stinggy: I've been reading silently, but this is just too absurd a claim. Even though we never begged to be involved in this discussion of yours, come and substantiate your claim or were you thinking no one would see this?
Just before this, you were claiming Kwara & Kogi dialects are far from Central Oyo dialect. How many Okuns(Kogi) have you interacted with to type this rubbish? What part of Kwara were you speaking for (as the Kwara state has not just one Yoruba dialect)? - There's the central Oyo dialect which is spoken by Ilorin, Offa and some others, there's Igbomina dialect which is spoken in Omu-Aran, Ajase-Ipo, Esie, Oro, etc and some parts of Osun state. Which of the two is far from Central Yoruba?
^^^^ ^^^^ Well said... that guy that you replied was just typing nonsense on what he knows nothing about.
Thanks for this your linguistic breakdown/analyses.
Wisdomkosi: “Igbo People Stop Demonizing our Transporters” (MUST READ!)
By Emeh James Anyalekwa
I have read lots if gibberish by my Igbo brothers and sisters, including the educated ones pouring venom and demonizing our brothers in the transport business for hike in fares during the yuletide.
During my elementary economics, I was taught that demand influences price both positively and negatively. Higher demand higher price and lower demand lower price.
I was taught that these market forces help to keep the market in equilibrium, without which the market will crash.
I understand that Nigeria operates a free market system except in some sectors that are partially price regulated.
You don’t expect transport company operator to charge same amount from Lagos to Aba during Xmas when traffic on that rout is at it’s peak with Lagos to Kano with very minimal traffic.
If they do, the business will crash!
The traffic from Lagos to Aba will triple because more people will be able to afford it.
There will be no buses to carry the surging travelers.
But due to the hike in price, some intending travelers who have nothing doing in Lagos would travel earlier when prices were lower.
Those who don’t have important reason to travel will stay back in Lagos.
Some transporters on Lagos to Kano rout will channel their buses to the Lagos – Aba rout.
Transporters will be motivated to run with less passenger at lower price or even empty from Aba back to Lagos because there is less traffic from Aba to Lagos during the Xmas.
These will help to reduce the pressure on demand in Lagos.
I have not mentioned the delay on road due to hold ups occasioned by the high traffic.
It may interest you to note that flight from London to Lagos tomorrow 24the December ranges between N750,000 to 1,000,000. The same London to Lagos on 16the January will drop to N170,000.
Igbo people are enterprising, that is one of our strengths not weakness.
Stop joining others to demonize our people for nothing.
Anyalekwa is the Executive Director Igbere TV and National President Online Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria (OMPAN)
stephenduru: Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo pictured at the Palace of the Olu of Warri.According to report,he is there to inform him about the flag off of the Federal Government’s TraderMoni scheme in Delta state.He would proceed to the Warri Main Market for the flag off!
He arrived in the company of the HM State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, APC gubernatorial Candidate, Chief Great Ogboru and Sen. Ojudu, Prof. Patrick Utomi.He was received by His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Immediate past Governor of Delta State and APC 2019 Delta South Senatorial Candidate.
bigfrancis21: You see that's because Ikwerre is an Igbo dialect. 100 years ago, just like Yoruba, the Igbo ethnic consciousness did not exist. Every Igbo speaking clan existed on its own and identified itself according to its clan. Then an Nnewi man would tell you he was Nnewi not Igbo, same for Awka etc. An example of this is that Igbo slaves that were taken to America were surprised to get there and were being called 'Igbo' by the whites and many of them mentioned that they had never heard that name before neither were they called that name back home. This was in the 1700s and 1800s. When these slaves were asked where they came from, they gave their respective village names - okigwe, okwelle, etc. Igbo is simply a collective name for all bia-speaking clans that speak dialects or variants of the same language. The Igbo ethnic consciousness was introduced by the British and reached its height circa the civil war and after the Igbos lost the civil war, some Igbo clans, especially those out of the SE zone, found it convenient to deny being Igbo to curry favour with the Nigerian government. As part of this denial process, they tried to come up with false histories of migration to 'support' their 'distinctness'. It would surprise you that the Ikwerres are mainly descendants of Arochukwu people, Orlu people and Awka people and the so-called Bini tale of migration was started recently, less than 5 years ago. After the civil war, Igbo land was dissected to remove oil-rich areas (for example a big village in imo state, egbema, was divided into two, the oil rich half was carved out of imo state into rivers and the oil-less part was left in imo state. Now oil divides a formerly united village. Going from egbema in imo state into egbema in rivers state, the half in imo tells you they are proud Igbos and the other half in rivers tells you they are not Igbos - and they are one village that shares a common ancestry) and the remaining areas were altogether called 'south east zone'. The Igbo clans outside this SE zone found it easy to deny being Igbo simply because they are not in the SE zone. In other words, for these people being inside/outside the SE zone became an identifier of who is Igbo or not, not the language spoken or the names borne. The Ikwerres, especially, in Rivers state propagated this distinctness the most, they changed their town names formerly in central Igbo (for the ease for many to understand) to their more native Ikwerre dialect equivalents still with the same meanings, just differences in dialectical spellings. Many stopped speaing Igbo with Igbos from other areas and feigned ignorance of the language and would only speak Igbo amongst themselves, even till today in PH.
Many do not realize that boundary lines are very artificial and can be easily adjusted. The solution to this problem is a simple one. For example, if Ndoni in Rivers state (speak similar dialects with Ukwuani of Delta state and are located close to the boundaries with Anambra) had been included in Anambra state since its creation, there would be no dissident voices amongst them about being Igbo or not. Or simply put, adjust boundary lines to include Egbema in rivers state, Etche and Ogba in rivers state etc. into Imo state where they linguistically belong, Ndoni in Rivers state to Anambra and Obigbo/Ndoki in Rivers state to Abia state where they linguistically belong and watch these people take on the new identity of their state. You would find out that being in a state can really shape the identity of the people within. If today the polity of Rivers state is dissolved, the identity of the people would be changed or modified, because the identity of the people within rivers state is what it is today simply because they are in Rivers state.
Finally, I think that this Ikwerre issue is being given more attention than is deserved. The Igbo bulk from the SE zone and parts of Delta Igbo have longed moved on since the civil war to create good names for themselves. However, the Ikwerres still seem to be stuck in the 1970s era when it was fashionable to deny being Igbo to increase your chances of being accepted by other Nigerians, getting a job in the civil service etc. Also, the Ikwerres have not moved along with the Igbos since the last 40 years in terms of collective consciousness and behavior. While the Igbos from the hinterland are more determined to work hard, the Ikwerres tend to be more laid-back in general attitude towards life. For this reason, you can count only a very few prominent Ikwerre people who are successful.
^^^^^ ^^^^^ I like a significant part of the summations in your post.
I lived in PH and worked in the oil and gas industry from the 1990s. I had and still have Ikwerre friends who say they are NOT Ibo. Funnily one of my Ibo friends from Imo flew into a rage when I told him this and he said "don't mind them, they are Ibo"... I was really amused by his reaction!
I actually brought up this issue of Ikwerre names sounding Ibo to the knowledge of my Ikwerre friends... and then I finally realised that there are people who bear Yoruba names in parts of Ebiraland and some parts of Akoko-Edo who are NOT Yoruba but got the Yoruba names via acculturation through trading and living close to one another at the linguistic border areas.
[There are some communities in Edo State such as Usen Town, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, and Egbeta in Ovia North LGA, whose ancestry is Yoruba from originally Ondo State with Edoid blood in Usen as well. They constitute part of the larger Yoruba trading communities that settled in Edo and Delta States]. Even Akure has a quarter called Ado-Akure Quarters [who have Yoruba full names] but their ancestors came from Edo for trading purposes centuries back as well.
"Elawure of Usen pays thank you visit to Gov. Adams Oshiomhole"
"Omosede Igbinedion visits Usen and other Wards in Ovia South West."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLeKYNMqbA[4:41] Mar 19, 2015 - Uploaded by Independent Television and Radio Barrister Omosede Igbinedion has again visited some wards in Ovia South West.
"Roses sister's club of Benin at the burial ceremony of late Mrs Modupe Ehigie Fabode at Usen town."
The case of the Olukumis of Aniocha North in Delta State whose communities were founded by long-distance Yoruba traders/Yoruba Soldiers in the Bini Army, etc., Ugbodu and Eko Efun town [Ukwu Nzu] [Eko Efun means "white chalk" in Yoruba or Ukwu Nzu in Ibo] who have hybrid Yoruba/Ibo/Edo influences via acculturation. Nduka Ugbade the captain of the 1985 Under-16 World Cup winning team is from Ugbodu. This town is not far from Onicha Ugbo and Issele Uku the LGA Head Quarters.
I believe this is the case with the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, who via acculturation have adopted their present status as of today. I mean Aba is just 30 minutes from Port Harcourt...
I have an Ikwerre friend who is in his 60s and based in Lagos with his family who witnessed the liberation of Port Harcourt between 17th-24th of May, 1968 by the Federal Troops of the "3rd Marine Commando (3MCDO)" [3rd Marine Division of the Nigerian Army] commanded by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle with lieutenants such as Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro. He has consistently told me that Ikwerres are not Ibo and that Ogbakor Ikwerre rejected the Ibo appelation even before the Civil War. I investigated online and found the information about Ogbakor Ikwerre's 1960s declaration to be TRUE!
Captain Elechi Amadi was also right about Ogbakor Ikwerre's rejection of being classified as Ibo in the 1960s [this was before the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970].
He [Capt. Elechi Amadi] served in the "3rd Marine Commando (3MCDO)" [3rd Marine Division of the Nigerian Army] after Federal Troops commanded by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle liberated him from prison in Port Harcourt during the final defeat of the rebels between May 17-24, 1968.[/i]
The COR Movement [Calabar, Ogoja, Rivers State Movement], which included the Ijaws, Ibibios, Annangs, Ejegbams, Ikwerres, Ogonis, wanted out from the Old Eastern Region because of what they termed Ibo domination.
Title Usen: Origin, Culture and Development Contributor Usen National Development Association (Nigeria) Publisher Ambik Press, 2002 Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 15 Sep 2008 ISBN 9783571214, 9789783571211 Length 86 pages
PS: 100 YEARS ago [as of this year 2018] the Yoruba sub-ethnic groups right up to Benin and Togo saw themselves as relatives via Ife... although with slightly different dialects. They were under the Oyo Empire and some sub-ethnic groups of the Yoruba in the Eastern parts were in the Bini Empire. Oyo and Bini Empires NEVER attacked one another because of the ancestral ties that the Royal Families shared.
akelicious: The ambitious Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge project is on the verge of coming to fruition as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to embark on a train ride from Iju in Lagos to Abeokuta, Ogun state next month.
This emerged on Tuesday as the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, alongside members of the House of Representatives Committee on land transport embarked on a test-run drive from kilometre 41 to 73 within the Ogun state axis during the routine inspection of the project.
The team alongside journalists rode on two rail cars for over one hour which moved on some of the already laid tracks.
The 156- kilometre Lagos-Ibadan fast rail with extension to Nigeria’s premier port in Apapa is a three-year project but the contractor, the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) is being pressured to deliver the project in less than two years.
While there are some challenges over the right of way in the Lagos axis, work has progressed in Ogun state axis with the contractor working day and night in line with the government’s marching order.
An official of the CCECC told Akelicious that personnel have been deployed to work 24/7 in addition to the massive equipment and technologies mobilized to the sites.
Amaechi however lauded the performance of the contractor on the Ogun axis and charged them to speed up from Abeokuta to Ibadan, stressing that by the first week of January, the Vice President and some members of the Federal Executive Council would embark on train ride from Iju in Lagos to Abeokuta.
He said after that, a free ride for passengers on the axis would be declared for people living in the area.
The Managing Director of the NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, disclosed that eight locomotives and wagons would be deployed for the free test-run service.
The excited Amaechi after the ride which almost extended to Abeokuta, said, “When we started, it was a huge forest. In fact, as we traversed this place, most places are no longer known to us if you remember. In fact there are now bridges in the little water we used to drive across. There are now valleys in the hills we used to climb. There are changes.
“We are gradually coming to the end of the project because we are six kilometres away from Abeokuta and I have been assured that we would be able to ride from Iju to Abeokuta at least by the first week in January.
“The idea is to bring the Vice President and some ministers to join us in the ride.
“When we do the ride, we will then allow passengers to use it up to Abeokuta. Our target is that by the end of the month, we should get to Ibadan by rail; then we can begin to put the pressure on them to build the stations.
“They are working on the stations but they are slow. But I have told them the emphasis should be on the tracks. In fact today, I will tell them to focus on one track to the end so that while we are using that one, you are building the second one. But as you are building the two, it is slowing down the construction period.”
The Chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Rep. AbdulMumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) said the committee is impressed with the level of work done on the project, saying many Nigerians were not aware that a project of such magnitude was going on.
Konquest: ^^^^ ^^^^ "Amaechi becomes one of the MOST HARD WORKING and outstanding amongst the appointed Ministers . Good job to the indefatigable Minister. "A TRUE NIGERIAN."
"Ikwerre meka!"[X5]
Thanks to Rivers State for producing this indefatigable Ikwerre man... he's always checking projects as and when due. That's the way to go!
PS: @uzohrome, the Ikwerre ethnic nationality rejected rebel secession in 1967. Captain Elechi Amadi, a great Ikwerre man who was born on May 12, 1934-29 June 2016 (aged 82) when he passed away rejected secession in 1967!
He served in the "3rd Marine Commando (3MCDO)" [3rd Marine Division of the Nigerian Army] after Federal Troops commanded by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle liberated him from prison in Port Harcourt during the final defeat of the rebels between May 17-24, 1968.
deomelllo: The words test run flew over your head.
I just don't know why you people are sad and depressed because Nigeria is finally starting and finishing projects to serve and benefit Nigerians.
You people obviously prefer 16 years of looting, stealing and projects abandonment.
I got news for you, we've turned corner, we are not going back to looting, stealing and projects abandonment. Get used to our new reality.
^^^^ ^^^^ Well said @ deomelllo!
The rail project is a 156 kilometre Lagos-Ibadan fast rail with extension to Nigeria’s premier port in Apapa, Lagos. This will decongest the roads of heavy duty 40-feet container trucks and lead to undamaged roads.
The potentials are huge - massive from end of January 2019!
G1STMORE: A Nigerian lady celebrated her birthday two days ago and revealed her age on twitter but people felt it was inappropriate that she was unmarried at 33 and they criticized her for it.Nigerian Lady called
“33years no ring SMH,” @EnergyGod4 tweeted at her.
“@33 you are already getting old dear, go and get married please,” @Abaeat_laliga wrote.
Another Twitter user wrote: “I can’t find a ring on those fingers, just saying ni oo.”
Similar criticisms kept rolling in until the lady shut them all up with a single tweet.
Ejadike: Okay, we all know the campaigns carried out by the no. 1 phone brand in Africa, TECNO e.g Light Up Your Dream(were 4 people were made millionaires), #24MPAIClearSelfie challenge for a chance to win a trip to Dubai and Seychelles(ongoing), TECNO Merry Christmas giveaways, etc. Now they've come again with the beautification of the domestic wing of Muritala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos, I'm sure when you pass by you won't recognise the airport anymore . Its all lights everywhere at the airport. Check out lovely pictures form the airport.
Zenithsblog: British heavyweight boxing star Anthony Joshua has been awarded his OBE by Prince Charles in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
The 29-year-old currently holds the WBA, IBF and WBO titles after winning his March unification clash with Joseph Parker and was honoured for his services to sport back in June.
Thursday's ceremony marks the latest accolade Joshua has collected after he was also given an MBE in 2013 after claiming an Olympic gold at London 2012.
Prince Anthony Olufemi Joshua of Sagamu has to beat Wilder next year 2019 to make all this count... Unify all the Heavyweight belts man... and truly get all the accolades you deserve.
Congrats to the British-Nigerian boxer on the Royal award from Prince Charles. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ "Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder The Fight To Make!!!!"
lyricalpontiff: As part of the week long activities to mark the state burial of captain elechi amadi, an autobiography was written in his honour. It describes his activities as a boy, student, soldier, administrator, writer etc. The page 73 of the book speaks volumes.
^^^^^ ^^^^^ Fantastic... thanks for the updates on this project. The Nigerian economy is going to really BOOM with this project starting from 2019...
Thanks to Minister Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for keeping the hopes of Nigerians in the Diaspora and in Nigeria high with the upgrade of infrastructure which is needed to ELEVATE the Nigerian economy and CRASH the cost of production, transportation and food items through mass transportation by railroad freight.
The standard guage rail project is a 156 kilometre Lagos-Ibadan fast rail with extension to Nigeria’s premier port in Apapa, Lagos State!
When the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos starts production in 2019, the pump price of fuel will drop to about N60 per litre and the improved rail infrastructure would lead to efficiency in fuel distribution and drop in the cost of goods and services. The ECONOMY will BOOM in 2019!
uzohrome: Amaechi becomes the most working and outstanding amongst the appointed Ministers . Good job brother. A true Biafran
^^^^ ^^^^ "Amaechi becomes one of the MOST HARD WORKING and outstanding amongst the appointed Ministers . Good job to the indefatigable Minister. "A TRUE NIGERIAN."
"Ikwerre meka!"[X5]
Thanks to Rivers State for producing this indefatigable Ikwerre man... he's always checking projects as and when due. That's the way to go!
