ASABA CITY LENS..........CELEBRATING CHAMPIONS

 The Asagba Of Asaba at the annual Iwaji celebration, by his side is Chike Ubaka Attoh and on the other side is the royal palace task bearer, Ogbueshi Esonajo.

 Chief Uso Onianwa reading his key note address at a recent public book presentation, a book on the Ahaba traditional culture and belief systems, written by Chief N.D. Ndili, on the right is seated Chief Ogedazi

Ahaba Prestigous Egwu Aguba royal dance performing recently at a public function

 BEST SISTERS ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH, FIGHTING MALARIA THROUGH COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS AND PUBLIC SENSITIZATION AND RALLIES 

 STILL DOING WHAT THEY KNOW BEST AS BEST SISTERS WITH YOUTH ACTIVISTS

 YOUTH ACTIVISTS ADD SPECIAL COLOR TO THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA

 Hon Emeka Okonji, Ogbueshi Akaekpuchi onwa, hosted his friends to special feast as he marks his first Iwaji celebration, Ogbueshi ji ke be, onye gba ahu ogwa chie.

 The true face of the new Nigeria, in her truly rests the sound hope of a new Nigeria, but she is asking, what does Nigeria holds for her as she wears the future  

   Uncle Emma like every other political leaders, i hear is telling our young sister above to take heart and bear with as both of them are in the same boat, Uncle Emma after the prayer session on the Inderpent day promised so, especially as they was zero MEND'S senior fireworks at Asaba

Asaba Mass Genocides of 1967: Shall Murtala Ever Be Forgiven?

Emeka Esogbue


Murtala Ramat Mohammed (1938-1976) represents the greatest tragedies that befell Ndi Ngbo during the civil war. The ill-trained and undisciplined failed Nigerian soldier sought to annihilate the Ibo-speaking parts of the then Mid-west and completely remove the communities from the world map.

He left no stone unturned as he swept every one of the communities one after the other dishing them with genocidal gifts, the first that the African continent ever witnessed. Incredibly, the Federal Government of Nigeria would unquestionably immortalize his soul with infamous appearance in the nation's 20 naira currency, something unexpected of any government sensitive to the cause of the citizenry.

The impossibility to recount his contributions to the development of the nation because none exists must be admitted. It is also incredible that the true Nigerian society that forbids military sortie in politics would celebrate such a military leader whose reign was so short that nothing could be written of his contributions. There is nothing that exposes sentiments as much as history and this is what times gone by have done to Murtala teaching us that only unexplained sentiments have promoted because but for death in the hand of Dimka, Murtala would have remained unknown character in the history of Nigerian leadership.

By January 1966, the British truly interested in monetary gains arising from the exploitation of Nigeria had prepared Yakabu Gowon, Murtala Muhammed, Theophilus Danjuma, Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo and indeed the northern region.

The utmost aim of the British was that its better gains were derivable from one Nigeria, marginalization or no marginalization of other ethnic groups. The British thus goaded the northerners against other ethnic groups with unsolicited political supports which hastened the civil war of 1967. It was the announcement issued by the British in the BBC medium that first gave the northerners a weedy idea that the Nzeogwu coup was Igbo motivated. And the north understood this, the battle line was drawn between the North and Eastern region in which millions of people lost their lives.

It was this battle that gave birth to Murtala, a "Local champion" called Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo of the Nigerian Army. Africans first had the practical experience of the word "genocide" in Igbodo where hundreds of lives were lost in the Nigerian civil war. In Isheagu, the case was not different. It was here that the ulterior motive of the Nigerian troop clearly unfolded.

The people were now scampering for the safety of their lives having experienced what happened in Igbodo and some other places. In the Midwestern region, able bodied men went into hiding leaving women and children at the mercy of advancing soldiers. The people of Benin went identifying their Ibo-speaking neighbours from house to house for executions.


The Federal troop led by Murtala Muhammed arrived at the Asaba Division, power drunk with an aim to annihilate the people and return to Lagos with the blood of the people in his hands. Murtala hoped that the voices of the people would not be heard again.


Chief Philip Asiodu in his speech "How Mid-western Ibos Suffered During Civil war", October 20, 2009 recounts that "Earlier on the 5th and 6th following the conquest of Asaba by the Federal Army from the rebel or Biafran forces after the last stand by the latter around. St. Patrick's college area, dozens of civilians were apprehended and shot".

In another article written by Obi Nwakanma titled "Revisiting the Asaba Massacre" a mention is made on how victims were ordered to dance at the town square before men were separated from women and killed. The horrendous crime carried out human beings provokes the mind and prepares the people of Nigeria on what lies ahead of any region of the country but nothing provokes the mind more than to learn that the killings conducted by Murtala and Ibrahim Taiwo group were supervised.

Ifeanyi Uraih was specific when he added that Col Taiwo Ibrahim ordered everyone to come to the town square, that it was time to dance around town and join their brotherens.  The innocent people did as they were told thinking it was a victory party. At that point Col Taiwo Ibrahim honestly told them that they were to be killed, took them to a mounted machine and wasted them. Uraih survived because he was buffered by bodies that were shot around him and also on top of him.

Although Emma Okocha has relayed much of the Asaba massacre in his book "Blood on the Niger" but words cannot adequately capture genocides that occurred within the Asaba Division as supervised by Murtala, Ibrahim Taiwo and Ibrahim Haruna. Murtala's killer squad advanced Ibusa, a community about 6 miles from Asaba.

The group left the town having satisfied itself with war crimes while leaving behind emotional accounts. The killings in Ibusa took a new dimension when mass rape of ladies was added to it. It was so terrible and horrendous that the tragedy originated swear in the dialect of the people "Soldier La Gbue". Meaning "May soldiers rape you to death" this form of bad language is still use today.

Those who got hint of the impending advancement of the Federal Army and what happened in nearby Asaba fled for their dear lives to Mgbotukpe, thick forest located in the town. 

When the soldiers left the community for Ogwashi-Uku another nearby community what was left were faces inside the St. Augustine's Catholic Church, Ibusa with bodies littering the town. Even then, the soldiers acting on orders made sure that few or no houses remained firm to its foundation in the town. Such was the impunity with which they sent souls to the world beyond. In fact, collapsed houses are still testimonies of the vapid wrecking of lives and properties in the town.

With the genocides in Asaba and Ibusa especially, the people of Ogwashi-Uku had known the fate of what was to befall them in advance. Surprisingly, one is unsure for the reason behind the horrendous magnitude of what befall the community even though the people were living testimonies of the fate of Igbodo, Isheagu, Asaba and Ibusa. The story is that worse fate than Ibusa befell Ogwashi-Uku and mass graves in the town testifies to this.

Interestingly, Yakubu Gowon, the man who was the military Head of State at the time has on two different occassions apologized to the people of Asaba. The last apology was tendered at Asaba Township Stadium, venue of his "Nigeria Prays" rally. He tendered apology for the mass killing of their kinsmen pointing out that he did not approve the killings.

He further stated "It came to me as a shock when I came to know of the unfortunate happenings that happened to the sons and daughters of this state especially of this (Asaba) domain. I felt very touched and honestly I referred to it (killings) and ask for forgiveness being the one who was in charge that time.

Certainly, it is not something I would have approved of in whatsoever. I was ignorant of it, I think until it appeared in the papers. A young man wrote a book at that time" (Austin Ogwuda, Gowon Faults Setting up of Oputa Panel, Monday, December 9, 2002.

The interesting question is if Gowon was ignorant of the genocides that swept the Ibo-speaking communities including Owerri, who ordered the gruesome exercise? It is very unfortunate that Gowon as a leader failed to set up an enquiry into what really happened at least as at the time he read it in the papers. This is where the arrow of guilt points to Murtala Muhammed the leader of the troop, Ibrahim Haruna and Ibrahim Taiwo.

Major-Gen. Haruna Ibrahim, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Two division of the Army during the civil war testifying for the Arewa Consultative Forum at the Oputa Panel on Tuesday, 9th October 2001 said he had no regrets for the Asaba massacre of Igbo in which his troop killed 500 men.

He maintained that whatever action he or his troop took during the war was motivated by a sense of duty to to protect the unity of Nigeria. To this end heconcluded that he had no regrets over the massacres at Asaba, Owerri and Ameke-Item. This baffled the Ohaneze group.

These tragedies are rarely acknowledged by the Nigerian Government which has entirely swept the massacres under the carpet. This makes memories of the tragedy hazy but the oral history of the people has continued to prevail. While the people are hoping that the acknowledgement of the deaths of their loved ones and sacrileges carried out in the communities with permanent memorials to their loved ones would bring measure of justice.

Professors of History and Anthropology from the University of South Florida in cooperation with USF Libraries Holocaust & Genocide Studies Centre are attempting to document and memorize the mass killings that took place in Asaba region more than 40 years ago but it will just be wiser and more result oriented if the study center include other areas such as Igbodo, Isheagu, Ogwashi-Uku, Ibusa, Owerri, Ameke-Item were such genocides also took place.

