News Desk Tuesday, November 6, 2007

I Don't Trust Yar'Adua - Uwazuruike

Leader of MASSOB who just regained temporary freedom from detention, Ralph Nwazuruike, has said he has no confidence in the genuine intention of the Yar'Adua-led administration to resolve the lopsidedness of the Nigerian nation. He made the remark yesterday at a reception organized for him at the residence of Otunba Gani Adams. "If he is serious, why did he release Dokubo and left me? It is maginalisation and insentivity," he alleged. He promised that the struggle for emancipation will continue. arlier, Otunba Adams said only a sovereign national conference can resolved the national question.

Bail Conditions Scandalous - Kutigi

The Chief Justice of Nigeria yesterday took a swipe at judges in the country over what he described as scandalous bail conditions, just as he said the idea of judges granting bail to accused persons and setting down strenuous bail conditions was quite outlandish. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi also expressed dismay over the incessant interference of some state governments with the judicial arm of government by depriving it of the required funds for recurrent and capital expenditure even as some state governors refuse to appoint the next most senior judge in the hierarchy of state High Court. This, he said, is not only "an affront to the 1999 Constitution, but also inimical to administration of justice and the rule of law, which this administration, since inception, has guarded."

UK Admits Pressure from Nigeria to Try Corrupt Officials

The United Kingdom has admitted that its decision to go after corrupt Nigerian public officers who use its country as a safe haven to launder stolen wealth was at the prompting of the Nigerian government. Talking with THISDAY in Washington, D.C., former leader of the House of Lords in the UK, Baroness Valerie Amos, said the British government had to make legislations following pressure mounted by Nigeria and concerns expressed about money laundering through financial institutions in the UK.

I will quit as president if ... - Yar’Adua

IF the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal voids the election of President Umaru Yar’Adua in the April general election, the president may not appeal against the ruling going by feelers on Monday. It was gathered that the president, during his visit to New York, United States, in October, met with top government officials, led by the Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleezza Rice, and told them that he might not appeal if his election were nullified. The presidential election petition tribunal, sitting in Abuja, is currently hearing two petitions against the election of the president.

Espionage: Judith Asuni still in SSS custody

TWO weeks after a Federal High Court in Abuja granted her and her Nigerian employee, Danjuma Saidu, bail, Niger Delta activist, Dr Judith Asuni, who is on trial for alleged espionage, is yet to leave the custody of the State Security Service (SSS). They are said to be finding it difficult to satisfy some of the stringent bail conditions listed by the court. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court had granted the two of them bail on conditions which included N10 million surety each.

I’ll return to jail in January – Uwazuruike

Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has promised to return to prison on expiration of the three months bail granted him two weeks ago. According to him, "on January 28, 2008, I will return to prison. That is what the law said and I will not hesitate to comply."
He spoke during a visit to the corporate headquarters of The Sun Publishing Limited on Monday, saying, "I will go back to jail on the 28 January, 2008, unless something else happens." Uwazuruike lamented the death of his mother while he was being detained, adding: "The death of my mother, when it was announced, was my saddest moment in prison. There is something I hold in common with my mother. I am the only son. Before I was born, my mother had seven kids who died. So my birth was something special to her. She begged me not to die. We reached an agreement and I promised that I would not die."

Renowned Author, Cyprien Ekwensi, Dies At 86

The Guardian
From Uduma Kalu, Literary Correspondent, Enugu

DARKNESS fell again in the Nigerian literary firmament yesterday when veteran novelist, pharmacist and public commentator, Cyprian Ekwensi passed on. He was 86 years old.

The author of the popular Jaguar Nana series of novels was said to have died at the Niger Foundation in Enugu where he underwent an operation for an undisclosed ailment. It was not clear as at press time yesterday if he died during or after the operation.

Earlier this year, Ekwensi released Cash on Delivery, a collection of short stories, which turned out to be his last book. When he turned 86 last year, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State chapter and the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA), feted him.

Ekwensi was celebrated as the forefather of the city novel.

He is believed to be the author of the earliest published fiction on social life in the Lagos Metropolis. The accomplished novelist is remarkable for his down-to-earth style of writing and his prolific output, with over 20 novels to his credit.

One of his books, Divided We Stand, a lampoon on the Nigerian Civil War, is slated for discussion by experts in a conference on 40 years after the civil war.

"How far so far", is one of the themes for discussion at the ninth edition of the Lagos Book Fair, holding on Friday morning at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos.

Told of the passing on of Ekwensi, poet and past president of ANA, Odia Ofeimu, was "shocked beyond words" to comment immediately.

To the newly elected Lagos State ANA chairman, Mr. Chike Ofili, it was an unnerving piece of information. He too withheld his comments till later.

News of the death broke as Nigerian authors were rounding off their yearly convention held over the weekend in Owerri, Imo State.

He was a Nigerian writer who stressed description of the locale and whose episodic style was particularly well suited to the short story.

Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi was born at Minna in Northern Nigeria on September 26, 1921. He later lived in Onitsha in the Eastern area. He was educated at Achimota College in the Gold Coast, and at the Chelsea School of Pharmacy of London University. He lectured in pharmacy at Lagos and was employed as a pharmacist by the Nigerian Medical Corporation.

He married Eunice Anyiwo, and they had five children.

After favorable reception of his early writing, he joined the Nigerian Ministry for Information and had risen to be the director of that agency by the time of the first military coup in 1966. After the continuing disturbances in the Western and Northern regions in the summer of 1966, Ekwensi gave up his position and relocated his family to Enugu. He became chair of the Bureau for External Publicity in Biafra and an adviser to the head of state, Lt.-Col. Chukwemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Ekwensi began his writing career as a pamphleteer, and this perhaps explains the episodic nature of his novels. This tendency is well illustrated by People of the City (1954), in which Ekwensi gave a vibrant portrait of life in a West African city. It was the first major novel to be published by a Nigerian. Two novellas for children appeared in 1960; both The Drummer Boy and The Passport of Mallam Ilia were exercises in blending traditional themes with undisguised romanticism.

His most widely read novel, Jagua Nana, appeared in 1961. It was a return to the locale of People of the City but boasted a much more cohesive plot centered on the character of Jagua, a courtesan who had a love for the expensive. Even her name was a corruption of the expensive English auto. Her life personalised the conflict between the old traditional and modern urban Africa. Ekwensi published a sequel in 1987 titled Jagua Nana's Daughter.

Burning Grass (1961) is basically a collection of vignettes concerning a Fulani family. Its major contribution is the insight it presents into the life of this pastoral people. Ekwensi based the novel and the characters on a real family with whom he had previously lived. Between 1961 and 1966 Ekwensi published at least one major work every year. The most important of these were the novels, Beautiful Feathers (1963) and Iska (1966), and two collections of short stories, Rainmaker (1965) and Lokotown (1966). He continued to publish beyond the 1960s, and among his later works are the novel Divided We Stand (1980), the novella Motherless Baby (1980), and The Restless City and Christmas Gold (1975), Behind the Convent Wall (1987), and Gone to Mecca (1991).

Ekwensi also published a number of works for children. Under the name C. O. D. Ekwensi, he released Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales (1947) and The Leopard's Claw (1950). In the 1960s, he wrote An African Night's Entertainment (1962), The Great Elephant-Bird (1965), and Trouble in Form Six (1966).

Ekwensi's later works for children include Coal Camp Boy (1971), Samankwe in the Strange Forest (1973), Samankwe and the Highway Robbers (1975), Masquerade Time! (1992), and King Forever! (1992).

In recognition of his skills as a writer, Ekwensi was awarded the Dag Hammarskjold International Prize for Literary Merit in 1969.

Ekwensi, a one-time Commissioner for Information in the old Anambra State, is survived by children and grand children.

News Desk Monday, November 5, 2007

World Bank Lists Country As 'Fragile State'

THREE years after the World Bank characterised and listed Nigeria as a fragile state, the country remains so listed in a 2007 study report alongside Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Kosovo (territory) and Lao PDR. MORE>>>

Africa: Continent Needs Marshall Plan - Yar'Adua

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday in Eltville, Germany, called for a Marshall Plan for Africa along the lines of the European Recovery Programme employed by the United States of America to rebuild the nations of Europe devastated by the second World War. MORE>>>

PDP Chair: S’East Blocks Nnamani

About one month to the National Convention of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, subterranean moves to draft former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, into the party’s chairmanship race may have run into a hitch. MORE>>>

NNPC’s Oil and Gas Assets Base Hit $56bn

With the six months deadline for the implementation of the recently approved new National Oil and Gas Policy around the corner, the value of insurable assets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NN-PC) has been estimated at about $56 billion. MORE>>>

Obasanjo, Ali not fit for emerging PDP – Col Umar

Former Governor of old Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, says the bugle has sounded for the collapse of the old order in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), predicting that good people will emerge to lead the party to further the interest of democracy in the country. MORE>>>

ICPC quizzes ex-NDLEA boss - Over missing N29m, other exhibits - May declare 9 senior officials wanted

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) may declare nine senior officers of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) wanted over alleged disappearance of 168,400 euro (about N29 million) and other missing currency exhibits in their custody. MORE>>>

Chief Ralph Uwazuruike's Bail And Igbo Leadership

BY AMBROSE EHIRIM

Leader of the banned Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra Ralph Uwazuruike  arrives at the Federal High Court in Abuja  January 17, 2006. Uwazuruike is standing trials for treasonable felony for spearheading the actualization of the Biafra Republic. Image: Pius Utomi Ekpei/Getty Images



On December 19, 2006, leader of the militant group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams and five others walked out free of charge from a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, strucking out the case on the ground it lacked jurisdiction. Adams, whose faction of the OPC through the course of its demand for self reliance had been backed by notable grassroot Awoists and radical eggheads in Yorubaland, was released not because his case lacked jurisdiction. He was released on many grounds. The Yoruba elite was behind him, and Adams knew he had serious backing by his kith and kin.

