₦airaland Forum

afam4eva: What does he want to gain by taunting Yorubas. I doubt that's the case here. I just feel he's desperate for this thing and is seeking support from any source. It's ironic that he has not even been accepted in his village not to talk of Abia and then Igboland. Charity they say, begins at home.

So you believe that Kalu is dumb enough to expect Yorubas to vote for him? When did Yoruba start voting for other Nigerians?
Look deeper, Kalu is smarter than you think of him.

Akshow: people jealous of Igbos you sayi Lol. Now this is the core of my question. The condescendin attitude of most Igbos They feel They are better than others and try to rub it in while others refuse to be dominated. You jus answered my question thanks. Fyi goodluck was voted by Nigerians not only Igbos. And the fact still remain Igbos are at logger head wit every one even themselves.

If Igbos are at loggerheads with everyone (a big fat lie of course), there should be the evidence to show that. And if they are, those who are at loggerheads with them also have a problem because it takes two to tango. Why are you at loggerheads with Igbos? Are you envious that after trying to kill them 40 years ago, they have bounced back and now better than the rest of you economically and even buying up your territories? Hey Igbos own 75% of Abuja and 50% of Lagos. Is that what you cannot live with?

Igbo gave Jonathan 100% vote
How many votes did the SW give him?
How many did the North give him?

afam4eva: Kalu is peaking for himself and not for Igbos.

I don't believe a Yoruba vote for Igbos is ever possible. maybe in the new millenia. The reverse is also the case.

If Igbos are serious, they should reach out to the North and the south-south.

What Kalu said was taunt on Yorubas. Much like Ojukwu saying Awo was the best president Nigeria never had. Yoruba have very shallow brains to understand this.

Do we also post photos of Lagos, Ibadan, Sokoto,Kano and others?

Kalu is making his own opinion, possibly taunting the Yorubas

Jonathan has shown that no region can win without the vote of others

So if Yorubas will not vote for Igbo, I guess the reverse is also true

Awo tried to rule Nigeria without Igbo and Hausa vote, we have seen how successful he was.

Falae also tried to rule with only Yoruba vote and he was trounced by Obasanjo, a Yoruba who was not voted by his people, but by Hausa/Fulani/Igbo and minority votes.

So SW can keep their votes and us it to install Tinubu as the president of Nigeria Oduduwa Republic

Akshow: Its my honest opinion from the observation of How Igbos relate wit people around them that prompted my question. You Cant sit behind your computer and honestly tell me that an average ijaw Ibibio or other south south trust Igbos and vice versa. Why are Igbos very troublesome

And who trusts who in Nigeria? Do you even trust your next door neighbour in Nigeria?
Did you say Igbos are troublesome? If so, could you give an example of where Igbos have targeted the lives and properties of other Nigerians in Igboland or outside Igboland?

What are the reasons why people hate others? Let me put it directly, why do those Nigerians who hate Igbos do so? COULD IT BE JEALOUSY?

You said Igbos hate Ijaw? Pray tell who voted for Jonathan to be the president?

[quote author=Akshow]not again. All this whinin and bitterness to all Nigerians. What a terrible way to leave. Esp considerin the fact that those you see as enemies are progressin and rulin you[/quote

Progressing and ruling, right? Care to expanding on those? Who is progressing and who is ruling who?

Akshow: Hmmm i have always known that this bigoted memoir of achebe wil open a canker worm that even himself will not be able to explain. I would like to know why the Igbos are so troublesome. They hate the hausas, despise the yoruba, treat the north central wit their condescendin i better pas you attitude, are at logger head wit the ijaw. Feel They are better than the Ibibios, Dont see face to face wit the edos etc. Me think the average Igbo man needs to look an address certain issue in his personality. Thanks

It will be good to explain how Igbos hate Ijaw, Edo, Ibibio and others? It is good to have the right to prattle on cyberspace, but it behoves on you to prove yourself. Is it the same Igbos who voted for an Ijaw man 100% while you Yorubas were busy stabbing Buhari and Ribadu at the back that you say hate Ijaws? Hahahah! Nothing person no go read for Nairaland

And yes, Igbos have a problem with Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba for the reason that they tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to exterminate them. I do not see how you will love your enemy who tried to kill you and have refused to apologize.

[quote author=Red-Light]^
so u soyinka or religious leaders support the igbos ... u can then say they are good and intelligent ....but if they are against igbos, they are bad and have no conscience ....nawa[/quote]Let's hear what they have to say first. If they live up to their billings, they won't be supporting anyone, they will be supporting the truth.

noblezone: To inaugurate the South East Chapter of what?
Did you say ACF?

emm, Please will they also inaugurate South East chapter of BOKO HARAM?