Tanko Yakassai? Simply Disregard him

Emeka Esogbue

By now a lot of Nigerians from the north and south are asking to know the problem with Alhaji Tanko Yakassai that should frequently make him promote the cause of divisions between the north and south.
Yakassai has become an old man whose opinions are not worth taking into consideration incidentally, only pressmen seeking cheap juicy news pay him visits to extract inept and irrelevant comments without recourse to how dangerous such comments are to the corporate existence of the nation.

The Yakassai that the younger generation ordinarily should be learning from has become a self-appointed representative of the north thus a negative progression from a known political activist and nationalist to an ignored lone diversionist and mischief-maker voice so that questions are being asked on whether he is suffering from old-age illness, has been paid by loyalist or simply derives pleasure from putting one region against the other. It appears that this man has not studied the nation very well to realize that he has been part of the nation that has lost relevance in the world map very soon, especially the northern region that has ruled the same nation for more than 30 years and only bequeathing sad poverty to its teeming citizens.

In developed countries of the world, old men who have attained the age of 80s simply retire to their family compounds to take deep rest but occasionally offer advice to the best of their knowledge having studied mistakes made in the past with a view to correcting them but this has not been the case with Yakassai who was never a soldier yet spoiling for war with southerners each time he comes from the blues to add fuel to the already tensed up situation between the north and south.


Most sane people would have disregarded this old man but because it is dangerous to do so because of the implication it would have on the nation, many of his kinsmen from the north have written him off. Hon Abba Anas Adamu from Jigawa State insists he is suffering from old age or acting someone's script.  Col. Abubarka Umar (Retd) reasons he is not in the act free of charge or because he believes in it but because somebody has paid him to do so.

To Yakassai, anything that is not of the north is not worthy to exist. In then, he appears to be living in a world of the past foe centuries with ancient beliefs that have been outmoded by recent events by many centuries. While prominent people from the north are challenging their leaders for leading to the nation to inglorious years of neglect and poverty which did not spare the north, Yakassai's thinking is far from representing actual events. Alhaji Aliyu Babangida recently commented in which he stated that the north has become the problem of the Nigeria federation. One wonders whether Yakassai realizes this.


Only today, the daily sun reported a statement credited to the old man titled "battle Not Over, Yakassai Warns Jonathan" In it he warned that "We will fight. We will fight to ensure that rotation is retained in PDP. We will insist that the rotation remains till the north gets its full tenure of eight years. And thereafter, if the country wants to abandon the concept of rotation altogether, then we will consider it". A statement like this only portrays senility because it sends no sense to anyone but only shows that the old man is only interested in the concept of rotation only if it benefits the north.

He obviously does not look beyond his nose forgetting that the north too is part of the nation. It is disappointing to discover the kinds of people that ruled us in the past, people who are not fit to rule in animal kingdoms. These are people that children in kindergarten of nowadays will effectively educate in modern issues including politics.

Yakassai went on to tell us that "Jonathan is out to settle scores with Northerners and friends of Yar' Adua citing the reconstitution of the cabinet, the sacking of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Manager, the reassignment of of officers of Northern extractions from the key positions in the NNPC in favour of Niger Deltans …within 48 hours the new Petroleum Minister, Alison Madueke's assumption of office, the threat of removal directed to EFCC's Farida-waziri…" In fact, continuing this endless and nonsensical quote will annoy anyone.

What the old man Yakassai fails to understand is that the impatient Nigerians have become tired of underdevelopment and poverty visited on them and are search of an honest and result-oriented person whether from the north or south that can deliver them from the hands of evil. It little matters now whether such a leader is from the north or south. What matters is economic revival.

It is for this reason that the people same for the greedy ones who look forward to benefits have collectively rejected Ibrahim Babangida who is seeking to recover the key he forgot at Aso Rock Villa. Does is make sense even to a kid that Farida-Waziri is facing threat of sack? Was Nuhu Ribadu another northerner not removed to make way for her? Where is Iwu of INEC? Was Humphrey Nwosu not removed by Babangida to annul the now infamous June 12 Election?

Journalist who have arrogated Yankassai's home to theirs for juicy news should watch it else they would have no one to report to if his comments sets fire on the nation.

Jonathan playing politics with national security................“IBB, Atiku, others

Dokpesi, victim of political persecution.......Kanti Bello

TAIWO AMODU


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential aspirants of northern extraction yesterday berated President Goodluck Jonathan over last Friday's bomb incident in Abuja. In a joint press statement signed by Senators Kanti Bello and Ben Obi, Dr. Udenta Udenta and Chris Mammah, deputy director general and director generals of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Aliyu Gusau, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisations respectively, they condemned the perpetrators of the action but accused President Jonathan of politicizing the unfortunate incident.

The aspirants condemned the arrest and interrogation of the Director General of the IBB Campaign Organisation and Chairman, Daar Communications, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi. They expressed consternation over the curious exoneration of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) that claimed responsibility for the action, by President Jonathan even when MEND has not made a recant.

It is apparent that the present bellicose posture of the government stems from a deep sense of desperation, which has already been given eloquent testimony by the curious exoneration of MEND as the authors of the bomb blasts by President Jonathan. MEND not only issued a widely circulated warning about the bloody act it wanted to unleash but had gone to accept full responsibility for it.

While MEND has not disowned its culpability in the said bloody act, President Jonathan has not only appointed himself the group chief spokesperson but had  gone on to give green light to the security agents to hunt down his perceived political opponents and rope them into the planning and execution of the bomb blasts.

Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former national security adviser, General Aliyu Gusau and Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki also called for an independent judicial inquiry to unravel the perpetrators of the independence day bomb blasts, against the background of yesterday's startling revelations of the acclaimed MEND leader, Henry Okah.

We also note a more dangerous dimension to the unfolding bomb blasts phenomenon. In an Aljazeera TV interview on Tuesday, October 5, the acclaimed MEND leader, Henry Okah declared that he was contacted by ranking presidential aides to refute the statement that MEND was behind the bomb blasts; that he and MEND should declare that northern political figures were behind the blasts, as a way of damaging their presidential aspiration and making it easy for President Jonathan to win the 2011 presidential election; that President Jonathan's hasty exoneration of MEND from the bomb blasts stemmed from the expectations that he would play along and that when it became obvious that he would not play the script allotted to him, he was subsequently arrested and arraigned on terrorism charges.

Henry Okah's accusations are weighty and sobering and, if true, must require an independent judicial investigation. We thus alert the ECOWAS, the AU to the dangerous political and security situation in Nigeria; a situation that is capable of compromising its national integrity, if not well handled, they jointly noted.

Also addressing a separate press briefing yesterday at the IBB Campaign Organisation office, Senator Kanti Bello dismissed the allegation against the Director General of the organization, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi as unfounded as he told journalists that Dokpesi  was a victim of political persecution.

It is instructive to note that the only offence of Dokpesi was the fact that he rejected his appointment of the President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation. In rejecting the said appointment, he had informed the world that his belief in the zoning arrangement of the PDP in which the presidency is zoned to the North for 2007 to 2015 would present to him a moral burden.

As one of the key elements that secured the seat for President Jonathan when he was in acting capacity, he had extracted a commitment from the northern stakeholders that President Jonathan would not seek election in 2011. Beyond this, we cannot possibly hazard any guess why he is being subjected to all manners of intimidation, threat, repression, mudslinging and campaign of calumny.

Stretching his allegation of intimidation further, Senator Kanti Bello alleged that the State Security Services (SSS) operatives asked Dr. Dokpesi questions like the actual amount he had received so far from former military president and PDP presidential aspirant, Ibrahim Babangida and the update on the consensus candidate being canvassed by the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). The Senate chief whip further exonerated the Chairman, Daar Communications of complicity in last Friday bomb incident. Dr Raymond Dokpesi is a gentleman of impeccable profile and well respected and detribalised Nigerian whose contributions to the growth and development of the nation are solidly grounded.

He has never been associated with acts of violence or physical intimidation. We have absolute confidence in his capacity and determination to carry out the responsibilities of our campaign activitie. We wish to state in unequivocal terms that Dr. Dokpesi has no relationship and will not associate with terrorists or terrorism and will never support any act capable of destroying humanity and statehood of our great country.
 

Community Appeals To Fashola Over Flood

Ifeoma Akachukwu

Residents of Surulere, Oke Oko Ibereko in Olorunda Local Council Area of Lagos State,  South West Nigeria, have appealed to the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, to  extend the dividends of democracy to them by constructing Alaka Street road with good  drainage channels before the whole community is submerged by flood, especially now that  the rains are heavy.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, the traditional ruler and member of Raji Fashola  Fans Club, High Chief Z.A. Alaka, said people always find it very difficult to get to  their places of abode whenever it rains and therefore called for urgent rehabilitation of  the road.

He lauded Fashola for his sterling leadership quality, noting that Lagos is now the envy  of other states in the Federation because of the governor’s giant strides.
Alaka called on other political office holders to emulate Fashola, while thanking him for  the expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway already in progress.
The traditional ruler, however, wants government to provide good roads, drainage  channels, pipe-borne water, community hall and mini health centre, among other social  amenities in the area, while urging the council boss, Amida Abudu, not to relent in his  effort in ensuring better development in the area, just as he pledged the continued  support of his subjects for the chairman at all times.

Attacks Were Targeted at Jonathan, Says Asari

Imam Imam

The leader of the Niger Delta People Volunteer Force (NDPVF) Alhaji Mujahid
Dokubo Asari yesterday said security agents failed to heed his warning on the
likely bombing of strategic targets by Henry Okah and members of his group,
alleging that Okah has been stockpiling more weapons in an effort to destablise
the country.

Dokubo said the attack in Abuja on October 1 was meant to destablise the
Goodluck Jonathan presidency, in continuation of the deep-seated hatred Okah has
for the president.

In a statement issued on his facebook page, Dokubo said Nigerians should not
take Okah serious for alleging that he was asked to implicate the Northerners,
saying when fully subjected to facts test, the statement would not hold water.

He said: "15 days before now, the intelligence unit of NDPVF had a stunning
revelation and uncovered a plot by Henry Okah to re-arm militants - to re-arm
his criminal gangs in the region. We intercepted large parches of arms that were
being sent to his new recruits around the Bonny, New Calabar, Sombreiro and St.
Bartholomew rivers.

"This information was promptly forwarded to the security agencies that Henry
Okah was up to something. These persons in government and its agencies dismissed
it! That, I was a rabid hater of Henry Okah. And this information was passed by
some unscrupulous top government officers to Henry Okah, that 'Asari' had
informed them that he, Henry Okah, was planning something.

"What a shame! I was still worried and sent warnings to them that Henry Okah was
still up to something. A close associate of the President just dismissed it by
saying which time you and Henry Okah quarrel go end? he added.

On the call by some Northern leaders on President Goodluck Jonathan to resign or
face impeachment, Dokubo said the remark is like sounding the drums of war.

"The drums of war have been sounded by the Adamu Ciroma's, the Tanko Yakassai's,
the Ali Mungonu's. We are not afraid of war! Let them come with their war."

He said attempts were made in the past by some rogue elements in the Niger Delta
region to pin the attacks on him, but by God's grace, such moves have failed.

"First they made an attempt to hang it (the bombings) on me - Alhamdullahi -
they failed! Today, it is Goodluck Jonathan - Insha Allahu - they will also
fail," he said.

ANAMBRA REPRESENTS AFRICA IN CHINA

Anambra State will in faraway Shanghai, China represent African continent in the on-going expo (4-10 of October).

The letter to the Government of Anambra State by the UN Habitat signed by its Programme Manager for Nigeria, Prof. Johnson Falade reads: The UN-HABITAT will present the results of our Emerging Cities photographic project at the Shanghai World Expo, during week 4-10 October. As you know, Onitsha is one of the five selected world cities, and our photographic work took place there in July. The presentation itself will occur on the morning of Wednesday 6 October in the UN Pavillon at the Expo. Images from each of the five cities will be showcased in a two-and Half-hour event.

Prof. Falade said that the choice of Onitsha was informed by its great economic potentials to provide for better living urban environment and the fact that the town was one of the three cities that benefitted from the UN-HABITAT technical assistance in the preparation of its structure plan. He noted that the UN-HABITAT was so happy about the commitment of Gov. Obi to the cities in Anambra State and called on other Governors in Nigeria to show the same level of commitment.

The EXPO with the theme of Better City, Better Life, according to the Anambra State Commissioner for Lands,  Afuba Peter, esq. would mark another phase in the relationship between the UN-HABITAT and Anambra state. He commended the Governor for fertilizing that relationship and assured that there was no going back  by Anambra state in her commitment to urban planning and renewal.

The Commissioner who is already in China disclosed that the Governor would join his team today for the EXPO and that he would take the opportunity to discuss the implementation of the structure plan for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi with the officials of the UN HABITAT and explore further contacts and collaboration.

IBB: Why I was not at Eagle Square

Ayegba Israel Ebije


Former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida said yesterday that he did not attend the ill-fated Nigeria@50 celebrations at Eagle Square, Abuja last Friday because he did not believe in spending so much money for an event that should instead have elicited sober reflection on the heroes and heroines that laid down their lives for the country. He spoke to reporters at his Hill Top residence in Minna. He said the amount of money spent on the event was outrageous and unnecessary. The event, he also said, was driven by an agenda that lost focus and direction as it forgot to give due honour to Nigerians who laid down their lives for the country and to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

Babangida said, People have been talking about my absence at the celebration of independence and Nigeria at 50 anniversaries and I have this to say, that I don't believe in the flamboyance attached to an event that would have focused more on what an average Nigerian should benefit in terms of developmental projects.

Babangida's absence from the event has been quietly pointed at by government officials to support the allegation in official circles that he was linked to the bomb blasts. Tackling that charge yesterday, Babangida said claims by some people that he could have been behind last Friday's twin bomb blasts in Abuja during celebration of the Nigeria@50 were idiotic.

He said many people have inferred that he may have an idea of the impending bomb blast, which was why he did not attend the parade at the Eagle Square. He however expressed amazement that some Nigerians would link him with issues that he is far removed from.

He said it would be idiotic for anyone to think that he was involved in the car bomb episode. He said he has fought for the unity of the country and will have nothing to gain causing any form of disaffection in the country.

He said, It will be idiotic for anybody to think that I who fought for the unity of Nigeria and still carries about the shrapnel from the war will have knowledge of the car bomb blast which took the lives of many Nigerians. I and many Nigerians who fought the war to unite this country will never want Nigeria to go through what some of us went through during the civil war as we fought very hard to keep Nigeria as one nation.

General Babangida also said the arrest of his campaign chairman Dr. Raymond Alegho Dokpesi by the State Security Service [SSS] for suspected complicity in the bomb blasts was done based on the imagination of some people.  He said, When things like this happen Nigerians will cast their imaginative and fertile minds and this is the price we have to pay as politicians. Anyone who knows my High Chief (Dokpesi) will not associate him with such act as he is a patriotic Nigerian who will not do anything that will undermine the security of the country.

The former military ruler also accused the Federal Government of security lapse for the October 1 bomb blast that claimed many lives. He said the federal government had no less than five days notice that a bomb will be planted at the square. He said the unfortunate loss of lives would have been avoided if government's security operatives had moved in quickly to arrest the situation.

The federal government was given at least a period of five days before the bomb went off near the Eagle Square but failed to act in time to check the bloodbath. In my own opinion, and I speak as a retired General, that there are lapses in our security network and somebody must be held responsible for that. Given the period of time the government was notified on the impending disaster, it could have responded swiftly to check it within the period of less than 24 hours to put down the attempt.

He described as unfortunate a situation where the federal government cannot ward off an attack that has been duly made public by the perpetrators and intelligence operatives outside the country, adding that it was a show of incompetence on the side of government.

General Babangida who also expressed concern over the level of armament in the hands of members of the MEND group filmed from their enclave in the creeks by a foreign media organisation. He said the government is not doing enough in the area of protecting the country from armed insurrection.

I saw a young lady Yvonne Ndege taking footage of armed members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in their den. And I saw the militants wielding weapons of different calibration. I speak as a General that has witnessed war and I know that such armament with the MEND group despite the amnesty program of the federal government which I thought has cleared off all weapons from the militants shows serious security lapse in the country.

He said the federal government failed to locate and suppress such armed groups, saying once again the issue of security has been compromised by those vested with the responsibility to maintain it.

He warned that it was time for the government of Nigeria to put an end to the free movement of arms and ammunitions as he described as unfortunate a situation whereby  weapons of such magnitude come into Nigeria undetected.

Governor Peter Obi Grants Amnesty To 23 Prisoners

Ifeoma Akachukwu


In exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to mark the country's 50thIndependence Anniversary, His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi has granted amnesty to 23 prisoners.



A memo issued by the Honourable Attorney-General/Chairman of Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuma Esq., dated September 30, 2010, says a total of twenty three persons benefited from this gesture.



The beneficiaries, according to the release, are drawn from Onitsha, Awka, Aguata and Enugu Prisons.  Those from Onitsha Prison are: Omo Eme, Chibuzor Obi, Lotanna Okooma, Sunday Umezulike and Izunna Okonkwo.  Others from the same prison are Chimezie Offorzor, Nduka Enuma, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, Ogochukwu Okafor and Emeka Arinze.



From Awka Prison, the following people were released: Onyinye Nwankwo, Paul Nwaokpatu, Emika Okafor, Alloy Udoji, Innocent Ejiofor, Chijioke Ude and Samuel Chukwudozie.



