pazienza: In this explosive interview by Max Gbanite in 2010, titled "South East Governors Have mortgaged the future of Ndiigbo ", Max exhibited an uncanny foresight into the future that we behold today. It's a long interview, so I would only post the relevant parts .
Who do you mean by us?
The southeast that you are talking about; now this is the second time in the history of Nigeria that the southeast, Ndiigbo, is going to make a decision that will affect the Igbo generations of today, tomorrow and those yet unborn and I must say that in making that decision, we must be very cautious. The first was in January 15, 1966 after that Nzeogwu’s coup; the nation waited to see if any prominent Igbo man would condemn the coup. The likes of Mbazulike Amaechi who was a parliamentarian and who has hurriedly endorsed Jonathan today, the likes of K.O. Mbadiwe were busy restructuring themselves for personal gains, forcing Nwafor Orizu to handover government to Aguiyi-Ironsi. Aguiyi-Ironsi was a reluctant head of state, he asked the civilians to call government but some cabal within (just like Jonathan has a cabal today) goaded him to carry on, that ‘you don’t relinquish power, you must take power and that cost him his life.’ And then the silence of this prominent Igbo allowed the nation to think and believe that the Igbo people had an agenda in that coup of 1966 that led to a pogrom which ultimately led to the civil war and we lost what we had gained in Nigeria. That coup was the greatest anti-Igbo coup in the annals of Nigerian history.
Will pronouncements by Mbazulike Amechi and K.O. Mbadiwe condemning the coupists had saved the pogrom that followed subsequently? I doubt! Igbophobia was already very much alive and breathing in both the corridors of power and social consciousness of other Nigerians . A pogrom or similtude of such would have happened sooner than later. Talking about condemning the coupits,i wish same expectation and standard be extended to other ethnicities. Who held the mobs that massacred Igbos in Jos 1945 and Kano 1983 to account? Who condemned theme? No recorded evidence exist anywhere. The 1953 massacre was a clear case of misplaced aggression. I just wished the discussion of this nation will happen someday soon.
pazienza: The date was December 2010. It was the year an Ijaw man by the name GEJ came to visit Ojukwu and seek for the Igbo support in his agenda to succeed late Yaradua as elected Nigerian President, which would involve destroying the PDP zoning formulae, which stipulated that the North should complete their 8years tenure before power could return to the South in 2015, with SE being a strong contender for presidential slot, in 2015, should power return to the South.
Events leading to GEJ visit to Ojukwu was chaotic. A group of Igbo elders who were of the opinion that Ndiigbo would enter into a political wilderness should their help GEJ usurp the PDP zoning formulae, and sought to reach out to Northern elders in stopping GEJ ascension, led by the likes of Ekwueme, were locked out of their Concorde hotel Owerri state venue for their meeting, under the instruction of Ohakim, who it was rumoured, was working in consonance with GEJ.
These were the events that preceded GEJ visit to Ojukwu (Eze Igbo Gburugburu) at his Enugu residence.
Once at Enugu GEJ started the "I am Igbo" deception message. Let's hear him out :
: “I am here to inform the people of the South East that I and Vice President Namadi Sambo are vying for presidency and to seek the support of the South East zone. I believe you will support us because I am one of you. I consider himself as an Igbo man because of the circumstances of my birth and I believe you all regard me as your own son.”
And this was how it began. The news spread wide and near that GEJ is one of us, an Igbo man. You see, we had reduced the Igbo tag to such a cheap commodity that everybody can now come and tell us they are Igbo. We even those who are Igbos at convenient time, and non Igbos when It was no longer convenient. We threw caution to the wind. We opened our hands and accepted the "non Igbo" Igbo man, relegating our own group agenda to the background. Yet, the elders amongst us warned us about the consequences of our actions then, but we were too myopic to see the future.
The backlash Igbos received from supporting GEJ will sure last for another generation. It simply showed that nobility,character and finer values of life are anathema in this contraption. Does it occur to us that development,equality,fairness,justice,plans for the next generation and building an enduring political culture are never features of politics in Nigeria. Rather,it is all about primitive accumulation of capital and crude,if not,animalistic quest for power for the sake of it! Supporting GEj showed us a progressive,reliable and fore sighted collective. It further conferred us with a moral high ground in the mess Nigeria has become. Even our fiercest hater admire us secretly,it confirm what I've always known: Nigeria don't deserve the Igbos.
basilo101: Onitsha may merge with Awka in few Decades
Now you see why people doubt your authenticity? Do you really know the distance between Onitsha and Awka? There are three local governments between Onitsha and Awka ie Idemmili,Oyi and Njikoka. Onitsha will rather swallow and merge with Asaba and much of Idemmili north and south. Awka is a far distant possibility. Such statement from you clearly betrayed your claims and bursted you more.
ckenneths: Going green in Enugu, I think more greenery comes with the age of a city? I may be wrong though.
You are absolutely correct sir. The older a city,the more matured the trees and greener it is expected to be.Just like an elder wife is expected to have more rags than the new wife. However,this is also totally determined by conscious tree planting efforts made by the government. You can still have a nearly 30 year old city like Abuja (1991) looking bare and and arid because aggressive greening was never taken serious. On the flip side,you have a a city like Owerri looking far more greener and habitable because barely 10 years ago,Ohakim made clean and green the policy thrust of his beautification agenda. Most of the trees and green areas we enjoy in Enugu today were put in place by M.I. Okpara. His divine regime approached development comprehensively. Till date he stands out.
Lol! Look at you talking under the weight of your own fallacious argument. Trying to exonerate your self from the criticism of most Igbos here, by trying to prove that everything is wrong with all Igbos who accuse you of impersonation, while nothing is wrong with you in particular. I'm surprise you don't see the similarity between your defense of yourself against our criticism, to the defense of Igbos, against Nigerians resentment. Well, you can't eat your cake and have it. You are probably not the only impersonator here, yet you stick out like sour thumb. Yes, blame everybody else, but yourself. See, the same logic you apply on Ndiigbo and our defense of Nigerians resentment against us, that you dismiss, is the same logic I'm currently appealing to you, but you wouldn't accept. Lol! You just showed that you can't take a dose of same medicine you want Igbos to take. You want us to accept the distorted lies Nigerians use to justify their resentments towards us, since according to your logic, they can't all be wrong, while we are right, even if we are convinced we are right. But somehow, you unmistakably want the world to accept that you are Igbo, despite most us saying you are not.
This means nothing. You were only covering your tracks. It's part and parcel of the impostor process. You have to atleast attempt to be non Yoruba at some point to sell your charade. You deceive no one.
Exactly our point, you have the right to criticize whoever you want, but why exactly you felt the need to impersonate Ndiigbo, in order to criticize us and go Scot free, is what I'm yet to understand. You possibly couldn't have thought you can fool all of us here, could you?
You have no evidence to prove it's disapproportionate amongst the Igbos. It's just your jaundiced opinions, and as long as we accept that these allegations are your biased opinions, devoid of facts and borne out of your deep Igbophobia, we would be cool. Since I was young, I have heard Yorubas boast to high heavens How they are the most educated group in Nigeria, how they are the most intelligent, most sophisticated, we were deafened with stories of how Ndiigbo are illiterate traders who don't go to school . It was so bad here in early days of Nairaland until a NL Afaukwu, made a myth busting thread on JAMB stats https://www.nairaland.com/237534/look-going-school-nigeria-statistics#3497176 before Ndiigbo could start challenging the Yoruba empty boasting here on sophistication and education.
The Jewish stories of Igbo origins is not a widely accepted one In Igboland, it's mostly Aguleri/Umueri/Umunri story. You will not go to any Igbo town website and see story of origin from Israel. Even in this thread, the people who opposed the stories were still Igbos. But your Yoruboid mentality is only interested in seeking for negatives to pin on Ndiigbo. I have also seen widely speculated stories of Yoruba origin from Saudi Arabia. Ijebu Yorubas in particular believe they came from Sudan. I don't see you talking about all those. You are more fixated on Igbo stories. Your obsession with us is getting pathological. Moreover, the linking of Igbos to Jews was not started by Igbos. It was started by colonials, and then Igbo missionaries did more work on it. During the war, Kissinger, the US secretary of state then, made this comment about Igbos :
I n a White House memo dated Tuesday, January 28, 1969, to President Nixon, former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger describes the Igbos as “the wandering Jews of West Africa-gifted, aggressive, westernized, at best envied and resented, but mostly despised by their neighbors in the federation”(foreign relations document, volume E-5, documents on Africa 1969-1972).
The comparision of Igbos with Jews wasn't started by Ndiigbo. You are just a jealous and bitter Yoruba man.
I also have numerous times seen Hausa-Fulanis talk thrash about Ndiigbo here, and Yorubas doing same I guess it's all subjective biased assessments and we both see what we want to see, Huh?
An ant can never be innocent in the midst of chickens. If you travel to Sri Lanka and ask them the most malignant group , they would say Tamil. If you go to Nazi Germany and asked them the most greedy group, they would say the Jews. What you literally did was begging the question. We already know that all Nigerian groups resent Igbos, so how exactly are you going to use that to try to prove a point, when that is already the meat of the argument? If we conduct a poll here and ask real Igbos the ethnicity of Obi1kenobi, it would be a landslide victory for me, because it would be proved you are not Igbo. I hope you can now appreciate how circular the argument you were trying to advance there, is.
Stop speaking from both sides of the mouth. Igbos outside Nigeria don't seem to attract Igbophobia. It's mostly in Nigeria. The whole meat of your argument is to advance the falsehood that Ndiigbo exhibit arrogancy not seen in other Nigerian groups, which you had so far failed to prove, other than your jaundiced Igbophobic opinions, you have nothing whatsoever so far, to back this your calumny.
As for the Anioma guy. He was yet again propagating one of the many falsehoods against the Igbo by Nigerians, which was that Igbos are greedy. It was well calculated to spite and demonize Ndiigbo. I quickly debunked his fallacies and quickly went on attack by propagating a psych damaging remark against his own group too, I had since learnt that the way to keep propagandists in check, is to always keep them in defense mode, by propounding a propaganda against them. But the Igbophobic Afonja in you didn't see the falsehood he was propagating against Ndiigbo, you were more interested in my rebuttal to him. For those who care to know, this was the thread : https://www.nairaland.com/4761897/igbo-community-delta-endorses-okowa/6#71725946
You epitomize the herd mentality. See how irrational your argument are. "The whole Nigerian groups accuse Igbos of arrogancy, therefore, Igbos must be the most arrogant of all". This is the argument you have been pushing here since day one. Herd mentality redefined.
You are not Igbo, full stop. Nevertheless, if you are looking to prove you are Igbo, Chino is the last person you should be looking to vouch for your Igbo identity here, for obvious reasons I'm sure you are aware of.
I was forced to go back and study your debate with Obikenobi on this thread:https://www.nairaland.com/4761897/igbo-community-delta-endorses-okowa/6#71725946. Bloody heck! How were we all fooled that guy is Igbo? Who sold that medicine to us biko? There's absolutely nothing about the dude that makes him Igbo.An educated Igbo man will reveal a certain poise and mien when he speaks even if he is in the opposition. That dude is a complete afonjizzy or of one of the minority tribes. Chino told you he is from Oraukwu and you believed it? Chai! My own Idemmili? Never! We know our stock and he is no where near. Your lecture and rebuttals there were drugs bro.
Chef2000: See how we have turned this thread to a place of joke, curse and dick measuring unlike in pages like 10 to 140 when intelligent men were making intelligent comments people like Cjrane, horsepower101, devlpeast, selempe, colly,pazienza, handsomegod, nnamdijonathan and others too numerous to mention, please guys lets bring back sanity to this thread again.
Nothing is wrong with the thread yet. Detractors will always try to scuttle every progress. Perhaps they gave this thread no chance but see where the thread got to and how much intellect on display to silence their madness. They have tried twice to derail the thread with their madness but failed just like they failed again. Cheer up. Syder will provide pictures to spice up our weekend today and we blaze on. Good day.
