₦airaland Forum

Judging from the trend of opinion in the media and the tenor of conversations online, it seems that Nigerians have reached a rare consensus on the object of their collective wrath. He is the Northerner, particularly the Muslim “Hausa-Fulani” Northerner with the emphasis of the indictment varying from the generic category of “Muslim” to that of “Northerner” or “Hausa-Fulani” depending on who is doing the indicting and the circumstances. From the barrage of anti-Northern invective online, it is clear that the Northerner is considered the diabolical, greedy and power-hungry embodiment of all that is wrong with Nigeria.
Nigerians have consensually used these same adjectives before about another group – the Igbos. At one point in our history, the Igbos were the national scapegoats. As Chinua Achebe wrote in 1983, “Nigerians of all other ethnic groups will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo.”
In a multiethnic and multi-religious society steeped in poverty, part of the competition for group advantage is the quest to identify a common enemy, to dress it in readily identifiable sectarian garments and crown it with thorns as the national scapegoat. In earlier times, the toga of villainy was draped around the Igbo, stereotyped in the national consciousness as grasping, greedy, arrogant and clannish.
From the mid 1980s onwards, it became fashionable to speak of “northern domination.” The designation of national scapegoat has to do with perceptions of power and group advantage in the public realm. During the pre-Independence period when Igbos were prominent actors in commerce, politics and the civil service, they were vilified for plotting “Igbo domination.” The sequence of northern-led military regimes from the 1970s to the late 1990s made a new narrative of northern domination inevitable.
The demonization of “the north” in the media mirrors the vilification of the Igbo between the 1940s and 1960s. As with the Igbo, the depiction of the north as the arch-villain of the Nigerian tragedy is fallacious. Blaming all of Nigeria’s problems on one region or ethnic group and defining ethnicities as political categories with predictable socio-political habits is an untenable generalization and a prejudicial simplification of the Nigerian situation. This is unfortunately the dominant pattern of social and political analysis. It is one in which public life is interpreted in terms of mutually hostile fractal solidarities perpetually locked in a war for ascendancy.
The practice of identifying national scapegoats is a Machiavellian dark art. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Babangida regime identified “radicals” as the enemy. It was the desire to destroy radical academics that informed the military’s perception of the university as enemy territory and its subsequent subversion of higher education. Academics in the Ahmadu Bello University and the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in particular faced systematic persecution and harassment. In later years, elements within the Babangida regime would identify the OAU as the hub of a “Yoruba opposition.” Similarly, the University of Nigeria in Nsukka was targeted during the civil war as the “intellectual base” of the Biafran secession.

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Chief MKO Abiola
Following the June 12, 1993 election crisis, the emergence of Sani Abacha, and the incarceration of Moshood Abiola, the Yoruba were cast as the enemies of Nigeria and the chief opponents of the regime. The regime’s propagandists lost no time in dubbing the pro-democracy activists who wanted the June 12 election actualized as Yoruba tribalists even though Abiola’s mandate had been remarkably pan-Nigerian. The June 12 advocates reciprocated, insisting that the “north” was against the emergence of a Yoruba president, even though Abiola had won very handsomely in northern states. Abiola, himself a long time crony of military dictators, never attributed his travails to the machinations of a “north” intent on denying him power because he was a southerner but to what he called “a small clique in the military determined to cling to power at all costs.” But facts pale in the face of mythology.
Eskor Toyo once lamented that ethnic chauvinists in the south would rather refer to Sani Abacha as a northerner rather than as a fascist military dictator. After the near assassination of The Guardian publisher Alex Ibru in 1996, a group calling itself the Revolutionary Movement for Hausa Fulani Interest, (REMHFI), claimed responsibility. Of course, the attempted assassination was the work of the junta’s agents. It had nothing to with Hausa or Fulani interest and everything to do with the prolongation of a fascist dictatorship. But power mongers have long learned how to manipulate popular bigotries to their own advantage.
By 1999, the scales of enemy definition were weighted firmly against “the North.” Guerilla journalists had riveted Nigerians with tales of the intrigues of the “Hausa-Fulani oligarchy” or the “Sokoto Caliphate” – all metaphorical representations of the “northern enemy.” In his book, This House Has Fallen, Karl Maier reports Bola Ige as disclosing that the real controllers of Nigeria consisted of “not more than two hundred Fulani families.”
With the emergence of Boko Haram, the North is being entrenched as an “enemy other” in the national imagination, aided by the ignorance and malice of a biased media, 90 percent of which is based in the southwest (the so-called Lagos-Ibadan axis); and bigotry of pandemic proportions in our public life. Jingoism as journalism is rendering public discourse between Nigerians mutually unintelligible. It should have been fairly easy to mobilize national opinion against Boko Haram, a terrorist group that murders Muslims and Christians alike, and to cast it as a common enemy – but the media’s insistence on the myth of the “northern enemy” and its prejudicial coverage, which has prevented even sufficient acknowledgement of the fact that as many (if not more) Muslims have been killed by the group, – have negated this. This reportorial slant corresponds with the narrative of a Muslim north ranged against a Christian south – a popular fiction, yet possessed of such apocalyptic sensationalism that it sells papers. Put simply, politicians and the press both profit from demonizing groups and promoting prejudice.
However, ethnicity and religion possess limited explanatory capacity. According to Obi Nwakanma, northern domination is one of “the most sustained mythologies of post colonial Nigeria.” He argues that “the idea that the north through the military ran Nigeria and underdeveloped it is false… The closer truth is that a very complex alliance of business interests from the North and the South, with their international banking and security links ran Nigeria, and continues to run Nigeria. The ordinary northerner – Hausa or Fulani or Berom or even Tiv – has not benefited in any significant way from the so-called rule of Northerners. Individual northerners and southerners have benefited in immense ways, from their close associations and links with power, and we must pay heed to this fact.” Tam David-West contends that, “Northern Domination is a myth concocted and popularly peddled and perpetuated by lazy politically emasculated Southern politicians and most unfortunately also some Southern intellectuals; a grand alibi to cover up or divert from their ineffectiveness, ineffectuality and even political harlotry.” “Northern domination” is used in the same way that some northern politicians use the bogey of “southern domination” to mobilize support through fear of the other.
The great radical historian Bala Usman interpreted the Nigerian condition as a consequence of class machinations rather than contending ethnicities. He argued that a comprador elite of impeccably national character and transnational affiliations armed with hegemonic designs, rather than any ethnic constituency, are the true enemies of the Nigerian nation. Yet, their ascendancy lay in their ability to wear ethnic and religious masks, and manipulate ethnic and religious identities for personal gain.

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Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.)
In 1989, while addressing the Oxford-Cambridge Club, President Ibrahim Babangida said, “By accident of birth and more by education and access to opportunity, a few of us numbering only a few thousand, out of a population of more than 100 million, find ourselves in positions of leadership and influence in the professions and academics, the armed forces, the bureaucracy, industry, agriculture and commerce, in the media houses, in the courts and councils of our traditional and political associations. We equate our ends with the ends of the groups and communities to which we belong. We mobilize others to fight for our individual causes, individual beliefs, and interests as if those were their causes, beliefs and interests, etc.” Critics may justifiably see Babangida’s thesis as a self-indictment but it is accurate nonetheless.
The enduring lesson that political elites learned from the catastrophic failure of the First Republic is that no one ethnic group or region can “dominate” Nigeria. The key to political success since then has been to build multi-ethnic coalitions to share the national cake – an equal opportunity kleptocracy. This was the genius of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) during the Second Republic and has been carried on by the Peoples’ Democratic Party. The tiresome “north-south” polemics only serve to obscure the pan-Nigerian character of the reigning elites, by provoking provincial passions and diversionary conflicts at the grassroots – in which the poor are expendable.
Our chances of mitigating such aggressions depend on how mature we become intellectually and politically. The more mature we become, the less need we will have to externalize our failures upon other ethnicities and faiths, and the more discerning we shall be of who the real enemies are. As the great political scientist Claude Ake once said, “There is no north that is anybody’s enemy and there is no south that is anybody’s redemption.”
In the 2011 PDP convention, Atiku Abubakar sought the party’s presidential nomination as the “official northern flag-bearer” and failed to muster a complete following even among northern delegates. His failure was no mystery. Political power obeys dynamics other than accident of birth. Geography is not always destiny. As Chidi Amuta explained, “In a free market Nigeria, the brotherhood of the naira is fast overtaking the bonds of tribe and religion.”
Despite Muhammadu Buhari’s popularity on the northern street, many northern elites, being beneficiaries of the current order did not support his presidential candidacy. Nor did they support the other two northern contenders, Ibrahim Shekarau and Nuhu Ribadu. The media with its tunnel vision fixation on a mythical northern solidarity failed to note that a monolithic north no longer exists (If indeed it ever truly did). The blame for our woes lies squarely with “the brotherhood of the naira” – a national fraternity of politicians far more united by their appetites than divided by ideology – and also with our own lack of discernment. Ethnic and confessional allegiances matter but they are subject to the supervening calculations of class interest and are nowhere as definitive as believed when it comes to the intrigues of “high” politics.

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Major Kaduna Nzeogwu
In fifty years, the actual enemies of Nigeria have not changed. As one soldier declared on a fateful day in January 1966, “Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand ten percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles; those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds.” The righteous fury of this indictment was to be lost in the series of tragic events that collapsed the First Republic. But the truth of the diagnosis remains unimpeachable.
Thus, while we slander and stereotype each other, our leaders continue in their unregulated feasting, secure in the knowledge that we are too distracted by petty bigotries to surveil their conduct. We must realize that this season of turbulence is also a teachable moment – one in which we should share perpectives, listen to and learn from each other while building a front to salvage our common future. We must not squander it.
Chris Ngwodo is an Author, Analyst with a passion for Nigeria. He writes on chrisngwodo..com where this piece was first published.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Remember him? In the sixties when many Igbos living in the Northern parts of Nigeria were slaughtered in thousands by the Hausas and driven back to their place of origin, Igboland, this Oxford trained historian and a Colonel in the then Nigerian Army who was the governor of Eastern Region declared the whole of that region, Republic Of Biafra. Nigerian government considered that republic illegal and vowed to use police action to crush the secession within twenty four hours. But it was not as easy. What followed next was a 30 month internecine war between Nigeria and the newly created republic. Conservative estimates put the number of Igbos killed during the outbreak of that hostilities as over one million. With the defeat of Biafra, Col. Ojukwu went into exile to Ivory Coast only to return during the
civilian administration of Shehu Shagari and was granted full pardon. Since then, he has rejoined the political community of Nigeria. But today, the man who wedged a tough war against Nigeria with little or no ammunition, is talking tough again. He takes another look at that war, what future holds in store for Nigeria, a report card on the present Obasanjo administration, etc. etc. In what may be considered a journalistic scoop, McLord Obioha, Editor of The Nigerian, met with Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu while he was in the United States to witness the birth of his third child, a son, Nwachukwu Ojukwu, by his wife, Bianca. This interview is as probing as it is explosive. Excerpts:

As a man who led Igbos following the creation of Biafra, perhaps, there is no better person to ask this question: Is the plight of Igbos better today than some thirty years ago?

OJUKWU: Well, there is no doubt in my mind that Igbos are the most marginalized people in the entire Nigerian complex. But before I go into it, I want to take this rare opportunity to give my best wishes to your teaming number of readers. I am particularly happy to have this opportunity to exchange views with them and I want to also stress the fact that we at home look very forward to them for leadership and leadership ideas. Now, it has to be stated as a matter of fact that Ndi Igbo after the civil war despite the proclamation of “No Victor, No Vanquished”, have been treated from the end of that war to the present day as a vanquished people. The Igbos are still not in Nigeria … no restitution for their goods vandalized or appropriated wrongly by those who fought on the Nigerian side. Ndi Igbo are still suffering the ravages caused to their internal economy by the heartlessness of Nigerian leaders. These are certain things that I will be taking up as we go along. Ndi Igbo were publicly told to bring, no matter what they had in the banks and then at the end of the transition, we were only given twenty pounds in return. There can be no worst assault on their right as human beings and citizens of a country than that. These things were done perhaps, sort of in the euphoria of sort … of supposed victory by the Nigerian troops! But it has to be decided whether we are full citizens of Nigeria or not. There is no way you can justify a situation not even as in great wars to have a people deprived of what clearly was their own. As the Jews today are being given their money back and their paintings back and so on, let me make it very plain and even put it forward as a warning to Nigeria that before there can be absolute peace, there must be a requisite restitution. No Igbo man can live fully in Nigeria as a disabled.

Why is the glass ceiling still holding sway in One Nigeria of today?

OJUKWU: It is very simple. You don’t blame the Igbo man for not rising to high level. It is the ceiling that makes sure that no Igbo man rises to a high level. We have not over the years won any political power. We haven’t got in a good lien on political power and it is… an Igbo… conspiracy of the war that persists long after that war is over. Sooner or later, it should be a political objective to dismantle the conspiracy that fought the war. Remember that this new government is so very much symbolic of that conspiracy. There is the minister of defense, Danjuma, there is the head of state himself, Obasanjo, and elsewhere within. It is still the same group that fought against Ndi Igbo. Now, very soon Nigeria has to decide whether there will be peace and for that, even in Kosovo there was a peace conference and I think very soon it has to be decided either a Nigeria peace conference, a national conference or a conference where the rest of the country and Ndi Igbo will reassess the peace coming from the end of the war.

Other tribes in Nigeria ridicule Igbos for not having a leader. Do Igbos have a leader?

OJUKWU:The funny thing about Igbos not having leaders is that the only people actually who said that with effect are the Igbos. Every Hausa man knows who the true lgbo leader is. Every Yoruba man knows. It is the Igbos rejecting leadership that is the issue and sooner or later we have to face the fact that we can’t really move forward without leadership. I look forward to the time when with open arms and hearts, the Igbos will embarrass their leadership. As I said sometime ago, as far as I am concerned… because when I say these things, people imagine I have vested interest in it. I haven’t. At 65, two things have to be very clear. I have run my race. I have my baton in my hand, it is a relay, I am waiting for somebody to take the baton from me. The other thing is that I still find it quite, quite incongruous, and I don’t know how to explain how I
will if l suddenly one day aspires to be president of Nigeria after being Head of State of Biafra. It is incongruous and then in fact it is almost part of the problem with Ndi Igbo. We like to have it both ways. We like to have our bread buttered both sides. It is what I call the Mbekwu syndrome. This idea that no matter the circumstance, we must hang on a little bit to one side. Now you’re probably wondering what I mean by the Mbekwu syndrome. I have always said when our people, somehow finally reflect like all other people are now, the hero of their mythology then …When you look at the Hausa’s who always proclaim the prowess of the Jackal, omnivorous and so on, and the Yorubas, their partners who always proclaim the prowess of the hunter, but don’t forget that the Yoruba hunter is a Trappist, then you will understand it clearly. They set the trap, they withdraw and when the trap has caught, they come back and take the prey. Finally, our experience with these two groups and others elsewhere tend to underline the fact that people usually act in accordance with the qualities of their mythology. Now you ask yourself, why do we choose the tortoise as ours, the tortoise will never confront, ends up eventually victorious either by stealth or cunning. At the end of the day, he has won and if he doesn’t even win, he will persuade you that he has won. And somehow in this modern day, it appears that the Igbos are moving towards that direction. I think politics of today deserves a better approach, a more forthright approach.

What really are the problem of Igbos?

OJUKWU: I think the problem of Igbos is 50/50. It is about leadership as well as followership. The leadership fails mainly because of the followership and of course the followership due to confusion of the leadership. The problem I have said always is that within the ranks of the Igboland, those who should be given leadership of Ndi Igbo they themselves are in conflict. We have not,you see, cleared our minds and we should do that very quickly as to our true positions… whether we are Ndi Igbo or whether primarily we are Nigerians. These are the problems.

Do you think that there are something that Igbos abroad can do to arrest these problems especially their so called marginalization in Nigeria?

OJUKWU: Well, the first thing as I have said they really need do is to forge a national identity and get them all working together. I believe actually that there should be no dichotomy between the Igbos abroad and the ones at home. I look to the Igbos abroad as our window to the world. I look upon them as those most likely to produce the next leadership. I look upon them because actually by our history, leadership has never emerged at home. It emerges from outside and then takes the leadership at home. So I keep on urging our people abroad to stop their inferiority complex. At 33, I was making earth moving statements and taking positions. A lot of them are in their 50 …a lot of them are certainly 40s. Now if they don’t make their marks today, when are they ever going to make it? So when they say to me that oh, they’re waiting for the people at home to give leadership, I laugh. I say this is avoidance of your duty because at your age, you should be giving leadership.

How do you assess Obasanjo’s regime?

OJUKWU: How can I assess it? I can’t assess it yet because I haven’t even lived under one single day of his governance. I have heard a lot about what he has done and what he hasn’t done in particular. I have heard one occasion to applaud in a certain way his retirement of certain officers. Personally, I think it was a good thing, but I have my fears. My fears derive from the fact that we are now running a democratic government and there is no way you can sidestep the institution of consultation. I don’t know whom he consulted or when the decision was taken. You see there is this talk, this appearance that even though a civilian government is in place, it is running in a military fashion. There are no decrees anymore, but when have these things been debated in the legislature only for him to take unilateral decisions? Of course today, Nigerians are applauding, clapping and clapping and all that, but we are falling back into the same trap. We are either democratic or we are not. My view is that we must proceed immediately to democratize all our practices and even our language. People do not say to you in a democracy “Until further notice,” “With immediate effect” and things like that. These are things we have to look into.

During the last Nigerian election, a prominent Yoruba professor in Lagos said and I quote, “The Yorubas can vote either way, because it
is our time,” what do you think of that statement?

OJUKWU: These outbursts actually have no great significance. The important thing is that the Yorubas have demonstrated the subtleties of their politics. They have moved from being number one enemy, rebel and everything straight into the State house and that is a measure of their astuteness in politics. It will do us good to accept, one, that we have been defeated, two, that the Yorubas are better at handling their own politics, because once you have agreed that way, then you can start learning from them instead of what we are doing … pretending that there was No victor. No no, no, we have been taught that they have found a mental lesson of politics.

So you are saying that the Igbos have been defeated?

OJUKWU: Yes… in politics, yes…

As an Igbo leader, how do you feel about it?

OJUKWU: I feel terrible.

Now is there a plan out there for Babangida to succeed Obasanjo after all? Who else do you think is in offing to take over?

OJUKWU: I don’t know how we keep on building bogies and after sometime we allow the boogies to whip us. I don’t know. Babangida has not told me anything. Why don’t people put it down and say, is there not a plan that Ojukwu or is there not a plan that Okafor will take over? Why do we think, even with our frame of mind as a defeated people, people with no right we should be thinking positively. Now, why don’t we sit down and decide that the next president of Nigeria will be an Igbo man and work for it? Four years campaigning…why not… nobody tells you not to campaign. Or would like to see that type of positiveness in thinking.

Major Abubakar Umar, former governor of Kaduna State said that it would be too uncomfortable for majority of Nigerians to accept an Igbo as president 30 years after that internecine war. What do you think about that kind of statement?

OJUKWU: Yes. Yes. He is my very good friend. In fact, I must confess that at a certain stage, I invited him to join the PDC. He is a good friend. He is forthright. But when he of course reflects his own antecedence, he will accept in fairness, perhaps, he will consider that arrogance and all what not. I don’t spend much time considering what others particularly on the other side say to great Ndi Igbo.

Do you think that the former military officers should be probed?

OJUKWU: Former military officers?

Yes. Those who have held government offices all these time and stalled democracy?

OJUKWU: Let me put it this way. I think that everybody who display unexplained wealth should be probed. That is an important issue. Not because you wore khaki or anything. No. If I see you today driving a Rolls Royce and I know it’s a brand new one, then I should ask you where you got it from. Now, you should show me how it reflects the tax you have been paying and your salary. Simple.

If you take a reflection of Biafra now, what would it have been like if it had succeeded?

OJUKWU: On one word, if we had succeeded, by now, we would have been like Taiwan. Taiwan of that geographic area.

Do you think that world powers knew this and did not want that to happen?

OJUKWU:I don’t care what they knew and did not know. The real point is, and we have to always look into it…you are the architect of your own fortune or misfortune. Don’t keep on looking for bogies all around when the whole purpose of this is actually to defy world reaction or opinion. It’s that simple.

It has been reported that you said if you had to do it all over again, you will … I mean another Biafra… for the sake of Igbo tribe which you said is being marginalized?

OJUKWU: I have always said to people that I am not only Igbo, I am Igbogburugburuigbo. I am the core of the Igbo race. Igbogburugburuigbo. Complete Igbo. That’s what I am and I make no bones about it. You see, my problem is that I accept that this is what I am. I don’t stop anybody from being anything for his own people but I want everybody to know that when you sit around the table with me, the first thing I will look for is Igbo interest. That is my duty and I am very proud of it.

So if it means fighting again, you will take up arms and defend the interest of Igbo race?

OJUKWU: I am now an old man. I don’t know the type of fight I will sort of carry out now. But if the interest is the word fight, yes, I will…

There were some Igbo children who were taken to Gabon at the height of the civil war, do you have anything to tell us about them.? Do you have any idea what happened to them?

OJUKWU: Some were returned to Nigeria, but from Gabon, quite a lot went to France. Those in the Ivory Coast were returned to Nigeria. To help their identity, I gave everyone that went from Gabon as a middle name, my own name, so you will find people who have Agnes Ojukwu or something else and so on and so forth. I said it was a little way of getting some form of identity. The other thing is that if you remember since the end of the war we have not as Ndi Igbo had the authority of government … If we had, we would do what a good government should be doing for its citizens. I deplore the fact actually that after the peace has been established, Nigeria as an entity has not found it necessary to set up a committee and investigate and try and get these children back because … What I did during the war was justified by the situation of a war. And I did the best I could as a government to save future generation. Well, a new government has taken over, they still have the same duty to our citizen. I believe they should have done it and whenever they decide to do it, I will give them total support in finding our children wherever they may be.

As a follow up to that question, why is there no war memorial for the Nigerian-Biafran war?

OJUKWU: I don t know, I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know what has happened to the Igbo conscience. I don’t know why we are so afraid of our shadows.

What about the Nigerian government?

OJUKWU: It is not for the Nigerian government to immortalize those they claim to have defeated, it is for us Ndi Igbo to immortalize our heroes, those who died so that we would live. Nobody has ever said we should not mourn our dead. Nobody has said we should not immortalize our perished heroes. It is up to us. It is a duty we have, And as far as I am concerned, actually, call it superstitious … but Igbo tradition says we will
never see good until we have led them to rest in eternal peace. Perhaps whatever we are suffering today is as a result of that… I don’t know. But I think it is a duty and a debt we all have to pay.

You wrote a book, “Because I was Involved” but many still believe you have not given the full account of your role from the sixties to the present. Is that the book you wanted to write? When are you going to write that long awaited book?

OJUKWU: I don’t know whoever employed me to write books. I write whatever I want to write. Whoever wants another book better sit on his posterior and write his own book. I will write a book when I feel like writing a book. I will write certain thing down for posterity, so that our children’s children will know as much as possible what actually happened from my level about the crisis and trauma which we are all still suffering now. Let nobody push me. Has Gowon written any book? The sooner he learns how to write and writes a book, the better…

At the dying days of Abacha regime, there were speculations that you were very close to him. Can you explain that?

OJUKWU: I was not close to him. He was in Abuja, I was in Enugu so I couldn’t have been close to him that way. Abacha became Ojukwu’s friend more so when everybody was running away from Abacha. When he was alive, I was not preeminent as his friend. You try and think back, we know those who were his friend, but I must say that as a person, Abacha treated me fairly. I have a certain friendship towards him. The very first of a public nature which he took in my favor was at the death of my erstwhile host, the president of Ivory Coast. He took me in good favor and took me as a member of his delegation to his funeral. And that was magnanimous. I went with him and ever since, at least he granted me access. Babangida granted me a certain level of access, but it was very studied and it was a question of army days, then towards the end of his regime that I saw him two or three times. But from day one, Abacha granted me access and that’s it. So I don t really know what happened at the last day of his life. I don’t know.

So what’s the difference?

OJUKWU: What difference?

The difference between access with Abacha or is it Espirit de Corp access or relationship with Babangida?

OJUKWU:Well, I don’t know. People are different. People are very different Don’t forget, because I don’t want to be misunderstood, Babangida after all released my late father’s property. And he saw to it that he did it before he steps out of power. So he did show a certain “at least” level of compassion if nothing else.

Speaking of property, what do you think about Abandoned property…?

OJUKWU: What can I think … What can I think? When it’s bad it’s bad, it is thoroughly bad. Actually, a lot of the leaders on the other side in Nigeria do not understand. As I said to them in my speech about reconciliation, that we have now formed a habit. On every Sunday, certainly I will think every Igbo man who is worthy anything… every Igbo man will take his son and go around pointing every house belonging to their father and explaining to them that this was taken by force. What does that do? It creates a reservoir of bitterness. If you really believe in Nigeria, if you really believe in peace, it does not matter what amount of money you spent to solve certain problems. What is money for after all? We can do it. You can give to people a certain amount that their properties are worth. As I said, we knew how much money each person took to the bank. You can start by paying them their proper equivalent, and that’s it. That’s the way it is done.

Do you think there may be another Biafra?

OJUKWU: I don’t go that way in my thought because Biafra is most a conscious plan as such. Circumstances created Biafra. And the way I look at it, those circumstances are not present as at now, but I am warning that if we are not careful, the circumstances will reappear. That means it is a warning and it is not that one sits down to say, oh, we want to do … And the other thing I want to point out is this, a lot will depend on the accommodation Nigeria gives. Certainly, if we go ahead without restructuring the federation, chances are that there will be another Biafra. It is the restructuring of the federation that will decide. If we have a federation, we should all agree on what type of federation. We should agree… what are the federating units. We should agree what are their powers. What are the general powers and what are the residual powers and where do they reside? These are the things we have to clear. How much autonomy do we get? We would not fight just for a name as such. No. The important thing is what do we get in this situation and how do we live in it.

Do you have any regrets in life?

OJUKWU: Oh yes. I have a lot I have a regret that I am 65 today. I will want today to be 35. Because what I will do for the rest of my life, I really need a lot of time to do it.

What do you consider as your greatest achievement apart from being the leader of Igbos?

OJUKWU: My greatest achievement is very simple. As far as I am concerned, it is the establishment of Igbo identity. Nothing makes me more proud than to listen to our former enemies even when they are referring to us as Ndi Igbo. That is fabulous.

Do you think Hausas are still controlling the affairs of the the nation today?

OJUKWU: Well I don’t know. I don’t know. I am waiting to see the evolution of Obasanjo’ regime. His government that is. Quite a lot of them in the positions but lets wait and see.

How much time do you think we should give for the restructuring of Nigeria?

OJUKWU: Well, it should have been done ten years ago. It is not a question of we should give … Nothing comes that way. We should be pressing for it before this interview, so that if we start off immediately and continue pressing for it, we hope that it will come in the course of the life of this government. Because actually, the Yorubas also agree that there should be a restructuring and when you look at problems in the Delta region there is evidence that there should be some restructuring to accommodate all these people.

When you take your mind back to the Ahiara Declaration in Biafra; what do you think about that speech now? Was that speech helpful to the Biafran cause…? If it did, how, and if not, why not?

OJUKWU: In Ahiara declaration, you will find my fundamental beliefs. The problem is that a lot of people don’t like to accept certain things. We will applaud a number of certain movements all over but I better warn that those we applaud in other countries have not enunciated any form of ideology to the level of the Ahiara Declaration. In fact, I would like instead of writing about Obollo Eke, Obollo Afo … and nobody is really in the movement of the battlefield… but I would like to look again at Ahiara and review it in the context of Nigeria because those things I want for the Biafran people is what we should have for the Nigeria that accommodates us.

Where are all those Biafran scientists who worked for Biafra? Why is Nigeria not using them? I mean those people who worked in Research and Production, (RAP) in Biafra?

OJUKWU: They are all there. Nigeria doesn’t want to use them. They are there in Nigeria. You see, we are justly proud of our scientist and what they did, but I am particularly proud that they were able to do it under my guidance. And the reason they were able to do it, they will tell you, is that I gave them absolute recognition. You see, a slave cannot make all these developments for you. You don’t expect them to build all these rockets, etc. when in effect they are doing it for the folks that tried to hold them down. In Biafra, I left it completely open, whatever you can produce, bring it. And the great thing was that even when I am sitting in a council meeting … a cabinet meeting … a note would come to me and say this has been done. I will just say to the council, this is what I felt. I must go and inspect and give honor to whom it is due. I was in a council meeting when I was told Biafra has developed a rocket. I was flabbergasted. I stepped out of the meeting and I was told a demonstration has been set up for me within the vast gardens of the State house. And it is funny, because when I stepped out from one end of the garden, this thing was fired. It took off and landed just by the other end of the garden. So we’ve solved the question of proportion. I was so very proud of our people. I must tell you that
before the end of the war, Biafran rockets were moving and homing unto their targets at six and half mile distance.

Why then do you think Biafra lost?

OJUKWU: We lost Biafra because we did not have the wherewithal to sustain it, that’s all.

As a respected officer, how do you think we can stop coups in Nigeria?

OJUKWU: Very simple. Remove the profit elements from coup making. That is the key! Nobody makes a coup in Nigeria to better Nigeria for policy or ideological reasons. No, it is to get their hands at the treasury and therefore all you need do, is make coup unprofitable. Anybody who has taken part always remember that it is a crime to act outside the constitution of the land, so it is high risk. Remove the statute of limitations on that issue. Whenever, as Ndi Igbo say, you take a child’s doll and put up your hands, sooner or later, your hands will start aching and you will put it down. The same way goes for coups. It doesn’t matter how long they stay in power, they will one day relax and pull out. Whenever they do, every member of that junta should be personally responsible for what he did whilst he was illegally in power. And all those who went to prison will sue. All those who were wronged for whatever it is, will take action. The other thing of course is the loot which is the attractive thing. We need to keep an eagle eye around the republic and any expenditure, any lifestyles that cannot be justified within the rules and regulations of Nigeria should be questioned. This is where you change the law a bit on this matter. Once you have been suspected of corruption, the government should immediately impose a seizure of your goods and you will be considered culpable unless you can prove your innocence. So when I see you spending so much money I’ll ask you, you can even say to me, Aha!, don’t you know that I have a tree in my house that have as leaves as Naira notes … in 50s. It is not wrong, the point is come and show me that tree. If indeed I see the tree in your house, you are not at fault. The only thing is that I will declare the tree a national property. But beyond that, you haven’t done anything bad. But If I get to your house and you cannot show me the tree, so you are in trouble.

Thank You or the interview.

OJUKWU: You’re welcome.

am not surprised.i have always known that this slaves will always go back to their masters in the north for alliance.I just hope they wont shoot themselves in the foot this time cos i know there is a strong SE/SS/MB alliance which they have deliberately kept the SW on the fence to know their stance before they admit them into the alliance but if this report happens to be true the am sure 2015 will be a very interesting movie to watch.That is all can say.

The permutations of 2015 presidency has begun. Information available to 247ureports.com through sources close to the headquarters of the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] indicate that the political owners of the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] and the CPC have openned channels of communication against the upcoming presidential elections of 2015. This is as stalwarts within the two political parties have sighted the unfolding political upheaval squiring around the regions of the country as an opportunity. A source confirmed.

According to the information received, the feelers from within the political movers of the two parties indicate President Goodluck Jonathan is near certain to not join the presidential race in 2015. According to the source, the growing religious tensions among the religious fundamentalist in the various regions of the country is believed to play the determinant role on President Jonathan’s decision to walk away from the polls. They believe that the President will make the decision  to not contest largely due to the expected unrest in some regions of the country, and lesser on his pledge to serve one term only.

On the mood of the silent rejection by the north of President Jonathan’s presidency and the southwest outpouring of public anger towards the presidency following the sudden hike in the price of petrol – along with the striking silence of the southeast and south south regions of the country, the two parties believe they could tap into the opportunity. In their take, the southwest and the north will not vote for a Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] candidate for President in 2015.

This notion is boosted by a recent online chat where the former minister to the federal capital territory of Nigeria, Malam Nasiru El Rufai [a member of CPC] told 247ureports.com that the CPC would prefer Governor Fashola of Lagos State be given the presidential ticket – aside from General Buhari who was the presidential flag-bearer for the CPC in the 2011 elections. A source in CPC however discounts Gen Buhari’s ambition as unattainable in 2015 owing to the perception of Buhari being a religious zealot. Non-Muslims are reported to be uneasy with Buhari’s candidacy. According to the source, Gov Fashola [also a Muslim] does not carry the same baggage that Gen Buhari carries – and would not alienate non-Muslims around the other regions of the country.

“Talks between agents of the General’s presidential campaign team and that of ACN are taking place in Abuja“, stated a source in the government house in Lagos who went on to deny that Governor Fashola is considering dumping the ACN for the CPC – and that the governor has not indicated interest in the joint presidential ticket. The source however stated that the governor has been in talks with top CPC personalities in the likes of Pastor Tunde Bakare, Malam Nasiru El Rufai along with Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] governors from two northern states. The source admitted that although the Lagos State governor might have not made a decision, his body language and demeanor indicates “he is entertaining it“.

Adding an unlikely twist, Governors of two northern States, Kano and Jigawa States, in the persons of Gov Kwankwaso and Gov Lamido, both PDP members have indicated interest in joining the presidential race in 2015 under the PDP – just as the Vice President of Nigeria, Arc Namadi Sambo has also indicated interest in joining the fray. Sambo’s decision to join the fray has in turn changed the dynamics for the two northern governors – because of the fear the of not winning the PDP presidential ticket against the candidate-ship of Sambo. This realization has in turn led them to the doorsteps of the CPC and ACN -particularly to the office of the Lagos State governor.

The former governor of Lagos State and the strongman of ACN, Bola Tinubu is reported to be determined to beat the PDP in the upcoming 2015 presidential race. He is said to have begun underground preparations against the 2015 exercise. According to a source, Tinubu has made clear indications to the northern political elite that the ACN is willing to collaborate to produce a joint ticket in 2015. In particular, the ACN strong man has begun marketing of Gov Fashola to the northern political elite as a viable candidate that is sell-able to the south and to the north. According to sources, Bola Tinubu has met with some Governor’s of the States in the north – the likes of Gov Nyako of Adamawa State and others.

http://247ureports.com/2012/03/2015-presidency-acn-cpc-dialogue-over-gov-fashola/

A dream is and will always be a dream! Vision is the KEY that unlocks the future! Ikemba didn't dream but rather, he saw a vision of Nigeria of today; hence greater than Zik who dreamt but didn't see beyond his dream!

A beautiful take on history Adesina! Good job worthy of commendation! “Aburi is the 1 word those who criticize Ojukwu today should reflect on.Ojukwu radio-played Aburi process-recording to the public. Why? To educate the people and demonstrate his willingness to peaceful resolution of the problem. What a smart guy! He was a gentle defender of peace! We said Nigeria won then…, but just imagine RIGHT NOW who really won that war. Was it Gowon? If yes, why should we still be talking about Aburi return today? Very clear, Ojukwu and the peaceful “masses” won that war. Not Nigeria! We should just go for the implementation now


PATH TO FREEDOM by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Western Nigeria Govt Press; circa 1957; Treasonable Felony (The Trial of Chief Obafemi Awolowo; CMS Nig. Press 1964. The Fugitive Offender( The Trial of Chief Anthony Eronsele Enahoro). Femi Adesina, please try and read these mentioned literatures, in order for your minds to be widely opened to realites; that “ON ABURI WE STAND” would have been of no significance if the political forefathers of those now clamouring for Odumegwu Ojukwu’s concepts had reasoned cogently and meticulously. Chief Anthony Enahoro, then Chief Editor of African Pilot(owned by Nmandi Azikiwe) wrote series of editotials, denouncing the amalgamation of 1914, and demanding the creations of seperate REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS. Enahoro resigned as Chief editor of Zik’s African Pilot, calling him(ZIK) a “BACK STABBING POLITICAL TRIFLER”, whose blind ambition was to be president at all cost, not interested in idependent regional governments. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was tried and convicted for treason, because he intended to break away from Nigeria; he was sentensed to 15 years. Mallam Amino Kano from the North spoke vehemently against one Nigeria, unfortunately, he died mysteriously. You see Femi Adesina, “THE STONE THAT THE BUILDER REJECTED, LATER BECAME THE CORNERSTONE OF THE HOUSE”; and that was what Odumegwu Ojukwu, the poster child embraced at last.

- Written by Femi Adesina -

In December 2009, I was at Aburi, while holidaying in Ghana. We Nigerians call it A-b-u-r-i, but the Ghanaians pronounce it as E-b-r-i. For those who have read widely about the civil war that we fought between 1967 and 1970, Aburi is a significant place. This was what I wrote about Aburi, after returning from that journey:

“Aburi. Beautiful, serene Aburi, set daintily atop a hill. It is home to a botanical garden that is 119 years old. But for us in Nigeria, Aburi goes beyond just nature and its preservation. It is the town where General Yakubu Gowon and Odumegwu Ojukwu met, to try and avert the Nigerian Civil War that lasted between 1967 and 1970. They came out with Aburi Accord, which later broke down. And a shooting war started. You could see the Presidential Lodge on a hill, where the Nigerian leaders had parleyed at the behest of Ghanaian leaders. It all ended in futility.”

As one of the key parties to the Aburi Accord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, returns to mother earth today, it is also apposite to return to Aburi, and look at the letter and the spirit of the accord once again, an agreement that was violated by the Federal side, and which made a bloody internecine war inevitable.

For most part of 1966, the northern part of Nigeria, particularly, had been turned to killing fields. Non-natives, especially Igbos, were killed in thousands. Many fled, many others were displaced. There was complete anarchy in the land. The average Igbo looked up to Lt. Col Odumegwu Ojukwu, military governor of the Eastern Region, to provide leadership and direction. He did not fail. He picked the gauntlet and championed the cause of his people.

By January 1967, the drums of war were loud and clear, reverberating across the length and breadth of Nigeria. But there was a last ditch effort to prevent what was imminent. There was a peace meeting hosted at Aburi, in Ghana, by the then Ghanaian head of state, Gen J. A. Ankrah. At the meeting were Gowon, Ojukwu, all the military governors of the regions, and some top civil servants, both from the Federal side and the Eastern region. The meeting held on January 4 and 5, 1967, and came out with what is popularly known today as the Aburi Accord.

The agenda of the meeting consisted of three crucial issues: (i) Reorganization of the Armed Forces (ii) Constitutional agreement (iii) Issues of displaced persons within Nigeria.

The two-day meeting reached consensus that were acceptable to both sides. Among others, it was resolved that legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government was to remain in the Supreme Military Council (SMC), to which any decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided it is possible for a meeting to be held, and the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence. What does this mean in simple language? The SMC would run the affairs of the country, but not without consulting the regions as represented by the military governors. This was something akin to federalism, even under a military government.

Other terms of the agreement include that appointments to senior ranks in the police, diplomatic and consular services as well as appointment to superscale posts in the federal civil service and the equivalent posts in the statutory corporations must be approved by the SMC. What does this mean again in simple language? Equity, fairness, true federalism.

Other matters like the holding of an ad hoc constitutional conference, fate of soldiers involved in the January 15, 1966 coup, rehabilitation of displaced persons, etc, were also amicably resolved, and the conferees returned happily to Nigeria. Only for the Federal side to deliver a blow to the solar plexus: the Aburi Accord, Gowon said, was unworkable, and he reneged on all the agreements.

Using the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service, Ojukwu played the tape recording of the proceedings at Aburi repeatedly, to educate the populace on who was playing Judas. Later, he made a broadcast in which he said: “we in the East are anxious to see that our differences are resolved by peaceful means and that Nigeria is preserved as a unit, but it is doubtful, and the world must judge whether Lt. Col Gowon’s attitudes and other exhibitions of his insincerity are something which can lead to a return of normalcy and confidence in the country.

“I must warn all Easterners once again to remain vigilant. The East will never be intimidated, nor will she acquiesce to any form of dictation. It is not our intention to play the aggressor. Nonetheless, it is not our intention to be slaughtered in our beds. We are ready to defend our homeland.”

In a piece I did last December, shortly after Ojukwu passed away, I said he was virtually pushed into war by the infidelity of the Federal side to the Aburi Accord. I still stand by that position. Ojukwu was called ‘warlord’ for many decades, but he was by no means a warmonger. He only did what he needed to do for his people–and for the country.

As his earthly remains are interred today, it is tragic that Nigeria is still submerged in the morass that Ojukwu already identified about 45 years ago. Today, bombs go off like firecrackers in the country. There is agitation for the review of the revenue allocation formula. There are strident calls for the convocation of a sovereign national conference. Even some component parts are threatening to pull out of the federation if anything happened to their ‘son’ who is now in power. Didn’t Ojukwu warn of these landmines ahead? Were all these issues not already settled at Aburi? Foremost journalist and media administrator, Akogun Tola Adeniyi, in a recent media interview, explained the Aburi Accord this way: “Let every region be semi-autonomous and develop at its own level.” Yes, that was the spirit and letter of Aburi, but which sadly became a road not taken. And is that not why we are still suffering today, living in a rickety and decrepit country that can burst at the seams any moment? I tell you, Ojukwu was a prophet, and like most prophets, he had no honour in his own country. Pity. But whether we like it or not, there’s no way we won’t return to Aburi. Willy-nilly. I only hope it will be sooner than later, before Nigeria goes to grief. On Aburi I stand.

Federal Government was perfidious and duplicitous on Aburi. It is still the same way today. That is why as Nigerians, we are most times disillusioned, dismayed, dispirited, dejected and depressed. When will change come to this land? Our hearts are getting weary.

Last December, I wrote that Ojukwu should be buried like a hero. I’m glad at the rites of passage so far, culminating in the interment today. Yes, bury him like a true hero. An icon, an avatar, deserves no less. This generation will surely not see another like Ojukwu. He fought not only for his own people, but for a true federation founded on justice, fair play, equity and rectitude. Unfortunately, he did not see the Nigeria of his dreams. Will we? Adieu the Ikemba, the Eze Igbo Gburugburu. May your soul rest in peace. Ka nkpur’obi gi zue ike n’adukwa.

By Femi Adesina (kulikulii@yahoo.com, 08055001928)
Friday March 02, 2012

- By Leonard Karshima Shilgba, PhD -

Nigeria is a secret; and she has seven secrets. For this country to become profitable to the majority of Nigerians the secrets must be exposed in the most lucid manner that not a few Nigerians shall know about these and hopefully catch the necessary anger required for either liberating mass action or induced constitutional re-structuring. Then, our eyes shall be open and we shall drive away our common enemies.

Secret 1: Nigeria was created by a lie to remain a lie.
When the British created a chimera called Nigeria in 1914 she did not intend for Nigeria to evolve into a nation. Nigeria was designed to last as long as it served the interests of the British. An internal switch was built into the design sketch; this was and still is the “Northern Administrator”. A low level British Administrator during the colonial days of Nigeria, Mr Harold Smith said this in 2007: “Our agenda was to completely exploit Africa. Nigeria was my duty post. When we assessed Nigeria, this was what we found in the southern region; strength, intelligence, determination to succeed, well established history, complex but focused life style, great hope and aspirations… the East is good in business and technology, the west is good in administration and commerce, law and medicine, but it was a pity we planned our agenda to give power ‘at all cost’ to the northerner. They seemed to be submissive and silly of a kind. Our mission was accomplished by destroying the opposition at all fronts. The west led in the fight for the independence, and was punished for asking for freedom. They will not rule Nigeria!”

Just as the late Ikemba Ojukwu once said, political power, or the real power is more important than economic power because with it you can also get economic power. By setting and exalting one section of Nigeria against the rest a great injury was done to Nigeria’s future. When I talk of the North, I do not refer to the geographical North; rather, what the British did was to vest power in the Royal North, the emirs and their offspring, who still hold the real power and dispense it to whoever they will and think will serve their interests. The northern “Talakawas” (commoners) were not the ones the British foisted on Nigeria although a deliberate policy was crafted by the British to enrol northerners massively into the Nigerian army with accelerated promotions because they knew that eventually, political power in Nigeria would be routed through the military establishment. Is it any wonder that the Ikemba, an Oxford graduate of history decided to enlist into the Nigerian army at the cadet level at a time that, as one of Ojukwu’s military colleagues put it, the Nigerian military was generally for school drop-outs? Is it surprising that the north (Royal North) controlled the emergence of Nigeria’s military rulers, whether of geographically northern extraction or not?

Nigeria was and still is a lie; that is, Nigeria is a project of the British leased to the Royal North to manage and fetch dividends for the master, the British. There is a misunderstanding among some Nigerian scholars when they talk of the “North”. There are two kinds of North—The British Royal North and the geographically northern Talakawas, who were placed under the Royal North; it is beyond mere semantics.

In 2009 I addressed a group of Igbos in Tokyo, Japan on the Nigerian situation in my attempt to provoke necessary synergy for the true liberation (the 1960 declaration of “independence” was only an unannounced substitution of colour; it was the replacement of white colonial masters with a new group, the Royal North). After my talk, I attended to questions from the audience. A remark was made by one of the Igbo brothers that, “unless the North is involved in any attempt to bring about change in Nigeria no attempt shall succeed.” There is this sense of surrender that overwhelms not a few Nigerians when talking about changing Nigeria away from the British-designed course. I wish to agree with the remark if the North in reference means the northern Talakawas.

In the discussion on a sovereign national conference for Nigeria, the talk has generally conveyed the impression that the “North” (including even the equally oppressed Talakawas) must be “resisted”. So long as this remains the perception the journey towards convocation of a sovereign national conference or towards a better union shall remain torrid and unending. My brother, Major Gideon Orkar fell into this unfortunate error. Let us not miss the reality of ambivalence; the recruits of the Royal North abound across the breadth and length of Nigeria. In creating a plot to defeat the prospect of the conference, some of those recruits may adopt a belligerent approach, seeking to turn off the moderates, exclude the northern Talakawas whose participation in the call for the conference is very essential, and then ultimately defeat the objective.

Recruits such as the national legislature will, as a body, remain opposed to Nigerians talking about their British-induced union and overthrowing the structure that is fashioned on falsehood—false population figures, false constitution, false federalism, and ultimately false democracy, which is devoid of accountability, the rule of law, and good governance.

But I see two things happening successively. One, the elastic limit of endurance shall soon be reached by the Nigerian commoners when they get irretrievably peeved at the obscene display of ill-gotten wealth by the Royal North and their recruits across Nigeria while they themselves continue to wallow in increasing degrees of poverty. I understand that more than 112 million ( two-third of) Nigerians live below the poverty line. Two, there shall be conflict among the oppressors, some of whom shall urge negotiation to prevent loss of all they have acquired corruptly.

In order to free Nigeria from the yoke, the creation and order of the British must be broken. The Royal North must be crushed. There seems to be an understanding and growing resentment of this class of Nigerians who exercise so much control over their people and remain the custodians of even lands on which the commoners (the Talakawas) can only farm by their grace. Not a few powerful politicians in Nigeria (including the president) owe their survival to this class of Nigerians. And those politicians in turn are avowed defenders of the status quo because it serves their true masters and by extension them, who owe their political careers to the magnanimity of the Royal North. The protests in the northern part of Nigeria that greeted the 2011 presidential election revealed an emerging pattern of anger and disdain of the Talakawas against the Royal North and its stooges. The fuel subsidy protests of 2012 in northern cities such as Kano and Kaduna revealed what is possible and imminent.

Secret 2: Destroy the opposition:
“I was very sorry for the A.G (Action Group); it was a great party, too much for African standard. We planned to destroy Awolowo and Azikwe as well as the west and the east, and sowed a seed of discord among them. We tricked Azikwe into accepting to be president having known that Balewa would be the main man with power. Awolowo had to go to jail to cripple his genius plans for a greater Nigeria.” These are the confessions of Harold Smith. Nigeria has always been against brilliant minds. Those are intimidating to not only the Royal North but also to the British whose interest in Nigeria remains fresh. Did you not wonder that President Jonathan few days ago, while visiting in the Niger Delta, turned into the spokesman for oil companies such as Shell BP? He told Nigerians that the oil companies “are not charity organizations.” That is not for the president to say, especially when he has not taken any steps to compel oil companies to clean up the environment and pay compensation for environmental damages they have caused. A president who cannot influence the passage of an important bill such as the Petroleum Industry Bill to bring succour and much benefit to host communities in oil exploration and exploitation areas should be ashamed to make such a defence on the employment policies of oil companies who are raking in obscene profits at the expense of human lives in Nigeria. But it is the unwritten policy of the British, represented by the Royal North, to not allow brilliant minds in the driving seat of the nation. I agree with Mr Smith that now is the time to “see people of intelligent minds with an open and inclusive agenda for all Nigerians in power…people who will really look after Nigeria’s large population.” From the NPC to NPN and then to PDP, Nigeria has had the misfortune of the over weight of political parties that were designed to resist change, being sustained by the Royal North. Renegades such as Aminu Kano, Abubakar Rimi, Balarabe Musa, who emerged out of the northern Talakawa constituency to question abrasive and undermining authority were shown the rough side of the serrated dagger of suppression. Until today, the weapon of opposition to all kinds of opposition is used ruthlessly in Nigeria in order to maintain the status quo that was bequeathed to Nigeria by her founders.

I would discuss the other five secrets of Nigeria in the sequels. But let me say that Nigeria shall not change without a sovereign national conference. I have read a position which suggests that people like me who are advocates should work through our “representatives” in the national assembly. This is one suggestion outside the day light of understanding. You don’t ask your master to set you free; you seize freedom. We are gradually approaching the day of reckoning. Some mockers allege that our demands are incoherent and inarticulate. This is a mere provocation that shall not dissuade us from our path of sustained pressure for a sovereign national conference. I should assert without any lining of doubt that without the convocation of a sovereign national conference the status quo shall not change; worse still, Nigeria shall only know increasing degrees of violence and poverty.

Leonard Karshima Shilgba is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria
TEL: +234 (0) 8055024356
EMAIL: shilgba@yahoo.com

SEDUCTRESS! Armed robbers' informant arrested in Abeokuta

A 32-year-old hairdresser who often seduced men and thereafter sent armed robbers after them has been arrested by men of the Ogun State Police Command. Miss Biodun Bamgboye, who until her arrest was residing at Abiola Way, Abeokuta, the state capital, was an alleged informant for a robbery gang which specialised in snatching vehicles. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nicholas Nkemdeme, on Monday paraded the woman alongside 10 other suspects who were arrested in various parts of the state for armed robberies.

Nkemdeme, who said that some incriminating items were found on the suspects, added that the police command recovered five vehicles and two motorcycles from them.

The vehicles included a Toyota Sienna XLE with registration number Lagos GGE 532 AA, Honda Odyssey with registration number Lagos KJA 702 AE, Honda Accord with number plate Lagos DW 439 LSD, Mercedes Benz Kompressor with number plate X 714 GKK and Toyota Starlet with registration number Ogun 395 FFF.

The suspects included a vehicle dealer and a man who allegedly acted as the spiritual consultant for the gang.

According to the police boss, Biodun and her boyfriend, Maruf (now at large), used to set up men and thereafter rob them of their vehicles.

Nkemdeme said, “The lady, Biodun Bamgboye, first tried to be friendly with her victims, who were usually men riding big cars. So, when she went out with such men, she would phone her accomplices to come and snatch the car.

“The gang has been doing this for a while now, terrorising innocent citizens and dispossessing them of their belongings. Fortunately, our men were able to arrest them. They will be charged to court on completion of investigation.”

The commissioner said the two Bajaj motorcycles recovered from the suspects were sold at N20,000 each by the suspects.

He attributed the arrest of the suspects to combined efforts of the police and various communities in the state.

Nkemdeme advised people of the state to adhere strictly to security measures put in place by law enforcement agencies in a bid to reduce crime rate.

Speaking with reporters amid sobs, Biodun regretted her actions.

The suspect, however, blamed her runaway boyfriend for coercing her into the crime through an oath.

She said, “My boyfriend, Maruf, who lived at Obantoko area, Abeokuta, introduced me to this. We have been in the relationship for over one and half years now.

“I warned him against crime but he forced me into the robbery after saying that I will die if I don't comply with him because of the oath we swore to.” via odilinet.

na wa ooo.hmm!!

21 year old Nigerian student charged with murder in the US

A 21year old Nigerian student, Sampson Blake Oguntope, 21, is being charged with murder in regard to a fatal Slaton shooting which left one woman dead and another injured. The Texas Tech student is currently in police custody at the Lubbock County Detention Center and his bail was raised to at least $5 million — formerly $500,000.

Steven Wheeler, chief of the Slaton Police Department, said originally Oguntope, a Houston native, was a person of interest regarding the homicide and he was detained at the Detention Center on charges of theft. Slaton police found Faye Gray, 89, and her female caretaker, 21, had both sustained gunshot wounds. Gray was pronounced dead at the scene while the younger woman was transported to University Medical Center for treatment. Her condition is described as stable.

Lubbock police asked that the caretaker’s name not be revealed because of the sensitivity of the case. Wheeler said the police are not releasing any additional information regarding charges against Oguntope at this time.

Members of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s office were dispatched to 1480 W. Crosby St. in Slaton to assist the Slaton Police Department with a homicide investigation, according to a news release by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.

Wheeler said at 8:12 a.m. authorities received a complaint that a black male had made contact with a Slaton resident and was asking personal questions, including what times the resident went to work and would return home. Wheeler said the resident said Oguntope was asking if a woman around 21 years old lived at the home.

Authorities later received information that Oguntope’s white Honda was found at the Knights Inn on Highway 84 near Slaton. When police confronted Oguntope at the inn, he told them he was looking for a woman he had been talking to and went to the wrong address. When confronted about why he was at Knights Inn, Oguntope said he wanted to use the hotel’s wireless Internet.

According to a statement released by the Slaton Police Department, “Sampson did not seem to be nervous or act suspicious to the officers (and) Sampson was not wanted for any warrants at the time of this contact.” The Slaton Police Department then received a call at 11:48 a.m. claiming there was a white female bleeding within the 1400 block of West Crosby Street in Slaton.

Wheeler said Lt. Trevor Barnes was the first officer on the scene and advised the police chief to investigate a residence near the end of the 1400 block. Wheeler said he and Slaton detective David Wood arrived at 1480 W. Crosby St. and found an elderly woman dead at the scene, appearing to have sustained a gunshot wound.
Barnes and another officer told Wheeler that the younger victim stated the intruder was a black male with a white car.

“I immediately had officers clear the house to make sure the suspect was not still in this residence,” Wheeler said. “I then contacted the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Rangers to assist. I had my dispatch put out a state-wide search for the vehicle and possible suspect.”

Wheeler said Lubbock County police arrived at the scene shortly after, where they collectively decided to lock down the crime scene and begin searching houses nearby to assure there were no more victims. Wheeler also said they were assisted by the Lubbock County SWAT team and the Department of Public Transportation launched an air unit to aid in the search.

“I want to personally thank Lubbock County Sherriff’s Department, DPS Highway Patrol, Texas Rangers and Texas Tech PD in their efforts in assisting my agency,” Wheeler said. “We have had so many resources helping solve this crime but more importantly keeping this suspect from injuring more people.”

Wheeler said authorities discovered the person of interest lived in Lubbock and was enrolled as a student at Tech. After contacting the Texas Tech Police Department, they found Oguntope’s vehicle was entered under Tech property. Tech PD, DPS and the Texas Rangers tried locating him on campus, and the Lubbock SWAT team set surveillance on Oguntope’s residence in north Lubbock at 3620 Marshall St.

Oguntope was arrested in Lubbock at his address. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office said two other individuals — Charles Henry Burgess, 28, and Philip Michael Murphy, 26 — were also arrested for attempting to prevent officers from conducting an investigation at the property.

“As Chief of Police for the City of Slaton I want to ensure our community that the Slaton Police Department works hard every day so that we have a safe community,” Wheeler said. “Slaton is a small farm town and our community pulls together like family. This is a tragic event and our prayers go out to the victims and their families.” via LIB

I trust Yoruba. They no send small time drug deals. But £4million! JESUS!

Nigerian, Adegboyega Adeniji, jailed 30 years in London over N1b cocaine seizure

A NIGERIAN, who is believed to be responsible for smuggling hundreds of millions of pounds worth of drugs into the UK has been jailed for 30 years, following an investigation by the UK Border Agency. Adegboyega Adeniji, 48, of Sandmere Close in Hemel Hempstead, was stopped by border officers at the Heathrow Airport, London after he arrived on a flight from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Searches of his two suitcases revealed they contained a huge quantity of drugs – 31 kilos of cocaine, five kilos of heroin and two kilos of methamphetamine.

In total, the haul had a street value of N1 billion (£4million).

When UK Border Agency investigators searched a flat he rented in Regent’s Plaza, Kilburn, they unearthed another 23 suitcases, many of which tested positive for traces of drugs.

They also found evidence that he had done the same journey to Amsterdam on many previous occasions, travelling under the guise of a businessman who supplied heavy machinery to the oil business in Nigeria.

Deputy Director Jim Jarvie, from the UK Border Agency’s Criminal and Financial Investigation team, said:
“Adeniji was clearly a significant figure at the centre of an extensive criminal network. He was involved in the importation and distribution of class A drugs on a grand scale.

“Although the true amount of drugs he smuggled into the UK will never be known, it is probably safe to assume he has been responsible for the importation of tens – if not hundreds - of millions of pounds worth.”

The flat in Kilburn was the hub of Adeniji’s criminal business, the place where he stored the drugs that he, and probably others who worked with him, had smuggled into the UK.

As well as the abandoned suitcases UK Border Agency investigators also found scales, a money counting machine, further packages of drugs and around £2,000 cash.

Analysis of his mobile phone showed he had regular contacts with associates in Amsterdam.

Some of the texts he sent read like shopping lists of illegal drugs and prices.

Adeniji would then use a room in a nearby hotel in Maida Vale or rented apartment to do his drugs deals.

Text messages were found inviting others to the hotel, and these matched his pattern of travel to Amsterdam.

Many of the names in the texts matched names found on the packages of drugs he was found with at Heathrow.

Checks on his bank records showed unidentified cash deposits of almost N250 million (£1m) had gone into his account.

Since Adeniji’s arrests, assets of between N125 million (£500,000) and N250 million (£1 million) have been frozen by UK Border Agency investigators.

They will now be the subject of Proceeds of Crime Act confiscation proceedings.

Adeniji admitted importation charges, but denied conspiring to import class A drugs. A jury at Isleworth Crown Court unanimously found him guilty. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.via COMPASS

DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA – An eight-man robbery gang , Tuesday,  stormed  a branch of  Wema Bank in Ilaro, Yewa North local Government Area of the state and carted away  millions of naira.

The robbers, according to an eye-witness  broke into the premises of the bank and destroyed the Automated Teller Machine belonging to the bank, after they carted away money found in the bank vault.

The  source further disclosed that, the  robbers invaded the premises of the bank with two gas cylinders, sledge hammers, chisels among other dangerous weapons  and forcefully gained entry into the premises through the back door after they have cut the security wire installed on the fence.

The robbers reportedly  tied down the security guards in the bank and beat them to a pulp  before they carried out  the operation which lasted for almost two hours.

According to the source, they broke the security doors of the bank that led to the banking hall with gas and sledge hammer.

After an unsuccessful attempt to break the vaults, the robbers went for the bank’s ATM and break into the machine and made away with all its content.

Why is it that we cannot get anybody from the hausa/fulani origin being awarded with academic awards except southerners? Does is mean that they are only good at looting the country, stealing, killing and fighting jihad? Their only greatest award is "alhaji", or giving our money to saudi and arabs.


anyway congrats.

Feb. 21 (GIN) – The Young Environmental Journalist Award has been presented to Ugochi Anyaka of Nigeria for her piece on recycling waste paper in Abuja.

The winning radio report, called Saving the Trees for Paper Briquettes,featured a project based in a low-income suburb in Abuja that utilizes waste paper to make briquettes.

On receiving the award, Ugochi said, “this story was done to show the opportunities in a changing climate-and not just the woes…  But ultimately, it tells the story of what some Nigerians are doing to protect their vulnerable environment and save their very existence.”

Besides providing employment for the briquette workers, the project acts as alternative fuel as opposed to firewood, dramatically reducing the risks of indoor burning of firewood and curbing deforestation problem.

As part of her prize, Mrs. Anyaka will travel to the United States as part of a professional exchange under a “green itinerary,” designed to involve her greater participation.

Ms. Anyaka hosts an environmental radio show "Green Angle" on ASO Radio and also works as a producer, reporter and announcer with the station. She writes an environmental blog, Eco Nigeria, at www.greennigeria..

I am normal.
Yes, some Igbos were helped to relocate but to say half a million, that is a lie. Do you know the implications of that? Think about it for a sec. Yes, the SE is DENSELY POPULATED (Note: this does not mean they ARE the most populated. Density is population PER unit area and as far as I am concerned, the SE land mass is the smallest of all regions. In scale, the SE can fit into Niger state or Oyo state)

Even if there population was scared in the whole south. Its not as easily as you think. Which state would absorb about 20 000 people at a time without suspicion? To be real, I think about 500000-100 000 have relocated IN TOTAL.

@jason123

i use to think you where intelligent until i read these post of yours.

if you talk of population and density. you and i know that Lagos state being one of the smallest states in Nigeria is also the most populaus state in Nigeria with a population roughly between 22million to 25million and it is still accommodating more people. if a state as small like Lagos can contain that much,why cant the South Eastern states?Is Lagos as a state very much bigger that any South Eastern state not to talk of alaigbo? if Lagos alone can contain just 20million to assume, that means the five southeastern states can contain 100million igbos and alaigbo can contain even more. so "shut the phuck off" if you don't know how to give a concrete analysis. Japan is one of the smallest nations in the world and has a population almost as large as Nigeria's. By the way don't get carried away by the Nigerian population figures.Demographers know that igbos are the most populous single ethnic group in Nigeria.that is why before the civil war there where already doubt and argument as to who is the most populous between the igbos and the hausas but for political reasons the north was given and to further suppress the igbos politically,the yorubas where name second or will you give any justification as to why the south east will have five states and the rest will have six with north east having seven??that is why we are every where and we are almost like a minority in every town you go to in Nigeria.that is why you find the igbos in mass outside their homeland not just in Nigeria but around the world, which also account for the high number of igbos you see doing the good and the bad and also the igbo domination/spirit.the only place you find a black tribe more than the igbos in a foreign nation is only in the uk which has more yoruba but the gap is very slim or it almost equal.asides that, there is no country in the world where you can find a black ethnic group outside their land more than the igbo cos the igbos are not just much, they are also travelers because of business(that is why transporters love igbo people becasue their income depends on the igbos,they are explorers which makes them to migrate,settle and help develop their host communities and also trigger economic activities of their host communities which explains why Lagos is always dull during Xmas period.

also please how does the SE absorb all the igbos that come home during Xmasi need an answer from you punk head!

all these parasites wey dey comment sef.must you comment on an igbo topic??ha!! omo na wa ooo, if you dont know where you are coming from how to you know where you going to( when you dont have what to say about your self(positive or negative then you are not existing.)all you should get a life. go and open positive things(trends/topics) about yourself to appreciate and negative things to condemn an improve rather than wait for when there is an igbo topic to pock-nose.FOOOLs!

While other states wait for Federal govt to do everything for them. This Igbo people don't wait for anybody. Virtually everything in the south east was built by themselves. They built airport for themselves and individual built motor assembling plant. Hate them like them Igbos are super stars. They don't believe in past glory, they are not the most educated but you see the effect of education in south east. Their community and enterprising spirit is fierce and nothing stops them.They always create something from nothing, even when you take away the opportunity from them they will create one. While other people complain and look upon Federal govt, they create industries like Nollywood for themselves that employs thousands of people. Any time that Nigeria make a significant progress check the people that make it possible it will be the Igbos. They are not deterred by the hatred of others rather it propels them. Ndi Anambra you are not joining league of oil producing but joining the league of developed city which oil will play a part. Nigeria is drawing south east back. Rochas of Imo is also doing wonders other governors don't have option than to join the massive development of south east.

Posted: February 21, 2012 - 12:33
Posted by siteadmin
By Ifeanyi Izeze

The Wikileaks saga of last year helped revealed some of the evil forces at play in frustrating genuine reform of the structure and fiscal relationships in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. The leak revealed a confession of a top executive of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) as saying his company dispatched some of its top staff to various Nigerian government agencies to sabotage and ensure the government’s efforts at reforming the oil and gas sector was frustrated. And from what’s on ground already, Shell is fully having its way.



Is it not interesting that the Presidency which hitherto had never shown any sense of urgency in any issue is trying to make the preparation and passage of a new draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) a taskforce matter? If President Goodluck Jonathan had demonstrated similar interest and commitment in the previous draft, it wouldn’t have pended for more than four years until it finally died at the floor of the 6th National Assembly. So where did the suddenly bustle come from?

It would be recalled that the crux of the opposition to the original PIB by the foreign oil operators was that it will create a harsh environment that would materially change the economics of the existing and new operations particularly in the deepwater regions. Undoubtedly, the tax changes would instigate an increased government take from an average of 73% to a projected 82% under the original PIB terms. This calculation was derived on projections of a mid-size deepwater oil field with production of around 50 million barrels a year and oil price of US$75bbl. Therefore, the groundswell of opposition to the PIB is not farfetched since the existing arrangements have put the foreign oil companies in advantage positions of reaping greater share from higher production and current high oil prices.

Nigerian fiscal terms are currently lenient compared to its peers, particularly the countries with the same geological character. For instance, Libya has 93% government take and UAE Abu Dhabi is on an average of 94%. Recent trends in global fiscal terms especially in this era of rising oil prices have built-in mechanisms of increased government share in windfall prices through increased royalty/taxes and linkages of royalty/tax rates to prevailing prices to ensure automatic adjustment of government share to price increases. But it’s not so in the arrangements.

Now, this is the real picture of the covert maneuvering against the government’s intentions as entailed in the spirit of the original PIB:

There are two most critical government offices whose influences and decisions would heavily or rather exclusively determine how the new draft PIB is packaged: the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Whatever goes into the new draft and comes out as the final copy to be endorsed as law depends on these two offices attached to the Presidency.
Also, the single most critical anticipated outcome of the oil and gas sector reform initiative is the emergence of an autonomous and powerful policing agency- the Petroleum Inspectorate, which would not only make sure things are done the right way, but insist the interest of the nation is not short-circuited by the foreign operators and their Nigerian collaborators.

Now, these two agencies (offices), DPR and Office of the Minister of Petroleum, have been hijacked by the Anglo-Dutch oil concern, Shell Petroleum Development Company.

This is it: The appointment of Diezani Allison-Madueke as the minister of Petroleum Resources was a historic event. She came into the Yar’adua government in 2007 from her position as a Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). She is a Shell girl having grown up with her parents who were employees of Shell.

Allison-Madueke studied architecture in Washington D.C. before returning to Nigeria in 1992 to work for her father’s old employer -Shell. Over the next 15 years she rose to become Shell’s first female director in Nigeria, before she was appointed minister in 2007.

Now this Shell girl (woman) whose first name Diezani means “look before you leap” in her local izon dialect is the alpha and omega in the new draft PIB which means to a great extent, she determines or rather influences what goes into it. She also will have to oversee its implementation when passed into law by the National Assembly at least until the end of the life of this administration.

And as if this was not enough, recently also, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan approved the appointment of Mr. Osten Oluyemisi Olorunsola as the new Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) which is expected to metamorphose into the policing agency- The Petroleum Inspectorate.
Before the appointment, Olorunsola was the Vice-President (Gas) at Shell Upstream International. He has served as Strategic Business Adviser to the Minister of Petroleum Resources (2008-2009); Manager, Opportunity Delivery and Studies Centre, Shell; Reserves and Technology Manager (Africa), Shell (E&P) International, Netherlands; Business Interface Manager (Russia), Shell Technology (E&P) International, Netherlands; and Petroleum Engineering Manager, Shell Nigeria. He is an indigene of Kogi State where the present NNPC group managing director, Austin Oniwon also hails from.

Interestingly, the Presidency did not give any reason for bringing another Shell director to take over the DPR at this critical time of the dirty politics of oil and gas sector reforms.

Is the picture clearer now? A company, Shell, at the forefront of the protest and threats against the original PIB and the entire spirit of reform in the nation’s oil and gas sector is now covertly dictating what goes into the new draft.

It is outright nonsense for anybody to claim that the appointment of the new DPR boss was based on merit. Agreed he is well qualified by experience and as a Nigerian also, but is it only in Shell we have well-qualified Nigerians to head the DPR and other sensitive oil and gas monitoring and regulating agencies? There are scores of equally well-qualified Nigerians all over the place including the current DPR system, NNPC and even in indigenous private oil and gas businesses.

And then if we must poach from from the IOCs, must it be Shell when we already have a Shell woman as our minister of Petroleum? Are there no Nigerians in Dubri and Consolidated Oil amongst others? Are there no Nigerians in Nigerian Agip, TotalFinaElf, ExxonMobil, and Chevron amongst others? You see the deceit?
The crucial question is: why should a Shell director, a top management staff, who is doing very well in the organization and with very bright chances of heading Shell Nigeria and even Shell worldwide scheme to grab the office of a civil servant (the DPR director) with no special attraction minus bribe and corruption?

Whosoever does not know should know now that the loyalty of any Shell staff especially those who rose to top senior positions whether retired or still active in service is first to the company before the country-Nigeria.

This is an outright challenge to the civil society groups and all stakeholders particularly the media to show genuine interest in what provisions are included in this new document. We should all wake up and constructively engage (even confront if necessary) the National Assembly on this matter that borders heavily on Nigeria’s strategic economic interest. I don talk my own o!
IFEANYI IZEZE, ABUJA (iizeze@yahoo.com; 08033043009)

Gov. Aliu Babangida is one Nigerian worthy of his name. He has carved a niche for himself as one of the most apolitical, detribalized icons we have seen in a long, long time. He is the lone star in the Northern political firmament. I may not agree with some of his calls; but in instances of sincerity, honesty and courage deficits, Dr. Aliu Babangida rises to the occasion with honor and dignity.
Ojukwu and Biafra have outgrown geographical or parochial characterization. It is a philosophy, if adopted with honesty of purpose, can remedy this nation's ills. The sad thing is that the political fat cats, consumed in over-bloated ego and envy for Odumegwu-Ojukwu, employ demagoguery and propaganda of falsehood to mislead the citizenry. Some who preached Igbo hate gloat over Ojukwu's death; others unfairly vilify him for causing the war, while other some throw tons of cold water over genuine efforts to save the nation through a national dialog.
Paradoxically, the passing of the "War LORD' has fired up the curiosity of many Nigerians, especially those born after the civil war or too young to figure out the antecedents for themselves. Before now, grotesque disinformation crafted by Gowon's propaganda of Igbo hate has been their only knowledge source. Now we all know better.
Gov. Aliu sees it the way it is, and says it the way it is. His recognition of the ills of our country, which Ojukwu and Biafra stood against, should inspire our leaders, especially the ones in the North, many of them the fat cats. In many states that disintegrated, be it Bosnia, Serbia, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Sudan, even USSR, barbaric massacre of citizens have been central mediators. You don't expect Dafur to remain part of Sudan after all the hell they got in hands of Sudan Government. Most of the emergent new states are happier for it. Nigeria can learn from their experience. The Islamic North cannot kill their way to forced unity. It is a path that will lead to the inevitable excision of a savage clan if pursued any further with mass murder and terrorism. Two more, just only two, Babangida Aliyus in the Northern zone can make Nigeria a better place. May God grant this Governor long life, good health and the courage to serve the country he loves.

While the Biafran state existed, it beat Nigeria hands down in its handling of information, its depth and global reach. Nigerians
were amateurs and despite their vast resources and support of Britain, USSR, Arab League and OAU dictators, Nigerians made no
dent on the global stage.

But in 1970, the Biafran informational system was dismantled allowing Nigeria's war time propaganda to take root and after 40 years assume the status of the "truth". Every single bare-faced lie they told during the war has become "fact", even written up and taught in schools! Nigerian kids are having their heads messed up big time by idiots.

From population statistics (e.g. Hausa 29%; Yoruba 21%; Ibo 18%)
to ethnograpy, nigeria is built on false foundation. Another good example is the phrase "Ojukwu wanted oil wealth of niger-delta" which has been repeated a billion times. Therefore, those who created Dina Commission and abolished derivation became one nigeria saints while Ibos who stood for derivation became the bad guys.

In fact 90% of ALL onshore oil and gas in Nigeria is located in Iboland! Once oil wells in Ibo areas were carved into other states, a new truth was born.

Next, the very same false population figures of northern nigeria which were contested by the east prior to the war became "fact", used to give disproportionate power and influence to Hausa-Fulanis etc.

Anyway, our elders were completely taken in by false promises of reconciliation. In hindsight, Biafra should have maintained a government in exile and continued to research and disseminate
the truth, knowing fully well that nigeria would implode someday.

if this report is anything thing to go by then i think the igbo leaders must be commend.they must not stop until they have evacuated all the igbos(SS & SE) not just in Kano but in all the trouble cities of the north. am also sure they will render help to some SW,SS citizens trapped in kano.

In the aftermath of the January 20 bomb attacks that rocked the commercial city of Kano when militants of Boko Haram sect struck, a total of 500,000 Igbo in the state are known to have been evacuated to their respective country homes in the South-East.

This was confirmed at the weekend by the Kano State chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Tobias Idika, who also revealed that the exercise was continuous.

He told our correspondent in a chat that so far, the figure represents mostly women and children who were traumatised by the devastating Boko Haram attack

According to Idika, over 300,000 of the 500,000 evacuees were handled by Ohanaeze through the Igbo Elders Forum, adding that they dispatched six for the operation.

The remaining 200,000 he said, sponsored their respective movements at different times during the crisis, adding that the exercise was very successful.
He recalled how hundreds of women and children eager to flee the troubled states following the bomb blasts slept on bare floors at the Ohanaeze secretariat in Kano for over a week waiting to be evacuated.

“We remain grateful to the Igbo Elders Forum for this wonderful support and Ndigbo in Kano especially, the beneficiaries have also sent their gratitude to the Forum, for coming to their aid at the time of need.

Idika said at the moment, the evacuation exercise has been suspended to enable them evaluate the situation which outcome will decide the next step to take.

u be armu robber, me i no be armu robber

u be thief ,me i no be thief

u be pasitor, me i no be pasitor

u be Omonna, me i no be Omonna.

u be Mallam, me i no be mallam

u be ofenmanu, yes i be ofenmanu.

I thought aboki and ofenmanu said that omonna are the robbers and Kidnappers.  Yoruba has spoilt church by introducing money churching,this time is robbery churching. Fools

Armed Robbery Gang Led By An Evangelist Arrested

If Wale Adelu, popular called Evangelist, had heeded the warnings of the Pastor of his church, he would not have joined a five-man gang that robbed the Akure branch of Diamond Bank Plc, in November last year, during which four people were killed.

It was learnt that Prophet Samson Oluwamode, founder of the Prayer Centre Church of God, located in Akure, Ondo State, where Wale worships, had – few weeks before the November 22, 2011, bank robbery – warned that a member of the church who is into robbery should quit or would be caught and disgraced after a successful robbery operation.

Wale ignored his Pastor’s warning and participated in what was regarded as the bloodiest robbery in the state. He and his team succeeded and went away with millions of naira.

However, barely two months after the incident, detectives from the Ondo State Police Command arrested Wale and four others who participated in the robbery. They were paraded by the Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr. Sani Magaji, before newsmen on Friday.

Some members of Wale’s church who know him, rushed to the scene when words filtered in that a member of their congregation had been arrested for robbery.

During questioning, Wale confessed that he was among the gang of armed robbers that invaded the Bank on the said date, and killed four persons in the process. The names of the criminals were given as follows: Wale Adelu popularly known as Evangelist; Ikechukwu Maduagwu; Fayemi Albert Olabusuyi; Mukaila Raji and Mr. Ropo Adele.

However, the fifth person, Mr. Ropo, claimed that he was arrested in place of his younger brother who he didn’t know was a robber… The men will appear in court soon. via 247nigerianewsupdate