₦airaland Forum

Strawman:
Igbos are truly the most intelligent race in Africa, no be lie

rapistbuhari:
But herdsmen have in the past made some move and even killed your member and you did nothing.

Mile 12 episode is still fresh in our mind where your people were made to speak Hausa before their lives will be spared.

Where were this group when Yorubas ran to as far as Mowe to evade Fulani onslaught

demslayerrz:
Enugu IDP camp patient ranting as usual. Loudmouthed people calling otherw coward, the joke is on you.

OgbonnaUbani:
Osun ia still competing with northern states in all indices of education. Borno was ranked higher than Osun in the last WAEC ranking.

A number of books have been written, both by serving and former public officials in Nigeria. While so many of these books predominantly dwelt on the economy, politics, religion and autobiographies, very little have taken up the herculean task of starting a national conversation on ethnics, values, rebirth and love for country. But the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekwer­emadu, on April 27, at the International Conference Centre, launched a new book, entitled, ‘Who Will Love My Country’.

A war veteran and former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, economists, poli­ticians and a representative of President Muhammadu Buhari, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information was in attendance. Equally present at the book launch were scholars and labour unions.

Prior to the launch of the book, there have been concerns, recently expressed, that Nigerians did not have any sense of history. Those who put up this argument were always quick to remind leaders of their failures or inability to begin a true reconciliation process since the end of the civil war in 1970. Concerns had been raised about the sharp religious and politi­cal division among the two regions of the country, the North and South.

Beyond the failure of present and past leaders to deal with the aftermath of the civil war, there was another concern that no serious national discussion on the need why Nigerians must place high premium on ethics, national values and love for one another was in place.

Those who were at the launch of the book, unanimously agreed that the step of the Deputy Senate President was timely and would subsequently challenge other leaders of thought to follow suit and begin the national rebirth process. Author of the book, Ekweremadu started the discussion when he gave a brief summary of what informed his decision to put his pen to pa­per and write the book. “Let me state that I stand here today, not as the Deputy Presi­dent of the Senate, not as a card carrying member of any political party, but as a pa­triotic Nigerian concerned about Nigeria’s future,” he remarked.

Continuing, Ekweremadu added: “This book, Who Will Love my Country, is my good faith effort to examine Nigeria’s problems, provoke discussions about how Nigeria can overcome its challenges and build a better country for our children. It is also an encapsulation of most of the things I have said before. I lay no claims to hav­ing the solutions to Nigeria’s problems. I simply want to challenge and inspire Ni­gerians to rise above ethnic, partisan and selfish interests and focus more on how to build a better country for us and our chil­dren. If you are on a journey and you find out that you are travelling the wrong road, the right thing to do is to turn back and take the right path.”

He did not stop there. He further noted: “I remember vividly a verse in our old national anthem, which challenged us “to hand onto our children a banner without stain. I urge everyone here to think for a moment the state of the banner we intend to hand over to our children. Are we go­ing to bequeath to them a banner stained by corruption, bad governance, ineffec­tive leadership, ethnicity, slacking moral values, decadence, mediocrity, and sloth? God forbid!

“The state of this banner inspired the title of this book. A country that has given us so much, provided the platform and av­enues for us to live out our potentials now begs us to reciprocate its love for us. Nige­ria deserves better treatment from all of us. We can and must do better to demonstrate our love for a country that has given us so much. The greatest honor and tribute we can pay to Nigeria is to love it.

“To love Nigeria requires us to fun­damentally revise and reexamine our at­titudes, our values, and how we treat one another. It demands of us some sacrifice. We must subordinate our ethnic interests, partisan ambitions, and personal prefer­ences to the overriding interest of the na­tion and posterity. We must be ready to surrender our perceived advantages to the general good. We must let go, for un­less you release the man you are holding to the ground, you would not also be able to move an inch. Now is the time to offer one another a hand of comradeship and to­gether we can move to the Promised Land.

“Leaders must govern effectively, use powers wisely and in the best interests of citizens. They must show fidelity to demo­cratic imperatives of accountability and transparency, respect the laws of the land and respect the rights and liberties of citi­zens.

