Nigeria has never had mentally prepared leaders — Atiku
Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt - 15.02.2009

Nigeria will begin to move forward from the day someone ready for leadership gets access to the corridors of power, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has propounded Abubakar who stated this on arrival on Friday at the Port Harcourt International Airport for the burial of Alamieyeseigha’s mother in Yenagoa on Saturday noted that the problem of Nigeria had been the unreadiness of those who had led and ruled it in the past. He attributed the failures policies and programme in the last and current administrations to the state of minds of the men at the helms of affairs in the administrations, he noted that neither former President Olusegun Obasanjo nor President Umaru Musa-Yar'Adua took reins with a mind ready to lead.

"Nigeria has not had a leadership that has told himself say look, I want to lead and this is the reason why I want to lead Nigeria; this is my plan and programmes of what to do of base on which he was elected".

"In the 2nd republic, Shagari wanted to become a senator but he ended up becoming a president. In Obasanjo case, I was one of those who led a delegation to him and it was clear he had no intention of becoming a president because he asked me, how many presidents you want to make out of me", he noted.
He, however, challenged Nigerians to wake up to the challenge of ensuring that credible and ready individuals get elected into positions so that the country might achieve development soon.

Earlier, the Chairman of the state Action Congress, (AC) Prince Tonye Princewill thanked the former vice president for his visit and charged the leadership of Nigerian to lead by example and work on projects that would improve on the lives of the people.
http://www.tribune.com.ng/15022009/news/news8.html

Expensive beasts!

Nasarawa budgets N18m for Gov’s lions
By Kenny Ashaka, Abuja
Sunday, March 15, 2009

[b]Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu has left office as the immediate past governor of Nasarawa State but two lions he bought for security at the Lafia Government House continue to burrow into the state’s meager resources.

[b]The incumbent administration has budgeted an annual salary of N18 million (N1.5 million per month) to take care of the ferocious creatures kept at the National Commission for Museums and Monuments in Abuja.[/b]The lions (a male and female) are ironically said to be ill due to lack of proper feeding and care, arising from what sources at the Commission disclosed is the concealment of the two animals’ monthly budget by certain officials of the Commission.
The former governor had purchased the two lions for reasons some politicians in the state alleged were to ruffle the feathers of political opponents who will not yield to his desires.But not buoyed by the menace of the animals, the incumbent Governor Akwe Doma was said to have ordered that they be ejected from the Government House on account of their carnivorous nature.
The ejection prompted officials in charge in Nasarawa State to enter into an agreement with the National Commission for Museum and Monuments, supervisors of zoos in the country.[/b]According to the agreement, the state government is to pay the sum of N1.5 million monthly for the upkeep of the lions while the Commission is to provide a safe and friendly habitat for the animals as long as the state government keeps to the terms in the document.
However, few months into the deal, allegations of fraudulent diversion of the lions’ monthly salary have started flying at the Commission with the government accusing certain top officials of the Commission of diverting the funds meant for the animals.

The lions are currently at the National Zoological Garden in Jos, the Plateau State capital, where reports have it that the Commission in Abuja has only been remitting a paltry N200,000 for their upkeep.
Experts at the garden in Jos, who spoke to Sunday Sun, said a lion is entitled to a meal of one goat per day.
“These animals do not feed well. We have had to skip meals to ensure that we do not ultimately run out of funds. They send only N200,000. This was not the bargain. When lions are hungry, they can do anything. We have informed Abuja about their health status,” the source told Sunday Sun.
Efforts to confirm the story from the Director-General of the Commission, Dr O.J. Eborieme, proved futile as a powerful shield was built around him by the Public Relations Unit of the Commission.

Eborieme was last Wednesday said to be attending a United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) programme and the staff were not sure when he would return to the office.
A promise by Mr. Kola Sijuwade, the Commission’s spokesman that Sunday Sun would be called as soon as the Director-General returned was not kept, in spite of the fact that the contact numbers were left with him.

Eborieme has just resumed from a nine-month suspension clamped on him by the former Minister of Tourism (now Labour Minister), Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, following allegations of graft, high-handedness and mismanagement.
He is currently embroiled in a series of labour controversies with the local chapter of the Commission’s union.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/mar/15/national-15-03-2009-01.htm

Gunmen Attack Ibadan ANPP Chief

By Gbenga Abegunrin, Reporter, Ibadan


Residence of an Ibadan-based socialite-turned-politician, Femi Abiodun Lekuti (a.k.a Danku Baba Imole) who contested for and lost the seat of Ibadan South-West 11 state constituency in the state House of Assembly on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP) was attacked by gunmen on Wednesday night.

The Alexandra, Apata-Ganga, Ibadan residence of the ANPP member was visited by about four gunmen, who said they came to search for the socialite turned politician.
Briefing journalists about the incident on Saturday afternoon, Lekuti maintained that the gunmen arrived at about 10.00p.m on the day, and ordered a boy, identified as Victor, to tell them about the whereabouts of his boss.

He [b]added that they pointed gun at the boy and threatened to kill him if he refused to disclose the whereabouts of his boss.

His words: "They told him that they had seen my car in the compound and that they knew that I was around. They marched the innocent boy around the street with gun. But I thank God that they did not get me, and that they did not kill the helpless boy".

He maintained that he could not say if the attackers were political thugs or armed robbers, but quickly added that he had been attacked by political thugs on two different occasions in the recent past.[/b]He spoke further: "My residence was attacked on the day of re-run election to the state House of Assembly in my constituency. During the attack, my cars and other valuable items were destroyed by the attackers.

"Also on the day of the local government election organised by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja in May, 2007, Late Lamidi Adedibu sent thugs to come and kill me.

"I was in the Court of Appeal last Tuesday with my supporters. I don't know if the Wednesday attack was because of my presence in the court because they came a day after the court's sitting.

Lekuti added that immediately after the attackers left his compound, he phoned the Apata Police Divisional Headquarters, and men of the division responded quickly.

Former Anambra PermSec Kidnapped
A[b] former permanent secretary in the Anambra State Ministry of Works and Transport, Patrick Obidike, an engineer, was kidnapped from his country home Isiofia in Aguata Local Government Area.

The kidnappers according to an eye-witness account came in a Toyota Camry saloon car which had four passengers. They rode on an earth road and abducted him from his country home at gun-point about 10am Saturday.

Confirming the incident, the State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Abass, told reporters that he received information on what happened around 11am yesterday, adding that police had commenced action on detecting the crime. [/b] Abbass further noted that kidnappers no longer take their hostages to homes but to deep bushes, adding that communities within and outside Isiofia town are being investigated at the moment.

This incident is also coming on the heels of the rescue of Ifeyinwa Obi, one of the sisters of the monarch of Nwafia, Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, and her daughter, Somtochukwu Obi, two days ago.

The[b] mother and child were kidnapped at Enugwu-Ukwu town where she is married to and taken to Nawfia, her hometown. [/b] The kidnappers had demanded the sum of N15 million from the family before they would be released.

But on that fateful day, luck ran out on them as combined team of security operatives and local vigilante groups stormed the area under the pretence of coming to pay the sum of N15 million and opened fire on them.

