tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20256710171285641212024-03-18T10:37:14.063+01:00CHUKWUBIKES' .... Day by DayOkey.Chukbyke C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01707879076116787313noreply@blogger.comBlogger556125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-26940949803289528712024-03-09T07:16:00.000+01:002024-03-09T07:16:12.351+01:00THE NIGERIAN MAD THIEVES <p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4y-x6J_4F8qQOLo35vhsEWc8i2bP5HU3KRZNSSSF_8-MxEhiIE71j0jvYSqkNfo80q8pzWmKna_fosbi-Ps_OiNzoyVOubmcNnbkl0tNcxMLT6ZEdVI9cVlYH9_vsBKfKdYELizbOGQ7YOwXG3kLlPRzyV75HJC7Z6yrarKECWTrObuZaXWAXdq3d-c/s500/XGltYWdlc1xjb250ZW50XDkxMzIwMjI3MDE0NF9hNDVkODgyNzE1N2I0NTJjOWIxZWY0NGFlZTUxYjA2Ny5qcGVnfDUwMHwzNTB8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4y-x6J_4F8qQOLo35vhsEWc8i2bP5HU3KRZNSSSF_8-MxEhiIE71j0jvYSqkNfo80q8pzWmKna_fosbi-Ps_OiNzoyVOubmcNnbkl0tNcxMLT6ZEdVI9cVlYH9_vsBKfKdYELizbOGQ7YOwXG3kLlPRzyV75HJC7Z6yrarKECWTrObuZaXWAXdq3d-c/s320/XGltYWdlc1xjb250ZW50XDkxMzIwMjI3MDE0NF9hNDVkODgyNzE1N2I0NTJjOWIxZWY0NGFlZTUxYjA2Ny5qcGVnfDUwMHwzNTB8.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br />*AUTHOR UNKNOWN, BUT THIS SHOULD BE A COMPULSORY READ FOR ALL NIGERIANS:* </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">In one passage s/he writes:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">".... <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">the almajiri, area Boys, MC Oluomo, and their likes are not the main threat to this beautiful country. The elites are." I couldn't agree more.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Contentment is the grace to stand up from the dining table and look away from the food tray when your belly is full.* </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">But the Nigerian public official, although filled and belching with excess, would still hide stolen meat within the corners of his mouth at a dinner, stuff fried rice into his socks, and try to shuffle moinmoin into his shoes. Madness, you say. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">But who else would steal 80 billion Naira except a mad fellow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">I am no longer numbed at the numbers stolen in Nigeria, but I am terribly saddened by the titles of the pen robbers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Kemebradikumo Pondei, that dramatic NDDC acting Managing Director that fainted in the Senate, was a Professor of Medicine. A man trained to build, repair, and even possibly manufacture life. Yet, he too got to the table and scooped jollof rice into his boxers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Do you know who Diezani Alison-Madueke was? No, you don't. When ladies of her age were wishing and praying to be admitted to Shell Petroleum as typists or tea girls, she was already on the board of the company as an executive director. God gave her the bigger privilege of marrying Allison Madueke, a naval officer and former military Governor of two States. She was a trained architect who transformed to become Nigeria's first female petroleum minister. Yet, despite these privileges, Diezani stole our barbequed fish, roasted yams, and hide them in her bra. Like a mad woman.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">You recollect that JAMB/NECO ex Registrar, that Professor, the one that stole almost a billion. Just go through his CV, he had been eating from one educational agency to another non-stop since the military era. But at almost 70, a grandpa, he comes from a detention facility and goes to court to defend himself for stealing monies he would never need. At 70, a man is nearer to his grave, but in Nigeria, a 74 year old Minister would steal to buy a plot of land to build a new mansion. His sepulchre, of course.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"> Our leaders make you poke at your credentials and certificates. lf medical doctors, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Doctors of Philosophy, and Professors would be this bestial and mad, you wonder to what purpose is our education. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">They say people steal government funds because they fear falling into the poverty trap. But how do you explain a Uzor Kalu, Rochas Okorocha, who rode on private billions before politics and still stole the community goats and chickens. Or Lucky Igbinedion, former Governor of Edo State, who had a golden spoon in his mouth and nevertheless seized the feeding bottles of milk from the mouths of Edo babies.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">A billion has nine zeros. With ₦80 billion, you can build a brand new town, local government area, of 15, 000 low-cost housing units complete with roads, schools, and hospitals. ₦80 billion would build a new ten - Faculty University, that can accommodate 20,000 undergraduates and graduate students. But an accountant allegedly stole such a staggering sum. A fellow of ICAN. A distinguished member of a privileged elite group. Who else should know the cost implication of fraud better than a chartered accountant?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">See, the almajiri, area boys, MC Oluomo, and their likes are not the main threat to this beautiful country. The elites are. The Directors, Permanent Secretary, vice chancellors, CEO, solicitor generals, Senators, Governors are the ones bleeding us. Not bandits, boko haram, or IPOB. The elites are the ones bombing and destroying the social architecture of our nation with their unbridled hedonism. They think the stolen billions would enamour them to the dangers ahead. "But stolen melons are the sweetest...they don't know the former guests are now citizens of hell." Everyone is today a victim. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Having broken the social ligaments that hold our nation together, by stealing monies meant for education, healthcare, and infrastructure, the elites have rendered Nigeria a classless nation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Billionaires are now stolen, emirs are kidnapped, and attempts have been made in the recent past to abduct a serving governor. The elites had sowed wild thorns, and the harvest is fully here. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Politicians steal in Japan and Senators thief in America. A $50,000 bribe. A golden watch. Or a misappropriated flight ticket or inflated hotel bills. But in Nigeria, our leaders don't embezzle. They haul. Why? Because they are mad. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Our politicians, despite their jejune certificates, lack the intellectual capacity to solve our economic problems, and worse, they lack the contemplation of the right philosophy of public service. They aren't kingly, and neither are they philosophic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Leaders are made to live for God, and their existence is for society's sake. We are to use our gifts, spend our grace, and deploy our earthly terms and years to serve community, society, country, and mankind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">No man living personally needs a billion. What for? Dangote, Buhari, Bua, Otedola, OBJ, Elumelu, TY Danjuma, cannot spend fifteen thousand naira daily on Nigerian foods or meals. If they do, they would die sooner than their time. You would, too, because God didn't create us to be excessive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">Every extra gift, talent, grace, money, and wealth we have is not totally for us but for society and state. We are to give, give, and give, for state, humanity, and posterity. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: xx-large;">Although nature and law permit optimal material rewards and compensation for our efforts. That is why the Accountant General of the Federation, Minister, Governor, Senator, Rep, permanent Secretary is well remunerated above others, so he won't run mad and go about stealing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">But all is not sad. Like Chief Micheal Adekunle Ajasin, there are a few saints in this country of sin. There are good examples despite the rot. Oby Ezekwesili was former minister of solid minerals and education. She does not have the look nor the body scent of a thief. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala handled our billions of dollars at the time Nigeria was awash with much. Her hands are not hypo clean. But she didn't haul our billions into her truck. If she had, no one would call her higher into WTO. We also have the like of Professor Ishaq Oloyede of JAMB, who started reporting and returning surplus to the Treasury, unlike his predecessors as JAMB Registrars. Therefore, in this country, not all are crazy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">*Prayer:* God, open the eyes of our elites to see and know that they don't need what they steal. For only a mad fellow gathers stones and pans that are needless.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;"> *Don't forget when you see something say something Nigerians!!!.*</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">If you find this message impactful, please share as you may help inspire others for a NEW NIGERIA 🇳🇬.</span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-13512324736204995912024-03-07T23:11:00.002+01:002024-03-07T23:11:30.226+01:00Admiral Madueke at 80<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XWp9hzvTIvb3Y9t_a9otVrXOGg1ca_5pMrRUIxh-AEPgxdaworXAmI11DfY4BDTLft7d98Uo0LxlvgSgxylMvAH8Hv1enFEofoGxyzs8gHfJMggl_vKtrcGrcubzzBaGl5zgpedRNOnnnYf-35SwWsAAucwnPvHVFEFvqGzETjBFnByJlp2qNf1ibNA/s834/Screenshot_20240307-220623-262.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XWp9hzvTIvb3Y9t_a9otVrXOGg1ca_5pMrRUIxh-AEPgxdaworXAmI11DfY4BDTLft7d98Uo0LxlvgSgxylMvAH8Hv1enFEofoGxyzs8gHfJMggl_vKtrcGrcubzzBaGl5zgpedRNOnnnYf-35SwWsAAucwnPvHVFEFvqGzETjBFnByJlp2qNf1ibNA/s320/Screenshot_20240307-220623-262.png" width="276" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Hurrah for Admiral Madueke!</span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Byadmi March 7, 2024</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Admiral Madueke, the cat with nine lives is 80 ye</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ars old today.