Ikechukwu Ezeonwumere, Onyeka Uzoigwe, Celestine Aniefo and Ikechukwu Okafor are the lucky ones from Aguata Prison while Izuchukwu Obidike and Simus Ani were freed from Enugu Prison.

ANAMBRA CELEBRATES FADAMA DAY

Ifeoma Akachukwu



Governor Peter Obi has flagged off the distribution of cheques totaling over eight million naira to FADAMA Community Associations; Governor Obi kick started the programme at the ADP Complex Awka at the weekend.



Governor Obi also commissioned eight motorcycles for project community facilities, three pick up vans and one eighteen seater coaster bus for monitoring of FADAMA activities, twenty five desktop computers and accessories for capacity building of FADAMA officers.



Performing the function, Governor Obi restated the commitment of his administration to reposition the Agriculture sector and promote small and medium scale enterprise to create employment, empower the people and strengthen the economy.



He enjoined the beneficiaries to ensure that the money is used for the purpose it was released and warned that Government would use all necessary measures to sanction those who misappropriate the fund.



The Governor regretted that the State could not participate in FADAMA ONE and TWO because of the inability of previous administrations to pay the counter-part funds but expressed satisfaction that the state is now leading in the FADAMA Three project.



He assured that his government will do everything possible to achieve food security and eliminate abject poverty across the State.



The National Project Coordinator of the programme, Mr. Buka Tijiani represented by the Head of Unit, National Food Reserve Agency South East Region, Enugu, Mr. Charles Ugwuona said the State is first in the FADAMA Programme in Nigeria and has remained vibrant and forward looking because of empowerment of Governor Obi and support of the people. Mr. Tijiani said the National office of FADAMA and the World Bank are impressed with the commitment demonstrated by Governor Obi administration to project the programme as a viable vehicle to fight poverty and empower rural farmers.



The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Godson Ezenagu said with this disbursement the State sub projects have increased to four hundred and three out of which sixty five have been completed which have impacted positively on the lives of over three thousand, two hundred and fifty families of farmers.

Mile 12 Flood Victims Blame Ogun Govt

 Bennett Oghifo

Residents of Owode-Ajegunle  stretch of Ikorodu road have blamed the Ogun state government which , according to them , suddenly released water from the Adiyan dam without consideration for their safety.

The Ogun dam holds more than  its capacity of water during rainy seasons and water is released to prevent it from bursting and creating more havoc, officials explained.

Families devastated by the flood water built their homes on the flood planes bordering Ogun and Owutu rivers in Ogun and Lagos states.

The ugly development was anticipated by the Lagos state government which asked residents of Owode-Ajegunle and Agiliti among others,  to vacate these areas.

A resident, Mr. Sam Okoh, whose home was in knee deep water as at yesterday, said he would not leave because he spent his life savings to build his house, adding that he was retired.

Other families seen trying to salvage their furniture and suite cases, said their homes would not have been flooded if the dam water had been released gradually.

In 2008, residents of these areas took refuge in primary schools and were provided food and medicine by the Lagos state government and the Red Cross. However, it is still uncertain what the Lagos state government intends to do to assist these victims.

50th Independence anniversary of Nigeria, Gov. Obi spoke to selected Journalists

Ifeoma Akachukwu


As part of the activities marking the 50th Independence anniversary of Nigeria, Gov. Obi spoke to selected journalist.  The interview has been carried by Champion, Compass and Nation. The full text





Good afternoon Your Excellency.

Ans: Thank you my brothers.

Q: Sir I want to wish you happy 50th Independence anniversary.

General Laughter.

A:  I wish you the same and may the Independence celebration awaken in Nigeria and among Nigerians the resolve to start real nation Building.

Q. How do you mean, Your Excellency?

A:  All I am trying to say is that amidst this pomp and ceremony that characterize this Independence celebration, may we Nigerians understand that we have not done so well in terms of overall development, bearing in mind the expectations of our founding fathers, both dead and alive.

Q But some people are of the opinion that we have done well and could do better.

A: You know as well as I do that in any circumstance, people must have different opinions, some rational, some fair enough and some even verging on the lunatic fringe. But I will want us to tell ourselves the truth. If Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, or Chief Obafemi Awolowo or Sir Ahumadu Bello and our other founding fathers were to come back to life, how would they feel? Would they say that the country has moved on according to their expectations? Would they pat us on the back and say: My children, we are proud of you and your accomplishments? Would they feel better under us or would they feel nostalgic about the time they were with the colonialist?  Would they be pleased with sectoral developments: water resources, agriculture, industry, urban planning, Housing? Would they express satisfaction with the quality of social services available today? What is the state of the groundnut pyramids; the palm plantations; the cocoa farms today? Again, what about the unity of the nation they struggled for? These are necessary questions that should occupy our minds as we celebrate the independence.

A: Your Excellency, you sound as if you are not satisfied with the level of Nigeria's development   so far?

A: Let me tell you the truth, no patriotic Nigerian should be. In fact, if you ask me, I am even of the opinion that we are devoting too much time to this celebration. That is one of the unnecessary pastimes we acquired over the years. People are more concerned with ceremonies, celebration and parties than with productivity.  You know the obsession with sharing of the national cake rather with the business of baking it. If anybody that does not know Nigeria were asked to evaluate the independence celebration, he would probably conclude that we are celebrating the eight wonder of the world or some other roaring success, when in truth we have lived below expectations.

On the first of October, 1960, when we gained Independence, though some of us are post-independence children, the people rightly saw it as the birth of political freedom. They generally believed that with that new birth the country was unfettered to develop her boundless opportunities, but a few years later, our troubles started and till today we are still tottering, trying to lay those foundations we ought to have laid many many years ago.

You have been in Anambra State and you know that every year people celebrate the creation of the State. Some people always want it to be big occasions, but my opinion is that one cannot celebrate a failed State. If you recall, I have consistently used the occasion to call for reflection, for the people of Anambra State to resolve to start doing it well. I make the same call on Nigerians. The mood of the nation does not call for Epicurean indulgence; it rather calls for the strong will to succeed and for us to tell ourselves the basic truth, one of which is that a lot still needs to be done.

Q Sir the way you are talking, it would appear that you will not join in the celebration.

A: Not at all. Recently I was in the USA as a panelist on a symposium to mark our Independence anniversary. I contributed my quota. I have already taken part in many Independence activities and will continue to do so, but all I am saying is that the commemoration should be an opportunity for us to tell ourselves the truth. It will be of no benefit to us to continue deceiving ourselves. We did so in the past and many of our contemporary countries overtook us. They had been quietly working hard.

Many countries that used to have lower GDP and natural resources than us are today ahead of us. We have been more concerned with ceremonies and other past times that have not contributed to our overall development.  This was how Malaysia came here and took our palm seeds and today we are importing vegetable oil from her. Countries like Indonesia and Vietnam are all ahead of us in all the indices of development. Even in Africa, some African countries are today becoming exemplary to us. We are now beginning to realise our failure that some of us have started questioning the rationale for holding ourselves out as the giant of Africa. We cannot afford to remain the Shakespearean giant walking with the limb of mosquito.

Q Sir would you point at specific evidence to buttress  that  all is not well with the country?

A:  There are a number of them.  We have the teething problem of power, employment, lack of good roads and general infrastructure.  The greatest employer of labour today is the Small and Medium Enterprises, which is dead in Nigeria because of precarious state of power supply.  While we generate about 4000 megawatts of power, South Africa, a country with far less population than us generates over 40000 megawatts. 

While our Asian counterparts spent their 70s and 80s educating themselves, we spent ours in celebration, in owambeying. The consequence is that today their industries are far ahead of ours. Our education is not getting better. In the past, primary and secondary school people wrote good letters. Not anymore!  It is not getting better as buttressed by the just released NECO results.

Again, if we have succeeded as a country, you cannot have some people perennially pining for the return of the colonialist. They believe life was better under them.

Q: What would you recommend as a solution to all these problems?

A:  What we need today is visionary and good leadership. Once this is in place, everything will fall in line.  We need a Government that consults and listens to ideas. I must commend the Yarâ Adua/Jonathan administration.  I recall that as a Governor, whenever I went to see President Yara Adua he listened attentively to one's ideas, took notes and when one got back to his State, he could see the results. The same thing goes for president Goodluck Jonathan.

Q Sir that reminds us that the South east Governors have pledged support for President Jonathan, What informed that?

A: Well even before the present fever of declaration, we the Governors of the South East made it clear that we were going to support an aspirant with the best programme for the South East.  We have weighed all options. Remember that recently the former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme led  Igbo delegation, among whom were myself and my brother Governors of the South East with Mr. President. At that meeting we made appeal on issues affecting the South East. Among the issues raised are the creation of additional State for the South East,, the construction of the second Niger Bridge, the upgrade of Enugu Airport to international airport, the tackling of erosion problems, the issue of water supply and reconstruction of the South East roads.  He told us he would support the creation of more State for the region, which he noted was primarily a National Assembly matter. The major issues we raised with him are being addressed as we speak. Enugu has been upgraded to an international status, some of the roads are awarded, erosion is receiving attention and many more.

