More Than 250 Igbo Jewish Youth Gather For Leadership Training

More than 250 Nigerian youth gathered in the city of Onithsa, Nigeria, for a Jewish leadership and learning seminar organized by the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization, August 2019. Photo: Ron Manne/Shavei Israel.

BY AIDEN PINK

ONITSHA (FORWARD) -- More than 250 youths from the Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria were brought together last month for a week of Jewish activities, classes and leadership seminars.

The youths, along with 20 adults, came together in Onithsa, Nigeria between August 18-25 thanks to Shavei Israel, an organization that does outreach to far-flung Jewish communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The activities included Hebrew and Torah lessons and Shabbat activities.

The Igbo are one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups, and many believe that they are descended from ancient Israelites. A few thousand of them have started practicing Judaism in cities throughout Nigeria. A Christian missionary group claimed to have conducted DNA tests that showed no Jewish genetic markers in Igbo subjects, but the results were disputed by leaders in the Igbo Jewish community.

“In recent years, a growing number of Igbo in Nigeria have chosen to embrace Judaism and seek to learn more about the culture, faith and heritage of Israel and the Jewish people,” Shavei Israel founder and chairman Michael Freund said in a statement. “We decided to answer their call and we’re working closely with the growing numbers of Igbo Jewish communities that are now flourishing in places such as Lagos, Abuja and Anambra state.”

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at pink@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

lmo: Okorocha Begs For Protection

BY GIDEON NJOKU

For a man whose words were law, who for eight years, ruled his state like an Emperor, the situation former Imo state Governor, Rochas Okorocha has found himself is strange to him.

For a man who, for those eight years, disobeyed all Court orders, thus, rubbishing the Judiciary, it is an irony that he would run to the same judiciary to seek protection.

But for Okorocha, now, the Senator representing Imo West, that is the reality of his life now.

Okorocha has just gone to the Federal High Court, Lagos division, asking it for a perpetual injunction to restrain the Imo State Government, or its agents, from arresting, detaining, harassing, or acting in anyway which could infringe on his rights.

This is sequel to a Citizen’s arrest order placed on him by the Imo State government, anytime he steps into the state.

The order was given after members of a Committee, set up by Government to recover government properties, allegedly, looted by him, were attacked by alleged thugs when they stormed his house for such recoveries. Its Chairman, Jasper Ndubuaku, was stripped, pushed into the gutter, and beaten to a pulp.

The alleged thugs were, allegedly, quartered at Okorocha’s Spibat residence, from where they trooped out to pounce on Ndubuaku. This was a few days after the former governor, while addressing his supporters in Owerri, ordered them to treat anybody who dared visit for the recovery of alleged looted properties, like an armed robber. They, apparently, obeyed him.

The suit which was filed by Okorocha’s Counsel, Alaezi Nmezi, seeks to declare the government’s order for his arrest, illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, and a breach of his fundamental human rights.

Listed as defendants in the suit are: The Imo State government, the Attorney General of the state, the Secretary to the IMSG, and the Chairman of the Property Recovery Committee.

SOURCE: THE SOURCE MAGAZINE

Orjiako: Why Seplat is Constructing $700m Gas Plant In Imo

Bryant Orjiako. Image: Twitter

BY ADEOLA YUSUF

OWERRI (NEW TELEGRAPH) -- Chairman of Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Dr. Bryant Orjiako, has opened up on the construction of a multi-million dollar gas processing plant in Ohaji Egbema Council Area of Imo state.

Orjiako spoke when he led the management team on a courtesy call on the Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, at the Government House, Owerri.

He said that the proposed company, which develops and commercialises gas, when fully functional, would transform the state in all spheres.

Highlighting the achievements of Seplat in the Niger Delta with regard to oil exploration and production, Orjiako called on the state government and the host communities to create the enabling environment for the project to materialise.

According to him, “shortly after we acquired our asset, OML 53, in Imo state in 2016. which was originally owned by Chevron, we have incrementally ramped up the production from less than 3,000 barrels per day, and currently doing 9,000 barrels per day.

“We are hoping that in the next 12 months we should be thinking of 15,000 barrels per day and that is the beginning of the things we are set to achieve.

“More importantly, we emphasise that we are a company that commercialises gas and also develops it, and as at today, we produce 30 per cent of gas to power in Nigeria and we are the only indigenous company doing this.

“Early this year, we made an investment decision to invest 700 million dollars in the ANOH project phase one, this project is going to be situated in Imo state.

“The most significant thing to say about this is to say that this project has been in the pipeline for over three decades but once we took over the asset, we made it a priority and obviously the trickledown effect of that project in Imo state is capable of completely synergizing with your vision for the state and will transform development in Imo state.

“What we expect is to have the right cooperation and for Imo state to also position itself and create the right environment for us to do business.”

Also on the team was the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat, Mr Austin Avuru, who further explained the benefits of the project.

He assured that the company would fulfill its corporate social responsibility to the state and especially the host communities as the company has done in Edo and Delta states.

In his words: “We will build trust with the communities and also build trust with your government, we will not come to disturb you, probably you won’t see us again but your key cabinet personel will monitor the things we do and report back to you.

“We supply one-third of the gas to plant in Nigeria, we are building another one of 75 MMscfd in Sapele, we will build this one in Ohaji Egbema because we supply gas to the domestic market.

“Most companies offer token to buy peace, so if there’s any troublesome person in that community we go to him and do certain things so he won’t trouble us, we don’t do that.

“Those that are fighting us in Sapele, we fought them, those who are going to work with us, we work with them, when those who are fighting us saw what was happening to those working with us, they turn around to work with us, we don’t pretend, we give you jobs we can do and develop your capacity to do bigger jobs.

South-East Governors Ban On Herdsmen: Police Invades Umahi’s Abuja Residence

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State

BY NGOZI ONWUKWE

Barely a few days after banning the activities of Fulani Herdsmen in South-East, unknown Policemen invaded the Abuja residence of the Chairman of South-East Governors Forum, And Ebonyi State Governor, Engr Dave Umahi.

A report forwarded to ABACITYBLOG by Ohanaeze Youth Council, cited that the incident happened early hours of yesterday. The group who condemned the illegal invasion, alleged that the unknown security men stormed the place with evil intent to plant weapons and ammunition to indict the Governor and blackmail them to reverse their decision on the recent ban of pastoralists.

“This is a clear evidence that those sponsoring terrorism in the South East through the nefarious activities of murderous herdsmen have developed cold feet and had met their Waterloo as Ohanaeze youths ensure that the enforcement of the ban starts immediately and no threat on the Governors will reverse the ban on the pastoralists”, Ohanaeze said.

“We are fully aware that many intimidation and blackmail plots are lined up for South East Governors ahead, especially using Anti graft agencies to scuttle the rising profile of South East Governors ahead of the realisation of Nigeria’s Presidency project of Igbo stock 2023, no weapon can destroy an idea whose time has come irrespective of the nefarious activities of these political cartels”.

Ohanaeze, however, demand the Inspector General, Mohammed Adamu, to unravel the identity of the policemen behind invasion else, they will exposed them to Nigerians.

“From intelligence report, those behind the Abuja invasion of Governor Umahi’s residence are highly placed politicians who are afraid of the resolutions of the South East Governors on the ban on Herdsmen conveying cattle on foot, and we ask IGP to fish out those that commanded the police officers to illegally invade the house of Ebonyi State Governor, we expect the IGP to expose them immediately or Igbo youths will expose them for Nigerians to know the details,

“we will no longer tolerate any further intimidation of South East Governors from any quarter from henceforth, the current Political Persecution of South East Governors by these faceless political Cartels is to forestall 2023 Igbo Presidency project and reversal of the ban on Herdsmen movement of cattle on foot, their evil plot is dead on arrival.

SOURCE: ABA CITY BLOG

‘International Community Has Rejected Buhari’

Muhammadu Buhari

BY SUCCESS NWOGU

ABUJA (PUNCH) - The Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday said the international community has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari.

It stated that the claim was confirmed by the perceived disgraceful outing and poor attention allegedly given to Buhari by world leaders and investors at the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said the lack of attention given to Buhari in Tokyo confirmed his alleged rejection by the international community.

He said Buhari only came home with an empty basket and pocket full of promissory notes.

Ologbondiyan said, “The conference has shown that no world leader or international investors want to do any real business with Nigeria under President Buhari, mainly because of the legitimacy burden of his presidency arising from the rigging of the February 23 presidential election, as well as overt impunity, corruption, treasury looting and recklessness that pervade his administration.

“It is lamentable that while President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress are celebrating a mere pledge of $300,000 (N108m) from the Japanese Prime Minister and a promissory note for E50m from an EU commissioner, his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Akufo-Ado, sealed a deal with automobile giant, Toyota, to immediately establish a Toyota and Suzuki manufacturing plant in Ghana with a determined timeline of August 2020 for production.

“The multinational had also signed a deal to establish a similar plant in neighbouring Ivory Coast with a Memorandum of Understanding to that effect already signed last Thursday.”

According to him, Toyota preferred Ghana because of the favourable economic climate prevailing in the country; a climate, which, he stated, had taken flight from Nigeria under Buhari.

In another statement, Ologbodiyan said Buhari had abdicated his responsibilities as the President of Nigeria.

He said, “The PDP notes with dismay that the Buhari presidency only stops at issuing condemnations, publishing commiserations and embarking on condolence visits with empty assurances, but takes no definite steps to address the situation and bring culprits to book.

“This complete failure of leadership and abdication of the statutory duties of the President indicates that the Buhari presidency has no solutions towards ensuring the security of lives and property in our nation.”

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

SOURCE: PUNCH

100 Days In Office: Ikpeazu Has Nothing To Celebrate – APGA

Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State Governor

BY STEVEN UZOECHI

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Abia State, has lambasted Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on the first 100 days of his second tenure accusing his government of celebrating backwardness and failures in his first tenure that include projects abandonment, non-payment of workers emoluments and pensions.

The party, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Ebere Uzoukwa, chronicled some of the governor’s failures to include: “The abandoned Osisioma Fly-Over, an alleged conduit pipe with which the governor and his surrogates have allegedly misused about N5 billion from the treasury of Abia State, the destruction rather than construction of Obikabia-Umuobiakwa-Ururuka Road (the road leading to the governor’s house/village), the invisible Enyimba Economic City, the non-existent Abia Shoe Factory and the destroyed and abandoned Abiriba-Nkporo road.”

Also listed as some of Ikpeazu’s “sins” are: “The 8-month salary arrears owed to secondary school teachers, the16-month salary arrears owed to Abia workers, the 30-month arrears owed to Abia pensioners, contracts inflation, alleged money laundering and the neglect of the Ukwa East and Ukwa West council areas as well as the disregard to oil producing communities of Abia State.”

While describing Abia as the least developed state in the country, the party further described the situation as ‘disheartening’ especially when governors of some neighboring states in the South East particularly Ebonyi and Enugu states are consolidating gainfully, on the numerous achievements recorded during their first term in office.

SOURCE: NEW TELEGRAPH 

Memfys Hospital Unveils Ultra-Modern MRI Machines

Image via UNMC

ENUGU (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- The Federal Government has again been called upon to make the national health insurance scheme accessible to all Nigerians without hindrances.

The Chief Medical Director of Memfys Hospital, Enugu, Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam, who made the call at the inauguration of a world class Signa Explorer 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI, diagnostic machine, said his plea had become necessary as the poverty situation in the country had made it difficult for most Nigerians to pay for their medical treatment.

Ohaegbulam stated that the hospital, which also marked its 17th anniversary, invested on the 16 channels model, the highest grade in the country, which global experts had confirmed would be capable of performing the advanced protocols they needed for accurate diagnosis.

According to the renowned neurosurgeon, “this 1.5T MRI will now help us to introduce sequences and protocols that were hitherto impossible, resulting in improved image quality, faster scanning and yet more patient comfort, it will tremendously expand the scope of service with even the capability for whole body screening for cancer without exposing the patient to radiation”.

While re-affirming the commitment of the management to the growth of tertiary education in the country, the medical director noted that the new machine would also facilitate the training, research and advanced medical care, adding that without any external financial support, Memfys Hospital had contributed wholly or partially to the training of 25 of the 80 neurosurgeons in Nigeria, a feat only exceeded by the university college hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

Ohaegbulam expressed joy with the progress recorded by the hospital so far, stressing that as the only private institution in West Africa that has full accreditation for Neurosurgical training by both the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, NPMCN and the West Africa College of Surgeons, WACS, “the sky would only be our starting point”. He also praised the GE Healthcare led by Mr Kelechi Ekeledo for persevering and delivering the machine on time despite several challenges.

In his remarks, the chairman on the occasion, Prof. Shekarau Abubakar Aku, said that the acquisition of the Signa Explorer MRI model by Memfys Hospital was a big boost to healthcare in the country and commended the founder, Prof Ohaegbulam, for the great feat despite the bad economic climate.

Prof. Aku who is the chairman, governing board, Nigeria National Merit Award, Abuja, described the 17th anniversary of Memfys hospital as a celebration of excellence.

