Iranian Leaders Working To Destabilise W/Africa, Nigeria –Israeli Envoy

Michael Freeman, Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria

BY AIDOGIE PAULINUS

ABUJA, NIGERIA (DAILY SUN) - Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has disclosed that Iran’s leaders were working to destabilise West Africa, including Nigeria, just as they had done in the Middle East.

He noted that 396 days after the brutal murder of innocent Israeli citizens by Hamas, the terrorist group is still holding 101 innocent children, women and the elderly hostage.

Speaking in Abuja during the screening of the award winning documentary, titled: ‘We will dance again: Surviving October 7’ directed by Yariv Mozer, to commemorate the one year anniversary of the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, Freeman also said Iran’s proxies, from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen were leaving trails of destruction and devastation.

He said: “The tyrants in Tehran are responsible for the destabilisation of countries and the misery of millions. Yet, Iran’s nefarious activities are not limited to the Middle East. Let me be clear, Iran’s leaders are also working to destabilise West Africa, including Nigeria.

“The war in Lebanon will only end with the full implementation of the UN resolution 1701, with Hezbollah unable to rearm, and pushed back beyond the Litani River and the Lebanese army in control of the South of Lebanon.”

“They kidnapped 251 others, stealing them away to the terror dungeons of Gaza, where till today, 396 days later, 101 innocents are being held, including children, women and the elderly.

“In our darkest hour, many countries stood by our side. I want to thank those who have supported us, led by our strongest friend and ally, the United States.

“Over the past year, the support shown by President Biden, as well as by the Republicans and the Democrats alike, has been overwhelming and I am confident that whoever wins the presidential election, will continue that steadfast support. But, it hasn’t just been the US; I want to thank all of those countries that have stood by us, publicly and behind the scenes.

“I also want to thank all of our friends in Nigeria who have stood with us.

“But, not only on a state level, also on a personal level, so many fellow ambassadors and diplomats have been there, a kind word, a supportive WhatsApp or just a hug; it has made a huge difference and is truly appreciated. Thank you,” he also said. The Israeli envoy further restated that on October 7, everything changed. “This is not a war we wanted. This is not a war we started. Hamas and Hezbollah attacked Israel. And today, we face a war on seven fronts, all of it sponsored by Iran.”

While saying that in Gaza, Israel must see the release of all the hostages and a new authority in control of the strip, Freeman added that it has to be one that won’t threaten Israel again.

“On October 7, everything changed. Israel faced one of the darkest and most horrific days in its modern history. Families have been torn apart, and an entire generation of Israelis bears the scars of that day. “But, let us be clear, this was not just an attack on individuals, or only an attack on Israel, but an assault on the very values that all of us here hold dear — freedom, peace, tolerance, and the sanctity of life.

Earlier, Freeman said on October 7, everything changed.

The Israeli envoy stated that thousands of Hamas terrorists, burst across the Gaza border and murdered, raped, tortured, and brutalised over 1200 Israelis and citizens of other nations.

“To those that call for an arms embargo on Israel, what message are you sending? That you are on the side of the murderers and butchers of Hamas, of Hezbollah, the Houthis and their Iranian sponsors? And that Israel, uniquely among the world’s nations should not have the right to self-defence.

“It is a morally defenceless and shameful position to hold.

“On October 7, everything changed. As we remember the victims, we also recognise the resilience of the Israeli people.

“Our history is filled with moments of hardship, but time and time again, we have stood together in the face of adversity. We have mourned, but we have also rebuilt. And we will continue to stand strong with our friends and with our partners, honouring the memory of those we lost by striving for a future, where such horrors are not repeated; for a better future, a future of peace for all the peoples of our region.

“On October 7, everything changed.

“Today, we come together to remember the horrific events of that day, and in particular, the massacre at the Nova Festival.

“The Nova Festival was meant to be a celebration of life, music, and peace; a gathering of young people who came to dance under the open sky. But, that joy was shattered when terrorists unleashed a brutal and unthinkable attack. Hundreds of innocent lives were cut short in an act of barbaric violence.

“The festival, a symbol of harmony, became the site of a horrific massacre.

“Today, we will see just some of the images and hear some of the stories that emerged from that day. Young men and women hunted down in the very place they came to celebrate life.

“Yet, for those who survived that day, the nightmare never ended.

“Shirel Golan survived the Nova Festival, one of almost 200 partygoers saved by Israeli Bedouin policeman, Remo Salman El-Hozayel.

“But for Shirel, that day never really ended, and recently, on her 22nd birthday, she took her own life.

“For Shirel and for all of us, on October 7, everything changed.

“May the memories of those murdered at the Nova Festival, and all the victims of terrorism, be a blessing and a source of strength for us all, and together, we will dance again,” Freeman assured.

Chief Mbazulike Amechi: The Last Zikist

Chief Mbazuluike Amaechi

BY PAUL NWOSU

The recent passing away of Chief Mbazulike Amechi, Dara Akunwafor, aka The Boy Is Good, is akin to the loss of a very huge library, a bastion of knowledge and a treasure trove of political activism. His profundity was legendary and he could be likened to one tree that made a forest.

Chief Amechi passed on as the only surviving minister of the First Republic. He built a formidable reputation as a vibrant trade unionist for many years and held full-time offices in the unions from 1949 to 1955.

Born on June 16, 1929, Amechi was inspired early in life by the fiery speeches of Nigeria’s greatest nationalist leader, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Great Zik of Africa.

A lionized native of Ukpor in present-day Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Amechi joined the Zikist Movement while he was still a secondary school student at Etukokwu College, Onitsha, where he earned the Cambridge School Certificate.

He had the habit of always being on the entourage of political campaigns, in line with the political catechism of Zik. It was reported that he took an oath with the other members of the Zikist Movement never to get married until Nigeria was liberated from British colonial rule! There was even the other dimension that Amechi and other Zikists took another oath that no Zikist arraigned before any court should make any plea of leniency or show any sign of regret for fighting for the freedom of Nigeria. He was a prime mover in the Zikist Movement that included other legendary figures such as Oged Macaulay (son of Sir Hebert Macaulay), Kola Balogun, Ikenna Nzimiro, M.C.K. Ajuluchukwu, Fred Anyiam, Mokwugo Okoye, Zana Bukar Dipcharima, Nduka Eya, Margaret Ekpo, Raji Abdallah, R.B.K. Okafor and Osita Agwuna.

He furthered his studies through correspondence by enrolling with Woolsey Hall Correspondence College, Oxford, England. He then enrolled as an external candidate with Beaverly Hills University in the United States and took a BA (Hons.) degree in Political History.

Amechi was elected a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of Zik’s party, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), in 1959.

He was a dependable ally of Zik who gave him the nickname “The Boy Is Good”. Amechi reportedly saved Zik from assassination by apprehending the assassin who was armed with a dagger! He was as ever ready to take the bullet for his leader.

He had the record of becoming Nigeria’s first minister of aviation. On the prompting of Zik, he hid Nelson Mandela for six months in Nigeria to evade arrest by officials of the apartheid regime of South Africa.

Amechi was a progenitor of the “Think Home” philosophy because he operated from his country home known as Maryland Lodge in his native Ukpor all through his life. He set up the first rural-based agro-factory in Eastern Nigeria. He was into mining and set up a hospital.

In 1985, he authored the book, “The Forgotten Heroes of Nigerian Independence.” He was also the author of “Nigeria: The Two Political Amalgams,” published in 1994. His memoir, “Simply The Good: An Autobiography,” was published in 2004. To mark his 90th birthday in 2019, he presented the book, “A Political History of Modern Nigeria: Words and Thoughts of Mbazulike Amechi.”

A dedicated family man, he was married to Iyom Chinelo Priscilla Amechi, popularly hailed as Odiukonamba. His first son, Nwachukwu, predeceased him, while the others, notably, Tagbo, Ikenna and Ncheta, have produced reputable grandchildren for Amechi.

He took the prestigious Ozo title, bearing the name “Dara Akunwafor.” He was the life vice-chairman of Nnewi Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture. The Ukpor Town Union honoured him in 2018 by unveiling his golden statue at the market square. He was a co-founder of the Anambra Elders’ Forum.

Amechi has over the years played a leading role as a remarkable political titan. He remained a paramount statesman until he breathed his last on All Saints Day, November 1, 2022.

Anambra State and Nigeria have lost a great legend in Chief Mbazulike Amechi, who richly deserves to be immortalized as one of the iconic fathers of modern Nigeria.

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Reflections On The US/Africa Leaders’ Summit

THE SUN NIGERIA

BY CHARLES ONUNAIJU

The much anticipated U.S – Africa Leaders’ Summit has held in Washington, The United States of America from the 13th to 15th of December. As expected it drew considerable media attention. Coming eight years after the first summit was held in 2014, it did not have much to look back in terms of antecedents and continuity. There was virtually nothing about 2014 inaugural Summit. Between then and now, Power Africa, the signature initiative of former president Barack Obama to double access to power in sub – Saharan Africa, where more than two thirds of the population are without electricity and more than 85% of those living in rural areas lack access to electricity, has mostly floundered.

Mr. John Rice, vice chairman of the U.S based General Electric gave a scathing verdict several years after the initiative that there have been some good initiatives contemplated, Power Africa being one of them but if you look today at the number of megawatts that are actually on the grid directly from the Power Africa Initiative, it is very little;. Even the initial phase of the project aimed to add “more than 10,000 MW of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity targeted to increase electricity access by at least 20 million new households to its ultimate destination of “adding 30,000 MW of cleaning electricity and increasing access to 60million new connections designed to be invested with about 7 billion U.S dollars got nowhere. Six countries – Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and Tanzania were lined up for the phase ending in 2018. By the end of that year the former chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulation Commission told an American Newspaper, “I am not aware of any concrete plans for power plants that have emerged as a result of Power Africa”. Prosper Africa, another initiative launched in 2018 was designed to substantially increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa. By the end of 2021 prior to the second Washington Summit delivered a paltry two-way trade of just 64 billion U.S dollars, less than one percent of U.S total global trade.The Africa growth opportunity Act, (AGOA) passed at the turn of the century renewed in 2015 and due to expire in 2025 has added little or no momentum at all to U.S – Africa economic exchanges.

The U.S – Africa leaders’ summit which just concluded in Washington was not short of lofty rhetoric. President Joe Biden told his guests “we are all in on Africa’s future” and followed with announcement of 55 billion USD in commitments. However, the President underscored that only 15 billion USD are new commitments, which translate that the bulk of the headlined 55 billion USD comes from initiatives that have already been announced in the past fora. Some observers noted that “while there were a few interesting investment announcements and commitments, the overall feelings, while observing the U.S. Africa Business Forum was watching an assemblage of disparate deals scraped from any, presentable enough commitment to make an impression that in President Biden’s words “the U.S is all in on Africa’s future”.

Beyond the glitters of the Washington Summit, there are no roadmaps benchmarks, timelines, specific deliverables to give concrete momentum to the existing modest commercial and economic intercourse between the two sides. The Summit which has opportunity to invigorate the existing cooperation was over the board in haranguing the private sector of both sides to hug themselves as if that is not happening already, but rather fell far short of the institutional and other structural process to drive it on a sustainable basis. Definitely Washington is more enamored to Geo-politics than to the critical inputs that would support Africa in building self-propelling capacity. The summit itself was ostensibly inspired by geo-politics, an extension of Washington’s obsession to contain China and to lesser degree, Russia on a global scale , especially in region where Beijing footprints are boldly on the horizon.. The U.S strategy towards Sub-Saharan Africa, released in August made no pretense about the reason for Washington’s renewed interest in Africa. It has accused China of seeing Africa, “as an important arena to challenge the rules – based international order, advance its own narrow commercial and geopolitical interest… weaken U.S relations with Africa peoples and governments…., and work with African government, Civil societies and counter harmful activities by the PRC, Russia and other foreign actors”

And this is in spite of the warnings earlier by the chairman of the African Union and President of the Republic of Senegal, Mr. Macky Sall at the UN general Assembly that Africa has suffered enough of the burden of history, it does not want it to be breeding ground of a new cold war but rather a pole of stability and opportunity open to all its partners on a mutually beneficial basis. At the Washington Summit, President Biden promised support for the Africa Union to be admitted as permanent member of G20 exclusive club of top global economic performers. Already the group has significantly outreached to major International organizations and significant regional groups. Being more of a mechanism or process rather an organization, its agenda and outreach are constantly evolving and engaging critical global players is more in its best interest to stay relevant. African Countries need more of capacities to notch up their respective national aggregates and come to global top tables on their own than to be patronized to it, even worse as a group. Another eye catching sweetener of the Washington Summit was President Biden’s appointment of a special envoy to coordinate US new interest in Africa and drive the Summit’s outcomes. The mantle fell on ambassador Johnnie Carson. Mr. Carson comes with a baggage of condescending arrogance towards Africa. Prior to the Kenyan Presidential election in 2013, Mr. Carson, assistant secretary of state for Africa, warned Kenyan voters that whatever choice they make would have consequences. The comment was viewed with alarm across Africa and already, concerns are whether Mr. Carson would be knocking heads or mending fences in his new assignment. At the Summit, President Joe Boden has said that “African voices, African leadership, African innovation all are critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges… Africa belongs at the table in every room where global challenges are being discussed and in every institution where discussions are taking place”.

This is truth expressed in its objective form and their is no doubting that Africa’s moderating influence would douse some of the world’s tension. However, the United States has a responsibility as a major country to contribute to international instability. When instigating separatist irredentism on China’s Taiwan or piling pressures on Moscow through surrogate wars, or seeking confrontation in the Indo-Pacific, such actions dissipate energy and attention from “ a world that is free, a world that is open, prosperous, and secure”, according to President Biden. The U.S Africa leaders’ Summit have obviously concluded and it’s expected that its outcomes would enable a framework for what Washington called “equal partnership” between the two sides and now all talk is done and known, the essential part is to walk the talk. The United States of America as the convener of the Summit should take the initiative and world is watching.

Salute To The Villain Of Finland

BY OGBUAGU ANIKWE

This is a back-handed salute to the villain of Finland who has become a nemesis for our foolish romance with a myth called Biafra. I never would have thought that I shall reference a current presidential candidate. However, on the matter of the identity of this villain, “to mention his name is a disgrace to me.” You will know who I reference because today they have taken over the task of continuing the prolongation of Igbo misery, particularly the Igbo living and doing business in Nigeria’s South East.

The Villain of Finland has fully transformed into a nemesis. We often mistake a nemesis as a foe – an enemy with a hostile mien seeking to prevail against us on a contentious point or issue. The person who becomes a nemesis is not necessarily our enemy or foe. He is rather the villain, the obnoxious character in the group with the potential to successfully oppose our hero or leader. The nemesis is often on the same side with us, and it is from our group that they promote counter-arguments or launch offensives that threaten the vision of the group. Sometimes they may be right but are oftentimes not.

The Villain of Finland is the Igbo anti-hero. He chose the best hour to strike – a time of vulnerability for southeasterners who have come to a crossroads in the battle for the place of Igbo in national development.

This anti-hero has introduced a new fight for the soul of the Igbo. Well, not actually a new fight per se but a continuation of the old lucrative battle successfully prosecuted by two others before him. Our current anti-hero doesn’t care about Biafra. Listening to him, he has no clue about how nations gain independence from internal conflicts and the terrible costs they exact. This makes it easy to suspect that our anti-hero cares more about his pocket than an extravagant liberation struggle. If this were the case, it can be said that he learnt well at the feet of the protagonists who preceded him. He uses similar rhetoric across multimedia channels to manipulate the emotions of the unsophisticated. At the same time, he is crafty enough to recognize that, to reach into the very souls that he seeks to dupe, he needs to skillfully engage and win another battle. This final battle lifts him up as the top dog in the lucrative enterprise called Biafra Agitation.

Biafra Agitation has become a mercantile enterprise whose protagonists have their hearts everywhere but the actualization of the Biafra dream. They must know that the Biafra Dream is just that – a dream, unrealistic and quixotic when fought with nothing other than loud, loose and dangerous diatribe delivered from the havens of Europe. It is always the case that when an issue in contention deteriorates to a shouting match, group agitation, or a shooting war, it can only be peacefully resolved through arbitration. The alternative is for the stronger party to firmly subdue the weaker or worse, pulverize the entire population of opponents in conflict.

We appear not to be guided by history. Otherwise, we must recognize that this was the point of contention between Igbo intellectuals and political leaders at a crucial point in Nigeria’s history. The challenge bedeviling Igboland today was firmly planted when idealists prevailed on the authentic Onyendu to go for broke and prosecute an armed conflict to the bitter end. They used empty words and propaganda to cover the untold hardship that their decision inflicted on the population, a hardship that the wise political elders predicted and warned against. Today, the MO remains largely the same – boastful words and propaganda, funded and empowered by a tiny but misguided set in the Diaspora Igbo population.

Everyone acknowledges that the original warrior who fought an intellectual and physical battle to institute equity and justice in the Nigerian federation is the authentic Onyendu. He was from Anambra State. Today, we are no longer in agreement about the value that pretenders to his throne have brought. Who are these pretenders, you may ask? We can simply identify them as the retired Onyendu II (from Imo State), the detained Onyendu III (from Abia), and the wannabe Onyendu IV (from Ebonyi). We never know; the circle may well complete with another aspirant from Enugu State!

The ideological disagreement between Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu on how Igbos can survive the war (as Cyprian Ekwensi put it) is what sustains the crusades of the serial pretenders to this day. The only difference is that the intellectual class has taken a back seat from where many of them egg on the pretenders on their clearly suicidal missions. This rump of the intellectual class has become collaborators in the murder and mayhem unleashed on residents of southeast region. They provide intellectual rationalizations and the funding that idle young people feed on to resort to mindless violence. They favour a continuation of the option that inflicts maximum suffering and pain to the brothers they left behind in a place they call “The Zoo.”

If the case of the intellectuals and idealists is bad, the penchants of the political class are worse. An elementary definition of politics is the struggle by groups for equitable distribution of resources of the commonwealth. The southeast political class, as representatives of the group, has devalued this concept by pursuing personal and family interest since the death of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. They forget that the Nigerian Civil War was an unfortunate consequence of a misguided effort by a national institution – the military – to ensure this equitable distribution. At least, this was the stated goal of the botched January 1966 coup d’état – to give Nigeria a capable leader that will enable the country to become more inclusive and achievement-oriented. In its execution, however, the Igbo population was presented as antagonists and villains, even when it was obvious that this could have been nothing other than another customary internal and well-guarded secret conspiracy by military officers.

The Igbo political class can be excused for their selfish and self-centered quests to grab part of the resources of the commonwealth through elected public offices, political appointments, and government contracts. They look around them to see that they have become a region under siege by the same set of conquerors that assaulted the airwaves with a soothing “no-victor-no-vanquished” jingle in 1970. The implementation of this armistice was anything but equitable and fair, the reason why the serial onyendus have continued to get a hearing as each embarked on their own tragi-comic exertions

Tragi-comic exertions? It is comical because the serial pretenders are not guided by the wisdom of our fathers. The Igbos say that onye ndi’ro gbara gburugburu n’eche ndu ya nche. The interpretation is that an at-risk group must be present and inclusive in protecting members of their group. They also say that “anyi ko mamiri onu, ogbo ufufu” (two good heads are better than one). Igbo people have a proverb to describe and dismiss those who break ranks to launch quixotic attacks on imaginary windmills. The wise among them know that, sooner or later, these importunate beings end up in the tiger’s belly from where they complain that the group has “abandoned” them. This was the tragedy of Achebe’s Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. Their misguided exertions lead to one more pithy saying, translated by Achebe thusly: “We often stay in the home of the coward to point to the ruins where a brave man used to live.”

Among the Igbo, there is always a limit to fighting as lone wolves and the support that the group extends to such efforts. The Igbo reach their toleration threshold when such exertions become or threaten to become an existential risk. Every dispute that does not leave room for resolution becomes an existential threat, as numerous examples of internal conflicts in Africa have shown.

Before the tragedy that was Biafra, other parts of Africa that fought civil wars ended up in tears. Angola was the first African country to suffer the devastating effects of internal conflict. The hundreds of thousands of refugees that fled from Angola into Zaire (today’s DRC) eventually played a role in the Congo and other internal conflicts in East, South and Central Africa regions. The cost in human suffering and death has not been fully counted. Back home in our country, the three-year Civil War (1967-1970) wasted an estimated two million lives, caused by famine and an official starvation policy designed to quickly end the war. Keep in mind that this was a conflict where the people met in conclave to give the authentic Onyendu a mandate to protect people from the defunct Eastern Nigeria from rampaging mobs across our nation.

I have no idea whether the Villain of Finland understands the nuances of the Igbo struggles and how they situate in the current battle for the 2023 presidency. Or whether he cares that, even if Peter Obi ends up not winning, the Igbo case has received an image shine and achieved a moral victory. I will recommend the English version of the Igbo saying as a final praise song to him on his current exertions: We often stand in the compound of the coward to point to the ruins where a brave man used to live. The brave man is the beleaguered Igbo, not himself. So, sir, if it is true that federal authorities aid your current exertions, which I strongly doubt, also look to the example of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa. If it is not true and that your eyes are firmly trained on the financial gains, I pray that you will also not become like the proverbial housefly that refused to heed wise counsel.

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Witchcraft Is Part Of Nigerian Culture – Prof David Ker

David Ker. Image: Facebook

Former Vice Chancellor, Benue State University and Veritas University, Prof. David Ker, who was billed as the keynote speaker at the First International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Witchcraft, which held at the University of Nigeria, UNN, Nsukka, between November 26 and 27, has said that those profiting on the gullibility of people over the concept of witchcraft were the ones who opposed the conference. In this interview with VINCENT KALU, the former vice chancellor noted that witchcraft is an aspect of human culture.

What is the concept of witchcraft?
It is a practice that is known to all cultures all over the world. If you go back to the English Literature, which I teach, and a book like Macbeth and so on, you would find out that witchcraft has been part and parcel of man for a long time.

A lot of people just thought that as scholars, we shouldn’t be asking questions about it; we can’t say we have not asked questions on witchcraft, which has been studied by scholars everywhere. The conference was supposed to be an academic exercise, and not fight with any Christian group or groups of people.

It is the practice of so many things including, sorcery, and all kinds of supernatural things. A lot of us can only glean what we know about it from the literature that we read. It is not as if we practice it, we have read a lot about it and it is from what we have read about it that we want to discuss.

I was invited to give a keynote address, not because I’m a chief wizard. In fact, I’m not a wizard, I’m a well-known Catholic, they know that my interest in humanities covers a lot of things. There is a book for instance by a Ugandan Anglican priest, John Mbiti, called, African Religion and Tradition, he has studied extensively and tried to show that what we sometimes say is witchcraft is people’s culture.

Why was the opposition to the conference so much; was it because everybody is afraid of witchcraft, as churches have made it a dominant prayer point to bind and destroy witchcraft?
It is a business, so a lot of them don’t want people who are educated to talk about it. It is something like this; binding witches that some churches become popular because we are so gullible that a lot of us believe that even when our stomach is paining us it is not because we took something, but because somebody in the village has done it. So, if somebody tells you that he can cure it and you don’t need to go to a doctor to get diagnosis, is it not better? So, it is a business.

What was the conference supposed to achieve?

Every scholar’s inquiry is about the inquisitive nature of man. There is nothing that a man does that cannot be inquired into. The whole idea of a university is research.

For instance, in the Catholic Church where I belong, in the seminary, the fathers are taught witchcraft. You can’t pretend that this thing doesn’t exist and even if you are going to bind it, won’t you know what you are binding.

It is very interesting thing; it is not a secret thing; it is something that has been known over time, if you have read literature you keep coming across it even before the time of Shakespeare right to where we are now, as researcher digging into it, it cannot be anything new, it is not that we are looking for the devil, but we are digging into an area of human behaviour.

If you watch African Magic, don’t you see these people try to portray this on a daily basis, why can’t these people who are opposed to the conference go and stop these movies from being shown. Even to research into the practice of the thing becoming popular in the movie industry is also an area of research.

In Africa setting, we see witchcraft as evil, and some associate masquerades with witchcraft, what is its equivalent in the western world?
Have you heard of Halloween? These are all the same practices, the white men are smarter than us, so they usually do their own and register it properly, and once a year, they wear their dress, they dance around streets and do all sort of things. There are some people even in Africa who believe that wizardry can be used for positive thing. In some culture, it is actually a form of governance; when we didn’t have all these structures, the elders were in charge and if an elder usually believed to be possessing such powers, told a young person, ‘don’t do this or that’, they didn’t need any laws beyond what the elders say.

So, there are many positive aspects of it that are in our culture. Like I said, even the Oyibo people have it, the only good thing for them is that if you are a witch in Spain, in England or wherever, you would register as a witch.

The type you have in these western countries, is it the same we have here that you wake up from sleep and see all sorts of marks or scarification on your body?
It depends on what you want to believe. The title of my keynote address was “ I do not believe in witches, but I fear them”, thought of equivocation and witchcraft are the kind of things involved in this thing.

In fact, I borrowed that title from a Catholic priest who was around in the early 70s. We can’t run away from this thing, there is no point to show that the African practice of it is different from the English practice of it. Witchcraft is witchcraft.

Why do you fear them when you don’t believe?
Yes, they exit, but you don’t have to worry, you don’t have to fear because you know you are worshipping a power that is more than them. You have a God that is superior, but to pretend that that aspect of life doesn’t exist is also running away from the truth.

There is only one power and that is God, but also, what I’m saying is that it is a researchable area, and nobody should come and intimidate you not to talk about it because you are a good Christian. A good Christian should have a sufficient faith to take care of these things.

Why are you afraid to talk about something when you know that your God is there to protect you? You cannot pretend that aspect of culture doesn’t exist, or since you want to pretend that it doesn’t exist then you are okay, or we should leave it to these people who will gather people around a camera and say, ‘yes, there is one tree in your house that is causing you not to have children and so on.’ We need to do something about those aspects; a researcher must ask questions into every aspect of life.

In the Holy Bible, there is this Witch of Endor, a woman Saul consulted to summon the spirit of Prophet Samuel in the 28th chapter of the First Book of Samuel in order to receive advice against the Philistines in battle after his prior attempts to consult God through sacred lots and prophets had failed. So, it is not new.

Every culture has it. Let us not pretend. When we talk about it in our culture, we always feel it is something inferior, that is our problem. I have been teaching ‘Macbeth’ for the past 45 years, to my students.

The whole of that play is based on witchcraft. It is the witches in that play that made life more and more difficult for the great General. They told him that he would become a king, and unfortunately for him he thought that the only way he could become a king was to kill the king, and from then on his life was no longer the same.

When his life was becoming more difficult he went back to them, the same witches and asked them, ‘how come, you told me that I would be this, but I’m not sleeping again’ they told him don’t worry; they started telling him new things. Every culture has this thing.

What message do you have for people who were opposed to the conference?
They should realize the fact that we, who do this business of inquiry into knowledge, we believe in knowledge, more knowledge and better knowledge everyday.

They should let us explore knowledge, we are not going to kill anybody, we are just trying to find out why things happen the way they do. We are not challenging God; most of us are ardent believers of God. We are not challenging God and we are not glorying witchery. We are saying, what is this thing about, as scholars we are bound to ask more questions.

Don’t let anybody deceive you, there are many books on that; they don’t want anybody to study this thing because of the manipulations that some of them do on people, which is making life easier for them. It is a big business for these people who try to fight witches on your behalf. Are they not practicing the same thing? How can you fight something you don’t believe?

University of Venda offers course in witchcraft?

Yes, a university in South Africa is also doing a BA programme in witchcraft.

What will a graduate from that department suppose to be doing?
He is a scholar. He can talk more about an area, which some people are afraid of. It is knowledge; it is not evil knowledge. He is just trying to understand the concept, which is part and parcel of his or her culture

Why did you pull out from the conference?

It wasn’t called off actually, they kept on playing around until it turned out that they had changed the theme to satisfy people who were opposed to it, but those who had written papers were poised to deliver them. It took place on Tuesday and ended on Wednesday.

I’m not participating, I met the vice chancellor and the pro chancellor at Abuja, and I told them that if a university could not stick to something they said they should do that I would not be part of it; I’m not looking for promotion again, I’m just trying to advance research.

If I chose a topic as a keynote speaker and then you go and change the theme to satisfy other people, I’m not going to be part of it.

But somehow, it seems they kept along with the idea and it has taken place; the opening ceremony took place yesterday (Tuesday), and it is ending today. It’s a two-day conference.

I’m only the one that pulled out because they changed the topic; I have even sent them my title, and then they said the theme has changed because CAN and other people were going to eat them up.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

Tinkering On Policy Options For Nigeria’s Worsening Poverty Index

A woman walks on plastic waste in Lagos. Image: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty

BY OMONIYI SALAUDEEN

As an annual ritual, Thursday, October 17 marked yet another International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year’s event with the theme: “Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty” drew more attention on the most vulnerable. The objective of the anniversary is to protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every individual to earn a decent living regardless of race, religion or abilities.

The commemoration of October 17 each year is to demonstrate how to achieve greater participation by enabling people from all walks of life to come together to respect the human rights and dignity of people living in poverty. In particular, the participation of children and young people has always been encouraged and supported as an integral part of October 17 observances at the United Nations and around the world. This is in recognition of the important roles children play by sharing and applying the valuable knowledge they have acquired from their personal daily struggle to overcome poverty.

The anniversary once again brought to the fore Nigeria’s worsening poverty index, which has continued to generate concern among the stakeholders. According to the latest world poverty report recently released by Oxfam International, the country’s poverty index has worsened with no fewer than 94,470,535 people living below the poverty threshold of N684 per day, representing an increase of 3.4 million from the previous year’s figure of 91 million.

The country’s Director, Mr Constant Tchona, who described the situation as pathetic, said Nigeria was off the tract to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that up to 25 per cent of the world’s extreme poor will live in Nigeria by 2030.

“At the current rate, Nigeria is not only off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but many now believe that up to 25 per cent of the world’s extreme poor will live in Nigeria by 2030,” he postulated.

It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had in his second term inaugural speech indicated government’s intention to “lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next 10 years and set them on the path to prosperity’’ to “fundamentally shift Nigeria’s trajectory and place it among the world’s great nations.’’

However, other than remedial palliatives like ad-hoc stipends for the vulnerable and N-power programme, no appreciable progress has been made in this regard, which is why poverty has continued to be on the increase. The worrisome trend has been blamed on a number of government policies making life unbearable for the ordinary Nigerians. These include, among other things, rising inflation (more than two digits), increase in VAT from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, border closure, rising unemployment as well as general atmosphere of insecurity which has contributed to uncertainties in the investment climate.

All these combined with diminishing disposable income continue to exacerbate hunger and poverty in the land with dire consequences for the common man. In the wake of his re-election, President Buhari had conceded to the demand by the organized labour for a minimum wage of N30,000. But the hope was almost lost before the Federal Government negotiation team and the workers union eventually agreed on consequential adjustment.

The rising debt profile further adds to the hardship of the economy. Before the country got to this fragile state, some concerned experts had raised the alarm over the reckless manner with which the administration had been borrowing in the guise of infrastructure projects that are virtually invisible, but the warnings fell on deaf ears.

Available record shows that Nigeria’s total public debt rose from N17.28 trillion in 2017 to N24.41 trillion in 2018. The recent release by the DMO also indicates that after the first quarter of 2019, the country’s total debt further increased by 2.3 per cent and now stands at N24.95 trillion. According to the 2020 appropriation bill, which President Buhari submitted to the National Assembly, debt service alone is projected to gulp N2.45 trillion, an amount that is far higher than N2.14 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure.

In its aggressive policy to shore up the IGR, the Federal Inland Revenue recently announced a hike in the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5.0 per cent to 7.2 per cent without considering its consequences on the purchasing power of the ordinary Nigerians. The tax regime has been predicated to bring more hardship to the common people, as producers of goods and services are bound to pass over the incidence on the poor consumers.

Speaking with Sunday Sun, Dr Austin Tam George, a political economist and former commissioner for information in Rivers State, faulted the policy initiative under the present condition of endemic job losses.

His words: “Right now, we have a new regime of taxes without a corresponding growth in job. You tax people who are taxable, you cannot tax the unemployed. The issue is do we have productive activity that can generate income? Is there any increase in disposable income? What we have is massive job losses. In fact, studies have shown that there are people who have given up on searching for jobs. Those people are no longer captured officially by the National Bureau of Statistics. So, the job statistics that we have right now are not even realistic. We have an endemic crisis of joblessness in this country.

Instead of putting more tax burden on the poverty-stricken populace, he advised the government to focus more attention on job creation. “I think the emphasis should be on stimulus spending. We should make sure we stimulate the economy by getting involved in infrastructural spending so that people can get job. The dependency ratio in Nigeria is almost a community to one working individual. When you tax that individual, life becomes difficult for those who are employed and completely unbearable for those who are not employed. So, it doesn’t matter how many taxes you are imaginatively coming up with, but how many people are getting the jobs and productively engaged. They are over taxing those who are employed and making life unbearable for those looking for job,” he posited.

Also suggesting ways to rejuvenate the economy to lift the people out of poverty, he added: “In economics, the best strategy to lift people out of poverty is job creation. You can’t lift people out of poverty by giving them N5,000 on every market day. You lift them out of poverty by creating condition for job creation so that people can find their ways in life.

“Lula da Silva created job in Brazil during his eight years tenure as president and lifted 20 million people out of poverty. And for the first time, Brazil over took the United Kingdom as the sixth largest economy in the world. Except we create condition that will engage people creatively, we are not likely to lift people out of poverty because it is productive activities that will generate income. With income, people will have purchasing power. For now, we don’t have those conditions. Instead, what we are having is massive job losses. You can’t have such condition and say you want to lift million out of poverty. There has to be extensive and imaginative expenditure on education, training and mentorship programme so that people can find their ways in life. We don’t have those conditions now. Our people are poorer now than they were in 1960.”

A former Minister of Transport, Ebenezer Babatope, also lamented the outrage of poverty in the country, saying “poverty in Nigeria is a tragedy. That the Minister of Agriculture in this present government could say that Nigerians are not poor is funny and absurd. Nobody is blaming Buhari for the totality of what is happening in Nigeria today. I was a member of the political party that produced government for 16 years. Therefore, I cannot say that everything should be heaped on Buhari.

“But we should have the courage to say the truth at all times. That minister ought to be removed immediately. We are extremely poor in this country. Nigerians are finding it difficult to eat three square meals per day. All of us must sit down together to find a way to rescue our country from this terrible dilemma. It is a terrible dilemma, it’s a terrible tragedy.”

He dismissed the promised by President Buhari to lift 100 million people out of poverty as an ambitious policy statement. “It is good to be ambitious, but I cannot see any policy in place that can lift 100 million Nigerian out of poverty. We are waiting for his miracle. When that miracle happens, I will be one of those who will applaud him,” he said.

The National Chairman of the UPP, Chief Chekwas Okorie, also weighed in on the alternative policy option to achieve poverty eradication, suggesting expansion of economy through job creation.

He said: “First of all, N30,000 is not sufficient to lift anybody out of poverty. Moreover, the civil servants who are earning salaries are less than five per cent of the total population. So, when they talk about lifting people out of poverty, I am looking beyond minimum wage.

“What the government needs to do in that direction is to expand the economy. It is when you expand the economy that you create opportunities for jobs. What I have observed is that with the impetus agriculture is receiving, more and more people are beginning to see agriculture as business. I am also quite impressed by the Minister of Works and Housing’s presentation at the National Assembly where he proposed a N10 trillion bond for infrastructural development. This bond is to be generated internally not outside the country. With approval of the National Assembly, there will be massive development of infrastructure in the economy.”

But in contrast to George’s submission, Okorie declared that the government was on course in its effort to reposition the economy.

He explained: “The other thing is that the border closure has made a lot of revelations. People are complaining of increase in prices of some food commodities, but the money being made from the price increase is not going out of Nigeria. Farmers are now going to the bank smiling. What I can see is that the president is laying the foundation for a strong economic growth. The real change is beginning to occur. Nigeria is now rated as one of the topmost countries in the easy of doing business. All I can say is that the president must be resilient and unwavering in his policy implementation. It is not going to be easy, but we are on the right course.”

Many observers believe that the drive to rescue the economy from the doldrums must have informed the decision by the Federal Government to change its economic advisory team to Economic Advisory Council (EAC).

This, they say, is a tacit acknowledgement that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan is far from being achieved.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

Tribute To Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe

Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe. Image: Twitter

BY ABIA ONYIKE

The sudden death of Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe in London on Thursday, October 17, 2019 came as a rude shock to his friends, admirers, students, comrades and loyal followers in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. He was a top-flight intellectual who had distinguished himself in scholarship and activism as a creative thinker and strategist. He was concerned with African renaissance and wrote extensively on African politics, the state and human rights. He was an outstanding literary encyclopaedia, an internationalist and pan-Africanist.

He wrote 17 books, including 63 publications, all in English language, spread in 1, 102 world-cat member libraries all over the world. Some of his books include The Biafran War: Nigeria and the Aftermath(2006); Biafra Revisited(2007); African Literature in defence History: An Essay on Chinua Achebe(2001); Readings from Reading: Essays on African Politics, Genocide, Literature(2003); Conflict Intervention in Africa: Nigeria, Angola, Zaire(1990); Africa 2001: the State, Human Rights and the People(1993); Does Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God anticipate the Igbo genocide?(1995) etc. Ekwe-Ekwe’s postulations on Nigeria’s national question and the crises of the Nigerian federation were indepth, incisive and breath-taking.

Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe was born in Jos, Plateau State, on June 14, 1953. His parents, from Uburu in Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State migrated to Northern Nigeria in the decade following the end of the second world war, in search of the golden fleece. A naturally intelligent and gifted child, Herbert attended St. Paul’s Primary School, Bauchi(1958-64) and proceeded to Boy’s High School, Gingiri, Plateau state(1964-70). He gained admission to University of Ibadan(1970-74), where he read Political Science, graduating in flying colours. He later obtained scholarship to the University of Lancaster in the United Kingdom and got his Masters and Doctorate degrees(1974-77). After his academic pursuits in Europe, Ekwe-Ekwe came back to Nigeria and became a Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Calabar in late 1977. He left UNICAL in 1983 as a Senior Lecturer and joined The Guardian newspapers as a Member of the Editorial Board.

That was a period when Dr. Stanley Macebuh, the then Managing Director of the newspaper had invited many egg-heads into the newspaper’s Editorial Board, then referred to as the ‘Flagship of the Nation’. Other intellectual giants at The Guardian at the time included Chinweizu, Dr. Edwin Madunagu, Ashikiwe Adione-Egom, Prof. G.G.Darah, Ama Ogan etc. Ekwe- Ekwe had to leave Nigeria through Benin Republic, en-route Ghana to the United Kingdom, ostensibly to escape the Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor treatment. Recall that the duo was jailed after their trial under a military decree promulgated to silence the free press.

In a period of thirty years from 1989 to 2019, Ekwe-Ekwe underwent a fundamental metamorphosis in his scholarly underpinnings. He would soon devote his intellectual energies by researching into the crisis of the ‘nation-state’ in post-colonial Africa. He probed into the wobbly governance structure in post-independence Africa and succeeded in providing logical answers and convincing explanations to the causes and sources of the politics of pestilence, wars and senseless killings which characterized and dominated the African scene since the immediate post-independent period.

He condemned the European powers for their role in instigating political instability in Africa and frowned at the role of Pan-Arabism and political Islamism in fomenting violence in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the specific case of Nigeria, he investigated and interrogated the developments in post-second world war Nigeria, identifying the elements which set the stage for the 1966 crises and the Igbo genocide/ Biafran self-determination struggle(1966-1970), during which 3.1 million Igbo were massacred. Ekwe-Ekwe was a vocal supporter of the Biafran restoration project in the 21st century and spoke in various conferences and scholarly gatherings all over the world to defend the case of Biafran independence. He labelled the Igbo genocide “as the foundational genocide of post-(European) conquest Africa’’.

According to him, “the Igbo genocide inaugurated Africa’s age of pestilence. To understand the politics of the genocide and the politics of the post-Igbo genocide is to have an invaluable insight into the salient features and constitutive indices of politics across Africa in the past 51 years’’. He lampooned the British government for standing against Biafran independence, thus: “Historically, the state is a transient phenomenon. Where are the world’s once great empires? Europe, with just a third of Africa’s population has produced 23 new states from the late 1980s. There is no point in insisting that the Igbo people, victims of Africa’s worst and on-going genocide, who want their own state, must remain in Nigeria’’. Ekwe-Ekwe was equally concerned about the continued military occupation of Igboland through numerous check-points which dotted the Igbo landscape. The check-points have since become barriers of extortion and appropriation, intended to hamstrung and destroy the socio-economic viability and heritage of the Igbo nation. He was even more worried that Africa and the rest of the world largely stood by and watched as the perpetrators enacted these tragedies, most ‘relentlessly and ruthlessly’. “Africa and the world could have stopped this genocide; Africa and the world should have stopped this genocide.

After teaching in some of the word’s leading universities such as Oxford, London School of Economics(LSE), Harvard, Sorbone and the University of Brazil, amongst others, Ekwe-Ekwe relocated to Africa in 2011, where he became the Director of the Centre for Cross- Cultural Studies in Dakar, Senegal. Certainly, the greatest regret for humanity lay in the fact that the Igbo genocide was coming 20 years after the Jewish holocaust/genocide in Hitler’s Germany during the second world war(1939-45) and exactly after the 21st anniversary of the liberation of Aushwitz had been marked with a solemn declaration never to repeat such heinous/horrendous incidents in world history. Of course the repetition was only possible because the world never handled the matter seriously. After all, the Nigerian authorities had the backing of the world powers, especially the then British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson who in 1968 ordered the Nigerian genocidal commanders/commandants to kill 500,000 Biafrans , if that would force them to stop their political resistance.

Ekwe-Ekwe would also be remembered amongst progressive intellectuals in Nigeria for his contributions to the formation of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The key players then were Madunagu, Profs. Uzodinma Nwala and Biodun Jeyifo who started it all with the formation of a body, known as the “Revolutionary Directorate’’ in 1978. Others were Profs. Inya Eteng, Ola Oni, Bade Onimode etc. Ekwe-Ekwe belonged to a generation of committed scholars who shared the indomitable spirit of audacity and the motto that “the end of all intellectual activity is the service of mankind’’.

SOURCE: DAILY SUN

National Assembly Adding No Value To Nigeria – Prof Pat Utomi

Pat Utomi. Image: Facebook

BY DANIEL KANU

Erudite scholar, Prof. Pat Okedinachi Utomi, is a political economist, management expert, entrepreneur, former presidential candidate and founder of Centre for Values and Leadership (CVL).

In this chat with Sunday Sun, he takes a critical look at country, why it is tottering, the challenge of nation-building and panacea to avoid impending anarchy. 

Excerpt:

You have studied, written and thought extensively on issues confronting our country, Nigeria. What is your assessment now that the country has clocked 59 years? Has the dynamics changed?

Well, the Nigerian situation is a heart breaker. There is nobody and I repeat nobody happy with what is happening today unless somebody who is involved in whatever that is going on. There is no one Nigerian who is not in the mix of whatever it is that is going on, directly, participating, who is happy. Our country has not lived up to its promise and I have articulated my worries several times, so I am not saying anything new. I actually gave a speech a month ago, which was entitled “one thousand one hundred years of servitude” and the speech was essentially to say that the failure of Nigeria, which is beginning to look more and more obvious could sentence the black man to a thousand years of slavery because Nigeria was the hope of black man. But it seems like, almost all of us fully complicit watch the group of adventurers, grab our country and destroy its purpose and its essence and we are all behaving like we either drank something that asphyxiated and we are watching it decline, decline and decline…. And unfortunately for me, I spend most of my time traveling around the world. In the next three weeks, I will be in four or five different countries and I am usually ashamed when I am asked, but my friend you come from Nigeria, how come your country is in such a mess? And I don’t know what to say, but to try and be as polite and nice as I can be because I am abroad and that’s the best thing to do, but it hurts. As I argued in one platform, our type of politics is that of the ultimate paradox. Politics is supposed to generate robust public conversation. The outcome of that public square is supposed to drive optimal public policy choices resulting in stout economic performance, the raising of the quality of life of citizens and the advance of the common good of all. But that is not so in Nigeria.

As an intellectual that you are, where and when did the country miss so to speak the right track?

It didn’t happen one day, but 1998 was a critical part of it when Abdulsalami Abubakar announced the transition to civil rule programme. We all misjudged what will happen. Some of us took all kinds of risks against our lives to say enough of the military rule, that we have had enough, our fights, our sacrifice and I can talk about my sacrifice in so many different ways, the sacrifice of the concerned professionals, we had a meeting just last week, a few of us to reflect. We said that now the soldiers are going and the traditional politicians were on the ground to take over that it was time for us to go back to our businesses. But even some of the traditional politicians were not sure that the Army was ready to go; they thought it was one of those military games they have been playing, assuring Nigerians that they will go, but were still involved in what appears an endless transition. You recall the kind that Babangida played and they didn’t have so much to risk so they didn’t border, so space was opened to all manners of charlatans, buffoons, and adventurers to move into the political space. 

Well, the Army, made a decision, by Army here I mean the “class of capture” those “who own Nigeria” they decided that what was important was the top, just capturing the top, so they insisted that their man Obasanjo be imposed on the rest of us and once they were able to do that on the political system, not that Obasanjo was necessarily a bad person, but because they were only interested in him being at the top because he still had the Army mentality, so if he is at the top, that is everything for them. So, they put Obasanjo there and the course they want Nigeria to go, it will go. Obasanjo found himself having to accommodate those characters, from corrupt officers, criminals of all kind, they were repelling opposition. Unfortunately, to make matters worse during that period oil price exploded so these guys (those in positions of authority) met the state treasury in flourish and by 2000-2001, oil prices were in the stratosphere and these guys just simply downloaded the treasury into their pockets and in doing so they used money now as a barrier to entering into politics. So, reasonable people, people who have a mind of service were more or less blocked out. And as Prof. Anya said in his lecture and Dr Christopher Kolade as well as other people are saying: the patching up doesn’t work anymore, Nigeria has to begin afresh. What we have now can only lead us to 1,100 years of servitude.

So, how do we begin again? Is it to restructure as many have suggested or what?

All those buzzwords create things that people are confused about, so let’s stop using buzzwords. One of the few problems of Nigeria is that the culture that came out of the military rule created an understanding of prosperity to be a revenue share. On Production versus Revenue sharing, I think it is so important for us to educate each other so we can reduce the folly that currently afflicts policy. Now, the people are struggling about how much share of the revenue they are getting, so all our energies are focused on sharing and unfortunately the whole conversation has moved into the sharing of revenue from Abuja. So the people who think they should have more are talking about fiscal restructure because they want more share of the revenue, but what they don’t realize is that those who even have more revenues are getting poorer and I give you a very simple illustration. In the 60s there were more local governments in the South than in the North because local governments were just an administrative convenience, so the North just chose to create fewer local governments, the South created more. By 1975-6, the Obasanjo government had restructured and fiscal federalism now involves transfers to local government, because local governments were getting money all the people who had influence began to rush creating of more local governments in their areas and so from a situation where there were more local governments in the South than in the North, we got a situation where we got 774 local governments and about 500 come from the old North. Now what this meant in principle is that since 1975 a lot of national revenues from oil have gone to the North, but what has happened? The North has become poorer since then. So, revenue doesn’t make you rich, what makes you rich is production. How do you encourage people? How do you create an atmosphere for production growth that is what the central issue in Nigerian politics is? Local government should be seen as business development units that can look at the endowments of those local governments and the education in that local government should focus on the development of those endowments becoming the best in the world, in the skills that those endowments in that local government require, that is how we will prosper, it is not what we are doing now. What a situation when the cost of government is so obnoxious and a senator I am told was saying: who are you people to tell us about reducing our package or emoluments? There is the need for us to cancel the bloody National Assembly, it’s of no use to Nigeria. As far as I am concerned it adds no value to Nigeria. I am a student of balance of power and what we have right now amounted to no system of checks and balances, so why spend that kind of money on something that is just a complete waste.

So, the Nigerian people ought to wake up, we ought to have 50, 000 people in front of the National Assembly every day, saying close down this House. That is how you save a country that is dying. But we continue what we are doing until there will be nothing to save of the country. Until we can discuss honestly the impact of politics and political parties on our quest for progress we will continue to be challenged.

But the Nigerian masses appear to have been impoverished, how will they mobilize themselves, bearing in mind what has happened to Sowore, the convener of #RevolutionNow?

It is just because one man was trying to do it, if the people rise, you can’t stop them. You know when revolutions take place, it’s not planned, it’s just one day, in the market place one person slaps another person and before you say jack the whole country is on fire. That is why I keep laughing at people that think they can manage the situation, they should go and read the history of the French Revolution. The problem is that what is more likely in our situation is a descent into anarchy rather than a revolution.

What appears to be your greatest fear today about Nigeria?

Anarchy is my greatest fear for Nigeria and it was predicted 20 years ago by a gentleman known as Robert Kaplan who wrote the book “The Coming Anarchy”. He talked about how West Africa could descend into anarchy from ethnic, religious and economic images. Nigeria has become one of the worst cases of income distribution in the world. There are few people who have such incredible amount of money, they are buying all kinds of things. In fact, some can buy anything that has a price with ease and there are many who can’t eat, many with nothing to eat, not sure of where the next meal will come from and when you impose this kind of economic situation on top of all the other threats like ethnicity, and religion cleavages, etc one day you will just see the place embroiled in total anarchy, just like Somalia. I first used the word: “The road to Somalia” many years ago and suddenly I am waking up to see what is gathering, it is frightening. It is time for the elite to get together and honestly speak to each other and say, look: our country is dying, what can we do? But some people are playing games, hiding in their backyard and wishing it away. Those who are in power are swaggering not knowing that they are running a country that is heading straight to the rocks. Nigeria is heading towards destruction the way it is going. The question to occupy our minds is how much we discuss how to erect leadership architecture through deliberate development of people of character whose knowledge level and sense of service assure us the future will be a destination of hope. And how do we educate our youth so that the youth bulge that is our reality will metamorphose into a demographic dividend rather than fear of traveling from Kaduna to Abuja by road?

Those that are in power still insist that nothing terrible is ahead rather voices of disgruntled persons or zones clamouring to situate itself for the power game?

My problem with Nigeria is the triumph of politics, everything is politicized even very sensitive issues threatening the country is politicized, that is a big problem, they are not thinking about development, they are not thinking of people’s welfare and progress rather everything is power game, power, power, what are you doing with power, you get it and there is misery everywhere.

The Southeast is saying power must shift to the zone, the North is saying it is still their turn, so where do we go from here?

Everybody is getting it wrong, what the elite need to do is to say: look how can we make our country work? If you don’t have respect for one another you can never get anything work, the mutual respect that leads to organizing things. Unfortunately, we don’t have elders anymore. It used to be that 30, 40 years ago in Nigeria there were a group of people, younger people, but they are kind of, like elders, they will get together in Kaduna, they will call some in Lagos, Ahmed Joda will go to some people’s house and before you know it, between Lawson, the late Sunday Awoniyi, etc with some few people, ideas will come together and they will say, let’s stop this thing here, let that person come, let that person go bearing the whole country in mind, but today we don’t it anymore, we don’t have elders anymore, so because of it everything is just running loose.

But this government has expressed optimism that the huge budget which is over N10 trillion will make a difference in the life of Nigerians and that things will get better?

I have always said that budget discussions in Nigeria are a joke, I used to discuss budget until I found that budgets were a complete ruse, it’s for public relations, so I don’t border to read the budgets, it has become annual rituals, mere annual exercise that has no positive impact on the people.

Some say that part of the problem with Nigeria is that there were no founding fathers rather liberation fathers that did not build a firm foundation for the unity of all Nigerians?

No, I don’t agree with that. What do you call the Herbert Macaulays, Awolowos, Azikiwes, Okparas, Balewas, Bellos, etc those are surely the founding fathers. They had good visions of a great Nigeria.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

Biafra: WIC To Approach UN, World Powers

Image: World Igbo Congress

BY MAGNUS EZE

ENUGU (SUN NEWS ONLINE) -- The World Igbo Congress (WIC) rose from its annual convention in Houston, Texas, United States with a resolve to adopt diplomacy in the push for emancipation and possibly the independent state of Biafra.

A communiqué from the gathering also dwelt on several myriads currently plaguing the Igbo nation.

These included security of life and property in Igboland; the menace of the herdsmen, as well as the future of the Igbo regarding association with her neighbours among others.

The convention also discussed how to support WIC to fully play the leadership role that will be beneficial to Ndigbo and the promotion of synergy among all Diaspora Igbo organisations.

The communiqué issued by Secretary-General of WIC, Dr. Richard Nwachukwu, after its deliberations, indicated that the Igbo would approach the United Nations and the world powers to present their case against the Nigerian Federation.

It restated the call for the immediate relocation of Igbo businesses’ headquarters to Ala-Igbo in order to protect them from frequent and unwarranted attacks.

Other decisions from the convention were that all Igbo support the congress which in turn is mandated to provide leadership in galvanizing Diaspora Igbo and pursue a plan of action leading to the information acquisition and dissemination necessary to promote investment in Igbo land.

To promote and support technology transfer through mobilisation and active engagement of well-connected young Igbo entrepreneurs in the Diaspora to Ala Igbo. the congress agreed that it should work with Ndi-Igbo and progressive government functionaries.

The congress also agreed that it should pursue the establishment of Diaspora Igbo database so as to assist in strategic planning for the security and economic improvement of Igboland.

While lamenting that the 1999 constitution currently in effect in Nigeria, does not have referendum in any of the schedules, it resolved to supplement the pursuit of Igbo emancipation through diplomacy and engagement of foreign powers, the United Nations and regional powers in matters involving the region politically, economically, militarisation, suppression, and persecution of Ndi-Igbo in Nigeria.

“Over the years, people in diaspora of different nations of the world, have been the key players and drivers of nation building and economic emancipation of their homelands. It resolved that the congress should take the leadership role like other diaspora groups like Jewish Congress, apply pressure and lobbying mechanism to achieve Igbo emancipation.

“It is resolved that WIC should, through Association of Southeast Town Unions, establish formidable intelligence units in Ala-Igbo, as well as reinforce vigilante groups in Ala-Igbo to ensure that Igbo land is protected.

The WIC also urged Nigeria to actively support religious freedom by signing the Roundtable on Ministerial Inter-Religious Freedom which other countries are signatories.

It also unanimously resolved that every adult Igbo in the Diaspora should donate a minimum of $20 annually to the congress’ special account to serve as a token of commitment and bolster the achievement of the mandates outlined.

Nigeria Prize for Literature: 3 Writers Battle For $100,000

BY DAMIETE BRAIDE

LAGOS (DAILY SUN) - As the race for the eventual winner of the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature gets hotter, three authors have been shortlisted for the event scheduled to take place in Abuja on October 11.

Chairman of the Advisory Board of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, Prof Ayo Banjo, and the panel of judges announced Jude Idada’s Boom Boom, Dunni Olatunde’s Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge and O.T. Begho’s The Great Walls of Benin as the hot contenders

The chairman disclosed that the journey of the 2019 edition of the Nigeria Prize for Literature started in March 2019 when the call for entries in the category of Children’s Literature, the genre in focus, was announced.

Last month, 11 books for the first shortlist was announced, and, one of the books, based on the verdict of the judges, and the advice of an international consultant, Professor Kelvin Nyong Toh, a professor of English at University of Bamenda, Cameroun, will become the winning entry for the 2019 edition of the prize in October.

According to the judges, the book, Boom Boom, is narrated through the eyes of an innocent child as he struggles with the bond of relationships, love, affection, friendship, loyalty and trust in times of crisis. It also gives Sickle Cell Anaemia immense clarity in an absorbing and engulfing narrative.

The main proposition of the novel, said the judges, is that nature inflicts pain, but has also made provision for its succour and cure. This solution is however hidden in a complex web of natural and social circumstances that human beings must unravel. The novel is an experiment in pursuit of this objective.

In Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge, the judges see links or inter-textual relations between the work and that of “The Famous Five,” a popular children’s thriller and adventure series by the renowned English author, Enid Blyton. However, the book cleverly domesticates the plot and temperament of Blyton’s series, taking existing and dominant stories out of their familiar western terrains, resetting and localising them.

Continuing, the judges said, the book is suitable for children as the actions can easily be adapted by children to suit any situation. The storyline can help children to create a sense of right or wrong.

The Great Walls of Benin, said the judges, promotes indigenous knowledge by focusing children’s attention on myths of origin. The book upholds the role of oral literature as an effective tool for disseminating knowledge to children. Using origin myth as tool, the author creates an imagery setting which carries one into a world of fantasy that can be understood and appreciated by children. It, among other things, preaches unity, trust, togetherness and understanding.

The judges describe these books as highly didactic, yet coated in an absorbing and engaging narrative. The style of writing exhibited in these books is suitable for children and gives clarity to the vicissitudes of life, spurs healthy curiosity, builds problem-solving skills as well as promotes the role of oral literature as an effective tool for disseminating knowledge to children.

The winning entry will be announced at an award ceremony on the October 11, 2019.

In the same vein, Manager, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Sophia Horsfall adds that The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly among four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature and next year’s competition will focus on prose fiction.

Nigeria LNG Limited remains committed to responsible corporate citizenship, and The Nigeria Prize for Literature is one of its numerous contributions towards building a better Nigeria.

The judges for this year’s prize include Professor Obodimma Oha, a professor of Cultural Semiotics and Stylistics in the Department of English, University of Ibadan; Professor Asabe Usman Kabir, professor of Oral and African Literatures at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto and Dr. Patrick Oloko, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos, who specialises in African Post-colonial Literature, Gender and Cultural Studies.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature has since 2004, rewarded eminent writers such as Gabriel Okara (co-winner, 2004, poetry), Professor Ezenwa Ohaeto (co-winner, 2004, poetry) for The Dreamer, His Vision; Ahmed Yerima (2005, drama) for his classic, Hard Ground; Mabel Segun (co-winner, 2007, children’s literature) for her collection of short plays, Reader’s Theatre and Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo (co-winner, 2007, children’s literature) with her book, My Cousin Sammy.

Others are Kaine Agary (2008, prose); Esiaba Irobi (2010, drama) who clinched the prize posthumously with his book, Cemetery Road; Adeleke Adeyemi (2011, children’s literature) with his book, The Missing Clock; Chika Unigwe (2012, prose), with her novel, On Black Sister’s Street; Tade Ipadeola (2013, poetry) with his collection of poems, The Sahara Testaments; Professor Sam Ukala (2014, drama) with his play, Iredi War; Abubakar Adam Ibrahim with his novel, Season of Crimson Blossoms (2016, prose); Ikeogu Oke with his collection of poetry, The Heresiad; (2017, poetry) and Soji Cole with his play, Embers (2018, drama).

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

The General Philip Effiong Son’s Exclusive: Ojukwu, His Deputy And Biafran War

Philip Effiong image via Daily Sun

BY MAGNUS EZE

SUN NEWS ONLINE INTERVIEW

Prof Philip Effiong (Jr.), son of the late General Philip Effiong, second-in-command of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in the defunct Biafra has given an insight into that dark side of the nation’s history. The Professor of Theatre at the Michigan State University, USA, was in Nigeria recently as guest lecturer at Centre for Memories, Enugu. He spoke to Sunday Sun on his war experience, his father’s relationship with Ojukwu; why he did not abandon Biafra, post-war healing and other issues.

Excerpts:

Prof, may we know why you’re in Enugu?

I am in Enugu to give a talk on behalf of the Centre for Memories and the title of my talk was “Post-Biafra healing: Reclaiming our shared ties”. It focused on the need to restore our ancient or pre-colonial ties; the need to reclaim them. My talk focused that we’re increasingly fragmenting ourselves; completely becoming territorial. This started in colonial times because colonialism introduced new boundaries that we didn’t have before. Before then, our boundaries were flexible and we interacted more with one another, but colonialism introduced artificial boundaries and within those countries, new boundaries; not just geographical boundaries, but religious boundaries, economic boundaries and in some countries, racial boundaries and these boundaries continue to keep us apart. My point was that if we from this area that used to be the Eastern region with all our cultural similarities can’t get together, how can we talk of getting together with other people or fighting our enemies? We need to talk about coming together the way we used to be and this is exemplified in the 1929 women revolution, which involved the whole women of Eastern Region. My grandmother participated in that revolution and you have monuments built for women in respect of that revolution in places like Ikot-Abasi; it may have started around Aba, but at the end, all the women found the need to bond together. We don’t have that anymore. You can’t ask people in the Eastern Region now to come together and deal with a crisis because we have increasingly segregated and fragmented ourselves. That’s the gist of my presentation.

How did it end?

I ended by making some suggestions. I suggested that one; we need to have a good educational system that has a strong component. This will help us to focus on ourselves; of who we are, the richness and values, and also on the richness of those around us. We spent much time looking for faults amongst ourselves. You go on social media, you find talking about those Ibibio people; those Igbo people, those Ikwere people, Calabar and all that. It’s always accusations; we don’t talk about ourselves in a noble fashion. We don’t celebrate ourselves. Strong civic components in our educational system will help us do that and we restore the values of our system that never worked like the NYSC. Even though it has not worked; it’s been corrupted over the years. We can take some of those values and reapply them in this region. We can also focus on who our real enemies are; we make enemies of ourselves. Because we do that, we don’t focus on our real enemies and they take advantage of our disunity. Also, we need to focus on the fact that nothing is impossible because if you talk to people about the possibilities of achieving these things; a lot of them we say, you know that we have states, local governments, but it doesn’t matter. Someone like Julius Nyerere in Tanzania was able to quash ethnic identity; nobody talks about ethnic identity there, yet they have up to 100 ethnic groups in Tanzania. So, if it could be done in Tanzania, why can’t we do it amongst ourselves? We also need to stop addressing problems with different voices. We speak with different voices while addressing problems in this country; we need to speak with one voice. And many people speak when the problem concerns them; when their communities or ethnic groups are threatened. That further creates divisions. If you talk to a lot of people here about what happened in Benue; they will say, well, it happened to easterners, what did Benue people do? So, we have to be more cognisant of what happened to our neighbours; if we are there for them in period of crisis, they will be there for us when there is crisis.

For the people in the old Eastern Region, don’t you think that the civil war further polarised them?

Absolutely; the war polarised us, but polarisation was also used as a tool during the civil war. Before the civil war started; 12 states were created, those states were not created with our permission. They were created by the federal side because they wanted to divide us and they successfully did so. When they created states in the former Eastern Region, it immediately isolated the Igbo from the other groups; other groups no longer increasingly see the Igbo as brothers and sisters, but as enemies because everybody now had their own domains; space, with our different territories, we tend to keep other people out instead of inviting other people in. so, it worked as a tool. It was a strategy on the part of the Federal Government. So, they exploited division and were able to fragment us.

When certain persons crossed over to the other side, Gen. Philip Effiong didn’t change side. What gave rise to his action?

Actually, he wasn’t here (on the side of Biafra) because of state or ethnicity; he was here because people were being treated in the most unjust fashion; people had been brutalised; killed and their lives and property destroyed and they were chased away from different parts of the North, including himself and his family. So, he felt obligated to protect the people against these injustices. If his goal was just to celebrate the creation of state, maybe he would have gone to the South Eastern State and try to find a home there, but he was there on principle. And what was the principle? The principle was to protect people that were being attacked, especially innocent civilians – men, women and children. That’s why he stayed until the end in the Biafra cause, which he believed in and which I also believe in.

Having been about six years old when the war started in 1967; could it be said that you were witness to history or your father told you about his experiences?
I was witness to history and also experienced the history. I have vivid memories of the war even though I was so young, but the impact of the war on me as a human being on my mind makes it impossible for me to forget what happened. It was a horrible experience; we moved from place to place several times; we lost a lot of property, I ran away from the bombs. I was privileged because of the position of my father, but in spite of the privilege, my father’s home was destroyed, my grandfather was killed, my cousin was killed; my aunt was killed. So, when I recall, I feel the pain. One of the things people need to understand is that wars don’t end because there’s a ceasefire. People forget that there is post war; so, the war may have lasted two and half years, for us, it lasted many more years and in some ways it still does because my parents were denied a means of livelihood. My father was a professional soldier; he was not a doctor; lawyer, engineer or an accountant in the army. So, when you took that from him; at the end of the war, he was completely dismissed without any benefit; he had to spend the rest of his days hustling and sometimes he was able to get something, sometimes nothing. And so was my mother; she was trying to do anything possible for us to have a living-sewing cloths, selling drinks, and in the end, they managed to feed and give us education, but it was a tough struggle, especially since my parents had worked hard to be where they were, to lose all of that was very disturbing and painful and it’s still there today.

You mean no restitution yet?

No restitution. And at some point during the war, we didn’t have a home, someone accommodated us. It might sound strange to some people; I mean if this was happing to the second-in-command’s family, imagine what had happened to some people. When my dad died, I heard my mother was given something, but that was meaningless to me because first of all, whatever they gave her I knew was not sufficient. Of what use is it giving restitution after my dad died. My dad had served in the army since 1945, so, I think he deserved his restitution when he was alive.

If you’re to talk about your father; what kind of man was he?

I’ve looked at history; I have done my research, there are many things we don’t like about our leaders today; a lot of them are thieves, a lot of them have rigged elections, a lot of them mismanaged resources, abused power, there was none of these that my dad did. First of all, I see him as a person of integrity. I also remember him telling us to always stand up for the truth. The truth will come with repercussions, but you have to stand up for what is right. And you also have to focus heavily on education. He said you must prepare your mind to be useful in the society. He also taught us to think differently, just because society says things should go a certain way, you need to rethink it; you need have a critical mind, so that there is room to change things and transform things, so that there will be improvement. So, I appreciate the lessons that I got from him. Someone might say that I am saying good things about him because he’s my father, but I don’t say good things about all my relatives.

Are there any close shaves with death or those particular things you could remember about the war?
I was here in Enugu when Enugu was shelled; I still remember the sound of the shelling, landing in Enugu. That day, we all ran away; entered a vehicle and ran to Ikot-Ekpene and that was our story during the war-running from place to place. Many times when you run, you leave most things behind, so we lost a lot of things. I remember when we were homeless after Umuahia fell and my father’s ADC’s father who was a successful businessman took us in his house and gave us space and there were refugee camps around there in Ifakala. We used to play with the kids around. My father’s ADC was Hilary Iroegbulam; he’s still in New York now. His father gave us a place; when we lived there, I really saw things that till this day continue to really shock me. We used to play with the local kids sometimes you go to the refugee camp; you see all these children their colour had changed, their hairs falling off, their stomach so distended, their legs are tiny; many times they were deaths and when we hear that a refugee child dies, we run to go and see the mother crying. They’ll just dig a small grave and bury the child there; you know I became desensitized to death. So, Ifakala had a very profound effect on me. So, when Owerri fell, we moved to Owerri – me and my brothers – sometimes we go inside the bush looking for corpses just to see and many times we see bones with the flesh rotted away; and the uniform was hanging on the skeleton, so, a lot of those things very disturbing and for a long time, I became desensitized to death and violence.

What was the relationship between Gen. Philip Effiong and his boss; Ojukwu?

My dad was seen as a soldier statesman; he was very loving and kind. As the war raged on, increasingly the laughter I saw in him was increasingly lost and after the war when he had to struggle just to survive; he wasn’t the happy person that he was after the war. It strained his relationship with the family; he was still a kind man, but he was also going through a lot of pain, otherwise, I always knew him to be a soldier and gentleman. I think that’s how he carried himself and yes; I’m his son but that’s also the kind of information I get from a lot of people. As far as Gen. Ojukwu, he was our head of state and that’s how we saw him, as a head of state, as the person in charge; as the person that had dared to speak out on our behalf when nobody else would. I remember visiting my dad once in Umuahia when we were there; he was also in Umuahia, I remember looking at him with lot of fascination because to me as a child, he was a giant of a man. So, they had a professional relationship; they were not personal friends, my father had been in the Army before him, he joined later, but due to circumstances he became governor and when my dad returned to the East, he had to submit to his authority. As it should be expected; sometimes they were not in agreement with the policy to adopt, which was normal. It happens in every government; it happens in Nigeria right now, it happens in the US, it happens everywhere. And during that war, those were desperate times; there was no easy solution to the problems. So, people would disagree even in families, we disagree with brothers and sisters, we disagree with our parents sometimes, but just because we disagree doesn’t mean that we abandon the values of the family or the meaning of the family to us or the fact that the family is a source of nourishment and nurturing. It still serves that such role even when we disagree and that was the case with Biafra. Even when there was disagreement, the fact was that we were in agreement to the fact that we had to fight to defend ourselves against a vicious enemy; it was about self-determination, it was about protection regardless of where they may have been disagreements. So, the core value of what Biafra represented was never lost.

Looking back, would you say the war was necessary; couldn’t it have been avoided?

Perhaps, but we didn’t fire the first shot; if we weren’t attacked, there won’t be any war. We had done very well when the first peace talk was in Aburi, Ghana and we went and everybody had the opportunity to express themselves and say what they wanted and there was an agreement and we went back and the federal side decided to revise and review some of those agreements. So, we didn’t do that, and the federal side went on to create states and certainly made Ojukwu a nonentity at that point whereas Ojukwu was the person who had stood up for the people and who the people trusted. So, the creation of states was not reassuring and not abiding by the Aburi agreement, but still, we didn’t fire the first shot and when you’re attacked, do you just stand there and be slaughtered? No, you’ll defend yourself. So, the war could have been avoided, but I have no regret that we stood up to defend ourselves. I think that’s a natural response and remember that a lot people in what used to be Biafra had already been chased away from parts of the country, especially the North; after chasing them away, they really felt infuriated that they were now coming to their homelands to attack them, so, human beings will defend themselves which was what they did.

The drumbeats of war are on again. Don’t you think we are about making the same mistakes again?

The problems we encountered in the past were never addressed. In the past, what had happened was that people had used violence to get what they want; which was the control of the resources in the Southeastern region, they used violence and got away with it, so, why are we surprised that people today are using violence to get what they want? They believe that they too will get away with it, so, because the event of the past was never truly addressed, I don’t think people should be surprised about what’s happening and today it’s just continuation and just assuming a different shape and form. We didn’t learn anything and the message of the war was that if you can use violence to get what you want, then it’s okay; that’s what’s happening today. Today, the only problem I have was that many people who are complaining about the attacks from Fulani herdsmen; their communities, their people were involved in attacking us or in supporting the attacks against us. So, they come across to me as hypocrites meaning that they really don’t have any value for human lives except their own lives and they’re only complaining now because theirs is problem of violence, but because they are being threatened by the violence.

Did your family go on exile like the Ojukwus and families of many officers on the Biafra side?

We never went to exile; that’s not true, my father couldn’t even travel; if anybody had said that, that’s absolutely false. I know that towards the end of the war; about three days before the war ended, Ojukwu family was leaving, then my younger brother and myself as well as my cousin were here and my mother who was with a child and my dad told Ojukwu that if he must leave; that he should take us. That was three days to the end of the war; so, I saw the war to the end and my dad never went anywhere. We all left on that plane; a cargo plane and his family, all his relatives, including his mother. We went to different places; there was no real plan, at some point we were in Sao Tome, we were in Lisbon, we spent some time in Ivory Coast. We went to school in one of the refugee camps that the Ivorian government had set up for Biafran children; we spent some time there and you know some Biafran refugees were sent even further, some went to Gabon, some went to Ireland. At a point, myself and my brother were sent to Ireland even though we were young; we took instructions and we flew by ourselves on that plane to Ireland from Ivory Coast. We spent about five months there; we stayed with a family and then we came back. So, there was no real exile. The person that went on exile was General Ojukwu.

Do you have relationship with Ojukwu’s children?
No, I don’t, not for any bad reasons; I just haven’t connected with them. I’ve connected with Brig. Eze’s children, Major Gen. Madiebo’s children; the opportunity hasn’t presented itself. I don’t have any animosity against anyone, there’s no reason I should.

Are there those things about your father and Biafra that he told you that people don’t know?
Most of the things he told me are in his book. I think he mentioned everything, he even mentioned when they thought he had abandoned Biafra; I think it’s in his book. At some point they thought he had abandoned Biafra.

So, what were his lowest moments during the war?

I don’t know if he had a lowest point; there was sadness all through that war; he was disturbed all through the war, it’s a war, people were dying; people were blown to pieces, there was a lot of bitterness, but I don’t know when the lowest point was. I can’t say.

Who were your father’s friends that are still alive?

I knew my dad’s friends before and during the war. I can’t say Gowon was his friend; most of his mates are dead, Wellington Bassey may have been his friend, his friend Col Trimmel is past; some were killed during the first coup, Brig. Mai Malari, Ogbemudia even though he was his Brigade Major in the First Brigade. I can say that he was his friend because Major Ogbemudia helped him escape from Kaduna. Most of the people I would say are his friends are late.

If the scenario of 1967 is recreated; will Prof Philip Effiong (Jr) fight for Biafra?

Absolutely, because as a trained soldier, and there were attempts on my life for no justifiable reason and those who tried to kill me now chase me down to my home not just to kill me but to kill my people, of course, I’ll stand up to defend them. Maybe I’ll lose my life, but that’s the right thing to do.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I’m happy we’re discussing this experience. I’m happy this is an important narrative today; there were attempts to suppress it because nobody wanted to acknowledge the war crimes committed against Biafrans, nobody wanted to acknowledge the creativity, the strength and the determination; the inventions and diligence of Biafrans. Nobody wanted to acknowledge that, they tried to suppress the story. I’m glad it’s all coming up now so that we can honour those who sacrificed so much to ensure that the rest of us be given some kind of hope to live on and to succeed.