growth of Nigeria and India bilateral trade as well as the Asian country’s investment drive in Africa.

The minister asked India to, apart from promoting bilateral and investment drive in Nigeria and Africa, support the quest to entrench democracy on the continent as well as assisting in tackling and re-defining unequal power balance in the global environment.

He also noted that key elements and issues in Indo-Africa relations such as the trade and investment opportunities have always dominated the discourse on the future of relations between India and Africa.

On the relationship between India and Africa, he said it dates back to some centuries ago featuring early trade links.

“Today India’s presence in Africa has grown beyond those early historical and diplomatic links to include substantial economic interests and investments. India has shown serious interest in Africa’s mineral resources and energy, and is already engaged in competition with other new economic diplomacy in Africa.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80361:name-defence-academy-after-ojukwu-group-tells-govt&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

manchy7531: AS top research fellows from Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and Indian Council on World Affairs (ICWA) ended a two-day conference in Lagos, a strong case has been made for better relations between India and Nigeria as well as other African countries.

According to speakers at the two-day event entitled Second India-Africa Academic Conference, the relations between India and African countries should transcend trade bilateral relations into India, with its rich credential as the oldest democracy, promoting democracy on African continent and using its position as a regional economic and military power to promote joint causes.

They also proposed a more active intellectual collaboration and exchange between research organisations in India and Africa like the current one between NIIA and ICWA to generate ideas and inputs for the formulation of policies to enhance diplomatic co-operation.

Those who canvassed these positions included Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru; former Minister for External Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi; India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Mahesh Sachedev; Director- General of NIIA, Prof. Bola Akintenrinwa; his counterpart in ICWA, Ambassador S.T. Devare among others .

Ashiru commended the rapid growth of Nigeria and India bilateral trade as well as the Asian country’s investment drive in Africa.

The minister asked India to, apart from promoting bilateral and investment drive in Nigeria and Africa, support the quest to entrench democracy on the continent as well as assisting in tackling and re-defining unequal power balance in the global environment.

He also noted that key elements and issues in Indo-Africa relations such as the trade and investment opportunities have always dominated the discourse on the future of relations between India and Africa.

On the relationship between India and Africa, he said it dates back to some centuries ago featuring early trade links.

“Today India’s presence in Africa has grown beyond those early historical and diplomatic links to include substantial economic interests and investments. India has shown serious interest in Africa’s mineral resources and energy, and is already engaged in competition with other new economic diplomacy in Africa.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80361:name-defence-academy-after-ojukwu-group-tells-govt&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

i have so much respect for Prof Bolaji Akinyemi and he comes to me as one of the most brilliant Yoruba technocrat that ever lived. For him to be one of those calling for the renaming of NDA after ojukwu goes to show that there are still some detribalise man and women who at any point will make their decision base on merit and worth.

I think NDA is the best to be named after ojukwu and not one street or district like as it is been name after all those treacherous politicians. Because Ojukwu is the greatest solider and most brilliant leader that Nigerian has ever produced.

manchy7531:



i have so much respect for Prof Bolaji Akinyemi and he comes to me as one of the most brilliant Yoruba technocrat that ever lived. For him to be one of those calling for the renaming of NDA after ojukwu goes to show that there are still some detribalise man and women who at any point will make their decision base on merit and worth.

I think NDA is the best to be named after ojukwu and not one street or district like as it is been name after all those treacherous politicians. Because Ojukwu is the greatest solider and most brilliant leader that Nigerian has ever produced.

LOL you have respect for him and you call him Yoruba rather than Yoruba. Also those that don't like Ojukwu are not tribalist rather you should ask yourself WHY they do not like him.

Lastly Ojukwu is not and would never ever be the greatest Soldier ever produced in Nigeria neither would he be the most brilliant.

If you talk of great soldiers, then you talk of Adaka Boro and Effiong and if you talk of brilliance you talk of Victor Banjo and Effiong.

Thanks for you time

alj harem:

LOL you have respect for him and you call him Yoruba rather than Yoruba. Also those that don't like Ojukwu are not tribalist rather you should ask yourself WHY they do not like him.

Lastly Ojukwu is not and would never ever be the greatest Soldier ever produced in Nigeria neither would he be the most brilliant.

If you talk of great soldiers, then you talk of Adaka Boro and Effiong and if you talk of brilliance you talk of Victor Banjo and Effiong.

Thanks for you time

Mumu tell me what those nams you mention have contributed to this nation.if you dont know Ojukwu is not just the greatest in nigeria.he is the greatest in africa pairing side by side with mandela.he gave us black men our black can do consciousness.to believe and not to depend on the white men.do you know what it will mean for the black world if we all follow ojukwu's legacies??in less than 10yrs we will be spring up the black japans,black koreas,black chinas,black Germanies.

"The war has come and gone but we remember with pride and hope the three heady years of freedom. These were the three years when we had the opportunity to demonstrate what Nigeria africa would have been even before 1970. In the three years of war, necessity gave birth to invention. During those three years, we built bombs, we built rockets, we designed and built our own delivery systems. We guided our rockets, we guided them far, and we guided them accurately. For three years, blockaded without hope of imports, we maintained engines, machines, and technical equipment. The state extracted and refined petrol, individuals refined petrol in their back gardens, we built and maintained airports, we maintained them under heavy bombardment. We spoke to the world through a telecommunications system engineered by local ingenuity. The world heard us and spoke back to us. We built armoured cars and tanks. We modified aircraft from trainer to fighters, from passenger aircraft to bombers. In three years of freedom, we had broken the technological barrier. In three years, we became the most civilized, the most technologically advanced black people on earth."::::Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

obviously the akinyemis,the soyinkas,the tunji braithwaite,the tinubus,the babangida aliyus,the Olugbenga Ashirus,the Bola Akintenrinwas and the rest all know better.so i will not indulge in senseless argument with you.

In naming national institutions to memoralize individuals, consideration is given to the selfless contribution and the above board sacrifice that the individual devoted himself to in life of the nation. Exceptions are made in certain areas of national pride, such as the personalisation of the attributes and characters of the individual. In this case, we must first determine what NDA symbolizes in our national history and politics. Then we also look at what Ojukwu symbolizes in the national context (not ethnic context). Are there matches between institutional and individual symbolism to merit this proposed memorial? If YES, then it should be advanced to the next stage, if NO, then it should be rejected and prohibited from future nomination or consideration.

For God sake NDA is a sensitve institution dat should not be politicised..it is a symbol of d country..it is 2 strategic to be named after anybody..sentiments apart

The people who made this proposal should be arrested for attempting to incite violence and incite treasonous acts.

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TO KEEP NIGERIA ONE IS A TASK THAT MUST BE DONE

Nigerians are mostly a people without a sense of history who only live for today... but they're very good in arguments and trading insults so I will not give my verdict on this. People, please spare a few months and read like 20 books only on the events of 1966-70 and read some antecedents and tell me what you think after then.Problem is, most people are already prejudiced by the time they grow up and start to want to read anything about history. This life is truly unfair and unguided by any being, human or not.

Funny that NDA is considered for that even where the Igbos will not let Univ. of Nigeria Nsukka be named after him.Na wa o!I will prefer MKO Abiola to Ojukwu on the NDA establishment anyday anytime.Atleast he fought for unity and had a universal endorsement transversing tribes,regions and religions.He stood against the military to give us the democracy we have today.Which is a good thing for the nation as a whole and he believed in a united Nigeria.
MKO Abiola without doubt gave more to this nation than Ojukwu.For me Ojukwu is an igbo general/president that fought for his people and not Nigeria as a whole.he believed more in the igbo and the right for them to be different.That has nothing to do with Nigeria in its totality.So my take is simple.Name something in the East or build something in the east for the late Ojukwu.Stop asking for a national treasure like NDA.In the history of that college it is evident he is a traitor and fought against her.
Another suggestion is to name any of the defunct biafran military structures if any built by him or the so called technology they invented during the war after him.That is enough for him abegi!!!!Since it is a source pride for the Igbos and a technological wonder,then name the guided missiles and refinery equipments Ojukwu

How can NDA be named after Ojukwu when we have someone like Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu who stands for nationalism?

I do not know which one is more pathetic, the poor quality of this piece or the way people lazily and embarrassingly responded to it without realizing that only the title mentions such a call to rename the NDA after Ojukwu; the body of the story does not mention that call, nor the particular speaker(s) who made it, nor how exactly the call was made.

The worst part of this shabbily and shoddily written rubbish, apart from the fact that the content does not match the title, is that the pathetically incompetent and/or fraudulent 'journalist' made it appear as if it was ALL the speakers that jointly or separately made the call for the renaming of the NDA after the late Ojukwu.

" According to speakers at the two-day event - - - -

" They also proposed - - - -

" Those who canvassed these positions included Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru; former Minister for External Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi; India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Mahesh Sachedev; Director- General of NIIA, Prof. Bola Akintenrinwa; his counterpart in ICWA, Ambassador S.T. Devare among others."

It is so sad that a newspaper like The Guardian, which used to be known as the 'Flagship' of the Nigerian media, could allow such a terribly badly written piece to be published on its website.

I have read the article and even the link provided I HAVE NOT SEEN THE NDA nor OJUKWU anywhere.Or am I in a rage over such an idea?

Some people are really daft discussing this article on what it's tittle says.