Two suspects, who were arrested and handed over to the police, are said to be assisting the police in their investigation.

According to Nwankwo, "We took our time to monitor the movement of the hoodlums and established their base, before we planned the action that led to their rescue".

Meanwhile, those that abducted the Obidike are yet to establish contact with the family of their victim as at the time of sending this report.

.xris ;d

:-x

Halliburton: FG set to prosecute bribe takers
By Sebastine Ebhuomhan, Abuja
Published: Saturday, 14 Mar 2009
The Federal Government is set to begin the prosecution of public officials involved in the Halliburton bribery scandal, a reliable source in government, who craved anonymity, said on Friday.

Skip to next paragraph
[b]The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, returned to the country on Thursday from an overseas trip that took him to the United Kingdom and the United States, in what a source said was in connection with the Halliburton saga.

Until now, the Federal Goevrnment had been unwilling to prosecute Nigerian officials involved in the matter, claiming it was yet to receive a legal notification from the countries taking action on the bribery scandal.

Although the AGF could not be reached in his office on Friday to confirm how and when the government would prosecute the bribe takers, our correspondent reliably learnt that his trip was made to obtain information on the involvement of Nigerian public officials in the bribery scandal that also involved public officials that served during the military era.[/b]However, it was also gathered that the Federal Government was in a dilemma over how to handle some powerful former officials who took some of the bribes. Some of these officials served in the last administration.

[b]The source said the Federal Government would issue a statement on Monday on the issue. He added that the statement would let Nigerians know the extent of government’s investigations into the scam.

The British police on March 5 had arrested a lawyer, Jeffrey Tesler, who was accused of moving millions of dollars in bribes to Nigerian officials in order to secure engineering, procurement and construction contracts at the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas in Bonny Island, Rivers State.

About $182m in alleged bribe money was paid by Halliburton’s subsidiary, Kellog Brown and Root, to obtain contracts worth over $6bn to build and expand the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas terminal.[/b]Tesler was implicated along with another British citizen, Wojciech Chodan. His arrest followed an extradition request from the United States government. He was charged before the City of Westminster Magistrates‘ Court the same day.

According to the United States Department of Justice, “KBR admitted that, at crucial junctures before the award of the EPC contracts, former CEO, Albert Stanley, and others met with three successive former holders of a top-level office in the executive branch of the Nigerian government to ask the office holder to designate a representative with whom the joint venture should negotiate bribes to Nigerian government officials.”“Stanley and others negotiated bribe amounts with the office holders’ representatives and agreed to hire the two agents to pay the bribes.”

“According to court documents, the joint venture paid approximately $132 million to the first agent, a consulting company incorporated in Gibraltar, and more than $50 million to the second agent, a global trading company headquartered in Tokyo , Japan , during the course of the bribery scheme.”

KBR has since agreed to pay a US criminal fine of $402m as part of a plea bargain for guilt.

Army officer among Akunyili’s abductors
Written by Tony Edike
Saturday, 14 March 2009

[b]ENUGU—THE Enugu State Police Command yesterday confirmed the arrest of an officer of the Nigerian Army, Uhallah Chinedu alias “Onye Army”, who was among those that kidnapped Dr. Francis Edemobi, younger brother of the Information Minister, Professor Dora Akunyili in December last year.
The police said the suspect was arrested by the military authorities shortly after the incident late last year after which he was court-marshaled, tried and dismissed from the army having confessed to the crime of kidnapping the said Edemobi.[/b]He was formally handed over to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the State Police Command on Wednesday by the military authorities for necessary action.

Chinedu’s arrest has however introduced another dimension to the kidnap saga since he reportedly confessed to have actively participated in the crime but was said to have denied knowing Chief Ignatius Nnubia, the oil magnate who was arrested along with two members of his staff by the police and are currently facing trial over the matter.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amarizu, who confirmed to Vanguard the hand over of “Onye Army” to the police command, said the suspect had been on the wanted list of the police, adding that he was apprehended by the military which court-marshaled him according to the military tradition.

He said that having been found guilty by the military, Onye Army was according dismissed from the force to pave the way for his trial as “a civilian” in a normal court of law.

According to the PPRO, the suspect was handed over to the SARS which has been handling the matter, adding that the suspect would soon be arraigned in court.

Amarizu confirmed that Onye Army has actually confessed to the crime, adding that he made useful revelations that would help the police to determine the involvement or otherwise of those being tried in connection with the kidnap of Edemobi.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/30965/42/

Internet Fraud: Two Nigerians To Be Arraigned In Slovania

By Gbenga Abegunrin , Reporter, Ibadan

Two Nigerians, 19 year-old Alaba Olawale and 30 year-old Yusuf Abdullahi, are to be arraigned in Slovania for defrauding some investors in the country through the Internet between 2006 and 2008. The two Nigerians were recently arrested by men of the Oyo State Police Command at popular Dugbe area of Ibadan when they went to the General Post Office located in the area to collect some of the items they had got from their victims.

They were subsequently arraigned before the Iyaganku Chief Magistrate's Court 2 of A.F Richard on a two-count charge, which included conspiracy and Advanced Fee Fraud.

According to the charge sheet with number MI/197C/2009, the accused between 2006 and 2008 at Dugbe area of Ibadan did obtain goods by false pretence and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 8(C) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006. Saturday Independent gathered that the accused were arrested with 3,000 euro, 10 laptop computers, 10 digital cameras, 20 Nokia handsets and various models value yet unknown, all of which were got from one Madison Zakrish, a Slovanian. The Magistrate had earlier granted the accused bail in sum of N500,000 each, but before the accused could perfect their bail conditions the state police command reportedly received a letter from Abuja, stating that the case should be withdrawn from the court and the accused taken to Slovania for trial.

Sources at the Iyaganku Chief Magistrate's Court informed Saturday Independent that the letter was sent from the Slovanian authority, asking for the trial of the two Nigerians in its country.

Akunyili’s brother: Police nab suspected kidnapper

[b]An officer in the Nigerian Army, Uhallah Chinedu, a.k.a. "Onye Army", suspected to be among the kidnappers of Dr. Francis Edemobi, younger brother to the Information and Communications Minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili last December, has been nabbed by the police.

Confirming the arrest yesterday, the Enugu State Police Command said the suspect was arrested by the military authorities shortly after the incident late last year, after which he was court-marshaled, tried and dismissed from the army having confessed his involvement in the kidnap of Edemobi.

The suspect, according to the police, was formally handed over to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the State Police Command on Wednesday by the military authorities for necessary action.[/b]Chinedu’s arrest has however introduced another dimension to the kidnap saga since he reportedly confessed to have actively participated in the crime but at the same time denied knowing Chief Ignatius Nnubia, the oil magnate who along with two members of his staff was arrested by the police and are currently facing trial over the matter.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amarizu, who confirmed to our correspondent the hand over of "Onye Army" to the police command, said the suspect had been on the wanted list of the police, and that he was apprehended by the military which court-marshaled him according to the military tradition.