Also speaking, the chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, Enugu State, Dr. Ike Okwesili, explained that the new 1.5T MRI machine would facilitate healthcare delivery in the country, stressing that with the facilities available, Memfys Hospital had now emerged as the leading centre for radiology and medical imaging in Nigeria.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

Why South Africa didn’t grant Nigeria visa waiver –Onyeama

Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Image via Daily Sun

BY AIDOGHIE PAULINUS

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has opened up on why South Africa did not deem it fit to extend its visa-free policy to Nigeria like it did to some other countries recently.

In this exclusive interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, Onyeama said that no country in the world would allow a poor country with a large number of unemployed people emigrating irregularly and regularly, have an open door policy with them.

Onyeama also spoke on the recent attack on the immediate past Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Nuremberg, Germany, disclosing the measures the country would put in place to forestall future occurrence.

He also disclosed that he would focus more on citizens’ diplomacy and the economy in his second term. Excerpts:

How do you see your second missionary journey?

Well, we want to consolidate in certain areas, but we also want to see to fruition the projects that we have initiated.

Some elements were somehow against your return. How do you see that move?

No, there were no elements against my return. There was one individual who went to the media and claimed that he was speaking on behalf of the state executive committee. And all the members of the executive committee said that no meeting ever took place and that he had no right whatsoever to presume to speak for them. So, essentially, it was just one individual claiming to be speaking for a lot of people.

What are you going to do now to reposition the APC in Enugu State?

I have written a letter to the chairman of the party, Comrade (Adams) Oshiomhole, I have copied the president and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. And I will certainly need the support of the chairman of the party if we are to turn things around in Enugu, if we are to secure the credibility of the party in Enugu and the future of the APC in Enugu State.

Now that you are back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what are you going to do differently?

I think number one, I am going to put more attention on what I will call citizens’ diplomacy. Clearly, there is a large number of Nigerians in the Diaspora. And we have to address their needs and be responsive to their needs and to make them comfortable in the knowledge that the ministry is providing through its embassies, the services that they expect. So, that is going to be an important focus. I would also like to complete the project and have it really up and running, of the economic diplomacy initiative where we will have an Internet portal that will be a mechanism for business matching; matching Nigerian businesses with foreign businesses.

Are you referring to NEDI (Nigerian Economic Diplomacy Initiative)?

I am referring to NEDI because I believe that can make a substantial contribution to the economy of this country. It will help as a one-stop-shop for market access for a large number of Nigerian businesses that otherwise might have problems accessing foreign markets. And I think that it will also do a lot to make it easier, promoting ease of doing business for foreign businesses that might be interested in coming to Nigeria. So, it will be a one-stop-shop through a credible platform for that.

Is this like a response to calls by some Nigerians that our foreign policy should be restructured to have direct impact on the citizens?

No, it is not a response to anybody. I mean, these are things that we have had in place that we have always wanted to do. But the problem has always been resources. We have a very clear idea of what we need to be doing, but the challenge has really been having the resources to do those things. For instance, a call centre, 24/7 call centre. It is high technology, but it requires a lot of funding, a lot of resources. The NEDI also requires funding. And as we know, one of the problems that we had, has been the inadequacy of the funding of the Foreign Ministry.

From your assessment, do you think we got the desired results on the war against corruption, insecurity and the revamping of the economy during your first term?

Yes, because it was always going to be a work in progress. I don’t think that anybody could realistically have said that in three and half years, you are going to wipe out corruption in Nigeria and that in three and half years, you are going to have a 100 per cent full employment. So, the thing that we did in the first term was really to develop a roadmap and to lay the basic structures and foundations. And that has been done.

So, now you are going to consolidate?

And build on it. Build on what we have.

Let’s digress a little; people find it difficult to separate the functions of the Diaspora Commission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Can you enlighten us please?

I think that we, as a ministry, prepared the proposal for the Diaspora Commission and I signed-off for it in a memo to the Presidency for the approval that was given. So, we know exactly what the terms of reference are for the Diaspora Commission and it is very, very clear and there should not be any overlap as such. It is basically a framework for Nigerians in the Diaspora to be engaging with the country, a platform essentially for them and a support mechanism really for them. And that is basically it because in most countries around the world, there is a NIDO, Nigerians in Diaspora Organization with the membership and all that. They, essentially, are interest group. So, they are the focal point and they should remain the focal point of the Diaspora Commission here and we are just working with them. I think the terms of reference are very clear.

What position is the government going to take on the killing of Nigerians abroad, particularly in South Africa?

First and foremost, the South African government itself is engaged with that. When we talk of killing of Nigerians in South Africa, the impression is sometimes created that Nigerians per se are like being targeted. But the reality is that there is a high level of crime in South Africa and a lot of it is due to the apartheid past and the conditions in which the blacks lived, little education, very, very poor circumstances and all that. Zimbabweans are being killed, Mozambicans are being killed and others are being killed by criminal elements. One death, one Nigerian death or a Zimbabwean death or a Senegalese death or a South African death is one death too many. I mean, we are not saying that there is any justification. Be that as it may, we are engaging with the South African government to find a solution. And what I proposed that we focus on is to have the South African Police and the Nigerians in South Africa Organization to have them working with the police. Because at the moment, the impression is that the South African Police are part of the problem and a major part of the problem. And that there have been some killings of Nigerians by the South African Police and that there is this trust deficit. So, we need to have them on the same side. That is what we are working on. We have an Early Warning System…

(Cuts in) Is there a breakdown on the Early Warning Mechanism or it hasn’t come into operation?

There is a MoU to be signed. But we have prepared and they still have not signed. The Early Warning Mechanism, when I conceived it, it was essentially to have a framework for the main protagonists, the main actors to meet regularly – the South African Police at the highest level, with the Nigerian High Commissioner, the Consul General, the Foreign Affairs and the Justice Department. If they are meeting at the highest level on a regular basis, we will have a situation where either side, be the Nigerian side, will be providing information and suggestions and strategies because they know the Nigerian community, they will know where the threats are coming from and will be given to them at the highest level. And the mere fact with the meeting regularly will be a bonding mechanism, also get them working together and they can then be responding to whatever challenges and threat that may come up. So, this was basically the structure one wanted to create, an oversight mechanism that really had the parties working together. And what is particularly important about that is that we wanted also the police people on the beat to know that their bosses are working with the Nigerian authorities in South Africa and are watching them so that there is an oversight on the police. So, if there is an accusation that a Nigerian has been killed in police custody or whatever, they will know that that kind of impunity will no longer be tolerated because Nigerians have access to their bosses.

South Africa granted visa free regime to other countries, leaving Nigeria in the cold. What is going on?

