₦airaland Forum

Posted by: jason123

[b]Guy, linking it "Eastern Nigeria" is just to feed your tribalistic nature or should I say "natural bias". It has nothing about East or West or North or Whatever. It is simply because of the location. How many rich kids will want to go to Calabar to buy a wristwatch when most stay in Lagos, Abuja, PH and Delta?? [/b]They will rather take a stroll to Silver bird and buy their wristwatch or further still, travel out to buy.

[b]If this Tinapa was done in Kwara or Jigawa. [/b]You will still have the same result. It was the location, in my opinion.

@First bolded,

So, you accuse me of tribalism when you from the same so called SS want all development to head to Lagos, Delta and PH.
So what happens to Calabar and Tinapa? To them tough luck?
And you wonder why no one with sense believe the SS nonsense.
What is good for Lagos and Delta, is certainly good for Calabar.

@Second bolded,

So you now compare C/River with Jigawa and Kwara?
SMH!  

I hope C/river folks are reading.

Posted by: alj_harem

nigerian factor can only be attributed to the fact that the location is not conducive for costumers and not that nigerians do not want to patronize tinapa. i don't think it has anything to do with the civil war stigma

@ the bolded point

good point as well, i would support if all this nnewi aba etc can go to onisha and form a stronger market there

but as u righly said, the governors or leaders have to look to it collectively which inculdes cross river leaders

there is not point is scattering investments everywhere when u can be an economic hub

@First bolded,

I never meant that Nigerian don't want to patronize it because of the civil war. I mean that folks in Calabar may not have reached out to their eastern neighbors before designing this plan. That's all. You can read it anyway you want. Before the war, we did things together as one. That changed after the war. We should recreate that link.

@Second bolded,

Yes, but with understanding that every state should specialize in one thing or the other.
Tinapa is well positioned to be the outlet for international sales for regionally produced goods.

Posted by: alj_harem

that i do not agree with

"Nigerian factor" is a very broad term. If they meant that the civil war politics and fears arising from our past is hindering such Eastern agreement, then yes. If they meant other things like power etc, then no.

If anyone wants to duplicate Lagos in the East, they must understand that Lagos is a Western state and enjoys all support from all western states.

Anything in the East without similar regional understanding will only stall.
If it does not stall, it will limp.

@alj harem,

The roads are even there already. What is needed is a regional understanding, which can be achieved with governors meeting and signing agreements.

Some folks blamed the "Nigerian factor" for Tinapa's failure. They are only correct to some extent.

In effect, what I'm saying is that Tinapa should be an outlet for finished products from ALL industries in the East.
Folks who used to come from all over Africa to buy Aba made wears and Nnewi made products  know they can land in Calabar and get it from Tinapa, isn't that a good thing? Everybody wins.

^^
I never bought into the "international free trade zone" idea.
How do you manage an international zone when you have not managed a local one?

Tinapa should be Nigerian first before international. I hate folks trying to fly before they can walk.

Yes, it should be part of an Eastern Nigeria regional business development plan. It should be linked with ALL major Eastern cities (especially the ones with industries). Folks come from many African countries to Nnewi and Aba.

Lagos is what it is today partly because it gets support from other western states in terms of human and business support.

To understand Tinapa's failure, you have to understand that sustainable development is a factor of CAPITAL, both human and material.
Human activities sustain projects like Tinapa. But what human activities does the project target, and which of them are available within short timelines to enable the project continue a growth pattern? The project targets mainly "tourism".
However, can tourism happen in isolation of "disposable income"? NO. How many other venues are available GLOBALLY for tourism? I say LEGION.

I have to cut to the chase. Tinapa should be part of an Eastern Nigeria regional business development plan whereby all major cities in the East are deliberately linked with either rail or good roads. Luckily, Tinapa also has a business factor, namely shopping malls etc. But what would you sell there and how do you get it there? Tinapa is in Eastern Nigeria. Why not create a business nexus between Aba, Nnewi, Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri, Abakaliki and Tinapa whereby products from local industries are marketed there?

If the business side of Tinapa is properly consummated, the tourism part would take off naturally because there would then be disposable income for things like jazz clubs, casinos etc.

No foreigner would visit a place Nigerians are not visiting.
Africa is crazy about "Nollywood" today mainly because Nigerians consummated it first! If we never bought into Nollywood, it would never have crossed any of our borders.

^^
Some folks here cannot stomach anything that would challenge Lagos. So to them, it is either in Lagos or it must die.
Sad indeed.

I'll be back with my own diagnosis/prognostications. 

My candid advise is DON'T even go to camp.
Why?
Well, unless they have changed the rule, every NYSC camp culminates with a long distance march (trek) of about 24 kilometers, mostly into isolated areas of the town/city.
I did mine (NYSC camp) at Sagamu (Ogun State), and we marched well into the deepest parts of Ijebu land heading towards Ijebu-Ode through the bushes. If it wasn't safe, anything could have happened.

