ONITSHA: Igwe Achebe Laments Rots In Commercial City

Igwe Achebe in his palace with guests September 26, 2018. Image via Twitter

BY AMECHI AGBODO, ALOYSIUS ATTAH

ONITSHA ( DAILY SUN) -- The 18th Ofala festival of the Obi of Onitsha, Anambra State, held last Friday, evoked mixed feelings for the monarch, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe. Activities marking one of Nigeria’s most colourful cultural celebrations came to an end on Monday with a royal dinner staged for the celebrant by telecoms giant, Globacom.

The Igwe expressed deep concerns about the assault on peaceful family life in Onitsha by the burgeoning commercialisation in the city, which boasts of arguably, the biggest market in West Africa. He noted that though the fortunes of Onitsha kingdom has been mixed over the past years, they were making steady progress on more fronts than not.

On community re-engineering and reinvention, he stated that much had been achieved with respect to infrastructure, peace building and reconciliation, creating an Onitsha virtual community and projecting a positive image for the city:

“Onitsha has over the years been peaceful and reconciled within and among kindred groups and families. Increasingly, our people now resort to the traditional court at Ime Obi for the adjudication of disputes, particularly on land and headship of ancestral families.

“Another important element in our self-reinvention is our effort to create a sense of belonging, participation and community among Onitsha indigenes all over the world. Besides my travelling regularly to various places in Nigeria and abroad to share thoughts with our indigenes, the power of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been most invaluable in building a virtual Onitsha community driven by our interactive website.”

On environmental degradation and pollution in Onitsha, the Igwe lamented that the metropolitan city of Onitsha, which was once a model of cleanliness, has become a dungeon of filth very dangerous to health. He traced the cause to the appalling attitude of the residents to the necessity for clean environment and the inadequacy of statutory enforcement and waste management agencies:

“The palace was ready to share thoughts with government on how to improve environmental management in the cities and communities in Anambra State including the education of the citizenry.” The Obi also called for the dualisation of Awka Road and the Onitsha-Otuocha Road as a key factor towards finding solution to the traffic conundrum in Onitsha.

He emphasised the need for a review and enforcement of planning regulations in the city to save the residential areas from the onslaught and nuisance of commercialization. On the way forward, the monarch said they would continue to press ahead on all fronts, including infrastructural development with more concerted effort against cultism, drug addiction, violent crime and the resolution of the outstanding cases of Diokpaship:

“We will also encourage and support our youths to gain more visibility at the national and international levels and continue to spread computer literacy and restore the reading culture among our citizenry.”

Represented by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, President Muhammadu Buhari said the journey so far has been fruitful and eventful. He said the Second Niger Bridge was now a reality because work was on going while the construction company handling the project assured of completing it six months earlier than the scheduled date of 2021.

He promised the South East of a third bridge project, a coastal rail that will terminate at Onitsha with a spur unto Nnewi later on even as he indicated that the construction will start next year.

The Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke, who represented Governor Willie Obiano paid homage to the Obi of Onitsha. Addressing the crowd after, he said the second phase of the “Operation Kpochapu” being launched same day of the Ofala festival was in continuation of government’s resolve to make Anambra the safest state in Nigeria.

He warned criminal elements to flee the state or risk being smoked out and dealt with according to law. He also announced that aggressive road rehabilitation would start across different parts of the state once the rain stopped.

President General of Onitsha Improvement Union (OIU), Sir Chike Ekweogwu, described the Ofala as an opportunity for the Igwe to speak to his people; bless and tell them that God has been kind to them in the traditional new year of the community:

“My advice is that the culture and festivals we hold in our hearts should continue to be exhibited, year in, year out. We should not all forget that change is inevitable and culture is not static, culture is dynamic. If it is not dynamic all the twins would be killed but they are all alive today.

“Today twins came to see the Igwe, before now it was abomination for twins to see or ‘cough’ before the Igwe. Culture is a two-way thing, which we have to manage them to balance them. Our culture should remain but there are certain cultures of our lives that should go into extinction.”

Other dignitaries at the event including the traditional ruler of Ojoto, Igwe Gerald Mbamalu and Chief Godwin Ezeemo prayed God to keep Igwe Achebe in good health. Ezeemo who described Onitsha culture and the Igwe Achebe Ofala festival as the most colourful that should be emulated by other Igbo traditional rulers said:

“My prayer is that the Ofala festival and custom will keep growing from strength to strength. We wish Igwe Achebe the wisdom, strength and grace of God to carry on until he hands over the baton to the next person.”

To the Chief Executive Officer of Lake Petroleum Limited, Chief Cletus Mbaji, it is only culture that can unite the Igbo as one indivisible entity in Nigeria.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

INTERVIEW: Ngozi Chuma-Udeh: Feminists Are Women Who Wash Clothes

Ngozi Chuma-Udeh

BY HENRY AKUBUIRO

Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh is the author of thirteen creative works, some of which include Teachers on Strike, Dreams of Childhood, Echoes of New Dawn, The Presidential Handshake, The Thing between Your Legs and Chants of Despair. Recently, she presented her latest work of fiction, Forlon Fate, to the public, witnessed by HENRY AKUBUIRO, who, thereafter, interviewed her on her writings, feminism and scholarship in Awka, Anambra State. Chuma-Udeh, a professor of English at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, is the proponent of the new feminism school called Beside Feminism. She told The Sun Literary Review that her own brand of feminism emphasises on developing the girl child alongside the boy child, as against the dominant view that behind every successful man is a woman.

You started your writing career as a schoolgirl, who did you set out?

In the years of growing up, you had a lot of dreams; you saw the world through the eyes of a kid. You wanted to be a great writer like Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi and other literary greats, and you read novels like Dennis Robbins, and you wanted to write and be like them. That was the inspiration. You also read Mills and Boons series, and wished to write such romantic novels.

Which period are you talking about?

When I was about 12, 13 years… in the 1980s. (laughs) So you had this concept that life was all about “they lived happily ever after”. After reading Dennis Robbins, you wanted to configure life through your writing. Those were the formative years. Then, as you grew up, you were sold into the harsh realities of life. You now grew up from that romantic foundation and move into more political issues. Now, you feel the pangs of life. You begin to see the wrongs in your contemporary society, and you want to participate in addressing them. It will now change your focus from that child growing up who thought that life was a bed of roses, and now begin to see certain things going wrong in the society, which you could correct through arts. So you now find yourself writing about life, hardship, pains. It is no longer that happy, jolly life –in fact, you shift as reality sets in into a contemporary writer. You now begin to feel the burden of the society. That also shapes your writing.

From those formative years of innocence, how did your first literary work emerge?
I was in secondary school then, and teachers were on strike. I witnessed, firsthand, the hardship that followed (during the time of Jim Nwobodo as the Anambra State governor). But I am not saying Teachers on Strike, my first book, was about Nwobodo. It is a work of fiction. My mother was at the forefront of events –she was among the primary and secondary school teachers at loggerheads with the government. Things were hard. I had to come back from school, for the hardship couldn’t sustain me. Again, there was a debilitating teachers’ strike when I was a secondary school teacher. The two strikes teamed up to form my plot in Teachers’ on Strike. I believe it x-rays the ills in the society.

From that debut fiction to the latest, how has your orientation changed as a writer?

I don’t think my orientation has changed. I am still a contemporary writer. Sometimes, I veer into feminism –the concern of women and children, not really feminism, because I have a brand of feminism I call Beside Feminism.

What do you mean by that?

In our contemporary society, we say behind a very successful man there is a woman, but I don’t think it is right to place your wife or woman behind you. How many men know what goes on behind them? If you want to give something to somebody behind you, first, you have to twist your hand, after which you have to take it backwards. But, if your wife is beside you, she will be looking at you and you will be looking at her, and, side by side, you match on in progressivism. So Beside Feminism is all about: the girl children should be developed along their male counterparts.

How is it different from Womanism?

Well, Womanism takes in a lot of things, like pride for women. Womanism may say: let the woman be superior to the man to some extent; it is a kind of struggle for supremacy. But Beside Feminism is not a struggle for supremacy; it is not a fight for power; it is not a struggle. It is just about you bringing up the girl child alongside her male counterpart so that, together, they will match on side by side in progressivism. If you bring both sexes up, give them equal opportunities to develop; it will not only create a progressive outlook, it will also increase the life expectancy of our men. So Beside Feminism targets increasing the life expectancy of men by reducing the stress factors in their lives.

So what’s your take on Chimamanda’s brand of feminism?

As I told you before, there are many brands, and I can’t say her own is wrong because I don’t agree with it; and she cannot equally say mine is wrong because she may not agree with me. Just as there are so many people, so are there so many ideas. So it depends on the one you adopt. Hers may work in some areas; mine may also work in some areas. So it depends on who is adopting it.

Except for some feeble noises in some literary circles, feminism appears to be going downhill, unlike in the days of Buchi Emecheta. Do you agree?

