thejuristLaw

VICISSITUDES OF ORJI UZOR KALU AND HIS ENDLESS LAMENTATION

2014-09-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

In the course of my interaction with persons from different walks of life, I have come to conclude that one of the major flaws of man is his failure to realize that there is God and that it is only God that knows not only tomorrow but the future, which includes even the next second, in man’s existence. The man that knows not God inwardly is a fool and, therefore, lives in a fool’s paradise.

It is purely by the grace of God that a child from a very wretched family background could attain the envious status of the ‘rich’, including educational, social, political and economic attainments. The Almighty God is always benevolent and merciful, especially to those that believe He exists, have faith in Him, respect Him and love their fellow human-beings.

Any man that appreciates that omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence are incontrovertible qualities of God would, in the first instance, accept that life, in itself, is transient and that no condition can ever be permanent. Equipped with this fundamental religious background, any one that attains whatever position in life would be guided by the knowledge that such a position in life is bound to be ephemeral and that the only way he could be honoured by time is by using the position to impact positively on humanity.

But contrary to the above expectation, man on attainment of certain positions of influence in the society especially in control and management of political power, exudes arbitrariness, wickedness, discrimination, segregation, inequity, greed, kleptomania and every other trait of inhumanity. Man becomes excessively possessed by the extra-ordinary urge to become extremely materialistic and possessive. He then forgets that life is just transient and that any attainment or possession is equally temporary. In fact, the wealthier and more influential man becomes, as long as he does not know God, the more ungodly and ruthless does he become. In extreme cases, man starts to play god, having jettisoned the fact that God picked him from grass and mercifully catapulted him to grace. When the extremity of man that knows not God gets to the level as mentioned above, God manifests Himself as the jealous God and what follows is vicissitude.

For any body that knows the pedigree of the immediate past governor of Abia State; Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, his growth to power was an example of ‘grass to grace and...? For a young man whose paternity was shrouded in controversy and whose mother had to depend, in the main, on meagre income from her on-the-table wares of local gin; popularly known as Kaikai, Ogogoro, Ekpeteshi or Akpuruachia, kola-nuts, bitter kola and snuff at the bank of Aba waterside to have grown to become the governor of his state, shows that there is nothing God can not do for His creature.

Orji Uzor Kalu went through very excruciating experience in his adolescence, passing through the hills and valleys of abject poverty. Despite his very poor upbringing, Orji Kalu ended up becoming the governor of Abia State in 1999. As was captured in my preamble, some persons like playing god not quite long after fortune has smiled on them.

Quickly on assumption as governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu unveiled his agenda, which, notably but regrettably, was woven around vindictiveness and vendetta. He had deep animosity for the traditional institution and in order to announce his arrival he had to rubbish the institution by splitting the autonomous communities in the state in such a way that each kitchen could become autonomous.

As a school dropout, Orji Uzor Kalu, whose real surname is Nsiegbe but in order to deceive the unsuspecting public to believe that he is a child of the wealthy Nnanna Kalu of Abiriba, may his soul rest in peace, changed his family name to Kalu, hates the elites. Therefore, as governor, one of his principal pre-occupations was to torment and ridicule the elites of the state. In this way, he appointed his Commissioners and Special Advisers and fired them disgracefully not more than six months after their appointment. The most disheartening was not that they served only six months but that they had their appointments terminated either at Sam Mbakwe Air-Port, Owerre or the Port Harcourt International Air-Port as he was traveling out of the state. Some political appointees that served under Orji Uzor Kalu ended up developing high blood pressure as a good number of them did not know if they would be allowed to stay upto such a time when they would be able to clear the loan they obtained to pay to Orji Uzor Kalu through his mother; Eunice Nmecha Nsiegbe, for their appointment.

Orji Uzor Kalu has pathological hatred for the hard working people of Abiriba. His only grouse against the people of Abiriba; a people that stand tall among not only the Igbo but Nigeria as a whole for their extra-ordinary ingenuity and enterprise, is because Abiriba people had declared him a persona-non-gratta as he was busy dropping the name of Chief Nnanna Kalu as his father and using same to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. When he became governor, he concluded it was an opportunity to take his pound of fresh from the Abiriba community. Abiriba people are homogeneous. They have a common ancestry and had been ruled via a time-honoured dynasty; The Enachoke. In his bid to cause confusion where there should be none, Orji Uzor split the Abiriba community just to truncate the unity the people had enjoyed for centuries. This unwarranted confusion led to the loss of many lives. Thank God, with his exit as governor and eventual liberation of Abia State from his evil rule, the good people of Abiriba are once again unified and united. They may not stop expressing their gratitude to the government of Sir T.A. Orji.

I have said it severally that Orji Uzor Kalu; Nsiegbe in truth, was and remains a huge bundle of deceit. As governor, he would stop at nothing to deceive the people of Abia state. The roads he constantly claimed or claims to have built were the first set of roads to be described as Dubai or Taiwan roads in the lexicon of civil engineering in Nigeria. Orji Nsiegbe was the only governor in Nigeria who brought three different personalities to commission a particular road at three different times. The Obohia Dubai road which he claimed to have reconstructed was at different times commissioned by the then President Obasanjo, Vice-President Atiku and President of the Senate; Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. That road that gulped huge amount of money did not last more than six months before it was washed away.

Orji Uzor Nsiegbe was born and bred in Aba. He, however, has irreconcilable hatred and antagonism for the people of the Old Aba Division. As governor, he had boasted that the people of Aba zone would remain marginalized in the state for at least, twenty-four years. He arrogated to himself the powers of God. He had no programme for Aba just like he added no value to the state capital of Umuahia.

Even after leaving office after eight years as governor, Orji Uzor asserted his greed on the state for more than three years, collecting more than one hundred million naira every month. Yet in his deceitful kleptomaniac’s style, he would swear, without anybody asking him, that he was not collecting any money from Governor T.A. Orji. While Orji Uzor Nsiegbe was busy playing god, he did not know he was only living in fool’s paradise. Today, God has shown him that He is a jealous God. Orji Uzor Nsiegbe is now treated like an incurable leper. The Presidential Palace he built at Igbere, using Abia State money while the state government was squatting in a rented apartment, hardly witnesses the presence of any dignified indigene of Abia State. So the aim of diverting state fund to building a personal Presidential Palace in his village has been defeated. Orji Uzor Nsiegbe does not come into the state in the day time any more as he avoids being booed at by Abians. Orji Uzor Nsiegbe has been deserted by his former supporters whom he relentlessly deceived and exploited and he is now left alone in his moribund political party; Progressive People’s Alliance. Orji Uzor Nsiegbe’s fortune has nose-dived. He has abysmally failed elections twice in the recent past; (1) Presidential Election in 2007 under his P.P.A. and (2) Senatorial Election in 2011 on the same P.P.A. His brother; Nnanna, whom he had imposed on the people of Aba–North/Aba–South Federal Constituency for eight years in the House of Representatives and who never raised his hand on the floor of the House, not to talk of opening his month to make any contribution, equally failed election in 2011. As a leper, no Abian wants to interact with Orji Uzor Nsiegbe hence the leadership of People’s Democratic Party even in his Igbere ward has rejected his overtures to return to the Party. Orji Uzor Nsiegbe has made himself an abandoned property as another senatorial electoral mishap awaits him in 2015. These are only some of the vicissitudes of Orji Uzor Kalu nay Nsiegbe. Orji Uzor has had his cake and can not eat it. He should stop lamenting.

Chief (Sir) Don Ubani; ksc, JP
(Okwubunka of Asa)
Umuiku-Isi-Asa
Ukwa –West L.G.A

Fears Of Extremism Rise In Muslim Nations – Poll

2014-07-04T04:37:00.002-07:00

Fears about Islamic extremism are rising in nations with large Muslim populations from the Middle East to South Asia and support for radical groups is on the slide, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Concern about extremism has increased in the past 12 months amid the dragging war in Syria and attacks by Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants, the Pew Research Center found after interviewing more than 14,200 people in 14 countries.

Extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and even Hamas, which won elections to take control of running the Gaza Strip, are also losing support.
And backing for the use of suicide bombings against civilian targets has dropped significantly in the past decade following a slew of brutal attacks.

The review was carried out from April 10 to May 25, before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — now renamed the Islamic State — took over the northern Iraqi town of Mosul in a lightning offensive which has seen it seize a large swathe of territory.
In Lebanon, which shares a border with Syria, as many as 92 percent of those interviewed said they were worried about Islamic extremism.
That figure was up 11 points from 2013, and was spread evenly among Lebanon’s Sunni, Shiite and Christian communities.

Concern has also risen in Jordan and Turkey, both of which border Syria and have taken in significant numbers of refugees fleeing the three-year war to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in which extremists have increasingly moved into the chaos.

Some 62 percent of Jordanians voiced fears about extremism, up 13 points since 2012, while in Turkey half of those polled shared the same concerns, up 18 points from two years ago.
“In Asia, strong majorities in Bangladesh (69 percent), Pakistan (66 percent) and Malaysia (63 percent) are concerned about Islamic extremism,” the Pew report said.
However, in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, such fears were not shared, with only four in ten people voicing any anxiety about extremism.
An overwhelming majority of Nigerians (79 percent) were against Boko Haram, behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls earlier this year, while 59 percent of Pakistanis said they have no love for Taliban militants.

Just over half of Palestinians (53 percent) have an unfavorable opinion of Hamas, blamed this week by Israel for the murders of three teenagers, and the figure rises to 63 percent in the Gaza Strip, higher than on the West Bank controlled by the rival Fatah party.
Only 46 percent of Palestinians believed that suicide bombings could be justified against civilians, down from 70 percent in 2007.

And the figure among Lebanese Muslims has fallen from 74 percent in 2007 to 29 percent today.

Efik Ethnic Group Serves Notice to Become a Sovereign State

2014-06-24T23:31:00.001-07:00

Efik ethnic group, the largest ethnic nationality in Cross River South senatorial district with a sprinkle of kinsmen in Akwa Ibom, Abia States and South America, has served the Federal Government of Nigeria a notice to pursue and become a sovereign state.

A statement issued yesterday in Calabar by the Efik Eburutu Royal Fraternity Forum and signed by its Chairman, Chief Eyo Bassey Eyo-Cobham and secretary, Ekpe Ekpenyong Essien (Jr), said the decision to secede had the overwhelming support of the Efiks at home and in Diaspora after due consultations.

“We, the Efik ethnic nationality have resolved to pull out of the geographical expression called Nigeria which has, for over 100 years now, turned us to punching bags socially, economically and politically,’’ the statement distributed at a press conference addressed by the group said.

The Efik people explained that the resolve to pursue an independent state was caused by a series of unpleasant developments against them by the federal government and listed what prompted the secession option to include secret ceding of Bakassi Peninsula; undue government interference in Efik kingship and throne; and an attempt to cede more Efik territories to the Republic of Cameroun.

On Bakassi, the group said the peninsula “which was an integral part of Efik Eburutu Kingdom as shown in all available records, was secretly and heartlessly expunged from Nigerian map in October 1960, filed in United Nations and African Union (AU) secretariats and ceded in 1975 to Cameroun without the consent and knowledge of its owners-the kings and chiefs of Efiks of Calabar and Bakassi.’’

“This action has demonstrated that our people are not wanted in Nigeria, and as a people, we do not want to belong to Cameroun.
“The effect of this ceding has brought untold pain and sufferings to Efik Eburutu people. With this, the spirit of our ancestors who were, as it were, buried in the now ceded territory are roaming, refusing to be appeased.”

The aggrieved ethnic nationality also claimed that government, over the years, had interfered in the selection and enthronement of a new Obong of Calabar, a development which had bastardised the stool rendering the Obong of Calabar less influential in the Nigerian state as he was now seen as a king without a kingdom.

They alleged that the appointment of five paramount rulers in Efik kingdom without reference to the tradition of the people was unacceptable as “those installed have refused to be accountable to the Obong of Calabar and grand patriarch of the Efiks who is the embodiment of our ancestral institution.
“Today, the Efik monarch, the Obong of Calabar, has no traditional authority and domain due to the bastardisation of the throne and the entire Efik kingdom by Nigerian governments.”

Despite the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun, the forum said more Efik territories were being lined up for hand over to Cameroun as evident in the creation of New Bakassi Local Government Area out of the three wards of Akpabuyo Local Government Area and backed by Law N0. 7 of April 12, 2007.

“It was said that the amalgamation of the southern and northern Nigeria protectorates in 1914 was meant to last for only 100 years unlike the French and German colonialists but ‘’the colonial Britain authorised the many ethnic groups therein to administer by their respective customary laws on the British indirect rule system’’.

“With such developments and other oppressive acts and tendencies of the Nigerian state, we the Efik Eburutu people say enough is enough and have decided to take in our destiny in our hands peaceably by pulling out of Nigeria. Our Bill of Rights in our Memorandum dated 16th June, 2014 is ready.

“Our peaceful aims and objectives of self determination for full autonomy are in tandem with Articles 1, 3-21 of the UN charter of which the Federal Government of Nigeria is a signatory,’’ the statement said.

THISDAY

Breaking news: APGA expels Ufomba, uphold Umeh

2014-06-18T07:34:00.003-07:00

APGA expels Ufomba. The appeal court in Abuja upholds Umeh appeal as APGA chairman.

Consequently, Chief Regan Ufomba the party's former candidate in Abia who has been fighting Umeh, thejuristlaw gathered he has been expelled alongside others who are against Umeh's leadership.

When we called Ufomba for reaction he angrily said that APGA is not the only party in Nigeria.

Details later

Superintendent Of Police Slumps In Anambra Over Transfer To Borno

2014-06-18T04:21:00.002-07:00

Borno state is now known to many as the centre for insurgents and even to a security agents it sends shivers to most of them as the terrorists terrorizing the state are not only said to be equipped, the motivation to kill is ideology driven.

Not surprising that an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Central Police Station, Nnewi in the Anambra State Police Command, yesterday slumped after he heard of a directive from the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IG) posting him to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Unconfirmed reports allege that some officers from other regions in Nigeria transferred to the troubled area had tendered their resignation from the force and others claim various degrees of illness for reasons not to be moved to the North.

The officer, of South-east extraction, according to reports, had less than a year left to retire from the service was among the 149 officers affected by the postings to different parts of the country.
The officer, however, was said to have been revived by doctors and other medical personnel at a private hospital in Nnewi where he was rushed to after he slumped. The transfer of almost 150 senior police officers serving in the state has cast a dark cloud on the entire command. Police officers are redeployed by the headquarters from time to time to the various stations nationwide but a transfer to Borno is now seen as death sentence to many who believe the north-east area is a no go.

Borno State is the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has led to the death of over 12,000 Nigerians. Just 66 days ago, the terror sect abducted over 200 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State.

Blast rips through football viewing centre in Damaturu

2014-06-18T03:48:00.001-07:00

KANO (AFP) – An explosion ripped through a football viewing centre in Damaturu, northern Nigeria, on Tuesday, residents said, as fans gathered to watch the World Cup.

The blast at the Crossfire venue, in the Nayi-Nawa area of the state capital of Yobe, happened at about 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), just as tournament hosts Brazil kicked off against Mexico.

There were no immediate reports of deaths but hospitals were reporting casualties being brought in, medical sources said.

Sanusi Ruf’ai, police commissioner for Yobe state, told AFP: “There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing centre here in Damaturu at around 8:15 pm.

“Our men have deployed to the scene but it’s too early for us to give details.”

One resident said the area had been cordoned off as police and soldiers were sent to the scene.

The blast comes after at least two states banned viewing centres on security grounds following previous attacks blamed on Boko Haram militants, whose five-year insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives.

Yobe is one of three northeastern states that has been under a state of emergency since last May.

The authorities in Adamawa, in northeast Nigeria, last week closed viewing centres, where large crowds gather to watch matches on the big screen, while the central state of Plateau followed suit days later.

Earlier this month, at least 40 people were killed when a bomb went off after a football match in the town of Mubi in Adamawa. The apparent target was fans trying to leave after the final whistle.

In May, three people were killed in a blast outside a viewing centre showing the European Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Jos, the capital of Plateau state.

In April, suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed a packed venue in Potiskum, in northeast Yobe state, shooting dead two people as they watched Champions League quarter-final matches.

KANO (AFP) – An explosion ripped through a football viewing centre in Damaturu, northern Nigeria, on Tuesday, residents said, as fans gathered to watch the World Cup.
The blast at the Crossfire venue, in the Nayi-Nawa area of the state capital of Yobe, happened at about 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), just as tournament hosts Brazil kicked off against Mexico.
There were no immediate reports of deaths but hospitals were reporting casualties being brought in, medical sources said.
Sanusi Ruf’ai, police commissioner for Yobe state, told AFP: “There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing centre here in Damaturu at around 8:15 pm.
“Our men have deployed to the scene but it’s too early for us to give details.”
One resident said the area had been cordoned off as police and soldiers were sent to the scene.
The blast comes after at least two states banned viewing centres on security grounds following previous attacks blamed on Boko Haram militants, whose five-year insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives.
Yobe is one of three northeastern states that has been under a state of emergency since last May.
The authorities in Adamawa, in northeast Nigeria, last week closed viewing centres, where large crowds gather to watch matches on the big screen, while the central state of Plateau followed suit days later.
Earlier this month, at least 40 people were killed when a bomb went off after a football match in the town of Mubi in Adamawa. The apparent target was fans trying to leave after the final whistle.
In May, three people were killed in a blast outside a viewing centre showing the European Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Jos, the capital of Plateau state.
In April, suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed a packed venue in Potiskum, in northeast Yobe state, shooting dead two people as they watched Champions League quarter-final matches.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/06/breaking-news-blast-rips-football-viewing-centre-damaturu/#sthash.3wML46Lc.mdeiMNR1.dpuf

Borno Pastors Finally Reveal B’Haram’s Agenda For Nigeria, Claim Chibok Girls’ Abduction Is A Distraction – Shocking Details!

2014-06-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Against the background of denials by high-ranking functionaries of the Muslim establishment in Nigeria that the Boko Haram insurgency is not a Muslim agenda, we owe it to ourselves and the world to set the record straight. In 2012, in a widely publicized video recording that is easily accessible on the internet, Abubakar Shekau, the late erstwhile leader of Boko Haram announced the mission statement of his sect. Among other things, he said “this war is not political. It is religious. It is between Muslims and unbelievers (arna). It will stop when Islamic religion is the determinant in governance in Nigeria or, in the alternative, when all fighters are annihilated and no one is left to continue the fight. I warn all Muslims at this juncture that any Muslim who assists an unbeliever in this war should consider himself dead.”

This mission statement explains why Muslim communities have been viciously attacked for having within them persons who served as informants to the authorities. While we appreciate the concern of well-meaning persons in Nigeria and world-wide over the fate of more than three hundred female students abducted from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, by the Boko Haram sect, we want to draw the attention of the world to the fact that the abduction saga has become a distraction that has left our communities to free-pillaging and rampaging by Boko Haram.
These are the facts that happened in the past four weeks:
In Ataggara, Southern Senatorial Zone of Borno State, Boko Haram attacked and were repelled by the community. Community leaders went to Pulka, where a military formation exists, to report the attack and were assured that a unit would be drafted to the town to protect the people. The following day some people appeared in Nigeria Army issue in nine armoured personnel carriers bearing the colours and insignia of the Nigerian Army. They announced to the villagers that they had come to assess the security situation. When the people gathered to hear them, the men that came in armoured personnel carriers, and in Army uniform, opened fire and killed over two hundred and fifty men, women and children. Those who were able to take to their heels were pursued by the marauders into the bush and when they were caught up with, were either butchered with knives or shot to death. The survivors have taken refuge in Cameroun, or in friendly communities;
In Bokko Wizhe, four people died when Boko Haram terrorists opened fire indiscriminately in the predominantly Christian community. About two thousand survivors have fled to Cameroun and neighbouring states;
In Bokko Timta, about 1,500 Christians had to flee to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria after Boko Haram attacked their community;
In Kugyly, about 2,500 fled the village to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria after they were visited by Boko Haram;
In Ngoshe, 46 persons were killed by Boko Haram and more than 3,000 had to flee to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria. None of the houses and churches in the community escaped being torched;
In Gava, 26 persons were killed by Boko Haram. About 2,000 people fled to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria. All the houses and churches were burnt down;
In Amuda, 17 persons were murdered by Boko Haram and more than four thousand people fled to other places. The Village Head is, at present taking refuge in Nasarawa State;
In Halaghwa after an undetermined number of persons were killed by Boko Haram, about 500 persons from the community fled to Cameroun and another 2,000 fled to other states in Nigeria;
In Agapalawa, 15 persons were killed by Boko Haram and more than 4,000 had to flee to Cameroun;
In Ganjara, 46 persons were killed by Boko Haram and more than 2,500 fled to Cameroun;
In Jibrili, an undetermined number of people were killed by Boko Haram and Christian houses and churches burnt to the ground. The remnant of the people have fled to Cameroun;
In Zamgba, Boko Haram attacked and killed 13 people, and about 1,700 were forced to flee to Cameroun;
In Ashigashita, Boko Haram attacked and killed 10 people. The remnant of the community fled to Cameroun;
In Vale, Christians were completely chased out. Their belongings were looted by Boko Haram and their sympathizers;
In Kwadale, an undetermined number of persons were killed by Boko Haram and about 2,000 fled to Cameroun;
In Pulka, 30 persons were killed by Boko Haram, including the Village Head Mallam Ali Pulka. Many members of the community have fled to Cameroun leaving about 4,500;
In Kirawa, all the Christians fled to Cameroun after the village was taken over by Boko Haram;
In Chinene, Boko Haram killed 14 persons, more than 500 fled to Cameroun, about 1,000 fled to other states in Nigeria, while about 1,000 are still in the mountains as all motorable roads have been blocked by the sect;
In Arboko, more than 10 persons were killed by Boko Haram, all houses and churches razed to the ground, and about 2,000 have fled to Cameroun;
In Chikide, 2 persons were killed by Boko Haram, and about 1,500 have fled to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria;
In Barawa, more than 20 persons were killed by Boko Haram, and the community’s houses and churches burnt down. Survivors have fled to Cameroun, other states and the hills;
In Pege, Boko Haram killed five persons by Boko Haram, and about 1,000 members of the community have fled to Cameroun and other states in Nigeria;
In Kaghum, Boko Haram killed more than 20 persons by Boko Haram, and more than 3,000 members of the community have been forced to flee to Cameroun, other states in Nigeria and the hills;
In Angurva, an undetermined number of persons were killed by Boko Haram, and some 4,000 persons have fled to Cameroun;
In Baladigavuraza, Boko Haram killed 3 persons, about 2,000 persons fled to Cameroun and another 500 fled to other states in Nigeria;
In Kunde, some 7 persons were killed and the community’s houses and churches burnt. About 2,500 fled to Cameroun and the hills;
In the past fourteen days the following communities in Damboa Local Government area have been over-run by Boko Haram: Kwapchi; Shawa; Daku; Kwamjilari; Blakat 1; Blakat 2; Blakat 3; Mulgwe 1; Mulgwe 2; Mulgwe 3; Katsalabulari; Kulali 1; Kulali 2; Kuburuvhu; Kautivha; Izghe 1; Izghe 2; Izghe 3; Kaya 1; Kaya 2; Konchi;
Mbulakuduga (Alagamo) in Askira Uba Local Government Area was over-run within the same time frame;
Takulashi of Chibok Local Government Area was also over-run in the past few days.
In all the communities it has over-run, Boko Haram has removed the Nigerian national flag and hoisted its own flag, the flag of jihad. If the Federal Government of Nigeria would not arm our communities to defend ourselves, the least it can do is not to stand in the way of other Nigerians and members of the international community who are so inclined to help arm our communities.
Boko Haram, as its mission statement as espoused by the late Abubakar Shekau states, the only time it would be mollified is “….when Islamic religion is the determinant in governance in Nigeria or, in the alternative, when all fighters are annihilated and no one is left to continue the fight.”