PS: @uzohrome, the Ikwerre ethnic nationality rejected rebel secession from Nigeria in 1967. Captain Elechi Amadi, a great Ikwerre man who was born on May 12, 1934-29 June 2016 (aged 82) when he passed away rejected secession from Nigeria in 1967!
He served in the "3rd Marine Commando (3MCDO)" [3rd Marine Division of the Nigerian Army] after Federal Troops commanded by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Adekunle liberated him from prison in Port Harcourt during the final defeat of the rebels between May 17-24, 1968.
damiloladuke: The late former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh's wife and children may miss his burial as they remain on the watch list of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Badeh’s widow, Mary Iya Badeh, and his two sons, Alex (jnr) and Kam have been in the United States since 2016 following his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to a report by The Punch, a family friend of the Badehs hinted that it was unlikely if they would come.
He said,
“I have spoken with them and I don’t know for now if they will be coming but it is highly unlikely. Their father has just been killed under controversial circumstances and the government has not removed them from the watch list. If they return and their passports are seized and they are not allowed to return, it would be a double tragedy.
“Everybody is still in shock so we cannot say for now if they will be coming but since they are Christians, there is no rush. A lot can happen before then.”
A prosecution witness, Abubakar Madaki, had told a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama that Badeh’s wife and two of his children were being investigated for offences with which the ex-Chief of Air Staff was charged.
Madaki said the three of them, however, escaped to the United States before the investigation was concluded.
He said all attempts to get them arrested turned out to be futile.
The witness had said,
“At the initial stage, when we started the investigation, we invited Alex Badeh (Jnr.) who lives in 19 Kumasi Crescent, Abuja, one of the properties, among the properties earlier mentioned.
“He happened to be a son of the first defendant (Badeh). He claimed to be a tenant in that property and since an investigation was ongoing at the preliminary stage, we allowed him to go and come back when we had enough issues to question him about.
“He left and never came back. We later got to know that he has left the country for America.
“We were also looking for Mary Iya Badeh, the wife of the first defendant, who is one of the directors in the second defendant (Iyalikam Nigeria Limited).
“The second defendant (Iyalikam) had received so much funds from the alleged funds we are investigating.
“She too, according to the investigation has left the country for America. Kam Badeh (another of Badeh’s son) is one of the directors in one of the companies.
“We have gone round the locations that we had information that he does business, but we are unable to get him.
“Since the information was that they left through the International Airport, we wrote a letter to the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Department of Security Service to watch them. But we have not been able to get them.”
He said when his team concluded investigation in the case, it “discovered that the first defendant (Badeh) and his wife had earlier incorporated a company Iyalikam Nigeria Limited” in whose accounts they allegedly diverted the Nigerian Air Force’s funds.
[quote author=mmb post=66883153][/quote]^^^^^ ^^^^^ Classic/historic 1968 throwback picture taken in the heat of of Civil War! Brig. Alabi Isama had a habit of personally taking pictures on and off the battlefield. He was ...and still is a lover of photography as a hobby
"The Platform | Big Talk with General Alabi Isama (Retd)"
"More Nigerian Civil War Sources": 1]Alabi-Isama, Godwin. The Tragedy of Victory: On-the-spot Account of the Nigeria-Biafra War in the Atlantic Theatre. Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan. ISBN 9789789260393.
ipodstinks: Chief (Dr) Chinua Achebe wrote a book titled “There Was a Country” which had sparked a lot of discussion on the pages of many of our National Newspapers of the resent. The pity of it was that Achebe had touched on the raw parts of the Yoruba People of this country and many had commented promptly and appropriately.
My comment to you today, has very little or nothing to do with the tribal issues but as affecting the military, the 3MCDO operation area during the civil war and to Sector 3 of 3MCDO of which I was the commander in particular, from 1967 to 1969. I was also the Chief of Staff of 3MCDO during this same period. This book will be out there forever, and I need to defend myself and my actions during the civil war for posterity. Nothing but the truth will be good enough for today and tomorrow. My account therefore will not be what I was told or what I heard as contained in many parts of Achebe's book. This is on the spot account of events described in Achebe's book. I have just completed reading it. Chief Achebe wrote about the following military situations, which I know are inconsistent with the truth:- a Asaba Massacre – Page 133
b The Calabar Massacre - Uyo – The brutality and blood lust of the Nigerian Soldiers Page 137 c. The capture of Afikpo d The Capture of PH - After several weeks of sustained air, land and sea pounding, a period reportedly characterized by military atrocities - rapes, looting, outright brigandry – Port Harcourt fell to the Nigerians on May 12, 1968. – Page 137 e. The Economic Blockade and starvation- pages 209 – 210
I will therefore take these issues one by one and expect that there will be questions at the end of my discussions with you on the points made or generally on the book, since I have read it.
Asaba Massacre. This was on the night of 8th August, 1967 at about 10pm. I was the commander of the Federal troops of 4th Area Command at Asaba. The Biafran troops broke the barricade on Niger River bridge and went straight to a place called “Ogbe Hausa” at the cable point; where the Hausa community lived. Biafran troops pounced on them and killed many of them. The few that escaped were moved down at Onitsha end, the people jubilated. Before my troops could reach me to report the situation, about 20 Biafran troops attacked me at the catering Rest House where I was living at the time. I fought my way through, and overpowered the 20 Biafran troops and reported the situation to my boss Major Henry Igboba at Agbor.
The story of how I did that is contained in my book. b) When the tide turned and the Federal Troops recaptured the Midwestern Region and Asaba, the Hausas among them retaliated by killing the people at Asaba. The Hausa who were there had never denied doing that. c) Please read the excerpts of this story in a book written by a Midwestern Asaba Ibo author titled “The Blood on the Niger” - pages 28 and 62
[b]Excerpts[/b]: Lieutenant Wokocha of the invading forces awakened one of the commanders of the Midwest Fourth Area Command in Asaba, Major Alabi Isama from sleep at the Catering Rest House. Major Alabi escaped arrest by shooting his way through and headed straight to Agbor...... Elsewhere at the ’Ogbe Hausa’ settlement (the equivalent name to the northern ‘Sabon Gari’ residential quarters of migrant elements living in the traditional Muslim Hausa states), a former teacher of 35 years experience, tells an equally hair-raising story. But before then, let us backup to the scenario at Ogbe Hausa the day Biafrans crossed the Niger. The Hausa settlement at the end of Cable Point is as old as Asaba Township itself. It developed during the trading boom of the Royal Niger Company. Trade on the Niger had brought a lot of Nigerians together buying, exchanging and selling goods. Most of these stranger elements from the North – Hausas, Fulanis, Nupes, Tivs and Igalas decided to stay on in Asaba. Many were born there and did not have deeper tieswith their own Northern roots, and during the crisis, did not quite know where to run back to. These were the Nigerians that a group of brigands from Onitsha fell upon on the morning of 9th August, 1967. These youths, mainly aggrieved refugees from the North apparently had not forgotten the 1966 debacle in the North. In vengeance, they accompanied the Biafran Brigade and before the Asaba indigenes knew what was happening, a lot of damage had been done in Ogbe Hausa. Many were rescued and given safe conduct through Auchi by road while others proceeded by boat through the river Niger. This group never made it, for they were ambushed at Onono near Onitsha and dealt with. This was the situation as the Federal troops, now on the offensive and in command, approached Ogbe Hausa quarters, Asaba
* In short the Hausas were all killed. The rest of the story is in my book now being published which hopefully should be launched in January / February 2013. The Calabar Massacre – page 137 of Achebe’s book. I was the Chief of Staff of 3MCDO and Col Benjamin Adekunle was the commander. Achebe’s story here was that the Nigerian forces over ran Calabar in early 1968 without much resistance or investment. He further wrote that the Nigerian Forces decided to purge the city of its Igbo inhabitants and that by the time the Nigerians were done, at least 1,000 and perhaps 2,000 Ibos had been killed.
a. This is a very unfortunate comment. Intelligence report showed that Biafran troops had alienated the Efik people of Calabar, did not recruit many into the Biafran Army and had lousily defended the town and the beach area of Atimbo. 3MDCO therefore led by Col Adekunle had an amphibious landing at Calabar which proved that the town and the beaches were not defended by Biafran troops with the seriousness that it deserved; and the natives welcomed 3MCDO with all the enthusiasm and the support it deserved.
b. I landed 3 days after the amphibious landing and the natives gave us all the support we needed – medical, casualty evacuation, food, off loading the ship of our supplies and heavy weapons. These stories and relevant pictures are contained in my book.
c. Achebe then said, on the same page 137 that the Nigerian forces opened fire and murdered fourteen nurses and the patients in the wards in Uyo.
Here is an excerpts from a book titled “The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War” by AlexanderA. Madiebo, the commander of Biafran Forces on page 240 and 242 of his book.
....On the 9th of March the enemy landed at Oron and then on, no one including the Brigade Commander Aniebo, really knew what was happening until Ikot-Ekpene, 50 miles from Oron, also fell. However, within hours of enemy landing, there was firing in many towns and villages between Oron and Uyo. Thereafter, wherever our troops tried to deploy in the area, they fell into an ambush. That confusion continued until the 11th when firing started inside Uyo town and we soon discovered that the “enemy,” whoever he might be, was there. In short Uyo had fallen! Our own troops were pulling back in disarray, absolutely unable to establish a defensive position anywhere along the route. Having lost complete control of his brigade with no prospects of regaining it, Colonel Aniebo was dismissed from command and summoned to appear before the Head of State, Ojukwu...
Here also is an excerpt of the book titled “Nigeria and Biafra my Story” by Phippip Effiong, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Biafran Armed Forces on page 220 and 221 of his book:
.....When I visited the Brigade shortly before the invasion, particularly in Uyo and Calabar areas, I received a lot of complaints from the local people about unsavoury treatment by our (Biafran) troops. I drew Colonel Eze’s attention to these complaints and urged him to improve relations with the civilians. At Uyo, military/civilian relations were so strained that I had to personally intervene to release a local newspaper editor from detention. Such acts on my part were not just a question of feeling alone for my people, but also a question of justice and sense of belonging in an emergent Biafran State. Were these arrests, false accusations, and detentions a sign of things to come in an independent Biafra? These issues bothered me as they would anyone else in my position then.....
..... With the fall of Calabar, Itu , Uyo and Ikot Ekpene the rest of the mainland was militarily threatened. Before this threat became imminent, I had strongly suggested to Ojukwu that as Ikot Ekpene was a vital junction town. It should be strongly defended. All he did was to sarcastically remind me that in fact we should also put a battalion at Nnewi. Nnewi was Ojukwus’s homerown as Ikot Ekpene was supposed to be mine, because I lived and grew up there. However, I am from Ibiono in Itu, and not Ikot Ekpene. After I received his sarcastic message, I did not mention the subject again. As it eventually turned out, the fall of Ikot Ekpene hastened the collapse of the Biafran 12th Division and, consequently, of Biafra....
d) More of the story and pictures of the capture of Calabar, Uyo Ikot – Ekpere are contained in chapter 5 of my book. 1. (Pictures) – Building Bridges – Page 85 of my book. 2. (Picture) Natures helping to build the roads and bridges – page 86 of my book. 3. Map for the capture of Obubra – page 87 of my book.
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ Brilliant perpectives from Brig. Gen Alabi Isama!
Before the war, the Mid West region which was carved out of Western Nigeria in 1963 and was never prominent in the various crises that plagued Nigeria prior to the civil war. However it can be noted that a leader of the coup Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu hailed from the region. The Mid West before the invasion fell into a sort of mediatory role. The Mid West felt a sort of false security in the days leading to the invasion. Two days before the invasion the Commander of the 4 Area Command of the Nigerian Army based in the Mid West Colonel CD Nwanwo had announced that the region was militarily prepared and equipped to repulse any enemy attack. But it was not understood who the “enemy” was whether it was Biafra or Nigeria. However subsequent events showed that the region was somewhat sympathetic to the Biafra struggle on hearing of the massacre of Southerners up North. Indeed many Mid Westerners had also been affected in the Northern massacre and gave first hand report of what had transpired after escaping down South. Food items found their way into Biafra from the Mid West despite the call by the Federal Government for a total boycott of the secessionist enclave.
It was also rumoured that Lt Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu and Rtd Gen David Ejoor were meeting secretly to discuss the crisis before and even after the declaration of Biafra.
According to an article by SE Orobator, Ejoor the Governor General of Mid West had admitted that those actions were taken to prevent battle on Benin soil to protect everybody’s interest including the Igbo speaking citizens of the region even though he primarily supported the Federal Government.
It is a fact that before the invasion, the public at large harboured no ill feelings against Biafra or the Ibos in general. The Mid West was not hostile to the Ibo cause.
There were youths who wore T-shirts of Ojukwus portrait with the inscription “on Aburi we stand”. There was a cordial relationship between Ibo speaking Mid Westerners and other ethnic groups. All that changed on August 9 1967 with the Biafra invasion of the region.
The Biafra forces led by Brigadier Victor Adebukunola Banjo on 10 August 1967 appealed to the Mid Westerners in a radio station that the area was about to be invaded by Northern troops. This was propaganda.
Biafra was suffering defeats on the front line in the Nsukka axis againt the Federal troops and wanted to prevent the invasion of Enugu by diverting attention, so the military gamble of Ojukwu was to enter the Mid West with a flanking attack which could have taken the Federal Government off guard if Banjo had continued the momentum and surprise element in proceeding past Ore to Lagos the Federal capital. The command by Ojukwu to stop Banjo from proceeding to Lagos may have turned the tide of the war for the Federal Army and changed the momentum. Ojukwu`s invasion of the Mid West may have been a military strategic brilliance to some expert military strategists.
A school of thought in the military lessons of the war asserts that stopping Banjo from going past Ore was Ojukwus blunder. However another school of thought claims that the Biafra Army will be too stretched behind and could be caught off by the Federal Army from behind if they had proceeded with the momentum and surprise through Ibadan to Lagos. Also it was unpredictable how a Yoruba public will react on seeing Biafra invasion soldiers on their soil. If only Ojukwu had read Suntzu`s Art of War which states: “When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing”
Personally in the military strategy of counter strike, I think Ojukwu should have thrown caution to the wind and given Banjo a free hand to proceed on the advantage of a surprise attack. No one was expecting Biafra soldiers in Lagos and this will rattle the Federal Government to withdraw troops against Biafra to defend Lagos and Ibadan. I sense Ojukwu did not trust a Yoruba man to lead his onslaught to Lagos and several key factors like supply and logistics may not have been properly arranged.
If Ojukwu was going to copy Hitlers “Blitzskrig” of invasion of Europe, he just missed it by his hesitation and distrust of Banjo, Ademulegun and Ifeajuna. The invincibility of the British Army at the zenith of the British empire lied not largely on the brilliance of her officers alone but on a free hand given to this officers by the throne to decide initiatives and good judgement on what to do when they have their backs to the wall. But let us leave military strategy to another day.
Simply put, the Federal Government and Mid West Region did not prepare for the August 10th invasion. I will not go into details of the Banjo`s radio broadcast, but summarily it revealed that Biafra invaded the Mid West to forestall its occupation by Northern troops or any Nigerian troops that could have been less sympathetic to the Biafra cause.
Ojukwu had to strike fast because it was rumoured that the Federal Government was pressurizing Mid West Governor Ejoor to grant Federal troops passage to Biafra but Ejoor refused. After the invasion, Major Albert Okonkwo was appointed to govern the Mid West by Ojukwu on 17 August. He described the invasion as a temporary administrative arrangement to forestall incursion of Northern troops. There was no truth in the claim because at that time there were no Northern soldiers in the region.
Over 6 thousand Biafran soldiers had crossed the River Niger Bridge into Asaba. At about 3 a.m on August 9 1967 Biafran soldiers led by Banjo entered Asaba. On reaching Agbor, they split up into 3. 18th battalion under Major Humphrey Chukwuka moved in to the oil rich Niger Delta, 13th battalion under Col Mike Inveso towards Auchi and 12th battalion Lt Col Festus Akagha towards Benin city. Benin was captured with little opposition. However the 13th battalion while capturing the towns of Okene and Iloshi started shooting at civilians indiscriminately. Hundreds died. Biafra soldiers met a small unit of Nigeria army and pursued them to the Siluko river were the two sides stood to exchange fire before the Nigerians managed to escape under the cover of darkness.
Unknown to Banjo, Biafran soldiers under Lt Col Oechi attacked the residence of Governor Ejoor on the orders of Ojukwu to capture Ejoor dead or alive. Ejoor`s guards resisted the attack. This resistance gave David Ejoor time to escape and flee to Lagos. In Lagos, the Ibo army officers in the Mid West were accused of having collaborated with the rebel forces to make the invasion possible. It seemed viable at that time that treachery or a non challant attitude of the Mid West authorities was the reason for the invasion. If the Government had made adequate measures to beef up its defence at Asaba and the outlying border area, perhaps the invasion could have been prevented.
Even after Governor Ejoor had been informed of the invasion of Asaba as it was taking place at 3 a.m by military Area Commander Col Nwanwo, no adequate arrangements were made to offer any resistance whatsoever. Troops loyal to the Federal Government could not put up any full resistance since majority of them were not armed and the armoury was locked with the keys kept by the officers in charge.
