Ohanaeze Preaches ‘Biafra Of The Mind’

BY NWAFOR

VANGUARD

Spokesman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Chuks Ibegbu, has called on the people of the South-East to embrace Biafra as a philosophy, which he called “Biafra of the mind,” rather than a physical/geographical space.

He also called on the South-East to put their acts together and not imperil the region politically.

Ibegbu urged IPOB and pro-Biafran groups to have a corridor of harmony with Igbo governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo rather than its current posture, even as he called on political actors in Igboland to serve the people or quit the scene.

According to him, “I know some people use our nostalgia for Biafra to feather their nests and create disunity in Igboland, but what we need today is Biafra of the mind and not necessarily physical Biafra.”

Ibegbu noted that some commentaries and posturing in the South-West may give room for the South-East to be outsmarted in the next political dispensation.

 He insisted it was the turn of the South-East and Igbo to produce the next President of the country on the basis of equity, justice and fair play. 

He said: “Who said there is no morality in politics? I want to advise some extremely ambitious people, who want to torpedo justice and equity after the north at the presidency to desist from such in their own interest.”

 Ibegbu noted that Nigeria has to be restructured before the next political dispensation “or we continue to move in circles, even with an Igbo man as President,” calling for the implementation of some salient aspects of the 2014 confab report. 

In another development, the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, COSCON, has asked Nigerians to insist on good governance from their political leaders and disgrace those that loot their commonwealth. 

Director of Programme of the group, Edomobi Promise, told Nigerians to “boo and pooh pooh” corrupt politicians rather than worshipping them and giving them titles, noting that “once this is done, they will stop their gra gra and looting.”

 While regretting the attack on Senator Ike Ekweremadu in Germany, Promise noted that the act will be a warning to Nigerian politicians that the game has changed and they must also change. 

He noted that the group would soon launch Operation Free Nigeria from Corruption and Operation Rescue Nigeria From Beastly Politicians and accused religious men and the elites of high level of unpatriotism, asking them to turn a new leaf in their own interest.

Anambra: PDP’s Position On Zoning And Other Matters

BY ACHILLEUS-CHUD UCHEGBU

ENUGU (DAILY SUN) -- Recently, the South East zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) met in Enugu in what might have been a routine conclave of party members and officials who were desirous of returning the party to its regional glory. One of the highlights, and indeed the most pronounced outcome of the meeting, was the decision of the party not to zone the 2021 governorship election in Anambra State to any particular zone.

Prior to the decision, the ruling party in the state, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), had announced its decision to zone the office to Anambra South. The action, though not unexpected, has made a few politicians from the zone to also canvass that the PDP equally zone the ticket to Anambra South. Those behind this call had also gone ahead to recruit traditional rulers from the zone who also, recently, issued a statement calling on all political parties in the state to zone their governorship ticket to Anambra South.

Earlier, the South East zone of the PDP had, during a courtesy call on High Chief Obiora Okonkwo, a party chieftain from Anambra Central, at his home in Ogidi, last July, vowed to wrest power from APGA. Speaking on the occasion, South East zonal chairman of the party, Chief Austin Umahi, said that Government House, Awka, was PDP’s next target, having successfully won back Imo State. He said the target was to ensure that all five states of the region were controlled by the PDP. The outcome of the event may have sent cold shivers down the spine of APGA and its leadership, forcing it to re-emphasise its decision to zone the next governorship to Anambra South.

The call for the zoning of the next governorship to Anambra South is, at the moment, the dominant issue in Anambra politics, as stalwarts network for the next election. However, the voices of those who are opposed to zoning as a criterion of selecting leaders in Anambra State have been dominant over those who are in its favour. The majority of Anambra indigenes believe zoning has become anachronistic and as such ought not to come within focus as Anambra moves towards the next governorship election.

Those who argue against zoning insist that Anambra has grown past the idea. They insist that, since all politics is local, Anambra State is a single-tribe state and as such every part of the state is interconnected. For them, Anambra is homogenous and zoning would only seek to split the people along political lines, something that is anathema to the political evolution of the state as the leading light of the South East.

There is every reason to agree with those pushing against zoning. While the Igbo people, among them Anambra people, are pushing for the zone to produce a Nigerian President, it, however, does not logically follow that any part of Anambra State suffers the sort of political exclusion that the South East suffers as a region. Therefore, using the quest for zoning at the presidential level to make a case for same in Anambra suggests that Anambra South suffers political exclusion and marginalisation. But facts indicate that the zone has had a fair taste of the office of governor in Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Dame Virgy Etiaba and Andy Uba. In fact, every Anambra politician agrees that it was rather Anambra North that suffered such exclusion until Peter Obi and leaders of APGA, in their wisdom, worked the political pendulum to ensure a sense of equity was enjoyed by the zone through the incumbent.

Logically, the zoning issue in Anambra, though not known to have been agreed at any convention or meeting of all Anambra sons and daughters, has reached its climax. It can no longer yield to logic. Therefore, simple reason demands that the contest be made open to all who have the credibility, competence and capacity to aspire and seek the votes of Anambra people to lead. Nothing else would be more elevating of the eminent position of the state as leading light of the South East.

That is exactly what the PDP has done by throwing open the race and discountenancing zoning. By walking that road, PDP positions itself to win back Anambra. However, there are banana peels that the party must avoid. While zoning is not an issue with the PDP, imposition of candidate is. For the party to win back Anambra as easily as it plans, the first step must be to allow internal democracy to thrive. The delegates must be allowed to elect the candidate of their choice. Doing otherwise would return the party to its ignoble past and defer its hopes of returning to power in the state.

This position, as already expressed by many PDP faithful in Anambra State, is accentuated by the party’s performance at the 2019 presidential election. PDP had overwhelming support in Anambra State at the last election. Beyond Peter Obi, an erstwhile governor of the state, being the vice presidential candidate of the party, the conduct of the presidential primary election in Port Harcourt and the outcome did more to win back support for the party.

PDP came out of the Port Harcourt convention stronger and more united. All the presidential aspirants queued behind the winner, Atiku Abubakar. A repetition of the same feat in Anambra State would easily deliver Government House, Awka, to the party in 2021. And the signs are already there.

Anambra PDP had registered itself in the consciousness of Nigerians as the most acrimonious. However, it has, since the last governorship election in 2017, worked its way peacefully through all contending issues and coalesced under one umbrella. That umbrella, now being held by Chief Ndubisi Nwobu, is stronger, bigger and more purpose-driven. The unity, sense of purpose and internal democracy now driving Anambra PDP is a winning formula, which has given party members greater confidence that the next governorship election is fair game, one to be contested from a position of strength.

Blame Igbo Leaders, Not IPOB, For Economic Woes In Southeast - Ogah

Chinedu Ogah. Image: Orient Daily News

BY SUNDAY AGBO

ABAKALIKI (ORIENT DAILY NEWS) -- A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ebonyi state, Comrade Chinedu Ogah, yesterday, attributed the precarious economic situation in the southeast to the inability of leaders of the zone to come together to develop a feasible economic blueprint.

Ogah, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Abakaliki, challenged the southeast governors to develop the zone to a business hub in order to reduce the rate of crime and criminal activities in the zone.

According to him, the agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for creation of independent state of Biafra and the northerners were not in anyway the problem facing the zone, but their inability to harness the abundance natural resources endowment in the zone.

He argued that if the southeast governors could come together to harness the abundant natural resources of each state, it would boost entrepreneurship in the zone.

Ogah further maintained that ministerial positions for southeast are strategic, such that if the minister could come together, work as a team, it would benefit the zone.

He said, “Having Sharon Ikeazu as minister of state for environment will help to solve the ecological challenges facing southerners in the country”,he said.

“IPOB is not a problem; the problem with the southeast are Igbo leaders, who have refused to open up opportunities for younger people. The northerners and Fulanis are not the problem, but those at the helms of affairs”, he stated.

On the proposed renovation of Akanu Indian International Airport, he suggested that it should be a unity project among the southeast governors. He said it should be renovated by them after which they should reclaim their money from the federal government. He added that they should build a railway from Ebonyi, connecting all the five eastern states.

