News Desk Sunday, November 4, 2007

Agency, Imo Govt Trade Blame Over Expired Rice

Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Mrs. Ify Umenyi, and the Commissioner of Commerce in Imo State, Chief Ben Obinali are trading blames over who is responsible to run the Imo state Consumer Protection Committee and consumer protection matters in the state. MORE>>>

Orubebe Escapes Assassination

A ministerial nominee from Delta State, representing the South-South geopolitical zone, Elder Godsday Peter-Orubebe, escaped death in the early hours of yesterday in Abuja. MORE>>>

Rimi: Yar’Adua ‘ll Defeat Buhari Again

Former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, yesterday said President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua would defeat Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), his arch-rival in last April Presidential elections, if there is need for the two men to seek endorsement of the electorate. MORE>>>

Squandermaniac!
You sold Edo assets for peanuts, Osunbor tells

An insight has been provided into the alleged squandering of Edo State resources by the past administration of Chief Lucky Igbinedion.According to the state governor, Senator Osareime Osunbor, the Solid Mineral Plant at Igbesi, for instance, was sold off by the Igbinedion government for just N50 million. MORE>>>

'American Gangster'

Driving through Los Angeles and Hollywood, the billboards are all over with pictures of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in a movie that opens today in all theatres. Universal Pictures withdrew in 2004 just as the movie was about to start shooting after spending nearly $30 million in pay or play deals. 'American Gangster' starring Washington as Frank Lucas, the drug lord and Crowe as Richie Roberts, the cop who tailed Lucas' rise and fall trafficking heroin from South East Asia to the shores of America has been tracked to top the weekend's box office.

News Desk Friday, November 2, 2007

Bankole succeeds Etteh

Mr Saburi Dimeji Bankole representing Abeokuta South Constituency of Ogun State emerged the ninth Speaker of the House of Representatives, yesterday, pledging to entrench transparency, accountability and zero tolerance for corruption in the House. MORE>>>

Navy Kills 7 Militants, Loses 1 Officer in Gun Battle

THE Nigerian Navy yesterday explained its version of the attack on its Warship in the Niger Delta by militants saying its personnel killed seven militants while one Naval personnel on 'lookout duty' was killed when the militants in four boats attempted to attack the ship, NNS Obula. MORE>>>

Speaker pledges robust debates, quality laws

AT exactly 1:35 p.m. yesterday, 37 year-old Dimeji Saburi Bankole (Abeokuta South) Ogun State, hit the gavel on the table of the House of Representatives Speaker, twice to announce a change of guard in the chamber. He thereafter called his colleagues to order with a pledge to unite them once more for robust debates, exciting motions and quality legislation that would put the country on the path of sustainable development. MORE>>>

Ex-Govs Move against Obasanjo

In a bid to neutralise the perceived overbearing influence of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former governors and some power brokers within the party are moving to take control of the party machinery. MORE>>>

News Desk Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Nigeria navy in deadly oil clash

At least two people have been killed in a clash between the Nigerian navy and suspected militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta, security sources say. MORE>>>

UPDATE 1-Shell says oil theft in Nigeria growing again

CAPE TOWN, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Wednesday that crude oil theft at sites in Nigeria was rising, posing a problem for development and a safety risk for those engaging in the practice. MORE>>>

Road Safety Corps and Seat Belt Exploitation

Ever since the "Federal Road Safety Corps" was founded during Nigeria's military regime under General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in the late 1980s to date, the body which was meant to regulate the activities of road users has been left swinging in limbo and at the mercy of lack of clear-cut directions and responsibilities as far as control of driving vehicles is concerned. MORE>>>

Microsoft Contributes 47 Percent to Nigeria's IT and Economic Growth

THE International Data Corporation, (IDC) last week released details of a global research study showcasing the information technology (IT) industry's impact on "job creation, company formation, local IT spending and tax revenues" in 82 countries and regions worldwide. MORE>>>

Citizen Diplomacy And the Citizen

Since Chief Ojo Maduekwe intimated the public about the new focus and strategy of Nigeria's foreign policy under his watch, many commentators have set to town to either demolish or support this vision. MORE>>>

Nigeria: The Challenges Women Face in Politics

Women in Nigeria have suffered a lot of degradation, traditionally, politically and economically. In some areas, they are considered as second class citizens with no rights of their own other than what their husbands decide for them. In this write-up, Richard Alkali tries to synthesize the agonies encountered by women in their venture into politics. MORE>>>

Images Of The Carnage Along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

The above picture was captured by Emma Osodi for The News magazine. Ill-equipped fire fighters are on the scene where this oil tanker fell and jettisoned its contents on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Sunday night, October 29, 2007.



About 7 vehicles burned beyond recognition of the carnage along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway burning more than 30 people to death.



Passersby and motorists who survived the carnage watch a dead body that had been burned beyond recognition on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.



Another gross scene of a burned body and razed vehicles captured by Emma Osodi of The News.

Ehirim Files Classic: WIC's Nashville Picnic: A Gathering Of Igbo Efulefu

BY  Ambrose Ehirim


Don't let the abbreviation fool you. It has nothing to do with Women, Infants, and Children, i.e., WIC - as in America's welfare program for indigent women and their infants. It has nothing to do with worthy Igbo causes either. It is like any other abbreviation with just a different meaning. It is worthless, WIC in this case is a crooked collective pretending to be doing something commendable and laudable for the Igbo nation. This piece is about this year’s fraudulent picnic of organized Igbo efulefu, the worthless and confused Diaspora bunch that calls itself “World Igbo Congress - WIC.”

As it happened, for months, pundits at Igbo fora, especially the notorious yahoo e-mail list, have been "eloquently" telling us about effecting change in the Igbo Nation with the dramatized so-called WIC Convention to be held in Nashville, Tennessee, over the Labor Day weekend. But I really do have a problem with the do-nothing yahoo.com “Igbo Forum,” which is being run as I write without memory, and with no one, absolutely no one, thinking about the fact that the yahoo.com list is irrelevant for the simple fact that there is no record of the hundreds of posts made daily by persons who would cite that forum for records of what they stand for. Seriously, Igbo_forum at yahoo.com has depleted most of its archive and those who write there now lack the ability to confidently point anyone to what they wrote in the past.

The memory in Igbo Forum is gone. It has been said over and over again by many, myself included, that there is no more memory to make references in the event, say, one wants to retrieve a commentary or so from the archives to buttress a point. Take for instance, the extensive and exhaustive debate during the 2000 WIC Convention in Dallas, Texas, noted for its once and for all solution-oriented and problem solving, ala, ka akpachaa ya akpacha, in what I can still recall, a symposium, and in what I had called "Nony and the WIC Formula." In that fierce and aggressive debate, Nony, Okenwa Nwosu, Ken Okorie, Ndiribe Ndiribe, Ugorji Ugorji, Egbebelu Ugobelu, Ejike Okpa, and many others wrote on what bothered them regarding WIC's ineptitude. Nonetheless, WIC pros Ugorji, Okorie, Nony, and Ndiribe tried to persuade the rest of us that WIC was the backbone, the umbrella organization of Nd'Igbo, with us not knowing they were all running a show of their own interest. Where is that reference today? It's absolutely gone. Everything written in yahoo.com Igbo_forum between 1999 and June 2001 has been deleted for lack of space. How can one prove the debates took place?

And, yet, every year, the political heavyweights in Igbo Forum have not lost the momentum to tell Nd'Igbo WIC is the umbrella Diaspora organization to solve problems grand and small within the Igbo nation. Really? The fraudulent and shameless Ugorji, at a time during Governor Achike Udenwa's visit to the shores of America told me, whether I liked it or not, that WIC protects my interest in the United States. Most of us know it well WIC "ain't doing a damn thing" for Nd'Igbo, and that's very obvious from its years of impotency. So, what has WIC done to protect my interest other than its annual picnic of showcasing ego-tripping robed chiefs-with-no-Indians in America? How has WIC addressed the plight of Nd'Igbo over the years? Since WIC has not lived up to its creed, what's the need for the annual bash wasting time and money?

The disgusting 2000 WIC Convention in Dallas where Abubakar Rimi popped up from nowhere should have warned Nd’Igbo that WIC "was up to no good" and it was all about showing off Islamic Jihad-like flowing gowns, outfits, and hauls of chieftaincy titles. A sad reality, indeed. But the irony is that this whole lot of brouhaha and convention of opportunists who have lost their sense of purpose can be traced to Olusegun Obasanjo's strategy of using the buffoons and Igbo sellouts as rubber stamps in situations that call for Nd’Igbo to make their own decisions. Today, the leadership of WIC is a bunch of gullible twits and cowards who have betrayed the Igbo Nation and succumbed to Obasanjo and Iwuanyanwu’s antics, just as the money bags in Ohanaeze have done.

Yes, money bags. Rimi splashed $10,000 in the face of Nd'Igbo and could insult and use any swear word against them, saying it loud and clear "in your face." Of course, it happened in Ken Okorie’s home base of Dallas when they were all attracted to Rimi's money. Pitiful!

For sure, Obasanjo and his coattails have figured out how to handle Nd'Igbo with the right nuts and bolts screwed into their brains. WIC officers see the decrepit state of roads in Igboland. Yet, they make statements that Obasanjo is doing a good job. They witness Obasanjo’s hate and bigotry and are aware that Obasanjo is a bloodthirsty criminal. Yet, they sneak through the backdoor to endorse Obasanjo. It all came to a head when Anambra State indigenes, including those in Diaspora, could not carry out a mass rally and revolt, or denounce Chris Uba and his colleagues' act of treasonable felony, or the criminal behavior of Chris Ngige in agreeing to surrender Anambra to Chris Uba.

Amazingly, Anambra people, including the attorney general of this Orwellian and Shakespearean state, failed to rise to the occasion and prosecute Uba's criminal gang to the limits of the law. Yet WIC has the guts to hold a convention in Nashville, and Uba, as rumor has it, is now in America acquiring properties, living in the most posh of places, Parlos Verdes, California, on looted money. So what's WIC's convention for? To discuss what? Igbo plight? That Uba who "now resides in California" is justified for his acts and protected by those who help him launder money for sharing the loots and spoils of power? So, too, in whose interest is it for Uba's new home in California, running away scot-free without charge in AlaIgbo and the nations “neo-democratic fabric?” In whose interest is the rule of law being reversed while anarchy is put in place in Anambra State?

When the Ngige Vs. Uba drama, which is still playing, exploded and made headlines in the media, both Ngige supporters and Uba's followers got into it, playing the blame game as if it was normal procedure and appropriate for what had unfolded. Ironically, the pundits in Anambra State caught up in a well orchestrated gimmick that brought turmoil during Chinwoke Mbadinuju administration of chaos and instability when Emeka Offor was the Don, the fat cats who instituted anarchy in that troubled state ate their own words when shady business deals and bad faith erupted in Ngige’s and Uba's criminal activities.

These pundits had sworn "never again" would what happened in Mbadinuju's era of anarchy be allowed to repeat itself in what they had foreseen would be a genuine elected governor by the people's mandate. They were wrong and they misled the poor masses who had no idea money and favors were changing hands. However, all said and done, Ngige was elected upon the most massive rigging exercise in the state's history.

All this and within four months, WIC went to Nashville on Labor Day weekend, according to the actors and attendees. In all their commentaries and accolades, the subject-matter of Chris Uba and Chris Ngige was hardly mentioned, except in a contrived and belated communiqué. The fate of the Igbo Nation and state of the empire and anarchy instituted by the likes of Offor, Uba, and Ngige. Former Secretary-General of WIC, Luke Azubuike, who had campaigned against the reelection of Kalu Diogu, and who spins when least expected, raised his version of the truth about his assessment of WIC when he wrote:

"The campaign is over, the election is over, but what is not yet over is the deplorable state of affairs in Igboland. It is my prayer that the tough election Dr. Diogu faced would inspire him to re-evalute his leadership style and to see if he can do things differently at this time to change the political dynamics in Igboland."

Well, for once, he has been sincere. Igboland is in a "deplorable state." But, his baseless point of view did not offer any solutions to that deplorable state of affairs. The worst scenario came with WIC's tyrannical order, the so-called WIC Nashville 2003 communiqué, which is really criminal:

"That WIC demands that every Igbo organization in the United States should reserve the Labor Day weekend exclusively for World Igbo Congress Convention to ensure maximum participation of Nd'Igbo in the discussion of Igbo affairs. Further disregard would be cause for sanctions including ostracism."

With this outrageous line of communiqué, it is evident that the organizers do not have their acts together and have no idea what it is they are doing. Funny how these people are when they fail to come to terms with reality. No mention of Chris Uba whom nobody could prosecute. No mention of Chris Ngige who signed away Anambra State to the mob.

And one WIC 2003 attendee at yahoo.com igbo_forum had this to say about attendance at the dysfunctional Nashville, picnic: “Fifty-five delegates signed the attendance and they spoke eloquently." Whoever said they would not speak "eloquently?"

Also, funny was the praises and hi-fives for Alex Ekwueme, who is now seeking to position himself as a neo-Igboist. Ekwueme, ever so clever spoke eloquently of the need for a profound and centralized Igbo political party. Now that elections are over, Ekwueme pretended to lean toward APGA. These guys will not cease to amaze me. Honestly!

Then, there came the write-up of that self-acclaimed Igbo technocrat, Odindu Odunze, whose beef with General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu I had problems trying to figure out. Odunze in his infantile angst and frustration-induced hallucinations for his own failures challenged Ojukwu thus:

"If after a considerable length of time I do not hear from Chief Dim Ojukwu concerning his consent to my challenge for a debate, I will publish in its entirety, the content of what would have been the premises of my debate on why I believe that Ojukwu has outlived his political utility and ought to bow out with grace."

Now I am not an expert on leadership, references, archives, or storage. But without agreeing that these pronouncements can seem foolish, as most, if not all would think they do including Okenwa Nwosu himself who wrote without bias for the first time:

"If the tone of the published communiqué is indicative of what the newly elected WIC executive shall be up to for next 2 years, then we shall all have legitimate cause to worry and lament for the fate of our people. Could this be a manifestation of arrogance of power in party here?"

How soon we forget what transpired in the past. No reflections and no profound insight in WIC's Communiqué, I must freely confess. It is typical of a conquered and finished people.

Going back to the archives which no longer exists in Igbo Forum, in the convention sponsored by Igbo Cultural Association of Nigeria Dallas-Forth Worth (ICAN-DFW), held in Dallas in the Summer of 2000, Ojukwu was clear in calling on Diaspora Igbos to take over the mantle of leadership from his generation. The Ikemba detailed the necessity of Diaspora leadership. On that score, it is either Odunze is pretending not to know of Ojukwu's call for change of guards or Odunze was intentionally bent on mischief when he lamented that Ikemba Nnewi "has outlived his political utility."

Apparently, the Igbo Diaspora, scared to their scrotum, Odunze himself included, could not take up the mantle of leadership in effecting change. So, what's Odunze talking about? Odunze was not even able to address the Ngige-Uba fraud, which fell on his lap at the WIC picnic, which DIM Ojukwu did not attend. Ojukwu’s absence at WIC 2003 was perfect opportunity for Odunze and his ilk to show what they could do in the absence of Ojukwu. Odunze did not care to call on Igbos to apply their laws firmly and swiftly to all those who break them. Rather, Odunze was obsessed with Ojukwu.

It's time to quit the picnic and face serious issues. The bottom line is, the moment pundits of the post-civil war era begin to realize that Igbo problems lie within ego-tripping elitists who have destroyed the unity of the Igbo nation in its entirety, and find a way out of the situation, the present state of confusion and lack of organizational effectiveness will continue to eternity and Nd’Igbo would continue to be and act like a conquered and finished people.

This article was published exclusively at BNW Magazine on September 06, 2003

News Desk Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Why I stand surety for Uwazuruike —EZENDIGBO

The Ezendigbo of Lagos State, Eze Christian Nwachukwu has said that his standing surety for bail of MASSOB leader Chief Ralph Uwazuruike was borne out of his concern for the plight of the Igbo activist. MORE>>>

I’m ready to die for Biafra – Uwazuruike
•Returns to tumultuous welcome in Enugu

Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, who was granted temporary bail last week, received a heroic welcome at Enugu on Monday, where he said he was ready to die for Biafra. MORE>>>

Journalists Harassed By Governor of Northern State for Criticising Lavish Spending

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the way governor Ali Modu Sheriff of the northern state of Borno has hounded journalists since mid-October 2007. After criticising his lavish spending, James Garuba of the "Tribune", Michael Olabode of "This day", another privately-owned daily, and several other reporters were arrested twice in a week by the State Security Service (SSS), the main domestic intelligence agency, and then placed under its daily control. MORE>>>

Tribunal Bans Witnesses From Testifying

The presidential election petitions tribunal in Abuja yesterday held that henceforth all parties in the petitions brought by General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will no more rely on witnesses in order to enable it conclude the petitions before three months as earlier scheduled. MORE>>>

Etteh Steps Aside In Disgrace

But the drama that followed her stepping down from her seat, may well be a pointer to the fact that the woman may have lost her seat as speaker. Members overwhelmingly endorsed the nomination of a representative from Benue State, Mr. Tenrgu Tsegba, the favourite of the combative opposition, as the temporary speaker to preside over the discussions on the Idoko report. Etteh’s candidate, West Idahosa had few members in his support. MORE>>>

Ralph Uwazuruike's Release and Injustice in Nigeria.

On Friday, October 26, 2007, Justice Binta Nyako at a Federal High Court in Abuja, granted Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader Ralph Uwazuruike a conditional release to enable him take care of his mother's burial which to me had long being overdue since Uwazuruike was never a security risk and posed no threat.

According to the report filed by Danladi Ndayebo of All Africa Global Media, "the judge held that MASSOB boss should return for his trial on January 28, 2008. She directed that the accused person provides two serving senators a nd two traditional rulers of Igbo extraction. In addition, he must be reporting to the Imo State police command twice in a week during and after his mother's burial."

What kind of injustice is this? What kind of country is this? When Frederick Fasheun was released on health grounds, was he asked to be reporting to his local police command until he gets well probably? When militant Gani Adams was released unconditionally, was he also asked to be reporting to his local police station to make sure he is going by the rules and not annihilating people anymore? If Uwazuruike, Adams, Fasheun were charged with treasonably felonies, why would Uwazuruike be remanded in custody while Adams and Fasheun were granted unconditional release?

But I like Uwazuruike's courage. Upon his release, he told curious journalist that the struggle for the actualization of Biafra will continue irrespective of what a bias court decides. Props must also be given to his sureties who were handy to make sure the MASSOB leader was released as prescibed by the judge. Senators Uche Chukwumereije, Ikechukwu Obiora and traditional rulers Eze Nd'Igbo of Abuja, Nwosu Ibe and Eze Nd'Igbo of Lagos, Christian Uchechukwu Nwachukwu were the sureties.

The struggle continues and time will tell!

Images of Southern California Fires

The above picture was captured by Associated Press photographer, Marcio Jose Sanchez of a Southern California Edison employee Francisco Flores on the job trying to restore power to a fire-ravaged community in Running Springs.


The one above here was captured by Spencer Platt of Getty Images as smoke clouds billow into the sky from Poomacha fire which destroyed most homes in the area. The good news as the raging fire enters its second week is that two more fires in the San Diego area is said to be fully contained.


This one here captured by Allen J. Schabin of Los Angeles Times showing a desperate deer in search of food on a smoky Modjeska Canyon Road.

However, I did receive many calls from well-wishers who called to find out if I was affected by the Southern California blazes that destroyed properties worth millions of dollars. And good to know, I am safe, folks. It's time to rebuild.

News Desk Sunday, October 28, 2007

AS OMEHIA BOWS OUT AS RIVERS GOVERNOR..What we want from Amaechi— By Dokubo Asari, Ateke Tom, others

Ijaw leader, Alabo Graham Douglas, has advocated the probe of former Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State and his successor, Sir Celestine Omehia, by Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Speaking yesterday, against the backdrop of the deposition of Omehia by the Supreme Court and the assumption of office of Amaechi, Douglas said in an interview with Sunday Vanguard: “The issue of enquiry is what we must carry out in this state, we must. I mean, a state structure, a state finances, owner and personality and environmental cleanliness had all been fractured in eight years. We had appropriated over one trillion Naira and nothing to show for it, where did all the money go” MORE>>>

Family-of-eight escapes death in Police gun attack

OWERRI—A family of eight narrowly escaped death when a team of gun totting policemen stormed their private home and opened fire on them in their living room. Narrating their sordid ordeal to Vanguard, Mrs. Ann Ukaegbu, said that “the policemen led by an Inspector opened a seemingly endless fire on the iron door and destroyed it in the process”. MORE>>>

Presidency set to sack Iwu

THERE are strong indications that the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, is on his way out of the commission, with a former top security chief from the South West zone tipped to succeed him. MORE>>>

Anxiety in Sokoto as Election Tribunal delivers judgment tomorrow - Police tighten security

The serenity of the ancient city of Sokoto has given way to anxiety as the Election Petition Tribunal delivers judgment on the state’s gubernatorial election tomorrow. The declaration of Alhaji Magatakanda Wammakko of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been challenged by Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari and his party, the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP). MORE>>>

JAZZ: Weather Report's "This Is This"

If you are a jazz fan and have followed the rock-jazz-fusion beats when many jazzists crossed over from the classic tunes and big band sessions, you should know the likes of the late Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul and legendary saxaphonist Wayne Shorter who has been scheduled to perform at the tribute to Herbie Hancock on Sunday, October 28, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Somehow, for that reason I have been playing the last recorded album of Weather Report when Zawinul and Shorter mutually agreed to discontinue with Report's projects. Following up traditional jazz of the 50's and 60's before the crossovers, I wasn't familiar with Shorter and Zawinul. I got a grip of it while getting deep into jazz-fusion when the mind-blowing ethnic tunes became the norm in the 70's through the 80's until recently that traditional jazz began to stage a comeback as the all-star cast would prove it at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday.

In this last album of jazz-fusion's talented musicians, Shorter and Zawinul "sincerely" thanked all that gave their "enthusiasm and talent" during the course of the band's fifteen years existence. Among them: Alphonse Mouzon, Peter Erskine, drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Alphonso Johnson, Alex Acuna, Airto Moreira, Chester Thompson, Alirio Lima, Ndugu Chancelor, Don Um Romao, Mino Cinelu, Victor Bailey, Greg Enrico, Eric Gravatt, Miroslav Vitous, Marva Barnes, Colleen Coil, Darryl Brown, Seidah Garrett, Darryl Phinnessee and several others that came along the bands path.

The CD beginning with the titled track "This Is This" has everything in it, from the roots of African drum beats and rhythms to the lyrical expressions of a masquerade dance with a flavor of old-school wind instrumens on display. The album is just amazing with Zawinul showcasing his talent, the magnificent performer that he would be until his death last month. I kept replaying the track "Jungle Stuff" as the vibes and voiceovers reminds me of the legendary Chief Priest Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The album is just great and probably the best that Shorter and Zawinul put together.