Now, imagine such trek in the wilderness of Borno!
Boro haram would have a field day.

Nuff said.

I forgot to address the topic.

I think that Rivers State should remain in SS, AS IS. There is nothing wrong with the way the state is. In fact it is in our interest sef to keep it as is. Won't say more than that.

As for Anioma, I really think whenever it is created, it should be part of SE, mainly because the state would be a complete Igbo state (irrespective of what some individuals there say). Anioma sons and daughters have played strong roles in shaping SE destiny, from Nzeogwu to Uwechue. But that is only my opinion. SE gains nothing special from such merger, except that we would have a bigger family, and you know what they say about families -the larger the more trouble.

The only other way to gain is if Anioma becomes the sixth SE state, in which case, we would acquire more clout at the center.

Posted by: N.Delta

What then will u do with the warriors of rivers state, that is the Ijaws known as Kalabari and Okrikas in Rivers state? do not also forget the Ogonis and Andonis and other non igbo speaking parts of the state. Only 35% of the states migrated from igbos mainly the Ikweres, etche etc

I always laugh whenever someone starts talking about "Ijaw warlike nature" or "Ijaw militancy and trouble making".

Igbo say that "Onye na ahubeghi agha na akpo ya "aya" "-a person who has never seen real war cannot even know the right pronunciation for "war".

With all due respect, only the Igbo and their Ibibio allies have tasted real war in the whole of Nigeria. Again quote me on that.
We lost about 25% of our population in the Biafran war, and we never stopped fighting except that some of our leaders decided to abandon the war. Nobody in Igboland bought into some "amnesty" even in the thick of FULL SCALE WAR, and with millions dead. For all I know, if Ojukwu had adopted guerilla tactics, the war could have lasted into 80s and 90s. All these was while Ijaw sold out Biafra because of fear. 
Anyway, folks can think whatever they like.

Posted by: Calculia

All the crap about little sub groups claiming dat they are a different tribe is not fooling anybody anymore, unless u want to be fooled. It is like people speaking pegin English and claiming uniqueness, wat is unique about not being able to speak original English.

No, Nigeria should wake up and rein in all this small mix up confused group to their mother tongue and move on.

hehehe!

That is very unlikely in Nigeria as long as there is oil in the so called "minority" areas.
Minorities are easier to exploit. So, it is a symbiosis of sorts whereby the powers that be declare these fake "separate ethnic groups" for easy exploitation. All it all it takes is for a family to discover oil on their land, and declare itself a separate ethnic group.
One of these days, there will be one million "ethnic groups" in Nigeria; unless of course someone decides to become reasonable in Abuja to reduce these to about ten groups, just like they are planning to reduce the number of political parties.

Posted by: houvest

APGA should have been the main party in the SE by now but it self- destructed. Was it PDP that plotted APGA's self destruction. [/b]APGA needs to rediscover itself to recover full Igbo confidence in her that was seriously shaken. This is one point. [b]The second point is that Rochas body language in both PDP and ANPP is that of a shot at the presidency. Has joining APGA just abouit 6 months ago taken away that ambition. And if he cannot realise it in APGA as you said that is not APGA's dream, should he not go were he can realise it? No need being sentimental there.

@First bolded,

HELL YES of course!
PDP rigging using the instruments of the federal government is the ONLY reason why APGA has not taken over the entire East by now. I don't know how much you closely followed politics in Igboland during Obasanjo's evil reign.
He basically took it as a continuation of the civil war and made sure not only that he stole elections, but also sponsored agents of evil and chaos into APGA. These are all known, and Victor Umeh confirmed same in his interview.

All you need to know is that Igbo say that an adult who confiscated a child's toy and raised his hands high up where the child cannot reach it, is only as powerful as he can endure the pain of keeping his hands up, because one day, he will get tired and bring down his hands, at which point the child will reclaim his toy! We are reclaiming our toys, one by one!

@Second bolded,

That is where ordinary partisans like myself come in! And our job is to make PDP a political leper party in Igboland.
Once we achieve that, let's see who will want to touch that party with a long pole in Igboland.

As the Jonathan victory showed us, you cannot win Nigerian presidency these days without a strong backing from your own zone. Rochas can decide to gradually grow APGA over a period of 8 years, after which he can use it to contest the presidency if that is what he wants.

PDP feels it can insult Ndigbo and get away with it.
Well, we shall see!

We have very strong politics in Anambra where we have businessmen that are wealthy. They are all involved in politics and most of them are pro-establishment businessmen and contractors. These are people who will always align with the Federal Government because they get contracts from the Federal Government and when elections come they come home to deliver the state to the ruling party at the centre. But most other states in the South East do not have this kind of situation. In Anambra, we have all kinds of moneybags.

