OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE is where independent minds meet to dissect politics, society, power, and global affairs without fear or filters. This is not mainstream media.
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The recent resolutions of the out-going members of the Imo House of Assembly have shocked not a few people. I am sure they even shocked themselves. And, the out- gone governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha must be wondering at the behaviour of the “animal called man.” Politicians cover-up their political prostitution by telling us: “In politics, there is no permanent enemy, only permanent interests”. Yet, I confirm that the case of the out-going IMHA members is fit for the Guinness Book of Records. Here are why. Imolites know the story of Okorocha and these members. In the eight years of his…
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The trade tiff between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies has been going on for several months now. While much of the fight has manifested itself in the form of tariffs, Africa, at the centre of a geopolitical battle between the two super powers has mostly sat it out and probably hoped to stay neutral. But last month’s sanctioning of Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei touched a nerve. Because of its involvement with Huawei, Africa, though not mentioned anywhere in Donald Trump’s directive to Google ordering an end to technology sales to Huawei, felt jittery. And for…
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Obviously, it has not taken long for Gov. Emeka Ihedioha to show the world the calibre of governor he will be for Imo State in the next four years. Barely ten days in office, he has given a clue of what is to come and it wouldn’t be too early in the day for citizens of the state to expect their homeland to reach a milestone with Gov. Ihedioha’s administration for the next four years. His activities already conforms to Wole Soyinka’s averment that “Whatever is worth doing, is indeed worth doing well”. The former lawmaker indeed knew that if…
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The shockwaves arising from Roguish Electoral Ritual of 2019 in Nigeria seems to have finally awakened the obdurate One-Nigerianists of Eastern Nigeria to a new realization that there is absolutely no future for Eastern Nigeria in Nigeria’s Political Firmament and Discussions began to shift rapidly towards some kind of Let’s-Forget-Everything-Else-And-Go-Develop-The-East. As if on cue, many moribund and jaded Economic Development Blueprints and Initiatives began to resurface and a new zeal to put the Blueprints/Initiatives to work seems to have suddenly descended on the same erstwhile Abuja-Bound Pilgrims of Eastern Nigeria. Having watched the various assemblages of Economic/Socio-Political Thought-Leaders championing these…
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1 June 2019 To: His Excellence Mr António Guterres (GCC GCL) Secretary General, United Nation To: United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect New York, USA The Yoruba Council of Elders Europe and America is using this medium to inform the United Nations of state of affairs in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the need to intervene urgently to save a situation of potential genocide. Intelligence available points at genocide about to happen on a scale never known before, executed by armed people with logistics back up and positioned strategically around the country. Urgent and…
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Born: 1710 in West Africa Died: 1790 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA Thomas Fuller was an African, shipped to America as a slave in 1724. He had remarkable powers of calculation, and late in his life was discovered by antislavery campaigners who used him as a demonstration that blacks are not mentally inferior to whites. The place of his birth appears to have been between present day Liberia and Benin. Known as Negro Tom, we know that he was described as a very black man and also we know that he lived in Virginia after being brought to the United States…
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Politics di egwu. APGA was registered on June 2002 by Chekwas Okorie. On December 2002, Ojukwu joined APGA from APP. By 2004, Chief Victor Umeh conspired with Ojukwu and Peter Obi and they overthrew chief Chekwas Okorie in a bloodless coup at a hotel in Enugu. After the coup, chief Maxi Okwu who was the deputy national chairman south, and next to take over in the absence of Chekwas Okorie was deceived by Umeh and Peter Obi to join them against Chekwas. Maxi Okwu joined and went to court to testify against Chekwas thinking that he would emerge the national…
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The Nigerian military coup of December 31, 1983 was coordinated by key officers of the Nigerian military, led to the ouster of the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari, and the installation of Major General Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State. Background Civil-military tensions were testy as evidenced by the decision of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Division (Major General Muhammadu Buhari) to cut off fuel supplies and food into Chad, an action caused by border disputes between Nigeria and Chad and which was opposed by President Shehu Shagari. Against further orders by Shagari to avoid breaching Chadian…
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Speak to any Nigerian and you will hear the familiar complaints about Nigeria’s sorry plight. About the waste, mismanagement, corruption and lack of environmental sanitation. Nigerians yearn for a Government that will tackle these problems head on. Nigerians although supporting democracy believe that the institutional checks and balances it imposes would inhibit even a well intentioned government, and would prevent it from pushing through the punishing reforms and hardline policies that are necessary to change Nigeria. As one acquaintance put it to me: “Nigeria missed its chance with the military”. The acquaintance is no apologist for military rule but his…
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BENIN, JULY 29 WEEKEND, 1966 Benin-City was quiet during the weekend of July 29, 1966. It had hosted General Ironsi with fanfare on the 27th. School children lined the routes and there was pomp and pageantry. Underneath it all, however, fate beckoned. It was from Benin that Ironsi departed on his way to Ibadan where he met his death. In the atmosphere of myths that evolved in the years after 1966, there was even a story that “Operation Aure” was not launched in Benin because of the intercession of the Oba of Benin. That story is false, although it is…
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KADUNA, JULY 29 WEEKEND, 1966 The weekend of July 29, 1966 was not the first time northern soldiers had contemplated action in the North. As previously noted, quite aside from tensions during the Platoon Commanders Course, when there were false rumors of Lt. Col. Hassan Katsina’s arrest by General Ironsi in Lagos after the promulgation of Decree #34, northern soldiers surrounded the Kaduna airport waiting to see who would alight from his returning plane. Things were so tense that Hassan ordered his ADC, then Lt. Ugokwe (Recce), not to step out of the plane before he did, lest he be…
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PLANNING TO OVERTHROW GENERAL IRONSI There is no doubt that fairly soon after January 15, the motive for a northern counter-coup also known as “return match” was established. What remained were the means and the opportunity. In Kaduna, the Platoon Commanders Course at the NMTC provided an opportunity for young northern subalterns to come together to share ideas and vent frustration. These officers included Lts. Shelleng, Hannaniya, Muhammadu Jega, Sani Abacha, Sali, Dambo and others. They held secret meetings and even wrote a letter of protest to the Chief of Staff (Army) – Lt. Col. Gowon – openly stating that…
