Sun News Interview With Ozuruigbo: Why Imo Elite Hate Okorocha

Ugonna Ozuruigbo, House of Representative, Nkwerre/Nwangele/Isu-Njaba.

BY DICKSON OKAFOR

Member, representing Nkwerre/Nwangele/Isu Njaba Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ugonna Ozuruigbo has said that the failure of the South East to embrace the ruling party has set the zone back. The Chairman, Committee on Justice and former Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, in this interview spoke on various issues.

From 2011 when you got elected to Imo State House of Assembly till date, the state has been a political hotbed of the South-East; can you explain the role you played?

First, let me remind you that before this time, in 2007, l aspired to be a councilor, but when it was delayed, in 2009 through the help of Benjass of blessed memory, I contested for the state House of assembly. Finally, I got elected into the House of Assembly in 2011. In 2015, my people re-elected me and I became the Deputy Speaker of the 8th House. Today, I’m still a parliamentarian this time in the House of Representatives, representing my people. So, it has not been rosy politically because one peculiar thing with Imo politics is the more you do your best for the people, the more they spur you to do more. However, one funny aspect of representation in Imo is that sometimes when you have done all you could for the people and you fail to do one, they complain. So, notwithstanding it has been good and I have contributed and I will continue to contribute my quota to the development of not only my constituency but the state. What inspired me to go into politics is to touch more lives having done so in private life, hence, I assured my constituents that any entitlement that comes to me goes to them.

Be that as it may, it is important to know your role in the political quagmire that engulfed Imo State since 2011 which threw up Okorocha and APC that has made the state a focal point?

In 2011, Imolites wanted a change and that resulted to the people sending Chief Ikedi Ohakim packing and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and they welcomed Sen. Rochas Okorocha with open arm who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). I won my election on the platform of PDP in 2011 and later I was carried away by the vision of Sen. Rochas Okorocha, the then governor of Imo State. When I encountered Okorocha and I saw some of his visions, I had no choice but to buy into his vision. That was the first time I heard, “let education be free” That the children of the poorest of poor can go to school. So, when I saw Okorocha’s strides, I decided to move with him into the APGA and I also followed him to APC at the formative stage. I ran election again in 2015 on the platform of APC and I won. I was called all kinds of names, Okoro Hausa, Boko Haram and by God’s grace, I won my election in 2015. If I did not represent my people very well in 2011, they won’t have re-elected me even though there was insinuation that Nwangele have occupied the position severally.

The perception of most people in Imo about Okorocha was and is still unpleasant that they see those loyal to him as enemies of Ndiimo; in your judgment, how do you describe eight years of Okorocha’s reign as governor?
First and foremost, there is no perfect human being. To me, Okorocha performed excellently well as governor of Imo State. He believes that anybody can be somebody no matter your situation. The reason Okorocha was under attack even now that he is no longer governor is because he didn’t believe in the elite. At a time, he was with the people against the wishes of the elite. Okorocha refused to share public fund, rather, used it to finance free education in Imo State. Yes, they claimed he did nothing to better Imo, but the people can testify that he opened up the state’s roads linking them to rural areas. Before 2011, the school enrollment was about 240, 000 but by the end of 2018, report had it that it rose to 900, 000. During Okorocha’s reign, you hardly find young people on streets doing nothing because they were all in school. Crime rate was zero per cent. You can imagine that even businessmen outside the state especially, building materials dealers all left their base and relocated to Owerri and other towns in the state, hence, businesses were thriving. The administration engaged in aggressive infrastructural development and created an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and people took advantage of that to build industries in the state. But like I said earlier, Okorocha has his own challenges or shortcomings.

Can you say that part of the challenges he had was trying to make his son in-law succeed him?

I was part of the people that saw what happened in Imo during the elections. The only sin of Ugwumba Uche Nwosu incidentially is that he is the son in-law of Okorocha, but under normal circumstance, Uche Nwosu as a citizen of Nigeria is qualified to aspire for any position. Yes, he is the son in-law of Rochas Okorocha, but I didn’t see it from that perspective. I’m seeing it from the perspective of grace for a son of a village catechist to suddenly become son in-law to a governor, having worked almost in all sectors of government. He was a commissioner, Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff. He has occupied sensitive positions and he achieved a lot for the state government including the urban renewal which he initiated. The decision of Okorocha to handover to Nwosu was a problem to few individuals, but not a problem to majority of the people. Therefore, without sentiment, the question you must ask is, whether he is qualified? Does he have the capacity to govern Imo State? With all that happened, I think Uche Nwosu won that election. You know Nigeria factor, at the end of the day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Emeka Ihedioha the winner. The case is still in court and because all the key contestants appealed the tribunal judgment that favour Ihedioha, the chances of Nwosu to eventually emerge governor is bright. Come to think of it, he came second out of more than 70 candidates. In Orlu zone where I come from, Nwosu won in all of the four local government areas. So, the issue of being the governor’s son in-law should not have arisen because he is eminently qualified to be governor. When you look at the people we borrowed democracy from, the likes of the Bush family in the United States of America and others, this factor does not matter.

Following alignment and realignment among politicians from other geo political zones as they strategise for 2023 Presidential elections, what is the relationship of the South-East politicians especially, federal lawmakers across party lines like?

In the House of Representatives, it is cordial, but I don’t know about the Senate. In the House of Representatives, we don’t know about party in the South-East caucus even though we are only four members of APC out of the 43 members from the South-East, myself, Chike Okafor, Dubem Kalu and Nkiruka Onyejiocha, the Deputy Majority Whip. Like I said, once you are elected, we don’t mind about party, rather, we work as a team.

The present APC-led administration has been described as clueless economically, citing 2020 budget as an instance which according to economists cannot be implemented up to 50 per cent because it is predicated on assumption, what is your take?

I disagree with such view. The APC administration is articulate and forthcoming with people-oriented policies such that have impacted the people. On the part of the budget, the budget is still under review by the National Assembly and because it is not passed, there is room for correction. Yes, the budget is based on taxation, but come to think of it, it is only in Nigeria we don’t take tax serious. That does not mean that I’m in support of increment of tax, what I’m saying is that government should enforce the one they have done. Being a budget of assumption should not be the problem of Nigeria, with the return to the budget circle, I assure you that things will improve because budget will be passed on time.

Many have attributed APC’s inability to gain ground in South-East to marginalization and nepotism, are you not concerned that the ruling party is finding it difficult to fly in the region?

The problem is due to the style of politics the South-Easterners play. Like I told you, in 2015 when I ran election under APC, I was called all sorts of names -Okoro Hausa, Boko Haram, and a jihadist. They say I was one of those who wanted to Islamise Nigeria. So, even if the Igbo have not accepted APC, the party has come to stay. You cannot define the kind of politics played by the people of South West; they play politics of all inclusiveness and collective interest. For instance, you have them in APC and PDP. If PDP had won the presidential election, they will still be at the centre of governance. So, why did Igbo reject a ruling party just for no tangible reason? You say we are marginalised and we are not given positions, even at that, we rather engage the party in a deal and not total rejection of the same government we will run to seek assistance.

 After all, we are given positions as stipulated by the constitution hence, we are given the number of ministers that are required by law. The right thing to do is not to reject the ruling party as a way to show that we are marginalise, instead we ought to explore all avenues to negotiate or dialogue with government and whereby the government refuses then you can reject the party. But in case of South-East, our people rejected APC even at the formative stage and anyone who identified with the ruling party is called all kinds of names. 

Let me ask you, yes things are hard in Nigeria, is it hard for only Igbo? Yoruba, Hausa, South-South and Middle Belt, we all go to the same market, use the same road and buy foreign currencies at the same rate, how come Igbo is taking it personal? President Muhammadu Buhari won election in all the 6 states in the Southwest, in most part states in South-South, North Central, North East and North West, even though he got reasonable votes in the South-East, but the amount of votes we expected from our people that would have enabled us have a say in the table where positions are shared did not come. And when it is time to reward those who worked for the party’s victory, you expect South-East to be equally rewarded? My brother, in politics anywhere in the world, it does not work that way. Let me ask you, now that Ihedioha is the governor of Imo State, did he give appointment to any APC member? 

And when Okorocha was in power, did he give any position to any PDP member? So, don’t let us deceive ourselves, if we must be part of the decision making in government, we must be part of the ruling party and that can only happen if we vote for the ruling party. This party was formed by coalition of opposition parties which include Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and part of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). May be you don’t know, Sen. Victor Ume was in the first meeting of the formation of APC. Okorocha was not alone in that meeting; he was in the meeting with Ume, but Ume withdrew later because he could not pocket Okorocha. I don’t know why he took such decision to withdraw. Would it be that the Igbo are shortsighted politically or they prefer politics of sentiment? This question is left for Ndigbo to answer. Meanwhile, as I speak with you, a lot of Igbo have realized that we cannot produce President of Igbo extraction without the support of people from other regions especially, the North.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

From Clay, Ozioma Inspires Seed Yams …

BY OBIDIKE OKAFOR

One of Nigeria’s contemporary artists and Professor of Ceramic Art at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ozioma Onuzulike, has made a statement, and he made it in a language that is local, yet universal.

His declarations take strategic positions at the exhibition space of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, in an exhibition curated and organised by CCA’s curator, Iheanyi Onwuegbucha entitled Seed Yams of our Land’

For someone from the eastern part of Nigeria, the installations will look familiar because yam barns are a common sight in many rural areas. While to a visitor the patterns created by the yams and the way they are displayed is both intimidated and engaging.

Onuzulike must have paid close attention to the techniques and patterns in which the real yams are tied in the barn as he repeats this in creating lines of ceramic yams and yam seedlings forged from the clay dug up in Nsukka-a popular university town in Eastern Nigeria.

Anyone looking at the long rows of yams hanging on the wall, or suspended on metal frames to create barns might think that they are real yams from a distance, but, on closer examination the glassy and hollow surface reveals the truth.

Yam plays a central role in the Igbo tradition, and it even has its own festival that is celebrated by descents of the Igbo society in Nigeria and in the diaspora.

Onuzulike takes the powerful crop and uses it to make statements that are social, political, economic and to an extent spiritual.

This two-year project takes its roots from the one question, what does the future hold for the seed yams (Youth) of our land?

With this timely showing he metaphorically explores yam and the yam barn in dimensions that have never been imagined.

In the Bible man was molded by God from clay, he takes this symbol literally as his basic material and explores the violent studio processes of pounding, cutting, crushing, firing as fitting metaphors for the human conditions in Africa today.

He draws the attention of the audience to the consequences on the ‘seed yams’ (the youth) of things like unwholesome politics, hunger, unemployment, banditry and armed conflicts in Africa.

Yams are everywhere, in heaps that are familiar with the way they are sold in the marketplace, arranged in rows on the walls and on beams.

Some of the yams look like they have been attacked by insects, while another set take the shape of bowls, each ‘gathering’ telling its own story.

For example, in the installation ‘Yam Fields’ made up of ceramic yams in wooden enclosures and x-rays installations that are placed under light.

Like all the yams displayed at the exhibition there are cuts on the body of each one symbolic of the scars of war, deprivation, destruction and the challenges faced by the African every day. The x-ray part of the installation tells something jarring yet hopeful- A broken bone joined together by metal to assist with the healing process.

This could indicate artist’s optimism that in the middle of all the fracture caused by conflicts, politics, unemployment and banditry, there is still hope that peace will come to heal all the broken parts.

Onuzulike who is also a poet used the exhibition to launch his latest collections of poems which address the same themes as the exhibition. He teaches both the artist and viewer one powerful lesson amidst the many things he talks about in his new body of work. Anything consumed by the mouth can inspire the brain.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Anambra: Obiano, Bianca Ojukwu And 2021 Governorship

Bianca Ojukwu

BY LAWRENCE NJOKU

The former Nigerian Ambassador to Spain and wife of Eze Igbo Gburugburu, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu is not new to controversy. She is also not cowed by circumstances that could make her not to speak her mind the way it matters to her.

Last Monday, the former beauty queen stirred controversy that has garnered both praise and condemnation from the public, with her description of Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano as an “ingrate.”

The event was the second memorial lecture in honour of her late husband, held inside the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra State. Obiano was absent at the event.

Bianca, who was apparently enraged by the governor’s absence, had thrown caution to the wind when it was her turn to address the audience. Rather than speak on the event of the day, she turned her fury against Obiano and gave him a piece of her mind.

Observing all protocol at the capacity-filled hall, which also included the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Nkem Okeke, who represented Obiano, she had expressed regret and consternation that it was the second time the governor would stay away from the programme.

Apparently referring to the role the late Ikemba played in installing the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) government in the state since 2006, through former Governor Peter Obi, who handed the baton to Obiano, the widow of the respected Igbo leader reminded the governor to be guided by history and not bite the fingers that fed him.

Turning to Okeke, she said: “Tell the governor that today is yet again the memorial lecture and posthumous birthday of that man he rode on his political structure to stardom and he is once more not present. Tell him that his actions regarding the man who everyone is here for, but he couldn’t find time as governor of his state to be here, is very much like that of an ingrate. Tell him that he shouldn’t be afraid because there are no evil spirits here to attack him.”

Her comments have since continued to elicit reactions, even from her immediate family. While there are those who have excitedly cheered her for her boldness, others wondered how the governor’s absence from a posthumous birthday could elicit such jabs, especially since Obiano sent his Deputy to represent him, to enable him attend other official engagements.

Interestingly, it was Obiano who signed into law the change of name of Anambra State University to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. He was also privy to the second memorial lecture.

Meanwhile, the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, which provided the platform that was used to disparage the governor, has also denied Mrs Ojukwu.

Also, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, son of the late Ikemba Nnewi, had distanced himself from Mrs Ojukwu’s outburst.

Indeed, it was revealed that the state government had continued to care for the family of the late Ikemba right from the days of Peter Obi as governor. The family is reportedly receiving a statutory monthly allocation, while the position of Special Adviser is said to be exclusively reserved for the family, as a way of appreciating Ojukwu’s contributions to the party and state.

Sources said this position was once occupied by Emeka Ojukwu, and when he left, one Robert Okonkwo, who was allegedly nominated by Bianca took over the position. Bianca is not only seen as the APGA leader’s wife but also as a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT).

Possible Reasons That Stoked Tension Between Bianca And Obiano
Although it was not the first time Mrs. Ojukwu was said to have indirectly attacked the governor, many reasons have continued to surface on what possibly could have derailed the relationship that resulted in the recent brickbats. While some hinged it on a possible stoppage of the statutory allocation and position in government, others said it goes beyond what Obiano can handle.

Indeed, many who have closely followed developments in the state would readily agree that the vituperations might not have arisen because of Obiano’s failure to attend the memorial lecture and posthumous birthday ceremony of the late Ikemba, especially since he was represented by his Deputy.

The Guardian gathered that it might not be unconnected with a broken-down relationship that occurred, following Bianca Ojukwu’s inability to grab the Anambra South senatorial ticket of APGA in the 2019 National Assembly election.

Sources indicated how much she had wanted the position and had “recruited” certain individuals and groups to “pressure” the party to award the ticket automatically to her without having to contend with any other aspirant in the name of the party primary.

It was further gathered that most people were of the opinion that she would easily win the ticket, considering that her late husband was APGA leader until his death.

There was also the thinking that since Ojukwu’s death, Bianca had associated with APGA and has been participating in all its activities. Indeed, during the last governorship election, there was hardly any major political rally she did not attend to deliver powerful speeches.

Many political analysts were of the view that it was Ojukwu’s influence that made it possible for APGA to have the strong hold on Anambra State politics, and that one way to appreciate the late Ikemba’s contributions for APGA’s consistent excellent performance in the state, would have been to allow his widow to take Ojukwu’s name to the Senate. Her closeness with the governor was seen as another great advantage.

Things moved smoothly in her favour. Many prominent people across Igbo land were said to have come together in a bid to sponsor her for the race by contributing needed fund for her campaign.

However, hitches began to emerge, when the Ojukwu family held a press conference in Abuja, saying they were opposed to her becoming a senator for Anambra State. Their main reason was that she hailed from Enugu State and that it was improper for her to occupy a position meant for someone from Anambra South.

The dust raised by the press conference was yet to settle, when Obiano, who is the party leader, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), announced that a level playing ground would be provided for all aspirants for the position.

Among the contestants were Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Bianca Ojukwu, Chief Ifeanyi Uba, who was later disqualified on the ground that he did not obtain a waiver from the party to contest on its platform in line with its Constitution and Anslem Enyimba, a banker.

Obiano was said to have reasoned that the candidates were so formidable and qualified that anything short of equal playing field could affect the state going forward.

When the primary eventually held, Ukachukwu floored Bianca and was declared the winner and issued with the certificate to contest the election, to the former beauty queen’s dismay.