“Nobody can save or help Nigeria but Nigerians. As Timi Dakolo rightly points out in his thought-provoking song, Great Nation, “We are all we have.

That is the message of this book. There is nothing that Nigerians cannot solve if we act in good faith, guided by the nation’s best interest. That is why I invited differ­ent contributors to express their views on the issues I raised in the book. Ultimately, I hope that this book Who Will Love My Country will inspire Nigerians to take stock of realities, recalibrate accordingly, and chart a productive way out of our pres­ent challenges and difficulties.”

Ekweremadu was soon followed by General Gowon who served as Head of State during the Nigerian Civil War. Like the Deputy Senate President, Gowon ad­mitted that there was an urgent need to be­gin a national debate that will attempt to address decades of unanswered questions.

The former military Head of State said: “From the title of the book, it is easy to de­termine that the author and Distinguished Senator Ekweremadu has set out on a journey of self discovery, not necessarily personal to him but one in which all lovers of Nigeria should be interested in ventur­ing an answer.

“It is a journey that is hinged on pa­triotism. It is a journey in which only an individual is best positioned to answer as honestly as possible based on personal convictions and whether or not, he or she truly loves his or her country; this country; our country Nigeria.

“One statement that particularly struck me in the opening pages of the book is the open declaration by Senator Ekweremadu and I quote him: ‘I love Nigeria and will forever love it’. This is a strong bold state­ment that he further clarified and substanti­ated by saying that he had lived all his 53 years and now nearly 54 years in Nigeria and that he had no other country to call his own in a haste apart from Nigeria regard­less of personal feeling or the circumstance of nationhood. In other words, my country, right or wrong, how many Nigerians can make this bold declaration? ”.

Gowon added: “I would want to be­lieve that the motivation to write this book derived in large part from the circumstance of our nation’s contemporary history. In itself, this can be likened to back times without which new life cannot be brought forth. Many years back, we fought a war to remain a united, indivisible nation. This was because we believed, and still believe that what binds us is far greater than what divides us. There is no denying the fact Nigeria is stronger together and that the future remains very bright if we continue to move ahead together as one. Nigeria has a great potential to become great but it will be up to you and I to do our best to ensure and hasten the process.

“Who will love my country? The truth is no one but you. This answer is plain for all to see. No foreigner will love your country more than you do. Neither can you love any other country more than your land even if as our old anthem said ‘tribes and tongues differ but in brotherhood we shall continue to stand’, to paraphrase and adopt the scriptures ‘who or what will separate us from the love of our country?”.

He continued: “Definitely, not eco­nomic adversity which we shall overcome; not political differences which we would easily settle if the leadership is committed to truly serving the people; not corruption which I believe is the current leadership we tackle and definitely, not insurgency or the so called Fulani Herdsmen nuisance and harassment which with the help of God and the cooperation of all citizens and our gallant security forces, we shall soon conquer.”

President Buhari who was represented by Information Minister, Mohammed, did not deviate from the earlier position taken by Gowon and other speakers. President Buhari recognized the need to begin a new conversation of how Nigerians can be more patriotic and add their own quota to nation-building. Like Ekweremadu, Bu­hari said Nigerians can get the country of their dreams if they put the interest of the nation above personal or parochial inter­est.

President Buhari noted: “The author struck the right plane when he enjoined leaders to carry out programmes that will enhance the prosperity, happiness and liv­ing conditions of citizens and value re­orientation including attitudinal change especially as it concerns corruption and impunity and of course, the need for Nige­rians to love their country.

“He also demonstrated in the book that Nigerians can only get to the Nigeria of their dreams if they make these efforts to love her above their individual selves and individual interests. Let me say here that there is no controverting these critical is­sues posed by the author and that indeed, for this government, excellence and merit and virtues to be coveted.

“The author demonstrated that Nige­rians can get the Nigeria of their dreams, if they put the nation first. We should start with the individual; if we change our ways, society will change for the bet­ter. The author urged all tiers to undertake programmes and policies to enhance the people’s living standards. I hail the deputy Senate president for investing his time and energy to write the book, which is a wake up call, and thought provoking.”

Erudite scholar and respected econo­mist, Professor Pat Utomi, in his interven­tion, noted: “What has happened unfor­tunately in our country is that, we do not have a rational intelligent conversation about the human condition. The mentality of our democracy can never be what it is supposed to be until we have such civilised conversation and I thank you (Ekwerema­du) for bringing us up to that level.

“What is unity reality about? I think that unity makes sense because it has cer­tain values. If the country is not united, what you can have and sadly, our country has been in this state for quite some time now, is a series of lingering civil wars. We can call them all kinds of names; today it is herdsmen attacking some communities and yesterday, it will be militants prevent­ing some activities of economic nature, the other time, it is insurgency in some regions, but our country has been in a con­tinuous state of a really civil war. If we are going to make the kind of progress that we deserve, that civil war has to be ruled out.

“One of the essences of a federal struc­ture is competition between units as to who will make more progress among the constituent units. How did Nigeria begin to industrialise and did so rapidly in the early 1960s?”

newsarena:

ABAKALIKI—GOVERNOR David Umahi of Ebonyi State yesterday explained that there was no cogent reason for Ebonyi people to demand the immediate withdrawal of Fulani herdsmen from communities in the state, considering the harmonious relationship existing between Ebonyi people and the herdsmen.

The governor, who stated this during an enlarged security council meeting at the International Conference Centre, Abakaliki noted that grazing routes would be created in communities to enable the Fulani herdsmen carry out their duties without rancour and disaffection.

Umahi condemned the attack on a community in Enugu State allegedly by Fulani, describing it as unfortunate.

He called on security agencies to be on the alert and curb all manner of criminalities across the state, even as he directed them to mount surveillance and checkmate the excesses of herdsmen in the state, especially at night.

The governor directed the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Commissioner for Border, Peace and Conflict Resolution and Special Adviser, SA on Internal Security to come up with a modality on how to set up a community-based committee in liaison with the Police to curb incidences of crimes across the state.

According to him, any student found to be a member of a secret cult group will not only be arrested but would be handed over to the security agencies for prosecution.

He also directed that nobody in the state should collect money from cattle herdsmen as anybody caught in such act will be prosecuted.

The governor, following the absence of two Development Centre Coordinators, Ohaozara West and Ohaozara, Hon. Christian Ngene, and Hon. Eni Odii respectively, suspended them indefinitely.

rolchi:
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says dressing masquerades could create a thousand jobs per week for Nigerian men.

Speaking at the sectoral debate of the federal house of representative in Abuja on Tuesday, Mohammed said most states in Nigeria have one festival or the other.

“Most states today have more than one festival a year, but the packaging and lack of capacity has not enabled them to make the most out of these festivals,” he said.

“There’s a particular masquerade in the south east, it takes 100 people to dress him, another 100 people to UnCloth him.

“If this masquerade is well-packaged, it can provide employment in one week for more than 1000 young men. These are some of the untapped potentials.”

Mohammed explained that Nigeria has the oldest forest in the world in terms of biodiversity for tourists to visit, but tourists are discouraged by bribing and insecurity in the country.

“I worked in the airport for 10 years, and I know that if you want your passport stamped as a foreigner, you slip $100 into your passport. No tourist would come back to a country where he has to bribe immigration to enter.

“No tourist would come to a country where, when he leaves immigration, he enters a ‘one-chance’ taxi or ‘one-chance’ bus. It’s a holistic problem and these are all contained in the national tourism master plan, which I would make available to the house.

“We must make a difference between tourist sites and tourist attractions; what we have in Nigeria are tourist sites. They are not tourist attractions.

“You need infrastructure to convert a tourist site to a tourist attraction. If you don’t have infrastructure, it would always remain a tourist site,

“In Cross Rivers reserve park, Nigeria has the oldest forest in the whole world. It is the oldest in terms of biodiversity, and we have this very rare, white-mane gorilla in that area, but because my people in Cross River have decided to turn them to bush meat, they have now escaped.”