Just asking ooo!

Cut the crap, there is Ohaneze Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, etc chapters. There is even Eze Ndigbo of Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, etc. When is what is good for the Igbo not good for Hausa/Fulani?

I am in great disregard for Yoruba politicians
I am in great disregard for Yoruba Nairalanders
I am greatly interested to hear what Wole Soyinka has to say
I am greatly interested to hear what Yoruba religious leaders (at least religious leaders are supposed to have some conscience)have to say. This includes Adeboye and the rest of the pack.

‘Achebe Has Brought The Genocide Committed Against Igbos Into Global Discourse With His New Book’
Saturday, 13 October 2012 00:00 ONYEDIKA AGBEDO Saturday Magazine - Saturday Magazine
E-mail Print
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest
Okocha-13_10_2012

Emma Okocha, author of Blood On The Niger, an account of the Nigerian civil war, joins the debate on Chinua Achebe’s new book, There Was A Country. He spoke with ONYEDIKA AGBEDO.

WHAT is your take on the ongoing debate about Chinua Achebe’s latest book, There Was A Country?

I am totally concerned with the latest debate following Chinua Achebe’s new book, There Was A Country. I am interested in looking at Achebe not only as a writer but also as a prophet. At a stage in writing, you attain more than the normal height of just being a writer. Being a novelist of global recognition, Achebe’s latest work has propelled him to the summit because in novel writing you create out of nothing; you imagine out of nothing; you use elements of imagery to create something that may be accepted as certainty. But in non-fiction writing, you are more serious and that is what Achebe did. So, for some Nigerians to get mad and react to Achebe’s perspective understanding or recorded actions of the former premier of the western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, during the civil war is understandable.

This was a leader that never did evil in their eyes. This was a leader that really acceptably performed in the Nigerian scene especially when we have leadership that has no compass these days. But at the same time, let us enjoy the debate on the literality platform. The debate should be based on intellectual give and take. It is not a question of the man has damaged the legacies of our leader; politicians should not come in. Let the literality, if they have read the book, critique it.

I have not seen the book. But as a genocide crusader, I welcome the idea that the greatest African writer has added his voice to the calamity that happened to our people, especially the western Igbos who were not Biafrans but Nigerians. Like my father and elder brother that were part of the over 1000 youths that were killed on October 7, 1967, in Asaba, most of them were members of the Action Group (AG). The people that believed in the NCNC at that time left for the east. My father who worked in Enugu, Nsukka, Uzuakoli and Kafanchan as a civil servant could have gone to the east. But he believed in that war. He was an apostle of the Awo ideas–free education and free medical services. In fact, the Asaba General Hospital that is now a Specialist Hospital was brought to us by the AG led by Nduka Eze, another AG hardliner who left the Zikist Movement to join Awolowo. But Nduka Eze’s wife was killed by the federal troop under the command of Murtala Mohammed because she refused to be touched because they were defiling women at random when they came in.

The genocide against the Igbos has been proved beyond reasonable doubt by the apology made to Asaba people by General Gowon when he came there after the release of the Blood On The Niger. The genocide against the Igbos was proved beyond reasonable doubt at the Oputa panel which the federal government has up till now refused to publish the findings. Bishop Desmond Tutu chaired the Truth and Justice tribunal in South Africa to find out what happened in South Africa during the apartheid period. It was accepted by both sides and just look at the peace that has prevailed there since then. Why would Nigeria not publish the findings of the Oputa Panel where it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that pilots were throwing bombs at random into market places in Uzuakoli, Uzuitem and Nsukka, where bottles and implements were also used against women during the war.

History is an account of the actions of actors in a community or in a state recorded that made impacts during their time. Awolowo was a great leader; great politician and great performer in government but his activities during the civil war were negative. If you are a writer, you cannot defend his position that starvation is an instrument of warfare. Starvation cannot be an instrument of warfare when you are fighting a civil war. I have read the review of There Was A Country and Achebe mentioned that the small firearms used against the Biafrans were more than the totality of what was used in World War II. Can you imagine that comparison?

But has the author any evidence to back up that claim?