Our people refuse to be forcibly Islamized. We, also, insist on making our own free choices. It is our belief that it is only on the basis of mutual respect that nations can be built. We would like to contribute our quota to building the Nigerian Federation into a nation and call on others to follow our peaceful path. But if the forces of evil insist on pursuing their present murderous course, our people will be forced to respond in kind and to meet force with force. The present path of violence by Boko Haram can only lead to destruction, Boko Haram’s destruction as well as others.

We thank you for giving us an ear.

Dr. Pogu Bitrus (of Chibok), Rev. Ibrahim Dauwa (of Gwoza) and Rev. James Yaga, JP (of Gwoza)

Endless lamentations of Kalu

2014-06-10T02:18:00.002-07:00

Kalu’s lamentations will never end. His message read by a very disillusive aide at a retreat in Port Harcourt recently says much about the torments Kalu is passing through. He is in deep melancholy in spite of his stolen riches. We are used to Kalu’s jibes and innuendos but this time, he spoke from the subconscious. I am not surprised at Kalu’s moans. It is his typical refrain. Who are the wolves in sheep’s clothing and animals in human form if not Kalu?

In this same gathering Rochas Okorocha came out with a powerful postulation that suits Kalu like a second skin. According to Rochas ‘who you are before office means a lot. If we elect a criminal into office he will simply become excellent criminal.’ Kalu was simply a fraudster, remember when he donated papers cut into sizes of money, remember his forged certificate that bedeviled him in the first year of his tenure. His enlisting in Abia State University and the retrieval of his unfortunate degree clearly shows that he had no certificates before becoming a governor.

Remember Hon. Ubani’s many articles on Orji. Orji was a dupe that took on many people to the extent that a law court in Lagos seized all his property. It is on record how he got entangled into a drug scam in London and Alex Mbakwe who was surety with his property lost out as Kalu jumped bail.

He never had The Sun Newspapers, Slok Air and other things he is boasting with and all that he claims now. They were all bought with looted money from Abia State coffers. In that same gathering Prof. Jinadu came with another apt situation faced by past governors, those who cannot separate the office and self mostly due to overzealous love for lucre.

That gathering is a good one and Kalu fell into a trap making it clearly obvious that he is still brooding over his loss. We know those who will survive psychologically. Abiola Ajumobi wants to be A PREACHER, Nyako is in a hurry to go back to his farms. kalu wanted to continue ruling by proxy. Kalu is the real animal who did not know that his time in office is gone. He has refused to forget issues in Abia and continue as the evil Godfather. Let him continue. He will get more shocks and embarrassment. Abia people are wiser and have sworn that never again will they elect a no-name howler like Kalu.

Ibe wrote in from Umuahia, Abia State

Chibok: Terrorism’s new face

2014-06-09T06:28:00.002-07:00

THE 21st century is a period of the novel and unexpected. It is also a period of new risks delivered with new means and potentially more devastating consequences.

For example, the greatest international event of the new century and, of course, the one that bookmarks its first phase was the attack on America’s symbol of prestige by the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Terrorism is the use of random violence, especially killing force, with the intent of creating fear in a population (especially civilians) with the devout hope that the fear so created will advance a political objective.

The aim of the terrorist is to coerce or instill fear through the use of propaganda. The attack on America, for example, was clearly motivated not just by the desire to kill civilians but also by the drive to maximise the propaganda value of the attack. Besides, globalisation has also significantly transformed armed groups and terrorists into a major strategic security threat because it has heightened their organisational effectiveness, their lethality and ability to operate on a truly world-wide scale.

But historically speaking, terrorism operates and thrives in three basic contexts namely: (a) as a tool to crush populations into submission ( as used by the dictatorship under Robespierre(1793-1794) during the French Revolution ), (b) as a tool for extremist outsiders against representative regimes( this was al-Qaeda’s major reason for attacking America on 9/11/2001), and (c) as a tool of guerilla warfare(consider the on-going insurgency between the guerillas and American troops in Iraq).

The obvious implication of all these examples is that the abduction of innocent and harmless teenage girls in a government secondary school by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria is completely out of the context of terrorism and is an addition of the novel to the tactics of terrorism. This dastardly act raises a number of questions: What are the motives of the Boko Haram sect?

Is the abduction of the weaker sex an act brave enough to advance its objective? Does the group intend to add gender issues to its own tactics or it simply wants to extend its long line of human rights abuses with sexual violence and abuse? All these issues constitute the new face and tactics of terrorism in Nigeria.

In the world in which we inhabit today, religion is no longer the purview of theologians and misguided adherents but a major contributor to the lethality of armed groups and terrorists because members of armed groups use religious power to achieve their goals.

The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria based in the North Eastern part of the country was founded in 2002 and the group seeks primarily to establish a strict Islamic law in most of the semi-desert areas of West and Central Africa with spiritual headquarters in Maiduguri. Its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured and killed some time ago but the group has become more powerful and vicious under the leadership of its new leader Abubakar Shekau.

In very broad terms, the sect forbids Western education and it has a strong habit of attacking and bombing churches, government institutions, mosques, police and army formations.

Before his death, the erstwhile leader of the group, Yusuf, had stated emphatically (in a BBC interview) that ‘ anything contrary to Islamic teaching on earth should be rejected’ and that the group was going to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that it changes the current education system in Africa and uproot democracy in the continent. Although, one can identify the objectives of the group, it is left to be said that in pursuing its objectives the group’s actions sharply contrast the teachings of Islam.

The principle of Peace (Salam) which is of primary centrality in Islam, and from which the religion largely derives its name, has been denigrated to cynicism, hate, violence, human suffering and genocide. In other words, in its attempt to purify Islam of Western influences the sect has only succeeded in employing Islam not to support life but death; not to support peace but to perpetuate war. The consolation is that the Muslim faithful, including the Sultan of Sokoto, have unambiguously condemned and criticised the activities of the sect in ringing tones.

While the abduction of the young school girls has become an issue of international concern it, has at the same time, drawn attention to the plight of the African woman in conflict situations. For one thing, the majority of those affected by armed conflict (including refugees and internally displaced persons, IDPs), are usually women and children.

For another, in Nigeria, our country, the Boko Haram sect has successfully exploited the nation’s already-weakened security to its advantage .Perhaps, the truth may be that the Nigerian Army cannot combat terrorism either because the last time the country purchased military hardware was in 1983, or the Army chiefs have become conflict entrepreneurs.

This line of thinking is anchored on the fact that, recently, there has been symptoms of mutiny and gross insubordination within the ranks of the Nigerian Army, including allegations of its complicity with the Boko Haram sect. Yet, in the usual Nigerian style, no arrests have been made or culprits publicly named or punished to serve as deterrence. The irony here is that in the 21st century, the Nigerian Air Force cannot boast of one reconnaissance aircraft.

But more worrisome is the fact that the abduction of the young girls is a method that is not only cruel but also intrinsically awful. In the same vein, the abduction of the girls is not just painful, it is also right-violating.

The act constitutes a disgusting disregard for the humanity of the girls abducted. The abduction also raises a number of moral questions: What about their bodily integrity? If the young girls could be converted to Islam ( and there is every reason to believe so) is it not possible that they could also have been defiled?

Is it not a violation of their rights and entitlements, even as young girls, to choose their own sex partner(s)? Many more difficult questions could be asked. What is clear for now is that a whole generation is being eroded away in our country because the young girls are equally mothers, not to their future children alone but to their entire communities and the nation at large. In a recent video tape, Shekau threatened that he will sell the abducted girls into slavery.

A more recent video tape showed the girls clad in jilbab chanting Arabic verses from the Koran, a sure sign that they are converts to the Islamic faith. At the same time Shekau is insisting that he will not release the girls until the FGN freed all Boko Haram members detained by the Nigerian government.

The attacks by the armed group are so frighteningly many and the sect has killed more than 9000 Nigerian citizens since 2009. There is this fear that the sect may even truncate our 15 years old democracy. This argument is borne out of the fact that if the Army Generals cannot overcome the sect they may turn their guns in anger to mow down the politicians just to save their faces.

The sect has visited Nigeria with a terribly new face because terrorists as we know them don’t abduct harmless,innocent girls. We hope the international community will help to bring back our girls. Nothing less than that will be adequate.

Dr. DOKI JEFFis a senior lecturer with the University of Jos.

VANGUARD

THE 21st century is a period of the novel and unexpected. It is also a period of new risks delivered with new means and potentially more devastating consequences.
For example, the greatest international event of the new century and, of course, the one that bookmarks its first phase was the attack on America’s symbol of prestige by the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Terrorism is the use of random violence, especially killing force, with the intent of creating fear in a population (especially civilians) with the devout hope that the fear so created will advance a political objective.
The aim of the terrorist is to coerce or instill fear through the use of propaganda. The attack on America, for example, was clearly motivated not just by the desire to kill civilians but also by the drive to maximise the propaganda value of the attack. Besides, globalisation has also significantly transformed armed groups and terrorists into a major strategic security threat because it has heightened their organisational effectiveness, their lethality and ability to operate on a truly world-wide scale.
But historically speaking, terrorism operates and thrives in three basic contexts namely: (a) as a tool to crush populations into submission ( as used by the dictatorship under Robespierre(1793-1794) during the French Revolution ), (b) as a tool for extremist outsiders against representative regimes( this was al-Qaeda’s major reason for attacking America on 9/11/2001), and (c) as a tool of guerilla warfare(consider the on-going insurgency between the guerillas and American troops in Iraq).
The obvious implication of all these examples is that the abduction of innocent and harmless teenage girls in a government secondary school by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria is completely out of the context of terrorism and is an addition of the novel to the tactics of terrorism. This dastardly act raises a number of questions: What are the motives of the Boko Haram sect?
Is the abduction of the weaker sex an act brave enough to advance its objective? Does the group intend to add gender issues to its own tactics or it simply wants to extend its long line of human rights abuses with sexual violence and abuse? All these issues constitute the new face and tactics of terrorism in Nigeria.
In the world in which we inhabit today, religion is no longer the purview of theologians and misguided adherents but a major contributor to the lethality of armed groups and terrorists because members of armed groups use religious power to achieve their goals.
The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria based in the North Eastern part of the country was founded in 2002 and the group seeks primarily to establish a strict Islamic law in most of the semi-desert areas of West and Central Africa with spiritual headquarters in Maiduguri. Its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured and killed some time ago but the group has become more powerful and vicious under the leadership of its new leader Abubakar Shekau.
In very broad terms, the sect forbids Western education and it has a strong habit of attacking and bombing churches, government institutions, mosques, police and army formations.
Before his death, the erstwhile leader of the group, Yusuf, had stated emphatically (in a BBC interview) that ‘ anything contrary to Islamic teaching on earth should be rejected’ and that the group was going to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that it changes the current education system in Africa and uproot democracy in the continent. Although, one can identify the objectives of the group, it is left to be said that in pursuing its objectives the group’s actions sharply contrast the teachings of Islam.
The principle of Peace (Salam) which is of primary centrality in Islam, and from which the religion largely derives its name, has been denigrated to cynicism, hate, violence, human suffering and genocide. In other words, in its attempt to purify Islam of Western influences the sect has only succeeded in employing Islam not to support life but death; not to support peace but to perpetuate war. The consolation is that the Muslim faithful, including the Sultan of Sokoto, have unambiguously condemned and criticised the activities of the sect in ringing tones.
While the abduction of the young school girls has become an issue of international concern it, has at the same time, drawn attention to the plight of the African woman in conflict situations. For one thing, the majority of those affected by armed conflict (including refugees and internally displaced persons, IDPs), are usually women and children.
For another, in Nigeria, our country, the Boko Haram sect has successfully exploited the nation’s already-weakened security to its advantage .Perhaps, the truth may be that the Nigerian Army cannot combat terrorism either because the last time the country purchased military hardware was in 1983, or the Army chiefs have become conflict entrepreneurs.
This line of thinking is anchored on the fact that, recently, there has been symptoms of mutiny and gross insubordination within the ranks of the Nigerian Army, including allegations of its complicity with the Boko Haram sect. Yet, in the usual Nigerian style, no arrests have been made or culprits publicly named or punished to serve as deterrence. The irony here is that in the 21st century, the Nigerian Air Force cannot boast of one reconnaissance aircraft.
But more worrisome is the fact that the abduction of the young girls is a method that is not only cruel but also intrinsically awful. In the same vein, the abduction of the girls is not just painful, it is also right-violating.
The act constitutes a disgusting disregard for the humanity of the girls abducted. The abduction also raises a number of moral questions: What about their bodily integrity? If the young girls could be converted to Islam ( and there is every reason to believe so) is it not possible that they could also have been defiled?
Is it not a violation of their rights and entitlements, even as young girls, to choose their own sex partner(s)? Many more difficult questions could be asked. What is clear for now is that a whole generation is being eroded away in our country because the young girls are equally mothers, not to their future children alone but to their entire communities and the nation at large. In a recent video tape, Shekau threatened that he will sell the abducted girls into slavery.
A more recent video tape showed the girls clad in jilbab chanting Arabic verses from the Koran, a sure sign that they are converts to the Islamic faith. At the same time Shekau is insisting that he will not release the girls until the FGN freed all Boko Haram members detained by the Nigerian government.
The attacks by the armed group are so frighteningly many and the sect has killed more than 9000 Nigerian citizens since 2009. There is this fear that the sect may even truncate our 15 years old democracy. This argument is borne out of the fact that if the Army Generals cannot overcome the sect they may turn their guns in anger to mow down the politicians just to save their faces.
The sect has visited Nigeria with a terribly new face because terrorists as we know them don’t abduct harmless,innocent girls. We hope the international community will help to bring back our girls. Nothing less than that will be adequate.
Dr. DOKI JEFFis a senior lecturer with the University of Jos.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/06/chibok-terrorisms-new-face/#sthash.xie8wIRY.dpuf

Obviously, Ufomba has not discovered himself

2014-06-05T09:25:00.001-07:00

The piece published by Reagan Ufomba on Tuesday May 27, 2014 is at best ludicrous. It is very obvious that Ufomba has not discovered himself. He would not, because he had not spared the time to peer into his cosmic realm and so completely unaware of his comical potentials. If he did, Osuofia and Mr. Ibu would have been nonstarters in their comedy field. Ufomba from all his acts and hollow motions make himself a big Joke. If Reagan stopped in his mendacious ways to ponder for a few seconds, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be rapaciously dangled by a wily puppeteer benefactor.

The page that Reagan wrote in the Sun was donated to Reagan as far as it is used in running down Chief Orji and put his fame to shame but they cannot because the world knows T A Orji and has acclaimed him through many sources. His donour has sworn not to see any good in Abia as he has embarked on a war of attrition and total annihilation. For that phobic reason and more, any who whispers T A Orji becomes an instant buddy and a serious ally, profusely armed to insult the Abia helmsman. They may be adopting the Persian saying that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

We in Abia are not bothered by the types of Reagan because as it was said in Julius Caesar, Act 5 scene 1, ‘the posture of your blows are yet unknown. But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees. And leave them honeyless.

Reagan is a persona non grata in his Umuogelle Village in Ntigha, Isiala Ngwa North LGA. It becomes very abhorrent when a man takes falsehood to his home. The Igbos have a saying that ‘you do not sell a crippled fowl at home,’ but that was what Reagan was alleged to have done as you read along. His credentials smirk of crime, calumny, unbridled duplicity and serial mendacity. Take these for samples:

In 1994, it was alleged that Reagan published an obituary of himself to dodge creditors he swindled. Some years later, he persuaded his people to pay a counterpart fund for a non-existent water project and churned out lies in defence until the youths of his community rolled out tanks against him and he made a plea to save his uninspiring life. What about the Health Centre at the express way near Ntigha Junction which Reagan took over from his town’s women and promised heaven on earth? It is now bushy, and a palace for reptiles and rodents. The story of an Owaza man Reagan was alleged to have collected over 4 million Naira from, with the promise to create an autonomous community for the victim while he was special assistant in the previous regime. Do I go on?

I wouldn’t have picked up my pen over Reagan, having profiled his misdeeds previously but for his quote where he refused to credit Edmund Burke, that Irish Man of note. ‘evil thrives where good men do nothing.’
Reagan is a pretender and in his make-believe write up, made so many claims that should not be ignored. As it is said in journalism, ‘Facts are sacred and opinion is free.’
As Reagan wrote, ‘my team and I would not sleep until the great people of Abia State, who had been beaten to slumber as a result of unprecedented mass poverty and backwardness regain their consciousness and pride of place.’

This as you can see is complete falsehood. Ochendo’s Governance has breathed life into Abians if we work on available facts. The Agric sector has been given quantum push. The ambitious liberation farms slated for the 17 Local Government Areas have successfully taken off in most Local Government Areas. The donation of improved variety of cassava stems, palm seedling, cocoa and innumerable others are good examples. The one billion Agric loans have put Abians into being managers of their own resources. Have these happened before?

The youths in Abia have never ever been so empowered since the creation of the state. Abia youths have been taken through multiple skills and empowered to thrive. Over one thousand vehicles have been given out free of charge. Bursaries have been paid to all Abians in the tertiary institutions and computers and other resourceful gadgets issued. Free Education at Primary and Secondary has been on since 2007. Civil Servants were enormously promoted and Abia pays the highest minimum wage in the country, so where is the poverty. Based on many of the above, our children at home and abroad have won laurels to unprecedented levels so we can say that Reagan is having a nightmare wishing evil for Abia.

He went to his usual refrain of Igbos who were transferred to their states. Yes! When the governor took that action, he made it clear to all and explained the reasons as the revenue and allocation of Abia were on the decline but Reagan cannot remember now that Abia has reabsorbed 2700 of these numbers.

Reagan shamelessly wrote ‘As a young man, I had rebelled against societal ills: I left the seminary school as a result of injustice. I left the APGA faction under Victor Umeh as a result of injustice. I refused to “negotiate” with T.A. Orji after the 2011 governorship election because that would amount to injustice to our people.’
For where? Reagan did not leave these places on his own terms. What has he to negotiate with T.A. Orji? Is it as a party man, or statesman? Probably as a populist? How many votes did he get? A poor percentage of Ochendo’s landslide votes. His trademark lie means that Reagan cannot change. I am sure that Chief Victor Umeh has his dossier on Reagan and would release them at the right time. Do we need to bother with late sage Benjamin Franklin who predicted that ‘it is hard for an empty bag to stand erect.’

Let me sound a note of warning to those who may fall prey to Reagan and his antics. Reagan has never done any good deed all his life. His claims are hollow. He boasted some years ago to establish a cement factory that will beat Dangote and he appointed distributors who gullibly registered. Your guess is as good as mine over what happened to the funds. Where do these factories exist? What does Reagan do for a living? Are his businesses registered and functional? Are they quoted in the stock exchange and NASDAC? Where do these phantom businesses pay taxes?

Reagan after blowing hot air of going to do new things, grabbed the APGA ticket in 2011 but what did he get? A distant second to Ochendo’s first: 641,158 votes as against 49,421 votes. A ratio rating of 12: 1, 7.7 percent of Ochendo’s total votes and 6.6% of total votes cast for the best four contestants in Abia. As you can see, an abysmal mandatory spread of votes in all local governments in Abia.

Going by the above statistics, is Reagan worth all the troubles? What a huge rejection? What a poor showing for a man who pretended to covet the Abia top post? Reagan is bedeviled with so many curses. When the Ukwa na Ngwa publicly forbade their sons from running in 2011, Reagan disobeyed. He impersonated the bible and blasphemed God by his slogan of Isaiah 43 v. 18, ‘behold I will do a new thing!’
Reagan is not a candidate and can never be. An African proverb once said, ‘never insult the crocodile until you cross the river.’ Reagan has bitten the political fingers that fed him. Mind you, he previously desecrated the altar that raised him. APGA cannot give Reagan a ticket except he runs from the numerous nondescript parties that are at the brink of extinction. Even when he tried in 2011, it was only a handful of votes. Now Ochendo in his magnanimity has thrown his weight behind power shift in the governorship race to Ukwa na Ngwa, so by being of Ngwa extraction, Reagan can run for the election in 2015 but who will support him? Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Nkechi Nworgu, Minister Emeka Wogu, Barrister Friday Nwosu all have some credible showing. Can Reagan stand with these heavyweights? Would he measure up to their shoulders, waists or the knees? Reagan is a Jehu, recklessly cruising on the back of the tiger, unaware that he is a super component of the tiger’s next menu.

It sounds so unbelievable and an aberration that this infamous Reagan shares nativity with Monsignor Nwachukwu, the popes nuncio, Hon Chinenye Ike, Eze Amara Nwabeke, an impeccable gentleman, Ginger Onwusibe, the twice appointed Transition Chairman of Isiala Ngwa North LGA and many other illustrious sons. Reagan is a huge joke and will continue to be one, quote me.

Eddie Onuzuruike.

Chibok Girls Need Medical Attention - Reveals FG Secret Negotiator

2014-06-02T06:43:00.002-07:00

An Australian negotiator, who was hired by the Nigerian government to broker the release of the over 200 Chibok girls being held captive by Boko Haram, has said that most of the girls are already outside the country.

Stephen Davis is said to have advised three Nigerian presidents on how to negotiate with militant groups and he has been involved in the struggle to free the girls for the past one month.
He said:

‘The vast majority of the Chibok girls are not being held in Nigeria. They are in camps across the Nigerian border in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. I say the “vast majority” as I know a small group was confirmed to me to be in Nigeria last week when we sought to have them released.’
Daily Mail <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2644920/Hostage-schoolgirl-EXCLUSIVE-Mail-Sunday-hears-tape-desperate-pleas-kidnapped-Nigerian-pupils-held-jungle-one-saying-I-never-expected-suffer-like-life.html#ixzz33SShSj5N">reports:</a>
He described how fraught the negotiation process has been.
‘One of that small group of girls is ill and we had hoped we might convince the commander of the group holding her that she should be released so we could give her medical treatment,’ Dr Davis said.
‘There are other girls who are not well and we have come close to having them released but their captors fear a trap in which they will be captured in the handover process.
‘One girl has what I assume is a broken wrist as they demonstrate to me how she holds her hand. I have been told that others are sick and in need of medical attention.’

A military source said: ‘This has been a race against time from the minute they were captured. As soon as the girls left Nigerian soil it was always going to be more difficult.
‘The government made no attempt at a rescue until a month after they were taken. Now the situation gets more serious by the day.
‘Any sort of attempt to get to them would have to be cleared by the governments of the other nations.’

Scathing condemnations of Nigeria’s failure to address the menace of Boko Haram, ever since a proposed peace deal failed last August – leading to the extension of a state of emergency in three northern states – continued worldwide last week.
US Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Nigeria had been ‘tragically and unacceptably slow’ to begin a search.
Others say the clock really being watched by Nigerian politicians is not the six weeks and counting since the kidnap but the 11 months to the country’s elections.
Opposition politician Nuhu Ribadu has accused the government of ‘total failure’.

Nigeria’s Top 10 Federal Revenue Receiving States

2014-06-02T03:20:00.001-07:00

Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has listed Nigeria’s 10 highest
revenue receiving states based on the federal allocations in 2013.
The states, according to her, earn more than the annual budgets of some
neighboring countries.

The allocations are as follows:
Akwa Ibom N260 billion,
Rivers N230 billion,
Delta State N209 billion,
Bayelsa N173 billion,
Lagos N168 billion,
Kano N140 billion,
Katsina N103 billion,
Oyo N100 billion,
Kaduna N 97 billion
Borno N94 billion.

Okonjo-Iweala gave the breakdown of the allocations on Sunday at Babcock
University’s 12th Convocation at which she delivered a lecture with the theme:
‘Transforming Nigeria economy: Opportunities and Challenges’
“These were the allocations that all these states got last year, so the question is
what did they do with it? Analysis shows that many Nigerian states receive
revenue allocation which are larger than budgetary allocation of neighbouring
countries such as Liberia which is $ 433 million, Gambia $210 million.
” So you see that our top 10 states receive more money than these countries
and therefore you should be asking what is this money being used for?”
Okonjo-Iweala said.

She noted that some states use their allocation better than others adding that
“that is why we can actually see what they are doing with their infrastructure,
education, while others do not”.

” We should also ask ourselves what is the role of our state government and
local government in supporting our transformation? We know from the
constitution that provision of public services such as health, education,
agricultural services and so on are all on a concurrent list and therefore are joint
responsibilities of the federal state and local governments.

“However it is not often that you hear people asking what has your state done?
Most of their attention is turned to the federal government so we also need to
ask what do our state and local government do with the resources they get?”
Okonjo-Iweala stated.

NIGERIA: 40 Killed In Adamawa Bomb Blast

2014-06-02T00:03:00.002-07:00

No fewer than 40 people were yesterday killed in a bomb attack targeting fans watching a football match in Mubi, Adamawa State.

“There has been a bomb explosion at a football field this evening (yesterday) and so far more than 40 people have been killed,” an officer who requested anonymity told Vanguard.
State Police spokesperson, Mallam Othman Abubakar, confirmed that blast saying it occurred at about 6p.m. on Sunday. He however could not confirm the casualty figure.
According to him, the blast occurred at a popular relaxation centre, Kabang.

VANGUARD

Goodbye Nigeria, Hello Oduduwa - Femi Fani-Kayode

2014-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

(Being a verbatim copy/transcript of a speech delivered by Chief Femi Fani-Kayode to the Alajobi Group- the group that wrote “the Yoruba Constitution”- on the occasion of the commemoration of ”June 12”, as published by The News Magazine of 2 July, 2001).

”I must commend the vision, strength of character, and the clarity of purpose of the Alajobi Group together with that of the expanded committee on the Yoruba Constituent Assembly for coming up with this noble and innovative initiative and for drawing up this truly progressive and pristine constitution for the Yoruba people.

I salute their courage, their sense of history, their excellent timing and their obvious and deep-seated concern for the fate of the Yoruba race in the 21st Century and in a wider Nigeria. These are concerns that we all, as responsible and literate Yoruba men and women, certainly share. It is for this reason that I can therefore make the following emphatic and categorical statements on the proposed constitution.

Firstly, that I have read it carefully and that I have considered the legal and social implications of every word and every line of the document.
Secondly, not only do I fully endorse its provisions, but I also encourage every Yoruba man and woman in Nigeria (and indeed in the diaspora), not only to get hold of a copy, but also to imbue its laudable and beautiful message of self-determination, autonomy, decency, tolerance, and the restoration of the dignity and self-respect of the Yoruba people.
Again the collective objective of the proposed document is clear: It seeks to preserve and protect the culture, the heritage, the values and the sense of excellence of the Yoruba nation. It seeks to emancipate us from the shackles of unitary servitude and it seeks to give us a resounding and irresistible voice, not just over our own destiny and over our own affairs, but also a strong and respected voice in the comity of civilized nations. It seeks to reject the muffled, garbled, confused, and clearly weak echo that present-day Nigeria has bestowed upon us as a people.
Though we have never been conquered, subdued or overwhelmed by any other nation on the African continent, it is sadly clear
that we are not, in the Nigeria of today, the masters of our own souls or the captains of our own ship. It is sadly clear that in the Nigeria of today we are not the architects of our own destiny.
And of course this regrettable state of affairs is not only unnatural but it is also completely unacceptable. You cannot muffle the Yoruba and you cannot hold back their progress in the name of one Nigeria. And that is precisely why the document that the Alajobi Group has prepared is not only timely but it is also clear that the adoption of the spirit of its provisions, is vital for the future welfare, and indeed survival, of our people.
This is a duty that is incumbent on each and every one of us that are Yoruba men and women, and whether we like to admit it or not, posterity and history will judge us, kindly or unkindly, depending on which side of the divide we find ourselves in this noble quest. Today the Yoruba number at least 40 (Forty) million people in Nigeria alone.
Our strength is self-evident but till now we have refused to use it. We have a historical legacy that manifests the deepest and most profound form of liberalism, dignity and grace and we have an in-built and instinctive craving for excellence, fairness, lively debate, education and progress that is second to none.
We have a keen sense of justice and we have an overwhelming desire for decency in public and private affairs that cannot be matched anywhere else in this part of the world. We have a resilient soul, a fighting spirit and a courageous heart, qualities which our rich and noble history cannot but testify to in an eloquent and incontrovertible manner.
We have a historical lineage that is not only more enlightened, more cosmopolitan and more sophisticated than most but in addition to this it is clear to us that we have a key role to play in the restoration of the dignity of the black man worldwide. It is for all these reasons that I can proudly proclaim with every fiber of my being and every atom of my soul that, before all else, I am first and foremost a Yoruba man.
In my family, the Fani-Kayode family of south western Nigeria, we value education. We cherish it, we live by it and we are proud of it. But this is not a value that is peculiar or particular to my family alone. I am proud to say that it is a value that is intrinsic to and deeply entrenched in the very nature and culture of the Yoruba.
It is a value that is deeply entrenched in the deepest recesses of our body, spirit and soul. Our quest for excellence and distinction simply knows no bounds. And of course that is precisely why policies such as free education at all levels is something that the Yoruba people are prepared to live for and, if need be, prepared to die for.
They, perhaps more than any other, recognize the fact that education, in practical terms, is a liberating force: it frees the mind from the barren and provincial bondage of myopia and it frees the spirit from the insidious and pervasive prison of ignorance.
They, perhaps more than any other, appreciate the fact that once you are educated the sky becomes your limit. But sadly all of this is now under threat as we have been compelled by our former colonial masters to be part of an artificial, man-made and implausible entity called Nigeria, the majority of whose ethnic groups, from at least north of the River Niger, certainly do not value education as much as we do.
Not only have we been compelled to live in this artificial entity but we have also been told in clear and unequivocal terms that our brightest and our best will never be allowed to preside over the affairs of this strange and hybrid mega-nation.
Sadly it does not stop there. We have also been told that we will never be able to discuss the terms under which our various nationalities should remain together in a wider Nigeria and we have been told that we will never be allowed to discuss the rules under which our unsolicited and forced union should be sustained.
The powers that be and those who erroneously believe that they were “born to rule” this country in perpetuity keep telling us that they will not allow a sovereign national conference to take place. They keep telling us that they will not allow any form of restructuring. They keep telling us that they will not allow resource control.
They keep telling us that they will not allow the establishment of a true federation. They keep telling us that they will not allow ethnic emancipation. As a matter of fact they keep telling us that they will not allow anything that is clean, wholesome, progressive and good to take place in our public and national affairs.
And instead of anything good, they rather insist on introducing into our body politic, alien and archaic concepts and retrogressive and backward philosophies such as “political sharia” and so many other questionable contraptions that are not only barbarous and primitive in nature but also downright repugnant to what the British once described as “equity, natural Justice, and good conscience.”
And it is precisely because of this retrograde and abysmal attitude that there is cause for concern today about the plight of the Yoruba in a wider Nigeria. It is precisely because of this sort of thing that there is a need for the sort of proposals and constitution that the Alajobi group has come up with.
That is precisely why we seek to establish a system which can at least attempt to guarantee a higher degree of ”separate development” for the various nationalities and ethnic groups that have been compelled to live together in this extraordinary mega-nation of ethnic incompatibilities. This is precisely why every true Yoruba nationalist will be pleased with what the Alajobi group is doing.
For we as a people have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. We must never shy away from our noble heritage and we must not run away from our proud history. We must not shun our obvious appointment with destiny and greatness and we must always walk with our heads help up high.
For we know where we came from, we know who we are and we know where we are going. And even though the powers that be in Lord Lugard and Lord Harcourt’s Nigeria have cheated us, robbed us, killed us, brutalized us, divided us and made us simply powerless, we are still a strong and virile people. We are still a great race.
And like all the other great races that came before us, it is in the face of our collective adversities, our present-day challenges and our ever-present struggles that we as a people shall rise up again and dominate our entire environment.
And when that time comes, no-one and no group of people will be in a position to say “no” to the rise of the mighty Oduduwa nation. It is at that time that we shall expand our borders and re-establish the ancient boundaries.
It is at that time that we will drive the alien invaders out of Kwara and parts of Kogi. It is at that time that we will reclaim what is rightfully ours and deliver our Yoruba brothers and sisters that have been forced to languish in those parts in a sad and pathetic condition of debilitating bondage.
It is at that time that we will vigorously respond to the plight of our Itsekiri cousins. It is at that time that our fellow Africans, and indeed the world generally, will know what being a Yoruba is all about and what having a Yoruba nation can mean for us all. For now we seek only to lift up our people to where they rightfully belong: nothing more and nothing less.
For now we seek only to nurture and protect that which we deeply cherish: nothing more and nothing less. For now we seek only to confirm the incontrivertible fact that we have a role to play in God’s greater plan for the final emancipation of the African continent: nothing more and nothing less.
For now we seek only to establish the fact that we are a people that are not only close to the heart and seat of Almighty God Himself, but we are also a people whose irresistible and manifest destiny it is to lead mother Africa and all her beautiful peoples to the citadels of abundance and excellence and to the pearly gates of the Promise Land.
And if it means that before the Yoruba nation can achieve its divinely ordained purpose that Nigeria must go then I say today, and I say it loud and clear to all who care to listen, that it is indeed, good-bye Nigeria and hello Oduduwa Republic.
If we cannot have a true federation, it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot have devolution of power, it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot have a secular state, it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot have resource control, it is good-bye Nigeria.
If we cannot have regional armies, it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot have regional police forces, it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot have regional Parliaments and a maximum degree of separate development, then it is good-bye Nigeria.
If we cannot have these things then we may as well say that the unfruitful and barren “marriage” that two extreemely cruel, unfeeling and obviously sadistic englishmen by the names of Lugard and Harcourt decreed between the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914 is not only truly dead but it is also well-buried.
Again, if we cannot have our own constitution in the West, our own foreign embassies and our own National emblems, then it is good-bye Nigeria. If we cannot at least have the right to determine our own future as a people without any manipulation, subterfuge or input from the relentless, byzantine and barbarous Huns and Phillistines that hold sway in certain parts of this nation, then it is good-bye Nigeria.
And of course, once we are forced to say “good-bye Nigeria,” there will be no regrets, no turning back and no remorse. It will be a clean break and it will be a break that we are prepared to defend with the last drop of our blood.
And even though here we have not asked for and neither have we advocated secession, I dare say that in the next few years, if care is not taken, the spirit of secession will undoubtedly begin to rise up and shatter the very foundations of this nation. Sadly this is a reality that we have to live with. We can no longer allow ourselves to be in denial.
If things don’t change and if they don’t change fast, this country will eventually cease to exist. It is only an undiscerning fool that still cannot appreciate or recognize this bitter and unpalatable fact. It is only the ignorant and the deluded that can still insist on treating this matter with levity or that can dismiss the likelihood of such a sanguine and bloody course of events from unfolding.
Again, for the record, let me be clear. What we are calling for here is not secession or armed struggle. What we want, nay what we demand, is change: peaceful, progressive, wholesome, equitable and constitutional change. What we are fighting for is peaceful and purposeful constitutional reform.
And of course, based on the internationally accepted principle of self-determination of a people (a principle which has the full backing of international law), we have every right, as citizens of the world, to call for and indeed demand such change simply because that is precisely what our people, the over 40 million-strong Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria, desperately desire and certainly deserve.
We have not called for subversion, dissention or dismemberment here but instead we call for an understanding of our position and an appreciation of our strong resolve. Again let it be clearly understood by all and sundry that we will do whatever it takes within our means to liberate our people and to enable them to achieve their full potentials as human beings.
It is in the light of this that we totally reject the new-fangled and alien concept and philosophy that encourages wholesale and unrestrained racial integration. We refuse to become fully integrated with, and consequently held down by, other groups and ethnic nationalities who not only come from a different world but who also erroneously believe that they were divinely mandated to turn us into the biblical and proverbial “hewers of wood and drawers of water” in our own land.
We refuse to accept having any part of or any fellowship with those that have fully espoused and imbued the culture of ethnic hegemony, the culture of the nomad, the culture of the leech, the culture of the cattle-rearer, the culture of the desert, the culture of corruption and the culture of laziness.
We refuse to accept the culture and ways of those that our forefathers continuously warned us about. They told us that when these people enter a room with a snake that we should endeavour to kill them first even before killing the snake. That is how dangerous they are.
Yet they may overcome others but they will never overcome the Yoruba race and neither will we, as a people, ever bow down before them. And lest they forget, let our core “Arewa” brothers be reminded of one incontrovertible fact: that the only reason that the Yoruba nation is not on the march today is simply because a fellow Yoruba man is sitting on the throne.
Yet, the truth is that, Obasanjo or no Obasanjo, when the time is right, the militant march of the Yoruba nationalists will rent the air and shake the very foundations of this country. It is at that time that we will once again be in a position to achieve our wildest dreams and our greatest ambitions. It is at that time that they will know who we really are. It is at that time that we will prove to the world that our will and our firm resolve cannot be tested lightly.
Until then I encourage every Yoruba man, woman and child to stand firm, to stand tall, to be strong, to be courageous and never to give up because ultimately we shall prevail. For the vision is for an appointed time: though it tarries, it shall surely come to pass. The Lord shall see to that. He shall be our deliverance and our strong tower.
Until then I say God bless you all. God bless the Alajobi Group. God bless the Yoruba nation and may the Lord, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, deliver our beloved Nigeria from the hands of those that seek to keep her in perpetual servitude, darkness and bondage.
May He raise up a biblical Jehu who will, once and for all, cleanse this vast and beleaguered land with his sword. And may He raise up a gallant Garibaldi whose brief it will be to unite the Yoruba people and to lead them from glory to glory”.
(Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a lawyer, delivered this speech at the Alajobi Group lecture to commemorate “June 12″ at Premier Hotel, Ibadan,Oyo State on June12th 2001)

Nigeria Union of Journalist NUJ disowns one Odimegwu Onwumere over blackmail case in Delta

2014-05-22T04:39:00.001-07:00

The Nigeria Union of Journalist NUJ has disowned one Odimegwu Onwumere recently arrested in Delta State for attempting to extort money from Governor Uduaghan through blackmail.

Odimegwu who claims to be a journalist has been going round the country extorting money from top government functionaries, politicians and top industry players . His stock in trade is blackmail through a website being managed by Mascot Uzor kalu, Nnanna Kalu, Odiuko Eunice Kalu and Orji Uzor Kalu. The NUJ Asaba Branch, in a press statement today warned the general public to be weary of the likes Odimegwu and their blackmail threats.

NUJ insisted that it is doing everything possible to flush out fake journalists from their fold. The Union said that Odimegwu has defrauded a lot of politicians through threats of publishing stories that will damage their reputation. NUJ commended the police for arresting Odimegwu whom he described as a fraudster. The Union urged the police to ensure that Odimegwu and his sponsors are prosecuted.

The NUJ also used the opportunity to warned the general public against stories that are not verifiable especially those being peddled online by the likes of Odimegwu and others who see the social media as a means to become rich.

EXPLOSIVE: Nigeria Has To Split Now...Northern CAN Pleads

2014-05-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Christians in Northern Nigeria under the aegis of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called for the disintegration of the country if the activities of militant islamic sect, boko haram fail to abate.

Speaking at a press briefing in Kaduna today, the Secretary General of the Northern CAN, Elder Saidu Dogo said the division of the country has become necessary in view of the wanton destruction of lives and property by boko haram members in the Northern region.

According to him,“If Nigerians are serious, then from here we have to move forward, call a spade a spade, and move Nigeria forward. If we want to stay together, let’s stay, if not everybody should go his own way. We cannot continue this way with this type of killings and so on and so forth. Some people do not want Nigeria to stay as one. It is important that this marginalization must stop.

“If you know what CAN stands for, CAN was formed in 1964, and why was it formed in 1964?. There was an attempt to actually stop the expansion of Christianity in the North and Christians in the North decided that if we don’t unite and speak with one voice, we will be run over. So all the Christians denominations decided to unite, forged ahead and formed this united body so that they would be in a position to defend Christians in the North. If you look at it now, all these talks about indigenes, non indigenes in Plateau State, people are just playing to the gallery.

“If you go to Katsina, Sokoto, Kano you have indigenes who are Hausa/Fulani, they have no other towns, no other local government, but they are being discriminated, they cannot be commissioner, they cannot contest for local government chairmanship because they are Christians. It is the Muslims in the North who started trouble in Nigeria, most especially in the North, the records are there.

“Someone carrying trailer load of beer across federal high ways to another country, and some people somewhere attacked it and destroyed the whole beer, all his earnings and living collapsed there. Nobody said anything, and you want Nigeria to remain one? There is no law in the country that says someone should not sell beer. These are some of the things we are saying that discrimination against Christians is more in the North.

“Let me tell you, believe you me, Boko Haram will fizzle away, our population is not up to America’s population, but as soon as the 9/11 incident happened, they put in place all mechanism; today you cannot go to America and terrorize them and do what Boko Haram is doing here.

“What is our population compared to America, and look at the amount of money we are having in this country, we are in the position in this country that even if a fly comes to any local government in Nigeria you will know. If we are determined to fight insecurity in this country, we will do it. But the issue is that, because of massive corruption, if you vote billions of naira for security, it will go into private pockets. Nobody will give any information. Anybody can cross from Niger, Chad illegally to Nigeria and have all he wanted and go free whereas individuals are stockpiling this money and taking them away.

“Honestly if we have a government that is serious both at the State and the National levels, am telling you that this crisis can be checkmated. This thing was done before, so I just want to tell you that if there is determination by the government, this thing can be checkmated by the government. If the United States and other countries have done it, why not Nigeria?.

“There are elements of truth in what the former Inspector General of police, Ehindero said recently that police intelligence unit is obsolete to withstand Boko Haram because when E-Department was cancelled and National Security Organisation {NSO} which is now the State Security Services (SSS), they were on changing this thing but it is no longer effective.

“When the police had the E-Department, it was purely confined to intelligence gathering for the police force which work hand in hand with Criminal Investigation Department (CID), so in any place, you have any problem, even before the problem comes, the Commissioner of Police, the DPOs in that locality will know exactly what is happening, and within a shortest time, trouble will be curtailed, and the ability of anybody to cause problem will not be there.

“But look at what is happening now here in Nigeria, an Inspector General of police cornered Billions of money, what was that money meant for? It was supposed to be for information gathering. Up till today, information money is not being utilized. We have people in the rural areas, farmers, hunters and cattle rearers, these are the police informants in those days, especially during the colonial era. So any suspicious movement, even at the borders, these people will report. But it is longer there. It is very unfortunate. So that is why I said if governments at all levels are determined, they can stamp out the issue of Boko Haram.

“And let me tell you this, Boko Haram does not have the type of ability to bomb people outside the initial place where they were initiated, that is Maiduguri, Borno State. There are people who are actually using this opportunity to operate under Boko Haram, the Boko Haram does not have the ability to do what they are doing. It is individuals, people know them very well, who are sponsoring them. Thank God some of them have been arrested. Government can fish out all the Boko Haram members if it is determined, and that will be the way of stamping them out.”

Borno: Boko Haram attacks Alagarno, kills 19 persons

2014-05-21T07:49:00.001-07:00

Boko Haram sect attacked Alagarno village in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State in the early hours of Wednesday, killing 19 people.

The sect members equally carted away food items after setting ablaze almost all the houses in the village.

Alagarno village is about 30 kilometers to Chibok town where about 275 female students of Government Secondary School were abducted by the insurgents, and about 117 kilometers from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

A local, Mallam Umaru Saina, who spoke to DailyPost said a young woman in the village had been missing ever since the attack ended, fueling speculations that the insurgents may have taken her along.

“They destroyed everything we have and took our remaining food. The most painful thing is that they did not spare children. They killed a child, killed women and men”, he said.

Neither the police nor the army has commented on the incident as at the time of filing this report, but sources within the military said that already security operatives have been detailed to the area.

Chief Larry Essien former PPA Chairman described Uzor Kalu political ambition a huge joke

2014-03-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Former Chairman of PPA, Chief Larry Essien has described as huge joke plans by the ex Abia governor Uzor Kalu to run for the Senate in 2015. Essien who said he left PPA due to Kalu’s over bearing and deceitful character, argued that Kalu has no political relevance and cannot win even in his village or environ.

Essien wondered why Kalu who has been telling people that he wants to be President, is now thinking of going to the Senate on the platform of PDP, a party that has rejected him. He told Kalu to go and revive PPA and contest on that platform, instead of deceiving himself.

Essien however, confirmed that Kalu attempts to join APC were rebuffed by Tinubu who described Kalu as a spent force and confusionist without sense of direction. He warned Kalu to stop using President Jonathan’s name to draw attention to himself as he (kalu) remains, a political leper.

Kalu he said should bow in shame, as his antics can't work again, the people now know better.

Breaking News...APC debunked Orji Uzor Kalu's claimed APC wooing call.

2014-03-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

APC has debunked claims by former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor kalu that the party is wooing him to join its fold. A credible source in the party hierarchy maintained that APC did not send Atiku to go and speak with kalu on any issue concerning the Party. Atiku and kalu he said may have met on their business interest.

APC insisted that it barred kalu from joining the Party earlier when Kalu approached Bola Tinubu. Kalu is an expired politician who cannot add value but crisis he added. APC urged his faithful in Abia State to disregard such story coming from Kalu.

The Party urged kalu to rebuild his PPA since PDP has equally rejected him.

Our source noted that kalu is terrible, as he wants to use his meeting with Atiku to showcase falsehood, which is his style. APC has already warned kalu who it described as a political leper not to use its name to seek for relevance.

It would be recalled that in his usual style Orji Uzor Kalu abused Atiku recently calling him all sorts of name a situation that forced Atiku to described kalu as a political imbecile.

Ebere Wabara: Merchant of OUK the expired drugs....Franklin James Nwankwo

2014-03-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

EBERE WABARA: MERCHANT OF OUK THE EXPIRED DRUG...Franklin James Nwankwo

He describes himself as a Language Expert. Yes, that is not contestable. However, somebody should remind Ebere Wabara what Moliere said about education, intelligence, foolishness and wisdom; that a learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool. Apart from always writing to impress (he hardly makes sense), Ebere appeals to me as the Village Teacher who was reminded by an uneducated commoner that one could still be comprehensively educated, yet; remarkably lacking in wisdom.

Ebere appears to have promised the immediate past KINDERGATTEN Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu that he would help him win the confidence of market women whose collective psyches were debased by his mother, the millions of youths who were impoverished by his wheelbarrow and shovel empowerment tools, thousands of politicians who were wrongly inspired by OUK’s deceptive leadership styles, Abia’s economy left in an almost irredeemable backward status and the future of children mortgaged by a Governor whose knack for greed, selfishness and self-centeredness underdeveloped Abia. I know by the grace of God that marketing OUK in 21st Nigeria is a terrible mistake.
If Ebere is endowed with productive wisdom, he ought to have known that ORJI UZOR KALU is an expired drug. The least he could do for us is to promote this caveat on OUK, “If you have a supply of drugs that is old or expired, discard of them safely through your local pharmacy’s disposal system or with your doctor’s office. Avoid flushing them to avoid potential contamination of the water system”.
I do not know whether to sympathize with Ebere for celebrating foolishness or pity his ignorance. This is what he said about OUK: “Let me say it for the second time, an aggregation of thousands of these so-called Abia PDP stalwarts and their receding followers cannot have the minutest value (an expired drug has no potency value) of Kalu’s heroism (as a pathological liar), invincibility (like Ganiyu Adams), transnational fame (or notoriety?), nationwide popularity (infamousness) and superlative chord (strapless) with fellow Abians and non-Abians. This is the crux of the morbid hatred (disdain is a better word) for Kalu: his diminishing opponents (that exiled him politically) are afraid of his domineering carriage (in Nigeria or Gambia?) and intimidating potentialities (like?) that naturally make his dwindling hypercritics fret (yet they retired him prematurely), submissive and subservient!
Orji Uzor Kalu acquired very insignificant formal education, so he could easily be carried away by Ebere Wabara’s use of words. However, no matter how hard you try to wash a pig, it does not change his status. What Ebere does not know is that OUK has long taken a slide to unalterable oblivion. Abians issued him a yellow card at the end of his first tenure in 2003, issued him another yellow after 2007. Two yellow cards translate to a RED CARD. OUK has a permanent NO vote for his eight disaster years in Abia.
At the risk of repeating myself, let me remind Ebere that OUK his paymaster with all his noise about being business minded ceded Enyimba Hotels (with a market value of about N20b) to his friends (the two Maduakos through Aba Chamber of Commerce) at a paltry sum of N12m, denying Aba the life time opportunity of having a five star hotel with all its value chain advantages. OUK’s illiteracy got Golden Guinea Breweries and the Umuahia Ceramics Industry entangled in the worst legal/ownership cobweb. The result of that dumb decision is the denial of employment opportunities to thousands of Abians. If a Governor aided the death of industries he inherited and caused the remaining to go moribund, he is obviously valueless. Does Ebere Wabara know that the international (?) business man OUK lived in a rented Government House for the eight years he attempted to wreck the ship called Abia? So, what value is this dumb Ebere Wabara talking about?.
I am still wondering what Ebere means by invincibility. I entered the words OUK and INVINCIBILTY in Google search. The search result was “do you mean the demystification of OUK the local champion?”. Where is PPA? What happened to REALITY ORGNAIZATION WORLDWIDE? If OUK is truly invincible how come his PPA crumbled like a pack of cards and his clandestine moves to join the PDP thwarted by even political feather weights in his Igbere? Do you still remember the purported issuance of PDP membership card marked 9787945 to OUK? His invincibility is in my mind, a logical construct that exists only in the mind’s eye of spin doctors like Ebere Wabara.
I don’t know what Ebere means by transnational fame. Ebere needs to be reminded that the average Nigerian nay Abian sees OUK as a crook, an illiterate and a proponent of politics of deception. Unless Ebere has short memory, he should remember how the presence of OUK at the Ekwunife campaign train in Anambra ensured that she had the least votes in an election OUK boasted that if Ekwunife loses, he will believe there is no God. What of the disaster called “OUK for PRESIDENT 2007”? Does Ebere know that his man’s transnational fame meant less than 2% chances in aggregation of nationwide polls?
What Ebere describes as morbid hatred is actually strong disdain for OUK. The reason for this public disdain and monumental disapproval is simple, OUK squandered public goodwill and set Abia on the path of stagnation. The people Ebere described as “diminishing opponents’ are actually the people who have successfully quarantined OUK politically, ensured that he is retired prematurely and consigned to the dustbin of history. At least, the whole world now knows that his purported popularity was a scam, what with his inability to sustain the existence of his PPA. He has shamelessly run from pillar to post, claiming friendship with successive PDP National Leadership. In the final analysis, each refused to admit him.
The story of OUK makes me sick. It gives me goose pimples. It is even worse to imagine that an adult with reasoning faculties could spare time to “market” an expired drug like OUK.
Abia is merely recovering from the misrule of an illiterate businessman called OUK. There are verifiable conscious efforts to do for Abia in 2014 what OUK’s colleague Governors did for their States before 2007. If OUK should serve as performance benchmark for any Government, then that Government is sure courting alienation by the people. Abia is coming on at the moment. I will say with every sense of responsibility that all the years eaten up by the OUK locusts are being restored.
It is shameful to note but the insane truth is that Abia just started building state – of – the art General Hospitals, markets, roads across rural communities, model primary and secondary schools, workers’ secretariat, a Government House, Primary Health Centres in all nooks and crannies of the State, model high court buildings, housing estates, agricultural farms, a model library, an event centre, international conference hall, first ever Eye hospital just to mention but a few.
If OUK was reasonable enough to have laid a foundation for the take off of Abia, his name would not have been deleted from Abia history. Ebere Wabara should please stop introducing an expired drug (that’s what OUK is) to us. He is going to tell us that the achievements listed above are nothing; that is not too bad to say. The task now is, for every three projects I credit to TAO; I challenge Ebere Wabara to mention just one that OUK did for eight years. I am waiting. Onye ara Ekeoha!

• Franklin writes from Enugu, Nigeria

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Orji Kalu and his attack...Samson Okoro

2014-03-12T07:44:00.001-07:00

ORJI KALU AND HIS ATTACK -- Sampson Okoro

The former governor of Abia State Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu will not stop using Sun newspaper and his aids to attack the office and person of the Executive Governor of the state, His Excellency, Chief T. A Orji, Ochendo Global. This is even when it is confirmed that the sun Newspaper was established with Abia State funds and the printing machines meant for the Abia Newspapers publishing company, publishers of Ambassador Newspapers.

In his latest attack, Kalu used a certain Ebere Wabara, Who has no home, to attack the Governor and his son who is happily married and living in Umuahia. First, Wabara, according to our sources, hails from Ukwa East local government area of Abia state. His tiny village, Umuogo, our sources reveal, was burnt down some years ago when they brutally murdered five police men in cold blood.

Before the incident, Wabara, the powerful media advisor to Kalu, had not visited his village for over 15years.

Wabara is married to a woman from isialangwa south local government area where he built a house for himself and his immediate family. So, why can’t Ebere Wabara build a house at Umuogo? Why has he not gone to his native village for over 15 years? The answer is simple. Ebere Wabara committed an abomination and his father disowned him, banned him from entering his compound and cursed him for life. Details in another piece. He is under the influence of that curse. And he can only work with those that are under curse. Like Orji Uzor Kalu who was cursed by his ‘ real father’ Johnson Nsiegbe. Ebere Wabara’s father cursed him that he will be wandering till death. Ebere was practicing journalist, resigned from journalism and went into banking. Today, he is back into journalism and media advisor to Kalu.When Ebere’s cousin, Chief Adolf Wabara was in the senate, Kalu used him to write all manners of stories against the Senator. How can Ebere Wabara, who has not been to his village for over 15 years know what is happening in Abia State? When did he visit Abia State last?

Ebere said that ‘ anyone interested in development should take a trip to Abia state and see the level of dilapidation, especially in the major cities’.There are two major cities in Abia state.They are Umuahia and Aba. Governor Orji has tarred numerous roads in umuahia, built the new secretariat complex, built international conference centre, built a permanent government house, built the Dialysis centre, the mecure, the Amachara specialist hospital, high court complexes, the skill acquisition centres, thee library, two new markets...Industrial markets police and army lodges and the street lights are functioning. And more. Ebere should go to umuahia and verify these things. In his next sucide mission, he should tell Abians why kalu did not build any single structure in umuahia for good eight solid years which many now describe as eight years of locusts.

In Abia, Governor Orji has embarked on massive road construction. The roads include Ukwu mango road, Ikot Ekpene road, Aba- Owerri road, Faulks road, Ngwa road, Azikiwe road, and other roads. Work is going on on other roads. How about the new High court complex built by Ochendo in Aba?

The major problem in Aba is the blockage of the drainages. These drainages are being opened up.

A few years ago, kidnapping and armed robbery were the order of the day in Aba.

Today, kidnapping and armed robbery are things of the past in Aba. Is Ebere Wabara reading?

Let it be included here that the kidnapping in Abia state was sponsored by kalu and his mother, Eunice uzor kalu. Eunice had the effrontery to order Governor Orji to giver her security contract so she could call the kidnappers to order. But the Governor refused, arguing that a woman in her class has no knowledge of how to handle security matters. Kalu’s mother went wild.

She latter changed her mind and asked her second son, Nnanna, to get the security contract from the Governor. The governor gave Nnanna who was in the House of Representatives for years without moving a motion, the sum of N500 million as mobilization for security contract. Nnanna took the money to kalu and Eunice and three of them shared it and kidnapping continued. Until T .A Orji decided to take the bull by the horn and kidnapping disappeared? Is Ebere Wabara listening?

In Aba also, Governor Orji started the street projects. But Mother Excellency kicked against it. Her reason was that the governor should not try to overshine his son by such projects. Kalu, Eunice, Ebere is it not so? Ebere Wabara, to satisfy his paymaster, did not spare the son of the Governor, Engineer Chinedum Orji, Ikuku. He described him as power drunk, that he is assisted by jobless elders to run the state and that his word is law. Something must have gone wrong with Ebere Wabara, perhaps he is suffering from the curse placed on him by his late father. In Abia State, Ikuku does not attend government functions. In Abia state, Ikuku is not seen in any office in government house. In Abia state, those who have his phone number say he hardly puts his phone on. So how does he run the government when nobody sees him both at government functions and government house?

It is on record that most, if not all the governor’s appointees have never come in contact with Ikuku. What Abians, genuine Abians, Abians who are not under any curse know is Ikuku pleaded with the father to include the youth in his administration. And the father did just that, hence the Abia state youth empowerment programme, which has seen many Abia youths become car owners. Many of them have been trained in various skills. Where were Nnanna and Mascot when kalu was Governor? They were there in government house, daily, making the state and political appointees.

Our dear Ebere Wabara should be reminded, if the curse placed on him by his father has not affected his medullar oblongata, that Mrs. Eunice Uzor Kalu cleared every political appointee under his paymaster, kalu. He must also pay a specific amount of money. Most, if not all these appointees were workers in the kalu’s private offices. After the appointee was cleared, he was taken to Okija shrine to take oath of allegiance. All elected chairmen and councilors under kalu were also taken to Okija shrine for oath taking. They would gather at Enitona hotel, Aba, from where a notorious Godwin Duru would taken them through Mbaise villages, Owerri streets, Orlu town, before moving in to Okija. Whereas kalu’s mother was busy milking the state, Ochendo’s wife, Mrs. Marcy Odochi Orji and Ikuku are busy empowering Abians. Mrs. Odochi Orji has empowered over 50,000 widows and indigent persons in Abia state. How many did Eunice empower? Killing freely was the order of the day in Abia state under Orji Uzor Kalu. Ebere should ask Kalu to tell him who killed Chukwudozie Nwachukwu, 29, and Okechukwu Maduekwe, 27 two young and promising Ubakala boys at the safari Restaurant and Business centre, 99 Azikiwe Road, Umuahia. By way of expo, the two young men were killed when Kalu wanted to kill the owner of the school certificate he is parading, because the young man threatened to expose him. But he ended up killing two innocent persons. Ebere Wabara must have been to Igbere before. He should ask Kalu who killed Eze Ukaegbu of Igbere. Ebere Wabara hasn’t told the public how many people that governor Orji has killed. There are others that the kalus killed that we will mention their names in our next edition. Is Ebere Wabara not aware that kalu’s first wife, Ifeoma, became mental while addressing women at the saint Michael cathedral, Aba? And that it is common knowledge that Eunice Kalu inflicted the madness on her. Are these not parts of kalu’s fame and credibility?

Ebere Wabara forgot to mention one single structure built by kalu for eight years. Just mention one. Tell Nigerians just one thing, not two, that kalu achieved for eight years. Because Kalu’s credibility and fame cannot reach high heavens without one single structure attended to his eight years reign in Abia state. We remember he achieved a Toronto degree certificate from the Abia state University, Uturu. Ebere should ask kalu how he earned this Toronto degree certificate and what happened to the fake document today. Ebere is old enough to know the story of a certain Igbo man who packed papers in a carton and donated to the university of Maiduguri in the name of cash. That Igbo man is Orji Uzor Kalu. Is Ebere taking note? Is Ebere still talking about credibility and fame for Kalu?

Yes, the president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Gary Nnachi Enwo- Igariwey went to kalu and told him to drop his ‘ presidential’ ambition for 2015. That is what we read in the papers. Two things: it is either kalu organized the visit or Gary went to mock him and warn him not to allow himself to be used by the north to create crisis in the southeast. The visit also clearly shows that it is only Kalu that northerners can buy over with money or threats that if he doesn’t play the spoiler role for them, they will expose his dirty deals with him.

I am sure that Ebere was of age when Kalu contested the 2007 presidential election and came last. I am sure that Ebere was of age when kalu contested the 2011 senatorial election of Abia North and lost woefully to senator Uche Chukwumerije. Kalu did not even win in his booth at Igbere.

So, can Ebere Wabara, except he is under the influence of the curse placed on him by his father, Tell Abians, Ndigbo and Nigerians that kalu is any threat to presidential Jonathan in 2015?

I don’t know how many genuine awards that kalu won when he was G

overnor for eight years. But I know that Governor T A Orji has won over 50 genuine awards both in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, U. A. E, the United States of America and the united kingdom. Ebere, do we count?

Also, I don’t know how many genuine awards that Nnanna, Mascot and Eunice won for eight years. But I know that IKUKU OMA Abia has won several genuine awards including the award of the pillar and hope of Nigeria youths by Imo state police community relations committee, PCRC, and the award of Media personality of the year 2013 by the independent Newspaper publishers Association, INPA, Imo state. I mention these two because they are awards from outside Abia state. They are from Imo state. Ebere Wabara, any comment?

If Kalu is ahead of Governor Orji, it can only be on the negative side. Governor Orji has a peaceful home but Kalu has a scattered home. Governor Orji and Ikuku are graduates with verifiable degree certificates; Kalu is a school drop out who used his position as governor to force the Abia state university, uturu, to award him a Toronto degree certificate. Kalu’s mother, wife, daughter and brothers have broken marriages; Governor Orji, wife, ikuku and his sister have peaceful marriages. The Kalu’s have blood in their hands and on their heads, Governor Orji and his family have no such record. Ebere Wabara should be man enough to mention the ‘little’ achievements that Kalu and Orji recorded between 1999 and 2007. Yes little achievements. But mention just one. Or doesn’t Ebere Wabara know the means of these ‘little’ achievements recorded by kalu? How can Ebere Wabara say that kalu ferreted Orji to Abia state liaison office in Lagos and swore him in as a governor just before Nuhu Ribaadu of the Economics and financial crimes commission, EFCC? Okay, can Ebere tell Nigerians and the world the offence T.A Orji committed for which the EFCC arrested and detained him?

In case Ebere Wabara does not know, T A Orji was arrested and detained because of financial crimes committed by kalu. They wanted T. A Orji to make statements implicating kalu, but Orji refused. That was what happened. Is Ebere with me? Ebere has flair for insulting elders. He insulted his father; he insulted his elder brother who is a monarch. He insulted his cousin who was former number three citizen of Nigeria. Now he is insulting bull in government house. Has Ebere forgotten Eunice Uzor Kalu who’s was the beginning of wisdom in Abia state? Has Ebere forgotten how Mother Excellency was worshipped by every Abian who wanted any favour from the government house? Is Ebere Wabara aware that men and women had to talk to Mother Excellency kneeling down? Is Ebere Wabara Aware that men and women became slaves under Orji Uzor Kalu? Because Ebere Wabara is under curse, he can say that the likes of Dr. Anagha Ezikpe, General Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, and other statesmen are jobless. But I make bold to ask Ebere: Where were these statesmen during the eight years of Orji Uzor Kalu and where are they today? If Ebere Wabara cannot answer this simple question, we will answer it for him next time.

Orji Uzor Kalu declares for Senate under PPA

2014-03-12T05:08:00.002-07:00

Former Abia Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has declared his intention to run for Abia North Senatorial seat in 2015 on the platform of the PPA.

The form

er Governor at a meeting with a handful of PPA members in Igbere at the weekend told them that he is not a member of PDP having been denied entry.

According to him all efforts to bulldoze his way into PDP has met a brick wall and several attempts to seek audience with President Jonathan and the Party Chairman Muazu have been unsuccessful.

Kalu told his bewildered guests that has his tried joining APC but he was not accepted hence the need to revive PPA.

The former Governor told his members that PPA would produce candidates for Governorship and Presidential polls.

Kalu who expressed anger over poor attendance to the meeting was also not happy that most of them have no voter’s card. He later gave out cash, which caused problem as Jones Udogu disappeared with the money.

Women cursed Orji Uzor Kalu and Family over the Killing of Chinwe Masi

2014-03-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Few days after the protest of Igbere women against former Abia Governor kalu for killing Chinwe Masi, the girl friend. The women who were half nude also placed a curse on kalu and mother after their fasting and prayers. Strange things seem to have started happening in kalus house as the mother Eunice also known as Odiuko is said to have been confided in a psychiatric home in Enugu. Odiuko who many insisted was behind the madness of Ifeoma kalus wife, it was gathered is almost going mad. The once powerful woman who has also maintained low profile life according to a reliable source, started behaving strangely last wed morning as she suddenly embarrassed his sons (mascot) friends who visited when she came to the sitting room stark naked shouting that some strange women from the sea were pursuing her. Efforts to stop her got the whole thing messier as she started confessing many people she and OUK have killed.

Farewell John Ndubuka...

2014-03-02T12:58:00.003-08:00

The body of late John Ndubuka was buried today amidst tears at his residence in Umuahia. The Governor of the State Chief T A Orji and his wife and Engr Chinedum Orji were among thousands of people who were at the ST. Finbarr's Catholic Church Umuahia for the commendation service. The priest used the occasion to pay glowing tributes to late John whom he described as a good Christian. In his speech the Governor stressed on the inevitability of death. He said John who was his relation remained a committed civil servant during his lifetime and prayed for the repose of his soul. He lashed out at those who politicized john’s death insisting that such people are inhuman. The Governor, the wife and Engr Orji accompanied the immediate family to the burial site for interment

Where is Orji Uzor Kalu’s Njiko Igbo pet project? – Written By Chike Amadi by ADMIN on Feb 24, 2014 • 12:23 pm

2014-02-24T08:49:00.001-08:00

S.E- OPINIONS

Where is Orji Uzor Kalu’s Njiko Igbo pet project? – Written By Chike Amadi

by ADMIN on Feb 24, 2014 • 12:23 pm1 comment

Sooner than predicted, Orji Kalu’s hackneyed subterfuge with his self-confessed apolitical Njiko Igbo Project has pitiably exhausted its elastic limit. Like a pack of cards with no trail of finesse and sophistication, the political show business has shamefully identified its level. Madness is indeed not a disease for children! All those cosmetic and hollow boastings on the actualization of Igbo presidency in 2015, with orchestrated media hype, has at last proved a mere public relations gimmick; aimed at resuscitating a punch-drunk slave driver; who had been beaten to a near-political stupor, and is, desperately genuflecting to popular sentiments to bounce back to political reckoning.

Of course, every form of untamed cleverness usually loses steam when the underlying magic is discovered. The sensibilities of Nigerians have deservedly outlived the temerity of attention seekers like Orji kalu, who trivializes the prized aspiration of Ndigbo, since the end of the civil war.

Those who know Orji Kalu, or had monitored his antecedents would not be surprised with his consistentinconsistency. He talks with his tongue in his cheeks. At one respect, he would tell you that he has quitted partisan politics. At other time, he would tell those who cared to listen that he was forging an apolitical platform to unite his people. Yet, at other times, he would claim that he lost everything he had in politics and hence, will not leave his business for politics, while nocturnally; he has busied himself begging his old allies to assist him to return to the ruling Party from the top; having being declared persona non grata in the PDP Chapter of his home state.

For a man who started building his political empire at the same time with Bola Tinubu of Lagos State (as co-Obasanjo albatross), to be scampering for a political roof to accommodate his decapitated personality today, will indeed make an interesting case study in shylock god-fatherism and congenital megalomania.

Come to think of it, does Orji Kalu have the capacity to drive the vision of ‘Njiko Igbo’ as espoused? It is hard to convince anybody among Ndigbo that he can step into the shoes. All the noise about Orji Kalu as the new face Igbo man is media creation. His source of stupendous wealth is questionable. His academic history from the school certificate, to the Catholic University of United States certificate that disappeared from INEC files overnight during the Salisu Buhari certificate scandal in 1999; to the University of Maiduguri conjured transcript after 18 years of rustication; to the Abia State University ‘on-gun-point’ certificate, which has since been revoked; Orji kalu is bogged by controversies bordering on integrity and strength of character.

Njiko Igbo suffered a still birth because it was not dexterously packaged to survive. The progenitor was more interested in showcasing the embryonic pregnancy at the market place to prove his political fertility, only to be taken unawares during delivery-induced labour. And to whitewash himself from the shame of rail-rolled abandoned project, he quickly arranged a lackey at Ohanaeze Ndigbo to give him a soft landing.

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