Full Statement By Emeka Ihedioha After Supreme Court Decision

Emeka Ihedioha

Dear Ndi Imo and fellow Nigerians,

On Tuesday 3rd March 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a ruling rejecting our application to set aside its earlier judgement of 14th January 2020 on the Imo State governorship election. This is certainly not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I know how disappointed you must feel. While it is disheartening to note that your desire to introduce good governance has been halted, at least for now, it is also gratifying that our modest efforts have not gone unnoticed. I, therefore, feel a sense of pride and gratitude for the wonderful energy and commitment that we deployed together to secure the mandate that has now been brazenly stolen from us.

Permit me to use this opportunity to thank all those who played one role or another in this historic quest for justice and truth. I must thank members of the diplomatic community for voicing their concerns for the stability of our country. I commend the Chairman and Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for their vanguard role and leadership during this period. 

In particular, my special thanks go to all Imo citizens for their uncommon support, solidarity, and collective outrage. Never have people been so united and committed to a cause. You prayed, fasted, marched, protested and even cried. You sacrificed your time, resources, and endeavour for this just cause. On this matter, the people of Imo State collectively rose to demand for justice and fairness. Imo people rose up in defence of their right to elect leaders of their choice. Our people resoundingly rejected oppression and power grab, defied imposition, injustice and tyranny. I salute Imo people for this display of courage in the face of oppressive state power.

I will forever be in the debt of Nigerians of all walks of life, across ethnic, religious and political divides, senior citizens, journalists, civil societies, ordinary men and women of good conscience, who added their voice to condemn the injustice done in our case. These are people unknown to me personally but who could not bear the illogic of turning number four to number one on the basis of a fraudulently procured result, and appealed to the Supreme Court to save itself and our judiciary. 

Whatever may be the personal injury I suffer as a result of the miscarriage of justice, my main concern in this whole tragic episode is not about me. It has always been about the implications this judgement could have for the future of our democracy and the right of the electorate to have their votes count. If institutions that are critical to the entrenchment of the rule of law could thwart the wishes of the people in a cynical manner, where lies the future of our democracy? That was why I sought a review of the Supreme Court judgement. Even though justice was not served at the end, the well-articulated dissenting judgement delivered by His Lordship, Justice Centus Nweze, has vindicated our stand. I am sure that history and posterity will be kind to him.

To those who are rejoicing about their successful political fraud at the expense of Imo people, as well as their collaborators, let me leave them with the immortal words of the late journalist, Dele Giwa: “No evil deed will go unpunished; any evil done by man to man will be redressed; if not now then certainly later; if not by man, then by God for the victory of evil over good is temporary’. We believe that God will render the ultimate judgment. He has been with us through this peaceful struggle. And our future is in His hands.

In conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation to members of our legal team who pushed the frontiers of electoral jurisprudence to advance our constitutional democracy. I wish also to thank my team of committed colleagues who served in various capacities during our administration. It has been a great privilege to serve the people of Imo State as Governor. I am proud to have been the recipient of their genuine mandate. I will forever cherish the support, solidarity and cooperation given to me during my tenure. My belief in the ultimate triumph and supremacy of the will of the people remains intact. I pray God to bless and reward all those who stood firm on the path of justice and fair play.

On a personal note, I accept trials and difficulties as part of life as they enable one to become wiser and more sympathetic to the plights of others in similar circumstances. But I am firmly resolved NEVER to give up on the struggle for a better Imo State. And for a better governed Nigeria. May God bless Imo State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Thank you and God bless.

Aba: Generating Billions, Groaning Under Infrastructural Decay

Aba Enyimba City

BY LINUS EFFIONG

Aba, popularly known as Enyimba City, the commercial city of Abia State and industrial hub of the entire South-East and Nigeria, is variously described as the Japan of Africa. But despite the commercial activities in the city, which rakes in millions of naira on a daily basis, the state of infrastructure in the God’s Own State is very poor, to put it mildly. It is no longer news that almost all kinds of commodities, including shoes, bags, leather wears, clothing etc, are manufactured in Aba, just as there are many small and medium enterprises, and all kinds of engineering fabrication.

Unfortunately, there are no good roads to transport manufactured goods and other services. Sadly also, streets and roads in the city, which are in deplorable conditions, are infested with dirt, including artificial marshes and mountainous roadside refuse dumpsites. Unlike what it used to be, almost everything in the city contradicts its commercial status. Basic social and economic infrastructures are elusive in Aba. Aside Faulks Road, which was newly fixed to link the Ariaria International Market, almost every important major road leading to business and industrial centres in Aba are in deplorable conditions.

Important roads within the city, such as Ngwa Road, Port Harcourt Road, Ohanku Road, Obohia Road, Omuma Road, Ohazu Road, Cemetery Road, Eziukwu Road, Uratta Road and many others, are now nightmares, with adjoining streets rapidly becoming horrible ghettos.

To further worsen the situation, beggars are seen at every major entrance, relentlessly making life difficult for pedestrians and demonstrating a culture that is alien to the indigenous people of the land.

As one enters the city through Uyo, Port Harcourt, Enugu or Owerri routes, one encounters deplorable roads, annoying activities of touts, especially at the popular Bata Junction, unorganised street trading, dirt and smelly environment. 

Unfortunately, major industries have disappeared from the industrial city, with most of them relocating to neighbouring states, where there are better environments, security, people and business-oriented governments. 

A member of the Abia State Executive Council once said if the revenue generated in Aba was properly accounted for, the state could realise over N2billion monthly from the city. 

When our correspondent visited Aba, it was observed that the condition of the city was worse than what is obtainable in slums and war-ravaged countries in Africa. Vultures were seen openly scavenging on heaps of refuse, which were found at almost every junction. Piles of human waste also littered many streets. 

Reacting to the situation in Aba, Comrade Omeku Udensi Uche, the national secretary of Easy Life Initiative for Rural Youths, wondered if Abia State had a government, noting that everything is fast decaying. Uche said, “One of the problems I have with this government is that they equate infrastructure with only roads. We are talking about things that make life easy and businesses to thrive. These include roads, good health and even the transport system. 

“Majority of the roads are now dead traps, like what we see on Port Harcourt Road. For the very first time in Aba, it is under the regime of Okezie Ikpeazu that an important road like Ngwa has entered a deplorable state that cannot be described. 

“It is unfortunate that an Ngwa son cannot at least work on Ngwa Road as a legacy. Our hospitals are glorified mortuaries. They are not eve clinics. “When you get to the General Hospital in Aba, you will only see painted structures with zero medical facilities to meet the standard of a rural clinic. People in Aba spend quite a lot on sanitation for nothing. 

“In few weeks time, if you go to Ifeobara, where the government claimed they have built 5.6km underground water channel that would collect water from the basin near Ukwu-mango to Aba River, you would see how flood has sacked the people there. This government is not sincere. God is watching them and whatever they do. 

“Everywhere is littered with refuse and smelling because positions for environmental agencies are used to settle those who helped them to win election.’’ Also speaking on the situation in Aba, Dr. Coleman Oduputa said, 

“It is unhealthy and deadly for humans, especially children, to breathe a corrosive matter. It is extremely hard to rate the level of risk to health from the dirty environment in Aba. It will soon become disastrous.

“You cannot dismiss the possibility of infections from water, land and air pollution. People eat and drink in such environment. From what I have seen so far, if nothing is done and fast too, infections of all kinds would be the order of the day. 

“Diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, malaria and typhoid will be more common and severe than ever. Even people like truck pushers who walk barefooted inside such places risk contacting tetanus as well.” Also, Pastor Chisom Oriaku, a resident of Uratta Road, which adjoins Port Harcourt Road, said the lives of residents were in a serious danger. 

“The lives of people who live along Uratta and Port Harcourt roads axis are in a very big risk. We have been crying, but nobody seems to care about us. Things are getting worse. I believe you passed through that heavy refuse dump that has taken over Port Harcourt Road. 

“It has been there for over six months and nobody is doing anything about it. It has taken over several metres of that road. People there still pay sanitation fees to the state government, yet they cannot breathe in good air. 

“Everywhere is smelling. Before you can move from Crystal Park to Aba Main Park you will spend over an hour in what shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. They promised and gave a date when the road project would be completed, but right now, we don’t know what is happening. 

“The contractor has disappeared. This road has been under what they termed re-construction for the past two years, and they have done absolutely nothing so far. Everybody’s life is in danger. We are calling on the government to save lives before an epidemic spreads like wildfire.’’ Speaking further, Oriaku said, 

“The smell is too much. We have parked our vehicles because we are in trouble. Some boys have resorted to hiring pumping machines to pump out water from major roads into adjoining streets, just to create paths for motorists. 