 Q: As an APGA Governor, some people are suspicious of the support you give to Mr. President

A: I am APGA governor and will remain so. I have said it for the umpteenth time that I will be the last person to leave APGA and will only work for other parties that are officially on strategic partnership with APGA.

As to working with Mr. President, I do not know who else I should work with. Do I work with the President of Ghana or Belize? Kindly educate me.

Q: Sir, what we are saying is that you appear too close to Jonathan?

A: Yes like every other Governor. Governors are close to their presidents in all the climes. Chief executives are close to their directors, otherwise there will be a disconnect and the company will crumble. If you know the history of Anambra State very well you will know that we had Governors of the State that fought the central Government unnecessarily causing so much pain to the State to the point of all the patrimony of the State being burnt down. I do not wish that for any State in the country.

 Q:  Let us focus a bit on your State, would you tell us your greatest Challenge as the Governor.

A.      There are many challenges, ranging from the challenge of infrastructure through the challenge of lack of basic foundation in all sectors to the challenge of values. By far, the most critical is the challenge of values. I often tell people that in as much as we are obliged as a government to provide needed infrastructure and to develop all sectors; Agriculture, Health, education, Environment, etc that what we need most is to change the psyche of our people. In all honesty, some of us do not think as they should.

Q: How do you mean?

A:  I mean that we should be more committed to the State. A State or nation where you find those that would rather steal the State dry than allow those that govern to use the resources of the State for the good of the people is sick. A state that will allow its property to be razed down all in the name of politics is  hurting herself. A state that will cook up impeachment or brazenly steal people's mandate without qualm cannot be trusted to save itself. A place where people habitually engage in all sort of crimes that defy reason is in grave trouble.

A: As the Governor, how do you tackle these many problems?

That boils down to what I was telling you. It is not the building of infrastructure that our people greatly need. It is the right attitude to public service or civic duty. Much as we try to provide these infrastructure, you find me, at the risk of sounding immodest, trying to lead by example. I do this bearing in mind that example is the best teacher.  Let me give you an example, we collapsed the cost of running Government businesses.   Example, at one time we had over 15 assistants, but I have cut it down by over 50%.  We used to have our Ministries scattered all over Anambra State, which was not cost-effective. We have brought all of them under one roof with the completion of the first and second phases of the State Secretariat.

Q: In terms of physical development of Anambra State, how would you rate yourself?

A: This is a question that challenges objectivity. How can I judge myself objectively? I would prefer you ask that question to the grassroots in Anambra State. Or perhaps, they already answered that question in the February election.  Inasmuch as I do not want to blow my  trumpet, there is no community in our State that has not benefitted from our desire to provide infrastructure to the State.

Q: What is your number one goal as a Governor?

A: My priority is to bring sanity and value change to governance. Once this is achieved, it will bring political stability, which will in turn help to guarantee safety of lives and property, reduce crime and other vices. Though we cannot guarantee 100% success but we must continue to put in 100 efforts.

Q: Finally, what will be your last message to the people of Anambra State and Nigerians State as Nigeria turns 50?

A:  Let us reflect on our lives and concentrate on the progress of our country. Let us resolve to make Nigeria great and realize that we have no other country. Let us stop the abuse of Nigeria because the Nigeria we abuse today will take her revenge on our children tomorrow.

MEND Regrets Loss Of Lives

Martins Oloja and Madu Onuorah



President Absolves MEND, Admits Security Blunder

11 Police Officers Injured, Hospitalised

No Arrest Made So Far

Security On Red Alert Nationwide













MOVEMENT for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has expressed regrets over Friday's multiple bombings in Abuja that claimed many lives.
This comes even as President Goodluck Jonathan has ascribed security lapses to the attacks he said had nothing to do with MEND or the Niger Delta.
The President said the people who sponsored the actions were flaunting MEND and the Niger Delta to perpetrate their evil acts.

The explosions killed and/or injured an unspecified number of people and destroyed several vehicles around the Eagle Square where President Jonathan reviewed the parade and took salute for the anniversary.

Besides Nigerians, many heads of state and governments and their representatives were present when the bombs went off between 10.55am and 11am.
The militant group yesterday said it deeply regrets the avoidable loss of lives during our bomb attack in Abuja on Friday, October 1, 2010.

Our hearts go to the families of those killed, who we know were sympathetic to our cause, it said in an electronic message authored by its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo.
According to MEND, the irresponsible attitude of the government security forces is to blame for the loss of lives. They were given five days prior notice, which led to the harassment of Henry Okah on Thursday, September 30 in South Africa.

Okah has never been involved in any MEND operations but has always been blamed for every attack, which is strange to us.

Gbomo said, the security forces were also warned one full hour to the first bomb blast ahead of the general alert sent to the media and told to steer the public from all parked cars, which was not done.

The explosions had blighted the 50th Independence anniversary celebration, prompting President Jonathan to promise an overhaul of the security system in the country while security has been placed on red alert nationwide to prevent a recurrence.

In particular, Abuja, the seat of governmental power, is brimming with massive security layout even as the police have made no arrest of the perpetrators of the explosions that almost dampened the country's celebration of its golden jubilee yesterday.

Instructively, the scene of the blast has been cordoned off with heavy security presence.

The Police yesterday said that, at least, 11 of their men were seriously injured by the blast. Confirming the incident to The Guardian, FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Moshood Jimoh, said the injured officers were receiving treatment in various hospitals in Abuja.

He confirmed that no arrest had been made more than 36 hours after the blast.

But President Jonathan said those who sponsored the twin attacks were merely masquerading as MEND to perpetrate the bloody crime.

The president, who barely three weeks ago changed heads of security and intelligence agencies, told journalists that the incidences of bomb blasts, while Nigeria was celebrating its 50 years anniversary  are acts of terrorism that succeeded through security lapses.

After a visit to casualties of the blast at the National Hospital in Abuja yesterday, Jonathan said the bombings had nothing to do with the Niger Delta and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

He stated that people, who were flaunting MEND and the Niger Delta, sponsored the actions to perpetrate their evil acts.

He disclosed that the Federal Government knew the perpetrators and would fish them out as investigations proceeds.

President Jonathan sympathised with the victims and promised to pick the bills and also take care of dependants of those who lost their lives in the dastardly actions
The Minister of State for Health, Alhaji Suleiman Bello, said the situation with the bomb blast victims is quite fair.

There are about 101 involved in the explosion. Out of this, we have about 36 on admission. About 53 had already been discharged, he said.
One of the victims, who gave his name as Sergeant Tonoshi, said he was hit by the second blast.

According to him, they were controlling the crowd at the Eagle Square when he and his group were alerted of a blast around Transcorp Hilton.
However, President Jonathan said the government was on the trail of the sponsors of the act and they would all be brought to book.

He reiterated this warning yesterday at the opening session of the first organised colloquium by the ECOWAS Parliament to mark the 50th Independence Anniversary of African States at the ECOWAS Parliament Building, Abuja.

The President thanked members of ECOWAS and the distinguished invited guests to the Anniversary celebration, for joining to condemn the sad incidence.

While commending the ECOWAS Parliament for organising the colloquium, he called on African leaders and all stakeholders to devote time to reflect on the continent's performances so far and treat various perspectives of issues to be discussed in order to arrive at a synthesis of proposals to move the continent forward.

He said: Our today's reality is that many countries in the continent are plagued by difficult challenges ranging from poverty, poor healthcare delivery, corruption, insecurity and mal-administration.

As a result, the continent is in dire need of solutions to these critical problems, which must be articulated and fully implemented to uplift the living standards of our populace.

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mahamane Ousmane, said the colloquium was an avenue for sober reflection on the continent's performance in the last 50 years with the aim of correcting past mistakes.

The Senate President, David Mark, in his remarks, noted that the colloquium would assist the continent in reassessing and re-engineering achievements made so far and review the policy of integration that will help the continent forge ahead and align with international best practices for a better future.

Contacted last night on the Abuja bombings, a senior security operative and manager has urged the presidency not to lose sight of a recent report that the security and intelligence agencies had been under-funded.

Specifically, the operative said the capital votes of the agencies were reduced by 70 per cent just as other agencies in this year's budget. Similarly, there had been no security votes for the forthcoming elections.

Four weeks ago, The Guardian had exclusively reported that there had been some disquiet in the security and intelligence community about under-funding and failure to include security institutions in the budget for the 2011 elections that have effectively begun.

They had then feared that the security agencies would be the scapegoat for lapses that would be recorded as a result of lack of modern equipment and gadgets to face security challenges in these times.

Meanwhile, condemnation has trailed the attacks. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Yusuf Ali described the incident as senseless, cowardly and ungodly bombing of innocent people.

Ali said, nothing can justify the spilling of innocent blood in the name of whatever cause,stressing that our country has enough problems already to now add terrorism.
All true patriots must stand in unison to condemn this abominable act. It is time for the security agencies to rise up to the challenges of a modern country. Anyone could be the next victim, he said.

He prayed Allah grant repose to the souls of those that died and provide succour to the wounded.

Why Nigerians are left in the dark

Catriona Davies for CNN

Surgeons operating with kerosene lanterns and accident victims waiting in dark hospital corridors because there's no light to see their injuries; these are among the realities of life during Nigeria's long power outages, according to a group campaigning to improve electricity supply.

Nigeria, the world's seventh largest exporter of oil, has suffered from disruptions to its power supply for decades, and successive governments have struggled to improve the situation.

President Goodluck Jonathan recently launched a strategy that he hopes will bring reliable power to millions of Nigerians.

Amara Nwankpa, a 32-year-old IT consultant who lives in Abuja, set up the website Light Up Nigeria to raise awareness of the power problems and encourage people to report disruptions to their supply.

Nwankpa said: "We have had power problems for as long as I can remember; the best part of three decades.

"Less than half the population has access to grid electricity and those who do typically have power for nine or 10 hours a day, but sometimes go for three or four days with no power at all."

Those who can afford it use generators, but these are costly for individuals and businesses. Nwankpa estimated many householders spend $3,000 to $5,000 a year on fuel for their generators.

A report by the Energy Commission of Nigeria in 2008 estimated that householders spent 796.4 billion naira ($5.1 bn) a year on self-generation.

Nwankpa added: "The small things that affect our lives day to day are that many nights there are no lights to fix dinner, you lose power half way through a haircut, the television goes off in the middle of your favorite football match and there is the noise of generators everywhere."

Industry expert and engineer D.J. Obadote wrote in a report last year that only 10 percent of the rural communities, and 40 percent of the population as a whole, has access to electricity.

In it he said: "Nigeria's economy has been described as a Diesel Generator Economy and small and medium scale businesses incur extremely high overhead cost maintaining their expensive -- economically, environmentally and healthwise -- fossil fuel-powered generators."

In August this year, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan unveiled a Power Sector Road Map aimed at ending the chronic shortages.

Jonathan decries politicisation of bomb blasts

Chiawo Nwankwo, Ihuoma Chiedozie and Simon Utebor




President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday decried the politicisation of the October 1 bomb blasts in Abuja.

Jonathan, who stated this on his social networking site, Facebook, said those playing politics with such tragedy were enemies of the country bent on riding on sectional sentiments to promote their parochial interests.

He said, It is unfortunate that an unprecedented national tragedy of this nature has been politicised by people whose only interest is what they can get from the country and not what the country can get from them.

They specialise in playing one part of the country against the other and riding on sectional sentiments to promote their narrow ambitions. I believe that Nigeria has grown beyond this parochial mentality.

The President alleged that the aim of the attackers was to create a sense of insecurity in the country in order to advance their narrow interests. He stressed that Nigerians would stand up to and make it clear to them that they could not be intimidated.

Jonathan added that though the experience(bomb blast) was somewhat new to Nigerians, the security agencies had been instructed to leave no stone unturned in securing lives and properties in the country.

Meanwhile, Jonathan has directed all the ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government to clear their tax arrears.

The President, in a note he presented at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, said the challenges relating to tax payments and remittances from the MDAs to the Federal Inland Revenue Service had adversely affected government's revenue generation efforts.

He said, Tax payments and remittances from the MDAs are being delayed and this is already affecting the revenue generation efforts of government. All MDAs should clear the backlog of tax arrears incurred by them.

The President added that the MDAs were expected to request for Tax Identification Numbers as a mandatory requirement for the award of any contract and for all payments made.

Jonathan , therefore, directed that henceforth, all contracts awarded by FEC should be supported by properly issued TIN and with Tax Clearance Certificates authenticated by FIRS.

Also at the FEC meeting , the Federal Government said that it had plans to create about one million jobs within the next six months through the implementation of the National Action Plan on Employment Creation.

NAPEC, which was developed by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, and approved by FEC , is a strategic national working document to be incorporated into national development plans.

NAPEC stipulates that all memoranda to FEC for contract awards by all MDAs should indicate the local employment content implication of the project or programme before approval could be given.

The action plan was the outcome of a National Employment Summit convened by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the National Employment Council.

The summit examined the employment crisis facing the country, the effect of which had been compounded by the global economic crisis.

Amongst the many commitments made by stakeholders and development partners, especially the International Labour Organisation, at the summit was to place the creation of decent employmen at the centre of socio-economic policy in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, who briefed journalists on the development, explained that the implementation of NAPEC would strengthen national drive towards the achievement of Vision 2020.

NAPEC needs to be implemented in a coordinated and coherent manner to ensure success, Akunyili said.

Presidency claims Okah's Al-Jazeera interview is fake

Ihuoma Chiedozie

The Presidency has cast doubts on the authenticity of Tuesday's interview granted an international satellite network, Al Jazeera, by a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Mr. Henry Okah.

The interview, in which Okah claimed that a close aide of President Goodluck Jonathan called him to get MEND to retract an email statement claiming responsibility for the October 1 bomb blasts in Abuja, had been a subject of controversy, particularly relating to the 2011 presidential election.

Okah, who is currently standing trial on terrorism charges in South Africa, claimed in the interview that Jonathan intended to put the blame for the attacks on Northern politicians contending for the Peoples Democratic Party's presidential ticket with him.

But the Presidency on Thursday added another twist to the development, which had since become a political issue.

A highly placed presidential source in the presidency, who did not wish to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told journalists on Thursday that there were considerable doubts about the authenticity of the interview.

The source explained that the doubts stemmed from latest findings by intelligence operatives. The source claimed that the voice in the report might not have been Oka's own, but was faked and sold to the network.

Nigeria, the North, And How It Will All End

Leonard Karshima Shilgba, PhD

To the families of Nigerians that lost their lives in the dastardly bombing act on October 1, 2010, I can only express regrets that with unabashed abandon, elders such as Adamu Ciroma and his colleagues, under a nondescript organization called NORTHERN POLITICAL LEADERS FORUM, are exploiting their misfortune and that of the nation to make as much political capital as possible.

I am a Tiv man from Benue State, who happens to be a Nigerian by the craftsmanship of the British. I am called a Northerner by geographical convenience. Accordingly, I shall open my heart and speak advisedly on some serious issues that have beset us as a nation most lately. I appeal to the reader to follow me carefully and thoughtfully as I make reference to some statements I have made in some previous articles for elucidation.

I saw and wrote about what I saw in November 2009 in an article entitled: On Yarâ Adua's Incapacitation, the Constitution, and a Dream the following words:
It was Sunday night on November 22, 2009. I went to bed and had what you may call an open vision or a dream. Nigeria's president at the time, Mr. Umar Yarâ Adua had died.

 I saw that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the Vice-President assumed the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There was uneasiness, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria. In this dream, Dr. Goodluck declined the request by the North not to contest the presidential elections in 2011. Then, the unease turned to something inexplicably dastardly.

The bomb blasts on October 1, 2010 and the near euphoric reaction by people like Adamu Ciroma, the Northern Political Leaders Forum and their supporters did not come to me as a surprise. But I know exactly how the drama shall play out. Nigerians, we must not forget so soon:

When Boko Haram struck in 2009, Ciroma and his Northern Political Leaders Foru did not ask the late president (Umar Yarâ Adua) to resign. When the leader of Boko Haram was killed in the custody of Nigerian security agents in an extra-judicial manner, apparently to silence him in order to protect his sponsors, Ciroma and his collaborators did not ask Yara Adua to resign. How dare Ciroma and his collaborators to insult the intelligence of Nigerians!

Repeatedly, Nigerians have been butchered and killed during religious riots in Northern Nigeria, the latest and most recurring being the Jos and Plateau State pogrom. Ciroma and his group were silent and did not ask President Yarâ Adua, who was president during the peak of the crisis last year, to resign.

I am sure Ciroma was in Nigeria when the first act of bombing was carried out in Nigeria under the dictatorship of General Babangida, when Dele Giwa was killed. I dont know if he called on the General to resign.
  
We have lived in numerous crises orchestrated by the generation of Adamu Ciroma; I am not aware that Adamu Ciroma has reacted passionately, calling on the president or Head of State during those crises to resign.


Just recently, when the late President Yarâ Adua left the country without a leader, and so in crisis, it was people like Adamu Ciroma, who threatened that nobody should remove Yarâ Adua. He has never shown any interest in the preservation of this country, Nigeria.

We know exactly what the generation of Adamu Ciroma is trying to do. We know what exploiters of the nations recent misfortune are eager to accomplish. They seek to sow seeds of discord and split further the north and south. They seek to cut off whatever remaining emotional attachment between the north and south. To what use is our education if we fail to see through this? They want to sustain the politics of divide that has left our nation swooning. 

They delight in holding the back of the mirror before us and yet abusing us for our inability to see our faces. They use religion to separate us while by their acts and utterances they show they arent religious at all. But the end of the present drama shall depend on how President Jonathan handles issues. I shall provide some insight into what he can do and should do if Nigeria will survive this latest onslaught:

Avoid Distraction: The end has definitely come for those veterans of divide-and-rule politics. President Jonathan should desist from making further comments about the on-going investigation into the bombings of October 1, 2010 and allow his aides and relevant security officials to address us on the progress of the case. The reason is simple; whatever he says shall be misconstrued by professional politicians who want to mock the nation and distract from hunting down killers of our patriots who innocently lost their lives on October 1, 2010.

 Take, for instance, his recent statement that MEND did not bomb Abuja on October 1, 2010, but terrorists did. I listened to him. He went further to say that terrorists such as bombed Abuja and engaged in kidnapping recently in Nigeria committed such heinous acts, not for any altruistic reasons such as the liberation of the oppressed, but for personal selfish gain.

 An objective listener understood what the president was saying, Dont hide under a group such as MEND to commit criminal acts; you are a terrorist, pure and simple.   The question is, who is MEND that bombed Abuja? Let us see his face.  If some criminals claiming to be MEND have refused to show their faces, but rather chosen to hide behind some four-one-nine-like emails, and others, who have been known to be MENDs leaders have publicly disassociated themselves from the crime, then it is not difficult to say MEND did not commit the act but terrorists did.  And once investigations unearth sufficient evidence, those individuals shall be charged to court in their names and not in the name of some faceless MEND. What the president said was deep, but people choose to hear what they may.
 
Avoid deceit: In an article, Nigeria: Interpreting Times And Events, I warned, based on what I saw at the time, that we were living in a period of great deception; that the mutually assured destruction of politicians, who shall betray each other leading up to the 2011 elections, shall lead to the liberation of the good people. I then warned that Jonathan was not clean. If President Jonathan will help himself and therefore, Nigeria, he must not use any information at his disposal, which should have been used to free Nigeria, to rather score for himself political points and blackmail his political opponents. He must not allow himself to be frightened from taking decisive steps simply because some people may impute wrong motives. If he does, he is done for. The law must strictly take its course, whosoever is affected.

 Avoid destructions: Why will the president go beyond the INEC's request for extension of time to seek further amendments to the electoral Act 2010, which shall allow his aides, ministers, Ambassadors, Chairmen of Boards of parastatals etc., to vote in party indirect primaries? This is exactly what I was wary about when I wrote the article INEC Should Stop This Distraction and Confusion  President Jonathan must not shred any existing laws for the immediacy of self-service.

No zone or region of Nigeria presently has a stable and strong leadership to guarantee a convenient split-up of the nation. I therefore, believe that should Nigeria be forced to break up by the provocations of elders such as Adamu Ciroma, who have lost self-control, the consequences of further break-ups shall make every mile a country in the aftermath.

The North (of which I am a member) has no right to decide who should run for an elective office or not. Besides, no man or woman, elder or youth has the mandate to speak on behalf of the North in the same way no man presently (post-amnesty) can speak on behalf of MEND. Ciroma and his Northern Elder Politicians Forum do not speak for me and many other Northerners. I understand that Dr. Iorchiya Ayu, a fellow Tiv man, is a top official of that forum.

 He and all his colleagues in that forum do not speak for Dr. Leonard Shilgba and Northerners in general. And I believe that given my training and passion, I deserve to be heard and my views deserve to be examined too. Ciroma speaks for himself; and his group must not arrogate to itself the responsibility to speak on behalf of the North. I will surely speak at the polls just like any Northerner or Nigerian from whatever region can do if they so choose.

When I reach out to cast my vote, at that moment I have the power to decide politically who shall govern me. Enough of this nonsense! These are people that have destroyed Nigeria, left our children dying before they reach the age of five; left the amajiris of the North uneducated while they send their children abroad and to expensive private schools in Nigeria; left the north far poorer than any region in this country; left the north with horrible roads just as in other regions of Nigeria; and left our country with poor social services. They cannot deceive northerners of my generation, not with our education at least, unless our degrees are as useless as their arguments have been.

As I conclude, permit me to make some profound assertions:

There shall be no military take-over of government in Nigeria.
 
Many politicians will make a snare and fall inside. Some shall pay with their lives. Stray arrows shall get them.

The mystery woven shall be broken; the faces shall be revealed. That is the task of President Jonathan. If he deviates an inch from the true rule of law, betrays compassion, yields to pressure from Traditional rulers and stakeholders, he himself shall be consumed. Remember King Saul. If you spare King Agag, the throne shall be taken from you. I have spoken. He that has an ear let him hear.

I speak to King Agag. Although you say in your foolish haste, Surely the bitterness of death is past, you are deluded. For you shall be hewn down, even if not by the hands of a disobedient President Jonathan. As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. You shall be blown up in pieces.

These are no ordinary times.

Leonard Karshima Shilgba is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with the American University of Nigeria and President of the Nigeria Rally Movement

A dawn of socio-political Re-awakening in Anioma

Emeka Esogbue

That the Anioma people of Delta State are gradually arousing from a deep slumber is not an understatement. A look into the socio-political activities of the group in recent times buttresses this argument. Quite increasingly, the Anioma indigenes are phenomenally taking interest in the socio-political events of their lives as a people.  Decades back, he people were overtaken by socio-political sleep which, saw them tiredly snoring with indifference in the things that concern them as a people but it is a different scenario altogether for them today.
Several factors can be deduced as responsible for the re-awakening among the people of the state. One cannot rule that the ethnic identity problem which the group is facing and unsuccessful struggles towards producing a governor for the state. These two factors among several others have emboldened the people to arouse from slumber. The reasons presented here have more than anything quickened the race for re-awakening which the people say there is no going back on.
The emergence of Izu Anioma is viewed as a blessing to the group of people in the face of frenzy and discordant tunes which the people have associated with over the past decades. The importance of Izu Anioma cannot be over-emphasized for it has ushered a dawn of a new era in the socio-political life of the Anioma. The birth of Izu Anioma is like the emergence of shepherd for the people. Izu Anioma is now the umbrella body of the Anioma nation with a lot of responsibilities. On Saturday, April 3, 2010, the Group with its national President, Chief (Col) Mike Nduka Okwechime visited the Governor of the State, His Excellency, Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduagha in Asaba, Delta State pledging its support to the Governor and the people of the state.
Chief (Col) Okwechime lauded the development strides of Governor uduagha in Anioma areas in what was termed "Celebration of Civilization". The on-going speedy construction of the Asaba International Airport was one area the Group expressed its gratitude to the Governor that has favoured the people. The Governor appears to be been a friend of the Anioma with his recent speech that "there is no going back on Asaba as the capital of Delta State"
Concerned groups and individuals of Anioma extraction with acclaimed mandates to champion the socio-political cause of the region are fast emerging thus setting another dawn of a new era for the people of the Delta North. Recently, one Barrister Alex Nnamdi Nwadionu   from Illah granted The Nation an interview on 31, October 2009 in what he termed "Delta 2015: Its Anioma or northing" Barrister Nwadionu's view is that it is the turn of anioma to produce the next governor of the state.
Another group of individuals of Anioma indigenes under the aegis of Concerned Aniomas for Transparency Leadership (CANTRAL) was recently reported to have issued a strong warning to politicians and other political groups in the state against the imposition of candidates on the Anioma people while noting that "the people of Delta North Senatorial District have suffered in the hands of selfish politicians whose stock of trade is to promote divide and rule among the people rather than engendering unity, oneness of purpose and exemplary leadership which is the hallmark of modern democracy".
The setting-up and activities of the Anioma Political Forum and the Anioma National Congress geared towards the political emancipation of the people have upon inauguration transformed to the champions of the Anioma nation. The confidence reposed on them by the people is high and cannot be taken lightly. The Anioma Political Forum has truly emerged as the mouth-piece of the people and gathering and drumming support. Lastly, the creation of Umu Anioma "Ofu Obi Bu Nke Anyi" Group on Facebook, a social utility tool is helping to find a sense of direction for the representatives of the people. The group accommodates thousands of Anioma indigenes and focuses on finding solutions to the problems troubling the region. Twice, the group has successfully organized a telephone conference in which ideas and solutions were offered towards the develop0ment of the region.
It has in no small way added to the socio-political re-awakening of the people which is what every indigene prays for. Surely, the Anioma will fight for a place in the 2011 election and perhaps produce a governor of its extraction and most importantly win the much coveted Anioma State.