If he couldn’t prove that he wouldn’t put it down. Nigeria was being supplied arms from all countries. For the first time there was an unholy alliance between the Soviet Union and the West. It had never happened before. Any place that there was a war of revolution, the USSR is always taking the place of the revolutionary. How come that the USSR for the first time allied with the West against Biafra? So, let somebody go and disprove Achebe; that is what we want to see not that somebody did not commit genocide. Genocide has been proved to be committed. If there were no genocide, the World Council of Churches, the Caritas wouldn’t have come in droves. If genocide was not committed, why did Biafra lose two million casualties, most of them civilians and children? And if people are not apologising to Igbos, why should they now come out to talk because one man has been put to where he belongs in history. He was the principal protagonist of using starvation as an instrument of warfare against his fellow citizens. Remember that Nigeria was fighting a war of unity. They were not as desperate as the other camp that was fighting a war of secession. So, in international convention Geneva included, you don’t use starvation against civilians, you don’t use firearms against civilians and you don’t use bombs. Are they saying they didn’t bomb civilians during the war? The Nigerian Air Force was very pronounced in its use of bombs on civilians and their targets were churches, market places and hospitals. These were recorded by missionaries and foreign journalists. So, who is denying what?

Awolowo was the Minister of Finance under Gowon. He was the de facto prime minister of Nigeria during the war and he performed. I don’t grudge him for winning the war for Nigeria; for changing the currency. He can win the war by all means but the fact that he prevented massive aid from coming is genocidal.

There was an inhuman instance. There was an incident where a Red Cross plane coming with medication and food was blown off the sky for the beleaguered people of Biafra. Even after the war, what was the purpose of denying Igbos their primary source of protein–stockfish? How can you defend the policy of giving people who have lost everything only 20 Pounds? If there is anybody that should have been given more, the returning war battered people of Biafra should have received more.

The Igbos have always accepted Awolowo as a great leader but his activities during the civil war shocked them. By the objective of the January 15 coup, as quoted by Odia Ofeimun, the poet, the boys believed he was the greatest leader. Ifeajuna, Anuforo and Nzeogwu, the leaders of the coup, were to make Chief Awolowo the prime minister of Nigeria. These coup leaders didn’t go for Azikiwe or Balewa. They wanted Chief Awolowo as quoted by Odia in a 1999 edition of The Guardian. Awolowo was supposed to be released by the Nzeogwu coup, which didn’t have its assumed ending; it was aborted half way. It was Nzeogwu’s colleague, Major Nzegwu that was supposed to pick him from Calabar prison and release him. So, I’m proving to you that the Igbo literality have always accepted Awo as one of the best and great leaders the country has ever produced but his activities during the war did not only shock them but betrayed the trust they had in.

During the whole peace conferences from Niamey to Kinshasha, Awolowo, Enahoro and Alison Ayida, who was a permanent secretary, always took a hawkish stand. That was why in the Niamey conference of 1968 Alison Ayida quoted Awo exactly that starvation is an instrument of warfare. This was at a time when millions of Biafran children were dying off. And death by starvation is not an ordinary death. It is for you to experience it. It was horror and the photographs are there but Awolowo and his henchmen never batted an eyelid even after the war. That is why we glorify other great literality like Wole Soyinka who told us in his book A Man Died that extermination was committed in Asaba. He was the first courageous soul in Nigeria that told the world about the Asaba massacre.

Some of Achebe’s critics have accused him of hating Awolowo, hence his remarks on him in the book?

Achebe, because of his obdurate style, doesn’t swim with the tide. Remember that he used only one sentence, that ‘Awolowo was a tribalist’, to convince the military government under Babangida against giving him a national burial and the Yorubas never forgave him for that. But the facts are there.

From 1957 when Zik won election in western Nigeria, it was Awo that organised the ‘coup’ that made NCNC members to cross carpet. That was the first time members of the parliament crossed carpet in Nigerian history. A writer of Achebe’s stature does not have to be afraid of the truth. Awo is guilty of genocide because of that policy of starvation.

What do you expect from those condemning Achebe for his comments on Awo?

There is a cacophony of noise, which I hope will settle down when the book comes in. Nigerians should read the book, critique it and then defend the author or attack him on the text. Eventually, nobody will stop Black Africa’s greatest writer from reaching his audience. His writing a non-fiction at this time on this subject shows that the genocide committed against our people, hidden under the carpet for over four decades, is now into the world market place of discourse. I commend the book.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101418:achebe-has-brought-the-genocide-committed-against-igbos-into-global-discourse-with-his-new-book&catid=105:saturday-magazine&Itemid=566

afam4eva: Please who knows whether Omyema Ugochukwu is contesting for 2015 and what are his track records apart from being the Chairman of NDDC.

I learned he is given to excessive drinking; but that may be coming from his political enemies.

Geomac: did you believe her?

Why did Lagos not take the small pain to investigate her claim? That surely is cheaper than paying for a ride for someone who did not deserve it. Besides, what's more important, protecting good citizens, no matter how lowly their occupation might be, or deporting good citizens in the guise of deporting bad ones?

2mch: Yahoo boys call themselves computer scientist, computer programmers etc. So what's your point? They run from their villages where they are afraid to demand things from their governors, run to Lagos and develop shacks and start fighting to live there. Becoming an absolute nuisance. Lagos cannot take up the responsibility of other state governments who keep spending and living lavishly. Go and fight for your right in your state.

So you prefer not to believe the explanation of a deportee telling you that she (not even he) is a responsibly-employed peron arrested just for being on the street, but rather you prefer to demonize her?

Okay, how about deporting people like Sunday Ehindero, a police chief who is supposed to protect the lives, property and security, but who is instead stealing money and still walking the streets of Lagos while poor beggars, some of whom may, no doubt, have become jobless and turned to small-time criminals due to the looting activities of the well-placed like Ehindero?

2mch: Not everybody can live in Lagos. If you come to Lagos with no residence and plan to lay on the road pending when you are able to join a gang of robbers for fast money, then you will be given free transportation back home. Living in the city is not for every one. rural life is stress free, fresh and more rewarding. Even our rural areas in Lagos have become jam packed. We have no peaceful place or villa homes, where we can go and rest without seeing 1million people. . Try and stay in your village and develop it.

One of the deported said she is a computer operator who was arrested on the street while walking to her destination. What do you say about that? Or is a computer operator now also a destitute?

Sometime in 2010 or so, Fasola deported destitute northerners from Lagos back to the North. He then deported destitute south westerners last year back to Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ogun. Recently, he struck again by deporting destitutes from Lagos to Onitsha. We do not have the full details of who those people dumped in Onitsha are, but presumably they're Igbos and other non-Igbo easterners.

The fact that Fasola deported people from all walks of life in Nigeria back to their natural enclaves may make his action detribalized. But it does not make it non-selective and highly discriminatory. I will not go into the constitutionality or otherwise of the action, as am no lawyer, although it is unheard of, world over, that people get deported from their own country.

That brings me to today's talking points:

Why is Fasola deporting some non-indigenes of Lagos and leaving others?

What is the rationale behind deporting beggar Adamu and not millionaire Rafiatu? Why is Fasola weeding Lagos of ''bad'' non-Lagosians and leaving ''good'' non-Lagosians? Keep in mind that these bad Lagosians are not necessarily criminals but beggars, most certainly constituting some level of socio-enviromental unpleasantness.


Should Fasola not go the whole hog and deport every Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw, Fulani and indeed non-Yoruba Lagosians out of Lagos so that Lagos will be for indigenes only?

Why should, for example, an Igbo man (a rich, tax-paying one) contribute to building Lagos and another Igbo man (a poor beggar) be disallowed from eating from Lagos?

Every sane Nigerian should be calling on Fasola to either stop deporting some (''bad'') Nigerians from Lagos or deport everyone who is not Lagosian (''bad'' and ''good'') from Lagos.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]Ok, here comes the first ibo casualty. we are only on page 6 and they are gettig frustrated already.....its time for personal attacks and insults to parents. They never fail.....they break down easily under prolonged confrontation.[/quote]And you called Igbos foolish. That was a praise, right?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]You know i participate on hausa forums ....they love fash. The hausa mindset is totally divergent from the ibo mindset.[/quote]Not the hausa that I know. This topic is already trending on facebook with strong northern contribution, and from what I see Fash is finished politically, except in SW.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]Look at you..... his political ambition was secured after removing hausas and yorubas.....but now that he has removed ibos his political ambition is dead. How does that sound to your ego?[/quote]His ambition was doomed after he deported hausas and now doubly doomed. His deportation of Yorubas may not affect him because Yoruba will vote for a devil as long as it is a Yoruba devil.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro].....doesnt that then make him a fair person? So why all the anger against Fash? When he deported Hausa, no noise.....he depored Yoruba, no noise......he deports ibo, you all are quoting constiution. You see how foolish ibo people are?

I thought una own Lagos? Where is your license of ownership now to block this return to Onitsha?[/quote]But why did Fasola deport non-Lagos Yoruba from Lagos. You have just claimed Yoruba are no foreigners in Lagos.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro].....doesnt that then make him a fair person? So why all the anger against Fash? When he deported Hausa, no noise.....he depored Yoruba, no noise......he deports ibo, you all are quoting constiution. You see how foolish ibo people are?

I thought una own Lagos? Where is your license of ownership now to block this return to Onitsha?[/quote]Did you read my post where I said what he did was not tribalism? The only thing I know is that his political ambition outside Lagos is done with, based on his deporting northerners and easterners (Igbo and non-Igbos alike) from their own country.

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]How many of them are non-igbos ?[/quote]Did you read the original post that you have gleefully been prattling over?

Beyond that, and even more seriously, there is the question of ascertaining the criteria used in determining the eligibility of the affected persons for deportation, as well as their states of origin. Indications are that several of the affected persons are Igbo, but that many are not. Some do not even have confirmed biological nor other relationships with Anambra State. We wonder, for instance, whether the relevant liaison office, or state government, was contacted and what responses were received. There is the further question of who determined the appropriate spot to deposit the affected persons and in whose custody were they put, given the prevailing security situation in the country at the moment?

http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/police-arrest-lagos-deadly-robbery-suspects

Police arrest Lagos deadly robbery suspects
The suspects allegedly participated in the robbery incidents that left at least, six persons dead, including three police officers
Article | September 19, 2012 - 3:26pm | By Patience Ogbo

The Lagos State Police Command, Tuesday, paraded two suspects who allegedly participated in the recent deadly robbery incidents that occurred in Lagos, on September 9.

The robbery incidents left at least, six persons dead, including three police officers.

Ngozi Braide, State police spokesperson, while parading the suspects at the police headquarters in Ikeja, said officers attached to the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja, were responsible for the arrests.

The operation was said to have been led by the officer in charge of SARS, Superintendent of Police, Abba Kyari, who arrested one Rasheed Suleimon at Dopemu area of the state, after acting on a tip-off.

Suleimon later led SARS detectives to arrest the second suspect, Kazeem Enifolabi at Oshodi.

Both suspects confessed to know the members of the gang of armed robbers that participated in Lagos on the September 9, 2012, already tagged 'Black Sunday' by some residents.

The police spokesperson disclosed that the police also recovered ammunition from the suspects.

Braide also debunked claims that the state police did not do enough to apprehend the armed robbers.

"We are on the trail of the other suspects and contrary to belief that policemen did not chase the robbers that day, the police chased them and that was why some of our officers were killed," she said.

"We allowed the robbers to escape to avoid civilian casualties. The robbers were shooting sporadically so we did not want innocent lives to be lost in the ensuing gun battle. But officers are working hard and the fleeing suspects will be arrested soon."

The suspects however, denied participating in the robbery.

Suleimon said, "After the robbery Kazeem came to me and was bragging that they went to operation and they even killed policemen. I did not go with them that day but I am a phone thief. They gave me N3000 to keep my mouth shut. That's all I know."

Braide added that Suleimon "took SARS operatives to Wahabi Street, Akerele, Agege, where the gang members' vehicle was recovered with two AK47 rifles and four magazines hidden inside."

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]The customary laws of Lagos state recognizes the traditional and cultural kinship that exist within the Yoruba commonwealth.....from one to the other there is a tie of kinship and brotherhood. A Yoruba from another state is not a foreigner in Lagos. A non-Yoruba in Lagos is a foreigner on the land.

You are either "Omo Kaaro o jire" or you are not.......we dont recognize alloyed nativity in our customs.[/quote]But Fasola also deported non-Lagos Yorubas. What does that mean?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]...because we do not recognise anything before Onitsha to be iboland. You may have ibo speaking people living there but thats not iboland. I suggest you guys go open the archives and gazzettes of yestrryears and read up on the formation of native authority and how the old Eastern region was formed. Read up on the congregation of igbo tongue for missionary campaign so you can properly understand what is meant by native land.

States have no meaning to us.....we hold dear to our native lands. States may be your holy glory...but to us states is just a drawing on paper....artificial lines of scribbles.[/quote]Why did Fasola deport non-Igbos to Igbo land? Do you have an answer to that or do yo want to be prattling like a new-born baby?

[quote author=Dudu_Negro]Thats not his headache to sort out. Onitsha is where the foothold of iboland begin. When they get to Onitsha you all sort out yourselves. You should thank him for training and giving these hoodlums some trafe skills at all.[/quote]Igboland does not start in Onitsha. The SE may start in Onitsha but Igboland starts in parts of Delta (Asaba, Ogwashi uku, Agbor, etc).

1. So why did he not deposit the beggars there (in Delta Igbo), the first Igbo port of call of Igboland. Why Anambra specifically?
2. Why did he deposit non-Igbo beggars in Igboland?

Fasola deported northern beggars

https://www.nairaland.com/313573/lagos-deports-160-northern-beggers