“The re-construction of Uratta road, which was said to be under the Ecological Fund of the Federal Government, came because of flood issues here, but those who claimed they were working on the road abandoned the main problem, which is drainage, and people are exposed to flood during the rainy season. 

“They opened that drainage for about two poles and abandoned it again for no reason. They are not doing any job on Uratta Road. They are just playing and making jest of people who live along streets like Onyike, Jaja, Ahuronye, Eme, Mathew, Nwaogu, Ibenji and Railway Avenue. These places are better described as disaster zones, and nobody is coming to the aid of the people.’’ 

Also speaking, the chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation, Aba zone, Prof. Charles Chinekezi, called on the state government to rescue Aba before it is too late. 

“Aba is the most important city in the southern Nigeria, along with Onitsha, but the level of infrastructural decay is embarrassing and worrisome. 

“But truly, the present day government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State inherited a lot of anomalies. Maybe that’s why they are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. 

“If you look at our refuse disposal method you would see that the agency in charge has not been able to control refuse flow in the city. There are few receptacles and collection points. 

“Mountainous filths have taken over major streets and visitors usually wonder about the kind of human beings who live here. 

“Everybody is embarrassed, including those in government. The decay in Aba is heavy and completely unacceptable, and I think we can do something about it. 

“I recognise the efforts of this government so far, but it will be necessary to state clearly that their efforts keep us yearning for more work. 

“However, recently, the governor had a meeting with the contractors handling state projects in the last four years and gave them ultimatums. I think they will follow that up. 

“The only way the governor can come out of the blame is to ensure that whoever is handling projects here completes it, and anyone who fails to do so should face the law 

“The governor can do better than what we are seeing, but when you have some persons whose characters cannot be properly defined working against you in the guise of working for you, there will be problem,’’ Chinekezi said.

A resident of Obohia Road in Ndiegoro axis, Mr. Shedrach Ofodile, blamed both government and Aba residents for the city’s rapid decay. He noted that both parties were not helping matters. 

“The situation has become so pathetic that roads which were motorable 10 years ago now have weeds and mountainous refuse dumpsites and artificial marshes, with musty smell oozing out with reckless abandon. 

“This decay has given criminals and social deviants the opportunity of converting some of these once bubbling areas into their safe haven. Illicit drugs are being sold in those areas, which have become absolutely difficult to police and secure. 

“I have totally lost hope in this government. In a state where the payment of workers’ salaries sounds like a kind gesture, then the re-construction of roads and setting up good sanitation system are certainly a luxury they can’t afford for the citizenry,’’ he said. 

Also, a retired lecturer and landlord in the area, Chief Hilary Ebo, said Aba was fast becoming a big slum. 

“What baffles me is that the current governor has all it takes to end this mess, but I think God is just angry with Abia State and has not favoured us when it comes to leadership. 

“If that is not the case, then tell me who could have solved this problem if not Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who has seen it all and knows it better than everyone. 

“He was a deputy general manager of the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA). 

“As I speak to you now, there’s no refuse receptacle on Omuma Road. They cannot bring in receptacles here because there’s no road. It was not so 10 or 12 years ago. 

“When a government fails to provide social and economic infrastructures like roads, health centres and things as minor as refuse receptacles enough to cover certain areas, then such government may have indirectly certified environmental pollution. 

“Tell me how and why criminals will not convert a major road that is deplorable from beginning to the end into their own? We have never had it this bad,’’ Ebo said. But Sir Richard Anaekwe, a resident said, 

“The decay in Aba didn’t start with Ikpeazu. In fact, the creation of Abia State is the worst thing that happened to Aba. From 1999 to 2007, Orji Uzor Kalu tried, but he could have done better. From 2007 to 2015, former Governor T. A Orji was a disaster to Aba. Every motorable road in Aba went bad under him. 

Under Ikpeazu, it has been a theatre of drama. His method is a tricky one. He has left every part of the city littered with projects he knows very well he will not complete. 

“Ikpeazu knows that the Osisioma flyover is a waste of time and money. He should have channeled that fund towards completing the Port Harcourt Road. But he chose to let people sing his praise for starting the first ever flyover in Abia. When he flagged off the reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road two years ago, he promised it would be completed in 18 months. 

“The deadline has elapsed, with few kilometers of drainage as the achievement there. He knocked down peoples buildings in Osusu Road, Port Harcourt Road and some shops at Immaculate Avenue, yet, nothing has happened there.’’ 

Reacting, the Abia State Government, through the commissioner for information and strategy, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, said the recovery plan of Aba was in phases. He said government had successfully completed the first phase, which includes Faulks Road, through to the Ariaria International Market. According to him, there are three units of roundabout at Brass junction, Express junction and Okigwe Road junction. 

In the public record of the Abia State Government, this project is ongoing, but not all the components have been fully executed. With more than 70per cent of the 9.6km road executed, according to the record, Governor Ikpeazu opened the road temporarily in 2019 to give President Muhammadu Buhari a seamless passage to the Ariaria market for the purpose of commissioning the Ariaria Independent Power Project attracted by his administration and executed by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of the Federal Government. 

After the president’s visit, the governor considered closing portions of the road to enable Setraco execute the laying of asphalt on the road, but decided that doing so would hurt the business of the traders who were gearing up for the Yuletide. He directed Setraco to return to site late in December 2019 when the traders must have travelled for the season. But the company appealed that their workers would also close for the season by December 22, 2019, to resume in January 2020. 

Governor Ikpeazu directed the contractor handling the ongoing Osusu Road project to ensure that he delivered enough drains to carry storm water from Osusu, Omuma and Faulks Road areas of the city. That has been successfully executed and Setraco is set to connect the Faulks Road drain pipe through Osusu. 

The commissioner said Governor Ikpeazu was determined to delivering sustainable dividends of democracy to the people of the state. 

It was, however, learnt that the infrastructure deficit in Aba and Abia State as a whole has never been the inability of respective governments but more because those projects, especially roads, were rushed for political and momentary applause; hence they didn’t last long. Instead of embarking on new projects, subsequent administrations are known to reconstruct the same roads. 

It is hoped that the present Abia State Government would change the narrative in Aba, the commercial nerve of the state.

SOURCE: DAILY TRUST

POLITICS: The Immediate Challenge Of Imo APC

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma. Image: Facebook

BY EMEKA ASINUGO

The tussle between the main Opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State took a 360-degree turn when the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Election Tribunal and the Appeal Court and confirmed Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as the legitimately elected governor of Imo State on 3 March 2020. In an attempt to get an earlier verdict repealed, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and his team of lawyers from the PDP camp had requested the apex court to review the case in the light of new evidences of mass discrepancies during the elections. But among its 7-man panel of jurists, six members stood their grounds while one insisted that the Supreme Court erred and should reverse its earlier decision.

Many observers had hoped that the Supreme Court was at least going to call for a re-run of the elections. But the eminent jurists stuck to their guns and insisted that Senator Uzodinma remained the governor because they could not possibly afford to lose face by swallowing the saliva they had earlier spat out. They probably relied on the often quoted dictum of the erudite Supreme Court jurist, Chuwudifu Oputa, who said the Supreme Court is not supreme because it was infallible, but it was infallible because it is Supreme.

The Imo gubernatorial case immediately raised very important political questions which the judiciary in Nigeria must be careful to consider in future electoral judgments. Was it constitutionally lawful for the court to impose a leader on the voting masses by virtue of legal technicalities? In the case of Uzodinma versus Ihedioha, for example, none of the two candidates secured the mandatory spread of votes across two-thirds of the local government areas of the state. Therefore, for any of them to be declared the winner, based on legal technicalities, clearly ran against the provisions of the constitution.

The unwillingness of the apex court to consider the fact that the number of votes accredited to the incumbent governor was far in excess of the total accredited number of voters was another glaring case of complacency. There were other arguments for and against the justification of the verdict. But at the end of the day, the Supreme Court had its way and declared Senator Uzodinma as winner.

It is important, at this juncture, to appreciate the fact that both Senator Hope Uzodinma and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha are sons of Imo land. So, since Uzodinma has been recognized by the highest court in the land over and above Ihedioha as the incumbent governor of the state, any further agitations against his continuation as governor would not only be a distraction of his focus on fulfilling his electoral promises, it would be a draw-back on the development of the very state everyone claims to love. So, the best bet would be for the people of Imo State to stop every form of agitation, rally round Uzodinma and his APC government, and help them deliver on their electoral promises.

