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June 29, 2006

An African Wife, an African Husband, without African Values

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- No Nigerian woman or man deserves an argumentative and cantankerous relationship or marriage! Nobody, Nigerian or not, deserves such. If recent debate patterns, is anything to go by, it suggests that matters have now reached a point for Nigerian women and men in the Diaspora, to avoid each other like a plague, in intimate personal relationships and marriage. Will Diaspora Nigerian women and men, be better to just marry Chinese, Japanese, Jews, German, Americans and Europeans instead of fellow Nigerians?

I am not sure that I am the best man to be discussing African wives in America; I am divorced from an American wife! Where then, lays my credentialed expertise on African wives in the American Diaspora? Well, I am a Nigerian-African man. And, I am a keen observer of social morays.

What is more? In recent times, several Nigerians have written very controversial essays or articles, on these affairs of the heart matters. Ms. Folasayo Ogunrinde (Nigeria’s Valerie Solanas?) wrote a series of essays in which she excoriated Nigerian-African men. She literally presented African men as clueless 17th century male chauvinist-misogynistic Neanderthals!

I was among those of her readers, who thought she generalized, in her attempts to make forceful unforgettable points. Her essays are affecting, even without generalizations. Why then did she generalize? Why would an effective writer, such as she is, feel the need to generalize? To inflame!

In due time, Ms. Ogunrinde graduated from her generalizations! She now ostentatiously uses the word, “some” this, upon haven been upbraided in the past by some Nigerian-African men, who had labeled her, as happily generalizing about matters male, when it is about men, Nigerian/African.

Both liberal and or conservative readings of Ms. Ogunrinde’s essays/opinions of Nigerian, nay African men, have led most, to seem to conclude that Ms. Ogunrinde finds African men grossly deficient in too many respects. She has commented publicly and in the most robustly, vigorous essays about gender roles in African relationships. She has also confessed her sordid personal and peculiarly unsavory experiences in the hands of African men who she dated. She adamantly paints the picture of African men as being inordinately worse off, in men women relationships worldwide.
Are African men inadequate in matters of progressive gender issues?
Are African men lacking and deficient, in so many departments as is, being alleged? Is it really true as is being portrayed, that African men visit African women maliciously and unrepentantly, with oppressions and indignities?

A reading of Ms. Ogunrinde’s essays by most African males, will convince the most admiringly generous African male, that she has concluded that African males possesses no redeeming qualities of any sorts! African men appear in her articles as clueless. African men that she has portrayed or depicted always arrived with money-back guarantee, for being arrogant prudes. African men lack every social skill? African men are not attuned to progressive thinking, women liberation and gender equality?

Several, if many, uncouth African men seemed to have always sought out, the poor Ms. Ogunrinde. These African men without refinements or scintilla of etiquette, manner or politeness, dumped their ill-mannered and unpolished selves at her doorsteps! Poor thing! Ms. Ogunrinde!

Well, in elementary science lessons, you will recall, actions generates reactions in natural course of chemical events. And so, my friend Mr. Sabella Abidde, wrote his reactions, rebuttals and rejoinders to Ms. Ogunrinde’s unflattering, and yet, socially relevant discuss of Nigerian and African men.

Ms. Ogunrinde, as if to establish her credentials as the undaunted and undeterred twenty-first century feminist genre, the Gloria Steinem and Patricia Ireland of Nigeria rolled into one Ms. Ogunrinde as the crusader; Audaciously and unapologetically, continues to demonstrate this, She has in fact written more recent essays, in which she became more didactic and emphatically adamant. Ms. Ogunrinde is vociferously strident. She screeches her vehemence mop in hand, with ammonia, acid and other astringents mix, together, as she awaits the next Nigerian-Africa man who would earn a death sentence, for mentioning her name in the sentence with cooking! She will cook, only and only, out of love, never out of duty, expectation or as any man’s domestic chore-horse! She screams it!
Cooking! Yes, cooking as in, domestic chores somehow became the all encompassing, all encapsulating and all embracing harsh metaphor for all the oppressions and indignities visited on African women by African men! It got to a point in these debates, when Mr. Ebi Bozimo and Ms. Soul Sista were embroiled intense exchanges. Mr. Bozimo rightly stated that a personal, such as the unsavory dating experiences of Ms. Ogunrinde, which she recounted, should not have been extrapolated, projected and transposed on majority of African men, with a one-size-fits-all attitude. The “I won’t cook for him”, asides, that Ms. Ogunrinde made, unwittingly, also became a benchmark reference point. Even though Ms. Ogunrinde essay, obviously dealt with various contentious issues, apart from African males culinary expectations as one of her pet peeves.
And as human intercourse and interactions are wont to be in outcomes, Mr. Michael Oluwagbemi joined the fray, challenging Ms. Ogunrinde, joining quite a few issues with her perception of Nigerian, African men and whoa! You will be forgiven if you started to sing, Bahia Men’s anthem hit track “Who Let the Dogs Out?”
These issues as have been initiated or raised by Ms. Ogunrinde, are assuredly socially relevant issues. The challenge, certainly, is to find a middle-ground meeting point or some sorts of compromise in this age-old gender wars or war of the sexes.

I am completely aghast at how far apart, the proponent and opponents are, regarding Ms. Ogunrinde’s articles and the rejoinders by Mr. Abidde and Mr. Oluwagbemi! I will not be engaging in any exaggerations as I inform you here, that the debaters have been entrenched and ensconced in the most extreme opposite sides of spectrum!

It has become headaches inducing debates that make even a good head spin. Most of the female contributors seem to be in search of men who would be the women’s wives. And these women remind me of a song by country music singer Don Williams about Margie. Margie sought a husband to be her wife!

And woof! Woof! Woof! Some of the men reacted with equal ferocities. Some of our men actually retorted that they would not say, “a hello, how are you” to a lady, if she does not know how to cook meals for her man! And through all these, I thought of my mother frequently. My mother made sure that my brother and I learned to cook. This, even though the Nigeria of my childhood was a traditional society, where men were not expected to do much of domestic chores. Men did not have to have culinary skills. The truth is Nigerian men cook, men in Nigeria always won the Maggi Cube/Nestle sponsored cooking competitions repeatedly, in Nigeria, and it was televised and the judges were mostly women, and year-in, year-out, men won!
But my father was good cook, as well, and that was part of what she liked in my father during their courtship. He cooked-up a storm and neighbors in Lagos would ask him about all the aroma and salivation inducing food scented vapors that caused their mouths watering feelings. I got lucky, doubly lucky, as I was raised by a husband and wife who were good cooks. I strongly believe that cooking is an art. Cooking is a skill that you acquire. Everyone ought to learn to cook! And as my mother lectured us boys, if you know how to eat, it is probably a smart thing to know how to cook!

A man or woman bereft of cooking skills ought not to brag about such inadequacy or lack! It is a very useful skill. It requires talent, creativity and pizzazz. When I have the time to cook, I find that it is safer, healthier and even cheaper! Cooking puts me in control of what I ingest, as the saying goes, “you are what you eat”!
Cooking has taken barrages of mauling in these gender debates between Diaspora Nigerian women and men.., cooking/domestic chores have become euphemistic and metaphorical ways to lump gender oppressions/inequalities into one dangerous missile.

My brother and I were not happy learners of culinary arts. We thought it was unfair. We had two sisters and the going social order at the times was that, you guessed it! The females in the house took care of such. But, it was not so in my household. Boys cooked, washed and ironed clothes, and fetched water as well. Looking back now? I glad that our parents made us do those things. I happen to believe that I make the best steak in New York, East of Houston Texas! I make Nigerian, continental and intercontinental cuisines!

To these extents, if all I needed was a woman/wife to cook, clean and do these “usual” domestic chores? I would have had the least reason to have married at all! Because as it, as it has been, I can take care of these businesses myself. I actually iron my shirts better than my drycleaners. My ex-wife could not cook anything without her mother guiding her minutely by telephone across state-lines from across the country! We are divorced, not over cooking or other sundry domestic chores, but instead, for retaining a man she dated for six years before, I met and married her! In essence, she had a parallel husband! And my arrogance and old world morals could not accept that sorts of sharing arrangements!

There should be no litmus test for marriage, be it procreation, culinary arts or any of these pesky issues. This particularly so, if you consider the fact that gender inequality is universal, it not peculiarly African. The war of the sexes or gender wars are being fought worldwide. There are local variations and variables, of course. But macho men still dominate world affairs, even outside of Africa, as we see in America, Europe and Asia etc.

It used to be that marriages are a total package. We know that times have changed from the times of our grandmothers, and even our mothers. But, with congruence and confluence of agreements that Ms. Ogunrinde’s article elicited from the Nigerian-African women readers at www.nigeriavil1agesquare.com Such convergence in attitudes, suggests a steeply new crescendo of gender war or war of the sexes among Diaspora Nigerians, and it further suggests deepened animosities of inequality that has been festering. The avalanche and quantum of umbrage within our female folks, and displayed without semblances of restraints, is most alarming!

If these many women of Nigerian origin, are so embittered as was demonstratively indicated in their responses at NVS, then, several questions arise. Nigerians in Diaspora are busy with work and the hectic lifestyle of Diaspora life. This is peculiarly so, in America. In light of the frenzied pace of everyday life in America, and further, in light of what we now know as the ticking timed-bomb of the gender war-war of the sexes between Diaspora Nigerians. What can we do to avoid crises?

My readings of these gender roles and relationship articles, has led me to conclude that there is a total disconnect between Nigerian-African males and females in the Diaspora. There are indeed impending volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis combined; And that a simple thing as, a Nigerian male asking for a date, and proceeding to say an innocuous thing in the wrong way, could become a catalyst that leads cataclysms, as a Nigeria female goes postal on a Nigerian male. Africa will be in prime time news again, and again, in the negative territory?

I am tiptoeing now, after reading the magnitude of anger as exuded and exhibited by a great number of Diaspora Nigerian women. As they vehemently resent the inequalities that they have witnessed or personally experienced. Clearly, very strong resentment exists among or within our female folks? And no amicable debates and discussions to resolve these issues appear likely. The essays that I have referred to above are written by protagonists and antagonists who are without doubt, light years apart! Might Nigerian men and women be happier, marrying outside our culture? Why would a Nigerian man marry a Nigerian woman who is so in name and blood only? Why would a Nigerian woman marry a Nigerian man who is so in name only (if that even!) Recently I wrote that I used to believe that marrying a Nigerian woman will save me the hassle of having to explain the most mundane to the most complex about things Nigerian-African, including whether there are radio and television stations in Africa or whether Africa is a country or continent or whether the sun also rises in Africa.

But with my new awakening, regarding gender inequalities and oppressions that Diaspora Nigerian women are angered about. What is there to gain in the artifice of an African man or woman who no longer possesses core African values? African values and morays that would have made an African man or woman uniquely spectacular and different from other possible spousal offerings as America presents? Perhaps Nigerians in the Diaspora will be better off, if we marry American women and men, if we marry other immigrants of Chinese, Jewish and German origins? Why should an African in the Diaspora marry another African without the imbued benefits of African values? African values that ideally ought to lead to advantages in understanding, spousal harmony, strength and peace. Should an African person now be expected to marry another African person and then be deprived of the expected benefits of marrying a fellow African? Isn’t that like getting all water without liquid?

Despite these futile attempts by some to localize gender inequalities, it is not local! Marilyn, my colleague sent an e-mail to me that included this quote “That's a good one to use when folks believe gender strife is localized...as you can imagine. You might want to check out the movie "I Shot Andy Warhol” upon becoming aware that I was writing these commentaries about gender inequalities relating to Africans.

I fervently support the rights of women, gender equalities because they are important. It is frustratingly irritating, when some feminist generalize about men, all men!
If I were the one to be cynical, I would have been saying to African men, just sit back and relax, do all they can to live long enough to witness African women as they become prevalent in all-female fire-fighters, all-female pall-bearers, women are in, so, there should majority of women in the armies!

African men will live long enough to be witness to the blurring of male/female roles, it is already happening. (More women are already graduating from college, than men) African men should wait for the time when unisex locker rooms become the rule, in sports clubs and gymnasiums! Even as some men actually await a world, without gender roles distinctions as is being advocated by some feminists. Nevertheless, I will continue to support gender equality issues in Nigeria, Africa and worldwide.

They are human equality issues and important.
Here are some excerpts of thoughts, by flame-throwing crusaders of old.

"Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex." - by Valerie Solanas http://www.womynkind.org/scum.htm (Typical Nigerian in Diaspora woman?)

"It is now technically feasible to reproduce without the aid of males (or, for that matter, females) and to produce only females. We must begin immediately to do so. Retaining the mail has not even the dubious purpose of reproduction. The male is a biological accident: the Y (male) gene is an incomplete X (female) gene, that is, it has an incomplete set of chromosomes. In other words, the male is an incomplete female, a walking abortion, aborted at the gene stage. To be male is to be deficient, emotionally limited; maleness is a deficiency disease and males are emotional cripples"

"The male is completely egocentric, trapped inside himself, incapable of empathizing or identifying with others, or love, friendship, affection of tenderness. He is a completely isolated unit, incapable of rapport with anyone. His responses are entirely visceral, not cerebral; his intelligence is a mere tool in the services of his drives and needs; he is incapable of mental passion, mental interaction; he can't relate to anything other than his own physical sensations. He is a half-dead, unresponsive lump, incapable of giving or receiving pleasure or happiness; consequently, he is at best an utter bore, an inoffensive blob, since only those capable of absorption in others can be charming. He is trapped in a twilight zone halfway between humans and apes, and is far worse off than the apes because, unlike the apes, he is capable of a large array of negative feelings -- hate, jealousy, contempt, disgust, guilt, shame, doubt -- and moreover, he is aware of what he is and what he isn't"
"Although completely physical, the male is unfit even for stud service. Even assuming mechanical proficiency, which few men have, he is, first of all, incapable of zestfully, lustfully, tearing off a piece, but instead is eaten up with guilt, shame, fear and insecurity, feelings rooted in male nature, which the most enlightened training can only minimize; second, the physical feeling he attains is next to nothing; and third, he is not empathizing with his partner, but is obsessed with how he's doing, turning in an A performance, doing a good plumbing job. To call a man an animal is to flatter him; he's a machine, a walking dildo. It's often said that men use women. Use them for what? Surely not pleasure.

"Eaten up with guilt, shame, fears and insecurities and obtaining, if he's lucky, a barely perceptible physical feeling, the male is, nonetheless, obsessed with screwing; he'll swim through a river of snot, wade nostril-deep through a mile of vomit, if he thinks there'll be a friendly pussy awaiting him. He'll screw a woman he despises, any snaggle-toothed hag, and furthermore, pay for the opportunity. Why? Relieving physical tension isn't the answer, as masturbation suffices for that. It's not ego satisfaction; that doesn't explain screwing corpses and babies"

Below is an article featured a few days ago, and could this be the sorts of long term road and direction, to which Diaspora Nigerians are headed?

Americans' circle of close friends shrinking By Amanda Beck
Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.

Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had "zero" close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.

"This is a big social change, and it indicates something that's not good for our society," said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review” http://naijanet.com/news/source/2006/jun/27/1003.html Nigerians in Diaspora are getting there with the Americans! Especially in view of this gender wars!

Many American men practice Mail Order Brides, as some American males seek, “traditional wives” and so, these American men import wives from the Philippines, from Mexico, Russian, Japan and the newly free former East European countries. Because my knowledge of these gender wars in America, I continue to see the war of the sexes, as global or universal phenomenon. It is not in any way unique or peculiar to Nigeria or Africa!

There are more women in the world, than men, hence you always see more women waiting to use the toilets at airports and other public places, than men (even discounting the multiple variables of women’s special health needs, in toilets, crevices and all) there need to be more toilet, two-to-one toilet rule, in favor of women, advantage women, because they are more in number in every population in the world!

I therefore see gender inequalities, in part, in terms of the inadequacies of airport toilets for women worldwide (airport toilets are neither two-to-one in Nigeria nor in America)! It also therefore encompasses the universality of gender inequalities! It is a global issue!

I see gender inequalities, a violation of female rights, in the inadequacy of airport toilet every where in the world that I have been. Toilet availability is a gender issue, alright?
Are Diaspora Nigerian women and men, now headed towards beating the Americans at individualism? Are some Diaspora Nigerians becoming so self-absorbed, with gender wars and other issues that make it unattractive and unwise, for Diaspora Nigerians to copulate? These, are increasingly becoming intense. These have become issues gnawing at our social fabrics. We ought all, be addressing these issues that are creating wedges and even oceans, between Nigerians in the Diaspora.

Mrs. Hilda Adefarasin, former president of Nigerian Organization for Women (NOW) was wife of Justice Adefarasin in Lagos; She, it was, that, in her very genial and amicable way, got Nigerian men awake and engaged, in gender inequality issues. Because of her, I actually thought of joining NOW, while I lived in Lagos, Nigeria. Mrs. Adefarasin was not a flame-throwing crusader!

I am a Nigerian, an African male, and I have always described myself as a male feminist! This is because, I am an aware human, just like the next woman, and I was born by a woman and I have a sister and extended family members, who are females! But flame-throwing crusaders do great disservice to crucial issues of gender inequalities.

No nation should keep women in bondage. To do so, is foolish. If nothing else, neglecting women issues is unwise; particularly, because, it is akin to neglecting the bulk of your resources! Why operate with one-third power?

All human beings are aware that there are more women on earth than men; that clearly, illustrates or demonstrates the crucial importance of women, women issues are of such magnitude in importance, to economic, political and social development.

Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@msn.com
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 01:28 AM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2006

Nigeria is a Time Bomb

by Carlisle U.O. Umunnah (New York, USA) --- It is important to state here and now that Nigeria state, its agents and their current deployment of troops in Onitsha, Anambra State, and other illegitimate actions against Ala-Igbo and, Nigerians in general is totally irresponsible. Their actions are irresponsible because of their inability, under—coordinateness of this administration and other regimes before her, to respond to massive unemployment, corrosive lawlessness, and, massive corruption across the land.

And, to make matters worse, this administration misplaced, misguided priorities is a provocation that mesmerizes and distresses the population’s psyche. The population is already distressed because of the aforementioned maladies. Today, average Nigerian or Biafran family is not capable of putting three square meals on the table, they are—highly incapacitated. When this administration creates, behaves, and acts belligerently toward this people, violent their human rights and right to know state practices, by-pass National Assembly and withdraw between 20 to 34 billion dollars from excess crude funds, ignores judicial directives, it is natural to expect equal measured consequences, or even worse. And now, if anyone thinks Babangida regime, abused, plundered the nation’s treasuries as we know it [which we are not letting him off the hook by no means], that individual must think again, because Obasanjo has surpassed Babangida’s treacheries.

With the new development and cabinet reshuffle[s] couple of days ago, with Madam Ngozi Iweala, now former Minister of Finance; lady believed to be a no-sense individual, who happens to be a stumbling block to these looting campaigns or intentions, has more reason to weep for the nation. The flood-gate-of-hell is wide-open, they now have their way as, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, is now moved for unspecified reasons. Mark my word, the nation will be visited in the coming months [I was told], with unspecified mother of all looting, led by Obasanjo with some of his Yoruba kinsmen [thieves] at the Central Bank of Nigeria and other financial districts.

Obasanjo professes Christianity. However, it has become clear that Obasanjo is neither a Christian nor a Muslim. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is an opportunist. At best he is an atheist. His actions and his current lootings called withdrawals, without passing through appropriate channels—the National Assembly, is, a contradiction of his acclaimed transparency and accountability charades. The brazen fraud surrounding this administration, calls for immediate investigation.

EFCC

EFCC should probe their boss over the looting of 20 to 34 billion dollars. The foregoing figure was secretly withdrawn, without the knowledge of Finance Minister as she testified, before the Special Committee for Finance, at the National Assembly. I guess her honest testimony distressed Obasanjo, especially over his discredited accountability and transparency program.

If indeed, EFCC thinks it is independent from Egba-leadership, this is the time to act. It is time to swing into action and show Nigerians and perhaps the world that it is autonomous and investigate this administration head-on. This administration has no respect for Igbo-nation and other disparaged nations inside the enterprise, Nigeria. Since this administration came to power through fraudulent elections in 1999, it has acted with impunity to anything Igbo and other marginalized nations in Nigeria. To be sure, the aforementioned misplaced power and misguided governmental behavior of this administration is troubling and very alarming to any rational mind[s], particularly, for those who really care.

The lunacy of this administration encourages her to projects transparency and accountability, while its actions and records show otherwise. Recent hypocritical manifestations and ignominious ineptitude in her folder will provide mountainous case study materials for researchers/scholars on: good governance, international relations, national economy and organizational management/mismanagement and other failings for future scholastic investigations.

Conversely, when it comes to niggarization and militarization of nation-state such as ours, records show that this administration has used and continues to use military means, to maim and kill this people—examples are widespread. It is this writer’s view, to contend that these unprogressive tendencies and actions like the ones displayed at Obi-Oku, Umuaka, Odi-oma, and recently at Onitsha, the commercial nerve center, Anambra State, buttresses the foregoing positions.

Readiness and Preparedness

Ndiigbo and Nigerians need to be on guard, in order to monitor and stop the unfolding large scale fraud which, in all intents and purposes will defile past frauds records in history, obviously. Before now, we were told that Federal Reserve was at thirty-four [34] billion dollars. But as records began to hit newsstands, there began to emerge series of contradictions to that figure [34 billion]. From financial information in our disposal today, the foregoing 34 billion has dipped to nine [9] billion dollars; this nine [9] billion predictably has become the actual figure in federal Foreign Reserve. Just as they squander financial reserves, they also squander human capital.

It is now on record that over 26 MASSOB members have been killed over the weekend. Now, with the indiscriminate killings of members of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra [MASSOB], a non-violent group, across former Eastern region, it is important that we act and approach these aggressions on our peoples with a sense of urgency on the dangers ahead. Readiness and preparedness, toward the protections of these peoples becomes something we must not compromise. It is important that alertness and other defense mechanisms be employed to protect our families and relatives in el’Nigeria.

Equally, time demand that we re-view and re-evaluate with immediacy, what’s has gotten into the head of the leadership of this violent administration. No nation can coerce or foster its illegitimate actions against its peoples and survive. Effective and efficient governance is managed and supported by the citizenry. The citizenry do this by act of volition and cooperative citizenship participation. Only through free will and participatory means, can a nation be considered and accepted as a nation. Any acclaimed nation, without these universal standards, ideals, in the day to day running of its operations would meet resistance, and will definitely succumb to its folly.

The question is what prevented Obasanjo and his sycophants from deploying troops in Maiduguri, and elsewhere, when Igbo nation and those that look like them were being slaughtered in thousands cross the nation? These questions are very critical, and we demand for answers. We demand that Obasanjo withdraw the troops from Onitsha-Town and other surrounding Towns without further delays. Every Igbo son or daughter, whether they are inside the government or outside the government must be aware of his/her surroundings. We warn the Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, or whoever, in what ever capacity h/she found themselves especially any party collaborating with this illegitimate administration whose time is far spent. We warn you to be mindful of what time it is, otherwise you are acting on your own, and will have yourself to blame in the long run.

At the Summit, Raising Standards

It is about time to raise the standards. And, raising standards, we have to begin at home. All these double standards and bogus patriotism have to stop at some point. And it has to stop today. As we have counseled in the past, we again rekindled our warning to Nigeria state and advise her to listen: Anybody who thinks that Igbo-nation wherever they maybe are not united, must think again. Recent summit at Owerri, June 17, showcased that indeed, Igbo-nation, can do anything they aspire to—whether it is individually or collectively. We therefore, salute Igbo leaders who met at Concorde Hotel, Owerri, Imo-State, to support, project our positions, including many issues troubling the nation. At the meeting, which was chaired by former Chief Justice, Justice Chukwudife Oputa; they met, articulated with purpose, Igbo aspirations and challenges it and other nations face inside Nigeria. At this meeting, matters arising focused on 2007 elections.

Present at the summit were: Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Commodore Ebutu Ukiwe [rtd], Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Professor A.B.C. Nwosu [one of the organizers] and other respected dignitaries that graced the occasion. These patriots spoke eloquently with one voice. The dignitaries also put the Nigeria state on notice, that Igbo is not taking a back seat and is not backing down to nobody. In this progressive meeting, through education, communication, and counseling means they advised the nation in unequivocal terms, stated amongst other things, that for the nation to move forward, the cycle of Presidency has to be completed with Igbo as the next president.

Disgraced and Discredited

Other events at the summit: we will be doing our readerships a disservice, if, we fail to inform her about discredited and disgraced sons of our. It is important not to forget, that some individuals of Igbo extraction whose practices yesterday and today had been detrimentally disgraceful to Ndiigbo and Nigeria.

These individuals have shown opportunistic tendencies, treated themselves and the nation lightly; by singing praises of every administration that coerce itself on us. These individuals were booed by the delegates and, participants at the aforementioned summit. The discredited, opportunistic Senator Arthur Nzeribe, Professor Joe Irukwu, President Ohaneze Ndiigbo and others, were booed at repeatedly and were not allowed to speak at the summit. They were summarily disgraced because of the role they played during the third term project at the detriment of Ala-Igbo and Nigeria.

The Way Forward for the Nation

In a ten point communiqué, last weekend Friday, June 17, Igbo leadership across the country in consensus agreed that Igbo extraction should produce the next president of the country, Nigeria. Amongst other things, they demanded that Imo and Abia States be included in the Oil Coast States [OCS]. The host governor, Achike Udenwa, remarked that, “the gathering featuring the geo-political groups in the country are currently fine tuning strategies to grab the top-most office—President of the country in unfolding political space.”

On resolutions reached at the last summit, Udenwa recalled that, "the South-East and South-South shall, either way, produce the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, come 2007". To avoid commotion, and for this enterprise, not titter into the abyss, concerted efforts must be made to support Igbo Presidency. Nigerians must unite behind Igbo presidency. It is on record, that the North and now the West [West will soon complete eight [8] year cycle providing leadership for Nigeria] have all completed or will soon complete its presidency. It is therefore logical to state that the South-East and South-South, must take its turn. It is on record, that when it comes to sharing of political largesse of the country, you will all agree that the South-East geo-political zone has been largely short-changed this past 46 years of nation’s existence.

It is important that we call on all Nigerians to support this blueprint. The Outcome of any election[s], if properly executed could be smooth without firing a shot. The concept of disintegration and other predictions will become something of the past, if we adhere to this simple logic. This would be possible if and only if, the playing field leveling, free and fair that would provide a platform of equal gaming zone, with a framework of action which, strategies and socio-econo-political thinking is people centered.

Other Recommendations

In alternative, if it becomes clear that we are head hardy and cannot get along, it is important to remark that there are other plausible alternatives. A peaceful disengagement would be just fine for all party involved, rather than few individuals raping national treasuries to unconscious coma.

For example, the former Soviet Union [USSR] and former Yugoslavia republics disintegrated peacefully. Both conducted themselves well, and naturally went their individual ways without firing a shot. This happened after communist party leadership, dominated their political pace for seventy [70] years; yes, seventy [70] years of reign of a totalitarianism against the wishes of the people.

I have given examples in other articles at other times specifically on: I] East Timor; II] Kosovo and III] Canada as illustratable case studies. It could be a daunting challenge, especially with the country’s checkered history which, has been confronted and depleted her over time, but can be done. Brazen neglect, political deprivation and gross marginalization of its people, Ndiigbo and their South-South brothers and sisters in particular 45 years later, enough is enough.

The conversation and propositions not withstanding, Anthony Enahoro, has a different view with respect to power shift matters in 2007. For one of the foremost nationalist, read his remark: “The current agitation for power shift among the nation’s geo-political blocs, it a time bomb that is capable of tearing the country apart.”

Thus far, my take on that point of view, is even further. The said geo-political blocs have been tittering toward this direction before now which Enahoro is part of its architects and the architecture. Other geo-political blocs North and West have had their turns. Former Eastern region demand for completion of the cycle by taking their turn come 2007, and it is the right thing to do. If after another eight to ten [8 to 10] years the cycle is complete, and by application, if we decide to base nation’s politics, on true democratic principles, meaning that, it doesn’t matter where your region is, your ethnicity doesn’t count that would be great, if, feasible. But for now, every citizenry of this land, must have, feel a sense of belong in the scheme of things first of all.

By the way, if he is talking about the time bomb allegory, I would even expand further on that: the nation as holistically is a time bomb on itself, due to long drawn illegalities, marginalization, massive elitists corruption, incompetence at local, regional and national level of the leadership; a corrosive mediocrity from many decades of military dictatorships in the land. For this writer and perhaps multitudes out there, the only way to disallow disintegration is to support capable candidate from former Eastern region to lead Nigeria to freedom and better future. We have tested the Northern and Western political leaderships; we have the assessments and know what the results are.


Conclusions

In conclusion, if I may recap, the recent removal of Ngozi Iweala, from Finance ministerial position to Foreign Affairs is a suspect; it is another calculated provocation, marginalization of Igbo extraction; is a misplaced and misguided advisement to say the least. The woman is trained economist, what has she got to do with foreign affairs? Total contradiction, albeit some claim she is multi-tasking. It is believed by Obasanjo and his acolytes that Ngozi Iweala, will still head the finance team and so forth, from her new post. It is the most imbecility of remarks to make. Think that a foreign Affairs Minister will be on a diplomatic mission say in far away Tokyo, Japan, and still have the capacity to monitor financial operations back in Nigeria and elsewhere is must ludicrous. The truth of the matter is that Nigeria hate standardized structured mechanisms, rule of law, and accountability, it believes in shadowy deals. The foregoing move is most suspicious since information gathered show that the lady was a stumbling block to many plunderers at the center, regardless of Iweala’ s affiliations to the Bank/Fund, or being Bank’s gatekeeper to be precise. We were told she has done well for the nation.

Wo! wo! wo, unto you Jerusalem, the eyes of the Lord have seen your abominations and your nakedness … wo! wo! wo, unto you Nigeria, for the eyes of the Lord have seen your abominations and nakedness … thou daughters and little ones litter in the streets unattended… Change your wicked ways or desolation shall besiege thee and become your portion forever ….

Now that Iweala is gone, welcome to our world of massive looting[s], a looting without breath or end. As long as this charade remains the practice of el’Nigeria political space, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Obasanjo should just create his Egba-land republic, Arewa republic and leave Biafra republic frontiers alone, and to each to their individual way[s].

Folks, the end game approaches… someone has to pay for the crimes against humanity. It is up to el’Nigeria state to defuse the time bomb called Nigeria or face the seemingly irreversible consequences that awaits her. Again, we are all enlisted in the Lord’s engagement until the conflict is OVER …

We want to use this opportunity to also call on the international community and Western world to speak up, speak up unto your gatekeepers and oil-multinationals blood suckers in Nigeria frontiers. Advice your oil empires to henceforth cease from the killing of our peoples, stop forthwith, the polluting of our lands, waters and air that puts the region on the edge, and, at the mercy of emissions and other ecological problems. You have to listen because this is for your strategic interests. Lives and properties are at stake here, including those of the Sub-Saharan Western African economic bloc. Prevention they say is better than cure. A return to regionalism as it were in the 60s, or quasi-confederate system and or a full fledge federalism is the nation’s best bet. Be smart; choose wisely, choose a-right, while there is today.

Carlisle U.O. Umunnah
Is a New York Based Freelance Writer
Contact: cuu1_liberties@yahoo.com

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Mischievous Words Used Against Ndigbo, and the Igbo Question

by Ejiofor Alisigwe (London, England) ---

CLAMOUR
AGITATION
DIN
HYSTERIA
CRYING FOR
wARLORD

Firstly, NDIGBO are a highly suffiscated, very well educated,
groomed, highly cultured and the most enterprising people in this
fabrication called Nigeria, and I say that with unrivalled convinction. In
the acclaimed scientific world stage NDIGBO have produced multi-award
winning scientists and in all academical fields in the United States,
Europe, Nigeria and the world over and I stand to be proven wrong. Therefore
NDIGBO have nothing to prove to anybody in this babel and hallucination
called Nigeria.

You may succeed in denying NDIGBO access to power for now,
but what you cannot ever do however hard you tried is keep NDIGBO down, to
be fair, and that has been the core fear held against NDIGBO, the fear of
NDIGBO verve and competiveness, though NDIGBO have gone through hell and
high water since the partial end of the geneocidal war fought against them.

However NDIGBO have always survived all pesecutions and
brazen elimination in the core running of government to always bounce back
in every aspects of life for dear survival to excel in whatever field they
chose which as usual clearly generates fear among other jumbles of ethnic
nationalities. It is this fear of NDIGBO verve, enterprise and
competitiveness that is a millstone they have to bear like an albatros on
their endless journey to the promised Land.

NDIGBO have been patient and have continued to suffer in
silence. The problem now is that while NDIGBO suffer, mischievous ethnic
jingoists dreading NDIGBO competitiveness, parading as journalists,
half-baked columnists including a ragtag army of glorified illiterates
picked up the guantlet where they dropped it, apperently and went to town
with it, spreading carefully selected words to describe NDIGBO actions and
solicitations, words that portray NDIGBO as a pack of wld animals and
troublemakers.

For example, when NDIGBO ( a ) Ask for; inquire,
interrogate, query, question, apply, beg, beseech, claim, crave, deman,
entreat, imploy, petition, preach, pray, request, seek, solicit, sue,
supplicate, bid, invite, summon other ethnic Nigerians for a go at the
Presidency or quite boldly confederation.

The jingoistic ethnic press fearing the worst say they
CLAMOUR: agitate, babel, blaring, brouhaha, commotion, din, exclamation,
hubbub, hullabaloo, noise, outcry, racket, shout, uproar, vociferation.
Having esterblished then that NDIGBO clamour, NDIGBO then are CLAMOUROUS;
blaring, defening, insistent, lusty, noisy, riotious, strident, tumultous,
uproarious, vehement, vociferous. That surely settles it then and saves the
situation isn't it? You cannot trust a people of such character and doings
to handle a job as important as the Presidency of Nigeria, and by chosing to
do that you are not stoking any fire in the polity, no? Well, not in your
contended ethnic position and role in the running of affairs in the country
which as it is , is closer to the ground like it has ever been.
All problems solved and forced down NDIGBO throat and all is deemed
well - assurance multirisques habitation - as the French would say.
When Movement for Actualization of the Soveriegn State of
Biarfra ( MASSOB ) through frustration from indefinite exclution from
government in Nigeria, petition, request, solicit, bid, invite, summon,
apply, demand, for Biafra, Confederation or Soveriegn National Conference,
sect of ethnic columnists in their hounds all in their profound wisdom
branded them, Agitators; agent procatuers, inciters, demagues, firebrands,
instigators, rabble-rousers, revolutionary, stirrers, troublemakers.

And so you quite rightly as you do buy a copy of a weekly
magazine or daily newspaper hoping beyound normal expectations for a
miraculous read, what you get instead is one baised journalisit or ethnic
columnists down to the editorial harping loudly about how NDIGBO, OHANEZE
NDIGBO, MASSOB, SENATORS, GOVERNORS, REPSENTATIVES, all of IGBO extraction
"crying out recklessly" without course for such theatrics whatsoever,
"crying wolf" in thier incessant AGITATIONS; clamour, churnig,
convulsion, disturbance, rocking, shake, stir, stirring, tossing, turbulent,
upheaval, alarm, arousal, commotion, confusion, discomposure, disquiet,
distraction, excitement, ferment, flurry, fluster, incitement, lather,
outcry, stimulation, trouble, tumult, turmoil, upset, worry, arguementative,
controversial, disputation, disperte, ventilative.

Just as if NDIGBO are an irritating nuisance who have no
right whatsoever to open their mouth or to put pen to paper to ask for what
they rightly deserve. Instead NDIGBO are hounded like illigle immigrants who
do not have right of abode in their own Country.

Then to add excessive insult to injury they describe our
HERO, our Leader, our very own upperclass, highly suffisticated Oxford
educated retired Military General, AGUDIMKPA DIM CHUKWUEMEKA- LA-ANYI-
ODIMEGWU OJUKWU as nothing short of sacricrilege, a warlord!-aggressive,
bellicose, belligerent, combative, hawkish, hostile, inimical, jingoistic,
martial, militaristic, militant, purgnacious, sabre-rattling, unfriendly,
warmongering, etc.

When NDIGBO supplicates, the only thing they do nowawadays
in other to avoid name calling, they are rewarded with more talking down to
by incompetent ethnic cowards who dreads the IGBO competitive verve, goes
out en masse to accuse NDIGBO of raising such a mindless Din; babel,
clamour, commotion, clash, clangour, clather, crash, hubbub, hullabaloo,
noise, outcry, pandemonium, racket, row, shout, uproar, drum into, go on at,
hammer into, inculcate, instill.

They say NDIGBO are a pack of town cries becuase it's
always one cry after another all for the IGBO QUESTION. They are also
infected with HYSTERIA; agitation, delirium, frenzy, hysterics, madness,
panic, unreason - therefore NDIGBO are rather HYSTERICAL; berserk, beside
oneself, convulsive, crazed, distracted, distraught, frantic, frenzied, mad,
overwrought, raving, uncontrollable, comical, farcical, hilarious,
screaming, self-splitting, uproarous, wildly, funny.

When NDIGBO say they are marginalized, it means that
NDIGBO do not count. It means that NDIGBO are lost in translation. It means
that NDIGBO are to be seen not heared. It means that NDIGBO are a bother. It
means the fear, suspicions, distrust and dislike of THE IGBO SENCE and of
NDIGBO is ethnically inscripted into the minds of the rest of the
hallucination called Nigeria, which is their first commandement in this, for
now, North and South devide. It means NDIGBO are excluded from the schemes
of State and are only just hanging on for dear lives in the MARGIN; border,
bound, boundary, brim, brink, confine, edge, limit, perimeter, periphery,
rim, side, nerge, and just as ever MARGINAL; bordering, borderline, on the
edge, insignificant, low, minimal, minor, negligible, slight, small.

There, as you see, NDIGBO knows where - Onwu na egbu ha si abia - they
are at and how to get out of it which will happen one day, the day of
reckoning whether Nigeria likes it or not. Why is Nigeria so afraid to let
NDIGBO go their separate ways or to rule Nigeria? NDIGBO does not want to
trade places with any other contesting ethnic groups for what it's worth,
who feigning ignorant of the fact to THE IGBO QUESTION. All NDIGBO is asking
for is to be given the same chance accrued to them like other ethnic
nationalities to rule and transform Nigeria into an enviable country in
Africa and the world. It would be very instructive and eye opening.

Go on then, pretend like you don't know and ask yourself, WHAT IS
THE IGBO QUESTION? As you do that discover what is called a Dictionary to
guide you and hopefully cure you of irresponsible, institeful, paronising,
mischievous, perfidious use of blaring insults you throw at NDIGBO'S feet.
As you very well know, NDIGBO are not illiterates neither are NDIGBO a buch
of barbarians. NDIGBO day will come and must come,see.

Even riffraffs such as dupe adelaja who all by herself talking
through her dried arse called the whole of IGBO nation "traitors" thereby
betraying what such ethnic sects think of NDIGBO. Heaven did not fall.
Nobody said anything. Nobody thought it was out of order. They all rejoiced
in thier vaunted wisdom. And by so doing she has subcribed and contributed a
great deal to the national quota of the system as an employed civil servant
and has made a name for herself. A feather to her abatiaja! No din raised.
General Obasanjo who leads the road to hell quickly knelt down and thanked
profusely whichever gods he ascribes to for such good sence at last for a
body to finally comfirm what he has always thought were transparent enough
about NDIGBO.

By appionting professor Soludo ( who he probably mistook for an
Hausa becuase of "name" mispronounced ) to get him out of a rot as NDIGBO
are wont, then he went on and on about how "he does not care where the
person came from" and we all know that NDIGBO are all illigle aliens from
the planet Mars, so there. It could be worse, no? Because NDIGBO could well
be the other Nigerian, God forbid? Well such things should not be said or
written down as it could well become public knowledge and acceptable at long
run. It would stoke up the fear of competitiveness and verve associated with
NDIGBO in all maner of human eandevours and we surely don't want that. It
will not be safe as NDIGBO are noted for their belligerence and individual
verve and enterprise, their republicanism.

Still here NDIGBO are "crying wolf recklessly" as NDIGBO are
wont particularly about the one of being marginalized. Agitating for the
sake of it because NDIGBO have nothing better to do. Clamouring as usual for
no reason whatsoever and having warlords lead them on. Raising unnessary din
and chronic hysteria, having become to the extreme, NDIGBO gather.

Added to these conditions NDIGBO must scrape through their day
to day lives more than everyone else in the country to survive in this
geographical abracadabra named Nigeria. Once again here we are stationary
and nothing has changed. Once agian NDIGBO clarify.

NDIGBO DAY WILL COME.

Ejiofor Alisigwe - Imo State
London England

Posted by Administrator at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2006

Mother Africa

A Poem: by Ejiofor Alisigwe (London, England) ---

MOTHER AFRICA

Afu Ra Womb-man Mother and Son
Holy vessel to a son god the five pointed star
Lead to the railway crouching between burdens
Crisscross on your brow like bleached fish bones
And tribal marks, Zodiac to her spiders web of twelve sons

It is a centipede spread across your heart
And like the flying Scotsman a monstrous steel millipede
Burrowing through the valley of the Kings a mole to Osiris tomb
Deep into the piramids to dig up their bones
Defacing Negroid to Harmakhis nose
Stripping Nuwaupian's Nsibidi to the wisdom of the sphinx

And away and away to the praesepe north called West
Where I hear native people sit and rest
Food and shelter paid to a beggars smile
Narrow tracks hung two yokes on Issachar's spine
A straw for the Elephant broke the Camel's back
Couses to the mythic tongues and Tam'a-hus arrows
Shot into the womb of your pains to a child
By diviners of the tombs who stole your story
And blogueoned you with the new formulated doctrine
Plagiarized by Josephus Flavuis Ben Mathaias to pleasure
Luciferian conspirators to author fabricated history from real events
A prostrate to the Shephard Kings consented rules
The new age Heka-Khasut invaders consealing hyena sneer
With Hyksos bah of a lamb to you a gift of the trojan

From you Mother, I am, disarmed to destiny dead on Ankh wood
A kiss by Seth finished me then led by Akhaba to the underworld
Bound to revolve in Duat to ressurect Atum-Re
Your story retold with hypnotic Levitical tongues
A story for the horse's mouth hijacked by Arius Josephus Flavuis Calpurnius
Piso
With comical theathrics and hissing jeers to suit his tricks of words
To control, with a censured retelling of Old Nsibidi truth with altered
names
Branding psuedonyms to fool Nous with mythical tales bleached white
And codex inscripted to fabricate the Bible Code
To severe the tongue of truth and bury it in Amen
And left you forever lost to the tricks of the tomb raiders
From You Black Madonna Mother of God, I am Karast the Messeh
The Four Sevens of He who came from nothing
You are Menjet of the one houndred and forty-four gods
Crescent moon Mother and Son wife of Osiris
Mother to the Son-man head with the ring
Of Anshar's shen and a fitting fez

To go away now, I wiill take the M44 as were the craze
To the Manger north called West where they all base
Then back to earth I shall with a punjent buzz
To bring you honey swiped from their Beehive
Found in their house of dead bound of fuss
As they declare rite of passage to Aladdin's cave

Isis Mother Africa a holy vessel to man
Meditating on the message coded in the Osiris orbit
Saying yes to Amen for a ray of life on the drought
My heart is you Mother Africa wo-man bossom to my wean
A house you are so strong Aset of the corner stone
I am a son spoiled to a mother's sweet suckle
Reared to a man homage to a wife sweet bossom
Just like you mother a vessel to my seeds blossom
From Nuwaupian Igbo root spring my branches to your lineage tree
Isis mother of Horus wife of Osiris Adamma to Amen-Re

Africa Mother Africa womb to man
Here is to you Mother Civilizer your son back from sojourn

Ejiofor Alisigwe /Imo State
London England
23/05/1993 /29/05/2006

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Is it CNN, BBC or Nigerians? Part II

Godson's Common Sense: by Ndubụeze Godson III (Chicago, IL)--- While a few dramatized that CNN factually loaded coverage of their fellow compatriots’ crime in action, it completely skipped their attention that at no time did the Nigerian ambassador to the U.S. made any hoopla about how the image of their country is being negatively portrayed by the western media.

Even when this is done, it is with hushed tone in one of the boring late night mini news programs. It needs repeating that if an ambassador who is the chief public image maker of that banana republic paid to take control of things like this does not care, you know I don’t give a damn. I will in place of the constant barrage about how every Nigerian suffered unmentionable hardship over the coverage of what clearly is common practice by some lazy ass Nigerians in Houston, who sleep, wake and eat with one thing in mind… fraud, keep suggesting that those who are obviously too disturbed by that report should immediately take CNN to court and let the rest of us be. I can’t be wrong to think that it is not too late to begin the process of legal filing if only to teach those ‘unfair’ media outlets a hard rock lesson that there are el’Nigerians lawyers who are peeved and will not stand by while their spotless country is being made the scapegoat of criminal enterprise in the entire solar system.

This thing with CNN being spun out of control and over hyped with rocket speed is no different from how other countries who eventually learned or are learning from that experience to make their countries better, have been treated. Such that no need exists to want the sky to come crashing down on account of the negative mention in the news as if we are talking of mother Theresa here and with CNN setting these criminals up just to make all el’Nigerian look bad, how naïve. African Americans when asked what’s happening, always come back with: not much or nothing new and so it is with el’Nigeria, nothing new. It’s same ol, same ol. Ladies and gents, the country in focus is the same country that constantly shoots itself on the foot with her many anti citizens’ actions like the daily killings of motorists by the black uniformed bandits called police in their language to suffice which equally sends wrong vibes to international media for example. Did any of these patriotic hackers pause to find out why those they disparage with hateful intensity on the false insinuation of not loving everything about el’Nigeria decided to treat that country in abstract? I guess not. Then let me search to know what country would be as selfish and overtly crude with policies that milk one area within her territory dry while neglecting the welfare and security of the inhabitants of that same area ala Niger Delta – Eastern Region? CNN, they better believe know all these things too.

It is my opinion now and always that every country gets dissed (disrespected) by the media it all depends on that country’s peculiar vices. Mexico, China, Columbia and many more have all seen their share of bad press. Unless we are now saying that we are strangers to the daily splatters of Mexico’s image across every major TV stations in the U.S. on account of illegal aliens. In the eighties also, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc were the bastion of TV coverage relating to pirated music and movies and this knowledge was not borne from a relocation to those countries, it was from the same CNN that it came to our delight. Eburu ozu onye ọzọ, shey? Loosely this means a stranger’s corpse being of no consequence to selfish people of course. Perhaps these bọbọs forgot that a country called Columbia for instance has always been associated with drugs, cocaine, on point. And when they add the Italian and Russian mobs whose killing extortions and drugs was blown open on guess what, TV, they may begin to see why the need for them to calm down already jo is badly in want. To make Nigeria stand out as the only country on the receiving end of bad publicity of the western press is a little unfair to these other countries that endured the same press missiles.

It is also not true that el’Nigeria’s lack of money is why it gets no respect rather their bane is attitude, duh. Those with youthful exuberance whenever the true picture of el’Nigeria is painted are counseled to focus inward for their pain to fade away. Had these folks locked hands earlier with attentive writers to send befitting embarrassing messages to politicians with untoward pedigree instead of the defense of every administration with repetitious failures, the dynamism associated with their writings would have paid dividends that could have had a forty plus year old country without a clue reoriented and reorganized. But they snoozed with their free passes to people that even a bonehead knows belong in prison. Over two years ago, I longed to know that one thing that is good about el’Nigeria and have been waiting ever since. With every article, they forget with eloquent convenience to share those things that are superlative about their country without letting those who has been there, done that enjoy their siesta. For the same reason medical practitioners are discouraged from performing surgery on a family member with life threatening ailment, to avoid emotion that could result in unnecessary mistake; that the people too sentimental about el’Nigeria are asked to back off to let the ones with in-built shock resistance saunter on. They have to know that el’Nigeria as presently constituted stand to corrupt even the Pope and anyone with the naivety that things will get better will only be circumambulating, running in circles. In a country that ceased to reward honest hard work long, long and very long time ago, it is easy to find people engaging in activities as documented by CNN.

And to suggest with any inference to sugarcoat the truth for the only purpose of seeing the egos of the patriots stroked will be a disservice to el’Nigerians that still retain appetite for the truth. Let the whole and nothing but the total truth be told if only to shock the patriots back to reality that would arouse their thinking faculties to know that tunes which only praise failures whose questionable accidental stumble to wealth is actionable, does not pay. This is not intelligence, but plain commonsense. To have also used the Jews, Italians and other countries that are happily united in comparison to a country as divided as el’Nigeria is equivalent to saying that garri and gworo are one, the same and opposite. Not so. These other countries’ unity were not divine inventions, sound government policies that gives protection and equitable distribution of things to all citizens made theirs a united one not the thoughtless backward idiotic policies that emanated under the threat of dane guns by holders of elementary six certificates some of you drool over.

In another of my tattles “Titlelucious Development: The Igbo Phenomenon” that appeared on BNW and kwenu on December 18th and 21st of 2004, a hint was made at the dangerous noise level that permeates every social activity in Houston but no one connected that noise and the fraud that is now causing so much raucous for the rabble rousers. In that essay, I stated;

These days I hardly attend any social functions organized by Nigerians due to the importation of unnecessary and excessive noise into what ordinarily should be fun. For instance, they utilize hours barking out names and bogus titles of inconsequential and obscure folks to my dissatisfaction. The empty show offs to impress the audience I’m guessing is part of the reason people lost focus on more important things to go after countless titles...

This was said knowing that a disturbing number of the people in review have their minds submerged in fraudulent activities. I know these things having lived there for sixteen years prior to my relocation many years ago to el’Nigeria before emigrating back to my adopted country five years ago. It is these criminals who make people that put honest day’s work look bad especially on a visit to el’Nigeria where it is not unusual for someone with no idea to question whether or not you live in the same America as the December revelers they have no idea are the same crooks on CNN.

Having thus known, I will tilt towards anyone who argued that “so long as you live in a culture that glorifies the end as justifying the means, Nigerians will continue to seek short cuts.” Fellas, no diploma in rocket science is required to figure what three squared or to the third power is and until el’Nigerians curtail or in fact stop the abuse of titles and the misplaced attention given to people with contaminating characters that jeopardize the system, things like the CNN documentary will continue to make a fool of their ‘glorious’ country. With this mindset I feel affronted that the same people with crock tears over CNN’s candid documentary, who in their overdrive mode will have no problem with no attention given to decent and responsible folks at social functions when they start spewing countless worthless titles, positions and sham diplomas of the very people their criminal lifestyles are at issue, starting with; criminal governors, politicians, corrupt contractors and credit card fraudsters. Those whose antecedents reduced the negligible image of their country are always their favored guests and godfathers to their children still they think we were born last night? At social events these folks are given choice tables where without any attempt to look embarrassed they sit looking doped with pillaged money in tow while decent professors and other professionals whose only crime is their conscious and right decision to be good citizens. A choice that set them up for the snobbish treatments they get always. When I see these things assuming it happened on a day the stomach to stick around inside is there and not one of the days the drive to hang outside takes over just to save from further damaging my eardrums, I ask myself what with these criminal lovers that they failed to appreciate people with impeccable credentials.

People do not have to dine on a dangerous soup simply because mom made it and this should be clear to anyone that can flip a light switch on. I do not know that not eating a dud has anything to do with feelings towards mom, a hop to the next kitchen should do. But allow me to plead for leniency to add another Igbo saying of wisdom that strikes at the root of the principled tenacity seen in of some of us; that of refusing to baby sit or even condone a bratish child simply for being the child’s parent. What happened to the common saying that when a finger scoops oil it inadvertent affects the rest? Since what CNN who by the way is not in the business of pleasing el’Nigeria, did has direct relationship with the aforesaid proverb making the patriots’ reaction to their investigative journalism ill informed as it did nada to elevate their country. The same question that was asked of them could be asked of media from other countries. Do they, Al Jazeera as a point of reference, always beam favorable images of the U.S.? Of course we know the answer to that, so why should CNN be any different? CNN I can tell you was mindful that in every country exists a Judas hence they avoided saying that the number of dishonest el’Nigerians is total. If you ask me, it did be said that the forty percent floated was generous given what I saw while I lived in that city so what image for acting funny are people still yakking about?

How can there not be high level of criminal activities when we all know how decent people are treated in today’s el’Nigeria where only bandits and their cronies are respected with all sorts of national awards so-called dumped at the feet? Gosh, I cannot shake Houston off my thought, please excuse the redundancy but there is absolutely no reason for someone to dole out $15,000 just for securing and decorating a hall for a lousy baby shower yet stuff like this is common in Houston! It even gets better because this is only a drop in the ocean. There have been instances also where people recklessly lavished upward of $50,000 in one night on a birthday celebration and at other times similar amount flew out the window for a Christening ceremony. It is not like we are talking of the rebirth of Jesus Christ for people with no eminence and verifiable legal source of income to spend such obscene amount for a child that may end up not believing a thing about Christianity. I explain, with every child, it is a gamble, never can predict how they will turn out – political harlots, embezzling fools, murdering nincompoops, lying alarmists and more and if you disagree, a look around el’Nigeria will convince ya.

This essay cannot end without quickly adding lest misconstruction is given that downright honest, hard working fellows with el’Nigeria background who are straightforward in both their business and private lives live in Houston. I know them, I speak with them! The problem is with the ones into this, now you have it and then you don’t hocus pocus whose number is simply mind killing. The good news is that despite the irritation of the fraudulent class who insist on getting rich at all cost or die trying, there are decent families (many) I know who through sheer dedication and honest day’s work, raised their kids well and put them through medical, engineering and other schools. These are the people we should give ovation to, they earned their respect the hard way, right way. Now, that’s the idea!

Ndubueze Godson III
biafraalways@yahoo.com

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Is it CNN, BBC or Nigerians? Part I

Godson's Common Sense: by Ndubụeze Godson III (Chicago, IL)--- The latest brouhaha about CNN, BBC and whatever is all smoke to divert attention away from the steady decent into abyss of a crawling nation at forty something. Let us try to imagine what these empty showy patriots would say regarding a person at forty-six who nonetheless acts with the mental mind of a toddler. What is this call to arms for?

It will not be far fetched to think that a proper and careful investigation of some of these patriots will reveal they too, members of their families or close associations have at one point been part of the national resource raping cliché. Exuberant youthful opinions that only reveals where the writer stood which is on the side of patriotic dishonesty are one thing but for some editors to make the same mistake by lending voice to what they too has been saying about el’Nigeria, her legislature, judiciary and all that, is one hypocrisy too hard to overlook. Most of these editorials have always been of the view that many Nigerian legislators and politicians are mind depressingly compromised without any distinction made between the few (two or three) that are driven by real democratic zeal still their CNN snafu zoomed through them like wind.

After reading some of these paid ads, I had to take a little time to cool off to avoid over needling people I have tender side for. Every self respecting adult should be familiar with what I will demonstrate next for the purpose of adding clarity to this writing and that is what usually happens when one strolls into a neighborhood or locale posh with manicured lawns and clean sidewalks. Not many if any will still go ahead to debase the pristine setup by littering it left, right and center albeit, exception could be made to some ghettoish African Americans. What happens almost always is the non disturbance of the integrity of the place by the outsider simply because of the self value of the residents for their neighborhood. On the other hand, if the area is like the eyesore the governors of the following cities; Aba, Lagos, Bini, Enugu, Onitsha and other Nigerian cities were allowed to become, no gasp will be drawn when people add to the refuse because of the established culture. Believe me, I do not engage in such dirtiness, but I have seen people do it, drop things here and there especially in Chicago and I am assuming this goes on in New York and other U.S. cities too as seen on CNN. Oh, oh, fight word? Should have said as seen on TV, my bad, but the point remains that it is the news outlet in contention that make it possible for us to know what goes on around the world.

Every decent person by now should be tired sick of those Nigerians with a one-way at all sleazy cost mindset to riches. What CNN did was make the known available for a general wider viewers, so where is their crime? If an infraction was committed by them, I think with the many people that advertise their lawyerness here, it will be very, very easy to seek a legal recourse if these patriots are serious about their feelings. I am not crazy to guess that enough patriotic Nigerian lawyers exist (not the type that lacked legal know how that ended up bargaining Bakassi away), but ones that could mount a legal challenge to what to them was slanderous. What then, I am wondering is taking too long for the process of filing a class action in behalf of their ‘beloved’ country to begin? But before any does, you should be aware that if in the bitter end the suit is deemed frivolous with awards against you, the same Nigeria will not yield a dime for your rescue. Even if it does, no telling what the mission officer or is it called ambassador will do with the money, but trust it won’t get to ya.

The question I ask to know is; where are the responsibilities of the Nigerians who do these uncanny things or did CNN set them up? Just asking for I do not claim to know everything especially as relates to this image thing, not of interest to me. If a moment is spared to forget the media to be unconscionable with how we deal with people with no known source of income yet display insane opulence, the shocking rage of some people over that CNN documentary will be massively diluted. With me when it comes to addressing these fraudsters with diligent determined qualifiers, I am not a miser yet I have been accused by some noisemakers of being unkind with my prose. How could one even maintain civility with a common thief? Does such exist and will that not fall under cruel and unusual punishment to be forced to address a dishonorable person admiringly? Pray tell, how you encourage people to salute politicians or whomever with soiled conduct with honorable mention? Listen up Jack, there is no other word to describe a thief in the dictionary I know other than thief. I know of no different word to identify a murderer other than raw killer. Or, is a murderer not a killer anymore? Then get with the program and drop the latest show of shame. Whenever I hear people address a mass murderer or rapist as a gentleman and all other politically correct bull, I cringe. What is gentle about snuffing life out of someone because you can? What is honorable about letting their uncles’ sneaky fingers rob the people bare at the expense of development that should make them to be sincerely patriotic and not the rented patriotism we have seen enough of?

This is what I believe, that both those who befit the patriotic appellation to themselves and the ones seen scornfully as anti Nigeria whatever, are all, I suppose boiling mad over the rot since 1970 literally, el’Nigeria became so let none ascribe the high ground to themselves simply because they are at present secretly receiving pay offs from sleaze. Either this is the case or the expression of disgust by some pretenders is a covert without balls denunciation of the mismanagement perpetuated by a bunch of visionless mediocre, which as far as I can say, was a misdirected outburst towards a foreign news organization that owe no allegiance to their country. No one should expect CNN to paint a rosy picture of a country that is of nothing to them, it’s that simple. Their natural loyalty rests with their fellow citizens of UNITED States of America and with that program they put them on notice to watch out for certain people (singular use) who imperil their livelihoods. Is there anything that the Nigerian government and their foot soldiers will not protest even when such is in their spotty faces honest-to-God delivered truth by Jesus himself? Two examples will be sufficient here starting with pronouncements by different international election observers as relates to the never seen before 2003 election rigging and the many political assassinations. What is it that el’Nigeria do not whine and jerk about? People with no hint what should constitute patriotism are called upon to see “Tribalist vs Nationalist: A case of two misplaced nouns in Nigeria,” which appeared more than a year ago on Kwenu, BNW and Gamji; 10/29/04, 10/30/04 and 11/01/04, written by me to gain useful knowledge.

This brings me to the mocking question to show them a world map with specifics about Biafra. My urge whenever I encounter this line of argument is to want to be led to a verifiable place or map where heaven could be pinpointed and my return to the only place I know, earth, guaranteed. Heaven if I must explain to those left by the roadside is a state of mind; it is a condition we create for ourselves while on earth as there is no such physical presence, period. A person’s world is said to have ended when that person takes his last breathe then his activities while alive is all he has to keep him in remembrance just like we in Christian community remember Jesus the anointed for all his good deeds and our Moslem neighbors, Mohammed. Yet some in their infant haste to ridicule the Igbo missed that the clamor for Biafra is an easy psychological means of blocking the bad memories of a country, their country, with long overdue need for facelift. When CNN spoke of crimes and el’Nigeria, I knew damn well they were not by any imagined way smarting about Biafra and that was all for this writer. If the dramatist could henceforward drop the out of synch over played local show they did notice that what they reacted to pales when lined up against the self inflicted wounds by the very government in whose behalf they stake their negligible reputations. To survive the rigors of el’Nigeria one must have a second plan, a plan “B” if one is to make it and Biafra is it for all freedom lovers!

Part of what a second plan does for people that do not want to be taken unawares is a switch to something less taxing from their original field of studies in college due to personal considerations (dullness maybe or financial obstacle). Without activating their “B” plan, they may well end up struggling for many years in engineering, medical or any other school, but with a second plan galvanized, they are today in different fields making invaluable contributions to society without committing bank or credit card frauds that may be relayed back on CNN. It has to be said that until the rights of people who want out of that el’Nigeria due to the never ending bad policies are appreciated, chaotic life will be the painful music of the bogus patriots. People wishing to make a mad no looking back dash out of there are like the patriotic hecklers; engineers, doctors, lawyers, professors and stuff who have seen enough of el’Nigeria to know that not much exists to write friends about or die for. The patriots may well follow what the African Americans with attitude say in their lingo when a relationship is bent out of shape and not working; baby, you should have been gotten yourself out of there long time ago, shuuu. Much as how the country was leveled to ruins is no carter blanche to crime, we must agree that the criminal policies of these one-quarter schooled illiterates the patriots see in esteem is part to blame for forcing otherwise good people to engage in humiliating adventures.

I find it painfully ironic that the el’Nigerians are never disturbed about their government’s inability after these many years to create healthy environment for harmonious business growth yet they are convinced that their exhibition of shame makes sense. It is of no consequence, of no news that a part of their crappy land was illegally (without referendum) ceded to a foreign country by a one-man warlord. Are we to ignore cases of flaunting of the country’s apex court’s rulings which abound in quantum beginning with the all time killwe, the goggled Abacha and since taken to a new and laughable low by Obasanjo? To these patriots, it must be a no-go-area to write about these things, what a sad revelation. It also made no sense to them that with so much noise and fanfare about new world order - global community; out sourcing became the new business lexicon yet their country is nowhere near the pie that is capable of bringing respite to her starving and far removed citizens. The plain fact that small countries like Togo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tunisia (Rwanda too?) etc are all at least participating in the world cup tournament is not of concern to some of these palmy writers who think we have patience for the acute patriotic noise to defend an outlaw nation that galloped out of course before the first whistle sounded. Part of the insult is the sight on CNN of the fire department of a country in turmoil as Iraq with water racing out from functioning fire hydrants while no el’Nigerian city despite having been involved in no external wars, can boast of uninterrupted water supply in peace time!

Ndubueze Godson III
biafraalways@yahoo.com

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HIV Prevalence in Africa Distorted by Statistics

by Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa --- I almost hit the roof when I saw a recent study presented in Durban, South Africa that 20 percent of the richest Africans have higher prevalence rate of HIV than the poorest 20 percent. This conclusion on its face may seem right because of the number of people interviewed and the amount of blood samples taken.

The reputable Researcher, Vinod Mishra, raised eye brows because of the interpretation. Statistic is a wonderful tool in scientific study, but sometimes we get carried away by skewed data that is in variance to local established socio-economic culture leading to wrong interpretation.

The bigger picture that came to me was that of pharmaceutical companies that President Clinton has lobbied so hard to convince to forgo some of their profit in order to supply their expensive drugs to the very poor around the world. How do we shift focus to the richest 20 percent in Africa?

If this was a study that was limited to professional or scientific literature where it could be sorted out among peers, it would be hard to swallow and I would be less concerned. It has gained notice in newspapers and must have caught the attention of individual donors, many Non-Profit organizations, as well as generous businesses who donate to the poor countries. In United Stated States, the largest source of donors in 2005, are individuals who contributed over 76 percent of the total charitable relief gifts.

At the schools of Public Health, vital statistic is exactly that, vital in its interpretation of morbidity, mortality or incidence and prevalence of diseases. There has to be a deep understanding of what you are interpreting scientifically and socially. For instance, in a community where most of the infectious diseases have been eradicated, a few out-breaks of one of these exotic diseases may be declared as an epidemic with some experts set out to arrest the plaque and others running for cover. To gain the same status in an endemic environment, it would be more than a few break-outs.

The best way to put this into perspective is to ask who the 20 percent richest are in Africa. Can they be the ones that make more than a dollar a day to survive? Or we are talking about the one percent that steal the treasury blind and are seen as the rich in the Western world? They can also be the small business people that live the same way as most working class in the Western World but are seen as rich in Africa because they provide their own bore holes for water and generators for electricity with old Mercedes or BMW to match. Their fortunes change as the weather. Can you see the misunderstanding of underlining local socio-economic culture can affect straight statistical study?

We can illustrate the underlining sociology by extrapolating to the developed countries with some very poor areas. Since many of the grant donors also come from USA, New York or Boston or Los Angeles will do. The first noticeable prevalence of HIV in the United States was in the middle class gay communities in Los Angeles until it starts spreading to the poor areas. As the disease became poor people’s disease, the white middle class gays were able to take care of themselves because of access to health care and health insurance. They could also afford expensive drugs that kept them alive.

Indeed conservative attitude among blacks might have been responsible for lower incidence among them compared to rich or middle class gays at that time. So if a study was done then in a poor location where there were many Blacks or Hispanics, you could have guessed what statistic would show: A lower HIV prevalence among poor than among the middle class or affluent gay men.

In the Black and Hispanic communities, the virus itself spread more rapidly killing many before they could gain access to health care and many had no insurance anyway. The determinative factor that blacks are more conservative in the area of gay sex disguised the macho bisexual men with the virus not to reveal their sexual life style in the community. In many cases, by passing it on to their unsuspecting wives and girl friends resulted in higher incidence in this class and their children. In addition to drugs by needle sharing.

Back to Africa, the researcher gave reasonable reasons for the higher prevalence among the richest 20 percent as: men with multiple women, enough money to buy sex and afford travels. But that is true anywhere, not only in Africa. Western countries need to get off their high horse about the so called many wives. Women are women, no matter how many you have, and where. Sex is the end result and men seek that anywhere in the world as long as they desire sex and can afford it. Because Africans take equal responsibility for all their children and their mothers, some called those mothers many wives. They refer to their own many women as girl-friends, mistresses or the “other woman”.

In terms of the lowest or the poorest 20 percent in Africa or the lowest 40 or 60 percent, there is hardly any difference. It is when we start talking about 80 to 20 percent that we may start noticing some but not much difference. We have to realize that unlike other developing countries and the developed worlds, most of Africa’s middle class have been wiped out by imbalance trade and structural adjustment of their currencies that makes foreign products expensive. They can not join the rich clubs of the world and sell their products and when they do, they sell raw natural materials at buyers’ dictated price, except oil. It is then resold back to them as finished products at sellers’ price. The consequences of which, more is taken out of them than exchanged.

This study may have different interpretation if the next 20 percent is better off than the preceding 20 percent as in other countries. It is not so in most African countries. In that case, the study was actually comparing 80 percent of poorest Africans with 20 percent of not so poor. If we were talking about 90 - 99 percent of poor Africans to 1 - 9 percent of middle class and one percent of rich Africans, the study might have given opposite result.

It is not my intension to introduce statistics into an article like this but a very simple demonstration can not hurt even some of us not interested in mathematics or statistics.
In a population of a hundred, let us say we take 20 richest and 10 percent were HIV positive. That will be about 2 people. Among the 20 poorest let us say 5 percent of them are HIV positive. Say one person. The mistake here is to focus on 2 of the richest because they are more than 1 of the poorest. However, we are saying that the numbers of poorest with HIV are more if we realize that 80 percent of Africans fall into that same category.

Moreover, the 20 percent of the richest is fallacious because there are not that many rich as understood in, or compared to Western world. Indeed, more than 90 percent of Africans fall into the poor category since there are very few middle class left as stated.

Whatever the case, how are we going to sell the idea of cheap drugs or grants in the name of 20 percent richest people to individuals that contribute the biggest block of the funds? The principle of Public Health is to spend the greater part of the dollar/naira on the greatest number of people. Looking for rich people in Africa who hardly spend any time in African hospitals to spend money on is at the expense of the poor. If the reason is to reach them through health education to prevent the spread, they have more access to TV programs and news papers world wide than the poor. Saying that majority of HIV-infected people are the wealthiest in this study is nothing short of statistical distortion.

There is one good interpretation for the study though. If we take the same number of poor and the same number of rich people, it seems that the rich are more promiscuous than the poor. That makes more sense since the poor are too busy with the task of everyday living than the rich who have more leisure time to travel out of their commune to exotic places.

It also demonstrates the fact that HIV virus is a sophisticated disease introduced to the poor by the sexual exploration of the rich. In South Africa, sexual promiscuity and intermingling of foreigners was an attraction in Soweto where the Apartheid Government tried to create a homeland for some Blacks who in turn cater for tourists’ needs and their desires in town. This could be how the incidence of HIV virus filtered to the rest of South Africa. It may support the notion that, indeed, it was an imported disease.

Nevertheless, we must take care of everyone, rich or poor within limited resources. It is only fair that we ask the rich to pay more for their healthcare. That is why it will be extremely difficult to present 20 percent of the richest Africans to the rest of the world as in dire need of cheap drugs. Those rich enough to buy expensive drugs as AZT are part of the one percent rich class in many African countries. Most are already doing that without donors’ contributions and can afford to travel out for treatment.

As more African countries take care of their own destiny, there will be less need to ask others for drugs or foreign aides that can be generated within their own local economy.
Locally produced and generated wealth creates the type of percentile where one economic class may be easier to compare to another as it is done in the Western world.

Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
faroukomartins@netscape.net

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A Man of the People

A Poem: by Ejiofor Alisigwe (London, England) ---

A MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Our Oga's smoking pipe is rigged to guzzle mmanu nkwu
A ripe nut for a squirrel emitting nkakwu
Oga is a fat cat claw on our sozzled land of pie
Oga also gutted the land Papa left us,clotted to die

Spouts of septicaemia blotted the doped riverines
And strangled the last breath of convulsive airings
From the indigenious fishes with emphysema to boot
While Oga stoke and belch with unquenchable enomity to hoot
The flaring of avoidable discontent

And as ever the open sores oozes stringent opulent cowries
Which lead flirtatiously prone to the rapacious seas

And after, do not dust your leperous feet with a complex loud tap
To cloud my weariest eyes too soon to your trap
I was blind not long after the experience
To want to read your sprinkled ash for clues
To see whether it was cast awide with golden cowries
And if need be for my tawdry emolument toot toot

Swiss Bank is a howling banshee of lore
Wishes to a Leprechaun's pot of gold to bore
Very nuetral and friendly to a faceless vault

The sun is out on your snowy mansions to bare
Secrets feted by your ingenious able host
And for the seal, Nobel gave you a knowing wink and a pat
And the right price for my share misappropriate

Will my value be a labled percentage of the Pie Chart?

Since you have gone and left me without land
There are rigorous piggybacks through the desert
Then like Jonah I walk the belly of the sea, I repeat
But Nwanna I believe I can fly the kit
You are my father, my uncle, my kinsman
If you should see me now Nna-anyi

I am in your Switzerland!
There is something here for everybody alright
The weather is very cold as if my heart is dead

Hey! but here is to you my Ruler
I am now a toilet cleaner
Exorcitio te! Ex crucien Domini!

Oh, your friend kept his word my friend
He's had your story cast with plated cowries
Then they all picked with light-fingers of gold
One finger soiling five of old
And the wreath of spikes held gingerly close
Ready to impale the honourable Head stone

Please do mind how apt you must leave
They are not blowing any hailing trumpet
They are not laying any red carpet
All your friends are locked in your room
Sweeping the spoils of your rites with sieveless broom
All done in muted cant with sleight of hand

I am standing outside your door Lost of Wand

Ejiofor Alisigwe/ Imo State

London England

02/05/2006

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June 21, 2006

Igbos of Shame

by Jackson O. Ude (New York, USA) --- Call them saboteurs, betrayers, boot-lickers and sycophants; you might not be far from the truth. The crops of today’s so called Igbo leaders should bury their heads in shame for plunging the Igbo nation into the deepest pit of miseries.

We are currently faced with the opposites of our past leaders. We are faced with so called leaders who have desecrated the Igbo nations and polluted our revered culture of unity. We are faced with men who have brought dishonor to our land.

These men have certainly taking the Igbos backward that it might take centuries for the younger generation of Igbos to re-build our destroyed land and re-orientate our misled, dehumanized and exploited people!

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Akanu Ibiam, Mbonu Ojike, K.O Mbadiwe, Ikemba Ojukwu and the host of past Igbo leaders brought fame and dignity to the Igbo nation. They showed to the whole world the inherent potentials in Igbo land. They showed to the world that the Igbos can be the best in any area of endeavor.

These savvy men of candor and political sagacity opened Igbos to the world. They wrote their names in gold. In their days, the Igbos were revered and honored. In their days, they spoke with one voice, in their days; they protected the interest of the Igbo nation and championed the course of the Igbos. They fought, lived and died thinking about the Igbo people.

But what can one say of the likes of Joe Irukwus, Nzeribes, Ararumes and their likes who championed the imprisonment of the Igbos through their role at the dead third term bid of Obasanjo? These are all shameless bunch of parasitic Igbo sons who need to be ostracized from our land!

In their shamelessness, few weeks after fighting so hard for a third term for Obasanjo, these men attended the Igbo Summit in Owerri where the issue of an Igbo presidency was to be discussed and were rightly booed by the people. They deserve more than that. They should have been lynched!

We no longer need men of such characters in our Igbo nation of today. We can no longer continue to harbor such people because they have never done the Igbo people any good. They have continued to witch-hunt and stab us from behind while pretending to be for us!
These men constitute the cog in the wheel of progress of the Igbo people. Their names have never been associated with anything progressive for the Igbos. They have lived their lives amassing wealth through activities that negate the progress of the Igbos.
The biggest shame goes to Joe Irukwu who parades himself as the President of Ohaneze N’di Igbo. An organization that should have been used to fight for the rights of the Igbo people is now used to fight the Igbos and ridicule their sufferings.

Afenifere may not like Obasanjo but he remains their own and they will be the last to do anything against him or anything against the Yoruba people. Ibrahim Babangida may not be liked by the whole world but the Hausas will be willing to die fighting for him just as they will always protect the interest of their people.

But when it comes to the Ohaneze N’di Igbo, we have group of retired old men who are hungry for government contract and government patronage at the expense of the interest of the people they claim to be representing.

They make the Igbos look like articles of no commercial value. They fan the embers of disunity in our land using the money they have been paid by their masters. They watch our people live in squalor and penury and turn blind eyes. They watch the humiliation of the Igbos in the most inhuman manner and they laugh and walk away. What a shame!
These men who should be banished from our land now continue to parade and impose themselves as our leaders while we remain hostages. They continue to torment and haunt us with their nefarious activities that can best be described as an aberration to the values of the Igbos!

Their activities, to say the least have devalued the methodologies of Zik, defaced the philosophies of K.O Mbadiwe, debauched the ideologies of Ibiam and mocked the struggles of Ojukwu. These men must and should as a matter of urgency be told in clear statements that enough is just enough! They are just a bunch of shame!

If the likes of Zik and others had boot-licked and worked against the interest of the Igbos like the present so called Igbo leaders, Igbo nation would not have been in existence for exploitation by these hawks and political vultures parading and masquerading themselves as leaders

In today’s world, our so called Igbo leaders are quick to eulogize the activities Igbo sons and daughters who brought honors, fame and pride to the Igbo nations. They are proud to use their names to open doors and seek favors, they are even proud to lay claim to be believers of their struggles, ideas and ideals.

But in reality, these men, most of whom find themselves as members of various Igbo interest groups are all too far from what they claim. They are chaffs, impostors and saboteurs with eagle eyes looking and lurking behind for the next opportunity to exploit the Igbo people.

Most shocking and embarrassing is the fact that sons and daughters of great Igbo leaders who have used their fathers names and goodwill to get into leadership position have either ended up serving personal interest or joined in the exploitation and killing of the Igbo people.

While it will take a whole generation for the Onitsha Bridge to be given maintenance and a face-lift, it will take years and years of politicking for the River Niger to be dredged to promote more business and tourism in the Igbo man’s land. It will take many more deaths, anguish and many years of hunger strike for the Nigeria government to pay attention to the worsening erosion and other environmental degradation affecting the Igbo man’s land while our so called leaders watch.

But it will take just a blink of the eyes for an Igbo man to jump and donate handsomely to the project of other ethnic groups. It will take just a phone call for an Igbo man to accept to chair the launching of a Presidential Library for a President, and chair launchings were billions are raised for other ethnic groups.

It is time for new breed Igbos to join forces and say NO to the activities of these so called Igbo leaders. It is time for us to repair of houses and make things aright. It is time for us to demand for what are our rights. It is time for us to purge ourselves and remove the bad ones amongst us.

We can no longer continue to sit back and watch some men run and ruin our tomorrow otherwise generations of Igbos might be wiped away. We can no longer continue to beg for the development of our areas. We can no longer beg for what we deserve as part of a body that makes up a country. We have been onlookers for too long. Now we have to look and act for the legacies of Zik, Ibiam, Mbadiwe, Ojukwu, et al to live on!

Igbo Kewnu! Kwenu!! Kwezue nu!!!
Jackson Ogbonna Ude is President Student Union Government, Lehman College, City University of New York, CUNY

Jackson O. Ude
jakxeen@yahoo.com

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June 20, 2006

Message to Igbo Youths

by Chris Chike Nsoedo (Canada) --- Chris Chike Nsoedo, the Sec-General for the Igbo Canadian Community Association and one of the coordinators of the First World Igbo Youth Conference points the way forward.

Preambles:

Historically, the youths have always been the catalyst that propels every society. They shape the leaning of structures that hold all humanity. The interest of an organized youth in any social setting determines the inclination of its leadership. Therefore, Igbo youth must coordinate in order to protect Igbo land and her institutions.

INTRODUCTION:
From the time the sovereign state of Biafra was declared in 1967 to the present day, Igbo land has never been the same. Since the cessation of the Nigeria/Biafra conflict in 1970, the economic obstruction and isolation of Ndi-Igbo by the Nigerian government which started during the war has continued unchecked. The consequences that emanate from the blockade have led to the devastation of our economic and social development.
Though one can not attribute the entire problem besieging Igbo land today to the trauma of the civil war, one thing is certain, Ala-Igbo is wailing for redemption since that war ended.

RECONCILIATION: Pre-civil war Igbo.

As a segmented society, individualism and democratic principles are the foundation of our social relations. In Igbo land, absence of absolute leadership has never constituted a problem to our nation, as our society thrives on the consensus reached by the various segments that make up the social order. However, in the recent times the reverse has been the case, our society is on the verge of anarchy because THE FORCES THAT REGULATE OUR SOCIAL STRUCTURES COME FROM THE OUTSIDE AS OPPOSED TO WITHIN. Those forces as we all know are not interested in protecting our society rather it benefits by fomenting crisis that derails our focus.

For Ndi-Igbo to reclaim their position in the triangular equilibrium that holds the Nigerian state, we must revive our home base. To have a strong home base, we need to develop an effective strategy that will help us build a new foundation upon which the entire Igbo nation will stand irrespective of differences.

This platform will serve as an avenue through which different opinions converge and finally melt into a consensus for the common benefit of the entire people. The consensus reached will then replace the motley of discordant voices currently speaking for Ndi-Igbo with one strong voice that resonates from coast to the hinterland. That voice must be protected by organized Igbo youth. That protection from the youth is an important part of the structure that has been missing in our society since the end of the civil war.
Igbo land should draw strength from her vast and dynamic youthful population. However, we need an appropriate avenue to harness those latent potentials in our youths.

Unfortunately, lack of collaboration among our diverse youth groups hinder the contribution their unity should bring to the development of our home land. THIS IS WHY WE MUST HELP TO INITIATE THE FIRST EVER CONFERENCE OF IGBO YOUTHS ACROSS THE WORLD TO HOLD IN NNEWI ANAMBRA STATE AUGUST 24TH-26TH 2006.

The idea of having a summit stems from consultations with some respected Igbo individuals and youth groups. It is believed that during such a summit, devoid of influence from politicians, the youths will have opportunity to meet for the first time and debate among themselves on the best way forward. If a clear goal is identified in that meeting, it is of a general opinion that the search for the solution or ways of attaining such goal may bond our youth together.

Ndi Igbo have strong tendencies to unite for a common aspiration and from our investigations; it can be said without any doubt that achieving “UNITY” is the most important desire of most Igbo youths today.

If a clear direction is presented to our youths especially on how to rebuild our society through participating in Nigeria affairs, the Igbo youths will start understanding that we are still in Nigeria and until then we should struggle for our own within the ambit of the system.

To achieve unity, we need reconciliation among those seeking to unite and in order for people to reconcile their differences; there must be a meeting between the parties concerned.

Once again, it is worth mentioning that the major difficulty with the above statement is that our diverse youth groups do not see eye to eye. They desire unity but lack the resources or organizational capacity to arrange for an effective process or road map to resolving their differences. This is why they resort to seeking help from politicians and in so doing pollute their honorable objectives. We should step in and use our vantage position to re-direct our youths. The optimistic view among most Igbo youths is that their kit and kin in Diaspora will come to their aid when the right time comes. This is the right time to fill that vacuum.

It is important to note that there is this general agreement among our youths that 1967 to 2007 will make it forty years since Ndi-Igbo were locked out of the Nigeria equation and they seriously believe it is time to emerged from the wilderness and reclaim our position. But let me caution that how formidable we are during our exit out of that wilderness will determine our future or survival among nations.

THE ONLY WAY IGBO LAND WILL REBOUND FOR GOOD IS THROUGH THE PARTICIPATION AND PROTECTION OF AN INFORMED YOUTH ALLIANCE.

HEALING:

We all know that scarcity of resources breed competition and conflicts sometimes arise from unhealthy rivalry. This is human nature; however, such conflict may pose a problem to the society in general if there are no SPECIFIC MODALITIES FOR SOCIAL RELATIONS. In Igbo land today we lack that acceptable body that moderates between various competing interests. This is why we need a youth conference to develop and protect such an entity upon which we will stand to reconcile.

Reconciliation cannot be complete without healing. If we can be magnanimous and humble during that summit, we may heal the wounds we inflicted upon ourselves from selling-out, betrayals, sabotages, etc. Healing replaces hard-heartedness with open and librated mind. We need librated individuals to work together and develop a strategy that will debunk the entire inglorious allegation designed by our competitors against Ndi Igbo.

REBUILDING:

There has been so much damage to the ethical and social fabric of our people that it is going to take a united effort to rebuild. Ndi-Igbo must desist from working to the time table set by other nations in Nigeria; we must have our own time table and priorities.
Once we achieve the two points of reconciliation and healing mentioned above, we will start the process of rebuilding our society (Igbo Nation). This will entail Igbo youths from different backgrounds coming together to study, probe and reach conclusions, without rancor, on every aspect or branch that constitutes the fabrics of our society. Bearing the following in mind will help us in steering our fortunes to a greater height.

• We must understand that there are bound to be differences in opinion and approach in any problem solving scenario.
• When we encounter such a situation, we must not see it as an impediment to realizing our goal but an advantage in the sense that we are a dynamic society and that we have more than one opinion to explore.
• We must also be proud that Igbos are naturally democratic and independent, therefore, every group that will participate retains their right to self determination within the set rules and principles that shall guides the conference.

Therefore, all groups will have equal opportunity to contribute in all deliberations.

Conclusion:

Let’s make it clear to our youths that they cannot have a permanent commitment to a failed strategy; that failed approaches include having an aversion to political affairs of Nigeria. Ndigbo in diaspora must also change their strategy, because they develop good ideas without actually implementing them. Ndigbo deserve a different kind of leadership from what they are getting now. To effect changes, we should invest in our youth groups through education. We should also contribute to the socio-economic development of Igbo land by transmitting good ideas to organized Igbo youth groups for implementation. If we can help the youths to come up with a way of developing interest in the polity, their influence will definitely force our leaders to adjust.

Igbo youths should be trained on ways of recapturing power or influencing the leadership of Nigeria at all levels. LET’S START WITH OUR YOUTH AND WORK OUR WAY UP.

Visit: www.igboyouths.com

Chris Chike Nsoedo, the Sec-General for the Igbo Canadian Community Association and one of the coordinators of the First World Igbo Youth Conference points the way forward.

Posted by Administrator at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2006

Stop Ducking NAZIria, Oh Biafrans!

by CID Oguagha (New York, USA) --- It’s about time Igbos and their cognate neighbors started referring to long misconstrued Nigeria by its actual name, Naziria.

This bandit country known in the comity of nations as Nigeria is really a terrorist polity of a peculiar sort, which has masqueraded for not less than forty years in vestment and fatigue.

Squarely defined, Naziria is brutal indigenous neo-colonialism of the Igbos and their neighbors by the Yoruba, and Fulani/Hausa ethnic axis of evil. These two ethnic nationalities overwork in concert to geld the Igbos as they transfer the oil resources and proceeds of now baptized South-South to their talismanic Western and Islamic Northern parts of the quasi-country.

Identification of a problem is a primary step toward solving it. Correct classification of Naziria therefore is requisite to our (that is Biafra’s) restitution. If there’s one factor that could seal our fate to the very end, it is our misguided ducking and slacking along dank corners of Naziria, as though this bandit federation were our neocolonial master (or is it?).

Do we honestly believe we could wish evil Naziria away? That someday somehow defunct Biafra shall wake up in Lekki Beach hammocks with their amok accusers? Give me a break. Aren’t you Biafrans wicked to entertain such a criminal indisposition? There are times inaction is wicked and criminal. From the generation of the great Zik to the present (three generations) are guilty of reckless and insensitive endangerment of their peoples of the East/Mideast. Don’t we have superfluous reasons in Naziria’s resolve to extinct us to re-launch our secession? What more grievous rationale could there be to, at least, begin with ousting Nigeria moniker with surname Naziria?

Rightly referring to Nigeria, as Naziria from today onwards is not a trivial way to start a life and death struggle. On the contrary it is a rudimentary approach that will provoke an intense process of unlearning and relearning amongst our populace, which shall build up to eventual and redoubtable groundswell that will topple the Fulani/Hausa/Yoruba ethnic axis of evil.

Surely we must not monkey with this travesty of godmother Britain’s and Fulani/Yoruba axis’, unless we delight to. Sadly, we have. And, determined to skirt renewed conflicts, we have also deluded ourselves with all manner of ostensible and cowardly clichés: about being the vanquished, about flouting some feces and fart Nazirian constitution, about courting another holocaust, about legitimizing Nazirian war crimes and about other flotsam and jetsam.

Enough of this self-deceit Beloved! Arise like men and women! Whoever must become free the same is doomed to breast bullets. Other peoples have, and will you rather piss you pants? There is no recess of the world where freedom from draconian rule was or is ever freely brooked; freedom exacts conflicts. Naziria with Britain seeks to squander our national soul, and we have all but granted it both by omission and by commission. Burst asunder your morass and metaphysical dungeon this moment, oh Biafrans!

If the Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Bini and other minority hedonists who pillage us through Naziria's crooked configuration would not repudiating their banditry and their criminal anti-East/anti-Southeast or Mideast deportment, how much more we their victims. We should screech their crimes from our rundown estates; we should match against both Naziria’s catacomb principalities and the remote, polite dictatorships of the Western and Arab worlds. We should breast their bullets even as we lodge ours in their spines. And have they tucked to safety their own sweet lives in the rafters?

In this contemporary era, micro-worlds such as polities, provinces, villages or clans are no longer exclusively intact preserves of citizens and residents. Neighbors, traders, wayfarers, vacationers, even illegal aliens jam the corporate affairs of nations, and somewhat they share as much stake with indigenes they may well never have visited. Without the initial interferences and ultimate interventions of Britain, U.S.A., Arab World and Russia on behalf of Naziria, Biafra would have won that 1967-1970 war; yet we did not join issues with any of these foreign busybodies who usurped and fought us for their surrogate Naziria.

Today's technetronic world chips away at the socio-political inviolability of nations, worse still developing nations. Gone are the ages when every domain hardly was infringed by neighbors whether far or near, except of course in a situation of obvious war or tributary. The paramount factor in globalization is vested interests; so inextricable and camp following that barest domestic issue of today could dilate overnight to the most complicated international concern.

Internal and international affairs of nations have become irretrievably interwoven, more or less depending respectively on how weak or powerful, for instant, a country in question is in the comity of nations. Years of yore when the entire peoples of the earth were, metaphorically speaking planets apart from one another, livelihood was so much more independent and worthy; but in the prevalent world order, interdependence has degenerated from complicated to duplicitous. Right is no longer unassailably right, nor wrong absolutely wrong, because focus has become transferred from the unlike poles of truth and falsehood, correct and incorrect to their median of nuances or hues and shades.

The foregoing scenario is the global wildlife in which the exponentially out-numbered Biafrans must fight for survival.

We are mortally pitted against majority Nazirians under the aegis Western super powers, whose singular object was their unconscionable pry in the prospects of an Africa led into techno-economic self-reliance by the Biafran revolution. The West would not have Africans transformed from consumers into competitors in science and technology. That is another White man's nightmare; that is another White man’s grave. Nor would pan-Arabists retreat from Naziria; their sponsorship and incitements of Islamic fundamentalists remain back-to-back punishments to us and to their Nazirian proxy.

We are therefore like roaches besieged by chickens. Whence comes justice for the roaches in the court of the chickens? Yet to let up like we have is never the solution to our penury. No it is not.

Let Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw, Ogoni, et cetera, stop our infighting and unite; is there another viable and credible option in here? Naziria drilled the cold war we wage among ourselves; it needs it to continue to ravish the mineral resources of Biafran minority nationalities and to prosecute the total emasculation of the human resources of the Biafran Igbo nationality.

Until Hitler Gowon, the Igbo leopard scared the fledgling and vicious Fulani/Hausa hyena from overrunning the (so-called minority) lands of petroleum products. Let's stop selling out to our detractors and undertakers in worthless and fetid hopes of acceptances, and start rebuilding bridges of mutual interaction and understanding.

It is war friends, rise to the occasion.

CID OGUAGHA
NY

Posted by Administrator at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

Nigerians are Objective & Brutally Honest!

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- There have been various reactions to CNN's sloppy, shoddy and lopsided documentary on some Nigerians in Houston. Some Nigerians were ebullient and pugnacious in their justification and defense of CNN, but why? Shouldn't the default position of Nigerians be to defend Nigeria? Why the sorts of auto-response to rally in support of CNN's denigration and disparagement of Nigeria?

Nigerians must be clear, that there are no reasons or justifications for the denigrations and disparagements that American and European media seem to specially reserved for Nigeria and Africa. We should realize, as Dr. Reuben Abati of The Guardian Newspapers has pointed out, that Western media never even pretend to be politically correct, when it comes to Nigerian and African issues.

Dr. Abati discussed CNN and added the BBC which had recently aired a live program "Africa Have Your Say" in which BBC asked listeners about the perception of Nigerians Dr. Abati then commented "For sure, there are criminals in other nationalities, but in the international media and most especially CNN it is often so easy and convenient to present Nigeria as the global headquarters of crime. Frank Nweke, the Minister of Information has since protested, noting that the CNN portraiture of Nigeria was tendentious and unfair." If the CNN were to investigate Italians and Hispanics, its investigators would find a lot to put on air, except they may not consider it politically correct to do so.

Abati's excellent article on this important matter of Nigeria's image is a must read.

It should be clear to us all, that Nigeria and Africa, gets no respect, mostly or even solely because we are perceived as powerless and inconsequential. Might, have always received respect; Even undeserved respect. Might is admired, feared and have always received respect, from slavery to colonialism and to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Africa will receive respect when we have nuclear power, when we have money and when outsiders perceive dire consequences and heavy price to pay for being politically incorrect about Nigeria and Africa

Presently however, Nigeria and Africa are being told to get powerful, become a boxer or pugilist on the block or get rich, be mighty to get respect or get discounted. There is no logic or fairness in it. We are being told that we are poor people, deserving no respect.

Some Nigerians, in the face of all these, defend and justify CNN's labeling and castigation of all Nigerians, with the impressions created by CNN on its documentary. But when will these same Nigerians, and in fact, when will all Nigerians defend Nigeria with equal passion with which some tend to always condemn and denounce anything Nigerian? Why will our best and brightest always seem to invest all their wondrous skills in defaming Nigeria, all in the name of criticisms?

How about defending Nigeria's national interests with same vigor?

In all this CNN, and now, BBC stirred controversy regarding perception of Nigerians internationally; Those reactions that gripped my attention are the ones by some Nigerians, some who Nigerians shouted their feelings, feelings they expressed, which amounted to "oh call a spade what it is, a shovel and be done with it, they echoed in unison in support of a clearly jaundiced CNN documentary that generalized about Nigerians.

But are those sorts of reactions not just too naïve? Too simplistic and from some simpletons of Nigerian descent? Why would any Nigerian, at home or abroad, and contrary to all the evidences, accept the lazy journalism as is now common in the American and European media? In matters concerning Nigeria or even all of Africa, Western press, get careless and sloppy.

CNN, BBC and most other media, do not even attempt or pretend to aspire to political correctness. This was exemplified and exacerbated by the vexing CNN documentary on some Nigerian fraudsters in Houston.
Ninety percent of the cocaine that is supplied to the American cocaine consumers are produced and in Colombia! This is not guesstimate or the result of guesswork; it is actually based on the empirical indisputable evidence of different agencies and departments of the United States of America.

Conversely, CNN and its Nigerian supporters possessed no such empirical evidence against Nigerians! And yet, CNN aired a silly sensational documentary in which one of CNN interviewee asserted falsely, that 40% of Nigerians in the Houston area are into frauds. CNN knew and CNN ought to know, that such assertions are false.

A reasonable and diligent news organization would not have used or relied on such baseless percentage as alleged by the interviewee, but instead, CNN chose for its own malicious reasons to rely on a non-expert on Nigerians' in Houston. CNN in depicting and portraying Nigerians in CNN's repulsive and reprehensive documentary relied on an interviewee who is not a statistician or demographer and yet, a Nigerian abalidiegwu audaciously defended CNN and actually argued that 75% of Nigerian adults, at home and abroad, are fraudulent! http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/showthread.php?t=21025&page=2

Abalidiegwu moronically stated that "agree. Nigerian communities abroad have an image and fraud problem. so long as you live in a culture that glorifies the end as justifying the means, Nigerians will continue to seek short cuts. this is the root of our problems. CNN IS RIGHT. MY OWN ESTIMATE IS THAT 75%% OF ADULT NIGERIANS ARE CRIMMINALS."

I guess, if it is on television and on CNN, it must be true (na oyinbo talk am)! abi?

It is completely outrageous that CNN denigrated Nigerians and Nigeria, as CNN chose. And it is with profound regret and sadness with which the rest of us Nigerians must view CNN and its Nigerians supporters. We must, with utmost disgust. It is an unacceptably offensive act and it epitomizes bad judgment on CNN's part and on the part of its Nigerian defenders. It is distasteful to seek to justify what is clearly an extremely nauseating and repulsive documentary. It maligned Nigerians and Nigeria, in an extremely generalized manner. We must be clear about that.

It is an act of self immolation for any Nigerian to excuse those who denigrate Nigerians and Nigeria. CNN was talking about Nigeria period!

And we should not pretend that we are not all being abused and maligned.

CNN used unverifiable assertions against Nigeria. CNN cannot defend its published falsehoods by hiding behind an Area Boy in Houston, a person who simply made unsupportable claims, spurious claims which CNN was too happy to repeat. CNN repeated such falsehoods publicly, CNN in its mission to portray Nigerians and Nigeria in a predetermined unsavory manner. Any lawyer will tell CNN that if you commit slander and or libel, you are liable; Furthermore, that your repeat of a slander or libel, even though already committed by someone else or by other entity, your liability is not removed, it might diminish quantum of damages, but it does not excuse your liability. You are independently liable, jointly and severally liable, in conjunction with the first offending publisher of the slander or libel.

The first defamer may be defendant number one, and you will take your turn as defendant number two etc, to the degree or extent of your liability. It is not the case that you are exonerated because you were merely repeating the offensive statements of slander or libel. Hence you verify and ascertain before you publish and this is why reputable media house employ facts-checkers!

Some Nigerians have sought to 'explain' and excuse CNN by stating that the forty-percent statements in the documentary was nothing CNN said, but instead, it was by a Nigerian /African interviewee. To that, I say hogwash! The question I would like to ask such Nigerian is this, would CNN broadcaster a documentary in which a Nigerian assert that 40% of the population in American use cocaine or that 40% of the people in America are violent criminals? Would CNN rely and broadcast an assertion as such, by a Nigeria/African interviewee? Would CNN broadcast such disparagements against the US, especially, where the assertions are not based on hard facts and solid evidence?

John Gotti is an Italian American, so was Paul Costellano before him, and Ditto Vincent Gigante etc, they were all friends in organized crimes, also known as the Mafia. How could it be possibly fair to judge the average Italian, Italian American by the standard of these Mafioso?

A Nigerian who goes by the name Naija for Life at www.nigeriavillagesquare.com has actually made my arguments and contentions, when he asserted that the nation of Switzerland is known for being bankers of looters, but the Western Press only barrage us with stories about Swiss Alps and ski resorts and all the good stuff about the Swiss.

Just when I thought that we have heard enough bizarre efforts by some Nigerians in defense and justifications for CNN's denigration of Nigerians and Nigeria; then came Mr. Wayo Guy! Who is Nigerian lawyer in Washington DC; Perhaps it is better that Mr. Wayo Guy should be promptly ignored? Who takes advice or chastisement from a way guy anyways? Mr. Wayo Guy with countless clichés and anecdotal spews, he lectured us on why we should light candles and desist from cursing the darkness et al.

He insisted that our government should have looked for two or perhaps more Nigerians to rebut CNN interviewee assertion that 40% of the Nigerians in Houston are up to no good. Truth is, Mr. Alaibo and Mr. Adujie are Nigerians living in the United States. Both of them, in published opinions, have debunked the forty-percent spoil rate crap by the CNN interviewee! What rebuttal is enough for this Mr. Wayo Guy? Or for any wayo-man for that matter?

Mr. Wayo Guy also naively believed that CNN is not mindful of what it does and so, there is no "conspiracy" against Nigeria through CNN riff raff documentary. When CNN or any Western media write stories about the United States or say, Israel, they are alive to the possibility of vocal and vociferous reactions and defense of the US and or Israel!

Western media engage in circumspection in stories about America and Europe.

But when it comes to Nigeria and Africa, western media do not generally expect reactions to whatever lies they spurn about us. They do not expect reactions or adverse consequences for maligning and lampooning us. Western Press engage in no political correctness in their Nigerian African coverage or stories, precisely because, they do not anticipate consequences as part of the equation. They do not ever expect anyone to exact a cost from them, a cost or price for doing the wrong thing. Just imagine CNN's attitude, if CNN thought that doing a stupid story or documentary on Nigeria will cost them money or viewership?

In the case of Nigeria, on the other hand, CNN and other Western media can always be sure to trust tepid reactions and even arguments by some Nigerians like Mr. Wayo Guy and others, defending the offending CNN and justifying CNN sexed up salacious and gratuitously insulting trash called documentary by CNN!

Would CNN similarly rely on an unverified assertions or claims by a non-expert, non-statistician without empirical data as CNN relied on, to make spurious conclusions about Nigeria… if CNN was doing a similar documentary on the nations of Israel, the USA or Italy? My Jewish friends will call CNN anti Semitic if CNN tried these shenanigans on Jews! But Nigerians are easy targets, because we are so objective and brutally honest about ourselves and our country, especially when Nigerians and Nigeria are castigated by foreigners, Dianne Abbott or by CNN!

Thank goodness for Nigerians such Mr. Ebi Bozimo and this Naija For Life fellow, otherwise you are forced to wonder why every Nigerian, or some of them, seems to be in their most objective, brutally honest when it comes to damning fellow Nigerians and Nigeria! Whatever happened to the idea, maxim, to the effect, nobody does cooking better than your mother? Why are so many Nigerians in the business of always assuming that the foods cooked by other moms are ALWAYS preferable and better than foods cooked by their own mother? CNN, BBC and others, in their portrayals of some Nigerians with unsavory characters, do not isolate their depictions, these negative depictions are extrapolated in effect to cover all Nigerians. Mr. Wale Akin just made that point again regarding how decent Nigerians are treated in airplanes, airports and in banks in the UK!

Some Nigerians deceive themselves, in thinking they are decent and sexy, so that when CNN and BBC and other media houses castigate, stigmatize and malign Nigerians and Nigeria, it does not include them. But the truth is, they are referring to you, to you, to all Nigerians! They make no distinctions, neither do their viewers or listeners. CNN and BBC cater to a world with short attention span. A world that is unwilling to engaged in analyses required to separate Nigerians with virtues from Nigerians with vices. Especially, when these issues relate, touch and concern Nigeria or Africa; the inconvenient part of the world?

Too many Nigerians tend to always, always, give the benefit of the doubt to foreign institutions and foreign governments, but are loathe to belief in and applaud anything that Nigerians and Nigeria does! Some Nigerians are too quick to assume that Americans and Europeans are always dealing with us in altruistic and benevolent manners and that they are acting in good faith! But geopolitics and world affairs is like a soccer game, everyone plays for his team to win.

Why is it? That some Nigerians wax and waltz most eloquently, only when they criticize Nigeria, why can't these Nigerians put their eloquence to use, in Nigeria's defense? Nigeria's national purpose vide national interests

Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@msn.com
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2006

All Hail Biafra @ 39!

Ekechukwu Straight Up by James Ekechukwu (United Kingdom) --- Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again. ~~~ Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Fellow Biafrans,

We greet you all on this special occasion, the commemoration of the birth of our dear nation, Biafra. In the words of Patrice Lumumba that illustrious son of Congo and Africa;

All of you, my friends, who have fought tirelessly at our sides, I ask you to make this May 30, 1967, an illustrious date that you will keep indelibly engraved in your hearts, a date of significance of which you will teach to your children, so that they will make known to their sons and to their grandchildren the glorious history of our fight for liberty.

We salute BiafraNigeriaWorld for rising to the challenge of countering the malicious and pungent propaganda orchestrated by the tiny cabal that owe their wealth and relevance to the failed Nigerian State. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote that, :

The most effectual engines for [pacifying a nation] are the public papers... [A despotic] government always [keeps] a kind of standing army of news-writers who, without any regard to truth or to what should be like truth, [invent] and put into the papers whatever might serve the ministers.

It is interesting to note that Yoruba born Reuben Abati has yet to publicly apologise to Biafrans for his appalling write up on Biafra where he was shown to have blatantly altered the dates and sequence of events in order to justify the gruesome murder of innocent Biafrans in 1966. Perhaps he needs to be reminded of the Motto of his employer “truth is contant”. Yet in all the anti-Biafra ranting, it is becoming clear even to the most cursory observer that their Nigeria much more than Biafra is the product of a knee jerk reaction; “a mere geographic expression” sustained by an unhealthy fear of an ever present danger of disintegration. The older BiafraNigerians lacking in courage and candour have failed to admit their moronic thoughtlessness is seeing and seizing the opportunity that the painful birth of Biafra presented to Africa. Only two weeks ago the prime minister of Kosovo had this to say about the secession of Montenegro:
The people of Montenegro have expressed their will to live in an independent country, sharing with others in the region the aspiration to join the European Union. Before the end of the year, Kosovo will join Montenegro as a new state and these new countries will be an important factor for the stability of the whole region.

In 1967, one Anthony Eromosele Enahoro arguing against Biafra in London opined that: >If secession by Ojukwu and his group is accomplished, Nigeria will most probably disintegrate…. and a chain reaction will be set up all over Africa. Africa would end up in petty little principalities. Each successor 'mini state' would be sovereign enough to acquire foreign protectors and purchase arms. Such a situation, with its inevitable dislocations and frictions over boundaries, trade and division of assets, would produce wars.”

In another three and a half decades and after being forced into exile from his integrated BiafraNigeria, Enahoro had seen a flicker of the Biafran light. In a speech at Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos in July 2, 2002, Enahoro now concurred with Obasanjo:

Given our traumatic experience, I suggest that the following question is pertinent: should the constitution allow for the ultimate change of secession? In the past, this issue has been treated as a taboo topic but the absence of thought and debate on the matter is a poor substitute for judgement. Obasanjo has helpfully opened discussion on it in his book This Animal Called Man, wherein he stated that any future constitution of BiafraNigeria must provide for a right of secession. This is but a recognition of the reality that, short of brute force, the only way that different nationalities can be kept together in the long term is by their will to stay together.

For a man who was vehemently opposed to the formation of the old Midwest, this must be the mother of all shifts!

The late Beko Ransome Kuti a Yoruba liberation activist in one of his last interviews with the Chinua Achebe Foundation thought rather very highly of their united BiafraNigeria when he opined thus: …rather than pretend to be chasing “the Nigerian dream” -- which to me does not exist. People just got whatever advantage they could from that notion and nothing more! After all within the Yoruba ethnic group, we can fight among ourselves, we can cheat ourselves, but at least we will not be able to say we are not Yoruba! But anyone can pretend to be ‘Nigerian’ while pursuing his own selfish interests…from what I have already told you! At a point in time, it was eminently clear that there was nothing like “Nigeria,” and that everybody had to find his own salvation the best way he could. It was at this point that we started encouraging people to take their ethnic origin more seriously. Even within the Campaign for Democracy, we were encouraging each group to begin to defend its own area. And I know we encouraged the Yoruba youths to form something. It was at the early stage of that that I was arrested and put in prison….You cannot tell everybody, I am sorry; but you are all Nigerians! Unity! One Nation, One God! I mean, whoever says that is just pretending, because what people are doing is not what is being preached.

The point is that Biafra in concept and practise is light years ahead of Nigeria as a clearly thought and carefully planned alternative to the chaotic mess that is Africa. Believe not those who pretend they have a more workable alternative. If that was the case, they have woefully failed to prove it in about four decades. When last did you hear the now well-worn untruth about Biafrans not being united? We assert that it is nothing but a ruse devised to ascribe importance to the handful of Biafran reprobates cheaply promoted and marketed by the Yoruba and Awusa Fulani press. The fact of the matter is that no entity in the West coast of Africa enjoys as much unity as Biafra.
Some anti Biafran fools are hopeful a fresh referendum on Biafra will throw up a result different from that held on the 26th of August 2004. The day Biafrans voted overwhelmingly against collaboration with Nigeria as a part of the failed entity. Maybe they believe a referendum on Biafra is something they can rig à la the farce that is called general election. In their erroneous thinking a few Ghana must go bags will make Biafrans vote against Biafra. To show how wrong they are one only need to cite the case of Ukpabi Asika, the embodiment of anti-Biafranism. Even the Yoruba press could not help but report that ALL natural rulers of Biafra stock boycotted his “state funeral” in Onicha Biafraland.

We call for three minutes of silence at 1800hrs GMT on the 30th of May 2006 in memory of the noble men and women of Biafra who paid the supreme price in our quest for nationhood. We remember Attorney Ralph Uwazurike and other gallant MASSOBians who are presently being unlawfully incarcerated in BiafraNigeria. You have all made history for in the words of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895),

The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favour freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters

We salute Biafra Foundation (BF), Biafra Nationalist Union (BIANU), Biafra Liberation Movement (BLM), Biafra committee for Immediate Action (BCIA), the Biafra Justice Committee (BJC), Nsibidi Chronicle and the Ikenga Think Tank (ITT). Following in the famous paths of our forbears you have proved to be the useful kindred abroad (Nwanne di n’mba). Your effort was the reason Buhari the shariarist paid his way to New Jersey in 2004 to lecture his audience on the dangers of Baifra. Buhari is so caring and loves the Igbo that he and his cousin Ike Nwachukwu terminated all the industrial projects Dee Sam had embarked upon for the upliftment of Nde Igbo.

We thank Amnesty international and Human Rights watch who have been keeping a close tab on the persecution of Biafrans by Nigerians.

Hail Biafra, Hail the land of the Rising Sun!

James Ekechukwu
Biafra Memorial League, Europe (BML, Eu)
May 30, 2006

Posted by Administrator at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

Waiting for the Messiah

by Lawrence Chinedu Nwobu (Dundalk, Republic of Ireland) --- Looking back at the era of slavery and the continuing predicament of the Negro African, I have come to understand why it was possible for the Negro, of all the races to be enslaved en masse.

Slavery remains the most humiliating and inhuman act in all history. But the argument the European slave merchants advanced to justify slavery remains relevant even today.

The slave merchants had argued that the Negro was subhuman, and was incapable of organising a normal society, or even co-exist peacefully with their African neighbours. To-date it is not uncommon to hear white racists insisting that Africans are inferior and cannot co-exist peacefully.

Truth is African nations have continued to validate an argument that sought to justify slavery and eventually colonialism more than three hundred years ago. The enslavery of Negro Africans on a large scale was possible in part because Africans then as now were greedy, and readily became middlemen that sustained the trade by kidnapping and supplying the Europeans with African slaves. The level of greed that made it possible for Africans to sell their kinsfolk to strange unknown foreigners is still prevalent.

In drawing parallels with the situation that led to slavery, I have often contemplated the Nigerian quagmire. Nigeria as the most populous Black nation easily mirrors the rest of the Black race.
If she succeeds the black race succeeds, if she fails the black race fails. However Nigeria has unfortunately remained a nation which just doesn’t seem to get it right. We seem to be pathologically bent on failure.

The image of the typical African today is that of a “sick, starving, warring, begging, genocidal, lesser homo sapiens” as is commonly seen on the screens of televisions. There is a total absence of dignity, even as Africans are regarded as the least in the ladder of the human race.

The greater tragedy, is that those African so called leaders are so shameless and so unconscionable, that they actually thrive on the misery of their subjects. (notice the same behaviour pattern with the erstwhile African slave traders).

As Nigeria come 2007 enters what can be called the final phase in the making or unmaking of a “stillborn nation”. We must ask ourselves; What kind of a nation do we want? Do we need to stay together, or do we need to part ways peacefully? Where did we get it wrong? Should we remain in the past, or should we move on? How can we use our own situation to change the negative perception of the African?
These are all questions we need to ponder in our onerous search for an egalitarian, and mega-prosperous nation.

Nigerians have been waiting for a messiah. Someone who will enthrone, justice, equality and fairplay. A leader who will wage a decisive and honest battle against the cancer of corruption.
A totally detribalised pan-Nigerian leader who will without fear or favour do justice to all and sundry, regardless of ethnic affiliation or religious leaning.

A humanist and realist who will convene a “Sovereign national conference”, end all the contradictions of present day Nigeria, restructure the nation along natural ethnic lines, devolve considerable power to the federating ethnic regions, give us a constitution truly enacted by the people, and usher in a “mega and melting pot Nigeria” where every tribe,culture,and religion is celebrated.

Many countries have had their Messiah’s, notably Ghana, in the person of flight lt. Jerry Rawlings who executed all the erstwhile corrupt leaders and enthroned a new order in Ghana.
P.W.De Klerk, who against all odds dismantled Apartheid and ushered in Black majority rule in South-Africa.

The greatest obstacle to Nigeria’s renaissance, is the continuing influence of the military and political class who have held Nigeria hostage since 1970. This tiny self serving “oil block” cabal constitutes the greatest obstacle to a progressive Nigeria.

As we continue to wait and hope for a Nigerian messiah, the Ghanaian example as exemplified by Flight lt. Jerry Rawlings surgical action against corrupt leaders, might be what Nigeria really needs. Time will tell.

Lawrence Chinedu Nwobu
Dundalk, Republic of Ireland
Email:lawrencenwobu@yahoo.com

Posted by Administrator at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

The Most Intelligent People on Earth cannot Elect a Skillful Manager?

by Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa --- We may prove many people right or wrong by Election 2007. Others are the ones saying that Nigerians are smart, intelligent and arrogant, not us. This is not self aggrandizement or chest beating, though I have heard Nigerians talk about Hausa humility, Igbo creativity and Yoruba civility.

Where, where are all these wonderful qualities in the polity? A rich man once asked an intelligent man – if you are so smart, why are you not rich? He fired back, if you are so rich, why are you so stupid? Anyway, common sense and education is not necessarily the same thing. But whoever has common sense would get an education.

In the early seventies, as advised, I did take a bus from Montreal to Toronto since I was not fluent in French. Weeks later, I was introduced to a church that welcomed immigrants because they gave appetizing hot breakfast on Sunday mornings. A visiting Reverend to the church was told I came from Nigeria. He assured them not to worry too much about me, that I would survive because Nigerians are very smart people. Boy, I was so mad!
On the first Sunday morning, I got to church early before the first service, only to be told breakfast was after all the services. My stomach growled and grumbled. Funny! Not then.

A good manager is the one that knows the strong and the weak points of each member of his team. Some of us have been in situations where some professionals we inherited were labeled as totally useless only to be reinvigorated by a skillful leader. If we need to drive a point home, we may need a familiar example. Once upon a time, there was this Country called Nigeria with a State called Lagos. A Governor was elected called Jakande. The same rotten eggs he met in the Civil Service were awakened by change of attitude. The bourgeoisie did not like him. But, performed, he did. Every contract was calculated for profit, materials and labor. Even hardened crooks, have to think twice to steal a little. But some of us, who managed grants, had to monitor them before evaluation of the projects.

We used to ask our principal in high school when Southern Rhodesia and South Africa would be free. He used to tell us time would solve the problem there. We could not wait for time; we wanted the whole of Southern Africa free in our lifetime. It became even more unbearable when Ian Smith and Hendrik Verwoerd would say change would come but not in their life time. Change came, and it was in their lifetime and that of their constituencies. We want change in Nigeria, now, in our lifetime. Relief!

If you have been through Austerity measures, Structural Adjustment, lay offs and Paris Club payments while we starve at home, hoping against hope, let me see your bellies. We want succor in 100 days after election 2007 and pragmatic projects before we die! Please do not tell us about sacrifices, young and old people have died making sacrifices at the demand of leaders after leaders, promises after promises and one rosy projection after another. If nobody owes us a living, why can’t we have encouraging environment?
Government can not create jobs and meet the needs of all the masses but decisions made at the top affect our businesses and our families.

Before the 2007 election, tell us why we should not risk our life to cross the desert to Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and as far places as Bangladesh, India and Pakistan we hardly know, with all our skill and training or lack of. Is there anything in Nigeria to live for apart from bogus contract, armed robbery and family support? Many of us are not member of the Corporate Bums who sell their government contract two or three times before they get to those who have little left to execute the projects.

Nigeria is one place where politicians brag in billions how much they spend on Power Holding Corporation (NEPA), Public Works (Roads) and Water, yet we see little evidence of them. Are we blind or taken for granted? If reasonable amount of power, roads and water are provided, think about how many small businesses will employ people and the amount of families that will not ask for Government handouts or allocations. There will be smooth transportation of buses, cars, people, good and services.

Food prices have hardly gone down in Nigeria. I once wrote about the price of food going down in some States, hoping that it will sail across to other States. Before that happened, prices went up again. Leaders after leaders have come to realize that we have bad storage facilities in Nigeria and some people hoard commodities for higher prices. Skillful managers anticipate this problem before they become reality, especially in our Country where it happens every year. Without regular supply of electricity, we have some parts of the Country where we can keep some commodity dry and other parts where we can keep commodities humid, apart from small scale farmers we never implement it on a grand scale to provide for the masses. Cooperative projects elude some private enterprises.

There are certain projects Government can provide leadership for private enterprises: turning garbage into methane gas, solar power as is now done in some of our States and training of our police by our College of Education as once offered by Professor Babs Fafunwa. Each of these can be done through tripartite cooperation. How else can we describe a Country where all leaders and the head of State know that police can not do without 20 niara bribe from motorist?

We know that if we are dying, the doctor and nurses would not treat us if their fees for survival are not paid. The lawyers do not represent a poor man who has no money to pay for their services, nor will an accountant prepare or cook books for the sign of the cross. Which profession would work for free?

Each time I think about Dora, my dear Dora Akinyuli, I pray for her life because of threats. I do not know the woman from Eve. We all agree that she does a wonderful job. There is another side that I explored before which is the creation, encouragement and stabilization of an environment for authentic drugs, soft drinks and herbal medicines that are made in Nigeria. Each of these industries can be retooled to produce more jobs, cause fewer threats by working with the owners for alternatives. We need careful deliberations since the last thing you want to do is reward criminals. Call it carrot or stick approach.

There is a conspiracy somewhere. I may be a little paranoid. The professors of pharmacy produce most of these herbal medicines sold on the streets, buses and flyovers because many of them work very well. Some are children of or herbalists. It’s hard to differentiate those from fake, and that is why my sister is not willing to play with people’s life. How can we force the professors out in the open - by patent, regulations or loans? We have managers in Nigeria who can figure this out. If that is being done already, why not in a grand scale so that Nigerians can live up to our reputation of being intelligent? Please do not ask for foreign exchange or material, we want local production.

In the eighties, we had Volkswagens and Peugeot assembly plants that were run out of business. Soldiers had Mercedes V class (and obokun) painted green as official cars before and after hand over. What were our decision makers thinking? Foreign cars ran local assembly of cars out of business! There is no freedom to paralyze local economy by any individual. America or Japan will not stand for that. We are not asking Government for handouts, we are asking for skillful manager who will think about Nigeria first.

All my life I have heard about Ijebu and Igbo made products. What is wrong with them? We need Onitsha made, Jos made, Calabar made Idanre made and Sokoto made to hotly compete with them so that they can reach perfection. Who in Government is providing the environment or the encouragement? Again, I am not talking about handout. What is the role of the local Government since everyone wants a piece of the Federal niara.

If the Government decides to ban spare parts, is there a local Bornu or Aba made that is being encouraged? Sometimes, by devouring uncooked advice, the Government gives itself diarrhea by the unripe decisions they make. These decisions affect business and families. Can anybody really convince the world that Nigerians can not reproduce spare parts to perfection if the necessary quality control is there or ask one of the foreign producers to establish a factory in Nigeria? The assembly line can come with spare parts production as part of the initial contract. Redirect people’s way of making a living.

If we need to export paki for foreign exchange, do we make provision for greater production so that we do not starve people at home of gari? Malaysia now produces more palm oil than we do but they are not more intelligent than us, they plan for the future better than we did. There is no agricultural technology that is imported from Zimbabwe that we do not know in Nigeria. Knowing it is different from practicing it. After all, we used to feed the whole of West Africa. Used to? Get real, about today!

It is not how intelligent you are that really matters. It is how persevering that determines success. As for our children, I always tell them I was not the smartest kid in primary school, yet some of the most intelligent ones never made it to high school. In colleges, some of the most brilliant students dropped out because of other interest. Only very few and very rare lucky ones, made it as Bill Gate. The same in graduate schools, some intelligent ones drop out because they can not persevere. It is not how intelligent we are, it is what we do with it. It is the same with football or soccer. Use athletic scholarships to learn in school as something to fall back on. Every one can not be a basketball player. Who knows, you may be called upon for an opportunity of a lifetime. Be prepared.

Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa
faroukomartins@netscape.net

Posted by Administrator at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)

June 11, 2006

The Month our Hope Lived

by Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama (Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria) --- Dear readers, I apologize for delaying the continuation of the article ‘Is oil worth a drop of blood?’ Since the first part was written and published many interesting developments, both in my country, and elsewhere, have captured my attention. Be assured that, God willing, the next installment will appear in subsequent editions of our delightful BNW magazine.

May 2006 was quite an interesting month in Nigeria. Exhilarating and inspiring. But also reflective, and at a time, a month when all Nigerians and her friends held their breaths in deep anxiety. Was the country fast-forwarding back to the dark ages of dictatorship in a month, which has, since 1999, been regarded as the month in which democracy was born again after a long hiatus of military rule?
By now everyone knows what I am talking about. The resounding defeat of the proposed amendment to Nigeria’s constitution which would have extended the tenure of the president for another four years in the Senate Chambers on May 16. Many people have hailed it as a victory for democracy in Nigeria, nay Africa. Stomach-knotting spectres of what might have been if the controversial bill had sailed through, given the entrenched opposition and the equally virulent support among certain members of the political and business powerbrokers, have thankfully been sent back to where they rightly belong. Thank God our nightmares are over. At least for now.

But I do not think the celebratory booze should be drunk to a state of stupor. For me, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a flawed document. It does not meet the aspirations of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, highly complex and sophisticated federation like Nigeria. Given its antecedents this is not surprising. It is a document of necessity, forged by military blacksmiths in a hurry to abandon the overwhelmingly hot workshop of Nigeria’s politics.

Throughout the seven years of Nigeria’s democratic experiment, calls for a national conference to fashion out a generally acceptable arrangement for the federation – which, in my view, is a call for constitutional engineering – show that what Nigerians have is not the best. And the other one hundred and seventeen proposed amendments, which were packaged with tenure elongation are vexatious issues in Nigeria.

But you do not carry out an immediate and major surgery on a fresh accident victim who has not been revived. President Obasanjo and his team, if they did not have other plans, should not have gone for the complex exercise when they did and the manner in which they did it. Why stick to tenure elongation when the president’s mandate is about to expire?

The fight against the third tenure was a fight by strange political bedmates that were thrust together by a common challenge to their aspirations. Now that the amendment is dead, political alignments and realignments have begun. Unfortunately, deep-rooted political-cum-ethnic differences, which seven years of democratic experiment have done little to moderate, are still strong. Hausa-Fulani politicians and ex-military powerbrokers claim the powerful presidency for themselves. Never mind they have held it the most under both civilian and military dispensations since Nigeria’s independence in 1960. The numerically minority groups in the coastal oil-rich South, who have never controlled the job, believe access to it will ameliorate their plight in Nigeria. The Igbo of the East believe that a shot at the numero uno position will be an indication that the tragic secessionist attempt by them from 1967 – 1970 has been fully consigned to the history books. Quite a stiff business. But the key question is: will the democracy, which we all cherish, highly flawed though it is, survive these bickering? As the 2007 elections approach are our institutions capable of assuring Nigerians of a clean break with a sordid past? I sincerely wish the Professor Maurice Iwu – led Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria well. If they can pull off reasonably free and fair elections in 2007 they deserve a medal. For quite a few forces are bent on seeing them fail if that will achieve their ambitions.

I am not one of those commentators who have consigned Olusegun Obasanjo to the garbage heap occupied by men like Idi Amin, Sani Abacha, even Robert Mugabe and ‘mild’ democratic – dictators like Museveni, Meles Zenawi and Paul Biya. Perhaps the man, for all his famed political craftiness – a vital tool for survival in Nigeria’s citadels of power -, came close to making the biggest mistake of his life by assuming that he had all the answers to Nigeria’s hydra headed challenges. But an objective assessment of the road travelled by his government since 1999 would show that he means well. Sadly, the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. I do not think it is too late for him to seek for politically ambitious yet technocratic young Nigerians from his circles who share his vision. But in the interest of democracy and the country he claims to love so much he should allow the processes of democracy, even when they are not in his favour, to flourish. Thank God the ruling party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, ate the humble pie.

Finally, a big thank you to all who did all they could to keep Nigeria’s democratic hope alive. Maybe May 29 should not be Nigeria’s Democracy day; maybe June 12 – in remembrance of Nigeria’s best election, which tore down age-old walls – is the right date. But May 16 was a day in which we saw that our dream would be realized.
Viva, Nigeria.

An award winning writer, Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama
lives in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.
e-mail: henrykd2009@yahoo.com

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The Quest Among the Igbo

by Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama (Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria) --- Since 1999 something has been happening among the people of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, especially the Igbo. Against the background of marginalization by the superstructure of the Nigerian State, the homegrown and external enemies of my people’s legitimate aspirations and the difficulties of going the extra mile to keep body and soul together just because of whom we are in contemporary Nigeria, there is a persistent and growing quest for Igbo self-identity and self-actualization.

Who are the Igbo in contemporary Nigeria? Forty-six years after independence from the British, thirty-six years after the guns of the Nigerian civil war ceased booming, what is the true state of relations between the former Eastern Region’s components and the rest of Nigeria? Are we still part of the Nigerian project? I wonder if these fundamental concerns are the raison d’e’tre for the existence of Ohaneze and a plethora of other pan-Igbo groups within and outside Nigeria. Many people may regard the activities of MASSOB as those of a lunatic fringe, but love or loathe them; they are a part of the effort at addressing the questions plaguing the heart of the average Igbo today.

I belong to the post civil war generation of the Igbo. I was not even born in Igboland. Though my formative years were in other parts of Nigeria I derive my biological and ancestral roots in Imo State and I live in Anambra State. Thus it is with caution mixed with confidence that I express my views on the contemporary search by the Igbo in present-day Nigeria.

First, other Nigerians and indeed the whole world must know that the Igbo are not beating the drums of war. The average Igbo does not want war. We have been through a war and we know what it is like. We have seen too many of our able and promising men and women butchered in other parts of Nigeria on the flimsiest pretext to torch off a conflagration which will consume more of our rising stars. Many of those who experienced the horrors of 1967 to 1970 are alive and know the facts about the nightmare from which the Igbo, indeed the rest of Nigeria, are yet to recover. But it is imperative the world understands why the new generation is screaming. We rage because we cannot fathom the logic of the so-called Nigerian federation. We are willing to leave the ruins of yesterday but why are we denied opportunities to build on today’s land? Why must we break our backs to have a say where it counts? Why must we be slaughtered simply because we prefer churches to mosques, Bibles to Korans, mmanyi ngwo to burukutu and isiagu to babanriga? Why can’t we freely choose the best and brightest among us to represent us in the various councils of State? Must our destiny be decided without our input and consent? Is it wrong for us to aspire to make meaningful contributions to the development of the Nigerian State? These are the unsettling concerns among my generation.

It is true that we are not the only people who are dissatisfied with Nigeria as she is. Every other people who have the fortune or misfortune of being part of this estate haphazardly built by Lugard in 1914 has one grievance or another with its design. Even those folks whom a good number of other Nigerians wrongly assume benefit most from the Nigerian manor are complaining. But the case of the former Eastern Region is peculiar. We are the only set of Nigerians who made an overt and definite bid for self-preservation and freedom when Nigeria turned on us like a mad lioness that eats her own cubs. Never mind that our well-documented efforts at nurturing this lioness contributed significantly to her strength. We lost the bid. Many would say that we are still paying the price of defeat. But that is not the way to go about building a Nigeria, which would accommodate the supposedly 400 ethnic nationalities. Can Nigeria forge ahead without the Igbo? Ancient prejudices, antagonisms and opinions die hard but I can confidently say that my generation is prepared to battle them to a stand-still through positive action, not mere rhetoric. Across the length and breadth of Nigeria there are Nigerians of all ethnic nationalities who are ready to break free from the barriers of primordial aspirations and retrogression. The future belongs to us but, alas, the present day reality is that champions of the past are in control of Nigeria.

Many non-Eastern Nigerians, especially those who did not experience the civil war, do not understand what Biafra means to Eastern Nigerians. Honestly I doubt if even many post civil war Eastern Nigerians really appreciate the essence of Biafra. At the risk of being accused of historical sentimentality or branded a tribal jingoist, I must declare the ugly truth that such a colossal cataclysmic event of our recent history cannot be buried. Even in the 21st century Americans still make their own civil war (1861-65) a vital reference point of their national life. That war defined American history. Till date there are statues and other monuments to the heroes and heroines of that war, and this includes the Confederates who rebelled against the Union and seceded. Since the war ended with the Union’s victory the former Confederates have not been excluded from participating in all spheres of American life. This does not mean there were no hard feelings after the war ended: no loser, no matter how large hearted, is full of love for his conqueror. Of course the ex-rebels passed through rough times after the war ended. Pick up any text on American history within this period and find out the truth for yourself. But conscious and systematic efforts were made by the Union to ensure that the entire American State outgrew the divisiveness occasioned by the war, and a major step in this regard was respect for the Confederate’s historical roots in the war.

But in Nigeria the planners of our national life act as if Biafra was nothing but an extended war exercise. This should not surprise anyone: many of them oversaw the efforts to send the people of the former Eastern Region, especially the Igbo, into the abyss from 1966-1970. But we cannot forget. Our children throughout Nigeria must know the truth. Apologies must be made where appropriate. Memories, both of the so-called ‘Federalists’ and the ‘rebels’, must be appeased. Why can’t there be a day to remember all who died on both sides during the war? What does July 6, 1967 mean to Nigeria? I am not asking that we focus on stone casting and blame swapping. I am asking that we tell our children and ourselves the truth so that they do not forget, so that they can learn from our mistakes and seek solutions to the challenges of group living in a multiethnic entity like ours.
Many citizens of the former enclave look back to Biafra as the page of history when, despite the horrors of war, famine and disease, they were able to hold their heads high and look the rest of the world in the eye. When they had the opportunity of actualizing their potential. Perhaps the grim fact that contemporary Nigeria deprives them of this opportunity makes many of them hark back to the land of yore. But it need not be. Nigeria can do far better.

Finally, let it be known to all that the average Igbo knows who his true leaders are. He will gladly follow them, even unto death. But most of the marionettes on the Southeastern political stage are unrecognized by us. Quislings call the shots, courtesy of non-Igbo chieftains who have turned our zone into a spoils-gathering ground. The sad truth is that we, to a great extent, bear the brunt of the blame. We seem to have lost our ability to say no to these fifth columnists and their backers, thus portraying our land as a sprouter of lucre-loving political jobbers and clowns. Thus other Nigerians see us through the eyes of remote-controlled godfathers and bloody shrines. But they do not typify the Igbo.

Nigeria’s unity is a lofty goal but it must be on a basis of justice to all components. Let the National Conference begin now.

Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama is
a writer and teacher. He lives in Awka,
Anambra State, Nigeria.
e-mail: henrykd2009@yahoo.com

Posted by Administrator at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

The Great State of Biafra is Strong and Alive

by Carlisle U.O. Umunnah (New York, USA) --- When I read some writers, detractors and enemies of peoples’ survival and existence write tirelessly and meaninglessly with venoms, with embellished concocted explanations of what they understand, and see as Biafra/Biafrans, I laugh. This groups and individuals regardless of their ages, their pedigrees in interdisciplinary orthodoxies introspectively found within the four walls of intellectual establishments, yet unlettered on many matters, especially when it comes to the idea, Biafra.

This notwithstanding, one is prompted to respond to groups and entities with foregoing dispositions and indeed needs do all within its powers as h/she possibly can to educate and enlighten them or remind them further for record purposes. For other considerations, I encourage these groups, to go and do their research properly. This is because when it comes to what Biafra really represents to Ndiigbo, Nigeria and the world they might discover a world of wisdom for their children and grandchildren. Let there be no contradictions or confusion, Biafra is a republic, a geopolitical space and a great nation.

Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once gain. ~~~ Menchem Mendel Mchneerson

On May 30, 1967 in pursuit of their self-determination armed with the Peoples Consultative Assembly and the Advisory Committee of Chiefs and Elders, the two only functioning political bodies in the Eastern region, with the massive killings of Ndiigbo and those that look like them, by the Arab-Muslim fundamentalists in the North and elsewhere, after intensive re-assessments and evaluations, ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu to declare secession of the Eastern Region from Nigeria and establishment without further delays the Republic of Biafra. The Peoples Republic of Biafra was amongst others things were meant and instituted to put to stop the bleeding of its peoples and in defense of its peoples and territory. The causes of the actions that ensued are traceable to the pogrom that dates back to 1934 through Madguri 2006. These and many other inter-generational ills, discriminatory practices, marginalization and containment policies against the enterprise—Igbo by fed cannot be overemphasized. Regardless of rescue operations like appointment of Paul Dike to the top rank of Service Chief position, 39 years later is in short too little too late maneuver.

What has sustained the idea Biafra amongst other things is continuous existence of the aforementioned pathological pandemics predicated on unattended pillages and unprecedented breakdown of law and order across the land and, premeditatedly designed to sustain and secure plunderers, liars, looters and their friends and by so doing these illegitimate actions squandered the golden hand shake across the Niger by Dim—evidently and thusly sustaining the disposition and other considerations here and elsewhere that the idea Biafra, is a better idea for Ndiigbo and responsible Nigerians and Nigeria-State. By application, this response of inactions and actions by fed is that live is not guaranteed when it comes to these killings. Igbo has therefore, revealed or unveiled new doctrine called Igbo-Doctrine. Armed with this new doctrine, Ndiigbo and law abiding Nigerians have been warned to prepare itself and defend itself within this unchartered frontier, to fight to a stand still from and within the space they were attacked as this shall be backed-up by a speedy response across the Eastern landscape. This measure is our God given right in defense of our family, elderly and our children. The nation has been warned.

We all know that 2007 is filled with measures of uncertainties and 1966 issues/concerns are yet to be addressed. Corruption and greed then, corruption and greed today are unprecedented. It has become clear that Obasanjo and his cronies will gamble and heat up yet again the body polity. Third term manipulations will be a child’s play considering the contextual theatrical jibes of the actors of this experiment called Nigeria.

By 1967, at the heat of these and similar precipices, one Anthony Eromosele Enahoro arguing against Biafra has this to say in London: “If secession by Ojukwu and his group is accomplished, Nigeria will most probably disintegrate… and a chain reaction will be set up all over Africa. Africa would end up in petty little principalities. Each successor ‘mini state’ would be sovereign enough to acquire foreign protectors and purchase arms. Such situation, with its inevitable dislocations and frictions over boundaries, trade and division of assets, would produce wars.” Some decades later, the same Anthony Enahoro and Olusegun Obasanjo have a different tune and speak with both sides of their months… By July 2, 2002, Enahoro remarked at a Polo Club, Lagos:

“Given our traumatic experience, I suggest that the following question is pertinent: should the constitution allow for the ultimate change of secession? In the past, this issue has been treated as a taboo topic but the absence of thought and debate on this matter is a poor substitute of judgment. Obasanjo has helpfully opened discussion on it in his book This Animal Called Man, wherein he stated that any future constitution of Nigeria must provide for a right of secession. This is but recognition of the reality that, short of brute force, the only way that different nationalities can be kept together in the long term is by their will to stay together.”

This apparently is a new trend for a man whose interviews and public proclamations indeed impeded or resisted even the creation of Midwest. It is therefore clear that, “those who do not learn from History are damned to repeat it…” George Santayana.

As we celebrate the declaration of the great republic—Biafra on May 30, 1967, a battle of attrition executed gallantly and fearlessly, we remember with pride and honor that it was the right thing to do to secure or existence. The actions and freedom of three years which, actions and freedom was differed in January 15, 1970 is up and running again through peaceful means manned by MOSSAB. The Sun has risen and lighted again east of the Niger and this time around we will not blink because Biafrans will never forget the events that led to the massacre of over 6 million of our men, women, children and old people that culminated to the birth of your statehood, a statehood predicated and born in the defense of your family, children, heritage, religion and humanity. For the unlearned, Biafra is a people, Biafra is Igbo; it is our survival and protection of our identity and industriousness; it is our humanity and our heritage. Without the bravery of our men and women who fought gallantly to protect our villages, territorial waters and lands, the likes of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Ekwesiliezes and others would not have survived or lived to have their opportunities today. We owe it to the great men and

Women, who acted with candor, resiliency, gallantry and commitment in the defense of the motherland; these heroes braved the incessant bombardments and were necessary paid the supreme sacrifice by laying down their lives for the sake of their friends, follow Biafrans, their motherland and their dignity. We remember, revere and adore these great men and women, living and fallen heroes today and forever. All hail thee Biafra. Without your volunteerism, Ndiigbo would have been destroyed off of its earth-plate by bloodthirsty Arab-Islamic fundamentalists, enemies of righteousness, enemies of God.

Obafemi Awolowo, an opportunist and other opportunists like him including Anthony Enahoro waged war of treachery, war of criminality and a war of opportunism; they accomplished this criminality by blockading food from international community from entering Biafra territories. The deployment of starvation as a means to starve off Biafra volunteerism predicated on their determination for self-determination, in an effort to free itself from foreign dominance real and imagined within its frontiers is self-evident. We remember your crimes against humanity and you will pay one by one. As long as the spirit of Biafra lives, so does Biafra. Long live Biafra. Long live motherland.

As we review past and present situation, it is important that we call Ndiigbo and sundry to support MASSOB and its members across our land for championing a just and equitable cause for a just society. This is imperative, just as Arewa and Oduduwa and others within this classification serve the interest of their tribes and regions there is nothing wrong in having our young men and women fortifying our space. There are no pretensions that tribalism and ethnicity is first the beginning of our own statehood, without it there is no Nigeria. To postulate the craziness of the fraudulent and pretended engineering, nationalism, was displayed by even the barbaric Abacha. Abacha, wanted the nation to adopt French language as nation’s second language after English language, way ahead of three major tribal languages—Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. That’s how crazy and mundane this place is. Not until there is a true nationalism amassed with sincerity, built and based on enduring sustainable nationalistic tendencies that would produce a viable progressive enterprise for the good of our peoples there will be no turning back.

I understand some of my colleagues on the other side of the equation will be pretty much disappointed in me having served as NANS Chief Mobilization Officer [CMO] at the national level were we made significant impact vis-à-vis June 12 experiment. However, dear friends accept my sympathies. Note that we live in ever changing world and, I am communicating based on the realities on the ground, and this reality is about life and dead. Since 1999 to 2006, over 20,000 Ndiigbo, men, women, elderly and children have being Balkanized under Obasanjo’s watch and machinations. It is pertinent to ask were would my help come from? By commission or omission, evil triumph in our society because good men do nothing, in addition to lawlessness which, has a-washed our society, one is left to himself and his community, left to self-determination to be or not to be part of this arrangement. The chance to provide security and restore law and order to its region, people and our families comes first. Regionalism was the original master plan before the Lord Lugard’s British creationism of 1914; of course this criminal creation served the interest of the British Empire and its vassal states with its African late-comers at one end, and, their greedy beneficiaries that serves as its atlantics interlocutor or, links on the other end.

We shall return to the right to and control of our geopolitical space and claim anew our right to our territorial integrity in any circumstance. It is therefore, pretty clear that there exist a trajectory, contradictions, conflicts between people’s right to self-determination and a nation’s coerced territorial integrity based on black-gold [oil]; there is also additionally, conflict of freedom and unity built on treachery and fraud. UN charter allows for self-determination found in No. 48, 49 of self-determination documentation. But some of its characteristics are self-evident namely I] it shall be a government based on the will of the people; II] freedom from internal and external dominance; III] freedom to pursue economic, cultural and, social development; IV] freedom to enjoy fundamental human rights; V] the absence of discrimination based on ethnicity, religion and or political beliefs.

Recent and past Case studies:

We have witnessed several nations who have seceded or attempted to secede from oppressive govermentalities based on doctrine and rule of self-determination. East Timor as a non-self governing in the 60s, Quebec seceded from Canada on many occasions although by 1998 the Canadian top Court-Supreme ruled against that; Biafra attempted and failed to secede from Nigeria and lunched into three year bitter civil war.

East Timor

By 1999, the UN Security Council reached agreement with the Portugal and Indonesia to allow the people of East Timor to vote on a special autonomy within Indonesia frontiers. Registered voters voted overwhelmingly to move on as independent state. UN was successful in East Timor.

Quebec

This is pretty contradictory to the success in East Timor. By 1998, the Quebec government asked the supreme court of Canada if there are possibilities for Quebec to secede on self-determination based on international law or based on Canadian constitution. The court shutdown Quebec dreams as its population voted against it self-determination quest. What an irony.

Biafra

In 1914 British administrator introduced the amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorates and Lagos colony, this move was pretty unpopular amongst these populations. Nothing is similar amongst these groups. Not even the language or culture or anything is similar except that they somehow look alike or imbibes the hueism or similarity of color skin. Hausa-Fulani in the North, the Yoruba in the West and the Igbo in the East, and, by the time independent came the three regional powers were threatening secessions. Suspicion, envy and others set the stage. Young Igbo military officers destabilized the center installed Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi as military head and within the space of six months there was a counter coup that brought in Yakubu Gowon [Jack] to power the rest is history, they say. This whole drama, including the killings and displacement of Ndiigbo threw the republic into war.

In addition, just recently Montenegro under the watchful eye of the UN Observer mission, with fewer than 5 million followed through with referendum that determined their self-determination and two weeks or so ago, they are free from treachery in, Kosovo. If UN was to move its machinery into Nigeria with its observer mission, the situation will be an astounding 90% in yes for Biafra. Yes Ndiigbo will vote in mass to extricate itself from current experiment, called Nigeria. In the meantime, many MASSOB leaderships are unlawfully held in incarceration or jails; we call for their immediate release from these criminal and unlawful detentions, unconditionally by the government of Nigeria.

In conclusion, it’s important to reiterate the significant of self-determination call by Ndiigbo. To free Igbo from these illegalities including corruption and contradictions found inside and outside this whole enterprise, Nigeria. For those who are wondering about the Igbo race and its dream for self-determination and the actualization of Republic of Biafra, know yeah this day that we are more determined today, organized, mobilized, stronger more than any other time in history. Those who think we are not united must think again. We might sound differently on issues, that happens because we are republicans and believe in the rule of law, freedom of expression within our political space, freedom which our engineering and democracy for three years. It is our heritage. Make no mistake, when handshake turns into shoving, it shall be revealed unto you that our body politics is our body unity. By application, it is essential that the government of the day do the right thing. We are racing against time. It must be a must do item that Ndiigbo wherever they may be, at home or in Diaspora, must support self-determination. This has become critical that, if, after 45 years of existence, our extraction will not be allowed the opportunity to produce the president of the enterprise, Nigeria. I hear someone remarked at some quarters that this administration appointed more Igbo than any administration in history.

This writer’s response to that remark is vote Igbo president so that we can also have the same opportunity to not only appoint you Ministers and other places of positions but, we will appoint the right and qualified individuals to these positions better than any other group in the history of Nigeria, way better off more than other major tribes—Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba. We have displayed that in the past and can do it again. It is insulting to hear commentaries like the foregoing appointment piece. It is relevant to protect people’s freedom, and people’s right to live, worship were, how and whenever they pleases. It’s called freedom of religion. Both Nigerians and Biafrans can live together with equal opportunity when it comes to running the system[s], resource allocations, employment, restoration of peace and similarly, restructure a better measured security for our peoples and value placed on the essence, sanctity and divinity of human life at all time. No nation can thrive under lawlessness and corruption. Let me finally state that after 39 years of our existence, the great State of Biafra is stronger, better organized and ubiquitously alive. Biafra will be, Nigeria will be.

Carlisle U.O. Umunnah
Is a New York Based Freelance Writer
Contact: cuu1_liberties@yahoo.com
May, 2006

Posted by Administrator at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2006

Words and Consequences

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- When I come across written words, especially aptly chosen and astutely used words? I become fascinated! I am frequently captivated by any writer’s accurate descriptions and presentations embedded in those words, whether the matter being described is alive or an abstract. Words, usually key me into whether the material is effervescent or dull as drudgery.

A written page is vibrant, if it captures circumstances for the reader, as intimately intended in the floatation of a writer’s emotions; Sad and solemn or joyously happy.

Our commonality as citizen of Nigeria has suffused our public debate or commentaries on our national issues, with our unique words imbued in our culture and national nuanced words and meanings which are unmistakably Nigerian.

When I read words that are written by Nigerians, I take more than a cursory interest and do so, for more than one reason. First, the issues that most Nigerians write about have complete resonance and relevance with and to me. These are assuredly my issues as well. As we share nationality and national issues in common as compatriots. Nigerians are liable to see a zillion things from the same prisms imbued in our commonalities. We all will roll our eyes, if we read that someone was about to engage in some wayo, gibiti or gra~gra, just as we will appreciate a gesture as we read that the host offered kola-nuts.

Additionally, I take more than a passing interest in how we describe everything, particularly, political situations and circumstances that are special to Nigeria, and the rest of political happenings which Nigeria has in common with the rest of the world.

Some years ago, a Nigerian friend of mine, who is a senior attorney with an agency of New York City, had scheduled a Christening and birthday party for her two sons. As it turned out, her husband lived in Nigeria by choice he was in New York City frequently on business trips to and from Nigeria. And one of the husband’s townspeople in my presence, enquired from the lady, whether she had obtained permission from her husband for celebrations! Many present who witnessed the questioning, turned almost simultaneously to glare at the gentleman. Most of the persons present gave searing looks that was louder than audibly questioning the use of the word, permission!

I watched as he struggled to explain what he had in mind, which was, not exactly what he expressed in his verbal delivery. According to him, his inquiry was limited to, whether wife and husband had discussed these celebrations. Particularly because his observation was that it took lots of efforts to plan and execute the party. And he, merely wondered aloud why the husband, who is frequently in New York, was absent from the planning and execution of these celebrations. Some commented that they assumed he was being chauvinistic. Our friend in this example could have expressed the same sentiments with words, such as did you discuss your plans with your husband? Even at that, it seems to beg the issue, whether the spouses consult each other on these family matters. Careful deliberate phrasing is suggested, especially in matters of husband and wife, with particular regard to the equality of spouses. Handle delicately. Be sensitive and let your comments reflect changed times, from our grandmothers to the present day.

Tribe! What tribe are you! That is the question that I frequently get asked by some Nigerians when I meet them. I am always eager to meet Nigerians in the United States and elsewhere outside of Nigeria.
When, I hear conversations in any Nigerian language, I inexorably as if in auto-response, would invariably want to meet the persons to introduce myself and identify myself or assert my Nigerian-ness. First of all, I feel the fact that I am Nigerian is sufficient or should adequately answer and reassure the other Nigerian whose acquaintance I have just met. Asking my state of origin usually leads me to saying, ah, yes, from all thirty-six states, and from all 774 local government areas and the federal capital territory of Abuja.
In the belief that Nigerian citizenship is complete without the unnecessary variations of settler, indigene or state of origin discriminatory classifications, I am completely satisfied with saying I am a Nigerian.

I would have thought that an assertion of my Nigerian-ness would serve all purposes. But almost inevitably, I always have to endure, the, what tribe are you question! There are more Hausas, more Yorubas and more Igbos and other distinct ethnic and language groups in Nigeria. There are Ethnic and Language groups, larger and richer in materials and human population, than many countries in Europe and elsewhere. And yet, no one refers to Croat, or Serbians or Welch and Scots as tribes! What tribes are Italians? Greeks and Turks; How come I never have experienced anyone asking the Chinese what tribes it is, from which they hail? After all, there are Cantonese, Mandarin and other ethnic Chinese!

Here in the US, where I live, there are a multiplicity of ethnicities, from the African American ethnic group to Indian, German, Japanese, Jew, Chinese, Russian ethnic groups, just to name a few. But no one ever remember to ask the vexing question of the multicultural, multilingual Americans what tribes they belong! You are either an American or you are not. You are either a Nigerian or you are not! You may happily identify with your ethnicity or heritage as an American, and so could you, as a Nigeria.

In America, you are either, an African-American, or German-American, Polish-American as in Yoruba Nigerian, Hausa Nigerian or Igbo Nigeria in Nigeria, perhaps.

But you ask me what tribe? No! I do not belong to that sort of classification. I’m no member of herds of animals!
When I hear the word tribe, it conjures herds of animals in the National Geographic!

I am equally peeved when some insists on referring to distinct language groups in Nigeria as mere dialects, as if, a mere variation from a “real” language! Let us take for instance, as well, our frequent use of the words rule, ruler and warn.

These are words that I came across perhaps too frequently in reading some Nigerian stories in Nigerian newspapers on the Internet and at Nigeria –related websites… In matters of the third term agenda, Mr. Cohen, the American warned, and a Nigerian commentator queried the manner of President Obasanjo’s rule and why he should not remain Nigeria’s ruler beyond 2007. Rule, ruler and say, regime, suggests everything, but democracy. In proper democratic setting, the words ought to be the administration, the leader or president. Rule, suggests no democratic processes or participation by the people.
Ruler, as well, suggest unelected traditional chief or something undemocratic. Just as the word regime would remind the average Nigerian of the checkered past with military intervention in Nigeria politics and governance.

Just above, you must have noticed the reference to Mr. Cohen, who warned President Obasanjo! Yes! You read it! He warned! But who the heck is this guy? He warned the president of Nigeria? Does the president of Nigeria work for him? And wait a minute! Most employers do not and would not engage in publicly warning their employees!
Mr. Cohen warned who? And who is Mr. Cohen to warn any Nigerian? What mindset informs the writer’s use, of the word warn? Why do some of our public commentators and professional journalists write in these peculiar ways? Are our writers contemplative and deliberative as to the terms that they use in print?

Why would a Nigerian Public Intellectual refer to Britain or England as Nigeria’s former Colonial Master? Or why is it that an American, whose country, America, was similarly colonized by the same Britain/England, would not describe it as such? master? Whose master? Britain/England colonized many other countries in the world apart from Nigeria, but I am yet to meet citizens of former British colonies that would refer to England as former Colonial Master! What mindsets inform some of our peculiar expressions?

I can grudgingly live with a taxi driver at Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos referring to anyone who is not an African as Oyinbo and Masa (master, master) but what do we say of a public official, a public intellectual and worse, a journalist, who in reference to England would use the term, our former Colonial Master?

If anything, the English, in their capacity as colonizers, were usurpers of local authority and they were as such as illegal, as illegal as the erstwhile apartheid regime was in South Africa. I cannot for a minute imagine a South African public official, public intellectual and or journalists refer to the former heinous apartheid regime, as former Colonial Master or former Apartheid Masters! Who is the Servant?

What if the speaker or writer was just to say, or write, during colonial period, the then colonial government or during the colonial days in Nigeria? Or during colonial regime, after all, the British were not elected to serve in Nigeria or in any of its former colonies!

There are many, numerous words that we Nigerians use, words that are peculiar to us, words that we use, which convey the precise meaning to the reader or listener, with same or similar pedigree of our social cultural backgrounds, meaning to which only those who knows, are supposed to know and appreciate. It is sort of pictorial picturesque manner of speaking and writing. It is like conveying a political commentary that would fill several pages, but it is rendered in cartoon format in one-quarter page and all those already familiar with the political storylines, are quick to appreciate the cartoon, to which several written pages would not convey sufficiently to the uninitiated.

Nigerians possess this crisp, succinct and precise clarity, for expressing situations that are idiosyncratically Nigerian. We must however give more thought to the words that we use, so that, what our words conveys or connotes, are concisely what we mean. We must express our point of view without secondary or extraneous meanings and or innuendoes. Nigerians public speakers and writers ought to be more deliberative and contemplative, in our choice of words and expressions. We should be deliberate and careful, to express ourselves and enunciate our intents.

Nigerians should endeavor to be particular, as regards how we come across, with our words. It is quite easy to be lost in translation or to be taken by someone who is not a Nigerian, to take a Nigerian speaker or writer as having a mindset, to which Nigerians do not aspire, in the least! Words, spoken or written, do indeed have consequences!

By Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@msn.com
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 01:31 PM | Comments (0)

Old Faces from the North will Help South-South-East Win

by Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa --- Old faces are no longer popular in the North or South, but as money bags and their guns. There is a dictum laid down by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe that Nigeria can only be ruled by a permutation of North and South.

Anyone who disobeys this rule, does it at his/her own risk. Actually, the first person and only one to have ignored the rule was Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was not a politician but a straight talker (Otito koro) who thought he could rule with Igbo as a running mate. Before then, he thought Azikiwe could rule with him as his deputy. It was not the best leadership formula.

That is why I snicker when I hear the call for the South to unite and separate from the North. We need the North as a peaceful force in the South and the South as a moderating force in the North, not the United Nations which we made the best peace keeping force in the world. There are those of us who grew up in metropolitan areas that are exposed to different ethnic groups with this expectation that it is the same relationship all over.

The Yoruba and Igbo for example get along very well, even in business, until politics of the Country comes in. At that point we need Hausa, Fulani or Kanuri to cool the tempers.
When that tempers flare between the Fulani, Tiv and the Kanuri, thank God we have the Igbo in Nigeria to cool the atmosphere. Sometimes it is between the Hausa and the Igbo; we call on the Yoruba to come to the rescue. It goes on and on between the Ilaje, Ijaw and the Itsekiri. Everyone knows the closest Army or Police barracks. Not even a President from the South-south will solve all these. Our diversity is our strength.

All Nigerians use the North for the convenience of discussion. You must have heard that there is nothing like the North, south of Kaduna. Well, you must also have heard of the North with one destiny. It is still the same North. One of the advances we made in Nigeria is the new intellectuals from the North and the South who have been able to articulate their needs in each of the local and foreign etiquettes by which we communicate with one another. In those days, when the investment was being planted, we were impressed on, that it was for the benefit of Nigeria. How true today.

We usually divide the North into progressive and the conservatives during elections. In the conservative camps are those Christian and Islamic scholars whose allegiance is not necessarily one-sided. It is very clear among the informed Nigerians today, that many of our leaders do nothing really, to benefit their areas of origin. This feeling has to permeate to the less privileged that are used as thugs for nefarious activities. If they provide them with good education and jobs, there would be less people to recruit. The message may be getting through. Evidence of this can be seen as masses stoned and disrespected spent politicians in the North, South, front and center. The disadvantage is that the innocent may be mistaken for a rogue.

There are so many diverse ideas and opinions from the North today that can marry that of the South into the form of government and a Country we want. I have on many occasions articulated the fact that the South-south and the North-central still do not understand their potential power that is so much of a threat to the Yoruba/Igbo/Hausa oligarchy. That this diamond cooperation has not been formed is a god-sent to the so called tripods. There are now common ideas on which to base our unity and reject those leaders who separated us.

Whichever region wants to present the President must wow, dance and court a region apart from his own in the opposite pole before the rest of the regions will fall on his lap. My feeling is that South-south has never tasted the presidency and South-east has tasted it least. However, I have to accept that it is the machinery of the candidate that wins, not fairness. It sounds like you get what you negotiate and not what you deserve. Since I have not seen people like Nuhu Ribadu campaigning for presidency from the North, there may be a good chance that the South-south or South-east may get the support of the whole Country, not by threat or blackmail but by persuasion.

It seems that the leadership of Civil Right Congress, The Northern Solidarity Forum and others from the North are calling for South-south President. This can be the fruits of similar ideas on fairness which is now emerging in our Country. We should not be surprised then if opposite and more conservative ideas are propagated. The competing ideas are good for democracy and for those of us looking for the best candidate without the constraint of ethnicity, naked thugs and moneybags.

Third term rejection regardless of ethnic affiliation has shown that if we stand together, certain leaders can not take us for granted. As for the South-west, they are still basking in their victory over the third term agenda. Their role in shooting down one of their own so that others can get a shot at the presidency must be commended. If every ethnic Nigerian can emulate this, we may have a Country to celebrate. I also know that South-west will not support a crook from any part of the Country. So they stand a good chance of tipping the presidency to a region with the best candidate.

I am not unaware of the TTA (third term agenda) flying saucer between those who have forfeited their birth rights to presidency, as if it was a regional fight; and those who retained their birth rights, as if nobody supported it from their region. Some of us have predicted exactly that fight. Then, those old soldiers stirring up storm in a tea port or pages of newspaper arguing about who won the war. You would think that this shameful past of ours would not rear its ugly head at this point.

No matter how you slice it, we are talking about brutes. Wars are fought when human beings have lost any form of decency, become uncouth and uncivilized reducing us to our primitive state. There are many books to read from blind men describing different parts of the elephants. What was done to the Igbo, what the Igbo did in the Mid-West, what the Hausa and the Igbo did in the North and the half job left undone? The Yoruba Generals agued about who brought the war to an end. Shame, shame, shame!

The gory detail is to provoke the unborn. So I am not surprised when those who hardly spend less than a year or two in the Country talk as if they are ready to kill again. When these arguments fly back and forth, foreigners wonder if we can be left alone with one another without another civil war. These are the same Nigerians who others countries hugged and kissed for threading and daring to step into chaos, saving lives, while the most powerful Country in the whole world waved from the shore.

Nigerians who should be spending their time or their thesis on ways to create a better Country, waste their time on research about how they are related to those whose civilization are more recent than ours, with a fraction of our population. There are Centers all over the world for Economic and Political researches, these academics or intellectuals can not volunteer their services, work for them or create one; but are ready to provide demeaning findings on our people. Here we are crying for political leadership, economic research, scientific research and MANAGERS to steer the Country into the right path. Some people spill their bile looking for relatives anywhere else except in Nigeria.

Please leave me with my Hausa brothers and sisters. I will not exchange them for anything. I also love my relationship with my Igbo brothers and sisters. Where will I be without the Efik, Edo, Kanuri, Fulani, Idoma etc brothers and sisters? Oh, how I wish to be a teenager again so that I can dream about which of them to marry. By the time our child declared for the presidency, nobody would know for sure which ethnic group to link him/her with. I’m sorry, may be it is the different ethnic food that fill my belly or the different ethnic drinks that tickle me. I have seen people, places and a few countries, none of them can compete with my Country men and women in these places.

It was the Yoruba that were crying about their women being married by other ethnic group yesterday, today the Igbo are crying, and tomorrow the Hausa will be crying. I used to think talking about women would debase and dilute our discussion about unity and presidency. I have come to realize that Nigerians attach important ties to women being married by other Nigerians. It has to be discussed as it has proved equally emotional. There is the story of a young man who thinks all he needed was money and no need for education. The same young man would love to marry a woman with a PhD. He was told if he did not study hard, other ethnic group with education would marry his girl.
He hits the books!

In many Countries including our own, women have managed to rise to power only to get bloody in the process as sleeping their way all the way to the top. Since there are more of them in colleges in the Western countries than men, it is only a matter of time before that happens in Nigeria. Luckily, we now have competent women performing at per with men if not better. There are whispers that they are less prone to corruption than men. Where am I going? I just arrived. We want women from all parts of Nigeria to contest for the big job. Why not Madam President?

The benefits are enormous. The fact that they would be less corrupt in itself is a great deal. They can not flaunt men the way men flaunt women and get themselves into responsibilities that drive them to steal. Who knows? May be when we see our women performing better than us, we may retrace our steps and start wondering where we went wrong. As for women who are trying to be like men, you will be displaced like men.

We need to get to that level where we can chose the best individual to lead our Country out of hatred, distrust and hopelessness instead of relying on spent individuals. That is lack of confidence in our persons as a Country.

Farouk Martins, Omo Aresa

faroukomartins@netscape.net

Posted by Administrator at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

CNN Attacks On Nigerians in Houston & Why Nigeria's Image Matters

by Paul I. Adujie (New York, United States) --- Houston-Texas, United States generated two very dramatic events in the last days of May 2006. A trial court in Houston, through its jury announced the convictions of Enron founder Mr. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, the former chairman and chief executive respectively, of the now defunct Enron Energy Corporation, that was in its heydays, headquartered in Houston, and Enron was a Houston renowned institution, I might add. But then, Enron engaged in fuzzy math and it landed in legal hot waters!

Enron was once the toast of the financial markets and the darling of Wall Street. Enron had a spectacular rise to phenomenal heights on the rockets of success, at the end, Enron was a victim of its success, its fictitious success to which it was catapulted, with funny mathematics.

Why did CNN focus on a few Nigerians in Houston Despite the Enron Catastrophe in Houston? Is this just a matter of perception and perspectives? How did CNN manage to neglect the forest of the Enron debacle, while CNN was in hot pursuit of a few crumbs of trees by way of a few Nigerian immigrants involved in frauds?

Time Magazine described the Enron debacle in these words; After a four-year investigation, 16 weeks of testimony and less than six days of deliberations, a jury of eight women and four men decided the decline and fall of Enron weren't just bad press and bad luck, as the two had claimed.

The rot came from within. For all the Porsches parked in the company garage, it turns out Enron didn't have much in the bank. Forensic auditors have discovered that cash flow in 2000, the money left over after the bills are paid, was a negative $153 million, not the heady $3 billion claimed. The nearly $1 billion profit was bogus. Forget 2001/ Even the auditors couldn't fathom the books that year. Banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, who financed Enron's schemes with stock and bond offerings, have already agreed to pay $7.3 billion in restitution to shareholders. Sentencing for Lay and Skilling is set for September, but with the trial over, 16 other Enron employees who turned state's witness can also be sentenced.

Enron's stock price was up 36% last week, despite the news that founder Ken Lay and former CEO Jeff Skilling had been convicted of lying to investors and employees as the company sank into bankruptcy in 2001. The once mighty energy firm, which traded at $90 a share six years ago, is selling for 15¢, up 4¢ on the day after the verdicts. It would be laughable if so many people hadn't lost so much--stockholders lost $60 billion in market value, long-serving employees lost more than $2 billion in pension money, and 5,600 people lost their jobs.

Today not much is left of the pipeline company that Lay, the preacher's son from Missouri, turned into a high-flying purveyor of wind and water, electricity and energy emissions and, ultimately, hot air.

The moral victory is won, says Steve Berman, a Seattle attorney representing some 21,000 employees who lost their pensions. Enron joins WorldCom, Adelphia and Tyco among the big companies busted by President Bush's Corporate Fraud Task Force, which has won 1,063 convictions, including guilty verdicts against 36 chief financial officers and 167 corporate CEOs and presidents. The 64-year-old founder faces up to 165 years of hard time; Skilling, 52, is up against a possible 185 years.

The jury found that Lay criminally touted the stock even after whistle-blower Sherron Watkins gave him her famous memo in August 2001 warning that Enron's accounting was deeply flawed; Skilling had quit only days before. Both men were found guilty on every charge of fraud and conspiracy in the indictment--six against Lay, 13 against Skilling. While Skilling was acquitted on nine charges of insider trading, he and Lay were also convicted on various other charges involving stock sales and audits.

Sam Buell, an early member of the Enron Task Force, remembers how difficult it was to assemble a case back in January 2002--a month after the company's bankruptcy and with the suicide of Enron's vice chairman Cliff Baxter seared into everyone's conscience. "Enron was the 9/11 of the financial markets," says Buell, now a visiting law professor at the University of Texas, "but nobody wanted to be a witness." Slowly, the task force's prosecutors turned the screws on the bad guys."

It is funny how CNN, an American media giant, known worldwide, chose to focus on the petty crimes of some Nigerian immigrants in Houston, while a court in the same Houston, was rendering verdicts in corporate greed that led to the Enron debacle. It goes to show that it is all a matter of prisms, perceptions and perspectives. Where you stand on issues, is determined by where you sit. Arizona according to The New York Times, is the identity theft capital of America and not Houston. STOLEN LIVES; Technology and Easy Credit Give Identity Thieves an Edge Phoenix-Arizona, In a Scottsdale police station last ... highest rate of identity theft complaints in the nation ... to print checks in his victims' names. So, why did CNN focus on the Nigerians in Houston? Is it because the thieves in Arizona are not Nigerians?

Nigeria Image Matters

All Nigerians should respond to CNN's offensive and unacceptable generalizations about Nigerians in Houston and Nigerian immigrants in the Americas as a whole. CNN claim to the effect that forty percent of Nigerians in America are into frauds and crimes is baseless. The spurious numbers are not based on empirical data or analyses.
Sabella O Abidde wrote an excellent essay titled Images from and about Africa , an article to which I wrote a rejoinder, A Response to: Images from and about Africa by Sabella Abidde and that was before my attention was drawn to the full impact of the CNN story about Nigerians in Houston.

I abhor all crimes and criminals. But that does not allow CNN, the press generalize about Nigerians and Nigeria. And law abiding and hardworking decent Nigerians should not feel the need to bow their heads in shame. I work eighty hours a week in New York City and there are many Nigerians who hold two jobs in America. The great majority of Nigerians in America are decent and dignified persons and we have no apologies to make to anyone for the behavior of a few Nigerians. We resent being measured and grouped with miscreants or criminal elements.

Unless the new logic is that all Americans should bury their heads in shame because of the frauds and criminal acts of Mr. Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling of Enron? All Americans should be ashamed for the criminal behaviors of the executives of Enron which joins WorldCom, Adelphia and Tyco, AIG, Halliburton etc, all of them, American companies that have engage in the most egregious corporate frauds.

Unless the new logic is that all Americans should now bury their heads in shame for the brutal killings by some American soldiers in Haditha in Iraq, and the now infamous abuses by American military personnel in Afghanistan or Abu Ghraib in Iraq and at Guantannamo Bay prisons in Cuba or the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam. Decent Nigerians in America and worldwide have nothing to apologize for or be ashamed about!

We must be clear therefore, that every actions and words by persons or media that impact Nigeria's image negatively, should warrant vigorous response from all of us. It is all about us. Regardless of who is president of Nigeria and regardless of what form of government operates in Nigeria at the given time.

It must be clear to all Nigerians, at home and abroad, that what affect Nigeria affects all of us. Nigerians must make offensive generalizations about Nigeria an expensive proposition or undertaking. There should be consequences and heavy price to pay by anyone who generalizes about Nigerians and Nigeria.
Africans must engage in self-definition and self-assertion, there are no alternatives! As we define and assert ourselves, we must also always respond to mischaracterizations.

Africans have been the recipients of an unfair amount of meddling, interferences and outright interruptions by external forces of evil. There are of course, in Africa, people who are human beings, like every other human being on earth, who are not in possession of plentiful virtue, but instead warped attributes or vices.

It has become exceedingly easy, sexy and even entertaining to be extremely critical of the African continent and its travails.
Africa's litany of critics, are conversely unwilling to critically examine the role and impact of external factors, and external players that have created, that sustains and even exacerbates the crises and sufferings in Africa. Adversities and perversities have sources and causes remote and immediate, internal and external.

I wondered why he did not question why BBC, CNN, Fox etc never talk to or about Nigerian/African medical doctors, lawyers, bankers, stock brokers etc why the fixation and auto focus on adversity and perversity? Or the man bite dog angle? There is a stock exchange in Nigeria and there are brokers there, there are companies there… let CNN and the BBC talk about the Nigerian Stock Exchange for a change!
Let the Western media talk to some Nigerian/African doctors and lawyers and business persons for a change! Let the western media leave their voyeurism for a week and talk instead about marriage, birth, death, sunrise and sunset in Africa. Human angles presented without the usual gory adversities and perversities. Is there joy in Africa?

If you watch or listen to Western media long enough, you will start to believe that there are only wars and famine and ebola in all of Africa every time, anytime and all the time!


Cable New Network otherwise known as CNN worldwide, attained its reputation partly because it is trail blazer in many respects and partly, as well, because it practice journalism by the book. CNN became household name with instant name recognition.
CNN however is fast becoming a bastion of shoddy and sloppy journalism.

This erstwhile dignified and respectable cable television network with international reputation now wallows in sensationalism in its reportage. CNN now practices yellow journalism of the worst tabloid types!

In recent times, CNN has had to retract series of false and inaccurate stories

On behalf of Nigerians in the Americas and on behalf of Nigerians in the motherland and worldwide; we must protest the offensive and stereotypical portrayal of Nigerians by the Cable News Network, CNN. Media houses are increasingly desperate for advertisers dollars. And as a result, they resort to sensationalisms and voyeurisms to attract readers and viewers, which in turn attract advertisers or sponsors.
We are outraged by CNN's cavalier and most perversely convenient presentation of some Nigerians in Houston alleged to be engaged in unsavory activities. CNN's presentation created the impression that Nigerians have a particular bent for identity theft crimes.
It is my belief that such portrayal is malicious and a demonstration of lazy journalism.

CNN is supposed to be a highly esteemed news network. I am are very disappointed that CNN chose to castigate and label Nigerians and Nigeria as CNN did, in a manner that suggested that Nigerians in America and Houston in particular are engaged in criminal activities in a pervasive way. Why does CNN paint Nigerians with such negative broad brush generalizations?

Nigerians are hardworking people and law abiding citizens in America and elsewhere in the world. It is journalistic irresponsibility on the part of CNN to portray Nigerians in Houston as if they posses a peculiar predisposition for identity theft crimes.

And as such, CNN has in an intellectually lazy storyline, portrayed Nigerians in Houston as some sorts of monolithic lot. Watching that CNN feature, one will come away with the impressions, that Nigerians in Houston are a bunch of bad guest in their host American communities. If a Nigerian medical doctor or a Nigerian lawyer was to say that she believed that Nigerians in a particular locality in America constituted forty percent of her particular profession, would that make it true, especially when such assertion is not supported with empirical data?

I am are certain that CNN and the rest of the world know or at least, ought to know that there are virtues and vices within every community on God's earth.

I am are certain, as well, that CNN knows or has reasons to know that there are Nigerians in Houston who have excelled in various fields of human endeavors. There Nigerians in Houston and all over America, who are medical doctors, lawyers, nurses, taxi drivers, security guards.
CNN ought to be interested in Nigerians who have contributed immensely and added value to Houston and other communities in America that are host to Nigerians.

We suggest that CNN do a follow up story about Nigerians in Houston and other parts of America who are doing positive things.
There are Nigerians who are volunteers.

The overwhelming majority of Nigerians in Houston and other parts of America are law abiding, tax paying and voting neighbors of others as Americans or resident aliens.

CNN has engaged is gross misuse of its renowned medium to disseminate stereotypical information about Nigerians. CNN engaged in an extremely perverse generalizations regarding involvement by some Nigerians in identity theft.

Were the folks at CNN interested in a fair or balanced story, CNN would have sought Nigerians in Houston who are involved in legitimate work. Some Nigerians in Houston and throughout America hold two jobs simultaneously.

CNN's depiction of Nigerians in Houston and all of America, as specializing in fraudulent activities, including identity thefts is most offensive and unacceptable.

There are over two million Nigerian citizens residing in the USA, including bonafide Nigeria-American citizens and permanent resident. CNN and the world should be aware that the average Nigerian immigrant in America has a college degree and higher education in comparison to most, this, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Nigerians in America are employed and they continue to make meaningful contributions and continue to add value to their local communities here America. It is mischievous and a disservice to peoples of America and Nigeria, for CNN to create these wrong impressions about Nigerians who are in fact model immigrants.
CNN has engaged in pedestrian journalism with its generalizations about Nigerians. We are sure than CNN would not generalize about Italians Americans because of a few who are involved in organized crime or Mafia. And I am sure that CNN will not portray all Colombians in America as cocaine dealers, because of the act of a few Colombians. CNN knows that it will be wrong to portray every Afghan in America as a Taliban terrorist!

Nigerians worldwide object in the strong terms to CNN's false and stereotypical depictions and negative portrayal of Nigerians carte blanche.

By Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@...
New York, United States

Posted by Administrator at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)

June 03, 2006

Nigerians: Vote to Live or to Perish

by Obed I. Onwuegbu, Ph.D. --- Are you a Nigerian? Are you as angry as I am at the enemies of Nigeria? Do you even know them? Are you concerned and tired of a corrupt police force, politicians, senior civil servants who steal and ship Nigerian wealth to other nations and impoverish Nigeria?

Are you worried that your children may die early and if they survive, they cannot get an education? Why must a tenant pay more than a month’s rent at a time? Why can’t NEPA give you light instead of darkness? Why are Nigerians who can help to develop the country driven out? The enemies make Nigeria the laughing stock of the world. Use your vote to build a future or complete the destruction of Nigeria for you and your children.

I am not a politician. I solve problems. I made a difference at Federal College of Education (FCESE) Oyo. When other officials stole your money, I brought $400,000 (N52m) to Nigeria. My practice at Oyo forced the Ministry to cut rent by one third (33%). Go to Oyo and take a look at FCESE.

Elect me your President and I will SERVE YOU. Within six months after I take office: 1. Corruption will become a crime instead of a way of life. 2. Everyone who held a responsible position will give account of his or her stewardship. 3. NEPA will constantly give light day and night. 4. Education will resume its virtue of teaching contents and morals. 5. The police will protect instead of flouting the law. 6. No tenant will pay more than one month rent at a time. By the grace of God, Nigeria will recover its stolen wealth. I promise to resign if we have not made significant progress in all these areas within the first six months of my administration.

I was at Oyo Federal College of Education from 1977 to 1987, and the Provost from 1980 to 1987. I am the author of “Discover Teaching”. The graduates are in every state of Nigeria. They can attest to my character. The best way to stop these enemies from destroying Nigeria and Nigerians is to defeat them with your votes. Elect me, Dr. O. I. Onwuegbu your President and I will SERVE THE PEOPLE. These enemies hate Nigeria and have done worse to her than Leopold did in the Congo and the slave trade did in West Africa. I am ready and willing to serve you. If you do, the enemy shall pay war indemnity. The same God Who preserved me at Oyo will preserve Nigeria and us as we serve the country.

God Bless Nigeria!
O. I. Onwuegbu, Ph.D.

Posted by Administrator at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)