₦airaland Forum

I have read two articles by Frank. One on nairaland and another on Vigil360.com.ng and my take is simple. For the Igbo's, listen to d voice of wisdom.

Frank is only giving Igbos the tips to regain political relevance in Nigerian politics.

If una like curse me, my own people have produced president

Recently, I published an article with the title, “The Merchant Called Nnamdi Kanu and His 2019 Senatorial Ambition". The responses have been quite amazing as reactions keep pouring into my email from far and near; some commendations, and others outright threats. Well I want to deeply appreciate everyone for their well thought out reactions.
I will further my arguments in this article on the renewed agitations for Biafra, particularly taking a deep retrospect of history. A great philosopher once said, “...hindsight is better than foresight”. The truth is that the more historical minded you are the better you can appreciate the present and chart an effective cause for the future. For this reason, I am going to lay a foundation today that will aid further examination of the abundant opportunities before the Igbos, now that secessionist agitations are raging.
Meanwhile, some excerpts in this article were taken from published works on the American Civil War, particularly, https://www.civilwar.org.

Now the American Civil War was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and formed their own country in order to protect the institution of slavery. The southern states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, seceded immediately Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Lincoln though was from the slave-state of Kentucky in the North refused to recognize the Confederate States, instead fought to keep the South in the Union.

The interesting fact was that between 1776 when America gained independence and George Washington was elected President, to the year of the secession in 1860, America had fifteen presidents, ten of which were from the South, and five of whom were presidents for two terms each. Indeed the south dominated the American political space.

However, the abolition of slave trade in Britain in 1807 changed the world order, in which the narrative of slave trade transformed drastically against holding fellow humans bondage. While religious and political leaders in the North of America began to agitate and call for the complete abolition of slave trade, the South who had maintained political dominance blatantly refused to heed the clarion call. They were so blinded by the economic benefits they made from slave-trade that they began to lose political control to the North by the 1840s. In fact the last three presidents before the secession in 1860 were all from the North of America.

The greatest lessons from this political misfortune were represented by the years after the civil war, as the South completely lost political relevance in America. For a long time after the Civil War, politicians from the South were considered unelectable. Abraham Lincoln's Vice President, Andrew Johnson was the last Southern president for nearly half a century. After President Woodrow Wilson administration in 1921, it took nearly another half a century before the next Southern president was elected.

During these periods Democratic Party rarely nominated Southern presidential candidates, as southerners were tagged with the brush of secession. The northern electorates were equally extremely reluctant to cast a ballot for a southerner. That was how the south lost out completely in the political power structure in America for about 100 years, albeit the 1960s when the South began to regain political control.

The first lesson here is that every failed secession attempt comes with its own burden of distrust. The South-East region like the South in America has continued to suffer political consequences from the brushes of the failed secession attempt between 1967 and 1970. Other component parts of Nigeria are seldom convinced that the Biafran dream has been laid to rest. Such distrusts which have grossly affected the political fortunes of the Igbos in the
Nigerian project, have been fanned and fuelled by the occasional and at times sustained call for secession.

It’s like an aggrieved husband who constantly threatens the wife with divorce at the slightest provocation - that marriage will never see the light of day. As long as he feels there is a better “bride” out there, he WILL NEVER put in the required efforts to work out his current marriage. The wife on her part will perpetually live on the edge of being thrown out of her matrimonial home. But however, the transgression(s) of the wife, the day both parties, starting with the aggrieved husband choose to deal with the emotions of offence and accommodate true forgiveness in his heart that marriage is heading for a successful outcome.

The Nigerian civil war remains the bloodiest experience for the Igbos as a people. Fifty years after, the memories of the war remains fresh in our minds. With well over 2.5 million deaths, it has not been easy to allow the emotions of that dastardly experience die, “just like that”. The sentiments remain so strong that it has the capacity of being retained for the next 1000 years. But the danger is this, our children and grandchildren may continue to face the challenge of political and social exclusions in the Nigerian project.

Therefore, like Nelson Mandela who successfully helped his people to deal with the emotions of segregation and apartheid regimes in South-Africa, the Igbos now needs a sound leadership that will sincerely advocate and help the people deal with the lingering emotions of the Nigerian civil war and convert the negative experience as their strongest weapons of strength. The South learnt their bitter lessons, took it in their stride and worked assiduously to build the American project. They couldn’t have done that if the quest for secession was not completely laid to rest; and today they have Donald J. Trump as the President of the United States of America.

There is no doubt that the Igbos are major stakeholders in the Nigerian project. We must, however, reject Biafran vendors who frequently come on the scene offering false hopes while making merchandize of our inherent burdens.
So far, even under the present arrangement, we have proved not to be pushovers, not at all. We must, therefore, deal with negative impediments of the failed secession bid of the 1960s, and choose to integrate ourselves in the Nigerian project. We must work towards dealing with the distrusts which have continued to affect our collective fortunes. We must kill that perception by other Nigerians that we as a people are still desperately seeking ways, by hook or crook, to jettison the Nigerian project.

As outlined in the second lesson from the American Civil War which shall be published in my next article, N’digbo is here to stay; and just as without much political power we have largely conquered the economy of this country, with diligence and hard work we are bound to rise and occupy the pride of place in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Nwaanyi muta ite ofe mmiri mmiri, di ya amuta ipi utara aka were suru ofe.....” Meaning we must learn to change tactics if we are to thrive and emerge victorious in the situation we find ourselves.

Frank Eze
frankeze1967@gmail.com

https://vigil360.com.ng/exclusive-report/646-the-american-civil-war-of-1861-lessons-for-the-igbos-and-the-biafran-struggle-%E2%80%93-frank-eze.html

ProWalker:
Forget anything these boastful Igbo says on NL, the declaration caught them unaware and napping.
They' don't seems to want Biafra again but how to ensure that the threat of Oct 1 doesn't consume them in the north.
I have a feeling that the Biafra noise will die down in a couple of days

I SHARE YOUR OPINION ON THIS MATTER
IT SHOOK THEM TO THE ROOT. NOW THEY ARE BEGGING

They wanted to go, the north said oya, leave. they are now begging.
who are we going to take seriously now? IPOB or Ohaneze Ndigbo

Today, scores of sports lovers have taken to the social media to remember the legendary Super Eagles Skipper and Coach, Late Stephen Keshi who passed on June 7, 2016 at the age of 54. The Nigerian Football icon was reported to have died from heart attack.


Before his demise, the “Big Boss”, as he was fondly called by football lovers and associates had earned 64 caps for the Nigerian Super Eagles, making him the nation's second most capped player in the national team. He captained the super eagles to the 1994 USA FIFA world cup after leading the team to a glorious outing in the 1994 African Cup of Nations where they lifted the trophy. Steven Keshi played in five different countries for different clubs including Anderlect and Perlis FA.


The Big Boss after retiring from active football took up coaching jobs with Togo and Mali from 2004 to 2011. Following his sterling performance in Togo, he qualified the Hawks for the World Cup before he was eventually replaced by a German gaffer, Otto Pfister.


He was handed the Super Eagles job in 2011 and led the team to the victorious 2013 AFCON. He became the first indigenous coach to have won the AFCON as a player and Coach. After the 2013 AFCON, Keshi secured qualification for the Super Eagles in the 2014 world cup, becoming the only coach to have successfully qualified two different teams for the World Cup, having qualified Togo earlier. He was named CAF African Coach of the Year in 2013 after an unparalleled performance.

His contract with the Super Eagles expired in 2015 and was not renewed by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). Since his exit from the Super Eagles, the team has apparently failed to make its mark at the international scene, failing to qualify for the AFCON back to back. The team is however finding its footing again thanks to the appointment of Gernot Rohr as the new coach.


Sport lovers who have taken time to remember the Big Boss have called on the Federal Government to urgently immortalize him. They berated the government for failing to recognize the contributions of other sports icons, which did the country proud with their sporting feats. They also argued that unless the government pumps money into the sport sector, no meaningful advancement would be made in the sector.


Meanwhile, the NFF has taken to its twitter handle to remember the Big Boss one year after. In a Tweet posted yesterday, the Federation wrote "We say not in grief you are no more, but we live in thankfulness that you were. Rest on BIG BOSS! Late Stephen Keshi (23/01/62 - 7/6/ 2016)".

https://www.vigil360.com.ng/sports/35-exclusive-interviews/477-remembering-legendary-stephen-keshi-one-year-after.html

No body is crediting Buhari with mechanisms being put in place to perpetually address the issue of corruption;

No body is commending the recovery of looted funds;

Nobdy seems to acknowleged the gains made in the North East; Boko Haram use to occupy large part of the country;

No body appears to be recognizing the positive image that the nation has created for herself ever since the administration came on board

No body is talking abouth the strategic policies being put in the place. The recent executive order, the social welfare scheme, the school
feeding programme, etc

why?

im aggregating the reactions. i will deal with them in the my next post. Things may not be moving as faster as envisaged, but i assure you, we are on tract

capatainrambo:
what fukery is this op?

president Eisenhower was educated
he attended Harvard before he began his military career







president buhari dose not have any certificate
president buhari has people like amechi, and that useless
good for nothing cbn gov working for him



your comparison is wack to say the least mhen

NO FUCKERY IN THIS MATTER. THE WRITER ONLY GAVE AN HONEST COMAPRISON. IF U HAVE A CONTRARY POSITION STATE IT AND LETS HAVE INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATION, PLEASE.

The history of American democracy has records of presidents that had varying degree of illnesses and diseases while in office and in most cases, they served out their tenure. They include, Woodrow Wilson who had a stroke during his second presidential term. The ailment left him paralysed. He secluded himself in the White House while his wife helped him to hide his condition from the public.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was another President who was sick throughout his tenure even though he eventually collapsed and died while in office. He suffered from polio throughout his term, which paralysed both legs. He did his best to disguise his condition, sometimes even finding ways to stand. Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack and a stroke during his presidency and undertook surgery for Crohn disease. Although John F. Kennedy had his image crafted in youth and vigour, he dealt all his life with Addison’s disease. The disease caused him severe pain and forced him to take medication before his eventual assassination.


Dwight Eisenhower even though he contended with Crohn disease is ranked amongst the greatest American Presidents of all time. He is regarded to have innovated and gave America the leadership it deserves especially after the Second World War. He dealt calmly and rationally with each situation, always finding a solution that avoided war without diminishing America's prestige. He ended the Korean War, balanced the budget not just once but three times, and of course he authorized the creation of NASA in 1958. These and many other accomplishments rank Eisenhower amongst the best American Presidents of all time, even though he was sickly throughout his eight years in office.


Like Eisenhower, President Muhammadu Buhari was a war veteran who served in many capacities during and after the Nigerian civil war. Just like Eisenhower who was practically called upon by the American people to run for the presidency, Nigerians were unanimous in their vote for President Buhari during the 2015 general election.


President Buhari’s accomplishments since assuming office bear resemblance to Eisenhower in so many ways. Under his watch, the Boko Haram Sect which hitherto almost overran the entire nation has been decimated. The Nigerian security forces are in such high spirit and poised in bringing the Boko Haram insurgency to a conclusive end. The war on corruption though marred with many controversies has continued to yield significant results, and the Nigerian economy which hitherto was in deep recession is now gradually coming out of it.


Despite his health challenges, President Buhari has continued to stir the ship of state, while moving the nation on the path of growth and development. While I remain an ardent supporter of a proper medical screening of all political office seekers, we must appreciate the fact that nobody holds absolute control of his health status. Some of the American Presidents we examined earlier only became sick after they assumed office. But for their love for

But for their love for Country they pushed through their tenure as they strived to bring the dividends of democracy to the American people. We must, therefore, come to appreciate the zeal of the President to move Nigeria to greater heights while he may be struggling to maintain a perfect health. We must also come to appreciate that such scenarios are not peculiar to Nigeria, but a reflection of socio-political order around the world.

As we patiently wait for President Buhari’s electoral promises to come to full bloom, like Eisenhower, PMB may emerge as the greatest plus to Nigeria’s democracy. This is wishing Mr. President quick recovery and long life.


https://www.vigil360.com.ng/politics/20-latest-news/223-dwight-eisenhower-and-muhammadu-buhari-the-paradox-of-two-sick-presidents.html

Staff of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under the aegis of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation and Recreation Service Employees (AUPTRE) has concluded plans to embark on indefinite strike Wednesday, over alleged refusal by management of the Commission and Ministry of Trade and Investment to implement an agreement entered into with the union four years ago.



Sources at the Commission disclosed to Vigil360 that the aggrieved staff had embarked on a 3-day strike in February for the same reason. The strike was called-off following the intervention of the Minister of Trade and Investment who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in a crucial meeting with the aggrieved staff.


However, according to union chairman, Ibrahim Kirfi, months after the peace talk, the Management of the Commission was yet to implement the new agreement. He listed their demands to include payment of salary differentials of 9% from January 2014, immediate inauguration of a committee to bridge the gap in salaries between executive and non-executive staff, payment of promotion arrears and other welfare related packages.


A meeting between the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Mr. Aminu Aliyu Bisalla with union members yesterday was deadlocked. Although another meeting has been scheduled to hold today by 3pm, the aggrieved staff are currently mobilizing towards the strike, which could thwart the Commission’s recent commencement of 24 hour operation.


The situation could also affect the Executive order recently signed by the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo which was intended to "address efficiency in the business environment, local content in public procurement and timely submission of the budget".
Efforts to reach the Registrar-General of the Commission, Mahmud Bello was futile as he neither picked or returned calls to his number. At the time of filing this report, he was yet to respond to text messages.


https://www.vigil360.com.ng/economy/30-latest-news/211-osinbajo-s-executive-order-threatened-as-staff-of-corporate-affairs-commission-proceeds-on-indefinite-strike.html

isokay

wetin him carry three houses for Uk and US dey do na?

Governing Nigerians in Nigeria and living abroad.

the more reason they never develop their states

D white man appears to be one if the Obama agents that assisted in rigging for APC.

They're gradually revealing their identities

A friend in Anambra said d machine failed. That one stopped working after 2 hours and d back up packd up within 30 mins. I jus pray nothing happens

Following alleged failure of the machine during the mock exercise conducted on Saturday by INEC, should we still use it?

Objective literary clarification devoid of party sentiment is needed please

D problem isn't jailing corrupt officials, but wrongfully assuming that people are guilty in a democratic setting without investigation or diligent probe.

For Pa to say when he starts, it shouldn't be seen as witch hunting, it means those he is targeting may have offended him in the past. My guess if u ask me include: IBB, OBJ, Abdulsalam, Gej among others

Gej transformed many sectors including agric, aviation, railways, power, education and so on. Today we are d largest economy. Gwj is reequiping d military and making breakthroughs

Under obj he was d minister of petroleum for 8yrs and fuel scarcity was d order of d day
He stole d billions of dollars many for power in collaboration with liyel imoke
No press freedom
Political assasination was prevalent
I can go on and on

Ask him where Bello his son graduated from. As Fct minister, he seized peoples land, sold some and gave some to his wives, girl friends and concubines while sending his children to harvard.

God is watching

Waat time is d event and on what channels?

No contact for inquiry? Which kind notice be this

U no get phone number? How u wan sell am

Everbody appears to be interested, if na police nko?

Post pics

Boss come down na.
880k and we deal now

Chidi how much

850k. I've increased d offer

800k cash and we deal tomoro

860k. I've upped my bargain

820k. Sharp sharp deal. Reply

How much pls

850k and we deal tomoro. Activate d deal