Emmanuel Onwubiko: We Must Fix Education To Fix Nigeria

Emmanuel Onwubiko.

Few days back, I had a brief stopover at the premises of the Imo state university in Owerri, and the sights and sounds that yours faithfully perceived and heard were frightening and disappointing at the same time.

The first shocking phenomenon I noticed was the rapidly declining standards of physical infrastructures and the near- total collapse of basic facilities that ought to be functional in any 21st century compliant and standardized tertiary institution.

From the bad roads that littered within and without the Imo state university to the decrepit lecture halls, what the school looks like is a university gravely in need of comprehensive facelift and infrastructural upgrade.

Possibly, the only positive I took away from the appalling state of affairs at this higher institution in Imo state capital, is the presence of a large pool of enthusiastic and optimistic students in their very prime who from all available empirical evidence are willing to imbibe the best of education that would propel them to become competitive in the increasingly knowledge-driven global community of humanity.

I saw a great deal of students at the Imo state university who are prepared to be educated and highly enlightened citizens of the world in the jet age of this twenty first century.

I also saw a building structure that looks so frail, fragile and in the very last stage of the decomposition but sadly, I saw many students trooping in and out of this nearly collapsed structure which the students told me is identified as old ETF building.

ETF, I understand stands for education Trust Fund which is an acronym for a behemoth of an agency under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.

This agency controls tons of billions of Naira yearly as budget.

But as can be deciphered, this education trust fund must rise from the debris of crass irresponsibility, corruption, inefficiency, and incompetence and must as a matter of national emergency rush to the Imo state university to take down this structure that is like a time bomb which may explode any moments from now and the consequences may be very severe in terms of casualties since students still make use of this bad structure.

The disappointing state of facilities at the Imo state university logically brings us to the question of what the agenda is for the two ministers who recently took positions at the Federal Ministry of education.

The minister is returning for the second tenure even as his counterpart, who is the minister of state, once headed one of the juicy interventionist agencies under that education ministry as the chairman of the governing board.

Adamu Adamu who is a newspaper columnist turned minister of education made a revelation that it took him 18 months in the last four years for him to understand his job.

We then ask why President Muhammadu Buhari gambled with the strategic education ministry by fixing a round peg in a square hole who took all of 18-months to even begin to understand the fundamentals of his job.

It would however seem that in the school of thought of president Buhari, his kinsman Alhaji Adamu Adamu, a journalist, may have now mastered his new terrain well enough to repeat another term of office.

This time around, the minister has a very young man from Imo state Emeka Nwajiuba as the minister of state.

It is therefore the expectation that with the infusion of a vibrant youngster who is at home with the ministry of education in the person of Emeka Nwajiuba, the all-important education ministry will resurrect from its comatose nature to truly play the key role of comprehensively empowering our young people to take their pride of place in the world. The department’s and agencies under this ministry have veered off their statutory mandates and there are cases of corruption all over which must be fixed. The returning minister was beaming with laughter like a hunter that has returned with a giant booty from the forest.

Adamu had told Nigerians on the day he was returned as education minister that in his first term both him and his then minister of state professor Anthony Anwukah had worked hard to put together the ministerial strategic plan (MSP 2016-2019) to the point of implementation before their tenure ended on May 2019.

The minister said: “We had labored over the time on the strategic plan for the education and only to the point of implementation then we had to leave. I had the opportunity to remind President Muhammadu Buhari that the nation was expecting so much from him.

“When we were sent here the first tenure, it took me one and half year to understand the ministry; it also took me as a surprise when I was re-assigned to the ministry of education. I had thought I would be sent to another ministry where I would have to learn all over again. Now, I know that I am coming back to a family.

“You all are my teachers and hopefully we will work well together again.

“The reality is the confidence I reposed in the Permanent Secretary. When I came here I had to get the idea of what education is and I could only see what is happening here after a year and half.”

Adamu noted that Nwajiuba had abandoned his Doctorate programme to serve in the cabinet of President Buhari as minister, adding that his appointment as minister of state would be helpful.

Nwajuiba was Chairman, Board of the Tertiary Education Trust fund (TETFund) until his appointment as the minister of state for education.

Nwajuiba said he was at home in the ministry.

”I am comfortable that I do not have to go to another ministry but here with my senior brother at the ministry of education I can be tutored and well directed,” he said.

If truth be told, I think this ministerial strategic plan for 2016-2019 in the education ministry only functioned on paper and not much was achieved on ground because most federal government’s funded educational institutions did not witness any transformation in terms of improved facilities but rather most of them are till today, ghosts of their hitherto selves. The University of Nigeria Nsukka and the Abuja University depict how bad the state of facilities are for students. At a Federal university in Bauchi, over a dozen students died following the collapse of a bridge in their school.

At the foremost university of Nigeria, the female hostels within the campus do not have functional toilet facilities just as other equally key amenities like water and electricity supply are very poor. The same can be seen from the University of Abuja which is just a stone throw from the seat of power.

Also, appointments into offices of vice chancellors of federal universities have become like appointments of village heads going by the evil practice whereby all the VC’s of federal institutions are sons and daughters of the soil thereby turning federal institutions into village halls.

The new and not so new ministers should do all within their power to change this evil trend and keep to the spirit behind establishments of Federal universities which should not be governed necessarily by persons from the so-called catchment areas in clear breach of competencies and merit.

The University of Lagos has been in the news for political battles between the governing board and the VC. Universities whether federal, state or private should be made to observe an administrative benchmark that would promote good governance, transparency and accountability. On no accounts should students of higher institutions or even primary and post-primary be subjected to dehumanizing conditions of defecating in the open and learning under grave conditions. Let’s turn our attention to what obtains in educational faculties in Europe to see what can be imbibed.

European Youth Insights is a platform provided by the European Youth Forum and the European Sting, to allow young people to air their views on issues that matter to them.

In a piece written by Tariq Jahan, he clearly told us the pragmatic values of education which must guide how the strategic education system must be governed in this fast moving information technology-driven knowledge generation.

He wrote that while being youths, we are at the center of absolute strength. We think big, hope for the best and envision a better tomorrow, thereof making unceasing efforts to turn our lifelong dreams into concrete actions. Youthfulness is in practice a phase of thorough and whole change—a perfect transition in terms of physique and mentality, society and environment, regionality and universality.

The phase of youth, the writer argued transports one from one world to another world—a world so different like scuba-diving and space exploration. Youths are such a layer of the society which has been the center of the focus of the remainder. The period of youth happens to be one of essence and core, ripened common sense and rationale accompanied by practicality and pragmatistic tendencies.

In my opinion, “People without education are like weapons without bullets.” Right after our birth, we have, in one way or the other, been imparted education. It would be no exaggeration to think of education vis a vis people like petals of the same flower or like two sides of the same coin, one entirely relying upon the other. Education is exceedingly instrumental for the realization of one’s innate self, strength, natural fitness, and factual being.

Education is so necessary and essential that its insufficiency or absence may lead one to choose improper path of life.

The writer wrote too that to begin with, education is a factor of change in one’s life: Education for the youth is the medium with the help of which they can quench their thirst for realizing their potentialities. The youth should be equipped with the best possible education and facilitated with favorable conditions to, through the attainment of their skills, be an asset to the community and that way contribute actively to the development of the community, as they are essential elements of the society. In this globalized and knowledge-based world, every young person should be given the opportunity to contribute to the society while fulfilling their potentials.

The writer posited further that since education, as conceived of, seeks to change the way one lives and thinks, the youth first must be provided great educational opportunities and suitable conditions, the hurdles laying on their way to educational ends ought to be removed, only then will the youth be a boon to the community. The self-development of the youth is directly tied with that of the society. To help others change their paths of lives, one must first start from himself. To reach apex, it should be started from the bottom. Beginning with self-awareness, the youth should go up, flourishing and prospering. When children are sent to schools, they are on the point of fact opened the wide windows of the dark rooms of this world.

There they can learn about their society, environment, social ethics and values and so on, the writer stated.

“So, it is incumbent upon every society to create constructive conditions for the youth so as to receive education. It is with the help of education that the youth can choose and seek their interests. They choose their ways and directions of lives. With this, they set goals for themselves and strive to achieve them. Education propels the youth in the right, proper and straight direction”.

The aforementioned should serve as a guide for the two ministers in the education ministry because the best way to fix this broken society is to fix education and deliver quality education to the youths who are the leaders of today.

SOURCE: DAILY POST

Xenophobia: Ezekwesili, Nigerians In S’Africa Meet

Oby Ezekwesili

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘This Is A Possibility’: Akwaeke Emezi Writes A Trans Story Where Nobody Gets Hurt

The “Freshwater” novelist forays into Y.A. and attempts to find balance amid multiple book and TV projects.

“I want to cast a spell where a black trans girl is never hurt,” Akwaeke Emezi said of their Y.A. book “Pet.” “She’s not in danger. She gets to have adventures with her best friend. And I hope that that’s a useful spell for young people.”CreditSonny Figueroa/The New York Times

BY CONCEPCION DE LEON 


After “Freshwater,” Akwaeke Emezi’s critically acclaimed debut novel, came out in 2018, publishers were eager for more from the Nigerian writer.

Emezi, 32, was ready, having already sold “Pet,” a young adult novel, to Make Me a World, a diversity-focused imprint of Penguin Random House, and signing a lucrative two-book deal with Riverhead. The first, “The Death of Vivek Oji,” is expected to come out next year.

But this productivity came at a cost. “I had a little bit of a crisis,” said Emezi, who uses the pronoun they. “I stopped journaling. I stopped writing for pleasure because I was just like, if I’m not getting paid for it, what’s the point?”

That’s why Emezi decided to slow down this year, taking periodic breaks from writing and unwinding with gardening and Netflix baking shows. It’s a pace that’s become a necessary way to cope with the whiplash of newfound success: not just the book deals, but the enthusiastic response to “Freshwater” and a television deal to develop it for FX with their friend and creative partner, Tamara P. Carter.

As Emezi prepared for the Sept. 10 release of “Pet,” about a transgender teenager named Jam living in a world where adults refuse to acknowledge the existence of monsters, they discussed self-care, the pressures black authors face and the challenges of writing a book for teenagers. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

It’s been about a year since “Freshwater.” What has your post-debut novel experience been?

I did not know how stressful it would be. No one talks about how brutal and exhausting it is. I tried to tour three times. Every single tour got cut short because I became too suicidal to continue. In the middle of it, everyone’s just like, your life must be so great, your book is being well received, you’re getting rave reviews. And I’m just like, I’m trying not to die, though. I ended up in the emergency room a few months after “Freshwater” came out because I was having severe muscle spasms. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t swallow. It was horrific.

People who were seeing my life on social media were just like, everything’s going great for you, and I’m just like, tell that to my now chronic pain and tell that to all these limitations. Every good thing that happened came with something really difficult.

And so that kind of became the thing of this year, recovering from how brutal last year was. I had a good year of figuring that stuff out before “Pet” comes out, before “Vivek” comes out, and finding some balance. Because last year, there was just no balance.

What has recovering and finding that balance looked like for you?
A big part of it was not writing any more books. I wrote four books in four years and sold them all. I realized that I was getting kind of obsessive with the idea of finishing books and was putting myself under a lot of pressure. And all these deadlines were completely arbitrary, because there was no rush to do any of it.

And also separating from this culture of having to be the best. You want to be a successful writer, and for black writers, we feel like the only way we can do it is to become exceptional, and in this context, exceptional means you win all the awards. “Freshwater” won none, and I was mad salty about it. There’s a little bit of confronting ego, if awards are validation from your peers or from the industry, and I was just like, O.K. sweetie, you wrote a book that’s pretty anticolonial and based in indigenous West African ontology. This is America. [laughs] Makes sense.

I had to remember why I was making this work. I wasn’t making it for institutional validation. I was making this work for specific people — all the people living in these realities feeling lonely and wanting to die because they’re like, this world thinks I’m crazy and I don’t belong here. All the little trans babies who are just like, there is no world in which my parents will love me and accept me. There’s a mission to all of this.

With “Freshwater,” a lot of the interpretations or the readings of it have had to do with mental health and multiple personality disorder, but you’ve always spoken about it in the context of West African belief systems.

At first, I did a lot of work to kind of shift the center … I was like, it’s a book about this. I am not moving. It’s not a metaphor. It’s autobiographical fiction.

Then after a while I got annoyed, and I was just like, but can you analyze why you’re interpreting it that way? What are the influences that make this reality in the book, this Igbo ontology, not real to you? Because it’s probably colonialism. Why do you think these indigenous realities aren’t true? White supremacy.

One of the reasons I leave space for people who say “Freshwater” is about mental health is that multiple things can be true at the same time. “Freshwater” does talk about mental health, but that’s not the center. The book is about embodiment. So like in “Freshwater,” you could say Ada is depressed and suicidal. But she’s depressed and suicidal because she’s a spirit trapped in flesh. And so it’s not one replacing the other. Both exist at the same time.

Tell me about “Pet.” How did you get the idea?
I thought about what I would want to read if I was in my teens now, in this current climate — what I would be worried about or could possibly be stressful for me. I was looking at what’s happening in the world now, and I’m like, oh, this is a lot of people not calling things what they are, not calling monsters monsters, not calling evil evil, or not calling white supremacists white supremacists. And I thought, well, what does it look like if you’re a young person and it’s this mass gaslighting, where everyone’s just like everything’s fine, nothing to look at here and you’re like, but did you see what I just saw? So I decided to write to them and write this young girl who lives in what’s supposed to be a better world, but there’s a thing happening, it’s not being acknowledged yet, but it not being acknowledged doesn’t change the fact that it’s happening. What do you do if you’re a young person stuck in that gap? Do you wait for everyone to acknowledge it before you do something? Do you play along with them?

How was writing for young adults different from writing for adults?

All my adult books, every single one of them, has multiple narrators, multiple perspectives; that is actually my default. And with Y.A., I was just like, how about you have one protagonist and the book goes linearly, in a chronological order. Living on the edge here. [laughs]

I also wanted to veer away from some of the things that showed up in my adult books more. I was like, what does it look like to write a book that doesn’t have sex in it? What does it look like to write a teenager who’s not sexual? Because I was not at all as a teenager. I was just like, I love my books and Jesus. What does it look like to write a black girl like that — especially because I think a lot of the times teenage black girls are so sexualized. I wanted to write this tender, shy, nonsexual black girl. Those were kind of the challenges: Take sex out, take some of that darkness that comes with my adult books. Write something that’s a little more distilled, a little clearer, a little more innocent in some ways, and write it in a straight line with one protagonist. You’d think that would be easier, but it’s not.

Can I ask you about the decision to make Jam, the protagonist of “Pet,” transgender?
Chris [Myers, who started Make Me a World] told me his kind of philosophy about books, which is that books are spells that you put into the world. And he likes to think about, like well, what impact is your spell having on the world? How is it changing the world?

When it comes to trans characters, especially black trans girls, black trans women, when they’re being amplified, it’s usually because someone died. Trans people are already living their reality. So I was like, if I’m writing something for black trans kids, what spell do I want to cast? I want to cast a spell where a black trans girl is never hurt. Her parents are completely supportive. Her community is completely supportive. She’s not in danger. She gets to have adventures with her best friend. And I hope that that’s a useful spell for young people. I hope that’s a spell where someone reads that and they’re like, this is like what my life should be like. This is a possibility.

Concepción de León is a staff writer covering news and culture for the Books section.

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

‘The Lost Okoroshi’ Blends Afrofuturism With Mythology, Comedy, And A Lot Of Dancing

Image via Pajiba

BY KAYLEIGH DONALDSON

The Nigerian film industry — often referred to as Nollywood — encompasses one of the largest entertainment entities on the planet. The country’s vast and extremely prolific output, encompassing hundreds of languages and divided along regional and religious lines, remains a fascinating and oft-unreported melting pot of the medium’s past, present, and future. Despite its status and ever-expanding cinematic slate, it remains depressingly rare to see Nigerian film — and indeed, African cinema in general — represented on the major festival scene. For most Western film lovers, especially in Britain and America, access to such films is difficult. Progress has been made thanks to streaming services like Netflix, and now the Toronto International Film Festival brings us a real gem with The Lost Okoroshi.

Directed by Abba Makama, who previously brought Green White Green to the festival, this comedy-drama is a blend of Afrofuturism, music video coolness, traditional Nigerian culture, and slapstick comedy. Funnily enough, it all works too.

The story follows Raymond (played by Seun Ajayi), a dissatisfied security guard living in Lagos. His life is familiarly bland, mulling day after day from home to work to time with friends. The only thing that disturbs this ease is a recurring dream where he is haunted by colorfully costumed characters from a traditional Okoroshi masquerade. They dance and chase Raymond every night with no rhyme or reason. Upon the advice of a friend more strongly connected to his roots, Raymond decides to stop running in his dream and embrace the Okoroshi. Then he wakes up one morning and finds that he now is the masked performer. After being fired from his job for improper attire, Raymond stumbles through Lagos and soon finds a use for his new abilities.

On a purely stylistic level, The Lost Okoroshi is a fascinating mish-mash of ideas and aesthetics that ensures you’ll never be bored throughout its speedy 90 minutes running time. The first 15 minutes or so almost feel like a soap opera before the madness starts. There’s a gonzo element that blends well with Makama’s keen eye for visuals. The masquerade costumes alone are a stunning delight of movement and allure, but it’s in the vaguely paranormal moments where he truly shines. There’s no shortage of color on display here, from the vivid purple of Raymond’s new garb to the vibrancy of Lagos’s streets to the nightclub that becomes an Okoroshi dance party. The entire film, even as it blends broad comedy with wholly earnest pleas for an understanding of cultural lineage, feels like the world’s coolest music video, especially with its blend of music that feels like a playlist of traditional beats, MTV Africa, Angelo Badalamenti’s work on Twin Peaks, and ‘Flight of the Valkyries.’ That may sound somewhat glib or reductive of what the director is trying to accomplish here but it should not diminish his work. This feast for the eyes works because it works in tandem with the central themes.

There’s such energy in moments where Raymond, skulking around Lagos in the masquerade costume, helps out a beleaguered sex worker and is chased down by a wannabe entrepreneur who sees a potential money-making ability with this supposed novelty. One especially memorable scene includes a kidnapping at the hands of the Igbo Peoples Secret Society of Heritage Restoration and Reclamation (or IPSSHRR for short), a group so secret that they have their logo emblazoned on t-shirts and keep a sign on the gate outside their headquarters. Their increasingly bureaucratic arguments over how to retain their cultural heritage are highly entertaining, more so than the film’s other major attempt to engage with its own thesis. It’s also worth noting that this is a film with a sex worker character who is funny, fully fleshed-out, never shamed for being a sex worker, and not used by the narrative as someone to be made an example of. If only the rest of pop culture would follow suit.

One character, an African studies scholar called on to help figure out what’s going on with Raymond, sadly drives the momentum to a complete halt to provide historical and cultural context as well as to conclude the film with an overview of its themes just in case anyone missed them. It’s a shame because for the majority of its running time, The Lost Okoroshi refuses to hold open the door for audiences unfamiliar with Nigerian culture or Igbo mythology, and it’s all the better for it.

If you’ve never seen a Nigerian film, The Lost Okoroshi is a vibrant and appealing introduction for any newbie, even as it lags in moments where the substance starts to overburden the style. Still, it’ll definitely make you want to dance.

SOURCE: PAJIBA

After 44 Years Of Devoted Service, Ihe-Nsukka Honours El Anatsui

Anatsui dances after his chieftaincy installation. Image: The Guardian

• The Love For Fela’s Music Brought Me Here

• Nigeria Has Not Lost Much Of Its Culture
• Artists Survive In Environment Where There Is Idea Stimulation

BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR


First, the hair. They are silver, without space for any other colour. On a sunny day, the hair glistens like cumulus in the sky. They are not receding yet.

Seventy-five years old El Anatsui, the owner of this hair is one of the most respected artists of the contemporary era.

Born in Anyako, Volta Region of Ghana, and trained at the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in central Ghana, his work with sculpture and woodcarving started as a hobby to keep alive the traditions he grew up with. He began teaching at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975 and has remained in the university town till date.

The critic John McDonald says: “It has taken many years to find artists who can occupy a prominent place on the global circuit while choosing to reside outside the metropolitan centres. William Kentridge has made his reputation from Johannesburg, and El Anatsui has conquered the planet while living and working in the Nigerian university town of Nsukka.”

