₦airaland Forum

YESTERDAY, November 26, 2011, Dim
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the number
one Igbo citizen and a Nigerian patriot said
goodbye to this world after a protracted illness. I
was privileged to accompany Gov. Obi (his 9th
visit) to see him in London on the 25th of
November, on our way to Nigeria from France,
where he accompanied the president to the
meeting of Honorary Investors Council of
Nigeria’s meeting. Our plane hardly touched
ground at 5:30 am when the Governor received a
text message from Ojukwu’s son that the father
had passed on.
He was momentarily lost as he kept shouting Oh
noo ad infinitum. He immediately made some
calls, including to Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca who is in
London. He called his wife, Margaret who was in
France with us, but had to stop in London to
immediately go and stay with Bianca and make
sure everything was in order. Mrs Margaret
Peter-Obi had tried in vain to persuade her
husband to spend the night in London, but the
Governor said that he had so many things to do
in Anambra that he could not afford one minute
of rest.
Turning to me, he told me to call his travel agent
for the next available flight to London for himself,
myself and Emeka, Ojukwu’s son. The agent got
back with the news that British Airways was fully
booked. Thereafter, we went to fetch the son in
town and raced back to the airport for the next
flight to Lagos to catch the Virgin flight to London.
Since only two economy class were available, I
could not make it; Gov. Obi and Emeka did.
While we were in London, Gov. Obi had audience
with the President. After the meeting, he told me
how nice our president is, his concern for the
good of the country and how he showed deep-
rooted concern for Ojukwu. The issue arose
because Obi discussed with him the possibility of
naming the dual carriage road from Head bridge
after Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
He had written to him on that but Mr. President
was of the opinion, and rightly too, that it would
be after the rehabilitation of the road, which is on-
going now. Even while the President spoke to our
people in France, he said that his SSA in Diaspora
(Bianca) would have been in the meeting but for
special permission granted her to appropriately
look after her husband. As all this took place,
nobody knew that death was hovering over him.
But why this unusual reactions to Ojukwu’s
death? The reason is simple, he was a great man.
Shall we sample him?
By the standard of today, his father, Sir Louis
Odumegwu was a Billionaire. With his wealth, he
reared the little but charming Emeka with all the
affection that parents lavish upon their children in
ever y age. He was determined to give him the
best education. Consistent with Sir Louis’ vow,
the child, Emeka, was almost crushed with
education. The first school he attended was St.
Patrick’s Primary School, Idumagbo, Lagos.
There, during break hours, he relished sham
battles in which, time and again, he and his
friends were nearly killed. Because of this, only
few pupils could dare play with him. Later, he
attended Church Missionary Grammar School
(CMS) and King’s College, both in Lagos.
While in King’s College, his father had already
discovered that his child, Emeka, was intellectually
precocious and keen, well endowed with good
judgment and restless with ambition. How best
could a man develop his potentialities? In those
days, as it is today, it helped to attend good
schools. King’s College was in fact, one of the
best secondary schools in Nigeria. Since
education was still developing in the country, Sir
Odumegwu wanted for his son a country where
education has reached advanced stages, for
effective intellectual insemination. It is a fact of
history that when one grows among advanced
people, he is more likely to imbibe their civilization
with great ease. After discussing the idea of a
British education with some of his enlightened
Nigerian friends, they settled for Epsom on the
understanding that at thirteen he would transfer
to Eton, Britain’s most exclusive public school.
As planned, Emeka, 12, was admitted into Epsom
College, in the county of Surrey.
His English education began in earnest. Epsom
thenceforth became a formative ordeal for him in
a strange environment. The college inspired the
talented Emeka with a great love for history. He
came to know and admire English civilization. Like
any child with his disposition, he equally learnt a
great deal of the virtues and vices that go with
growing up,
Emeka later gained admission to Lincoln College,
University of Oxford in 1952. Oxford, as expected,
was full of the frolic of students, the odour of
learning and the excitement of independent
thought. There, his father was anxious that
