₦airaland Forum

NAIJA_SOM: To those it may concern,
I dont understand this at all. IGBOs tried to leave, yet they were forced, massacred and betrayed in order to remain in Nigeria. Now what I keep seeing on this site is people complainig about Igbo this or that. "They are the problem with nigeria. Things will be better if they werent here. Infact they should be wiped out of this planet". When I hear all these complians, my answer is simple, ONE NIGERIA!!!!!!

Honestly, You can hate Igbo people all you want BUT by the time you are done hating, your landord will be an IGBO man or woman. When you shout and complain, I will say ONE NIGERIA!!!!!!

My brother, the table has now turned on those who imagined that lies and deceit was a strategy in life. Now their lies and manipulation has blown up in their face.They now want a divided Nigeria, after other Nigerians have invested trillions of dollars into Lagos. IMPOSSIBLE!!!
Nobody cares if they pull their nasty Oduduwa republic out,but Lagos must remain a bona fide part of Nigeria.Let them keep dreaming about Oduduwa.

T9ksy: Ol' boy, you sound desperate o. I thought last time (about 10months ago) you said you had proof that NCNC won the election in question in

1951.You proof according to you, lies in your grandmother's library in your village so why are you now desperate to link up with Pa pini jason?

Its either you have the proof or not and if you don't then can you please desist from spreading falsehoods and misinforming the niave and gullible younger

gerneration. You ibos have been blabbing about this phantom election success in western nigeria but till date, 6 decades later none of you have been able to

produce any shred of evidence to back up your claim but still doesn't stop you ibos from singing "carpetcrossing", "tribalism" ati bebelo against the yorubas

Yeye people. So now NCNC did not win the elections, yet Awolowo needed to do carpet crossing for an election he had already won? Shameless liars. Just listen to yourselves.

it is very interesting that both Gowon and Awolowo are the unhappiest "Nigerians". I just love the new nigeria. We must all live in it together. Nigeria's unity is non-negotiable.Afterall, look as see who has lost relevance today. I just love it!!!! Hehehehehe... lmfao!

T9ksy: [quote author=cjrane]In 1951, Awolowo used tribal sentiments to cajole Yoruba people who had voted and ensured Zik's victory in Ibadan to withdraw their support, because Zik was Igbo and should not be allowed to form a government in the western region. That moved shocked Nigerians as it was the first time in Nigeria's political history that tribal origin was used as a political tool to deny someone of his electoral victory. Since then, you know better than me that nobody dares to win any election outside his state of origin. That is why Awolowo is the undisputed father of tribalism in Nigeria.Because he was the first to use tribalism in pursuance of his political ambition. A virus that Nigeria could never recover from.[/quote


Present the election result which you base your claim on or please, just STFU!!!

Don't yorrobbers have shame at all? You want to deny everything Awolowo did, as if somehow it would make others forget it happened.
Even the Fani-Kayode junior that is now talking rubbish, his father hated Awolowo for that "carpet crossing Politics of tribalism" and was one of the great Yoruba men that saw the danger of "carpet crossing" that Awolowo introduced into the Nigerian political system, and seriously warned against the implication and consequences of tribalism in Nigerian politics for the yorubas.
Perhaps, Awolowo did not tell you guys all the evil he did in Nigeria. Typical reaction of the children of a criminal who are surprised why the community detest their armed robber father.So you guys are truly "surprised" why other people had never seen anything good in the murderer and criminally insane Awolowo.You can research how Awolowo became the premier of western region in 1952 and Zik's NCNC moved from majority to opposition over night.Awolowo got his Premiership by tribalism and deciet,but that was the only election he ever won in Nigeria.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Zm7sWUbDWakC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=carpet+crossing+politics+in+western+region&source=bl&ots=rUyieKQ6dY&sig=gHrNCh5S5btkHfhZI23sG4q-Vxs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=o7yRULPPG8Hc0QGJxoDYBg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=carpet%20crossing%20politics%20in%20western%20region&f=false

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/National_Council_of_Nigeria_and_the_Cameroons

ACM10: Pls who can link me to Pa Pini Jason. Anyone? I need his phone number, email or home address. I want him to throw more light on the event of 1951. Pls it's urgent!