He did not dare get his hopes up too high when he got to Nsukka. He didn’t want them to be dashed. Many have had that as a welcome gift in new climes.

One year had gone by, and another, and then another, and he was deep into his stay in the university community, worming his way into the heart of Nsukka art School.

He was working day and night, weekends, putting off vacations, losing weight, gaining weight, growing pale and worn out, waking at odd hours.

With a hammer, chisel, rasps — a piece of metal that resembles a file, with small teeth all over the surface — and banker, a very sturdy workbench, used mostly by sculptors, by his side, Anatsui he was always ready.

Forty-four years is no joke staying in a foreign land. When you listen to him, you get a picture of what it was at the beginning: Excitement and hope.

“I was excited coming to Nigeria,” he says.

Pauses.

Anatsui is courteous and measures his words before bringing them out. “I knew something about Nigerians. I was in school with them. I knew something about the country from primary school. There were Nigerians who taught me, and when I finished secondary school, I taught one or two of them in class.”

He says, softly, “when I went to the university, there were so many Nigerians there. I found them very exciting people. In Ghana, at the time, we were on a government scholarship, but these people came and they paid fees. And for that reason, they tended to be more serious than we on a government scholarship. The government was paying us for schooling. So, I knew that when I got the appointment with the University of Nigeria, I was going to be with very serious people like the ones I met in my school days.”

He flashes a grin.

“Also, when I was in school, I was playing in the university band. I was a trumpeter, and occasionally, a drummer. One of our heroes or icons at that time was Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. I think it was in the final year that he visited my school,” he says.

That was when Fela was trying to introduce afrobeat “and we had the opportunity of playing during the halftime of his performance. I thought that if I came to Nsukka, Fela would be within five hours reach and that I would go and listen to his original music anytime I was in Lagos, which I was doing anyway,” Anatsui reveals.

His voice is gentle and cultured.

Now: try to imagine a Bohemian life.

“Each time I was travelling to Lagos, I made sure it was Friday. So, in those early days, I was always going by road for my long vacation,” he says. “I will come to Lagos and do my papers and international driving licence, and in the evening, retire to Fela’s Shrine to listen to good music. At dawn, I will take off to Ghana.”

The artist says, jocularly, “Fela’s music was original to many of us. It was the kind of music you want to hear over and over again. I didn’t want the situation where I would have to wait for him to travel to see his performance. All those things put together, my colleagues, who were hardworking, and then, Fela made it exciting for me to live and work in Nigeria.”

Why Nsukka and not any other place in Nigeria?

He adds, creating a world for the inner eye to inhabit.
“UNN was the place that gave me an appointment. When I came, I found the place welcoming and I didn’t think of going to another university. It was the time that I came that we had the likes of Uche Okeke, Obiora Udechukwu, Chike Aniakor, and so many artists around. Nsukka art school had a very prestigious formation. The staff were very good, and so, initially, I thought I would do a couple of years and then renew at the end. I kept renewing, and the university, on a couple of occasions, renewed without me knowing. So, I needed a place that was very exciting.”

He says, “an artist survives very well in an environment where there is idea stimulation and I have a lot of stimulation in the environment from the things that are cultural and even the language. I’m a very good fan of Pidgin English. It has a lot of art and imagery. Listening to Pidgin English being spoken can be interesting. The radio in my car is permanently on WAZOBIA FM where they speak pidgin. The expressions are revealing and entertaining at the same time. I see that in Nigeria, you haven’t lost much of your culture. The colonialists did not stay long here. In Ghana, they destroyed so many things. When I came, I saw that in this area, especially the Igbo community, a lot of the culture was still intact. In those days, I used to go to events; I even went to a place where a friend took ozo title. The Nsukka environment was exalting, people were experimenting, and sometimes, not experimenting but very active – one that urged you on to do something. It was a synergetic kind of, at that time.”

And he didn’t feel like joining the ‘brain drain’ movement of the 90s?

“I think the people who left mostly were not Nigerians. They were expatriate. Though I’m an expatriate. What I think I was earning did not have anything to do with money. More so, my practise was good enough for me to worry about money the way others would do,” he says.

He admits, “I don’t think I have any regret living here these past 44 years because you cannot imagine another scenario to compare with or maybe with the Ghana that I left.”

According to him, “that’s one thing I don’t know. It could happen, maybe not. The thing is that the kind of artist that I’m, somebody who is constantly working for a new way of doing things, Maybe I would have survived in Ghana, I don’t know. When you leave your domain or country where you are used to things and come to a new place, you tend to probably move faster than when you were in your home where you have all the comforts. You might not be adventurous enough or you might just relax, new things to learn, new challenges to move on.”

Anatsui reveals that his first experience with art was through drawing letters on a chalkboard. “During my pre-school years, I lived in a mission house with an uncle who was a reverend. We used chalk and slate. The letters always baffled me. I thought they were very interesting signs. I thought they were human beings,” the sculptor explains.

The smile on his face is huge. It looms large enough for a close-up shot. “When I went to university, sculpture looked interesting to me. That was an area I had not been introduced to in all the other stages of education. So, I instinctively chose to major in it. Having done that, I discovered that I made a very good choice because sculpture seems to be so wide that within it, you can have so many others,” he confesses.

He adds, “in sculpture, for instance, you handle colour like a painter — They are even restricted kind of to canvas or only papers. In sculpture, you’re handling colours in so many ways. You have all the other areas subsumed in it. As a sculptor, you can use fabrics, paints and just anything to work with. You can even use clay, which is ceramics. All the other areas are easily found in the discipline. As a sculptor, you have the freedom to work in all these areas.”

He expresses a variety of themes and demonstrates how African art can be shown in a multitude of ways that are not seen as ‘typical’ African.

His work utilises conceptual modes that are used by European and American artists but hardly in Africa. He uses his inspiration and materials from Africa to speak about humanity.


In his studio practice, Anatsui creates experiences for his viewers conceptually. He believes that “human life is not something which is cut and dried. It is something that is constantly in a state of change.”

Anatsui’s preferred media are clay, wood and found objects, which he uses to create sculptures based on traditional Ghanaian beliefs and other subjects. He has cut wood with chainsaws and blackened it with acetylene torches.

After he moved from Winneba to Nsukka, wood became less accessible to him. This drove him to pursue clay as a medium.

“I have spent time doing some works. They call it ceramics. That was about three or four years ago. But that’s what I call ceramic sculpture,” the artist retorts.

Anastui’s Broken Pots: Sculpture was a series of vessels formed by shards of existing and created pottery. This series was Anatsui’s first experiment with using many parts to create a whole. Often providing new context or meaning to the pieces he was using.

More recently, he has turned to installation art. Some of his works resemble woven cloths such as kente cloth but were not intended as textiles, but as sculptures.

In his installations, draws connections between consumption, waste and the environment.

For him, art grows out of each particular situation, and artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up.

He says, “as a sculptor, you’re delving into the meaning of form and the material. Let’s take a look at clay. It is soft and pliable, but when it dries, it is hard. When you fire it, it becomes harder. The main characteristic is that it is fragile. It breaks easily. A sculptor, for instance, might not be thinking of clay when he or she wants to do a work that is not fragile. I’m not restricted to any particular medium and grow into something else.”

According to him, “at this stage, I haven’t closed my eyes or signed off. My mind is constantly in search of any medium that will bring a new message. When I worked with wood, it was to explore certain ideas. It doesn’t mean that I’m finished with wood; I’m still working with wood, but not as much as I’m doing with metals. When I came to metals, it wasn’t as if the wood has been exhausted but because metal comes with a new message and idea. When a new medium shows itself up, then it tends to draw more attention. It doesn’t mean that I have left the other one.”

These works are made from found objects, usually metal bottle caps, which are tied together with wire to create vast sculptures that resemble tapestries. Anatsui incorporates Adinsubli for his works, an acronym made up of uli, nsibidi, and Adinkra symbols, alongside Ghanaian motifs.

With his metal hangings continuing to spread over the world, Western art critics began to connect Anatsui’s work with potential art historical references in order for them, foreigners, to create familiarity. For example, one mentions that his bottle tops could be compared to “Duchamp’s bicycle wheel” and “recall disparate Modernist sweet spots without quite settling into any familiar category.”

On Saturday, August 24, 2019, the traditional ruler of Ihe-Nsukka autonomous community, Igwe George Asadu, honoured the Ghanaian-born Nigerian artist with the chieftaincy title of Ikedire. This is the first traditional title conferred on him since his sojourn here.

On why he chose Anatsui for honour, Igwe Asadu said: “Ihe community searched around Nsukka and all its environs for a distinguished and outstanding personality to be celebrated. Out of the very few names shortlisted, no one qualified for this recognition more than Anatsui.”

He says, “the first time I heard, I thought it was good. It comes with a challenge. You are challenged to see how you can make things better. It’s an official way of having access to members of the community in terms of ideas that can help me and the community to move on. These days, you have artists not looking only in their studios. They are becoming involved in a series of collaborations. Now, if I meet a member of the community and I ask of an idea, they are not going to look at me like, who is this. They will take me seriously and try to collaborate.”

He continues, “when I first arrived in Nsukka almost four decades and a half ago, little did I know that I would be here today as a recipient of this great honour being bestowed on me. Nsukka has been my home for a longer time than even my place of birth and where I grew up in Ghana. I have spent more years living among you all than I have lived anywhere on earth. And, because of this, the town and people of Nsukka shall always remain an indelible part of my being and experience.”

Anatsui adds, “today, I am now being admitted into the honoured sanctum of this town, a few of whose historical antecedents I have tried to encapsulate here, as a reminder of what Nsukka once was and can build upon. I shall continue to do my best to assist in perpetuating some of these legacies.”

Anatsui won an honorable mention at the First Ghana National Art Competition during his time as an undergraduate student in 1968. The following year he was awarded the Best Student of the Year.

In 1990, Anatsui had his first important group show at the Studio Museum In Harlem, New York. He also was one out of three artists singled out in the 1990 exhibition, Contemporary African Artists: Chaning traditions, which was extended for five years.

He has since exhibited his work around the world, including, the Venice Biennale (1990), the 8th Osaka Sculpture Triennale (1995); the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (2001); the National Museum of African Art (2001); Liverpool Biennial (2002); the 5th Gwangju Biennale (2004) and Hayward Gallery (2005).

He also exhibited at the Fowler Museum at UCLA (2007); Venice Biennale (2007); National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. (2008); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2008–09); Rice University Art Gallery, Houston (2010), A 2010 retrospective of his work, entitled, When I Last Wrote to You About Africa, was organised by the Museum for African Art and opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It subsequently toured venues in the United States for three years, concluding at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

His works have equally been shown at the Clark Art Institute (2011) and at the Brooklyn Museum (2013).

In a span of two years, he bagged three international Honorary Doctorate degrees from University of Harvard, USA; University of Capetown, South Africa and his own alma mater, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Arts, Kumasi.

Again, in 2014, he was made an honorary royal scholar and equally elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2015, Anatsui clinched the prestigious Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 56th international Art Exhibition of the Biennale de Venezia, and just this year, he was decorated with the glamorous Praemium Imperiale Award for Sculpture plus countless other numerous awards, recognitions and honours.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Things Fall Together: Chinua Achebe Is Okonkwo Of Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

BY JIMANZE EGO-ALOWES
For Chinua Achebe, the standard fare is that he was not autobiographical in his novels. But is it? Whatever, the scandal is not that Achebe was actually autobiographical in writing Things Fall Apart, the scandal is that Achebe’s readers, scholars, and researchers, have missed out on this largely self-evident fact for sixty-odd years.

The question is why? Perhaps the explanation will require another paper. For justice, the best way to go about tracking the Achebe analog in Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart is to match the key and character-defining moments and highlights of the lives of the two men; the man as God made him, and the other as created a character.

Okonkwo was born, Achebe tells, as the son of a lazy but impoverished man. The key point is that Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, was not one of the leading personages or as Achebe may prefer, one of the lords of the clan. Okonkwo was born into the lower strata of society. One telling fact is this. Achebe writes in Things Fall Apart, a sociological truth that resonates with historical veracity.

“The church had come and led many astray. Not only the low-born and the outcast but sometimes a worthy man had joined it.’’ Later he writes, [Mr. Brown] went from family to family begging people to send their children to his school. But at first, they sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children. (Achebe 2008, 139).”

So, it is obvious that the bulk of the Igbo who first went to school or converted to Christianity were not from the dominant strata of the Igbo society. In fact, the fact of ‘’A worthy man joining,’’ was much later. And since Achebe’s parents were the first of the converts, it is reasonable to affirm that his fathers did not belong to the elite strata of society or the lords of the clan.

In other words, Achebe was like Okonkwo. He was born underprivileged. This is especially so in the eyes of the extant, ‘’the status quo ante,’’ not the transitional society he is reporting in Things Fall Apart. That these underprivileged ones later became leaders and lords of the clan were due to the self-fulfilling prophecy of the white man. The white man fixed it. It was ‘’his century’’ and consequentially, the century of his local agents in Igbo land. And these local agents were the Achebe fathers and sons who pioneered going to schools and churches.

So, it is not out of place to read an Achebe memoirist excerpt, under a chapter appropriately titled: “Pioneers of a New Frontier: “My father was born in the last third of the nineteenth century, …. And so, my father was raised by his maternal uncle, Udoh. It was this maternal uncle, as fate would have it, who received in his compound the first party of English clergy in his town…. My father was an early Christian convert and a good student. (Achebe 2012, 7).”

In Things Fall Apart, Achebe writes: “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages. As a young man of eighteen, he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.… It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight, which the old man agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. (Achebe 2008, 1)”

This too is the story of Achebe, if especially we read Things Fall Apart, philologically. The point is that we miss doing so. The details are as follows. Today, we see wrestling as street brawls and not the haute couture cultural fiesta it was for the Igbo of Umuofia. That is, an Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart is the equivalent of a George Weah or an Arnold Schwarzenegger of today, if you liked. Weah and Schwarzenegger are all popular sportsmen who rode on their entertainment value to become a President of Liberia and an American State Governor [California], respectively. Thus, the rite of Okonkwo’s winning, not to speak of the millennial upset he staged set him out as one of the – all-American, sorry, all-Liberian, sorry – all-Umuofian boys of all ages. In today’s world, Okonkwo would be one of the world’s most eligible bachelors.

One of the world’s most eligible bachelors? Yes. The point is the nine villages and beyond constitute the equivalent of the whole known world for the Umuofians and there is nothing odd or exotic in this. The sages of the Greek city-states wrote and performed as if they constituted the world. The only ‘’Prisoners they took’’ was that the unknown world was made up of barbarians, men who were outside history, and thus of no consequence. Injustice, it is thus obvious that Okonkwo’s fame was worldwide, in philological or new-reality adjusted terms. Even today, when Americans say, ‘’It is a worldwide hit,’’ they really mean that it is a hit in America, the larger West, and Japan. Africa and other provincials are not members of their known cultural universe or kit.

If one thing can be said of Things Fall Apart, it is that it is an upset, a worldwide upset. Achebe was an outlier, a provincial lad. In this, he was just like Okonkwo. While Okonkwo’s handicap was cast from the perspective of sociological lowliness, Achebe’s, was of his being a colonial. Colonials like Achebe were not proper citizens of any part of the known world. They were more chattels than citizens, at least to the British who colonised them. And just at the tender age of 28 [adjusted for the years of his education, it would probably come to 18 or so], as against Okonkwo’s 18, Achebe pole-vaulted to the top of the known world just like Okonkwo. Of course, Achebe must be writing of himself principally, when he ostensibly writes of Okonkwo that: ‘’ His fame rested on solid personal achievements.’’ The point is if ever there was such an achiever it is Achebe. Things Fall Apart, a dazzling accomplishment, is Achebe’s singular, solid, personal achievement, as there ever was. And that ensured that Achebe like Okonkwo became a pan-world icon.

In other words, Achebe’s first great and crowning achievement, Things Fall Apart, is the moral or urban equivalent of Okonkwo’s unbundling of Amalinze the Cat, and it was just as monumental. So monumental, that it was compared in the case of Okonkwo with the epic fight of the founding fathers. And in the case of Achebe it was so monumental that it is compared with the epic fathers of world literature. Today, alongside immortals, the greatest of the greats, like Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, etc., Achebe is ranked as their equal. (“The 100 Best Books of All Time From the Norwegian Book Club.” https://www.listchallenges.com/the-100-best-books-of-all-time-from-the) It is thus safe to state, that if Umuofians made such urban lists as the “100 greatest men, etc. of all time,” Okonkwo would have made it alongside their founding fathers and ‘’urban’’ names like Einstein, Nietzsche, Napoleon, etc. Okonkwo would have ‘’philologically’’ topped the lists just as Achebe does today.

Okonkwo’s undoing was a largely innocuous event. A “Friendly or such fire” killed a maiden, and a lad etc. was substituted for her. The lad, Ikemefuna, stayed in the Okonkwo household as was befitting one of the lords of the clan. And it so happened that in the wisdom of the day, Ikemefuna – Okonkwo’s adopted son – had to be killed or sacrificed. Okonkwo heeded the call to swing the machete and did. And a little later, unrelated to the death of Ikemefuna, things took a bad turn; and Okonkwo never quite recovered. Like Achebe’s Ikemefuna, an inauspicious event also befell him because of his solid personal achievement, because of his genius. Achebe authored a novel, A Man of the People. It was a prescient and prophetic novel.

The novel predicted the coup that quickly followed its publication. That alone made Achebe guilty in the eyes of the genocidal Yakubu Gowon and or his agents, and they sought out Achebe to murder him. To these genocidaires, Achebe was a part of the Igbo conspiracy to dominate the known world. Luckily, Achebe escaped, but things tipped in the manner it did for Okonkwo. Just, as the white man came and brought his pestilence, the Biafra war erupted, no thanks to Gowonism, and the Gowon-exacted genocide against the Igbo.

And just like it happened to Okonkwo with the coming of the white man, Achebe never quite recovered from the Biafra war. It is not only that it cut short his writing career – organically at least -– he now saw the country he once loved slip into the darkness with the direst of consequences, and this was not just for him but for his people also. This too was similar to Okonkwo’s understanding of the consequences of the white man and his new ways, that devastated not just Okonkwo but Umuofia.

Again, and insistently, Achebe and Okonkwo live out parallel lives. Okonkwo never quite listened to advice or alternative opinions, especially after he became a successful man. We may recall: “Looking at a king’s mouth… one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast. He was talking about Okonkwo, who had risen so suddenly from great power and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan…. But he was struck, as most people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful men…. Without looking at the man Okonkwo said: “This meeting is for men.” (Achebe 2008, 21).”

But was Achebe in real life any different? Historical data suggest that Achebe lived up to be an analogue of his character, Okonkwo, in these matters. A pivotal and character defining event in Achebe’s literary life and career must be the critical revelation by Professor Charles Nnolim. Nnolim ‘’unearthed’’ the source of one of Achebe’s great novels, Arrow of God. Quite some din was raised over the matter and Achebe faltered, Okonkwo-like – it is apparent –in his responses. For instance, Nnolim reports on Achebe’s written response. Achebe writes: “A certain fellow was claiming that Arrow of God was written by his uncle, which led to a rather curious situation in which the fellow was dismissed as irresponsible by a white critic. It really should have been expected that some Igbo critics would have shown as much concern as the white critic about matters of critical responsibility in our literature.(Charles Nnolim, “A Source for Arrow of God,” University of Port Harcourt. Okike, No 52, 01 November 2014. https://www.unn.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Charles-E.-Nnolim-%e2%80%98A-Source-for-Arrow-of-God%e2%80%99-Matters-Ari1.pdf).”

“A certain fellow,” Achebe’s epithet for Nnolim, whom he knows personally, and who was at the time a well-known and distinguished critic, is the urban equivalent, of Okonkwo calling another, a man, a woman; and Achebe did and in print!

Even more interesting is that Okonkwo rationalized his killing of his adopted son by recourse to the higher authority of the clan, though he needed not, at least according to his equally brave and well-achieved friend, Obierika. In other words, that act of murder by Okonkwo was superfluous as far as Okonkwo, a foster father, was the actor-subject. This is despite conceding that the act may be done. But not done by Okonkwo, was Obierika’s very reasonable position. In the telling words of Obierika: “If I were you, I would have stayed at home. [And not participated in the killing of Ikemefuna.]
“The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger,” Okonkwo said. “That’s true,” Obierika agreed. “But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed, I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it.”(Achebe 2008, 53).

And when Achebe had a similar issue what did he do? Professor Eldred Durosimi Jones plays Obierika to headstrong Achebe: ‘’What I find curious is that Achebe did not acknowledge the source which he obviously studied and whose use does him no injury.’’ Quoting [Professor] Eldred Durosimi Jones. Founding editor of African Literature Today. (Charles Nnolim, “A Source for Arrow of God,” University of Port Harcourt. Okike, No 52, 01 November 2014. https://www.unn.edu.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Charles-E.-Nnolim-%e2%80%98A-Source-for-Arrow-of-God%e2%80%99-Matters-Ari1.pdf)

Thus, just like Okonkwo, the rationalization by Achebe of a self-evident even if ‘’harmless failure’’ of his, is superfluous. It would have served him and the rest of us best if he admitted to being forgetful or in plain error. But like Okonkwo, Achebe hinged his personal choices on higher powers. For Okonkwo, it was the Earth goddess: for Achebe it was the white critic he called on his fellow Igbo to queue behind.

In characterizing the ‘’doubleness’’ of Achebe and Okonkwo, we may not yet be done. Achebe again writes: “And when she returned, he beat her very heavily. In his anger, he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way, not even for fear of a goddess. (Achebe 2008, 23)

Was Achebe not such as one? Would Achebe ever have changed his mind even in the face of contradictory evidence? Our records show Okonkwo-like tendency of the great man. For instance, Achebe was into a political alliance with Alhaji Aminu Kano, a prominent Northern Nigeria politician. It is not impossible Achebe did not in the morning of his political romance with the said Aminu Kano, know that Aminu Kano was a ‘’notorious’’ – even if then closeted – genocidaire. But when the fact of it was in the open (Iloegbunam 1999), Achebe neither retracted nor spoke on the fact of his friend, a genocidaire, against his own people.

The point is that Achebe as the successful Okonkwo took himself as beyond good and evil, as the new measure of all things. That is, for Achebe as for Okonkwo, there was to be no community Week of Peace or rites, or even truths that their personal whims could not override. The matter is so much that Achebe in pursuit of personal sentiments above community good, dedicated his famous The Trouble with Nigeria to Aminu Kano, a notorious genocidaire – we repeat. And worse, he had the temerity to later write: “… there were a few upright political figures like Mallam Aminu Kano….”(Achebe 2012)

Get the drift? A genocidaire as an upright political figure? Only in Achebe/Okonkwo-style delusion!

Achebe writes: “In a flash, Okonkwo drew his matchet. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo’s matchet descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body… Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in that tumult. He heard voices asking: ‘’Why did he do it?’’ He wiped his matchet on the sand and went away. And next it was reported of Okonkwo: It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth…. Okonkwo had committed suicide. (Achebe 2008, 163)

Our conjecture is this. If Achebe had recorded Okonkwo’s last soliloquy, it would have been recorded Okonkwo said something like: “There was a people, oh alas, there was a brave Umuofia-Country” And that was likely to be Okonkwo’s last rite before he took to the gallows.

For Okonkwo, it all came to a bad bend. It was so bitter that he committed suicide. Achebe did not exactly do so. But it is clear from his ‘’last testament and confessions,’’ There was a Country, that Achebe felt Okonkwo-like embitterment by events as they turned out, just as Okonkwo did. Truthfully, Achebe as a single being has done so much that few if any African or other persons can rank with him, but society is team-play not a solo run. This is one thing Okonkwo understood and Achebe too, even if they both did too late in their days. It was the failure of their teammates, as it were, that pushed them beyond the pale, beyond consolation and each to a bitter self-bemoaned death.

While Okonkwo dashed for the gallows, embittered and feeling betrayed, There was a Country, may be seen as a stylish repetition of the same act; or its memorial as a swan song or perhaps as a stylized suicide. But please, let no ‘’judicial references’’ be made of this, ala, the 1979 transition elections judgment: ‘’Chief Justice Atanda Fatai Williams’ Supreme Court, legitimized President Shehu Shagari’s election… [but] ruled that the majority judgment should not be cited as a precedent in future cases!’’ https://thenationonlineng.net/justice-path-not-taken/

Finally, Achebe writes beguilingly of Okonkwo: “Looking at a kings’ mouth, said an old man, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast. He was talking about Okonkwo, who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan. (Achebe 2008, 21)

Continuing, Achebe writes: “The old man bore no ill-will towards Okonkwo. But he was struck, as most people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful men. (Achebe 2008, 21)

The point remains that the Achebes [plural] were like the Okonkwos. The Achebes, even more than the Okonkwos, arose most suddenly from great material poverty to be lords of the new and emergent dawn, post-colonialism and all. Many would roll their eyes on this. But first let us remind ourselves of the following: “They [post-colonial administrators and heirs like Achebe] take over the colonial state in an unaltered from. They even take great care not to alter anything, because such a state offers fantastic privileges, which its new administrators [the Achebes] naturally do not wish to renounce. The colonial origins of the African state – a state wherein the civil servant received remuneration beyond all measure and reason…. All at once, in the blink of an eye, a new ruling class arises – a bureaucratic bourgeoisie that creates nothing, produces nothing, but merely governs society and reaps the benefits. (Kapuscinski 2002).”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Biafra: WIC To Approach UN, World Powers

Image: World Igbo Congress

BY MAGNUS EZE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

Chuka Umunna To Leave Streatham For Lib Dem Election Fight

Former Change UK and Labour MP Chuka Umunna at a press conference in Westminster, London, to announce he is joining the Liberal Democrats. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

BY PETER WALKER
Local activists criticise ‘celebrity MP entryism’ as party tries to accommodate new arrivals

Chuka Umunna is to vacate his existing south London seat to fight the Cities of London and Westminster constituency for the Liberal Democrats, as the party risks angering local activists by shuffling candidates to accommodate high-profile arrivals.

The announcement of Umunna’s move from Streatham comes as party sources said another ex-Labour MP, Luciana Berger, could be parachuted into a north London seat, Finchley and Golders Green.

The proposed move for Berger, who currently represents Liverpool Wavertree, has upset some local Lib Dems, with the existing candidate saying on Friday she still expected to fight it.

One Lib Dem activist said: “People are fed up with celebrity MP entryism. Hardworking candidates are being yanked out of their seats or pressured not to stand.”

The Lib Dems have gained five new MPs in recent weeks, one via a byelection but the rest refugees from Labour – Umunna and Berger – and the Conservatives, in Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee.

Umunna, who quit Labour in February and joined the Lib Dems three months later, will move from his current Streatham seat to take on Mark Field, the former Foreign Office minister who escaped punishment after being filmed grabbing a climate protester by the neck.

In the 2017 election Field secured a 3,000-plus majority over Labour, with the Lib Dems a distant third. But the party believes a better indicator is May’s European elections, where in both parts of the constituency the Lib Dems won more votes than the Conservatives and Labour combined.

The constituency, which includes parliament, the West End and the financial centre of the City, was heavily pro-remain in the 2016 referendum. He told the Guardian: “It’s absolutely clear that if you want to stop Brexit with no fudge or ambiguity, residents in this area are already picking the Liberal Democrats.”

Umunna is officially moving because the Lib Dems already have a well-established candidate in Streatham. It has, however, been a safe Labour seat for over 20 years, with the party winning almost 70% of the vote in 2017, making it hugely difficult for Umunna to win as a Lib Dem.

“It’s a sad and difficult decision, but I know that the constituency will be in very good hands,” he said of the decision. “Of course we’ve got to take seats from the Labour party, but also, we’ve vitally got to take seats from Boris Johnson’s Vote Leave government.”

The mooted move to shift Berger to Finchley and Golders Green remains to be confirmed. While narrowly held by the Conservatives over Labour, it is a strongly Jewish area and there are indications some Jewish voters could abandon Labour over its handling of antisemitism in the party.

Berger, who was announced as a Lib Dem on Thursday, quit Labour in February over the issue.

The existing Lib Dem candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, Clareine Enderby, said she was “delighted” Berger had joined, but said she was still the candidate: “I look forward to making sure that Finchley and Golders Green is Liberal Democrat at the next election.”

A party spokeswoman said: “Luciana Berger only joined a day ago, and no decisions will have been made, so this is all speculation.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Why Okorocha Didn’t Leave Handover Report – Ihedioha

Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State. Image: Twitter

BY CHIDIEBUBE OKEOMA

OWERRI (PUNCH) -- Governor of Imo State Emeka Ihedioha on Friday alleged that his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, refused to leave a handover report because there was “a total abuse and neglect of laid down procedures of good governance” by his government.

Ihedioha, who spoke at a ceremony marking his 100 days in office, said he inherited a huge debt from the Okorocha administration.

He said he inherited N30bn as a garnishee order and six years’ unpaid pension.

Ihedioha said situation was compounded by the almost N1bn statutory deduction by the Federation Account Allocation Committee, largely for the repayment of the N26.8b bailout package given to the Okorocha administration by the Federal Government.

The governor said, “It is important to recall that we took over the reins of government without even a handover report. A handover report, traditionally, is the least responsibility an outgoing administration owes an incoming one. Unfortunately, this was not done.

“We discovered upon inception that the inability to provide the necessary documentation was due to a total abuse and neglect of laid down procedures of good governance. The most shocking were the litany of ‘garnishee absolute orders’ amounting to over N30bn, in addition to six years’ unpaid pension, as well as salary arrears.

“Projects were poorly conceived, shabbily executed or hastily abandoned. We have even found some of them very hazardous to human safety.

“It is worthy of note that with our wage bill, at an average of N2.5bn per month, almost N1b monthly pension bill and in an atmosphere of very low IGR, leaves very little for development.

This is compounded by the almost N1bn statutory deduction on our FAAC, mainly for the repayment of the N26.8bn bailout funds given to the last administration by the FG.”

He said, “As a government that espouses the rule of law, we will never endorse any manifestation of arbitrary powers. As a result, we have set up two judicial panels of inquiry – the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into Land Allocation from 2005 to 2019 – and the Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Award of Contracts from 2005 to 2019.

“We have also set up an inquiry into the management of local government finances from 2011 to 2019. These panels are made up of very credible Imo citizens with impeccable track records and we are certain they will give Imo people justice.”

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

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. Image: Facebook

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

EXCERPTS BY JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IPOB: Kanu Invited To Address European Parliament

Nnamdi Kanu. 

BY GEOFFREY ANYANWU

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been invited to the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, to address the issue of IPOB agitation for Biafra freedom.

The meeting is scheduled for European Parliament Building, Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 between 4 and 6pm EST. The invitation was confirmed by Kanu on his Facebook page where he wrote

“I have graciously accepted the invitation of a few members of the European Parliament to address the burning issue of IPOB agitation and what a NEW BIAFRA means for Africa. I look forward to leading hardcore IPOB family members in Europe to this historic encounter.”

Meanwhile, the pro- Biafra group yesterday declared that the battle line is now drawn between them and the South-East Governors, challenging the state executives to set foot abroad or appear in public anywhere outside Nigeria.

Responding to the statement by the Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi that the Governors would not apologize to IPOB and that he would personally inform the group whenever he would be travelling abroad, the group warned that it is fully ready to battle the governors.

IPOB had earlier said that the only way it would forgive the governors was if they apologise to the group for their alleged complicity in the proscription of IPOB and the launching of Operation Python Dance by the Nigerian Army in the Southeast.

The group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful told Saturday Sun yesterday that the group was aware of the alleged weakness of the governors and their avowed loyalty to “their Northern masters,” assuring that any attempt by any of them to visit abroad would be met the wrath of IPOB.

He said, “We are waiting for them to set foot abroad or appear in public anywhere outside Nigeria then they will know how upset we are. We remain conscious of the complicity and duplicity of South-East Governors in the whole Operation Python Dance debacle and will hold them accountable at the right time. We are aware of their secret dealings with this Government of Nigeria to enslave our people, a task we assure them can never be accomplished as long as IPOB exists.”

He stressed that but for IPOB, Ebonyi and Enugu state would have been taken over by herdsmen, adding that the group would leave no stone unturned in restoring the dignity of the Igbo.

“It is demeaning for IPOB to be exchanging words with slaves and traitors working for an external enemy. Enugu and Ebonyi would have fallen to the Fulani if not for IPOB. South-East Governors are weak, wretched and incapable of standing up to their caliphate masters. Only IPOB can restore the dignity and lost honour of our people.”

Stressing that IPOB was no longer interested in any apology from the governors, Powerful said, “Following the recent denial and subsequent refusal of South-East Governors to apologize or do the needful towards IPOB against a background of their incessant attacks, abduction, arrest, killings and proscription of unarmed peaceful Biafrans; before, during and after Operation Python Dance II in 2017, we the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) categorically state that we are not interested in any apology coming from those who have continued to shamelessly preside over the Fulanisation of their ancestral lands.

“They are weak and pathetic men who have sworn loyalty to their Fulani masters. These traitors and saboteurs are not leaders but instruments of Fulani incursion and agents of the age-old Fulani agenda. Unfortunately most people are yet to understand the danger these people portend for our existence as a race.

“A few days ago the residence of Dave Umahi was raided in Abuja by the same Fulani caliphate he is so slavishly serving for merely mouthing that movement of Fulani terror herdsmen will no longer be tolerated.

“That will teach him and others like him that treachery against one’s own people never pays. For reading out an innocuous communiqué, he was targeted like a common criminal. Few days afterwards he was seen shamefully bowing down before the Nigerian President like a naughty schoolboy in front of a headmaster.”

SOURCE: DAILY SUN