Emeka should study Law saying, “I think there is
the material of a good lawyer and legal director of
my business in him.”11 This was in line with the
prevalent disposition among Nigerians, where, till
today, fond parents always want their children to
read Law which they regard as an open sesame
to wealth and high social status.
The insistence of the father that Emeka studied
Law was the first serious conflict between father
and son. In filial compromise Emeka took up the
studying of Law; but as a student of Law, the
prospect of studying modern History and
observing the lives of heroes held a secret
fascination for him. At a stage, having studied
Law for a year, he burnt his law books, forgot
Jurisprudence and followed History as if under a
spell.
In 1955 he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.
Back to Nigeria, he soon returned to Oxford to
receive his Master of Arts degree. With all these,
and while in the flower of his maturity, he
inwardly felt satisfied that he was now well
armed with the weapon of education. His desire
to contribute to the development of his country
could now begin. Silently, he resolved to begin in
earnest.
On his return and excited and happy with his
son, Sir Odumegwu took Emeka to a lavishly
furnished office complex, and handed him the
keys. On getting home that day, Emeka had a
vision or something close to that; he was offered
a choice of life of ease, pleasure, plenty and vice,
or one of hardship, danger, glory and virtue. He
followed wise counsel and chose the more
difficult but virtuous life. Thereafter, he rejected
the cosy path cut for him by his father, gave him
back the keys and decided to cut his own path.
This crave for individualism made him join the
Eastern Nigerian Public Service as an
Administrative Officer. Sir Louis was not pleased
at all that his son took what he considered the
ridiculous job of an administrator. Exhausting all
persuasion, the father upbraided the son for
trying to make his family a public jest. Rather
than budge, the son showed ever less interest in
the father’s business, ever more in
administration.
The dust generated by Emeka’s administrative
work had hardly settled down when, in search of
an organization that would escape his father’s
influence, he generated another controversy that
threatened to separate him from his father for
good. He joined the Army! This was in 1957,
when the Nigerian Army was merely a part of an
all-embracing British West African army called the
Royal West African Frontier Forces (RWAFF).
These forces included the armies of Nigeria, Gold
Coast (now Ghana), Sierra-Leone and Gambia.
Thinking the task of bringing his son to his
“senses” had gone beyond him, Sir Odumegwu
enlisted the help of his friends; Zik and others
were contacted. Zik called Emeka and advised that
if he were Emeka, he would accept his father’s
offer and avoid the hazard of joining a brutal
force. Emeka remarked that he would do so if he
were Zik. Being Emeka, he maintained that his
father’s offer would make him perpetually
delineated as Ojukwu.
After the drama of being forced to enter the force
as a recruit, the new Cadet went to Teshie in
Ghana, thenceforth to Officer Cadet School at
Eaton Hall in England,. He later attended Infantry
School at Warminster and Small Arms School at
Hythe and Joint Services Staff College (JSSC) at
Latimer.
In Nigeria, Ojukwu served with the First Battalion,
Kano, before his appointment as an instructor,
Royal West African Frontier Forces Training
School, Teshie, Ghana, 1958-60. Ojukwu
returned to fatherland in 1961 and served as staff
officer in the ‘A’ Branch of the new Nigerian Army
Headquarters in the Defence Ministry building in
Lagos. He had no problems carrying out his
assigned duties. Six months as a Captain, Ojukwu
was promoted to a Major. Because of the respect
Emeka’s father had for the rank of a Major, he
broke the silence with his son and celebrated his
promotion with him. Father and son drank a
bottle of champagne between them as a gesture
of re-union. Very soon he was transferred to
Kaduna as a Staff Officer with the First Brigade.
While there, like his contemporaries, he served
with the United Nations Peace Keeping Forces in
Congo in 1962. Between 1964 – 66, Ojukwu was
the commander of Fifth Battalion, Kano. The
period of his command can be described without
tongue-in-cheek, as the most gruesome time in
the history of Nigeria. While he was in the Fifth
Battalion, the first attempted coup took place. He
did not, like most commanders, abdicate his
command. He opposed the coup and was later
appointed the governor of the Eastern Region.
His tenure as governor portrayed him as a
master in the art of governance, and an eloquent
public speaker. None who heard him speak could