It is being interpreted that Bianca sacrificed much in ensuring the governor’s victory and had expected him to reciprocate the gesture. She was, therefore, disappointed that he could not bring his influence in the party and government to bear in determining the election, which could have been won for the first time by the party.

The source added that since then, cold war had begun. Some of the attacks that Obiano had allegedly suffered on social media are linked to the media team, the IBOM Group; she set up during the botched senatorial election.

We Will Not War With Her – Government
However, Anambra State government has said it would not engage in any manner of press war with Mrs Ojukwu who is revered in the state.

Mr. Don Adinuba, Commissioner of Information, said the state government was interested in accelerating developments that could uplift the people’s wellbeing, stressing that it would not want to be diverted from its focus.

Furthermore, a release made available to The Guardian from the Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Emeka Ozumba, also dissociated the governor’s wife, Eberechukwu Obiano from statements making the rounds that she had responded to Mrs. Ojukwu.

Ozumba said in the release that the purported statement was the handiwork of those not happy with the phenomenal progress the state had recorded in various areas in recent years, leading the whole country in such fields as financial resource management, security, education, peace and stability, among others.

He agreed, however, that Mrs. Ojukwu “choose an event to honour the husband to make remarks which infra dig, that is, incompatible with her status.”

Bianca’s Vituperation And 2021 Governorship Election
There are growing concerns that the deepening animosity should be checked, especially considering APGA’s desire to retain the state in 2021. Although sources have queried Mrs Ojukwu’s capacity to win the Anambra South senatorial election had the ticket been granted her, based on the presence of heavy politicians paraded by other political parties in the zone like the Ubas, the feelings are that prosecuting the election as a united front would impact the party’s chances.

A chieftain of the party, Slyvanus Okoro, stated that the implication of such public remarks showed that “even our BOT is not working together.”

He said: “We don’t need this kind of divisions in the party. Not after what we went through during the 2019 general elections in the state and other parts of the country that still linger here and there.

“I think if the BOT, which should show direction, is working together, it will help salvage this party and prepare it for the battle ahead. We cannot afford another round of crisis.

“Politics is about to give and take. It has never been smooth. It is filled with disappointments. What we didn’t get today, we can get tomorrow. We cannot leverage on lost opportunity to create an air of disunity. There are many opportunities we can create in the party if we work together.

“So I beckon on Iyom Bianca Ojukwu to sheath her sword. The lost opportunity should be used as an added political experience to prepare her in the future. Let us not pull down the roof of the house for our individual benefits.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi: Defying The Odds

Earnest Azudialu-Obiejesi. Image: Facebook

BY THIS DAY

Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that in defying the odds, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi, Group Managing Director of Nestoil, has transformed his humble beginnings from a trading business to the commanding heights of corporate Nigeria which has also established a foundation – with far more reaching impact on communities

The Nestoil Tower in Victoria Island is an unmistakable edifice in the heart of Victoria Island of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. This amazing piece of Architectural genius has not always been the Head Office of Nestoil. The journey began in a one room office in Idumagbo Avenue in Lagos Island. This was Nestoil’s first corporate office. Starting out as a young businessman, he had always desired to build something that will have its roots in the local environment; one with global appeal, creating exceptional value and outliving him.

Early Start
From his humble beginning in Okija in present day Anambra State, Azudialu-Obiejesi had set his eyes beyond the confines of his village on lofty targets in distant and difficult terrains. He knew quite early that the world out there is competitive and unforgiving of errors, he therefore took time to study in order to gain inspiration for the task he had envisioned.

Azudialu-Obiejesi commenced his primary education at St. Johns School, Fegge Onitsha Anambra State in 1964. However, this was truncated by the Nigerian civil war which raged from 1967 to 1970. After the war, he got into New Bethel Primary School Onitsha to complete his primary education. In 1973, he gained admission into the elite Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha (DMGS) for his secondary education which he completed in 1978. After his secondary education, he attended Government College Owerri, Imo State for his Higher School Education.

Upon completion of this program, he worked with his father at the family trading business, DA Ifeanyi & Brothers Trading Company, where he participated in trading activities. This was to be his first real exposure to the business environment. During his tutelage under his father, he was able to learn the rudiments of the trading business and started thinking of ways to transform, expand and revolutionise the family business.

In 1983, with encouragement from his father, he set up what was to be the first of many business ventures – Obijackson West Africa Limited. The company engaged in direct procurement from overseas suppliers and manufacturers of household goods and consumables, engineering and carpentry tools, cosmetics and beauty products. The company’s head office was located in Lagos, and branches set up in Onitsha, Aba, Maiduguri and Cotonou. Azudialu-Obiejesi nurtured the company from inception, grew and diversified it, with extensive interest in Manufacturing, Haulage and Real Estate development.

Upon leaving Okija, his comfort zone in Eastern Nigeria, he realised that the future, though pregnant with promises, requires starting out early, with diligence, out-of-the-box thinking and hard-worn genius for the promise to be liberated from the clutches of obscurity.

Humble Beginning

Unknown to many, Nestoil started from a one room office on Idumagbo Avenue in Lagos Island in 1991. Dr Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi had decided to give up the trading business and chart a new course in his entrepreneurial journey. He settled for the Oil and Gas industry.

From a staff strength of about 10 persons, he has nurtured Nestoil into a conglomerate which has created about 2,000 direct jobs. The conglomerate renders services spanning Pipeline Constructionrepairs and maintenance, Fabrication and Pressure Vessel Manufacturing; Detailed Engineering Design and consultancy; Civil Construction Works as well as Dredging and Shoreline protection. These companies virtually cover the entire value chain of the Oil and Gas industry and they all operate from the very impressive 59-hectare Abuloma industrial layout.

At the time Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi ventured into the Oil and Gas industry, Local Content in the industry was still a figment of people’s imagination. He saw the landscape move from a tranquil one to a stormy one with locals demanding more say and involvement in the industry.

After nearly 20 years of literally weathering the storm alone in an industry dominated by foreign companies, government finally signed the Nigeria Content Bill into law and set up the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to enforce compliance and protect the interest of local players in the industry. The move has seen the emergence of new indigenous players in the Oil and Gas space.

Seeking Solutions to Festering Challenges

Like great entrepreneurs and inventors whose paths to greatness seem impossible and were first derided for taking on arduous and risky ventures, young Azudialu-Obiejesi took the road less travelled. He walked the path of greats like Alexander Graham-Bell who invented the telephone in 1876, from a small workshop after working through the years on ways to transmit multiple telegrams and discovering that voice could travel through wire. He walked the paths of the likes of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the incandescent light-bulb who did over a thousand experiments before eventually stumbling on the formula for creating a light bulb.

In deciding that his next move was going to be Nestoil, Azudialu-Obiejesi must have raised so much dust carving a small office out of a retail shop with a mandate to capture the commanding heights of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas value-chain. Through dint of hard work and focus, he has established an indigenous Oil and Gas conglomerate that will seek to maximise Nigeria’s energy potential through value-additions such as B&Q Dredging, Energy Works Technology (EWT), Impac Engineering, Hammakopp amongst others.

What’s more fascinating is that he dreamed big dreams that had no semblance with his reality at the time. From his small shop in Idumagbo avenue, he built a business better known today as the face of local content in the Oil and Gas industry. All men dream dreams but few bring them to life.

Brand Builder – Creating Novelty from Obstacles

Charismatic leaders usually define the life, character and personality of the brands they help nurture to success. Such brands are defined by the character and personalities of their founders or those who run them. It is virtually impossible to divorce Nestoil as a brand from its iconic founder Dr Ernest Azudialu Obiejesi. Indeed, the Nestoil brand has taken on the doggedness of its founder earning it the reputation of “King of the Swamps”.

The Shell Nembe-Cawthorne Channel Trunk Line Replacement Project (NCTL) project is a case in point. This was the largest single pipeline construction under the SPDC Joint Ventures Asset Integrity Programme that replaced more than 1000km of deteriorated major pipelines and flow lines in Nigeria. The 97km Package A of this project was executed by Nestoil under the leadership of Dr. Azudialu-Obiejesi. This project involved major construction in a harsh mangrove swamp terrain and traversed 3 cluster communities and hundred autonomous communities in both Bayelsa and Rivers state of Nigeria at the height of militancy in Niger Delta. Nestoil completed this project one month ahead of schedule without a single fatality. 99% of the workforce in this project were Nigerians including the Project Manager. This pipeline has the capacity to evacuate about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The Shell Kolo Creek Trunk Line (KCTL) Replacement Project is another project that validates doggedness and innovation. This project, which is a first of its kind involved a method of pipeline installation that preserves the delicate natural environment of the Niger Delta. It is well known that the Niger Delta is an incredibly well-endowed ecosystem that contains one of the highest concentrations of bio-diversity in addition to supporting abundant flora and fauna and more species of freshwater fish than any ecosystem in West Africa. The fact that this pipeline was laid by Nigerian engineers without disrupting this unique environment is quite remarkable.

One project that may have thoroughly tested Nestoil’s resolve to deliver in spite of very harsh terrain, militancy, and frequent kidnappings is the Obiafu, Obrikom, Oben (OB3) gas pipeline. The section of the project that Nestoil is working on is the swampy areas starting from Omoku in Rivers State to Umukwata in Delta State. A large portion of this section transforms from dry land to swamp during the rainy season, hindering work on the pipeline for about seven months each year. Part of the Nestoil scope is to cross the 48-inch diameter pipeline under the bed of the River Niger over a 2 km span. This has never been done anywhere in Nigeria but Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi is confident that despite setbacks the company has faced till date, Nestoil will deliver on this project sooner rather than later. The 48-inch diameter and 65-kilometre long gas pipeline is the largest gas pipeline ever built in Nigeria and is expected to boost domestic gas supply by two billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) when it begins operation.

A Heart to Give

As his businesses began to flourish, Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi set up the Obijackson Foundation as a platform to propagate his humanitarian endeavours. Through a well-thought out strategy of empowerment, the Obijackson Foundation became a catalyst for growth, job creation, skill acquisition, healthcare delivery, infrastructural overhaul and cultural renaissance. The evidence is overwhelming. Roads are being tarred in Okija and beyond, Street lights are being installed and street sweepers employed to clean Okija streets; scholarships are being awarded to indigent students, widows are being supported with seed capital to set up businesses. The list of social and infrastructural intervention is endless.

There is also the Obijackson Women and Children’s Hospital in Okija which he has built and developed into the foremost Women & Pediatric health-care institution – first of its kind in eastern Nigeria. The hospital with state-of-the-art diagnostic, surgical and other equipment has delivered over 300 women with zero mortality till date. Patients who have no funds to pay for treatment are catered for by the Obijackson Foundation. Nobody is turned away from this hospital on account of inability to pay their bills. Dr Ernest Azudialu himself says the sheer profile of the hospital and the impact in saving the lives of women and children across eastern Nigeria makes this project extremely humbling and fulfilling. This hospital directly employs about 100 locals. Hundreds more are indirect employees in the form of contractors and other service providers.

The Power of Education

Despite being introduced into the trading business at an early age, Dr Azudialu-Obiejesi found time for formal education. He believes in the power of Education as the only springboard that can actually lift humanity out of poverty. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Benin. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE). He was a finalist in the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 and gained recognition from the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) for Industry Achievement of the Year Award 2014. Under his leadership, Nestoil companies were nominated in 2017 and 2018 by the London Stock Exchange Group as a Company to Inspire Africa, being companies that generated vital employment opportunities, contributed to sustainable economic growth and are the bastions of best practices and good corporate governance practices.

Succession in the Radaar

After nearly 30 years of founding a business, Azudialu believes it is time to hand over to the next generation. His shoes may appear too large to fill but Azudialu-Obiejesi disagrees. He says he has seen enough talent within his pool of Nestoil employees that are driven by uncommon passion – a restless spirit seeking answers to Nigeria’s engineering and technology challenges especially in the Oil and Gas industry. Their relentless quest to deliver exceptional value continues to define the Nestoil Brand as it takes on more audacious mandates within the oil and gas industry.

Power Equation And Igbo President

Michael I. Okpara

BY CHARLES ADINGUPU

Undoubtedly, nationalists fought assiduously to extricate Nigeria from the intricate web of colonialism by arousing sentiments, activities and organizational development, all aimed at self-government and emergence of an independent of nation state. Though, the struggle for socio-political and economic cohesion in a heterogeneous Nigeria was, indeed, a herculean task, given the frightening reality that the colonial powers deployed weapons of discord and Machiavellian policy of divide and rule to thwart the nationalists’ mission and perpetuate their imperial presence. This development, sadly, heralded the tribalization of political groups that emerged thereafter.

And in their contemplation of what they considered to be an ideal constitution for Nigeria, the duo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo repeatedly and consistently argued that cultural factor must remain the ultimate and overriding criterion in the territorial organization of Nigeria. Against this backdrop, Chief Awolowo stated that the ultimate goal was a true federal constitution whereby every group, however small, is entitled to the same treatment as any other, however large. This position has remained a lay fret around the edges of our political history.

However, in the nation’s current march towards political rebirth, social equality and economic emancipation, every ethnic nationality struggles in this momentous epoch in our political evolution to rightly possess that which is theirs. It was in the light of the above, that the rotation of power among the geo political zones upon the enthronement of the Fourth Republic became a welcome relief to ethnic nationalities that would hitherto not dream of grabbing political power. Though, the strands which define the normality of the Nigeria’s political phenomena must be nipped on the bud in order to break down the giant walls of prejudice and misconceptions.

Since the adoption of this unwritten consensus of power rotation, the major ethnic groups, comprising Yoruba and Hausa, including the minority Niger Delta, have had their fair share. But the Igbos are yet to take a shot at Aso Rock Villa, the power house of Nigeria. Indications are rife that there are moves to thwart this political arrangement, ostensibly to checkmate the Igbos from serving their term. Political horse trading, brickbats and treachery are the undercurrents that ironically define our democracy Only recently, the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) openly accused the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to exterminate opposition parties. Despite the denial by the APC, there are clear signals that Nigeria is gradually and systematically drifting into a one party state. This dangerous signal is an ill wind that would blow no one any good in our democratic space, and endanger the political aspiration of the Igbo ethnic nationality.

It was even alleged in certain quarters that the partial closure of the nation’s border was aimed at crippling the financial empire of the Igbos as such measure would help to put to check their agitation for political power. Since the end of the civil war, the Igbos have made a lot of compromise in Nigeria’s political space for peace to reign.

The Igbos in their fair-mindedness, devised a proverb which states that “It is difficult to ask a man with an elephantiasis on the scrotum to take a smallpox as well when thousands of other people have not had even their share of small diseases”.

Just recently, Elders of Igbo extraction led by the Chairman of the Pan Igbo socio cultural, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, paid an official visit to the ruling President, Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Villa, to ventilate their perceived marginalization in this political dispensation. Though, further discussions they had with the President are still in the wraps, political pundits were of the opinion that their discussion with the President would centre round the cohesion of the Igbos in this present regime and how to create a sense of belonging of “one Nigeria” with the Igbos through the provision of social amenities in erosion ravaged territory.

Many Nigerians believed that this is the time for the Igbos to truly take the President slot come 2023. Though it is difficult to assume that success would attain their efforts as previous attempts and opportunity had been bungled by the “who are you’ phenomenon in Igboland. This is much true in this political season where greed and pride have turned angels into demons.

In days gone by, the entire Igbo nation looked up to their leaders as bearers of the torch of enlightenment and as beacons of a new civilization. Such revered leaders’ opinions were sought; their remark weighty and hailed and their sense of judgment unquestionable.Sadly, a handful of Igbo political leaders had compromised their faith of self-allegiance. “Their hearts are full of mischiefs; their tongue flatters with deceit and their throats had become an open grave.”

All these unfortunate turn of events, create the impression in the minds of Nigerians that the Igbos would indeed have a rough ride to the Presidency come 2023.However, the Chairman of the socio-cultural, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, must realize that Ndigbo’s quest for the Presidency is indeed a herculean task. Therefore, all hands must be on deck to forestall any chance that would encumber their aspirations and the advancement of the Igbo race. Chief Nwodo must not allow politicians to sacrifice the Igbo identity on the altar of money and mediocrity. As at today, Ohanaeze Ndigbo remains the only veritable platform that would help to give expression to the aspiration of the Igbo nation.

The Chief Nwodo- led team must be wise as a serpent in endorsing a noble Igboman who would right the centuries of wrongs and articulate their collective interest in their struggle to bring about the kingdom of truth and justice. Otherwise the Igbos would either become kings amongst men or pun in the hands of kings.

The Igbos must realise that in civilzed clime, power is negotiated, therefore, the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kalu should appreciate that the time of using war to acquire power only lies in the forgotten past. There is no gainsaying that an Igbo President would bail Nigeria out of its industrial and technological stagnation. A visit to the economic and industrial hubs of Igboland-Nnewi, Onitsha and Aba attest to this assertion. There are credible men and women with impeccable records in Igboland who would rescue the nation from her economic quagmire.

Though, it has become imperative for governance to change direction if Nigeria is not to nagivate rudderless into a future of uncharted uncertainty. No one ethnic group is superior to the other. We must play the unity game which produces harmony, peace and unity.
Adingupu, a journalist wrote from Lagos.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

I Never Apologised For Hailing Gowon, Says Moghalu

Kingsley Moghalu and Yakubu Gowon. Image: Moghalu via The Guardian.

BY LAWRENCE NJOKU

ENUGU (THE GUARDIAN) -- Former Presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has clarified that he never apologised to Ndigbo or any other Nigerian for hailing former head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) in a personal message he sent to him during his birthday recently.

The former deputy governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that in his speech at the second Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Lecture held at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra state on Monday, he apologised to persons whose sensitivities were offended by his use of the word ‘humane’ in describing Gowon based on his personal knowledge of the general.

“My apology to the sensitivity of such persons is a very different thing from repudiating my birthday message to Gen. Gowon, which I did not do.

“Having information and a perspective from my personal relationship with Gen. Gowon, which was not available to those who reacted on the social media to my message, their misunderstanding of my birthday message as an ‘endorsement’ of the deaths of their loved ones is understandable but regrettable.

“That is why I felt an apology and further explanation on that particular point was necessary. But I did not repudiate my birthday message to Gen. Gowon.”

The Guardian had reported yesterday that the politician apologised for hailing Gowon.

Moghalu stressed that it was wrong to interpret a birthday message he sent to Gowon as “being insensitive to the deaths of our family members, young and old, during the terrible civil war.”

He added, “This was far from my intention because in my message I urged Gen. Gowon to step forward and play a leadership role in bringing the painful issue of the civil war and its lessons to closure so that Nigeria can heal. Because clearly, despite the no victor, no vanquished policy, Igbo people have remained heavily discriminated against in Nigeria in many ways, in particular in the political terrain in which there appears to be an unspoken conspiracy to prevent a person of Igbo ethnic nationality from becoming president of Nigeria.

“I am deeply sorry and apologise, to everyone whose sensitivity I offended if I mistakenly conveyed the impression that I, as an Igbo man, was uncaring about the millions of people, mostly Igbo, that perished in the war. Nothing could have been farther from the truth or my intentions.”

Moghalu, however, asked Ndigbo to put the pains of the civil war experience behind them and move on for the peace and development of the nation.

South-East Commuters Lament Harassment, Extortion By Soldiers

Army Chief Tukur Ysuf Buratai.

BY RAPHAEL EDE

ENUGU (PUNCH) -- Commuters and drivers plying various roads in the South-East have lamented the high level of intimidation and extortion by soldiers at checkpoints.

Some of them, who spoke to PUNCH Metro, said the worst was that anybody making calls close to the checkpoints were having their phones seized, smashed on the road or required to pay between N500 and N1,500 to retrieve the phones.

In some cases, commuters and drivers of such vehicles are detained for hours before they are released after much pleading.

A commuter, who identified himself as Victor Okonkwo, who witnessed the atrocities of the soldiers recently, narrated his experience to our correspondent on Monday.

He said, “On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, I was returning from Owerri in a Sienna car and there were seven passengers in the vehicle. When we got to the Ihe community, one of the passengers received a call and he was on that call till we got to a military checkpoint near the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.

“The man got the shock of his life when a soldier spotted him and seized his phone for answering a call while passing by the checkpoint. He paid N500 to retrieve his phone after we had spent over an hour begging the soldiers. There were more than 10 mobile phones seized from other commuters by the soldiers, while the owners were there begging for leniency.”

Okonkwo stated that he had experienced the cruelty of the soldiers in 2014 at the same checkpoint, even as he said he heard that soldiers at other checkpoints around Enugu State boundaries were committing similar atrocities.

He said, “I was coming back from Owerri in a bus with other passengers. On getting to the military checkpoint near the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, a lady’s phone was seized and smashed on the road for answering a call while passing through the checkpoint.

“There was a similar incident, when a passenger’s phone was seized by soldiers for also answering a call; it took the intervention of the driver and some commuters before the phone was returned to the owner.

“This is what commuters experience on a daily basis in the hands of soldiers at the checkpoints.”

Checks by PUNCH Metro revealed that the soldiers had devised other means of collecting money from drivers and commuters at the checkpoints, as they now commission young men from the communities, who act as fronts to collect money on their behalf.

A source, who witnessed an incident a few months ago, narrated how a young man was shot dead by soldiers in the Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State.

According to the source, a drama played out on the day of the incident when a military officer spotted the man collecting money at the checkpoint on behalf of the soldiers.


When accosted, the soldiers denied ever knowing the young man.

“One of the officers immediately ordered one of the soldiers to shoot the tax collector for denting their image and he was instantly shot dead. My greatest surprise is that till today, those soldiers have not been held accountable for the gruesome murder of the young man. Many of such cases have gone the same way without anyone being held accountable.”

It is the same story at almost all the military checkpoints in the boundaries of Enugu-Ebonyi, Enugu-Nsukka, Enugu-Obollo-Afor, and the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway. Extortion, intimidation and outright corporal punishment are the hallmark of the checkpoints.

“Are we in a war situation that somebody receiving phone calls cannot pass by military checkpoints in the South-East without harassment and intimidation and our so-called leaders are not talking?” a commuter asked.

When the Nigerian Army Human Rights Desk was contacted, there was no response as the phone rang out.

When the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Col. Aliyu Yusuf, was contacted, he said in a text message, “Good afternoon, inform the affected persons to call and give details for further necessary action immediately.”

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Imo Monarchs Voice Displeasure To FG Over Abduction Of Justice Iheme

Chioma Nwosu Iheme

BY CHINONSO ALOZIE

OWERRI, IMO STATE (VANGUARD) -- The Imo state traditional rulers yesterday, cried out to the federal government of Nigeria, over the abduction of Justice Chioma Nwosu Iheme, by gunmen along Benin/Agbo road last week. The Chairman of the royal fathers, Eze Imo, Samuel Ohiri, alongside his Deputy, Eshi of Nkwerre, Eze Chijioke Okwara, made the call at the Eze Imo Palace at Mbari street in Owerri.

Vanguard was at the palace of Eze Imo, where he said that the people of the state, at the moment are not happy that after seven days their daughter, Iheme, was nowhere to be found. They also said that so far no communication has been established with her abductors.

Ohiri briefly said: “We are not happy that our daughter was kidnapped and taken away to an unknown destination. “The people of Imo state have not heard from our daughter and we are pleading with the federal government because she is a government employee that we have not happy and we want our daughter back simple and short, is just that the people of Imo state, want our daughter back to us.” Also speaking, the Deputy Chairman of Imo state traditional rulers, Eze Okwarra, of Nkwerre local government area, where Justice Nwosu Iheme, hails from said that he has canceled ceremonial activities in the area as a sign that they are currently pained over the abduction of Justice Iheme. Eze Okwarra said: “As the Deputy Chairman of Imo state traditional rulers, we are not happy that Iheme, is still in the den of the kidnappers and the untimely dead of her police escort. “We are not happy that judiciary who ate suppose to serve the public, their duty which is contained in the I999 constitution to interpret the law and now facing this kind of threat. “For the past months we have been hearing that judges are kidnapped and we want to appeal to the Federal government and 36 states governors to do something quickly.

“We the traditional rulers of Imo state, want to see our country with solid security network to allow our people do their work without fear. We are saddened that we have not heard anything about her since her kidnapped for the past 7 days now. “Let me expatiate on it, we have made every contact and we have contacted the judiciary and after seven days it is right to ask where she is. We are asking her employers to do something. “If we allow the judges to be picked anyhow then they will be afraid to give justice. As a result of this incident, I have cancelled all ceremonial activities in the community.”

Ekweremadu Urges Leaders To Honour Odumegwu Ojukwu By Restructuring Nigeria

Ike Ekweremadu. Image: Twitter

BY CHRISTIAN CHIME

ONITSHA: IGBARIAM, ANAMBRA STATE (THE GUARDIAN) -- Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has said that the greatest honour political leaders can accord the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, is to build a united but restructured and just Nigeria, which he lived and died for.

Ekweremadu disclosed this yesterday in his opening remarks as chairman of the second Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Lecture at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra State.

His words, “From the structural imbalances, which inescapably counts against the South East zone in particular in its voting power at the National Assembly, the distribution of national offices, revenue sharing, and other blessings of democracy such as infrastructure, to the defective federalism that has made it impossible for Ndigbo to fully harness their potential, Ndigbo have many grounds to be dissatisfied.

“This state of affairs has effectively reared two schools of thought in the South East region on the way forward. There are those, mostly the younger Igbo generation, who believe that the best way forward is total separation from the Nigerian state and the actualisation of a sovereign state of Biafra. This has resulted in agitations, which got to its crescendo in recent years.

“On the other hand is the school of thought, to which I belong, and which believes that Ndigbo can indeed blossom, actualise their potential and be happy in a restructured Nigerian state.”

The Enugu senator elaborated on this in his Position Paper entitled ‘Biafra: The Legal, Political, Economic, and Social Questions’, presented at the July 2017 meeting of the highest echelon of Igbo leadership at the height of the pro-Biafra agitations and military operations in the South East.

Ekweremadu added, “This position resonates with the thoughts of Ezeigbo Gburugburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the lecture entitled ‘Nigeria: The Truths that are Self-Evident’ he delivered on February 22, 1994 and was affirmed in the Awka Declaration where Ndigbo affirmed their commitment to a united, but restructured and just Nigeria.”On immortalising Ojukwu, he stressed: “Ikemba came ahead of his time, he lived ahead if his time, and he died ahead of his time because the laudable visions he longed for are yet to be realised.

“Therefore, our nation and her leaders owe it to the memory of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to strengthen Nigeria as a political entity where justice, peace, love, and unity reign; where national interest is supreme and where every Nigerian and every part thereof are free and able to actualise its legitimate dream unmolested and irrespective of religious, political and tribal affiliations and origin. This is indeed the greatest honour and tribute he can get from us.”

Bianca Taunts Obiano Over Absence At Ojukwu Memorial Lecture

Bianca Ojukwu

BY THE NEWS AGENCY, NOV. 4, 2019

AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE (THE CABLE) -- Bianca, widow of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, has expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra state, at the second memorial lecture of her late husband.

Speaking at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) Igbariam, Anambra, on Monday, Bianca told Nkem Okeke, deputy governor of the state, who represented Obiano at the event, that there was no evil spirit at the venue.

She was taunting the governor over his recent comment that there were evil spirits at government house, Awka, Anambra.

Bianca, who spoke shortly after Kingsley Muoghalu, a former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said Obiano was one of the greatest beneficiaries of Ojukwu’s legacy.

“Tell Obiano that there is no evil spirit in the venue of Ojukwu memorial lecture. This is the second time the event is holding and Obiano doesn’t want to attend by himself,” Bianca said.

She called on the governor not to erode the legacy of her late husband especially regarding All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

“Lastly, tell him that he is gratuitously handing over the credentials for history to call him an ingrate, who step on fingers of all the benefactors that held the ladder for him to climb to political power,” she said.

She thanked Peter Obi, a former governor of the state, for renaming the university after Ojukwu whom she described as a hero in life and death.

Okeke attributed Obiano’s absence to “other official engagement”.

“It is unfortunate that Obiano has not attended the memorial lecture since it started last year, but that is not to say that he will not attend. The governor still has time in office and could still attend in future,” he said.

Moghalu, whose lecture was titled: “Ndigbo in the contemporary Nigerian politics, problems, prospects and way forward”, said the Igbo people must be given equal treatment like other ethnic groups.

He said the effect of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war is still holding the the nation backward.

“I suggest that key actors during the war like retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon should speak to heal the wounds to ensure lasting peace,” he said.

Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president, who chaired the event called for restructuring of the country and introduction of state police.

He said restructuring and de-centralisation of the police were key to addressing the mirage of problems plaguing the nation.

Nnaji's 'Lionheart' Disqualified For The Oscars, Sparks Social Media Uproar

BY YOHANA DESTER

Back in April, the film Academy announced that it was renaming the best-foreign-language-film category to best international feature film. The reason? The term “foreign” felt “outdated within the global filmmaking community,” the Academy said in a press release. At the time it didn’t stir as much of a debate as the quickly scrapped best-popular-film category had the year before. But now the Academy is taking the heat this week because Lionheart, Nigeria’s first movie submitted for best international feature film, has been disqualified, according to the Wrap.

Lionheart, a drama starring and directed by Genevieve Nnaji, was reportedly disqualified because even though it is filmed partly in Igbo, a Nigerian language, it is mostly in English. That means it violates the Academy’s rule that a submission to the category has to have a “predominantly non-English dialogue track.” Voters were made aware that Lionheart would no longer be eligible on Monday, just days before the Academy was set to screen it for voters in Hollywood.

The announcement has sparked a debate online, with some users noting that Nigeria’s official language is English. “Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?” Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay wrote in a tweet directed at the Academy’s official account.

Nnaji herself also addressed the controversy, responding to DuVernay’s tweet and saying Lionheart “represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria.”

“It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us,” Nnaji added. “As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian.”

The disqualification marks a divide between the category’s name change and its perhaps impractical, uncomfortable application in the real world. As film critic Guy Lodge noted on Twitter, the broader title does not specifically disqualify films in English, even if the rules do. “If you permit an English-language film from Nigeria to compete, then you have to permit English-language films from the UK, Canada, Australia, etc, to compete,” he wrote. “If you do that, the category's purpose in giving a platform to under-represented cinema is effectively compromised.” After all, he noted, best picture should technically be the best international film.

But perhaps the disqualification should come as no surprise to Oscar watchers. As Bong Joon-ho recently declared in a Vulture interview, the Oscars “are not an international film festival. They’re very local,” a sly burn of the century that highlight the awards ceremony’s myopic view of the global film community. Meanwhile, Bong’s latest film, the Korean-language Parasite is predicted as one of the front runners of the best international film category.

Lionheart’s disqualification now brings the number of international film contenders from 92 to 93 entries. Qualified films in the category will be announced on October 7.

Expert Outlines Strategies To Attract Global Institutional Investors

Nicky Okoye. Image: Twitter

BY CHINWENDU OBIENYI

AWKA, ANAMBRA STATE (SUN NEWS) -- The Founder and Chief Strategist, Nicky Okoye Organisation(NOO), Dr. Nicky Okoye, has outlined six strategies that can reposition and usher in monumental wealth and prosperity for Nigerian and African businesses over a short term period.

Okoye spoke at the Global Capital Strategy Session hosted by NOO in Awka, Anambra State, which was attended by over 600 entrepreneurs Nigeria and Ghana.

According to him, the strategies, which were developed by his team, if adopted by entrepreneurs, will receive favorable attention from global capital institutional investors.

He talked about the China Strategy, which he said Nigerian and African entrepreneurs could use to gain from over 85 million jobs that will be leaving China for new manufacturing bases over the next five years, as China joins the high income countries.

Okoye spoke about having a Digital Strategy in which over 10 million African businesses need to adopt a new digital profile and reposition using cutting edge technologies of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, nano technology and robotics.

Other strategies he outlined, included an Agricultural Strategy which will convert strategic sites in Nigeria into a global base for processing and export of processed agricultural products, especially citing industrial processing estates for cassava, cashew, cocoa, sorghum, sesame seed and palm products, all agricultural products that Nigeria leads as top three or top ten in global production today.

The NOO boss also mentioned a Local Content Strategy which has achieved success in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, saying it needed to be extended beyond hydrocarbons.

This is an Africa Content Strategy which would allow entrepreneurs and businesses to build capacity on the back of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement currently being established and there is also the Diaspora Strategy which gives entrepreneurs and businesses the possibility to start looking at the $270 billion in annual earnings of the Nigerians in Diaspora population as a market into on itself,” he said.

Okoye , who worked with Merrill Lynch, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Transcorp and NITEL, advised entrepreneurs to adopt a new approach to raising capital and investment which he termed a Global Capital Strategy.

“Entrepreneurs should follow already designed and researched laid down procedure for achieving an investment grade business structure which includes a business excellence matrix, a determined value proposition and a business strategy framework which all together form the basis for a successful global capital strategy and subsequent investment in your business,” he said.

The Influence Of The Umu Ada Sect In Igboland

Umuada Igbo Diaspora, the Raleigh, North Carolina Chapter Induction May 21, 2016. Image: Life and Times Magazine.

BY FRANKLIN UGOBUDE

Most communities in Nigeria are deeply patriarchal, and the Igbos, one of the largest ethnicities in West Africa, are no exception. In many parts of Igbo land, it is a common belief that men are superior to their female counterparts, and this view is enforced in many aspects. Making of laws, inheriting property are responsibilities seen to be exclusive to men, while women are groomed to be better daughters, sisters and wives’ right from infancy.

However, Igbo land makes room for Umuada, an association of indigenous women who are influential and powerful and have been for hundreds of years.

Umuada is a compound term derived from the two Igbo words umu which loosely translates to people and ada which means the first daughter. This group goes beyond the first daughters and encompasses all the daughters whose ancestry are traced to a village or town.

It is open to them whether married or unmarried, young or old, widows, divorced or separated. They are highly respected at local gatherings and are accorded such in private and public gatherings.

At this point, it is okay to describe the Umuada as a socio-political group that acts as a functional forum for women. Depending on the community, their roles can either be grouped into two: secular or spiritual.

The secular roles are almost general and cut across many communities in Igbo land. They include the settlement of disputes among fellow women and the community, infidelity issues involving offending wives, conflicts involving physical fighting between parties, assault or physical attack of a wife on her mother-in-law, and other issues under these categories which may fall under their jurisdiction.

In communities like Isuokoma in Ebonyi state, it has been recorded that the Umuada had contributed in settling disputes between fighting communities, management of domestic crises and other forms of conflict in different Isu communities especially when women in their community were involved.

Aside from this, the Umuada may also be involved in spiritual duties, depending on the community. In Osomala in Anambra state, the Umuada owe their allegiance to the visionary deity of Ohai.

Ohai is the deity to which all women in Osomala, including indigenous women and wives, married from outside the community, do obeisance. The devotees meet on designated days to dance and chant in worship to the deity. Through this deity, some members of the Umuada are endowed with foresight and can prevent impending danger in the community.

Thus, through their constant dance worship at the shrine of Ohai, the psychically gifted ones are given a revelation of things to come. The Umuada is also responsible for bathing the body of deceased female relatives and preparing it for burial. Apart from this, they are involved in the celebration of the ritual passage of the deceased into the ancestral stream and spiritual cleansing of the community during feasts and festivals.

In some cases, the Umuada has also served as checks on the abuse of power by the Council of Elders. Being a sect that represents the interest of women, it has served as a bridge between the women and the men.

The women group, in this case, include the ndi inyom- the wives of their brothers. When the wives are not pleased with certain things and when they are displeased with the state of affairs in their fatherland, they interfere in this capacity.

It can be argued that the Umuada has been instrumental to women empowerment in Igbo land and Nigeria generally and thus, important for the feminist movement. The Umuada respects tradition and works under the structures of modernity but remains insistent that men are the heads of the family, leaving them unaffected by modern developments in a way.

Nonetheless, it has led to some sort of balance in the community for the women. The forum is the vanguard in the struggle for equal opportunities for women and children in society.


SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Anambra Moves To Upgrade Agency After Onitsha Fire Outbreak

Fuel truck fire in Onitsha. Image: Silver Bird TV

BY OSIBEROHA OSIBE

After the latest fire incident in Onitsha, Anambra State and the destructions that came with it, the State Fire Service appears to have woken up from slumber. The Guardian learnt that Governor Willie Obiano has ordered the agency to step up its activities to forestall a reoccurrence of such incident. Meanwhile, the statistics of fire incidents in the state has been on the rise. In 2018, the Fire Service recorded 110 fire outbreaks across the state while no fewer than 30 fire incidents have been recorded this year.

Nevertheless, investigations showed that the Fire Service has fire stations located in strategic places in major cities state but were hitherto not well-equipped to discharge their duties effectively. For instance, at the state capital, Awka, there are three fire service stations located at the state command headquarters situated at Eze-Uzu junction, Agu-Awka. In Onitsha, the commercial nerve-centre of the state, there are three fire stations, namely, the Main Market fire station, Nkpor fire station and Okpoko fire station, Obodoukwu road. It was learnt that the state was planning to build an additional fire service station at Okpoko to tackle incessant fire incidents around Onitsha and Okpoko axis.

In Nnewi, the fast-growing industrial city in the state, there is the Nnewi fire station at Nkwo Nnewi Main Market, Nnewi. Other stations are the Building Market fire station, Ogidi, Idemili North local council headquarters; Ekwulobia fire station at Sports Stadium, Ekwulobia and Otuocha fire station in Anambra East local council.

There are also newly-established fire stations at Umunze, Orumba local council; Agulu in Anaocha local council and Ihiala in Ihiala local council.

Meanwhile, there are areas in the state that ought to have at least one fire station each have have none. Such places include Abagana/Enugwu-ukwu axis in Njikoka local council; Awka North local council, Okija in Ihiala local council and Oko in Aguata local council.

It was gathered that the state has about 20 fire-fighting trucks in all, including back-up water tankers spread across the fire stations. Out of these, eight are non-functional, but following the recent fire incidents in Onitsha, the state governor directed the repair of all the non-functional trucks of the Fire Service.

Further investigations showed that the State Fire Service is an appendage of the Ministry of Power and Water Resources. The ministry had as estimated capital expenditure of N1.827 billion in 2017; N2.375 billion in 2018, and N2.850 billion in 2019. Out of this amount, N3,756, 183 was earmarked for the Fire Service in 2017; N4,131,800 in 2018, and N4,544,982 in 2019.

The State Director of Fire Service, Martin Agbili, an engineer, who is also the state chairman of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), could not be reached for comments. However, a member of staff of the Service who pleaded anonymity told The Guardian that the governor has ordered for the provision of six additional big trucks to the Service.

“In addition, orders have been placed for four mini-fire trucks that will act as first responder and be able to penetrate the nooks and crannies where the big ones cannot access,” he said.

The staff also noted that the welfare of employees in the Fire Service has been improved, saying: “Salaries and allowances of the fire service officers have largely been improved by about 100 per cent from what we earned before now. Also, our hazard allowance has been increased to N20,000 monthly.” But he bemoaned poor budgetary provisions to the Service, noting that it was hampering their efficiency.

He added: “The staff strength is not anything to write home about. In fact, the conditions of service were not encouraging. But with the recent fire incidents, the state government has come to the realisation that the Fire Service needs adequate attention to perform efficiently. The governor has ordered the increase of the staff strength from 70 to 120.”

Another source, who also pleaded anonymity, said the government was being reactive, questioning the rationale behind the many years of neglect the Fire Service had endured.

“How could past governments place staff on salaries and allowances that are not motivating. Also, there are no boreholes to make water available for the Service and where they exist, they are dilapidated and non-functional. It is now that government is rising to the occasion,” he said.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN SATURDAY MAGAZINE NOV. 2, 2019

Fire Service: Neglected At The Peril Of Citizens

Image via The Guardian


BY ONYEDIKA AGBEDO

…Despite increasing incidents of fire disasters, Fire Service departments across the country are in shambles

At the maiden meeting of the present Federal Executive Council (FEC), President Muhammadu Buhari explained why he created the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. His reasons were not far-fetched. The country was contending with a lot of humanitarian issues, which were occasioned by unforeseen situations like the Boko Haram insurgency that has displaced thousands of people in the Northeast region of the country, flood disasters and fire outbreaks, among others. People affected by these unfortunate incidents no doubt needs support from wherever it can come from, especially the government. Although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has been on ground to tackle such cases, the President felt that creating the new Ministry was necessary “to fully institutionalize our various interventions that support some of the poorest and most distressed citizens of our country.”

As is the practice in our political system, it will not be surprising to see the states follow suit with time just like they did with the creation of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), their own replica of NEPA.

But at the bottom of Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis is the ill preparedness of the agencies mandated to either nip foretold disasters in the bud or mitigate the effects of unforeseen disasters on the victims. Thus, a million humanitarian affairs ministries across the country without the enablement to function effectively will absolutely not yield the desired result.

For instance, the recent fire outbreak in Onitsha, Anambra State claimed five lives and razed over 500 lock-up shops on Iweka Street Market. Although, the state has a Fire Service Department attached to the Ministry of Power and Water Resources, they were just not prepared to intervene. But for firemen from the Delta State Fire Service that were drafted to put out the fire, more casualties could have been recorded.

The Federal Fire Service would later explain that a mob prevented its men from accessing the scene of the incident. “The Federal Fire Service received a call about the fire outbreak around 2.00p.m. The control room at the headquarters in Abuja immediately turned to its nearest station at Asaba, Delta State, to attend to the fire. Our men immediately headed to the scene, but it was not possible to contend with the heavy traffic at the Niger head bridge, coupled with the behavior of an angry mob who pelted stones at them.

“Thus, it was not possible for the firefighters to get to the scene of fight in such a hostile environment,” Ugo Huan, spokesman of the agency, said in a statement.

There must always be excuses for failure. But where was the Anambra State Fire Service? They didn’t come into the picture and no explanation has been offered. Were they so much ill-equipped that they couldn’t even stage an attempt to save the situation despite having three fire stations located in strategic places in Onitsha?

Fire outbreaks are precipitous and therefore require strategic reactions from the Fire service, the agency trained and equipped to respond to such situations. But as seen in the Onitsha incident, this is not always the case. Hence, The Guardian examined the state of the Fire Service in the country, especially at the state level. The findings showed that while some state governments have come to the realisation that the Fire Service is an important agency of government and have steadily upgraded their capacities, many remain hapless fire fighters as inferno continues to wreck havoc in cities across Nigeria. Reports below capture the sordid state of these inept agencies.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN SATURDAY MAGAZINE NOV. 2, 2019

INTERVIEW: Why Igbo Celebrate New Yam Festival – Eze Olikenyi

Emume Iri Ji Ohuru Na Ala Igbo.

BY LAWRENCE ENYOGHASU

Dr Peter Olikenyi, popularly known as Ide Omenife, is a native of Umuodochi Abor Lilu in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. He is a successful businessman in Lagos, notable for his pioneering role in stabilizing the famous Alaba International Market in Ojo area of Lagos. Aside his iconic achievements in the world of business, he is the traditional head of Ebonesie Ihiala Local Government Masquerade Council, a prominent member of his native town traditional leadership elite council and an altruistic vice-chairperson of Ndi-Eze in diaspora. In this interview with LAWRENCE ENYOGHASU, he speaks on the Igbo age-long new yam festival traditional practice and other issues of concern.

Can you share with us a little about the history of new yam festival?

Thank you for this question. New Yam festival is one of the most, if not the most important and glamorous, festivals in the entire Igboland, southeast of Nigeria. It is celebrated between August and October to thank God for a good harvest. It also heralds the harvest season and provides an opportunity for a social gathering of the tribes. From history, it is culturally rooted in ancient agrarian Igbo society, where wealth is measured by yam, just like those in the north measure with livestock like cows. Yam was the king crop. It’s importance spread to ownership, anyone with a large barn or barns of yam then was definitely an indication of great wealth and commerce, likewise a big yam trader. Yam fufu instead of cassava or any other kind of fufu was a sure sign that the visitor was considered important to the host, rich. To a large extent, this association lingers till today in lifestyle. A prestigious party or occasion will have pounded yam fufu on its menu. I need not spell out other benefits or products from yam. It’s still very important to our economy till tomorrow if we carefully tap into its provision because it’s a good commodity for export or can be processed to gain other byproducts.

The new yam is harvested earlier than August, but anyone who considers himself a true son or daughter of Igbo land will not eat it before the festival which is the cultural approval or signal to mark the commencement of its consumption as a sign of respect to our culture.

The festival usually begins with a public ceremonial harvesting and roasting of whole yam tuber by the Eze, chief or titled elders of the community, after the yams have been first offered to ‘Ohajoku’ or the yam or earth gods; Christians like myself, offer thanks to Chikwu-Okike or God Almighty after which the rest are shared and the community can then feel free to consume new yam without incurring the wrath of the gods. In modern times, this festival provides an opportunity to call home sons and daughters abroad to renew and reaffirm brotherhood and a sense of belonging and to plan for community development.

It is characterized by elaborate personal and communal preparations and competitions; new masquerades, dances and performances vie to outdo the other; new clothes and designs on parade vie to outshine the last one, though the duration and grandeur differ from one community to the other.

In recent times it has begun to attract national and international attention. The Ofala of the Obi of Onitsha and Iriji of Arondizuogu are two of the notable ones that I can easily mention to you because of its popularity. It is a great occasion to meet up with relatives and friends and perhaps a future partner as one young person confided. You don’t get to see such a rich and diverse crowd every day, you know, so we make the most of it. For me, this year, we have different groups of Igbos living within Oto-Awori LCDA, Ojo, Lagos, coming together to compete in various old games like Draught (or draft), Whot (or cards) and Ludo with mouthwatering prizes to be worn.

As a king with vast wealth of knowledge of the rich African culture, what is your take on the deplorable state of our cultural value chain in relation to the corruption rocking the nation today?

I do not know your reason for asking, but truth be told, we lost it long ago. But I feel that it’s a question we, as members of the Nigeria state, must answer traditionally or ethnically because we all contributed in one way or the other. For the Igbo ethnicity, our culture forbids evil, more so ill-gotten wealth. In those good old days, if found wanting, the entire community will be united against not just the person that committed the offence, but his entire household would be looked down at, while the person in particular would be dealt with in accordance with the Omenala (tradition or laws of the land) and for such, there was nothing attractive in crime or corruption as you call it because even when you are bold enough to want to venture into it, the rest of your family would turn around against you to say no to it because they knew that it will eventually rub off on them as well and should such individual be hell-bent on threading the wrong way, they will report him to a higher authority for caution and to spare the rest of them of any future punishment that might be meted out to such offender. Today, we have made corruption far more attractive than hard work and diligence less attractive, then tell me, why the youth will not dwell in corruption? In those days, when you want to take up any title in the community, you will be carefully investigated to know the true source of your income and certain positions like Nze were allocated on merit to the right person and not as we have today where money has become everything. A young man with no history of hard work suddenly shows off unprecedented wealth and the next thing you will hear is that he is been honoured. A vulcanizer by the roadside sweating out profusely for his money would be carelessly abused by a man in a tinted-glass luxury car and he cries out, but no one cares to ensure justice for him, even the police around will instruct him to respect men of such class regardless of any wrong they do and this is where I praise the Buhari-led federal government. How can corruption not grow in a system where some animals are more equal than the others as captured in Animal Farm? How many commoners are there in our government? Check from the list of ministers down. Only once we had a President that once had no shoes and that was a great sign of hope to members of the lower class. We must learn to shift attention to the main thing and stop siding mediocrity and support meritocracy. It’s not a government matter alone; we ourselves do create room for mediocrity ourselves. When hiring, we do not seek the best hand, we rather focus all our attention on certificate and for this, people keep buying certificates day in day out. When you meet someone who might have done the job excellently, the first question you ask is, are you a graduate and next is what institution? When he is not a graduate, you try not to place him well because of certificate even when he understands the job well enough. Education I must affirm is good but emphasis should be on competence. If it is possible assign the job to them all and put them to practical test to know the best. A return to our original cultural values will do us a lot good; don’t forget that good moral is everything, but it pains me that our elites are not thinking this way. They are rather looking for more money to take abroad to further strengthen the indirect colonization of the Western world.

What is your take on Igbo presidency in 2023?

I know you may be disappointed with my response. For me, good governance doesn’t really care about ethnicity; rather, it’s because we have selfish looters who care about themselves and not the good of the people and as such we need to pass it turn by turn and even in that, the Igbo are grossly marginalized, but the truth remains, like Professor Charles Soludo suggested, we must have good crop of leaders that will plan our tomorrow. If you provide Nigerians with the needed basic social amenities and bring crime to a minimal level and then good food and shelter, nobody will question your ethnicity. The dichotomy was created due to repeated failures of past leaders. Don’t forget the new and better Nigeria task is not only on the government’s side, but also on the electorate. It must be collectively pursued. We are very smart and quick to trade blames in this part of the world. The electorate will quickly tell you that the leadership is corrupt and will fail to tell you that they requested and received some monies to vote for them. When you place huge financial demand on them at the point of seeking your vote and you make them give you what many will call stipends of maybe N500 or N1000 and some even get far more than that to pull their followers for you and at the vote seeker’s end he spends hundreds of millions to buy his way through you need to multiply the N500 by a million people) and know how much you get) then after victory you want him not to recoup his monies, you must be the greatest thief, not the politician. We must collectively correct these errors and not point at others.

Can you tell us about the new yam festival in Oto-Awori LCDA?

Yes, we are holding it here just to ensure that our rich culture is protected from going into extinction as we sojourn in search for greener pasture. Like I explained before, the new yam festival are usually observed in October and the previous month, but due to other pressing traditional engagements (I had to observe it first in my home town of Lilu in Ihiala Local Government of Anambra State where I am the Ezemuo, King of Spirits, September 5 and then here in Oto-Awori where I am the Eze Ndi-Igbo) this one holds today Saturday, November 2.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN