Sun News Interview With Elder Umah Eleazu

Uma Eleazu

BY DANIEL KALU

AT 89, elder statesman and former presidential candidate, Elder (Dr) Umah Eleazu has seen it all, not as a spectator, but as an altruist player who wanted to be part of a genuine change to usher in a better Nigeria. With the benefit of insight, foresight, and hindsight he traced for Sunday Sun where the country is coming from, the conflicting vision among its founding fathers, the challenges ahead, as well as what the younger generation needs to do to secure a country of their dream.

EXCERPT:
At 89, looking at your antecedents, you are an accomplished statesman by every standard. Take us to the memory lane of independence and where we missed this genuine development the foundational leaders of this nation established?
Well, how we got independence is already at the public domain and quite explanatory, but I think we missed it when the military took over, all the coups, that was when we started to derail. You know there comes a time when a group of people with vision and integrity and courage will say no, it’s time to stop. Some people came out in 1966 with the problem that was in the country from 1964 to 1965 and they said look, this is not the vision of our leaders, our leaders: Awolowo, Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, etc; the vision was different and that first coup was to set things right, but they bungled it and from then that is really when we started going down the lane. So, the quantum change they wanted did not happen and gradually power fell into the hands of those who didn’t know what the visionaries wanted to do and we have been downhill since then. And from that 1966 till date, about 53 years or so, it has been a continuous slide which is gradually taking us to where we are today, moving towards a precipice. Successive leaders of the Nigerian state over the years have failed its citizens as the government has not been according to the grand norm (constitution) that connects the government to the people.

You said power fell in the hands of those who did not understand the vision of our leaders. Did they have the same vision as some political experts have argued that what we had at independence were liberation fathers, not foundational fathers because they had different views about the country at the time of independence? Do you share this view?

I think that is one way of putting it, but I would say that the people we call the founding fathers their minds were not the same, they were not on the same page, I mean they did not agree, they were not in agreement, not on the same accord on their perception of what Nigeria should be, given their different statements or speeches. What Azikiwe and Awolowo believed to be unity, Ahmadu Bello did not believe the same to be unity. They were using the same word, but with different interpretations. If I may remind you when Ahmadu Bello was asked on his thought about Nigerian unity he said: “It is good that the British has handed power back to us”. This was around the 10th of October, 1960 that what they are going to do now is that they will continue the Jihad which the British stopped. This was 10 days after independence. When Azikiwe and Awolowo were talking about Nigerian unity, they said we can maintain our diversities, but will be united as one country. That wasn’t what the people in the North represented by Ahmadu Bello wanted. The then Sultan of Sokoto in 1952 in reply to a letter from West African students union in London, asking that he should make sure that we have unity in Nigeria replied to them and said that: ‘there will be no unity unless all of you are prepared to become Muslims.’ I am talking about 1952 before independence, so the leaders of what became independent Nigeria did not have the same mind about building Nigeria. They liberated Nigeria from colonial rule, but they were not able to find a country that is why I think my good friend, the late Chinua Achebe said: “There was a country”. There is a lot that the people should know unfortunately they have banned History in the school and people are not producing good history books. I am writing the history of Nigeria from my perspective because I saw Nigeria from colonial times to independence to the decay we have now, next year I will be 90 years, by God’s grace I will be able to finish the book. I intend to situate everything in that book, so don’t let me pour out everything here.

So, how can we get things right looking at what is on the ground now or is it impossible?
No, another generation has to come up and say enough is enough with the older generation, let us take over from you. The old ones, I mean, those that are still around can tell you where we were going, it’s for the young men, the young ones to decide whether they are still going in that direction or they are not in a position to take Nigeria to a different direction of their dream and vision.

Given the clamour for restructuring of the country, do you think it can be part of the solutions that may stabilize the country?
What do we mean by restructuring? The Northerners don’t believe in what the people of the Middle Belt, the Southeast, Southwest, and the South-south are saying about restructuring. Do you know that President Buhari is gradually restructuring the demography of Nigeria?

How?

By changing the demographic base of all the regions, infusing people from outside Nigeria to go and live in that place. That is what the RUGA is about, that is demographic restructuring, I can see that is what he wants to do and is doing. So, when you now come to Ebonyi State or Enugu State or Ekiti State etc and you say who are the indigenes? They will come out and they will say: we have been living here; that is the problem in Bauchi, that is the problem in Taraba, part of Adamawa, that is the problem in Benue State, name them. So, the problem they have already put in those Middle Belt states they want to bring it to the East and the West and that is going to create more problems for the younger people. But this is the time to now do the constitutional restructuring, which means that we have to take back the legislative list in the constitution and restructure the devolution of powers. Some of the things the Federal Government is doing now actually, it has no power to do. For instance, in the area of agriculture, Agriculture is a regional or state matter, so there is no point why agriculture should be there. Maybe their involvement in agriculture will be on the level of controlling pests. It’s a pity I don’t have time now for an elaborate interview I would have liked to open the constitution and count for you those powers that have been usurped by the federal, including the power over finance. What they call financial federalism, when the South-south is still saying that we should have resource control, the resources in a particular region or state belongs to the people who live there. They should exploit their minerals, add value to it, and pay tax or royalty, which is shared between the federal and the states. The issue of security. What are they saying about security now? Internal security is a matter for police and the police should be even at the state level and the local level. If you go to the United States of America (USA) there is county police, there is state police, community police, there is even the university police. The Army is for territorial control, to control the territorial integrity of the country. Their role is to make sure that no foreign powers enter the country, so instead of being at the border to check the security of Nigerians as a whole, they are now being sent to go and dance python dance, tiger dance or crocodile dance or whatever they call it. The Army has no role inside the country except when law and order break down as it is in Borno State and you then declare emergency powers and then the president will use his emergency powers to send the military to a particular place otherwise you don’t just send soldiers to any state, it is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional for the president to get up and tell the Central Bank to give money to certain people, it’s unconstitutional, it’s part of the financial federalism, our Central Bank is independent of the president and even the legislature. CBN makes the monetary policy to make sure we have a stable currency. They are confusing fiscal policy with monetary policy. It is sad that in this country they don’t follow rules, they don’t follow the constitution, people are just doing what they like.

Do you think that with the rotation of the presidency the system can stabilize?

The rotation has no place in our constitution. Rotation of posts and offices creates a situation where you cannot get the best to rule because by the time you rotate and zone and do all that is involved in it you end up selecting a mediocrity. Somebody may be the best person you need for the position, let us say the position of the president, but it is not his zone that will produce the president, but the other zone. And when you go to the other zone they may not have somebody of his stature, standard, quality, with the exposure, experience, intelligence, courage, etc needed for the job at the point in question. Zoning is a way of enthroning mediocrity.

The Igbo are saying the 2023 presidency must go to their region, Southeast, do you think they are prepared?

For me that is nonsense. President of which country?

President of Nigeria sir?
Will this country still be what it is in 2023? Let them try. You heard what somebody said about the circulating elite? Those in the APC and those in the PDP, they are the same, they have the same attitude towards power. If they give an Igbo man the president, to begin with you have to be in a party that will nominate the Igbo man. It is the political parties that will decide to say: who will run? It is then the party that will position the Igbo candidate, and you have to come out from a party that has the strength to win. But there is more to that. People are saying they are dancing to Buhari so that he will give them president. That is rubbish.

Are you saying that it will be impossible for an Igbo candidate to emerge?

Nothing is impossible in this country where the president can wake up and do what he likes to do. In other words, they can pick a person of their choice, the Igbo man they will pick may not be the kind of Igbo man that the people want to be there for them. They will pick a stooge. They will just go and take one of their slaves and say: you go and sit on that seat, can you speak Igbo, yes, so they tell you to sit there, but whose interest? Even Buhari that they put there is it Buhari who is running the country? Don’t you know the unelected president of Nigeria in Aso Rock? We all know this, so to say they will rotate it to Ndigbo to become president for me, it is rubbish. If we don’t restructure this country nothing is going to work well. Remember my definition of restructuring is re-devolution of powers from the centre back to the states. Secondly, geographical restructuring: you re-combine the states (the old regions) into one state. This is because the cost of running 36 states plus Abuja is huge and outrageous. Let’s take the Eastern Region, the region now has nine states, remember Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa were all from the old Eastern Region and the five states, making it nine. You are talking of nine governors; give each of the governors 12 commissioners, that is 96 commissioners. And you know what goes with the positions: jeep cars and other retinues, you know them. Before independence, the entire Eastern Region was governed by just one governor, three vices about 72 district officers and ADOs and things were running. So, geographically, and legislative list, that is the restructuring, not the one that Buhari is doing with his RUGA project.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

Onitsha And Aba: The Beauty Of Leadership Failure

Motorists and pedestrians' gridlock in Onitsha. Image: Ikechukwu Amaechi/News Express, July 2018

BY ACHILLEUS-CHUD UCHEGBU

I was at a mass at Awada Layout in Onitsha recently. As we drove through to locate the church, I wondered if it was the same Awada that dominated talks when it was developed in the 1980s (Hope I got the date right?). The sprawling estate has high-rise buildings on all streets. But there was neither paved road nor pipe-borne water. Where there were paved roads, they have given way to bumpy earth roads that would make you think your driver just dropped his learner’s badge. Almost every street was dominated by shops – a feature of almost every street in Onitsha. I left Awada that fateful Sunday wondering if Onitsha, generally, was also as chaotic and dirty. I thought to myself, that the city was not planned.