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BACKGROUND In the early hours of January 15, 1966, citing a laundry list of complaints against the political class, there was a military rebellion in Nigeria against the first republic. Led by a group of Majors who were predominantly revolutionary, the Prime Minister, a federal minister, two regional premiers, along with top Army officers were brutally assassinated. A number of civilians were also killed. The coup succeeded in Kaduna the northern region capital, failed in Lagos the federal capital and Ibadan the western regional capital, but barely took place in Benin the midwestern capital, and Enugu the eastern capital. The…
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The so-called Igbo “scare” in the British Cameroons between 1945 and 1961 allegedly led the southern part of the British mandate to opt to leave the federation of Nigeria on the 11th of February 1961. The fear of Igbo domination in all the sectors of social and political life in the former German and British territory was given as a major factor. Kumba, Mamfe, Bamenda, Tiko and Victoria had a large number of NdiIgbo who dominated the economy. This led to local resentments, which politicians like Dr E.M.L.Endeley, Chief Manga Williams and J.N.Foncha exploited for selfish interests. Stereotyping the Igbo…
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Upon arrival back to Lagos from Minna, Major General Babangida returned to the Flag Staff House, located in a cul de sac on Second Avenue, Ikoyi. It was at that time the official residence of the Chief of Army Staff. It was from this location that he made the following broadcast to the Nigerian people: Fellow Nigerians, When in December 1983, the former military leadership, headed by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, assumed the reins of government, its accession was heralded in the history of this country. With the nation at the mercy of political misdirection and on the brink of economic…
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A palace coup is one in which the sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force is carried out by individuals in positions of authority who are themselves part and parcel of the ruling regime. In other words, one group of members of the Palace court seizes control from another group while the people look on. Palace coups have occurred since antiquity. Pharaoh Amen-em-het Sehetep-ib-re of Ancient Egypt was killed in a palace coup in 1962 B.C.In 555 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was overthrown in a palace coup and replaced by Nabonidus – a reclusive scholar who ate…
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▪Read so that History does not repeat itself in our time! Cattle colonies are not a new thing in Nigeria. It has existed long before independence and it is called “Zango” (a word in Hausa that means colony). Zango has existed in many areas of Yoruba land. Till today, there is Sango Otta, the home county of our former president (Obasanjo). Know this, “Sango” is a corruption of the word Zango. There is Zangon Kataf in Zonkwa, Kaduna State. When the Fulani’s came there, they did not tell the natives that they were coming to settle. They just asked for…
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When Mbelu, my grandfather’s immediate younger brother, died, he left behind his wife, Nwaakụagbala and three children. Immediately after his funeral rites, the wife had to undergo the ritual of head shaving. Shaving of the widow’s head was performed by the elderly wives of the kindred and the female relatives of the dead man. Once the widow’s head was shaven clean, the male relatives of the deceased were invited to line up before the new look widow who would be asked by the women to hand the agụba or the knife used for the shaving to one of the brothers…
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In the months before the August coup, Nigerians came to be familiar with routine announcements about this or that politician sentenced to jail, usually for 21 years, often in concurrent sentences. But many were released too – although one would not suspect so, given the spate of disinformation that greeted the take-over. On January 1st, for example, as part of the New Year message, 144 political detainees and 2,407 prisoners were released. Another 85 political detainees would later be “conditionally” released on August 6th, reflecting efforts to pacify restive non-military special interest groups whose causes were being advocated by military…
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Published in the Morning Post, Lagos, August 17, 1968 As your Public Relation’s Representative in the United States, it is my distasteful duty to tender my resignation based on the following points: POINT 1 – In November of 1967 when we met in Umuahia, you and your Cabinet were very impressive. You told me of the woes of your little Republic, that thousands of people had died, were dying and more were prepared to die for freedom’s sake. You and your Cabinet told me you believed world opinion would help your cause if you could get your story across. You…
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High Indebted States: Lagos, Rivers, Osun, Kaduna, Imo Low Indebted States: Yobe, Jigawa, Kwara, Ondo, Ebonyi 1. Lagos State, South West Nigeria, is number one among the Highly Indebted States in Nigeria in both external and domestic debts with N1.043 trillion in 2018, in a latest report by the Economic Confidential. 2. While the external debt stock of Lagos amounts to N513.514 billion, the local debt stock settled at N530.243 billion. 3. In a meticulous investigation just concluded by a team of Economic Confidential researchers on Annual High Indebted States (AHIS) on External and Domestic Debt, the amount owed by…
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Some outgoing senators are allegedly under serious pressure following their inability to meet their financial obligations to the banks that gave them loans for their elections. Investigations by our correspondent revealed that some of the banks, operating within the National Assembly complex, offered loans to some of the lawmakers for their campaigns. It was learnt that many of the affected lawmakers obtained loans ranging from N100m to N2bn from the banks. Further findings also revealed that the banks had started deducting the money from their salaries and allowances being paid through them. A representative of one of the banks told…
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Nine years ago, two unlikely lunch partners sat down at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, Nebraska. One, Warren Buffett, was a regular there. The other, Jay-Z, was not. The billionaire and the rapper ordered strawberry malts and chatted amiably, continuing the conversation back at Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway offices. Buffett, then 80, walked away impressed with the artist 40 years his junior: “Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in. For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from.” This moment, which was originally captured in our 2010 Forbes 400 package, made it…
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If President Muhammadu Buhari suddenly disappears without resigning, tongues will bite, tails will bark; 190 million Nigerians will talk all at once. And if he reappears silently like Professor Peller, with cows in tow, party men will hail; palms will pump in excited handshakes and slap backs across the land in congratulatory joy of assured sumptuous meal tickets for relatives, aides, friends and concubines. Such is the deceptive way of politics. But I’m certain our President ain’t going nowhere! Solid like the Olumo Rock, Aisha’s husband won’t disappear in the next four years. But Nigeria, our fatherland, is fast disappearing…
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It took me a long time of reflections to put this piece together. First, let me thank my husband for the emotional support, the counselling and for his belief in the creator of heaven and earth which we call God or Allah. The journey began in Auchi. We had travelled to Akure on a Monday, stayed with my husband’s relations in the outskirt of this ancient town. In the evening of Monday, we visited the palace for dinner, my husband being a close friend to son of the King. On Tuesday, we left for Ibadan, via the Akure-Ilesa road. Our…
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the establishment of state and local government police. He also approved the dismissal of 37 police officers as recommended by the National Human Rights Commission Presidential Special Panel on SARS Reforms. This was contained in the statement by the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission and Chairman Presidential Panel on SARS Reform, Anthony Ojukwu, during the submission of report of the Presidential Panel on the reform of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), of the Nigeria Police, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Panel according to Ojukwu received 113 complaints on alleged human rights violations from…
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The total quantum of electricity generated on the Nigeria’s power grid fell by 1,507.3 megawatts, dropping from a peak of 4,845.4MW to 3,338.1MW, the latest data from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has revealed. Aside from the recent drop in power generation, which occurred between Wednesday and Thursday, it was also observed from the latest industry updates that the national grid suffered system collapse twice in May 2019. The system collapse was recorded on the May 8 and 9 as power generation dropped, from a peak of 5,114.2MW on May 7, to as low as 42MW on…
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Elder statesman and leader of the Yoruba apex socio-political organization, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has declared that Nigeria risks disintegrating if the South-East is not allowed to produce the next President in 2023. Adebanjo noted that it was dishonest and invidious for anybody to be talking of the presidency coming to the Southwest, adding that those making such utterances are not serious about keeping the country together. DAILY POST had reported that the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in a recent interview, asked the Southeast to forget about the 2023 presidency. The Afenifere leader has now described the Minister’s statement…
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The Secretary-General January 15, 2018 United Nations New York Sir, APPLICATION FOR UN DECLARATION OF MIDDLE-BELT AS REPUBLIC Of TAKURUKU On behalf of the leadership of Sovereign Republic of Takuruku Movement and good citizens, we hereby solicit for United Nations’ (UN) declaration and support of the international community to the Middle-Belt region as an independent country out of Nigeria. The Republic of Takuruku is a country built on the foundation of the fear of God and truly democratic. The secession of the Middle-Belt out of Nigeria has become imperative for the following reasons: In Nigeria, Tiv are the most cheated…
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But then came last Wednesday, when he appeared embarrassed even to show up for his inauguration, and it was clear he knew that mere sounds do not translate into credibility or integrity. Four years after the high-water mark of 2015, blaming political opponents about what they did not do is no longer an option. Suddenly, Buhari appeared to realise that his political opponent is now himself and his first term, a fright which speaks louder than propaganda. Still, there followed an official effort to spin his inauguration retreat into silence as merely part of a low-profile event. But low-profile does…
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Total rejection of the collective insult and cultural violence targeted at Igbo People by the Ooni of Ile-Ife The Igbo Nation is indisputably 2,550yrs older than the Yoruba Nation in Nigeria. This is in terms of age of existence and settlement. It is further an established fact that no other ethnic nationality out of Nigeria’s current 386 ethnic nationalities is the age mate or rival to the Igbo Nation in terms of age of existence or settlement in Nigeria, Nze-na-Ozo, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said today, Sunday, 2nd June 2019, in his ancestral home in Enuama, Ifite-Ezinifite, Aguata LGA of Anambra State…
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A scripted deception has been circulating all over social media including WhatsApp groups, suggesting that Igbos despite being dominant in Tafawa Balewa’s government, went ahead to kill him. Nothing can be farther from the truth. This script has turned history on its head and is predicated on falsehood that was not only concocted to present Igbos disloyal power grabbers but also convince gullible readers, obfuscate the past and promote ethnic hate. Let us set the records straight; Igbos played no dominant role in Balewa’s cabinet and had just one person as service chief under Balewa. They were rather brillant public…
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This is how intelligent and sophisticated people conduct their affairs. A Law of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Ogun State House of Assembly, Osun State House of Assembly, Oyo State House of Assembly, Ondo State House of Assembly and Lagos State House of Assembly for the holding of a Referendum on the proposal to Federate Ekiti State with Ogun State, Osun State, Oyo State, Ondo State and Lagos State and constitute same into Oduduwa Region of Western Nigeria, within the Federation of Nigeria. A: REFERENDUM ON FEDERATION OF EKITI STATE WITH OGUN STATE, OSUN STATE, OYO STATE, ONDO STATE AND LAGOS STATE AND…
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The demystification of Bola Tinubu continues. On the last day in May 2019, the news broke out like a bombshell. The Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), announced that it had concluded its ‘investigation’ into the activities of Oando Plc and found its management culpable. The SEC further announced that it was unilaterally ordering Oando’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wale Tinubu, his deputy, Mr. Eyimofe Boyo and other identified board members, to resign and directed that an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting be convened to appoint new directors, on or before July 1, 2019. Earth shattering! Ground breaking! A bombshell! Ordinarily, these…
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National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Baba Usman, in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE, says Fulani herdsmen, like other tribes, are at the receiving end of attacks across the country The Yoruba Council of Elders has said the South-West is under the siege by Fulani herdsmen. What is your reaction to this? How is the South-West under the siege of the herdsmen? The herdsmen have been living in the South for so many decades. Some of them that are living there were born and brought up there and I don’t think there is any influx of new herdsmen…
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64 non-APC lawmakers set to endorse Gbajabiamila, Bago boasts of 195 members-elect. The last may not have been heard about the race for the Speakership of the House of Representatives in the Ninth National Assembly as the outgoing Speaker of the Eight Assembly, Hon Yakubu Dogara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reportedly joined the race. This was announced through a campaign launched on social media by Dogara’s aides over the weekend with various posters tagged “continuity”. The Tribune Online further gathered that there was another one tagged ‘God chose Rt. Hon speaker Dogara Yakubu in the 8th Assembly,…
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A former Minister of Information and current National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Prof. Jerry Gana, has told northerners preaching division that if Nigeria breaks, the minorities in the Middle Belt will not follow them. Gana said this while delivering a sermon at the St. Matthew’s Church, Maitama, Diocese of Abuja (Anglican Communion), in Abuja on Sunday. The Middle Belt is believed to have the largest number of ethnic groups in Nigeria. The former minister, who was the guest preacher, therefore, lambasted the Coalition of Arewa Youth Groups for issuing a quit notice to Igbo living in the North.…
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Some 48 hours to his second term inauguration, the Nigerian Television Authority aired an interview with President Muhammadu Buhari. After almost serving out an entire term ignoring the local media, the President finally granted a token interview where they not only set him up in a congenial atmosphere with the state-run media, the interviewer too, Adamu Sambo, was overly deferent. Indeed, the taped and edited interview went smoothly enough until almost the end when Sambo asked, You have been described differently by different people: man of integrity, man of honour, incorruptible. Some simply say you are phenomenal in the Nigerian…
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A generation was robbed of its innocence. The war was the seminal event in Nigeria’s modern history, but I learned little about it in school. “Biafra” was wrapped in mystery. At home, my parents spoke of it rarely and obliquely; I heard many stories about my grandfathers’ wisdom and humor, but few stories about how they had died. By the time that Biafra was defeated, in 1970, at least a million people were dead, including my grandfathers proud, titled Igbo men who were buried in the unmarked graves of refugee camps. My parents lost other relatives, and everything they owned.…
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The stories of slave resistance, many of us know, have to do with bloodshed, violence, and destruction. But there are other acts of resistance whose stories are worth being told. Take that of ‘The Igbo Landing’ also called the Ibo Landing, Ebo Landing, or Ebos Landing. The Igbo Landing is a historic site at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. It is the site of one of the largest mass suicides of enslaved people in history. Historians say Igbo captives from modern-day Nigeria, purchased for an average of $100 each by slave merchants John Couper and Thomas…
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“It is scary how many similarities there are between this [pharmaceutical] industry and the mob. The mob makes obscene amounts of money, as does this industry. The side effects of organized crime are killings and deaths, and the side effects are the same in this industry. The mob bribes politicians and others, and so does the drug industry …” ~ former Vice-President of Pfizer pharmaceuticals ¹ If you believe pharmaceutical corporations hold the health of the general public in high regard, it’s time to reconsider. The industry is filled with examples of wrongful death, extortion, fraud, corruption, obstruction of justice,…
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Africa’s most populous country has a major problem with acknowledging the stories of its inhabitants, especially the plethora of unpleasant stories that many of us do not want to hear. Nothing illustrates this more than our attitude toward the Nigerian Civil War. Throughout my education in Nigeria, I was never taught Nigerian history to any sort of depth. After six years of primary school and six years of secondary school, all I knew about Nigerian history was a few random facts about Herbert Macaulay, Olusegun Obasanjo, October 1, 1960, and “the three major tribes.” The adults around me would occasionally…
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This is the second and the most important reason. This is the reason that sealed the love and relationship of the igbos and the catholic church. When the Civil war broke out More than half of all the catholic missions in Nigeria were situated in Igboland. They received letters from their European countries asking them to leave the war zone but they refused. They remained with the igbos and followed them deep into Igboland when the federal forces encircled igbo land. They provided news of the immense suffering wrought by the civil war to outside media, and helped garner support…
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THE ONLY REASON NIGERIA BORROWS FROM THE CHINESE AT INFLATED COSTS TO DO RAIL PROJECTS INSTEAD OF ADOPTING PPP MODELS LIKE THE GHANAIANS ARE DOING, IS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO LOOT. The Ghanian -European Railway Consortium has signed a contract to construct 340km railway line in Ghana at $2billion under a 27 years BOT concessioning arrangement. This Ghanian Project is a PPP driven one that will not add any jot of debt on Ghanaians government balance sheet . In Nigeria, Buhari and Rotimi Amaechi has borrowed the same amount of money, $2billion to construct the 156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard guage…
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Ten years ago, when I was a 19 year-old fresher at the University of Hull, I met Ify. She was at that time, probably the most beautiful girl I had ever set my eyes on. I immediately tripped, hit my head and went into an infatuation coma. Ify was the quintessential social butterfly – witty, friendly, distinctly intelligent and culturally Nigerian, with a few notable modifications like her South London accent and a slight tomboy streak. I think my eyeballs actually turned into heart emojis everytime I saw her, and within a week of starting university, my mission in life…
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Chima Enyia did not tell anyone that the state of Illinois would commemorate Biafra Memorial Day on May 30 until the ink from Governor Bruce Rauner’s pen was dry. The 28-year-old Igbo American and son of Biafra War survivors has been working slowly and steadily toward this goal for the past seven years—first as an intern in former Governor Pat Quinn’s office, rising to become associate director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. “I found in the workplace, you can’t just throw culture in someone’s face,” Enyia says. “You have to lay the groundwork for them to get bits and…
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The total debt profile of Nigeria currently stands at over $64billion/N19.6trillion. Kindly note that the total debt profile of Nigeria at all levels grew by over N7.16trillion/$23billion over the last two years, with the external debt profile inching up from $9billion in 2015 to $15billion as at June 30, 2017. As at today, the FGN is almost insolvent as it is now borrowing funds to service existing debts. The debts services costs to total revenue ratio of the FGN is almost 80%. Thus, it is bewildering, why the same government that is finding it hard to service existing debts now…
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When I became a born-again Christian in 2008, I started studying the bible word for word. I would spend hours a day reading all commentaries for all the verses I studied. The more I studied the bible the more I realized that most of the Christians around me did not believe everything that was in the bible. It was either they did not know half of the bible or they knew and chose to ignore. As a person who always thought deeply about things, it was crystal clear to me that half of the bible was very disturbing to the…
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“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant” – Robert Louis Stevenson Twenty-four hours ago President Muhammadu Buhari began his second term of four years as President of the most populous black nation in the world. It also marks a third chance being given to him, a rare opportunity not available to many who desire it. His first chance was in 1983 when his peers in the military disrupted the second republic and invited him to come and rule. The second chance was in 2015 when he won election after three attempts.…
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Defeated in a war we fought to survive, dehumanized, stripped of our jobs, our assets, our right to human dignity and condemned to live in a state of perpetual poverty and penury with no govt presence other than Police and Army checkpoints, but like the Phoenix, we rose from the ashes and here we are, conquering the arena like Spartacus. WE ARE ALL HEROES As far back as 1945 in the North central Nigerian city of Jos and 1953 in the city of Kano, long before independence, we were subjected to two major pogroms by our ArewaNorthern neighbours. Thousands of…
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UNDER THE PRESSURE OF MORTAR SHELLS AND IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS, A PEOPLE DEMONSTRATED THAT THE BLACK MAN CAN HOLD HIS OWN WE REMEMBER YOU • General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu • General Philip Effiong • Colonel Onwuatuegwu • General Alexander Madiebo • Colonel Joseph Achuzie • Corporal Nwafor • Okokon Ndem • Christopher Okigbo And all brave men, women and children who lost their lives in the war. #WeRemember To Bruce Mayrock, an American student who set himself on fire, laid down his life to protest against the genocide by the Nigerian govt against Biafra. #WeRemember Artur Alves Pereira…
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Today is the 30th day of May. For other Nigerians, it is just another day in the calendar month but for the people of old Eastern region, it holds a special meaning for that is the day we remember millions of our people who chose to die on their feet than live on their knees. Outnumbered, outgunned and blockaded from land, Air and Sea while under the combined fire powers of Britain, Russia, Morocco, Egypt and of course, Nigeria, and with no one by their side other than their sheer will and determination to defend their right to life and…
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Today we dedicate this day to the millions of people that lost their lives during the Biafran war. I dedicate it to my family members and their friends. People I would never meet but their beautiful memories linger on in my life. I dedicate it to the surviving victims of war, who bravely walk around with the trauma and intangible scars of the horrors they faced with dignity. I dedicate it to many of us, children of these victims who did not live through this war but, have lived vicariously through our parents horrific recollections and often delicate psychological dispositions…
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Protocols: Ndi-Imo ndi Nwem, it is with great humility and gratitude to God Almighty that I stand here before you today, grateful for the trust and confidence you have bestowed on me and the Deputy Governor, Hon. (Engr.) Gerald Irona, by entrusting the leadership of our dear State to us at this auspicious time in our history. 2. It has been a long journey. A journey that has been guided by divine favour and the endeavours of so many. We would not be here today but for the enormous sacrifices and prayers of our people. We are here, because Imo…
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Nigeria Police Academy Admission Form 2019… Nigeria Police Academy, NPA admission application form for the 7th regular course is now on sale for the 2019/2020 academic session. Admission into the Academy is open to both male and female Nigerians of good character. See more details below; Nigeria Police Academy (NPA), Wudil, Kano is inviting suitably qualified Nigerian citizens for admission into it 7th Regular Course degree programmes for the 2019/2020 academic session. Candidates admitted into the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil degree course will undergo a combined academic and Police training for a minimum period of Five (5) Years leading to…
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•In five years, the Nigeria ETF has blown up, now down over 74.5%. •Equity investment between 2013 and 2018 has fallen from around $2.9 billion in 2013 to just $139 million in 2018. Despite sitting on nearly 40 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and over $48 billion worth of investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector, Africa’s largest economy is mired in problems with big corporate investors as president Muhammadu Buhari readies his second-term after a swearing-in ceremony scheduled for May 29. Nigeria’s stock index is down 0.4% year-to-date while emerging markets are up 2.3% and the MSCI Frontier Markets…
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•Says Igbos don’t want President In a skewed and unjust federation. The President General of the apex Igbo socio political and cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo has reiterated that the only option left to take Nigeria off her myriads of woes is to restructure the country and operate a true federal system. Chief Nwodo said that he is ‘convinced that there is only one way out, namely a return to a federal system of government in accordance with the agreement reached by our forefathers between 1944 to 1963’ The Ohanaeze boss said that the argument for…
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• Nigeria must tender an unreserved apology to the Igbo people. A former minister of Aviation, Femi Fani- Kayode has said that Nigeria must tend unreserved apology to the Igbo people and the South East for the civil war. According to the former minister, while speaking via several tweets on Tuesday morning, 3 million Igbos that died in the civil war and that one million of them were children. Fani – Kayode described the civil war which lasted from 1967 to 1970 as the ”greatest act of black on black genocide on the African continent in history.” He said that…
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Femi Fani-Kayode wrote “For your own sake and for the sake of your family and nation please take what you are about to read very seriously and please endeavour to read it to the end. Take it or leave it, this is my final warning and admonition to the good people of my beloved country Nigeria. After this I shall watch how things unfold and maintain a studied silence. In the Book of isaiah 54:15 the Holy Bible says “surely they shall gather but it shall not be of me: whomsoever gathers against thee shall be scattered for thy sake”.…
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Your Excellency, I congratulate you and welcome you to the Government House Owerri. I so proudly commend your efforts to stretch a hand of fellowship to your opponents at the polls and bring them into your government especially those who have capacity and are competent and who you perceive share your vision and are willing to work with you altruistically. A lot of us who did not work for you, but did not work against you were deceived by APC propaganda to the effect that there was no way the FG would allow Imo, the only south eastern state in…
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Major General Olufemi Olutoye (retd.), is now the traditional ruler of Ido-Ani in Ondo State, is one of the first graduates to join the Nigerian Army. He was compulsorily retired in 1977 by the General Olusegun Obasanjo regime. Major-General Olufemi Olutoye had asked to see the head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo. As he waited for the head of state to come in, he went over in his mind what he would say. Then the head of state came in. As usual he was relaxed and keen as they shook hands.”You wanted to see me? Any problem? “Nothing really, said…
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How Fulanis Destroyed the Hausa Tribe And Made The Hausa People Their Slaves. 1. Sultan of Sokoto is fulani not Hausa.✔ 2. Emir of Kano is fulani not Hausa✔ 3. Emir of Katsina is fulani not Hausa✔ 4. Emir of Gwandu is Fulani not Hausa✔ 5. Emir of Kebbi is Fulani not Hausa✔ 6. Emir of Ilorin (Yoruba land] Fulani not yoruba✔ 8. Emir of Zauzzau is Fulani not Hausa✔ 9. Governor of sokoto state is fulani not Hausa.✔ 10. Governor of Katsina state is fulani not Hausa✔ 11. Governor of Zamfara state is fulani not Hausa✔ 12. Governor of…
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“Reverend Fathers and Dear Compatriots; The task asked of you to accomplish is very delicate and demands much tact and diplomacy. Fathers, you are going to preach the Gospel, but your preaching must be inspired by first, the interest of the Belgium government state. The main goal of your mission in the Congo is not to teach the Negro the knowledge of God, because they already know him. They talk and commit themselves to their God. They know that killing, stealing, adultery and blasphemy are not good. Your role essentially will be to easily facilitate the task of the administrative…
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Today, northern Nigeria is falling apart under the effect of sediments of cultural self-immolation, which has reduced the region to the lowest place on the human misery index, as the poorest, most insecure and ignorant zone in the world… Without education and requisite skills to survive in modern times, the poor have resorted to feasting on the rich in northern Nigeria and the lamentations have just begun. A uniquely northern Nigerian Muslim culture, which traditionally holds education in contemptuous suspicion as a Western Judeo-Christian expansionist ploy, has continuously relegated the region to the abyss of socio-economic dysfunction. In combination with…
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No amount of money wasted procuring advert slots with TV stations can cover the truth or turn a mindless looter over night into a patron saint of masterful performances. I will take time , line by line to burst all these lies, Bubuyaya and propaganda of the outgoing government on Channels TV that some Ill informed and ignorant folks are helping them to spread . 1. The Sam Mbakwe international cargo new terminal building was upgraded by the FAAN in 2013/2014. It was one of the 12 FAAN owned and managed Airports that were upgraded. It was not built by…
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The Yoruba Summit Group, the Body for All Yoruba groups, met and and resolved as follows: 1, That the Yoruba collectively acknowledge the statement made by former President Obasanjo on the existential threat to others by the clear and present danger of the well documented acts of those hell bent on dominating the rest. That we collectively thank him for confirming what all non-fulani peoples of Nigeria already know as the Yoruba,have all along recognized the attempt through all means:land grabbing, kidnapping, killing of famers, raping of our women, burning of our villages, damage to our farms and displacement of…
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Why does Asiwaju Bola Tinubu want to learn from a mistake instead of learning from history? History does not repeat itself. Men repeat history and that is a mistake. How can Tinubu be so naive to expect that even if the All Progressives Congress gives him its ticket in 2023 (possible, but iffy) that Northerners will leave prominent Northerners in the Peoples Democratic Party, like Atiku Abubakar, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal and Sule Lamido to vote for him? If Tinubu thinks that what happened to the late chief MKO Abiola will not happen to him, then he is…
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The warning from people like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Chief of Army staff, rtd general TY Danjuma and a host of others about Buhari’s Islamisation and Fulanisation agenda is a little too late, I’m afraid. Those warnings are as useless as a man warning his household about a supposed impending fire outbreak after the fire has already gutted their house. Fact is, Buhari is currently not implementing any ethno-religious agenda. HE HAS SINCE FINISHED THE IMPLEMENTATION AND IS NOW CONSOLIDATING ON IT. And in fairness to him, he has never hidden the fact that he is an incurable ethno-religious…
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The Yoruba on my mind and a certain reenactment of 1840. My last thoughts as I turned in last night, was on the vastness of the Yoruba space. From Ọ̀yọ́-ilé to Jebba. From kabba to Ado-Ekiti, from Ado-Ekiti to Ikorodu, from Ikorodu to Ilorin, from Ilorin to Osogbo, from Osogbo to ilaro, from ilaro to Ọ̀rẹ̀, from Ọ̀rẹ̀ to Èkó, from Èkó to Ilé-Ifẹ̀, from Ilé-Ifẹ̀ to Abẹ́òkúta, from Abẹ́òkúta to Àbòdì, from Àbòdì to Ìmẹ̀kọ̀, from Ìmẹ̀kọ̀ to Ìbàdàn, from Ìbàdàn to ìbẹ̀jù-Lẹẹ́kkí, from Ìbẹ̀jù-Lẹẹ́kkí to Ọ̀yọ́, from Ọ̀yọ́ to Shagamu, from Shagamu to Ìdí-ìrókò, from Ìdí-ìrókò to Sẹ̀mẹ̀…
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On Friday 11 May, I wrote an article titled, “Genocide, Hegemony and Power in Nigeria”, featuring on the back page of the financial newspaper BusinessDay. In the said article, I sought to explain the ongoing killings being perpetrated by Fulani militias in the Middle Belt. I linked it to the political economy of pastoralism in West Africa. I also argued that part of the problem lay in the fact that in spite of the fact that Fulani make up 41 percent of the population in their original homeland of Guinea, they have never enjoyed political power there. As a consequence,…
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Today concludes the piece i wrote in this Column last week in response to one Abdullah Musa Abdullah who accused me of being a hate-monger. His confused and unlettered attacks, he declared that I had no right to talk of genocide in contemporary because such crimes appertain only to states. He gave examples of the Spanish Conquistadores in Latin America; America against the native Indians; Australia against the Aborigines; the Nazis against the Jews; and the more recent Burmese against the hapless Rohingya Muslims: “How can someone who became a Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria write of genocide…
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This disease is not new to the Yorubas and many families in the South, especially in Nnewi, where you have the highest density of millionaires per extended family in Nigeria. That was why I resisted, to a marriage-break point, that my wife would deliver our children in the USA even after she had surreptitiously secured visa and was ready to fund the trip. “No!” I insisted. “They must be born here but we could always travel on holidays. It will be their call to decide as adults where they will live. I won’t buy gun and bullets for them; the…
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Even if it doesn’t capture a lot of territory, it benefits from showing global reach. Sitting cross-legged with a Kalashnikov rifle by his side, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State, used his first video appearance in five years to reassure his followers that he was far from defeated. Recorded in a secret location and released at the end of April, the video showed the jihadi leader calmly reflecting on the loss of Islamic State’s last swath of Middle Eastern territory in March, largely to a coalition of U.S. and Kurdish forces. He spoke about the Easter Sunday bombings in…
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What is now known as”Mammy Market” in all barracks nationwide, came to be as a result of the industry of Mrs Anthony Ochefu. Thanks to an Idoma local brew called “enyi”. Now, nobody remembers to recognise this history maker and accord the honour due to her. In 1959, Mammy Ode, a young girl from Jericho-Ugboju in the present Otukpo local government area of Benue state was married to Anthony Aboki Ochefu, a young non-commissioned military officer who had just been posted to Enugu from Abeokuta. They were quartered at the Army Barracks, Abakpa, Enugu. To beat idleness and perhaps earn…
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Anyone looking for values and integrity in politics is lost already if the search is focused on the current crop of politicians in Nigeria. Most of them are people lacking in imaginative and creative ideas on how to solve our national problems hence they hold the nation down in perpetuity. Due to their intense polarization of our politics, every conversation has turned into list of things that are wrong with Nigeria. The future seems as hopeless as yesterday notwithstanding current efforts and the promise of next level by the regime. From every indication the obstacles of reaching the next level…
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Dear readers, everything that has a beginning must have an end. It is therefore only the prerogative of humans to decipher whether the end is to be termed good or bad. For the past eight years, Gov. Rochas Okorocha has held sway as governor of Imo state and except the rapture trumpet sounds to call an end to this world, nothing will stop the maverick governor of the state, Chief Rochas Okorocha, from being regarded as a former governor after May 29, 2019. The Imo Chief Executive will hand over the reigns of power to the governor elect, Rt Hon.…
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APC will certainly not survive 2023 if the leadership of NASS is not fully recovered and deployed effectively, to push the agenda of the party in the 9th National Assembly. There is a growing danger and uncertainty in the political setting in Nigeria today. If my suspicion is anything to go by, Nigeria will again be plunged into yet another political quagmire that will continue to hamper the pace of development while rendering governance, to a near impotency. Nigerian democracy is still very nascent to be allowed to run full throttle under our current constitutional independence. In a developing democracy…
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Title: I Saw It Coming! There comes a time in the life of a man, family, tribes, corporations and nation to face the challenges that history has scripted; to rewrite lines of existential difference away from historical impression, a time when those who are in bed with such as described must sleep with one eyes opened. This is the challenge before the Fulani nation and all other ethnic nationalities in today’s Nigeria. Before 2014, Mohammadu Buhari had made many frantic effort at becoming a democratic President of the Federal Republic of Nigerian, but all was futile. His support based in…
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Rotimi Amaechi’s recent declaration that the Igbo should forget about the presidency in 2023 “For refusing to support the APC…” is both self-adulating and hypocritical, and must be treated as the rant of a drowning and diminished political gladiator. Such asinine statement can only come from a man who has been dealt a political sledgehammer blow beyond ‘below the belt’ straight to his fragile scrotum by his own people in Rivers State at the last general elections. Nobody should blame Amaechi for making such a statement concerning the Igbo and the 2023 presidency. Nobody is subjected to the kind of…
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PROTOCOLS Let me begin by extending my deep sense of gratitude to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, for inviting me to participate in this current series of discussions on, Next Generation Nigeria: Accountability and National Cohesion. The involvement of this reputable British Institute in discussing and proffering suggestions for extant Nigeria’s problems is not only commendable, but I believe most relieving for the British establishment, who must understandably feel a deep sense of vicarious responsibility for putting together a country confronted with such grim future. Nigeria became a united British colony by the amalgamation of its Northern and Southern…
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Former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, has dismissed claims that Abacha died after eating an apple from his concubines. . Narrating how the former Head of State died, Al-Mustapha said contrary to insinuations, the sudden collapse of the health system of Abacha started on “Sunday, 7th June, 1998 right from the Abuja International Airport, immediately after one of the white security operatives or personnel who accompanied President Yasser Arafat of Palestine shook hands with him, Abacha.” . Al-Mustapha said shortly after the hand shake, he “noticed the change in…
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SYNOPSIS This paper discusses patterns of collective violence under democratic rule. Two decades ago, when Nigerians welcomed the transition to civilian government, the change of regime arrived with a promise of broader representation – through elections, civic voice, and adaptable federalism. Yet the country has seen an escalating trend of inter-group and anti-state violence, including the emergence of two large insurgencies. At least 70,000 Nigerians have been killed in these conflicts. This raises a central dilemma: Why has democracy been accompanied by growing polarisation and conflict? Why have mechanisms of political incorporation failed so conspicuously? Despite the prospective openings offered…
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As Chinua Achebe said, “charity is the opium of the privileged”. Rochas Okorocha warmed himself into the hearts of many people in Imo State through his Rochas Foundation which offered free education to kids from very poor background. Education being the biggest industry in Imo State, he was an instant hit. And because Ndi Imo hardly ever forgets, when he had a second opportunity to take a shot at the Government House in 2011, they rejected Godson Ohakim, who “forgot where the rain started beating him”, for Rochas Okorocha. But towards the end of his first term in office, Okorocha…
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An emergent feature of politics in Nigeria is the phenomenon of godfatherism. The political class has been instrumental in propagating this political orientation which deliberately nurtures the corruption of the electoral process, governmental structures and equally ensures that the electoral process and state power are skewed towards satisfying the selfish interest of the dominant political mentors otherwise known as “political godfathers.” According to word on the streets, godfatherism has become a scary phenomenon in Nigeria politics. Godfatherism has multiplicity of definitions. Godfatherism in a broad sense is an ideology which is constructed on the belief that certain individuals possess considerable…
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Ironsi was killed July 29, 1966 by People who pretended to be protesting Ironsi’s Decree No 34 of 1966 which was an Emergency Measure by Ironsi to restore order and restabilize the Country from the widespread Breakdown of Law Order that precipitated the failed Coup of January 1966 (failed coup as the Plotters, Nzeogwu and his compatriots did not take power). That Decree No 34 of 1966 tagged “Unification Decree” Only Dismantled and replaced the Legislative and Executive Arms of and then Regional Civilian Administrations with Military Governors who together with New Military Head of State formed the “Supreme Military…
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The troubles of the outgoing administration of Rochas Okorocha in Imo State are far from over as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, said that it is investigating a case of money laundering against it during the last governorship election in the state. EFCC’s zonal head for South East, Usman Imam during a briefing disclosed how their operatives, acting on tip-offs, blocked accounts belonging to the state government in the build-up to the election. He spoke while highlighting the activities of the zone in the first quarter of the year, Imam said their timely intervention saved the state…
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented the deadly activities of Boko Haram and herdsmen in the country. According to him, the challenges have grown beyond what Nigeria alone can tackle following the groups’ collaboration with the Islamic State West African Province fighters. Obasanjo said, “It is no longer an issue of a lack of education and employment for our youths in Nigeria which it began as, it is now West African Fulanisation, African islamisation and global organised crimes of human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, illegal mining and regime change.” The ex-Head of State spoke on Saturday at…
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On February 3, 1976 under Lt. Col. John Atom Kpera as Governor, the defunct East Central State was divided into Anambra and Imo States. While Anambra later got split into two, namely Enugu and the current Anambra, Imo also produced Abia State. As at the time of the division, the foundations for socio-economic development seemed to be more robust in the parts that became Imo than the parts that became Anambra. In terms of urbanization, Oguta in Imo State earlier got urbanized even when Nnewi in Anambra was still a complete rural area. But today, Oguta is rural while Nnewi…
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday disclosed that it’s investigating the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha. EFCC disclosed that it’s investigating Okorocha and the state government for a case of money laundering. The Commission’s zonal head for South East, Usman Imam during a briefing yesterday said the state government used funds meant for workers during the just concluded elections. Usman stated that the Commission’s operatives blocked accounts belonging to the state government in the build-up to the election, following a tip-off. According to Usman, EFCC’s timely intervention saved the state over N5bn that would have been…
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Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State made this startling but sobering declaration recently. In paraphrase, the governor declared that the only thread holding Nigeria together is the indecision or prevarication of the South south states of the Niger Delta zone over where to belong. According to him, any day the zone decides to join forces with the pro-Biafra protagonists of the Southeast zone, the current Nigeria will cease to exist. In the mind of the newly reborn vocal governor, the life of the present Nigeria hangs in the balance awaiting the final decision of the south south states. The governor…
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In about one week or so from now, most states of the federation will be welcoming their newly elected governors in the saddle. They will be taking over from outgoing governors who have either served out their tenure or lost reelection. Imo, the Eastern Heartland, is one such state. In Imo, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, will be taking over from His Excellency, Anayo Rochas Okorocha, who is completing his second term as the governor of the state.The journey to May 29 across the land has been tedious and challenging. The situation…
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Nigerian political lexicon is filled with glib and facile labels such as “liberal,” “progressive,” “conservative,” etc. It’s obvious, nevertheless, that neither the political class nor, in fact, the cultural elites have any informed understanding of the conceptual limits of these terms. In Nigeria, for the most part, “progressive” has become the all-purpose term of esteem to deodorise filthy, crooked, and loud-mouthed politicians who nonetheless have untrammeled access to the news media. “Conservative” has also emerged as the choicest term of disesteem to slur politicians who are as reactionary, filthy, and corrupt as self-described “progressives” but who have no access to…
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Whatsoever a Man Soweth Eleven years ago — to be specific, on July 7, 2008 — the title of my column was: “One Day, the People Will Rebel”. I warned that the extravagant lifestyles of our elite in the face of crippling poverty in the country would come back to bite all of us one day. At the time, kidnappings were a Niger Delta thing as militants agitated for resource control, but I was talking about what I called the “non-oil” kidnappings which I said would become the fad in the near future. I said the Nigerian elite must get…
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Nigeria is a much more important country than most people in the U.S. probably realize. With more than 190 million people, it’s Africa’s largest country by far (Ethiopia, the second-largest, has a little more than half as many). And with a fertility rate of about 5.5 children per woman, among the world’s highest, Nigeria is only going to grow in importance — by the century’s end, the country is projected to have almost 800 million people, almost twice as many as the U.S. by then. But as things stand, this African giant is failing to create the prosperity that will…
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…….says Yoruba rich are being secretly kidnapped, huge ransom paid FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLIC RELEASE. There are exactly 1,123 cells belonging to armed Fulani herdsmen mainly in forests and highlands located across Yoruba territories. The cells are well organized and they appear to network with each other. The mission of the cells are unknown except that there have been increase in the preponderance of their organization skill. They appear to have lately adopted martial training in these cells. Some of the Fulani armed herdsmen speak French suggesting the Franco-African origin of some of them. In a media release on Tuesday, Apapo…
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To begin with, I deliberately chose, for personal reasons, not to directly comment on Ganduje’s purported law fragmenting Kano Emirate. But now that Ganduje has chosen to defy the court, I have no option but to get my hands dirty. No promoter of democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism can afford to remain reticent in this circumstance. Silence is no longer golden. It is complicity. It is a matter of public knowledge that the Kano State High Court had made an order of interim injunction restraining the State assembly and government from taking any further step(s) on the law that…
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There is no missing N500BILLION at the CBN . What was captured in that audio tape was the panic stricken CBN Governor trying to find ways to cover a massive hole of over N500BILLION that were created out of nothing (non tax ways and means )to provide bailout loans to some profligate/looting governors in Nigeria, as well as other bailout interventions of the CBN. This gaping N500BILLION hole created at the CBN to lend to profligate and looting state governors , who have refused to implement the urgent prudential fiscal reforms and put great policies that will drive productivity in…
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Do you know that the whole of the South East with a land mass of less than 30,000 square kilometers and estimated population of about 15m can actually create an integrated regional hub that will grow to become as prosperous as the United Arab Emirates even in the face of the current fraudulent constitutional framework, if we have mostly focused , selfless , passionatively creative , deeply knowledgeable, honest, altruistic and sincere political leaders at all levels and arms of governments? Do you know that OHANEZE Ndi Igbo/ partnering with the top Igbo religious leaders can champion, facilitate and put…
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In 1963 the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, dethroned Sarki Muhammadu Sanusi (I). He was banished to Azare. It was personal, it was political. In 1982 Governor Muhammad Abubakar Rimi returned the dethroned Emir to Wudil. He also created four new Emirates, the same ones that the Kano State House of Assembly has just created. Rimi did it to spite Sarki Ado Bayero. It was personal, it was political. In 1983 Governor Sabo Bakin Zuwo reversed the creation of the four new Emirates. He did it to spite Abubakar Rimi. It was personal, it was political. In 2014…
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His Royal Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II of the House of Dabo and Emir of Kano, is quite thin-skinned. He is very adept at excoriating, rightfully or otherwise, any individual or institution that falls out of line. But he does not like being at the receiving end of the slightest form of criticism. Twice, I have been the target of his sharp rebuke and haughtiness over critical articles that I had written about him during his tenure as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The first time, I took it in my stride and chose to ignore his reprimand.…
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