He said that having been found guilty by the military, "Onye Army" was accordingly dismissed from the force to pave way for his trial in a civil court.

According to the PPRO, the suspect was handed over to the SARS which has been handling the matter, adding that the suspect would soon be arraigned in court.
Amarizu confirmed that "Onye Army" has actually confessed to the crime, and had made useful revelations that would help the police to determine the involvement or otherwise of those already being tried in connection with the kidnap of Edemobi.

http://www.champion-newspapers.com/saturday%20files/saturday%20%20articles/articles5.htm

Cultists storm Abia varsity, assault DVC
Written by Uduma Kalu
Saturday, 14 March 2009

[b]The Abia State University, which was last January engulfed in a communal riot, leading to death of three young students was this week attacked by suspected cultists.
Reports from the Universiry told Saturday Vanguard that the cultists stormed a Prima Causa welcome party of the Faculty of Law held last Friday.[/b]According to eye witness reports, the cultists stormed the party, blocking the entrance against the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics who was to represent the Vice Chancellor. A pregnant final year student named Stephanie was also seen crying having been rough handled by the group.

[b]The cultists were said to have gone ahead to cart away the food, drinks and awards for the visitors. Some of the fresh students expressed their anger in various ways. But the final year students declined to mention names of their classmates who were involved.

Some of them were seen discussing the event however shied away from answering questions, saying their association president, one Okezie, should tell the world what happened, not they.[/b]Visitors to the event also witnessed the show of shame. The Aba North Chairman was said to have tried to placate the hoodlums whose identity were named by the sources.

Genesis of the problem is suspected to be the fall out of a fellow cultist said to have lost out in an election of the Law association, LAWSAW held last year.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/30962/43/

;d ;d

http://www.igbonews.co.uk/html/okija2.html#500-okija
500 Okija victims recount ordeal
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Okija Shrines Priests Confess
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Okija Invasion, Deliverance for Nigerians
God Intervened in Okija, Says Cleric
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Raid on shrines: Police recover 50 corpses, 20 skulls
INSIDE HORROR SHRINE- Inside Okija horror shrine
Police uncover 10 fresh shrines, Ohanaeze scribe slams raid
Okija Shrine of Death- HOW WE GET HUMAN SKULLS-Chief priest
In Okija, The Gods Are To Blame For Killings
Wabara: Why Are Igbo Forests Not For Tourism?
More corpses recovered

Ekiti community denies complicity in corps member’s disappearance     14/3/2009
     

Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-ekiti

The[b] people of Ilawe-Ekiti, the headquarters of Ekiti South West Local Government Area of Ekiti State, have denied complicity in the disappearance of a youth corps member who served in the community, Miss Antonia Amarachi Okeke.
Okeke, who served as the Corps Liaison Officer (CLO) in the local government area was last seen on December 19, 2008, year when she was reportedly conveyed to Ado-Ekiti by a commercial motorcyclist (okada), Theophilus Pius, to board a vehicle to her native Enugu State. [/b] Pius, who is of Igbo extraction like Okeke, is being detained at the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) of the state Police Command alongside an Ado-Ekiti-based muslim cleric whose names appear on the documents of the motorcycle used to convey Okeke on the said date.

But the publication of the story is causing ripples in the Ilawe-Ekiti community which is unhappy with the damage the report had done to the image of the of the town, especially with the threat by the authorities of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to stop posting corps members to the community.

The community maintained that it has a reputation of being hospitable and cooperative towards corps members, saying holding the community liable for Okeke’s disappearance is a disservice to both the community and the corpers which is capable of sending wrong signals to the outside world. Addressing a news conference on yesterday at the palace of the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adeyemi Ademileka, the umbrella body of Ilawe indigenes, the Ilawe Improvement Union (IPU), absolved the community of blame over the mysterious disappearance of the corper.

The national president of the IPU, Chief Lawrence Egunjobi, said the Alawe and the traditional council of the community are very much concerned about the missing corper, maintaining that the good name of Ilawe is being dragged in the mud over the issue.

Egunjobi said while the people of the town sympathise with the family of the missing corper and the NYSC authorities over the development, the Ilawe community should not be held responsible for her disappearance as the "girl did not get lost within the community but outside the community." The community leader told newsmen that preliminary investigation revealed that the motorcyclist dropped Okeke at a location in Ado-Ekiti where she could get transport to Enugu to celebrate Christmas and New Year festivities but it was reported through her colleagues that she did not reach Enugu, neither did she return to Ilawe.

Egunjobi said: "This report led the Police to start investigating the matter; both the motorcyclist who picked the missing corper from Ilawe to Ado and his wife were arrested for interrogation and statements, and both are still with the Police.

             


http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=79572

Monday, May 26, 2008
OSU - THE IGBO UNTOUCHABLES!

For a preamble and for the benefit of those visitors without the necessary background knowledge of the subject here discussed, OSU, like the “Dalits” of India is a caste system in the Igbo speaking areas of South Eastern Nigeria, Africa. [b]OSU are people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure and less human. According to legend, OSU came into being as a result of human sacrifice to the gods wherein a person usually a slave or a war-spoil, instead of being physically killed as a sacrifice to the gods is spared the butcher’s knife and instead dedicated symbolically to the deity as its’ property. The implication therefore is that such a person breathes and exists for the deity and none other; and assumes the stature of a lesser human who has been sacrificed as an offal to the gods. Regrettably these human-sacrifices married and procreated thus transferring unto their descendants the stigma of their “burnt-offering” status; which also make them properties of the gods that their forebears were sacrificed to. The downside is that these “people” because of their very lowly and sometimes “non-existent” status in the society are forced to reconcile their fate to the worthless and basest of a given Igbo society; wherein they found themselves and nobody seriously speaking, wants any association with them be it marriage, neighborhood, business and/or other associations that brings people together. One who is a free born cannot marry the lowly caste OSU and vice-versa. An OSU cannot also aspire to be a high chief or ruler/king in the society wherein they are born. This practice is prevalent within the Igbo society and its denial sometimes is for public relations purposes only. Several legislation have been targeted at this practice which so many have come to regard as inhuman practice aka man’s inhumanity to man; but is the OSU really man or human in the eye of the Igbo society wherein the practice thrives to date?
This blogger remembers quite vividly [/b] too, a traditional ruler (king) who wanted to outlaw the OSU practice. He summoned his Igwe - in- council (cabinet) for a parley wherein he intimated them of his intentions. According to the story, this Chief informed his council that he plans to outlaw the practice of OSU in his domain. After he finished speaking, one of the elders in the council raised his hand for recognition to speak or contribute to the deliberation. He was granted the floor to speak and all he did was ask the Chief if he would, as a show of goodwill allow his daughter to be married away to an OSU. The Chief was livid with anger and demanded to know where from the speaker got his audacity to speak on the subject as it appertains to his princess. And this was the last bus stop for the proposed legislation in the Igwe-n-councilThe irony for victims of OSU practice is that no amount of wealth they may acquire is ever enough to wash them off this stigma. Also their rise in the society of their ancestry is always stunted forcing most of them to take a long hard refuge in a foreign soil where they sometimes live out the rest of their lives agonizing of this fate; which though not self-inflicted but a result of generational apron string, are yoked down irrevocably to the tabooed status of being an OSU. It is such a very painful experience to undergo and no one should wish that - being an OSU on his worst enemy, indeed!
This blogger also knows one prominent well to do family who were living happily until one of the daughters decided to marry. She fell in love with this young medical doctor practicing in New York City – they moved in together and within nine months had a baby. Then the traditional marriage rites started in earnest wherein the man sent words to his family still in Nigeria to proceed with formalizing their relationship. Wherein it was discovered that the bride came from an OSU family and this was no brainier; so the child notwithstanding, the marriage or jactitation or semblance thereto has to be terminated [/b] forthwith because the father of the groom was a politician who would not want any taint whatsoever, of an OSU, as a daughter in-law. The girl moved to the west coast with her daughter and presently lives in southern California as a single mother. The groom has since re-married but the girl has not been that lucky as all the men who came around always jumps the ship as soon as the story of her ancestry reached their ears.