When Senator Uzodinma unveiled his campaign manifesto to the good people of Imo State on 14 January 2019, he promised to focus on infrastructural development and to turn around the public image of the people of Imo State if elected into office. The event, still very clear in the memory of many Imo people and their well wishers had attracted dignitaries from across the state, which included traditional rulers, civil servants, market men and women, and the clergy. Party faithful and supporters were there also to chant accolades to the APC governorship candidate.

He had promised then, that his 5-point blueprint for the economic revival of the state would be consummated in a purpose-driven government, anchored on a tripod vision of economic recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation. In a nutshell, Senator Uzodinma promised to overhaul the structure of the civil service and cognate institutions to ensure a merit-based system. He promised to pay salaries promptly, especially those of civil servants and pensioners, to ensure greater productivity.

This is very important considering the fact that when civil servants are not paid as at and when due, there is a tendency for them to resort to corrupt practices to be able to provide food for their families and to pay their house rents and other bills like electricity bills. In the process, they unwittingly create the opportunity for their superior officers to cart away huge sums of public funds into private bank accounts because everyone is practically corrupt, leaving no one to blow the whistle when the big shots mismanage public funds.

Senator Uzodinma spoke on his desire to enhance education in the state. He would turn Imo State into a knowledge-driven economy and accelerate manpower development through a highly functional and qualitative educational system that would focus on science and technology. He would also establish or more like improve on the scope and spread of skills acquisition and vocational centres in the state. More importantly, he would establish job centres to enhance job search and placements for the myriads of school leavers in the state, desperately in need of jobs. This would also be important in warding off Imo youths from the temptation of involving in criminal activities.

But, somehow, Senator Uzodinma did not mention anything about child poverty in the state, which is also a worrying recurrent decimal indexing the real development of the state. In many communities in the state today, in villages and towns and even in the cities of Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri, so many young Imo children, some as young as eight years, can be seen hawking commodities like akara, banana, oranges, pure water and similar commodities on the roads and streets, even during school hours when they should be in school. In such a way, they are shamelessly exposed to hazards that include motor accidents, rape and even kidnapping. Imo children deserve a lot better treatment from their government. And Imo people hope that their children’s hope in Governor Hope Uzodinma to turn their fortunes around for the better would not remain an empty dream through the tenure of the governor.

The governor had also spoken of his vision of recovering the state economy and the reconstruction and rehabilitation of core infrastructure and micro, small and medium enterprises. This is indeed a bright idea. But the governor must appreciate that the place to start from with this beautiful idea is the revamping of strategies for the supply of electricity in the state which has remained most epileptic. No small or medium size business can succeed without constant electricity. In fact, many Imo sons and daughters in the Diaspora would rush home to help in the development of the state the moment it is known that the state can boast of electricity supply 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, important trading routes between villages and urban areas need to be tarred to ensure that agricultural products are safely and quickly moved from the rural producing to the urban consuming areas. All these call for proper feasibility studies which can be easily carried out if the governor has a dependable team to work with.

In assuring the good people of Imo State that his government would be accountable to them, the governor had promised to conduct fair and credible local government elections in the state within the first 12 months of his tenure and to reconstitute the local government joint accounts allocation committee to manage and superintend local government funds. This is also a step in the right direction. For some years now, state governors have depended on the use of administrators appointed by them to run the affairs of local governments across the state. Many people had come to associate the process with the desire of the governors to also manage local government allocations from Abuja. And with their hands economically tied by the state governors, these administrators are unable to run the councils efficiently. So, now that Governor Uzodinma has promised to put the money for the running of local councils where it rightfully belongs, the people of Imo State would have to hold local government chairmen and their councillors who underperform responsible for the under-development of their rural communities if it becomes necessary.

All in all, Imo people have learnt through their experiences that when politicians come to seek their mandate, they say all kinds of things and make all kinds of promises to win their hearts and their votes. But as soon as they get the mandate, very little is done. The politicians strategize to remain in office for as long as they possibly can and thereafter they find a way to install their puppets in governance. There is no likelihood that the style would change during Uzodinma’s tenure but it would also be wrong to take him for granted. There have been instances where the stone that was rejected by builders became the cornerstone pillar of the house. No one knows yet what goodies Governor Hope Uzodinma will bring to Imo State.

Before he became a known politician during the 2000s, Uzodinma was the youth leader of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Imo State of the Second Republic. He became prominent in Imo politics as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. In 2003, he contested for the governorship of the state under the auspices of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party and failed. In 2006, he came back to the PDP and sought to contest the governorship election again but lost at the primaries to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume. He was then appointed into the PDP Board of Trustees, from where he was elected into the Senate in 2011, and re-elected in 2015.

Uzodinma is a known businessman who has been involved in the oil and gas sector through his SMIEC Chemical Engineering & Construction Company Limited with which he executed many projects for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He obtained his West African School Certificate from Mgbidi Secondary School, Orlu West in 1982 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a Diploma in Transport Studies. He also has an honorary doctorate degree from Imo State University.

From the look of things, there is little doubt if any, that Governor Uzodinma is an astute politician who was able to manipulate virtually all members of the Imo State House of Assembly to defect to the APC on assumption of office after Ihedioha’s nullification. He obviously knew that it would be difficult and very expensive for him to succeed as a governor who had no party member in the state House of Assembly. Members of the House would simply have arm-twisted him to get whatever they wanted for themselves and their constituencies. But by massively defecting to the ruling APC, they would now literarily take direct instructions from the governor as members of the same party. How that is going to affect development in Imo State remains to be seen.

Be that as it may, it is now time for Imo people to embrace their fortune with pride and move on with the APC government to further develop their state. It will be necessary for all Imo to key behind the governor to build trust among people from the various local government areas of the state, and by extension, the Igbo Community world-wide because the Igbo abroad cannot claim to be united when those in the country are not. And the governor cannot unite the different factions, some supporting him, some supporting Ihedioha, some supporting Uche Nwosu, some supporting Ifeanyi Ararume and so on, unless Imo people are willing to come together now for the love of their state.

Governor Uzodinma should take his time to gather a good team. That is what makes government work in the interest of the people. He should also try and tolerate dissent. That is what makes democracy work. That is what makes a government become a listening ear. That is what points the governor to the knowledge of the desires and aspirations of those he is governing. The growth of democracy in Imo State is very crucial and very critical to the political history of Nigeria. So, the PDP must remain relevant in the governance of Imo State by maintaining its position as a responsible Shadow Government which the APC in the state cannot ignore or take for granted.

Whatever the APC government can achieve in these three remaining years will definitely define their position in 2023, barring electoral malpractices. One pressing demand is to ensure that APC legislators have properly located and identifiable constituency offices in their areas of jurisdiction and that they take the concerns of their constituents seriously. Imo people must move on and realize that no government can solve all the problems of the people. They should help themselves. They should make good use of the opportunity Governor Uzodinma will be willing to offer them. Our people have a saying that the taste of the pudding is in the eating. The APC government must now settle down to get Imo people to work together with Governor Hope Uzodinma, with the hope that it shall be well at the end of a long night. This is the immediate challenge of Imo APC.

In Honor Of The Great Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike

Chukwuemeka Ike (1931-2020)

BY PRINCESS MIKKY ATTAH

I mourned within me late last year when I read of the death of Dr Ore Falomo, late Chief M.K.O Abiola’s personal physician. That was because I had a secret to share with him I would never again be able to. But concerning this demise now, I will not keep this secret so that, possibly, a grieving widow’s multiplied pains would be eased. In a most unsavoury way, I have stumbled on news that has led me to conclude that Professor Chukwuemeka Ike died from a grieving heart; one that was not only broken, but shattered by sorrows and pains of tragedies, in addition to family issues gone terribly wrong.

This is how it all went for me – upon hearing of the demise of one of Africa’s greatest novelists, Chukwuemeka Ike, as many people heard too, I ‘clicked online’ to sympathise with my lifelong “Big Brother” , Prince Osita Ike, the only son of Chukwuemeka Ike. As I was browsing, I was making mental plans to support Prince Osita and travel to Anambra, their homestead for his famous father’s burial, once he let me know the date.

The page on my phone opened and I was hit by what seemed like thunderbolt that struck me right in the forehead – Prince Osita Ike Dead! What? When? How? I was filled with grief, and was confused. I scrolled further down only to find out that he had even passed on since December 2016!

Where in the world have I been then? In the midst of my sorrow, my mind flew to his precious parents. Oh no, the trauma of losing your one son, I thought. And just three years later, Prince Osita’s mother now becoming a widow! It was simply tragic. However, I got thinking and, knowing that Chukwuemeka Ike was also an Igbo monarch, his burial would not be done in a hurry. My resolve to attend, whenever announced became even stronger, in honour of the memory of Prince Osita.

A few days back, I went browsing again in search of news of the great wordsmith’s transition arrangements. Firstly, I reckoned I should check for the Anambra airport, and flights going there. Big shock there – there is NO AIRPORT at all in Anambra – an old, old state, a state of renown; a bastion of national productivity! I was astounded. The nearest airport is Asaba Airport in Delta, state-built; even though that’s a federal preserve. Worse, it’s 32km away from Anambra, on federal roads that are notoriously dangerously dilapidated! Pressing on with my main task nevertheless, I got to discover a much sadder state of affairs with the Ikes, much worse than I ever imagined. In fact, reading through people’s responses on social media to the whole scenario, l saw one saying that it all sounded “more like a movie script”- Tookool (Nairaland.com). One pointedly asked why the Prince’s estranged wife would kill a son and also kill the father! I was reading from bottom up, so MORE questions came to my mind- estranged wife? Who is killing who, and killing who else?

But before all the mystery:

His Majesty, Eze Professor Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike OFR, Eze Ikelionwu XI, Ugwu Aro- foremost Nigerian novelist passed away in Nnewi, Anambra State on the 19th of January 2020 at 88. Chukwuemeka Ike was a distinguished scholar, renowned author, former Registrar of WAEC, university don as well as administrator; and visiting professor at the University of Jos. He was also the traditional ruler of Ikelionwu Kingdom of Anambra. Chukwuemeka Ike was a prolific novelist and author of: Sunset at Dawn, The Potter’s Wheel, Toads for Supper, The Naked Gods, Expo 77, and Our Children Are Coming, among several others.. He was married to Bimpe; Ugoeze Professor Adebimpe Ike, librarian emeritus. They met as students in the then University College, Ibadan. Chukwuemeka Ike later lectured at his alma mater. He was the first Nigerian to hold the post of Registrar of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). He was also the first indigenous Registrar of UNN. He co-ordinated the Nigerian Book Foundation for many years. His wife, a library scientist, has a doctorate degree. His grandson, Chukwuemeka Junior, is named after him.

Prof Ike was just three months to his 89th birthday when he passed on in January 2020. Reports say his health went downhill after the sudden death of his son, Prince Osita in 2016. It gets even more tragic. The Ike family had for over a decade been denied access to their only grandson! Chukwuemeka Ike died of the heartbreak of it all!

What really happened was that Prince Osita had gotten married to Princess Osaru, the daughter of Professor Emmanuel Emovon , and they had a son as earlier said. Prof Emmanuel Emovon – CON, FAS – is the Ogbayagbona of Benin Kingdom. I also know that his wife is the daughter of an Edo king, as well as being an academic herself. But Prince Osita’s marriage ended in bitter separation and he was in the process of getting a proper divorce before he died suddenly in 2016 of an asthma attack. When they separated, his wife took their son away to an unknown destination; this happened when the boy was 11 years old ( he is now 21). I never knew any of this till three days back when I made another attempt at getting any burial information, online and then through phone calls.

Attah can be reached via Twitter @mikky_princess

AHIA MGBEDE: Obstacles Overcome, TFC Rookie Achara Now Hoping To Set MLS On Fire

Ifunanyachi Achara. Image: Toronto FC

BY STEVE BUFFERY

Trying to get a professional athlete to reveal his personal goals for an upcoming season can be as difficult as getting a Fort Knox guard to give you the combination to the vault.

Nobody, it seems, wants to say something that might come back and haunt them.

But Toronto FC rookie Ifunanyachi Achara certainly isn’t afraid to lay it on the line.

“My first goal this year was to get drafted, and then sign, which was awesome,” the young TFC forward said following a training session at BMO Field. “My goal now is to try to make the team, try to come (off) the bench and see how I can help the team. And keep working hard. And personal goals … winning (MLS) rookie of the year is achievable for me. I think if I get my chance on the field, I can do a lot.”

Hey, when your journey to the professional ranks has been as improbable as Achara’s, you’re not afraid to aim high and go for it.

When Achara was 15 years old, he had made a name for himself playing youth/street soccer in his hometown of Enugu, in southeastern Nigeria, and was invited to try out for the Nigerian U17 team. Despite a good camp, he didn’t make the national team — an exceptionally talented squad that went on to win the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates.

“That was really disappointing,” said Achara, who thought that perhaps he had missed a huge opportunity to get recognized and further his career. “But I used that to work harder.”

The work paid off. Later, while playing in a tournament back home, Achara was spotted by American coach Jon Moodey and — through the MTN Football Scholar program — recruited to the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. While there, he played with England U21 international Jack Harrison, Charlotte Independence winger Mutaya Mwape and, later on, future TFC teammate Jacob Shaffelburg. Going to Berkshire was a turning point in Achara’s life, though travelling to a new country and barely speaking English was not easy.

“The first year was really tough because it was really cold in Massachusetts and I had to adapt to the weather and the food,” he said. “It was hard for me to communicate. It was difficult writing papers, talking to teachers and doing presentations. I couldn’t really express myself. I knew what I wanted to say, but I just couldn’t say it.

“I was alone, but at the same time I had a lot of people who cared about me, like Jon Moodey and some of the faculty at Berkshire and then later at Georgetown,” he said.

Berkshire opened doors for Achara in soccer and in other ways. He embraced new experiences with both arms, such as playing ice hockey for the first time. In his senior year at the prestigious New England boarding school, the young Nigerian was told, as part of a course, to pick an intramural winter sport to try.

“All my friends were doing basketball, but I’m just terrible at basketball,” Achara said with a laugh. “So I thought I’d try something I’ve never done before. We don’t have ice rinks in Nigeria and I wanted to try a different culture’s sports.”

Achara spent two weeks learning to skate before finally playing a game.

“I learned to skate, but I couldn’t stop. I’d just run into the (boards),” he said, laughing. “I got better, but our team was terrible. We were bad because it was all new people learning how to skate and play hockey. And then we played against the (junior varsity) girls team.

“I scored the game-winner!” he said, laughing.

One sport other than soccer that Achara did excel in at Berkshire was track. In fact, he was a member of the Berkshire team that won the New England Prep School Track Association 4×400-metre relay title. Another member was Shaffelburg (who later won a NEPSTA 4×100 title with Ifunanyachi’s younger brother Ugochukwu, now a forward with Northwestern University). When asked who is faster, he or Shaffelburg, Ifunanyachi smiled and said his Canadian teammate can beat him over 100 metres but probably not over 400. When relayed that information, Shaffelburg smiled, slyly, and said that he can beat Achara over any distance.

From Berkshire, Achara went to Georgetown University and flourished in the Big East Conference, captaining the Hoyas to the NCAA national championship in 2019. His career with Georgetown, however, was marred by injuries, including lateral collateral ligament in his right knee in his first and second years, and a sprained left meniscus requiring surgery prior to his senior year. It was clear that Achara had all the qualities to be a tremendous player — strength, pace, skill and athleticism — but he seemed snake-bit and there was some question, at least in his mind, whether his name would be announced at the MLS SuperDraft. The 22-year-old said his plan, if he wasn’t drafted, was to work for a while in the U.S., save some money and then return home and perhaps work in his dad’s small retail business in Enugu. Happily, the Reds selected Achara 25th overall in the 2020 draft, though he likely would have gone much higher if not for his injury history at Georgetown.

“That was awesome,” said Achara. “But it was a difficult pick for (TFC). If it was a U.S. team that had drafted me, I would have been able to go there right away. But I had to get a VISA (to come) to Canada. And I couldn’t do my VISA (application) because I didn’t know if I would make the team yet. I was in a difficult spot.”

To add to the uncertainty, just before the Reds opened preseason training in Orlando in January, Achara came down with the flu and was told to stay home. Again, he felt like a tremendous opportunity to move his career forward was falling by the wayside.

“My feeling was, they’re aren’t going to see me enough,” he said.

But Achara was able to join TFC in Los Angeles for the second part of pre-season where he put the coaching staff on notice that he waqs ready to play in MLS right now, scoring three goals in preseason games. Before the regular season began, TFC signed Achara to a first-team contract.
Shaffelburg was at the Canadian national team training camp when he heard that the Reds had drafted Achara, his former teammate at Berkshire.

“I was shocked,” said the Port Williams, N.S. native. “I had no idea (the team was considering him). I was rooming with (TFC forward) Jayden (Nelson) at Canada camp and he said: ‘Look who we drafted.’ So I looked and it was Achara. I couldn’t believe it. But it’s crazy to be here with him.”

Shaffelburg, now in his second year with the Reds, said when he first arrived at Berkshire as a freshman, Achara was a senior and went out of his way to help him get acclimatized to the school and the campus. Now Shaffelburg wants to do the same for Achara in Toronto.

“He’s a super nice guy,” said the second-year winger.

Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney is careful not to place young players too high on a pedestal. And rightly so. Players don’t need that kind of pressure. But he certainly wasn’t stingy on Thursday in his praise of Achara after seeing what the young man can do on the field.
“I think he’s a player who’s going to help us this year,” said Vanney. “Over the years, we haven’t had a lot of draft picks who, in their first year, were going to bring something new to the team. But I think he will be able to.

“Very interesting player,” Vanney continued. “Very intelligent kid. Whenever we’ve given him tactical information or even adjustments in-game, he’s very quick to apply them. He’s quick, he can play on the move, he can play short, he’s technically gifted with his right foot and his left foot. He’s a player that we’re excited about and we believe can help us and add some difference. He can come inside, he can stay outside, he can play as a nine (centre forward), he can play as a winger. He’s a really nice player in all aspects. And defensively, he understands his role and he’s in the right positions. He brings a unique skill set to our group that we need.”

Vanney said there’s a chance Achara may get some time on the field during the club’s home opener on Saturday against New York City FC.

“For me, it’s looking for the right moment and opportunity to get him out in front of the big crowd, get his feet wet and take the emotion of it in,” said the coach.

Vanney said he received several texts from friends in soccer after the Reds selected the young Nigerian.

“(They) said: ‘This kid is really talented. If you can get the best out of him, he’s going to help you a great deal,’” said Vanney. “And he’s probably further along than we thought in terms of his tactical intelligence, his understanding and feel for the game and his ability to apply things quickly.”

The best news of all for Achara is, physically, he feels great – no lingering aches or pains from his time at Georgetown.

“The injury stuff is all in the past now,” he said. “I’m strong, I feel great, nothing hurts. It’s just amazing.”

The Reds’ return to Toronto from San Jose last Sunday marked Achara’s first-ever visit to Canada and training at frigid BMO Field on Thursday certainly didn’t throw him for a loop. He can’t stop smiling.

“I love it here,” he said. “Coming here and playing and being around the guys, they just make you so much better. They’re all good players.”

Sitting inside the dining room at BMO Field, Achara admitted that he has one other goal this season — to be able to bring his parents to Toronto from Nigeria. The personable footballer hasn’t been back home since Christmas 2016 and admits that he gets homesick and really misses his family.

“I don’t think my mom has actually ever seen me play soccer at all,” he said. “That would be nice if they come.”

INJURED RETURNS ARE ON HOLD

Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney said on Thursday that winger Jacob Shaffelburg (hamstring) and midfielder Nick DeLeon (back) will likely not be in the lineup for the club’s home opener at BMO Field on Saturday against New York City FC.

“I still have to find out the severity of it and the timeline,” said Vanney, of Shaffelburg.

“Nick is getting closer. He had some work done on his back to try to relieve some nerve pain and he’s moving in the right direction. Everybody else who was in San Jose (for the season opener last Saturday) will be ready to go.”

There was actually a Pablo Piatti sighting at BMO Field on Thursday, though the club’s new Designated Player did not train with his teammates on the field.

Piatti suffered a strained hamstring during pre-season camp in Los Angeles. There is no timeline for his return.

“Once I start to see him around the field and running and working, then I’ll have a better indication,” Vanney said.

“I don’t have an exact time at the moment. One, we’ve got to get the hamstring healthy and, two, continue to get his fitness level up and get him ready to play.”

SOURCE: THE SUDBURY STAR

IKEDI OHAKIM: Nigerian Leaders Including Myself Have Failed In Terms Of Security

Ikedi Ohakim, former Governor of Imo State.

BY ADINDU OBIALOR

A former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim has blamed the current security situation in the country on the nation’s political leaders who have remained unmoved and indifferent in tackling the security challenges confronting the country.

Ohakim stated this today while delivering a lecture He said that insecurity has hitherto become the national anthem on the lips of every Nigerian, a situation, he noted will continue to portray the country in a bad light before the international community.

“Our lands have suddenly become graveyards as a result of incessant killings which have become the order of the day.”

“The late Nobel Laureate, Chinua Achebe was right when he put up his first artwork, ‘Things fall apart’ and ended it with, ‘There was a country’. Indeed, things have fallen apart in Nigeria.”

“I charge Mr. President, as a matter of urgency, release the presidential Marshall plan for security because we shall not continue to fold our arms and watch our people die like fowls everyday.”

“Just last week, bandits killed another 52 in Kaduna state. These are not 52 cows but human beings. What a country! Meanwhile, the Governor of Kaduna state has apologized for his inability to protect his people. It is indeed a sorry situation.”

Ohakim who spoke as a guest at the event further said that Nigeria will hardly make a headway while leaving with the enemy called ‘insecurity and corruption’, urging the leaders to apply human face in the fight against the menace.

Police Brutality And The Rest Of Us

People protest at the Ikoku Spare Parts Market, Mile 2, Diobu, Port Harcourt, accusing the police in Rivers State for the death of Chima Ikwunado who died from his injuries while in custody of the Eagles Crack Squad, a police unit in Port Harcourt stationed in Mile One. Image via BBC

BY AMIEYEOFORI IBIM

On December 23 last year, Chima Ikwunado, an automobile mechanic based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, died in the custody of the Nigerian Police few days after he was apprehended by the police who whisked him away alongside four other colleagues after they reportedly failed to meet “bribe” demanded from them. Chima was allegedly killed by some policemen, after undergoing “severe torture in their custody”.

Victor Ogbonna, one of the victims arrested alongside the deceased, said “They tortured Chima, broke his legs and Chima died in pain. They (police) hung Chima in the air for two hours and went on patrol, only to return afterwards to lose him. By then, he merely fell down like a cocoyam, already dead,” “So, they took him inside their vehicle and drove off. Chima died on December 23, according to what the boys told me.”

The case of Chima is one out of the avalanche of incidents of torture and ill-treatment of suspects held in the custody of the police. Victims and witnesses have disclosed at several fora that the forms of torture and other ill-treatment committed by the police included the tying of arms and legs tightly behind the body, suspension by hands and legs from the ceiling or a pole, repeated and severe beatings with metal or wooden objects (including planks of wood, iron bars, and cable wire), resting of concrete blocks on the arms and back while suspended, spraying of tear gas on the face and eyes, rape of and other sexual violence against female detainees, use of pliers or electric shocks on the penis, shooting on the foot or leg, stoning, death threats, slapping and kicking with hands and boots and denial of food and water.

A 23-three year-old man who was arrested by the police in Enugu described his mal-treatment to Human Rights Watch thus: “They handcuffed me and tied me with my hands behind my knees, a wooden rod behind my knees, and hung me from hooks on the wall, like goal posts. Then, they started beating me. They got a broomstick hair [bristle] and inserted it into my penis until there was blood coming out. Then, they put tear gas powder in a cloth and tied it round my eyes. They said they were going to shoot me unless I admitted I was the robber. This went on for four hours.”

In another account, a 36-year-old trader who was detained at the Kano police headquarters told researchers: “Our arms were tied with handcuffs. One at a time we were hung by a chain from the ceiling fan hook. I was the first. They started beating me with a yam pounder, saying I should confess for the robbery. I didn’t know what they were talking about. I was beaten, beaten, beaten. They beat my knees, the soles of my feet, my back and my joints. This went on for 25 minutes. I was beaten too much. I shit and piss while I was hanging. Then, I became unconscious.”

One factor is clear, The Police disregard for due process of law, which fuels the abuse of power, is characteristic to all the cases. Amongst the main concerns are deliberate practice of not informing suspects of the reasons for their arrest, lack of legal representation, prolonged pre-trial detention and acceptance by Magistrates and Judges of confessions that were extracted under torture.

Impunity among men of the Nigerian Police is one of the biggest single obstacles to the reduction of torture and other serious abuses by the police in Nigeria. Deeply engrained societal attitudes that accept police torture and other abuses as legitimate tools to combat crime help sustain this impunity. For many Nigerians who have experienced decades of oppression and brutality by military rulers, the use of violence by the institutions of the state is often accepted, even seen as normal.

Even when they know the police action is wrong, indeed illegal, the victims seem utterly powerless to seek redress. The fact that in all but a handful of cases, there was no accountability for violations committed by the individual police officer, no doubt embolden the perpetrators and has perpetuated the culture of violence in the Nigerian Police Force. Also, victims of police torture who attempt to attain accountability face numerous obstacles.

Official channels for registering complaints, such as the Police Complaints Bureau and the National Human Rights Commission, are acutely under-resourced and lack political support. In addition, the failure to carry out legally required inquests and autopsies on suspects who died in custody further impedes accountability. In the unlikely event that a legal case is brought against an officer, obstruction or lack of co-operation from the police and connivance with the lower cadres of the judiciary ensure that prosecution is rare.

National efforts to reform the police have, to date, been largely symbolic and consistently failed to prioritise human rights issues, including torture. An ambitious new program, launched by the Inspector General of Police, which offered some hope that more comprehensive and meaningful reform is at last being considered has not yielded the desired result.

A review of the Police Act will certainly be a welcome opportunity to bring the laws governing the police into line with international standards, particularly the inclusion of a code of conduct that specifically prohibits the use of torture. However, whether the police leadership can rise to the challenge and contest the many vested interests opposing change – both from inside the police force and in the wider environment – squarely lies with President Muhammadu Buhari.

The international community, in particular the British and United States governments, both of whom have since 1999 invested millions of dollars into developing the Nigerian Police Force, must also take a stronger stance to pressure the Nigerian government to bring about an end to the torture of detainees, address impunity for police abuses and bring about genuine reforms.

Both governments have repeatedly assured human rights propagators that they are voicing concerns about human rights issues with the Nigerian authorities. However, this approach has proven to be largely ineffective as police abuses, including routine torture, persist.

Therefore, the British and the U.S. governments should at the very least condition continue the financial assistance, equipment and training they provide to the Nigerian police. Also, the British and U.S. governments should come forth to publicly denounce torture and killings by the Nigerian Police Force.

Imo: A State In Need Of Functional Health Facility

Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu.

BY STEVE UZOECHI

The immediate past administration boasted about building one General Hospital in each of the 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State. The projects could not be completed for the eight years duration of the Rochas Okorocha’s administration. Today, save for the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri, Imo is in the dark, healthcare wise. STEVE UZOECHI reports from Owerri

The night was thick with trepidation and the feeling of helplessness, asphyxiating. From anxiety, it was utter gloom as loved ones waited with bated breath. Eventually, the long wait had come to an end with the shattering pronouncement by the doctors that Ndubuisi Emenike was dead.

Then, the wailing began; tears flowed freely as even men cried.

Men consoled men as women let down their hairs and wept inconsolably. It was a sight no one would wish to re-live in a long time.

It was a Sunday, January 26, 2020 and would for a long time be remembered by the political class in Okigwe senatorial zone and indeed the people of Imo State.

Between 6pm and 7.30pm of that night, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri was literally ‘flooded’ by politicians of all shades, businessmen, high-equity individuals from different walks of life, stakeholders from Imo North and of course, the ‘everyday’ Nigerians resident in Owerri, the Imo State capital; all of who had dashed to the FMC, Owerri, in the hope that there may be some help they could render to save the life of Chief Ndubuisi Emenike, the renowned philanthropist and a senatorial candidate of the Action Alliance political party for the Imo North(Okigwe Zone) senatorial election.

In an alleged case of ‘accidental discharge’ or perhaps celebratory gunshots (friendly fire), Emenike had been shot by an officer of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and was rushed to the hospital, but did not make it out alive.

It was such a heart-rending way to die, for a man who had saved many lives, paid hospital bills for many, built houses, awarded scholarships and had in more ways than can be remembered, given value to humanity.

As sad as it is, not a few persons believe it was an avoidable death given the fact that it was not a head-shot or heart-shot that killed Emenike but a shot fired around the abdominal region.

They averred that what eventually may have killed the chieftain after all, may be the absence of a functional health facility around the area where the shooting took place, which is Isiala Mbano council area.

A senior medical practitioner, Dr. Hyacinth Emele, maintained that distance to the nearest medical facility may have been the undoing of the late Chieftain.

He said: “Most times, when people are shot, bleeding is what kills them. If a major vessel is hit by the bullet and it triggers torrential haemorrhage, the victim needs to be rushed to a hospital as soon as possible, not farther than five or 10 minutes from the place of incident. What needs to be done is to stop the bleeding fast. Usually when they are brought in as emergency, you see the medical personnel going straight to where the person was shot to put something there to stop the bleeding and that is how most of them are saved.

“But for a longer journey, perhaps with a major vessels affected, bleeding does a lot of damage. Usually, when they are brought in, most vital signs like the heart rate and pulse rate may not be obvious anymore and that may be indicative of internal bleeding. Such patients are wheeled straight into the theatre and opened up so that the bleeding can be stopped immediately depending on how much can be salvaged owing to the distance travelled.

“It is apparent that the distance travelled by the late Chieftain did not do him any good; the distance could actually be a major cause of his death because by the time they would have travelled to Owerri from Isiala Mbano council area, he would have bled into shock.”

As for abdominal shots, Emele said that victims of abdominal shots are often saved if intervention is timely.

“It is possible to survive abdominal shots. If it affects a major organ or vessel, then speed and timely intervention become expedient. For shots that affect the Femural vessel for instance; without swift and expert intervention, the patient will bleed to death”, Emele said.

When Ndubuisi Emenike was shot at Isiala Mbano, there was evidently no hospital within the vicinity or neighbouring community competent to offer basic medical intervention and stabilize him before onward journey to FMC Owerri for comprehensive treatment.

After the incident, Emenike was first rushed to the St. Mary’s Hospital Umunachi in Isiala Mbano but there was literally nothing the hospital could do for him and accordingly, they referred him to FMC, Owerri.

He was then ferried to the state capital, traversing at least two Local Government Areas before arriving the FMC, Owerri.

The question on the lips of every resident of Imo State is what became of the 27 new general hospitals for which budgetary provisions were made for several years.

The 27 new general hospitals were supposedly spread out across the 27 council areas of Imo State. What happened to the new general hospital supposedly built in Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano?

Ironically, for the eight years Senator Rochas Okorocha was in office as governor of Imo State, he did not complete the said general hospitals while perpetually listing them as one of his achievements in office.

The general hospitals became issues of political campaign described as an ambitious futuristic project by Okorocha’s loyalists while many other residents of Imo State, who were aware of the real status of the new general hospitals have dismissed same as a white elephant projects.

Okorocha inherited 11 general hospitals; the Imo State University Teaching Hospital and hundreds of health centres, yet for eight years, none of these were enhanced or improved upon to render the deserved healthcare services to the people.

From the records, Imo has a total of 1338 health facilities across the 27 LGAs; 805 of these are primary health facilities with 416 of the primary health facilities being publicly owned while 389 are privately owned.

The state also has about 531 Secondary health facilities with 19 being publicly owned while 512 are privately owned.

There was no evident effort from the Okorocha administration to improve on what he met on ground so that Imo people could access qualitative healthcare. Instead, he embarked on a fresh project of building 27 new general hospitals without, at least, standardizing one existing hospital to serve the Imo populace while his dream hospitals were underway.

Not even the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, got the deserved attention. Instead, according to Governor Hope Uzodinma, the MRI machines procured by previous administrations for the Teaching Hospital were removed and taken to the Ochiedike Diagnostic Centre, Owerri, which at the time, was allegedly being run by Okorocha like a private enterprise.

Without completing and delivering any of the said new general hospitals, Okorocha still claimed he had spent a whopping N27billion in all the 27 uncompleted hospital projects.

While on the 27 new general hospital adventure, Okorocha had leased the 11 general hospitals he met to a private firm, Messrs Lantech Solutions Ltd and shortly after, the general hospitals were virtually grounded and abandoned with workers owed as much as eight months salaries.

The former governor apparently saw more of profits in health care service delivery than the humane and compassionate service it is.

To further deepen the woes of the health sector in Imo State, Okorocha aborted a $32million ultra-modern hospital project, revoked the land for the project and reallocated same to a petroleum dealer for a Petroleum Filling Station.

A Neurosurgeon, Prof. Philip Njemanze said: “Many Nigerian medical doctors overseas, at home and other investors had come together to establish a state-of-the-art hospital in Imo which would be the first of eight hospitals proposed by the group, but former Governor Okorocha stood against the project while many states would have been willing to offer us land for free.

“By now, the hospital, a $32million investment would have been functional. It was designed a paperless hospital with capacities for complex surgeries including heart and brain surgeries. The hospital was also designed to have a helipad for an emergency response helicopter. We had procured the land, done all the survey and feasibility studies. In fact, we had spent money in the neighbourhood of $18million before Okorocha illegally revoked the land, and destroyed the structures already put in place. He went ahead to reallocate the land for a petrol filling station. Nevertheless, we have won the case in court and hopefully there will be the enforcement of the judgment.”

Commenting on the death of Ndubuisi Emenike, Njemanze said it was the lack of emergency response system in the state that led to the death of the Chieftain.

He said: “How could you drive an emergency case of that nature through our dilapidated road networks for that long and not end up doing more damage than good. What the young man needed at the time was swift response and timely medical intervention, and not a long journey. A helicopter would have brought him to safety in no time as his treatment would have started right inside the chopper. You cannot run a country or state without an emergency response system. It is not the fault of the FMC, Owerri that he died but the leaders that failed to do what is right and needful for its citizens.”

He added: “I drafted a bill on emergency response for the state and I remember I took the proposal to former Governor Okorocha who told me to meet with him in his country home, Ogboko and he just trashed the proposal. He simply told me it was not what he wanted to do, that he had bought 15 ambulances for emergency and that was all. I couldn’t believe my ears.”

Without further gilding the lilies, Imo still bleeds from a total lack of functional health system.

The sad reality is that the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, which is a tertiary health institution is the only competitively functional health facility in Imo State.

Consequently, the FMC is overtly burdened as it solely dispenses healthcare services for primary, secondary and tertiary health needs which was not the original intendment of its founders.

The reality is that the primary and secondary health care systems in Imo State have totally collapsed and rather than hasten to its intervention, the former governor spent eight years executing building contracts only to leave behind 27 uncompleted buildings as 27 general hospitals.

Since, after Okorocha’s eight years in office, Imo is yet to have a governor who has settled-in to design a new health masterplan for the state. This is largely due to the political controversy that has dogged the seat of power in Imo State. And this was the situation when Ndubuisi Emenike died.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines a hospital as “An institution that is built, staffed, and equipped for diagnosis of disease; for the treatment, both medical and surgical, of the sick and the injured; and for their housing during this process. The modern hospital also often serves as a centre for investigation and for teaching.”

Suffice it to say that if there were 27 new general hospitals built and functional in Imo State, Emenike would not have died.

The newly 27 general hospitals could not save Ndubuisi Emenike because they were non-existent.

SOURCE: NEW TELEGRAPH

INTERVIEW: Talking African Literature With Chigozie Obioma

Chigozie Obioma. Image: Facebook

BY KOUROSH ZIABARI

African literature has attracted immense international interest in recent years, and a number of “Afropolitan” icons and rising stars have won acclaim from critics and literary festivals.

Yet most reading lists released by major newspapers and journals are still disproportionately Western-centric, and African literature lacks enough media attention. Despite this, more avid readers across the globe are getting to know names such as Nuruddin Farah, Alain Mabanckou, Ben Okri, Aminatta Forna and Chigozie Obioma, marking the diversification of the literary taste of millennial bibliophiles.

Literature originating from Africa often delves into the legacy of colonialism, sheds light on the tyranny of capital over labor, recounts the identity crisis that many Africans battle with, and represents the unheard voices of ordinary people and unsung heroes.

Chigozie Obioma is a 33-year-old Nigerian novelist and writer who has earned global recognition after publishing three books at such a young age. In 2015 and 2019, he was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. Time magazine described his novel “An Orchestra of Minorities” as a “mystical epic” that confirms his “place among a raft of literary stars.” The Guardian referred to him as the “heir to Chinua Achebe” who is “a good writer whose work has a deeply felt authenticity, combined with old-fashioned storytelling.”

Obioma is currently an assistant professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the US.

In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Obioma about his career, novels and the representation of colonialism in African literature.

The transcript has been edited for clarity.

Kourosh Ziabari: In “An Orchestra of Minorities,” you depict the ordeal of an unassuming poultry farmer who falls in love with a pharmacy student hailing from a prosperous family. In order to impress the parents of his beloved woman, he sells his entire belongings to take up a position at a northern Cypriot university and fund his studies. Shortly after arriving in Cyprus, he realizes that the middlemen who had promised him a university placement had tricked him and that there was no position available for him at the college whatsoever. Is this suffering a situation that many young Nigerians go through? While crafting the novel, was it your intention to raise awareness of this challenge faced by Nigerians?

Chigozie Obioma: Yes, I always say that fiction is a medium that takes lived experience and molds it into something that can become so new [that] those who have lived the experience may not even recognize it. Even more so, this novel covers how African migrants are treated in the West quite a bit, but people rarely talk about how we are treated in countries outside of the west.

It is, of course, a shame that the selfish culture of African politicians leaves their states in catastrophic states, but when these migrants go to places like India, Turkey, Cyprus, Mexico and other places, they face inhuman treatments. I myself lived in North Cyprus for five years and the travails of Chinonso, the protagonist of the novel, are similar to what I and others experienced. I wrote about my own ordeal in an essay earlier this year for the Paris Review.

Ziabari: In an interview, you said you wanted to chronicle the landmarks of Igbo history and civilization in the “Orchestra,” including the encounter with the Portuguese in the 15th century and the Nigerian Civil War. Do you think your readers have been able to absorb the historical messages you planned to share with them or is it that this pedagogic effort has been overshadowed by the supremacy of the storyline and the ups and downs of the life of Chinonso, his quest for excellence and his love journey?

Obioma: I think that this being a work of fiction rather than non-fiction — I could, for instance, have elected to simply write a historical book — I had to layer the historical portions around a particular story. So, both of them, I hope, go together. The historical portions of the novel are organic to the narrator, for it is the voice of a god. Thus, through its testimony about itself and its host, it also describes the world as it has experienced it over these many centuries.

Ziabari: You consider yourself an ontologist interested in the metaphysics of being and existence. The themes of fate, destiny and sublimity are often missing in the majority of novels written today, but you explore these territories in your fiction extensively. Do you think this approach to existence is what is winning you popularity and helping your work stand out among hundreds of novels by major literary figures?

Obioma: I am not sure why my novels have received some recognition, but I agree that the themes I have focused on are mostly marginal and not often what many writers consider. One of the reasons why I have focused on fate and destiny is because my people, the West Africans, think mostly in these terms. I want to capture the essence of their common worldview.

It is also because Nigeria to me is a paradox. This is a country that could be rich but is poor. There are, of course, deep philosophical reasons why this is so. But on the surface, that paradox stings and stares at you in the face, and it haunts my mind. This makes one ponder things that are subterranean to the consciousness — things that seems to lie beneath the surface and have no easy answers. The meaning of life, the “metaphysics of being and existence” as I always put it, is one such quandary.

Ziabari: You’ve implied on a number of occasions that your relationship with your homeland of Nigeria is a capricious one. On the one hand, it is the home that sends you away because of its lack of provisions and opportunities. On the other, it is the home that embraces you when you return from the US. Is it realistic to say your novels are partly inspired by your own story and your special connection with “home”?

Obioma: Capricious indeed! But I am wedded to it. The truth is that I am a reluctant exile in America. I wish I could live in Nigeria, frankly. That is my home. That’s where I live untrammeled, without any fear of being an immigrant or a racial minority. It is where my ancestors lived and died, and the place whose food I love to eat. But yet, I feel I cannot live there.

There is a wall that has come between my home and me, and it is a wall I do not have the courage to scale. [In a recent interview, I talked of] how this shapes the tone of my fiction in that it often leads to a sort of “tragic vision” which comes about out of the sadness of writing about Nigeria. I said there that such writing is a masochistic act because “Nigeria riles me, wounds me, and heals me at the same time. I love it entirely and loathe it at the same time, and in that kind of relationship, a certain form of despair often gets hold of the mind. My writing is sometimes an effort to rid myself of that despair through the joy of artistic creation. The witness borne then, if I might say, is a witness to my own surrendering to a light that emerges from my own darkness, and in that light, I am refreshed and made alive.”

Ziabari: Why do you think so few prominent writers have shed light on chi in Igbo cosmology and that old African cultural heritage is neglected by the youth? Do you consider the postcolonial influence of the West on Nigeria to be a negative one?

Obioma: I think many African writers and thinkers have tried to encourage an embrace of our heritage. There was Chinua Achebe, for instance, but also, to some extent, Wole Soyinka. The purpose for me is to reassure our identity as people who had some culture and civilization prior to the coming of the West. I think because of colonialism and slavery, followed by the underdevelopment of most African countries, there has set in this self-damaging inferiority complex — the idea that we are no good.

I was in Abuja around two years ago and some people were debating on national radio whether we should be recolonized. Now, this is a mistake. We only need to learn history, to look back at the sophisticated sociopolitical systems we had, the economic systems, the egalitarian political structures to see that precolonial Africa was not one night from which the West rescued us. I think without this reassurance, this strengthening of our identity, this solving of our identity crisis, we cannot recover.

Ziabari: Your debut novel, “The Fishermen,” was acclaimed by critics and shortlisted for a 2015 Man Booker Prize. Why do you think the novel captured so much attention and elicited positive reactions globally, considering that it was your first novel? Many aspiring writers, who happen to write captivating novels, struggle for years to win publicity for their work. What was the key to the success of “The Fishermen” as a debut?

Obioma: If I knew the reason why anyone enjoyed my work, I would be very glad. I think, humbly, it is simply to work hard and believe in the vision you have for a particular project and to be true to that vision. I have always wanted to write a novel about siblinghood and that celebrates family and consanguinity. I think that is what “The Fishermen” does well above anything else.

In that sense, it has universal appeal and touches on aspects of humanity that are recognizable and relatable. I also often think that there is something profoundly human about the relationship between the four brothers and how, just by speaking words, a stranger could cause an irreparable fracture between them. I think this is what many readers — across the 30 or so countries where the book has been published — connect with.

Ziabari: You once said that you wouldn’t have written “The Fishermen” if you hadn’t moved to Cyprus to study. How did being based in Cyprus influence your understanding of Nigeria? Do you ascribe the creation of “The Fishermen” to homesickness that possibly invigorated your sense of belonging to Nigeria?

Obioma: An Igbo proverb says that we hear the sound of the udu drum clearer from a distance rather than from being close by it. This is very true of writing. When I am in a place or close to a place, it is often difficult to imagine it fully. But when I am separated from a place and have distance from it, I am better able to see it, to fully conceive it imaginatively. Since fiction is all about creativity anyway — the invention of the nonexistent — trusting in hindsight.

If I sat across from you at a cafe and I was to describe that moment on the spot, I would write about the obvious things you did. But if I lie down in my bed later that night and the light was off and I closed my eyes, the fine-grain details will trickle in. I will remember the unobvious things, the person scratching their wrist, or hawking into a napkin — those fine details that enrich fiction. It is when the person is gone and the meeting has ended and the day is forgotten that things become closer, clearer.

Ziabari: Many critics have compared you to the legendary Chinua Achebe and called you his successor. Does it make you feel proud to be compared to Achebe in the eyes of noted literati and authors? Do you personally admire Achebe’s work?

Obioma: In some ways, “The Fishermen” shares an affinity with“Things Fall Apart,” Achebe’s seminal work. Achebe wrote “Things Fall Apart” to document the fall of the Igbo civilization, the African civilization or culture. I am looking at a more specific fall of Nigeria — of our civilization, too, but in relation to Nigeria specifically. So, it’s a similar project. And in the ways in which Achebe tried to reveal the Igbo civilization to his readers, and “An Orchestra of Minorities” does a similar job.

Ziabari: A final question. Where do you think African literature, in general, and the literature of Nigeria, in particular, are heading? Should we expect more Man Booker and Nobel nominations?

Obioma: Ah, I hope so of course. I think African literature is in good shape. There are wonderful writers popping up here and there, and I won’t be surprised if we have more nominations and wins.

INTERVIEW: ‘Uzodinma Can’t Run Away From Engaging Different Groups In Imo’

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma

Nseobong Okon-Ekong dialogues with Chief Longers Anyanwu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress on expectations from Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State

EXCERPT:

As an insider of the APC decision-making clique are you aware of pressure on Governor Hope Uzodinma to extract certain compromise from him?

The so called pressure to extract special considerations by some power cliques from Governor Uzodinma is a common knowledge to all and sundry in the state. It has become a common knowledge to the people. I guess that’s why the new governor is being careful in who and whom to associate with in order not to allow them infest him with the virus of public opprobrium.
But I can truely confirm to you that there are some powerful clique here and there determined to arm twist the governor to bow to their whims and caprices without consideration to the wishes and aspirations of the overall Ìmo people. The governor should not fall for such heinous trap.

How would you advise the Imo State Governor to engage the contending interests like the former Action Alliance (AA) candidate, Uche Nwosu and Godwin Araraume of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who could have played the spoiler but allowed him a relatively smooth sail?

In a complex state like Ìmo, there’s no way the governor will run away from engaging with different with groups no matter their colour and shape. But he has to be at his best having the fear of God and in respect to the overriding sensibilities of Ìmo people. All the political parties and leaders you mentioned are all members of APC who left in pursuit of their individual ambitions as a result of the ‘macabre’ dance that ensued as a result of the implosion in APC before the gubernatorial primaries and elections. He has to accommodate all particularly those who genuinely want reconciliation.

Managing the different blocs within the APC in Imo State may be a major headache for the Governor, would it better for him to face governance squarely and allow the party chieftains to manage the intrigues within the party?

I totally agree with you. Politics and party intrigue is over. People should allow him concentrate on good governance delivery.

Imo State will now have an off-season governorship election, is that some kind of comforting news to the APC? Can this be exploited to an advantage?

No matter what season you fix elections it’s only God that’s the final arbiter. It doesn’t matter really the only thing is that it removes some pressure from the governor. However, it has its own attraction of eliciting national attention. I think the only panecea is to give people good governance. Simple.

What does the APC need to do to retain its winning edge?

APC under Governor Hope Uzodinma is sure-footed in Ìmo state now with his emergence. Senator Uzodinma, the governor is a consummate politician. You ignore him to your own peril. He is a party man per excellence. The greatest advantage APC will enjoy under his leadership is a generic growth of APC in the entire South-east. Watch out Igbo politicians will now join APC under his leadership because Uzodinma is a leader who knows how to work with everyone.

As you can see in the State House of Assembly, upon the emergence of Sen Uzodinma as governor all the members defected to APC. The PDP state chairman resigned.

SOURCE: THIS DAY LIVE

Who Are Giannis Antetokounmpo's Parents?

Giannis Antetokonumpo and his parents

BY ZACK WILLIS

The Antetokounmpo family has a lot to be thankful for. Not only is Giannis the reigning MVP and leader of the league-best Milwaukee Bucks, but older brother Thanasis plays alongside him and Kostas has been in and out of the Lakers lineup all season.

None of this would’ve been possible without the support of their parents. The Antetokounmpo brothers have been vocal about this since they entered the NBA.

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo were both born and raised in Nigeria and emigrated to Greece early on, reports the Olympic Channel. As struggling immigrants, the Antetokounmpo family had to put up with a lot of racism and other hurdles, but this helped drive them toward the NBA.

The family’s Nigerian roots helped anchor their lives at home. In a country that treated them like they were unwanted, the family remembered its roots as it experienced everyday life. Giannis spoke about his home with The Undefeated.

“Obviously, I was born in Greece and went to school in Greece. But at the end of the day when I go home, there is no Greek culture,” Giannis said. “It’s straight-up Nigerian culture. It’s about discipline; it’s about respecting your elders, having morals.”

The Antetokounmpo parents spoke in Igbo, their native tongue, when they were at home. The family was full of perennial outsiders, but it was through basketball that they began to get noticed by those who had scorned them.

Discovering basketball

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo were both athletes, although neither were basketball players. Charles was a soccer player in Nigeria; Veronica was a high-jumper. So while they may not have been versed in basketball, they knew what it took to be a competitor.

Giannis’s first love wasn’t basketball. As a kid, he followed in his father’s footsteps and took a liking to soccer. The eldest brother, Francis, was also a soccer player, so the athletic genes ran in the family. Perhaps thanks to his size, however, Giannis’s interests went to the sport he’s synonymous with.

When Giannis was a teenager and got serious about basketball, his father did everything in his power to ensure his son did what he needed to do to realize his dreams. At 14 years old, Charles insisted his son take a nap on game days to keep himself refreshed for the game. It’s a tradition Giannis continues to this day.

The Antetokounmpo family has always thrived thanks to the love and support of their parents. But a personal tragedy in 2017 altered their lives forever. Charles, only 53 at the time, was taken to the hospital with severe chest pains. Ten days later, he passed away. Heartbroken, Giannis took to Instagram to eulogize his father and thank him for everything he did.

“It’s been a year daddy, so many things have happened since the day you left for a better place and I know you been watching down on us with a smile just like the one in the picture. I think about you every single day and I miss you very much but September 29th is not going to be a sad day in my calendar but a day that I cherish what a great father and role model me and my brothers have in our life. I love you very much.”

Charles’ legacy lives on through his family. Giannis’s newborn son, Liam Charles Antetokounmpo, serves as a testament to the hard work his parents instilled in their family.