In 1951, Awolowo used tribal sentiments to cajole Yoruba people who had voted and ensured Zik's victory in Ibadan to withdraw their support, because Zik was Igbo and should not be allowed to form a government in the western region. That moved shocked Nigerians as it was the first time in Nigeria's political history that tribal origin was used as a political tool to deny someone of his electoral victory. Since then, you know better than me that nobody dares to win any election outside his state of origin. That is why Awolowo is the undisputed father of tribalism in Nigeria.Because he was the first to use tribalism in pursuance of his political ambition. A virus that Nigeria could never recover from.

Igbo :Yoruba unity will only make sense if it is used to heal structural and political issues of Nigeria. In essence, there is no need for just Igbo: Yoruba unity. There is need for NIGERIAN UNITY.

van bonattel: You think igbo language is for smelly mouths like your dirty politicians? Them no fit, simples.

I am dying of laughter o!!!
Una wan kill me for this NL

Wow, the airport don fine well well o! Mehn, Naija finally gets modern airport? Hmmmmmmmm !

nwabobo: Boko Haram is probably a continuation of the jihad but sadly this time, Gowon and his people are also at the receiving end.

So ironic Gowon now prefers London and Lagos to living in Plateau State. The only former President that cannot live in his own state.Wonders shall never end.

Isn't this a waste of time? Who doesn't know the census figure, and other so called "statistics" is fake in Nigeria?
Even the Kano 1991 census figure you mentioned was Kano + Jigawa state included. Now the new Kano still has the same population or even more than Lagos state.While Jigawa has another extra 5 million people as its population!!! Where did the extra 5 million come from?
That means the population growth in the old Kano state was about 100% in less than 10 years! Which qualifies to enter the guiness book of records. Infact, if Jigawa had not been created out from Kano state, the present population of kano state will now officially be 16 million people! Extra 7 million people more than Lagos! Tell me,isn't the figure laughable?

Desola: If he really was satan himself, he would have had your father roasted in the war and saved us from an imbecilic being such as yourself. We would have been saved a huge headache!

Unfortunately he did his best to kill as many as he could, but like Hitler he couldn't kill everyone. Now his evil have come to haunt you yorobbers trapped in Nigeria. It makes me so happy yorrobbers are in this country so, they must suffer the mess their satanic demon Awo created.I am so glad he couldn't carve you guys out using some deceptive jargon then.You must now face judgement. Hehehehe for your sins...

kunlekunle: Achebe dey laugh to bank, you dey get head ache.

Ediot, everything isn't about money. Yeye basterds!

solomon111: which Nigeria did he gave 'free education'?
Lol.

These Awolowo satanists still want to deny the evil Awolowo has brought on this nation God had blessed. Awolowo was a satanic demon. If he were never born, Nigeria would have surpassed Singapore and Indonesia today. But he introduced very wicked ideas that have been resistant to eradicate and have destroyed Nigeria.

Many millions of yorrobbers live in Onitsha,Asaba,Aba,Enugu and Port Harcourt. Infact they are so in hospitable to their hosts that their trade mark road rage style of driving and abuses on other co-road users is well known in these cities.

Duchman67: War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. Examples of such conduct include "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of prisoners, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity".

To fall under the Rome Statute, a crime against humanity which is defined in Article 7.1 must be "part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population". Article 7.2.a states "For the purpose of paragraph 1: "Attack directed against any civilian population means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack.

Starvation of civilian populations as a method of warfare is prohibited in both international or in internal conflicts, a prohibition stated explicitly in the two 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions.

Humanitarian aid for civilians, under Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, enjoys the right of free passage through battle lines if intended for “children under fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases,” and a broader exemption can be made when all or part of the civilian population in occupied territory is “inadequately supplied.

Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to destroy “objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population,” including foodstuffs and their production, drinking water, and irrigation works, or to undertake actions “which may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause starvation or force its movement.


Awo seems to have gone against all these statues.

That ediot Odia ofeimun will not see that his murderous mentor violated these sacred rules of war.Instead he chases shadows around in his ridiculous but futile attempt to confuse the clearly stated issues. Awolowo was a war criminal which even Awolowo himself admitted to committing crimes against humanity in his own book on the civil war.One therefore wonders why yorrobbers find it so difficult to accept the hard truth.