forget the cadence of his speeches, his mellifluous
tones, the eloquence of his words, the geniality of
his spirit, the charm of his courtesy, the vivacity
of his wit, the poetic sensitivity of his mind. Both
in his prepared and impromptu speeches, he
made use of all the faculties he had, natural or
acquired, such that he far surpassed in force and
strength all the orations of his contemporaries. He
has the rare capacity for dramatic poses.
Clenched fist, jutting jaw and theatrical action,
were part of his fiery speeches.
The regime of General Ironsi, which Ojukwu was
part of, tried to save Nigeria within the limits of
their vision and creed. With the death of Ironsi,
an organized pogrom was carried out. An
eyewitness told how orders were given to some
Northern soldiers to kill all Easterners. The terrified
soldiers at first refused to obey the command.
They were however induced to kill a few. The
heat of the murder inflamed them and it passed
into massacre. This spread to the barracks and
Igbo quarters with fluid readiness. Ojukwu and
other concerned Igbos raised horrified protests,
even as soldiers of Northern region congratulated
one another.
Igbos then came to the belief that the security of
the Easterners was in their own hands. The
courage of their leader, Ojukwu, gave dignity and
splendour to their survival cause. Thousands of
onlookers must have been disturbed as millions
of Igbos left the North in a prolonged and
melancholy exodus.
This was the genesis of the civil war crisis. As the
crisis deepened, Ojukwu’s resistance grew, but
Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon wanted to retain him
in the army. In an attempt to placate him, the
prospect of being the Chief of Staff Supreme
Headquarters was dangled before him with
enticing conditions. However, Ojukwu, who
would not support indiscipline, spurned the
dangled carrot. Were he different, he says: “I
would not have chosen to resist Gowon instead
of the easy way of acquiescence chosen by my
colleagues.”
As one of the means of seeking peace, the actors
in that conflict needed a meeting.
Ojukwu knew that his security and that of the
Easterners was not guaranteed. Likewise neither
Gowon nor Lt. Colonel Hassan Katsina was
prepared to go to the East. A compromise would
have been Benin City, the capital of the Mid-
Western region, but for the presence of Northern
soldiers, it was unacceptable to Ojukwu. In sum
then, a meeting could only be held in a neutral
territory that would be willing to host such.
Finally, the meeting was held at Aburi, Ghana,
under the auspices of General Ankrah. The two
warriors and their lieutenants, as expected, flew
off to Ghana well armed with the problems of the
country as if to a decisive battle.
The Aburi meeting was held on the 4th and 5th
of January 1967, at Peduase Lodge, a luxurious
hilltop retreat built by late President Kwameh
Nkrumah. The serenity of the place could bring
wandering souls back to their senses. It was an
ideal place for sober reflection.
At Aburi, for the first time in Nigerian history the
problems of the country were faced honestly and
honest solutions sought. From that bitter
moment, Ojukwu the Administrator receded into
history, and Ojukwu the General, aged 33, turned
his soul to war. He went to war not because he
liked war, but because he had no option. The
problems he faced seemed to have defied a
peaceful solution. After the war, he went to exile
where he stayed for 12 years.
With the end of the war, Ojukwu was granted
political asylum by the Late President of Ivory
Coast, Houphuet Boigny. Thus, from 11 January,
1970, Ojukwu’s exile started. He needed a
secluded place that would be conducive to sober
reflections and contemplation. He needed to be
away from the prying and prancing eyes of
many that sought to see that powerful man of
Biafra. He needed a place that would be
inaccessible to assassins. The search for a good
place finally ended at Yamoussoukoro, which also
houses the Ivorian Summer Palace. Its imposing
Catholic basilica now enhances the pride of the
city. Later, when tension reduced, he moved to
the capital, Abidjan.
After his pardon by the then President, Alhaji
Shehu Shagari, Ojukwu came home on board a
chartered Boeing 727 Nigeria Airways Flight WT
700. Soon after the plane touched down on
Nigerian soil, the welcome song rent the air.
Work at the airport was almost paralysed, as all
airport officials who got wind of his arrival
abandoned their posts for hours to catch a
glimpse of Ojukwu, the returning hero. There
was hardly anybody in the country that had not
the curiosity to come and see the formidable and
indefatigable freedom fighter. There was what
seemed like mass movement of Easterners,
Westerners and Northerners to the airport. The
airport was partly destroyed.

Madrid vs Barcelona.

BARCELONA SQUAD

COACH -UNDERTAKER

GK-Shawn Micheals;

DEF-
John Cena,Kane, TripleH,Randy Orton

M.F-
Batista,Big Show,Rey Mysterio

STRIKER-Kurt
Angle,Jericho,Hulk Hogan.

REAL MADRID SQUAD


COACH- SHWARZENEGAR

GK-Sean Conery

DEF-Dolph
Lundgren,Sylvester Stallone,Bruce Willis,Wesley
Snipes

M.F-VanDamme,Jet Li,Jackie Chan

STRIKER-J.Statham,BruceLee,S.Seagal.



GUESS WHO WINS?

Madrid vs Barcelona.

BARCELONA SQUAD

COACH -UNDERTAKER

GK-Shawn Micheals;

DEF-
John Cena,Kane, TripleH,Randy Orton

M.F-
Batista,Big Show,Rey Mysterio

STRIKER-Kurt
Angle,Jericho,Hulk Hogan.

REAL MADRID SQUAD


COACH- SHWARZENEGAR

GK-Sean Conery

DEF-Dolph
Lundgren,Sylvester Stallone,Bruce Willis,Wesley
Snipes

M.F-VanDamme,Jet Li,Jackie Chan

STRIKER-J.Statham,BruceLee,S.Seagal.



GUESS WHO WINS?

some say is weezy while other claimed is shady

some say is weezy while other claimed is shady

Who is/your nigeria best/king of highlife music dead or alive, please i'll like to know.had argument with somebody over that yesterday

F.u.ck tb josh naija lets go there

@OP juju or magic is real, and for those of you saying that its an illusion better wake up now, in year 2000 i witnessed bullet prove charm (odie eshi) with my koro koro eyes,when real bakassi boys arrested some fake bakassi boys in Awka.they shoot them self with all types of guns and nothing happened, 2003 is witnessed another one magician was entertaining people at Awka.i saw him with my two eyes drank acid,ate bottles,turn pieces of paper to shirt,made some liquid stuffs in bottles cry etc, another was in our schools inter-house sports at g.t.c enugu,where i went to gamble card.the guy turned a white card to red card in front of me, i have also witnessed touch and follow in our school that time, and also rain stopper at achi in enugu state,in a bush bar where a man told me that he can stop the rain which i doubted ,he stopped it, op magic,juju,jazz,witches,wizard,ogbanje are all real

here is the picture

Sorry problem with the upload, having problem uploading the picture

My friend showed me this picture this evening, that this incident happened last week thursday in northern state where boko haram set people ablaze, due to negative things this will bring to the country,federal government decided to hide this from reaching the media houses esp foreign media e.g cnn, my question is this?,How come know one has never heard of this or is it that some media knew but Don.'t wanna talk?

Op make u no provoke me o, i neva want 2 hear that , name again, pls take a closer look at this and tell me if their is any funny thing in missing this precious opportunity.

Nigeria have seen hopes of hosting the African
Cup of Nations in 2013 dashed following the
decision of the Confederation of African Football
(CAF) to allow a swap between Libya and South
Africa for the 2013 and 2017 games.
Last month, the Nigeria Football Federation
challenged CAF to hand it the hosting rights to the
2013 games considering the ongoing civil war in
Libya, since it was placed on standby by the
continental body while announcing the hosting
rights in 2006.
South Africa had made a separate arrangement
with the Libyan federation to take charge of the
games whiles Libya could then host the 2017
tournament instead.
Even though Caf denied knowledge of the
previous agreement between both countries, it
announced on Wednesday that the swap will
now take place.
The continental body also decided that Namibia
would host the 2014 African Women’s
Championship, Niger would host the 2015 Caf
Under-17 Championship, Madagascar the 2017
U-17 Championship and Senegal would host the
2015 U-20 Championship.


continental body also decided that Namibia
would host the 2014 African Women’s
Championship, Niger would host the 2015 Caf
Under-17 Championship, Madagascar the 2017
U-17 Championship and Senegal would host the
2015 U-20 Championship.

where /How can i register cos i Don.'t know their site or is it at the bank? help needed urgently

where /How can i register cos i Don.'t know there site or is it at the bank? help needed urgently

what do not think about the two great misses from these two strikers, to you which one is worst ever miss?

what do not think about the two great misses from these two strikers, to you which one is worst ever miss?

the brother of suspect is my Uery good friend. he just showed me the picture of everything.the suspect (younger brother of my friend) was said to be practicing some evil enchantment, he had 7 books of moses and other occultic things in his room.that my friend ran out of the house 4yrs ago because of that his brother.I will update you guys later

my junior brother's result (waec) was all held. he got his post-ume and Jamb.please what do we do for them to be released, advice needed pleasemy junior brother's result (waec) was all held. he got his post-ume and Jamb.please what do we do for them to be released, advice needed please

Here comes the game

Fanynuts please can you upload the comprehensive pdf file in any of these sites 4shared or plunder please i need it badly to work for my admission. its urgent.anybody that has it please help me

guys wahala dey o.infact i Don.'t know what to say again.44 in computer science what's happening guys

Good job men, keep it up we're behind you men

Good job men, keep it up we're behind you men

Good shot from azeez, abeg they should stop these eeeh of a thing o. well sha 4 mins added time

Bros please check this for me 15780275CF

Nnaemeka which course a you writing?.i'm in the school now.computer science

Sunshine stun JSK in Algiers
30 Jul 2011 13:19:53
Confederation Cup debutants Sunshine Stars of
Nigeria, upset the apple cart on Friday night when
they defeated their more illustrious Algerian
opponents, JS Kabylie 2-1 at the Stade du 5 Juillet
in Algiers.
Playing without three key players in Ibrahim
Ajani, Ukeyima Akombo and cup-tied
Cameroonian midfielder, Medrano Tamen, coach
Gbenga Ogunbote’s men had to claw their way
from a goal down to take all points in this feisty
encounter.
Goals from Sunday Emmanuel and Atanda
Sakibu ensured that the Nigerians kept their 100
per cent start in the competition after the
Algerians had shot into the lead through Salim
Hanifi.
The Algerians got off to a fine start when Lamara
Douicher’s tackle ended a Sunshine Stars’ attack
on 16 minutes that lead to the opening goal.
Saad Tedjar’s shot was blocked in the counter-
attack that resulted into a corner kick from which
Hanifi smashed home on 18 minutes to hand the
hosts a one-goal lead.
JS Kabylie stepped on the brakes after that goal
and nearly got a second when striker Sofiane
Younes was played through on goal with just
Sunshine Stars; goalkeeper, Moses Ocheje to beat
on 24 minutes.
But Younes failed to hit target on that occasion
and the Nigerians were left off the hook.
On 36 minutes, Emmanuel’s effort slipped
through the hands of JS Kabylie’s 25-year-old
keeper, Malik Asselah, to level the game at 1 – 1.
Attempts by Hamza Boulemdais and Tedjar to
put the Algerians back in front met stern
resistance from the Sunshine Stars back four of
Ofem Inah, Precious Osasco, Alaba Osawe and
Godfrey Oboabona.
Four minutes into the restart, right-back Inah
came close to scoring after squeezing past the JS
Kabylie defence but his effort at goal went
agonisingly wide.
Tedjar and Boulemdais combined well in the 53rd
minute but the latter’s hooked strike did not
connect goal.
And four minutes later, Sunshine Stars were
nearly made to pay for leaving Hanifi unmarked
when he nodded wide from a corner kick off
Tedjar’s boot.
However, it was Sunshine Stars that would grab
the winning goal just 14 minutes to time through
Sakibu’s strike.
The former Enyimba man received the ball at the
edge of JS Kabylie’s goal area and whipped it past
Asselah to earn his side a big win in Algiers.
Tedjar, who had been in the centre of almost
every move by the Algerians sprung to life and
centred a long ball for Hocine El Orfi at the far
post but the attempt at goal passed by.
JS Kabylie’s playmaker on the night, Tedjar,
nearly got on the score sheet through a volley
from Hamza Ziad’s free kick but Ocheje threw
himself at the ball to block the goal-bound move
and kept Sunshine Stars' lead intact.
The Algerians last real chance came in the second
minute of the three added minutes when Ziad
could only watch as his shot flew wide after great
work from Chemseddine Nessakh on the right
channel of JS Kabylie’s attack.
The result leaves Sunshine Stars top of their
group since DC Motema Pembe of DR Congo and
Maghreb de Fes of Morocco did not win their
opening games.
The Nigerian side now have six points from their
opening two games.

Aba, the home city of Enyimba Int’l FC was
literally set on fire as Uche Kalu scored Enyimba’s
winning goal in far away Cameroun where Coton
Spot hosted Enyimba in a crucial Orange CAF
Champions league on Saturday.
What could pass for a victory road show started
from the main bowl of the Enyimba Stadium
where thousands of fans had gathered to watch
live telecast of the match. It took only the referee’s
whistle for these fans to explode in wild jubilation,
chanting victory songs that took them to major
streets of Aba.
Supporters of Enyimba had virtually written their
darling team off, after they had what many of
them labeled a disappointing start, failing to win
Al – Hilal in their first match book makers had
given to Enyimba on a platter. After that crippling
start, many of them had concluded that the
Enyimba side lacks the character of a
Championship side.
Matters were even made worse when they
realized that after Hilal, Enyimba would travel to
Cameroun to face Coton Sport who had white
washed Enyimba 3 – 0 in their last meeting in
2008. They did not only defeat Enyimba, they
ensured that Enyimba made a forced exit from
the money spinning competition. So, the travel to
Cameorun, in the estimation of the fans; was to
further authenticate Enyimba’s slide down the
table.
It is therefore correct to say that the fans gathered
in the stadium to fulfill all righteousness.
Enyimba’s early lead changed permutations as in
a sudden twist of fate, they regained their
confidence in their team that once took African
Club by storm metamorphosing from near
oblivion to inimitable champions winning the cup
two times in 2004 and 2005.
The atmosphere in Aba as the scores ended 2-3
in favour of Enyimba could better be likened to
the state of Aba the day Enyimba humbled Ismaili
of Egypt in their Ismaili home, running away with
the Orange CAF Championship trophy; their first
after Nigeria had tried for thirty – eight years.
With this victory over Coton Spot, Enyimba is
back and into full reckoning. They will therefore
expect improved patronage from their fans who
had long protested their team’s dismal outing in
recent times. Dr Cosmos Ndukwe, die – hard
Enyimba fan confirmed this much when he
announced that “the days of apathy are over” He
further stated that henceforth Enyimba would be
spoilt by lavish support of Aba fans which they
have fought so hard to deserve. Dr. Ndukwe
wishes the team would sustain this new found
winning rhythm as fans appreciate such
situations.
Chidi Obasi who leads Enyimba Supporters Club
expressed satisfaction with the team’s
performance and urged the fans not to relent in
their support for Enyimba.
Enyimba plays Raja of Morroco in a home match
in another forthnight.

i scored 217 in Jamb and opted for computer science.i'm from Awka town please what's my chances and what should be my target in the post ume.advice needed urgently please