Ekumeku War of the Anioma People

Emeka Esogbue

The Anioma-British war popularly referred to in history as Ekumeku or Ekwumekwu in some Anioma quarters occurred between 1883-1914 and involved Anioma and the British. The Anioma are mostly Igbo therefore all Anioma speak Igbo beyond the enclaves of non Igbo ancestry of the Anioma region. It is therefore easier to recognize that Ekwumekwu is an Igbo word. However, different sources have interpreted "Ekumeku" differently.



Ekumeku is indigenously known in Anioma historical context as "Aya Ekumeku". Aya in Igbo language denotes "war" while Ekwumekwu in Igbo onomatopoeia connotes "Do not talk about it" or "Not to be spoken about". This is a portrayal od secrecy associated with Ekumeku movement. The terribly fast, devastating and invisible nature or strategy employed to wage the war couples with the initiation requirement necessary for the recruitment of soldiers may have warranted the word "Ekumeku" In the years of the Ekumeku war, it was a taboo to reveal the secrecy behind the activities of the cult regarding initiation, operational bases, movement and sources of the cult group.



This situation posed the British with so much difficulty as they were unable to manage the activities of the Anioma perceived worrisome to their imperialist policies. The mystery surrounding the activities from which the people derived unexplainable strength puzzled the British who perhaps were hasty to abolish what they believe could become established in the socio-cultural society of the Anioma and constitute hindrances towards realizing their economic aims if nothing was speedily done.



Resistance was strong in western Igboland with series of wars waged to resist the British who had strong economic interest in the region and Ekumeku with well organized leaders joined in oath-taking secrecy to forestall the activities of the British in the region. Guerrilla warfare was the effective weapon if this was to be achieved. The Ekumeku became the greatest of the Igbo nationalism that instilled fear and discipline in the minds of the British on how and how not to deal with the Igbo people generally. It was from Ekumeku that other Igbo regions derived boldness to confront the British. Perahps, there existed no region in Southern Nigeria where the people ferociously and collectively rose to resist the British imperial conquest as in the Anioma region where the war lasted for 16 years with heavy casualties on both belligerents. 



Attempts in the 19th and 20th centuries by the British to impose imperialistic and hegemonic measures that would subjugate the Anioma people for their own economic gains triggered-off the Ekwumekwu war. Anioma had viewed socio-economic activities of the British in the Anioma region as an intrusion that must be resisted at all cost and the British decided to employ the use of force to subdue the people. This became a threat in the Anioma society. Scholars of the Anioma History believe that while Britain because of its experiences derived from other parts of the country was well prepared for the outcome, the Anioma were little prepared and only ready to defend its territory from economic violation of the British. This gave the Britisn an upper hand over their Anioma counterparts. It was not until towards the end of the war that the rest of the Anioma towns prepared themselves for the battle the British.



The Anioma nation had before 1898 engaged in violent clashes with the British resulting in the identification of the Anioma region as a difficult terrain and it was the feeling of the British that the area needed to be purged if they would derive economic gains from the region and for the social activities of the British to be impacted on the people.  Interestingly, the British had already noted the leaders of the region as violent because of their unpleasant experiences with the people. In 1830, the Lander Brothers reported their sour experiences in the hands of the Anioma back home as they were captured by the Anioma community who did not understand their reason for crossing through their territory. It was a crisis that put the Anioma in the bad book of Britain only waiting to explode.



By 1870, the crisis between Anioma and Britain had escalated culminating in the invasion of Ndoni, an Anioma community by the British in the same year. The British parliament had ruled that the use of force would be necessary to compel the people of Ndoni to cooperate with their economic terms among several others. Atani another Anioma community would suffer the same fate as it engaged the Royal Niger Company in 1880 in a bid to control the trade of the region. The Royal Niger Company with its charter perpetuated what Joseph Egwu an erudite scholar regarded as the first genocide against the Anioma people. Finally, in November 2, 1897, Onicha-Ado (Onitsha) an Anioma community was bombarded in what was to set the Anioma rulers against the British in many years of guerrilla warfare.



Ibusa-Royal Niger Company War (1898)

The real first of the Ekumeku wars was between Ibusa and Royal Niger Company. Dr. Joseph Egwu in an article titled"Ekwumekwu Movement" published in Anioma Essence Vol. 1, No. 4, 2008 edition delivers a beautiful account of the Ibusa-Royal Niger Company War in which the Royal Niger Company forces commandeered by Major Festing decided to attack Ibusa.



Strangely, the Royal Niger Company launched a surprise attack on Ibusa and thus won an initial victory which through was temporary. The Ibusa forces retreated and the feeling of the British was absolute victory.



Writing further, Father Zappa in 1898 emphasized that rather than surrender, the Ekwumekwu soldiers continued to resist as the Ibusa forces reinforced. Major Festing's further appeal and indeed reinforcement of troops from Lokoja that joined the forces of the Royal Niger Company helped the Forces to sustain victory over the Anioma community of Ibusa.



"Indeed it was not the possession of more sophisticated firearms that ensured Major Festing's ultimate victory, it was rather wanton and callous destruction of Ibusa farms and villages that forced them to sue for peace.



Ukwunzu/Owa-the British (1904)

On the 11th February 1904, severe fighting increased between Ukwunze and Owa on one side and the British as the other party. W. E. B. Crawford Coupland, the Divisional Commissioner ordered for 4 Connaught Rangers, 2.95 artillery and other weapons with which the people were subdued.



Owa-the British (1906)

The Ika people displaying prowess of the most war-like of the Western Igbo speaking people with the fierce wars fought to end S. O. Crave-Read and his British styled inhuman treatment. In this war, Ekute provided military support to the Ekwumekwu soldiers. The Ika people fought a well prepared battle as Lt H. C. Moorhouse would later put up a brilliant defence of himself on why he appeared prone to sustaining casualties stating that the Ekwumekwu soldiers operated with a well trained soldiers and geographical knowledge was an advantage. Mr. S. O. Crewe lost his life in the battle.



Ogwashi-Uku-the British

The Anglo-Ogwashi-Uku war which began on November 2, 1909 with a mandate to the British Forces to kill everybody proved to be a partial disappointment ion the part of the British and more than anything proved that the British Forces could collapse if matched with sophisticated arms and ammunition. In that war the British sustained 34 casualties with the death of Captain H. C. Chapman.



With the fall of Ogwashi-Uku, the Anioma was doomed for balkanization. Dr. Egwu briefly summarizes what thereafter befell the Anioma as thus:



"Anioma Region was divided into four and joined to other groups neighbours who were then given political precedence over Anioma. Asaba Division was joined to the Benin Province and Aboh Division (Ndi-Olu) were joined with Urhobo, Ijaws and Itsekiris to make up the Delta Province. Onitsha, Oguta and environs were joined to the Eastern Provinces. This made political unity nearly impossible. This was the genesis of our woes!



With the fall of Anioma, the great price for losing a war was paid by the people. The region was balkanized by the British and many Anioma territories such as Onicha-Ado (Onitsha) and Oguta were permanently lost to the easterners. That of Onitsha was characterized with a change of the name that disassociated it from Onicha-Olona, Onicha-Ukwu, Onicha-Uku kinsmen but in all Anioma achieved for the Igbo nation a movement more extensive and resisting than what the British had experienced in Africa South of the Sahara.


Igbafe in his work opines "the ability to manipulate their Age Grade system and other associations building an extensive network of communication throughout the whole of Anioma…no matter its cost, honour, bravery and integrity which have been internalized and consolidated in their myths, legends, proverbs and typical behaviour patterns.

The Anioma Ekwumekwu commanders were:
   1. Dunkwu Isusu (Onicha-Olona)
   2. Ochei Nwayazia (Onicha-Olona)
   3. Nwabuzo Olimagwo (Issele-Uku)
   4. Mokobia Odiajo (Ogwashi-Uku)
   5. Nwaiyogolo (Ogwashi-Uku)
   6. Eninwizomo (Ugbodu)
   7. Idegwu Otokpoike (Ubulu-Uku)
   8. Monye Ukpe
   9. Diei Nwobodo
  10. Egbune Uza
  11. Awunor Ugbo (Akumazi)
  12. Abuzu (Idumuje-Unor)
  13. Idabor (Issele-Uku)
  14. Agbambu Oshue (Ibusa)

Some of the Anioma towns that participated were:

   1. Isheagwu
   2. Kwale
   3. Ugbolu
   4. Obiaruku
   5. Aboh
   6. Ebu
   7. Ubulu-Uku
   8. Ogwashi-Uku
   9. Akumazi-Umuocha
  10. Onicha-Ado (Onitsha)
  11. Obomkpa
  12. Ezi
  13. Issele-Uku
  14. Ilah
  15. Okpanam
  16. Issele-Azagba
  17. Owa
  18. Ibusa
  19. Idumuje-Ugboko
  20. Agbor
  21. Igbodo
  22. Umunede
  23. Asaba
  24. Ute-Okpu
  25. Ashama
  26. Idume-Ugbo