9ja_I_hail: I had warned you earlier on not to come into this thread again, just watch from the sideline as we take over the thread, though your intention was to use this thread as avenue to bash Igbos unknowingly to you the thread turned to help Igbo's by exposing who their enemies is. Dear bittyend sorry shymmex abi na both do yourself a favor by walking away from this thread. I know the shame is unbearable evidently your yoruba bros/sis had deserted you on this thread. Dayokanu must be saying in his mind right now shymmex/bittyend you are on your own oooo likewise others might have concluded the same. Just give it a break man.

Good tok bros

This is a very good investment to expand Osubi airport.It will definitely complement Warri ports and make Warri a world class city. Wafi no dey carry last at all o!

advocate666: We are igbos. We are not Yoruba. We are not awusa.
We travel, we learn, we develop.
We can't all go back to our villages because aboki refuse to leave north.
Even the jews with their own country are still all over the world.
We need our own country.
A ga eji mgbagbu ghara ogu?

Bros,
Nobody said Igbos should not travel or live outside the east as they may choose.Life has no duplicate,so all i am saying is that people should apply caution. Those who have ears,let them listen.I have met an Igbo man that took all their earthly possession from Aba, and traveled to a town called Kaita close to Niger Republic to live! Those who dismiss the advise of this tread with a wave of the hand, should not say they didn't know on judgement day.In any case, i don't even live in Naija. I left bauchi a long time ago (2001)after my eyes was opened by the Nigerian system. An Anambra doctor from University of Benin hospital who relocated to FMC,Bauchi dismissed a similar issue like this with a wave of the hand saying "Onwero ife n'eme!".I was shocked then that a southerner will leave Benin and accept to work in Bauchi, but he did just that. I heard from his family that he was murdered in 2011 in front of his house in Bauchi after Buhari lost the election. Those like him who had the most faith in the unity of Nigeria are often the sacrificial lambs.

Biko Nwannem, gwa ndi be anyi ka ha bido i'ru ulo ha n'Enugu,Abakaliki,Umuahia,Aba,Owerri,Okigwe,Orlu,Nnewi,Onitsha,Nsukka,Awka,Asaba,Afikpo etc. Onye na ewu ulo ya n'ugwu awusa ma obu obodo ndi ofemnanu na eme onwe ya.
Mgbe o ruo n' omume, kedu ulo ha ga agbaba na obodo ha?

Dr. Aliko Dangote the richest black man in the world,does not have a hut in any Igbo city in spite of Onitsha and Aba being huge market outlets for his cement brand.Was that by accident? If Dangote were an Igboman, his houses and business outfits in other regions will out number the houses and businesses built by the indigenes of those places. I don't know how my people will ever get it. But those who understand Nigeria very well aren't as naive as my people who trust blindly so quickly.

docokwy: You can invest your billions outside Igboland (the choice is yours), but if you cannot invest thousands in Igboland at the same time as you invest outside, you may be wasting your time, energy, money, brain and even your future.


From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha (princemmy@yahoo.com)

When about 45 years ago, Chief Basil Okonkwo, a business man, left his home-state, Anambra for Azare in Bauchi State in search of greener pastures, he had lofty dreams.

Like any good father, he planned to train his children, give out his daughters in marriage and one day, retire and reap the fruits of his labour.

Providence and mother luck seemed to be on his side as God blessed the work of his hands and he prospered. As his business grew, he got married to his heartthrob, Virginia, and they were also bountifully blessed with 10 children – three boys and seven girls.

Everything seemed to be on a roller coaster for Chief Okonkwo until April, 2011, after the presidential election. His first son, Nnaemeka Christian, married with a son, was killed in Bauchi in the post- election crisis that trailed the presidential poll in the North.

The brutal killing of Nnaemeka whose wife was also pregnant at the time, shocked Chief Okonkwo and from that moment, he began to think home and made quick arrangements to send his wife and children to Anambra state.