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to feminism. People tend to twist, bend and squeeze feminism into their own corner to suit their purposes thereby making a bogus claim, like somebody who is lazy and can’t sweep his house; somebody who cannot cook for his family; somebody who cannot wash her clothes will tell you she is a feminist, and feminists don’t wash clothes. Feminists are the women who even wash clothes and clean the floors. That’s the idea of feminism: that you should allow the woman; give her the chance to develop, let her contribute to the development of not just her nuclear family but the society at large. So feminism means work to maintain a good family; live for your family; live for your husband; let your ideas match that of your husband; move beside your husband and be one in decision and in unison. Any other thing is not feminism.

You have just presented your latest work of fiction, Forlorn Fate. What inspired this book?

The Niger Delta issue inspired this book. I have looked at the Niger Delta as a sordid affair. The oil in Niger Delta has done more harm than good to the average Niger Deltan character. Look at this way: while we are there pursuing petty militant, who would have taught that it was the white man who engineered the militancy? That’s what Forlorn Fate says. This novel lays the blame not on the militants but on the Whiteman.

Does the novel has element of verisimilitude, or is a product of imagination?
It should have. Every work of art that lacks verisimilitude is useless. So I think, at certain level, the book is true to life.

The work has a broader canvas, I guess?

The work looks at man’s injustice to man. It looks at the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. It also looks at the distablisation of people –that ancestral distablisation of carrying off people –the horrors of transatlantic slave trade; the evils of slavery and, now, the tracing of roots of these people, because Colonel Nina Sortorne, a major character in the book, came to the Niger Delta as an American soldier on a rescue mission and then discovered she came home to her roots. She now discovered there was a myth around her family, her great-grand father being carried away to slavery, and her coming back; because, if not for that timely intervention, the community road would have been destroyed by the Whiteman. The Whiteman wanted them to vacate, because he wanted to build an empire at all cost, so he wanted to drive them away. He wanted to send the entire community into extinction. He tried chemicals on them, and they did not move. If you read the first paragraph, you will see where I said that no child of nature, no matter how minute, leaves his home easily. That was just the message.

You an Igbo woman raised in the eastern part of Nigeria. Locating the setting your novel in Niger Delta, a different region, how difficult or easy was it for you to achieve a symmetry?

I grew up in the creeks of the River Niger, and I knew when we were growing up, my grandmother would tell you not to cry too much, because Ijaw people were walking about. There was this belief that Ijaw people were headhunters (laughs).

In the last few years, you have been engaged in departmental and faculty administration in the university where you teach. How were you able to combine writing, motherhood, scholarship and varsity administration?

When you are given these positions, if you don’t take time, they will send you into academic obituary: you cannot write, because you are a HOD or a dean; you find yourself grappling between your academic work and the post you are holding. I am a professor now, so you cannot but write. Being a professor is not as difficult as holding an office. The up-and-coming ones should hold the offices now.

ANA convention holds this month, from October 31st to November 3rd, 2019. I learn you are a running mate to one of the presidential aspirants. This is the second time you are gunning for that position. Why are you coming back?
I believe I have something to offer to ANA. I have a great contribution to make to ANA. It doesn’t matter how many times I will be contesting; the most important thing is that there is something I want to give to ANA, and that I really want to achieve.

What makes Barrister Ahmed Maiwada a better alternative?

I believe in him. I believe in his art as a leader. He is a wonderful lawyer, a benign soul, and I have this belief he will move ANA to a greater height. Some people are talking about zoning. In ANA, we are not talking about zoning; we talk about the individual. If you, because you came from the zone where the presidency has been zoned, decide to elect a look warm person who will not work, it will be tragic. I am not saying any of the contenders is look warm (laughs). I am only trying to say we should give everybody equal opportunity to contest; let ANA decide who among them will handle the affairs better. This is not a do-or-die affair; we all have our lives to spend in ANA as writers. If you don’t win this year, next year, you contest again. That’s the way I see it.

Teenage Traffickers

Image via Sun News Online

BY CHIOMA IGBOKWE

It was yet another twist to the recurring incidents of baby factories when seven pregnant young women were rescued by the police while wandering about in the early hours of October 2, begging for money to transport themselves out of Lagos State.

This latest batch of victims claimed they were tricked from various locations to come into Lagos with a promise of a better life. However, upon arrival, they were locked up for weeks and months by suspected child traffickers. They, however, resolved to break out of their bondage when they overheard a telephone conversation regarding negotiations for their unborn babies.

The women identified themselves as Joy Jonathan Amarachi Samuel, Blessing Iwunna, Confidence Uwaegbu, Chinma Destiny, Chidinma Nnaji and Obi Esther.

Lured with sweet promises

Although their story is riddled with contradictions (for example, they all denied foreknowledge of the fact that their unborn babies will be sold after birth and they couldn’t also identify the photograph of the woman who supposedly lured them to Lagos), nonetheless, their accounts, similar in plot, are credible. Their common denomination was their vulnerability at the time they met Madame Trafficker, who exploited their insecurity to dangle irresistible offers to lure them to Lagos. Once the trap was sprung and they were in, firmly in the Safe House, she showed her true colour.

In flawless English, the youngest of the victims, Joy Jonathan, calmly explained her decision to run away from her village was an attempt to save her family the shame of raising a bastard when she became pregnant after she was gang-raped.

The 13 years old from Ngor Okpala, Imo State, was a Junior Secondary School student.

“As a young girl, I normally get advances from men in the village especially the boys in our area. I always refuse them because I know that I am a small girl and I don’t want anyone to destroy my life. I wanted to be a doctor.

However, her world turned upside down seven months ago.

Her poignant recollection: “My mother sent me to buy groundnut oil around 9 pm. I was on my way back when I ran into four boys, they grabbed me and dragged me into the bush. They took a turn to rape me. I tried to scream but they used my blouse to tie my mouth.

“When I got home, I told my mother and she took me to the hospital the next day. I was given some drugs. My mother reported the matter to the village head, but the boys ran away when they heard that I had reported them.

Three months later, her mother noticed signs of pregnancy.

“I was so sad and wanted to kill myself, but my mother encouraged me to keep the pregnancy. She said she will do her best to support me until I give birth. I had to drop out of school and join my mother to sell tomatoes at the market.”

It was in the market that she met a woman who introduced herself as Madam Happiness who offered to help her.

“She told me that she will take me to Lagos to serve a family that will pay me N30, 000 a month and also take care of my baby. She told me that they live in a big mansion and I will have my room.”

The unhealthy situation in the village made her gullible.

“The village people were already making a mockery of my family because of my situation. They don’t even believe that I was raped. I don’t know who amongst the boys that impregnated me, so my child will be seen as a bastard. I planned to go to Lagos, become rich and come back and change the destiny of my family.”

Desperation to escape the shame in the village made her amenable to the suggestion to vanish without informing her family or friends.

“At my age, I know that my mother will not allow me to travel to Lagos; besides, that woman warned me to keep it a secret. Without the knowledge of my family, I carried my bag and followed the woman to Lagos.”

No sooner did she arrive in Lagos than it dawned on her that she had been deceived.

“We got to Lagos at night and were taken to a very big compound. It was when I got there that I saw about 20 pregnant women. Amongst them were some of my village girls that are also pregnant.”

Still, Madam Happiness assured her that she was also helping them to get work.

A few days later, the truth was revealed.

“We were all kept there and locked up. Our phones were taken away, if you have any problem, you will talk to one woman that we all call Mummy. If you complain, she will shout at you and threaten to kill you.”

She spent not less than five weeks in the building before their ‘jailbreak’ of October 2.

Amarachi Samuel, a 17-year-old, also fell to the wiles of Madam Happiness who sold her a dummy about sending her abroad after birth.

The teenager from Isialangwa, Abia State, was married and was living with her husband in Aba.

Her circumstance too was what rendered her vulnerable.

Her story: “While I was in the village, I started dating my present husband when I was 14 years old. Unfortunately, I became pregnant and my father forced me to marry him. He paid part of the money and promised to complete it when he gets a job. I dropped out of school and stayed in the village until my baby was born.

I moved to Aba to live with him. He is an apprentice and because of that marriage, his boss drove him away, because he said that he would start stealing from him. Life became difficult and I started learning how to make hair. Two years later, I became pregnant again. I wanted to abort the baby but the doctor said that I was already five months.”

She was out on an errand for her mistress one day when she met Madam Happiness.

“She asked why a young girl like me that should be in school is pregnant. I told her my story and she promised to help me. She asked me not to tell my husband or my family because they will be envious and try to discourage me.”

She was in Lagos before she informed her husband of her odyssey. “I called my husband and told him that I am in Lagos. I did not want him to worry since I was already seven months pregnant. I also needed him to concentrate and take care of our son.”

The reality of the camp contradicts her hopes and expectation.

She recalled: “I was surprised to see so many pregnant women in that house and all of them said that they were invited the same way that I was invited.

“We were always locked in and fed once a day. If you are so hungry, there is a bag of Gari and water. She took away our phones and started threatening us. If you try to shout, the other women will tell you to keep quiet.

Blessing Iwunna, who came to Lagos with her son, claimed she informed her husband before embarking on the journey. The young girl from Mbaise, Imo State, got married at the age of 14 when she was put in the family way.

She dropped out of school and started selling fruits in the village market. Like a shark smelling blood in the ocean hundreds of miles away, Madam Happiness found her.

“She bought the entire basket and I was so happy to go home early because I was already six months pregnant,” she recalled. “She promised to change my life if I follow her to Lagos. I told her that I have a two-year-old son and she asked me to bring him along. I told my husband and he did not refuse because I am his second wife and he is very poor.”

In Lagos, she realized she had been duped when they walked into a camp full of pregnant women.

The circumstance of escape

According to the rescued women, the escape plan was hatched by Chinma Destiny, the oldest among the camp’s inmates. Chinma said it became imperative for them to run away for fear that they might be killed after the birth of their baby.

The 27-year-old Rivers State indigene was a hairdresser and also learning how to decorate event centres.

She began her narration with the misfortune that befell and made her vulnerable. “I started dating one of my customers who normally come to our shop to do pedicure, As soon as I got pregnant, he disappeared. I lost my job and could barely feed myself.”

Again, the “omniscient” Madam Happiness came into her life.

“I told her my problem and she asked me to follow her to Lagos. She promised to get me a job in a big mansion. It was when we got to Lagos that I realized what it was all about. A compound filled with more than 20 pregnant women. I have heard so much about their activities and I was wondering why Madam Happiness did not discuss that with me before bringing me to Lagos. I confronted her and she denied it.”

Her passivity, however, changed the day she overheard her negotiating with someone over the phone.

“She said, “most of the women here are pregnant with baby boys.” She told the woman that each will go for N500, 000 and that about 10 of us will be due in the next one month. I am eight months pregnant and I knew automatically that I am one of those she was referring to.”

She informed the others and they hatched a plan.

“As soon as she drove into the compound, while the driver was about to close the gate, we opened the gate and ran away. They tried to grab some of us, but we ran away and walked for about 30 minutes before we boarded a bus to Cele.”

However on alighting at Cele, a bus stop along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, they explained their predicament to an old man at the taxi park, soliciting for help to travel back to their respective states.

“He allowed us to sit down and beg for money. We planned to raise enough money to pay for our transport fare back to the East.”

But the people at the park called the police.

Only one of the rescued seven, Esther, admitted where she was being taken. She affirmed the reason she agreed to come to Lagos was to get rid of her unwanted baby.

“I am an auxiliary nurse in Port Harcourt. By the time I realized that I was pregnant, I was already four months and it’s dangerous to abort,” she narrated.

“I met Madam Happiness and told her my situation; she was the one who asked me to join her to Lagos that she will hand me over to a family that has no child. She said they will take care of me and give me a job.”

Treatment inside the camp

Life inside the camp however dispelled any delusions they had before arriving in Lagos. According to Chinma, throughout the two weeks she spent in the house, no doctor or midwife came to see or give them any form of medication. “We were only fed once a day. She (Madam) said it was not necessary to take medication because we are all healthy. She also said that if we eat too much, it will be very hard to have a normal birth.”

By the time they succeeded in breaking out of their incarceration, they had only thoughts of going back to their home and to resume their previous lives before the disruption.

“Please, I want to go home. I know that I am too small to have a child but I cannot sell my baby,” Joy pleaded. When asked of her native name, Joy said, “I have disgraced my family enough, if I tell you their name the shame will double.”

Blessing too spoke of her intention to go back home: “I want to go home and manage my husband. Life was better for us in the village.”.

Chinma said: “I am aware that babies can be sold but I do not want to sell my own. I want to work and provide for my child because I know that he will be great. Please, we want to go home,” she pleaded.

Even Esther, who went into the gulag on her won volition, had no regret leaving the place abruptly.

“I decided to run because Madam collected our phones and was not feeding us well. I have spent three weeks in that camp and she has not connected me to any wealthy couple. I was scared because I do not know what she intends to do with me after the birth of my baby. I know that I need help but I don’t want to die or be sold,” she stated.

Police angle

According to the Lagos State Police Command spokesman DSP Bala Elkana: “At about 1 am on October 2, Isolo Police Station received an alert that seven pregnant women were seen stranded at Cele Bus Stop along Oshodi-Apapa expressway. A team of policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Folorunsho Gabriel went to the spot and rescued them.”

Saturday Sun reliably learnt that the seven women were amongst those who escaped when police recently raided their camps at Ikotun (No 14 Adisa Street, Ayanwale area and No 32 Owosho street, Governor Road Ikotun) and Abaranje area (No 29 Olugbeyohun street, Olakunle bus stop and No 4/6Anomo street). They allegedly ran away from their location when they learnt of the news of the raid of other locations.

Two suspects, Happiness Ukwuoma from Mbano in Imo State and Sherifat Ipeya from Lagos were arrested in connection with the case.

The suspects told the police that their responsibility was just to take care of the girls and help to transport most of them from their locations to their camps in Lagos. They were locally trained as midwives and under the payroll of one Madam Oluchi who comes around to visit them once in a week.

Initially, they were operating in Rivers and Imo states but they relocated to Lagos last year because security operatives were always raiding their camps.



Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu has deployed detectives from the State Criminal Investigative Department, Panti to fish out the principal suspect Madam Oluchi from Mbano.

59th Independence: I weep For Our Country – Izuogu

Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu. Image: Whirlwind

BY SUNDAY ANI

Ahead of Nigeria’s 59th independence anniversary, member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Ezekiel Izuogu has joined prominent Northern elders like Tanko Yakassai, Balarabe Musa and other Nigerians to make a case for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023.

Chief Izuogu, who emphatically declared that Nigeria has not fared well in her 59 years of independence, insisted that if given the opportunity to occupy the number one political office in the country after President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, the Igbo would take Nigeria to the moon.

In this exclusive chat with Daily Sun, the APC chieftain spoke on various issues, including the 59th independence anniversary, insecurity in the country among others.

Few months into Buhari’s second tenure, some persons in the North have allegedly started scheming to retain power in the North beyond 2023. However, a couple of other Nigerians believe that for equity, justice and fairness, power should move to the East. What are your thoughts on that?

Power should move to the South East, period. It is not debatable. There are three major tribes in Nigeria and the Igbo are one of these major three tribes. So, if the Yoruba have ruled and the Hausa/Fulani have ruled several times, it is time for the Igbo to also rule; pure and simple. Anybody who is bringing debate into it does not want Nigeria to move forward. Nobody should bring any confusion about that.

Do you think your party, the APC, looking at the composition and body language of its leadership will concede the presidential ticket to a candidate from the South East in 2023?
That is the correct thing to do. I am a member of the APC Board of Trustees, as well as a member of the National Caucus. Bring it up for discussions and if we don’t have competent people from the South East, then you can go elsewhere. But, if there are over qualified people to be president of Nigeria and they are there in the South East, and you say you won’t use them, then it means you don’t want the country to move forward. I thank Tanko Yakassai, our elder and leader in the progressives, who spoke out recently, saying, it is time for the South East to produce the president of this country. He spoke our minds. I praise him for his courage. He has been a straightforward man from the beginning and I am happy that he still maintains his straightforwardness. It is time for the South East; it is our time. Everybody should support us. I have friends in the North, West, South-South, and Middle Belt; they should all support the South East. That is the only way the country can move forward. Let this country be given to an Igbo man and let us see what he will do in four years. I bet you Nigeria will change for good. Nigeria will get to the moon because so many things will happen. That is what we should do if we love Nigeria.

In less than two weeks, Nigeria will be celebrating her 59th independence anniversary; do you think we have fared well as a country, looking at where we are today?
We have not done well at all. Those countries like Malaysia, Singapore and others that were behind us in the past are now far ahead of us in science and technology, in productivity, in employment and civilisation. So, how can we have done well? I weep when this kind of issue comes up. I have tears in my eyes because I know that 50 or 60 years ago, Nigeria was much better than what it is today and I don’t know why.

What do you think the political leaders should be doing at this point in time?

The political leaders should have a vision; a vision that should be characteristic of a nation like Nigeria. We have the population. We are the largest country in Africa. We have the human being – the intellectuals, but we are not performing. We are not being empowered to perform, and you ask why? What is holding the leadership down? That is what beats my imagination. Nigeria is capable of doing so many things but we are not prepared to do that. We are just at a standstill. We are just worshipping tribalism and that is the main problem of this country.

The President last week disbanded the Economic Management Team headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and established the Economic Advisory Council without Osinbajo. This singular action has been generating mixed reactions from across the country, with some people describing it as a move by the North to take full control of both the economy and politics of Nigeria ahead of 2023 presidency. Yet, others see the move as the best way to go. What is your view on that?
Well, if the Vice President was doing a good job, why disband the economic team that he was heading for an economic advisory council. The question would be: was his role on the job good or bad? Since he was doing a good job and he is the number two man in the country, I don’t see the sense in removing him from there. He was the number two man. He represented the president. He acted as president for Mr. when President Buhari was sick in the hospital for several months and the president trusted him with all that. So, why can’t he now chair the economic advisory council? Honestly, it seems somehow. It gets me confused. I hope it is not a loss of confidence on the vice president by Mr. President.

So, you agree that the establishment of the economic advisory council was good but that the vice president should have continued to chair it?

Yes, members of the Economic Advisory Council seem to be men of integrity. One of the members, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, is well known in the economic sector. He was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A couple of other members also have good credentials; why remove the vice president? If you are removing the vice president, perhaps, you are not comfortable with him as the vice president again. That is the impression out there and it is not good at all.

The issue of bailout fund given to states in 2017 is in the news again. The Federal Government has said it would start deduction at source from the states’ allocation as from next month. The governors are asking for proper audit of the fund before any deduction is made. Where do you stand on all of these?

I stand with the governors. They are right because there is nothing wrong with auditing the fund. Audit the fund and they will pay. They are not saying they won’t pay; if they say they won’t pay, that will be a difficult thing. But, since they are willing to pay but that the fund must be audited first, I don’t think it is bad. When people make good suggestions, they should be accepted and the country will move forward.

Recently, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a-two-percent increase in VAT. This is coming at a time when many Nigerians are passing through serious economic challenges; what do you think about such an economic policy?

I think it is not a reflection of the economic reality in the country now. People are having difficult time at present, and asking them to pay more doesn’t look good to me at all.

The issue of insecurity in Nigeria is clearly staring us in the face, with many calling for the sack of the country’s security chiefs and appointment of new hands to inject fresh ideas on how to tackle the problem. What are your thoughts?

I think the security lapses are very scandalous to the reputation of Nigeria in the international community. Nigeria is respected as a great nation in Africa. This type of security situation is very embarrassing. I will advise the president to do whatever he needs to do to bring about a change very fast. As an army general and former Head of State of Nigeria, let him show what he is made of. Let him stop insecurity in Nigeria completely. Whatever it takes for him to do it, he should do it. If it means changing the security chiefs, he should do that and bring in new ones, let us see if they will perform better. That is the only way to know that the president is serious. Every possible thing should be done. Whatever that is worth doing, should be done. Even if the president’s brother is one of the security chiefs, he should remove him and put a new man and let us see how the new man would perform. The security of Nigerians comes first because they need to be alive to be able to perform their duties as Nigerians. If you are not alive, what are you talking about? This is the most important thing that should be done. The president should leave every other thing and face security.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

Separated By Xenophobia: Returnee Nigerian Families In Pains Over Leaving Behind Their Spouses, Children In South Africa

Returnee Nigerians arrive from South Africa. Image: Channels TV

BY OLAKUNLE OLAFIOYE, HENRY OKONKWO, JAMES OJO ADAKOLE

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019

Sylvester Tete cut a picture of a distressed person. And like someone in darkness, he groped for the right word to describe his regretful sojourn in South Africa when he landed in Nigeria on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Tete was one of the 315 Nigerians that made the second trip from South Africa in the aftermath of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in the former apartheid enclave. Reports had earlier claimed that over 320 returnees would be evacuated during the second trip, but there was a shortfall when the plane conveying the evacuees touched down at the Murtala International Airport, Lagos.

Tete’s seven-month-old son, Dominion, and his wife were two of the expected returnees that could not make the trip. “It was very devastating getting separated from my wife and my little boy at the point of taking off from South Africa”, Tete said in an emotion-laden voice.

The Delta State-born Tete could only make do with the word ‘darker’ as against the word ‘green’ in the elusive greener pasture he had gone to seek in South Africa, when asked to describe his experience. But as ‘darker’ as his experience was in the hostile African nation, the father of two said leaving half of his family behind in South Africa cast much darker memories of his sojourn in South Africa on his mind.

Upon graduation from the Delta State Polytechnic, Tete set off for South Africa in the hope of finding a more comfortable life outside the shores of Nigeria. But no sooner had he landed in South Africa than it dawned on him that life was not greener in his country of sojourn. Rather, according to him, “it was darker. Everything and every day was a struggle. I tried to go into business, but nothing worked. Every month end left me with bitterness and anger because before the end of the month you discovered that you have incurred more expenses than your income. So, to pay rents, to provide for the family became a major challenge.”

But in spite of this massive cross he had to carry, Tete said he was determined to brace the odds and live up to his responsibility as a father and husband until few weeks ago when the hostile South Africans bared fangs of aggression on Nigerians and other black Africans in their country, forcing many of them to consider beating a retreat to their countries of birth. But Tete’s preparation to sail back to Nigeria was not without a snag. He is married to a Zimbabwean woman. So, at the point of leaving for Nigeria, the Nigerian consulate informed him that his wife would not be able to make the trip because of her nationality.

“My wife couldn’t make the trip because of her nationality. She is a Zimbabwean. At the point of departure, the consulate said there was no provision for foreigners to travel to Nigeria with the evacuees. So, painfully we have to divide ourselves. I decided to come to Nigeria with our first son, Praise, while my wife and our seven-month old son, Dominion, stayed back in South Africa. It was very distressing to see them not leaving the country where life was made unbearable for us. My wife was ready to come with me, but she was stopped at the airport. I hope one day I will be able to raise money for her visa so that she could join us in Nigeria with my second son. It’s really devastating,” he declared.

Disturbingly, some other Nigerians have stories of their separations from their families more complicated than Tete’s.

Onyebuchi James Udoka is one of them. The Anambra State native is married to a South African woman and the couple has two children together. But despite being married to a South African, Udoka claimed he was not exempted from the inhuman treatments Nigerians and other black Africans were subjected to.

His first bitter experience came in 2008 when his shop was broken during a xenophobic attack. But in spite of the setback, Udoka still managed to gather the courage to forge ahead.

He would later marry his South African heartthrob in an ostensible protection-seeking move. However, after the recent round of attacks, Udoka made up his mind to relocate to Nigeria, but the plan met a brick wall in his wife.

“My wife turned down my proposal to return to Nigeria together with me. Since she refused, I decided to run for my dear life. We have two children together. She reported me to the police in South Africa over my plan to relocate with my children. The Nigerian consulate did their best to help me get the children, but the South African authorities frustrated my efforts, claiming my children are South African citizens. I don’t have any intention of returning to South Africa, but I hope that when they grow up, they will have to make a decision on how to see their father. They are seven and four years old respectively, a boy and a girl,” Udoka disclosed.

For Elvis Idele, another returnee, the inability of his wife to make the trip to Nigeria remains a great source of bitterness. The deflated look on his face and his palpable struggle to handle their four kids show just how much he missed his heartthrob.

“I am happy to be back in Nigeria with my children alive, but for how long do you expect me to be happy when my wife is nowhere to be found?” Idele queried.

According to him, his wife’s whereabouts remained unknown to him since recent xenophobic attacks against immigrants reached its peak in South Africa.

Idele, in an interview with Sunday Sun said: “On the very day the uprising started, my kids were on their way to school when suddenly I was called to come and take them away. I have to lock my kids inside the room. As I am speaking now, I can’t find my wife because I don’t know where she ran to during the fight. You can see how they inflicted a deep cut on my hand (showing this reporter a gut-wrenching scar on his hand), if I undress my trouser, you will see a bigger wound. In all of these, my inability to locate my wife till now remains a headache for me. I don’t know her present state now, death or alive, in good condition or writhing in pains. I can only hope she’s in good condition wherever she is at the moment. Only God knows her present whereabouts.

Like Mr Idele, Mr Thompson Obi is yet another returnee whose family has been separated by xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

He narrated his ordeals in a chat with Sunday Sun: “There is nothing like being at home. However, for me, it is like I am still in South Africa languishing in pains and regrets. I am yet to find my only daughter since the incident happened,” he said.

Also speaking, another returnee who simply identified herself as Joy said: “I am presently the most distressed person in the world. It is really difficult trying to pretend that all is well when in reality nothing is all right. Before this unfortunate incident happened, my husband and I had lived in South Africa for 24 years. We struggled together to build a better future for our children and ourselves. How all that disappeared in a flash still baffles me, but none leaves me as worried as my husband’s absence. He had to risk everything to ensure we are here. Whether he is safe now or not remains a puzzle for me. My greatest fear is whether I will even see him again. I won’t be able to live without him. I pray he comes back safely to meet his kids again,” she said.

As the sad stories of families split by the xenophobic incidents continue to pile up, there are also some returnees that see their repatriation as an opportunity to return to the soothing embrace of their families. One of such persons is Livinus Onyemaechi, a native of Njaba in Imo State.

Mr Onyemaechi was away for over 18 years and he is very happy to be brought back home as he said that he couldn’t wait to see his grown-up children.

“I am delighted to be back because I’m very eager to see my family. I lived in South Africa for over 18 years, leaving my wife and three children back here in Nigeria. They live in the village in Imo State. I’ve been away from them for so long. Honestly, I can’t even recognise my children when I see them now because I left them when they were very young. I understand my eldest daughter is about to graduate from Alvan Ikoku College of Education. And I’m happy to be back because it’s an opportunity to reunite with my family here in Nigeria,” he said.

Onyemaechi who looks to be in his early 60s said that he was operating a mechanic workshop in Johannesburg until he lost everything to xenophobia. “I went to South Africa with the hope that I’ll stay there for at most three years after which I’ll come back to my family in the village. But things were a bit rough there because of the level of intimidations we get from the South Africans. They keep coming to threaten us at our shops, abusing us and telling us to go back to our countries. It is a very terrible experience and I was even planning to return home when the latest attacks began. I wanted to stay a few months so that I could save enough money to train all my children up to higher institutions. But the attack became too much. But I thank God for everything and I’m happy to be back to my country,” he said.

Like Mr Onyemaechi, Mr Ikemefuna Okereke is another returnee in ecstatic mood over the prospect of reuniting with his family in Nigeria.

According to Okereke, an native of Bende in Abia State, the quest for greener pastures kept him away from his family for over five years.

“I am married and my wife and my two children are here in Nigeria. I used to trade in auto spare parts at Mgbuka-Obosi in Onitsha, Anambra State while my family stayed in Aba, Abia State. But I decided to travel out because I thought business would be better for me over there in South Africa. So, I went to Johannesburg with my capital to establish my business and I lived there for five years. I’m happy to be back to my country and to reunite with my family. They live in Omuma road in Aba, I’ll go and stay with them. I’m not afraid of starting afresh here in Nigeria. And I believe that God will be on my side as I get ready to start life afresh,” he said.

Mr Okereke while recounting his losses said he’s delighted to be alive to come back to see his household.

“I am glad to be back home alive. When the attacks started, if I hadn’t escaped, I don’t think I would have been alive and that would be a big tragedy to my wife and children. My motor spare parts shop near the motor garage area of Johannesburg was looted and destroyed. There are many Nigerians like me that didn’t peddle drugs or involve in any immoral acts, many of us are genuine traders over there. It is because of the wickedness in their hearts that made them see every Nigerian as fraudsters”, he said.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS/DAILY SUN

Let’s Unite To Rebuild Imo, Ihedioha Woos Opponents

Emeka Ihedioha

BY THE SUN

OWERRI (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- Governor Emeka Ihedioha has asked those he defeated at the tribunal to join forces with him in restoring the glory of Imo.

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal two days ago in Abuja validated his victory saying the cases of the defeated candidates lacked merit.

Speaking in Owerri, Ihedioha said the support of all especially that of other constestants is needed to put Imo in proper shape.

“I call Imolites across party lines and opinion divides, my opponents in the last election especially those I defeated in tribunal to join hands with us and make Imo great again. For me, there is no victor, no vanquished,” Ihedioha said.

In a statement, the state secretary of PDP, Ray Emeana, while congratulating Ihedioha and the state chapter of the party, said the verdict of the tribunal was a reflection of the will of God and the people as evidenced by the spontaneous jubilation all over Imo and beyond.

“I commend the chairman and members of the tribunal for standing on the rule of law and defending the integrity of the judiciary and the ideals of democracy.

“Now that the legal battle has been won and lost at this stage, it’s time to focus unwaveringly on the task of rebuilding Imo.

“I implore all the gladiators to sheath their swords and call on Imolites, irrespective of political leaning, to join hands in the gargantuan but inexorable task of rebuilding our dear state after eight years of despoilment, ruination and official pillage”

Former governors, Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim, joined Ihedioha at a brief party in the Governor’s Lodge, Owerri, immediately after the judgments.

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has urged his supporters to remain calm.

In a statement, yesterday, Uzodimma said his supporters should not despair but be confident that justice will be served at the end of the day.

Revolution Imminent In Nigeria – Archbishop Chukwuma

Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma

BY SUNDAY ANI

The Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma has condemned the arrest and detention of Omoyele Sowore, by the Federal Government over his recent call for a national protest tagged #RevolutionNow. Chukwuma, who also accused President Buhari of having increased hardship since he commenced his second tenure, however, declared that spiritual revolution was imminent in the country.

What is your rating of President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance in the first 100 days of his second tenure?
As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to celebrate and nothing to cheer about his 100 days in office. Okay, we are celebrating squandermania and more corruption. All we have had are more insecurity, increased killings, more hunger, more bad roads, more failed infrastructure and more insincerity; buying more time over new minimum wage, and closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport with no sign of commencing the proposed repair works, among others. What is there to celebrate when majority of Nigerians are visibly disappointed with the latest verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal? What are we celebrating when the marginalisation of Ndigbo is on the increase? We are celebrating selective negligence and total squandermania of our commonwealth. When you keep hearing about huge sums of money being doled out for security, and insecurity keeps worsening by the day, what do you call that? We are celebrating because the Service Chiefs apparently have nothing more to offer, yet, they are still allowed to continue. So, we have nothing to celebrate because things have continued to get worse and foreign countries are making mockery of us, ridiculing us and treating us like lesser beings.

Look at how Nigerians are being killed in South Africa and other countries, even in Congo, Ghana and everywhere. Before now, we used to say Ghana-must-go and a brand of bag was tagged Ghana-must-go bag. But, Ghanaians took their bags, returned home and fixed their country. Today, it has turned to Nigeria-must-go; soon we will have Nigeria-must-go bag. It is unfortunate. We need good leadership for Nigeria to become a country of pride because it is a nation that is so blessed by God.

Are you satisfied with the recent move by the South East governors to tackle insecurity and herdsmen’s attacks in the zone?
South East governors are doing their best. The truth is that because governors in Nigeria answer chief security officers but are not in control of heads of security agencies in their respective states, they are handicapped. Thank God that when the former Commissioner of Police (CP) in Enugu failed to perform, we cried out and he was removed. When you keep sending Northerners all the time as CPs to the South East, what do you want the governors to do? Most of these officers are Fulani and Muslims, so, they are bound to compromise. We need Igbo officers as CPs and security heads in the South East. Let us experiment that and see if insecurity would not cease in the zone. We will continue to support our governors in prayer. When you have an army GOC that is a Fulani Muslim, and does not have any passion for Christianity, what do you expect? But, whether anybody likes it or not, South East is a Christian zone and we want GOCs and CPs that have passion for our religion. Those with negative passion will always offer insecurity. That is why the establishment of forest guards and neighbourhood watch groups are very commendable initiatives by the governors.

The outcome of 2019 Presidential election and the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal have been described in some quarters as untidy and unfortunate developments; what are your thoughts?

Our Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has not given us honour or cause to be proud wherever we go, just like the outcome of the Presidential election. We have a government that lacks integrity and so, the entire system is without integrity. When a President cannot produce his certificate, and the institution that is supposedly the last hope of the common man tells you that you do not need a certificate, but just an affidavit as pre-qualification to run for office of President, what integrity is left in the system? We have a President that has no WAEC certificate in a country that parades tonnes of academic professors, and highly educated individuals locally and internationally. Yet, a critical institution has the boldness to declare that it is not a big issue to be unable to show clear evidence of possessing a credible basic certificate. But, I declare that it is a big issue. In the 1960s and 70’s, there was no WAEC certificate that bore candidate’s photograph. How come Mr President’s certificate bears his photograph? I have said it before, and I am saying it again – Buhari is only pretending to be fighting corruption. Time has come, and I give this advice as Archbishop Chukwuma, that he should declare himself inefficient and unqualified to rule Nigeria and consequently resign. People are talking and calling for revolution. There will be revolution indeed! The country is being put into total chaos because this is the worst government ever in Nigeria; the bloodiest government we have ever had. This is a government that has subjected citizens to so much hunger, unemployment and insecurity. This is a government where selfish and evil cabals reign supreme and Mr. President is not allowed to be in charge of anything? I don’t think Buhari is in charge of the government of Nigeria. That was why he openly directed that the Chief of Staff should oversee all affairs of Nigeria. I wonder why he should issue that kind of directive. We cannot be ruled by proxy. It was Charley Boy that floated #Ourmumudondo campaign, and I agree with his idea.

When you mentioned revolution a while ago, were you referring to Sowore’s recent controversial revolution campaign?

Look, this is not a matter of muzzling and arresting a man because he said that he was going to organise a revolution rally because revolution is imminent in Nigeria. It is looming and it could come in various forms. God is going to visit Nigeria with revolution because there is total wickedness in the land. You can scuttle physical or human revolution but nobody can stop spiritual revolution. Spiritual revolution is akin to hurricane or wild fire; it is more devastating. There could be spiritual revolution in Nigeria because we can pray government to power and pray any government out of power, as well. A plan to redeem Nigeria has come, and I will stand by that plan because standing on the power of the almighty God, who created all of us, we can move mountains. So, let Buhari know that all the evil things happening in Nigeria and all the evil things happening to Nigerians in South Africa and other foreign nations are signs that his government is not acceptable by God, and that God is not happy with the government. Our country is richly blessed by God but bad governance and evil people have destroyed it, and citizens are suffering in the midst of plenty. We must return the country to what God had originally designed it to be and I trust that God will deliver us.

Is it true that you no longer eat beef out of protest over killer-herdsmen menace?
I do not eat cow meat anymore and I will never eat it again. I said that nobody should eat beef anymore because if we cease to eat it in the South East, there would be no need for the Federal Government to think about having RUGA or a camp for cows and herders in the zone anymore.

So, I have banned cow for all occasions and ceremonies in my diocese and I urge that the ban be replicated in the entire South East so that the Ogbuefi (cow killer) becomes Ogbuewu (goat killer) or Ogbuefi Igbo (Igbo local cow specie killer). Let us begin to rear Igbo cows, which we were once known for in the South East. Once we take such collective decision and begin to implement it, they will cease to bring in cows here because the market or demand for cow will cease. Then nobody would think of where to settle or how to kill us or rape our women under the cloak of cattle herding.

Do you doubt the FG’s capacity or will to contain killer herdsmen and bandits?

I am saying that if President Buhari continues to fail to call Fulani herdsmen and bandits to order, then we are going to bring out Ogbunigwe to face insecurity within the South East, and that is why I have told the governor of Enugu State not to bother himself again. It is approaching a time when we shall return fire for fire, and it is a pity that we have not done what we ought to do to save ourselves from the ongoing mess.

You are among the leaders that spoke out when Nnamdi Kanu was arrested; are you happy with what the IPOB is doing now?

I am not happy with them because they are biting the fingers that fed them. How I wish that Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB would understand that they were delivered by the people they are now insulting and harassing. They should realise that the case is still in court and that it is not yet over. They should repent, apologise and be more sensible in fighting their cause. You cannot be somewhere outside the country enjoying peace while the people that you said you are fighting for are here suffering, losing their lives and closing their shops and offices. IPOB should respect Igbo elders and governors and team up for us to fight the common cause in a more sensible and responsible manner than what they are doing today. I feel so bad because even though Nnamdi Kanu is fighting a just cause, he thinks that he can achieve his aim without carrying us along. No tree has ever made a forest anywhere. He is fighting the cause with a lot of selfishness, arrogance and pomposity, and that is not good. IPOB should desist from creating house enemy but join hands with their elders to fight our outside enemies rather than fighting ourselves within. That is the way to go.

Then to the Igbo nation, Igbo youths have ridiculed the elders, so the elders are losing the seal to defend their cause outside. How I wish the IPOB will go and fight in South Africa, rather than fighting Igbo elders. The IPOB is fighting absolutely a useless battle for the Igbo, and I challenge them to go to South Africa and fight the South Africans rather than insulting their elders. The manner, in which IPOB insults leaders, leaves one with the impression that they have gone out of their senses. If they keep insulting and ridiculing elders, which elder would rise to defend the cause of their children, when they have not been respected? It’s a pity. So, Ndigbo must unite and speak with one voice. Do you find any Hausa or Yoruba crying that their people have been killed? Igbo are very hard working. They are very enterprising and very reformed in business and that is why they are more in South Africa. Talk about electronics, motor spare parts and several other businesses; they make great impact in South Africa, thereby creating so much jealousy among South Africans, and that is probably the main cause of the xenophobic attacks. Most South Africans are naturally lazy and that is the issue. And unfortunately, the Igbo who are there live extravagant lifestyles which attract so much jealousy on them. I urge Nigerians to always humble themselves wherever they live, so they can enjoy their wealth peacefully. We hear that many of them engage in drugs and crimes, so, we have a lot to do to recover our lost integrity to end being ridiculed by outsiders.

How do you feel about the killing of blacks in South Africa?I feel very sad. It is unfortunate and so dishonourable for blacks to be killed in black continent by fellow blacks, and one wonders what the so-called African Union, AU, is doing about it. Again, it is unfortunate that most of the people affected are Igbo and that is why it is of much concern to us. We, therefore, commend Air Peace and the FG for their efforts to bring those affected back to Nigeria safely. But, notwithstanding, I think time has come when the Nigerian leader must ask himself why the exodus of Nigerians to other countries where they end up being treated badly. If Nigeria is comfortable, if there was favourable business atmosphere and availability of employment, would citizens move out of the country in such embarrassing numbers? How many South Africans are in Nigeria? When it is not safe enough for people to live and earn their living in their country, they are forced to look for alternative places.

What should be done to stem the tide?

We need to look inwards first because Nigerians are not safe even in Nigeria here. If we are so concerned about ongoing attacks and killing of Nigerians in South African, what about Fulani herdsmen killing Nigerians in Nigeria? What about Nigerians killing, maiming, raping and kidnapping fellow Nigerians in Nigeria, with reckless abandon, under the guise of Fulani herdsmen, bandits, Boko Haram and what have you? So many lives are being wasted under the current government, while government stands and looks helpless.

How does the scenario that you just painted relate to the xenophobic attacks in South Africa?

It has everything to do with it! The present administration in Nigeria does not respect life and because of that, foreign nations no longer have respect for the lives of our citizens outside. Many people have been killed, their hard-earned valuables get razed every day in this country and nobody cares, not even compensations are paid to victims. Now, you are pressing for compensation in South Africa. Although that is not a bad idea but I am saying that charity should begin at home. It is unfortunate that we have exposed ourselves to more dangers outside by not respecting lives in Nigeria. This is a country where cows have become more important than human lives. When animals become more valuable than human beings, what do you expect? That is why RUGA is still in contention in Nigeria. If the money they have earmarked for the controversial RUGA project is used to establish businesses to engage those Nigerians in South Africa, that would have been more reasonable. And if that is done, virtually all of them will come back home. So, we should stop disgracing ourselves. We should stop belittling ourselves and making fun of ourselves. We should look inwards and start doing things right.

Because citizens are not safe in Nigeria and their rights are not respected, we are seen as useless outside the country. If lives are secured in Nigeria and the Federal Government values lives more than animals, the South Africans would not have had the guts to be killing Nigerians in their country. Have we not been complaining that we are being killed in Nigeria? Have we not been complaining that bandits and killers are all over the place? People are kidnapping fellow citizens; Fulani herdsmen are raping and killing our people across the country, but what has been done about that?

So, it is a case of double jeopardy for Nigerians, especially the Igbo. Nigerians are not safe in Nigeria and they are not safe outside. Buhari has never made any strong statement against Fulani herdsmen. He has made no move to declare them terrorists or to ensure that they are arrested and made to face the law. In some places where most of them were arrested, they were not even tried in the court; that is the issue. Most of these things are repercussion. What you sow, you will reap. We are reaping what we have sown and we need to go on our knees and ask God to forgive us. I have said it during the burial of former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, that a time shall come when even those who think they are big men or who are in high political offices, blowing sirens when they move around, would be challenged by the young people out of frustration due to high unemployment rate. Nigeria is still sitting on a keg of gunpowder, in that regard.

What is the way out?

The way out is that President Buhari should realise that the best way to go is to create businesses that would engage the returnee-Nigerians from South Africa, and other teeming unemployed citizens. That is a much better move than pursuing the RUGA programme in whatever guise.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

Anambra Takes Lead In Igbo Cattle Breeding

Image: Youtube

ALOYSIUS ATTAH

ONITSHA (DAILY SUN) -- Against the backdrop of incessant cases of rape, killings in the farm and clashes between local and Fulani herdsmen across different parts of the southeast, more entrepreneurs are getting involved in producing ‘local’ breed of cow known as Efi Igbo.

Eagle Farms Limited, Umuchu and Wonder Farms, Umunze, in Aguata and Orumba South Local Government Areas, respectively of Anambra state, are two places already deeply involved in livestock development.

Recently, the Managing Director of Eagle Farms, Prince Ugochukwu Okpaleke stormed the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, venue of the flag off of the 2019 farming season with fully grown Igbo species cows bred in his farm.

Both farms, Daily Sun gathered, had commenced the crossbreeding of Efi Igbo with the Hausa species for the production of large size cattle for increased meat demands.

The latest effort in this direction from Anambra state is the multi-million naira Nkeonyemetalu Farms and Agro-Allied Ventures located at Amaetiti, Orumba North Local Government Area.
The fully mechanised farm sitting on about 200 plots of land has gone into full cattle ranching of local cattle.

Chairman of the farms, High Chief Walter Chigbo recently played host to members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Anambra State council, who were on a one day working visit.
Conducting his visitors round the farms, Chigbo confirmed that ranching is a more profitable way of rearing cattle, pointing out that the Fulani herdsmen who engage in nomadic method of rearing cows do so out of ignorance.

His words: “The Fulani herdsmen either do not know that it is more profitable to rear cattle in a secluded place, or they have become used to be nomads and cannot adjust.

Here, we have a good number of cows including the native cows which we call ‘efi Igbo’, and you will compare them with the ones you see the Fulani people walking about with.

“Study has shown that it is better to rear cattle in a secluded place. Feed them well, and they rest well too, and before long, you will see how fat they will grow.

“In United Arab Emirate where I did a study, I saw a cow that is so big that this house cannot contain it. Such cows, you can get two drums of milk daily from it, but if they were to be taking the cow about on foot to feed it, you would see how tired it would look, and that will affect its size too.”

He disclosed of plans to expand the ranch in order to get the best from the animals, and charged the Federal Government to call for ranching rather than encourage open grazing. Since livestock production was a private business, he advised that herders should also be encouraged to buy land for construction of ranches in order to minimize conflicts between them and farmers: “Most of the richest people across the world are farmers, so herdsmen should also be encouraged to get land and ranch their cows as this will put an end to the constant clashes between farmers and herdsmen”.

Chairman of the council, who led the NUJ team, Comrade Emmanuel Ifesinachi, Secretary, Emma Udeagha and other members of the contingent were shocked to see first-hand the ranch with both efi Igbo and cross breed cows, the poultry section with over thirty thousand birds and the fish ponds said to house over one hundred and fifty six thousand cat fish.

The team also went to the piggery section, the plantain, pineapple, pawpaw and sugar cane plantations, as well as facilities for frozen fish and foods business including the dry fish processing section.

Earlier, Ifesinachi had commended High Chief Chigbo for his foresight in investing over N500m in agriculture; thereby creating employment for many and also boosting food sufficiency in the state.
The NUJ Chairman stressed the need to boost agricultural development by encouraging small, medium and large scale farmers in the country, through provision of credit facilities, access roads, electricity and pipe borne water, noting that lack of electricity and access road, were the greatest challenge of the farm.

Also, Special Assistant to the Anambra state Governor on Agriculture, Cyril Nwobu, reassured that the administration Chief Willie Obiano would continue to do its best in making agriculture the major source of revenue generation and in turn improve the living standard of Ndi Anambra.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

Appraising Ihedioha’s First 100 Days As Imo Governor

Governor Emeka Ihedioha

BY AUSTIN UGANWA

OWERRI (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- First 100 days in office of heads of government has been elevated into a significant show. And this has inherently become a global trend. This is, more so, for those who are running their first term. In the United States as well as other developed democracies, first 100 days is perceived to be such an important event. The result is that the performance of the political leaders is essentially scrutinised and scored. Instances abound in former Presidents of the United States who were rated during their first 100 days in office. They included: Barak Obama who got 65% of Americans approval ; John F Kennedy, the highest in the history of America, 74%, Jimmy Carter 69%, Bill Clinton 55% and George W. Bush 58%

In Nigeria, the season of first 100 days in office is here again given that the heads of the executive arm of government at federal and state levels took oath of office on May 29 this year. As a result opportunity has yet again been offered to Nigerians to appraise and rate the performance of the president and the 36 states governors. This is germane so as to separate the chaff from the wheat; the lethargic ones from those who are serious minded

It is incontrovertible that Emeka Ihedioha, Imo State Governor belongs to the serious-minded. And this is self-evident and verifiable. Within 100 days in office, he has evidently moved with pace, audacity and decisiveness to lay veritable foundational framework for the transformation, growth and development of the troubled state which for eight years suffered a huge setback on account of gross misrule by the immediate past regime in the state headed by Owelle Rochas Okorocha

Just like Roosevelt who promised drastic initiatives within the first 100 days as United States President to set a standard of action against Great Depression and accomplished it, Ihedioha assured of concrete foundational initiatives and actions to deal with the rot and decay he inherited from the past administration and to set a remarkable tenor for the people and government. He has kept faith with the promise.

In 100 days, Ihedioha has been able to initiate positive actions in critical sectors of Imo development. These include: power, roads rehabilitation, agriculture, floods and erosion control, security, good governance, education, health, pensions, civil service and so on. This is not praise-singing but fact-based and has been laid bare in this piece.

For instance, only last Thursday, he flagged off an ambitious and massive road rehabilitation and construction projects that cut across the three zones in the state namely, Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu, numbering 13 projects. The projects have been awarded to various contractors and estimated to cost N24.32b. Some of the roads include: Nekede- Ihiagwa; Douglas –Poly Junction; MCC-Uratta-Tronto Junction; Ahiar-Okpala junction; Aba Branch-Ahiara Junction, just to mention a few.

In order to open the rural areas for economic growth and wealth creation Ihedioha-led administration has within the first 100 days taken pioneering steps towards flagging-off the rehabilitation/ Construction of 380.7 –kilometre rural roads in the 27 local councils of the state named Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP 2) at the cost of about N13b.

Besides, the new government has commenced a desirable process for the enthronement of good governance and sanitisation of the accounting system through the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) regime which came into being with Governor Ihedioha’s ratification of the Executive Order 005. This fiscal policy thrust makes it possible for accountability, transparency and due process to be infused in government. TSA also ensures that financial leakages in the state are controlled and all government accounts fused into one thereby enhancing the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Prior to the introduction of TSA, government, specifically the last administration operated 250 accounts many of which were in pseudo names. TSA has automatically reduced the 250 accounts into one. The Bureau of Public Procurement and Intelligence (BPPI) has also been revitalised towards ensuring that due process and transparency are imbued in all government procurement processes in the state and to align with global practices and money value.

Another signature project being undertaken by Ihedioha within the first 100 days, is the N9.9b World Bank assisted Ezemazu gully erosion control project in Ideato North local council. He concretised the project by committing government to make a payment of N500m counterpart fund to the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), an agency of the World Bank

Deeply concerned about the worrisome manner Owerri is usually submerged each time it rains in the city and poor condition of our drainage system, government took a decisive action by making the desilting of Owerri Municipal a top priority of its 100 days in office. To this end, over 80 per cent of the municipality has been desilted including Nworie and Otamiri Rivers and Lake Nwebere. This development has substantially assisted in reducing the rate of floods in the state capital

In addition, the Owerri Regional Water Scheme has been restored . As a result, water has started running in some parts of Owerri within the shortest existence of the new government, after eight years of dry public taps. Imo State Power and Rural Electrification Agency (I-POREA) has been set up to facilitate power supply in the state as a result remarkable progress has been made in restoring electricity supply to areas that are deficient

The new government has also commenced pension verification exercise to begin monthly payment of pensioners. Records show that the last time the pensioners were paid in the state was in 2015. Within the period under review, Ihedioha has also taken on civil service reform and salvaging of the education sector, among several other concrete and rewarding actions he has taken in various other sectors. He has flagged- off the rebuilding and equipping of four technical colleges in the State based on his vision of making technical education, the fulcrum of youths entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

•Dr. Austin Uganwa is Senior Special Assistant on Documentation to the Governor

Biafra: WIC To Approach UN, World Powers

Image: World Igbo Congress

BY MAGNUS EZE

ENUGU (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- The World Igbo Congress (WIC) rose from its annual convention in Houston, Texas, United States with a resolve to adopt diplomacy in the push for emancipation and possibly the independent state of Biafra.

A communiqué from the gathering also dwelt on several myriads currently plaguing the Igbo nation.

These included security of life and property in Igboland; the menace of the herdsmen, as well as the future of the Igbo regarding association with her neighbours among others.

The convention also discussed how to support WIC to fully play the leadership role that will be beneficial to Ndigbo and the promotion of synergy among all Diaspora Igbo organisations.

The communiqué issued by Secretary-General of WIC, Dr. Richard Nwachukwu, after its deliberations, indicated that the Igbo would approach the United Nations and the world powers to present their case against the Nigerian Federation.

It restated the call for the immediate relocation of Igbo businesses’ headquarters to Ala-Igbo in order to protect them from frequent and unwarranted attacks.

Other decisions from the convention were that all Igbo support the congress which in turn is mandated to provide leadership in galvanizing Diaspora Igbo and pursue a plan of action leading to the information acquisition and dissemination necessary to promote investment in Igbo land.

To promote and support technology transfer through mobilisation and active engagement of well-connected young Igbo entrepreneurs in the Diaspora to Ala Igbo. the congress agreed that it should work with Ndi-Igbo and progressive government functionaries.

The congress also agreed that it should pursue the establishment of Diaspora Igbo database so as to assist in strategic planning for the security and economic improvement of Igboland.

While lamenting that the 1999 constitution currently in effect in Nigeria, does not have referendum in any of the schedules, it resolved to supplement the pursuit of Igbo emancipation through diplomacy and engagement of foreign powers, the United Nations and regional powers in matters involving the region politically, economically, militarisation, suppression, and persecution of Ndi-Igbo in Nigeria.

“Over the years, people in diaspora of different nations of the world, have been the key players and drivers of nation building and economic emancipation of their homelands. It resolved that the congress should take the leadership role like other diaspora groups like Jewish Congress, apply pressure and lobbying mechanism to achieve Igbo emancipation.

“It is resolved that WIC should, through Association of Southeast Town Unions, establish formidable intelligence units in Ala-Igbo, as well as reinforce vigilante groups in Ala-Igbo to ensure that Igbo land is protected.

The WIC also urged Nigeria to actively support religious freedom by signing the Roundtable on Ministerial Inter-Religious Freedom which other countries are signatories.

It also unanimously resolved that every adult Igbo in the Diaspora should donate a minimum of $20 annually to the congress’ special account to serve as a token of commitment and bolster the achievement of the mandates outlined.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

South East ’ll Treat Foreign Fulani Herdsmen As Terrorists – Gov. Umahi

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. Image: Facebook

Governor of Ebonyi State and Chairman of South East Governors Forum, Dave Umahi, was in the presidential villa to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to present the region’s request as regards the closure of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu; the insecurity, the recent ban on movement of cattle on foot across the region by herdsmen, and the reactivation and eventual passage of the Southeast Development Commission bill in the National Assembly. Fielding questions after the meeting, the governor also spoke on 2023 presidency, saying discussing it now will undermine Buhari’s administration. 

EXCERPTS BY JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE.

South East Governors seem to have just woken up from their slumber on the spate of insecurity in the region. How do you respond to this?
The mistake people make is that leaders in this country including governors are not supposed to be talking carelessly, security matters are not discussed on the pages of newspapers. But we have to speak out now just to encourage our people, to let them know that we are doing everything possible to secure their lives.

In our states we have forest guards, we have vigilante, we have committees from the village level to the community to local government to the state level that interface with any kind of crisis arising from natives to farmers and herdsmen. We have been doing everything possible and that is why you see a lot of calm in our states. But when these herdsman that are terrorists and foreigners found their ways to the south-east, we started having the real insecurity problem and that is why we have to ban them from coming to the south-east.

This banning of terrorist herdsmen with AK47 is in agreement with traditional herdsmen, they are also not happy with what is happening – going into kidnapping, raping our women and making the farmland very much insecure and people are afraid of going to farms now and the resultant effect will be catastrophic because traditionally, we are farmers. It’s not as if we have not been doing things, we’ve been doing things but we can’t begin to shout on the pages of newspapers on what we are doing about security.

In recent times, South East Governors have been under verbal attacks by IPOB. Why do you think this has been happening?

Well, it’s the price of leadership and it is the price we have to pay to stabilize the nation. Don’t forget that we have over 12 million people from the South East living in the north and we do not begin to talk to make IPOB happy and to suit their demands just because we want to make them happy. We want to do things as leaders of this country that will safeguard our people in the north, safeguard the northerners that are in South East and do everything as leaders to ensure that there is peace and there is unity amongst all.

Their anger is that we proscribed IPOB, we didn’t have the powers to proscribe the activities of IPOB at the time we did to keep the country as one, to save the lives of northerners living in south east and the lives of the people of south east living in the north. Once we did that and lives were saved we were very happy. So, their threats and condemnations are the price we have to pay as leaders. The important thing is that we are here to represent our people and our conscience bears us witness that what we are doing is what will bring peace to our nation and not what will disintegrate it. Don’t forget that we are governors of south east and if we begin to talk like the youths, people will be very happy with us especially our people, but the issue is will it guarantee peace of the nation, will it guarantee the safety of our people? So we have to do things as leaders that will first guarantee peace for our visitors and our people who are also visitors in other locations of this country and beyond.

The IPOB just released an open letter to you and your brother governors in the South East making some demands before there could be truce. Are you considering their demands including that of open apology?
You see, we are servants of the people, we have no apology to tender because we represent them. There is misinformation because they said we should tender apology for proscribing IPOB, we did not proscribe IPOB because we did not have the powers. But it was within our powers to say you have to stop the activities because you are trying to endanger the visitors to south east and endanger by extension our people in the north. We had to do that and we don’t have apologies to offer for doing that and we also refuse to discuss the merits and demerits of our actions on the pages of newspapers. As leaders like I said you have to be economical with the way you speak so that you will continue to preserve the unity of this country.

In 2023, will Igbo be going for the presidency or not?
You know, it is insulting to the occupier of that particular office when somebody has not even stayed up to one year and we begin to talk about succeeding the person. What you are saying is that you are undermining the occupant of that office. So, I refuse to talk about 2023. And I have always maintained that when you are being led by God, don’t allow yourself to be led by men. When we get to 2023 we will see what God has in stock for each and everyone of us.

What was the purpose of your visit to Mr. President?
I came to see Mr President on a number of national issues and also issues pertaining to South East. I came to see him on behalf of our people on the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu. We are very happy with him for ordering the closure of the airport consequent to our letter to him to intervene and that closure has saved a lot of lives because if you land at that tarmac you will see that the tarmac was gone. We are aware it wasn’t constructed by the present administration but the tarmac became bad as soon as it was completed.

So we have discussed the timeline for the completion, we are all aware that towards December, we have a lot of heightened socio-economic activities in South East and Enugu is our base – it’s our capital, what Kaduna is to the north, it’s what Enugu is to the South East. So we pleaded with Mr President for the extension of the tarmac so that it can accommodate bigger aircraft, we pleaded with Mr President to do what he did when we had the same issue with Abuja International Airport which he intervened in a number of ways. He provided a number of palliatives like buses with armed escorts, provided helicopters (though government didn’t pay for that but they paid for vehicles) which they did through a number of transport companies.

Mr President also very instructively, did the funding through an emergency funding programme. I know that in the last administration we had to rehabilitate Port Harcourt International Airport and because it went through budgetary provisions it lasted for two years. But similar intervention by Mr President on International Airport Abuja, he had to provide special funding and then it was later included in the budgetary provision and the fund was accordingly replaced.

So we are pleading for similar gesture for Enugu International Airport so that special funding could be given to the Minister of Aviation. And I also thanked him for the choice of the Minister of Aviation as a full minister because just merely requesting for him to do a meeting with leaders of South Eastern governors in 24 hours he was with us, he was very passionate about the lives of our people and he is very passionate about his job. We thank him for that.

We also discussed with him about the request of our people to see Mr President jointly – the governors, leadership of Ohanaeze, leadership of Nzuko Umunna, the clergy, bishops and national assembly members; our people want to do an interaction with Mr President.

We also told Mr President about the foreign herdsmen that come to our land with AK47, it has heightened tension in the region, they kill and maim our people, rape our women and people are very much afraid going to farms and most of these people are in the tick bushes in the South East.

So we requested for joint operation with security forces to flush these people out. We don’t really have issues with our traditional herdsmen some of them have been living with us for quite a time. But the foreign herdsmen most of them don’t even speak Hausa neither do they speak Fulani or English and a number of them are being caught by security agencies and it’s introducing a new dimension in the name of herdsmen. We have informed Mr President that as governors of South East, we have banned these foreign bandits in the name of herdsmen. We also reminded Mr President about railway to south east and to extend gas pipeline to the industrial zones if the south east.

Lastly, we are aware that with diversion of flights to Owerri, all the route leading to Owerri airport now is going to be the den of armed robbers and kidnappers, we are looking at how all the routes leading to the Owerri airport should be given some facelift through the federal ministry of works and housing. We had to tell Mr President to note it and see how he can direct the ministry of works and housing to do that. And of course, lastly, there is going to be increased activities at Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri and so we requested for a facelift of the airport. These are the things I discussed with Mr President on behalf of the South East governors and leaders.

What was the President’s response to your demands. Secondly, your zone has always talked about regional cooperation, yet businesses are dying because of bad roads and other infrastructure. Can’t you address these issues jointly?

The President is well disposed to the request we made to him and I am sure he is going to meet our demands. Don’t forget that the last time we came we made a demand for accelerated process of awarding the second Niger bridge and that Mr. President granted. I think the second Niger bridge is the fastest in terms of progress amongst Mr. President’s projects.

On regional cooperation, we have a number of projects we have lined up for economic integration but first, we said what are those things we have comparative advantage individually as states and what are those things we can benefit together. That gave birth to what is called the South East Economic Development Commission. We are working on that and we thank Mr. President for the southeast commission and we had requested for all the stakeholders involved to reactivate the process again. Because, the last assembly had passed it again but the president has not assented. So by the process it has to go back to the National Assembly another enactment before they pass it to Mr. President for assent. So we are very sure that when we come in our group visit to Mr. President, we will also request he talk to the National Assembly though we have been talking to them through our representatives. So we have been doing a lot for our region together. For instance we have now joined the committee for south east security being warehoused in Enugu.

IPOB has placed travel ban on the south east governors, are you going to heed it or defy them?
There is no constitutional responsibility placed on IPOB to have the right to place a travel ban. Incidentally, when I travel I will let IPOB know that I am coming to that particular nation. They remain our brothers, it doesn’t matter the misunderstanding. A woman was telling the dog that we can stay together, it is a matter of understanding. So, I believe if we don’t have understanding today, we will have understanding tomorrow.