I think this is why other Igbo states should find it easier to vote in APGA. Peter Obi and Umeh have fought the toughest political jobbers in Igboland in Anambra state and defeated them. Imo has just done the same.

When will our brothers in Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu do the same? It ain't tea party. But it has to be done.

How we crushed Ohakim–Umeh

From CHIDI NNADI, Enugu
Sunday, June 26, 2011

In the recent general election, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) achieved what many would consider a rare feat by winning the governorship seat in Imo State. How did it happen?
In this interview, the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, revealed how the plot to unseat the immediate past governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim who ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was hatched.
Excerpts…

APGA’s final onslaught in Imo

I will start by giving glory to God who made it possible. One is that it is God that creates opportunities that man exploits at any given time. The last general election in Nigeria can be viewed by people from different perspectives. One was that it was generally agreed that the election was largely free and fair.

But those people who were involved in the field of the elections will note that victories were recorded at various places not entirely because the elections were set out to be free and fair but as a result of very strategic approach to the elections by those concerned. Imo State seen as a segment of that election, I will tell you that APGA won that election, but not without a very serious fight.

In 2003, APGA won the election in Imo but we were denied. In 2007, we won with a landslide margin, we were denied again. And in 2011, there was a near repeat of this, but like the Igbo people say, when something gets to the third time it will stick. A lot of factors played out in 2011 to make the victory of APGA in Imo inevitable. One was that the people of Imo were thoroughly disappointed by the government they had at the time and the governor also made a lot of mistakes that made his removal from office a matter of consensus by the people. APGA was equally lucky to have a candidate that was well known in the state and a lot of people respect him for identifying with the less privileged in society. So, he became a clear alternative to the then incumbent governor, not minding that there were other contenders.

Before that election proper, APGA had prepared itself to fight for the governorship seat and, indeed, the rest of the political seats in Imo. Before our primaries we had to make strategic preparations to ensure that we come into the election united. Our candidate that won in 2007 that was denied victory, Chief Martin Agbaso, who went through the courts up to the Supreme Court severally to get that mandate back without success, was also preparing to run for the election again. Okorocha joined the party in December to also run for the same office and the primary was to take place in January. So we had challenges in our hands ahead of the primaries. But looking at the way things stood at the time, I decided to bring Agbaso and Okorocha to the table.

We discussed and agreed that instead of going out there to fight and dissipate energy against each other, the best thing was to have a common front to be able to take on our opponents. I think it was that strategic meeting we had on the 4th of January 2011 that made the ground strong for APGA to go into the election in Imo. In that arrangement Agbaso had to excuse his governorship interest to step down for Okorocha and that singular effort brought out the full strength of APGA in that election. Agbaso had to mobilize all the efforts in his possession and Okorocha had to deploy his universal goodwill to the campaign.

Going into the election, APGA came as one indivisible family. So we have to give the Imo people what they have been yearning for in terms of campaign issues. While APGA, apart from being a party of choice for them in the previous elections in the state, this time around it was a matter of going all out to ensure an APGA victory. So, the whole state ahead of the election had queued behind the party and its candidates. Therefore, before the election proper it was common knowledge that APGA was set to win in Imo. The major challenge then was how to go through the electoral process and translate the goodwill into electoral victory. That was were problems came up that almost led to the repeat of what happened in the past.

How we battled PDP and Ohakim

One of challenges in the electoral process was that the then incumbent governor had declared himself Ikiri (bush baby) , which is an animal you cannot easily remove his hands from anything it clutches. He was well entrenched and being a candidate of the PDP it would require an extra effort for any person to dislodge him in that election. [B]So, APGA had to operate within an environment where the managers of the election, the security agencies, were all on the alert to ensure that if the then incumbent had a chance of winning he should be aided to win.[/B] That was actually what we saw.

But the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) under Prof (Attahiru) Jega was prepared to listen. Ahead of the first election on April 26 at our meeting with Jega in the INEC headquarters, I drew his attention to Imo, that the state should be classified a red light zone for that election because based on the feedback we were getting, we knew that the incumbent governor then will require extraordinary people to get him out of office despite the fact that the people of Imo were desirous of voting him out. I pointed out to the INEC chairman that the recruitment of ad hoc personnel for the election in Imo will be a very serious challenge he will face.