Due to the long years he had spent in Bauchi with its accompanying connections and commitments, it wasn’t easy pulling out the entire family back home at once. Consequently, his wife and some other children first relocated while Celestine, his surviving second son, the seventh daughter, Ifeoma and Sunday his apprentice stayed behind with him because of their education and business.

In his plans for complete relocation, Chief Okonkwo came home and began the construction of a modern building in his compound that will accommodate his family and befits his status as a progressive businessman who had spent many years in the North.

Black Sunday

But all the noble plans of Chief Okonkwo were shattered on the night of 0ctober14, 2012 when gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect killed him, his daughter, Ifeoma and his apprentice, Sunday Ezechukwu. His second surviving son, Celestine, an electrical electronics engineer, would have been dead too if not by divine arrangement.

According to him, he left his father’s shop on his private motorcycle and less than fifteen minutes later, the gunmen swooped on the trio, opened fire and killed them instantly as they closed their shop and were about driving home in the family’s Peugeot 505 wagon after the day’s business.

Chief Okonkwo and his daughter were buried on Monday, October 23, amidst tears and anger. Earlier, his late apprentice, Sunday Ezechukwu from Aguleri Otu, also in Anambra state, was buried in his country-home.

Oh my daughter, my husband!

On Wednesday, when Sunday Sun reporter visited the late Okonkwo’s compound at Mkpuke village, Umunnachi, there was pin-drop silence while forlorn faces betrayed emotions of sadness, anger and confusion.

Okonkwo’s widow, Virginia and Chinyere, Nnaemeka’s widow were crestfallen even as other members of the family were brooding over the cruel fate that befell them.

Okonkwo was buried beside his uncompleted building while the late Nnaemeka’s two kids even in their childhood innocence seemed aware that things were not okay as they refused to play around with fellow children.

Madam Virginia, after much persuasion and consolation by the reporter managed to say few words.

“Oh my daughter, oh my husband! If they were sick and hospitalized, it would have been better as I would have shared in their pains and even helped out in the hospital as a mother. But look at what has happened to me. I’m still mourning my first son, now they have done their worst by killing this two in cold blood. “We are not politicians and we are not struggling for anything with anybody. But since I voted for Goodluck Jonathan in the last presidential election, my family has been shattered. This is how we have ended up. Where do I begin from here? My beloved daughter had dreams as a student, my husband also had plans to relocate finally from the North but all the plans have been shattered.”

Revenge is for God

Okonkwo’s third son, Gozie was so bitter over the situation that he queried whether Nigeria’s unity in diversity is really true.

“If this had happened to a northerner in eastern Nigeria, the whole world would shake. But look at us, nobody is asking us how we intend to start life again. I came down here after the killing of my elder brother last year, and I’m yet to adjust in the east. My father was still planning to set up something tangible for me here before they killed him too.

“We cannot kill in revenge and I don’t think whether killing ten people can pay for my father’s life. I don’t think also that it will be out of place to say that this is a premeditated action against Ndigbo but our family is now the greatest victims.”

My life has been shattered

Perhaps the most pathetic scenario during the reporter’s visit was the encounter with Chinyere Okonkwo whose husband, Nnaemeka, was killed last year. Cuddling her baby girl delivered after her husband’s tragic death, she cut the image of a woman with high potentials if fate didn’t deal her a fatal blow. Amidst sobs, she poured out her pains.

“They have finished me. When my husband was killed, I wanted to lose hope in life. It was my husband’s family that consoled me and told me they would stand by me at least for the sake of the children. My father-in-law had been shouldering the responsibility of all of us. Now, he has been murdered too in this agonizing manner. Where do we go from here?

My husband and children all died in vain

While Madam Virginia mourned the loss of her husband and two children, her greatest pain was that according to her, they all died in vain as relevant authorities have neither asked about the bereaved family’s condition nor addressed the situation that led to the deaths.

“When my first son was killed, Governor Isa Yuguda told Igbo people in Bauchi not to relocate because according to him, any state without strangers and non-natives cannot go far in development. The fury generated by their death drew the attention of the federal government. They came from Abuja and took our pictures and records but that was the last we heard anything from the state and federal governments. The most painful thing was that they asked me to takes pictures with my murdered son as he lay inside the casket. They said it was for evidence purposes that would ensure that we are compensated. But now, nothing came out of it and today, more people have been killed again in my family.

“My children ought to be natives of Bauchi State because they were all born there but look at how we ended up. Again, how can the activities of Boko Haram remain unabated while the government keeps assuring us that they are handling the situation?

A cry for help

Despite the tragic loss by the Okonkwo family, the surviving members of the family still knows that life must continue but the problem now is how to continue with no visible means of livelihood.

Urging for assistance from the federal as well as Anambra and Bauchi state governments, the first daughter of the family, Mrs Blessing Ezemanari summarized the situation thus,

“For us, it is already bye, bye to the North. My mother just came down to the village and she has not started anything meaningful. My murdered brother’s wife is also here with us with her two children. My siblings are still seeking for admission into higher schools. We appeal to Governor Peter Obi to assist us and use his position to influence other authorities to assist us.”

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/national/wiped-out-by-boko-haram-they-killed-my-son-daughter-husband-widow/

I have lost sympathy for such Igbos. One good thing yorrobbers try to teach us,but we don't get is that they consider every part of Nigeria unsafe for yoruba or their business except yorubaland! The irony is that yoruba have not suffered any pogroms in Nigeria, yet they have such native wisdom. But Igbo who have suffered and continue to suffer all these tragedies in the history of Nigeria,learn nothing and still boast about having 200 houses and businesses in Mubi, Katsina Ala or Ikare Ekiti, but don't have a hut in his home town or even state capital? Don't you see there is something wrong with such mentality in Nigeria? So let such men suffer the consequences of their incredible stupidity. I don't have sympathy for them any longer.

Duchman67: Starvation of civilian populations as a method of warfare is prohibited in both international or in internal conflicts, a prohibition stated explicitly in the two 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. It is there in black and white that Awo committed war crimes and denying the deaths of two million+ people is something for your conscience to ask you questions about. In Germany it is a crime to deny the Holocaust,guess you are not of the same breed as the rest of humanity.

Bros, the problem with Nigeria is that the average yorrobber has no conscience because they have been led so long by this devil called Awolowo. They fear that divorcing themselves from this satanic Awolowo doctrine will result in themselves being visited with the wickedness Awolowo unleashed on his perceived Igbo enemies.

shymmex: Sitting on my bed, as I inhale, and exhale my cigarette smoke - I reminisce how I used to view Nigerians as the same people. I was never raised to believe my tribe was superior to my “bredrin’s” tribe. We were all raised as Nigerians first before anything – and we all used to verbally defend Nigeria against our Ghanaian peers – and fist fight our Caribbean peers. That seems like a long time ago now – because tribalism is now rife among Nigerians in diaspora, and on the virtual World Wide Web. It seems we were all young back then, and we were living in denial – and probably tribalists on the inside, but Nigerian on outside.

I noticed every time I chat to my friends now (most of whom have never been to Nigeria) – they are always quick to point out their tribes. My Igbo friend told me the other day, that his sister got married to one of ‘my people’. I was shocked when he said one of ‘my people’ – and I asked him what he meant by that. He then explained to me that his sister got married to a Yoruba guy. My Urhobo/Edo friend has now imbibed the habit of always reminding that “those are your people” every time there are Yoruba names on TV. To be honest, I’m not comfortable with this new trend. It seems everyone in the diaspora has now been infected the tribal consciousness virus. We never used to be like this – we used to be proud Nigerians back in the days – when we used go to African parties, and jam to Sir Shina Peters and King Sunny Ade together as Nigerians. Where did it go wrong?

Today, I went on youtube to check SBTV (a UK urban music video channel on youtube) – and I saw an acoustic performance by the great Nigerian singer, Nneka. As I scrolled down to read some of the comments under the video – I noticed some youths posted comments like: “she is Igbo, that’s my tribe”, “big up Igbo, Igbo for life”, “repping Igbo hard” etc. I was baffled because this is a music video channel visited by mostly youths raised in the UK – and I was expecting the Nigerians on there to big up, Naija – and not their tribes. This new trend of tribal consciousness is becoming problematic, and we need to put it in check before it consumes us all – and destroy our future generations.