“If they can bring up a business plan develop, it from Agbor in Delta state down to Ogoja in Cross River, southeast will be a hub of business.

“It is not only federal government that can start up a project in the zone. We should come back and develop our zone; let the governors look at what each state is known for and harness them. Private entrepreneurs will come and develop it and such will reduce political thuggery, violence, and crime which are some major crises facing us as a people”, he stated.

The Igbo And Criminality At Home And Abroad

After reading what I am now writing, one will come to the conclusion that I am protecting criminals or even encouraging them or at least ignoring the Igbo contribution to criminal activities. Far be it from me.

I condemn criminal activity by any person and I ask anybody to search the internet or the police records in the town of Medfield where I have lived for almost 40 years. You will find nothing. I want to claim that I live by example.

Now to the point about the criminality of the Igbo.

Most people abroad are not criminals and studies by various immigrant organizations show that immigrants commit fewer crimes than natives.

The more a particular set of immigrants settle in particular parts of a country, their contributions both positive and criminal, to the places they settled increases.

A few examples will illustrate:

1. There are many Jews in New York and Chicago where loan sharking, financial frauds, and other negative society activities are reportedly committed by Jews. In reporting these negative actions the very important good done by the Jews are not as dominant as the crimes.

2. Another ethnic group in New York and Chicago is the Italian. One often hears of the Mafia purportedly an Italian Criminal Gang. Murders, thievery, and many anti-social pursuits are also reportedly carried out by Italians. Once more the good Italian contribution is published on page 20 of newspapers, not on the front pages.

3. In Saudi Arabia, many Nigerians are accused of crimes and the vast majority of these criminals are of Muslim faith and come from Western and Northern Nigeria.

4. In England where the Yoruba have lived for centuries and make up a higher percentage of Nigerians many of reported crimes carry Yoruba names.

5. In North America where the Igbo seem to be ubiquitous reported crimes by the Igbo is just as ubiquitous.

6. Enough

One thing these criminals: Jews, Italians, Igbo, Yoruba, etc. have in common is that the criminals are recent residents of their communities. Jewish criminal activities, Italian Mafia activities, seem to diminish with the passage of time as the criminals get absorbed into the society and their children find more respectable carriers.

So the hope is that Nigeria’s criminal activities will diminish with time.

Another thing that the immigrant criminals have in common is that they are usually those who feel persecuted in their home countries and left because of this persecution. They try desperately to find their footings in their new country. This might be one of the reasons for the Igbo criminality.

They feel they have been excluded from participating in the looting in their country so they go elsewhere to loot.

The above are excuses as the vast majority of immigrants are law abiding new citizens as I mentioned earlier.

Any solutions?

Yes. The law enforcement authorities should continue to infiltrate the gangs, arrest and prosecute the suspects and the courts will continue to lock them up to protect the society.

Compatriots need to send signals that get-rich-quick schemes invariably back fire. And look down on the perpetrators instead of looking up to them.

This example was set by the father of late Professor Sam Aluko who asked his son “how come you already have a car immediately after arriving home”. The father asked his son to be accountable. In this case the son bought the car from his car advance by the government. We all need to ask this kind of question.

That will be one of the solutions.

Benjamin Obiajulu Aduba
Boston, Massachusetts
August 26, 2019

Count Me Out Of N7.2bn Fraud Allegation – Orji Kalu

Orji Uzor Kalu

BY AKIN KUPONIYI

LAGOS, NIGERIA (PM NEWS) -- Former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has denied allegations that he stole N7.2 billion while at the helm of affairs of the state between 1999 and 2007 as the state has no such funds then.

The former Governor made this known in the continuation of his testimony before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria to prove his innocence of the allegation of N7.2 billion level against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The former Governor, while responding to a question from his lawyer, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN) over the allegation, disclosed that there was no way he could steal what was not in existence.

“Abia State doesn’t have such money; even the day I was leaving the office, the state borrowed money to pay salaries. Abia State doesn’t have even a billion naira in any account at the time I was governor”, he said.

To back up his denial of the allegations, the former governor, who is currently the Chief Whip of the Senate also spoke about the difficulties he encountered in running the State with allocations from Federal government.

“The monthly allocation of Abia State when I took over in June 1999 was N168 million. It was averaging between N168 million and N172 million monthly. The first month that I came in, there was even no money to buy diesel. I spent my own money to run the state for six months.

“In the year 2000, monthly allocation was between N170 million and N189 million. In 2001, it came to about N302 million to about N380 million. I can recollect in 2002, it was almost the same and in 2003 when the revenue allocation was changed, we were having about N400 million.

“The highest money I got as Governor came from 2004 when we have about N1 billion and from that time up till May 2007 before I left, what we had was N1.6 billion.

“Throughout my stay in office, I never owed workers and pensioners. When I took over as Governor and before I left, we moved it up to N500 million. It was from this that we were able to do a lot of things”.

Kalu had earlier in his evidence told the court that he had been a successful businessman before venturing into politics.

Speaking on his line of businesses before he began his political journey, he narrated: “I was running a group of companies under Slok Nigeria Ltd and I have a big furniture factory in Maiduguri. I was also trading in cows. The cows were coming from Chad to Umuahia. I also had a veritable oil factory in Aba supplying to people in Kano and Maiduguri.

“I was also into shipping activities with major oil companies. We also have a very big corn farm in the East and Bauchi.

“We were major shareholder before another shareholder bought off First Bank. In 1994, the then Hallmark Bank had a problem and I later bought majority stake in the bank. We also had major interests in Banks in DR Congo, Gambia, Sierra-Leone, Liberia and the then Sudan before crisis sets in.”

The former governor also disclosed that he dealt in buying and selling of property.

He further disclosed that he made all his statements to the EFCC under bad treatment from some police officers.

“When I learnt they were looking for me, I called Ibrahim Lamorde that I was in the United States and that I will show up upon my return to the country.

“However, when I returned to Nigeria, they were waiting for me at the airport and whisked me away to their office, after I was beating up thoroughly by police officers, I asked them what was my offence and they told me I have been insulting President Obasanjo. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Ibrahim Lamorde later came to apologize to me.”

The presiding Judge, Idris Mohammed has adjourned till tomorrow for continuation of hearing.

"I Don't Condone Evil," Iheadioha Speaks On Links To Suspected Fraudster Indicted By US

Chika Odionyenma (left), one of the suspects indicted for fraud by the U.S., was a member of the sub-committee on logistics for the inauguration of Emeka Ihedioha (right) as Imo State governor [Vanguard]

BY SAMSON TOEOMADE

OWERRI, IMO STATE (PULSE) --Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has distanced himself from Chika Augustine Odionyemma, one of almost 80 Nigerians recently indicted for massive fraud in the United States of America.

In a 252-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed on Thursday, August 22, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice accused the defendants of participating in a massive conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through a variety of fraud schemes and launder the funds through a Los Angeles-based money laundering network ran by two Nigerians.

Odionyemma was one of the Nigerians whose names appeared in the document released to the public last week.

Many have pointed accusing fingers at Iheadioha since the list surfaced because he had appointed the accused as a member of his inauguration planning and handover committee ahead of his swearing in in May. There have also been reports that the accused financed the governor's campaign.

However, Iheadioha has said the indictment is personal to Odionyemma and shouldn't be linked to him or the Imo State government in any way.

In a statement signed by the governor's media aide, Izuchukwu Akwarandu, on Monday, August 26, 2019, he said he only associated with Odionyemma because he's an "Imo son".

He said the accused did not have any crimes hanging over his head when he was appointed by his administration and that he definitely did not finance his campaign.

He said, "It is important to note that, as of the time the governor appointed him into the inauguration committee, there was no fraud case hanging around his neck anywhere in the world.

"The time the governor attended the programmes he organised, there was no fraud case hanging around his neck anywhere in the world too.

"He is an Imo son and it was in that capacity that the governor attended his programmes. Nothing else.

"Those who say that he sponsored the governor's election are just being mischievous.

"Governorship election is a big project. It is not something you say somebody sponsored. Nobody sponsored the governor's election.

"The fraud case is personal. It has nothing to do with the governor. The governor is a man of integrity who does not condone evil.

"Those who are linking the governor to the fraud case because he attended some of the programmes Odionyemma organised or he appointed him into the inauguration committee are just being mischievous and playing petty politics."

The U.S. government has 17 suspects in custody and is on the trail of 57 other suspects spread across nine countries.

"We believe this is one of the largest cases of its kind in US history," United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Nick Hanna, said during a press conference on Thursday.
Criminal ring stole millions of dollars



The Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Paul Delacourt, said last week that the case involves 32 confirmed victims located in the U.S., Japan, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Trinidad and Tobago with an approximated loss of $10 million.

Investigation into the criminal ring began in 2016 with a single bank account used to receive funds stolen from a compromised business email.

"The case then evolved into a complex, sophisticated, extensive conspiracy involving various types of cyberfraud through business emails compromise, traditional romance schemes, and the laundering of the proceeds of those frauds," Delacourt said.

31-year-old Valentine Iro and 38-year-old Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, both Nigerians, were used by the network for bank and money-service accounts that could receive funds fraudulently obtained from victims.

Iro and Igbokwe allegedly collected bank accounts, fielded requests for bank account information, provided that information to co-conspirators around the world, and laundered the money obtained from victims.

They did this in exchange for a cut of the money stolen from victims of the various fraud schemes.

The suspects are on the hook for conspiracy to engage in money laundering; conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud; wire and bank fraud; and money laundering.

Other charges include engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity; operating an unlicensed money transmitting business; destruction of property to prevent seizure; false statements; aggravated identity theft; aiding and abetting; and criminal forfeiture.

"If convicted," Hanna said, "all of the defendants face potential decades in federal prison."

ECHOES OF 1966: Some Igbos are lying over Awolowo’s civil war role – Adebanjo

SUNDAY VANGUARD INTERVIEW

Ayo Adebanjo image via Vanguard

BY DAPO AKINREFON

CHIEF Ayo Adebanjo is a staunch Awoist, loyal to the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In this interview, Adebanjo narrates the origin of the crisis in the Western Region, the rift between Awolowo and the late Samuel Ladoke Akintola and how Awolowo prevailed on former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (ret.), to fight civil war. Excerpts:
You were among those tried alongside the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for treasonable felony in 1963...
I did not face trial but I was one of the accused persons. I was one of those who escaped to Ghana and not available for trial until they (Awolowo and others) were convicted; but we were on the list, I, Enahoro and Ikokwu. It was after that they (military) got Enahoro in London to be tried but Kwame Nkrumah (then Ghanaian President) gave us asylum until after the (Ghana) coup when Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah sent us back to Nigeria and Aguiyi Ironsi sent us to Kaduna prison. We were in Kaduna prison when the second coup took place.

But did Awolowo receive any preferential treatment while in prison? 

He (Awolowo) was in prison in Calabar. 

Why I asked that question is because one of the surviving nationalists, Mabazuluike Amaechi, alleged in a recent interview that then Eastern Government under Michael Okpara took care of Awolowo in prison.

 (Cuts in) That is true.

 He also said that Okpara paid Awolowo’s wife salaries.

 I don’t know about that. I know he (Awolowo) was given fair treatment there. I know that. You said he was paid salaries? 

Amaechi said Awolowo’s wife was paid salaries. 

I don’t know. I can’t vouch for that. We were in Ghana and we didn’t’ know about that. All I know is that he was given fair treatment while in prison. It was from that prison that Gowon, when he became Head of State after the July 29, 1966 coup, released him. 

For the sake of the present generations who have no sense of history, what was it that led to you, Awolowo and others being implicated in that saga? 

It was a betrayal by Ladoke Akintola who alleged that some of us, who were dynamic in the party (Action Group) and had a relationship with Nkrumah who had a dynamic political party in Ghana, were planning to topple Balewa government. Before then, Chief Awolowo had sent some of us down there, especially some of us who were organizing secretaries, to go and study the tactics of the Convention Peoples Party.

 In Ghana? 

Yes in Ghana, which was a force at that time; it was that one that brought crisis between Awolowo and Akintola. It was the crisis that Akintola used to malign Awolowo. Not only that, when you talk about the NIPC then, it was said that you can never catch the Action Group because we had money. We established a straight trade company. We got loan from the marketing board. 

From which company? 

Western Nigerian Marketing Board and this was done on commercial basis. If that loan from the Marketing Board was six percent interest, Awolowo would say they should give us at 12 percent (Action Group) because he did not want grumblings from outside. It was on that commercial basis that Akintola said that Awolowo took the marketing board money. Awolowo never believed in collecting contracts from anyone. The Action Group sourced money through that business which it got from one of the top leaders of AG, Shonibare. Shonibare took a loan from Barclays Bank to establish Shonibare Estate and he was making money. Having discovered that, Awolowo called Shonibare to know how he was able to do it and that he should do it for the party so that the party won’t rely on anybody. So, instead of going to Barclays Bank, we got our loan from our own marketing board and paid interest. 

That is what caused the quarrel in Western Region before the crisis.

 It is like anybody going to the bank, get a loan and, because there is a crisis, you now went to the bank and said ‘don’t give anybody any loan again’. It was a purely financial system. That was what led to Coker Enquiry. 

Was that what led to you, Awolowo and others being implicated? 

No, Coker Enquiry was a development of the crisis in the Western Region where they wanted to cripple the activities of Action Group. But the question of treasonable felony was through the misinformation of Akintola that we wanted to topple the Balewa government because the secretaries of the Action Group went to Ghana to learn the tactics of the Convention Peoples Party. 

1954 conference 

The unfortunate thing in the country is that when Awolowo, Enahoro and politicians of the First Republic were fighting on principle, we are presently using a unitary power under a federal system. We had already established federalism before independence but it was as a result of the agreement at the 1954 constitutional conference, which stemmed from the crisis in the Federal House after Enahoro’s motion. They summoned all the leaders at that time and they agreed on the 1954 Constitution whereby they made the Constitution of each region separate from the federal Constitution. It was under that Constitution that you had premiership being established. Before then, you had the McPherson Constitution that came into effect in 1952. So, when the crisis came, McPherson said ministers of the cabinet, who were normally chosen from each region that had the majority, will not take part in the self-government motion. McPherson also threatened to sack anyone who participated in it. The ministers of the Western Region said that was why they were elected by the people. We told him that we were ready to go but then-Ooni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, told McPherson than rather than sack a Knight of the British Empire (KBE), he (Aderemi) would resign. So, the whole team from the Western Region resigned from the cabinet and that was the beginning of the crisis because there was no representation from the Western Region. 

It was there that then-Colonial Secretary, Santos, sent for the leaders of the various parties-Azikiwe, Sardauna, Awolowo and others. That was the origin of the Constitutional Conference. It was at that conference that things were broken down, and then they all agreed on those terms which created premiership and autonomy. The autonomy was such that the Western Region established a foreign office in London and Chief E.M.R. Okorodudu from Warri was the first Secretary-General.

 It was in that embassy, 15A Kessington Palace Garden in London, that I got married in 1960. When Awolowo exercised that pride, other regions were ridiculing him. Then they followed suit, the Eastern Region created its embassy. We were completely autonomous, it was that system we had until the military came in 1966 and gave us this rotten Constitution that is confusing. 

The question of derivation was settled, we (West) had more money through cocoa, the North had the groundnut pyramid and the East had palm oil. It was on the return of that conference that Zik said at the airport that federalism was imperative but before he left for the conference, he was unitarist. 

Many believed that you people were just victims of brinkmanship of that time. Did Papa Awolowo forgive those behind that incident before he passed on in 1987? 

He did. When Yakubu Gowon came into power, Chief Awolowo made a tour. Gowon wanted to tell the country that the whole country was united, so he told Chief Awolowo to tour the country for peace to show that there was no crisis in the country again.

 So, Chief Awolowo had to tour across country for peace, declaring that peace had returned and, after that, Gowon wanted us to tour the world to show that the whole country was okay. So, our passports that were seized, government gave them back to us and had to include us in the delegation of the opposition then to show that the country was united. 

There is this impression that Chief Awolowo was used by the military government during the civil war to conquer the Igbo. How true is this?

 No. Some Igbo spread that falsehood. 

What led to it? 

Before Ojukwu declared the war, Awolowo offered to go and speak to him. Gowon, who is alive, did not want to go to war. That was the time Chief Awolowo made the statement that if by an act of commission or omission, the East was allowed to secede, the West will go. That is what led Awolowo to prevail on Ojukwu not to secede but that they should fight for federalism. It was the insistence of Chief Awolowo to keep the Eastern Region in the federation that made Gowon fight the war because Gowon was not prepared to allow the East to go. That is what made Chief Awolowo to participate in the war. Remember that Chief Awolowo was Minister of Finance and all the allocations and allowances meant for the Eastern Region, Chief Awolowo kept them during the war and handed over to them after the war. He made Ikokwu the Minister of Economic Planning for the East after we were released from prison and he handed over all the money for the development of the East. It is on record. 

That is why some westerners said we should not do anything with the East because they are not reliable. The Igbo have not been fair to us at all. For instance, when Chief Awolowo met Ojukwu, he (Ojukwu) agreed that they were not going to wage a war. He (Awolowo) convinced him (Ojukwu) to go back to the round table and resolve the question of federalism. But no sooner than he (Ojukwu) returned to the East than he (Ojuwu) reneged on the agreement. So, the statement Awolowo made to compel Gowon to fight the war to retain Ojukwu was misconstrued by Easterners. And after the war, they retrieved the interview Awolowo had with Ojukwu because, when Awolowo came back from his visit to Ojukwu at his own risk, some detractors, including northerners, told Gowon that Awolowo had gone to make a pact with Ojukwu but Gowon did not believe them. But when the war was won and they played the tape (Gowon is still alive), they saw the discussions Chief Awolowo had there with Ojukwu. Unfortunately, there had been some misconceptions around this. The West has always played the role that the country should be united. That is why we (West) are insisting on restructuring, we don’t want the country to break. The current Constitution was indeed made without our consent but we have since realized that there are value and advantage in being a big country but on the terms that everybody will agree to live together, and not on the terms that a section will dominate the other. That is why I asked: what is the problem of Buhari in restructuring? Let us go back to where we were at independence.

 I often make a statement which he (Buhari) has not refuted yet that: Can Buhari claim to be northerner than the Sarduana (Sir Ahmadu Bello, first republic premier of Northern Region)? That is the Constitution that Sarduana, Azikiwe and Awolowo agreed to; let us go back to it. Should that be a problem if he (Buhari) has no hidden agenda? Which is what he (Buhari) is doing now; and I have been saying it that he (Buhari) will not restructure because once he restructures, the question of Islamisation will not be possible, the question of domination will not be possible, the question of excluding the East will not be possible because all these things are settled. 

What you call resource control now is what Awolowo fought for under derivation. Even after the discovery of oil in 1957, oil was still distributed based on derivation. 

Buhari’s refusal to restructure 

It is this Constitution that is causing conflict, we need to go back to federalism so that all areas will be sorted. The refusal of Buhari, in particular, to go back to federalism and restructure the country is evident in the fact that he has a hidden agenda. I have challenged him that if he does not have, let him restructure.

 So, it is left to him. My view is that all those calling for peace, including Abdulsalami Abubakar, are all living in denial. Everybody knows what is to be done to get peace, they are only afraid to do it. Restructure the country and see what will happen.

 How true is it that the coup plotters of January 15, 1966 executed the Prime Minister to release Awolowo from prison and hand over power to him?

 I was not among the coup plotters; we only saw the result of the coup. All we know is that some people were killed and at the time they were executing the coup, we were all in prison. We were in Ghana; Awolowo was in Calabar prison, so how can we be part of the coup. It is so illogical, it is cheap blackmail. 

Do you support the agitation by some people that power should shift to the South-West in 2023? 

You see, that is part of the deceit of some people in this country. Whoever is saying it is deceiving himself and the people. How do you want to keep the country and say a section of the country should not be President? The West has done, the South has done, the North has done several times, then you want it to go back to the West again, and you want the country to be together, and you don’t want IPOB to talk, why are we deceiving ourselves? There is no honesty in it; there is no principle in it. Anybody who is saying power should come back to the South-West (2023) is an enemy of Nigeria’s unity. If we are sincere about keeping the country together under a federal system, it is illegal and immoral for that Constitution to exclude an important unit of the federation. It is not a question of whether you like it or not. 

I will add that those who are saying power should come to the West are just deceiving themselves. The North does not want to give up power; they just want to push that to the South so that we can be quarrelling over it. The North is deceiving the South-West. 

When Chief Awolowo was alive, he became a rallying point for all Yoruba, but presently, there seems to be a division among the Yoruba… 

(Cuts in):

There is no division, there are only rebels. All those who are not in Afenifere today broke away from Afenifere; they were Afenifere before but are no longer there because of selfish interests. We know them. Who is opposing Afenifere? Is Chief Fasanmi not there? These are people who used Afenifere to make a name and I often repeat that, for Fasanmi, I won’t comment, I will only say the two of us will soon see Awolowo and face Awolowo. By the time Fasanmi and I see Awolowo, I don’t know whether he (Fasanmi) will be able to face Awolowo and say he continued the fight the way Awolowo left it. I won’t say more, he knows it. All others are products of Awolowo who are bashing Awolowo, I want them to challenge me.

Fulani Herdsmen Carrying Out Jihad Against Igbo, Gowon Created Our Problem – Evang Ugochukwu-Uko

Image: Daily Post

BY SEUN OPEJOBI

Evang Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, the founder of Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, on Friday alleged that Fulani herdsmen are implementing a carefully “choreographed Jihad of intimidation and conquest” in the South East.

Ugochukwu-Uko made the allegation while warning that the South East has been pushed to the wall through the alleged killings in the region by Fulani herdsmen.

In a statement, he personally signed and forwarded to DAILY POST, the Secretary-General of the Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, wondered if there was a deliberate ploy to weaken the South East region.

According to Ugochukwu-Uko: “Every once in a while, the devil seems to take total control of events in a kingdom. The result usually is avoidable bloodshed, bedlam, mayhem and utter destruction which takes decades to rebuild. We are sadly, inexorably heading towards that path, the government is either overwhelmed or complicit. The horrific brigandage of the Fulani herdsmen has gotten way beyond what is condonable and tolerable.

“The brazen rape and murder of 67-year-old, Mrs Pat Ugwu in her farm at nchatancha Nike, Enugu state two days ago, is simply put, unpardonable and unacceptable.

“Traditional rulers, priests, and community leaders seem to preferred targets of choice, these expansionist demons of death are schooled by their sponsors and masters to hunt.

“It has finally become clear that these Fulani warriors and their protectors are simply implementing a carefully choreographed jihad of intimidation and conquest. General Danjuma screamed they are being protected by the military and security forces, the killing of policemen by soldiers in Taraba confirm soldiers could be compromised, confessions of arrested culprits that helicopters drop guns and ammunition for them, in the forest, simply completes the horror script. We have been under siege for 4 years now.

“The hapless communities now have no other choice than to defend themselves or perish. The days of endless endurance and era of trusting the security agencies to protect our people are over. The Fulani herdsmen brought war to our land as part of a larger agenda of vanquish and DOMINATE. The ferocious incursion into our farmlands and homestead with rape, beheadings, amputations, and general terror is the age-old well-known trademark of these expansionist warriors for centuries. Our people are clearly in trouble.

“The obvious inability or deliberate lack of interest or both, by the government of the day, to rein in these vermin has already resulted to lack of trust between our leaders and the masses who are incensed that politicians are not doing enough to protect them, as seen in the Nuremberg, Germany incident. No Fulani herdsmen have been arrested, prosecuted and punished for the orgy of bloodletting they have visited on the land within the past 4 years.

“Is there a deliberate ploy to weaken our region by cleverly turning the masses upon our political leaders? Our governors are glibly titled “chief security officer “whilst the entire security apparatchik is consciously placed under the stranglehold and control of a particular region and section of the country. The conspiracy theory that a scheme to weaken our region by turning the masses against politicians from our zone by deliberately castrating them through centralizing the entire security architecture under northern Muslims, while naming them Chief security officers, just to cast them as weaklings and traitors against the interests of their people,is fast gaining ground.
The cloud is gathering, the rain may fall any day now. Those whose worldview is all about conquering and dominating others are about to set West Africa ablaze once more. We know the world is watching.”

Ugochukwu-Uko also lambasted former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, accusing him of living a fake life.

He accused Gowon of creating the “calamity eating up the country today.”

“This brings us to the quite annoying fake life of an 80 something-year-old past head of state who prefers to go about praying for peace, as he steadfastly refuses to lobby other leaders to embrace restructuring of Nigeria, the only true route to reinventing and saving the country.

“This same man brought upon this country the calamity eating up the country today, when he created 12 states in May 1967, and unified the revenue collection and distribution, thereby effectively burying the 1963 constitution. His prayers remain meaningless as long as he refuses to be truthful.

“Meanwhile, we congratulate the indefatigable Prof.Banji Akintoye on his election as the leader of the great Yoruba nation. A very knowledgeable leader of men. We have no doubt that he will move both Nigeria and Yoruba nation forward,” he added.

Imo Summit Resolves To Defend Igbo Cause

BY CHARLES OGUGBUAJA

OWERRI THE GUARDIAN) -- Prominent Igbo sons and daughters rose from the 2019 Igbo National Security Summit in Owerri, Imo State, yesterday and resolved to unite and defend Igbo cause.

They demanded anti-open grazing law in all the five South East states, to avoid conflicts between farmers and herders, and vehemently opposed the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) initiative proposed by the Federal Government.

‘Peace, Security and Development of Alaigbo and her Neighbours’ was the theme of the summit, which was attended by the chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, Amb. Lawrence Agubuzor; entertainment impresario, Charles Oputa (Charly Boy); former Vice Chancellor, Imo State University (IMSU), Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie; National President, Association of South East Town Unions (ASETU), Chief Emeka Diwe; as well as representatives of former Niger Delta agitator, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari; Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the academia, business community and women groups among others.

Agubuzor regretted the level of insecurity in the various parts of Igboland.He appealed to the various groups in the region to desist from disparaging one another.

“We should work in the interest of Ndigbo and respect the authority and governors. House divided against itself cannot stand. If there is anytime Ndigbo need peace, it is now. Ndigbo should work and respect one another; do anything agreed to be done.

“Everybody should go to his governor and say, ‘give us anti-open grazing bill’. It is a must. Every community can defend itself. Please, our security is in our own hands.”

Oputa, who came as the president of Association of Frustrated Persons of Nigeria (AFPN), castigated the political leadership of the country.

He promised to “donate” himself to pursue and protest what he called injustice meted to Igbo people, opining that the game change should take place to bring about socio-political and economic equation in the land.

“Why do people run to other places. We should stop that and defend ourselves. Is that an impossible task? I am back. I am ready to donate myself. If we decide that Igboland is going to be good, we are going to be proud of ourselves,” he said.

An analyst at the event, Emeka Umeagbalasi, regretted that from records and statistics, between August 2015 and September 2017, 480 Igbo were killed in different parts of the country, disclosing that 95 per cent of the federal security agencies in the South East were manned by Northerners, noting that only four commissioners of police were of Igbo extraction.Dokubo-Asari urged the Igbo to unite and fight their cause.

Really, Igbo Have A crime Culture Problem That Needs Fixing

BY FREDRICK NWABUFO

In the heat of the lynching of Igbo citizens in Asia in 2013 over alleged criminality, I wrote an essay entitled, ‘The Igbo fallacy’. In it, I appealed to the Igbo to de-emphasise the culture of profligacy, decadent opulence and vanity which fuels the pursuit of crime by their own. I also suggested the need for value re-orientation – a task that must be actuated by all groups – the age grades, unions and traditional institutions.

Really, it is enervating for me that my kinsmen are taking the inglorious front row in ‘’money crimes’’ – drug peddling and internet fraud – abroad.

In August 2016, an Igbo drug dealer was guillotined in Indonesia. But his funeral in Anambra was a rambunctious shin-dig. He was even described as a “hero” by his people.

I have skimmed through the list of alleged online fraudsters indicted by the FBI, in what is regarded as the biggest scam bust in history, and I could see familiar names. It is heartbreaking for me. The refrain that criticising your own people for shortcomings is an act of sanctimony is obtuse. Crime has no ethnic face, but does that imply condoning or rationalising a persistent ill?

I have said it before, we have a problem. The Igbo have a problem. Out of the 21 Nigerians on death-row for drug peddling in Indonesia, 20 are Igbo – from my state – Anambra. Personally, I feel violated by this.

A few months ago, some armed robbers of Igbo origin launched an attack on a bureau de change in Dubai, but they were arrested. It is painful, instead of exporting the durable products of Aba, we are exporting crime and violence. That Nigerians are a pariah in South Africa is partly due to the activities of some Igbo drug cartel.

But what happens when these drug gangs return to the south-east? A bazaar of bloodshed. A few years ago, there was a massacre at a church in Ozubulu, Anambra. The killings were linked to a drug war between rival gangs in South Africa. The gangs took their battle out of the turf to native soil. Really, we are baiting the hurricane.

And now, out of the 77 names listed for online fraud in the US, 74 are Igbo. We have a problem. We cannot solve this problem by living in denial.

I agree, there are millions of us doing great things in our fields, but we must condemn the activities of these criminals among us. They do not represent us, but their actions are capable of making an execrable impression of all us.


The argument that the Igbo are marginalised and that they are deprived because of the civil war, so very few among them are forced into crime is puerile. This is a terrible way to rationalise a problem that dents the entire group. There is no excuse for crime.

One drop of dirt is enough to make a basin of water impure. We must have serious conversations on this atypical criminality.

The argument that the Igbo are marginalised and that they are deprived because of the civil war, so very few among them are forced into crime is puerile. This is a terrible way to rationalise a problem that dents the entire group. There is no excuse for crime.

We have a culture that glorifies ‘’money’’ crime – ‘’ego mbute’’ – the culture of money grubbing and worship, as the-be-all and end-all of everything. It is a pervasive culture, not limited to the Igbo though.

We need value re-orientation, and this should be actuated by all groups – age grades and traditional institutions. We must stop celebrating people of unknown fortune. We must name and shame those with illicit wealth in our communities. We should upbraid them instead of giving them chieftaincy titles and front-row seats in church.

What exactly do we discuss at annual August meetings and town-union meetings? Enough should be enough. We cannot keep ignoring this filth.

We have a problem. A crime culture.

SOURCE: PM NEWS

Just In: Ohanaeze President Denies Receiving N6.2b For Ruga From Buhari

BY CHRIS OJI

ENUGU (THE NATION) -- Ohanaeze Ndigbo has denied the allegations making rounds in the social media that its president general, Chief Nnia Nwodo alongside former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu received N6.2billion from President Buhari for the establishment of RUGA in the Southeast.

In a statement issued on Friday, the apex Igbo sociocultural organization said neither Nwodo nor Ekweremadu have authority over lands in the Enugu or anywhere in the Southeast.

In a statement by the group, it says:

“Our attention has been drawn to an insidious social media story making the rounds that the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, and a Distinguished Senator and former Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Ike Ekweremadu, collected a whopping N6.2 billion from President Buhari out of N22.2 billion budgeted to plant RUGA in the country. The story which was purported to have emanated from a faceless traditional ruler from Umuchigbo Abakpa in Enugu State sounded preposterous and deserves to be consigned to the dust bin where it rightly belongs knowing that the purveyors of the story may have underestimated the intelligence of some audience of the social media but who certainly may not be as gullible as they think and will do with some clarifications. Why did the writer not mention the name of the traditional ruler and whether he was there when money exchanged hands? One would have expected their detractors to have established the veracity of their claim by giving an insight into how the money exchanged hands or through which bank accounts they were remitted to Chief Nwodo and Senator Ekweremadu. It will also would have been good if the accusers had clarified if Chief Nwodo and Senator Ekweremadu collected the money as individuals or on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. For the sake of clarity, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has no control over land in Enugu State or in the South East neither does Chief Nwodo and Senator Ekweremadu. Again, Chief Nwodo and Senator Ekweremadu are not traditional rulers and therefore don’t have custody over land in the South East. They should also have authenticated their allegation by stating where the said RUGA settlements are in Enugu State or in the South East. It is sad that upon all Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been doing to improve the image of Ndigbo in the comity of Nigerian Nations and efforts to restore Ndigbo to their rightful place in the country, either some Igbo sons and daughters still allow themselves to be used to deride their own or some external forces are determined to undermine the unity of Ndigbo, afraid of what strength Ndigbo can derive from such unity. It is pertinent to put the public on notice that more of these senseless, vitriolic and demented attacks are expected to come from the stable of these traducers. It is also worthy of note that many Igbo organizations abound which are out to enrich their pockets and have opened bank accounts where they deceive Ndigbo to pay money into, money that is usually unaccounted for. These organizations only lay claim to their existence by attacking Ohanaeze Ndigbo and its leadership. The consolation is that social media users are knowledgeable and discerning to disregard such mercenary organizations.”

Reasons Igbo Should Produce Next President –Ogbonna

Solomon Ogbonna, President, Oganaeze Nd'Igbo, Lagos. Image via Sun News

BY GILBERT EZE

Chief Solomon Ogbonna, President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos, has adduced reasons the Igbo nation should produce the next president in 2023. Aguene who is also chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Agauene Art Foundation, in this interview spoke on this and other national issues.
What are the unique selling points of Igbo aspirants for presidency?

It is perhaps only in Igbo land that you see people live above tribalism, ethnic sentiments and nepotism. That is the reason you see Ndigbo all over Nigeria and they develop their host communities to the highest level. Ndigbo talk and even celebrate the good deeds of their enemies and ultra-competitors. Ndigbo protect their dignity, pride and great values, and therefore like fulfilling their promises because they do not want embarrassment.

Ndigbo offer assistance to people of other tribes more than their own people. They try to let other tribes know that they are not only friendly but, kind and generous. They see others as brothers and sisters in progress. This is the reason for the statement that “Igbo is the only tribe that wants more for Nigeria.” This is one of the reasons Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha, was said to have pursued a Nigeria that will transcend tribal affiliations. This explains why Ndigbo in their itinerant characteristics mix up easily and fully in any place they go. This is one secret Ndigbo have been using to succeed in several other lands where they travel to and where others find it difficult even to survive. The Igbo are people whose words are their bonds.

Are you advising Nigerians to give Igbo chance for the presidency?

It is not an advice, but information based on my observations. In this millennium, serious people know that the flow of vital information is the palm oil with which development is achieved and eaten and can come from anybody. In the Western world, everybody is a security operative when viewed from information gathering and reporting to the appropriate authority. And people in those places accept information, no matter the source, provided it is in the interest of the nation. But in Nigeria, some people value information when it comes from the privileged sources like an oil magnate, high profile government officials, or wealthy people. We deny ourselves very important information by this selective idea of information acquisition and we have been paying dearly for it, as far as the world is concerned.

Do you think the Yoruba will support Igbo for Presidency?

Why not! Yoruba are no enemies of Igbo, and will support every good course of Ndigbo including the Presidency of Nigeria. They are not our enemies, but our ultra-competitors.

The competition between the two great tribes is equally highlighted in the lives and vocations of their prominent personalities in the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo vs Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (political leaders), Art Legend Ben Enweonwu vs Theatre Icon Hubert Ogunde, Literary giants Prof. Wole Soyinka (Nobel laureate) vs Chinua Achebe (Prof. Emeritus), music icons Chief Osita Osadebe vs irreplaceable Ebenezer Obey.

You can see, it is not enmity, but who could outwit the other— and many other examples. In no distance time, the Almighty God will liberate the two tribes from the divide and rule tactics of those who want to exploit our differences for their selfish interests. One important area that Ndigbo is not competing strongly with the Yoruba is media and we are paying dearly for it.

We will come together as good friends as we used to be from time immemorial. For example, we have not forgotten the killing of Adekunle Fajuyi with Aguiyi Ironsi in 1966 before the civil war, which explains the adage that says “A good friend is better than a bad brother.” Today, the increase in marriage between the two tribes has been significantly more than any other tribe in Nigeria.

Don’t you think the infighting among Ndigbo will deepen if given the opportunity to produce the next president?
Are the Igbo not managing their families, businesses even with foreigners, and many other great achievements? We are talking of infighting at Ohanaeze, not Ndigbo in general. Let Igbo produce the President and I assure Nigerians will be happier for it.

What distinguishes Ndigbo from other tribes in Nigeria?

The Igbo is a national citizen. She has no boundaries and her ubiquitous attitude and her latitude are the stock in trade of ‘her’ being like the mother of Nigeria — ‘breast-feeding’ the entire nation of development. You can see the nourishment of that breast-feeding in the level of development after the magic wands of Ndigbo have touched their host communities. They develop bushes, forests and even clear grasslands of other people wherever they go and foster the development of such a place without minding whether it is their own place or not. They turn swamps into shopping malls. They erect mansions in the thick impregnable forests.

Just 40 years after the civil war, Ndigbo whose houses and properties were seized in some parts of Nigeria, and left with nothing, individually and collectively, have rebuilt Igbo land to be more developed than some of the places where their properties were seized. It is only in Igbo land that we give our houses to visitors to take care of, completely and totally free of charge. We mean, without asking for a farthing or a cent or a kobo.

We heard the division in your branch because of the endorsement of Sanwo-Olu; what is the situation now?.
Some members of my executive are angry that I endorsed Sanwo-Olu for governorship, so they are bent on thwarting and derailing even the most laudable of my programmes and projects. These people allege that I the secretary and treasurer of Ohanaeze, collected hundreds of millions of naira for endorsing Sanwo-Olu, and vow to destroy the structures of Ohanaeze, so that my administration will not achieve our set goals.

As the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and leader of all Igbo in Lagos, I use this opportunity to appeal to Lagos state administration not to deny Ndigbo their share of dividends of democracy, because of the activities of these few individuals. We all know that wherever there are twelve, there is always a Judas.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

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).

Ekweremadu: IPOB Vows To Continue Attack On Leaders

BY JOHN NWACHUKWU

DAILY POST

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has declared that it would go ahead with its resolve to attack political leaders.

IPOB also said its struggle for the actualisation of Biafra has taken international dimension, insisting that there was no going back.

The pro-Biafra group said it had no regret attacking former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany at the weekend.

This was contained in a statement by its Head of Directorate of State, China Edoziem.

The group described those condemning the attack on Ekweremadu as sycophants, vowing not to relent in its struggle for a sovereign state of Biafra.

The statement partly read, “The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will continue in the avowed pursuit of our right of existence as a people, independent of the evil enclave called Nigeria.

“We’ll be unhindered, unperturbed and unfazed by the cacophony of morally bankrupt manufactured voices that appear to rally round one of them, Ike Ekweremadu.

“Going through the vomit of some of these faceless sycophants with no iota of influence on the ground in Biafraland apart from dishing out meaningless drivel in the name of press statements, one is confronted with the mindset of a people living in a Banana Republic in which all forms of freedom of expression is brutally repressed and mediocrity extolled to high heavens.

“This battle which we the Indigenous People of Biafra has embarked upon will be at a time, place and methodology of our own choosing.

“It is imperative to state that in making that choice, there will be no differentiating between the subservient Biafran politician(s) who see nothing and hear nothing wrong when Biafraland is under military siege and their caliphate masters that dehumanize, abduct, torture and murder at will.

“Very soon, we shall show Dave Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State that IPOB has not only the capacity and reach but also the power to achieve our set objectives and fulfil our promise to the living and the dead.

“We are waiting for them and their trumpeters in all the civilized nations of the world. The story of their humiliation will become a subject of study in foreign institutions.

“Our struggle has shifted to the international arena where every eye will be watching and taking note.”

IPOB Breathes Fire: Our Members Have Orders To Attack Igbo Govs Abroad

Members of IPOB attack Ike Ekweremadu in Germany. Image via Youtube

… puts Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra govs on notice
… attacks Ekweremadu in Germany with stones, yams

My ordeal in the hands of Biafra activists –Ex-DSP

We’re not moved by empty threats, says Umahi

BY SUNDAY ABORISADE, ADELANI ADEPEGBA, MUDIAGA AFFE, JESUSEGUN ALAGBE, IHUOMA CHIEDOZIE, ALEXANDER OKERE, RAPHAEL EDE AND EDWARD NNACHI

 PUNCH, SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019

The Indigenous People of Biafra has ordered its members in 100 countries across the world to attack the governors of Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Anambra states if they are seen in any of the countries.

The group also put on notice Ndigbo leaders such as the President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who it accused of supporting the Operation Python Dance in the South-East.

Operation Python Dance was launched by the Nigerian Army in the South-East in 2016 in the wake of protests by IPOB members who were demanding secession from the country.

The group had cited historical events such as the victory of President Donald Trump in the 2016 United States elections and Brexit as proof of international support for self-determination.

During the Operation Python Dance, the army raided Umuahia, Abia State, the home town of the leader of the secessionist group, Nnamdi Kanu, whose whereabouts have been unknown since then.

Ultimately, the Federal Government designated IPOB as a terrorist organisation on September 18, 2017, under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013.

Speaking to one of our correspondents on Saturday, IPOB spokesperson, Mr Emma Powerful, noted that South-East governors and some Ndigbo leaders had been marked as enemies to be attacked if they were seen in any of the 100 countries their members were residing.

He said the directive was given by Kanu and that in obedience to the IPOB leader’s order, its members were the ones who attacked a former Deputy Senate President, Dr Ike Ekweremadu, in Nuremberg, Germany on Saturday.

Powerful said the lawmaker was “disgraced by the IPOB Nuremberg Family as an Operation Python Dance instigator.”

The IPOB spokesman described Ekweremadu as a “traitor,” accusing him of being among those that got the pro-Biafra group proscribed, alongside the South-East governors.

Powerful vowed that IPOB would take similar action against the South-East governors and Ndigbo leaders, if they dared to attend any public event abroad.

He said, “Today (Saturday), the Nuremberg IPOB family in Germany, in keeping with the long-standing directive from our leader to hound all instigators of the Operation Python Dance, is glad to report that Ike Ekweremadu was confronted and duly hounded out of a so-called New Yam Festival event in Germany.

“Despite repeated warnings to the organisers of this jamboree that Enugu, Ebonyi and other parts of ‘Biafraland’ is under siege by the Fulani caliphate and their collaborators within, they went ahead to invite a known traitor, co-conspirator and one of those who worked with Igbo governors to proscribe and tag IPOB a terror organisation while they never raised any voice against the murderous Fulani herdsmen.


“This should serve as a warning to Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Willie Obiano and others that any day we find them in a public event abroad, they will be humiliated. IPOB is strategically located in over 100 countries around the world. Anywhere we find them, they will be dealt with.”

How Ekweremadu was attacked with stones, yam

In apparent obedience to the IPOB’s directive to its members, there was commotion on Saturday when Ekweremadu was attacked in Nuremberg, Germany.

The lawmaker, who has served in the Senate since 2003, was seen being pelted with stones, yam, sticks and water packs in short video clips which had gone viral on the social media.

Decked in isiagu, a pullover shirt worn by the Igbo people on special occasions, Ekweremadu was said to have been attacked at Löwensaal am Tier Garten, Nuremberg, venue for the annual New Yam Festival of the Igbo.

The New Yam Festival holds at the end of the rainy season in August and symbolises the conclusion of the harvest and the beginning of a new planting season.

The age-long festival is celebrated across Nigeria and the world wherever the Igbo people live.

While attending the event at Nuremberg, Ekweremadu was seen being attacked by a mob who tore his cloth and dragged him out of the event.

In the video clips, the angry mob was seen preventing the lawmaker from escaping, but he was later whisked away in a Mercedes-Benz car, even as the mob continued to beat him.

As the scene played out, some onlookers, dressed in traditional Igbo attire, were heard condemning the assault meted to the former deputy senate president.

One of the onlookers was heard saying, “This is wicked; why now? It’s not good.”

Despite the commotion, the event went on as planned, according to the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Tuggar.

In a tweet via his handle @YusufTuggar on Saturday, the diplomat who was at the event wrote, “The Nuremberg yam festival organised by the Ndigbo Germany still took place and I was in attendance. There is no stopping Nigeria. It opened with the Nigerian and German anthems and I addressed the crowd.”

My ordeal in the hands of Biafra activists –Ex-DSP

Confirming the incident on Saturday, Ekweremadu, in a statement by his media aide, Uche Anichukwu, described it as unfortunate. He, however, said he was safe.

He said he was invited to the Second Annual Cultural Festival and Convention organised by the Ndigbo Germany in Nuremberg and billed to give a keynote address alongside the President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who, however, could not make it.

The lawmaker said he was welcomed by the Ndigbo in Germany and everything went smoothly until some men, who identified themselves as IPOB members, stormed the venue.

He said, “They began to complain about the killings in the South-East, stressing that there would be no Igbo event at the venue.

“I tried to engage them, but when they became unruly, I had to leave the venue.

“The organisers also invited the police and I was accompanied out of the venue.

“I am disappointed with their (IPOB members’) conduct, especially as I am one of the persons who have spoken up on justice for the Ndigbo and against the judicial killings in Igboland and elsewhere.”

Ekweremadu said he had defended IPOB on the floor of the Senate, with the Presidency and the media.

He said, “I had as well rallied the South-East Senate Caucus to secure Nnamdi Kanu’s release with Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, taking him on bail to douse tension in the South-East.

“I nevertheless do not hold this to the heart against them, for they know not what they did.

“I have received thousands of solidarity calls and messages from well-meaning Ndigbo. I want to assure them that I am hale and hearty.”

In the meantime, investigations by one of our correspondents showed that Kanu visited Nuremberg recently to protest against holding the New Yam Festival because of the killings in Igboland.

It was also gathered that the IPOB members who attacked Ekweremadu on Saturday actually targeted Nwodo.

They reportedly descended on Ekweremadu when it was obvious that their main ‘target’ was conspicuously absent.

FG, CACOL, Ohanaeze, Ndume condemn attack on lawmaker

Following the attack on Ekweremadu, the Federal Government has condemned the IPOB members’ action.

The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement on Saturday described the incident as an embarrassment to the country.

She stated that some of the culprits who perpetrated the act had been apprehended and called on the German government and law enforcement agencies to ensure they faced the consequences of their actions.

She said, “It is also shamefully pathetic that an event which was nobly put together by the Ndigbo community in Germany, whose members make up the majority of Nigerians living in Germany, to amongst other things, provide a forum for the Diaspora and various stakeholders to network and facilitate a better cooperation between German and Nigerian businesses, ended up in such a disgraceful manner.”

Dabiri-Erewa appealed to Nigerians to be of good behaviour wherever they found themselves “because such incidents tarnish the image of the country.”

Also condemning the attack, the Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Mr Debo Adeniran, condemned IPOB’s action, saying it was an act of brigandage.

He said, “These people ought not to have gone to such place to display brigandage because IPOB has been banned in Nigeria.

“However, our leaders should take heed because that is an example of what will happen, granted that it was a different ball game. They might have reacted that way because they possibly perceived that Ekweremadu had not been with them in terms of support.

“Be that as it may, the action of the IPOB members was highly condemnable in faraway Germany where the image of the country should have been jealously guided.”

Also describing the attack as barbaric, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo accused Kanu of sponsoring “miscreants” to trample on Ekweremadu’s fundamental human rights.

Nwodo told SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday that Kanu’s action reflected his disregard for the former deputy senate president, who was instrumental in securing the release of the IPOB leader.

Nwodo said, “In every 12, there is a Judas. Senator Ekweremadu and I were supposed to be in Germany but because my visa was not out, Senator Ekweremadu went on our behalf.

“The attack on him was unruly, uncivilised, a vitiation of his fundamental human rights and a sad story of where we are. I’m shocked that any true Igbo man could do this to Senator Ekweremadu.

“Without Senator Ekweremadu, Nnamdi Kanu would not have got bail. He (Ekweremadu) was the one who networked with senators who went ahead to sign on his (Kanu) behalf.”

Nwodo called on the German government to take appropriate actions against the perpetrators.

“I condemn it in its entirety. I think it is disrespectful, discourteous; I think it is a fundamental dent on our solidarity. I think that those who did it are not worthy to be called Igbo,” he said.

A former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, also condemned the attack on Ekweremadu.

Speaking to one of our correspondents on Saturday, he said the IPOB members attacked one of the “greatest heroes” in Nigeria.

“Ekweremadu is not the person they ought to attack and indeed they have to stop such attack on anybody for that matter,” Ndume said.

Assaulting us abroad not solution to agitation –S’East govs

Meanwhile, the South-East Governors Forum on Saturday said the IPOB order directing its members to attack them anywhere abroad would not solve the problem of their agitation for Biafra.

The chairman of the forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Emma Uzo, said that the governors had no problem with the members of the outlawed group to warrant such an order, adding that the insecurity in the South-East was a nationwide challenge which was squarely under the Federal Government’s command and control.

Condemning the attack on Ekweremadu, Umahi said, “If there is any issue IPOB holds against the governors, they should come home to settle it in Igboland instead of a foreign land.

“What happened was a security issue which was within the purview of the Federal Government. Attacking governors in a foreign land is a wild goose chase. We love them because they are our children.

“IPOB cannot achieve Biafra alone, except with the collaboration of all stakeholders including the governors. They don’t need to attack the governors to achieve Biafra.”

The governors’ forum warned the members of the proscribed body not to allow political opportunists to use them to destroy the South-East.

“They should come together and work with the governors and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo to achieve the Igbo Presidency come 2023 instead of fighting the governors. We want them to be close to us instead of taking the struggle to the international arena,” it said.

Furthermore, Umahi’s aide described the IPOB’s threats as empty, saying the group lacked the powers to track down any South-East governor anywhere in the world.

“They have no such spread and powers to track down South-East governors for attack anywhere in the world. They are too small. I don’t want to say they sound so cowardly, but they can’t see the governors to attack,” he added.

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Anti Corruption: Ohanaeze Slams EFCC, ICPC

BY CHIJINDU EMERUWA

ABUJA (DAILY POST) -- Chuks Ibegbu, the deputy National Publicity Secretary of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has criticized the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies in the country.

Ibegbu attacked for what he called their slow pace of fighting corruption which had enabled corrupt persons contest elections and climb to the National Assembly.


Ibegbu also stated that most of the corrupt persons facing criminal charges in court were equally allowed to emerge Governors and Ministers in the present democratic dispensation.

The Ohanaeze chieftain, who made their position known in a statement issued to newsmen, and made available to DAILY POST on Saturday said, “Many Nigerians have lost fate in both institutions after seeing those that looted their commonwealth now in the National Assembly and other political offices.

“The anti-corruption agencies (EFCC/ICPC) make a lot of noise of arresting and questioning corrupt politicians, after that, nothing happens. These looters go on enjoying their loots and even receiving more money from the tax payers in their new positions. Do you know that the crime and other mess we find ourselves in Nigeria is caused by corruption?


“Corruption makes our youths unemployed and the masses suffer, hence going into all sorts of crime. Nigerian politicians have stolen more than Ninety percent of our commonwealth and stashed most of them in Europe and Asia.

“Even many politicians surrounding President Buhari are corrupt. Yet, he appointed some of them as Ministers. You saw what they did during the National Assembly elections. A lot of deals took place, and yet, they said they are fighting corruption. You saw what happened in the Pensions fund and NHIS , how looters were given official soft landing. How can we fight corruption with such double deal?”

Igbo Presidency Project In Exchange For Ruga Settlements Huge Joke – Ohanaeze

Image via Vanguard

VANGUARD AUGUST 16, 2019
‘Igbo Presidency project in exchange for Ruga settlements is not only a huge joke but total fallacy’ Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro President-General Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has said

Isiguzoro in a statement on Friday faulted the Kaduna state Governor, Mallam Nashir El Rufai’s call for ‘abolishment of Zoning formula and gentleman’s agreement’ saying that that Zoning formula had existed between North and South since 1999, and that Christians prayers from Southern Kaduna will never allow him to succeed in his presidential project.

Ohanaeze said: ‘El Rufai was a major beneficiary of zoning arrangement in 2015 Guber elections in Kaduna, now he wants to thwart the glaring opportunities for a Nigerian President of Igbo stock in 2023,’ he alleged that ‘el Rufai wants to be the running mate to a Christian Pastor who is studying the body language of the President to know how to navigate the storm at the appropriate time.’ He also said : ‘Igbo Presidency project in exchange for Ruga settlements is not only a huge joke but total fallacy and that assurances from credible and prominent Northern groups, is that Igbo should bring the best Presidential material either a sitting governor or a former governor that will rejig Nigeria’s potentials back on track’ 

The Statement read thus

 (1) Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth Council Worldwide wanted to ignore the recent vituperative tendencies of a lose canoon who is blinded by his ambition to become president by championing the abolishment of Zoning formula and gentleman’s agreement that had existed between North and South since 1999, but because of posterity’s sake, We wish to remind Kaduna state Governor,Mallam Nashir El Rufai, that Christians Prayers from Southern Kaduna will never allow him succeed in his presidential project. 

(2)El Rufai was a major beneficiary of zoning arrangement in 2015 Guber elections in Kaduna, now wants to thwart the glaring opportunities for a Nigerian President of Igbo stock in 2023, we are aware that El Rufai wants to be the running mate to a Christian Pastor and Professor of law, who is studying the body language of the President to know how to navigate the storm at the appropriate time.

(3) We wish to debunk any insinuation and fears,in some quarters that the North will use suspended Ruga settlements as a bait to negotiate with Southern Nigeria especially Igbos on 2023 Igbo Presidency project in exchange for Ruga settlements as not only a huge joke but total fallacy, from assurances from credible and prominent Northern groups, what is expected of Igbos is to bring on the best Presidential material either a Sitting Governor or a former Governor from the South East that will rejig Nigeria’s potentials back on track as truly as Giant of Africa not standing on mosquitoes legs.

I Will Expunge Ghost Workers From Imo Civil Service —Ihedioha

Emeka Ihedioha

BY CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA

OWERRI (PUNCH) -- The governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, on Wednesday said that he had introduced biometric capturing of civil servants to end the issue of ghost workers in the state.

Ihedioha, who spoke at a press briefing at the Government House in Owerri, said that the biometric exercise would end the agony of pensioners in the state.

Represented by his Chief Technical Adviser, Pascal Madu, the governor said that he would begin the payment of the arrears of senior citizens of the state three days after the biometric exercise had been concluded.

The governor said that he was pained by the stress pensioners go through in accessing their pensioners after years of retirement.

Ihedioha said that out of 30,000 pensioners in the state, about 14,000 had been captured.

He said that he was hopeful that the consulting firm would finish in record time.

He said, “The importance of this is to eradicate ghost workers from our state civil service and to eradicate the agony our pensioners go through in accessing their pensions after years of retirement.”

“We will start paying three days after the conclusion of this exercise. His excellency, whose mother is also a retiree is worried about the pains our pensioners go through. He wants to put an end to it once and for all.”

The chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Austin Chilapko urged the government to combine the verification and data capturing exercises.

The chairman of pensioners in the state, Josiah Ugochukwu said that his colleagues were not ready to wait for weeks anymore before they start getting their pensions.