[B]True to our predictions, the ad hoc personnel almost marred that election. The bulk of the ad hoc staff INEC used in that election were recruited from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and the running mate to Ohakim was Prof Viola Onwuliri, who at that time was a lecturer in the university. So, with her colleagues everywhere in Imo acting as one strategic INEC officer or the other, the sympathy was actually there for the incumbent governor to win. But that was going against the wind as the voters were eager to get Okorocha into the governorship seat.[/B]

As it played out in that election, APGA recorded massive support from voters across the state. But because of the lack of care in recruiting the ad hoc personnel, the entire Okigwe senatorial zone was manned by people who were sympathetic to the incumbent governor and the election was largely manipulated there. The results will show you that when you analyze them. Our candidate was not able to score even 10 per cent of the votes cast in any of the six local government areas of the Okigwe senatorial zone.

In some other strategic local governments like Mbaitoli, Ikeduru, the collating officers for these local governments were all staffers of FUTO and they were on duty in various places.
So, on the first day of the election on April 26, what sustained APGA was the overwhelming support the electorate gave to Okorocha and the party and they were not able to overrun us. When the results started coming in during collation, it became obvious that APGA had won the election again and certain things needed to be done to stop the party. So at the final collation at the state level, the state returning officer refused to accept the result of Mbaitoli Local Government Area where APGA had won with 17,757 votes against PDP’s 12,400 votes.

It was at that point of collation we noticed that the returning officer, Prof Enoch Akobundu, was being given directives through his phone via text messages to stop the final collation of the results of the elections. So, when the Mbaitoli result came that would have given APGA a clear victory and the 25 per cent in 18 local governments that will enable it satisfy the requirement of law that you score 25 per cent or one-quarter of the votes cast in two-thirds of the local government areas in the state, that was a very critical moment in deciding the election.

So, when they saw that APGA was leading with the majority of votes cast and was also scoring the mandatory one-quarter of the 25 per cent of the votes in 18 local governments that would have two-third of the 27 local government areas, they had to direct him to halt the exercise. It was at that point that he sought for adjournment and when he returned, the Mbaitoli man who came to submit his result was hushed out of his seat that what he came to declare was a fake result. By that time I was watching the development on television from Anambra.

I wasn’t in Owerri. I knew from the reports that I was getting from the field in the early hours of the morning that APGA had actually won the election and when the returning officer declared the election as inconclusive without doing the proper things he was supposed to do by law and guideline, the next morning I relocated to Owerri. I arrived about 8am on April 28 because the collation was on the 27th and from then I became part of the proceedings. I knew that what they were trying to foist on the people was what they did in 2003 and 2007 and as a party we felt that would be the last time such a thing should be allowed to happen.

We had to mobilize to Imo. It was from there I became part of the strategic group, challenging both INEC and the security agencies, particularly the police on their conduct. Because INEC had declared the election inconclusive, it gave rise to a supplementary election. So we took our matter to INEC in Abuja and we were able to prove that we clearly won the election. Having been denied that declaration, we had to take very important steps to put INEC back on track to ensure that the right thing was done. We gave INEC conditions for our participating in the supplementary election. Elections were cancelled in Oguta, Ohaji/Egbema and Mbaitoli local government areas. There was no election at all in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area. So, a supplementary election was fixed for the four local government areas and Orji Ward in Owerri North Local Government Area. We looked at the scenarios and a lot of people were saying that APGA should go to court and force INEC to declare the APGA candidate winner.

I thought otherwise because I have been involved in elections previously. Because INEC had not made a return, if you go ahead to compel it to make a return in court, INEC will be at liberty to admit those problem results that came from Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta that would have given Ohakim victory. So I thought otherwise. I actually took that decision against the preponderant views of our members in Imo. But I didn’t want to be emotional about that. So, I felt we will go to the election and certain conditions must be met.

We put those conditions in writing to the INEC chairman and by then INEC had produced a list of four resident electoral commissioners that were detailed to go and conduct the supplementary election. We raised objection on the resident electoral commissioner, Mr Austin Okogie, who was the resident electoral commissioner in Abia State. We objected that he should be part of that team. The reason we gave was that he was the resident electoral commissioner in Imo in 2007 when we won the election and through him INEC annulled the election that we won. Two, we reasoned that since INEC had completed the elections in other areas of the country, there was no longer need for the ad hoc staff to be used in Imo.

So we demanded that for APGA to take part in the supplementary election, no person from the state should be part of the conduct of the election in those four local government areas plus the Orji Ward in Owerri North. We demanded also that INEC should use its permanent staff so that they would be responsible for any misdirection of activities on the day of the supplementary poll. I held press conferences in Abuja on this and then submitted it formally to INEC and it was acknowledged. That was the turning point in that election for which I and our party are very grateful to Prof Attahiru Mohammed Jega.