We’re all still Nigerians, pending our disintegration – which is not happening in the foreseeable future. The older folks among us need to stop promoting tribal sentiments – and start raising their kids as Nigerians. The Nigerian diaspora is already divided along class, and country of residence lines – we shouldn’t divide further – what’s already divided.

I know Nigeria is in a sorry state – but we don’t need to write the country off. I believe in the population, and the diversity Nigeria brings. I believe in the Nigerian people. If china can go from being a hellhole, to being a superpower – I believe Nigeria can also do the same. Nigerians are a unique group of people, bond together by the Confluence of Niger & Benue River – and we shouldn't break the natural confluence, which binds us together. Nigeria is Africa – and the future of Africa depends on Nigeria. If Nigeria can rise to its full potentials – I believe Africa definitely has an opportunity to turn the tide – but if Nigeria fails, Africa is going to be exploited forever.

Nigeria is Europe’s mistake – but a blessing to mama Africa. The future of the black race depends on us – we can’t let our race down.

N/B: Some may want to claim that I'm also a tribalist - but the truth is that I was infected with the bug on NL, and I have since rid myself off the silly bug.

My question to this baseless article is;
Is Nneka not Igbo?
If she came to Oyo state for work, will you employ her if she isn't yoruba?
Please take your jargons elsewhere.If future of black race depends on Nigeria,then black people are f...cked up indeed !

Emeniyen: http://tribune.com.ng/sun/front-page-articles/9003-i-am-getting-tired-of-politics-obj-says-pdp-lacks-discipline

Tired ke?
Sir, You no dey laf again?

Desola: "de-tribalised", did you say? You kid yourself.

Yorrober has lost the initiative in Nigeria and it shall remain so until thy kingdom come.Other Nigerians have also learnt your style of tribalism.Now you will be paid exactly in your own coin.
Think about the history of Nigeria,yoruba had always occupied important posts. Look around you and tell me what you see? Yoruba is excluded just as Yoruba had always plotted to exclude others
Yeye cowards still lying to themselves

Duchman67: In the event of occupation by Nigerian army,it will set off a full blown insurgency generally funded by profits from the past 20+ years of bunkering.The aim is to make extensive use IEDs and hit and run tactics against the occupying force which will lash out against the local population creating a very hostile environment for foreign oil companies to operate and eventually consider operations unprofitable. As Nigeria does not have the technology to operate these oil fields, crude oil production will remain close to zero.

I have always maintained that it is the magnanimity and docility of the oil producing Niger Delta communities that have sustained this charade we call country. It is very interesting to note that criminally insane folks like Awolowo that used elaborate deceptive gimmicks to fool these communities into believing their interest was protected by the Nigerian state is increasingly exposed every day.

The Yoruba themselves now have to struggle for relevance in Nigeria. Yoruba have been effectively eliminated from Presidency& the vice, Senate President &vice, Speaker of the House & vice. So,they are no longer in any position to manipulate anything in Nigeria.This trend is likely to continue unless they are saved with the ongoing constitutional amendment that advocates a formula for sharing of posts according to Geo-political zones.

gerald28: Yoruba people and bad belle, fooolsssssss

Exactly my brother. SLS has not done badly at all as CBN governor. I also like his guts of removing all the banking and economic advantages the yoruba unfairly hoisted on other Nigerians. Nigeria will be balanced economically after SLS has completed his tenure at the CBN. May Almighty Allah preserve this prince.

helpee: Femi Fani-Kayode
THE GREAT DEBATE- WHO INTRODUCED TRIBALISM INTO THE POLITICS OF THE SOUTH, THE IGBO OR THE YORUBA?

''Igbo domination of Nigeria is only a matter of time''- Charles Onyeama, a prominent igbo lawyer and member of the Central Legislative Council, 1945. (Pg. 204 ''Ethnic Politics In Kenya and Nigeria'' by Godfrey Mwakikagile).

''It would appear that the God of Africa has created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of ages ....'' - Dr Azikiwe, President of the Pan-Igbo Federal Union. (The West African Pilot of July 8, 1949).

The first statement from Charles Onyeama, which was made in 1945, was the first overtly tribal and divisive comment that was made and recorded in the politics of southern Nigeria in our history. That is where and when tribalism in the south actually started. After that comment and as a direct reaction to it, the yoruba established the ''Egbe Omo Oduduwa'' to further and protect yoruba interests and after that came the formation of the Action Group in 1948.

The second statement from Zik, which was made in 1949 (and which clearly shows that the great Zik of Africa had forgotten that the NCNC was not an igbo party at the beginning and that it had in fact been established by an upper class and very well educated yoruba man by the name of Sir Herbert Macauly, one of the famous ''Black Victorians'' from the Lagos Colony, and who, at his death bed, was gracious enough to hand over the leadership of the party to him even though he was igbo) confirmed that tribalism was here to stay in the south and that ever since that time the igbo had an agenda to dominate others. This sentiment and this unfortunate igbocentric attitude is what cost Zik the Premiership of the Western Region in 1953 when the NCNC narrowly lost to the Action Group.

It is clear from this that if you want to know who started tribalism in southern politics and the politics of the southern protectorate of Nigeria it was not the yoruba or the southern minorities but the igbo. The excesses of the Igbo State Union and their treatment of the southern minorities and the yoruba from 1943 till 1967 was completely unacceptable. The rest of the south were prepared to accept the igbo as equals with open arms but they were not prepared to be politically dominated or conquered by them.

Worst still the first coup in the history of Nigeria, which was the Jan 15th 1966 coup d'etat led by Major Ifejuana and Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was essentially an igbo coup and an igbo grab for power. I say this because 95 per cent of those that took part in it were igbo and 99 per cent of the political and military leaders that were brutally murdered during it's execution were non-igbo. It was this coup and it's sheer brutality that led to the even more brutal northern officers counter-coup of July 1966 (in which 300 igbo officers were killed in one night including the igbo Head of State, Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi, and his yoruba host, the Military Governor of the Western Region, Gen. Adekunle Fajuyi who sought to protect him), the pogrom of igbos in the north (in which over 100,000 igbo civilians were killed in a few weeks) and the Nigerian civil war (in which 2 million Nigerians and Biafrans died).

These are the facts of our history. Live and learn. If you want to know who introduced tribalism into southern politics, it was the igbo. If you want to know who carried out the first coup in our country it was the igbo. Having done the painstaking research over a numberof years these are my findings and this is my conclusion.

I will open my wall for a robust discussion and debate on this issue and I will accomodate contributions from even those that are not my fb friends just for this debate. I will accomodate all shades of opinion and contributions from anyone that cares to join in the fray and I want to encourage those that disagree with my findings to state their case. We are all still learning but please take not that any rude or insulting comments will be deleted. This is a historical debate and I would encourage all those that seek to qoute anyone or make any assertions to mention their sources so that we can cross check the facts. Thanks.

Hehehe,
Before 1957, a Hausa man had been a Mayor in Enugu. Yoruba men had many positions and businesses in the eastern region.Everyone knows that in 1957, Eyo ITa was the Premier of the East and Nnamdi Azikiwe defeated Awolowo to become the Premier of western region. Awolowo then played his trumph card of tribalism to force the then "detribalised Yorubas" that had voted for Zik to cross carpet overnight. That singular act resounded across Nigeria that you cannot become a premier in a region other than your tribal area. A situation which has continued until date. It is tragic that Awolowo killed the chance of Nigeria ever being a true country out of his inordinate ambition to become premier in the western region.

onatisi: i think it is time we start taking this guy called tb joshua serious , he predicted this event twice and we all called him a bluff

A prophet is not recognized at home.It is one of the most tragic yet true aspect of human nature. Apart from his accurate predictions and powerful prayers in the name of Jesus that brings about miracles,Pastor TB Joshua is a true anointed servant of God. He believes in practical Christianity by doing good and donating all he has to people in need. Because Nigeria is in such strangle hold of satan, people still read ulterior motive to his outstanding generosity.This is the only Pastor that does not discriminate against people based on their religion, physical deformity or ethnic origin. I don't know, but one thing i know is that Pastor TB Joshua is a true servant of the Almighty God. Those who have ears, let them hear.