BankeSmalls: Because there has never been any popular Igbo policy thrust he will ever support. I remember the night Nnamdi Kanu s house was invaded. Abagworo posted here on nairaland that we got him. He went on to say that they have gotten him forever in a tone of jubilation, ask yourself, which Igbo man can do that?I can name more examples of his caustic stance on igbo matters.
Abagworo is a certified and official Okoroawusa lackey and Buhari apologist. All his stance are anti-Igbo and has always been. His Igbo claims are as doubtful as that of an Ogoni man. He means harm and division. Anything that will unify the general Igbo nation scares him to jitters and therein lies his blown cover. Pay him and his likes already busted in this thread no heed.
superlightning: I was about sending you MORE quoted materials from SEASONED IGBO MEN about our own shortcomings as a people, but then your uneasiness brought your weakness out.
Achebe's authoritativeness should even silence all your attempts in disproving me. But you have no regard for seasoned minds.
I am NOT in for banters and childish arguments. Mature Igbo will understand what am saying.
That all you are about have been how to magnify "Igbo weaknesses" already revealed who you are! Youve been busted sir. I challenged you to send the quoted materials. I have mine ready.It is a challenge. In the absence of that,scurry back to your skull mining enclave.You foolishly revealed your identity by yourself. Again,you are the reason Nigeria needs to be disbanded or sold off at OLX. Scurry to your hole and leave Igbos alone.
basilo101: Israel is a sovereign country with strong US backing. You don't make empty noise when you are very vulnerable
Finally,youve revealed your identity!!!. Your silly and one directional,devoid-of-sense comments since the inception of this discussion busted you.Afonja find your square root. Umunne,biko ignore this mofo and his other moniker superlightening.
Ozibe: I suspect he is an imposter. But this time taking a more subtle way to blackmail igbos or derail the discussion
Of course i know himself and Basilo are impostors but i wish to bring them to the mud and end their infamy once and for all.It is a shame what an adult finds fulfilling in doing. Sad to say. Nigeria is finished when one sees the humans that inhabits her.
superlightning: Again let me quote Chinua Achebe, a globally respected Igbo intellectual:
" I will be the first to CONCEDE that the Igbo as a group is not without its FLAWS. Its success can and did carry deadly penalties: the dangers of HUBRIS, OVERWEENING PRIDE, AND THOUGHTLESSNESS, which invite envy and hatred or, even worse, that can OBSESS THE MIND with material success and dispose it to ALL KINDS of CRUDE SHOWINESS. There is no doubt at all that there is a strand in contemporary Igbo behavior that can offend by its NOISY EXHIBITIONISM and DISREGARD for humility and quietness ". (Page 76, There was a country)
Achebe observed this too on the day to day activities or behavior of his kinsmen. Give me another minute pls....
Oga i dont understand you. You asked for evidence where Israel parroted and boasted of their achievements,i gave a RECORDED youtube link of Isareali Prime Minister himself singing his country's praises .I also mentioned i will give you 15 more if you are willing to see them. Now instead of you responding in kind,you lifted a blanket statement from Achebe as your evidence of Igbo crude showing? How much more pathetic can one be? What da heck are u up and about?
Not the nascent Israel of yesteryears when they were still vulnerable and developing. Other nations were the ones blowing their trumpet for them.
Also, rubbing ones achievement ON OTHER PEOPLES FACES is improper, Israel, except when challenged or pushed to the wall, NEVER did that. Pls show me where they did.
This video is netanyahu speaking. Netanyahu is a recent Israeli leader in a period where Hezbollah has openly challenged their strength.
Oga,was Israel pushed to the wall for Natenyahu to give this address in Berlin in June this year? Which nascent Isreal? That statement alone clearly showed you are merely commenting here for the bloody heck of it. Hezebolla and the Holocaust which posed more danger to Israel? Under 75 years,Israel was expelled from different countries a record 21 times. The world over,antisemitism is a covert state policy. In whatever circumstances,Bibi Natenyahu is the leader of Isreal and his views represent the direction of Israel per time. Israel has always faced existential threats. Again,remember to give me links where Igbos rubbed their achievements in other people's faces.
superlightning: There will always be haters, but let's also ensure we are check ourselves too.
Unbridle pride and arrogance won't help us. It never helped anyone. Germany has learnt their lesson, albeit the hard way.
Just so we all are clear. Kindly give me notable examples where Igbos openly rubbed their achievements in other people's faces. I thought the long and comprehensive article by Pazienza ought to cure such asinine vitriol but i can see you are determined to progress with the same jaundiced narrative employed by the detractors to keep Igbos down. In what way was the German reality related to the Igbo? Germany set out to militarily take over Europe and institute the superiority of the Aryan race. Please can you give me one single example where the Igbo set out to militarily conquer or desecrate another group? Again,give me examples of unbridled pride and arrogance of the Igbo. I assume you are Igbo hence it is sad we are having this discussion centered on unfounded stereotype in 2018. Please avail me.
Its not about the achievements. Its the unwarranted noise and drama we make about it, knowing fully well that we are in an igbophobic society.
Israel makes no noise about their achievement unless they are being challenged by their neighbours. Same with UAE, Germany, Singapore.
Our unbridled pride is our Achilles heel.
I was also part of those who were somewhat disappointed at your views,having thought earlier you can be circumspect enough to detect the dynamics of the Igbo dilemma in Nigeria. For you and Basilo and the rest of howling mob,Igbos need to be perfect and prime to be fully accepted as equal and worthy of emulation. Sad to say. You went ahead to commit another blunder of saying Israel makes no noise about their achievements.For a start,refer to the attached youtube link. I will supply 15 other youtube and reviews all screaming Israels achievements from the rooftops. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niqRPt8SYmM
Bede2u: deal...but am not in nigeria. Just take pics and paste them here...i will paste wen i get a chance
Bede what I asked was books you read. Names of the book and possibly chapters which support the views you expressed so far. Please I ask you first. Have you seen excerpts from Senator Buka Abba ibrahim's lastest book "POORLITICS" where he described Ojukwu and the forces that pushed the war? The Fulani senator committed tribal suicide! He shot truths that will give Buhari heart attack. I am waiting sir.
Ojukwu was told to declare biafra...could he have refused and urged the ppl egging him on that another course should be followed because there was not enough weapons to defend the territory from fg? Yes he could have...even in the face of massive intimidation by fg remained calm, knowing he had no weapon. But he chose the loud course and wasted my fathers.
Europe didnt want another japan in africa? Really? If u said this... and then said later 'thats why europe told gowon to kill all igbos' then i would understand. If igbos manufactured that in small biafra, wat told europeans that a united nigeria with both igbos and others wont be even deadlier than just biafra? Why do u guys hide behind one finger? How can u say that a largely rural and illiterate biafra was being feared by ussr who already sent a rocket to space and had the largest stockpile of nuclear weapon. Lets not insult our inteligence here pls. There are no kids here. Ussr was already in cuba, in china, in north korea, in east germany, in poland spreading communism. They offered to help ojukwu if he would join the communist movement...ojukwu fearing france and the west, said no thank u. They would have stayed off...but ojukwu's arrogance made them to actively sell arms to nigeria to spite the smart-mouthed ojukwu
2 months after the war, enugu fell. Ph fell a few months later and by 12 months into the war, biafra was just the present abia, imo, anambra and ebonyi. The remaining 5 states of today were already in nigeria's control. At that point, wat was ojukwu fighting for? Wen it became clear to gowon that they have adequately surrounded ojukwu, they just blockaded us and waited until hunger and disease made us surrender. Did it have to come to dat? That is why enugu people didnt experience hunger like other people did. Cos they fell early in the war to nigeria.
Ojukwu failed woefully. Dude came back and couldnt even win common senate. He became very broke and spent much of his active life trying to recover his father's property
To put an end to this silly back and forth,provide evidence(books,links etc) to validate all you stated above. I promise you too that I will call my book vendor in Nigeria,pay him and have him send all relevant books on this matter to you where ever you are in Nigeria. Please I presume you are in Nigeria sir? Deal?
nnamdijonathan: this is wonderful coming from a poly in the SW. I know some of my bigoted brothers will skip this good observation.
Ezigbote Ezi Bida! We all should clap and dance because they bought one car in a backwater Poly?. The millions of Igbo business ventures that pay outrageous taxes and sustain the dirty cats in the west na esusu dem be abi? Yet at every point,Igbos will be threatened with eviction yet you seek the full meaning of bigoted nde? Go find better work. This your Joe Igbokwe work here don expire
1. Going to war without weapons 2. Not being able to play international politics that will win him powerful friends like fidel castro did... 3. prolonging the war wen he already lost
Bede. Ojukwu never declared the war. Ojukwu did more to avert the war than Gowon or any other person dead or alive. He preserved the 158 northern military officers who landed under his care in Kano on the very day of the coup. He Infact led them to safety. He conceded to all the Federal side demanded at Aburi only for same agreements to be jettisoned by the Federal side at the advise of the British Secretary of State,Horold Wilson and Prince Akenzua,the then SFG. The Eastern Consultative Assembly mandated and empowered Ojukwu to declare Biafra as a last effort for survival and self -preservation. Between May and November 1966,hundreds of thousands of Igbos were massacred in the north and South West including nearby Benin City in an open and unrestricted show of savagery and mob action. Neither the regional nor Federal government lifted a finger to halt the carnage. Igbophobia was already entrenched in the psyche of the Nigerians. The events leading to this period was only a convenient excuse to finish "inyamiri" off. Secession was only natural. What kind of International Politics do you expect Ojukwu to play when same international levers of Power are the covert executors of the war for sinister reasons. The only probable ally would have been Communist Russia. Guess what the Russian Party Secretary told the delegate that went to seek help in Moscow? He called them aside and point blankly said the following: "A country that is not yet 2 months old that can manufacture monster bombs,rockets,rocket launchers,radar system and all manner of inventions must be feared. We can not afford another Japan in Africa. We cannot help you". Have you read Akanu Ibiam's letter to Queen Elizabeth denucing his Knighthood as a protest to the Crown's complicity in the Biafran genocide? Google is your friend. It will further expose the depth of international conspiracy against our people from inception. Foreign economic interest was also paramount to that conflict. In the words of a historian, Kristilolu"Lydon Johnson,the then American President backed Nigeria because EUROPE and AMERICA cannot afford to have a Japan in Africa. There are reasons for this. Biafrans invented the things now being used in Brazil where we have cars run on sugar cane fuel". When you say he prolonged the war when he already lost,i am at loss sir. Ojukwu was an accidental leader. He played his role well and did his best. People who only celebrate other people's foibles naturally have very little to give. On a final note,i recommend you read widely to be better informed on this matters.
Bede2u: my problem with zik is not many....but one...
Why didnt he play tribal politics....it was the only politics to play if he wanted wats best for igbos.
That singular mistake is why
Again,Zik was a man far ahead of his time. He was too advanced to be closet rat. He was not that endowed and educated to be a local chief. That tribal politics was elevated over matured and nationalistic politics is an indictment on Nigeria. It only showed Nigeria was unworthy of Zik. Perhaps Zik would have stayed back in America. Perhaps,he would have achieved what Obama attained in record time. Yes,he had that essence,graces and charisma. But I can bet you,if Zik had stayed back in America,all of us today will keep roasting and spitting on his unmarked grave and yelling how he was was an efulefu who abandoned his people and roots. But he came back and did his best. Just note that every Igbo man in reckoning from history till date fights both foreign and local demons. Reason it a for a moment. There's a lot hidden from public view sir. From King Jaja till date! Zik was only human. Nigeria don't deserve him. Above all,Nigeria don't deserve Igbos.
Bede2u: there is nothing to celebrate in the politics played by
Zik Kaduna nzeogwu Ojukwu Ironsi
The 4 of them ruined igbos and buried us.
U can celebrate their 'firsts'
First army goc, 1st president, 1st army graduate etc...but u just shouldnt celebrate their politics. It was grossly naive
Okay Bede. One moment you admit knowing all the political and social forces that condition the acts of the above mentioned key Igbo leaders the next moment you revert back to sub par mode to cast aspersions on them. So what problems do you have with Ojukwu and Ironsi? Kindly state them before I respond.
If i were him, i would NEVER join east with nigeria after oil got discovered.. i would drag my foot until i understand the extent of the oil and wat our options were.
Oil that already made rockerfella the richest man in history 200 years prior Wat i will be thinking would be how rich i and my family would become if we came to control the oil 100%
I will rather die than hand over oil found in my territory to the larger nigerian nation.
Zik's crime was that he was elevated in his thinking better than his contemporaries. He lived beyond base and chauvinistic instints. Same traits you still find abundantly in Igbos today. He was a man way beyond his time and era. Yet,his legacy towers above all till this day. Aside personally influencing African renaissance and Independence push,the enviable depth of leadership instituted in the East were his doing by a long mile. Recall the first set of Igbo intelligentsia who were trained at Lincoln University were personally sponsored and influenced by Zik. These pioneers later became the foundation of the Eastern Nigeria miracle and subsequent excellence we all miss today. Zik's major sin was that he failed to play tribal politics like Ahmadu Bello and Awolowo! That Zik was denied the Prime Minister position by whatever turn of events was Nigerias loss. Again,there is an unseen hand of the Colonialists in all these. All these should tell us clearly that Nigeria is not worthy of Zik and Igbos today given how elevated and noble our drives are. We can go on and on. Zik was only human so why should we expect perfection from him? Buhari today is a complete pestilence and disaster yet am sure some of the people rattling against Zik today voted for Buhari. Smh.
But u are missing one thing already...the fact that 4 out of 5 top officers who planned the coup where igbos and the fact the only 2 premieres who were not killed were igbos. The only fg actors who were not killed were igbos and the person who benefited from the coup was igbo.
Foolish nzeogwu PERFECTLY played into the arms of the enemy in such a way that questions should be asked if he was actually an slowpoke or just an uninformed fool.
Aside that those sent to Enugu to complete the killings of the noted Igbo leaders failed in their bid,the Arch Bishop of Cyprus was in the East as at that day. It would have been a diplomatic lunacy and blunder to carry out a coup with a such a dignitary in tow. Fate was just against a conclusive success of that coup by all indications. Again,recall British was still the covert string puller in Nigeria then as they are today. They were not silly to thrust power to the north. If that coup had favoured the north,nothing would have happened. Please quit castigating Nzeogwu. He did what was considered the best interest of the nation at his time. Quit giving our enemies live bullets to finish us by perpetuating their false narratives of the putsch and the war proper.
Bede2u: nzeogwu was an idiot whose memory should be cursed. Idiot thought nigeria was a small country he could control...he didnt appreciate the strenght of the north. Today, the east could have at least been wat lagos is to nigeria today..the richest zone...where the money is.
Enugu and ph could have been like abuja and lagos. The east had it all...but it wasnt enough...nzogwu and his goons wanted more...they got death instead. Curse their memory. Am sad now
Oga take it easy. Nzeogwu was no fool.His acted within the limit of what constituted national interest in his era. Plenty issues conditioned the coup and the fall out today. For a start,as at then,the north had 23 senior officers.The west had 17. The East had 78 senior officers so it was natural to have more easterners in any military set up. Now,what was the political and social basis for a change of government? A politicised 1962 census,the political anarchy in the Western Region,the bloody Tiv riots,a partially boycotted 1964 general elections and other social ills such as ethnic chauvinism,endemic corruption,nepotism,economic stagnation,wanton arson,political thuggery and an incompetent leadership at the centre. The coup was inevitable at that point and would have happened any other way sooner than later. The coup received nationwide acclaim until the spin doctors went to town and changed the entire narrative! At the root of this change of narrative(tagging it an Igbo coup) is Igbophobia already well established in the north and West. (Recall Ahmadu Bello's hate speeches,Awolowo's carpet crossing to decimate Zik,Igbo massacres in 1945 in Jos and Kano 1953,etc). You need to consult and read widely to understand the social and political leverges of that era for you to make sense of the coup and it's aftermath. Igbos like who still hold this false narrative only serve to perpetuate lies the enemies, hold on to suppress and justify their evil. Gideon Orka led another bloody coup. Why was his not called a Tiv coup? Dimka led another boody putsch. Why was it not tagged a Jukun coup? Think Oga! Think!
nnamdijonathan: Most sidewalks are built by covering the drainage on the sides of the road, our governors know this but, they prefer to deliver substandard projects to us because, they know that there will be no criticism from the people.
You mean something like the first attached,sir? (The red arrow is the water channel to flow into the underground drainage).Note the sidewalk was built atop the drainage. It may work in semi tropical regions but certainly not in our areas with torrential rainfall and incessant flash floods.Most advanced cities have central drainage system that channel all the sewage and residues from homes and offices towards a central point. Again,if we are a honest and forthright society,the inflated funds wasted by Okoroawusa in Owerri can construct a standard central sewage system and permanently solve the perennial floods in that potentially awesome city. It is a pity.
nnamdijonathan: Guy do you know that a Yoruba man owns a company called Proforce that specializes in manufacturing only Armoured vehicles which include Armoured cars, Armoured Personnel Carrier ( APC ), and Armoured Anti mine vehicles. Even with this, the federal government still patronizes Innoson vehicles (that specializes in manufacturing more of private and passenger vehicles) more than Proforce and I have not seen Yorubas coming to cry foul. Why didn't you complain when the FG purchased Innoson vehicles and Peugeot vehicles of which the innoson vehicles were more, the FG purchased about 20 innoson armoured cars in 2016 and after using them in Bornu state, they ordered for extra 100 innoson armoured cars. When you come to Ikeja Army cantonment in Lagos, most of the staff buses are innoson buses same with some of the buses used by the navy in Lagos, FRSC officials situated along the Ikorodu road ( Federal highway ) patrol around in Innoson pickups, I have seen Innoson SUVs come in and out of the Yaba Army Barracks in Yaba Lagos and you are here talking another thing. Apart from the Innoson vehicles, the Buhari lead administration is the first ever administration to order for 50,000 pairs of military boots from Aba shoe manufacturers and recently gave some Aba manufacturers the contract of manufacturing Made in Aba ballot boxes for the 2019 elections and yet you decided to ignore all these things and mislead other people. How many Innoson and Aba products did GEJ buy during his administration? mtcheeeew
Like CJrane said,the United States and France declined from supplying these parts to Nigeria which compelled them to patronize Innoson who is the only one with the technology to produce them. Proforce only assembles. Besides,government patronage of Innoson was seriously advocated in the last administration and incorporated in their future projections.The results are what we see today:http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=31333. This is not a chest beating contest.
Chef2000: At this junture let's engage in another discussion to keep those derailing this thread in check, Handsomegod can you bring a topic to discuss?
The only thing i still struggle to cast off from my mind since was picture of open drainage in the sweet Awka roads. Infact,aside few MAJOR streets in Enugu,the rest have open drainage. Lack of sidewalks also betray the massive amount spent in constructing our roads. I am inclined to believe either our leaders do not give a strict and elite mandate to the contractors or there is a complete lack of class somewhere. I pass through the first picture daily. The other pictures are standards i wish we can adopt in our regeneration and beautifucation efforts. Trust me when i say they wont cost more than what we spend on the available roads. We shall get there someday.
Download the book on the link above and read or keep for your kids to know the exploits of their forefathers. The title of the book is: THE TWENTY YEARS WAR:Invasion and Resistance in South-Eastern Nigeria. 1900-1919. Ndewo
In those OBJ era, during those Uwazuruike MASSOB days. I was in Ogidi with my uncle, and MASSOB was having rally in Onitsha, they were discussing about a distant relative of ours who was a MASSOB member and was involved in the rally. My Uncle was angry and made derogatory statement about how "the Imo man Uwazuruike ", will not keep his stupid Biafra venture in Imo state, but would rather bring it to Anambra and Onitsha in particular and be exposing our young Anambra youths to danger. He was saying this with condescending tone towards Ndi Imo. I told him that he is right. He was happy and thought I was siding him. Then I went on and told him that this was how the troublesome Anambra people, Ifeajuna and Ojukwu went and brought war to Igboland, and the Anambra man called Ifeajuna went and betrayed Ndiigbo, while another Anambra man called Ojukwu after getting Enugu destroyed due to his incompetence, retreated to Imo state, where he got Aba, Owerre and Umuahia all destroyed, in addition to thousands of Ndi Imo (Abia and Imo) Youths, who had to die defending OAU(Owerri-Aba-Umuahia) from Nigerians .
He kept quiet and didn't say a word again. I bet his One dimensional brain and analysis never thought of that.
I have been with Imo people(Abia and Imo) who would go on about how Ndi Anambra (Ifeajuna) brought war to Ndiigbo. How Ojukwu was incompetent and made the war rage on because of his arrogance and how Zik abandoned the Biafra cause and joined Nigerians.
Then I reminded them that It was Ironsi folly that led to the counter coup, and that the likes of Nzeribe happily negotiated weapon deals for Nigerians and profited on it to the detriment of Ndiigbo, in addition to Omar Sanda, aka Ike nwachukwu, who happily fought with Nigerians Against Biafrans. They were all Ndiigbo from old Imo state.
They all kept quiet, I bet their one dimensional brain didn't allow them see the clearer picture.
I was once in st Micheal road Aba to repair a troublesome phone, that road was very bad then, and worst still, it was rainy season, with too many pools of stinky water in the many pot holes on the road. Many Young people were there too, and I noticed they were having discussions about Enugu state. They were mostly from Abia and Imo. But the general consensus from them was that Enugu people are backward people, and that other than Enugu capital which they argued was given to them by the Eastern region, that the rest of Enugu towns are backward and the people peasant farmers, who they claim are migrant paid farmers in Abia .
Ofcourse, I gave them a piece of my mind, I grew up in Enugu and consider myself an Enugu person, I saw that insult as insult to me. I asked them how many of them had been to Enugu capital before? Surprisingly, only few of of them, then I asked those of them who said they had been to Enugu before, how many buildings in Enugu or roads were old buildings or roads? They confessed that they saw New buildings and roads, then I told them that Enugu is beautiful not because of old structures of Eastern region, which majority of them were left in ruins by Nigerian Army after the war. Enugu is what it is today, because the people had always elected credible leadership who built and maintained the state infrastructure, as well as attracted New investments in the real estate of the town. I told them that maybe, it's about time Ndi Abia started doing same. I also took time to remind them that Enugu had produced many educated personalities and rank very high in JAMB, WAEC and Unity school performance statistics, hence can't be said to be backward state. Towns like Ozalla, Obe, Agbani, Akpugo, Udi, Nsukka, etc are also fairly urbanized and can't be said to be bushes, they have decent clusters of modern beautiful houses. Surprisingly, none of the youths there have heard of those towns. Yet, they all have a negative opinion about Enugu, based on hear say, or even out of envy.
Coming back to Enugu from Aba, I boarded a public transport, and once we got to Osisioma and the stretch of Bad roads between The Aba- Umuahia section of the Enugu-PH road, tongues started wagging in the vehicle. Majority of the passengers who were Enugu people who came to buy wares from Aba, started talking about how Abia people are backward and dirty set of people, how they are all disgrace to Ndiigbo. How they stupidly keep electing Bad leaders, how Enugu is London and Aba and Abia is pigsty. Then they went on praising themselves and their state Enugu and rantings of how organized they are filled the air.
I was hoping that an Abia person must be in the vehicle to take them up, but it soon became obvious that either there was no Abians on the vehicle, or the Abians seem subdued to argue. I was weary from my Aba mission which yielded disappointment, but these people wouldn't just stop, so I had to step in. I asked them, if Enugu is as sophisticated and wise as they claim, how come they are coming to Aba to buy goods and not have them in Enugu? Are they not aware that Enugu is closer to Lagos and Onitsha than Aba, seeing as the seaport is in Lagos ? I reminded them that Aba is not the capital city of Abia State, and that Enugu state as a whole has no second city as big as Aba. Infact Aba comprising of five local governments( Aba North, Aba South, Osisioma, Obingwa, Ugwunagbo) is much bigger than Enugu capital in land mass and otherwise and has more economic and industrial activities going on it, which is why they(the Proud Enugu people in the vehicle) had to leave their London Enugu and come to the Pigsty of Aba to buy goods. I reminded them that Umuahia is the capital of Abia State, and it's as neat as Enugu. I told them that whatever they think Enugu is today, that an Abia man by the name Micheal Okpara, whose square seats close to Enugu government house today, played a big role in it. I went on and on.
When I was done, silence fell on the vehicle, as they all went to ponder on their One dimensional brain, and allowed me to sleep.
See, the issue with the so called disunity and arrogance Igbo groups exhibit toward each other, is that it is ignorance driven.
Many Igbo people know next to nothing about other Igbo groups and their struggles or strength, they go about running around with what ever jaundiced one sided narratives they have towards each other. I attribute this to dearth of quality leadership in Igboland and the rise of selfish politicians hell bent on dividing us to create modern day fiefdoms for themselves.
Someone here mentioned you are a member of few Pan Igbo groups on Facebook. Kindly lift the above holy grail of an update and paste it on those forums.You can edit and give it a proper introductory paragraph. Every Igboman need to read those sermons you penned down Pazienza nwoke Oka! All you stated are same ideas and rebuttals swimming in my head whenever i read such ignorant rants from our people but am usually too angry and agitated or better still shame struck to put it in such order as you have done. May our ancestors whose spirit of wisdom you embody keep guiding you. There is hope after-all.
pazienza: You sound exactly like how the rest of Nigeria sound towards Ndiigbo, and you can see how Nigeria has become worst off for it. If I ask you to list and explain how Zik exhibited arrogance towards the rest of Ndiigbo, you will run blank now, and start stuttering. Infact, do you mind listing Zik arrogant behavior towards other Igbos. It's a known fact that the Igbo nation as we have it today holds whatever degree of cohesion it had today to Zik ground breaking works, no Igbo man dead or alive had come close. Zik worked for all parts of Igboland. He worked closely with Nzimiro(Imo), Okpara (Abia), Akanu Ibiam (Ebonyi), Enugu ( Jim Nwobodo), etc. Zik came from Onitsha, a people who suffer from identity crisis, yet he gave so much to Ndiigbo than any dead or living Igbo man had.
Another empty emotional allegations. Stop making general statements. Tell me how Ojukwu exhibited arrogance towards other Igbos? Great men have self confidence which men of little substance out of envy characterize as arrogance. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams, Mohammed Ali, etc. It's part of their winning mentality to be proud of their hardwork and exhibit confidence in their self.
If I ask you evidence of how Ojukwu exhibited arrogance towards other Igbos, you would run blank too.
Enugu is part Of Jim Nwobodo vicinity. Jim Nwobodo come from Amaechi Awkunanaw, which is part of Enugu capital city. So yes, ESUT was sited in his vicinity. Chimaraoke recently took the school to Agbani his home town. I bet it doesn't matter that Zik out of patriotic considerations decided to build UNN In Nsukka, but it would have mattered and be used to justify Anambra arrogance, had he decided to site it in Onitsha his home town, or neighbouring communities like Obosi, Nkpor, Ozeh, etc.
You see Anambra superiority complex, I see your own inferiority complex. It's same thing when Nigerians speak of Igbo superiority complex, when actually it's about their own inferiority complex. No Anambra person stopped you from celebrating the achievement of your own people, we actually join you to celebrate your achievements, I am a regular contributor to the Enugu thread. Yet each time Anambra person try to celebrate the Achievements of Ndi Anambra, the inferiority complex of people like you comes up, and you start accusing Anambra people of superiority complex. This behavior is not different from what the rest of Nigeria do to Ndiigbo. You need to kill off your inferiority complex, the problem is not Anambra, the problem is you.
Whatever glorious past Ndiigbo had in Nigeria was given to us by Zik. I had taken time to chronicle the situation of Ndiigbo in Nigerian state by 1948,before Zik took over. It was no better than the current political state we found ourselves in 2018, but Zik worked on it, and by 1960, we were near the top. What has your Ekweremmadu done for Ndiigbo? Is he not a mere lap dog to Saraki, how exactly has his current political post benefitted Ndiigbo? Isn't it telling that it's at a time, Ndiigbo has Ekweremmadu as the highest political office holder, that we had experienced the greatest ostracism from Nigerian political sphere? Ekweremmadu cannot even negotiate any thing for Ndiigbo, he is a bit too quiet and weighed down by skeletons in his cupboards, which the Caliphate had used to gag and prevent him from speaking up or fighting for injustice against Ndiigbo. Fresh from Civilwar, it was Zik political sagacity that Ndiigbo got juicy posts from the government of the day? What has Ekweremmadu done for Ndiigbo? Ekweremmadu is exactly the prototype of the Igbo the Nigerians want, the type that stays quiet and don't fight and cause chaos to others, just to get equity for Ndiigbo. Just the perfect docile leader. Ekweremmadu is so small that outside his Enugu constituency, he commands no followership elsewhere in Igboland. How can you lead when you don't have charisma? How can you gather followership if you don't exhibit self confidence? Now you know the difference between your Ekweremmadu and Zik/Ojukwu.
Abribas were not Ibibios. Aro didn't turn them to anything. Bonny and Opobo are proudly Ijaw people today, they hate Ndiigbo. I'm member of their facebook pages, and I know the situation on ground. Moreover the Igbo group Opobo /Bonny have links with are Ndokis. I guess Ndiigbo would have to thank Aros for terrorizing and aiding our villages with their Abam and Ohafia mercenaries, ransacking and burning down villages to capture slaves they shipped down to Opobo and Bonny for sale to America, which resulted to many unsold Igbo slaves in Opobo and Bonny, staying behind there and became indigenes of those places, leading to the current Igbo language of those those places, right? We have to condemn Nri people who condemned and laid curses on those involved in slave trade.
See how you insecurities towards Ndi Anambra is inhibiting your rationality.
Another unsubstantiated talk. I was born and raised in Enugu. So there is nothing you would tell me about Enugu. Chimaraoke was notorious for his romance with Enugu cult boys, who he empowered. Political killings were rampant in Enugu during his era. He was also found to have looted Enugu treasury dry to the tune of billions, which led to EFCC coming for him, and resulted to closing down of ventures like Cosmo FM,Rainbownet, etc. He also left too many abandoned projects. Meanwhile, Mbadinuju was quickly toppled and was replaced with competent leaders in Anambra. Enugu has also done same, so as usual, you really have no point. Many Anambra people call Enugu home, because we have been here ever since Enugu have been capital of the East, we are not unaware of the minor prejudices Enugu people have towards ndi Anambra, my aunty was sacked by Enugu people because she wasn't an indigene many Anambra people suffered for this, yet we don't hold it against ndi Enugu, we moved on.
Enugu is truly beautiful. But it also had a head start ahead of all other Igbo cities as the capital of Eastern region. Even till today, Enugu remain the defactor regional capital of SE. Nearly all regional government and private headquarters In SE are in Enugu, from EEDC to CBN. It has not come without benefits
This is straight off Igbophobic pages of Nigerians. Remember I said that the resentment of Igbos like you towards Ndi Anambra, is fueled by the same inferiority complex that fuel Igbophobia from Nigerians towards Ndiigbo, I'm not surprised that you are repeating their lies. We had discussed this Onitsha pollution issue before, but it was with Yorubas, never knew I would one day has to debunk an Igbo propagating same falsehood.
When you decided to sack all other Igbos in your Civil Service over non Indigene issue, thousands of fellow Igbos who had spent their life time working for your govrnment sent home, setting a precidence which Abia repeated not long ago. You don't see that as insults to Ndiigbo, right?
When you have the temerity to compare a highly cerebral and visionary Igbo leaders like Zik and Ojukwu and Ekwueme(which we still remember how Jim Nwobodo campaigned vigorously against him in PDP primaries in 1999 and 2003) to current political jobbers in Igboland which Ekweremmadu leads? All because you want to talk down on Ndi Anambra, you don't see it as insult?
How many Aviation ministers had Ndiigbo produced before Stella Odua, with all of them playing docile and subservient silent politics, because they don't want to be seen as loud mouthed or rocking the boat. Yet it was Stella who stood up and challenged the Yoruba cabals at the Aviation whose sole aim was to ensure Lagos monopoly on the airhub of Nigeria continued and saw Stella campaign to make Enugu Airport an international one a direct threat to them? The little progress we had made in making Enugu an International airport is thanks to an Anambra woman. She was for Anambra, yet she fought for an international airport that was in Enugu, because she is a proud Igbo woman, the type that is vocal about Igbo interests, that Nigerians don't want.
Ditto brother, ditto. The feeling is mutual.
Phew!!! Pazienza! God bless you bro! I was at loss of words when i first saw the diatribe spewed by our brother Bede in the original update. His update was an unbriddled display of insane ignorance and misapplied anger.Thanks you for the concise and comprehensive rebuttal. Igbos do not have a problem with themselves. Asaba has become an extension of Onitsha today. Enugu is the resting place of all Igbos for obvious reasons. Aba's commercial depth is a conglomerate of general igbo industry. Onitsha and Nnewi has expanded chains of economic interests for other Igbos to key in and is happening already. Wither the beef? Bede's comments on Zik and Ojukwu were very sad and unfortunate. Same as his diatribe against others. It clearly displayed a regimented and fettered mind. It was same kind of mentality other envious tribes project on Ndigbo. All you mentioned about Ekweremmadu were right. Buhari openly protect his killer herdsmen and Boko Haram but Ekweremmadu dare not whimper a note of support for IPOB who by the way are genuinely fighting against the oppression of the Igbos. Iam glad we are having this discussion.At least to put the records straight and change the narrative for good. God bless us all.
nnamdijonathan: The history of the Nigerian Colonial flag also gives a hint at the Jewish presence in Igboland
The information you posted is another interesting topic all over aside validating finally what we have been discussing here in the last 18 hours! There you have it! This revelation and the fall out is at the root of igbophobia (read, antisemitism) that prevails until this day. Any Igbo person who is at loss ought to read up the reaction of Fela and the jihardists to that fact.That is the covert state policy that informed all Igbo travails in Nigeria from almagamation till today. Thank you Nnamdi for concluding this matter.
InyinyaAgbaOku: Handsomegod, I am very conversant with the writings of these people and I never believed them. I made my rejections of Jewish linkage from what they wrote rather. People like Elizabeth Isichei too , are antagonistic about those Jewish stuffs and I think they have good points.
Handsomegod, we usually agree on the same things in and out of this thread, but you see this topic, I completely disagree with you. Don't worry, another topic will naturally sprout up and we will go back to our default settings but for this, let's agree to disagree
Nwanne. I do not have a problem with your position. Never forget I referred you to where this whole discussion started. Go to page 181 of this thread. Again,my concern was not to establish Igbo origin,which by the way has always been a controversial element,but on the exactitudes between Igbo and Jewish culture and traditional practices. Due to lack of documented evidence,lots of information and facts must have been lost.Have you also heard of Professor Onwukwe Alaezi? He is an authority on this subject. Again,every scholar and student keeps an open mind. Once upon a time,laws of viscousity,relativity and gravity were doubted and blacklisted. Today,thy are relevant and established natural laws. The inroads were made because scholars kept an open mind over the centuries until those laws were validated. Ututu Oma.
Politics › Re: . by Handsomegod(m): 10:43pm On Oct 07, 2018