Source: https://www.thecable.ng/lai-one-masquerade-can-create-jobs-for-1000-men

maxwelloweezy:
See wetin buhari caused

Rikidony:
GOD BLESS THE NA
IT'S REALLY GETTING HOT FOR THIS WICKED FOXS.
NEVER AGAIN.
lalasticlala mynd44 seun

hit like for the gallant men



****

DeCleff:
How did u know that Olumba Olumba Obu is not God? Was it revealed to u or are u saying it due to what people who knew nothingg abt Him are saying? Be honest in ur answers!

Leader Olumba Olumba Obu said and i quote 'I will not tell u who I Am but if u truly want to know who I Am, pray and ask God to reveal me to u because u cant know me or Brotherhood Of The Cross And Star with ur physical eyes. The more u look the less u see.


John 4:22
Ye worship ye know not
what: we know what we
worship: for salvation is of
the Jews.

2 Corinthians 5:16
Wherefore henceforth know
we no man after the flesh:
yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we him no
more.

I will advise u to pray and ask God to reveal Himself and expose Olumba Olumba Obu to u so u can tell the world the truth. God assured us of His willingness to answer us and show us what we don't know.

Jeremiah 33:3
it, to establish it; the
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and
mighty things, which thou
knowest not.

mercyville:
• To Train 100 youths in Footwear free
• Turn Ikorodu To City Of Footwear
Adesola Omotayo-Benson, 44, a shoe designer and a native of Ikorodu, Lagos State studied Footwear at the University College of Footwear in Britain in 2000. Before then, he had graduated from the Federal College of Chemical and Leather Technology, Zaria in 1993; he also studied at AS Astoria in Milan, Italy in 2014. In this chat with KABIR ALABI GARBA and MARGARET MWANTOK, he underscored his desire to turn Ikorodu into a city of Footwear by conducting free training programmes for the youths and his satisfaction seeing Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi wearing the shoes he specifically made for him to different occasions including during the monarch’s wedding ceremony recently. Excerpts:

How did you come about designing shoes for the Ooni?
I just took a bold step when I found out that he is a young guy, and most of the things he talks about have to do with the youths, I seized the opportunity to try and reach him. It was difficult getting to him from the beginning, but I imagined that he is tall and his shoe size should be 45 or 46. I also know that in Ife, their most cherished costume is in white colour, that was how I designed the white shoes for him and sent it to him with a proposal through someone. I sent the shoes with a proposal on how to empower the youths through footwear. He loved the shoes and the proposal I sent, and he asked to see me, he has worn the pair to most of his recent functions.

How many pairs have you made for him?
So far, I have made just a pair for him but I have two in progress. He has asked me to come back. He wants to see a video footage of where I manufacture the shoes in Ikorodu.

When did you meet the Ooni?
As soon as he was installed as Ooni of Ife on January 7, I started making enquiries on how to reach him. In the process, I met someone who discouraged me that the Ooni does not wear locally made shoes, but I said my shoes are also of international standard. I finally got the opportunity to see him on a Tuesday, there were so many people waiting to see him too.

What was your impression of Ooni when you eventually met him?
There were so many people who wanted to see him as well. When I finally met him, Ooni was very jovial, and we related well. Personally, I have passion for the youths, so it was like meeting someone of like-mind. He said my idea was wonderful, but I should bring to him a documentary of my factory.

Was your encounter with Ooni a breakthrough?
My meeting the Ooni was more than a breakthrough because he is interested in home- made products. I was more satisfied when he used my pair of shoes. Most people spend huge amount of money in buying imported shoes, and if Ooni of all people could use my own shoes, then I think my job is well done.

When did you establish the factory?
In 2011, and my factory is called, Sola Benson Exclusive Shoes Company.

When did you relocate to Nigeria?
I have been shuttling between Nigeria and Ireland in the last two years. My family lives in Ireland.

What has been your experience since establishing the company in Nigeria?
I have been doing this job for the past 30 years. I was producing shoes in Nigeria for 10 years before travelling out to further my studies. I already knew the problems in Nigeria. For more than 15 years, I would come to Nigeria once in awhile to get familiarized with how the business works here. Eventually, I got tired of Ireland’s system and decided to return home, because I found out that most Nigerian youths are not empowered, and footwear is the only business that we don’t have the correct expatriates in Nigeria. I thought it was better to relocate my business to Nigeria.

Do you still have a business abroad?
When I was leaving, I sold all my machines. Though while abroad, I was only a shoe designer, but here, I get to do the practicals as well. Thank God the government is talking about youth empowerment, and I want to contribute my own quota.

Apart from Ooni, who are your other clients?
My past customers include former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, current Commissioner, Ministry of Works, Ganiyu Johnson. I have made shoes for several people in government.

Why do you target only the high-class and government people?
My aim is to make affordable shoes for everyone. When I first returned to the country, I needed to interact with the government, and so I started with government officials on what the shoes look like. But at the moment, I make shoes for virtually everybody.

What is your view on fake labeling?
I don’t do such! You see, it’s a sure sign that these people didn’t study footwear, they only came across it, but I have been doing it since my second year in secondary school. There is no need for me to put any fake labels because I have seen while in Italy the respect they have for Nigerian products.

How do you source your raw materials?
We have leather in Nigeria; we are one of the biggest countries in leather exportation. We export about 98 per cent of our leather. We have different styles in Kano. I get my materials from Mushin when they arrive from Kano. I don’t import my raw materials.

Do you see prosperity in footwear business in the country?
I am actually satisfied and fulfilled here. Most footwear companies collapse due to the owners’ shallow knowledge about the business. We don’t export shoes in Nigeria; we are a fashion conscious people. So I see a lot of prospects for the business. In Italy, shoes are made in almost every area; my hope is that one-day, Nigeria would be on that same level.
Tell us more about your programme to empower the youths

I live and work in Ikorodu, and I found out that most people are jobless, and my only contribution would be to teach them the art of shoe-making free of charge, but all they need to do is to buy the materials to be used during the training. This programme would last for two and a half years; I want to turn Ikorodu into a shoe-making city.

What do you think was responsible for the collapse of Bata Shoe Company?
Bata was functioning very well under Thomas Bata, the Canadian, but as soon as it was handed over to Nigerians, it became bad. The management knew nothing about footwear, all they knew was how to buy shares, and they squandered the money. In this business every worker’s opinion matters a lot, not just the board.

Where can people find your shoes?
My shoes are not yet in the market because I like to do things properly. I still have one or two things to put in order. Because of the standard I am starting with, some of the things I need are not in Nigeria, which is why I am not in a hurry to deliver.

YOU HAVE NOT STARTED PROPERLY IN NIGERIA AND YOU WANT BUHARI TO BAN....lol

freeze001:
Let me make something clear to you, the Igbo tribe is very special and we prize ourselves because we recognise our worth and absolute respect for life and business/wealth.

We are also completely different especially with regard to the other two major tribes and that is why we will not sit down and wait until our lands are overrun by demons or killed in our hundreds before we react and sound the alarm. If that is selfish in your book then so be it!

Do you expect us to remain quiet? I think the Igbos sometimes even show more concern for others attacked in such fashion than even the victims themselves so if others refuse to speak for themselves and take necessary action...we will not join them in becoming sitting ducks.

The federal government is obviously compromised because it is in full support of this madness so the Igbo political jobbers must be addressed as such because it is their duty in their respective leadership positions to mobilise their people into self defense and proactive attacks to secure their homeland because the security agencies have become hired gun men and boko haram agents in uniform serving at the pleasure of the fulani president to preserve his people while they perpetrate the most heinous of crimes.

oboy3:
this is a faceless forum,anybody can claim anything,that was how a nairalander was claiming to own a house in lekki till he was bursted,so quantinue with boasting,it aint my thing

Awgu is just a village in enugu state,and look at the kind of wonders they are performing with the fulanis,but you yaribaa cowards were attacked in a city you claim to be the majority in and you all ran to ibadan and ogun,only to come back when everything had died down to protest against fulani people


admit it,you yorubas wish you can stand eye to eye to the fulanis like the igbos do,but you cant,even in a million years

fulani slaves

naijaking1:
Awgu people will not take it laying down.

PRODUTIM1:
The only country that gives neighbouring countries electricity and its people lack elecricity supply and her happy with it. You don't see us fighting over it cos WE are happy.