₦airaland Forum

I don't get it. Why do people PRATICE & TEACH their kids virtues, morals & values that will be good & useful for them in LIFE, but they'll be preaching that GAY is right or acceptable. Is this not HYPOCRISY?

Ms Clinton's daughter is married. Why did she not encourage her 2 be gay?

Obama goes out of his way to teach his gals MORALS & VALUES that are acceptable. Or they all want to be politically correct?

Nigerian state is against GAY can't they respect that?

Worried by the weight and details of the allegation, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Hafiz Ringim, has commenced investigation into a complaint lodged by a British national, Mr. Khomeini Bukhari, who alleged that he was on October 29, robbed at gun-point by two policemen of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.

According to the complainant, Messrs Samuel Ekpah and Daniel Marcus, were posted to provide security at the Millenium Park by the Maitama Division of the FCT Police Command but they turned into armed robbers, depriving the Briton of N200,000.00 cash and a wrist watch worth over N1.3 million.



Deputy Force Public Relations Officer (DFPRO), CSP Yemi Ajayi, confirmed knowing of the complaint and said investigation had commenced into the matter, and that the IGP has ordered the Force Headquarters to take over the investigation.

He explained that his office had already sent signals to the FCT Police Command inviting the alleged policemen, stressing that given the detailed information and description of what happened as related by the complainant, Bukhari, it would be easy to conclude investigation in no distant time.



The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), FCT Command, SP Jimoh Moshood, said no policeman was posted on duty to the place on the day in question, adding that the information given by the Briton was incoherent and has no bearing with what is known in the Police hierarchy in FCT.

“The man only wants to embarrass us. We were wondering what he could be doing at such a place by 6.00 p.m in the evening alone and no other person was in the entire vast park. We have also asked him to come forward to give a statement but he refused, saying he has travelled.



“The first time the man came, he looked unkempt and untidy and from his physique and the incoherent manner of his statements, it seems he is not in his best frame of mind. I suspect he only wants to embarrass us but we have commenced investigations into his complaints. When we post policemen on duty in the evenings, we give them torchlight but the man said none of them had a torchlight.

“We have even run a check on our system to cross-match the names he gave but we don’t have such names on our staff list. He even said the policemen claimed they were from the Police College, Kaduna, but all these are not true. He has refused to clarify his claims. And we plead with him to come forward so we can get more information that will help us move further in the investigation from him,” the PPRO stated.



Bukhari had sent a distress e-mail to some reporters where he appealed for assistance in bringing the matter to the notice of the Police high authorities, expressing disappointment at the way the FCT Police Command was handling the investigation which he made since October 30th.

According to the Briton, the policemen who were posted to provide security at the Millenium Park turned around to dispossess him of his money and valuables and even threatened to kill him if he should raise the alarm.



He wrote: “I am writing to you in regard to an incident that occurred on Saturday the 29th of October which till this day has left me very shocked and traumatized and has left a scar on me.

“My name is Khomeini Bukhari and I am a British national. I am the Head of Africa Division of the company I work for. I have been going to Nigeria since January 2009 and have absolutely loved every moment of it. This visit to Nigeria was for the purpose of meeting my fiancee in order to make our wedding arrangements and to meet my in-laws once again to formalize our plans.



“On Saturday 29th October, in the evening, I entered Millennium Park in Abuja at 7pm as I wanted to relax. Upon leaving at between 7.30pm and 8pm two drunk police officers stopped me. They told me no visitors are allowed after 6pm. I explained to them I didn't know this as I'm a visitor and when I entered at 7pm there were lots of people and nobody stopped me at the gate. I pleaded with them and they were threatening to beat me and strip me naked and kidnap me and the rest.

“They asked for my I.D. and I said I left it in the hotel. They then searched me. Upon searching me, they found N200,000 in my pocket and took it from me. They took my Breitling Wristwatch (worth N1.3 million) and took it from me, leaving me with practically nothing. They wanted my phone but I begged and cried. They saw my wallet but I had some change in the wallet pocket and not out so they didn't spot it.



“I am writing this as I'm very uneasy and going through psychological trauma. I rang AVM Abbas and he was trying to help me, as I was trying to discreetly call the Special Advisor to the president Mr Timi Alaibe he didn't pick. I couldn't make any more phone calls as they warned that if they see me try and make any phone they will break my phone and told me at this point it is only the three of us so no one can save me, not even the IG of Police nor the President himself.

“I was very afraid. As in the Nigerian news and in the newspapers it always shows how corrupt and dangerous they are and also was very afraid to go to the police station. Over that weekend, I had to borrow money from my friends and live very economically.



“On Monday 31st October I went to the British High Commission in Abuja and called the Foreign Commonwealth Office and they guided me to Maitama police station. The British High Commission also gave me one of their police escorts to accompany me.

“I reported to the DPO of the police station and also wrote a full report including the names of the officers and he gave me one Sgt Samson who after that day did not do anything further.



“The following day I came to the Ministry of Police Affairs. I met with one Mr Victor who said he is the Chief Security Officer to the minister. He took a full report from me and he assured me that as I have given a full report with the police officers' names that within 2 days all will be resolved.

“I asked him about my possessions that were taken of me, he said, that they may not find them but if its the police that did it to me the government will take full responsibility and compensate me.



“That day he gave me a Hilux Truck and sent me to FCT Command under the Minister’s instructions, as he claimed, to go and meet with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (operations) Mr Wilson Inalegwu.

“Upon reaching there he took the documents sent from the Ministry and told me he will assign the best Investigation officer that within a few days all will be resolved, he assigned Mr Alechenu for me, who till date has not given me any feedback.



“I have gone back and forth many times to both places however I am not getting any feedback. Unless I go to them they don’t even call me. Does this mean they don’t care, or are they trying to hide the police officers and cover up the story? Each time I go and meet Mr Victor he just smiles and says, we are doing our best but does not give me any feedback.

"On Thursday 17th November, I went to meet ACP (operations) Mr Wilson Inalegwu and he told me, he wants me to meet the Commissioner of Police FCT the following day at anytime around 11am. Upon arriving the FCT Command the next day at that time, he was away on a meeting and the Commissioner was in his own meeting.


“I sat in the waiting room for quite some time, then left out of annoyance that they are not serious about my matter. The PA to the Commissioner when talking to him, all he said to me was he will let me know when the Commissioner is free. That is not an answer to give someone.



“I am now in Britain and from over here I am still following it up however after giving them my details they have not called me to give me any update.

“Does the Nigerian Police really care that I got robbed of my possessions? I feel they know who the police on duty were. How can it be that after I have given the names, they still have not found them (The two police officers that robbed me, their names are Samual Ekpah and Daniel Marcus). If my descriptions were vague, I could understand but I gave them full details”.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/some-policemen-robbed-me-in-abuja-says-briton/104487/

With this now, they'll pressurize Jonathan not to sign the bill into law when it gets to his desk.

United States President, Barack Obama, on Tuesday, issued a memo ordering US diplomats abroad to advance the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons (LGBT).


The memo, which was personally signed by Obama, was issued a day after a group of Nigerian gays staged a protest against the newly passed anti-same sex bill by the Senate in front of Nigerian House in Manhattan, New York.


In the presidential memorandum, which had as its subject:, 'International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons', Obama said, "I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation."


The memo, which was addressed to heads of executive departments and agencies, noted that "the struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights."


President Obama, consequently, said, "By this memorandum, I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that US diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons."


He specifically directed that certain actions consistent with applicable law should be taken. Such actions include combating criminalization of LGBT status or conduct abroad, protecting vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, and foreign assistance to protect human rights and advance nondiscrimination.


Other specific actions to be taken include, swift and meaningful US responses to human rights abuses of LGBT persons abroad, engaging international organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination, and engaging international organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination.


The memo also directed all agencies engaged abroad to prepare a report within 180 days of the date of the memorandum, and annually thereafter, on their progress toward advancing these initiatives.


According to the memo, the report on progress should be submitted to the Department of State for transmittal to the President.
The memo defined agencies engaged abroad as, "the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate."


According to the memo, they also include agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance, and development.
The foreign aid, assistance, and development-related agencies were mandated to enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure regular US engagement with governments, citizens, civil society, and the private sector in order to build respect for the human rights of LGBT persons.


Noting that under his administration, agencies engaged abroad had already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere. Obama said, "our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal."


The US President also directed the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to publish the memorandum in the federal register.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/obama-orders-us-diplomats-to-fight-for-gay-rights-abroad/104420/

@ Op, you have a second victim here, I had my good job & pay in Lagos, but often times when I travel for vacation, i'm scared of coming back to Nigeria (JUNGLE).Hence, I resigned HONORABLY & relocated to where I am now. Nigeria, gradually kills an individual & I value my peace of mind more than anything on this earth. God did not create me to SUFFER & STRUGGLE for for every little thing. When you close from work, to get out of Victoria Island, is war without an END. ( OKADA, PEDESTRIANS & CARS struggling for a two lane foot path)  I was a victim, I understand you 100%.

An Eclectic View of Being Nigerian



05 Dec 2011






Font Size: a / A






Heathrow Airport radar tower


It’s a pity being a Nigerian on any international flight. The air hostess treats you cautiously with varying degrees of subtlety. You are triple checked by the immigrations community.



Your fellow Africans seem not to like you very much. Unfortunately, I’m not writing anything new but I reiterating what we already know, so that we do not carry on with business as usual.

The reality hits you first when you get to the international airport (Lagos in this stance). The commotion in the name of check-in is amazing. Woe betides you if you travel with kids. Your children will wonder why you’ve decided to invent a new form of punishment all by yourself.



I had to make two international travels within a month. I decided not to tip anybody who asked (whether you were of help or not). Definitely I invited some form of harassment and bad mouthing unto myself. Well at the end, I tipped only one guy. Guess why? He did his job and bade me farewell.

I turned around and gave him a good tip. What was the tip for? Maybe for not being a bother to me. Anyway, I gave him an explanation when he asked for one “you did your job courteously and didn’t bother me. We seem to reward those who bother us”. Whether what I did was nice or not is left for the system to judge.



Which tourist will like to come to a country that from the immigration officer to the driver who picks you up, you have this eerie feeling that they need a tip off for all manner of reasons ranging from work not done to “you should do it, after all you have the money to travel”.

What have I been rambling about: our international image and the revenues we lose because of things we accept as normal. My conclusion on the matter; na we dey do ourselves.



