Ehirim: The Technocrat Who Wants To Be Soludo Of Imo

BY ONYEDIKACHI NKEMJIKA

Tobechukwu Justice Ehirim

He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; young, restless, angry and with huge grudge about how wrong things have gone in his home state, Imo. That may be an attempt at describing Tobechukwu Justice Ehirim, popularly known as TJ Ehirim, the intellectual and erudite don pressing to occupy the Imo State seat of power in the next election.

Ehirim had nurtured the desire more than three decades ago, which had to take on a new life and fresh desire due to the turn of events in the which he feels stultified development. He is disturbed by how bad the affairs of his lovely state have turned.

To him, the abstinence of men of quality has foisted on the state, poor thinkers and non-performers and he feels there is no better way to express his misgivings over the abhorrent state of things in the state than to throw his hat into the ring so as to implement the blueprint he has nursed for so long. He has therefore taken it as a major project, a mission driven by a passion that makes him swear like the Mandelas, Mbekis and Malemas of South Africa- no retreat, no surrender.

It was at the last edition of the Annual Igbo Heritage Lecture series, in Johannesburg, South Africa, that he unfolded his plan and regaled his audience in detail how he would devote all his time and resources to rid Imo State of the current bad government

“The Imo State of the Mbakwes cannot claim to be the heartland of Ndigbo and display such shameful and lacklustre performance in the choices of who governs them. My people must be emancipated, let the best of us lead the rest of us. Allowing the worst of us to lead the rest of us, is to deny ourselves modern freedoms, genuine growth and top quality development (not 419); a fatal error that requires marshal intervention and urgent remedy or we suffer the adverse consequences. The present governor of the state is not only grossly inadequate, he is insufficiently prepared for the job he got from the backyard and he must go,” he fumed.

The youthful administrator and technocrat with the above words, seemed to have served quit notice to present occupiers of the office; further vowing that he was ready as his warrior ancestors, to go the whole hug and ensure the change.

Waxing both historical and philosophical, he opined that his grandfather must have seen tomorrow when he named nwanagankpa, (the child that solves the hard tasks), which has since been upgraded to a chieftaincy title of nwanagankpa n’ Amazano, by his community of Umudim-Akuure, Umuele-Amazano, Umuaka of Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State. He therefore sees his quest as an ancestral command which would not be above his efforts to achieve.

“I have served Governor Hope (Uzodimma) a quit notice and he understands the seriousness that I attached to the notice. It is nothing personal. My state is in the state of emergency and all that is required is speed and urgency and I’m glad that the youths, the churches, the communities the civil society and the sons and daughters of the soil, home and abroad are unanimous in this new thinking that our destiny must only be resided in the hands of the best of us and not in the worst of us.

“I shall be the voice speaking for the millions who are disillusioned by the dismal performances of Uzodimma. It’s all about principle of nemo dat quod non habet, which simply means, you can’t give what you don’t have. Hope Uzodimma is an accidental leader, almost a disaster, who has shown that he is incapable of the high quality leadership that my state yearns”, he insisted.

Of grave concern to Ehirim is the wanton killings in Imo State which blame he on the doorstep of the governor, saying it was the consequence of entrusting people without leadership capacity with power, adding, “No leader worth his salt will supervise the systematic elimination of his fellow men and women, especially the youths and students, who are the critical workforce he requires to compete in the fourth industrial revolution, the way Uzodimma did. We can’t make a governor of men who have no conscience, who are affidavitely educated and whose pasts are not only tainted but riddled with the exact traits that our parents, teachers and Clergies warned us to avoid.

“Who does not know the occupation of our governor before his magical ascendancy into the red chambers and the catapult into the Douglas House? When people in power are those who went to kindergarten institutions, holding short term certificates and with little or no sources of reference are allowed entrance into the arena that is the preserve of the honorables and the celebrated, this is the result you get. It is this shame and hopelessness that I have come to erase and replace with the real hope. It is time to give the Imo situation the Anambra treatment.

“What we have is like a cancer eating deep into the state. The level of decay that I see in my state today cannot be viewed as ordinary. Hopelessness which has filled the air and the obstinacy of the man at the helm can be likened to that of pharaoh and how God used him to give His people freedom.

“Uzodimma is not an easy nut to crack, given the huge amount of wealth he has amassed to himself and the federal might. But I am the David, the only man in Imo State that can bring down the Goliath. He comes with a combination of incumbency power and the federal might but I come with the might of the people and the promise of God. I am the next Governor of Imo State. I have come to liberate my people and the political heavyweights in the state agree with that contention.

“I will be mobilising the greatest civil movement in history and raise a tsunami against the evil enterprise in Imo State. Because of me, the oppressed, the downtrodden and through the power of the Almighty, the courts, the riggers and even the presidency will yield to the will of the people.”

Ehirim who likens himself to former US President, Barack Obama and Chukwuma Charles Soludo, insists that the best in the society, rather than the dregs must occupy the political space and give sound leadership, adding that collaboration between him and Soludo would produce Igbo emancipation in values and development.

“It was on the crest of the same philosophy of the best must step forward and lead, wherever they are that the son of the poor Kenyan father emerged from obscurity to become the leader of the free world. It was with the same thinking that ndi-Anambra were able to dismantle the mafia network to produce the governor they deserve. We will be replicating the same in my state. Obama rose to become a doctor of law, it was not his money that made him the President, it was his quality. Soludo rose to the height of his profession.

It was not his money that made him the Governor-elect in the presence of a very fierce opposition, it was his quality. It was through the same thinking that Thabo Mbeki emerged from exile to become the wonder-working president of South Africa. I have also reached the pinnacle of my chosen career in Health and Public Service. There are lots of similarities between myself and those men. It is only fair that I be given an opportunity to serve my people,” he submitted.

On his pedigree, he said, “Everywhere I go and everything I’ve touched has turned gold. I graduated the best pupil in Umuele primary school in Umuele-Amazano and repeated the feat at St Augustine Grammar school, Nkwerre, a special model school set aside then, for the gifted children, before proceeding to University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to study pharmacy, where I also graduated with distinction. I served at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Owerri, where I left as the best graduating intern and later, State Specialist Hospital, Ekiti, where I also came out tops.

“I’m not the only one. Excellence actually runs in my family. My father, Chief Livinus Uzoma Ehirim, was a pioneer staff of the Nigerian Customs, who later fought the Nigeria Civil war on the Biafra side. My mother, lolo Adaeze Ehirim, knew that her son would one day become the leader of people. At birth, my grandfather saw the uniqueness in me and named me nwanagamkpa (the child that is destined to solve problems and resolve challenges. This is the background that influenced my past and is pushing my future. It is a tradition that hates slavery and detests the sight of people in anguish.

“In fact, I can say that my ambition to become the Governor started 32 years ago, when the Ozoigbondu, Chief Arthur Eze visited my school and the honour to decorate him with garlands fell on my little self as the brightest. Chief Arthur Eze, who lowered his frame almost to a breaking point, to facilitate the performance of the job my school gave me, told us how the future was ours to take and that the sacrifices they were making then was to prepare us to become future Governors and Presidents. I retired that day with the conviction that I was going to become a governor. Another prophesy came from a classmate back in 1991, George Ashiegbu, who later became a pastor, that I was going to become a Governor some day. Ashiegbu now leads Dunamis church in Ghana.

Indeed, spiced with a lot of philanthropic activities, his pedigree of excellence, diligence and ability to break new grounds, couple with his grip with the grassroots, may have been responsible for the huge fellowship he seems to be commanding presently, particularly amongst the youths.

“I arrived South Africa in 2003, at a time that going to school was not fashionable for our people. I was told that there is no place for people like me here, which I quickly rejected. I instantly chose the road less travelled and I assured them that I was going to break the glass ceiling. After initial difficulties, I was able to pay and write the qualifying exams that opened the doors and windows for the journey that later ensued. The South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) was swift in confirming my South African Bachelor of Pharmacy, followed by the admission into the prestigious South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC). In 2008, I topped it with a Supply Management Qualifications from the South African Development Institute and later an MBA from the world class institution, the Millark Business School in Johannesburg before crowning it with a Doctor of Philosophy.”

Narrating further, he said he later found himself in another huge medical facility, the Helen Joseph Hospital, where he held various top management positions, including the Pharmacy Manager; Coordinator, Mid-Term Strategic Plan Committee. It was here also, that he was again noticed by the Provincial Government, where he became a member, Department Special Task Force on Quality Pharmacycare and Reduction in Waiting Time for Patients at Gauteng Public Health Facility.

Other positions he held were, Operations and Warehouse Manager/Chief Pharmacist, Gauteng Medical Supplies Depot; Director, Procurement Authority, Gauteng Provincial Medical Supplies; Member, USAID/SCMS Re-engineering; Manager, Pharmaceutical Services, Gauteng Department of Health and many others.

“What is important in all these positions is the fact the South Africans didn’t have a problem handing the keys to their life into the hands of a foreigner. It didn’t matter to them that I am a Nigerian. All that mattered was my quality.”

He added: “In my first one week in office, I will declare a state of emergency on Imo State to atone for the lives of our people that were wasted, to satisfy the desperation and the ambition of one man and offer prayers for the repose of their souls. My Government will also seek compensation to the families of those who died the deaths they shouldn’t die.

“I will also declare state of emergency in health, education, hunger and basic infrastructures, like roads. These are what every responsible government should give to the governed as a matter of human right and without expecting a thank you. No human being should be allowed to suffer the pains and the indignity of the lack of basic necessities of life and that I will pursue.

“In addition, I promise to replicate what I did in the health sector in South Africa in Imo State. I will revolutionise the health sector and bring Primary Health Care to the doorsteps of every person living in Imo State at no cost to them.

“The message of the campaign, let the best of us lead the rest of us is now fast spreading across the Imo and beyond like a wild fire and the people, especially the youths are prepared to take their state back. I am the next governor. I’m the only person that has sufficient capacity to dare this lion and snatch the baton off him. I am the only person he is afraid of because he sees Ihedioha and Okorocha as people he can beat even in a sleep. Another Soludo is coming to Imo.”

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

Full Marks, Onyema/Dabiri

Ifechukwu Onyema

BY WOLE OLAOYE

Few things bring out the fellow-feeling in humankind than adversity. Nothing trumps the feeling that a fellow mortal has got your back, even when you think your back is against the wall. Ever fractious Nigeria stood up as one to show unparalleled empathy with their countrymen and women caught in the maelstrom of xenophobic hate in South Africa, and no two individuals epitomise this outpouring of love and charity than Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, businessman and owner of Air Peace, and Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chair of the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission. 

Onyema volunteered an aircraft from the fleet of Air Peace to ferry home his compatriots free of charge. Such noble spirit at a tie when hundreds of his countrymen with private jets, including billionaire pastors, business moguls and politicians, looked the other way.

Touching ground in Nigeria was like entering paradise for those who had virtually seen death face to face in South Africa. Nobody needed to preach to anyone that home was where you would find solace even if the whole world rejected you. The passengers are indigenes of various parts of Nigeria. All that had not mattered in their hour of distress as the enemy did not distinguish between Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba. In the aircraft too, adversity united them as they sang as one.

In a spontaneous show of gratitude they belted out a song in Igbo: “Onyema, Onyema! We go forth with him in his journeys; hither and thither, its Onyema we shall follow”. They followed that up with a rendition of the Nigerian national anthem, at which point it was all too much for the Air Peace boss and he burst into tears.

 I have made the point over the years and it bears repeating: No matter the problems in Nigeria — and there are many of them — we shoot nobody but ourselves in the foot when we de-market our country as the worst place on the planet. The social media is full of negative invocations against this patch of earth called Nigeria as if there is one single country in the world that is problem-free. It is not blind patriotism to wish one’s country well. When the chips are down, this is really the only country we can truly call our own. This is where our roots are. We must fix our country to make it a destination of choice for the rest of the world. Forget what prosperity preachers tell you. The road to sustainable wealth is hard work!

 It wasn’t too long ago when foreigners shipped themselves en masse to Nigeria in search of opportunities. We blew our prosperity of the 70’s to the extent that we now export crude oil only to import refined petroleum products. We have the ocean in our backyard but are forced to bathe with spittle. Oh, sure, we ought to do better — and we must. So, let’s stay here to prosecute the developmental battle instead of putting ourselves in a position where we are no better than sitting ducks for target practice by xenophobes.

\ All through the process of documenting the returnees in South Africa, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa was the visible face of the Nigerian government. Her commitment and empathy showed that Nigeria cared for her citizens no matter the situation. This is a new perception of government as the caring mother-hen. The fact that government could so seamlessly collaborate with the private sector to bring home our returnees is something that gladdens my heart. 

The resettlement programme announced to help the returnees rediscover their economic footing is equally commendable. Nigeria’s money must work for Nigerians. Announcing the measures via Twitter, Dabiri-Erewa said, said, “Apart from transport stipend to convey them to their various destinations, they are to receive airtime which would last for well over two months, as well as a soft loan from the Bank of Industry to support those interested in little businesses. A program for reintegration will also be put in place.”

 If every entrepreneur had the heart of Allen Onyema and every government operative had the commitment and efficiency of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Nigeria of our dreams can’t be too far off anymore. Onyema, by the way, deserves a national award. 

Back to prosperity preachers who have been egging some Nigerians on to perdition in the name of Biblical promises. The more you sow (not the harder you work) the more you reap! Hawking miracles and illusions, they have blurred the lines between homily, motivational talk and 419! One of them, Pastor Benny Hinn, recently confessed that he had misled a lot of people with his prosperity gospel. According to him, “I am correcting my own theology … The blessings of God are not for sale. And miracles are not for sale. And prosperity is not for sale.”

 So, we are back to the good old gospel of how to get ahead in life: hard work, tenacity, honesty, with or without a pinch of luck. With those, you can approach the Throne of Grace to bless the work of your hands. 

If only our political leaders all over the federation would stop looting the treasury and deploy our resources towards the development of our land and people! 

The red carpet treatment accorded the returnees is quite in order. Now, let us roll up our sleeves and work hard to make Nigeria better so that our children will no longer suffer the indignity of being hunted down with cudgels and guns as unwanted foreigners in countries they had, not too long ago, sacrificed so much to liberate. Welcome home, sojourners!


SOURCE: DAILY TRUST

Xenophobia: Ezekwesili, Nigerians In S’Africa Meet

Oby Ezekwesili

BY OLUKOREDE YISHAU
A former presidential candidate in Nigeria, Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili, and leaders of the Nigerian community in Cape Town have met to proffer a solution to recurring xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The meeting held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa, comprising Nigerian entrepreneurs, professionals and the Nigerian community led by Mr Cosmos Echie, the acting President of the Nigerian Community Western Cape.

In a communique after the meeting, held in the form of an interactive session, the group preferred to describe the attacks as Afrophobia.

“It was unanimously agreed that the crisis is detrimental to the spirit of African renaissance, affirmation of black heritage, progress and development. Afrophobia compromises everything that the recently brokered intra-African trade – Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement — represents and aspires to deliver,” the communique added while faulting the attacks.

According to a copy of the communique made available to our correspondent on Monday, governments of Nigeria and South Africa are urged to guide against provocative comments.

The South Africa’s President, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, was also asked to apologise to Nigerians and other countries whose citizens were attacked.

The South African government was also advised to trigger series of actions necessary to de-escalate the brewing conflict.

This, the experts said, would ensure that bilateral trade agreements between the countries would not be affected.

Part of the communique read, “Officials of the government of South Africa must immediately desist from making any further pejorative and incendiary comments targeting Nigerians and their country and instead publicly commit to taking preventive and surveillance measures that will foreclose a repeat of Afrophobic attacks of Nigerians and other African nationals.

“The President of South Africa, Cyril Remaphosa, should rise to the demands of leadership and reach out to the President of Nigeria to trigger the series of dialogue and actions necessary for swift de-escalation of the brewing conflict between their two countries.

“The President of South Africa should offer a sincere public apology to Nigeria, other countries affected by the attacks and the entire continent for the tragic hostility and harm perpetrated against their citizens.

“The President of South Africa should send a sharp signal to South Africans and the continent by visiting the victims of the Afrophobia attacks to empathize with and reassure them of their safety in South Africa and the government should consider paying compensations for losses sustained in the attacks.

“South Africa and Nigeria should agree a mutual legal assistance cooperation scheme for tackling cases of crimes occurring among their citizens.”

It also read, “The Nigerian High Commission and Nigerians in South Africa should design a fact-based campaign to widely convey the accurate and positive narrative of the value they contribute to their host country. For example, South Africans must be made aware that more than 18 per cent of lecturers in their higher institutions are Nigerians. A significant percentage of medical personnel in rural hospitals are Nigerians. Most Nigerians and Nigerian-owned businesses operate responsibly in legitimate and professional practices in South Africa compared to the less than one per cent of cases of shadowy activities.

“The Nigerian government should make visible effort to guarantee the safety and security of South Africans and their businesses in Nigeria.

“The umbrella organisation of South Africa- based Nigerians will be encouraged to launch a business platform to support the formalising processes for as many informal businesses of Nigerians as possible in order to better capture the value and impact being created and contributed to South Africa’s economic and social landscape.”

The communique added, “Ezekwesili promised her expertise in personally working with the NCWC to ensure that their goal to help achieve the formalising platform.

“The leaders of South Africa-based Nigerians will collaborate to promote a citizens diplomacy programme to foster stronger personal and business relationships between Nigerians and South Africans.”

Other members of the delegation that met with the former minister are Mr Fuster Ludjoe, current financial Secretary of NCWC and the founding leader of Nigerian community group in Cape Town; Mrs Ebiere Joseph-Akwunwa, Public Relations Officer, NCWC; Mr Chukwudi Nwokeabia; Mr Kiisi Women;
Mr Samson Famuyiwa; Mr Sunday Ekene, Chief Welfare Officer, NCWC; and assistant welfare officers of NCWC.

Others are Mrs Felicia Feni, Treasurer of NCWC; Chief T.A Odutayo, who represented the Yoruba community in Cape Town; Chief Vincent Nzekwe; Mr Simon Odumegwu, Chairman and General Secretary of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Western Cape; and Pastor Barry Wuganaale, leader of the Ogoni community.

Igbo Trader Murdered In South Africa

BY CHIJIOKE JANNAH

JOHANNESBURG (DAILY POST) -- The Nigeria Union, South Africa (NUSA) on Wednesday announced the murder of another Nigerian.

The union’s President, Adetola Olubajo, said that the victim, 46-year-old Obinna Stanley Ayanele, hailed from Uruala, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State.


He said Ayanele was murdered in cold blood by some criminals in his shop in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, on Tuesday evening.

The criminals had reportedly attacked Ayanele with the intention of robbing him of his money and wares.

“With deep sorrow in our hearts, the Nigeria Union South Africa regrets to announce the gruesome murder of another Nigerian, the late Stanley Ayanele from Uruala, Ideato North LGA, Imo, aged 46.

“Until his death, he was a small-scale business owner, a stockist of petty goods.

“Ayanele was accosted by some criminals at his shop in Krugersdorp, Johannesburg in the evening of August 20, 2019 with the intention of robbing him of his money and wares.

“In the process, he was murdered in cold blood,’’ Olubajo said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said that according to a witness, three unknown men held him at gunpoint and robbed him of his valuables, including cash.

“He was brutally stabbed severally, and they smashed his head with a hammer thereby leaving him in a pool of his blood to bleed to death,’’ Olubajo quoted the witness as saying.

He added that the murderers were on the verge of carting away the late Obinna’s wares in the shop when community members contacted the South Africa Police Service (SAPS), Krugersdorp Cluster Station.

Olubajo said the SAPS crime team later arrested two of the criminals while the third one escaped. He said a manhunt was immediately constituted.

He noted that the murder weapons were confiscated by the police and the remains of the deceased deposited at a government mortuary.

The union’s president said that a case of murder was immediately opened by the Nigeria Union Ward at the police station and the suspects were charged to court on Wednesday (yesterday).

‘Let Us All Grow Big,’ Says Jozi’s First Nigerian Farmer

Edward "Green Fingers" Wisdom, Image via Food for Mzansi

BY MAGNIFICENT MNDEBELE

GUATENG, SOUTH AFRICA (FOOD FOR MZANSI) -- Edward Wisdom (48) is originally from the southeast of Nigeria. Since coming to South Africa in 1994 he has carved out a niche for himself in business and agriculture, producing and selling produce that other African immigrants and expats struggle to find in Mzansi.

Those who affectionately know Wisdom call him Green Fingers “because everything I put on the ground grows well.” He is an Igbo, hailing from a line of subsistence farmers, their staples being yams, cassava and taro.

In 1996, Wisdom opened a shop in Braamfontein, making him one of the first Nigerian shop owners in Johannesburg. In 2011, almost fifteen years later, he obtained a 3.5-hectare piece of land in Vanderbijlpark, an industrial town on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province.

This made him the first Nigerian commercial farmer around Johannesburg. “I realised that most of the Africans in South Africa were importing a lot of their food. I saw a gap in garri [the powder of cassava] and bitter leaf plant. These two are the major things West Africans import more than anything else,” he claims. However, the staples are still not easily available in South Africa. Millions of rands are spent every month on importing the staples. Noticing this gap, Wisdom says he decided to capitalize on it.
West African vegetables

Now this father of five mainly grows highly medicinal West African crops such as bitter leaf (an indigenous tropical African plant known for treating malaria, tuberculosis, kidney diseases and others) and okra (a plant known for reducing cholesterol levels) as well as basil, butternut, tomatoes and brinjal. He sells his produce under the brand “Uncle Wiz”.


WISDOM SAYS ALTHOUGH IT’S HARD TAKING “THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED”, SUCH RISKS CAN BE QUITE REWARDING.

“There is a lot of competition in the South African food markets and there is no market for small-scale farmers. Agriculture is a numbers game. Without big land you can’t feed a lot of people. I decided to go where there’s less competition, but high demand,” he tells me.

Additionally, Wisdom says, part of the reason why he produces these vegetables is to preserve the Igbo history. Millions of people died of starvation in the late 1960s when a short-lived country called Biafra seceded from Nigeria, leading to a three-year-long civil war and a blockade of the predominantly Igbo area.

Wisdom recalls: “When I took these seeds… my intentions were to keep them as a seed bank for our children so that they would know our crops and history just in case they wipe all of the Igbos out. One of the weapons of war is hunger and that’s what they used against us in 1967 to 1970.”
Rainbow maize

On his farm, Wisdom also plants rainbow maize, which resulted in him being flown to Italy last year to showcase his produce and to engage with other rainbow maize farmers across the world. His trip was organised by Slow Food International, a grassroots organisation which seeks to preserve local food cultures and traditions.

Rainbow maize is an “heirloom variety” of corn that was produced by subsistence farmers in South Africa for centuries. It is believed the crop was brought here in the 16th century by Portuguese traders. Slow Food International is encouraging the production of rainbow maize to preserve it in the face of industrial production of maize, 80% of which is genetically modified.

Wisdom says he got 1000 rainbow corn seeds from Dr Naude Malan, founder of Soweto farmers’ lab Izindaba Zokudla, and Slow Food activist Melissa de Billot. During the 2016 harvest, Wisdom says, he produced about ten times more than the seeds he received. Last year he brought some of his rainbow corn to the farmers’ lab in Soweto to encourage other small-scale farmers around Gauteng to plant it.

He says a while ago he went to check the farmers’ progress. “There is another farmer that I gave some rainbow maize last year, and she’s doing well,” he tells me. Surprisingly, this farmer Wisdom refers to is Thembi Nxumalo. Food For Mzansi recently wrote about how she started farming with just two seed packets from a supermarket.

Wisdom owns a shop in Turffontein, a suburb on the south of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. In his shop he sells vegetables produced by other farmers of Izindaba Zokudla. Wisdom says he does this to support local and fellow farmers. “Remember, we produce organically, meaning we don’t produce the biggest, but we produce the best.”
Crime and errors made

Wisdom’s agricultural journey hasn’t been easy. He’s made some major mistakes, from which he has learned. In 2014, just a month before his 3000 chickens were ready for sale, all of them died – a loss which even today is still raw.

“I did not calculate properly how to treat and feed them. I started big by wanting to be a rich famer and instead I went down.” To recover financially and to revive his poultry business he had to start selling off his possessions, including his cars. The sacrifices were in vain and he couldn’t save the business.

A year later, 63 of his goats were stolen at night. Only one goat remained, which was also poisoned. “If I didn’t have passion for agriculture I would have stopped there,” he tells me in an emotional tone. Eventually he did give up on livestock farming.
‘All of us would grow big’

Nevertheless, he says he is quite happy to plant these vegetables, since it is less likely that the locals will steal his produce, as they are unfamiliar with most of it.

He is now experimenting with different kinds of West African vegetables to find the ones that grow well in the soil on his farm. Although he uses his shop to sell and showcase his produce and those of other farmers, he says he is not close to realising his farming dreams due to a shortage of agricultural infrastructure.

“I do not have proper water or a borehole and a greenhouse tent,” he tells me. But he remains hopeful that his business will expand to produce enough of these vegetables which are in such high demand within the economic hubs.

“I want to produce organic food of quality, which people will eat and enjoy,” he says. “Agriculture is something that, if black people were a little bit loving and supporting of each other, could let all of us grow big. Poverty will go out of our families.”