In an article written by one Mr. Leo Igwe and published on April 24th, 2008 in http://www.politicalcortex.com/ titled “CONFRONTING THE OSU PROBLEM IN NIGERIA”, [b][b]OSU caste was succinctly stated as affecting millions of people in Igbo land; who live with this OSU stigma which haunts, hurts and hamper their lives, self-esteem and development till death. According to this writer, the OSU status is permanent, irremediable and irreversible. Further that some Christian churches have preached against the Osu practice but these sermons have fallen on deaf ears and have not in any way positive impacted on this despicable practice. It is so ingrained in the Igbo society that even some of these churches have acquiesced with the practitioners of this [b]OSU and are now practicing it in some fashion; wherein some free-born are indulged their habit of avoiding sitting near with or holding hands with those alleged to be OSU during church services. And during thanksgiving ceremony for instance, according to some reports, sometimes the harvests or offering of the OSU are kept separate from that of the freeborn.[/b]Continuing, the author stated that OSU is of a permanent social disability wherein the OSUS are perceived and regarded as unclean and capable of defiling the free-born. As a consequence of this their very low ebb in the society, the Diala (free-born) relate with OSU as a master relates with a slave or as a healthy person interacts with a leper in order to avoid any social defilement and contamination by an OSU through untoward and/or unsanctioned interaction. An OSU is not allowed to marry or be married from the community of free born and such OSU can only marry a fellow OSU from their own society of OSUS or elsewhere, where they are not identified as such or outside the Igbo tribe. However their offspring remains OSU ad infinitum. OSU brings a generational curse or stigma along with it; and nothing ever washes it away since it is a genetic or hereditary infection which is passed unto offspring after offspring.
OSU are still hated, despised [/b] and discriminated against through out practicing areas in Igbo land. It cannot easily be wished away and no amount of money or material acquisition can otherwise dilute the stigma to an acceptability level. Some unforeseen necessary consequences of this social ostracizing in Igbo land is that many development projects have been abandoned because the community will not accept donations from OSU who sometimes are the wealthiest in the society; many marriages have also been dissolved after it was discovered that a party thereto is an OSU because it is an abomination to have an OSU as an in-law and where pregnancy has resulted, many of such pregnancies have also been terminated just to avoid the transmutation of this social virus down the family tree.
What exactly is the solution to this nefarious social quarantine of a group of citizens simply because of the ancestry of their birth defies every logical fix. There has been several legislative attempts to just legislate it away; but such ingrained-social practice has defied such effort at reformation. It has thrived for so long that to certain degree, it now forms part of the societal bedrock. Even the gov[/b]ernment championing the reformation is populated with citizens who half-heartedly push it because they silently wish it does not go away. More so, they will not do what it takes to make these untouchables acceptable by allowing their own sons and daughters to show good leadership by example through marriage to these sub-human citizens aka OSU . All the monies in the world cannot also wash this social leprosy away and such an unfortunate pedigreed “person” is bogged down in the quagmire of a caste system which he or she accidentally and by virtue of birth found him/herself in.
There is no known clear pathway forward towards absorbing or at least tolerating these lowly-births within the Igbo society. Various opinions exists as to the way forward, which Mr. Leo Igwe described as “three schools of thought representing three different dispositions on the issue”. These schools he further categorized into “the denialist, the apathetic and the realist”. According to Mr. Igwe, the denialist claims that the OSU caste system has been abolished and that it is no longer practiced in Igboland. Coincidentally majority of this school of thought members come from the OSU constituency itself and these are people who would rather wish the practice quietly goes away; and currently live in a state of euphoric hysteria where the practice no longer existed. But to successfully champion the believe of this school of thought, in view of the prevalent practices in Igbo land regarding OSU caste, one has to suspend disbelieve itself. Unfortunately this is not the true position as even the law, purportedly abolishing the OSU caste system, has been merely a paper tiger which has no plausible way of meaningful enforcement[/b]. The intent of the legislation has not been met as it has not primarily stopped people from discriminating against OSU. The “denialists” therefore are not helping the matter at all as they are delusional as to the actuality of existence of OSU caste and hence their position is deceptive and misleading and would not in any way help in eradicating this obnoxious custom.[/b]Further the “apathetic” tells us to ignore the practice and pretend as if it does not exist. They acknowledge its existence but would rather it is not given much weight if any - they adopted this indifferent attitude because they find the practice very embarrassing to be occupying the front pages of discussion in Igbo land. According to this group of postulators, if the OSU system is ignored by all and for so long, it may die off without the need to make it remain very radioactive with its continuous discussion among the populace. For them, the OSU practice should be ignored so that it would fizzle out on its own. But they forgot that there has not been any case in history where oppressive traditions just fizzled out that way. In most cases they are consciously and conscientiously fought, rooted out and defeated. Was it apartheid in South Africa, slavery and racism in United States of America, independence for [b]colonized countries of the world, military dictatorships etc such vicious practices were confronted head-on before they would yield way for a more harmonious society. Should that be the case with the OSU caste system and whether it will work is debatable. [b]The apathetic disposition is cowardly and would not in anyway help in combating this vicious OSU caste system of man’s inhumanity to man which practice has transcended several generations cutting across multiple traditional tenets in Igbo land.
Then enters the the “realist” who acknowledges the existence of OSU practice in Igbo land but admits its complexity; they posit that it would require a lot of hard-work, time, education, reorientation, social, political, and cultural will-power to finally put an end to the practice.
However, this school of realist is the nearest best articulation of the general situation in Igbo land that OSU caste system is very much alive. OSU caste system, it must be admitted is evil, primitive, inhuman and barbaric and hence must be done away with in order for a really modern, homogeneous, enlightened, harmonised and civilized society to truly emerge in Igbo land; and there is no better time to do it than in the present 21st century - the time to do that is NOW [/b] )

Don’t tarnish Igbo image, Achuzia insists
•As Igwe Nwokedi justifies raid, condemns patrons
By Gabriel Enogholase, Enugu

Amidst criticisms that greeted his response to the raid on Okija shrine, Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Col. Joe Achuzia (rtd) on Wednesday maintained his earlier position that the raid should not be used to tarnish the image of the Igbo race, even as erstwhile Chairman of Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Alex Nwokedi justified the raid and lashed out at prominent Nigerians who patronize the shrines.

Achuzia while reacting to the unsigned statement allegedly issued by the pan-Igbo cultural organization disowning his earlier statement on the matter, told newsmen in a telephone interview, that his earlier position on the issue was unshakeable, stating that Igbos should not be singled out for castigation over the presence or worship of shrines like those found in Okija, Anambra State.

He explained that his position was that there are similar shrines all over Nigeria and all of them should be given similar treatment by the Nigeria Police, stressing that the handling of the Okija shrine raid had portrayed the entire Igbo race as cannibals and idol worshippers. "As far as I am concerned, I am not interested in what happened, but they should not make it an Igbo issue because there are similar shrines in every state in Nigeria and should be accorded the same treatment. I am not defending whatever the chief priests and the worshippers did, but people should not say it is peculiar to Ndigbo," Achuzia said.

The former Biafrian warlord stated that his position was being twisted and misinterpreted by those who did not really understand his stance on the issue. Asked to react to the reports that Ohaneze disowned his comment on the shrine raid, Achuzia retorted: "I am not interested; all I have said is that this thing should not be made an Igbo issue, there should be a limit to everything."

However, Igwe Nwokedi who is the traditional ruler of Achalla community in Anambra State, blamed prominent Nigerians for the prevalence of idolatry in the country, saying that if such people do not patronize the shrines, the operators would not engage in such practices.

He challenged the Inspector General of Police to release names of prominent Nigerians associated with the Okija shrines, stating that the measure would help stop people from engaging in such ungodly practices.

"You don't blame the priest or the worshippers of the shrine. We should blame the elite, the educated and prominent people amongst us who go there. Are we not ashamed of ourselves? Anybody who had been there should be ashamed of himself. What is the point that on Sunday we go to church and on Monday we go to shrine and swear. What point are we making", he said. He added that he was in support of the police raid, saying since human lives were involved there was nothing wrong in police raiding the area to prevent further destruction of lives as well as bringing the culprits to book.

SEVERAL more human corpses and body parts were recovered from the horror shrines in Okija, Anambra State weekend by the special police homicide squad, which said that the shrines were part of an elaborate fraud racket.

A [b]police assault team on mop-up operation, raided a total of 11 shrines in the Okija area in Ihiala local government last Friday, and recovered corpses, body parts and artefacts. Police chief, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu however, declined to disclose the actual number of bodies recovered in the follow-up raids.

Friday’s raids were under taken by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) of the Anambra State police command, reinforced by crack detectives pesonally dispatched to the crime scene by police Inspector General, Mr. Tafa Balogun. The detectives are to take over police investigation into the shrines in which 50 fresh corpses and 20 human skulls were recovered on Wednesday.

Also recovered in Friday’s raids were a live monkey, two vehicles, Volvo Salon car and a lorry – while two brothers, Okonjo and Bartholomew Ndukwu, earlier identified as robbery suspects, narrowly escaped arrest.

According to state Police Commissioner, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, the suspects so far arrested are fraudsters.

Apparently, police are working on the theory that the shrines are at the centre of an elaborate fraud and protection racket.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN); "They (suspects) are petty fraudsters who put fear into peoples’ minds".

Mr. Ogbaudu called for calm urging the people not to entertain any fear of super-natural reprisal insisting that those who fled should return to their homes.

He reported that feedback from residents of the area indicated general relief at the exposure of the shrines which were identified with bondage.

Police are also on the trail of the Ndukwu brothers and several other suspects linked to the shrines, believed to number 14 in the Okija area.[/b]Human Rights body, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) had earlier alleged that the shrines were used for fraud and sponsored by political figures.

"From reports received so far, some of the villagers in Okija are happy with the operations, because it has relieved them from an age-long bondage" said Mr. Ogbaudu.

A victim of one of the shrines, Chief Christopher Ekwenibe has commended the command for doing a good job.

Ekwenibe, who visited Ogbaudu at the command’s headquarters Awka, said he was summoned to appear before one of the shrines about four years ago.

"I refused to honour the invitation, because I did not believe in it. I am happy this has ended, because activities of the shrine had become ridiculous to our people," he said.

A former chairman of Nnewi-South local government council in Anambra State, Mr. Romanus Okoli also enthused over the raids.

Okoli said the police should be commended for making the discovery, because activities at the forest (shrines) had been thriving for a long time and threatening the people.

"That forest needs to be delivered, because the people have been in bondage and coerced to go and worship the deities, Okoli, a pastor added.

Meanwhile, the Delta State police command said it arrested a 38-year-old man, Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, for a alleged human trafficking and forced labour.

The state commissioner of police, Mr. Charles Akaya, said in a statement that Okonkwo and his accomplice, Christopher Okwuesoeze, was the driver of a Mercedes Benz mini bus with registration number XC 654 UWN, which conveyed the children.

According to the statement, Okonkwo also claimed that the children were on holiday.

The police in on Wednesday uncovered 20 human skulls and 50 decomposing corpses, in two shrines in Okija.

Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, Anambra State Commissioner of Police acting on a tip off, had dispatched some 80 members of the special anti-robbery squad headed by Mr. Gabriel Haruna, to the shrine located in Ogwugwu Okija in Ihiala council area of the state. The development culminated in the discovery of the human skulls and corpses, allegedly sacrificed to appease the numerous deities in Okija as claimed by the son of the chief priest, Mr. Osita Ndukwu of Umuhu Okija.
By weekend, there were indications that many more suspects involved in the dastardly act would be apprehended.

But Mr. Chukwumezie Obed Igwe, who reported the fetish activities by the shrine operatives the discovery is a plus for the people of the area and advent believed liberty for his people; who had been subjected to the devilish pastime over the years.

"I am happy because I have been able to expose this barbaric practice and set our people and children unborn free," he declared triumphantly.
Source: Daily Champion.

,

Osu caste system in Igboland
Contributed by Victor Dike
Wednesday, 28 March 2009
There are many versions of oral information on the origins of the Osu caste system. In the absence of documented
[b]information, oral sources are central to the study of history in Igboland and other parts of Nigeria. There is a paucity of
written information on the issue of the Osu caste system. This is apparently because many people shy away from
discussing the issue for fear of being branded Osu lovers. However, available little documented information show that the
Osu caste system started out of the indigenous religious practices of the Igbos. And the belief was that these gods could
be manipulated in order to protect them and serve their interest.
by Victor Dike

THE Igbos are found mostly in the South Eastern and South Central Nigeria called Igboland or Igbo society (Alaigbo or
Anaigbo). By the late 20th Century the population of the Igbos was about 27 million. The majority of the Igbos are
Christians, but some of them practice the indigenous traditional religion, whose major tenets are shared by all Igbospeaking
people of

Nigeria

. However, a relic of the indigenous religious practice of the Igbos is the dehumanizing Osu caste system, which has
divided and alienated the Igbos.

Therefore, this paper discusses the Osu caste system, an indigenous religious belief system, practiced within the Igbo
nation, with the purpose of bringing the discriminatory, dehumanizing and obnoxious caste system to the attention of the
international community. This is because whenever issues of discriminatory practices around the world are tabled for
discussion in the international community, the repugnant and discriminatory Osu caste system is never mentioned.

The Osu, by definition, is a people sacrificed to the gods in Igbo community. And they assist the high priest of the
traditional religion to serve the deities or the gods in their shrine. It is the belief of many Igbo traditionalists that the
deities, which were (and are still) perceived in some quarters as being very powerful, would wreck havoc in the society, if
they are not appeased.

In some special circumstances, those who hold the traditional beliefs of the Igbos could transform a Diala who committed
certain atrocities against the land into an Osu. This process involved intricate rituals (offering of libations and sacrificing
animals to the earth goddess). Some of the ancestors of the present-day Osu people inherited their dehumanizing social
status this way. That method is now a thing of the old; Western influence has affected this practice. Presently, one could
acquire the Osu status through inheritance and marriage.

For this author, the Osu caste system is a societal institution borne out of a primitive traditional belief system colored by
superstition and propagated by ignorance. It is absurd to categorize a human as a sub-human being. Although this
author is not a member of the group, he condemns the practice of the Osu caste system because it is a human rights
aberration.

The Osu caste system, which is a form of discrimination, has caused inter-communal discords and wars between the
Osu and the Diala in Igboland. And many lives and properties have been destroyed as a result.

According to the United Nations definition, discrimination includes any conduct based on a distinction made on grounds
of natural or social categories, which have no relation either to individual capacities or merits, or to the concrete behavior
of the individual person.

The discriminatory Osu practices involves inequality in freedom of movement and choice of residence, inequality in the
right of peaceful association, inequality in the enjoyment of the right to marry and establish a family, (and) inequality in
The Nigerian Village Square
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access to public office. That is the crux of the matter with the Osu caste system in Igboland. If one may ask, could a right
exist if it is not regularly enforced? To put it differently, can a right exist without a specific legislation that provides for its
protection and remedies if violated? Oddly enough, the victims of the Osu system do not have any legal recourse in
Igboland. And strangely, some people believe that the humiliating Osu caste system is a part of the Igbo culture nobody
should temper with. Fortunately, many Igbos have a contrary opinion.

The Osu caste system and the indigenous religious practices of the Igbo nation. All human beings are created equal, but
human experiences are heterogeneous. Some people have had it rough all their lives on earth, while others do not have
a lot to complain about. Naturally, life has the same meaning for everyone, but the Osu caste system in Igboland seems
to have changed the meaning of life for a group of people branded Osu. No historical question gives the Igbos more
concern than that of, “How did the Osu caste system come to be in Igboland?” This section of the paper attempts to deal
with the question.

There are many versions of oral information on the origins of the Osu caste system. In the absence of documented
information, oral sources are central to the study of history in Igboland and other parts of

Nigeria

. There is a paucity of written information on the issue of the Osu caste system. This is apparently because many people
shy away from discussing the issue for fear of being branded Osu lovers. However, available little documented
information show that the Osu caste system started out of the indigenous religious practices of the Igbos.

And the belief was that these gods could be manipulated in order to protect them and serve their interest.

An individual’s fortunes are determined by the by-product of interactions that exist between one’s “chi”, the deities and the
Creator or “Chineke”. Humans interact directly with deities, which function as intermediaries to the Supreme Spirit or
Creator. Being in good terms with powerful deities in one’s domain is an assurance that one is likely to obtain the
largesse of creation while, at same time, minimize the wrath of the forces of nature. It is an individual’s obligation to
observe the customs of the land since their violation could offend the deities; and goodwill and protection from the deities
depends on one’s cordial relationship with them.

The people of Umuaka community in

Imo State

,

Nigeria

, categorize one of their ten villages Osu. Other minor lower caste groups found in many kindred are given the pejorative
Igbo expression of ndi ejiri goro ihe, meaning those who are sacrificial lamb to the gods. They are slaves to the gods of
the community and kindred. As is the case in Umuode in Oruku community, the discrimination of the Diala against the
Osu in Umuaka affects marriage and relationships of love with the Osu and the rest of the community. The Diala is
traditionally and socially abhorred and forbidden to marry an Osu; intermarriage with Osu is an abomination.

In the late 1980s, the Osu people in Umuaka revolted, as they could not take the humiliation from the Diala any more.
They physically assaulted a couple of women from the Diala section of the community, with the intention of transforming
the women to Osu so that the Diala would reject them. [/b]

Kwara donates .2million to people living with HIV/AIDS
Kwara State Government has empowered members of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the state with N200,000.00. Deputy Governor of the state, Chief Joel Afolabi Ogundeji who gave out the money said government was committed towards making life meaningful for them, adding that the empowerment would enable them apply the skills they learnt during a two-day skill acquisition programme organized for them.

100 members of the PLWHA benefited from the empowerment with N20,000.00 each. Speaking, the project manager, Dr Oyeniyi said that the state government organized the two-day skill acquisition workshop for the people to make them self-reliant.

Responding on behalf of others, Miss Funmi Peter from Isin Local Government Area commended the state government for the concern for them. She said what the state government had done demonstrated its commitment towards alleviating the suffering of the people.
http://www.kwarastate.gov.ng/news-archive/kwara-donates-.2million-to-people-living-with-hiv-aids.html

Woman dupes job seekers of N6.2m

By Olalekan Adetayo

A 38-year-old woman, Linda Sanni, is currently in police custody for allegedly duping over 150 desperate job seekers of about N6.2m.


Sanni, a resident of Daniel Close, Alagbado, a suburb of Lagos, reportedly posed as a recruiting agent of an American airline which she claimed would soon commence operation in Nigeria and was in need of cabin crew.

She reportedly engaged the services of four of her friends who visited public places, especially churches located around Aguda in Surulere, to urge job seekers to apply.

Each of the job seekers who besieged her office, Eagle Air Travels and Tours, located inside Aguda Market, was made to pay N41, 000 and deposit their international passport and four passport photographs.

Sanni claimed that the money was meant to cover the applicants' local training at a firm in Ikeja as well as their foreign training in South Africa.

She said she opened the office in 2008 when she left the airline she was working for as a result of her employer's inability to pay salaries.

She said she had spent part of the proceeds from the deal to buy a Sport Utility Vehicle and a Golf car.

The mother of two is currently being detained at Aguda Police Station, Surulere, after one of her victims reported her to the police.

One of the victims who spoke with our correspondent said the suspect cashed in on his desperation to get a job as a fresh graduate.

He said he could not doubt the authenticity of the offer because the announcement was made in the church.

"It is an unpleasant experience. It was not even easy to raise the N41,000 she demanded from me," the victim who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent.

The Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, said the command was working with the suspect to recover some of the money with a view to refunding the victims.

Uwechue Should Resign As Ohaneze President, He Does Not Speak For Anioma - Ofili

Sun Mar, 08 2009


Sunny Ofili, a United States-based Nigerian public affairs analyst from Issele Azagba in Delta State, is also the publisher of Thetimesofnigeria.com, an e-zine (online publication).

In this interview with Deputy Editor (Saturday), CHARLES OKOGENE, Ofili, who was in Nigeria last month, speaks on the emergence of Chief Ralph Uwechue, a fellow Deltan, as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, saying that the Anioma people of Delta State stand to benefit nothing from Uwechue's headship of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization

What exactly do you make of the recent election of your kinsman, Chief Ralph Uwechue, as the president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo?

Ordinarily, I should not be discussing Ohanaeze issues; I am an Anioma man from Isele Azagba in Delta State and so, I really have no reason discussing Ohanaeze election. But for the fact that one of our own son, Chief Ralph Uwechue, was elected as the leader of the association, I look at it this way: we are Anioma, we have our own association and I really don't see the need for an Anioma person to be heading Ohanaeze. I think it is completely self-serving.

Uwechue is an experienced diplomat. I applaud all the work he has done for himself and for our people, but I believe that he should really be at the vanguard of helping to organise Anioma people to become stronger as a unit rather than getting involved in Igbo politics, which we really should have no business getting ourselves involved in. We had an Anioma son, Joe Achuzie, who was the secretary general; what did we benefit for that? Anioma is Anioma; we are different from the Igbo from the (South) East. Of course, we have some linkages, but to the best of my knowledge, his headship of the association is completely self-serving and I don't think Anioma people will derive any benefit for that.

Are you aligning with those who believe that the Igbo-speaking Deltans are not Igbo?

Absolutely not; I believe, just like Col. Mike Okwechime said in a recent interviews he granted, that Anioma people are one united people and that we are culturally and traditionally different from the Igbo from the East. Our traditions contrast quite sharply. Most Anioma indigenes trace their origins back to Benin Kingdom or Igala or some other areas. Granted that there are some pockets of communities in Anioma area that trace their root to the East, but that does not make the whole of Anioma East. For instance, the Ezechima clan that I belong to, we trace our origin to Benin, our culture is similar to that of Benin people; our burial rites and even our chieftaincy titles are borrowed from Benin Kingdom, and that is not by happenstance. It is based on the culture that was passed down, based on historical linkages, and to disregard that and want to wish that away and to think that because we speak Igbo language and that language alone should supersede all other peculiar attributes of the people of Anioma in terms of culture. If you walk round the whole of Delta, you will find that Anioma people do have a lot in common in terms of culture with other ethnic groups in the state. I want to believe that Anioma is culturally distinct from the Igbo across the Niger. The Ika trace their root to Benin; Ndokwa people trace theirs to Urhobo. Others trace theirs to multiple places, like Asaba people who trace theirs to Igala, East and all that. It is just a selfish ambition to align the Anioma with Ohanaeze. We have Onu Anioma which represents Anioma people, an association which I believe we should work to build as a single voice that speaks for us, instead of having us enmeshed in something we know nothing about, which is Ohanaeze.

You said Ohanaeze has not benefited Anioma people in any way, even during the tenure of Col. Joe Achuzie, as the secretary-general; what exactly do you expect Anioma people to benefit from Ohanaeze which you felt was denied them?

I will be honest with you; I never expected Anioma to gain anything from Achuzie's leadership role in Ohanaeze because just as I have described Uwechue's headship of the organisation as self-serving, ditto for that of Achuzie. This is because after the civil war, there has always been this dichotomy between the Igbo of the East and the Anioma. To them (South Easterners), we have always been Igbo of convenience; when it is convenient for them, we are brothers, we are Igbo. But when it is time for Anioma person to get political appointment at the national level of Igbo platform, they feel Anioma person does not represent them; they say that is Bendel Igbo slot, that it's not their slot.

They have never seen us as an integral part of them and I rightly think so too. We are distinct people, just like other minorities in the country. I don't see the need for us to become an appendage of Ohanaeze.

Your position seems to align with the position of some people with Ohanaeze, who initially kicked against the decision for an Ohanaeze president-general from Anioma. On that premise, are you calling for Uwechue's resignation?

I am calling on Uwechue to relinquish that position, come back home and help build a virile and strong Onu Anioma that would speak for our people, represent our people and be accountable to our people. Uwechue is wasting his time; no one will take him serious in Ohanaeze. The Eastern governors will not take him serious because they know it's a token to him to know if he can draw Anioma across the Niger, but there is no reason for that. That is why I keep saying that it is self-centred and I agree completely with those who kicked against Uwechue or by extension Anioma people's headship of the organisation because he is not one of them.

If he had actually sat down to look at what he was getting himself, and by implication Anioma people, into, he would have realised that Ohanaeze is for the Igbo of the East. In Anioma, there is need to build one strong association instead of the mushroom associations that we have now that claim to speak for us. There is no way Ohanaeze would speak for Anioma; there is no way Ohanaeze would fight for our interest; it will first fight for the interest of the Igbo from the East. Ohanaeze is fighting for the creation of Wawa State and all kinds of other states in the East, but not fighting for the creation of Anioma State, though we do not want them to do that.

The election of Chief Ralph Uwechue as Ohanaeze president is tokenism meant to ensnare our people. It is a political gimmick to divide the Anioma people, but it is bound to fail because no effort, regardless of its source, can change that fact that our people are smart, culturally rich and intelligent. Therefore, we cannot fall prey to such attempt to make us an appendage of another group. We are Anioma and any attempt to reclassify us by any group is an exercise in futility. I advise Chief Uwechue to return the poisoned gift and join hands with other Anioma leaders in building a strong united Anioma voice because therein lies our strength and the future.

My question to Chief Uwechue is: how many Anioma people did he consult before accepting this position? From the comments I have read so far in the media and speaking with my people, it is obvious that he is an abysmal minority in his position.

You said South East governors would not take him serious. Can we say that is the reason some of them, reportedly, are secretly stoking the crisis rocking the association under his headship?

Absolutely! Number one, Ralph Uwechue is a complete outsider, not accepted by the governors, and he would not be accepted because he is not an insider - culturally and politically. Our votes do not count in the South East; they count in the South South. So Uwechue will not serve the interest of South East governors because he cannot tell Delta politicians where to cast their votes at the national level; he does not have that power and so, of what use is he to them. If care is not taken, his headship will lead to the eventual disintegration of that organisation, though it has been a shaky group ever since and we do not want an Anioma person to be drawn into that.

But Uwechue is not the only person from Anioma that has identified with Ohanaeze; the likes of Pat Utomi also do,

(Cuts in)[b] Like I have said and I will repeat, there are very few Anioma communities, especially in Oshimili, that trace their origins to the East and Ibusa (Igbodinuzo) is one of them. So for that, I see why a personality like Utomi will align with Uwechue if ever he does. Some people in Ogwashi-Uku do trace their origin to the East while some to Benin. So it is possible that Uwechue traces his origin to the East. I am not saying that there is no group that traces its origin to the East, but they are in the minority.

Are you in agreement with those demanding for the creation of Anioma State, which have said we do not really need that, but the governorship of Delta State?

First, it is wrong to say that we do not need Anioma State or to just dismiss those demanding for it. We don't create resources in Nigeria; we only share resources and it is shared on state basis. If the federal government and the National Assembly decide to create states and one of them becomes Anioma, I am all for that, but my position is that there is no reason for any Anioma indigene to be actively fighting or deploying resources into state creation. We already have a state with capital in Asaba. We are living well with our neighbours. The political arrangement there could be better. We are not marginalised.

I want to challenge any one who still believe that development is not evenly spread to go to Asaba and see what is happening in Asaba. For the first time, a state is building an international standard airport that would be completed December this year. That is being done by Uduaghan's government.

Again, the government has plan to build a technology plant in Asaba and so, for those who hold that view, I urge them to reconsider, go to Delta State, go to Asaba, go to Warri, go to other communities, go to Agbor because those who hold this view are always saying that Warri is more developed than Asaba. Well, Warri has always been more developed than Asaba. Warri has always been an industrial city before the creation of the state, so it takes time. Right now, Asaba compares with any state capital of its group. We really have to applaud the development of the present administration.[/b]

First Published by Sunday Independent on March 08, 2009.

;d ;d

Wicked mum: Slaughters own seven-month-old baby
From MATTHIAS NWOGU, Umuahia
Thursday, March 12, 2009


The serene village of Nchara Oloko, Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State was thrown into confusion recently as a woman slit the throat of her seven-month-old son and dumped him in the house of her lover in protest.

The 32-year-old mother, Mrs Amarachi Ajagba has five other children possibly from a previous marriage before giving birth to the one she slaughtered, claiming that she did so to protest her abandonment by her lover to solely take care of the baby.
It was gathered that the lover, Mr Ibeabuchi Ememandu, a commercial motorcyclist had a fling with her, which resulted in pregnancy. He consequently accepted responsibility, but did not cater for the baby.

Amarachi who took care of the baby for seven months allegedly got fed up on the fateful day and felt she could no longer bear the burden alone. She therefore took the fatal decision, slaughtered the baby, took him in her wrapper and dumped the corpse in his lover’s house. Mr Soji Alabi, Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abia State Command where the incident was first reported said the woman confessed that she carried out the heartless act in the residence of a pastor in one of the pentecostal churches in the area, using his kitchen knife.
His words, “A confessional statement made by the woman indicated that Mr Ememandu refused to take care of her and the baby hence her action.

However, Mr Ememandu denied abandoning the baby and the woman, saying he “never failed to take care of her during and after the birth of the child” and wondered why she should take such an extreme action of terminating the life of the baby who was already seven months old.

Another riddle in the episode is that there were no bloodstains on the boy and the wrapper with which she brought the corpse to the lover’s house, raising suspicion on the whereabouts of the innocent child’s blood.
The lover, who reported the incident to the NSCDC said it was his sister who alerted him to the corpse dumped in his house.

Meanwhile, the NSCDC has transferred the matter on the Abia State Police Command Umuahia for further investigation, even as the Commandant of the Corps, Dauda D. Mungadi frowned at the growing lack of respect for human life in the state.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/mar/12/national-12-03-2009-06.htm

Pastor arraigned over alleged rape
By Tunde Odesola, Osogbo
Published: Thursday, 12 Mar 2009
A 25-year-old pastor, Dare Awotunde, was arraigned before an Osogbo Magistrate‘s Court on Tuesday over an allegation that he raped a young lady (name withheld), whom he took to a river for deliverance.

According to the charge sheet, the incident occurred on February 16 in Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

The[b] police is prosecuting the pastor on a two-count charge that bordered on rape and indecent assault.

But when the charge was read to the accused, he pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the offence.

The pastor was said to have shaved the pubic hair of the victim after he forcefully had carnal knowleged of the lady by the riverside.

Police prosecutor, Mr. Emmanuel Abdullahi, said the lady was still lying ill at a private hospital in Ila-Orangun, following the injuries she sustained during the incident.[/b][b]Abdullahi added that the pastor took the lady to the riverside when she told him to help her offer prayers to God to get a husband, saying that the pastor took advantage of the lady when he raped her.

Opposing the bail application by the accused, Abdullahi expressed the fear that the suspect might go ahead to perform rituals with the pubic hair of the victim if granted bail.[/b]But the lawyer to the accused, Mr. A. Adeyemo, said the offence was bailable, and urged the court to use its discretion in granting bail to the suspect.

Magistrate Olalekan Ijiyode admitted the suspect to bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties and adjourned the case till April 1.

Thugs attack activist 12/3/2009


National President of the Integrity Youth Movement (IYM) Dr Tayo Komolafe yesterday alleged that he was attacked at about 7.30 am in Ado-Ekiti by thugs.

He said he was returning from a meeting when the assailants attacked him.

He said the suspects who rode in a blue Toyota car, with four occupants, said they were attacking him because the IYM is sympathetic to the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in the re-run.

Komolafe, who was stabbed on the leg and arm, said the IYM would not compromise its stance that the truth must prevail.

He said he was saved by okada riders and residents who mobilised to the scene and forced his attackers to flee.

http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=79450

Ekiti officials withdraw N1b cash in two days    12/3/2009
     

By Dele Adeyanju, Staff Correspondent


[b]About N1billion was withdrawn within two days from the Ekiti State Government’s account with a new generation bank after the Appeal Court verdict ousting former Governor Olusegun Oni, it was learnt yesterday.
The money was moved by top government officials from account number 005600500000578, at the state capital branch of the bank, it was learnt.

The transaction was between February 18 and 19. The Appeal Court removed Oni on February 17.[/b]The purpose of the withdrawal by a Finance official and another was not known yesterday; the bank could not be reached for comments.

Another N1billion, it was learnt was withdrawn from the same account on November 22 and December 19, last year.

[b]Activist lawyer and Ekiti indigene Morakinyo Ogele yesterday challenged the bankers to name the signatories to the account within seven days or risk being reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ogele, the National Coordinator of the Ekiti Democratic Coalition Alliance (EDCA), said every kobo taken from the state treasury would be recovered through legitimate means, urging all those who looted the treasury to return the loot or face the law.[/b]He said EDCA had uncovered what he called a "monumental fraud" allegedly perpetrated by the ousted administration.

Ogele said: "It should be noted that we have been complaining that the looting by the administration is unprecedented in Ekiti State.

"We are calling on the manager of a major bank to furnish the public with the names of signatories to account number 005600500000578 within seven days or risk being reported to EFCC".

On Tuesday, Oni challenged those who petitioned EFCC that he is corrupt to swear to an affidavit to support their allegation.

He said his loss of immunity after the Appeal Court verdict should encourage his critics to substantiate their claim.

Urging the people not to listen to what he called "beer parlour rumours" about the looting of the treasury under him, Oni said:

"The lawyer should also swear to an affidavit that if the allegation is false, he will be ready to go to jail for perjury. Right now, I don’t have immunity and I am not bothered by what they are saying whether they say it is N27 billion or N48 billion."

             


http://www.thenationonlineng.com/dynamicpage.asp?id=79445