At that time he was not seeing anybody no matter who you are. If you have any complaint you put it in writing and register it. He did not receive me in his office even though I forced myself in. But I registered my letter of protest and he went through it and agreed with all the demands we made and actually surpassed them. He posted four national commissioners to supervise the four resident electoral commissioners and also directed that all collation officers, all the presiding officers in the various local governments and ward should not be from Imo and further directed that INEC should move its personnel from Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Ebonyi to Imo. So, that was the stage we got the matter to that turned everything around. At the end of it all it was victory for APGA.

But before that, because I saw what happened at Mbaitoli, I noticed that it was a difficult local government; it is a local government you have top PDP stakeholders. So I decided to go there to be the APGA collation agent. That was my duty on the day of the supplementary election. I was there with them all day, all night to ensure that they couldn’t use that local government to truncate the election one more time and it paid off because too many issues came up during collation and I had to stave all of them off.

They were surprised that the national chairman of a party can come to the local government to be a collation agent. But I said it was my right and what my party had chosen. When I got there on May 6 about 8pm to resume duty for collation, the governor, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Chief J.C. Odunna, Chief Marcon Nlemigbo, former PDP chairman in the state, were all there. Hon Bethel Amadi, who is also from that local government area, was there. There were hordes of PDP henchmen all there trying to intimidate the people.

But I arrived with my long red cap and they knew it was not going to be a joke. After about an hour, Ohakim drove off and it didn’t take time most of the others left, leaving behind their operatives. But I ensured that no result written outside was accepted in that collation centre; results that were not accompanied by certified INEC officials accompanied by soldiers. That was what happened and by 9am the result of that local government was ready.

In the first election of April 26, APGA got 17,757; PDP 12,400 and you know that local government also produced the majority leader in the House of Assembly for the PDP. So they were all there and at the end of the day, APGA in the governorship election got 24,305 while PDP got 12,278. My presence there ensured that they had no room to mismanage that election and I was also on the phone with all the INEC officials on duty. Any place I received any complaint across the four local government areas I reported instantly to the national commissioners, to the resident electoral commissioners, telling them that if anything happens to this election I will tell Nigerians what happened. So everybody were on their toes all through.

That was how it happened that in Ohaji/Egbema where the former Speaker of the House of Assembly held everybody hostage, he did not only lose the House of Assembly there but APGA won in the governorship election there. We got 15,000+ and PDP got 10,000+. In Ngor-Okpala we won outright. We got 17,000+ and they got 9,000+. In Oguta where the PDP had started the process of rigging the election again, some people were caught in the morning with election materials that had been stuffed in the house of a PDP stakeholder. I insisted that that election be cancelled.

So, every effort to get us back to the field, we refused that we would not take part any more. That was what we did in the previous exercise and we will not allow that to happen. That was what led to the cancellation of the result in Oguta. You know when we were going into that re-run we were leading the PDP and its candidate with 20,330 votes already. So with the tight management of the election by APGA and all concerned it was very difficult for them to offset that lead and at the end of the day, we won with about 46,000 votes.

Spreading Imo gains to other South East states in 2015

[B]I have said this severally. In the past when people derided APGA for poor performance in 2003 and 2007 in the South East, I always laughed and posited instead that the bane of the party in the South East had been fraudulent elections. I had stated clearly that any time you hold credible elections in this country generally and in South East in particular that APGA would surprise everybody. The victories APGA recorded in 2011 were a confirmation of the belief I earlier held, but the problem had been the non-conduct of credible elections.[/B]

The South East is a peculiar zone in Nigeria where we have people who monetize politics a great deal. It is only in the South East that once elections are scheduled, the efforts of stakeholders in the various political parties will be how to get the police, the electoral commissioners, other security agencies on their side and the only way is by giving them money. So, elections are usually difficult in the South East. Apart from the INEC being in the mood to conduct credible election this year, [B]we still had the attitude of the moneybags in the South East to deal with. These things had combined in the past to hold APGA down in the region.[/B]

But in 2011 because of the general disposition of Prof Jega-led INEC, it wasn’t easy for pre-planned rigging for the dominant party in the South East any more unlike what happened in 2003 and 2007. So, in 2011 Nigerians can safely say that people were allowed to cast their votes and these votes were largely used to determine who won. However, in the South East, it is a situation of mixed feelings. If you read the reports of that election, you will agree with me that it wasn’t that perfect in the South East. There were reports from the audit checks we have done for our party members that elections were not smooth in some states in the region.

But you cannot win all the battles at the same time. We were able to use Imo as a demonstration state that APGA is the favourite of the voters from this part of Nigeria. There were problems in the other states but because it will not be proper to begin to castigate the elections at this point, I will say that we are going to build on our present strength to have a stronger showing in the next election. I know that if INEC keeps to this gear of allowing the people to choose their leaders in 2015, I can tell you that APGA will win virtually everywhere in the South East. By then about three governors in the region will be serving out their terms. In Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia states, they will contend with APGA and the people they want to succeed them. So, it will not be as vicious as it was in 2011 when they were fighting for second term for themselves.

From almost very poor level in terms of strength, because APGA went into the 2011 election with only Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State as a major product of the party, we were written off in Anambra that we would not do anything. But I can show that from what happened, APGA recorded some improvements in Anambra. We have been able to take over the state House of Assembly with the majority of members. In 2003, we had only two members in the House of Assembly. In 2007 we had nobody there out of the 30 members.

They were all PDP members. In 2011, where the people were allowed to vote and through our strenuous efforts, we were able to win 16 seats out of 30. Anambra has 11 seats for the House of Representatives and we won five. We will get back some more through the courts; I am confident about that. In the senatorial election, which was the first election, before the eyes of the people could be opened, the old system was used to take the three seats away from APGA. So, APGA has recorded remarkable improvement in Anambra. For the fact that we control the executive and legislative arms of government, Anambra will experience stronger harmony and peace in the affairs of its government.

[B]On the question you raised that APGA had always ruled the state, yes, Anambra is an envy state for everybody. Anything you can think of in Igbo land, you will find them in Anambra. We have very strong politics in Anambra where we have businessmen that are wealthy. They are all involved in politics and most of them are pro-establishment businessmen and contractors. These are people who will always align with the Federal Government because they get contracts from the Federal Government and when elections come they come home to deliver the state to the ruling party at the centre. But most other states in the South East do not have this kind of situation. In Anambra, we have all kinds of moneybags.

Like Governor Obi will always tell you, he doesn’t use his siren because in Anambra virtually every big man has siren and convoy of vehicles and when elections come because they must deliver to continue to be relevant in their businesses with the Federal Government they relocate to the state to see how they can use their money to ensure that they deliver the state to the ruling party. That is what we had suffered in the past. It has been a very resilient struggle in Anambra. [/B]But if we continue to sustain credible election the electorate will be empowered to decide who represents and governs them.

2014 and Anambra governorship election

Our election will be in 2014. We have a different electoral calendar; our governorship election will come in 2014 just the way it came up in 2010, so we are always a year behind the general elections. In 2014, the moneybags notwithstanding, if we have credible election, the ordinary people do not take instructions from the moneybags. In 2010, some of them who have private jets lost in the polling booths in front of their houses because the poor masses in the majority are always eager to take their pound of flesh from the nouveau riche in the society. So, it is only when you derail them by using intimidation from the police, the Army and the other security agencies that you will be able to sweep them out of the election. But anytime you allow them to participate, the result will be different.

Governor Obi has done a lot of work for the people of Anambra State. It is true that his style of governance is also novel as it is not the usual type where you have to patronize every rich man to be in authority. So, he has attracted so much trouble to himself because he had insisted that he would work for the people. And our people are not fools, in 2010 when we had our election on February 6, ahead of that time, opinion polls that were manipulated didn’t give Obi and APGA any chance, but our people felt the impact of development projects he had executed.

We made them campaign issues, we were able to draw attention to our road infrastructure on what Obi was able to do through the APGA government, we looked at the school to see what he has been able to do, we told them what he did in the health sector and others and they appreciated all those things as they felt the impact of those actions of our government and they therefore came out to support the government. I am confident that in 2014 when the governorship election will be due again in Anambra State, we would have surpassed their expectations again and the votes of the people being what would determine who wins in 2014, APGA will remain in office in that state.

Okorocha’s rescue mission and sack of council chairmen

Rochas Okorocha is on a rescue mission in Imo and his actions are very sharp and concise, he knows what he is doing. When he dissolved the local government councils, somebody called me and said look at the military dictator you have now put in Imo State and I said I did not put Rochas in Imo State, the people of Imo State voted for him to become their governor. But then, he told me there was a court order that stopped the local government election, but because it was an era of arbitrariness and brazenness, Ikedi Ohakim ignored the court order and went ahead and announced people as winners without actually conducting any election in Imo.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/june/26/newsbreak-26-06-2011-001.html

So, since we (APGA) have cornered Anambra and Imo, we must push resolutely until we capture Abia next. From there to Ebonyi, and finally to Enugu. Something tells me that this would be the course of action.

PDP = Vehicle of confusion
APGA = Vehicle of transformation


Rochas, if you dare abandon APGA, you are finished politically, at least in Igboland, just like the rest of the PDP thieves parading Igboland who would meet their own political deaths inevitably. I may not like Peter Obi's approach, but somehow he has kept Anambra state firmly under APGA for years. Rochas must surpass this and deliver our land from agents of evil.

Posted by: houvest

The North can also use that logic by saying that there is a mafia that is working against them in PDP because of the Jonathan phenomenom and leave PDP. but CPC tried it but could not get the power at the centre. [b]I do not see any regional party controlling the centre soon enough . In fact all previous enemies will unite to stop it because it is a recipe for disaster. [/b]However as I said before, if we are no more interested in the centre, we can go regional. But why dont we get our own share of ther power at the centre before doing that.

You are making at least one mistake, and this is to assume that everybody is desperate for power at the center, like the north.

To an average Igbo man, the core issue is really about whether to remain in Nigeria or not.

We have given so much to Nigeria, from producing some of the best technocrats and nationalists, to some of the best footballers Africa has ever seen (male and female). If you remove Ndigbo from Nigeria today, Nigeria will have at least one African state that she can never win in any football encounter, quote me on that. So, knowing Ndigbo very well, they want a RATIONAL REASON to continue to remain in Nigeria. The threat of forced union is fast being dismantled by the realities of the 21st century.

Ndigbo (if given the opportunity) also want to solve the Nigerian curse of babel whereby everybody is talking but no one is communicating.

Nigeria has not moved an inch since after the war, and the victors are holding everybody hostage:
No Light, no road, no water, no language, no culture, no sense. . .

A party like APGA was formed principally to project some of our core cultural belief of equity, justice and progress to the nation.

PDP was basically formed to "come and eat" provided the "eaters" are not Igbo, hence the eeediotic zoning system. 

You see why PDP is a poisoned chalice for Ndigbo?

So, let me go to my point.

Personally, I don't believe that APGA followers really believe in producing a Nigerian president. I think that APGA is a vehicle by which progressive forces will force change in Nigeria, or disintegrate Nigeria.

ONE OF IT MUST HAPPEN. 

Again, come to think of it, at APGA the governors are doing things that PDP governors never even think of.
For instance, Peter Obi has taken concrete steps to support the growth of Igbo language with his "suwa kwa Igbo" program in Anambra state.
Rochas Okorocha is doing the same thing now in Imo where Igbo is to become compulsory in primary and secondary schools. None of the PDP governors think this way. They are busy dancing to the cacophony of the center.

We need to rediscover ourselves and what we stand for as a people.
Igbo say that "Ije ekweghi ojije, o ga ekweriri onuna" -if a journey is proving too difficult to continue, it cannot prove too difficult to discontinue. 

Posted by: houvest

Those who say PDP insulted the SE should go and read up on 'the Prince' and about power play. . . .

Why this fixation that PDP is a cancer that must be excised instead of a party with a malady that can be cured? Why are folks folding to that propaganda. Show me the party that came from heaven? APGA?ACN?CPC? Oh Please. If Ndigbo say they are no longer interested in the presidency but in Regionalism then will I agree to throw away PDP for APGA.

The idea behind moving into APGA or voting PDP out of Igboland goes FAR BEYOND national political positions now. That bus has since left the station. PDP had the opportunity to prove that they are fair to SE for 12 years of loyalty, instead they felt that SE is an old harlot that can be screwed anyhow without caring for her feelings.

We practiced your idea for 12 years.   All we got was cheating; from state creation to denying us the presidency. As things stand now, we may NEVER produce a Nigerian president under PDP. So, let us chart a different course for the benefit of our children unborn.  They've had their chance, and they proved that SE is not important to them.

After 12 years at the saddle, SE remains the only zone with 5 states in Nigeria, and we have steadily moved down the power ladder, from Senate president to deputy everything to SGF. The trend will continue in 2015.

Obasanjo is only one man, and I feel insulted to think that only he is dictating the PDP course of action.
There is an anti-Igbo mafia at the heart of the PDP.

It is time to abandon that evil ship.

Africans are mostly anti-homosexuals based on religious grounds.
Most African traditional religions are against homosexuality, and Christian and Muslim religions are against it.

I wonder why some people on this earth are eager to go against every known religious beliefs.

Are we no longer free to practice our religion because of so called aid?

This issue could be the point of division between Africa and the West, 'cos Africans no go gree for dis one.

The Brits should leave this issue and move on.

. .  And the impact of this trailer ban would be immediate without costing the government an arm and a leg.

It looks like this guy understands how to deliver the dividends of democracy on the cheap.  
Let's keep watching.

Posted by: EzeUche!

He announced that no trailer vehicle would be allowed to enter into Owerri, the state capital during the day, saying such vehicle should operate from 10pm and should use the bye-pass.

I never imagined that a Nigerian leader would think this way; not in a million years!
This guy is clearly ahead of his peers already.

Diesel pollution and traffic jam caused by these trailers are huge nightmares!

Posted by: Eziachi

ACN realised that you don't go to the tribunal just with your forensic evidence, even if its from FBI and expect to win just like that. You have to back it up with buying the judges. Once they realised that even if you win your case and that re-run doesn't work because rigging in the re-ran polls are even more sophisticated with police, army and INEC always eager to help the PDP rigging machine.
They have also realised that in the election proper, don't just sit down and play the the good guy with the PDP. You had to match them rigging for rigging, ballot box snatching to ballot box snatching stopping, thugs for thugs. That is what happened in Imo, Okorocha has 90% of Imo people behind him but that is not enough to dislodge Ohahim and PDP. However he is nobody's fool, a very good street wise operator. So he matched Ohakim/PDP anything they can thrown up before, during and after voting.
Unlike in Abia, the people voted massively for Ufomba/APGA and went home while PDP and INEC took over from there and did the rest, hence the worst administrator ever to rule any piece of Igboland (Orji) claimed to have gotten himself 600+ votes. Unless APGA in Abia/Ebonyi has millions to invest on the tribunal judges, they will be wasting their time for a very long time to come.

At last someone tells me HOW! 

Thanks a million Dede Eziachi.

Some of our brothers were busy here minding thread derailers while the question remained unanswered. Thanks for providing the needed answers. 

I can now understand why Peter Obi can never deliver SE for APGA.

This ball is really on Rochas' court, otherwise we might as well forget the idea.

It is a dirty job, but someone needs to do it for Igboland. 

Posted by: ekt_bear

Heh. The truth can be painful, I guess. But it will also set you free. Better than believing the lies you tell yourself.

You are unnecessarily lionizing aribisala0 for his opinions. His position is at best specious and controversial, hence every Igbo poster did not agree with him. So what I see is a disagreement along tribal lines. He is entitled to his opinions nevertheless. 

I see that some Yoruba folks develop heart attack anytime someone alludes to a unique Igbo way of doing things.
Some of you guys are desperate to cast Igbo as "same Nigerians".

We know better. 

In western world, plastics are disposed carefully by dumping them in sealed landfills (landfills which are built to guard against seepage into the underground water), delicate stuff. Plastic contamination can lead to serious health issues including infertility and birth defects.
Who will conduct and monitor the environmental impacts of MILLIONS of plastic based houses built directly into our ground without insulation.

My point is I hope these plastics won't contaminate the environment. Once that is ensured, no probs. But I know naija!

^^

I think your REAL purpose is to derail the thread. 

No one is fooled one bit.

dayokanu

Everybody already agrees that Rochas holds some key to APGA resurgence in SE. I however also believe that Igbo elite can move into APGA irrespective of what Rochas does.
That is the more likely scenario, because Igbo have the "boys oye" mentality. If someone harps enough about PDP injustice to Ndigbo, our masses would soon start calling out "saboteurs" (PDP chieftains) and vote them out whether they rig or not.
Igbo believe in group action at critical times. It has happened before. It can happen again.

Hmm, na wa o!
Nna aribisala0 wetin be ya own for dis thread sef?!  

You've made your point and if you really believe in it, just leave it at that.
Cursing makes you sound desperate.
You cursed odumchi first. Once someone curses, I place him/her somewhere lower and move on.  
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.

Abi na by force?

One word is my watchword here:

[size=18pt]SAFETY.[/size]

Are these safe and biodegradable? What would be the environmental impacts of MILLIONS of these houses on our fragile ecosystem? Remember that no one is looking out for us in that area.
FEPA is doing sh&*t while the rate of cancer is going up.

Make we shine our eyes well well for dis one o!

Posted by: bashy_demy

ACN will take over all east

It can happen on two conditions:

(1) APGA fails to capture it first
(2) ACN proves to be better than APGA and PDP

Igbo can smell things. We know who is marginalizing us.

Historically, it would have happened through the UPGA of late 60s.

Go figure.

Posted by: dayokanu

But I dont agree with inviting those PDP castaway politicians back.

When APGA guys were struggling and fighting , they went to Abuja to enjoy the loot.

They shouldnt be rewarded for leaving the people when they needed them

Thats why I  support Tinubu regardless of whatever allegations they lay against him, he was the one who stood up and delivered the SW from the PDP monsters

Actually, I only support "some" PDP members like Sulivan Chime and Sen Ken Nnamani and a few others. I don't want the Ekwuemes and such go slow politicians. Those should stay in PDP.

@dayokanu

I am a pragmatist when it comes to public policy and politics. Nigeria is very easy to navigate as a member of majority tribe. If I were from the minorities, then this would be tougher because they are different groups there.

If Ndigbo don't change soon, we would become minority in every sense of the word in Nigeria.
It is already happening.   That is why I get mad at national party adherents in Igboland.

Of course things can change tomorrow if PDP changes and appreciates our numerical strength and interests in Nigeria.
I don't see that happening soon. You remember that saying "no permanent friends in politics, only permanent interests".

BTW thanks for your support!