Nigeria has no one to blame about the things that have befallen it as a nation. We have collectively brought it upon ourselves. Apologies to the well meaning Nigerians who have done their best to be patriotic and great citizens but are continuously let down by the system. I feel your pain. You are in the minority; engendered but not wiped out.

Back to my trips. I was in London and Dubai: old money and new money. Both have things in common with Nigeria. Many common threads of similarity but the most obvious is that all three speak a common lingua franca, English.



Yes most times there is no need for us to compare ourselves with England. Where do you want to start? Is it with history? (I saw a cathedral in the UK that has the names of the pastors who served there as far back as 1106).

Now Nigeria and the UK have another similarity. Both are not strong base of manufacturing. Germany and China manufacture up to 60% of the goods used in the world. The only difference between the UK and Nigeria is that people from the world over go to the UK to shop either as tourists or as traders. That seldom happens in Nigeria. Are you asking me why the tourists don’t come to Nigeria? I’m sure you can answer that.



One of the eight wonders of the world is to watch a Nigerian bound plane from Seun Salami reading from his book I noticed that Nigerians and Indians were predominantly the only set of people who used the weighing machine at Terminal 5, Heathrow.

It was a casual observation that people of both nations usually max out the allowable luggage limit. Then the size and number of our hand luggage is commendable. In this issue: Nigerians know when and how to be Nigerians. Did I see you wink?



Yours sincerely with a family of four had seven hand luggages. Oh yes! – back pack and hand luggage for moi, wife, son and baby bag for the infant. I was fortunate to be allowed early into the flight since I had a baby, so I sat back with my wife to watch something Nollywood could not script.

Since most of the hand luggages brought in by those passengers weighed more than the allowable 23 kg and came in sizes that could not fit the cabin, we spent one hour on ground trying to sort things out.



The air hostesses have seen this repeat drama before (in the words of my son again again) and so they disappeared and allowed us to sort ourselves. Trust us, we could not. When the matter was getting out of hand, the airline folks intervened and took some of the hand luggages into a special compartment. Na so we take go oh.

Afterwards I engaged one of the air hostesses in a discussion on what had ensued. She told me “it’s normal”. I enquired if this was the worst she has encountered. She answered “no” and gave me some advise. “Try going to Bombay from here and you’ll realize that what we experienced here is child’s play”.



We both had a hearty laugh. “Why do Nigerians buy this much?” she asked. That question brought upon her unintended consequences – my lectures on macro and micro economics intertwined with government policies. I told her that we produced almost nothing and Nigerians know things of quality.

When they see one, they buy it. Also the folks on this plane are taking their chance. If they are not given the visa again, they will not forgive themselves for not taking this glorious chance to buy things they have always wanted. So it’s many things cumulating into this one plane.



She nodded in agreement and we parted ways. I feel for Nigerians when I see us trying to gather all that we can to get on that plane going home. And na money we take buy am o, no be say na dash.

Let’s come back home. If there is a Mark and Spencer Shop in Nigeria, that sells the same quality of commodities in Nigeria at a reasonable price, why should one bother to have two boxes of apparels bought from that shop fully knowing that you’ll pay for excess luggage?



If not talking about stuff for sale, I mean for personal use. The British have realised that “hey, we don’t produce”. “Ok bring in it from wherever (China, Vietnam, Cambodia etc) but this is the quality that you must meet”. And so when folks buy from the UK, they are assured of the value for money.

They have historical and architectural events and activities that constantly draw people into the country. And since they know everyone is coming, they provide the security and services to go with the influx of people.



My advise to the Nigerian government; copy and paste and allow it to flourish. No explanation, no story, no shame. Everyone has been doing it; Singapore, Japan, Dubai, Malaysia.

Copy and paste is the order of the day. If you can pay, then expertise can be pulled from any part of the world. You think it is Emaratis that built the Burj Khalifa*? No way. The world has long gone past that.



Someone in Cross River State tried to copy and paste and after a master piece was carved out in Tinapa, government policy has grounded a great work. Pathetic. Na we dey do ourselves. We can copy and paste “Big Brother” but will not copy and paste “CNN Heroes”. You get the drift?

Then the trip to the new eternal city, Dubai. As usual as it is on the Lagos Dubai leg: almost an empty plane cargowise, but filled with people. I enjoyed my time in Dubai and then punished myself by trying to walk around the Dubai Mall.



My advice, backed by experience - do it in two days. On the flight back, the drama with extra luggage kicked in. Again the hand luggage was an issue but somehow it was resolved within 45 minutes.

The plane was filled with Nigerian passengers from the Hajj. Kai, no be only Hajj dem go sha! (Just an aside, our religiosity as a people has refused to reflect in the way we behave; Muslims and Christians alike. I thought faith was supposed to shape character.



Food for thought). The flight attendants on this flight worked the full seven hours that we were onboard. They served several rounds of food, drinks et al. There was always this request or that. Maybe my not eating (I just wanted to get home) singled me out. So I got into this chat with the air hostess from Kenya. She told me she has never seen a people so rich, boisterous and domineering as Nigerians. I asked why she said that. She retorted with the deep East African accent “See how filled the aircraft and the cabin space are. People in Kenya can only dream of this”. Yes she had a point. My only pain is that this money is not spent in Nigeria.


During my stay in Dubai, the two Nigerians in the training room filled with other nationalities – Saudis, Filipinos, Egyptians, Omanis, Kenyans, South Africans etc – were always the subject of focus.



“How do you do that in Nigeria?” was the chorus after every matter was debated. We were treated like people from a country that defied everything humans are used to. It had its great moments and vice versa. The Kenyans viewed us with awe and continually spoke about the Nigerians as “these people”.

One of the Kenyans blurted out “I’m so happy that Al Shabbab is engaging the Kenyan Army”. I gave him a quizzical look but he continued “You see, the Kenyan army gets almost every thing for free. Water. Transportation, reduced school fees for their children etc but they do nothing. They are of no good to anybody”.



I referred him back to his position on Al Shabbab and he said “Yes, I stand on my point. All the army people do in the barracks is watch Nigerian movies”. There was generous laughter in the room. Ehm, one of the reasons they don’t like us – we make their army lazy.


Dubai reminds me of Chicago. Most people don’t know that Chicago is not a state in America. It’s a city but a city with a larger than life outlook. Same with Dubai. You are tempted to think that Dubai is a country. It’s not; it is an emirate (state) within the United Arab Emirates.



It only has business ego as big as outdoors and sets big audacious goals for itself. Dubai defines how it wants to play the game and stays on that course. Its even note worthy to know that Dubai is not the Capital of the UAE. Abu Dhabi is but Dubai chooses to run itself as a neo-country with its airlines (Emirates) competing directly with that of the state (Etihad). That’s why Dubai is Dubai.

So the lessons are all out there. We can chose to learn and implement or stay the way we’ve always been. Nations have re-invented themselves over and over again and have defined the way they want the rest of the world to view them. Nigeria has not done that and now is the time to do it.



We’ve talked about the problems for half a century. Let’s get to work. I usually tease that when my four year old son starts talking he can proffer the solutions for the country’s problem. “There are no roads”, “build more roads”. “There’s no energy to power the economy”, “Get GE to get the turbines running and get the power sector overhauled”. In other words the issues are simple. All we need is the political will to do what will benefit all of us.

Tribalism, bickering, violence, corruption has not brought any good result for the past 50 years, so why are we still immersed in them? As one Scot told me “Gabriel, I’ve been in this country for 20 years and married a Nigerian. Apart from GSM, nothing has changed”.



You can argue with him but he has a point. We have not changed our way of doing things and we expect things to change? Haba. Bros check am now!!!!!!!You are in a car on Lagos – Ibadan Expressway hoping against hope to get to the UK in 2 hours. Wrong route. Wrong means of transportation.

We lose a lot from doing things that way we’ve always done. Let’s take education for example. Sometime ago, I had to work on a project with a Dutch guy. He was 27 years old and had 7 years working experience and here was I, 25 at that time with less than a year’s experience in that field. Tell me how I can be competitive in the world market with that guy.



With incessant ASUU strikes and delays in NYSC, how can I be employable before my 23rd birthday? Meanwhile my mates world over are ready for the market by 20. My wife volunteered to teach in a school only to discover that the school does not have an English teacher.

I mean from JSS 1 to SS3. And we expect the students to pass WAEC & NECO in flying colours. How do we expect students from this school to compete globally? Yes global competition. You fill in the blank.



We lose a lot of revenues by not being an aviation hub? Planes that come to Nigeria terminate their travel here and turn back. There’s no connecting flight to anywhere. No alliances with the local airlines.

You want a connecting flight? Then you have to do it all by yourself and travel the next day except if your flight came in at night. Without a national airline, how do you want to be competitive? What’s the bargaining chip? BA and Virgin will only exploit when there is vacuum. That’s revenues gone through the drain except that the drains drain into someone else pocket. Now you know why every other airline is coming to Nigeria.



When I see the Chinese running rampage over Africa, I shudder in sorrow. Nigeria is the country that is supposed to be investing in the rest of Africa and providing leadership. But when your house is not in order, can you advise another man on what to do in his own house?

Truth be told, since we cannot lead, somebody will because everyone is looking for leadership. Wondered why Iran wants to establish itself as a power base in the Middle East? Simple. They do not want their neighbours to look far for leadership. I’ve always believed that Africa will not get it right without internal leadership and who is posed to give that exemplary direction except Nigeria?



But somehow within my being I have this dream that one day, in my life time, Nigeria will rise up to take its place; a great nation. Somehow, somewhere, it will get into our being that na we dey do ourselves.

My dream is further fuelled by something I thought about after watching the movie Invictus. The moving point for me was not when the South African Team won the Rugby World Cup but the change of orientation that occur in people of that country both black and white, during that process.



The country realised that; once we never saw eye to eye on many things but somehow we need to be together in order to move on. So when the South African National Rugby Team made up of mostly white players belted the famous words of “Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika”. It marked a turning point in that nation’s history. It was like the British soldier singing the American national anthem prior to 1776.

If the Afrikaans can voluntarily sing the “Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika”, then nothing is impossible. It looked impossible at first but with a change of paradigm and values, they whole heartedly sang that song once tagged “rebel”. Not in their character but it had to be done in order to move the nation forward.



Can we sing our own Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika by shunning those habits that have let us down as a people? YES WE CAN! Yes we will. If this generation refuses to, another will. Somebody somewhere will realise that it can be better and will take the steps to actualise this dream. Let it be YOU.

*The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world as we speak. It’s a masterpiece. When in Dubai, visit for inspiration and a good view of the city from the observatory at the 124th floor


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/an-eclectic-view-of-being-nigerian/104306/

A polite way of saying Nigerians can't do NOTHING!

AGAINST the backdrop of grinding poverty and allied economic hardship caused by under-employment, job loss and unemployment across the country, former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday warned that popular revolt as recently witnessed in the Arab World might occur in Nigeria if the precarious socio-economic conditions of the citizenry were not urgently addressed.

Obasanjo, who spoke at a workshop on “Economic diversification and revenue generation,” in Abeokuta, Ogun State, stressed that there was discontentment in the land.

He added: “There is the possibility of having the Arab Spring in Nigeria if similar conditions, hardships and un-employment which gave birth to it are not addressed.”

In a related development, President Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, erstwhile Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and other prominent elders in the north have joined forces with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in the search for permanent peace and security in the country, especially in curbing the violent attacks now readily attributed to members of the banned Boko Haram sect.

They all condemned the insecurity engendered in the north and some parts of the country and expressed the hope that the ACF peace conference would find a way out of the problems.

Declaring the conference open yesterday, President Jonathan, who was represented by his Deputy, Namadi Sambo, stated that “occasions such as this always define the wisdom of leaders that moved to establish organisations such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

“In the 10 years since this non-governmental body had existed, it has done a tremendous job of unifying the North and has provided the platform for the area’s residents to constructively engage one another in meaningful dialogue for the progress of the region.”

Citing Libya and Egypt as countries that witnessed the “Arab Spring”, Obasanjo said though there was appreciable economic growth in both countries, their people revolted because there was “a disconnect” between the “economic growth” in those Arab nations and “employment generation” for their people, which created “discontentment”.

He advised the three tiers of governments in Nigeria to pay special attention to “agriculture and agro-business” as tools for employment generation for the “burgeoning army of unemployed Nigerians so that the Arab Spring does not rear its head in the country”.

Obasanjo said: “It doesn’t matter which way you look at it today. People are now talking of Arab Spring. And some people will say, is Egypt not developing? On economic scale, after South Africa, it is Egypt in Africa. Has Libya not got resources?

“At one time with a population of about five million, Libya was producing as much oil as Nigeria. But there was still discontentment because, yes, in terms of Gross Domestic Products (GDP), it was growing well but in terms of employment generation, there was a disconnect.”

According to Obasanjo, “that is one of the elements that led to the Arab Spring. There are others but let me take this one that is relevant to our discussion today. Agricultural business is important to creating jobs for our teeming youths.”

He also urged financial institutions, large-scale farmers, small and medium scale farmers, researchers, retailers and distributors and governments to get involved in using agriculture and agro-business to create jobs and food in order to enhance “national security and stability.”

Obasanjo lamented that for far too long, the nation has been “mobilising and sharing revenue” from only one source – oil, and stressed that the time had come for the governments to devise ingenious ways of expanding their revenue base by venturing into agriculture, tourism and manufacturing.

The workshop was organised by the Ogun State government and the Office of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.

In his opening speech, Governor Ibikunle Amosun called for a review of the revenue sharing formula in a manner that would make more funds available to the states for developmental projects.

But Amosun said his administration had already devised some ingenious avenues of generating additional revenue through agriculture and industrialisation with the aim of creating jobs and generate income for the state and its people.

He expressed the optimism that a time would come when Ogun State “will care less about what comes from the Federal Government,” pledging that his administration would create structures to accomplish that dream.

At the ACF conference were the 19 northern state governors, Senate President David Mark; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad; Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah; Emir of Zauzau, Dr. Shehu Idris; Senator Ibrahim Mantu; Joseph Waku; Ahmed Yayale; Bamanga Tukur; Lawan Kaita; Senator Danjuma Goje; Alhaji Umaru AbdulMutallab and host of others.

Portraits and posters of Abubakar were prominently displayed by youths in Kaduna metropolis welcoming him to the conference. One of the posters read: “Atiku, icon of Nigeria democracy, the Leader of the North.”

President Jonathan said at the event: “Although organised and co-ordinated by the ACF, there is strong evidence that the current elders of the North are as keen and as dedicated to maintaining the bonds of brotherhood and unity in the same way as our founding fathers did in the past.

“Suffice it to state that the huge number of men, women and the young who have turned up for this conference, the multitudes that are outside this hall, the millions watching this conference on television or listening through the radio, are clear indications that the North is more than ever before determined to reverse the negative trends of the pervasive insecurity in the region.”

Gen. Gowon, in his address, explained that “the trust of the conference and the theme, ‘peace and Unity for development’ is very necessary in view of the recent challenges of insecurity, inter- communal, inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflicts, religious crisis, political upheaval and acts bordering on criminality and inexplicable man’s inhumanity to man and other forms of social unrest nationwide”.

He stated: “All these are threatening to redefine the character of the once peaceful, united and promising nation and of particular concern to us is the development in the northern states”, while pointing out that “this conference is concerned about the challenges and the need to salvage the legacies of our founding fathers, which are showing signs of imminent collapse.

“What is happening today is not the Nigeria and the North we inherited and for us, it cannot be the North we desire to bequeath to our children. The present North was neither bequeathed to us nor are our children responsible for it. We have, over the years through our action or action, directly or indirectly allowed the gradual decent to present disagreeable and unacceptable behaviours in our communities and the entire North. We now must show seriousness, courage and responsibility in addressing these challenges squarely without fear, favour or mudslinging.

“I call on all Nigerians to look at the existence of groups such as ACF, Ohanaeze, South-South Peoples Assembly, Afenifere, Middle Belt and not have reasons to pull apart or break away as a nation, but based on strengthening our ties and entrenching our unity in diversity. These groups constantly remind us that we must continue to appeal to God to re-engineer our corporate existence and cooperation as a nation by showing sensitivity and maintaining focus on our goal for a one united Nigeria.”

The former Head of State argued that “it is the hope of all Nigerians everywhere that this conference succeeds in its primary objective of providing a platform for a very frank, robust and honest dialogue among members of the same family”, pointing out that “after today’s discussions, we may well realise that this drift away from being your brother’s keeper and the new wave of strife did not happen overnight.

“It is a result of the gradual collapse of the First Republic. Before then, our country had always been guided by compromises and agreements usually arrived at during meetings of elders and community leaders. Ours was a nation of talk-shops, and not gunshots, until the recent springing up of clandestine groups who spread deliberately, mischievous information, some even attack innocent citizens, maiming and killing wantonly.

“But for those that breach peace, which create insecurity to our good people, the old accepted methods of expressing grievances or seeking restitution for injuries through authorized channels had always sufficed.”

He added: “It is not out of place to say that the physical and psychological wounds inflicted on the North as a result of the recurring religious, ethnic and political conflicts that ravaged it; including the socio-economic depressions in recent years, that run deep and inflicted untold hardship on many, have not only traumatised its inhabitants but have slowed its progress considerably”.

Gowon argued further: “I have been an ardent supporter and advocate of the views and differences within the North notwithstanding and the nation as a whole. We are stronger as a whole than as smaller entities. This is very true of our nation, Nigeria. We are better as one united Nigeria than smaller entities. But at the same time, I am of the opinion that the whole, the big unit must give its various parts some sense of belonging and look out for the interest of the smaller parts as a guarantee for its own security.”

The former Head of State added: “I am assured by the organisers of this conference that it will not be one for mere speeches, but concrete actions. I welcome this and the expectations of our people in all states of the North yearning for a peaceful and better life. I am assured that this conference is structured to effectively address the well known challenges of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, ethno-religious bigotry, impunity in governance and corruption.

“It also intends to address the new phenomenon of violent crimes evident by murder, assassination and bomb blasts, which has caused serious economic breakdown in certain states in parts of the North and the country as a whole. This will go a long way to prove that there is no conspiracy of silence by the leadership in the northern states on the issue of peace and security in Nigeria. The fact that all the states of the North are supporting this noble effort is a testimony of our collective concern and we must translate our concerns to concrete actions in our various communities and at our various levels of leadership in the northern states for the good of the North and Nigeria as a whole”.

Gowon further stressed: “There are many questions that need to be raised and answered and there is no better time than now for the sake of our country. The nation expects the North to make certain sacrifices for their mutual wellbeing.

“We have a responsibility to restore confidence in our diverse people and ensure the prosperity of the North within the context of a united Nigeria.

“Given the passion for the current leadership of the ACF, I have no doubt in my mind that this conference marked the revival of the northern states and the restoration of its founding legacies in socio-cultural development, economic development, religious harmony, security, political growth within the context of one united Nigeria.

“The North has always kept Nigeria together. The creation of states was one of the sacrifices of the North to keep Nigeria together. We must not fail in our duty of oneness to keep Nigeria together.”

http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69901:mass-revolt-looms-in-nigeria-obasanjo-warns&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

When can we all say the TRUTH?

READ & GIVE YOUR VERDICT. NO INSULT OR NAME CALLING pls

This interview is the most intimate account of the thoughts and actions of Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu before, during and after the Nigerian civil war. The account is coming from Professor Sam Aluko, the respected Nigerian economist, who has revealed that he was the most trusted friend Ojukwu had. That friendship started immediately the Ikemba Nnewi assumed the governorship position of the Eastern Region. Since then and through the period of the war, Ojukwu’s exile in Cote d’Ivoire and his return to Nigeria, that friendship had sustained.

More profoundly, in that relationship, was the trust and the confidentiality with which Ojukwu dealt with the economist. It was such that, for every major decision Ojukwu made, he must first test-run it on Prof. Aluko. It was Aluko that he first told of his plans to pull the East out of Nigeria. Ojukwu would have attacked and wiped out a whole village in the Benue area, to teach Nigeria a lesson during the pogrom in Northern Nigeria in 1966, but Prof. Aluko stopped him.

Aluko also said he forced Ojukwu to agree on a conference as well as suggested and perfected the Aburi meeting that produced the famous Aburi Accord.
When the war overwhelmed Ojukwu, Aluko said, he contemplated either to stay put or wait for the Federal Government troops to capture him or to “abdicate.” Again, it was Prof. Aluko who advised him to take the latter option and go to Cote d’Ivoire, instead of some other places.
Excerpts:

How close were you to the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu?
I will say that I was very close to him till his death. Immediately, he became governor of the former Eastern Region, when I was a senior lecturer in Economics in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he called me the third day he became governor. He said he wanted to come and see me in my university. I never met him before. How can the military governor come and see me? I said no. I told him I would come and see him, instead. I told the person he sent that he should tell the governor that I was the one who should come and see him and not him coming to see me. That was on January 20, 1966. So, when I said I was going to see him, my wife said she would go with me. She said we didn’t know the man and therefore she wanted to be present at the meeting. She reasoned that we couldn’t predict a soldier who just came. When we got to the military governor’s house, Ojukwu said: ‘Madam, I know you would come because you thought that I will do something to your husband.’ He said he had never met me before, but those in the military had been reading so much about me and they venerated me. According to him, that was why he wanted to see me. He said he wanted me to help him to run the government of the Eastern Region.

We discussed and he asked what role I would like to play and I said I would remain in the university because I didn’t want to leave. I promised to do whatever I could do to help him. The first cabinet that he formed, we both sat down and looked at the names of those from the Eastern Region to be cabinet members. He did not know them because he was not living in the Eastern Region. He was outside, in Kaduna and in Lagos. He spoke Yoruba better than I. So, we were speaking in Yoruba most of the time. That’s how the relationship began and we became very close. It was through him that I knew Adekunle Fajuyi, the governor of the Western Region. We continued until after the counter-coup in July. I was very sad. They killed many Igbo. Many who were not killed had cuts in the head and other parts of the body. He called me and said what could he do? What was going on in his mind was to go to a place in Benue and sack a village there. He wanted to kill as many people as possible. I said no. I said as a Christian, Christianity doesn’t allow for vengeance. As a Christian, I said he should not do that.

Was that when the killings in the North started?
Yes. That was the period the pogrom started. I said he should get in touch with the Head of State, but he said no because it was wrong for Yakubu Gowon to be Head of State because there was Ogundipe, who was a Brigadier and the most senior military officer at the time. He said when the coup happened in January, the most senior officer became the Head of State. So, he argued that when the counter-coup happened, the most senior should also become the Head of State. But the northerners will not take that at that time. Ogundipe himself did not want it because he said there were few Yoruba in the army. He said he will just be there without support and they would kill him. So, they made him High Commissioner in London. When the pogrom continued and the people were coming to the East from the North, Ojukwu said he was afraid that the easterners coming back might attack those who are non-easterners in the East. He then made a statement on the radio that all those who were non-easterners should leave the East.

At the time, there was rumour that Professor Babatunde Fafunwa was killed because he was from the West. But Fafunwa was in Benin Republic attending a conference. Ojukwu said the rumour was a sign of what was to happen. He said they would be attacking the northerners and the westerners and claim easterners did. So, he will ask everybody to go. I went to see him in Enugu and I said: “well, Your Excellency, I will have to go back to the West.” He said no, emphasising that when he talked of westerners, it did not apply to me because I was one of them. Non-easterners in the East were scared. Fafunwa and I were the most senior in the place. Fafunwa was not around and I said: “I will have to take them to the West to make sure that they were safe.” He said it was OK and that he will give me soldiers to make sure that all the students and staff were safe. He said when I got to Benin, I should hand them over to the governor in Benin to take them to the West and I should return to my job in Nsukka.

What of your protection?
He said I needed not worry because I was one of them. Really, I was being integrated in the East because, at that time, Obafemi Awolowo was in the Calabar prison and I was the only one allowed to see him. Ojukwu used to give me protection to go and see him. So, I was enjoying myself. When I got to Benin, I did not return to the East. I got the people to Ibadan and then called him to say: “Your Excellency, I am here and I am no longer coming back to the East.” He said: “Doctor, don’t call me Your Excellency, call me Emeka. You are older than I and I adore you. Just call me Emeka and I will call you Sam.” I was talking to him every night from Ibadan.

When the problem was brewing, General Adeyinka Adebayo was then the governor of the Western Region. He called me and said he understood that the easterners were planning a counter-coup and I would have to go to Enugu to see Ojukwu. He said that he had been trying to get him without success. I said I had his secret telephone number and I gave it to General Adebayo. But Ojukwu did not pick the phone from anybody. So, Adebayo asked the late Professor B. A. Oyenuga and I to go and see him. So, we went to Enugu and I delivered the letter. He told Professor Oyenuga that if he had not come with me, he would not have discussed with anybody. The only person he trusted was Dr. Aluko. I was not a Professor at that time. When we finished in the evening, we went to our hotel. Ojukwu came to me in my hotel room and said: “Doctor, I want to talk to you confidentially.” And he said: “Our plan in the East is that we are no longer safe in Nigeria. We want to secede.”

What date was this?
That was January 1967. I said: “Emeka, I don’t think you should think of secession. I said it was the Igbo that were killed in the North and not all easterners.” I said “from my living in the East and going round the East, I know that the Igbo were not very popular in the Rivers area and the Calabar area. I told him that if he declared secession, he would be fighting two wars. I told him he would be fighting internal war against people with him, who didn’t want to be ruled by the Igbo and he would be fighting Nigeria who didn’t want him to succeed. I told him not I didn’t think he could win the war. I think that made a great impression on him. He said: “Doctor, your analysis is perfect.” He said, “after all, why should I secede? “He said: “All my father’s property are in Lagos. I was brought up in Lagos. I came to the East on posting as a military governor. I have discovered that ruling the Igbo is like ruling a pack of wild horses. They are very difficult to rule. I will rather want to be away from here to another place. It is very difficult to persuade the Igbo against their will.”

I told him he didn’t have to persuade them against their will, just be loyal to them. I went back to Adebayo. We had a reconciliation meeting. Awolowo, Onyia and myself were sent to meet Ojukwu in Enugu. Ojukwu insisted that if I did not come, he would not receive them. So, we went together. We discussed.

When was this?
That was March 1967. Awolowo was very frank with him. He told him: “Look, governor, you cannot secede. You cannot go alone. Just as you fear the North, the West also fears the North. The soldiers in the North are occupying the West. So, we have the same common interest. But don’t let us secede. Let us do whatever we can do together to unite and confront the North so that we can have a settlement on how we want to run this country.” Awolowo said, if the East left the federation, the Yoruba would have to leave the federation. That’s what some misconstrued to say that Awolowo assured Ojukwu that if he seceded, the Yoruba would join. What he meant was that the thing that makes Igbo leave the federation would also make the Yoruba leave the federation, but that he didn’t want to leave the federation. According to Awolowo, we want to enjoy and rule this federation because nobody has the monopoly to rule this federation; so, let us be in constant touch; let us unite and don’t do anything rash. When we left, I went to Nsukka and Ojukwu called me and said I should come back. I went back to him that evening.

Where was Awolowo?
He was in Enugu, at the Hotel Presidential. But I went to see my friends in Nsukka.

What of protection for you and Awolowo?
I didn’t need protection in the East, but Awolowo was protected. He was just released from prison. So, he didn’t need much protection. Ojukwu came in the evening to my hotel room and said he did not want to be very frank with us because he didn’t know Awolowo and Onyia. But he knew me. He said what he wanted is to make Rivers, Benue and Niger the boundary between the North and the South. He wanted a confederacy of the country so that the South will be Southern Nigeria versus Northern Nigeria and if Northern Nigeria wanted to go away, let them go away. I said: “look, I don’t think we should do that. I don’t think it would work. I have told you that the West has not suffered the way the East has suffered. How your people are angry is not the way and manner our people are angry. So, if you declare unilateral secession, you won’t get the whole West to follow you.” He said I had said so before and would not do it. So, I came back to the West and reported to Gowon what we discussed in Enugu.

You told Gowon all that Ojukwu told you confidentially?
Yes. I told Ojukwu I would brief Gowon. He liked Gowon and the only thing he had against Gowon was that he ought not to be Head of State. He said it was usurpation. I said but Gowon was already Head of State. That is how I became an intermediary between Gowon and Ojukwu. Gowon told me that he had been trying to get Ojukwu but he would not take the telephone. I said he had three secret telephones. There was one in Enugu, one in Onitsha and one in Nnewi, which he gave to me. At that time, it was the ground phone that was available. I gave them to Gowon.
On the night before he was to declare secession, Adebayo called me that despite the assurances by Ojukwu, he learnt that he was going to declare secession tomorrow. I said I spoke to him last night and he did not tell me that he was going to declare secession. So, I called him and said: “Emeka, I have just learnt from the Head of State that you want to declare secession tomorrow.” He said, yes, that the people met and said if he wanted to continue to be military governor, he should either declare secession or quit. He said that to quit meant death. I said, “but you are a leader and a leader is not supposed to follow? People are supposed to follow the leader. Try and dissuade them from declaration. Let us see if we can do a number of things.”

Anyway, he declared secession. Much later he said, “Sam, I have declared. I am sorry. We will continue to talk.” I said: “Look, this declaration is only declaration. The war has not started. We can still talk. If you want confederation, we can still talk. I said Canada has a confederal system.” We ended at that. So I told Gowon that Ojukwu was willing to talk if he could have a place to talk. Gowon said if Ojukwu would come to Lagos. I said Ojukwu would not come to Lagos. He said what of Benin? I said Ojukwu would not come to Benin. I said he regarded those as part of the enemy territory. That was how we settled for Aburi, in Ghana.

Who suggested Aburi?
I suggested Aburi to Ojukwu. He was first thinking of East Africa, like Tanzania. I said it was too far. I told him that if he was away Gowon was away in this turbulent time, they could plan coup against Gowon in Nigeria and plan coup against him in Biafra. I told him he should go to a place where he can go in the morning and come back in the evening. That was how we settled for Aburi. He also thought of Liberia. But I said Liberia was a bit far. At the Aburi meeting, you know Ojukwu is highly educated; so he prepared very well. Gowon went there with the hope that he was going to discuss with an old friend soldier and agree, like the Yoruba way of settling disputes, that, nobody is guilty, let us go on as we are doing.

He did not go with the Awolowos and Permanent Secretaries?
No. He went with a few people. And so, Ojukwu outwitted them there and got all he wanted as a confederal system.

Who went with him?
He went with soldiers. He went with officers of the army. So, when they returned and published the agreement, Ojukwu was very happy. It was published by Nigeria. But top civil servants, like Allison Ayida and others said this was disintegration of Nigeria. They said there was nothing left for Ojukwu to sever within one day. It was less than a confederation. It was virtually creating two countries. That was how Gowon developed cold feet to implement the Aburi agreement.

You did not go to Aburi?
No. I didn’t. Immediately he came from Aburi, he called me and said: “The agreement was fantastic. When we implement it, you will have to come back to your job in Nsukka.” He called me from Port Harcourt because he was then in Port Harcourt. When the Aburi agreement could not be implemented, he said Biafra Republic is indissoluble. No power in Africa can dissolve it. But I was going almost every month to Enugu, Nnewi or Onitsha to see him. What worried me, as I told him, was that whenever I was going from Onitsha to Enugu or Onitsha to Nnewi, soldiers who are eastern soldiers would say: “Doctor, please tell Governor we don’t want to fight. We have suffered enough. We don’t want to fight.” So, I will always tell him: “Emeka, the people you say no power in Africa can stop, are not willing to fight. They are not with you 100 per cent. This is what they tell me.” He said he knew but there was no going back and that he had secured the confidence of the French, British, the Americans and some African countries. I said: “Don’t rely on Western powers. They are talking to you now because you are controlling the oil. Immediately there is war and they take the oil from you, they will desert you. It is because the oil is in the East and you are military governor in the East. But with what I see, immediately those in Rivers and Cross Rivers desert you and they link with the Federal Government and the Federal Government take those places from you, Britain, America and France will leave you,” which is what they did.

What I like about Gowon was that throughout the period, he was always in touch with me and I was always in touch with him. But the soldiers were always coming to my house in Ife, saying that I was a saboteur and that I was linking with rebels and that I was the ambassador of Ojukwu in the West. They would come and search my house that I had arms and so on and so forth. They did that until Gowon told them not to worry me again. They didn’t know I was in touch with Gowon. Every night, I will call Ojukwu and he will call me even when he was in the bunker. I once asked where he was calling? He said he was calling from the bunker in Aba. I reminded him that he said he was in Enugu and he said Enugu meant hill and anywhere he was hill. When the war started and the Nigerian soldiers started getting upper hand, he still believed he could win.

What was he saying when Nigeria had upper hand?
He believed after some time, they would collapse because he was also winning some skirmishes. He killed some soldiers in Awka. He killed some in Asaba. So, he was winning some small, small wars too. But I was a bit against him that there was no way he could win. About the end of 1968, I called him and said, “look, Emeka, try to make approach when Dr. Azikiwe defected.”

Why did Azikiwe leave him?
Ojukwu did not like Azikiwe.

Why?
Two masters cannot be in a boat. Azikiwe was so dominant in Nigeria and he was living in the East and Ojukwu was the military governor of the East. So, obviously, he would be looking over his shoulder because of Azikiwe. He might think he was more important than him (Azikiwe) as the military governor. It’s understandable. In fact, he told me once that he had a lot of people watching Azikiwe. Finally, Azikiwe defected and came back to Nigeria. I said; “Emeka, I told you there is no way you can win this war.” I said use Azikiwe as intermediary between Gowon and yourself and let us settle this matter. That was at the end of 1968. We were talking in Yoruba. We always talked in Yoruba. We continued talking like that until the eve of his departure to Ivory Coast. After sometimes, he believed there were a lot of saboteurs in the East, who were no longer willing to fight. The French, British, Americans and even the Russians did not support him.

Didn’t they support him from the beginning?
They supported him, to start with, when he was in control of the oil. Immediately the oil was taken away by the Nigerian government, they reneged.

What of Rivers and Cross Rivers?
They didn’t support him from the word go, because they knew that in an East dominated by the Igbo, they will always be subject to Igbo domination. We are a bit lucky in Yoruba land that there are not many ethnic groups. We are all Yoruba. But in the East, they fear the Igbo more than the Hausas. That is why they always vote for the Hausas. So, about two days before his departure, he called me and said: “Look, the game is up.” I asked him what he would do. He said he was thinking of two things: either to be captured by the Nigerian army or he would abdicate. I said: “From what I know, if you are captured by the Nigerian Army, there is no way they will not prosecute you for treason. He who runs away leaves to fight another day.” I said, “I will advise you to abdicate. He said where would he go? Tanzania recognised him, Ivory Coast recognised him. Haiti recognised him. He said he would go to Benin Republic. I said no because there were too many Yoruba in Benin Republic; they would hand him over to the Nigerian government. The French were playing hide-and-seek, but I felt it is safer. I asked him to go to a French territory, where there are many Igbo, like Cameroon or Ivory Coast. He said he would rather go to Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast had already recognised Biafra. So, he got in touch with their president, who sent a plane to him. It was Ivory Coast presidential plane that carried Ojukwu to Ivory Coast.

When he was in Ivory Coast, we were communicating with each other until he came back. When he came back, we resumed our friendship till his death. When my young son senator was getting married in Lagos, we didn’t invite him and he came. I visited him several times in his Ikoyi residence, near the UNDP office. I have not visited him since he went back to Enugu,

When did he tell you his health was failing?
He didn’t tell me that his health was failing. I read it in the newspaper that his health was failing. I did not visit him in the last three years. I sent Christmas card to him and he sent Christmas card to me. After sometime, when the land phone was not working, I did not have his mobile phone until one day he saw my son in Enugu and gave him his two mobile phones and I was talking to him. When Shehu Shagari pardoned him, I thought it was great statesmanship on the part of Shagari. But when he came and joined NPN, I was very angry with him.

Are you saying he didn’t tell you before he joined the party?
No. I said: “Emeka, how can you go and join a reactionary party like NPN?” He said they gave him pardon and that was the understanding he had with them that whatever he could do he would do to assist government. I said: “You were Head of State before, I don’t think NPN will want you to get very far in the place. The day they say an easterner should be President, many will say it must be Ojukwu. I don’t think these people would want you to be president.” They put him up for Senate and defeated him. It was NPN that defeated him. Can you imagine that Ojukwu was defeated for the Senate? So, I said: “Emeka, I told you.” It was NPP, Azikiwe’s party, that defeated him and that was the only seat that NPN lost in the East. We shared a lot of things together and he was very loyal to me and I was very loyal to him. If not, he would not tell me his secret movements, his secret numbers and talking to me every time, even when he was in Ivory Coast.

Did he tell you when he married Bianca?
No. He didn’t invite me because he knew I wouldn’t come.

Why?
What was wrong with the first wife? He knew I would question that. When I saw him, I said: “Emeka, how many women will go in your life?” He said: “Sam, I am a soldier. You told me once that Adebayo said he was a soldier and he owns this country only one bullet. So, when he wakes up and find himself there, he will enjoy himself that day as if it is the last day. That is how soldiers behave.” He said I should not query him, that he loved women. I never met Bianca. But I know C. C. Onoh, her father, very well. I used to stay by in Ugoh to see the father, even before he became governor. So, I know the father. I know Onoh.

When did you stop communicating with Ojukwu?
We were talking and he didn’t say he was ill and he didn’t show any sign of illness. I think it was a stroke. You know stroke comes suddenly. I don’t think it was a gradual deterioration. When you see what he has gone through during the civil war, it’s not easy. It takes tolls on people.

How did he maintain himself in Ivory Coast?
He was maintained by the president. He had no money at all. He didn’t take a single penny out of the East. He was also doing some lecturing and so on and so forth.

How true is it that Ojukwu spent part of his father’s wealth to finance the war?
Of course, he sold everything belonging to his father in the East. He wanted to sell those in Lagos, but he didn’t get people to buy. The East had no money at that time because they could not even exploit the oil. They tried. They built refineries and did a lot of things on their own. But it was not enough to finance the war. Of course, he was getting help from Caritas, that’s Catholic International or Catholic aide. In fact, when I went to the World Council of Churches in 1968 in Sweden, I was discussing with Dr. Akanu Ibiam who came and I said look, there is no way East can succeed. He was also assisted by France. France gave him some money. Ivory Coast gave some money. Tanzania couldn’t give because they didn’t have money and they were not too sure the way the war was going. Immediately the war wasn’t going the way they thought, they developed cold feet. Ojukwu tried. I praise the Igbo for holding Nigeria for 30 months.


http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/03/national-03-12-2011-01.html

The Verdict according to Olusegun Adeniyi. Email, olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

When I look at Nigeria, I find that my countrymen and women tend to suffer certain common ailments. We suffer from selective amnesia we conveniently forget certain unpleasant facts about our journey through life as a polity. When we look at the landscape of our journey into nationhood, we discover that, by and large, we suffer selective myopia our vision skips areas we find unpleasant no matter how recent. If we look at the distant past, then we find we are afflicted with the same degree of selective hyperopia we perceive and draw lessons only from convenient happenings in our history and from convenient sources of our national chronicle…
--Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in his book, Because I am Involved

Ordinarily, it would not have mattered that most members of my generation were either not born during the civil war or that we were too young to comprehend what was going on if the real dramatis personae had told their stories. Unfortunately, up till now, then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has not given his account and his body language doesn’t suggest he is inclined to ever doing so. What we have therefore been reading thus far on the civil war from the Nigerian side are the accounts of part-players. On the Biafran side, it has been a similar tale of the supporting cast fretting their hours upon the stage.

It is therefore in that context that many Nigerians can appreciate the death last Sunday of Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who promised us the Biafran ‘Book’ he probably never wrote. Yet as is typical of this season, so much is being said and written of Ojukwu such that what we now have in the public space are the memories of a myth and not the man. We now read about his patriotism (of both Biafra and Nigeria in equal measure!) and there is also the usual cliché of his death being the end of an era. In Nigeria, whenever a big man dies so does the era in which he lived!

Yet Ojukwu was a man who needs to be properly interrogated in the context of the role he played not only in shaping our country but also in the contradictions that are yet to be resolved as we search for peace and prosperity. Courtesy of one of his friends and ‘Biafran compatriots’, Senator (Comrade) Uche Chukwumerije, I have sufficient materials for a serious disquisition by way of a long paper on Ojukwu which is, however, a project for another day. But definitely it will be done before his burial. What is important for now, however, is that care be taken by his family and those to whom he was very close not to mismanage his transition.

At this period, every prominent Igbo man (including those who never really liked him) would want a piece of Ojukwu because it is a politically correct thing to do and many will be ready to pay any price for that cause. Already, there are tales of some political scavengers descending on London to demand for Ojukwu’s corpse while back at home a people known for their industry are being asked not to work again because Ojukwu is dead. Yet it would be tragic if those who would want to use Ojukwu’s demise to advance their own career do not pay him the proper honour he deserves. And that honour will not be in turning his burial into the banality of ferrying his corpse across four countries as I read somewhere. No, that would be debasing the memory of Ojukwu who, whatever else you may say about him, was a man of ideas and very intellectual. What would be befitting for a man like Ojukwu is a properly run Centre, probably located in Ahiara, where some of his ideas and mementoes can be preserved for posterity.

During the week, Senator Chukwumerije kindly obliged me several literatures on Ojukwu and while I have just started reading, I am amazed at the profundity of his thoughts and the force of his argument that Nigeria could not possibly work under the current arrangement. The sad aspect for me, however, is that he never wrote his memoir or perhaps he did. We will find out very soon. In his foreword to the book, Emeka, a short biography of his written by his friend and famous British novelist, Frederick Forsyth (author of ‘The Day of the Jackal’ among others), Ojukwu had written: “Much has been written about me over the past 15 years, and a great deal has been, alas, quite inaccurate…At certain times, friends have suggested that I should write my autobiography, telling the story of my life in my own words. But I always felt that the moment was not yet right; that the hour has not yet come when I could tell the whole truth of the tumultuous events in which I played some small part”.

In the current matter of his burial, Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi, who in the last couple of years, has played the role of a son to Ojukwu can lead the charge but he should work with other South East Governors. That is all the more appropriate because before Ojukwu led Biafra, he was Governor of the entire Eastern Region. So they all have a stake in preserving Ojukwu’s legacy and they don’t have to look far for a worthy example to emulate. The Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja has become a reference point in how to immortalise a loved one. It is becoming perhaps the only private institution in memory of any Nigerian that is not only professional and well-run but also has an intellectual content.

If my hunch is right, I would want to bet that Ojukwu indeed wrote ‘the book’ and kept the publication as a post-humous offering to Nigeria. He was too much a serious man not to have something documented when he had the presence of mind to write ‘Because I am Involved’ which recounted some of his exile-years experience. Interestingly, in the collection of books and journals given me by Chukumerije is this copy titled ‘Biafra: Selected Speeches and Journal of Events’, authored by a certain C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, ‘General of the People’s Army’, it is highly revealing of events during the war in Ojukwu’s own words. In the blurb to the back cover is also a quote attributed to Richard West, who wrote for the Sunday Times of London: “Biafra is more than a human tragedy. Its defeat, I believe, would mark the end of African independence. Biafra was the first place I had been to in Africa where Africans themselves were truly in charge.”

So much has been written about Ojukwu’s competence (or lack of one) as a war leader but going through his speeches and the insights provided in the diary, there can be no doubt about the fact that he would have made a very good peace-time leader given his oratory and capacity to rouse his people to action. That perhaps explained the ingenuity of the Biafran scientists which the Nigerian authorities unfortunately failed to nurture after the war.

All said, I find Ojukwu a very fascinating character worth studying and I intend to read more about him with the collections from Chukwumerije. I will also seek out my long-lost brother, Kanayo Esinulo, who was with Ojukwu throughout his exile years in Cote D’voire as his personal secretary and must have interesting recollections. But whatever anybody may say about Ojukwu, what was never in doubt was that he had a strong conviction that Nigeria can never be sustained by the current structure that neither takes into account our diversity nor the potentials of what each can bring to (not take from) the table under a more equitable union. Can we in all honesty say he was wrong?

Return of Lamorde
If there is anybody whose temperament suits the office of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, it is Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, who was last week elevated (for the second time) from his position as Director of Operations following the removal of Mrs Farida Waziri. Lamorde is very quiet, effective, professional and does not seek the limelight--a man who would rather his work speak for him. At a time like this when EFCC needs to restore its credibility, there can indeed be no better choice and I believe President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation for righting the wrong (I feel ashamed to admit) was done by my late boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

If there is indeed one issue which damaged Yar’Adua, it was the (mis)management of EFCC but given that it is well documented in my coming book (to be launched in Abuja on December 13: see details on page 15), I would rather not comment on it here. While Mrs Waziri gave her best, the circumstances under which she assumed office had made things difficult for her and she never really quite got over them. Notwithstanding, I don’t think she was well treated with the manner in which her removal was done such that she had to hear it from the media. But all said, I restate my conviction that President Jonathan made the right call and it is now left for Mr Lamorde to justify the confidence of most Nigerians who see in him a diligent and upright police officer who abhors corruption and is ready to fight it.

Arise o Great Ife!
It is a measure of how far things have degenerated on our campuses today that for two weeks I wrote about the conditions at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, and there has been no word from the school authority about my intervention. Yet I have received mails from all over the world from people who graduated from Ife and are willing to help. The mail from Tunji Jeboda, a Petroleum Engineer with Chevron Nigeria Limited, indeed underscores the problem of our university administration today. He wrote: “I am responding to your article on Great Ife because it’s something I’m concerned about especially given the fact we can easily get the resources needed to transform this school. This is a school we could easily use to showcase Nigeria but sadly the authorities are not on top of their game and they are not even asking for help. If you can work with them and they need help some of us will gladly oblige and provide links to people who are also willing.”

I don’t think we should worry about the authorities at Ife, we should just go ahead with our own plans. Fortunately, I was put in the loop by a group of successful former Ife graduates who are already working on a “Special Endowment” proposal to generate a billion Naira annually by establishing a ‘Platinum Group’ whose members will each voluntarily commit to contribute N1m yearly for 10 years. “We shall compile a list for the President and VC to jointly write/interact with them individually and secure their consent and first cheque. The scheme will be formally launched sometimes in 2012. When we've reached the first N1 billion target, the next phase for other categories can then follow throughout 2012. A special Board of Trustees (BOT) will be set up to manage the maintenance fund. We should individually commence compilation of the 1000-list, to be harmonised when we have finalised the full logistics and unveil the plan to the University. I am very optimistic that people will struggle to join the elite 1000 group,” they wrote.

The people involved in this group are respected professionals who want to give back and when I secure their permission, I will list their names on this page. Beyond that, I will also join their ‘Platinum Group’ of N1 million a year and will drag in as many people I know graduated from Ife and can afford to give back that much. It’s time to rise for Great Ife

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/because-he-was-involved/104018/

@Alj, Govt does not create JOBS, rather THEY FORMULATE GOOD POLICIES & CREATE AN ENABLING ENVIRONS FOR PRIVATE INVESTORS TO THRIVE. CONSEQUENTLY, JOBS WILL CREATE THEMSELVES. I SEE ALL THESE THINGS AS A TOOL TO PRESENT FOR 2015 ELECTION. REMEMBER, DURING OBASANJO'S FIRST TERM, NGOZI IWEALA & co. were moving Nigeria in the right direction. Iweala made some people to realize that Govt is a business. You cannot make progress by having about three drivers & five cars attached to one DIRECTOR in the ministry. She blocked & stopped all those drain on the treasury,hence some people does not want to hear her name. If you check records, there was huge flow of FDI into Nigeria during this era & after then, the hopeless OLD man destroyed all that the SMART folks tried to build, by installing Yar'adua. The job they claim to be creating, IS IT SUSTAINABLE? When you have a stable democracy, peace, infrastructure etc. things will fall into place. Is it obtainable? I don't know. What made the western countries a MODEL for everyone ? cos the INTEREST of all SUPERSEDES the INTEREST of the FEW. What is fueling the RISE of China? cos the INTEREST of all SUPERSEDES the interest of the FEW. They plunge back their resources into their society. Until the interest of the masses supersedes the interest of the FEW, then, we'll know.

If you read through my last post, I told you that my only HERO IS CHUKWUMA KADUNA NZEOGWU!

Do not reduce this to a TRIBAL thing. You will be so shocked that your TRIBESMEN receives the HIGHEST bribe these companies usually pay in return. It's a CARTEL that knows NO TRIBE. From NNPC, to DPR, to PRESIDENCY to NATIONAL ASSEMBLY etc.

I do not see any BIG DEAL in publishing the names. It's a way to HOODWINK  Nigerians & allow subsidy removal to scale through National assembly. Ask yourself, did they VIOLATE ANY LAW NO! They are doing legitimate business with your govt & will be the ones to benefit from subsidy removal. The people that looted the Nigerian treasury are waiting for subsidy removal to scale through & they will enter into joint venture with this same companies & build refineries everywhere. However, they will keep their prices so HIGH, even if crude oil price falls to $10 per barrel & their reason will be this WE USE GENERATOR TO POWER THE REFINERIES. The price will remain the same.

@ Alj_ If you go through my LAST post, I told you that I do not see Ojukwu as a HERO & I repeat, any SELFLESS & VISIONARY leader would have seen the HANDWRITING on the wall, PERIOD. You're on track. However, it will be UNFAIR, after all that you've read & you can only see Ojukwu, as someone that wanted POWER. A lot of his actions were QUESTIONABLE. He made MISTAKES. Then, look @ this, When Ironsi was killed, going by the military HIERARCHY, Brigadier A. O. Ogundipe, was supposed to take-over, he was sidelined & Ojukwu asked WHY? In my opinion, if all the ACTORS were selfless, both THE FED & BIAFRA folks, the WAR could have been avoided.

Personally, all I can say about Nigeria's FAILURE is that the Pre- independent politicians were in HURRY to ENRICH THEMSELVES. As the EDUCATED few, they wanted to take ADVANTAGE OF THE LESS EDUCATED MAJORITY, but used PATRIOTISM as a tool to force the Brits out. The Brits, being who they are, set the LANDMINES, unfortunately, SELFISHNESS did not allow the so-called FOUNDING FATHERS to SEE or better still, CLEAR THE LANDMINES before HUSTLING for INDEPENDENCE.

If they were not SELFISH. Or exercise patience, they would have seen their OBVIOUS DIFFERENCES, consequently, each region will go its separate ways PEACEFULLY. Yes, you never can tell. What we have today was in existence pre & post INDEPENDENCE. And someone wanted to TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING, UNFORTUNATELY HE WAS BETRAYED, NZEOGWU WAS BETRAYED. RIP, THE BRAVEST OF THEM ALL. FYI, CHUKWUMA KADUNA NZEOGWU, WILL FOREVER BE MY HERO. UNLESS ANOTHER SELFLESS, BRAVE MAN will come & FINISH WHAT HE STARTED. WHAT THE ARAB YOUTHS ARE DOING LATELY, WAS ALL THAT HE WANTED. AS HE FAILED, NIGERIA FAILED WITH HIM.

Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Appropriation and Finance yesterday formally unveiled the names of beneficiaries of the fuel subsidy scheme operated by government agencies. The list comprises both major oil marketers and independent depot owners, with 77 beneficiaries.

Major oil marketers include: AP; Oando; Total; MRS and ConOil, while the independent beneficiaries are Bovas, Eterna, Eurafric Oil & Coastal Services, Integrated Oil, Matrix, Northwest Petroleum Pinnacle, RAHAMANIYYA, Sea Petroleum, Maizube Pet, Triquest, Ecogree, Ontario, Dupot, IMAD oil, Nadabo, Brila, SIFAX, Taurus, Yanaty Petro Chemical, AITEO, AMG, Ascon, Dee Jones, Honeywell, Swift, Acorn, Avant Garde, Majope Inv, Spog Petrochemical, Knighsridge, Lloys Energy, Masters Energy, Dupot Marina, Lumen Skies, Nasaman, Somerset, Sirius Energy, Tonique, Ventro Energy, Channex Oil, Valzira, Zenro, Donny Oil and Gas, Naticel, AA Rand, Lingo Oil, Ocean Energy Trading, Ryden, Chiteld Pet, Avidor, Setana Energy, Shorelink Oil, Fradro Int, Linetrale Oil Supply and Trading, Sahara, Valcore, ASB Inv, Lubcon, Ceoti, First Deepwater and Agacan.

Committee Chairman, Magnus Abe, read out a list of the oil subsidy beneficiaries, as at August 2001. Some of them are: Oando Nigeria Plc (N228.506 billion); Integrated Oil and Gas Plc (N30 billion); MRS (N224.818 billion), Con Oil (N37.96 billion), Enak Oil & Gas (N19.684 billion), Bovas & Co. Nig Ltd (N5.685 billion), Obat (N85 billion) and AP (N104.5 billion).

Others are: Folawiyo Oil (N113.3 billion), IPMAN Investment Limited (N10.9 billion), ACON (N24.1 billion), Atio Oil (N64.4billion), AMP (N11.4 billion), Honey Well (N12.2 billion), Emac Oil (N19.2 billion), D.Jones Oil (N14.8 billion) and Capital Oil (N22.4 billion), AZ Oil (N18.613billion).
Abe, however, differed from the amount of N1.346trillion earlier presented by the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Reginald Elijah Stanley. He placed the figure at N1.426trillion.

Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Austin Oniwon, incurred the wrath of the Senator Magnus Abe-led committee when he could not tell them the units of crude oil refined per day in the nation’s refineries.

He had earlier told the committee that all the refineries combined couldn’t operate below 60 percent capacity, while the Port Harcourt refinery has not been operational for more than a month now.
“By the design of the refineries, they can’t run below 60 percent when you charge it. That’s why we say it’s 60 percent. Unfortunately, for over a month now, the Port Harcourt refinery has been shut down. But when it runs, technically, it can’t run below 60 percent,” he said.

Committee member, Senator Bukola Saraki, whose motion triggered the Senate probe asked Oniwon to tell senators “the average capacity utilization of the refineries.”
Oniwon replied:” I’ll get back to you on that.”
This did not go down well with Saraki who pressed on with more questions. He asked again: “What amount of PMS would the refineries give us for the months of October, November and December?”
Again, Oniwon replied: “ At 60 percent, we’ll produce 13 million litres.”
An angry Senator Saraki repeated his question and demanded details and documents on the amount of crude refined for those months to which Oniwon replied: “I didn’t come with the figures but I can submit them later.”

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/03/national-03-12-2011-015.html

@ Alj, I have read so many books about Nigeria, PRE & POST INDEPENDENCE. I HAVE NEVER CONSIDERED Ojukwu to be a HERO, long before he died & I have engaged like minds on the same subject. A selfless & visionary man would have seen the handwriting on the wall. That is all I have to say. He made MISTAKES,SURE. However, we should not lose sight of his BACKGROUND, ANTECEDENTS & the PREVAILING CIRCUMSTANCE then. I knew how people in SOUTHERN Nigeria felt when NYSC members are been massacred in the NORTHERN part of Nigeria few months ago cos of elections. We can use that to gauge how the IBOS felt. Thereafter, BOKO-HARAM, have been bombing everywhere, WHAT IS THE ANTHEM ON NL, & out there in the public before the death of Ojukwu? DIVIDE THIS COUNTRY, THIS NORTHERNERS HAVE TO GO THEIR OWN, blah, blah, blah. why the clamor for DISINTEGRATION ON EVERY SOUTHERNER JUXTAPOSE & ANALYSE them all.

It is BAD & UNFAIR to be playing the ethnic card. And the foundation was perfectly laid. Consequently, whoever wants to ruin Nigeria, don't need to lose sleep, just invoke the DOCTRINE of RELIGION & TRIBALISM.

Thank you for discussing the issue intelligently. I can't stand those STREET GANGS that have nothing to say other than to call names. Or YORUBA this, IBO that. They failed to realize that the same TRIBALISM played a role in them nor having the BASIC THINGS OF LIFE. They better go get a life!

@ Alj_Harem, There's nothing like INSULTS. A lot of Nigerian Youths are not fit to LIVE. They keep playing this ethnic game for nothing & the people LOOTING the Nigerian State, do one & say one. They know NO TRIBE. Obasanjo, Andy Uba, Dangote, David Mark, etc. What do they have in common? They'll never wash their dirty linen outside. In all HONESTY & OBJECTIVITY, point & say here is the MAN that LOVE Nigeria? & I WILL PIONT THE MAN THAT HASTEN THE DESTRUCTION OF NIGERIA.

@ OP, FYI, I'm not arguing for any IBO thing. Rather I will like you to view things OBJECTIVELY. If that ROGUE ( oBASANJO ) believed in Nigeria. He will not loot Nigeria's treasury. He will not keep your and your generations to come in perpetual darkness. He will not select a rogue like Gbenga Daniel, & which end up HUMILIATING Obasanjo, to loot the treasury. He believed in LOOT & DIE, & not any Nigeria. You & your conscience knows how much of a disgrace he is to the south-west. Abiola will never be honored. Nor will he ever be discussed on the floor of the senate the way they did with Ojukwu. The Nigeria U seem to like overnite has refuse to recognize or honor abiola & june 12. Soonest you'll see how they'll name an establishment after Ojukwu. However, it's IMPERATIVE to tell you that Ojukwu was born into WEALTH. Rather, U, Obasanjo & Abiola are all poverty stricken losers. Separate any of them from STOLEN WEALTH & se if they can stand. Loser!

Apart from stealing public funds through ITT,& he ran away when push came to shove. He end up dying like a chicken. What else did Abiola do for his people? *justasking*

Apart from LOOTING THE TREASURY  SLEEPING WITH HIS DAUGHTER-INLAW WHAT ELSE DID Obasanjo acomplished for his people? # justasking*

Click here to return to the home page Accessibility Home
Search published e-petitions e-petition
Apologise for Britain's role in Biafran war
Responsible department: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

After a campaign of murder and persecution against the Igbo people in Nigeria, the state of Biafra attempted to secede from Nigeria. The Government of the United Kingdom provided diplomatic support and was the largest supplier of arms to the Nigerian Government during the Biafran war. Over a million people, mainly Igbos, died during this terrible and unnecessary war. The present day British Government should apologise to the Igbo people for their complicity in the deaths of so many innocent people.

Sign this petition Number of signatures:
30
Created by:
Fergus Dodd
Closing:
18/08/2012
Share:
.How e-petitions workTerms and conditionsPrivacyCrown copyrightFAQsFeedback
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4662

@ BLUETOOTH, Shame on you. Obviously the CYBERCAFE you are browing from ran out of fuel in their generator OR they want to close. All i asked is, if you are not an UNEDUCATED PAUPER reveal your identity. LOSER 4 LIFE!!!

@BLUETOOTH, GO through all the things you have posted here. It goes along way to say who YOU ARE & WHAT YOU REPRESENT. And I repeat, I do not give a f%$k about you & Ojukwu or how & where he's been buried. What I can't stand is PAUPERS & DEGENERATES like you that have no meaningful contribution to make other than to use FOUL words. Go home to your darkness filled home & country. LOSER 4 LIFE!!!

@ BLUETOOTH, I think NL, should purge this BLOG of DEGENARATES like you and upgrade NL,to a FB like, so that we can know who is talking. If the person is dead or alive. None of your so called past leaders can boast of the same background with Ojukwu. Ojukwu was born into WEALTH, Obasanjo, IBB, ABDULSALAMI, JONATHAN,GOWON,etc. Their background and STOLEN WEALTH is well documented.

@BLUETOOTH, Allow the dead to bury themselves. I don't give a f&%k about Ojukwu. But If you think you are living show your FACE, reveal your IDENTITY, if you are not a SCAMMER or a PAUPER.

^^^^ Fine, I do not have any LIKENESS for him. In my opinion,State burial should be merited, period. But dislike people being unnecessarily ABUSIVE.

@ BLUETOOTH, What have you benefitted from Nigeria as a person? I'm sure you are one PEASANT browsing with generator in one cyberface in Nigeria, looking for people to SCAM. With no HOPE having electricity when you get home. Neither are you sure of what to eat tomorrow. If you are not a loser, SHOW YOUR FACE. Put your real identity here,let's know who the real LOSER is.

The Senate stood still on Thursday as it devoted the entire session to honour the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Though members of the upper legislative chamber opposed the clamour for a state burial for late Ojukwu, they urged the former Eastern Region where he was the first military Governor, to come together and give him a befitting burial.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Andy Uba and 50 others entitled: “Death of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi) 1933-2011.”
Apparently to capture the mood of the day, many South East Senators where Ojukwu hailed from wore black suits including Senator Uche Chukwumerije, known for his traditional white attire.
The Senate resolved to observe a minute silence in honour of the deceased; just as it also agreed to send a high powered delegation to commiserate with Ojukwu’s family, the people and Government of Anambra State.
The upper chamber also urged the Federal Government to immortalize late Ojukwu by naming a prominent establishment after him.
The opposition of a state funeral was hinged on the argument that Ojukwu did not fall under the category of those who should be so honoured.
Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi explained that the prayer should be rejected in order not to set a precedent that ran contrary to the laws of the country.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/28258-senate-rejects-state-burial-for-ojukwu.html

READ and MAKE YOUR VERDICT,OBJECTIVELY, Pls!

[b]Privatisation, Senators Want Obasanjo Punished[

The Senate Wednesday opened debate on the reports of its ad hoc committee on the investigation of government’s privatisation and commercialisation activities, with a number of the lawmakers insisting that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should not go unpunished for the widespread fraud that characterised the exercise during his tenure.

But in an apparent bid to save Obasanjo’s neck, Senate President David Mark cautioned his colleagues to remain focused on the committee’s recommendation and avoid politicising the issues at stake.

He said: “We should remain focused; we should not bring partisan politics into the journey that we started so well so far, so that we do not derail.”

Although the committee’s report did not specifically mention Obasanjo for sanction, it made a veiled reference to “presidential interference” in the privatisation exercise, which it strongly condemned and advised its avoidance in future.

Many senators, who commented on the committee’s report, could not however resist the urge to blame Obasanjo for most of the failures of some of the privatised companies to comply with the terms of the privatisation agreement.

The senators were stunned when Senator Olusola Adeyeye (ACN, Osun) related to them how one of Obasanjo’s sons allegedly brought the Indian company that bought the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which later embarked on mass “looting of the company’s assets and sending them to India”.

He said it was wrong to blame former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for the alleged irregularities in the privatisation exercise when his boss Obasanjo who gave certain approvals in contravention to the privatisation laws would go unpunished.

Also in his contribution, Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Abu Ibrahim (CPC, Katsina), argued that it would be unfair for the Senate to recommend punishment for the former Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) bosses for allegedly taking orders from the former president and fail to recommend same for Obasanjo.

Ibrahim said: “The report is comprehensive and decisive. I am worried that the main culprit who signed these documents has been left out. This Senate would have been encouraged to indict such person. Such person should be reprimanded. The Senate should be encouraged to indict former President Olusegun Obasanjo for breaking these laws. He personally signed these companies off. I believe the committee on privatisation should consider those companies one by one and see if the former president is involved and he should be prosecuted.”

On his part, Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi) said the ad hoc committee’s report had shown vividly that although privatisation as a concept was good but its implementation was against national interest.

He said: “The Indians who bought Ajaokuta Iron and Steel, rather than turn it around, dismantled the equipment and exported them to India. Today, we are importing the same steel from India.”

Adeyemi, therefore urged the government to summon the political will to implement the recommendations of the committee, saying: “The credibility of our Senate will be tested by this report. There are powerful Nigerians involved in this thing and they must be made to face the wrath of the law.”

But chairman of the ad hoc committee, Senator Ahmad Lawan (ANPP, Yobe), defended his committee’s recommendations, saying: “They were very patriotic and devoid of sentiments.”

The lawmakers, however, said that the implementation of the committee’s report would show how determined President Goodluck Jonathan is in his fight against corruption.

Meanwhile, former Head of State and the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has urged Nigerians to ask Obasanjo to account for monies that accrued to the country when he was at the helm of affairs.

Buhari, who made this call Wednesday at the grand finale campaign of the Kogi State CPC governorship candidate, Mr. James Enejo Ocholi (SAN), at the Lokoja Township Stadium, alleged that the money made by the country during the Obasanjo regime was more than what the nation got from 1914 to the time he was sworn in.

“No CPC governor will be larger than the party. Anybody who steals public funds will go to jail and anyone who is not ready to work will be allowed to go,” he stated.

He said for the country to forge ahead, anybody found guilty of corruption should no longer be spared, but his property should be confiscated and the accused person sentenced to a long jail term.

Buhari, who has been in the state for the past three days, urged the people to vote for Ocholi whom he described as a courageous and credible man who would bring positive change to the state.

In his address, the governorship candidate urged the people to come out en masse and vote for him in Saturday’s election, saying the ruling party had failed the state.

The CPC candidate, who was presented to the electorate at the rally, also promised to embark on aggressive rehabilitation of roads, hospitals, schools and other such infrastructures.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/privatisation-senators-want-obasanjo-punished/104025/

“The former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was quoted on page 638 of her memoir titled “No Higher Honour” as saying “In 2006 when President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria sidled up to President Bush and suggested that he (Obasanjo) might change the constitution so that he could serve a third term, President Bush told him not to do it.” In Bush’s words “You have served your country well. Now turn over power and become a statesman.”

With the recent revelations by former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice in her published memoirs in which she disclosed how Obasanjo lobbied former President Bush to support his third term bid, Added to his numerous EVIL DEEDS, do you think Obasanjo should apologise to Nigerians?

SIMON KOLAWOLE LIVE. Email, simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com



Sometime in 2003, when I was Saturday Editor of THISDAY, I got an SMS from someone who announced that Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, was dead. As it is customary with rumour mongering, it was soon to use today’s buzzword trending. I was getting calls left, right and centre. How would I confirm the rumour? That is the sort of burden on the necks of editors. People believe we have access into the inner recesses; they expect instant confirmation of rumours from us. An idea crossed my mind: why not call the Eze Igbo Gburugburu himself?

I picked my phone. I called. He picked. It was Dikediohamma himself, live on the other line…
“Hello sir,” I said, confused.
“How are you?” he replied.
“F-F-Fine sir…” I normally don’t stammer.

Then an embarrassing silence ensued. I was stuck. Would I say: “Is it true you’re dead?” No, I am not Olusegun Obasanjo.
Finally, a lame idea struck my mind.

“I’m just checking on you sir!” I said, tamely.
“You’re just checking on me!!!” he said, incredulously, mischievously. Obviously, he knew where I was going and how I got stuck. He had heard the rumour himself.

He then said, calmly, in impeccable Yoruba: “Simon, ma se yonu. Mosi wa nibi!” (“Don’t worry. I’m still alive!”)
I laughed respectfully. I started calling back the rumour mongers. “Ojukwu is alive!” I announced, officially. “I just spoke with him. Don’t spread the rumour.”

But finally, last Saturday and after many more death rumours Ojukwu drew his last breath at the age of 78. The last few years were stricken with illnesses. He never recovered from the stroke he had last year. It is really sad that a key actor in the history of Nigeria has gone to the world beyond without being able to fulfil his promise of delivering “that book” on the civil war (“Wait for the book,” he used to say.) That leaves a huge gap in our history. (And why has General Yakubu Gowon not written his own yet?)

Was Ojukwu right to go to war? As I normally say, I am a post-civil war child. Everything I know about the war is based on other people’s accounts. Whatever opinion I have is based on what the key actors and historians said—and none could be said to be unbiased. History, after all, is a narration from a perception. So it is always difficult for me to come to a conclusion that truly satisfies me on events surrounding the war.

But there is a conclusion I often make: we went to war in 1967 because our leaders were too young, too immature to manage the crises that followed the failed coup of 1966. We learnt our lesson in a very bitter way, on the corpses of an estimated one million casualties. The issues in 1966 are yet to go away. Ethno-religious killings have not ceased. The North/South divide is still clearly defined and stares us in the face all the time. The only difference today is that we have managed to avoid another war. Maybe we have learnt our lessons. Maybe we are not courageous enough to renegotiate Nigeria. Maybe we are postponing the evil day. Or maybe we are meant to be together after all.

Whenever you discuss Ojukwu, you mention the war. Yet this was not the only thing that defined him. He was brilliant. He was intelligent. I have no doubt in my mind that if Biafra had succeeded, it would be one of the most developed countries in Africa today, given its technological advancement within a spate of three years. Putting Biafra aside, Ojukwu belonged in the class of political orators. He had a good command of the soap box—and like Chuba Okadigbo, Samuel Akintola and KO Mbadiwe, Ojukwu’s oratorical power was alluring.

We loved and hated Ojukwu for many reasons. He was a man of controversy. You could accuse him of anything, but you could never accuse him of running away from trouble. In 1993, he left the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the National Republican Convention (NRC), arguing that the Igbo had been short-changed by the SDP with Bashorun MKO Abiola having emerged as presidential flag bearer and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe as his running mate. Reminded that the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation could go to the Igbo, he shrugged. “The secretary is a glorified tea boy,” he said.

When the June 12 election was annulled and Gen. Sani Abacha took over power, Ojukwu became more or less Abacha’s ambassador, campaigning against Abiola’s bid to reclaim his mandate. He delivered a particularly thought-provoking—and provocative lecture in Kaduna in 1995 when Abiola was in detention. He said what Abiola did, by proclaiming himself president, was equal to treason, “and we know that treason is the greatest sin you can commit against your country”. If the irony was lost on him, it was not lost on the June 12 activists, who chuckled aloud about Ojukwu’s own history with treason. It was later rumoured that Abacha had returned most of his father’s seized property to him.

In 1996, Ojukwu engaged Igbo leaders, under the auspices of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in a long-running battle of wits over his claim to the “Eze Igbo” title. The Igbo don’t have a king, they told him. He said he was “Eze Igbo Gburu Gburu”—King of Igbo anywhere and everywhere. He sought to defy the territorial definition of kingdom and proclaimed: “I am the King of the hearts of Ndigbo”. In 2003, he provoked a national debate when he was invited to Abuja by the State Security Service (SSS) over some statements he made supporting the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which was seeking a republic for the Igbo. Ojukwu spurned the SSS invitation because he was only given a one-way ticket. In 2007, after collecting his outstanding military pension, he protested at being referred to as “Colonel”, maintaining that he was a General, having been so promoted by the Biafran military. After all, his contemporaries in the Nigerian army retired as generals.

The first and last time I saw Ojukwu, I almost cried. It was in Owerri, Imo State, in April 2007. My brother, Chidi ‘Uzor, had invited me to have a taste of life in his village. On our way from the airport, we ran into a slow-moving traffic caused by a convoy that looked like a campaign train. I noticed an unusual excitement on the part of bystanders each time a particular car passed by them. They would scream, wave and shout: “Eze Igbo!” That must be Dim Ojukwu, Chidi said. I couldn’t see Ojukwu clearly from the back where I was, but I could tell that his side glass was wound down and he was waving to the bystanders as well. Commercial motorcyclists were so excited they turned back and started “escorting” the convoy. Men and women and children whose parents had probably not been born when Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra in 1967 were all cheering in ecstasy.

“But the impression we get in Lagos is that nobody loves Ojukwu anymore,” I asked Chidi. He laughed.
“That is the view of the elite. As you can see for yourself, this man is a hero of the masses any day. The people just love him,” he replied.

Chidi and I decided to follow the train wherever it was going to see things for ourselves. The train ended up at Ahiara Mbaise. We learnt Ojukwu was being sent off, having spent almost a week in Imo campaigning for APGA ahead of the general election.

“Ahiara is symbolic,” my friend said. “That podium there, under that shed, was where Ojukwu made the declaration of the Republic of Biafra in 1967. So you are part of history today!”

Ojukwu mounted the podium to speak. The crowd roared. Obviously, he was not as agile as he used to be. He appeared to be visually challenged, judging by his movement on the podium. He spoke in Igbo, and since my understanding of Igbo has never gone beyond “kedu”, I was stuck. Chidi was too excited to bother about translating the message to me.

Opinions would forever differ on Ojukwu. Some would say he was a man who dragged Nigeria to war because he was hungry for power. Others would say he was forced to declare war because the Igbo were not getting a fair deal in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For me, I would always remember him as one of the most intelligent Nigerians that ever lived.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/we-loved-him-we-hated-him/103855/