But when I took a tour of Onitsha off Google Earth and Google Maps, I was left speechless. It had always been a carefully planned city. I do not know who planned Onitsha, which has a population estimate of 7.4 million (2016 estimate: Wikipedia). But whoever he/she was, the city ought to host a memorial to his/her honour. Onitsha was a very well-planned city, with green areas and public utilities. The streets were carefully laid out. The markets were properly designated, making movement in and around the city free and easy. But that was on the map. In today’s reality, Onitsha is a dirty, unplanned and chaotic city with markets at every street corner.

The Onitsha that was host to Nigeria’s biggest brands and Igboland’s biggest businessmen and women is no more. When it was, it worked for all, becoming the Igboman’s first port of call, long before Maroko became Lekki and a desert became Dubai. I don’t know if it will ever be recovered because to correct the indiscipline that has turned Onitsha into a dungeon will be herculean. It will need the thoughtful mindlessness of a leader who will move in the bulldozers, remove illegal structures and petrol stations built in residential areas, clear the refuse heaps, restore the streets, open the drainage, roads, public utilities and rebuild public infrastructure. Like many other cities in today’s Nigeria, Onitsha begs for the touch of a visionary who will make it habitable for humans.

When Onitsha worked, it was considered an industrial hub. The industrialisation of the South East, I suspect, was meant to derive from the city. I guess that was also why the industrial estate in Owerri was built off the Owerri-Onitsha expressway. The development of Onitsha prompted the industrialisation of Nnewi as well. And as primary school pupils, we read in social studies that Onitsha was the largest market in West Africa.

When I first got to Lagos, I recall encountering a lot of Customs clearing agents through my twin. Most of the containers they cleared from the ports at Apapa and Tin Can, ended up at Onitsha Main Market. A lot of Igbo guys grew to become big freight forwarders from accounts that came from Onitsha alone. That also gave rise to establishment of haulage companies by Igbo entrepreneurs. In all these, jobs were created and lots of Igbo youths were employed. Today, that glory is gone. Alaba International, ASPAMDA, Balogun, Ladipo all in Lagos, dominated by traders who ditched Onitsha, now hold the ace. There are a lot of factors that made their relocation to Lagos possible. But that should be a discourse for another day.

For now, the chaotic state of Onitsha makes life in the city nasty. A beautiful story ended abruptly. This was exemplified by the recent fire incident that razed part of Ochanja Market. Despite the narrative of lack of functional fire service stations in Onitsha, the issue of inability of available fire trucks to access the market or locate fire hydrants, are testimonies to the chaos that Onitsha now is. They are also testimonials that call for a total makeover and transformation of the city because it is now about crime, filth, indiscipline and total absence of governance.

Markets spring up at every space. Traffic lights are decorative ornaments. The streets are as dirty as they can be. Waste management is almost non-existent. But the market merchants don’t care because they feed from the rot. They impose and collect all manner of levies from every shop and remit to the state government as agreed. Despite contributing a huge chunk of the IGR of Anambra State, Onitsha lacks the governance that it needs to remain a prime city and gateway to the orient.

What you see in Onitsha is exactly what you see in Aba, Abia State. And like Onitsha, almost every business in Nigeria also had an Aba address.

The last time I visited Aba, I had to abort my trip at Osisioma Junction and return to Owerri. I was to visit Ariaria Market and it rained. The reality at Osisioma Junction made me wonder what the city itself was like. Osisioma Junction was the gateway. And it has not gotten any better. The pictures that fly out of Aba every day make one want to ask why exactly the Ngwa people campaigned, and insisted, on an Ngwa son becoming governor. Before Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu became governor, almost every Ngwa argued that Aba was an eyesore because an Ngwa had not become governor. They got one in 2015.

Today, I am told that even driving around Aba with an Abia State government-registered car could earn you stones from some residents. Aba is another sad story of failed political leadership and vision. Like Onitsha, it presents a study in how leadership failure eroded the vision of having industrial hubs in Aba and Onitsha. Those cities have become two industrial hubs of Igboland, whose potentialities were stillbirth by failed leadership. They are cities that now need focused and visionary leadership, one that would embark on demolition, reconstruction and rebuilding to return them as industrial prides. It won’t take much to do. First, it would take only focus. Second, it would take political will and stubborn fixation on correcting mistakes and restoring the master plan.

Both cities need the sort of leadership that would dislodge merchants that feed on the rot, reclaim city roads and make them passable for regular vehicular traffic and take traders off the streets and back into market stalls. But first, the markets have to be provided and also made accessible by road. Leadership must enforce building discipline and provide green spaces and parks for recreation, green areas add value to the life of a city and those of residents. The leadership must also make the people to understand and, appreciate, that not every open space must be built up. If you have to demolish illegal structures to reclaim the cities, do it. I grew up learning that petrol stations are not to be built in residential areas. Today, both petrol stations and gas plants are built at every corner and you wonder when the regulation changed.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

As The South-East Morns

Okey Ikechukwu

BY OKEY IKECHUKWU

South Eastern Nigeria lies prostrate and without dignity today. It has been thus for a long time now. Enveloped by an incubus of snarling befuddlement as it is dragged towards a benighted terminus, the region has become a metaphor for how to exist (without really living) in a federation of supposedly equal partners. It twists and turn piteously in subdued pain. There is an unvoiced gnashing of teeth and a bitter forbearance. Denuded, ridiculed, swindled and roundly scandalised on all fronts by an elaborate pretense at nationhood that has been to its detriment for far too long, the South East Nigeria is at best a metaphor for nominal and fraudulent citizenship. Its gifted, energetic and bold youths are forced to scavenge around the fringes of morality and legality.

That is because they have found themselves in a system that excludes them from what their peers and supposed fellow citizens take as a matter of course; and regard as their entitlement. There is, for people of the South East, an unnamed fear here and a semi-uncertain confusion there. There is also a semi-real trembling yonder. Anon, it is as if there is always some creeping, inexplicable, yet ever-present, but clearly unhealthy quivering of political and economic nerves. Perplexity walks the land – and with bold, intimidating steps.

But, being a people resolved not to dissolve under inclement currents and the unrelenting assaults of a merciless state that seems determined to annihilate them, Ndigbo remain resilient in the face of inhuman political and economic odds. But does the rest of the Nigerian federation really know, and to its fullest measure, that thralldom and misery have taken permanent residence in the entire South East? Put differently, does anyone really care what people of that region feel, or do not feel, about everything going on around them – and sometimes in their name? I think not. And that is because everyone has been living with a badly treated South East since after the civil war in 1970. It has become normal to reckon without the people in every way.

The failure of the post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes, the decades of burgeoning neglect by the central government, the lack of group cohesion among the people themselves, the curse of poor strategic group leadership, the political incompetence of new “Igbo leaders” and an emergent attitude of presumptive preeminence by most eastern Nigeria’s public office holders of today, have taken their toll. That is why the land and the people now bleed from all pores. Yes, the South East mourns. And so might the rest of the nation if things are not put right and in good time.

It is a matter of fact, and record, that the South East region has remained sidelined in federal developmental projects for decades. The nation has lived with this reality for very long before the current government. The region lacks relevance in the siting of impactful institutions and major drivers of our economic environment. It is mocked by the wretched profile of its most visible political actors. Its sons and daughters in national public positions mostly live to survive their tenures. They sneak off to some recondite and narrow existence, or to their villages, once out of office. Not so for their peers, contemporaries and supposed equals from other parts of the country.

Look around you calmly and you must conclude that there is really nothing happening in the South East to warrant serious national human, economic or political traffic in that direction. It boasts the most dilapidated federal roads in the nation. It is the least considered in the new epidemic of rail projects springing up all over the nation. The second Bridge over the Onitsha end of the Niger was on the cards for decades. It became a metaphor for what should have happened immediately after the civil war, but which did not happen. The over 30 years of traffic nightmare for travelers on that route lingered and became the norm. Local economies even sprang up around the area; which have thrived for decades.

When finally approval was given for the Bridge to be built under the PDP government of yore, it turned out to be a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement. In other words, the bridge was approved to be built by whoever was willing, able and available to put down his money for it. Yes, the builder will fund the project and then later recover the money by putting up toll gates on both ends of the new bridge. It is those using the bridge that would pay for the cost of building it; and it was not to be handed over to the government to be used free of cost, until the number of years stipulated as adequate for the builder to recover his cost, along with the accruing profit. And, mind you, there was no case of national bankruptcy; or a dearth of projects of even higher net value being executed all over the nation at the time.

But the bridge was still not built. Had it been built as initially planned, it would most probably have been the only spot in the federation where toll gates were erected so that users of a public, land transport, facility like a bridge would pay for using it. And this was at a time the federal government banned and dismantled all toll gates in the country. It does not matter now, as observed earlier, that projects of higher value have been, and are still being, built all over the federation at government expense. Only the South East must moan, groan and bleed through the nose for a bridge that should have been constructed over 40 years ago.

Now that work has finally commenced on the bridge, thanks to the Buhari government and after a protracted toing and froing on several fronts, the euphoria of this “breakthrough” has, again, exposed the myopia and infantilism of South East political leadership. An elite that clamoured, and still clamours, for an inland port in Onitsha is blind to the fact that this new bridge has been deployed as undertaker for the port project. Go on, take a look at the main frames of the ongoing construction on the second Onitsha Bridge. What type of ship will pass under it? With what type of cargo, if any, or finished products will the ship pass? What in the current specifications show that it is being constructed with a contiguous inland port facility in mind? Who will now stop the work, given the stage it has reached and the amount of money already spent on it, to raise the beams so ship can pass under it?

To be fair, there is enough head room for, crabs, swimmers, speedboats and rafts. For good measure, it may even endure a flat-bottomed steamer ferrying sand around the now-dry banks. But that would be all. So we can at least commission the Onitsha inland port for some form of retail shipping, using canoes, fast swimmers and speedboats between the creeks of the South South and Onitsha. The South East mourns!

Which brings us to the recent presidential intervention on the rehabilitation of the Enugu airport, which was shut down some two months ago. It was with relief and gratitude that many people noted President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that the sum of ten billion Naira be released for rehabilitation work on the closed airport to start. This was after the South East governors, accompanied by the President General of Ohanaeze, the region’s foremost socio-cultural organisation, paid him an all-important visit. It was like a trip to a shrine to appease a mighty oracle. The issues were presented. The pleas were made. The period of pensive waiting, with bated breath was not missing. Then came the magnanimous pronouncement of a reprieve. Phew! Hurray! But, that is because the South East is involved.

The plan to shut down the airport should ordinarily have been on the table along with the plan for its rehabilitation and re-commissioning. The aviation minister’s explanation, that there was no budgetary provision for the project, thus that it just could not be taken on and executed after it was shut down, begs the question. Does it not? So it was actually the visit to Aso Rock that suddenly, magically and perhaps miraculously, put the rehabilitation of the Enugu airport in the budget? It was also the visit that mysteriously, worked out the cost of the project and ferreted out the funds? So should we then assume that the figure magnanimously announced by the president was advised by actual verifiable calculations, or was it just announced on a whim? Whichever way we choose to look at it, there is cause for misgivings about public administration in Nigeria, the concept of “national emergency” and much more. The South East mourns!

Sorry to those who on seeing the title of this article easily assumed that it was to address the recent series of misfortunes, including fires, avoidable deaths and loss of property, in the South East? No, the misfortunes of the South East are much more than that. Many of them are self-inflicted. The misfortunes are there alright. So are the fires and the avoidable deaths and other losses. But over and above all these stand in bold relief the sustained diminution of a region of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through deliberate government gymnastics and the political illiteracy of its own ruling elite.

Yes, it has the largest population per square kilometer. But it also has the lowest number of local governments, based on population density. It has records of exceptional performance in all competitive examinations, but the lowest representation in federal institutions. It has the highest number of dilapidated federal roads, no place in the national gas plan and no mention in the epidemic of rail series springing up everywhere else in the country. That is the South East for you. The region morns today.

SOURCE: THIS DAY LIVE

Anambra State Stakeholders Divided Over Mode Of Selecting Obiano’s Successor

Governor Willie Obiano. Image: Twitter

BY LEO SOBECHI, OSIBEROHA OSIBE

Ahead of the 2021 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, stakeholders in the state are divided along growing calls for the merit-based selection process and need to sustain the zoning principle enunciated by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in 2013.

It would be recalled that at the twilight of his second and final term in office as governor, Mr. Peter Obi reflected on the political dynamics of the state and concluded that it would make for fairness if a candidate from Anambra North Senatorial District succeeded him.

Although major stakeholders in the state tackled the then governor for introducing what they called ‘alien leadership selection culture’ into the state, Obi remained resolute and mobilized the entire Anambra North or Omambala belt, for the 2013 governorship.

Assisted by the power of incumbency and the fact that APGA had entrenched itself within the eight years Governor Obi held sway, as well as the federal might from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Willie Obiano was returned as the winner.

Nonetheless, despite the sloganeering and catchphrase of zoning, which APGA canvassed relentlessly, most stakeholders in the state declared that at no point time did anybody sit down to institute zoning, arguing that Anambra State has remained as the beacon of light for excellence.

Eight years after the introduction of zoning by APGA, there have been calls for a paradigm shift in the leadership selection process, with a greater consensus on the need for meritocracy against quota or allocation.

To compound matters, even the Grand Commander of zoning, Obi, has shifted his political base to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform he contested the 2019 Presidential election as the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the standard-bearer.

The argument against zoning seems to be gaining in decibels as most of the citizens look at the past five years, especially the way the beneficiary of the zoning has fared to dismiss it as bolstering mediocrity.

Furthermore, it has been noted that whether during the 2013 or 2017 gubernatorial polls, virtually all Senatorial Districts in the state took part in the election, thereby making nonsense of zoning.

However, protagonists of retention of zoning argue that it would not be right for Ndigbo to be agitating for the zoning of the 2023 Presidency to Southeast, while an important state in Igbo land would be moving against the same principle.

But those voices have been shut down with the exposition that no section of Anambra State has suffered similar marginalization as Igbo in Nigeria.

According to the opponents of zoning, both Anambra Central and Anambra South have produced governor prior to the emergence of the incumbent, Obiano, including Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Dame Virgy Etiaba, Senator Andy Uba, Dr. Chris Ngige and Mr. Peter Obi.

Recently, a prominent stakeholder, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, who endowed a research chair at UNZIK Business School in Awka for Onitsha Market, contended that what is lacking in the state is intellectual support for business and leadership.

Dr. Okonkwo blamed the uninspiring leadership in the state to the culture of paternalism, stressing that a governor that has not been able to take his state to the highest level according to global standards has nothing to celebrate.

Insisting that the next governor of Anambra State should be an individual that is fired by his or her personal imagination and ideas, Okonkwo stated: “I have seen things happen in other parts of the world. I have seen transformation orchestrated by some individuals as a result of a change in leadership.

“I am saying this as somebody who is exposed and an economist who understands economic indices and as a political scientist who understands political dynamics and knows what is happening around the world. So, my yardstick is looking at the world around me.”

He lamented that “Competence, credibility has been brought entirely to the least of criteria for choosing leaders,” stressing that instead of resigning to fate, citizens should exploit constitutional provision to remove those enthroned by default.

Dismissing zoning, the Russia-Trained Political Scientist said only selfish politicians in Anambra State would still be canvassing for zoning for the position of governor, “especially with the state of fatal paralysis we now have.”

“The danger of zoning,” he argued, “is that very soon we start zoning to religious denominations, hamlets, and clans; Anglican Bishops are also canvassing for zoning. They want the governorship zoned to Anglicans.”

But despite the groundswell of opposition to zoning, a group is known as Great Anambra Forum (GAFORUM), said they are in support of powershift to Anambra South Senatorial District in 2021.

The group disclosed that it was mobilizing select politicians and opinion leaders from the three senatorial districts to sensitize them on the imperative of rotational arrangement ahead of the 2021 gubernatorial poll.

According to the convener, Fab Ozoigbo, who spoke to journalists in Awka at the end of its tour, GAFORUM is urging all political parties wishing to participate in the governorship election to ensure that their standard-bearers are selected from Anambra South Senatorial District.

Ozoigbo noted that although all the three senatorial zones have competent governorship materials that can deliver democracy dividends to the masses, there has always been divine intervention in the emergence of past and future governors of the state.

While denying that the group was being sponsored by yet-to-be-identified governorship hopeful in the state, Ozoigbo charging stakeholders from Anambra South Senatorial District to put forward a grade ‘A’ candidate with proven integrity, character, performance, competence, and education to do the job.

His words: “We need a home-grown person as governor, who sees the entire state as his constituency. Anambra North would not have produced a governor in a long time to come if advocacy and principled enforcement were not made to ensure a candidate from the zone emerged.”

Ozoigbo condemned the attitude of some politicians and beneficiaries who, according to him, are keen to dump the arrangement on the ground that each of the three affected zones has served a period of eight years of two terms.

Also speaking, a former Commissioner for Information in the state, Joe Oforkansi, went down memory lane, recalling how power rotation started from Anambra South zone.

Oforkansi said the governorship seat was in Anambra South for almost six years before it shifted to Anambra Central zone to serve for a period of almost eight years, before it moved to Anambra North zone, arguing that a fresh rotation ought to start with Anambra South zone once more.

He remarked that much squabbling over which zone should govern the state after Obiano’s tenure on March 16, 2022, informed the move by GAFORUM to embark on the outreach to educate different zones on the need to allow a candidate from Anambra South zone to succeed Obiano.

The group appealed to Ndi Anambra, particularly major stakeholders in the state, including the political class, religious leaders, community cum opinion molders, business community, former as well as serving elected officials among others for support.

A former House of Representatives member for Onitsha North and South Federal constituency and former Onitsha South Council Chairman, Ezeobi Okpala; former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Keluo Molokwu; former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Peter Onuorrah; one-time Oyi Council Chairman, Osy Ilozue; and former member of state House of Assembly, Ossy Chinwuba, among others said power shift is in the interest of equity, justice, and fair play.

The stakeholders recalled that former governor Peter Obi from Anambra Central zone respected the rotational principle mooted by GAFORUM and Hon. Ezeobi Okpala-led G-99 and ensured that Anambra North zone produced his successor, appealing to governor Obiano from Anambra North zone to appreciate the move of GAFORUM by ensuring that a candidate from Anambra South succeeds him.

They revealed that some politicians and money bags in the state wooed Anambra South zone at the time the North was clamoring for Obiano to complete his second term in office.

While appreciating the stance of the majority of politicians and citizens from Anambra South zone, who objected and worked for the Anambra North zone to complete its second term in office, the stakeholders mandated them to select ten politicians and opinion leaders to take the campaign to the grassroots.

They are also expected to drum support for the movement, saying it is aimed at checking wasteful spending through campaign funds, urging the people of Anambra South Senatorial District to do their homework well and pick a credible candidate to deliver the goods to the entire state.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN NIGERIA

The Legacies Of Slavery In Nigeria’s Igboland

Two people walk along the route taken by slaves to the "point of no return" , from where they were shipped west, at the historic slave port of Badagry. Image Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters

BY JOHN CAMPBELL

The year 2019 marks four hundred years since the beginning of African slavery in America, when Dutch privateers sold the first African slaves to the fledgling English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. The anniversary has been the occasion for much reflection on how slavery still impacts America. The New York Times’s “1619 Project” has dedicated a number of essays on slavery’s legacy in American society. Also to be welcomed is the increased attention by African scholars and journalists to the role that domestic slavery and the international slave trade has had on African cultures. Igboland was a major source of slaves for Virginia and the American south.

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, a journalist and novelist of Igbo heritage, has reported and written recently about Africa’s role in the slave trade and on the legacy of slavery in her native Nigeria, specifically among the Igbo. In the New Yorker, she shows that slavery was integral to Igbo culture even prior to the Atlantic Slave Trade, though such commerce created new incentives for slave-catching.

In her New Yorker article, Nwaubani draws useful distinctions between slavery as practiced in the United States and among the Igbo. Notably, Igbo slavery was not based on race, and there was no visible, physical difference between slave and freeperson. Rather, slavery was shaped by culture, their beliefs about the importance of lineage, and their spirituality. She explains that slaves usually came from outside the all-important local community, captured in raids or warfare, or enslaved because of a criminal act. It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of Igbos—amounting to many millions of people—are descendants of slaves, and she shows that they are subject to discrimination.

The Igbo emphasis on purity of lineage goes hand-in-hand with a belief that marriage between the descendants of the free with the descendants of slaves can bring about divine retribution. She notes that Igbo slaves shared similarities of status with the dalits (untouchables) in India and burakumin in Japan.

While slavery became illegal in both the United States and Nigeria, Nwaubani notes that the abolition of slavery in the United States was a result of internal agitation that gradually brought about a (incomplete) change in the popular view of slavery and of race. In Nigeria, however, slavery, which she sees as continuing in some forms among the Igbo into the 1940s, was abolished by British fiat, not as the result of an internal, indigenous process. Hence, abolition of slavery was a colonial initiative.

However, Nwaubani reports that now underway is the internal agitation against slavery that Nigeria’s story had hitherto lacked. The focus is on community-led initiatives, often in conjunction with traditional rulers, to end discrimination against those Igbos whose ancestors were slaves.

SOURCE: COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

Nigeria Can Become Africa’s Auto Hub, Says Innocent Chukwuma

Innocent Chukwuma

While the dust raised by the supply of over N1billion Prado Jeeps to Anambra lawmakers rages, the Chief Executive Officer of INNOSON MOTOR Limited, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, took time out to explain his own side, he also tells of the importance of local patronage, how former governor Peter Obi keyed into that arrangement and his relationship with Governor Willie Obiano. 

BY MADUFORO OKECHUKWU 

EXCERPT:
Your company has been in the news in last few days over the alleged demand by Anambra lawmakers for your product instead of Prado. What is your take on that?

To start with some people feel that I may have instigated the problem. Even the Speaker of the Assembly called me to ask me about it. But the fact still remains that I never spoke to any lawmaker or instigated any of them to ask for my product. I do not beg anybody any establishment to buy my vehicles. I produce and supply on demand. If you like any of my products, you come to the company and make your orders and we deliver.

So the allegation that I talked to the lawmakers is not true. Besides, I do not have any problem with my governor, Willie Obiano. I enjoy a good relationship with him and his government. I have many of my friends in his administration. It is important to note that currently His Excellency Willie Obiano has placed an order for the supply of 40 of my vehicles and he has already paid for the products and very soon we shall supply them.

I want to use this opportunity to make it clear that none of my staff or even myself asked the lawmakers to demand for my products. I do not have to do that because my products speak for themselves. If you like them you buy and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. I understand the demands of our people and we try as much as possible to salvage their situation. This is a made in Nigeria product and we in the Innoson Group will continue to assist our people.

So far what is the spread of your vehicles and the level of patronage?

I supply my vehicles to many African countries as much as they place their orders. I supply to countries like Mali, Ghana, Sierra Leone among others. If you go to those countries, you will see them and my products have never failed them and they keep coming back. Here in Nigeria, the past government at the centre was my highest customer. I produce a lot for them like the military heavy duty vehicles. Also states like Enugu, Ebonyi also buy my vehicles as well as Imo, Ekiti, Gombe and Bauchi states. At the moment our capacity has increased but it has not been easy meeting up with the demands. Like I said before, it depends on the orders they place. The last regime of Mr. Peter Obi gave me so much support. He placed so many orders and we delivered and through his regime, he kept the factory busy. The former governor brought about 3,000 vehicles for the then state government and I am grateful for his support to my company.

What informed your decision to go into motor manufacturing business?

In the time past people are of the view that Nigeria or Africa cannot produce cars, trucks and other vehicles. So to me it was a challenge. Nothing is impossible in Nigeria if we choose to be more focused than ever. It is all about taking the right step and getting our priorities right. It is my vision that in no distant time Nigeria would be the hub of auto business in Africa. This was how other countries in Europe and America started and today they are the world best. If we continue to patronise Nigeria-made goods it has a multiplier effect on our country’s economy in terms of foreign exchange. It will also expand our market and encourage other forms of allied based industries. It also carries along the growth of small and medium scale industries in Nigeria.

There is no doubt that you are an employer of labour. How many people are in your employment?

Auto business in key to the growth of employment in any part of the world, each vehicle has more than 1,000 parts and they can be produced locally, here in Nigeria. This is because every professional has something to do in the production of a single car. That means employment for a lot of people across the line. In terms of employment, INNOSON Group has between 7,300 to 7,500 workers. We have the manufacturing section and other parts of the vehicle, we have mill and mill factory that is the plastic products. In-fact we have the largest plate factory in Africa and it is based in Enugu. So the level of employment is high and people are fully engaged.

Some time ago, some Niger Delta Youths were sent to your factory for training, how have they been performing?

Interestingly they are doing just very well and this is encouraging. Some of them are now working in the factories because we have to retain some of them while others chose to go into private practice. You can agree with me that there is no youth that do not have potentials, all that we need is to expose them and direct them well and they will make the best out of it. It is only idleness and lack of mentorship that is the cause of youth restiveness.

It is not only the Niger Delta Youths, but other youths from other parts of the country can also take advantage of this to improve themselves and make the best out of it. Our brothers here are also be ing trained and empowered with skills that would guide them in future. So auto business is key to employment in Nigeria.

Practically most people are going into auto business and some do not venture into other areas. Do you not have this fear of saturation?
It is not fair to say that because some others are into other products. I have colleagues who are not into motor business, but into drinks and foods. All of us cannot be in the same business. It is a question of where you are good at and you invest in it.

For instance, INNOSON Group has gone into agriculture and that is what we are doing in Nsukka in Enugu State. We have established a tractor plant in Nsukka to encourage mechanised agriculture and this would go a long way in encouraging our youths to go into agriculture. We have gone into partnership with the University of Nigeria. Nsukka (UNN); that is their agriculture department and in no distant time you will see the success and its positive effects on the agricultural sector. We are bringing in the expertise while the university comes in with the administrative and academic input and that is good for Nigeria’s economy.

A lot of people are already interested in this venture and even those that are into private or co-operative farm settlements; you know that Ebonyi and Enugu states have something to share in terms of agriculture, so it would improve food production in both the South East, South-south and even the North East, such as Benue and Kogi states. You can see that we are not only into motor manufacturing but agriculture and that is full scale mechanized agriculture. Nigeria as a country has gone far beyond the normal farming because of our population and the modern trend now is mechanized agriculture and our younger generation needs this new development.

But power supply has remained the bane of the manufacturing sector and indeed Nigeria’s economy, how have you been managing?
You indeed have a point there but until the power sector gets better than before we rely on power generating plants. We know that power is the problem and I am happy with the efforts being made by government in improving the power supply in the country. It has not been easy for us here and even the Federal Government, but we are optimistic that things would get better in no distant time.

Most companies maybe producing below the optimal expectation but if we improve more on the power sector, most companies, that is small and medium scale industries would do well and improve on their respective capacities. You also know that it affects employment because some establishments may choose to down size their work force because of the cost of production.

It is my firm belief that something is going on in the turn-around of our power sector and I urge President Muhammadu Buhari not to relent in what his administration is doing in the area of power generation and distribution, because Nigerians would certainly gain from it.

What is your position on the Ajeokuta Steel project that has been abandoned?

Well it is unfortunate that the project is still the way it is and a lot of money have so far been spent on that project. I do not know what the government position is on that project but it is my opinion that, had it been the project had come on stream, it would help us in the motor manufacturing business and other related companies.

It should not be allowed to remain like that something needs to be done in that area. For example, this has led to the buying of used vehicles by Nigerians because the new brand vehicles are on the high side and the average Nigerian cannot afford it. It is because of that, that we in INNOSON have ventured into producing new brand cars that Nigerians can afford; cars that do not run into millions of naira but something within the reach of the average Nigerian.

Some of these used vehicles may not last up to five to six years and you will begin to experience problems here and there. Some of them do not have spare parts available in commercial quantity. But if it is INNOSON the parts are affordable and you can be rest assured that the cars would be maintained.

Nigeria recently turned 59 what are your expectations?
We need improvement in power supply which government is already tackling. We need to improve on our agricultural sector so that our economy will diversity and this over dependency on petroleum would reduce. It has not been that bad for Nigeria since independence but we must set our standard and be more focused in creating enabling environment for our economy to grow and fight unemployment which would in turn fight corruption in our society.

SOURCE: NEW TELEGRAPH

Between FG’s N10b Enugu Airport Intervention And Infrastructure Abandonment In Southeast

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Image: Facebook

BY LAWRENCE NJOKU

ENUGU (THE GUARDIAN) -- SouthEast is not new to complaints. Anybody who has followed events in the zone closely since the end of the civil war will readily affirm that allegation of marginalisation by successive administrations of the country holds sway among its people. Although time has proven that the allegations are not imaginary but real, what has continued to agitate the minds, however, is when this negative toga could be removed from the zone.

Last Monday, governors, and leaders of the zone were at it again when they met at the Government House, Enugu. The meeting, which held behind closed doors for over four hours, was attended by Governors Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Deputy Governor, Nkem Okeke of Anambra State.

Others included president general, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo; former Enugu State governor, Jim Nwobodo, National Assembly caucus from the zone represented by their leader, Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe, religious leaders and traditional rulers among others.

When they rose, Umahi, who is chairman, Southeast Governors’ Forum had told reporters: “We have resolved that we are going to see the president about the welfare of the southeast. That is what we resolved. When we come back, we will give you the content of our meeting with Mr President.”

Although he refused to disclose in details what Ndigbo wanted to discuss with the president and probably why the issue of “welfare” of the zone has become so worrisome that it should be resurrected at this time, however, those who are familiar with the terrain in Igboland would readily agree that it was same old story – infrastructure abandonment.

It was not the first time Igbos were raising concerns about their welfare. In fact, it was not also the first attempt at bringing President Muhammadu Buhari up to speed with happenings in the zone.

During the first term of the administration in 2015, governors of the zone had led other Igbo leaders to congratulate President Buhari over his electoral victory and used the opportunity to present the various needs of the zone to him.
Part of their demand, which had continued to reverberate is the parlous state of Enugu-Onitsha road; the Enugu-Port Harcourt road; the Onitsha-Owerri road; the moribund industries in the Southeast; the completion of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu; the 2nd Niger Bridge and the Onitsha dry port project. They had insisted that developments had eluded the zone resulting in a plethora of agitations from its youths who could not find paid employment after graduation.

Although the president had given assurances that he would look into some of the demands within available resources, nothing tangible had happened since then; in fact, some policies and decisions taken by the administration have worsened the situation of the zone with its economy almost at a standstill.

A source stated that the president’s appointments further compounded things for the zone. He stated that apart from the absence of Southeast in the security architecture of the country, several other key areas have been denied the zone or skewed against it.

The source referred to the multi-million naira rail track rehabilitation project, the gas line power projects, continuous dereliction of federal roads and other intervention projects which the administration initiated in various parts of the country did not put the southeast zone into consideration.

Former Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nworgu had summarised the hapless development when he said that the president’s negative perception against Ndigbo was not amenable.

Nworgu had, in an interview with The Guardian, where he lamented the deplorable state of Ndigbo called on the people of the zone not to expect anything from the Buhari administration, stressing that he was speaking from precedence.

“When he was the chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), go and check the record and see the number of contracts he awarded and executed in the Southeast and the number of contracts he awarded and executed in his own zone. He showed so much bias against the region.

“In 1983, when the Military struck and he took over the reins of power from the civilian administration of Shehu Shagari, he placed Shagari, who was the head of government with constitutional power under house arrest in his house and remanded Alex Ekwueme, who was the Vice President without constitutional powers in prison. So, I don’t expect anything to change for Ndigbo because he does not think that we are part of the country. He still believes that we are a conquered people who should be relegated to the background,” Nworgu had said.

It was revealed that Monday’s emergency meeting of the leaders at Government House, Enugu was called following developments considered dangerous over the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, the only federal presence in the zone still operational.

The airport, which was closed to traffic on August 24 to pave way for the repair and expansion of its runway, has remained without activity as there was neither contract nor any contractor insight to begin the rehabilitation plan.

The propaganda that preceded the shut down had all kinds of obstructions blamed on the government of Enugu State, especially with an abattoir and radio mast that were said to have created safety concerns which government was allegedly not willing to relocate.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Siriki, who had in an earlier meeting with leaders of the zone given an assurance that the airport would be reopened before December for use by Christmas holidaymakers, suddenly announced last week that there were no funds to prosecute the rehabilitation works.

He had further said to the bewilderment of the zone that a princely N10 billion was required to effectively handle whatever challenges the airport was faced with, especially at its domestic wing.

Voices, concerns, and suspicions had begun to gather in the zone. A wave of tension was building up, especially against an allegation that there was an intended plot to perpetually keep the Southeast down and out of the scheme of things in the country and that the closure of the airport was the last straw.

Even in its derelict state, the airport became a beehive of activities and economic nerve centre of the Southeast providing accommodation for local and international flights with the Ethiopian Airline operating in it.

Even the reports that in order to keep to its promise to deliver the airport in record time, the Ministry of Aviation had moved to raise mobilisation funds for the contractor that handled the resurfacing work on the runway in 2010 could not provide succour. Of the N1 billion allegedly being demanded, the Ministry was said to have raised N300 million, which is paid to the company. The company was said to have decided to withdraw since the money demanded could not be raised and in the absence of an award letter from the Federal Government.

Sources close to the Enugu meeting explained that the growing unease led to exhaustively deliberations, where the options to approach the presidency on the development, was struck.

Sources, however, disclosed that the leaders had agreed to ask the presidency for “special funding for the airport since it was not in the budget or return home to look inwards for funds to undertake the project.”

This was said to have been based on rumours that there were no funds to prosecute the jobs as well as the plethora of awarded jobs in the zone that lie in abandonment due to paucity of funds.

Checks by The Guardian revealed that Opi-Ninth Mile-Udi-Anambra border road had been awarded, so are sections of Enugu-Port Harcourt, Enugu-Onitsha highways, Aba-Owerri and Aba-Port Harcourt roads among others in the zone, but while some are yet to take off, the ones that took off after their awards have been abandoned.

However, meeting with the President last Thursday ended with the announcement of the approval of the N10 billion intervention fund for the upgrade of the airport.

President Buhari, who said he had received the assurance of the Minister of Aviation that the rehabilitation work would be done speedily and to the highest standards, added, “even as we have many items competing for our limited resources, we will continue to prioritise infrastructure investments in every part of the country. It is our responsibility to ensure Nigeria’s infrastructure is fixed. We will keep doing this.”

News about the approval of funds for the airport had elicited some mixed reactions from some residents, the majority of whom believed that there was no justification to have allowed the facility to depreciate before an intervention.

Others queried the idea of subjecting leaders to begging before anything from the government could be done in their zone, stressing that, it was unfair that Igbos should be looked upon as “beggars to be considered for a development project.”

They insisted that it had always taken a visit to the president in Abuja for any “project to come under execution in the Southeast zone,” stressing, “so far, none of such projects had been completed.”

“We hope the approval is given executive backing to ensure that it does not end up like other past approvals whose jobs are still uncompleted in the zone. Let the president march his pronouncement with action and with this, we know that something has been done for the Southeast,” it was noted.

There were others who insisted that had such intervention been made in other sectors of the zone, it would have helped to uplift and boost its economic potentials, adding that, the president would have changed the negative perception about him with the realisation of the upgrade.

Emeritus President, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, however, insisted that the approval was one among other long hurdles that needed to be achieved before the work was started and completed.

He said: “The Federal Government closed the airport without arrangements for its repairs. So, we acknowledge the first step, which is the approval of N10 billion. The next hurdles are there – budget, Bureau of Public procurement and contract award. Finally, the release of the contract sum will be the toughest stage. What these hurdles mean is that the residents of the affected areas have a long way to go before the airport is reopened. May I pose this question; where else in this country must the leaders go cap in hand before the government will perform its duty?”

But a Civil Rights Activist, Kennedy Enwerem told The Guardian, “I think the models that are following are not working. It is the private sector that should drive all these and I think they should sign the road/transport sector bill to encourage private sector participation in the maintenance and rehabilitation of infrastructure.

“Like the situation we have in the zone, the Federal Government should ask the Southeast governors to rebuild the roads in their domain and manage them for some time. I can assure you, we will find a private sector that will take over these roads and reconstruct them. The Federal Government does not have all the funds; it is bugged with so many challenges that require funding. The Ministry of Works under Fashola awarded several roads that have not taken off. They hold the Federal Executive Council meeting every week with awards here and there and end up executing none. That is the problem.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Fire Disaster: Ifeanyi Ubah Visits Onitsha, Vows To Put Measures To End Explosion

Ifeanyi Ubah. Image: Twitter

BY MICHAEL OVAT

AWKA (NIGERIAN TRIBUNE) -- In furtherance of his efforts to commiserate with victims of the petrol tanker explosions in Ochanja Market and Omagba, Onitsha, the Senator representing Anambra South, Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah on Friday visited the scenes of the explosions and survivors who are presently receiving treatment at Toronto Hospital Onitsha. The Senator who moved straight to the scenes immediately after his return from Abuja urged the marketers to keep hope alive as efforts are already in place to give them every necessary assistance. He further informed them that he is relentlessly working towards a Bill that will prevent such tragedy across the country in the future.

In their response, the marketers who jubilated upon sighting the Anambra South Senator thanked him for his efforts so far in promoting the Igbo economy. They further said that the Senator’s visit is a big relief to them because he has given them more reason to keep hope alive. The marketers who spoke through their leaders further described Senator Ubah as a big blessing to Anambra State and urged him to keep the good works up.

After addressing residents and marketers at the scenes of the explosions, Senator Ubah went to Toronto Hospital Onitsha to sympathize with the survivors who are receiving treatment. At the hospital, the Senator prayed God to grant them quick recovery and informed them that he has already donated two million naira for their treatment and that a register has been opened for them under the Ifeanyi Ubah Foundation to offset their medical bills and feeding costs. Senator Ubah who also sympathized with families of those that lost their loved ones to the incidents prayed God to grant the souls of the deceased eternal rest and to also grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss.

In their response, the marketers who jubilated upon sighting the Anambra South Senator thanked him for his efforts so far in promoting the Igbo economy. They further said that the Senator’s visit is a big relief to them because he has given them more reason to keep hope alive. The marketers who spoke through their leaders further described Senator Ubah as a big blessing to Anambra State and urged him to keep the good works up.

Senator Ubah further visited Elite Club Onitsha who donated all the water used in extinguishing the flames caused by the tanker explosion that occurred early Friday morning in Omagba. At the visit, he thanked them for their service to humanity and assured them reiterated his zeal to put measures that will put petrol tanker explosions to anHopes high as Ifeanyi Ubah visits Onitsha, vows to put measures that will end petrol tanker explosion in Nigeria.

Senator Ubah further visited Elite Club Onitsha who donated all the water used in extinguishing the flames caused by the tanker explosion that occurred early Friday morning in Omagba. At the visit, he thanked them for their service to humanity and assured them reiterated his zeal to put measures that will put petrol tanker explosions to an end in the country. end in the country.

SOURCE: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Ohanaeze Disowns Isiguzoro Led Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council

Imave via CISA

BY CHRIS OJI

ENUGU (THE NATION) -- Apex Igbo sociocultural organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo has disowned the Okechukwu Isiguzoro led Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council.

In a statement issued by the President general’s Special Adviser media and publicity, Chief Emeka Attamah, Ohanaeze described the group as non-existent but mere expletives of disgruntled power seekers who were shamed out of the leadership of the authentic youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The statement says:

“Ordinarily, one would have regarded the recent rantings of one Okechukwu Isiguzoro and his cohorts parading themselves as leaders of a non-existent group called Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide as mere expletives of disgruntled power seekers who were shamed out of the leadership of the authentic Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide years ago for their nefarious activities.

“While the ideal thing would have been to consign their outbursts and vituperations against the highly respected leader of Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, into the trashcan where it belongs, as dwelling on it would inexorably accord them recognition they do not deserve, it is imperative to make certain clarifications for the less infomed who may swallow their bile-coated belligerence hook, line and sinker.

“In the first instance, it is pertinent to unmask Okechukwu Isiguzoro. He was elected the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Leader in 2014, but due to his greed for money and inordinate quest for power, he was removed with his executive in 2016, during the tenure of Chief Igariwey,Chief Nwodo’s predecessor. So, Chief Nwodo was not even responsible for his ordeal. All attempts he made to perpetuate himself in power were quashed by courts. Not the one to stay without what he had come to regard as his only source of livelihood, he resorted to his stock in trade of parading himself as leader of a non-existent group called Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide which is neither affiliated to nor recognized by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, nor is it recognized by Ndigbo. With this, he goes round with his ilk extorting money from gullible and un-suspecting governments, groups and individuals.

“Not being a recognized body by Ndigbo, one wonders, therefore, where they derive their powers from to decide who and who will be put forward by Ndigbo for the presidential race in 2023 in the country.

Moreover, the President General, Chief Nwodo, as of personal choice, does not belong to any political party, and even if he did, the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo debars him from partisan politics.

“It will be a tale for another day to chronicle the covert and overt exhortations, persuasions and campaigns carried out by prominent sons and daughters of Igbo land, traditional rulers, the clergy and some governors of the South East to get him to accept to be the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In fact, it will be right to say that he was drafted into the role much against his wish. Having bowed to the wishes of the people, Chief Nwodo went to all the seven Igbo-speaking states to satisfy himself that his candidacy received the support of the totality of Ndigbo. In each state, the unanimity of the people in the choice of him was unequivocal. The situation was such that on 11th January, 2017 when elections took place, Chief Nwodo had unprecedented votes of 208 against his rival’s 14.

“Since assuming office, Chief Nwodo has brought his indisputable intellectual endowment, political sagacity, panache, oratory, courage, candour and transparency to bear in his leadership of Ndigbo, so much that Ndigbo can, once again, stand tall both in Nigeria and the diaspora. Hardly does any week pass without his being invited either to inaugurate a new branch abroad or to deliver a thought-provoking lecture within and outside the country.

About whether Ndigbo will present Chief Nwodo for the presidency of the country or not, there is a saying that you do not know the mind of the man on the ground, whether he will stand up and walk away or fight on.

Without presaging Chief Nwodo’s likely reaction to the issue, suffice it to say that as a bona fide Nigerian, he is eminently qualified by the Constitution to vote and be voted for. Nobody has the right, not even Okechukwu Isiguzoro and his co-travellers, to stop Chief Nwodo from aspiring to any office, if he so wishes.

Also, by dint of hard work, personal achievements and service to his fatherland,and judging by any parameters,Chief Nwodo stands as one of the tallest in Igbo land and the country at large.

He is academically sound; he is morally incorruptible as his service as a two-time minister of the Federal Republic without any corruption charges against him attests to; he is courageous and follows the dictates of his mind; he is ac bridge-builder made manifest in his being able to bring the South West, South South, South East, Middle Belt and some parts of the North into a common understanding of the ills of the country and how to get out of them; he is focused and knows the political economy of the world enough to give the country a positive direction; he is detribalised (even though he leads Ndigbo) as seen in his being elected the only Igbo President of the Students Union, University of Ibadan, where nearly 70% of the student population was Yoruba, and in people from other ethnic nationalities in his security apparatus and his employ; he has the oratory and power of conviction; above all, he is Godly and believes in equity and fairness in all he says and does. And so, what are the parameters for determining the suitability or otherwise of a presidential aspirant ? Isiguzoro should tell the world.

Can it just be a case of that any Igbo man who seeks prominence or popularity sees Chief Nwodo as the ladder ? Has Chief Nwodo grown so much in stature that the only way up is to attempt to bring him down? Has Chief Nwodo become the issue or factor ? Or, is there more than meets the eye ? Is it more clandestine or sinister than that?

What is Chief Nwodo’scrime that he is already being besmired, harassed and hounded with calumny, if not that, as is usual with Okechukwu Isiguzoro, he has been paid to do a hatchet job by those who are afraid of the stature of Chief John Nnia Nwodo and which the hatchet man is doing without scruples ? Unfortunately, Isiguzoro has allowed his unquenchable greed and pettiness to get the better of him and exposed his underbelly.

This piece would not have been necessary if it was for Isiguzoro alone. Evidently, the masquerade dancing in the middle of the road has a drummer in the bush beating the drum. There is or are men behind the mask.

Pray, what “antics” was Isiguzoro referring to ? Who is really playing antics between Isiguzoro (his faceless employers) and Chief Nwodo ? Ndigbo should decide.

“Chief Nwodo has less than seventeen months more to hand over the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to his successor. The least anybody can do is to leave him to concentrate on discharging his obligations to Ndigbo without distractions. Isiguzoro and his co-transducers are mere distractions and should be seen as such.

“Chie Nwodo has neither said nor done anything suggestive of further ambition in politics for anybody to begin to see him as a possible rival. He is contented with serving Ndigbo as honestly, purposefully and transparently as his conscience will allow him, and so it is. Unfortunately, the respect for elders very much enshrined in Igbo culture has been eroded. If not, Isiguzoro and his type would have been berated and called to order by prominent traditional rulers, governors and prominent Igbo sons and daughters who all urged Chief Nwodo to come out to do a job that has exposed him to this kindu of opprobrium.

Or was Isiguzoro just flying a kite?

It will neither fly nor perch !”

The Private Joys Of Nnenna Maloney By Okechukwu Nzelu Review – Coming Of Age In Modern Britain

Multiple characters and storylines fill a diverting debut that follows a young woman’s search for identity

BY CARRIE O'GRADY

Despite the title, this is what you might call a public novel. Okechukwu Nzelu’s debut has got a little bit of everything: young people, old people; black, white; gay, straight; comedy, poignancy. There’s some north (Manchester) and some south (Cambridge). On this wide canvas, he has created a giant game of lost and found, a vivid picture of people seeking security and identity in the maze of modern-day England.

Nnenna Maloney is the youngest of Nzelu’s characters. She’s the daughter of Maurice and Joanie, who met back in 1992, when Joanie was an “ordinary white girl” studying at Cambridge and Maurice a Nigerian graduate, clinging on to his dwindling Christian faith. By 2009, Maurice is long gone, and Nnenna, nearly 17, is asking difficult questions about her Igbo heritage. Joanie won’t discuss it, leaving Nnenna confused and isolated as she grapples with ingrained racist attitudes. Nzelu has a sharp touch for these subtle, stinging barbs: “I’m not normally attracted to girls like you,” a white boy tells her, “but …”

There are plenty of light moments, too; Nzelu has a knack for skewering absurdities. Yet there is something extraneous about the comedy. The main storyline is interspersed with scenes that, while diverting, are narrative dead ends. A peek behind the counter at the Chicken Co-op, where Nnenna works, provides some good lines – “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t put in a sausage. I’ve seen things you wouldn’t put in a Louis Theroux documentary” – but the character who says them never appears again, making the whole passage feel like an interlude in a sketch show.

The strongest writing lies in the more serious passages. Jonathan, a friend of Joanie’s, gets involved with a white man who treats him callously. We are given only Jonathan’s side of their exchanges, so that his hurt feelings resound in a sort of echo chamber. “Do you have to? Right now? Okay, that’s fine. No, don’t apologise …” This is fiction as sculpture: skilfully paring down a scene to reveal the shape of the pain hidden within.

Jonathan’s search for validation, and Nnenna’s drive to create an identity for herself, are moving and relatable stories, intimately told. However, their strength is diluted by all the sideshows: subplots and setpieces for minor characters. Nzelu has cloaked his book in a jolly jester’s outfit, but it’s at its most powerful when the jingling bells are silent.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Govs, Igbo Leaders Ask Buhari To Declare State Of Emergency In South-East

President Muhammadu Buhari (R) welcoming, Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha(L) to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, while Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson watches with delight. Image: This Day

BY OMOLOLU OGUNMADE

ABUJA (THIS DAY LIVE) -- South-east governors and Igbo leaders yesterday in Abuja urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on decayed infrastructure in the region.

This is coming as the president has approved N10 billion for the take-off of the expansion and rehabilitation work in Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

Rising from a closed-door meeting with Buhari in the State House, the governors, accompanied by Igbo leaders, said there is a disconnect between the region and infrastructure, citing the deplorable state of roads in the zone as an illustration.

Briefing journalists at the end of the meeting, Chairman of the South-east Governors’ Forum and governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, said the delegation drew the attention of the president to the deplorable state of South-east roads as well as the plights of the people of the region, which he said had been worsened by the closure of Enugu Airport.

Umahi said the situation needed immediate intervention in view of the industrious nature of the people of the South-east whom he said had to move from one place to the other as traders and businessmen.

However, the governor added that the president noted the complaints of the delegation and promised to act on them.
He also said the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, told the meeting that the hitherto impediment against the take-off of the expansion work in Enugu Airport had been addressed and hence, the project would take off without any further delay.

According to Umahi, the necessity to start and complete the Enugu Airport project had become compelling because “what Kaduna is to the North is what Enugu is to the South-east,” adding that the rail projects in the region would also soon take-off.

“The good take-aways from the meeting is that we are happy because Enugu Airport will be alive again. We are happy with the hardworking Aviation Minister,” Umahi said.

Following the complaints of the Igbo leaders, the president approved N10 billion for the take-off of the expansion and rehabilitation work in Akanu Ibiam International Airport with a remark that he had the assurance from Sirika that the project would be expeditiously executed. The president, who announced the approval on his Twitter handle, @MBuhari, said:

“I have approved the sum of N10 billion for an intervention fund for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. I have the assurance of the Minister of Aviation that the work will be done speedily and to the highest standards.

“Even as we have many items competing for our limited resources, we will continue to prioritise infrastructure investments in every part of the country. It is our responsibility to ensure Nigeria’s infrastructure is fixed; we will keep doing this.”

Umahi also said the attention of the president was drawn to the state of Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri, stating that there is a need to expand the runway of the airport and simultaneously carry out an extensive work on the tarmac.

Attendance at the meeting comprised serving governors, former governors, ministers from the region, federal lawmakers and leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

Other governors present at the meeting aside Umahi were Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and David Umahi (Ebonyi).

The governor of Anambra, Willie Obiano was represented by his deputy.
Also present were the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; Senator Sam Egwu, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; former Ebonyi State governor, Chief Martin Elechi; former governors of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; and Ikedi Ohakim, former Enugu State governor, Sulivan Chime, serving ministers, among others.

Also yesterday, the South-south governors and leaders of nine states that conglomerate the Niger Delta met with the president in the State House.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Chairman of South-south Governors’ Forum, Mr. Seriake Dickson, listed the states as Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Cross River, Bayelsa, Abia, Imo and Ondo.

Dickson who failed to disclose categorically the purpose of the meeting, stated that they were in the State House to hold talks with the president on issues of concern in the Niger Delta.

The governor who said the meeting was propelled by recent events in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), added that they briefed the president on challenges and issues brewing in NDDC, and the president promised to look into situation.

Asked to state specifically the challenges in NDDC as well as the issues of concern in Niger Delta region, Dickson still evaded the question, saying the visit had to do with the stability and development of the Niger Delta. He also said the president was in full grasp of the situation.

“Our concern has to do with the stability and development of the Niger Delta. We had a robust discussion with Mr. President who fully understands the challenges that come with development, and he promised to look into the challenges which he’s aware of and we all agreed to work together,” he said.

Present at the meeting were Governors Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Dickson (Bayelsa); deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, Minister of Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio; Minister of State for Niger Delta, Tayo Alasoadura, among others.

Women Marrying Women In Nigeria: A Tradition

Image via Face-2-Face Africa

BY INEMESIT UDODIONG

For many Nigerians, marriage is a union between two people — a man and a woman.
While this might apply in certain areas, some states practice same-sex (non-sexual) marriages between women.
We explore the history behind this practice and where it is still done today.

Nigeria is a multiethnic country with over 500 different languages and various unique traditions. One formerly popular tradition is that of women marrying women.

According to Nwando Achebe, a Nigerian-American academic, feminist scholar, and multi-award-winning historian, this is not to be confused with same-sex unions. “Woman-to-woman marriage in Africa has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality,” she states.

She is supported by another researcher, Kenneth Chukwuemeka, who labels woman-to-woman marriage as “an improvisation to sustain patriarchy,” adding that it is “simply an instrument for the preservation and extension of patriarchy and its traditions.”

Among Igbos

Pre-colonization, evidence shows that the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria practised this tradition so that one of the women (now deemed the husband) could hold on to her assets or an inheritance.



This is because wealthy, influential women enjoyed equal privilege with their male counterparts. So these women of high status were allowed to marry ‘wives’ by paying their bride-price.

Once married, these ‘wives’ could pick their male sperm donors, the husband was also allowed to have a male companion that “satisfied her erotic desires,” according to Chukwuemeka.

These children carried the female husband’s name, not that of the man responsible for the pregnancy and were considered legitimate in society’s eyes.

This tradition was also practised by women past menopause. These group of women could marry wives for themselves, for their husbands, for their sons, and/or for their siblings. 

Among Yorubas

Studies have found that this tradition was practised among other ethnic groups, with slight differences in how it is done. Unlike the Igbos who mostly did it to keep their assets in the family, the Yorubas did it to keep a widow in the family.

For instance, a widow could be permitted to marry a female relative if she wanted to remain with her in-laws. This can only be when there are no men in the family.

In other pre-colonial societies, widows and women who could not have children were allowed to take widows wives and claim the children their wives had as their own.
In modern-day Nigeria

While some traditions come and come, others stand the test of time. Woman-to-woman marriage falls under the latter category. This is still practised today in Mbaise, Imo and Okrika, River states in Southern Nigeria.

Explaining why it is still done, an Okrika native, Miebaka Fiberesima said, "We have a reason for it. It's done to continue a family name. If the wife does not have male children, she can also marry a wife with the hope of having male children to carry on her husband's family name. She can also do that if her family has no male child and the children from the marriage will carry her family's name."

SOURCE: PULSE NIGERIA

ONITSHA: Igwe Achebe Laments Rots In Commercial City

Igwe Achebe in his palace with guests September 26, 2018. Image via Twitter

BY AMECHI AGBODO, ALOYSIUS ATTAH

ONITSHA ( DAILY SUN) -- The 18th Ofala festival of the Obi of Onitsha, Anambra State, held last Friday, evoked mixed feelings for the monarch, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe. Activities marking one of Nigeria’s most colourful cultural celebrations came to an end on Monday with a royal dinner staged for the celebrant by telecoms giant, Globacom.

The Igwe expressed deep concerns about the assault on peaceful family life in Onitsha by the burgeoning commercialisation in the city, which boasts of arguably, the biggest market in West Africa. He noted that though the fortunes of Onitsha kingdom has been mixed over the past years, they were making steady progress on more fronts than not.

On community re-engineering and reinvention, he stated that much had been achieved with respect to infrastructure, peace building and reconciliation, creating an Onitsha virtual community and projecting a positive image for the city:

“Onitsha has over the years been peaceful and reconciled within and among kindred groups and families. Increasingly, our people now resort to the traditional court at Ime Obi for the adjudication of disputes, particularly on land and headship of ancestral families.

“Another important element in our self-reinvention is our effort to create a sense of belonging, participation and community among Onitsha indigenes all over the world. Besides my travelling regularly to various places in Nigeria and abroad to share thoughts with our indigenes, the power of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has been most invaluable in building a virtual Onitsha community driven by our interactive website.”

On environmental degradation and pollution in Onitsha, the Igwe lamented that the metropolitan city of Onitsha, which was once a model of cleanliness, has become a dungeon of filth very dangerous to health. He traced the cause to the appalling attitude of the residents to the necessity for clean environment and the inadequacy of statutory enforcement and waste management agencies:

“The palace was ready to share thoughts with government on how to improve environmental management in the cities and communities in Anambra State including the education of the citizenry.” The Obi also called for the dualisation of Awka Road and the Onitsha-Otuocha Road as a key factor towards finding solution to the traffic conundrum in Onitsha.

He emphasised the need for a review and enforcement of planning regulations in the city to save the residential areas from the onslaught and nuisance of commercialization. On the way forward, the monarch said they would continue to press ahead on all fronts, including infrastructural development with more concerted effort against cultism, drug addiction, violent crime and the resolution of the outstanding cases of Diokpaship:

“We will also encourage and support our youths to gain more visibility at the national and international levels and continue to spread computer literacy and restore the reading culture among our citizenry.”

Represented by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, President Muhammadu Buhari said the journey so far has been fruitful and eventful. He said the Second Niger Bridge was now a reality because work was on going while the construction company handling the project assured of completing it six months earlier than the scheduled date of 2021.

He promised the South East of a third bridge project, a coastal rail that will terminate at Onitsha with a spur unto Nnewi later on even as he indicated that the construction will start next year.

The Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke, who represented Governor Willie Obiano paid homage to the Obi of Onitsha. Addressing the crowd after, he said the second phase of the “Operation Kpochapu” being launched same day of the Ofala festival was in continuation of government’s resolve to make Anambra the safest state in Nigeria.

He warned criminal elements to flee the state or risk being smoked out and dealt with according to law. He also announced that aggressive road rehabilitation would start across different parts of the state once the rain stopped.

President General of Onitsha Improvement Union (OIU), Sir Chike Ekweogwu, described the Ofala as an opportunity for the Igwe to speak to his people; bless and tell them that God has been kind to them in the traditional new year of the community:

“My advice is that the culture and festivals we hold in our hearts should continue to be exhibited, year in, year out. We should not all forget that change is inevitable and culture is not static, culture is dynamic. If it is not dynamic all the twins would be killed but they are all alive today.

“Today twins came to see the Igwe, before now it was abomination for twins to see or ‘cough’ before the Igwe. Culture is a two-way thing, which we have to manage them to balance them. Our culture should remain but there are certain cultures of our lives that should go into extinction.”

Other dignitaries at the event including the traditional ruler of Ojoto, Igwe Gerald Mbamalu and Chief Godwin Ezeemo prayed God to keep Igwe Achebe in good health. Ezeemo who described Onitsha culture and the Igwe Achebe Ofala festival as the most colourful that should be emulated by other Igbo traditional rulers said:

“My prayer is that the Ofala festival and custom will keep growing from strength to strength. We wish Igwe Achebe the wisdom, strength and grace of God to carry on until he hands over the baton to the next person.”

To the Chief Executive Officer of Lake Petroleum Limited, Chief Cletus Mbaji, it is only culture that can unite the Igbo as one indivisible entity in Nigeria.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

"Christine" By Ben Enwonwu

"Christine" the African Mona Lisa painting by Ben Enwonwu sold at London auction for 1.1 million Pounds on Tuesday, October, 15, 2019..