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.
Posts
-
Since after the gruesome civil war against the people of Biafra in 1967/70, when Britain supported the aggressors to bring war against the people of Biafra, no British High Commissioner have ever set foot anywhere in Biafra land. Biafra land has been nothing to them, other than where subjugated people live. Britain was desperate and needed to stop the little Biafra nation from emerging. A country they likened to Japan of Africa and vowed never to allow another Japan sprout out from Africa. The world, even during the time of slavery see Igbo people as stubborn, and who always refuse…
-
It has been 23 days since we launched the Crowdfunding Campaign to share the idea and moblize support for SE2030 a novel online collaboration platform for peer to peer investments to radically transform the economic outlook of South East Nigeria. In that time Nigerians living in the UK alone have sent home over N72.5 Billion Naira, that is at the rate of $11 Million US Dollars a day according to figures contained in the Price WaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Report on Nigerians in Diaspora. The aggregate amount from global destinations come to over $65 Million, that is about 23 Billion Naira equivalent,…
-
YOU MISSED IT…? Here is the complete soft copy of the World Class Lecture delivered by Prof. Kingsley Moughalu at the 2nd Memorial Lecture of Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, organized by Chuwkuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Univeristy. Republished by Harrison Madubueze. Protocols. I thank the Vice, Chancellor, Senate and Council of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University for the honor of inviting me to deliver the 2nd Chuwkuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Lecture, a lecture series established in a fitting tribute to the legend after whom this great university is named. This is the second honor that this university is giving me. I…
-
A principal witness, CSP Umar Babangida, on Wednesday alleged that Grace Taiga, a former director, Legal Services in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, played a major role in the fraudulent gas supply agreement between the Federal Government and Petroleum and Industrial Development (P&ID). Testifying in an FCT High Court in Abuja, Babangida, informed the court that he led the team that investigated the alleged fraudulent activities of the P&ID. “We opened an investigation as a result of a petition forwarded from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to the Acting Chairman of EFCC in July 2015. “The team wrote…
-
In the last few years, I have been making regular trips to Nigeria and have sadly observed the continued deterioration of Abia state, in all aspects of life. I have just returned from another harrowing trip to Abia state and my heart aches. In this last trip, I visited Umuahia, Aba, and port Harcourt and cannot understand why those in charge of Abia state have maintained it in permanent reverse gear as far as good governance and quality of life are concerned. It would seem that every governor, wants to do worse that the one he succeeded by simply trying…
-
I read with horror the plan of the Nigerian army to widen and deepen its occupation and blockage of Igbo land. Since the beginning of the Buhari administration, Nigerian army has been conducting military exercises in igbo land, unprecedented in any democracy in peace time. This ill-conceived show of force has caused unbearable suffering to the people as the region is saturated with road blocks, where the people are humiliated and extorted. On the flimsy excuse of looking for criminals, the army is deploying combat ready sectarian minded soldiers, who so far, are responsible for many cases of extrajudicial Killings.…
-
Everyone has a part to play to advance us, Ndi Igbo, as a people. And we need not wait for anyone to start. Every mighty castle that is standing starts with only one block. That is why even a little change of attitude or mental behavior as an individual can have a spilling positive effect on us all. As a person, I believe every grown-up is responsible for their behavior and actions. That is why blaming or complaining does not help anybody at all to solve their impending problems. Whether someone is manipulated or swirled or used in anyway or…
-
“Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble” – Chinua Achebe Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, have a lot in common. Apart from advocating radical changes in Nigeria for which they were both arrested and detained by the State at different times, their bail conditions were among the most stringent in Nigerian judicial history. Omoyele Sowore is an online publisher, activist, and former presidential candidate, who was on August 3, 2019 Sowore arrested by the Department…
-
The British Impremature and a Visit to Biafraland Dear ‘Almighty’ Britain, now of the infamous Britexit, is there any one you do not Know? What is it this time around? A visit to the South East on political and security issues indeed! What part of your horror script has refused to fall in place, you mistress of subterfuge? Are you scared that your carefully crafted contraption is loosening by the seems? Who will ever know what you think O ye daughter of perdition? The effluence of your colonial legacy is still smelling. What was a mere three million children snuffed…
-
There is a sense in which we cannot successfully fight mega unless we make sense of petty corruption such as extortion. On Friday, I travelled from Yola, Adamawa State to Azare in Bauchi State. About five kilometers after Numan from Yola, there was a military check point set up as part of the Operation Positive Identification, which according to the military brass, is to smoke out criminal road users. We met a long queue of vehicles, mostly commercial ones, ferrying passengers from and to Yola as we approached it. There was something like a temporary market as passengers from these…
-
Are you aware that so-called Francophone African countries continue to pay a colonial tax to France? And, this is after independence. This system, according to the recently sacked and outspoken African Union permanent ambassador to the United States Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, is an abomination destined to keep African countries poor forever. In 1958, Guinea president Sekou Toure opted out of this sham independence, or postcolonial arrangement, more commonly known as neocolonialism. The former colonial masters in Paris became so furious that they ordered the French administrators in Guinea to destroy everything in the country which represented what they called “the…
-
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…
-
…Reconciling with everybody and keeping quiet except when necessary The National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commenced a dual policy of appeasement and self-restraint in a bid to sustain his increasingly surging 2023 presidential aspiration. The 2023 bid was informally advanced last Wednesday with the Supreme Court declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2019 presidential election. Tinubu who played a crucial role in mobilizing forces for the victory is, however, not expecting a full backing from the president for his long held aspiration. His bid is also being fanned…
-
MAINA MIRACLE •N17 billion cash traced to fugitive Pensions boss •How he bought $2m house in cash in 2012 •19 standing trial as EFCC pursues 12 cases About N17billion pension cash has been traced to the dismissed chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, with a long list of highly-placed beneficiaries. The said cash was diverted by Maina from the N24billion budgeted by the Federal Government for payment of pension liabilities through the Presidential Pension Reforms Task Team headed by Maina. The funds were stolen in five years from 2008 to 2013…
-
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, was reported in the Vanguard newspaper of October 31st 2019 to have said as follows: “We have examined all the briefs of argument and the exhibits for over two weeks and we have all agreed that there is no merit in this appeal. The appeal is hereby dismissed. Reasons to be given on a date to be announced.” The important point to emphasise about the above-quoted statement by the CJN is that the decision dismissing the appeal as lacking merits was not taken at the sitting of the Supreme Court on…
-
Please follow me carefully… Imagine you are the head of a household of two children: Stephen and Stanley. Steve (28) is a promising young Architect who works at Ikoyi earning N100,000/month. Stan (17) is a non-bookish SSCE graduate who is still seeking admission into the University. They both live at home; your house. You have a car and the best car washer in the house is Steve. Stan is a lousy car washer and no matter how well you teach him, he just never measures up to Steve. On a certain Monday morning, you have a morning meeting with some…
-
• Russian company MetProm the latest to develop idled complex • Construction started in 1979 but plant has yet to pour steel Russia may give a new lease of life to Nigeria’s biggest steel plant after decades of inactivity, the West African nation’s mines minister said. Construction of Ajaokuta Steel Co. began in 1979 with assistance from the then-Soviet Union, but the facility never started production and has sucked up $8 billion of public money. Repeated attempts to revive the flagship project by transferring it to private investors failed and the government terminated the concessions. Now, Russian engineering and construction…
-
The New Nigerian Editorial 45 years ago, precisely on 29/6/1974 “It is commonplace to say that Nigeria is at the moment very lucky because of oil revenues. In a very real sense we have much more money than our system can absorb. Unofficial estimates put the figure added to our reserve this year at N2,000m. In many essential respects this bounty has been a blessing. It has enabled us to repay some of our outstanding foreign loans, liberalised commercial and industrial policies and has enabled increased revenue to be diverted to building of modern infrastructure commensurate with our executive capacity.…
-
Please, let it be known from today that South East is not landlocked. It is only our economy that is locked. One quick way of unlocking the economy of South East is through marine business. Contrary to the impression that the South East is landlocked, the truth is that it has one of the potentially deepest seaports in the country at Osemoto/Oseokwa in Imo and Anambra States. A seaport was designated there in 1959, but the project was abandoned and the admiralty membership erased for obvious political reasons. African Development Bank (ADB) feasibility report on this is unambiguous. Oseokwa (Ihiala…
-
“Faith by itself, if it does not have (good) works, is dead” – Holy Bible Somebody once wrote about the Nigeria wartime head of state General Yakubu Gowon, saying: ‘I will never pray with General Yakubu Gowon’. It is not that a praying general is an anathema to this writer, but within the biblical context, as James 2:17; New King James Version bluntly puts it; “… faith by itself, if it does not have (good) works, is dead”. The prayer circus of General Gowon viewed in this light, one finds it rather curious and difficult understanding why he would hide…
-
Fellow Nigerians permit me to say, it is no longer a secret that the former Governor of Lagos State and easily one of the most influential politicians in Africa, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has his gaze firmly fixed on the Nigerian Presidential seat in Abuja. Let me put it more frontally, Tinubu will love to drop the Chieftaincy title, Asiwaju, for that of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Who wouldn’t, anyway? I once tried my luck despite not having ten percent of Tinubu’s stupendous resources, extensive networks, public service experience and achievements and so on. I know that some will think…
-
It is no longer news that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has successfully installed its preferred members at the helm of the National Assembly. The victory dance and partying is still on. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry for my beloved country. Nigeria has become a carnival feast for the APC. Who knows when the sun will rise again and break this incantation of darkness that has gripped this land? There is a general consensus amongst Nigerians that the ruling APC does whatever it wants and does not give a damn about morality, the rule of law, values…
-
Nigerians wanted a messiah. They got one, or so they thought. His coronation was loud and boisterous. In faraway countries, people danced in joyous rhythm and celebratory backslapping. It was supposed to be a new dawn premised on change. The emotion was infectious, as people lost in momentary covetousness suspended their reasoning. Some trekked long distances in celebration of Muhammadu Buhari’s victory. Where are the trekkers now? Many even called him god. It was as much a celebration of the people’s power to change a leader they were fed up with and an occasion befitting the hopes and expectations that…
-
The National Economic Council (NEC) last week put the amount of crude oil stolen from Nigeria in the first half of 2019 at 22 million barrels. Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who is the chairman of the ad-hoc committee of the NEC on crude oil theft, prevention and control, gave the alarming figure at a meeting of stakeholders in Abuja. Obaseki was reported to have painted a dire picture of the oil theft menace, warning that “if nothing was done to curtail the ugly trend, the figure could double by the end of the year”. According to him, oil…
-
The Nigerian Judiciary has fallen. It has crashed and self-destructed. All hope of bringing it back to life seems lost. There is neither trust nor confidence in our judiciary anymore. Let me adapt Abba’s song, “Money, money, money … it’s a rich man’s world” and the judiciary is in full disco dance to the tune of money which at end of the day is used to blackmail them into line by a government determined to get its way at all cost. Evidential jurisprudence has lost its place and meaning to our judges. Across the states, judges have become errand boys…
-
I was having a quiet time on the internet researching an unrelated subject when I stumbled on the then presidential standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari’s Chatham House speech delivered in February, 2015. Glancing through it, so many amazing statements jumped out at me. Just go back and read Buhari’s Chatham House speech and get a sense of how this man and his handlers fooled the nation and indeed the world. That the speech and the reality of his presidency are light years apart stirred righteous indignation in me. It was our one and only Nobel…
-
Secret American diplomatic dispatches, spread over 21,000 pages, provide previously unknown information about the Nigerian Civil War. In a lengthy trial in 1962, Awolowo, Enahoro, Lateef Jakande, Sasore, Nwaobiala, Umoren, Ebietoma, and some other members of the only party in Opposition were sentenced to ten years imprisonment on the grounds of accusations which obviously applied to Nnamdi Azikiwe of NCNC and Ahmadu Bello of NPC – leaders of the coalition of the parties in power. Chief S.L. Akintola, AG’s No 2, who succeeded Awolowo as the Western Premier was said to have disagreed with Awolowo’s decision to exclude AG from…
-
Secret American diplomatic dispatches, spread over 21,000 pages, provide previously unknown information about the Nigerian Civil War Early in the morning of 1 July 1967, Nigeria’s young head of state, Colonel Yakubu Gowon, was feeling uneasy in his office at the Supreme Headquarters, Dodan Barracks in Lagos. The unease was a result of his being ceaselessly pressured to authorize a military invasion of the breakaway Republic of Biafra. Thirty officers had been recalled from courses abroad. Trains and truck convoys, bearing fuel, supplies and men, were still leaving Kano and Kaduna for the south of River Benue. Colonel Mohammed Shuwa…
-
General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1966 -1975, turned 85 on Saturday, October 19, 2019. In a congratulatory message, President Muhammadu Buhari described him as a living legend and a symbol of national unity. The statement from the Presidency gushed with phrases such as “visionary leadership style, wisdom, disciplined outlook…elder statesman, simplicity and humility, good governance… sacrifices, wide respect….”. There were other tributes: The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan praised Gowon for defending and preserving the unity and territorial integrity of Nigeria. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, described Gowon as a “statesman and national…
-
The PriceWaterhouse Cooper (PwC), a multinational professional auditing firm, has predicted that diaspora remittances to Nigeria will reach $25.5 billion by the end of the year and $34.8 billion by 2023. The firm expressed belief that such inflow would continue to strengthen the Nigerian economy in the coming years. According to PwC’s latest White Paper Series, tagged, ‘Strength from Abroad: The Economic Power of Nigeria’s Diaspora,’ migrant remittances was 77.2 per cent of the federal government’s budget in 2018 and more than 10 times the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in the same period. PwC estimated that migrant remittances to…
-
According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the inflow of remittances by Nigerians in Diaspora rose to an estimated $25 billion in 2018, making it the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, Nigeria is one of the top five nations with high remittance inflows globally. The report titled ‘Nigeria Economic Outlook-top 10 themes to watch out for in 2019’, revealed that the record level of diaspora remittance to Nigeria represents 6.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and translates to 83 percent of the federal government budget in 2018. The leading countries worldwide by the value of migrant remittances into Nigeria…
-
The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP)’s caucus in the House of Representatives recently raised alarm over alleged plans to subvert the case of the party’s candidate in the 2019 Presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, at the Supreme Court. The caucus, in a statement jointly signed by its leaders in the house alleged that there was an attempt to influence the selection of the most senior Justices to hear the case. The caucus stated that it was unconventional to attempt to subvert the age-long and time-tested practice, precedent and convention of selecting the most senior Justices of the Supreme Court to hear the…
-
The unification of the African Diaspora as espouded in AU Agenda 2063 is contrary to the Africa that has been marginalized and pillaged through inequitable colonial and post-colonial contracts. Dr. Arikana has been outspoken about neo-colonial maneuverings and exploitation that still exist today. Her dissemination of the truth has garnered her attention and support around the world (you can watch one of her famous speeches published by American journalist, Roland S. Martin, here). You can learn more about Dr. Chihombori-Quao on her Wikipedia page. After almost a year of persuading her to assume leadership as the African Union (AU) Permanent…
-
What does Nnamdi Kanu want? What does Tony Nnadi want? What do their followers want? Anyone who follows the two will wonder at this simple question. But the question is necessary to situate this very discourse. Both of course want FREEDOM. Freedom from the chokehold of FULANDIA, i.e. Caliphate captive nation of Nigeria. For Tony Nnadi, that freedom he seeks is not only for the entrapped area he identified as the Lower Niger that incorporates Biafra or former Eastern Nigeria but that also incorporates old Mid Western Nigeria. This freedom he hopes to achieve through the collective actions of two…
-
Olurotimi Badero is the world’s only combined heart and kidney specialist doctor. Pic credit: StarGist Olurotimi Badero learnt from an early age to set his own standard. Even though he was remarkably brilliant in school while growing up, his father instilled in him the need to be exceptional in all areas. That would motivate Badero to practice medicine even in the face of doubts from colleagues and still make a difference. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and currently living in the U.S., Badero is now the only doctor in the world to have full specialist training and certifications in both cardiology…
-
It is very unfortunate that most people around him are sycophants and praise singers…. The day he destroyed his legacy with his own hands is the very day he agreed to put his weight behind Buhari….. There are three observations in past history about coalition with Fulani and these predictions are as foolproof as science formulas. 1. Any Southern elite that makes friends with a Fulani is out to serve self-interest and personal ambitions either for himself alone or for himself and a few handpicked elites. 2. Such elite always looks the other way when the Fulani deals with his…
-
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission from 2001 to 2019. The decision followed persistent criticisms of the operations of the commission. A statement by the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, said Buhari gave the directive after receiving governors of the states that make up the NCDC, led by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State. The President said what was presently on ground in the South-South region did not justify the huge resources that had been made available to the agency. He said, “I try to follow the…
-
In politics rumours, lies and propaganda play major roles. But it is quite unfortunate but true. Since after the Second World where Gobbels ran the Hiltler Propaganda machine, lies and gossips seem to now dominate political spaces. Imo State is not left out in this trend. In Imo politics of today, gossips and lies are the major ingredients that are thriving. And unfortunately, the tale Bearers mostly succeed because our Leaders tend to give much ear to rumours and lies, therefore making Loafers who dwell on heresay prominent in the political scene of Imo State. And because Tale bearers are…
-
Amid a brutal backlash from Lagos residents over a four increase in land use charges in Nigeria’s commercial city, fresh questions are now being raised over the private company- Alpha Beta, exclusively named in the law to manage the revenue collection process. In the section of the law titled “Rules Governing the Distribution of the Lagos Land Use Charge” section 2 specifically states that; Alpha Beta or any other designated person(s) or corporate body who has the responsibility of monitoring the incoming revenues of the State through the collecting banks, shall provide a report to the Accountant General…
-
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sum of N10billion for the rejuvenation of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu State. “I have approved the sum of 10 billion Naira for an Intervention fund for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu,” Buhari tweeted on Today. President Buhari gave the approval following a meeting with South-East governors and leaders from the zone at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. “I have the assurance of the Minister of Aviation that the work will be done speedily and to the highest standards.” Buhari reiterate his administration’s efforts to prioritise infrastructure development in…
-
The Nigeria of the future belongs to the past which the world is leaving behind. The Buhari administration through our opaque state oil company on Friday announced crude oil find in the North-East. Cynical Thomases in the South laughed at the announcement. To such unbelievers, the oil find and the fake presidential marriage of same day occupy the same comical seat in our national train. They see both incidents as masturbatory. And what good does masturbation do to the actor beyond its being a ‘solitary vice’? The one who does it thinks it is both therapeutic and self-satisfying. But that…
-
“Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta state made a 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 went on…
-
The chilling story of what happens in the Cold Room of University of Lagos is enough mirror of what goes on in the rest. It took the undercover, investigative journalism of Nikki Mordi of the BBC to open the can of worms. Our little daughters, sisters and even mothers are being blackmailed and devoured by the same caregivers in the nation’s citadel of learning where students are meant to be groomed and honed in both character and learning. Ours has since become a means-ends inversion (a case of something becoming a goal, which displaces the end (goal) that the method…
-
The Chairman of Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has warned that they will only support candidates from the North in the race for 2023 presidency. In an interview with the Sun, Abdullahi condemned Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, for holding Hausa/Fulani responsible for Nigeria’s problems. When specifically asked if there is an unwritten agreement among northern leaders, to oppose the return of the presidency to the south in 2023, he replied: “Well, you see the question of where power goes, has multi-dimensional bases. If you go back to the period, from 1990, there has been politics that made it…
-
The above question was posed in an article in The PUNCH newspaper edition of September 9, 2019, by columnist Henry Boyo. I have been a daily reader of The PUNCH for the past 10 years and I have not yet, read any comments from anyone on this question. There is a need to discuss this issue, as it appears that there is massive foreign exchange laundering going on in our banks. As the architect of the Diaspora remittances in 1996, I am naturally concerned at the abuses disclosed by Boyo. When in 1995, we at the Ministry of Finance reviewed…
-
Since the inception of the current democratic dispension in Imo State in 1999, the State has held three council elections. And they were all under the regimes of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP. The first Governor to conduct Local Government election in Imo was Governor Achike Udenwa. For the eight years of two terms he spent in office from 1999-2007, he conducted two elections. And those elections could be described as the catalyst to the grooming of politicians in Imo State into greater heights, as the then budding Leaders used the platforms as Local Government chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Supervisory councilors,…
-
In today’s episode of On Politics we shall continue with our dispassionate analysis of Section 285 (13) of the 1999 Constitution which is haunting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP )and her candidate in Anambra Central. I once again apologize to any one discomforted by the truth that shall be revealed here, as certain facts cannot be wished away. Moving forward, it is not yet uhuru for the PDP candidate, as her ‘celebration’ may be cut short if the Appeal Court unlike the trial tribunal becomes bold in determining the true wordings and intendment of Section 285(13) of the 1999 Constitution…
-
A Tecno Mobile sign in Maiguguri, Nigeria. The Chinese handset brand is owned by Shenzen-based Transsion, which listed last week in Shanghai with a market cap of $6.5bn ©️ Bloomberg •Companies such as Transsion are using the continent as a test bed for innovation All over Africa, in its clogged cities and fast-changing towns and villages, buildings are painted in Tecno blue and billboards offer the allure of the Tecno brand. From the Grande Marche in Mali’s capital, Bamako, to the business hub of Nairobi in Kenya, where entire 20-storey towers are slathered in the Tecno logo, aspirational Africans are…
-
The Nigerian nation state has, since inception, become a workshop in nation building. Many development rolling plans have been formulated by the past and present variegated regimes. Huge resources not even available to many developed nations have been haphazardly deployed with predictably erratic results. You do recall the two broad objectives of Vision 20:2020 are to: Make efficient use of human and natural resources to achieve rapid economic growth and to translate the economic growth into equitable social development for all citizens. Both objectives failed. Any attempt to paper over and bypass national question to develop the country will remain…
-
…As Dr. Nnia Nwodo, others, fought back tears. According to Princess Naja Chinyere Njoku, the founder, DNA Tested African Descendants, a total of 27000 black families in the Caribbeans have through DNA traced their roots to Africa, a good number of them to Nigeria and a greater number to Igbo ancestry. At this year’s Council of Igbo States in Americas (CISA) event held at Igbo village, Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton of Virginia, a total of 21 Caribbean families were able to reconnect with their Igbo root and were admitted into their Igbo ancestry in emotional but dream fulfilling ceremony.…
-
•The P & ID contract has 11 other contentious contracts tied to it and are said to be in various stages of claiming damages against Nigeria. •There’s an article circulating that the govt is looking at all 13 companies to see the govt’s exposure and in a bid to preempt any lawsuit are trying to find wrong doing on the 12 other company’s part The Breached Agreements: ⦁ P&ID (Propane Dehydration (12-24 months) 88.198MMscf/d. ⦁ Octopol Energy Limited (LPG Extraction (12-15 months) 4.676MMscf/d, 3.039MMscf/d, 4.800MMscf/d, 2.100MMscf/d, 13.4MMscf/d. ⦁ Petrolog Oil &Gas Limited (CNG (9-24 months) 8.76MMscf/d, 20.600MMscf/d. ⦁ GFD Energy…
-
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday addressed the nation. The President gave the early morning speech on the occasion of Nigeria’s 59th Independence Day anniversary. https://youtu.be/mCzo3RohQiU Read the full speech below: INDEPENDENCE DAY SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY MUHAMMADU BUHARI PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 59TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY 1st OCTOBER, 2019 Dear Compatriots, 1st October each year is an opportunity for us to reflect and thank God for his endless blessings on our country. 2. It is also a time for us, collectively, to: 3. Remember the sacrifices made by our Founders and great leaders…
-
“Nigeria is not one and has never been one. It is a ‘state of nations’ and not a ‘nation-state’. The traitors in the south are heroes in the north whilst the heroes in the south are traitors in the north. The value system of the north is totally opposite to that of the south. The lenses through which we see justice and equity can never be the same. The Nigerian state is the tragedy of 20th century in Africa”- Aare Kurunmi Kakanfo, “Nigeria Is Burning”, Facebook, 30th September 2019. I could not have put it better myself. Today our nation…
-
The problem of the Nigerian nation is prebendalism(political systems where elected officials and government workers feel they have a right to share government revenues, and use them to benefit themselves, supporters, co-religionists and members of their ethnic groups) and Machiavellian conspiracy of the inept ruling elites. What the Nigerian nation state has since become is therefore not so much for issues of tribe or religion but actually the result of the evil machinations of the said political elites. The Nigerian political elites are perhaps the worst to be found in any clime, bereft of any progressive ideas, and overly corrupt…
-
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo Between 250 CE and 1948, Jews were expelled from Europe over 80 times. That is, in 1,700 years, people in Europe expelled the Jews at the average rate of once every 21 years. It happened in France, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany and dozens of other countries. These countries in their own characteristic ways rose up one day to declare that they were tired of hosting Jews and tolerating their behaviors and accepting their attitude that whatever land they lived in was no man’s land. These Europeans claimed they were more charitable, hospitable, accommodating and generous to…
-
“We have no friends among you” – Justice Nikki Tobi The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the nation’s final court of appeals on all matters – socioeconomic, political, cultural, traditional and even religious. It also serves as court of first instance on matters for interpretation of the Nigerian Constitution. The Supreme Court has also been the final court of appeal for presidential election ligations and petitions, on both election and pre-election matters. In order to hear the presidential election petition appeal, just as Atiku Abubakar and the PDP are bringing before the apex court and avoid undue pressure and suspicion…
-
Agnes Callamard, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Introduction I conducted an official country visit to Nigeria from 19 August to 3 September 2019. I warmly thank the Federal Government of Nigeria for their invitation to visit the country, and the officials I met for their availability and support. I also thank the United Nations (UN) Office in Nigeria and the UN country team. Their logistical and substantive support during my visit was invaluable. The principal goals of my visit were to examine situations of violations of the right to life by State and non-State actors;…
-
Notes from Atlanta with Farooq Kperogi I admit that it’s always ill-advised to use the word “never” when you prognosticate the outcome of a future event. The vagaries of life can throw a wrench to the works of the most auspicious auguries. I know that. Nevertheless, I am prepared to go out on a limb and proclaim that in spite of his feverishly desperate, frenzied, backstabbing machinations, Bola Ahmed Tinubu can never be Nigeria’s president.Here’s why. Tinubu isn’t electable in any region of Nigeria outside the Southwest, his natal region. Even in the Southwest, his political capital has suffered incalculable…
-
Kaduna’s Governor Nasir El-Rufai is straight-up Nigeria’s most bigoted and most dangerous public official alive. In a Nov. 9, 2013 tweet, he called Goodluck Jonathan a “lazy, docile, incompetent, clueless, hopeless, useless leader” using a photo of him praying in a church for illustration. Yet this man detains and torments people who criticize him. Abu Hanifa Dadiyata, a critic of his, just disappeared in Kaduna without a trace. Several other critics are in detention. And he recently threatened: “If you want to tweet anything about Kaduna be very careful because I’m watching…” BTW, would he also use a photo of…
-
IGBO AKIRI (IGBANKE): SENDS SOS TO NDIGBO, OHANAEZE AND ALL IGBO ORGANISATIONS HOME AND IN DIASPORA.
PLEASE SHARE THE MESSAGE TO HELP NDIGBO CREATED INTO EDO STATE. Igbo-Akiri (Igbanke) is an Igbo speaking community of IKA accent in Orhionmwon local government, Edo state. We, the people Igbanke are gradually losing our Igbo linguistic and cultural identity as a result of our forceful membership with the Binis through conquest (Biafran war). If urgent measures are not taken, our linguistic and cultural identity would sooner than later go into sudden extinction. In order to avoid the impending extermination of our race, we therefore, ask that a local government area be created that would consist of Igbo Akiri (Igbanke)…
-
In what may be another desperate move by President Buhari and the APC to emasculate the judiciary, the President has ordered the Justice Tanko Mohammed-led National Judicial Council (NJC) to urgently recruit new judges for the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Information available to us indicates that the National Judicial Council (NJC) is currently interviewing judges who will be appointed into the Supreme Court. According to the information, the interview commenced on Thursday September 19, 2019 and is expected to end on Tuesday September 24, 2019. This hush approach is in anticipation of the PDP and Atiku/Obi appealing last week ruling…
-
History is still clearly in the making. It is not a fixed, immovable and permanent thing; it is evolutionary and dynamic. And I am not Adiele Afigbo, those are the ones who are trained Professional historians of the Igbo world. Nonetheless, it has always struck me that the Igbo are generally antipatethic to their own story, often prefering the glamorized story of other people. Mazi Offoaro, I salute you, and I’ve taken note of the spelling of your name. I am particularly taken with the following statements: “Yes, Ahmadu Bello may have prepositioned the Hausa Fulani to dominate Nigeria militarily…
-
He was a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, an enviable position that made him the high priest of the Nigerian Constitution. A seer who took oath to serve Nigeria and his fellow citizens by helping all aggrieved to understand the spirit and letter of the Constitution. But he was dangerous. Yes, Alfa Belgore has been allegedly identified as the man who helped a foreign company(P&ID) to win an award of $9.6 billion against Nigeria. They paid, and he dissected loopholes in the Constitution as a legal expert to P&ID: “Acting as a legal consultant, Mr Belgore, head of the Supreme…
-
The upshot of all this is that it is a waste of time casting votes in any future presidential election. We just went through the worst presidential election in Nigeria’s history. To add insult to injury, we have now been assaulted with the worst judicial verdict in the history of Nigeria. The presidential election petitions tribunal (PEPT) delivered a judgment on Atiku’s petition against INEC’s declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the February 2019 presidential election, and it was one of the most outrageous judicial verdicts I have ever heard. One of my late mother’s favourite expressions…
-
“GOD, give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.” – Josiah Gilbert Holland Democracy is a system of government where a majority of citizens decide who governs them. ‘How Democracies Die’ is a 2018 book by Harvard University political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt about how elected leaders can…
-
Operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States went to town recently with the names of some 77 Nigerians they nabbed over financial crimes in that country. While many compatriots agonise that these criminals are hideous ambassadors of their nation, not a few have argued that scams of this nature have their ancestry in the colonoial days and, in many cases, have tentacles in mysticism. Over time, scams in Nigeria began as small time trickeries and pilferings; they graduated to crass stealing of the people’s commonwealth and now they have grown up to become cross-continental grand…
-
In furtherance of my Bi-lateral meeting with the Chinese Consulate, yesterday, I led two of my constituents and illustrious key players in the Nigerian economic sector; Chief Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace and Chief Akai Egwuonwu, CEO of Anambra Rice to a strategic partnership meeting with the Chinese Consul General; Mr Chao Xiaoliang in Lagos. During the meeting, we had strategic deliberations on the possibility of Air Peace commencing direct flight operations from Nigeria to China, especially in view of the forthcoming Chinese world Canton trade-fair which will occasion the influx of over 4,000 Nigerians into China for commercial…
-
Like his first term, Buhari’s second term took off on a disappointing note. He didn’t hit the ground running. It took him months to appoint his ministers. Even so, some of the ministers appointed are thieves, looters, and despicable politicians. I have been following Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidency since 2015. Based on his extensive overseas trips from 2015 to 2018, I penned a piece “Buhari: The Absentee President” published by SaharaReporters on May 23, 2019. The article summarised in eloquent details, Buhari’s overseas junkets year by year, month by month, and date by date. I conclude that what emerges from his…
-
The concept of Aladimma in the Igbo world view is not a claim of having it all and good at all times, and certainly not built on sitting in recrimination over the disaster of a consequential war waged on them and the other Eastern Nigerians in an avoidable chain of actions escalated by the egos of otherwise professional soldiers who departed their careers and delved into statecraft for which they were ill-prepared. The concept of Aladimma is a prognosis of the would-be, anchoring on the best that had been of the past, relegating the flash points of conflict in present…
-
In 1962, a Great Igbo son, Michael Ọkpala asked a very critical question thus, “I have never understood why Nigeria should export 41,947 tons of raw cotton in 1961 valued at £9.5 million while importing 177, 684, 000 square yards of textiles valued at £19 million. Why should we continue to import such heavy commodities as cement when limestone abounds in this country?” Ụmụnne, before we delve into this critical question, I think it is proper to first examine the Igbo concept “Azụbụeze” especially how it affects the Igbo entrepreneurship philosophy. The word “Azụbụeze” is made up of three (3)…
-
“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.” -Bertrand Russell It was quite a relief reading senior lawyers like Jibrin Okutepa, repudiating the strange judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Lawyers call non-lawyers laymen and themselves learned. Law is not just an ass but also a strange profession. Facts and laws can be bent or made polar opposites. Facts and truths are also not in bed together. Our nation’s judiciary has now abandoned the laws, truths and facts to embrace technicalities.…
-
These are the worst of times for Nigeria. Nigerians are being arrested in Los Angeles and New Jersey, United States for advanced fees fraud, impersonation and credit card fraud and for what is now generally called “Nigerian scams”. When other people commit these crimes, they are charged for committing “Nigerian scam”. We have now gone into legal history as giving name to a particular kind of crime. Tens of our people are being beheaded in Saudi Arabia for drugs peddling. The American FBI is looking for almost a hundred Nigerians for fraud. One of our country men even appeared on…
-
Wah gwaan bredrin, everyting ire? Ever heard the word “red eboe” in Jamaica? Your suspicion is true. “Red eboe” was used to refer to the Igbo slaves in Jamaica because of their light skin. Jamaica witnessed the influx of the Igbo race between 1790 and 1809, a time when the British had just passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The modern Igbo race dwelt in the Bight of Biafra in Nigeria. It was from here that the Igbos who were kidnapped and sold as slaves by the Europeans were taken to work on plantations. While it is known…
-
BIAFRA: BRIEFING FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. (FULL TEXT) Nigeria in Crisis There is a crisis in Nigeria. The Nigerian State has never been at peace with itself and recent events amplify this pending emergency. And, as has been the case since independence from Britain in 1960, Biafrans are the easy target of the lack of a credible Nigerian state. Nigeria governs without the consent of all within its borders. Nigeria claims to be ruled by law, but in effect, there is a de facto lawlessness in Nigeria. Nigeria’s epidemic of violence flowing from the North is well documented. In 2014…
-
Friday, September 6, 2019. PROTOCOLS A 100 days ago, my Deputy, Hon. Engr. Gerald Irona and I were sworn into offices as Deputy Governor and Governor of Imo State, respectively. At that solemn event, we pledged to serve you with honesty, transparency and the fear of God. We have not, for one day wavered from that commitment. Let me begin by thanking you for entrusting the leadership of our dear State to us at this auspicious time in our history and for your support and prayers that have taken us thus far. In keeping with the hallowed tradition in democratic…
-
A dying Irishman went for one last big score in Nigeria. The project failed, but a London tribunal says his company’s owed $9 billion and counting. Gaslighting. The oilfield fires of the Niger Delta burn day and night. Metal pipes snake through the swampland, spewing flames so vast they cast the sky in apocalyptic orange. Southern Nigeria sits atop a bubbling stew of oil and gas. Companies want only the former, so they incinerate the latter. The industry calls it “flaring.” For millions of Nigerians, flaring is a curse. It fills the air with toxic fumes that cause respiratory disease…
-
Imo State Executive Council has approved an ambitious and massive 13 roads rehabilitation and construction across the state estimated at N24.34b as part of the first 100 days activities The contracts were immediately signed inside Sam Mbakwe Expanded Council Chambers in Owerri by the various contractors and the representatives of the state government including the Commissioner of Works, Engineer Ben Ekwueme The flag-off of the roads projects according to the Commissioner of Works, Engr. Ben Ekwueme takes place today Thursday The roads involved which cut across the three zones of Orlu, Owerri and Okigwe, include: Ahiara-Okpala junction; Nkume-Umuowa-Orlu ; Mgbidi-Oguta;…
-
First, it was an accusatory attack on Nnia Nwodo. Then the physical molestation of Ike Ekweremadu, then recently the raid against Dave Umahi. All these have one thing in common, a loss of innocence. And an unmasking of our masquerades. These are the things we now live with. And they’ve been building up for a while. At the background is an unchallenged and unrelenting attack on the rank and file rights of Ndigbo every single day across the country. This has become so normal that it’s no longer news. And the *Copy and paste* Social Media journalists has ceased even…
-
AS KHRFI PETITIONS EFCC, SEEKS OKOROCHAS’ ARREST AND PROSECUTION. The kingdom human rights foundation international has petitioned the Economic and Financial crimes Commission seeking the urgent investigation, arrest and prosecution of the former governor of Imo state, Rochas Anayo Okorocha and all others involved in what it described as dubious, over-inflated and fake contracts awarded to the company. In a petition signed by the Executive Director of the Organization, Barr Okere Kingdom Nnamdi addressed and submitted to the office of the Chairman, Economic and Financial crimes Commission and made available to the press, the organization alleged that the former governor,…
-
In March 1960, 69 black people were massacred in Sharpeville, South Africa, by the white apartheid police. That same year, Nigeria successfully liberated itself from 160-year British occupation. The new Nigeria`s leaders` reaction to the Sharpeville massacre has changed everything in South Africa from then on. Here is a letter the then Nigeria`s Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa sent to the African National Congress (ANC) “militants“ on April 4, 1961. A LETTER FROM NIGERIA’S PRIME MINISTER ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA TO THE ANC SENT ON APRIL 4, 1961. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO EMPHASIZE NIGERIA’S COMMITMENT TO FIGHT AGAINST APARTHEID IN SOUTH…
-
This is not the best of times to be identified as a Nigerian, especially if you are a Nigerian in diaspora. It is indeed the worst of times to be Nigerian because of the kind of daredevilry that our compatriots have demonstrated in recent times, in criminal pursuits of such scale, texture, volume, and depth, not at intervals but at an alarming pace and regularity, not just in one country or continent, but from continent to continent, country to country, giving such impression that perhaps apart from the traditional Cosa Nostra, the Italian Mafia, or the Russian Mafia, or the…
-
The 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made two decisions on confirmation hearings of ministerial nominees. The decisions were, one, that the President should submit his list of ministerial nominees within 30 days of the inauguration of the Senate. This decision was based on the public outcry in 2015 when it took about six months for the President to submit the list. The President did not meet the 30 days prescription in 2019 but he did much better this time by submitting the list within six weeks of the Senate’s inauguration. The second prescription was that portfolios should…
-
The Bible says “knowledge is power”. It also says “know the truth and it will set you free”. This is made all the more important given the fact that history is not taught in Nigerian schools. Let us join hands and walk down the beautiful path of knowledge, truth and history together. Our focus and subject-matter for today is the Fulani tribe of northern Nigeria. The Fulani are only partially African and only partly negroid. They are the product of cross-breeding between the Taurags, Berbers and Arabs of north Africa on the one hand and the local black African women…
-
Like his first term, Buhari’s second term took off on a disappointing note. He didn’t hit the ground running. It took him months to appoint his ministers. Even so, some of the ministers appointed are thieves, looters, and despicable politicians. I have been following Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidency since 2015. Based on his extensive overseas trips from 2015 to 2018, I penned a piece “Buhari: The Absentee President” published by SaharaReporters on May 23, 2019. The article summarised in eloquent details, Buhari’s overseas junkets year by year, month by month, and date by date. I conclude that what emerges from his…
-
Born in Umuduruoha, Amaigbo, Imo state in the year 1821, his actual birth name is unknown, and also the identity of his true parents. The Igbo land in the 1800s was in chaos, as it saw Europeans invade the land for slaves, in exchange for firearms, tobacco, bullets and black slave raiders were invading different regions and selling Igbo’s to slavery. After he was kidnapped and taken to Bonny Island, Rivers state, he was renamed Jubo Jubogha by his first master, and later resold to Chief Alali, the head of the Opobu Manila Group of Houses. It was here that…
-
Austin Okeke Writes. 24 August 2019 Greetings from South Africa and I hope this message finds you well and happy too. Our people are being killed and raped daily under our watch, our land is besieged and yet it appears that we are under a spell not to offer any form of resistance. All we do is to write open letters? Igboland has police, army, customs and all manner of people in uniforms mount checkpoints a kilometer apart from each, these rogues in official uniforms extort money from poor souls in full view of the Nigerian government, and all they…
-
Held at Villa Gardens Hotel, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The first-ever IGBO NATIONAL SUMMIT was convened today, August 22nd 2019 by key frontline Igbo organisations and major stakeholders, with representatives of her Neighbors in attendance, to examine the grave state of insecurity in our region, under the banner – Peace, Security and Development of Alaigbo and Her Neighbors. The event was presided over by His Royal Majesty, Igwe Amb. Lawrence Agubuzu – Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers. He was assisted by His Lordship, Bishop Obi Udezue Onubogu – Overseer, Rock Cathedral, Enugu. After an exhaustive of keynote addresses…
-
Have you watched the video of the killing of three policemen and a civilian by soldiers of the Nigerian Army? If you haven’t, please go and watch it. Have you read the statement issued after the fact by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa in response to the first police statement notifying the public of what had happened? If you haven’t, please search for it and read it. Also read the second statement by the police that picked apart the army’s explanation of what transpired. You will immediately know who is lying. Police spokesperson, Frank Mba,…
-
(1) Looking at the lot and reality of the Igbo in Nigeria since 1966, the First and Most important decision to be taken is that the Igbo and the wider Eastern Nigeria has no future in Nigeria. Unfortunately, for various reasons ranging from unreasoned sentiments, greed, extreme selfishness, ignorance and outright folly, this all-important Decision has not been taken by the Igbo Leadership Collective, despite overwhelming evidence as to the inevitability of that self-preservation imperative which the masses being tormented by Nigeria seem to have been more acutely aware of, for years running, even as the Elite grope heedlessly from…
-
Africa has been studied by scholars all over the world intrigued by the many cultural and traditional practices that have several meanings and significant impact on people. While some practices have gone extinct due to exposure to westernization, others have been stopped for the dangers they pose to victims while many others have prevailed. Marry women? One of the least spoken about cultural practices that dominated Africa remains the woman to woman marriage that functioned as a normal marriage rite in parts of the Dahomey Kingdom, Eastern Nigeria and parts of Southern Africa. The marriage, like any other ceremony, involved…
-
DR. CHIEF DOZIE IKEDIFE, Ikenga Nnewi. Thinker, Philosopher, Equal Rights Activist, Humanitarian, Altruist. A look at some of the issues Ikedife cared about. “An unexamined life is not worth living.” The above dictum by Socrates as reported by Plato in his Apologia, was innate in Ikedife when he was born on the 24th of August 1932 and imbued him with such relentless intellectual curiosity that propelled him headlong into the then esoteric subjects as Classics, Ethics, Historiography, Cosmogony, Philosophy, and Natural sciences even before he was through secondary education. Little wonder then that Ikedife ended up in medical sciences obtaining…
-
Our dear president Muhammadu Buhari just swore in his ministers and assigned portfolios to them. A critical look at the distribution of portfolios will reveal that notwithstanding the grave accusations of nepotism against the president in the past, he is not moved at all and will continue in the same trajectory in his purported next level agenda. Now, let us analyse the distribution of portfolios among the six geopolitical zones as well as among the states. 1. South East has six ministers. Three of them are full ministers, namely Chris Ngige (Anambra), Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi), and Geoffrey Onyeama (Enugu) assigned…
-
“The wretched nurseries of unceasing discord and the miserable objects of universal pity or contempt….” – Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804. That was how Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of America and a former Treasury Secretary (equivalent to our Minister of Finance), described some of the nations of Europe when they were going through social, political and economic upheavals similar to what we are now experiencing in Nigeria. Invariably, the tensions were heightened by poor leadership and prolonged by lack of compromise on the part of the contending forces for supremacy. When a leader announces that he is, by nature, combative,…
-
The report that a commercial court in the UK has ruled that Nigeria must pay a UK firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P & ID) a sum of $9.6 billion or have its assets in the UK to the tune of that amount forfeited has generated more than a little interest. For a country with a foreign reserve of $45 billion and sovereign debt profile of over $80 billion that judgment debt is quite a lot, potentially capable of rendering Nigeria even more technically insolvent. Dayo Apata, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor-General of the Federation…
-
Anywhere else, it would be an open and shut case that President Buhari is not qualified to be president of Nigeria. Nevertheless, he has been president for the past 4 years. The question that remains is this: will he continue to get away with violating the law? Or has he finally met his Waterloo? The case against Buhari being president is overwhelming. At its most fundamental, he does not fulfill the constitutional requirement that the president must be educated up to school certificate level or its equivalent. Section 138, subsequent 1A of the Electoral Act (as amended) says: “An election…
-
Proffesor Maurice Iwu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been released from Ikoyi Prisons after meeting the stringent bail terms granted him by the Federal High Court, Lagos, last week. The court granted him bail after he was docked last week Thursday before Justice Chuka Obiozor by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a four-count charge bordering on money laundering although OblongMedia found out that there are other reasons for his trial which may be inherently politically motivated. The court had ruled that Iwu be kept in the custody of the EFCC till Friday last week when…
-
There is pain. There is anger. And there is collective rage in the land. Nigerians are empty of options and are seeking avenues for a purge; for catharsis. The season of retribution may be upon us sooner than we imagine. The physical abuse of former deputy senate president Ike Ekweremadu at an Igbo forum by some young men in Germany, though condemnable, betokens the onset of nemesis. In a video recording in circulation, while the lawmaker was being assaulted, his abusers could be heard saying: “What have you done? People are dying.’’ This is the question most Nigerians have been…
-
There is no such thing as a ‘resource curse’ and Africans are no more corrupt than others. There have been protests in Dakar, Senegal after the broadcast of a documentary alleging financial impropriety by Aliou Sall, brother of President Macky Sall Late last month, the Senegalese government made it clear it was not going to cave in to pressure to revise state energy contracts. This was despite weeks-long protests and calls from the opposition and civil society to take action against graft in the wake of a large corruption scandal. In June, the BBC released a documentary alleging financial impropriety by Aliou…
-
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in the transatlantic slave trade were people from central and western Africa, who had been sold by other West Africans to Western European slave traders (with a small number being captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids), who brought them to the Americas. In…
-
I wrote an article two days ago about the unfolding situation in Imo state especially as it relates to the allegations of corruption around the former governor Mr. Rochas Okorocha. It was quite short and did not capture the events in any details. As a columnist, I try to raise important issues for policy attention and move on to another topic. I had already started my research on my next topic when I received a lengthy rejoinder apparently written on behalf of the former governor against me and renowned journalist Ray Ekpu by one Onwuasoanya Jones. I gathered that this…
OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE 