Nigeria @ 59: Destruction Of Workable Structures Started With Gowon — Ezeife

Yakubu Gowon. 

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU

Nigeria turns 59 on Tuesday. We begin our special series on the Independence Anniversary today. They will surely delight you. Enjoy the interviews with Chief Ezeife, Frank Kokori, classic contributions from Kingsley Moghalu, Segun Odegbami and Dr Ugoji Egbuju. By Johnbosco Agbakwuru Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Third Republic Governor of Anambra State, in this interview, traces the beginning of the problems of Nigeria to the creation of 12 States by General Yakubu Gowon. He says that going back to regional structure will be the panacea for the country’s economic woes. He also speaks on some other national issues.

Nigeria since 1960 has had many failed visions and plans. What do you think made the visions and plans fail?

We should not imply that Nigeria has always failed. It is not true that Nigeria has been a failure from 1960. We had succeeded very much from 1960 to 1966. That was the highest point in our development.

We, in the central planning office, we were working very hard to ensure that the economy not only at the centre but also in the federating units were growing. We had central planning office for all the country. But we had also connection with the states, that was a time when myself, Olu Falae, John Oyegun and many others were in the same office and we were working to develop Nigeria and we were succeeding. We succeeded overall in developing this economy. It was that time that the World Bank itself made the statement that parts of Nigeria were growing faster than many other parts of the world. People who are old enough know that we are the golden age in Nigerian development. But then, coming closer to your question, in 1966 there was a coup, the coup affected everything. When you spoil the basis of growth, the structure of the economy, the motivation for growth, the competition among zones, regions, when you do that, you have already destroyed something. In fact, destruction started when 12 states were created in Nigeria. When we were operating under purely regional government, things were very good. They continued to be good until 1966. The main point is this, there was a time Nigeria was making progress, not just federal government but all the regions of Nigeria. That is why the World Bank said parts of Nigeria were growing faster than many parts of the world.

But then something happened, the coup. After the coup, things changed. What changed? The structure of government which was based on three regions, later on became four regions, changed. Instead of four regions we now have 36 states plus Abuja and we have today more unitary government than before. The Federal Government is too big, what it likes, it does and it doesn’t appear that we have the best quality people to lead us in Nigeria. And it makes things worse because whoever we have leading Nigeria as we unify policy making and development, that person is also leading the regions and the states.

Formerly, you could have geniuses leading the regions like Dr. Mike Okpara was leading the East, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was leading the West, these were geniuses. But now if it were during the Okpara and Awolowo era, they could not have done as much as they did because the Federal Government and the federal leader dominate the leadership of the zones or regions which are now states. 

So. In 1954, the leaders of Nigeria decided to have three regions and to make those regions the federating units in Nigeria. You know politics has its own strengths and weaknesses. Later on, the Mid-West was added, so we had four zones. But from four zones, the military which ruled and ruined Nigeria created 12 states and from that the military raised it to 36 states plus Abuja. The competition between the regions disappeared and the control of affairs of the regions or states by indigenes of that area disappeared. 

Before, the states or regions used revenue collected from the people, so, if we want to pinpoint where our problems started, we must pinpoint the beginning and continuation of military rule up to tomorrow.

 The reasons include lack of competitions among the regions any more. Indigenes of the states are no longer keen on what is happening in the states compared to when every money spent in the state was our money. Now, money spent is oil money. So, whether the programme is state or federal, they have the same explanation for their failure. 

What killed all the programmes we tried was the killing of the successful structure which our leaders gave to themselves in 1954. There is no magic about, it is a comprehensive ruining of the system. The destruction of the structure that worked for Nigeria started with General Yakubu Gowon. 

What do you think are the things needed now to make Nigeria move forward and make all the good visions of the founding fathers come to fruition? 

What we need urgently is to go back to the system that worked. We know the system that worked, we can go back to it instead of hanging on this ruinous system imposed by the military. Well, we speak English, instead of saying let’s go back to the system that worked, we talk about restructuring. Restructuring means nothing else except going back to that system that works. Having a truly federal government with regions or zones as federating units, it knocks off all the problems with one blow. So, anybody who takes power as President or anything and does not rush back to the system that works, does not love Nigeria. 

How possible will it be now that we have a Constitution that recognizes 36-state structure?

 (Laughs). Yes, you are right, the present constitution recognizes 36-state-structure, the present constitution is even illegitimate. They came to the front of it and say ‘we the people of Nigeria.’ We didn’t give ourselves the constitution, it was done by the military, the same people who ruined Nigeria made the constitution and the constitution is one of the strategies for ruining Nigeria. 

Today, Nigerians are thieves in office because there is no feeling. If you are made a governor, you ask yourself what is in there for me and then you go plundering the funds, resources of the state and packing them out to Dubai, United Kingdom, USA (United States of America), etc. There is nothing positive in our motivation when we take political office. 

Apart from restructuring, going back to the system that works, what do you expect the present leadership in the country to do to ensure that the system works?

 I don’t know about the present leadership in the country because there is a problem as you know. There was election and there was a tribunal on that election and in the course of the tribunal, those who were defending the government somehow gave up the defence and most Nigerians then thought there would be fairness, they would declare the case for the other side. Instead of that, we saw real big grammar in the judgement. I am told that a person can now go and declare that he has a Ph.D and swear an affidavit and once the person has sworn to an affidavit, it should be treated as if he has Ph.D.

Different zones have started struggling for the 2023 Presidency, what is your take? 

It shouldn’t be an important issue but because Nigeria is not working well, very light issues become important. Otherwise, why should anybody from the North be thinking of another northerner? We have zoning, we accepted zoning and rotation.

Rotation is among the zones and so far, every group, the major groups, Hausa/Fulani have dominated the presidency of Nigeria, there is no point to call the names, everyone knows them. 

Then, the other group, Yoruba, apart from being President during the military (Olusegun) Obasanjo became civilian President, elected, and really he took a position Nigerians had given to the West because Nigerians had voted for (Chief Moshood) Abiola and the military did not allow him to take the position. 

Eventually, the military gave the position to Obasanjo who also is a military man. Then, even some minority groups have tasted power like (Goodluck) Jonathan. Jonathan has tasted power properly by rotation and which Obasanjo facilitated. One group of the three major groups in Nigeria, the Igbo has not tasted power at all. After all, (Nnamdi) Azikiwe was not the type of President we have now. So, with the Igbo being the only major group that has not tasted power at all, the issue of who should take power in 2023 should not be controversial.

 But if the rest of Nigeria says Igbo should not take power but Igbo do the right thing, organize themselves, they bring out not one million people vying for the same position, but may be one or two and they then lobby other parts of Nigeria things can change for them. 

One newspaper made a mistake in the summary of my position and they used the threat that if other parts of the country refuse to give us the President, they will see the consequences of something like that. If you read the statement I made from the beginning to the end, you won’t see any threat in it, you see understanding, going from place to place lobbying.

But assuming that it is because of rejection that other Nigerians reject Igbo presidency that (Mallam Nasir) el-Rufai wants to be President, that (Asiwaju Bola) Tinubu wants to be President and it will favour them. If that happens, the real meaning is that the Igbo should cease being citizens of Nigeria. That there is no point belonging where you are rejected. One rejected does not reject oneself. Among those who reject you, you don’t want to force yourself to belong. 

So, there is this talk about Biafra. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is promoting Biafra because of various problems and punishments against Ndigbo. Because of many problems caused to the Igbo in Nigeria, they are trying to leave. 

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been very busy pushing the Igbo out of Nigeria. I will give you just a few instances. We are traders, we import like containers etc, but when our people import things, the things are seized and auctioned. Ibeto was one of the strongest persons in cement, after some time, he was crippled. Instead of going up, he was going back to give advantage to Non-Igbo. Look at this man who is building cars (Innocent Chukwuma) Innoson… he was taken like a tout in pants from his house to Abuja.

 Emzor Pharmaceuticals was closed down for days because they said that boys and girls or youths were inhaling something that was produced and had been in the market for decades. Some people discovered that they can inhale it. Ifeanyi Ubah, the one who made oil, petrol available (when there was serious scarcity in the country) was arrested two times and incarcerated.

 Look, NIA (National Intelligence Agency) is behind my office, when the National Security council of Nigeria is to meet, you don’t find one Igbo man there, what kind of National Council is it? You come to employment, if there is a new list of people employed by the Federal Government, you will see that Igbo is non-existent on the list. 27 Judges were appointed recently, mostly northerners. There were two from the West, two from the South-South, none from the South-East. But if it were people disengaged like they are removing military (officers) from South mostly, if it were disengagement, you will see a dominance of Igbo names on the list of people being removed.

There is something Nigerians should learn. If you want to be one country and grow, there is a quotation I will take from Russian women. They say, ‘they too have mothers.’

 There was misunderstanding between Chechnya and Russia and news was all over the place on how many Chechnya men were being killed every day, slaughtered because the Russians are bigger. After some time, the Russian women said, please stop killing all those Chechnyan men, they too have mothers. That is the kind of feeling that makes for rapport and cooperation and development. They too have mothers. You have put yourself in the place of the other person, that is how progressives think. 

So, only Chief Edwin Clark, and recently Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Alhaji Balarabe Musa have thought about ‘they too have mothers. They too are Nigerians, Igbo too are Nigerians if you want to deny them 2023 Presidency, deny them citizenship of Nigeria.

 Rotational Presidency or zoning is not in the Constitution, so how can the country go about it?

We have been going about it as a matter of agreement or understanding. Not everything done is in the Constitution. Do you know that one of the justifications for Buhari to come back was to complete Northern rotation? The point is that not everything done in government is in the Constitution. One of the main problems of Nigeria is the constitution because it is never accepted as genuine, it is not accepted as the will of the people. So, even if it is not there, it doesn’t matter. 

Do you think the agitation by Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB group is genuine?

 Yes, you can’t beat a person and say don’t cry. What Nnamdi Kanu and co are doing is crying because they are beaten and they are doing it in a way that is non-violent. Therefore, Nigerians should appreciate their method. I am happy the rest of the world, Europe, European Union, they met with Nnamdi Kanu and they saw point with what he was saying. The (United Nations) UN also met with Nnamdi Kanu in Switzerland, I don’t know whether they have changed their mind. They invited him to the United Nations General Assembly, but now having met with him in Switzerland, they may not meet him again in New York. 

So, I think Nnamdi Kanu is doing what is forced on us (Ndigbo) because some of us believe that we should find out more mature ways of going about it. But the ideal is very lawful, they are crying for a referendum, that is democracy. I think if Igbo people are denied the Presidency in 2023, then, no matter how unpopular IPOB may be among some older people, everybody may rush it. 

What is your assessment on the security situation in the country?

 One of the things to say on security is that Nigeria has never had it so bad. What is worse is that it doesn’t appear anybody is interested in what is happening and the government itself in the Federal Executive Council admitted Miyetti Allah for negotiation. And I heard that somehow, the money promised them was delivered to them. 

So, government tells us stories some time that Boko Haram has been decimated but we find out that Boko Haram is there. Why it remains there, we are told the stories about how it was founded, who are financing them. Anyway with Boko Haram being very strong and with foreigners being involved in, Yoruba are now facing what is facing them, all the bushes and forests have been taken over by foreigners. 

The same thing in the South-East, the same thing in the South-South, the same thing in the Middle-Belt, so, the situation of security in Nigeria has never been this bad. And never has it been that a government does not seem to care.

Clearly, the security situation in Nigeria calls for everybody to defend himself. Every community should have Community Vigilante groups, every town should have vigilante group and there should be some kind of integration and comparing of situations. It is a matter of saying you will buy a gun and of course it becomes nonsensical to say give away your guns.

 When the government cannot defend you, it cannot say you should give away your guns. Now we are reading about bandits, how they were organized, how they were created and if anything is true about it, we are in trouble. The situation in Nigeria has gone beyond what man can mend. All Nigerians should pray to the Almighty God who has the power to do anything. Let God intervene in the affairs of Nigeria and let justice come back to Nigeria. There is no justice in our country.

SOURCE: VANGUARD

Allen Onyema: I’ve Always Been A Man Of Peace, At Age Eight, I Engendered Reconciliation Between My Father And His Brother

Allen Onyema. Image via Pinterest

BY CHARLES AJUNWA, AHAMEFULA OGBU

He is blind to race and place; only sees people. He has been a detribalised restive soul from infancy which metamorphosed into chilling childhood adventures. He practicalises virtually every imagination that comes to his mind, leading to only possibility notions. That’s Chief Allen Onyema, owner of Air Peace Airlines. He does not retaliate any wrong but when unjustifiably inflicted with pain, nature always avenges for him. Onyema shares the story of how he started life, value for women, general attitude to life and more with Charles Ajunwa and Ahamefula Ogbu. Excerpts.
What was your childhood like?

My childhood was good. I have always been an adventurous child right from the beginning. Even among my peers; I have always been saying or suggesting some things that we should do and they will like… not achievable, we can’t do this as a kind of answer and in those days, I will undertake to do those things myself. At the age of eight, I saw my father and his elder brother fighting and I didn’t like that. In order to bring about peaceful resolution of their issues, I ran after my father’s elder brother. I ran away from the house and was able, with the help of people, to locate where he was living in a remote village somewhere. Remember I was living with my parents in the city and as should be, they were looking for me. They brought me to his house from the garage, when he saw me, he sent for his brother that your son is in my house o, so, my father didn’t do anything about it and I was the only son then. That was the beginning of the end of their feud. So I have been a peaceful person in my life, so at the age of eight – nine years, I had already engendered one successful reconciliation between feuding brothers, that was me. In all my life, I have been doing things like that.

Where were you born and in what circumstances?
We were living in Benin and there was a festival going on in the village and my mother went home as most women went home for that festival. Two days before she was to go back, she started having pains. The hospital where she was undergoing antenatal was in Benin all these while, my father had gone back after the festival and my mother was to join the following week. That same day she was to go back to Benin she started having labour and my father had gone back to Benin with his car so nobody to take her to the hospital. They were to trek to the hospital; coming out of her own house, she had done barely 500 meters and she couldn’t hold it any longer so she branched into another clansmen’s house and had me right there. So I was born in somebody’s home. Message was sent to my Dad and he sent his driver back to the village and they took us back to Benin maybe after two weeks or so. So I grew up in Benin a little bit and some other in Warri and that also shaped the way I think because right from childhood, I started mingling with people from other tribes and I didn’t see them as different. So my love for people transcend ethnicity and religion and all those kind of considerations.

Tell us some fond memories and adventures as a child?
See, I have always been an adventurous person right from childhood and when as an adventurous child, there was no room for pampering, nobody pampered me even though I was the only son. My father was not rich, he wasn’t poor; how do you judge someone who was feeding well? Had cars, so I was born into that kind of family, seeing my father having all those kind of things, so we were okay but I refused to be okay; I refused to belong, I was like a street boy because I was always playing, I was always on the street looking for my friends. I could go without food for 24 hours growing up. What use to give me joy was whenever I was with my friends. Once I was in company of my friends, I never remembered food. I use to be very slim; it was my wife that taught me how to eat. Before, I could go 24 hours I won’t eat, I will just be drinking Coke. It was when I married that I started eating. If you look at my wedding picture you will see how slim I was, food was never one of my preferences; I never disturbed myself about food but a good crowd was always my preference, so growing up, I did not allow anybody to pamper me, my father was not the type to pamper a child, neither my mother. I was the only son for a long time and when I was to go to secondary school, some of my father’s friends would tell him to go and cook your son o, you know those days people would say you need to do this you need to do that but my father never believed in all those trash; my father never believed in juju and he brought us up like that to the extent that none of us in my family believes that there is anything like juju.

Some pastors will even say oh there are principalities and there is juju but we don’t believe; we just look at it as another form of 419. We don’t believe because if you bring it, I will kick it away, I will use my hand to throw it away. The only thing that may affect us is what you eat but to say you sit down in one place and conjure up something, we don’t believe it in my family because that was how we were brought up.

My father never stopped me because I could play football from morning till night. I have a wound by the side of my laps, I got that wound because my mother was pursuing me, I ran and fell. I was a good child but not always staying at home was a problem, I always looked forward for morning, I never liked sleeping and till date I don’t sleep. Most times I go to bed 3a.m., 3:30a.m. and I could wake up 5:30a.m. and I have come to realise that it is not good but I have been like that since childhood because I always looked forward to going to meet my friends so that we play football, sports, I love sports. I was adventurous, there was a day a vehicle was passing in front of our house, I think that was in Onitsha and I just looked at it, looked at it and I said what if I stoned this car now? I was a kid, either 10 years or so and I picked a stone and threw on the windscreen gbaaa, I just wanted to try whether it will break and the man screeched to a halt and I took to my heels and ran away. Because of that I knew they will beat me and I didn’t come back, I was in the bush till the next day, they were looking for me and my mom was crying. It was adventure.

Because of adventure, I danced for these people that vend drugs in the streets, those people who used to play Congo music those days. I was in primary school and my parents never knew I was doing that because one day we closed from school and were going home, we saw those people selling medicine, playing music and dancing and we told the man we can dance o, so the man recruited us and we started dancing. I was just less than 10 years old so we started dancing for the man. Every morning on my way to school I will dance and the man was using us. He gave us singlet, then raffia palm on our waist with bells on our legs and we will be dancing and people will be throwing money; at the end of the day, he will just give us only puff puff and ice water until one day someone told my dad that I saw your son on Bida Road dancing. So someone asked my father, Michael, why should you of all people with your money allow your son to be dancing for people and my father said what are you talking about, that was how he drove to the place and almost committed murder.

Beating you?
No. The man, I was only a kid. I was enjoying the popularity, oh look at that boy that dances for JC, so everybody loved us. We were not dancing it for money, just the fun, we were enjoying ourselves but it was going to affect our education, even at times, my sisters would say brother, you know you would have been one useless person by now if something didn’t happen that stopped you from these adventures, it was an adventure and we were enjoying it dancing for the man. I could sing all those Congo songs and you think I understand Congo language because whatever you learn as a kid you will hardly forget it. In fact, when I meet some Congolese and I sing for them at times, they marvel. During my father’s burial recently, I went on stage and performed with Ebenezer Obe, I went on stage with Rough Coin and I think I did the same thing with KC the Popo Master and they were shocked but Ebenezer Obe’s own, because my father used to like Ebenezer Obe. So growing up as a kid, we used to listen to Obe a lot in my house. Even though I schooled in University of Ibadan, I don’t speak Yoruba much but I understand it, not everything anyway but I love Obe’s music till date, that was why when my father died I decided to honour him by bringing Obe to perform and that day I was on stage performing with Ebenezer Obe, singing it very well.

Didn’t being adventurous get you into trouble with your parents?

No, because I didn’t really indulge in vices, my adventure is I might sit down here and be thinking , let us try and manufacture medicine; then we go into the bush and be plucking leaves and try to mix them together. If we are playing football and somebody sustains injury, we will say let us try and invent something that can be curing wounds, those were the type of things I was doing and I will pluck some leaves, squeeze them, extract the juices, mix them, even stems from trees then we put it on and it will be very painful but in the end those wounds would be gone.

So there was no time you played pranks?
The only pranks I played was dancing for medicine sellers and throwing stone at someone’s windscreen to see if my stone could break it.

How were you able to combine such restive life with education?

I was a brilliant child. I was very intelligent, I don’t know if I am still intelligent now. Even up to secondary and university, my friends will tell you; I will be playing football, I am a sports person, all I need is to see your notes, I may not have attended the class. I could read anywhere, I could prepare for my exams in a party; once I am determined to do something I will do it. I could be there and other students dancing and the inspiration comes, I start reading there. I never read anything twice, any note, once I read it, I never go back to it again and I will now come back to teaching the others and they will marvel. I was not involved in pranks, I didn’t smoke, I didn’t drink and still don’t drink or smoke. I didn’t involve myself in anything. I use to flock around women a lot growing up but I never knew woman till I was in the university because I respect women, I don’t believe that women should be sex objects. Women have far more useful values than being sex objects, you know a lot of men see women from the point of sex, I don’t. Women are my best friends.

Seeing you are now very successful and prominent, how do you handle very beautiful women throwing themselves at you?

Very easy. Because I am not seeing her the same way every other man is seeing her. I see her like a human being like I would see every other man and that a woman is coming after me does not make me lose respect for her, I don’t. Some guys if a woman tries to toast them or something they will start telling everybody, no, it doesn’t mean I will fall for that but I understand where she is coming from, she sees a man she likes, she wants to become your friend, so when they get close they see that I am too deep, and when they notice that I am too deep, those of them who may have wanted something beyond friendship will start regretting ever making such moves because they want to be your friend for life and they know going beyond that could cause frictions. I have a lot of friends and they could tell me anything, the same way they discuss with fellow women and I respect women because I love my mother.

What then is your guilty pleasure?
Do I have any guilty pleasure? In fact the only guilt I feel is not having enough time with my children but thank God for the kind of wife I have. I live for other people. All these things you see I do, I do it for other people, I work hard to keep other people happy and sometimes, I neglect my family. My son said one day, “Daddy do you know we don’t really know you because you are always working.” I don’t have any social life; my life begins from my house to the office, my office home. I use to club perhaps 10 or 20 years ago but not anymore, I don’t have any social life now.

Where did you get the character strength you exude; from your Dad or Mom?
I took from both. I like both of them equally. I am very close to all of them and my character trait from both parents too. My parents were very kind, however my father was stronger and firmer. My mother was overtly kind and may not be able to know when somebody should be put in his place and I imbibed that trait from my mother too. I took the other side from my father, so a good mixture for me.

What was the relationship between you and other siblings given your adventurous nature?
We had a cordial relationship but I used to beat my immediate younger sister, Tina a lot. Oh God! I never liked her because she was talking too much, so we were always fighting and I was always beating her because she would never keep her mouth shut but now she is the closest to me. Those attributes of her are still there, you don’t try her but we were children then.

For a man who sees women beyond the physical, how did you meet your wife?

I went to Abuja to do a job for my principal then, Chief Nwizugbe and Co, I met her in Abuja. When I saw her, I said kai, I like this Hausa girl because she was dressed in northern wear and I told her that I would want to marry her and that was not a good approach, so she didn’t find that funny. First of all I was in my early 20s talking about marriage. She was a Youth Corper and her friends told her that Igbo, especially Anambra men don’t marry early until they were in their 40s which was a lie or maybe it was happening in those days, so she didn’t take me seriously, she didn’t like the approach. I trailed her to the place of her primary assignment, which was the Corporate Affairs Commission and told her that I mean it and really want to marry her but she didn’t believe me until I did a lot of flying to Abuja to and fro every morning till one morning my sister was going to get wedded and I was buying stuff for my sister, kind of send forth items, fridges, television beds and all sort and when I got home, my mom said “you need to tell us who your girlfriend is? Your dad and I have been talking about it.” I was shy because I never had that type of discussion with my parents like marriage and girlfriends because I was too young. At night, about 3am, I felt someone sitting by my side and that was my mom, she woke me up. You know when parents want to tell you they want something and are serious about it, she said they were serious about what they told me. I asked her why she was interested in girlfriend, I don’t have. Already I had started making money in Lagos and was living in a guest house instead of a normal house; so they felt I was living a careless life but I wasn’t.

What happened was I had a lot of friends, I faced my property, real estate business, so I was buying and lawyers were coming to take my property to sell and I give them commission. I was big. I already started being big by 1991. For my friends, I will pay for rooms for them; while they were there with their girlfriends. I would be in the bush looking for fallow lands to buy and sell. So I was very busy but my friends were busy enjoying the money with their girlfriends. So, when they enter into trouble, my name will come out in soft sells and they didn’t like it. My dad told me he wanted me to get married in five year time, however ”we want to know who that person would be, stay with one person so that me your mom and your uncles can go and meet the parents of the girl so that in five years’ time, you will be mature.” I said okay, no problem. In the morning I went to her and said I have seen someone I want to marry but she is Hausa and my mom said Hausa, I said yes and she asked do you like her I said yes, do you love her, I said yes. Meanwhile I didn’t know my wife’s full name, I only know her as that Hausa girl and she was pretty and she looked like one of my cousins too and I said this one looks like us, that was another attraction. She said “do you like her, I said yes and she said ehn, she is a human being.” Why I told my mom that was so that her fellow women would not be harassing her. You know to Igbo, anybody after Nsukka is Hausa, Benue is Hausa, everywhere is Hausa. I didn’t tell them I didn’t know her full name and I thought she was Muslim but I didn’t care, I don’t discriminate based on religion. My mom told my Dad, who said he even liked it that way.

They asked me to invite her to my sister’s wedding so they can see her. That became a problem for me because the girl has not agreed to talk to me or have anything to do with me. I got back to Lagos, went to Abuja and told her my parents want to see you and that also angered her. You don’t know me yet your parents want to see me. To her, I was trying to use marriage to get her down and she didn’t like that. I tried to convince her, to cut a long story short, few other people talked and I am sure she started seeing other people liking me in their office and that must have sent her some signals. She agreed and we went together for my sister’s wedding. That was the first and last she was to see my mother because my mother died without any atom of symptom of kidney failure. She was never diagnosed of that before. Within four days of feeling feverish, they said her kidney failed, that’s how I lost my mother. I now decided and married her. I was very close to my mother, I loved my mother so much, very peaceful woman. That was how I told my father that’s the girl and he asked if I was ready and I said yes, that was how I got into early marriage, that’s my story.

SOURCE: THIS DAY

Peter Obi’s Media Aide Weighs In On Attack On Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Image: Wiki

BY CHUKWUEMEKA EDOZIE

Media Aide to former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Val Obienyem, who is also an author and barrister, has condemned recent attacks on author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Obienyem wrote in an opinion piece, in response to attacks on Adichie for writing an article about the dispute in the Guardian newspaper entitled, ‘My Hometown Under Siege’. The primary focus of her article was ongoing sponsored harassment and intimidation of Abba community residents.

Prior to publishing Adichie’s piece, the Guardian had carried out an investigation of the dispute and the facts that Adichie laid out in her article, even despite Adichie’s local and international stature and credibility- to ensure that there was sufficient basis to publish her piece, in line with journalistic best practices. The paper published the resulting 3- page investigative report alongside Adichie’s article, with the combined four-Page write up being entitled “Special Report”.

In Obienyem’s piece, he stated: “I read what our pen export and one of the best in the world, Chimamanda Adichie, wrote about the land dispute between her town, Abba and Ukpo – both in Anambra State, Nigeria. It was the lamentation of a deeply-troubled soul over the impunity of men. Her timely piece is a necessary buffer against environing principalities eager to control or appropriate Abba.”

“Going by her stature and comfort zone, Chimamanda could have decided to remain aloof to the unjust plight of her people. But, with what she did, especially more from the urge to fight injustice than anything else, my respect for her has many times been magnified.”
He continued by writing: “I have met Chimamanda severally and on each occasion, was thrilled by her charming modesty and sense of propriety. Typical of her, she made her point clearly, and without denigrating anybody: Is justice up for sale to the highest bidder? Do we no longer have rule of law in this country? What are the actual duties of the Police — serving the nation or individuals? What wrong did she commit? All I saw was the disillusioned tenderness of a writer mourning the disorder in her country.”

Indeed, the main point of Adichie’s piece -which Obienyem highlighted- the aforementioned harassment, intimidation and disruption of family and business affairs of Abba residents, has not been denied by any of the parties concerned. To the contrary, there have been credible reports of same occurring, including video recordings and well-documented statements to the authorities.
Some objective and informed observers of unfolding events have noted that

personal attacks on Adichie, sometimes combined with the recitation of the legal history of the land dispute, appear to be the means by which those behind the attacks on Adichie have sought to distract attention from the main issue which she raised about the harassment campaign, and to throw dust in the air to hide the facts.

Obienyem carried on: “From her piece, it was obvious she did her homework and was availed of all the facts. At a stage in one’s life there are risks one would not venture into. For a person of her standing to go through books, talk to people and come up with the synthesis of views on the matter, one is convinced that she has done the right thing.”

“On the contrary, it was with great embarrassment and indeed, shame that I read the reactions of those that called themselves “Igbo Youths” to what Chimamanda wrote. I was even more upset that the reactions were brazenly published as advertisements in newspapers. Do they expect Chimamanda to condescend so low as to engage in “tru bum tru bum” with them? No way!”

“The so-called youths being used are ordinarily those that should be enjoying the calming hypnosis of a well-written piece — Chimamanda’s Lamentations and Other Works. Alas, there they were, abusing and pouring obloquies on her.”

Obienyem stated: “Clearly, the practice of exchanging people’s conscience with money has not ceased as those so-called youths have proved.”

Adichie is renowned for being extremely familiar with and knowledgeable about Igbo culture and history despite her relative youth: including of her hometown, local government area and Anambra State. Indeed, the late literary icon Chinua Achebe said of Adichie early in her career, ‘We do not usually associate wisdom with beginners, but here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers…Adichie came almost fully made’.

She has received various awards and commendations from successive Anambra State governments over the years, including most recently in 2016, being honoured with the Anambra State Award for Excellence by the current incumbent, His Excellency Governor Willie Obiano. She had previously been the keynote speaker at Governor Obiano’s 100-Days in Office event.

Former Anambra State Governor, and current Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige had previously honoured her by gracing an event celebrating Adichie in her hometown, Abba, at the beginning of the decade.

Indeed, at the national level, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had previously distinguished her with the Global Ambassador Achievement Award in 2011. Adichie has also received numerous international awards, including 14 Honorary Doctorate Degrees from leading universities, including one of her alma maters, Yale University.

Obienyem in his article, discussed other issues which he considered salient, including his view of the distorting effects of misuse of wealth on the Igbo culture today, and indeed on many other cultures in the country, and how it has led directly and indirectly to this situation of serious and accomplished individuals being attacked by sponsored groups. He rounded out by saying “There must be limit to madness in this clime”.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

My Hometown Under Siege

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Image: Chimamanda

BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

One night in July, the signboards disappeared. The people of Abba, my hometown in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state, woke up to see that the signboards were gone — the signboard that said ‘Welcome to Abba Town’ had vanished. The signboard mounted by the state government that said ‘Drive safely through Abba’ had vanished. Every signboard that announced Abba’s boundary had disappeared.

In a country where signboards exist to make communities visible, this was an act of erasure, a way of saying to a community: you no longer exist. An attack on a community’s autonomy. An aggression. But how could it have happened? There are laws, after all, and signboards set up by the state government cannot arbitrarily be torn down. It happened because the Nigerian police accompanied people at night to commit this illegal act. Witnesses saw them: the police vans, their flashing lights, their guns. And it happened because a Nigerian billionaire, Prince Arthur Eze, is financing a campaign of intimidation in order to win a land dispute.

Land disputes are depressingly common all over Nigeria – Awka-Amawbia, Umuleri-Aguleri, and Ife-Modakeke are some well-known examples – but perhaps what makes Abba-Ukpo different is the brazen meddling of a wealthy man. The land in question is called Agu Abba – a vast stretch of woods, farmland, and a market, Oye Abba, with roofed wooden stalls. All land cases are complex, but here is a simplified history of this case: In 1967, shortly after the Nigeria-Biafra war began, Abba sued a nearby town, Ukwulu, for trespassing on its land. A state high court ruled in Abba’s favour.

After the war, Ukwulu questioned the legitimacy of the ruling, as Biafra no longer existed. Abba then sued again in 1975. The case dragged on until 1985 when Ukpo, another nearby town, formerly a witness for Ukwulu, made a surprising volte face and joined the suit, claiming some of the land as theirs. The suits were subsequently consolidated and in 1999 a state high court ruled in Ukwulu/Ukpo’s favour. Abba got a stay of execution on the judgment. Then something strange happened: the record of proceedings in the case suddenly disappeared. The Anambra State government set up a panel of inquiry, which sat for three months and returned empty-handed to say they could not find the court records.

Abba filed an appeal but the appeal failed because the record of proceedings, which are indispensable materials for the determination of the appeal, could not be presented. Abba then appealed to the Supreme Court. In a lead judgment, Paul Adamu Galumje referred to the disappearance of the records and asked both parties to go back to the state high court and ‘sort out the mess.’

So Abba went back to file suit in state court, where the case is currently ongoing.

“Do court records just get up and walk away?” a spokesperson for Abba said. “We all know Prince Arthur Eze paid people to destroy the records. We don’t have money but we will fight him with the truth in court.”

But before the case could proceed in court, the siege of Abba began.

On June 19, 2019, Oye Abba market was full of people trading in vegetables and yams when police vans screeched in and policemen leapt out, shooting tear gas canisters, pushing and hitting traders and buyers, asking everyone to leave the market immediately. People ran. Children cried. Two weeks later, more policemen arrived at the market, destroying the wares of innocent people. And again a few days later. The terrorized traders then abandoned the market and set up on a busy intersection at the center of Abba, a less than ideal site, but the only option left to them.

While visiting my elderly parents in my hometown in August 2019, I saw the makeshift market at this intersection, some traders sitting on the bare earth, in the sun’s harsh glare. Something about that scene broke my heart – the smallness and sadness of it, villagers determined to keep on going, even though their market had been forcefully and illegally taken from them.

I began to ask questions and soon learned that it wasn’t just mass harassment of market traders, there was also a more targeted harassment of individuals who had spoken up for Abba in the land dispute.

On July 3, 2019 policemen from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Area 10, Garki Abuja arrived early in the morning and arrested three people from Abba. A woman was about to unlock her shop on the main road in Abba when policemen jumped on her and arrested her. A man was about to leave home for his construction work site when policemen barged through his door, scaring his family, and bundled him away. They were detained first at the State CID for one week and then were moved to Abuja where they were detained for two weeks.

“On what charges?” I asked a young man, a member of the Abba Youth, who has witnessed the events from the beginning.
‘They had a long list of charges, including conspiracy and attempted murder,” he said.

“Attempted murder of whom?”

“It’s all nonsense. They fabricated charges, based on zero evidence, and took them to Abuja just to intimidate them and make them give up our land.”

The point of these illegal arrests is indeed intimidation. But many in Abba were not cowed. The Abba town union organized a peaceful protest along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, on the spot where the signboards were torn down, to raise awareness about what was happening. They had no weapons, only their voices. Shortly after the protest began, the police arrived in large numbers. Some witnesses said there were at least 100 policemen, which in a small protest in a small town is akin to a hostile invasion by state machinery. The police fired tear gas to disperse the protest. The young man I spoke to was there, and told me how his eyes burned for days afterwards.

“There were so many tear gas canisters, up to 300, and they were brand new. We all know the police in this area don’t have that much. Who paid for the tear gas? Arthur Eze,” he said.

Abba Women also organized a protest to appeal to the governor for help. Hundreds of women gathered at the government house, all dressed in somber black, carrying signs, and singing mournful songs. Watching the video, one cannot help but be moved by these women, by their determination, their orderliness, their commitment to peaceful means of protest. They wanted the governor to step in and stop the police harassment of Abba indigenes. One of the cardboard signs they carried read: Stop police harassment of Abba. Another, to my surprise, read: Arthur Eze, emulate Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He does not use his money to intimidate people. He uses his money to invest wisely.

The Abba town union wrote detailed letters of complaint to the DSS, the state governor and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. An excerpt from the letter to the President reads: “It is no secret that the I. G. P. Adamu Mohammed is being used by a known moneybag in Ukpo, Prince Arthur Eze, to intimidate and silence Abba people like he did to their neighbouring Abagana community.”

As a child I was often skeptical of historical stories in which the homeland of the storyteller was always in the right. And so my natural skepticism made me ask why Prince Arthur Eze would engage in this violent campaign of intimidation, and whether perhaps he was being unfairly maligned. Where was the evidence? How could we be sure that Prince Arthur Eze was indeed responsible?

“Arthur Eze wants to build a university named after him, and Ukpo doesn’t have any land big enough and so he wants to take our land,” the young man said.

Prince Arthur Eze has a documented history of muscling his way into contested land – in the past few years he has used the police to terrorize another nearby town, Abagana, after which he annexed their land. But perhaps the clearest evidence that Prince Arthur Eze is the mastermind of the harassment in the Abba-Ukpo case comes from his own words. After the Supreme Court judgment, Prince Arthur Eze called the traditional ruler of Abba, Igwe LN Ezeh and asked for a meeting on May 21, 2019 at the Geneva Hotel in Okpuno, a town near Awka. There, Prince Eze made a proposal: if Abba agreed to abandon the court case and share the land with Ukpo, he would call off the police. Igwe LN Ezeh told him that Abba people wanted to conclude the case in court. There are witnesses to this meeting. It was after this meeting that the police harassment of Abba indigenes went into full force.

Today in Abba people live in fear. Rumours swirl every day. Somebody says there is a list of Abba people to be arrested. Another says the police are coming from Abuja to arrest the town union members. Another says the community school, partly located on the disputed land, will be completely demolished. Some fearful parents keep their children home from school. When a big car with tinted windows drives through Abba, the people worry. Some men skulk away. Who will be arrested today? Who will be harassed? Who will sleep in a cell tonight?

My 87-year-old father, a retired university professor, is bewildered. He is from a passing generation of principled Nigerians who do not understand how a single individual can buy and control the Nigerian police force. After my father heard of an Abba man abducted while driving through Ukpo, his empty car left abandoned by the roadside, he asked my brother to take a longer route to a Pharmacy rather than drive through Ukpo. He feared for my brother’s safety. I fear for my parents’ safety. I fear for my hometown now unfairly living in distress.

Most recently, on September 6, 2019, Abba people woke up to see a Caterpillar demolishing the structures of Oye Abba market, while armed policemen and mobile policemen stood guard. Abba people watched, helpless and hapless, as the economic center of their small community was destroyed. The Caterpillar also demolished the walls of the nearby community secondary school, only days before students are supposed to return to school. Now the school walls and the market stalls are
a jumble of broken wood and cement, and a symbol of a brokenness in our system. Abba-Ukpo might well be a provincial land dispute, but it speaks to larger issues in Nigeria. A wealthy individual has turned the Nigerian police into his private terror group. Those deemed protectors of the people have become their attackers. Those supposed to uphold the law are now the practitioners of a particular kind of lawlessness lubricated by crass wealth.

Not all members of the police seem to be so shamefully on sale — the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, and the Divisional Police Officers of Ukpo and Abagana refused to harass Abba because they believed it to be illegal. But the consequences for them were swift: they were unceremoniously transferred to other states.

I don’t know who has a legitimate claim to the land – it has for decades been known as Agu Abba and farmed by Abba people in the often-unwritten rules that govern customary land ownership. But that is what the courts should determine, in a process free from meddling. Court records should not disappear. No community in Nigeria should be terrorized by state machinery. No private citizen should have the power to turn the police on an entire community. Injustice is stalking Anambra state and the rights of every citizen should be protected. It is in protecting the rights of others that we protect our own rights, because we create a system of rights from which all can potentially benefit.

As I ended my conversation with the young man, he said, “Please don’t use my name. The police will come and abduct me and take me to Abuja. My family is poor. I don’t have anybody to bring me food in Abuja, not to talk of bailing me out.”

I was struck by his use of the word ‘abduct.’ Some members of the Nigerian police have soiled its name and its legitimacy. The Nigerian police has been used to cause great harm in Abba. The Nigerian police must now refuse to be used any longer. The Nigerian police must show that it is not for sale. The Nigerian police must stand up for justice and fair play. Stop the harassment of innocent Abba citizens, and let the courts decide.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

59th Independence: I weep For Our Country – Izuogu

Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu. Image: Whirlwind

BY SUNDAY ANI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

Meet The Cast Of USA’s “Treadstone”

Tracy Ifeachor attends People's 2016 'Ones to Watch' event. Image: Youtube.

BY LIZ FLYNN

Based on the ‘Bourne’ film series, ‘Treadstone’ is an action drama television series that will launch on USA Network on October 15, 2019. This series has been created by Tim King, who is also acting as an executive producer for the series. The premise of the series is a combination of the origins story and the present-day story of Operation Treadstone, a CIA black ops program. This program turns recruits into superhuman assassins using behavior modification. In the first season, viewers will see the sleeper agents being awakened and traveling across the globe to complete deadly missions. Here is what you need to know about the cast of Treadstone.

Jeremy Irvine
Irvine plays the lead role of J. Randolph Bentley in this new series. This English actor made his film debut in the 2011 epic war film ‘War Horse’. He is also known for his roles in ‘The Railway Man’. ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Fallen’, and ‘The Woman in Black: Angel of Death’. Irvine was born in London in 1990 and began acting at the age of 16. A little known fact about this actor is that he suffers from type 1 diabetes, which means he has to inject himself four times a day.
Brian J. Smith

The character Doug McKenna is plated by American actor Brian J. Smith. This actor was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 12, 1981. He studied at the Juilliard School; Drama Division where he completed the four-year study program. He is best known for playing Will Gorski in ‘Sense8’ and Lieutenant Matthew Scott in ‘Stargate Universe’. He also played Jim O’Connor in the 2013 revival of ‘The Glass Menagerie’, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance.

Omar Metwally

Omar Metwally plays Mr. Edwards in ‘Treadstone’. Metwally was born in New York but currently resides in Los Angeles. He began his acting career in 1999 and has worked in both film and television. The television series for which he is known include ‘The Affair’, ‘Non-Stop’, and ‘Mr. Robot’. His film credits include ‘Miral’, ‘Munich’, and ‘Rendition’. In addition to his film and television work, he has also worked with the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival as both an actor and a director.

Tracy Ifeachor

Tara Coleman is the character portrayed by Tracy Ifeachor in ‘Treadstone’. This British actress is usually associated with The CW vampire series ‘The Originals’, in which she played Aya Al-Rashid. She also played Abigail Naismith in the Doctor Who Christmas special ‘The End of Time’. Although this actress was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, she is a Nigerian of Igbo origin. She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama before landing a role in her first feature film ‘Blooded’, which was directed by Ed Boase.

Han Hyo-Joo
Han Hyo-Joo is a South Korean actress who was born in the North Chungcheong Province of South Korea in 1987. She studied theater and film at Dongguk University. She is known for her roles in television series including ‘Spring Waltz’, ‘Brilliant Legacy’, ‘W’, and ‘Dong Yi’. She has also starred in the 2015 romance film ‘The Beauty Inside’ and the 2013 film ‘Cold Eyes’. In the latter, she won the Best Actress Award at the 34th Blue Dragon Film Awards. In ‘Treadstone’, she plays the role of SoYun.

Gabrielle Scharnitzky

Gabrielle Scharnitzky is a German actress who is known for her roles in ‘The Game’, ‘Wolfenstein: The Old Blood’, and ‘Verliebt in Berlin’. She was born in Bavaria in 1956. In ‘Treadstone’, she is playing the role of Petra.

Emilia Schule

Schule is a German actress who was born in Russia in 1992 and then moved to Berlin with her parents when she was just one year old. She studied dance as a child and began her career as an actress appearing in German commercials. She then landed roles in several German movies, including the leading role in ‘Freche Machen’. This led to her landing roles in other movies, such as the role of Sophie in ‘Gangs’ followed by roles in ‘Rock It!’ and ‘Freche Madchen 2’.

Michelle Forbes

Playing the role of Ellen Becker is Michelle Forbes, who is an American actress with Mexican heritage. She began her career in 1987 and has had roles in many television series and films. She is probably best known for playing a dual role in ‘Guiding Light’, for which she won a Saturn Award and received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She is also known for her roles in ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘24’, ‘In Treatment’, and ‘Durham County’. Her movie roles have included ‘Kalifornia’, ‘Escape from L.A.’, and ‘Swimming with Sharks’ Forbes was married to Ross Kettle from 1990 to 1997.

Michael Gaston

Michael Gaston portrays the character Dan Levine in ‘Treadtsone’. Sometimes credited as Michael B. Gaston, this American actor is playing Quinn in ‘Prison Break’ and Gray Anderson in ‘Jericho’. He also had a recurring role in ‘The Mentalist’. In addition to his television career, Gaston has worked in theater. He has been married to screenwriter and playwright Kate Fodor and the couple has two children together.

Shruti Haasan

The character Nira Patel is played by Indian singer and film actress Shruti Haasan. This actress is the daughter of Sarika Thakur and Kamal Haasan, who are both professional actors. She is one of the leading actresses in South Indian cinema, and she has won three Filmfare Awards South. Haasan began her career as a child but made her adult acting debut in the 2009 Bollywood film ‘Luck’. She was born in Chennai, India, in 1986.

Recurring Roles

Viewers of ‘Treadtstone’ will also see some actors appearing in recurring roles. These include Patrick Fugit playing the role of Stephen Haynes, and Tess Haubrich in the role of Samantha McKenna.

SOURCE: TROVER MIND

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

Returnee Nigerians arrive from South Africa. Image: Channels TV

BY OLAKUNLE OLAFIOYE, HENRY OKONKWO, JAMES OJO ADAKOLE

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SOURCE: SUN NEWS/DAILY SUN

Why Cultural Consciousness Is High Among The Yoruba

Azuka Onwuka. Image: Facebook

BY AZUKA ONWUKA

Most Nigerians, like most Africans, love to imitate Western ways because of the long-held view that Western ways are better. This manifests in our lifestyles: dressing, food, language, religion, education, personal names, holidays, and the like. For example, it is a thing of pride to speak English, French, Spanish and other European languages. A young and educated Igbo can proudly say: “I don’t know how to speak Igbo.” But no young and educated person will proudly say: “I don’t know how to speak English.”

When school owners want to advertise their schools as premium, they show off their White connection. If there is only one Caucasian child or a child of mixed race in that school, such a child must be used in the photograph or video of pupils or students for advertisement. If the head-teacher or any teacher of the school is from Europe or North America or Asia or North Africa, their picture must be displayed to show that the school is “international”. In addition, flags of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and other foreign countries will fly proudly beside the Nigerian flag. On the signboard of the school, there is usually a large announcement that the school is a Montesorri school or uses the American syllabus or the British syllabus, and takes Cambridge examination and other international examinations. If the school has gone on an excursion abroad, the photos of such a trip are proudly displayed within the school and in all communication materials.

This also applies in all facets of our life. When people visit Europe, America, or some parts of Asia, they proudly display their photographs on the social media. At social events or religious events or business events, people drop comments that suggest that they were away in Europe or America on holidays or business meetings. Local trips are hardly mentioned because they do not add any weight to the status and magnitude of the storyteller.

However, in spite of the pervasive nature of this in Nigeria, it seems the people of the Yoruba ethnic stock in Nigeria are the least affected. Even though they accepted Western civilisation and modernity, the people of the Yoruba ethnic stock seem to make a conscious effort to fight back the erosion of their way of life by Westernisation. Let us look at some examples to make this clearer.

The first is the way local names are spelt. Of all ethnic groups in Nigeria, it seems to be only Yoruba town names and personal names that are not anglicised. Igbo names like Awka, Orlu, Owerri, Enugu should be correctly spelt as Oka, Olu, Owere, and Enugwu respectively. Urhobo should be Urobo, while Itsekiri should be Ishekiri, and Ijaw should be Izon. Sokoto should be Sakwato, while Zaria should be Zazau. Similarly, in personal names, Okafor should be Okafo; Ejoor should be Ejo.

Conversely, Yoruba town names are spelt the Yoruba way: Ibadan, Idanre, Osogbo, Owo. In other ethnic groups a town like Owo could have been spelt as Orwor or Orwaw, while Ilaro could have been spelt as Ilaroh. Similarly personal names like Omowunmi could have been Omorwunmi, while Adebayo could have been Adebayor. There are efforts to ensure that a few Yoruba town names which are not spelt exactly the Yoruba way are changed. Examples are Otta, Ebute Metta (with double t) and Shagamu, Shade (with “sh”). The double t is being replaced with only one “t”, while the “sh” is being replaced with an “s” which has a dot underneath.

Similarly, it is easier to see Nigerians from other ethnic groups bearing foreign names than the Yoruba. A Muslim from the North is more likely going to have their first name and surname as Arabic names. That makes the person feel like a true Muslim. Examples of such names are Ibrahim Abubakar and Aisha Abdulsalam. A Christian from the North-Central, the South-East or South-South is more likely going to have a first name or middle name that is European or Jewish to make the person feel like a true Christian. Some may even have two English or Christian names. Examples are John-Paul Okeke, Henry Osagie, Akpoghene John Kome, and Judith Peters.

However, it is hard to use names to determine if a Yoruba is a Muslim, Christian, animist or even an atheist. The reason is that unlike in other parts of Nigeria where Muslims insist on bearing Arabic names, the Yoruba Muslims believe that having Yoruba first name and surname does not make them less Muslim. So when you hear names like Mr Fola Adeola, Mr Tayo Aderinokun, Chief Akin Odunsi, and Senator Gbenga Ashafa, nothing will tell you that they are Muslims. They do not flaunt Arabic names nor flaunt the “alhaji” title to prove that they have gone to Mecca for hajj. Christian Yoruba also flaunt their Yoruba names over Jewish and European names.

Similarly, the Yoruba do not flaunt Arabic attire or European attire to prove that they are good Muslims or good Christians. They flaunt their Yoruba attire whether in mosque or church. It is rare to attend an event like a wedding, a church service, or a funeral and see a Yoruba person who is above 30 years dressed in jeans, T-shirt, dress shirt, plain trousers, skirt or even suit. The Yoruba person is most likely going to don the traditional Yoruba attire. For most men, such dressing is incomplete if the agbada and fila (cap) are not worn. The women’s wear is also incomplete without the gele on the head and the ipele on the shoulder.

Note the reference to “gele.” Even though the English name for female headgear is scarf, the Yoruba have ensured that the Yoruba name overrides the English name. This name has been copied by even Igbo people who have the name “ichafu” for the female headgear. Gele has become so common that many Igbo women who are under 30 do not know that there is an Igbo name for it. Similarly, the three-wheeled vehicle which is called tricycle in English has been effectively named keke in Nigeria courtesy of the Yoruba.

Let us look at the foods. Yoruba people are not known to have the best cuisine in Nigeria. The contest for that title should be between the Akwa-Cross and the Igbo. But the Yoruba have ensured that none of their local dishes is given an English name. For example, there are no English alternatives for amala, gbegiri, ewedu, efo riro, and the like. However, a meal like usi has been given the awful name “starch”: a name that will make someone lose appetite. How can you tell someone to eat starch when you can excite the person’s imagination and appetite by calling it usi? Akpu has been christened “fufu” or “swallow”; ofe nsala has been given the horrible name “white soup;” ofe onugbu has been baptised and upgraded to “bitter leaf soup;” ogbono is now “draw soup” (whatever that means); while nkwu enu is now “up wine” (as if there is any type of palm wine got from the ground).

Meanwhile, those who created pizza, cappuccino, sushi, samosa, spaghetti, macaroni, sake, shawarma, etc, did not bother to give them English names.

Why is it important for a people to be proud of their culture and project it? It fires a people up to be more innovative, thereby creating things that will make them stand out. That belief drove the Romans to fabricate and construct superior weapons that helped them to overrun much of Europe, Asia and Africa and plant their language and civilisation all over the known world. The United Kingdom used it too. The United States took over from the UK. Today, China is using it. That was why Daniel Patrick Moynihan said: “The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society.”

No culture is superior to the other. However, if a people do not feel proud of their culture and project it, they will be subsumed by the prevalent culture. The duty of every ethnic group is to ensure that members project the essence of that ethnic group.

–Twitter @BrandAzuka

SOURCE: PUNCH

Dissecting Ihedioha’s Steps Towards Industrialising Imo

Emeka Ihedioha

BY EMMANUEL MGBEAHURUIKE

The application of Western technology to the developmental process of developing nations has proven to be not only an essential catalyst but as veritable pillar.

Apparently conscious of this, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and incumbent governor of Imo State, prior to his inauguration on May 29, this year embarked on economic and diplomatic visits to the United Kingdom and Germany.

While there, the governor interacted with development /investment partners and donor agencies. He also met with the World Bank, the French Development Bank (AFD), the UK Department for International Development and the German Embassy who all expressed, their willingness to partner with his administration to get the Eastern Heartland (Imo State) out of the woods and make it the pearl of the south-east.

Not a few indigenes of the state are worried that it, over the years, did not leveraged on multi-lateral development assistance on account of its inability to comply with some basic requirements such as payment of counterpart funding and lack of transparency in the administrative process.

Interestingly, the positive perception of the Rebuild Imo government of Chief Emeka Ihedioha has attracted the interest of International Development partners in partnering with the state to achieve its strategic development plan.

Not done yet, the government also led a small team of government officials and private sector entrepreneurs on an investment trip to Russia where he held meetings with the AfriExim Bank - the leading pan-African trade financial Institution that had since pledged support in the form of a robust credit line for prospective investors in the state.

That the state under the leadership of Ihedioha is now being viewed as open and good for business is evidenced on the visit of a team of prospective investors to the Imo modern poultry, Avutu, Obowo council area who showed keen interest to revamp the project established by the late Chief Sam Mbakwe administration.

There is no doubt that if fully operational, the poultry would provide over 2, 000 jobs, catalyse local economic growth create job opportunity ties for the teeming unemployed graduates, increase the revenue of the state.

To add impetus to his industrialisation drive, the governor has engaged the transmission company of Nigeria and the Enugu Electricity Distribution company to complete the Oguta 33KV line from Egbu which is expected to be completed in no distant time.

This will unquestionably supply reliable electricity to the Oguta environs while freeing the old Oguta 33kV line to make available more electricity for the new Owerri areas.

The governor is emphatic that "only a reliable and adequate power supply will guarantee the industrialisation agenda of our government through our intervention, further work has commenced at the 132 and 33 KVA, such stations located at Ideato & Aboh Mbaise respectively with a view to completing them by the end of this year," the governor was quoted as saying.

It is equally gratifying that the state government has set up a power and Rural Electrification Agenda (aka 1-POREA) to evolve strategies to remove barriers to adequate exploitation of the power generation potentials.

The state government has also empowered I-POREA to take advantage of the State's supply to some areas of the state where they were non existent in the last seven to eight years.

This included the replacement of 79 failed transformation across the state, completion of electricity supply to Inyishi Aluminum Extrusion Company and its environs as well as the Oguta 33KV line electricity project.

Lamenting that for many years now, the state had been the ugly bride in the area of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, the governor disclosed that his administration has designed a framework for implementing the necessary reforms to improve the position of the state on the World Bank Ease of doing business ranking.

Furthermore, the government has concluded plans to inaugurate the Imo State Enabling Business Environment Council (ISEBEC) which is expected to draw up, implement and oversee agenda for business process reforms.

To crown it all, the governor, conscious of the indispensability of effective and all season motorable road network has awarded contracts for the construction of 14 critical roads across the state.

These include: Naze Federal Polytechnic Road, Ihiagwa-Obinze road, Ahiara Junction Okpala Road Aba Branch Ahiara Junction road and the Imo State Teaching Hospital Road, the Umuowa Old Orlu Road MCC -Toronto Road, Mgbidi Oguta Road, Ogwoghoranya, Avutu with a spur at Avutu Poultry farm Road and the Douglas- Emmanuel College -Naze Junction road.

Also slated for reconstruction are the Assumpta Port Harcourt Road, Okigwe Okpara Road- police station, Road, control post world Bank-Umuguma Road, Okigwe Road - IMSU Bishop Court Roundabout Road and the Concorde Bondevard Ring Road-Zuma-PH Road with a flag-off of these projects.

In fulfillment of his promise to address the dilapidated infrastructure in the state, with a view to ensuring economic development, Ihedioha flagged off the construction of 81km urban roads project worth N23.4b in the state

This is as the governor has promised that his administration would not consider geographical divisions while addressing the developmental needs of the state.

The governor stated this while performing the flag-off of the projects, "said part of his administration's cardinal agenda is to run a one-stop state, where democracy dividends will be evenly distributed across the 27 local government areas of the state".



Others are Control-Post/World Bank; Ahiara Junction/Okpala; IMSU/Bishop's Court; Okigwe Town/St. Mary's Catholic Church, MCC/Toronto Junction, Aba Branch/Ahiara Junction, Concorde/Zuma/Port Harcourt, among others.

The governor also flagged off the reconstruction of Government Technical College, Okporo, Orlu, Government Technical College, Owerri, Dan Anyiam Stadium and Grasshopper International Handball Stadium, Owerri.

"Today, we are commencing construction of urban roads and comprehensive roads rehabilitation across the state to address the sorry state of our roads. We have tried to provide palliative measures on the roads ranging from the desilting of drainages to address the perennial flooding to filling the failed portions.

"We have deliberately chosen state roads while we have also commenced discussion with the federal government for the federal roads including Owerri/Orlu/Akokwa Road," he went further to say.

"In order to ensure that a good job is done and to guarantee the durability of the project, painstaking processes were observed. The process of getting to this point was transparent and followed due process. All these were done to ensure not just quality assurance but value for money.

"It is significant again that we are flagging off this project in Orlu Zone. We are running a one stop state. For us all, Imo belongs to Imo people and geographical divisions have nothing to do with our unity as a people."

Ihedioha gave an assurance that the construction of both the government technical colleges, and the stadium would meet the international standards to boast technical education and sports development in the state.

The governor also charged the contractors handling the projects to deliver to specifications and guarantee their durability, pointing out that his administration is committed to providing durable projects.

Speaking at the flag-off of the Assumpta roundabout - Port Harcourt road project, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, His Grace, Most Rev. Anthony Obinna commended the governor for his achievements and urged him to ensure that the projects are supervised for quality delivery.

In their remarks, the state Commissioner for Works, Engr. Ben Ekwueme, Special Adviser to the governor on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Hon. Oliver Enwerenem, , Chairman, Imo State Sports Commission, Chief Fan Ndubuoke, and top notch traditional rulers in the state hailed the governor on the projects.

Ekwueme assured on behalf of the contractors that the project would enjoy life span of 15 to 20 years when completed, adding that all would be delivered fully between 12 to 18 months of the commencement.

The above measures not withstanding governor Ihedioha has begun to mobilizes communities in the state for Agricultural Revolution.

This, the governor intends to achieve by unveiling an Agricultural Revolution programme with a target of 500 million palm trees in the next 5 years.

Already, the government has engaged the services of some consultants to install an agricultural road map for the state, just as a world class technical partners had similarly been engaged to assist re-position the multi million Naira Ada Palm Nigeria Ltd Ohaji.

Uche Odozor, Senior Special Assistant (Agricultural Development) to the governor disclosed this while briefing newsmen in his office.

Odozor who identified agriculture as the key and pivotal pillar of the nation's economy with core direct impact areas as food security, employment, foreign exchange earnings, poverty reduction and raw materials for industry regretted that in spite of this obvious fact, the sector had been literally dead for dose a decade in the state.

"Farm productivity has simply stagnated in the last 8 years and what we have now mostly are poor farmers producing only what they can eat with small families and this reality has had horrendous impact on the economy and on the life style of the people as a whole.

"His Excellency, the governor of Imo State's position on this is that of a revolutionary and aggressive intelligent approach to the situation so that speedy recovery can happen for the benefit of our people".

According to him, the proposed agricultural revolution would demand data capturing of the people across the 27 LGAs of the state within the next one month, adding that at least 500,000 individuals would be needed in the first tranche.

He explained that the central objectives of this governments agricultural policy is to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilisation of the factors of production with particular emphasis on labour, ensure a rapid improvement in the standard of living for the agricultural community by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture, assure the availability of supplies and also ensure that supplies reach the consumers at reasonable prices.

Odozor disclosed that the state government is currently focused on riving in this initiative in the areas of oil palm, ginger, cassava, soya beans, cashew pig farming, Beeking, Rice, maize, Tilapia, watermelon, cucumber, Aqua culture, mushroom, fresh vegetables, pineapples Dairy farming, Goat farming, shea butter business, Isabella grape, and Agro based e-commerce.

He added "everything we do will be based on inclusive agriculture productivity growth, improved nutritional outcomes, enhanced livelihood for people as well as foreign exchange income earning capacity".

Others he said were: youth empowerment, climate smart agriculture, using less land to produce more food and preservation of land and soil saying "we will check consistently that all our strategies align with these core guidelines. People must be empowered and removed from poverty. Wealth must be created in communities, food must be amply available for local consumption and for export to other communities and aboard for foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture must once again become the core pillar and pride of our economy," he concluded.

SOURCE: LEADERSHIP