Even though Governor Ejoor had suspected a sort of conspiracy among the military officers in his cabinet, it was now too late to do anything about it. Ejoor admitted in his press conference in 25 September 1967 that his fault has been too much trust and confidence in his colleagues. Of the seven senior officers assisting him, six were Ibos, and three of the six were his old friends in Government College. Lt Colonel Okwechime, Lt Col Nwanjei and Lt Col Nzefili. The camaraderie spirit blinded Governor Ejoor to trust his colleagues almost absolutely. However the priorities of his colleagues were quite different. Ejoor also proclaimed that supporting the Federal side did not compel sacrificing the Igbo speaking Bendel. Obviously the Igbo officers had exploited the trust and confidence reposed on them by Governor Ejoor and as a result lowered the defences of the Mid West to repel Biafra soldiers.
Was Ejoor guilty of non vigilance? That is left for posterity to judge. The invasion of the mid west culminated in the breakdown of mutual trust that had existed between the Ibos and non Ibos of the region. The non Ibos did not find it funny and could not fight back because they were not armed. Secondly the apparent sympathy for Ibo and the Biafra cause which had prevailed amongst the Mid West youth suffered an irreparable dent. The Mid Western youth were not only humiliated but they were upset at the molestation by Biafran soldiers on their women and children.
According to Nwanne W Okafors book titled: Victimization During the Nigerian Civil War: A focus on the Asaba Massacre, during the war military operations were executed by the federal troops to weaken the Biafra soldiers with the main aim to getting them to surrender. In retaliation, the Biafra soldiers, in resisting federal troops fought back by attacking towns that were under the protection on the federal troops. The mass killings of non Igbo speaking people were evident. Raping and extortion, seizure of properties and other forms of inhuman punishment was rampant.
The federal troops were also guilty of rapes, looting and outright brigandry perpetuated on the Igbo speaking people of Asaba. The killing of many civilians in October 1967 in Asaba is well documented. A vigilance council group was set up shortly after the invasion and was primary concerned with spying on mid western civil servants. Its secretary S Osuh played a prominent role. The council led by Okonkwo met 3 times daily in the ministry of works and transport, Benin City.
The membership drive were not easy because non Ibos and even Ibo speaking citizens of the mid west were no longer willing to cooperate.
There was a road block unit which confiscated food items including goats sheeps and chickens from the citizens. This confiscated items ended up in army barracks in the mid west and Biafra. The Okonkwo regime was oppressive and each day the sympathy of the Mid Western towards the Biafra cause was dieing at break neck speed.
I will again refer to the Chinese Sunt zu`s Art of War does and donts which military commanders around the world often disregard when invading an area. The Chinese philosopher and Military strategists warns against cruelty against the citizens of the conquered land. Suntzu explains that treating the inhabitants of an invaded land fairly can save the lives of the invading troops and win solidarity to their side.
The Banjo led troops even though they had momentum on their side became oppressive towards the people of the Mid Western region. And so Mid Westerners simply hoped and waited for the arrival of federal troops. On August 20 a group of Urhobo/Ijaw rebels raided a Biafra camp and were successful at killing about 50 soldiers while 16 rebels were killed. The Biafra Government began broadcasting Biafra propaganda in the region while the Nigerian government did the same. On September 19, Ojukwu declared Governor Okonkwo President of the Republic of Benin in an attempt to make Mid Westerners loyal to a Government other than Nigeria.
On September 20 while General Mutala Muhammed troops were attacking the Biafran 12th Brigade stationed in Ore, the retreating troops began to loot the city and stole about £3 million from the Central Bank. Benjamin Adekunle`s landing in Warri forced many Biafra soldiers to abandon their uniforms and weapons before integrating into the local communities.
Under the supervision of General Mutala Mohammed, in retaliation for the assassination of Ahmadu Bello at the hands of Kaduna Nzeogwu one year earlier, Nigerian soldiers shot over 600 unarmed civilians in Asaba. The bodies of some of the victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. But most were buried in mass graves without appropriate ceremony.
CONCLUSION War is the fall of man. Both sides carried atrocities on the minorities. The minorities in the Mid West were never anti Biafra until their land was invaded. In fact minorities in that area looked forward to hearing the well polished Oxford trained Ojukwu`s voice on radio broadcast, however all this changed when, without any warning Biafran troops invaded their land and not only doing that, but setting up an oppressive government and killing anyone that they felt was against the succession.
Minorities in that region never intended to secede with Biafra but clamoured for its own separate state in the community of the Nigerian nation. Biafra on the other hand strategically invaded this region on the presumption that they will be welcomed with open hands. Biafran troops could have helped themselves better by being fair and kind to the host. The reports of extortions, executions and rapes did not help matters when the countering Federal army began pushing Biafrans back into the East and while the retreating soldiers were shooting at anything that moves, any slight advantage given to minorities on killing Ibos were taken with welcomed pleasure of revenge.
4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Benin_(1967) The Republic of Benin was a short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in West Africa which existed for one day in 1967. It was established on 19 September 1967 during the Nigerian Civil War as a puppet state of Biafra, following its occupation of Nigeria's Mid-Western Region, and named after its capital, Benin City, with Albert Nwazu Okonkwo as its head of government.
The new state was an attempt by Biafra to prevent non-Igbo residents of the neighboring Mid-Western Region from siding with Nigeria following regional ethnic tensions early in the war.
The Republic of Benin was officially declared even as the Nigerian federal forces were reconquering the region, and ended the following day as they entered Benin City.[1]:369 The occupation of the Mid-Western Region turned residents against the secessionist cause, and was used by the Nigerian government as justification to escalate the war against Biafra.
Newznow: The arrival of President @MBuhari at the National Assembly amidst cheers of “Sai Baba, Sai Baba” from the lawmakers. Currently, presenting the #Budget2019, the #NextLevelBudget. He opens the presentation with listing some of the major infrastructure projects across the country. Watch video
Today, Nigeria’s President is 76years old. We Pray for long life, good health of mind and body. Nairaland join the good people of Nigeria to wish our President a happy Birthday.
Muhammadu Buhari is a native of Daura, a Fulani town situated in Katsina State of Nigeria. He was born on December 17, 1942. He is the twenty-third child of his father, Adamu.
Buhari was raised by his mother, Zulaihat after his father died when he was about four years old. He attended primary school in Daura and Mai’adua before proceeding to Katsina Model School in 1953 and to Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College Katsina) from 1956 to 1961.
Military career
Buhari joined the army in the year 1962 and became the governor of the North-Eastern State during the regime of Gen. Murtala Mohammed. Later, he was appointed Minister or Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976. When the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was created in 1977 Muhammadu Buhari was made its head.
On December 31, 1983, the government of the civilian President Shehu Shagari was removed in a coup d’etat, Major-General Buhari was selected by the high ranking military officials to lead the country.
Muhammadu Buhari is known for his uprightness and zero tolerance for corruption. He introduced a public campaign against indiscipline known as “War Against Indiscipline” (WAI) alongside his deputy, Tunde Idiagbon.
Electoral Battles
President Buhari contested the Presidential election as the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in 2003 and lost to Peoples Democratic Party nominee, Olusegun Obasanjo.
In the 2007 April Presidential polls, Buhari contested against his brother from Katsina State, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and he lost.
Gen. Buhari was the CPC Presidential candidate in the April 16, 2011 general election, running against former president Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and Ibrahim Shekarau of ANPP, again he lost. In the year 2015, Muhammadu Buhari not deterred by his previous failures, contested for the Presidential election under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) with Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Muhammadu Buhari emerged the winner and was declared the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Marriage
In 1971, Buhari married his first wife, Safinatu Buhari (nee Yusuf) ( December 1983-August 1985). They had five children together, Zulaihat (Zulai) is named after Buhari’s mother. Their other children were Fatima, Musa (deceased), Hadiza, and Safinatu.
In 1988, Buhari divorced his first wife Safinatu. In December 1989, he married his second and current wife Aisha Buhari (nee Halilu). They also have five children together, a boy and four girls. They are Aisha, Halima, Yusuf, Zarah and Amina. Yusuf and Zahra graduated last year from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. Halima was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister at Law.
President Buhari is an accomplished Personality and the first citizen of our Motherland, Nigeria.
^^^^^ ^^^^^ Congrats to PMB on his 76th Birthday. Amana all the way...
Made4naijablog: A Playboy model has been massively criticized after she flashed her vagina while wearing a burka at Turkey's Hagia Sophia Mosque.
Marisa Papen is known for showing off her nudity at different holy or controversial sites. Some time ago, she was jailed for posing nude inside the Karnak Temple Complex near the Egyptian city of Luxor. The model also took part in a naked photo shoot in Jerusalem with the Wailing Wall in the background - one of the most important sites in Judaism.
According to Mirror, Marisa, who describes herself as "free-spirited and wild-hearted expressionist" travelled to Turkey with Australian photographer Jesse Walker. They embarked on a daring attempt to take a nude picture of Marisa in the Hagia Sophia, a former Byzantine cathedral and Ottoman mosque which is now used as a museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
Marisa said: "Unlike Egypt, we did not have a solid plan this time. No preparation at all, but endless imagination and a pretty strong foundation."
After buying a burka in the Grand Bazaar, the two headed off to the Hagia Sophia.
Marisa said: "After waiting in a long queue to enter, we were caught off guard with the amount of security cameras there. They literally have every square centimetre covered."
Jesse added: "If you've ever been to the Hagia Sophia, you will know there's never a day without thousands of people being around at all times."
After concluding that the ideal moment to take the picture would never happen, Marisa nonetheless decided to go for it and to lift up her burka to expose her genital area.
Marisa said: "We decided to wait for a guided group and while the guide was telling his story and everyone was paying attention, it was game-time."
Jesse added: "It was all done very spontaneously. Inside the mosque, we were hidden in plain sight. There is also a serene calmness inside which helped everything unfold the way it was supposed to.
"We even went back for a second time the next day because we were not happy with the initial shots.
"However, I did not feel like this was that challenging compared to the rooftop shot overlooking the Mosque. For that shot to happen, a lot of planning and coordinating went into it.
"Luckily we have some excellent connections in Istanbul, without them it most definitely would not have been possible."
The photos they took have now gone viral and generated massive fury but Maris isn't deterred by that and intends to continue in her "art".
Marisa said: "Jesse and I like to think of ourselves as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde on a James Bond mission, loving every minute for the danger that continuously presents itself to us."
Jesse added: "It can be extremely testing mentally, physically and also between us, but it is always a real adventure."
However, the pair said they had a near brush with the Turkish authorities after cops visited their Istanbul hotel and interrogated staff a day after they left for another spot in Turkey.
abduljabbar4: Okay, so are igbos the only ones in the south east? you guys keep forgetting everything you say also applies to you. The north east from my little observation is going to give a lot more votes to Buhari. You dont know what ending boko haram means to them but i dont blame you cos you live in the south and you have no idea.
Maybe this thread of ours will help you make less noise cos WE WILL MOCK YOU GUYS just like your unfortunate 'ancestors'. I have added you to my list.
^^^^ ^^^^ The so-called "human rights watchdog" Amnesty is not a 100% credible organisation.
They engage in biased, ridiculous and selective attacks on countries around the world. You will never see or hear them openly criticise USA that has engaged in extra-judicial killings in the global anti-terror campaign... where they have killed known American and non-American jihadists with drones and direct airstrikes. Although I'm in support of the American elimination of Osama Bin-Laden in Pakistan and the targeted drone strikes.
Such a ridiculous organisation that AI is.
On the other hand Twitter is not the only online platform where women... and children are insulted... it happens in real life so I don't see any spectacular thing in the so-called AI report. Its a fact we've always known about this from online and and offline studies!
Politics › Re: Ikwerres Went Against Igbo Colonisation In Elechi Amadi's Autobiography by Konquest: 12:33pm On Dec 24, 2018