Before Adams' unconditional release, Dr Frederick Fasheun who led another faction of OPC was released on health grounds. His release had come about on the advocate of the pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, another stronghold of Obafemi Awolowo's ideals. On the other hand, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and his followers who had been locked up on the same charges and who had lodged complaints of illhealth was denied bail to seek medical attention. The Igbo elite group did not have the guts to follow up his case for whatever reason, but like his counterparts charged for alleged same crime and released unconditionally, Uwazuruike was remanded indefinitely in jail. Sick and desperate for medical attention, he was not a free man until Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, on Friday, October 26, 2007, granted Uwazuruike bail to enable him fulfill the burial rights of his mother.

Also, the Niger Delta militant, Muhajid Asari-Dokubo, who had caused all sorts of havoc, raising arms and annihilating innocent citizens with members of his deadly gang, was granted bail through the legacy of a profound Ijaw leadership.

But Uwazuruike's detention was without Igbo leadership being tight-lipped and doing practically nothing for the release of the MASSOB leader. Upon Uwazuruike's arrest, and on November 28, 2005, the so-called "apex Igbo socio-cultural organization," Ohanaeze Nd'Igbo through its Secretary General, Chief Joe Achuzia, whose war credentials had been questioned, issued a statement denouncing and disowning MASSOB saying it was not backing MASSOB for whatever purpose the non-violent group was agitating for. Achuzia in this interview with Cajetan Mmuta of the Daily Champion issued a statement saying:

Ohanaeze cannot lend support to Uwazuruike other than ask Uwazuruike and his group to recant. They can fight against Igbo marginalization if that is what they are fighting for under a different name, not actualization of sovereign state of Biafra. It is unfortunate that everytime MASSOB is mentioned, everybody looks on the Igbo as if they were the architect and activists of MASSOB. I want to make it abundantly clear that at no time did Ohanaeze or Nd'Igbo in any meeting of any kind sit down to fashion out an organization called MASSOB.

This line of policy abstaining from affairs of the Igbo nation like that of Uwazuruike and MASSOB was typical of a bunch that had no clue what was going on and what the bigot Olusegun Obasanjo who had suddenly become a stateman after his command had committed rape and pillage against the Igbos. This kind of statement obviously fired up Obasanjo's quest in determining how to handle the Igbo nation when it comes to situations like this - the slamming of Uwazuruike and his followers. But Achuzia who thought he was doing his efulefu Igbo bunch a favor in order to pacify Obasanjo, was totally wrong and missed it entirely.

It also made one fear for Igbo unity because when Afenifere and elders of the Yoruba leadership forum are asking that Adams, Fasheun and the rest OPC gang be released without charge, Achuzia and his confused efulefu bunch were busy trying to see what leftovers could reach them in Abuja. It made one fear for Igbo unity because when Adams and Fasheun had had all sorts of backing from every aspect of Yoruba leadership, neverminding the havocs caused by Adams faction of OPC, Achuzia and his inept dovish group were busy keeping funny books in disguise and on the ground they were representing the Igbo nation. It made one fear for Igbo unity because when other militant groups around the nation were fighting for what they figured was a just cause, the do-nothing World Igbo Congress was busy chasing money at Abuja on the pretence it was Igbo umbrella.

However, Uwazuruike would continue to suffer in detention without proper medical attention nearly one year after Adams, Fasheun and Asari-Dokubo had been released and their respective cases struck out for one reason or the other; struck out for lack of jurisdiction in the case of Adams and his colleagues. It took a sound Igbo political leadership of freshman Senator Ikechukwu Obiora (Nnewi Senatorial Zone), Senator Uche Chukwumereije, Eze Nd'Igbo of Abuja, Nwosu Ibe and Eze Nd'Igbo of Lagos, Christian Uchechukwu Nwachukwu whose tallied sureties were required for the MASSOB leader's bail.

Eventually, Uwazuruike got out with his trial scheduled for January 28, 2008. Good job, Obiora, Chukwumereije, Nwosu Ibe and Uchechukwu Nwachukwu.

 I salute your courage and the saga continues!

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

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