Hausa community dares Gov. Okorocha over relocation

Imagine Hausa Feudalists of May 29 now have guts in Igboland. When they made such threat to Peter Obi, Obi knock their Ama down completely. Let's see how Okorocha will act, especially since they are his brothers.
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Hausa community dares Gov. Okorocha over relocation

Against the backdrop the proposed relocation of Hausa Community in Imo State from their Ama-Hauasa abode along Douglas Road in the state capital, the affected Hausas have vowed that nobody including government can force them out of their present settlement.
Leader of the Hausa Community in Imo, Alh. Baba Sule, Sarkin Hausawa in Owerri, who spoke to Nigerian Pilot Saturday yesterday, described the said plan by Gov. Okorocha’s administration to relocate the northern community as an unrealistic one.
The octogenarian who expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment over the governor’s plans stated that the present location of the Hausa community at Douglas Road was given to them since 1926 even before Lord Douglas and Wetherell came to Owerri as colonial District Officers.
Insisting that their present abode is their permanent home in Imo State, Alh. Sule recalled that the initial residence of the Hausas in the state was a place at present day Isiala Mbano LGA before their forebears finally settled in Owerri.
According to him, his forefather, and father were departed leaders of the Hausa community in Imo State were medicine men who helped the people of Owerri in times of travail which made them to allocate the present site to them as a permanent homeland.
The Sarkin Hausawa who averred, “Nobody, government or individual can move us away from here or confiscate our land” disclosed that his family came all the way from Kano State to Owerri on foot long before the civil war and have remained till date.
“I have everything it takes to educate anybody about Owerri. I have been here all my life and can never leave Ama Hausa. Nobody can force me out of this place, it is our land and permanent home,” Alh. Sule said.
He further maintained that his people and the indigenes have over the years lived in harmony and will continue to do so stressing that what is needed for development in every part of the country is peaceful coexistence of all people irrespective of religious and tribal differences.
The Islamic chieftain used the occasion to declare that there is no Boko Haram within the Hausa community in Imo and there would not be any as they are vigilant to ensure there is no infiltration by the dreaded sect.
It would be recalled that Gov. Rochas Anayo Okorocha had recently announced his administration’s plans to relocate the Hausa community and Eke-Ukwu Owerre Market, both on Douglas Road, to a new site; a move which has continued to generate heat among the populace of the municipality.
via Nigerian Pilot

Biafrans in United Kingdom are evangelizing every day

Biafrans in United Kingdom are evangelizing every day, as Biafra must be heard!! Now Politician's are coming out to evangelize with us including the Liberal Democratic Councilor for Manchester Cllr Norman Lewis and our thanks also goes to British Labour Party member for inviting us to speak at the House of Commons in June. Never relent!!! In Biafra we Stand!!

Biafrans in United Kingdom are evangelizing every day

Who is doubting that chibok missing girls is not a scam?

Who is doubting that chibok missing girls is not a scam?
Now, watch what these little girls from Muslim school in bronu are saying:

State creation: Ogoni petition Jonathan, Obama over exclusion

The people of Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State have expressed concern over the omission of Bori State from the 31 states proposed for creation by the national conference.
Sequel to the development, the Ogoni, under the aegis of Bori State Movement (BSM), led by a second republic fed­eral lawmaker, Senator Cyrus Nunieh, had urged President Goodluck Jonathan and his United States of America counterpart, Barack Obama, to come to their aid.
In a letter addressed to Presidents Jonathan and Obama as well as the Senate President, David Mark, the Speaker, House of Repre­sentatives, Aminu Tambuwal and Chairman of the National Conference, Justice Idris Ku­tigi, and signed by Senator Nunieh and five others rep­resenting the six local gov­ernment areas that make up Rivers South-East Senatorial District, the Ogoni said the petition became imperative to forestall future crisis in Ogo­niland.
They stressed that Ogoni people would not want any treatment that would cause disharmony in the land and capable of leading to an­other bloodshed.
Also, the people said they would not want to see the Federal Government as a liar, after the National As­sembly, on receipt of BSM’s memorandum requesting for the creation of Bori State, admitted that the area met the requirements as provided in Section 8 of the 1999 Consti­tution on state creation.
“We are appealing to all of you and the president of the United States of Ameri­ca, to come to the aid of the Ogoni people and other eth­nic nationalities in the Riv­ers South-East Senatorial District, which had submitted their memorandum for the re­quest for the creation of Bori State.
“For we fear that, if the Bori State is not created, it may result in another Ogoni crisis, which took the lives of many great Ogoni sons and daughters like Ken Saro Wiwa; and which caused our great country, Nigeria, to be suspended from the British Commonwealth.”

Additional state for south-east: An endogenous Nigerian project of justice

Somehow, the issue of creating a new state in the South-East appears to be suffering a setback apparently because of what appears to be delays in the endorsement of the idea by the National Assembly committees reviewing the 1999 Constitution. Whatever might be the case I have strong reasons to think that the project remains alive in the minds of those who should claim to accept and love the Nigerian idea. This is for several reasons.
First is that issues of justice and equity are never killed. They would often resurrect, even more forcefully and fearfully. The only antidote to injustice is justice. At the moment, no serious logic has been advanced in any write-up on the subject to demonstrate that the South-East does not deserve an additional state to give it a sense of belonging within the Nigerian umbrella just like other sections of the country.
The overriding problem appears to be what can be called politics of indifference to, or even hatred for justice, which often define issues in the Nigerian public domain. There would always be a reason for a Nigerian to contest the right of another –based either on class, tribe, tongue or religion. But not on what can be called pure reason. An additional state is a well-deserved right in the South-East geo-political zone.
What would other Nigerians lose if it is demonstrably established that the South-East deserves an additional state based on proven principles of justice and is so granted them? This is the radical question that confronts us all. Regrettably, questions such as this are hardly allowed to confront the Nigerian intellect because the moral demands of the question are not much welcome.
It should be recalled that this issue of an additional state for the South-East geo-political zone was almost addressed at the tail end of the Obasanjo regime before it took the shape of a Greek gift to the South-East from a man who wanted a third term by all means. For what it is worth, there is no doubt that the mental and spiritual damage that a third term presidency of an Obasanjo regime in what is believed to be a democracy would have done to Nigeria would definitely have destroyed or totally corrupted the gains of a new South-East state under him. This is because it would have required a “third-term-minded leader” to function in such a new state thereby contaminating the state with such militaristic disposition to democracy in a civil era.
In this essay, I shall attempt to further the search for a mental paradigm on which it can be seen that South-Eastern Nigeria truly deserves a new state even if it should mean that the delegates from the new state if created should attend the proposed national dialogue as their first assignment or that the dialogue itself should recognise this as the very first condition to the full integration of the Igbo into the Nigerian project. I have first decided to address the primary inhabitants of the area where the state is desired, the Igbo. I do this, not because the state would not be pan-Nigerian if created as every state in Nigeria ideally should be, but because there is the need to articulate a pan-Igbo voice for the project to be achieved. I do this also with the belief that from such a voice the larger Nigerian community would also adapt the ideas to look more closely at the demand.
A few years ago, the Southern Nigerian Elders Forum converged at Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, with an important resolution that, at least, two more states should be created in South-Eastern Nigeria. This gathering had an array of some modern Nigerian sages (those who have stronger reasons to tell us about Nigeria than the galaxy of Nigeria’s political class of today).These are people whom I have reasons to say have learnt through age, social activism and experience, and should tell us about Nigeria and deserve to be listened to. These elders, including Chief Olu Falae, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Dr. Alex Ekwueme, had, after looking at what justice should mean to the Igbo man recommended that at least two new states should be approved for the South-East. One would have thought that the voice of elders which is the voice of wisdom should have influenced the debate on the subject after that. But such is yet to obtain with regard to this wise counsel.
Recall that the ideology of the state creation has as its aim the organisational framework for better service delivery. More than that, the ideology is also meant to achieve what should amount to an African ethics of the state where homogeneity and connectedness are vital political weapons for social engineering. Hence when people feel unjustly treated within a homogeneity it is often more injurious in Africa than within a heterogeneity.
The case for state creation in the South-East also finds relevance in the fact that the South-East is mainly inhabited by people of the Igbo extraction who are known to have what can be reliably called socio-political ethics for political organisation. Thus, the desire to exploit this in the direction of the state affairs is a strong factor that re-enforces this demand in positive light.
I have, therefore, decided to reinforce the demand by looking at how endogenous ideas and values imply that the idea of state creation in the East should achieve a common voice very significantly and communally among the Igbo. By endogenous ideas, I mean knowledge that is sourced from within but have their applicability outside the context of their origin.
Several documents, institutions and important world bodies support the need to articulate and apply home-grown knowledge and ideas in the direction of the social and political affairs of the human community. They include UNESCO and UN, etc. In the same vein, several thinkers address the need for endogenous knowledge in Africa’s search for socio-political breakthrough in a world of conflicting epistemological paradigms. They include those of David Millar the Ghanaian scholar and the notable Bennois philosopher Paulin Hountondji. The ideas of these scholars which are very eloquent in relevant works on the theme at the moment work bring to limelight the neglected fact that while knowledge is a universal human heritage, modes and ways of knowing vary greatly and this should be brought to bear in any reliable project of development.
Three questions are implied here in the demand for state creation through endogenous worldview:
Does the Igbo worldview urge them to demand an additional political unit such as is implied by the idea of a state within the Nigerian application of the term in her political arrangement?
What should it mean to apply Igbo ethics in advocating a state in the South-East? What is the role of the Igbo ethics in this exercise?
What are the benefits of applying Igbo ethics in the quest for state creation in South-Eastern Nigeria for the Igbo and even for the greater number of just minds that empathise with Igbo on this demand?
Let me attempt to answer this question by discussing the consequence of not applying Igbo ethics in the demand for state creation even among the Igbo. The consequence of not applying Igboethics is that the Igbo cannot be said to be sufficiently intellectually developed and, therefore, have to borrow ideas from other segments of the society. This means they have to borrow from another human community to solve an Igbo problem. I call the state creation project that relates to the South-Eastern Nigeria an Igbo problem because the indigenous people whose geography and population are affected by the exercise and should have a say in the project are all Igbo and the state desired is an Igbo state located in an Igbo geographical territory. I am not by this implying that only Igbo will live in such states. No, I am pointing out that until the indigene-settler syndrome is well articulated and resolved within a constitutional framework, every state in Nigeria will continue to be located first within its significance to the indigenous population.
Conversely, the benefits of applying Igbo ethics in the project is that it can now be said that there is indeed a proper revival of Igbo civilization; one that could be said to imply that Igbo modernity is fast adapting to the demands of how to articulate the basis for solving a political problem. It demonstrates that Igbos can generate some ideas and positions from among themselves to be able to influence the course of their political development.
The question that should follow is: can this be applied in the current effort to achieve a state in the South-East? It can and it should. For a caveat, let it be noted that some positions that have bearings on the idea of Igbo consensus have been advanced on this exercise which strengthens this need. Sometime in the past, the respected Igbo leader, the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was reported in the press to have said that the South East quite deserved an additional state. However, he was further quoted to have said that the deserved additional South-East state should be Oru state because his mother hails from the Oru area of Igboland.
While the first position places the late Chief Ojukwu where he rightly belongs as a true Igbo son, it is doubtful the extent to which the second does because it is amounts to personalizing the Igbo world which amounts to a fallacy and a taboo in Igbo thought. In the same vein, Chief Arthur Nzeribe is known to have been promoting the idea of Urashi state with motives that would demand critical questioning within the endogenous demands of the idea. Even worse, it is sometimes possible to encounter those who find it difficult to key into the demand for a new state based on what they call the theory of non-viability of the idea or  the rate of performance of existing states. But these are tantamount to saying that a child in the womb should be aborted because those who are born are not living up to expectation.
Positions such as these suggest the need to source for endogenous ideas to support the project because severally the Igbo consensual outlook on the project often suffers set-back because the question of where to carve out the new state often leads to positions that affect the entire project. They demonstrate how fake and false ideology at the expense of an endogenous Igbo ideology, at least, in its traditional form with its sharp ethics of justice can affect such crucial element in the Igbo search for justice and equity which are cardinal human principles and values everywhere.
I call the views fake ideology because there is what can be independently and distinctly called the Igbo ideology harboured by the Igbo worldview which none of these positions represent. The late South African anthropologist and theorist,  Archie Mafeje had several times argued that in Africa ethnicity is a form of ideology. I find this position critically relevant and would argue that within the epistemological demand of the term there is the need to locate the provisions of ideas harboured by the ethnic group and apply it to diagnose their political ailment. This is because local knowledge would often command quicker and instant loyalty from a decolonised mind than an alien knowledge.
I argue that this is what should guide the Igbo, especially on what pertains to them as a people such as the demand for a state in the South-East. This would not make them non-Nigerians but rather make them distinctly Nigerians, that is, a people who know what they are within the socio-political context of a Nigerian state and are ready to advance the cause of the Nigerian state through their own reservoir of knowledge. This is also another way of extracting positive value from the idea of ethnic group and not merely applying the idea for negative tendencies as has been the case all these while.
Briefly contextualised in Igbo thought, then, the desire for state creation in the South-Eastern Nigeria amounts to one which should direct the mind to support the creation of a state not to satisfy the personal ego of any person –given the egalitarian nature of the Igbo society – but as something born out of a clear political need defined by the most marginalized section of the Igbo nation. Thus the question should be: do the South East justifiably deserve a state and which area needs a state fundamentally to advance politically? Applying the Igbo worldview means centering the demand on the Igbo ethics of brotherhood as a proof that the Igbo idea of brotherhood is strongly recognised and that the communal principle of Igbo thought is recognised.
The second ideology from the Igbo worldview that supports this project is to recognise that the Igbo world reveres success and would wish to allow and encourage the other to succeed and that state creation can promote the ethics of hard work and development. In the Igbo world, if a man had a million naira and his brother is starving, it would be held that the man is wicked- he does not help his brother, it would be said. But if he turns to his starving brother to say come to my house and feed, the reply he would get would likely be: no, give me money; let me work to become someone. It is this philosophy of letting Igbo people wherever they are to have what it takes for them to struggle and actualize their talents that I believe should guide the Igbo world in advocating for state creation for their brothers.
It may be the case that there are several aspects of Igboland that are marginalised, but some are definitely more marginalised and underdeveloped than others due to several factor sand they would not attain development and advancement without the political structure implied by state creation which encourages proper exploitation of the gains and resources of the environment for proper political ordering. As far back as 1983, some portions of Igboland have been recognised to be this way and it has been recognised that these segments of the Igbo race can only be better through state creation. Thus, it amounts to sourcing for a space with marginality by contesting the need to afford such people a state, something like struggling for wealth with a handicapped person because his state is attracting attention. A pan-Igbo morality would therefore demand that all Igbo should be in unison to advocate for a state for their most marginalised portion as a way of affording them the right to function as a state and empowering them to be better.
It should always be borne in mind that the advent of Christian missionaries in some parts of Igboland before others and the discovery of coal in Enugu as well as the proximity of some parts of Igboland to Calabar and Port Harcourt did much to empower some areas of the South East more than others. Conversely, some parts of Igboland such as Abakaliki and the Nsukka areas have remained less developed because of their distances from these first centres of modern civilisation. Additionally, the location of these places meant that the adverse effects of the Nigerian civil war, which came six years after the formal birth of a Nigerian state, would bear on them in terms of proper socio-psychological orientation needed for advancement and development.
Several portions of the Igbo world would often acknowledge this. But acknowledging this again places a moral burden and challenge on the Igbo, which is that of applying the same ethics to promote all that is within their disposal to enable these areas of South East to advance their developmental capabilities. In the modern Nigerian context within which the Igbo exist, state creation serves this cause more reliably and more productively. Thus, the burden for the Igbo is to apply this Nigerian mechanism to promote the cause of their brotherhood by advocating for state creation in these areas. In the case of Abakaliki, it has already achieved this leap, so if it means that it is the turn of the Nsukka area to benefit from this area then a true Igbo should find enough reason for this to be. After all, the issue is about justice and creating the basis for more rights and once it is recognised as such then the right to justice becomes the guiding principle and the desired ideal it is.
Dr. Ugwuanyi is a Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Abuja.

Security agencies will rescue the girls –Primate Ayodele

■ Says, Shekau’ll be killed

Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, founder and the spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church located at Oke-Afa, Isolo Lagos, is increasingly emerging as the Nostradamus of the modern day world in the accuracy of his predictions. Recently, Saturday Sun cornered him at his office where he talked on Boko Haram and the fate of the abducted Chibok girls. He also talked on what to expect in the 2015 general elections.  He spoke to OLAJIRE ISHOLA.  Excerpts.
You predicted in the Sunday Sun of December 29, 2013 that, “Nigeria needs to pray against deadly attacks from Boko Haram.” But recently, Nigeria witnessed multiple bomb attacks in Abuja and some other places. Does it mean we are not praying enough?
How I wish government should be reading newspapers that used to carry predictions. There are genuine prophets of God in this country like Apostle Suleiman; I read about him in one of The Sun’s publications, we have prophets like Baba Fakeye of the Ayo Ni o, Primate Olabayo. Predictions serve as security reports which people in authority should always take seriously. Why is it that our leaders don’t take predictions seriously? The reason is that leaders prefer those men of God that will tell them what they want to hear.
Government doesn’t take the words of God seriously. I remember that even in the Bible, God used prophets at one time or the other to warn rulers of impending crisis so that they would nip it in the bud. Our security men should always look the direction of prophets so as to plan for future. It was in 2002 that I first predicted about the coming of Boko Haram, but nobody takes it seriously. So also in 2009, nobody took it seriously, which was in one of The Sun’s publications. If you remember the first prominent bomb attack we had was in October 1, 2010, during Independence Day celebration. The government should have taken serious steps about it. Nigerian government needs to overhaul the security apparatus of this country. We’ve predicted about the coming of international communities to assist in fighting Boko Haram in Ihe Guardian of April 26, 2014, it has come to pass now. This doesn’t mean that our security agencies are not competent, the international communities that waded into it now would not know our terrain more than us, but the bulk of it is that those that surround our president do not allow him to see things the way they are. Our president needs our prayers at this trying period. All hands must be on deck now; be you Muslims, Christians and even babalawos. Let us come together and beg God.

What is the fate of the 300 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State abducted by Boko Haram?
Security agencies will rescue them, but not all of them will be rescued alive. That is the painful aspect of it. Some of these girls will be killed.

You said in the publication under reference that nobody will be able to capture the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau alive, do you still stand by this?
I want to say it once again with emphasis that nobody will capture Shekau alive; they will end up killing him.

You also predicted that kidnapping for ritual purposes will be on the increase this year, what is your comment on the recent revelation of the den of ritualists at Soka village in Ibadan and handful of some kidnappers being lynched in almost all the states of the South West of this country recently?
Yesterday (May 9, 2014), this environment was in pandemonium. Parents rushed to the schools around to pick their children from schools because of the romours going round that kidnappers wanted to kidnap some school children. There are people behind kidnapping. But they will be arrested soon. This country needs atonement. All these things are man made errors. This was exactly what I said in 2010 and last year that Jonathan should seek divine intervention. He has not sought God’s intervention for his second term bid. He needs God now in all these, because there are hidden things God wants to reveal to him, God will show him what to do, including his second term bid.
What I will suggest is that, instead of celebrating Independence Day this year, let the president declare September 29, 30 and October 1 for prayer and fasting for God to intervene in the matters of this country.

You said power tussle will bring crisis within All Progressives Congress (APC), in some states, the congresses organised by the party have brought rancours within the party, what is the solution?
All Progressives Congress (APC) should watch over the states the party is ruling now to guard against surprises in the forthcoming elections. If they are not careful, the People’s Democratic Party will take over Sokoto and Rivers states. They need to be careful in the South West also, because there would be problems in Ogun and Oyo states if care is not taken.
The coming elections in Ekiti and Osun states would be characterized by rigging, and other vices. Many would be jolted with what is going to happen. Some people will still decamp from APC to other parties.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu needs to pray hard and be watchful and careful so as not to be ridiculed.

Let us move to Anambra State, where you once predicted that Governor Obiano should pray then against court cases, what do you think will be the outcome of the case in court?
All he needs to do is to be prayerful, he will win the case, but some other cases are still coming up against his election. With prayer, he will scale through.

Sir, you once predicted that Jonathan government will not be able to manage corruption in Nigeria. What will you say about the external auditors to probe the case of missing 20 billion Dollars from the NNPC?
I will still repeat it; this government would not be able to fight corruption. He will only try his best, but his best will not be able to deliver, because the people around him are corruption personified. If he will succeed in fighting corruption, most of the big men in this country will be in jail, past presidents, past heads of states, almost all the past and present governors and almost all those that have occupied one elective post or the others will end up in jail.

There was fire outbreak in Lagos office of the Central Bank of Nigeria recently, which you once predicted and you warned Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to pray so that he will not face crisis, do you think Sanusi will win the case he instituted against the government?
From day one I have warned Sanusi, but he did not heed my warning. He will not win the case. Erastus Akingbola is in court to reclaim and revive Intercontinental Bank, but he will fail. The issue of CBN is not yet over as many hidden things will be revealed. Some new banks are coming. The incoming CBN governor too needs to pray so that people will not sabotage many of his reforms.

What do you think will be the outcome of the feud between Jonathan and Obasanjo?
You know I have said it before. Jonathan will still want to mend fence with Obasanjo, but Obasanjo will not take it easy with him and it is going to be the political suicide for Obasanjo.

On a lighter mood, what is the takes of the Super Eagles in the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil?
All I know is that Keshi should be prayerful and Nigerians should pray along with him. Super Eagles will surpass previous records

In brief, what should we expect in 2015?
Well by July 4, this year, another book of prediction will be launched, but before then, let us pray against the activities of militant groups that may resurface. Though Boko Haram war would soon be won, but there are still going to be some attacks and bomb explosions. Let us pray so that we don’t lose a very prominent politician. Some governors are going to be indicted. Jonathan should put end to emergency rules in the three North Eastern states.
Malawian government should pray against gang up. Election in South Africa will be characterized with crisis, but if ANC pray well they will carry the day.
Our First Lady should pray for good health. Jonathan should pray so that he will not cry in 2015. Later, only two parties will be recognized in Nigeria. APC should hold their various states very well. Unknown man will rule Lagos in 2015. APC should look the side of Ikorodu for its governorship candidate. If they take it out of Ikorodu, anything can happen.



You know I have said it before. Jonathan will still want to mend fences with Obasanjo, but Obasanjo will not take it easy with him and it is going to be the political suicide for Obasanjo.

On a lighter mood, what are the chances of Super Eagles in the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil?
All I know is that Keshi should be prayerful and Nigerians should pray along with him. Super Eagles will surpass previous records

In brief, what should we expect in 2015?
Well by July 4, this year, another book of predictions will be launched, but before then, let us pray against the activities of militant groups that may resurface. Though Boko Haram war would soon be won, there are still going to be some attacks and bomb explosions. Let us pray so that we don’t lose a very prominent politician. Some governors are going to be indicted. Jonathan should put an end to the emergency rule in the three North Eastern states.
Malawian government should pray against gang-up. Election in South Africa will be characterized by crisis, but if ANC prays well, it will carry the day.
Our First Lady should pray for good health. Jonathan should pray so that he will not cry in 2015. Later, only two parties will be recognised in Nigeria. APC should hold its various states very well. An unknown man will rule Lagos in 2015. APC should look the side of Ikorodu for its governorship candidate. If they take it out of Ikorodu, anything can happen.

Jonathan must work assiduously to free Chibok schoolgirls –Kalu

A former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has said President Goodluck Jonathan must work assiduously to free the schoolgirls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.
Kalu, who spent the Children’s Day fasting and praying for the release of the abducted girls, said Nigeria would lose face in the comity of nations should anything untoward happen to the girls.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi, Kalu said: “The President must do all he can to ensure these girls are freed.
“It has been a tortuous period for every Nigerian and all concerned all over the world as it has become a dark spot in the annals of the history of the country.”
Kalu said despite the fact that he was totally opposed to negotiating the freedom of arrested Boko Haram members for the schoolgirls, the President was in the best position to decide the best way out of the quagmire.
He congratulated all children in Nigeria and all over the world on the occasion of the 2014 Children’s Day and prayed that next year’s would be celebrated with fanfare as no other calamity would befall the Nigerian child.

I’ve had enough of life

■ Says 131-yr-old woman seeking to join her ancestors

As a teenager back in her village in the late 19th century, Madam Clara Abeje Onisiwo was thought to be someone who would die young popularly called abiku or ogbanje in Yoruba. On several occasions, she fainted and this tormented her parents, forcing them to weep and consult the gods as they tried to keep her alive. Eventually, she became a Christian and thereafter overcame her fainting spells. Madam Onisiwo has lived over a century on earth. She is now 131 years old and still counting, but she is not happy that death has refused to come. One unique thing about her is that she is still strong physically. She walks unaided, bathes herself and her vision still intact.
Recently, Abagba community located in the tourist village of Tarkwa Bay, an Island in Lagos, celebrated the old woman on her birthday. In this interview with Saturday Sun’s GILBERT EKEZIE, CHRISTIAN AGADIBE AND AUSTINE OFOMA, Madam Onisiwo went down memory lane and narrated the story of her life and the secret of her longevity.  Excerpts:

Can you tell us about your childhood?
As a child, I lived with my mother before she died. My grandmother was the founder of the Anglican Church in this village. Later on when I returned home (Port Harcourt), I went to Ogogoro village, my father’s place and I also established a church there. My mother died when I was eight years old and my aunt took over the responsibility of taking care of me. She took me everywhere she went and that way I learnt certain things. She taught me in the way of the Lord and we all attended the Anglican Church because my grandmother established the church and we had our baptism there.
I was an abiku or call it ogbanje and my family did the utmost to make sure I survived.

How did you know you were an abiku?
Whenever I had a crisis, I just watched the family run helter-skelter crying and carrying me up and down while I laughed at them.

What did your family do to make you stay finally?
They tied local rings around my ankles, but I threw one of them away. It was my mother that found it and tied it back to my ankle.

During your fainting spells,  what actually happened?
I belonged to a spirit world and one day I fought with one of them as they were forcing me to come back because I was the Iyalode in the group. I just raised my hand and gave her a blow not knowing it was a stone I hit, so I cried and my father came to give me a mark on my face. Then, I had just given birth to a baby, so they said I should come back. I was more than 15 years old then.
We were many and as the Iyalode, they said I should come back as that was not the agreement from the beginning. We didn’t know what marriage was, we just got together and got pregnant in the spiritual realm.

Did you attend school and where?
When we were in Lagos, I attended a Catholic school and from there I went to Port Harcourt. I can’t remember everything but then it was Sister Anthonio that taught us. During school hours, I usually hid under a tree not knowing I was not doing myself any good. My younger siblings were in school and when I returned from Port Harcourt, I went to look for one of my younger sisters and I was told she stayed at Bamgbose town and I went there to see her but she told me she won’t be able to stay at home with me, that she was a nurse working at a hospital. She entered her car and left. Her husband also drove off in his car, so I regretted my lifestyle and wondered why I didn’t finish schooling. Please, send all your children to school so that they can become very important in society.

At what point did you forsake the ogbanje world?
Since I decided not to return to them, they left me alone.

What have you seen in life that’s not good?
I have discovered that God is the supreme being because whenever I sleep and wake up I know that I am alive. There was this Cherubim and Seraphim church I attended and many among the congregation came to meet me. But when they got to the big house, they turned with their cross and a man carried the cross and when they got there, they were entering, so I noticed that they didn’t come to me again. I just got up and I followed the remaining three members to enter, but before I entered, I felt a sharp pain and then I heard a male voice laughing. I began searching for who it was but I couldn’t see him. So, I wanted to enter again and the male voice told me that I could not enter, so I looked again I didn’t see the person talking. So, I sat down and started asking myself questions about where I was and the male voice answered and told me that I was in Jerusalem.

Did you recognise anybody among those you saw there?
I didn’t recognise anybody and those that I spoke to did not answer me.

Is any member of your group still alive?
There is none of them alive.

Could you remember any of them that died last or you saw last? How did you feel about their death?
The elder brother of the baale was my senior and they called him Debayo. I used to dance for them on the sand and they always ran after me and beat me. That was why I removed the chain on my leg. He died a long time ago.

What would you have done differently if you were still young?
I am just tired and waiting for God to call me.

What advice do you have for the young ones?
I want to talk to them, because humans are like clothes for cover. They should talk to their children and bring them closer to them, because if they become somebody in future, they will take care of them. This village is now a town.

Did you witness any war?
Yes, the war of Hitler. Then we were advised not to put on the light and anyone that wanted to cook did without allowing smoke to come out.  I also witnessed the Biafra war that was fought not quite long ago.

What about the amalgamation, did you witness it?
It was Awolowo that merged everybody together. That was the cause.

When you were growing up, did you know you could be this old?
I never thought that I could be up to this age at all.

What’s the secret of your longevity?
God is the only one that knows the reason that I am as old as this and my children buy food for me on a daily basis and I also drink palm wine and malt drinks. I don’t take hot drinks because it affects me.

How did you meet your husband?
It’s God. When he came, he said he didn’t have a place to stay, that the palm wine house had been destroyed. He said he wanted to rent a house and I told him that I don’t have a place for rent, so he left. Then I had not built this my house. I stayed in a family house and he visited me there regularly and I told him that I could not marry him but after some time, God said he was the one that I would marry. Before this, he fought with my elder brother because of coconut. He came to cut a tree and while he was doing it, he became thirsty, so he climbed our coconut tree and plucked a coconut and drank the water. When my elder brother got there, he fought him, dragged him to my father and accused him of stealing but he said he didn’t steal it, that he just needed to drink.
So, my father reprimanded my elder brother and asked whether it was because of coconut that he fought the man and my father asked him to go. I thanked my father for letting him go. Then, they never played with coconut. After some time, my mother brought him and told him that her daughter doesn’t attend church and that may be he could be somebody for her in future. So, my mother got a job for him and he became a teacher.

How did you learn to speak Igbo language?
I travelled here and there to Borno, Imo, Uyo, Okrika and Enugu with my children. I spent 20 years doing this and I give God the glory because others would travel like that and would not return home but it pleased God for me to return.
This is where I was born. It was in Enugu that I got a place with my husband because he was a station master. That was where I learnt about things and I sold things with the children and travelled to Ibadan to sell soap. I just didn’t care enough to learn the language, if not I could have spoken it better than I can now. I took my elder brother there and he spoke it very well and they always danced every year and he dressed exactly like Igbo and he understood the language more than I do. He spoke it fluently.

Throughout your sojourn in some states, were those you came across friendly?
They loved me. When I returned from Enugu, my people called me an Igbo woman.

What do you want the government to do for the people?
They should help develop the economy.

How was the relationship between you and your husband?
The man was not my husband, he was like a father to me and I am like a mother to him too.

How did you get into the Civil Defence Corps and what was it like?
We were pioneers at the Civil Defence Corps. Our boss was from Benin and one of them was a Yoruba man and he married one of our daughters who is also in the Civil Defence Corps.
I enjoyed it but we were not well compensated because we were pioneers.  Since our first boss from Benin left and we had a new boss, everything changed.

Did you resign or retire from service?
We retired and since we retired from the Civil Defence Corps, we have not received any pension. Some have died and I don’t even get to see some again.

Were you still agile while in service?
Yes, I even used to jump on buses to work. One day, I didn’t know a bus had already taken my husband from Lagos and I was waiting for them at the jetty, and when it was 11pm and I didn’t see anybody, I decided to start coming back all by myself, but when I entered the village, everywhere was quiet and everybody had slept, so I met my husband at home. Nothing happened to me on the way because God protected me and brought me home safely.

What’s your favourite food?
I eat any kind of food. Most times I fast too.

What was your worst moment in life?
There were many worst moments in my life, but God saved me from this Calabar man that asked me to marry him.
Then I was a nanny and he was a steward and he was very wicked. He said I should marry him and I said no, he then stuck a needle in my blanket and when I dusted the blanket, it seriously injured my hand so I removed it and the man saw me and said he was the owner of the needle but I made sure I threw it away even before he could come to get it from me. He did so many other wicked things but God always protected me.
Also, there was a place we usually urinate, and I am this kind of person that constantly urinates, so this particular day, he put native pepper at the place. So, as I was about to urinate, I saw that native pepper and I used something to pack it and I threw it at him.

Are you afraid of death?
The after life is sweet, I want to go home so that my children can celebrate, and everybody can celebrate. I have had enough of life here. I am tired. I desire to go home and join my people over there.

What legacy would you like to be remembered for?
I will leave them a house here in the village and also a building in Lagos.

What did you enjoy doing with your husband anytime he was around?
After cooking and eating with my husband, and he said do this and I said I wasn’t doing it, we quarelled and we settled it immediately. He was my father.

What’s your husband’s best food?
I cooked anything he wanted to eat and he assisted me in the kitchen.

What’s your advice to young married couples for their marriages to last?
It’s patience, they should be patient. When you offend your husband, you call him and ask for his forgiveness.

Biafra: MASSOB demands 6 new republics

Vows to retaliate any attack on Igbo nation
The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State capital demanded six new republics in the country, including Biafra Republic.
Thousands of MASSOB members who thronged the Ojukwu Memorial Centre in New Owerri in the maiden edition of the commemoration of Biafran Day on May 30 when the late Igbo Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra in I967 said it was time for the Igbo to have their own republic.
MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike clad in the navy blue Biafran uniform with the other members of his group urged the Federal Government to do the will of God and let their people go.
Uwazuruike who addressed the large followers of the group with two representatives of MASSOB in the United Kingdom, Mrs Francese Joseph and Tina Joseph said May 30 was a turning point in the life of every Igbo man.
“It is the watershed in the history of the geographical expression called Nigeria. It is the aftermath of the mistake of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates by Lord Lugard.
“It is the reflection of the deep-rooted hatred among the major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. It exposes the irreconcilable disdain existing between Islam and Christianity. It is all about a failed state called Nigeria,” Uwazuruike said.
He pointed out that 47 years after Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra, the reasons that informed his decision are still evident in the country.
“The reality of May 30 can no longer be hidden, but the Abuja politicians and contractors are not deterred. They believe in the elusive one Nigeria, the one Nigeria that is their cash cow. The one Nigeria that is their source of corruption and impunity. The one Nigeria that is their instrument for inequality. The one Nigeria that is shielding them from all sorts of evils,” the MASSOB leader said.
Uwazuruike lamented that it was disturbing that it was the common man who bears the brunt of the evil perpetrated by the Abuja politicians and contractors, who he said God has hardened their hearts like Pharaoh of Egypt.
He noted that as long as the intent and purpose of the amalgamation of North and South were to cheat the South, the country would never fly.
Looking at the state of the country, he said: “The exercise was not done with clean hands. It failed to receive the blessing of God. That is why Nigeria remains a crawling baby after 50 years. The anger of God is on Nigeria. There is too much blood in Nigeria. The blood of the common man is used to sustain the evil called Nigeria. Insecurity in Nigeria can never abate. It is the sign of the anger of God,” Uwazuruike declared.
He, therefore, warned that his group would not guarantee its non-violent posture if anywhere in Igbo land is bombed or attacked by any militia or whatever group.
He said the only solution to solve problems of Nigeria was to grant independence to the six geo-political zones of the country.
“National Conference cannot solve the problems of Nigeria because there is deep-rooted hatred among the different nationalities. The hatred is so deep and cannot be wished away. We only pretend to love ourselves. The hatred is natural. It is in our blood. No amount of preaching on nationalism can change Nigeria.
“The only solution is to divide Nigeria into six geo-political zones: namely, South East (Biafra); South West; South South; North East; North West; and North Central,” he suggested, adding that was what Ojukwu tried to achieve in 1967 but was misunderstood.

MEND declares ceasefire

Demands release of Okah brothers, presidential pardon
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has announced a temporary ceasefire and suspension of Hurricane Exodus targeted at crippling the oil industry.
MEND said though it received President Goodluck Jonathan’s democracy day speech with “cautious optimism” it noted the Federal Government gesture to open its doors for aggrieved groups to dialogue if they renounced terrorism, armed struggle and embrace peace.
The spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo in a statement made available to Saturday Sun said MEND has declared a ceasefire effective from 700hrs Friday May 30th.
Recalling past efforts especially of the Aaron Team it set up in 2009 to broker peace, MEND pointed out that it “has been disappointed in the past with Government’s insincerity”
According to him “Instead of addressing our concerns and dialogue on the root issues that led us to take up arms, your government, based on bad advisers, arrogantly jettisoned dialogue with our negotiation delegates, the Aaron Team in 2009”
Gbomo explained that MEND’s struggle has never been because of the election of a Niger Delta President in 2015 adding that the group expects sincerity in dialogue and reconciliation on the part of the Federal Government.
He said “We hold you to your words, as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declare a ceasefire effective 0700Hrs, Friday 30 May, 2014 by calling off our ‘Hurricane Exodus’ campaign and other acts of sabotage; especially our incessant attacks on gas and oil pipelines, erroneously or mischievously attributed to oil thieves”
Gbomo said MEND however demands an act of goodwill from the Federal Government by ordering the release of its fighters in Police detention including Henry and his brother Charles as they would be the prime movers in the dialogue team to be set up.
It also wants a presidential pardon for all those already tried and convicted as well as suspend Court proceedings and drop all charges against those awaiting trial.
Gbomo who announced that initial discussions would be facilitated through the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Kingsley Kuku, who they are comfortable to work with, added that the response of the Federal Government to its offer would determine if there would be real peace in Nigeria.

Ogunlewe is a traitor –APC

Says, PDP is dead in Lagos
Former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, has been described as a betrayer who used his office as a minister to create confusion and crises in Lagos State.
Making these assertions while reacting to a recent interview where the former minister launched verbal attack on the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the state APC spokesman, Engineer Joe Igbokwe, described Ogunlewe’s comments as rantings of a failed politician who is desperate to seek political relevance.
Igbokwe also described PDP as a dying political party in Lagos State, while adding that kudos should rather be given to Tinubu for laying a solid foundation upon which Governor Fashola is building an enduring legacy.
The APC spokesman also spoke on other national issues including the present state of insecurity, Jonathan and leadership of Nigeria among a host of others.  He spoke to TUNDE THOMAS Excerpts

How would you react to recent allegations by former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, that AC which later metamorphosed into ACN and now APC has been rigging elections in Lagos State in order to remain in power?
I’m not surprised by Ogunlewe’s outbursts. His claims and allegations should be seen as the rantings of a drowning man. Ogunlewe is in political wilderness, and oblivion, and he is just seeking relevance. He is not to be taken seriously.

The question you ask him is this, how is it possible for APC to rig elections when it is even the party Ogunlewe belonged to, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that is responsible for appointing electoral officials in INEC, an agency that is saddled with conducting elections in the country?
APC, the party in power in Lagos State, has been winning elections in the state since 1999 simply because of its welfarist programmes. APC is party of the people. It is a populist party, and this is why Lagosians have always been loyal to the party.
If elections are done over 100 times, APC will continue to trounce PDP. PDP is a party of strange bedfellows who lack ideological focus. Most of those people you see in PDP have no business to be in politics. They are political jobbers and contractors parading themselves as politicians and this is why Lagosians have always been rejecting the party.
Again, which party would have the like of Ogunlewe in its fold and achieve electoral success? Ogunlewe and his co-travellers in PDP are political neophytes. In actual fact I foresee PDP facing extinction in foreseeable future. The party is doomed.

But PDP recently vowed to retake Lagos in 2015 elections?
You make me laugh. PDP of all political parties boasting, who is going to take them serious? Let me tell you this as a matter of fact, PDP is dead in Lagos State. APC will use the 2015 poll to nail the political coffin of PDP in Lagos State. Since 1999 when APC came into power in Lagos State, it has been a success story.
The party provided able and dynamic leadership under Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Lagosians. Tinubu laid a good foundation upon which his successor who is the current governor of Lagos, Babatunde Raji Fashola, is consolidating.
Fashola has surpassed expectations of everybody including our political foes in PDP some of whom have been humble enough to acknowledge Fashola as an achiever of note.
Under Fashola’s leadership, Lagos is being gradually turned into a mega city. Other state governors including those from PDP controlled states have been coming to Lagos to learn one or two lessons in art of governance. Fashola has been a good role model for his other colleagues.

How would you react to the former minister’s claim that Tinubu did a lot of harm to Lagos, and that Lagos State suffered decay under him?
Ogunlewe should be seen as somebody who is drowning politically, and he is seeking those that will go down with him. Everybody knows that Tinubu laid the foundation of what we are seeing today. If the economy of Lagos State is booming today, the credit should go to Tinubu.
By the time Tinubu came to power in 1999, Lagos State was in ruins. Then he set up a 40-man committee to formulate a master plan to rescue Lagos. He drafted eminent Nigerians into this committee, and the members did a fantastic job which helped to restore Lagos State’s fading glory.
Ogunlewe didn’t know what he was talking about. He was making false allegations in order to score cheap political goals. It was Ogunlewe that actually tried to retard the progress of Lagos State. You remember how he betrayed the political party, AD, that elected him as a senator? When he got to Abuja, he abandoned the party for PDP. Ogunlewe is a betrayer, the 4th Mainland Bridge would have been completed now, but Ogunlewe sabotaged it.
Lagos State was able to get a Chinese firm under PPP arrangement to construct the bridge, but went to federal authorities to scuttle the project, claiming that the state government didn’t seek the approval of the Federal Government.
Again, to show you that Ogunlewe is an evil person, when he was Minister of Works, he set up FERMA as a body to confront LASTMA officials.
When Ogunlewe unleashed these FERMA officials on LASTMA personnel, a lot of people died. FERMA caused a lot of crises in Lagos State. It was also during Ogunlewe’s time as minister that several highways across the country collapsed in spite of the fact that he collected huge allocation of funds to make these highways motorable.
We know a lot about him. What is he talking about? He is not in the same class as Tinubu. When Ogunlewe and his master concocted their evil plots, accusing Tinubu of corruption and the former governor was dragged before the Code of Conduct Bureau, was Tinubu not eventually discharged and acquitted? Tinubu’s accusers were the ones that were put to shame. Ogunlewe is a betrayer who lacks moral authority to attack Tinubu.
Since he left office as a minister, he has been in political wilderness and he can never come back into limelight. Lagos State has been in the hands of the progressives, and that is the way it is going to be. The 15 years that APC has been in power in Lagos has not been years of waste. It has been years of tremendous progress, development and achievements.
Can we say the same of this country that has been under PDP leadership for 15 years? PDP leadership of this nation at the federal level in the last 15 years has been years of locust, years of waste and this is why our beloved nation is lying prostrate now. PDP has not only foisted bad leadership on Nigeria but the party has over the years caused economic and political ruin to this nation. PDP’s leadership years has been years of rot.
Lagos State is a centre of excellence while PDP, Ogunlewe’s party, has turned Nigeria into an object of mockery among other nations. Ogunlewe wants to be relevant in PDP and that is why he is abusing leaders in other political parties. He is seeking attention. He wants to satisfy his pay master.

How would you react to claims that your party has adopted a particular candidate favoured by former governor Bola Tinubu as APC’s candidate and Fashola’s successor for 2015 gubernatorial election?
Forget all manner of comments and allegations some individuals have been making against APC and Tinubu. APC is a party of democrats, and we are not a cult as some people want to portray us.
The party has not given the party’s ticket to any individual, and neither has Tinubu foisted any individual on the party.
We are going to conduct an open primary, and provide a level playing field for all the candidates. We are not like PDP which is a party of wolves. Nigerians should watch and wait. APC is going to be transparent and open in the process that will lead to the emergence of the party’s flagbearer in 2015 elections.
As for the statement credited to our royal father, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, as endorsing Akin Ambode as the next governor of Lagos, that is Kabiyesi’s personal opinion. We hold Oba Akiolu in high esteem. He was speaking as a royal father, and people should not persecute him, but as I said earlier, the party will provide a level playing field for all the aspirants before a final choice is made.
What is the way out of the present insecurity challenge facing the nation?
PDP should be held responsible. President Jonathan has not been providing dynamic leadership expected of somebody in his position, and this is why the nation needs a credible alternative.
APC is set to transform this nation if we are able to win the polls next year. PDP can’t do it. For 15 years, the party has been in charge, and Nigerians have been getting more and more impoverished. Nigerians want a change, and APC is that party that will wipe away the tears of Nigerians.
Jonathan is tired. He lacks the capacity to take Nigeria to the promised land. We need a new driver on the nation’s presidential seat.

Is the unity of Nigeria truly non-negotiable?

I honestly don’t believe Goodluck Jonathan or Pius Anyim really believe what they’ve been quoted as saying regarding the inviolable unity of Nigeria.”
‘Nigeria’ is perhaps, on some distant, unknown planet, a synonym for ‘Confusion’. See how the ‘Nigeria @ 50’ franchise has coolly given way to ‘Nigeria @ 100’, barely four years later. To the uninitiated, it calls to mind the madness-inducing mathematical conundrum that Femi Kuti sang about years ago, in ‘Scatta Head.’ Indeed what laws of geometric progression can explain how a fifty-year-old turns hundred in four years?
On a more serious note, isn’t it interesting that the year of our centenary is also the one that has brought all of the following: News of our status as Africa’s largest economy; the hosting of our first ever World Economic Forum on Africa; the most alarming surge ever in the biggest threat to the country’s peaceful existence since the civil war; and a National Conference that (if pessimists like me are to be disbelieved) will provide the best opportunity since Independence for Nigerians to restructure their country and chart a new course forward?
It was as though 2014 got a memo regarding its place in the Lugardian calendar of Nigerian history.
It also provides the best opportunity since the return of democracy in 1999 for us to practice something other than a one-party democracy. And in the coming weeks the stakes are going to rise, as the political parties make decisions about the candidates they will be fielding in the 2015 elections. Our fingers will be crossed, as always.
As we prepare for that future, for the great uncertainties that 2015 – 2019 will embody, do you think that Nigeria should seriously consider breaking-up peacefully, and allowing the various ‘nations’ within it find their separate ways into the future? Or is that ‘splitting-up’ scenario still the unimaginable one it’s long been portrayed to be: one to be shouted down against a colourful backdrop of ‘Go-On-With-One-Nigeria’ banners and patriotic admonitions to “defend her unity… so help me God.”
On the BBC programme HardTalk first broadcast on May 9 host Shaun Ley asked Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka the ‘elephant-in-the-room’ question: “Are you saying that it has a future as a single country or is Nigeria’s best hope to recognize its differences and to allow it to slowly separate?”
Soyinka’s reply opened with these words: “I would say that we are poised on the thin edge of a knife…”
He went on to say that he “hardly ever use[s] the word ‘nation’ anymore, I prefer the expression ‘nation-space’, especially for artificial spaces like ours… that space is getting smaller, more fragile, more questionable, every moment that we live, it’s getting more and more questionable…”
Soyinka is placing some of his hopes for a more reasonable future on the ongoing National Conference.
But that’s the same conference that Secretary to the Government, Pius Anyim, said, in January, “shall discuss any subject matter, except the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a nation.”
Does it make any sense to have a National Conference that is supposed to offer an opportunity for a total re-evaluation of the structure of the Nigerian state, and then saddle it with a caveat that removes one of the most critical issues from the table?
Isn’t this a case of saying ‘You can have anything you want/need except…’ without realizing the embedded irony?
We are regularly told that a generation of Nigerian statesmen gave their all to preserve the unity of Nigeria. People like President Obasanjo have built a reputation around insisting the unity of Nigeria is (as Pius Anyim echoed) “non-negotiable”. President Jonathan’s speech at the opening of the National Conference is also remarkable for the number of times it refers to “unity” or “national unity.”
Now this is my question: Do we as ordinary Nigerians really believe these platitudes about unity? Is “unity” a more important ideal than, say, self-determination, human dignity, freedom of choice, or a meaningful existence? What exactly does “unity” mean? And should anyone who asks for a reconsideration of blind loyalty to be deemed guilty of being a traitor?
I daresay this is where I stand: while I’m not necessarily advocating a break-up of Nigeria (there’s no evidence as we speak that it’ll solve any of our big problems), I am saying that there’s nothing inviolable about our existence as a single nation-space. I think we need to acknowledge that, and take it as the starting point for any conversation regarding where we are headed as a union of hundreds of disparate peoples.
Look at the United Kingdom, which, after spending much of its illustrious history busying itself with drawing and redrawing other people’s maps and geographical boundaries and deciding the terms of their internal engagements, is now faced with the very difficult prospects of having its own lines redrawn.
In September Scotland will go to the polls in a historic vote to decide whether or not it would like to continue as a part of the United Kingdom. That ‘Independence Vote’ is arguably the biggest issue at the moment in the country. The world will be watching to see how things play out. Just imagine the implication of Scotland leaving the United Kingdom on the cause of separatist movements across the world – including our own resurgent array of pro-Biafra movements?
Even if Scotland ends up staying (to be the ‘Great’ in Great Britain, as Prime Minister David Cameron says), the similar Big Question facing Nigeria will be going nowhere anytime soon.
I honestly don’t believe Goodluck Jonathan or Pius Anyim really believe what they’ve been quoted as saying regarding the inviolable unity of Nigeria. I think it’s simply them saying what they think they’re expected to say. An older generation of leaders (the Obasanjos and Gowons) may have said it because for some reason they truly believed it – but I doubt it’s the same for the generation of leaders and politicians that have emerged after them.
Let’s keep it in mind that that older generation is on its way out, along with its passions for a Nigeria-as-it-has-always-been-since-1914. A time is coming when the notion of “non-negotiable” Nigerian unity will no longer be sacrosanct. We will have to acknowledge the elephant, and work out a plan to deal with her.
The hope is that when that time comes, all of our conversation around it will be as devoid of bloodshed and violence as the Independence debate currently going on in the UK.
The Other Boko Haram
Long after Boko Haram has ceased to exists (and one hopes that would be very soon), we will still have to deal with the other Boko Haram – the ones we elect and appoint to public office, at all levels of government, who fail to allocate sufficient funds to the educational sector, steal the little that manages to get allocated, and work hard to ensure that our polytechnics can stay closed for seven months (as they’ve been) and that that 10 million Nigerians of school age are kept away from school. These are demonstrations of sadism that we cannot blame on Abubakar Shekau and his band of book-haraming murderers, alas.

France is to host a security summit on the threat from Boko Haram Islamists, after they abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria in April.

France is to host a security summit on the threat from Boko Haram Islamists, after they abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria in April.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and other West African leaders will attend the talks in Paris.
On Friday Mr Jonathan was due to visit the north-eastern town of Chibok, where the girls were seized, but called it off for for security reasons.
He has ruled out negotiations over their possible release, reports say.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.
This came three days after Boko Haram released a video showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.
French President Francois Hollande is expected to open the summit later on Saturday.
The leaders of Nigeria’s neighbours – Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – are scheduled to attend the talks, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will “discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in West and Central Africa”.
Mr Hollande on Friday discussed the issue in a phone call with US President Barack Obama.
The safe return of the 223 girls was now one of America’s main priorities, with US specialist teams and drones being involved in the rescue operation, the White House said.
France is also providing Nigeria with expert assistance to help release the girls.
US officials have criticised the speed of Nigeria’s response to the threat from Boko Haram.

TIME TO ARREST IBB & OTHERS IS NOW!

TIME TO ARREST IBB & OTHERS IS NOW! Time to arrest boko haram back bone,and those strong men behind boko haram is now.As JONATHAN & HIS government are afraid of arresting those backbone,strong men like IBB and others that are strong men,sponsor/financiers Behand boko haram to bring the devilish activities of northern islamic terrorist group-boko haram to an end,the opportunity has arrived as foreign countries like US,CHINA,and BRITISH Military have arived to aid & empower nigeria government to carry out war against boko haram and their sponsors without fear of any high rated man like IBB and others and the dangers that might come out when arrested. TRUTH MUST BE TOLD & BE KNOWN.

UPWARD JOURNEY & WAY-FORWARD FOR BIAFRA

UPWARD JOURNEY & WAY-FORWARD FOR BIAFRA

(Official address on May 30, 2014 - Biafra Day)


I bring hearty greetings to great people of Biafra from office of Dsage, an erudite seer under the Sun! Homage to the throne of His Royal Majesty - Ezendigbo gburu gburu! The great forum of the people - Ohanaeze Ndigbo! The chairman and organizing committee of May 30, 2014 - Biafra Day! Honorable figures and dignitaries of the occasion! Ladies and gentlemen! All protocols observed!

Let me begin by saying that one truth in Africa is that life has not been easy for the people in many ways. Majority of the black has been going through hell due to retardation and backwardness. The untold suffering and hardship came as a result of bad governance, corruption, social negligence, massive ignorance, mental slavery, false worship, illusion and make believe.

The people of Africa have been deceived in many ways. Biblical story of Esau and Jacob was one thing that gave us to know how the white contributed in deceit of the black in jungle. I am not here to preach any sermon but it is vital for us to understand that the term "Jacob" implies that white men had gone a long way to deceive and deprive us (Africans) of our rights, freedom, privileges and what have you.

The worst victim of these great evils is our dear country, Biafra, the great land of the wise. If we reason with me here, we shall understand that nature deposited abundant wealth in Biafra. Our father's land is highly blessed but the blessings are majorly tapered and managed by strangers which include the white.

Take for instance, we have many oil companies in Biafra, the East of One-Nigeria. The companies are owned and managed by white men. Ibeto is one Biafran man that is surviving as an oil baron in Africa but his oil company still has white men in control. The company is owned by Ibeto but white men are there serving as key officials. It means that Ibeto is only a figure-head in his oil company there in jungle of Biafra.

One thing I like the public to understand is that there are great fishes in African rivers, seas, oceans and what have you. Each of them worth millions of pound but majority of the fishermen are strangers in Africa. They have been exploiting our oceans and seas for their own selfish and economic gains. We have been sitting back like fools in jungle watching them because majority of us do not have the means to fish.

Truth is that strangers keep us in ignorance and bondage. They catch fishes for us to buy, and they do not want us to know how to fish. That is why Biafra has remained a captive in Nigeria till date. Strangers kept Biafra in bondage because they do not want the black to know how to fish.

Furthermore, let me say that I was happy to hear that May 30, 2014, has been declared as Biafra Day. I do not have details of the event but something told me that the organizers and planning committee should know the importance of cooperate communication and unity for Biafra now. What I want to remind the people is that there is no difference between lord and landlord. People of Biafra should understand that their country (Biafra) is a "land" of the wise.

The lord owns the land of Biafra officially, and he (the lord) cannot do without majority support or backing of the people. It means that the lord is head while the people is body of Biafra as an entity in realm of jungle.

So, let me ask! Who is the lord in Biafra? I mean Igbo people are majority in Biafra but they do not have a king sitting on their throne. Why???

I have to ask these because I know what I see as an erudite seer from East where Sun rises. If we ask me, I will say that I see Biafra every day in realm of jungle but the Biafra I see has no head. That is why the people are generally stagnant in the struggle. Every sensible adult should know that certain things we do are not normal for liberation of our dear country, Biafra. It is time for us to arise and match upward in pilgrimage.

As a matter of fact, it is known to the wise that the people cannot arise in oneness as long as Biafra remains without head. Something has to be done to unite us as a body of Biafra in pilgrimage. We cannot really make any progress if there is no "Joshua" to lead and direct the people to the land of Promise. It means that Biafra can hardly be liberated without unity and progress in jungle. That is the way-forward for our dear country, Biafra.

God bless Africa! God liberate and bless Biafra, great land of the wise! Many thanks!

13 burnt to death in Sokoto auto crash

A fatal road accident has claimed the lives of no fewer than 13 persons in Sokoto State. The tragic incident occurred on Thursday night at Tudun-Dukiya vil- lage, near Dogon Karfe, about 10 kilometres to Il lela town in the state. Women and children were among the victims.  An eyewitness told Saturday Sun that the accident occurred at 9.00 pm. “It involved a Peugeot J-5 bus travelling from Jos, Plateau State to Illela and a Toyota Starlet car travel ling from Illela to Sokoto.”
The Sector Commander  of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Sokoto State, Dr. Umar  Gummi confirmed the accident to journalists on Friday. Gummi said that the two vehicles caught fire  after a head-on collision.  The sector command er also said that 14 others, including women and  children, were injured. Gummi said that some  of them were seriously  injured, with some having first degree burns.
He stated that some of the injured persons were receiving treatment at the Illela  General Hospital, while others were referred to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
“As for the deceased persons, they were  burnt beyond recognition,” Gummi explained..

TWO INDIAN TEENAGE GIRLS GANG-RAPED AND HANGED FROM A TREE IN INDIA

TWO INDIAN TEENAGE GIRLS GANG-RAPED AND HANGED FROM A TREE IN INDIA
Two teenage girls, a 14 year old and her 15 year old cousin were gang-raped by five Indian men and then hanged them from a tree in a village in the northern stateo f Uttar Pradesh, police said today.

According to Reuters, the two girls who were from a low-caste Dalit community went missing from their village home when they went out to go to the toilet on Tuesday evening, May 27th. The following morning, villagers found the bodies of the two teenagers hanging from a mango tree in a nearby orchard.

Indian police have arrested one man and are looking for four other suspects. The police said a post-mortem confirmed the two minors were raped and died from the hanging. DNA samples have also been taken to help identity the perpetrators, the police told reporters.

The victim's families allege that local police were shielding the attackers as they refused to take action when the girls were first reported missing.

It was only after angry villagers found the hanging corpses and took the bodies to a nearby highway and blocked it in protest, that police registered a case of rape and murder.

INSECURITY: IT WILL BE IDIOTIC TO ACT WITHOUT THE PRESIDENT’S CONSENT – OBASANJO

INSECURITY: IT WILL BE IDIOTIC TO ACT WITHOUT THE PRESIDENT’S CONSENT – OBASANJO

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday, reacted to the news that he met with persons believed to be close to members of the Boko Haram sect, stating that he would not do so without the knowledge of the Presidency.

Speaking to Channels Television at his hill top residence, he revealed that he was making moves to reach President Goodluck Jonathan before holding talks on the Chibok girls “but was surprised at how certain meetings have turned out”.

“I cannot have a plan without the Presidency being involved”, he said, debunking claims that he was “going on a one man mission”.

He insisted that it would be “idiotic” for him to have done so.

He noted that he was beaten by Shehu Sani to letting the state and national authorities know the meeting had taken place and admitted that he owed them an apology. He added, “I have to involve the President and he also tells me this is what we are doing or this is what we are pursuing either in addition or along with what we are doing or not”.

On the allegation that the abduction of the girls was orchestrated to bring down the Presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, the retired general said “If the Presidency is obsessed with one thing and one thing only and any other thing of concern to Nigeria is secondary then the Presidency will take that position” adding that this “will be unfortunate”.

General Obasanjo further noted, “Boko Haram have been in existence for years…they didn’t disturb my government because when I was in government I did not disturb their Sharia.”

He declared, “Sharia is part of our constitution.”

Obasanjo also reacted to claims by the military that they had located the place where the abducted Chibok girls were being kept by members of the radical Boko Haram sect.

Reacting to comments made by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, on the whereabouts of the abducted girls, he urged the military not to engage in Public Relations stunts with the Chibok girls’ issue.

“This is not an issue that you will play Public Relations propaganda with. It is a serious issue that is like a spear in the heart of the parents and whatever statement we make and action we take, if it will not really deal with the issue in a way that will bring those girls out safe and secure and make their families happy and will also give every Nigerian a sense of security, then such statements should not be made”, he said.

He further argued that the American forces also have the means to confirm or debunk the statement made by Air Marshal Badeh over the location of the girls.

“I will be pleasantly surprised if those girls are returned intact”, he said.

Source: #Channels_TV

Boko Haram kidnaps two prominent Emirs Ola' Audu

Boko Haram kidnaps two prominent Emirs
Ola' Audu

Published:May 30,2014

The extremist Boko Haram terrorist sect has kidnapped two first class traditional rulers in Borno state- the Emir of Uba, Ismaila Mamza and the Emir of Gwoza, Idrisa Timta, security officials aware of the incidence have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The two emirs were seized by gun-wielding insurgents at 10a.m Friday near Shaffa while they were travelling to Gombe to attend the funeral of the Emir of Gombe, Shehu Abubakar, who died on Tuesday evening at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

The two abducted emirs were elevated to First Class traditional ruler status only in January.

The Borno state government is yet to issue an official statement on the abduction.

The abduction came 46 days after the Boko Haram sect whisked away over 250 schoolgirls from their dormitories in Chibok.

Over 200 of the girls are yet to be freed.

Details later

Porn May Be Bad for Your Brain, Study Suggests

A German study suggests that watching porn may be linked to reduced activity in certain areas of the brain
A new study finds that men who watch a lot of pornography tend to have less gray matter volume as well as less activity in the region of the brain linked to rewards.
The German study, published in JAMA Psychiatry and which analyzed a relatively small sample, provides the first evidence which could lead to establishing a link between pornography consumption and brain size. However, it did not determine whether watching porn leads to the decreased volume and activity, or if people born with certain brain characteristics watch more porn.
The study’s researchers questioned 64 healthy men aged 21 to 45 about their porn watching habits. They also examined how their brains reacted to pornographic images and took images of their brains in order to measure volume.
The results also show that the brain region activated when people view sexual stimuli is less active in men who watch a lot of pornography. It also shows the part of the brain associated with processing rewards is smaller in men who view pornography more often.

Plateau bans hawking, street trading, illegal motor parks

Following the twin bomb blasts that rocked the central business area of Jos on May 20, Plateau State Government has banned street trading, hawking and street motor parks directing all traders to move to Rukuba Road Satellite Market.
The state government also directed all traders operating along Murtala Muhammad Way, Ahmadu Bello Way, Terminus Area, Tudun Wada, Chobe, Dilimi, Bukuru and Rantya Low Cost Junction to vacate the areas.
A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Olivia Dazyam, also declared that street motor parks in the central business area  of Ahmadu Bello Way, Murtala Muhammad Way and terminus areas had been banned and all operators were to move to designated motor parks.
All the existing temporary structures littering the central business areas, especially within the Greater Jos master plan, were being cleared and the owners were consequently prohibited from operating them again.
While sympathising with families of the deceased, and those who were injured in the incidents, the statement urged residents of the city to desist from patronising street traders, saying their areas of operations had become vulnerable flash points and advised them  to use designated markets only.

Islamic Suicide Bomber Trainer Accidentally Blows Up His Entire Class

 

Islamic Suicide Bomber Trainer Accidentally Blows Up His Entire Class

The Patriot

May 28, 2014

Islamic Suicide Bomber Trainer Accidentally Blows Up His Entire Class2014-05-

In Baghdad, a terrorist who was in the middle of conducting a training for future militants, accidentally blew up an entire class, killing 21 of his students, and himself. The group was part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the terror group that has been participating in a string of attacks in the United States.

The incident may be viewed as a metaphor for the many lives lost in the wake of foreign and domestic terrorists’ relentless attempts to convert the nation into an extreme-religious state. In this turn of events, it appears that many innocent lives may have actually been spared. In fact, in one recent attack alone, 7 innocent people were killed.


According to recent reports, it was rumored that the instructor was in the process of showing his students how to use a suicide belt. As he was teaching, the live suicide belt actually detonated, resulting in mass fatalities.