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Barrister Uche Okwukwu is an Ikwerre man from Elele, Ikwerre Local Government. He is also a former Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. When former Governor Wike denied being Igbo in 2020, Uche Okwukwu wrote this open letter to him which was widely publicised The statement attributed to His Excellency, Barrister Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State was shocking. He said an illustrious Igbo son, and I believe he was referring to the Honorable Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, was only claiming to be Igbo to further his ambition of becoming Nigerian president come 2023. Wike further disclaimed being Igbo himself. Agreed, Wike has the right to hold any view so far as it is within the ambit of the law and not counter-productive. He can define himself in any manner he deems fit. But Amaechi, who holds the traditional chieftaincy title of ”Ochi Ariri Ikwerre,” meaning the Defender of Ikwerre in Times of Difficulty, also has the same right to see and define himself as Igbo. Wike does not enjoy the prerogative of determining himself and at the same time defining others. Amaechi was former National President of the National Union of Rivers State Students, NURSS. He was former Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly, Chairman of the Conference of Speakers in Nigeria, two-term governor of Rivers, Chairman of the Governors Forum of Nigeria, GFN, and two-term Minister of Transportation. He is the first Nigerian to be appointed Minister of Transportation and first Ikwerre to be appointed full-fledged Grade A minister. As an Ikwerre, I am proud of Amaechi. As an Igbo, I am also proud of him. Coming from the humanities, Amaechi is conscious of history and social anthropology. He said, “Look, I’m Ikwerre. But I’m also Igbo.” By so saying he did not in any way stop any Ikwerre from presenting himself as non-Igbo. Such an Ikwerre who denies his Igbo identity would have to explain himself to the gods. Amaechi’s assertion of his Igboness on the BBC should not cause anyone a headache. The Ikwerre Is Igbo It is important to state for record purposes that historically Ikwerres fully identified themselves as Igbos without suffering harms. Chief Joseph Wobo, member of the Council of Chiefs of Eastern Nigeria, clearly stated he was an Igbo. Nobody can dismiss him as he defended Ikwerreland in colonial Nigeria. Sir Jackson Mpi, first and last Ikwerre to be conferred with Knight of the Order of British Empire, OBE, by Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1960, identified himself as Igbo. From the ancient Kingdom of Isiokpo, Sir Mpi worked tirelessly for Igbo advancement. Dr Obi Wali was the first Ikwerre PhD holder, senator and university lecturer. He was also the only Ikwerre in the 1978 Constituent Assembly where he was selected one of the 50 Wise Men that drafted the 1979 constitution. The great Dr Wali identified fully with his Igbo heritage and was gruesomely assassinated defending it. Okogbule Wonodi, first Ikwerre registrar of any university, first and only Ikwerre poet and Paramount title Holder of Eze Ohiaemeru. Ohiaemeru, where you have present-day Comprehensive College in Borokiri, was his ancestral home before the British vacated them between 1913-1923. Wonodi remained a respected member of Nzukor Igbo and Ohanaeze Ndigbo till the end of his life. Patriot Emmanuel Aguma was former Mayor of Port Harcourt. As Principal of St John College, Diobu, he was the first Ikwerre to head any college. One of six pre-independence Ikwerre University graduates, former administrator of Port Harcourt Province in the defunct Peoples Republic of Biafra, first Ikwere minister in 1979, Aguma remained a member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Emmanuel Oriji was a respected local government administrator, traditional ruler, a commissioner in old Rivers and core Igbo nationalist. The immediate past Deputy Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Isaac Wonwu, is an illustrious Ikwerre son from Elele. He is known to assert his Igbo identity. Equally valid, Chief Jackson Womenazu from Rumukrushi in the Evo Kingdom is a member of the Elders’ Council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In colonial documents, written when Igbos had no capacity to influence anything, Ikwerres also defined themselves as Igbos. When Ikwerre leaders presented their case before the 1957 Sir Henry Willinks Commission, Wobo declared that Ikwerres were Igbos and Port Harcourt to Onitsha was Igboland. The cream of Ikwerreland have asserted their Igboness. Most illustrious sons and daughters. Tell me any Ikwerre whose CV can match those of Mpi, Wobo, Aguma, Wonodi, Dr Wali or Amaechi? The Ikwerre: Space and Survival We must resolve all outstanding issues occasioned by the military-inspired partition of Ikwerreland as war booty. Our irreducible stand includes: One, Ikwerres are Igbos and Ikwerreland is so important to the Igbo that they will never take any step to destroy Ikwerres or toy with their destiny. In geo-strategic terms, Ikwerreland is the tongue of the Igbo race to the sea. Two, we are aware there are plans to landlock the Igbo nation. These plans are rooted in history. My brother and personal friend, Wike, should not be a crusader for such plans because it will be resisted with the sword as no nation will allow itself to be landlocked. All legitimate, moral and spiritual means available to Ndigbo would be used to resist the excise of Ikwerreland from the larger Igboland. Three, “Obigbo,” means “Heart of Igboland.” It is the right name for that Local Government Area, LGA. “Oyigbo” means nothing and was never and will never be the name of Obigbo. The British met local people on ground who said their world was called Obigbo. Any researcher can go there and verify for himself. None should be persecuted for calling Obigbo its original pre-civil war name. I, Uche Okwukwu, call it Obigbo and I have no apologies for that. Four, “Ohiaemeru” is the original name for Borokiri. It was the British who removed the indigenous Ikwerre population there before declaring the place Crown Land between 1913-1923. Equally so, “Igweocha” or “Diobu” is the original name for Port Harcourt. We must set the record straight. Five, demographically and historically, Igbos constitute the majority in the Niger Delta. Wike’s idea of the region is flawed considering that nine states make up the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, namely, Imo, Abia, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Ondo and Rivers. It is absurd and unacceptable stating that Umuagwo is not in the Niger Delta but Ogoja is. Be that as it may, there is now a statutory definition of the region manifest in the NDDC Act. Any definition that excludes the Igbo from the Niger Delta, or tends to disenfranchise them from the privileges thereof, is unacceptable. This is because there were plans in the past that destroyed any benefit coming to the Igbo. Boundary adjustments were carried out to remove oil-producing areas from the former East Central State. Six, in terms of ethnicity and language, Igbos are also in the majority in Rivers. It is fallacious that there are no Igbos here. Igbos are here because Ikwerres are Igbos. Ogbas are Igbos, Ekpeyes are Igbos. Etches are Igbos. Obigbos are Igbos. So no one can talk about Igbos coming in to cause trouble. Igbos are peaceful. Rivers is our home, and we are its autochthones. Seven, Binis have no cultural or historical link with Ikwerres. We worship different gods, have different market days with different monarchical structures. Our Kingship is not from father to son like the Binis. Our kingship is based on gerontocracy where the oldest person assumes leadership. What brought us together was the 1914 amalgamation. No pre-colonial or colonial record has it that Ikwerres migrated from Benin. The post-war purported claim that Ikwerres are Binis is parasitic, defeatist and self-hate. Eight, Ikwerreland is heavily garrisoned. Two million Ikwerres in four LGAs are tightly sandwiched by two naval barracks at Iwofe and Borokiri; two army barracks at Port Harcourt and Elele; air force base in Port Harcourt and an army shooting range in Igwuruta. Large swathes of land were appropriated for the building of the international airport, University of Port Harcourt and its teaching hospital, Rivers State University, Ignatius Ajuru University, Nigerian Television Authority, Area 1 Seaport, etc. We believe in the unity of this country but the Federal Government should dismantle the military formations and return their locations to land-bereft inner-city Ikwerres. Our burgeoning population has no living space and this could lead to the Oromo experience. Why is Wike denying his Igbo roots? Wike is an illustrious Ikwerre son. And for emphasis, he is an Igbo man. A kettle might call itself an electric kettle, but it remains a kettle. Wike will do himself great service to forget the purported prejudice of the past and assert his Igboness. You don’t deny your own roots because they may not be there anymore when later you need them. All those who deny their people have always regretted it. |
accordadoga26:Those that have produced President have nothing to show for it and are suffering on the same level as those who did not produce President If you guys are not happy with Igbos, allow them to go their way as Biafra, rather than keep Igbos in your useless 'one Nigeria' and be complaining about them all the time |
Emergingnation:What surprises me are the fools that will actually believe this nonsensical story by the Nigerian Army |
Look at the old pipe the Nigerian Army wants you to believe is a rocket launcher/Ogbunigwe Look at who the Nigerian Army wants you to believe are IPOB fighters, two teenage girls, a teenage boy and an old man Look at the jeep the Nigerian Army wants you to believe that IPOB are driving inside a thick forest, I can even see electric wires The whole thing is a laughing joke |
Yesterday the Nigerian Army pit out this statement accompanied with these pictures: TROOPS RAID IPOB/ESN CAMPS IN ANAMBRA/IMO, DESTROY HIDEOUTS, TRAINING CAMPS. In ongoing operations to deter enforcement of the illegal sit at home declared by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and and its armed wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), combined troops of 82 Division Nigerian Army, sister Services, Nigeria Police and other security agencies have successfully raided hideouts and training camps belonging to IPOB/ESN in Orsomoghu Forest spanning Anambra and Imo States. The raid operation was carried out on Monday 31 July 2023, when troops were alerted to the violent activities of the irredentist group enforcing the illegal 2 weeks sit-at-home order in Onitsha, Nnewi and Iheme Obosi in Anambra State, as well as New Market in Enugu state. During the raid operations, the troops cleared IPOB camps in Ekeututu, Orsomoghu, Lilu and Mother Valley camps of the dissidents. Troops came in contact with the group's armed fighters, who detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) also known as Ogbunigwe and fired using locally fabricated mortar tube. The valiant troops however overpowered the irredentist group in the firefight, compelling them to abandon their position as they fled with gunshot wounds into nearby bushes. Further cordon and search of the hideouts by the troops, led to the arrest of five fleeing members of the group and recovery of one IPOB flag, one CCTV camera and 2 detonated IED bombs and a fabricated mortar tube. Sadly, five soldiers and two Nigeria Police operatives sustained varying degrees of injuries from the IED detonated by the criminals. The Nigerian Army encourages all law abiding citizens of the South East to continue to support ongoing operations with actionable information and to disregard the unlawful 2 weeks sit-at-home order by going about their normal daily activities and businesses. The Nigerian Army in synergy with sister services and security agencies will undauntedly continue to protect and safeguard lives and property of the good and enterprising people of South East Nigeria, within the ambit of the law and the rules of engagement. ONYEMA NWACHUKWU Brigadier General Director Army Public Relations 1 August 2023
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The Nigerian Labour Cobgress(NLC) is gearing up for mass protest. Ordinarily, peaceful protest is a constitutional right in a democracy, but in Nigeria it is democrazy they practice If NLC embarks on protest, there is a good chance the Nigerian government will roll out the Army or Police to shoot innocent protesters Therefore, rather than turn protesters into shooting targets for the Nigerian Army, NLC should consider using sit at home, as is done in the South East I have never heard that anyone was attacked in their home during sit at home, your house is the safest place you can be Please, if NLC cannot guarantee the lives of the people, let them consider sit at home and save lives. |
BERNIMOORE:How will this reduce the price of Garri? Abi na minister we chop? |
Whats the point of who will be the next President or vice President if hunger has killed all of us by then? |
Ibadanpikin:They couldn't develop anywhere without government help |
Cooly100:How can they be concerned? There only job is to use insecurity to demarket the South East You have pay them for them to be concerned that 100 people were killed in Plateau State |
imamuddeen:You people like to lament as if Nigeria was thr only country that had military coup, almost every country in Africa had military coup |
SOSinNigeria:There is no way Ohanaeze is going to join any effort to bring Simon Ekpa back to Nigeria, they know it will only make things worse |
Ezeama400:Broken English |
Razgas:As developed as any European country? You have no unity, no peace, No security, no rule of law. How will you develop as any European country? |
plaindealer:As I said, Dr Oby Ezekwesili will not bring her self down to the level if you guys that only care about using insecurity in a particular area, the South East, to play games, she has long passed that level If you cannot condemn insecurity in all parts of Nigeria it exists, like Oby Ezekwesili, and only expect people to condemn insecurity in the South East, then you need serious help |
plaindealer:She is not going to come down to you peoples level, those who only use insecurity for games. Those who are blind to insecurity all over Nigeria except the South East. Oby Ezekwesili has condemned insecurity in all parts of Nigeria several times on Twitter. She isnt you guys who who make insecurity a South East affair
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Strafudeen:If he is apprehended, the next person ti replace him msy declare 1 month sit at home |
As I expected, Yorubas ran away from this thread |
2002 Report by Human Rights Watch The OPC has been responsible for numerous acts of violence and its members have killed or injured hundreds of people. While many of their most serious attacks were directed against Hausa, or people suspected to be northerners, their victims have also included Igbo, Ijaw and people from other ethnic groups. There have even been cases where they have attacked Yoruba, both civilians and policemen. Most of their victims have been men. Numerous eye-witness testimonies gathered by Human Rights Watch confirmed that contrary to their leaders' denials, the OPC have used a variety of weapons, including fire-arms, machetes, cutlasses, knives and daggers, which they are often seen carrying openly. There have also been several cases where they have poured acid on their victims. Frequently they set fire to the corpses of those they had killed, sometimes after mutilating them. It has been difficult to confirm the sources of the weapons used by the OPC. Small arms proliferate in Nigeria and it is easy to purchase guns and other weapons. In addition, the OPC have sometimes seized weapons belonging to the police or to suspected criminals that they have apprehended during their vigilante activities. In the cases documented below, the victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch confirmed that the perpetrators were specifically OPC members, as opposed to other Yoruba. They had been able to identify them in a variety of ways Sagamu In mid July 1999, there was a major clash between Hausa and Yoruba in Sagamu, Ogun State. Scores of people were killed. The violence began following an argument over customs observed during the Oro festival, an annual Yoruba event which had not been disrupted by any disputes either before or since 1999. Yoruba and Hausa had agreed to respect a traditional night-time curfew usually observed during the festival. However, according to local residents, a fight erupted between the Yoruba and the Hausa after a Hausa woman was killed by a group of Yoruba because she had broken the curfew. The fighting escalated and the OPC intervened to support the Yoruba. Both sides were armed. At least sixty-eight Hausa were killed, including three boys between the ages of ten and fifteen; some were killed with guns, but the majority were killed with cutlasses. A number of Yoruba were also killed, including one of the Oro leaders. Some people were burnt inside their house Ketu / Mile 12 Market On November 25 and 26, 1999, scores of people were killed when the OPC clashed with traders in Ketu / Mile 12 market in Lagos. The exact number of victims has not been confirmed, but is estimated to be more than one hundred. A senior police official who was at the scene said he saw an estimated two hundred bodies, but that others had already been buried in mass graves. The fighting is thought to have been caused by jealousy on the part of Yoruba about the perceived dominance of the market by Hausa traders Alaba Market In mid July 2000, a private dispute between a landlord and a tenant escalated out of control and several people were killed in the large Alaba electronics market in Lagos, as OPC members clashed with Igbo traders. The incident began when a Yoruba landlord, who had lost patience with a court case to resolve a dispute with his tenant, called in the OPC to deal with the problem instead. The tenant, an Igbo trader called Ike who dealt in electronic goods in Alaba market, returned from work one day to find his landlord and a group of OPC members waiting for him. On instruction from the landlord who pointed him out to the OPC, the OPC members attacked him, accusing him of being a criminal. Despite his denials, they beat him into a coma, allegedly in the presence of the landlord who did not respond to his pleas for help, even when the OPC set him on fire; he later died from his injuries. Some of the victim's neighbors, wanting to avenge Ike's death, set fire to the landlord's building. The market traders, the majority of whom are Igbo, also mobilized to protest the death of their colleague. According to one of the traders' representatives, when they went to complain to the Baale [local Yoruba leader], OPC members were assembled there and attacked them. Several traders were injured. The traders ran back to the market and tension escalated. The OPC members apparently sought reinforcements and within a short time had invaded parts of the market. They smashed many of the buses owned by the Igbos and barricaded the roads. The traders decided to fight back after they discovered the body of another Igbo man who had been macheted to death by the OPC at a nearby petrol station; he was apparently found dead, clutching a Bible. As the traders tried to defend themselves, and some of them took up arms, the OPC extended the attack to other Igbo residents in the area. The police, who were called to the scene by the chairman of the electronics market association, were initially unable to stop the violence and had to send for reinforcements. Eventually, the paramilitary mobile police brought the situation under Ajegunle There were two waves of clashes in Ajegunle, an area of Lagos. The first occurred in around September-October 1999, when Yoruba clashed with Ijaw, in what was seen as the aftermath of earlier, violent confrontations between Ijaw and Ilaje (a sub-group of the Yoruba) in Ondo State. Human Rights Watch did not carry out an in-depth investigation into these clashes, but spoke to some local residents of Ajegunle, who said that more than forty people were killed, most of them men. The victims included both Ijaw and Yoruba. Some were killed with machetes, others were burnt, others were shot dead. The report of the tribunal of inquiry set up by the state government into civil disturbances in Lagos State (see Section VII, 2 below) stated that the fighting did not appear to involve the entire Yoruba community in the area, but was more specifically "fighting between OPC members and Ijaw boys." Idi-Araba One of the more recent incidents of ethnic violence involving the OPC took place in Idi-Araba and surrounding areas in Mushin, Lagos, on February 2 to 4, 2002. Clashes between Hausa and Yoruba claimed more than seventy lives. Human Rights Watch spoke to many residents of the area and eye-witnesses of the violence, including members of the Hausa and Yoruba communities, and people from other ethnic groups who found themselves trapped by the violence. Most of them confirmed that OPC members had participated in the violence; however, Human Rights Watch has not been able to ascertain whether the violence was planned in advance by the OPC, or whether OPC members or supporters joined in to support the Yoruba once the fighting between Yoruba and Hausa had already started. A journalist who covered the crisis told Human Rights Watch: "The OPC galvanized people. They just provided the leadership and the others followed. The OPC was like a vanguard. It started off with a minor disagreement which escalated into an ethnic conflict. Many of the people involved didn't even know what had sparked it off until later." The incident which apparently sparked off the fighting on February 2 was an argument which developed after a Hausa man defecated in an area not intended as public toilet, close to where the OPC was holding a meeting. Some Yoruba (who may or may not have been OPC members) challenged the man and asked him to pay for use of the area as a toilet. The man refused and a fight ensued. He reported the problem to his community. A larger group of Hausa then returned with him to the scene and a fight broke out between them and the Yoruba. According to the leader of the local Hausa community, the OPC then came back in a big group, armed with guns, and started fighting the Hausa, who were also armed. The situation escalated and the fighting lasted for two days. According to residents of the area, the police did not have any visible presence until the evening of the second day. There were reports that several people were then shot dead by the police. Eventually, the military were also sent in to quell the violence and it was they, and not the police, who finally restored order.45 By that time, scores of people had been killed, both Hausa and Yoruba; more than a hundred others had been seriously injured; hundreds of houses and public buildings had been burnt to the ground. Most of the victims were adult men, but there were also several teenagers among them, and several women. The majority of deaths and injuries were inflicted with machetes; some people were also burnt to death. Some people were killed in their houses, others as they were trying to flee, yet others were shot at point-blank range or stabbed where they stood. The victims included both Hausa and Yoruba, but the evidence collected by Human Rights Watch indicates that a higher number of those killed were Hausa. Other Incidents of Ethnic Violence There have been several other incidents in which OPC members attacked people on the basis of their ethnicity, particularly Hausas, other northerners, and people suspected of being sympathetic to the Hausas. A Hausa trader in Lagos told Human Rights Watch how, during violent clashes at the Agege abattoir on the outskirts of Lagos, in late 2000, the OPC had targeted anyone suspected of being a Hausa: "They killed Alhaji Zubairu, a father of three from Kogi State. They asked him where he was from. He said Kogi. They said he was a Hausa man, and killed him. Actually he was a northerner, but not a Hausa. Full report below https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/nigeria0203/nigeriaopc0203-03.htm |
Arapmoi22:Then that means Nigeria is no more than a prison holding people against their will. There can nevdr peace in such situation |
If Igbos want to go then let them go, abi one Nigeria na by force? |
Only a fool would support such a vessel being destroyed when it could be confiscated and used for something else Have the Navy got enough ships? Africans only know how to destroy, but not to build |
chiagozien:They are waiting for what Simon Ekpa will say next |
The problem is sit at home |
No fewer than 555 Nigerians have been killed and 267 kidnapped across the country between when President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29 and July 3. These include attacks by bandits, Boko Haram insurgents, gunmen and others. In a report by Global Rights, titled ‘Mass atrocities in Nigeria from 2019 to July 2023’, it noted that under the Tinubu administration, the North-Central geopolitical zone ravaged by banditry had been the most impacted with 312 deaths recorded in 35 days under review. The North-West recorded 123 deaths, followed by the South-East where 66 residents were killed; 38 deaths were recorded in the North-East; in the South-South region, 11 persons were killed while at least five persons were murdered in the South-West. An analysis of the trend of killings done by our correspondent showed that regions ravaged by bandits recorded more deaths than other regions. The North-West and North-Central had a total of 435 deaths. The Programme Manager, Global Rights, Edosa Oviawe, said struggle for power and poverty were part of the factors fuelling mass atrocities in the country. He stated, “Ethnic and religious divisions; political interests and power struggles; 20 million out-of-school children; 130 million multidimensionally poor; 90 million absolutely poor; 33 per cent unemployment rate and over 50 per cent youth unemployment among others are drivers of mass atrocities in Nigeria A security consultant, Group Captain Sadique Shehu (retd), said the spike in non-state actors’ activities when a new government and service chiefs assumed office was not new in the country. He called on the service chiefs to quickly map out their plans to address the situation. Shehu, who is a former spokesperson for the Nigerian Airforce, stated, “Usually, when there is an exchange of batons either at the political level or with service chiefs, during the transition period, there is usually a lull. However, you would observe a spike in lawbreakers’ activities when the new service chiefs or political head is trying to find their footing. This has been the trend in the country. What should be done is for security chiefs to quickly draw out their plans. “There is no doubt the former president (Muhammadu Buhari) was unable to rid the country of insecurity, although there was an improvement in the North-East. This means Tinubu is inheriting a big challenge, especially with banditry.” He urged Tinubu to ensure he appointed a competent hand as the Minister of Defence, adding that this was an albatross of the last administration. Shehu added, “I will urge the President to do proper supervision of the security agencies, which if I must be sincere, did not happen under Buhari. Yes, he spent more on security but did he put his eyes on it? He gave out money but did not follow the money. I will also advise him (Tinubu) to appoint a capable person as Minister of Defence. The two ministers under Buhari were powerless.” https://punchng.com/555-nigerians-killed-in-one-month-report/ |
optionalY09:Post it on this thread |
Igbos are adventurous, they can go anywhere. Two wealthy Igbo men broke records when they ventured to ends of the earth, one went to the North Pole, while the other visited the South Pole. To go to either Pole is very expensive, very hazardous and very dangerous. Many people have died trying to reach the North or South Pole where average temperature is - 50 centigrade Chinedu 'Ned' Nwoko: Popularly known as Ned Nwoko, he is a billionaire international Lawyer, property tycoon and businessman. He hails from Idumuje-Ugboko in Delta State and is also the serving Senator for Delta North. In 2020, Ned Nwoko became the first black African to reach the South Pole. Ogbonnaya 'OG' Amazu: Popularky known as 'OG', is a billionaire oil mogul and CEO of AMAZOIL, is an indigene of Nnewi in Anambra State. In 2015, he took his wife and two children to the North pole and broke record as the first family to ever reach the place
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Have you heard of Cudjo Lewis? He was the last surviving slave of the "Clotilda", the last slave ship to leave Africa for the Americas after slavery was abolished. He was also a Yoruba man. His story is Below Cudjo Lewis was born Oluale Kossola in the modern West African country of Benin to Oluale and his second wife Fondlolu. He was the second of four children and had 12 stepsiblings. He was a member of the Yoruba people, more specifically the Isha (a Yoruba sub-group), whose traditional home is in the Banté region of eastern Benin. Kossola was born into a modest family, but his grandfather was an officer of the town’s king. Kossola and his siblings had a happy and active childhood. At 14, he began training as a soldier and learned how to track, hunt, camp, shoot arrows, throw spears, and defend his town, which was surrounded by four tall walls. The teenager was also inducted into oro, a secret Yoruba male society whose role is to police and control society. At age 19, Kossola fell in love with a young girl he saw at the market, and at his father’s urging underwent initiation that enabled young men and women to get married. In April 1860, in the midst of Kossola’s training, Ghezo, the King of Dahomey, and his army attacked the town, killed the king and many of the people, and took the rest of the townspeople prisoner. Kossola and his companions were marched to Abomey, Dahomey’s capital, then on to Ouidah on the coast, where they were held for three weeks in a slave pen known as a barracoon (a prison where captives were held before being sent across the Atlantic). Then he and 109 others from various regions of Benin and Nigeria boarded the slave ship Clotilda, captained by Mobile ship builder William Foster and embarked on the journey across the Atlantic Ocean, known during the slave trade as the Middle Passage. During his 45 days on the ship, Kossola suffered from terrible thirst and the humiliation of having been forced on board naked. In Mobile, he was enslaved by James Meaher, a wealthy ship captain and brother of Timothy Meaher, the man who had organized the expedition. James Meaher was unable to pronounce Kossola’s name, so the young man told his new owner to call him Cudjo, a name given by the Fon and Ewe peoples of West Africa to boys who are born on Monday. During his five years of enslavement, the young man worked on a steamship and lived with his shipmates under Meaher’s house, which was built high above the ground. In 1865, with general emancipation, Cujdo regained his freedom and took the name Lewis. He married Abile, a young woman who also had been on the Clotilda. Like their companions, the couple’s objective was to return home, but when they failed to raise enough money for the trip, they decided to stay in Alabama and create a town of their own. Because Timothy Meaher had been responsible for their ordeal, they decided to ask him for reparations in the form of free land. Cudjo was chosen as the spokesman. Meaher refused their demand, and they purchased land from him and others and established African Town on a hill north of Mobile. Cudjo worked as a shingle maker but after being injured in a train accident in 1902—for which he sued the railroad company—he became African Town’s church sexton. He and his wife had five sons and one daughter. To mark their attachment to their culture, they gave American and Yoruba names to four of them and Yoruba names only to two. Sadly, all of the children died young: Celia/Ebeossi died of sickness at 15, Young Cudjo was killed by a deputy sheriff, David/Adeniah was hit by a train, Pollee Dahoo disappeared and was probably killed, and James/Ahnonotoe and Aleck/Iyadjemi died after short illnesses. Abile passed away in 1908, just one month before Aleck died. Cudjo again suffered the loss of his family. Financial hardship forced Cudjo to sell several plots of land. By the early 1920s, all his companions from the Clotilda had passed away, leaving him as the only survivor. During the last years of his life, he achieved some fame when writers and journalists interviewed him and made his story known to the public. Alabama-born author Zora Neale Hurston filmed him, and he is thus the only known African deported through the slave trade whose moving image exists. Cudjo Lewis died of age-related illness on July 26, 1935, at about 94. Although he had always wanted to go back home, he was buried among his family in the Africans’ cemetery that opened in 1876. Today, a tall white monument marks his grave. Some of his descendants still live in Mobile. Two women, Sally “Redoshi” Smith and Matilda McCrear, were the last surviving members of the group, living until 1937 and 1940, respectively.
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Idara Gold is a young girl who hails from Mbiafun Nkwono, on the outskirts of Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. She is a keen supporter of the Biafran movement. She shot into prominence in 2021 when she was arrested by the DSS because she celebrated her 20th birthday by posting pictures of her self on Facebook wearing a Biafran dress. She spent 18 months in various DSS detention centres from Enugu to Abuja to Niger State, without charge, before securing bail recently. On her release, Idara Gold opened a new Facebook page called 'Gold Biafra' and has started a campaign for people held in DSS custody for months, even years, without charge. She started by highlighting the case of husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Ifedi, who she says were arrested by DSS in 2021, and have been kept in Wawa Barracks, Niger State without charge to this day The constitution of Nigeria says that the authorities must charge a suspect to court no later than 3 days after arrest
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Christistruth02:And when you ask Yorubas where they developed that is not capital area, all they have is Sango ota? A place that cannot be compared with Nnewi |
When a place assumes a capital area status, it attracts more governmental and private sector investment that triggers increased immigration, commerce and other ancillary activities that makes it develop at a faster pace than other areas. Sometimes an area may be developing at a faster pace than others, but gets a boost after getting capital area status. But sometimes, an area might develop at a fast pace without capital status, without increased government help, but by the sheer determination of the people of the area |
North Abuja: Federal Capital Territory Kano: Capital of Kano State Kaduna: Capital of Kaduna State South West Lagos: Former Federal Capital Territory Ibadan: Former capital of the Western Region Abeokuta: Capital of Ogun State South East Enugu: Former capital of the Eastern Region Owerri: Capital of Imo state Awka: Capital of Anambra State But the South East develops these areas Onitsha: Never was capital of anywhere, largest market in West Africa and more developed than many state capitals in Nigeria Nnewi: Never was capital of anywhere, centre of the auto industry in Nigeria and developed far beyond the village it was before the war Aba: Never was capital of anywhere but is undisputed capital of Artisanship in Nigeria and major commercial area So the question for the North and South Westerners is this, where is that place you developed in your area with your ingenuity that isnt capital area status? Where did you develop or build up without needing it to be capital of anywhere, or government investment? |