Well, what is going on is first of all, that Nigeria is a country of two hundred million people going through a very, very serious economic crisis and that there is a large number of Nigerians who are unemployed and unfortunately, significant number of Nigerians engaged in criminal activities, drug trafficking and peddling in the first instance and other things. So, Nigeria is about four times the size of South Africa and I don’t think there is anywhere in the world where a country will allow a poor country with a large number of unemployed people emigrating irregularly and regularly, have an open door policy with them. It just will not happen because they know there will be swamp. And already, there is a high level of irregular Nigerian migrants, illegal Nigerian migrants in South Africa. So, if they had a visa free policy, as far as they are concerned, it would constitute, I think, a destabilizing factor for them. But they are taking, of course, skilled Nigerians and it is the same in every country. In most countries, they want people who will be assets to their countries either with high skills in areas that are needed or wealthy people who will be investing in their country. Unless very rich countries that have a shortage of unskilled labour market who will want them attract unskilled labour. But South Africa has enough unskilled workers already in their country. So, they are not looking for that level of migrants.

Earlier today, I saw the President of the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). And that reminded me to ask this question: what does Nigeria stand to gain from the UNGA presidency?

It brings much prestige to our country. And when you are at the dining table, you are sitting around the dining table, you are in a good position to know how much food there is, what kinds of food there is and maybe, how much of it you can get for your children to also eat. So, these are the advantages of those kinds of positions.

So, in that case, we can say that there is hope for Nigeria having a permanent seat at the Security Council, which we have always been yearning for?

Well, not as the direct consequence of being president of the General Assembly because the Security Council essentially holds the key to that question. And to be honest with you, permanent seats of the Security Council is not something that you will get international consensus on for the foreseeable future.

If you have read the papers today, you would have seen the United States indicting some Nigerians on money laundering and fraud. What is the government going to do? Is the government going to extradite them?

No,if you can prove and you find that they are in Nigeria. We don’t have a law. And most countries don’t usually have laws that extradite their own citizens to other countries. But for maybe certain grave crimes, it could be looked at. Obviously, you look at it on a case by case basis if there is a request for the crimes. But countries do not as a rule; extradite their own nationals to face justice in another jurisdiction.

The issue of the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate has been trending. Do you think the reminder, which the ministry sent to Nigerian dignitaries to always inform the ministry and missions abroad before travelling is enough to solve that situation?

Yes, I think it is important that when dignitaries are always travelling, they should inform them. But in this case, he had informed. The embassy was aware that he was coming. And not only that, I think he was even accompanied to the venue by an official, a local staff in the consulate. I have had an experience myself about three years ago and I think it is probably even trending now I understand. In Vienna, Austria, about three years ago, where we were at the Nigerian Embassy and some people were complaining when we finished the meeting that they had not been given an opportunity to speak. And they were becoming a bit unruly and I begged the organisers to allow them to speak. So, the point is that we have to be more careful, all the embassies, in vetting properly, the people you allow into meetings in which dignitaries from Nigeria will be taking part and to secure those venues. Because what tends to happen, a few of them will come in, supposing to be Nigerians in the area who want to come and listen and who have hidden agenda. So, they have to be more rigorous. That is what we are going to be telling them in making sure that anybody who goes there, they have to be well searched and frisked before entering these kinds of events. So, they have to secure the premises where dignitaries are meeting, especially where they are really meeting with Nigerians in those foreign countries because most Nigerian leaders, they want to be able to meet with their compatriots when we go to these countries especially if you are in the government, or legislature or justice, you are there representing these people. So, you want to be able to engage with them and also get their engagement. That is really what needs to be done. But also, I think just as a matter of procedure, we tell anybody who is going abroad, government officials, to always inform the Nigerian missions.

For Nigerian dignitaries who may be developing cold feet travelling abroad for such functions, what do you have to tell them?

I don’t personally believe that any Nigerian because of what happened there will not travel. That is not going to happen. I don’t think Nigerians need to be worried or concerned about that. Just a simple proportion that in these meetings where you are inviting the Nigerian public to attend, just make sure that the right people are there and that the premises are secured.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

Haunting Echoes Of A Commemoration

Chinua Achebe. Image: Leonardo Cendamo/Getty

BY OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE

A group exhibition, whose theme revolves around the 60th anniversary celebration of Chinua Achebe’s iconic debut novel Things Fall Apart, concluded its three-city tour of Nigeria in Lagos, after previously holding in Awka and Abuja, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke reports

First, there was a caveat. And it was offered shortly before the Lagos leg of the exhibition was officially opened at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre along Norman Williams Street in South-west Ikoyi that Saturday, August 24 evening. At a cosy end of the gallery’s upper floor, where a roundtable discussion was in full swing, its resilient curator, Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, had reminded the discussants that – though the exhibition, And the Centre Refuses to Hold: Homage to Things Fall Apart @60, was based on Chinua Achebe’s debut novel, Things Fall Apart – it was not really concerned about the illustration of the novel’s content.

Among the leading art personalities present at that session, by the way, were the Obi of Onitsha, Nnaeneka Achebe; the renowned art collector, Omooba Yemisi Shyllon; the cultural activist and former newspaper editor, Jahman Anikulapo as well as the Arthouse Contemporary Limited’s founder, Kavita Chellaram. Also sitting among several others at the roundtable were two of the exhibiting artists – Tobenna Okwuosa and Akeem Muraina.

Indeed, Ikwuemesi was only re-echoing what the literary luminary and Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, had written in his preface to the exhibition catalogue. Soyinka had explained that this endeavour was a continuation of the original “dialogue between image and word”, which began when his African publishers, Bookcraft, launched an outsize edition of Achebe’s iconic novel. This edition, it would be recalled, had featured contributions by a coterie of leading contemporary Nigerian artists. But, this exhibition, Soyinka reminded its audience, had set out “as original artistic tributes, for which the literary work maintains a ‘low profile’ as inspirational resource, leaving the artists to their own re-creative devices.” It is for this reason, he added, that it “should therefore be encountered as products in the vein of association of ideas, set as images, and not literal interpretations of the originating narrative.”

Featured at the exhibition, which ended yesterday, were works produced in diverse media by the following artists: Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, Tobenna Okwuosa, Ato Arinze, George Odoh, Tony Nsofor, Anthony Polo, Akeem Muraina, Ato Arinze, Chinyere Odinukwe, Nnaemezie Asogwa, Benjamin Akachukwu, Obi Nwaegbe, Iyke Okenyi, Jerry Buhari, Chris Echeta, Blaise Gundu Gbaden, Rita Doris Ubah, Doofan Kwaghhool and Abigail Nnaji.

Expectedly, the artists’ diverse backgrounds, experiences and idiosyncrasies gleamed through the works, among which were photographs, drawings, paintings, sculptures, installations and mixed media. These babel of expressions swirl around the trending issues in post-colonial Africa, through which the exhibition gropes for a unifying theme.

Take Akeem Muraina, the Lagos-based sculptor, for instance. Among the four works he contributed to the exhibition, two were metal sculptures while the remaining two were charcoal drawings. One of the metal sculptures, titled “Aremo” (Yoruba for step-father) depicts a bull and a young antelope co-joined in a prancing stance. The idea is to reflect the distinctions in class and status as well as a mutual affectionate bonding.

But, specifically, it metaphorically alludes to the relationship between the novel’s main character Okonkwo and his foster son Ikemefuna. Understandably, the old rugged bull, which symbolises Okonkwo’s bellicose disposition, finds its contrast in the antelope (a metaphorical depiction of the youth Ikemefuna), which exposes the soft underbelly of his fatherly love. The work, also a call to true humanity, urges affectionate bonding across artificial class distinctions. This is in reference to the love Okonkwo, a respected figure of Umuofia, had for a slave boy Ikemefuna, which he did not show to his own biological son, Nwoye.

Conversely, the photographer, Emezie Asogwa, with his body of works, titled “Wet Dreams”, makes no obvious reference to the novel. Rather, he expresses his thoughts about the power of the mind. Through blurry images hinting at motion, he tells the story of his dreams and the intrinsic energies of what he calls a “conscious unconsciousness” in a suite of miniature photographs. Thus, he guides the audience beyond the carnal imagery of his bodily experience and urges them to consider wet dreams as expressions of mental images in dense gross-materiality.

In the same vein, Obi Nwaegbe only tangentially references the novel in his acrylic on paper work, “The Protest”, but extends his musings beyond the obvious with his other similarly-rendered works: “Hangout at the Lounge”, “Women on a March”, “The Essence of Friendship” and “The Hawkers”. The Abuja-based artist seems rather more concerned about keeping a visual diary of the contemporary realities of his environment.

Similarly, Iyke Okenyi’s wooden sculptural offerings – “Dancer”, “Group Photograph”, “Heavy Rain”, and “Before I Die” – make no obvious references to the novel’s content. Yet, it leaves so much to the viewers’ conjectures.

This was not so the case with Tobenna Okwuosa’s paintings. For the Niger Delta University lecturer’s three oil on canvas works seem to be patently tied to the novel’s content. Yet, he lashes out through them at the mental slavery of the post-colonial African (in “Black Man, White Mask”); places the novel on a pedestal not just for its entertainment value, but also its possible use as a guide and text for mental liberation of the African (in “The Beginning of a Great Narrative”); and romanticises the heroism of its protagonist in the tradition of the Negritude writers (“Okonkwo”).

Nonetheless, not even the exhibition’s eclectic and impersonal attributes could have diminished its synergistic visual harmony. Hats off, therefore, to Ikwuemesi’s curatorial dexterity for the unobtrusive blending of the forms and the media.

Previously, the travelling exhibition – which featured a maximum of five works from each of the participating artists – had first held in October last year in the Anambra State capital Awka. This was before it held, more recently, in Abuja this year. And the Centre Refuses to Hold…,as a title, lends wings to the artists’ musings. It evokes a Tower of Babel scenario, in reference to the economic, political and social crises, which continually plague the continent. Thus, the novel’s account of the cultural conflicts between the colonial masters and their colonised subjects in the late 19th century echoes with relevance in the present. Beaming the spotlight on Unoka (Okonkwo’s father in the novel), it drew parallels between this character and the artist in the context of the contemporary Nigerian society.

SOURCE: THIS DAY

Biafra Conundrum: Time For National Assembly’s Intervention

Nigeria National Assembly

BY MONIMA DAMINABO
Several factors in the country’s body politick have made it imperative that a structured debate be launched in respect of ethnic politics in Nigeria, of which the Biafra conundrum remains the sorest point for now. Much as it may seem fashionable for the country’s elite to play the ostrich which hides its head in the sand when confronted with danger, the imperative for self-preservation amplifies the misread threat value of the country’s present indulgence in complacence, both for the individual citizen as well as the entire country as a corporate entity. It is therefore time for corporate Nigeria to rise up, seek answers to some of the needful questions such as the less known aspects of its origin that define what is happening to it now, and where it is bound hereafter. 

Some recent events on the global stage which have reinforced the untenable postponement of the day of reckoning for corporate Nigeria include the recent diplomatic outrage in Tokyo where persons claiming to be members of the IPOB virtually waylaid President Muhammadu Buhari with the unmasked intention of embarrassing not only him but the entire country, to wit, launching a public attack on him in a foreign land. It took the Japanese Police extraordinary measures to contain the impending diplomatic upset that would have ensued if the IPOB group had its way and met the President face to face.

Earlier than the Tokyo affair, was the ignoble case of actual assault on the former Deputy President of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu in Germany, where he went to honour an invitation to an Ibo cultural event. The fact that he escaped with his life by the skin of his teeth tells volumes on the potency of threat of negative diplomatic fallouts when the country’s leaders are targeted and attacked abroad, whenever they travel out and where ever they go to across the world. More insidiously, the assailants may even be unidentifiable until they strike, leading to the possibility that all Nigerians abroad may suffer a stigma of branding as potentially unruly characters. Already a bank in the US has reportedly suspended money transfers through Western Union to Nigeria. The implications of this development if it becomes widespread, are yet uncharted.

By and large, the recent dramatisation of the internationalization of the crisis in Nigeria’s ethnic politics – like what happened in Germany and Japan, has come to deepen the political tensions in the country, following the various readings of the situation from the varying ethnic perspectives with which Nigerians traditionally view matters that affect the entire country. For example, it is for good measure that Ekweremadu was attacked by his fellow Ibo kith and kin. What would have happened if the attack was by persons from another ethnic background? In the same vein what would have followed if President Buhari had been accessed and assaulted by the IPOB elements in Tokyo? Meanwhile these events significantly boosted the country’s woes, along with the underlying divisions among Nigeria’s component ethnic groups, as well as the raging armed conflicts across the land.

As if the foregoing was not enough headache for the country in a short time, there were other sad narratives about the country, like the rape on the country’s credibility in the comity of nations by the US expose’ of Nigeria’s internet fraudsters, who cleaned up bank accounts belonging to unsuspecting American firms, churches, charities and even individuals. Still on cue was the signal that Saudi Arabia had on its death row 23 Nigerians who would be executed by beheading, anytime from now for trafficking banned drugs into that country. Indeed, there may not have been a worse season of anomy for the country, in recent times than now. 

Nevertheless, while all of these aforementioned challenges and others not mentioned here may coalesce into the current headache for the country, the most critical of them easily remains the Biafra issue which with the new found, contrived nuisance value of IPOB in diaspora, offers the risk of forcing our common patrimony to be violated and ridiculed as the proverbial masquerade that is stripped and forced to dance naked in public; and for us, on the global stage. 

In the wake of these developments lies the issue of what the country’s response to the international dimension of the Biafra conundrum will be. And going by the cliché that it is not what happens to a man that matters but how he responds, not a few Nigerians are worried over whether the country will do things in a different way and thereby change the course of events as well as history. For in the final analysis, the situation is steadily pushing the country towards a term many in the country’s power circles today fear to consider – ‘political restructuring’. 

Yet, for the purpose of saving Nigeria as a united corporate entity, or providing a sustainable manner for its eventual restructured state, it is time for the people to talk to each other frankly on the burning issues of the day and in particular Biafra. Many Nigerians may not easily appreciate, the fact that the trending Biafra issue is a conundrum today primarily because much of the impetus driving it lies on a complement of false assumptions, many of which may collapse in the course of structured, rigorous national conversation. 

For instance, except with the instrumentality of a medieval style military conquest to actualize the bogus territorial aspirations of the advocates of Biafra, its emergence today cannot endow it with any territory beyond the five South Eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo. The hellish implications of such a reality may still be lost on many of the new age advocates of Biafra. Essentially, beyond rhetorics can the Igbo nation – with their numerical strength and resourcefulness, actually be confined without severe social tensions, inside the land-locked South East geopolitical zone? The obvious answer which is in the negative to this question, is just one of the primary disincentives for the Ibo elite who are already established in the politics and economy of the Nigerian nation, to be circumspect and hesitant in throwing their weight behind the IPOB pro-Biafra agenda. After all, there is little wisdom in aspiring to rule in hell, than accepting to serve in paradise. 

Perhaps for the edification of the younger pro-Biafrans, the issue of leadership among our Ibo brethren is never a tea party. This author easily recalls the scenario during his days as a student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, when the defunct East Central State was split between Anambra and Imo States on February 3, 1976. There had followed a mass exodus of newly ‘liberated’ Imo indigenes from Enugu to Owerri – some people travelling on bare foot; with expectations of entering paradise on earth in their new state. Within just one week, most of them rushed back to Enugu in disappointment, only to find their job positions, opportunities and facilities taken over by their erstwhile friends and neighbours. 

So Nigeria, let the Biafra debate commence with the National Assembly leading the charge. That will even be in line with the Ibo proverb that whatever can happen tomorrow, can as well happen today. The net beneficiary will be corporate Nigeria.

SOURCE: DAILY TRUST

Anxiety In Owerri Over Invasion Of Medical Expert’s Home By Suspected B’Haram Members

Owerri Township. Image: Youtube

BY OKODILI NDIDI

OWERRI (THE NATION) -- Relatives of a medical practitioner, Dr. Conrad Esomonu, have raised alarm over the recent invasion of his Owerri residence by suspected members of the terror group, Boko Haram.

A younger brother to the medical expert, Ben Esomonu, said that he left the country four years ago following a similar ordeal in Maiduguri, Borno state, where he was practicing in Maiduguri.

Esomonu, an indigene of Ahiazu Mbaise Council Area of Imo State, was a practicing physician in the Northern part of Nigeria before he relocated abroad after a failed attempt on his life by the Boko Haram sect.

“Trailing and threats of lower magnitude have been hunting the family members which prompted the relocation of his fiancée and children to another part of the country.

“It is worthy of note that the failed kidnap attempt on his fiancée in Calabar early last 2018 was evident. The failed kidnap attempt necessitated that they fled the country to an unconfirmed destination.”

Also, an eye witness, Mrs. Carol Ugwuegbu, disclosed that, “six armed men suspected to be members of Boko haram terror group arrived the home of Dr Esomonu in two Hilux vans at about 6:30pm on Saturday 3rd August 2019. The assailants were chanting incomprehensible invocations suspected to be in Arabic, they were all dressed in flowing gowns (jalandher), a form that suggests that they are terrorists.

“On their arrival at the residence, they started shooting randomly in the air and people nearby scampered for safety. They broke into the premises and shot sporadically into the air but as there was no one in the residence as at that time so they couldn’t get anybody.

“The Police arrived shortly after their departure but no arrests were made instead they inspected the bullet shots around the premises.”

SOURCE: THE NATION

Ndigbo Worldwide – The Reality Of A Virtual Nation In The Diaspora

Chimaroke Nnamani

BY CHMAROKE NNAMANI

The recent spate of the killings in Igboland, the latest being in my own constituency of Enugu East Senatorial District where Rev. Fr. Paul Offu and pregnant Regina Mbah were gruesomely murdered by hoodlums alleged to be Fulani herdsmen is barbarous and horrendous. I condemn in totality the odious and dastardly acts and extend my heartfelt commiseration to the families of the victims.

I have taken note of the commendable actions of the governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi towards arresting the situation. If given time, these actions will completely stem these atrocities. I also have full confidence in the government and people of Enugu State and all relevant groups within the Enugu system that this too shall pass.

However, and more importantly, this should avert our minds to a deeper socio-political dilemma. Ndigbo, an African ethnic nationality primarily domiciled in South-Eastern Nigeria and also some communities in neighbouring states who subscribe to Igboness have gone through travails leading to sociological mutation. 

By simple calculations, Ndigbo are the people who occupy the vast mangrove and forest terrain in the political as well as geographical East of Nigeria. Many may wonder what I mean by political alongside geographical Eastern Nigeria. This is simple. By political actions, particularly emanating from colonialism, Eastern Nigeria starts from the eastern tip of the Niger Bridge in Onitsha, but this is a reductionist partitioning against the more meaningful and natural habitation by which Ndigbo are also known as occupying the vast plain from the western tip of the same Niger Bridge at Asaba to points far beyond the western borders of Agbor in Delta State.

 These social trauma include the slave trade that began in 1471 when the Portuguese and the Spanish carted away over 3,000 West Africans, mainly Igbo, and by the time the slave trade ended in 1833 over 3.5 million Igbo had been shipped to the new world.

 It is on record that as far back as 1591, the Igbo areas of today’s Nigeria were put on Portuguese world map as inhabited by some vigorous people whose deep culture celebrated energy, accomplishment and wisdom. The Spanish in 1593 were to expand on this view in identifying the terrain as deeping in a stretch of the Bight called Biafra whose people lived their lives in lifting to art form the career in sojourn (njepu), thought (echiche), industry (olu) andaccomplishment (ntozu). 

The truth of this glorious past and the joy of her greatness have been celebrated by our modern historians and writers who, though, regret that the same Igbo areas (Bight of Biafra) exploded in one ball of fire with the introduction of the slave trade which depleted the manpower resources as it upturned values. 

It is alleged that European slave traders were fairly well informed about various African ethnicities, leading to slavers targeting certain ethnic groups which plantation owners preferred. Particularly desired ethnic groups consequently became fairly concentrated in certain parts of the Americas. The Igbo were dispersed to colonies such as Jamaica, Cuba, Saint-Domingue, Barbados, Haiti, the future United States within the then Virginia and Maryland colonies and Belize. With the goal for freedom, enslaved Igbo people were known to the British colonialists as being rebellious, cantankerous and having a high rate of suicide in the process of escaping from slavery.

In May 1803 a shipload of captive West Africans, upon surviving the notorious Middle Passage, were caged by U.S.-paid captors in Savannah via a slave ship, to be auctioned off at one of the local slave markets. The ship’s enslaved passengers included a number of Igbo people from the then Portuguese-named Bight of Biafra. The Igbo were known by planters and slavers of the American South for being fiercely independent and resistant to chattel slavery. 

The group of 75 Igbo slaves were bought for forced labor on plantations in St. Simons Island for $100 each.The chained slaves were packed under the deck of a small vessel to be shipped to the island. During this voyage the Igbo slaves rose up in rebellion, taking control of the ship and drowning their captors, in the process causing the grounding of the ship in Dunbar Creek at the site now locally known as Igbo Landing. 

With the strongest, the best and the brightest forcibly exported to Europe and the Americas as slaves, the Igbo areas were set in an unprecedented track in retrogression. So, for about two hundred years after formal abolition and about one hundred years after apparent extinction of slave dealing business, the Igbo areas, the people and their resources lay prostrate, yet to recover even in the face of pernicious modern allocation of values. 

Even in the grim periods in history, Ndigbo have held on to the dominant values and character traits which elevated those forebears of the people who thought (echiche), sojourned (njepu), worked (oru) andaccomplished (ntozu). Their accomplishment showed in the glamourous Bight of Biafra culture seen by the Portuguese and the Spanish. Till date, the modern Igbo explore to the fullest those attributes which are identified as the trinity of Igbo character trait and process of personality. Every Igbo man employs his. The same Igbo sojourns, home and abroad and at the same time acts, works and creates wealth. We all know that sojourning is a great industry of the Igbo, which is achieved with the proper deployment of one of the greatest Igbo media of actualization – Ukwun’ije.

 Ndigbo, rising in their cradle in the Holy City of Nri, had deployed the feet and fanned out into the global arena. As they journeyed, they bore the cot of reason we call akpauche. This, we all know, we use to direct the strokes of physical gesture which we know as our aka Ikenga. These form the trinity of the Igbo character, at home and abroad. The end product is the accomplishment (ntozu). When it is told in the hills, valleys, cities and village, then we are celebrating that accomplishment. That is Odenigbo – the universal applause for fame. 

The process of slavery and dispersal of Ndigbo have continued through search for better occupation, better livelihood and also continued voluntary servitude.The Igbo nation has therefore become a nation exercising perpetual and cultural migratory shift, thus in dispersal with heartbeat outside the boundaries of the South-Eastern states which have now become a mere symbolic home forNdigbo Global or Ndigbo Worldwide. 

With this social mutation, the Igbo has to face the reality that the search for a sovereign ethnic state outside the boundaries of the official Nigeria has become untenable, elusive, and an infinite national romanticism of the sovereign nature. This dispersal was impelled by the conditions that have made the Igbo homestead inhospitable – poor infrastructure, lack of basic amenities and the abysmal lack of federal presence in the region decades after the much-touted post-civil war reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation.

 Therefore, the heartbeat of a virtual Igbo nation is outside the confines of the Igbo homestead. NdigboGlobal or Ndigbo Worldwide who reside all over the world with the majority still in South-Eastern Nigeria have unfettered access to the global basket of fortunes and limitless dreams. In the global arena where there is no quota system and where the society thrives on competition and merit, an Igbo can achieve his potentials including high political offices that apparently elude him in the place he calls home, Nigeria. 

The dreams of the Igbo worldwide are not thereforeinhibited by socio-political conspiracies that have confined them to an engineered artificial minority status within the Nigerian state.Such conspiracies theorized as prophylaxis to recurrent and future attempt at recreating a Biafra type scenario, an unwritten policy heralded by the win-the-war strategy of the 12-state structure. In my humble opinion, presidential power as an immediate goal for the Igbo is now secondary.Physical and fiscal restructuring of the Nigerian socio-political space to allow for full effusion of the trinity of Igbo character is more emergent. Some Nigerians in impulsive uppity have been known to have expressed umbrage at an Igbo becoming Vice President nine years after the then war of blame that is Nigeria versus Biafra. 

Zik of Africa, M. I. Power, ‘Boycott the Boycottables’, the ‘Timber and Calibers’ and many others, we pray they will continue to rest in peace in the bosom of the Lord. May they hearour cries and lamentations! Onye mu nayajerentasinaukwumdikaukwuanu. That is to say that my fellow hunter is now seeing my legs as those of an antelope. In the mansion they built with their compatriots through their actions and inactions, their men have become consigned to the quarters for the boys.

 The new Igbo is therefore the Ndigbo Global or the Ndigbo Worldwide. That new Igbo has to define through intellectual thinking what he or she wants from the present Nigerian nation. Globalization provides a myriad of multi-sectoral potentials for human development in areas like trade, commerce, real estate, transport, agro-business, banking, construction, manufacturing, shipping, ICT, academics, sports, and so on. What he or she wants could, in reality, be outside political power because the leverages for achieving political power are no longer there because of inter-ethnic conspiracy that produced a hostile and neglected environment within her homestead. Thus confirming her minority status in the Nigeria of today. 

From the analysis of the indices of good living such as poverty index, life expectancy, school enrollment, maternal and infant mortality rates, MDGs and SDGs, etc., Ndigbo have fared relatively well despite practical exclusion from the sanctum of power and unfair manipulation of the fulcrum of leverages of power since the ill winds of 1966. The categorization of non-political power goals would protect her from unbridled jealousy and hostility, hence left to live in peace within the confines of geopolitical Nigeria but use the global space to thrive. Yessoo – the virtual Nation in the diaspora. 

Ndigbo have to sit down in a colloquium, where Igbo historians, sociologists and political scientists will define what is left for us within the Nigerian nation outside fighting for political power and then invest in the world as a canvass.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

South-East Govs Ban Herdsmen, Cattle Movement Among Communities

BY DENNIS AGBU, CHINEDU ADONU

ENUGU (VANGUARD) - THE Governors of South-East geopolitical zone have banned movement of herdsmen and cattle from one community to the other within the zone.

The Governors also said they have assurances of the federal government that the shut Akanu Ibiam International airport would be reconstructed by two set of contractors to ensure that the work is completed on December this year.

They also said that the entire states in the zone would in the next one week roll out complete palliative measures as a result of the closure of the Enugu international airport.

The Governors made the disclosure in Enugu, Saturday, during their meeting with enlarged stakeholders meeting that included the Minister for Aviation, the Army, Police, the clergy, Igbo leaders, federal ministry of works, among others.

In a communiqué delivered by Chairman of the Governors Forum, Chief Dave Umahi, the stakeholders said they deliberated on two major topics on matters of insecurity and the matters arising from the closure of the Enugu airport.

Umahi said their discussion agreed that their earlier joint air operation to flush out bandits from all forest in South-East would continue.

He said “We also agreed that we have to put measures in place to restrain movement of herdsmen and their cattle from one state to another which is a source and point of conflict with the natives and farmers. And also restrain the movement of cattle and herdsmen from the community to communities across farmlands.

” While commending Enugu state governor for the establishment of Forest Guards as earlier agreed by South-East Governors, the meeting encouraged the remaining South-East governors to launch theirs.

“South-East governors have banned herdsmen who move about with AK 47 guns and cutlasses and we want our security agencies to implement same. South-East governors never invited the army nor were the South East Governors informed of any of their operations on Python Dance until the operations were already started in the states, Umahi said.

He also disclosed that they would write to President Mohammadu Buhari to request for a meeting with him and all the security Chiefs on issues of security to douse tension in the region.

He also acknowledged the safety reasons given by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika for the closure of Enugu Airport, saying it was a matter of need to save the lives of people. He said the airport deterioration went on for a long that the government had to close it to save the lives of people.

“The Honourable Minister of Aviation has assured us that the Akanu Ibiam International Airport will be reconstructed to meet the Abuja International Airport standard, the runway shall be reconstructed and extended, and the landing equipment shall be replaced with a better night landing light installation and he has assured that the work will go on day and night and it must be completed before December 2019.

“Other works like the cargo section, extension of the tarmac, buildings that were damaged by rainstorm etc are also in the package. He has assured us also that two sets of contractors are pinned down for any of them to be used like Julius Berger as we requested and P&W but in the weeks ahead we will be asking him that we have a choice of Julius Berger.

“Palliative measures is been arranged and the South-East governors will have a committee with Minister of Aviation and Minister of Works to discuss on the palliative measures. We are very committed as South-East governors for the safety of pour people, for the convenience of our people to ease all inconveniences and these we are going to do. Some states have already started and some states will also follow. And in the next one week we will totally roll out our palliative measures and we assure our people of their safety.

“On Sam Mbakwe Airport, the Honourable Minister said they had already met and a number of facelift will be given like the barbed wire, the tarmac, the buildings; they are all going to be given facelift, where most of these planes will be diverted to and we are very happy with that.

“South East governors have already set up security committee, we shall inaugurate them today, one per state and they will play a major role with our security chiefs and also play role in this airport closure and diversion of flights

.” Speaking on the airport, the Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika the federal government takes the Enugu seriously as it does to Kaduna for the north and Ibadan for the south west.

“This airport is one of the five International Airports that we have, I want to assure you that we will take all the seriousness that it deserves, and we should be able to deliver this project all things being equal before Christmas.

“We are conscious and aware of the hardships that you might go through but I believe it is worth it in the interest of safety and the committee that has been formed will discuss the palliative and we will also discuss the arrangement and planning,” Sirika said.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

How gunmen killed Catholic priest, set body ablaze

Some unidentified gunmen. Image: AFP via The Guardian

BY CHARLES AKPAJI, NKECHI ONYEDIKA-UGOEZE, KANAYO UMEH AND NJADVARA MUSA

The Catholic Church yesterday said it was saddened and shocked by the murder of one of its priests, Rev. Fr. David Tanko, in Taraba State.

The tragedy occurred barely a month after suspected Fulani herders killed Rev. Fr. Paul Offu in Enugu State. The murder of Offu had also followed the killing of yet another priest, Rev. Fr. Clement Eziagu, a month earlier.

The late Tanko was attacked yesterday morning in Kufai-Amadu village along Takum-Wukari road as he went for a peace meeting. Parts of Taraba State have been embroiled in clashes between the Tiv and Jukun ethnic groups.

The Chairman of Takum Local Government Area, Shiban Tikari, confirmed the incident, saying the assailants, “after killing him, set him and his car on fire.”

Reacting, Bishop Charles Hammawa of the Catholic Diocese of Jalingo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN): “We received the news of his death with shock and great sadness. The diocese is mourning. We have been preaching peace and making efforts to bring the parties that were enmeshed in crisis in the area together for a roundtable discussion.

“For a priest who has been preaching peace to be killed in this most gruesome manner is pathetic, to say the least. A priest belongs to all. For now, we are not pointing an accusing finger at any group for being responsible.”

He said the state police command disclosed that it was investigating the case and prayed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

“Our basic concern now is to give him a befitting burial. We don’t want any group to go on reprisal. Going on reprisal will only worsen the situation,” Hammawa added.

Tikari, however, blamed the killing on Tiv militia, whom he accused of alleged attacks in southern Taraba.

Taraba police spokesman, David Misal, could not be reached for comments, as calls and text messages to him were neither acknowledged nor replied to.

But Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu issued a statement yesterday, where he condoled with the church and ordered the state commissioner of police to fish out the killers. He further expressed concern over recent attacks on clerics in parts of the country and directed commissioners of police in all states to pay special attention to the clergy and step up security around worship centres.

In another attack in Wajirko village, Borno State suspected members of the terrorist Islamic State of West Africa Provinces (ISWAP) on Tuesday killed 11 workers who were laying cables for a telecoms firm.

The assailants had reportedly ordered the workers to discontinue. But Modu Bukar, a resident of the area, told reporters: “The villagers are starving. Laying the cables provides a means of livelihood. We had to ignore the threat to survive the 10-year insurgency.”

Meanwhile, the new Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammadu Dingyadi, yesterday restated the commitment of the Federal Government to providing security for Nigerians. He gave the assurance when leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress paid him a visit in Sokoto State.

Also, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the National Muslim and Christian Youth Summit in Abuja yesterday, decried religious and ethnic tensions in the country.

He told the participants: “Many are beating the drums of tribal and religious superiority. Some are even seeking to divide the nation into ethnic zones.”

Osinbajo consequently urged Muslims and Christians to live up to the tenets of their faiths and promote the best values of humanity.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN