₦airaland Forum

Beaf:
Ilorin is a place you must fear!
We used to dodge out of school in the night into Ogidi, until one day, head hunters almost enticed us with their sweet music and chased us all the way back to the hole in the school fence.

Oboma1:
Somehow, I am waiting to see the result of the ban. Soon Akwa Ibom will join. I heard that, Okada is more than human beings in Uyo. How true is that?.

*jona:
Investors flee Anambra as armed robbers, kidnappers take over

[b]In a commando-style operation, no less than 20 armed men Friday afternoon in Awka, capital of Anambra State kidnapped millionaire businessman and chairman of Pokobros Group of Companies, Chief Paul Okonkwo, heightening the spectre of violence which has become the lot of the state since the beginning of the year.

Okonkwo’s abduction came less than 24 hours after the wife of a prominent politician in the state and former governorship candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Nwokoye was kidnapped in the same Awka, and four days after dare-devil armed robbers swooped on Nnewi, killing at least eight persons after serially robbing a chain of banks.

And penultimate Monday in Umuawulu, a few kilometers from Awka, suspected assailants had chased a former chairman of Awka South council, Chief Chukwudi Okafor, into the local Catholic Church before emptying over six magazines of bullets on the politician. He died instantly.

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The upsurge in violent crimes in Anambra State, particularly kidnappings, has forced several residents of the state which reportedly has the most number of millionaires in Nigeria, to relocate their families. For many families, Asaba, the capital of Delta State, is said to be the destination of choice, for now.

Eyewitnesses told Pointblannews.com that about 4 pm, a band of fully armed youngsters in SUVs had trailed Okonkwo from his Pokobros Hotel on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway and blocked his jeep on the same expressway.

“They literarily plucked him out of his jeep into theirs before speeding off through Zik (Nnamdi Aziiwe) Avenue. When they encountered some traffic snarl, these boys opened fire causing serious confusion as people scampered for safety. Funny enough, they passed the state Police secretariat, the Prisons headquarters unchallenged before heading for the road to Agulu,” offered an eyewitness.

Sources close to the multi-millionaire politician and businessman, Nwokoye, told Pointblanknews.com that the wife of the businessman, who was in Italy to inspect a consignment of sanitary wares, was abducted as she made to drive into her mansion.

“Two boys were sighted loitering, but they didn’t look sinister. As soon as madam drove in, they rushed into the compound, gun in hand, and ordered her into their car which they had cleverly concealed near our gate. Oga is on his way back to negotiate with the kidnappers so that he can, at least, have his wife back,” the source narrated.

A very successful clearing and forwarding agent, Chuwudi Okafor, who had fallen out with Governor Peter Obi, had hinted close associates that he was set to dump Obi’s All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“Amuluonyenaego (Chukwudi) had approached on the eve of his death that he was interested in the Awka Federal Constituency seat, and that he was set to declare for PDP. I encouraged him to go and register in his ward, and he agreed. We agreed to see again the next weekend. That was the last we saw,” lamented a PDP chieftain.

With the police have yet to make any arrests on Chukwu’s assassination, pressure is said to be mounting on Governor Obi to come out clean on the matter. “We strongly believe that Amuluonyenaego is a victim of state-sponsored terrorism. How come he was killed after falling out with Peter (Obi), and just days before declaring for PDP?” quizzed a PDP chieftain.

And in Isuofia, Okonkwo’s village, accusing fingers are said to be pointing the way of a former Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo. The former bank chief has for years been locked in a battle for supremacy with Okonkwo, culminating in Soludo balkanizing the town and rechristening his own part Isu Anioma. Okonkwo remained Oji (Prime Minister of) Isuofia.

So worrying is the frequency and ease of robberies and kidnapping to the people of the state that a legislator from the state told Pointblanknews.com that “most of us have found out that it is cheaper to relocate your aged parents and children than to pay ransoms.”

He lamented that the Peter Obi administration appeared confused whilst the security situation in Anambra state spirals out of control. He claimed that there have been at least 60 high profile kidnappings in the state since the beginning of 2009.

“Peter Obi is busing fighting his deputy and her son, Emeka. He is trying to maintain a false mien that all is well, when most of his aides are disorientated and resigning in droves. Armed robbery has peaked, and we now top the chart in kidnapping, a hitherto unknown phenomenon. If nothing urgent is done to nip this trend, I fear Anambra may become worse than Mexico or Colombia,” he declared.

[/b]

*jona:
How Cross River, Akwa Ibom Are Re-branding Nigeria





• Liyel Imoke, Cross River governor and • Godswill Akpabio, Akwa Ibom governor

[b]If you do an internet search of the phrase “child witch,” Nigeria will pop up in droves. In addition to other negative attributes, like drug trafficking and fraud, that foreigners have attached to Nigeria, witch-hunting in its original form seems to be sticking on us courtesy of Cross River State and Akwa Ibom State, two states that used to be one until September 23, 1987. One wonders if the fraud and drug trafficking tags are not heavy enough for us to be seen as witch hunters all over the world.
In the foreign media, there are gory stories and pictures of children, including toddlers, who have been bathed with acid and hot water. Some have six-inch nails driven into their heads. Some were burnt to death or even buried alive. The luckier thousands are whipped and driven away to roam the streets. These children are labelled witches and wizards by so-called pastors, prophets and bishops. Reports have it that there are more churches in Nigeria than schools and hospitals combined. Given the severe competition among these churches to win members that will guarantee the survival and wellbeing of these churches, many of their operators become desperate and devise many illicit means to survive. [/b]
All over the country, pastors label children and adults witches and wizards, but it seems this problem has taken a dangerous dimension in Cross River and Akwa Ibom. Children are tagged witches and wizards that have caused their parents and siblings such misfortunes as deaths, miscarriages, loss of jobs, financial straits, lack of marriage, lack of success in life, drug abuse, sexual escapades, drunkenness, etc. These unfortunate children are subsequently tortured until they “confess” and then disfigured, driven away or even killed.
It is inexplicable that an area which had contact with Western education and Christianity decades before most other Nigerians did so could allow itself to be deceived by desperate con men and evil merchants who call themselves “pastors” and “prophets.” Let us assume, for the purposes of argument, that a child is discovered to be possessed by evil spirits, what would Jesus Christ or his apostles do to the child? Jesus Christ or Peter or Paul would immediately cast the evil spirits out and set the child free. That was what Jesus did to Mary Magdalene, and she became one of his most dedicated followers, even having the honour of being the first human being to see the risen Christ. If Christians don’t use the Bible as their standard and reference point, I wonder how they can be called Christians. These fake men of God have no iota of spiritual power and cannot cast out any evil spirits, so they resort to casting children away. It is surprising that such fake pastors and prophets are not exposed and punished for not only exploiting the public but also endangering the lives of children.
This is a national embarrassment. When foreigners talk about it, they do not even mention Cross River and Akwa Ibom; rather they mention Nigeria. We now have the image of “child killers” in the world. This must be curbed forthwith to avoid more damage.
I call on the governments of the two states to pass a law that makes it an act of murder (or attempted murder) for any pastor, prophet, evangelist, fortune teller, seer, diviner, parent, guardian or anybody, for that matter, to call any child or person a witch or wizard or act in any way to suggest that any child or person is a witch or wizard. The penalty for such should not be less than life imprisonment. And the parents and guardians of children who are currently homeless or living in children’s homes as a result of this inhuman labeling should be traced and arrested for prosecution immediately, unless they pledge in writing, supported by reputable guarantors, to keep the children under their roof and cater for them without any discrimination whatsoever.
It is bad enough that many religious groups are exploiting the faith of worshippers to fleece them, but molesting children in this horrendous way is a heinous crime that should be frowned at and attacked frontally. There should also be a strong campaign to the locals to make them believe less that their ill fortunes are caused by external forces. It may be difficult, but it is achievable.
From North to South and from East to West, the problem of this nation is not caused by witches and wizards but by terrible leadership and stealing of our national wealth. And the more our religious leaders like the great prophets of old condemn rather than condone our corrupt leaders, the more they call our leaders to order rather than give them front-row seats and pray for them, the more our country will be freed from maladministration and embezzlement and the consequent poverty, ignorance and under-development that hold our people down. Just like kidnapping that has made foreigners afraid to come to Nigeria and fellow Nigerians exiles in their own country, this witch crisis is another sore point to our image as a nation. And it needs to be tackled frontally with every weapon in our arsenal. This is not the time for sons and daughters of the two states to defend their states by telling other Nigerians to mind their business, or for non-indigenes of the two states to pretend like the ostrich that what happens in Cross River or Akwa Ibom does not concern then. Our people say that when one finger touches palm oil, it soon soils all the other fingers.[b][/b]
http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=2568

*jona:
Article Comments
( 2 comments )

On Mon Nov, 02 2009 05:07 by JQ
@ Udo Sam. You are shooting the messenger. The article may seem a bit pointed and insensitive but the truth of the matter is that this witch ordeal is being endured by hundreds of children everyday in Akwa Ibom and Cross River. That cannot be denied. The main cause is continued ignorance of the people and opportunistic charlatans in the form of pastors, etc. Unfortunately, the political leadership is all too accommodating of these charlatans as they see them as a means of advancing their self serving agandas by distraction of the people from the incompetence and corruption that is rife. And yes. It becomes a Nigerian image problem. Just as the image handlers of these two states are quick to dissociate themselves from the widely held world image of Nigeria. They must accept responsibility when the shoe is on the other foot. However, laws are notoriously ineffective in changing behaviour. Education and enlighten reinforced by our leaders is a better way.


[b]On Mon Nov, 02 2009 06:19 by Udo Sam
It is a pity that the way you have written this write have exposed you as a complete tribalist. Firstly i want to tell you that you are completely out of touch of the current happenings in Nigeria not to talk of the two states you have singled out to bash in your write up.In your write up you have judged the two state governments as doing nothing to solve the probelm when in actual sense the child rights law which included all you have raised has been passed by the Akwa Ibom state government as far back as May 2009. Today, Akwa Ibom state is the ONLY state in Nigeria that has declared free education in Nigeria, there are so many other good things the govt has done to REBRAND NIGERIA IN A BETTER WAY. Always check your information before misinforming people and for God sake STOP THIS TRIBAL ASSAULT IT WILL NOT TAKE YOU ANYWHERE!!!! We are still recovering from Okija(Anambra) , Otokoto (Imo), governors video (Abia)Commisioners naked swearing oaths (Ogun), boko Haram (North) etc. I never s [/b]

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=2568[b][/b]

mekuslogan:
mekuslogan is igbo using Yoruba. Google Germmanig,okoroboy,aba4life, or any biafra names. all names he has used in the past and see for yourself. He did disclose that he is igbo and I believe he is.

paddyboi:
I am igbo and biafra is a PIPEDREAM, the average igbo man is too corrupt, indisciplined and ignorant to govern himself, is it the likes of andy uba that will be president?, where are the resources?, what will the currency be anchored on?, where is the access to the sea, or will u annex calabar and rivers state too, ?, Ojukwu was a FOOL, egotistical bastard that had to kill millions of igbo to justify his stupid war, and i am 27yrs old so i know what am talking about,
the world is global, nations are forming unions, because only the strong survive, and some idiots are clamoring for BIAFRA, a landlocked landmass that only exists in history, now overtaken by events,
its o.k though, some southerners in the U.S, still wish for the confederate states of america, and fly rebel flags, keep dreaming like them, @POSTER, u just made my day.

Onlytruth:
I don't think he is Ijaw. He is dumb and dimwitted. Ijaws are not dumb. One of the smartest NLanders is Ijaw. This one may be from Koma!

mash2:
Jakumo! E be like u need to go back kindergaten,

CAPONE is the guy in charge. That car is not for sale. Its the VEHICLE to 2020, that magic year when all re-branding and re-packing re-dabaru and re-wuruwuru would have brough a big enough result for all to see.WE WILL BE ON TOP OF THE 20 BIG NATIONS OF ALL CREATIONS, MARS, MOON, AND FAR AWAY PLUTO INCLUSIVE! Doubting thomases beware, Naija is on the move!!!

, and if u still doubt how effective the car be, central cooling, turbo charged jet speed, high-tech auto-controls, just take a look at the flashy interior,
So call him on the no, its on the hood of the car



, HA HA HA HA HA A A A A A A A A !!!!!!!!