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">By Chuks Iloegbunam</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">An Igbo saying goes like this: If a man’s chi (personal god) is not a party to the scheme, death will not kill him. On the morning of July 30, 1966, Midshipman Alison Madueke, boarded a KLM, Royal Dutch Airline plane for London, via Amsterdam. He was on his way to officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Devon, England. The plane started taxiing for takeoff. But midway, as it gathered speed, the attempt was aborted. The pilot addressed the passengers through the intercom: “This is the captain speaking. Will the three Naval officers flying to London please alight?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> They are wanted by the military authorities.” Down on the tarmac, Alison was seized and manhandled by Northern Nigerian military officers and men. The July 29, 1966 countercoup, the bloodiest putsch in African history, was underway.By sheer miracle, Madueke survived the coup that took the lives of 40 Igbo officers and 128 other ranks. He eventually got to the Naval College. After a course that lasted a little over a year, he was commissioned as Acting Sub-Lieutenant in September 1967. He was declared the Best Commonwealth Midshipman in Home Waters. At this time, the Nigerian civil war had started. Rather than return to his formation, he crossed the English Channel into mainland Europe and headed for Lisbon, Portugal where Biafra had an accredited representation. Assisted by Biafran officials, he made a beeline for Port Harcourt, where he joined the Biafran Navy. He saw action in the Niger Delta Creeks and on the River Niger, near Onitsha.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Despite sustaining three injuries, he survived the war. He returned to the Nigerian Navy in 1972, still marking time as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant. Despite this, he became 21 years later, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) in the rank of Rear Admiral. As the Naval Chief, he was a member of General Sani Abacha’s Provisional Ruling Council. He and the late Major General M. C. Alli, the Army Chief of Staff, were thrown out of the PRC and retired. General Abacha could not stomach their contrary views to his June 12 stance. Their exit led to orchestrated reports that the duo had planned to topple Abacha’s junta. He survived the sinister schemes</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Admiral Madueke went into the shipping business and, thereafter, into the communications industry. His international passport was seized for the eight years that the Truthful Lie was in power. During this period, he wrote his autobiography titled Riding The Storms With God In My Sails. (Eminent Biographies, 2019.) This book of 509 pages gives a comprehensive account of his life from birth until 2019. From it, we learn that he had attended the Our Lady’s High School, Onitsha. This school has produced countless national figures, including Professor Ben Nwabueze, Eze (Professor) Green Nwankwo, Professor B. I. C. Ijomah, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, and Justice Ezebilo Ozobu. It was established by a Grade Two teacher, Sir Peter Chukwurah from Abatete. He also built the Fatima High School in Aguobu Owa and was a member of the Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly. In 1962, Madueke passed the School Certificate examination in Division One. We also learn that he was the Military Governor of the old Anambra State from January 1984 to September 1985, and the Military Governor of the old Imo State from September 1985 to July 1986.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">The book contains Admiral Madueke’s long list of achievements in Anambra and Imo States. Only two will be mentioned here. The administrations he headed built the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, and the Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri. This article will conclude with a word on the Owerri Airport. Suffice it to say that, of all his achievements, none ranks higher than his autobiography. The book is a treasure trove of information that everyone, especially rampant commentators on national issues, will do well to read. Unfortunately, the country seems not to have discovered the value of knowing its history and the great importance of biographies in historical development and archiving. There is hardly a major American, Asia, or European politician or military officer whose story has not been written by himself or by someone else. There is hardly a journalist from those continents who has practiced for a decade without the account of his stewardship in book form. Yet, there is neither a biography nor an autobiography of a personage like Commodore Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe, the former Nigerian Chief of General Staff. There hardly is a biography of any Igbo traditional ruler. Why shouldn’t there be a biography of a great bureaucrat like the late Alhaji Shehu Musa?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">We must extend the questions. Where are the biographies of Brigadier-General Zakariya Maimalari, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Akahan, and Lieutenant Colonel James Yakubu Pam? Mazi Mbonu Ojike, a preeminent pre-Independence politician and statesman, was the Boycott King. Why was he so called? If there was a biography of him, the answer would be in it. There is no biography of Sir Peter Chukwurah. His schools have produced professors, judges, governors, senators, military officers, and much more. If someone wrote his biography, he may discover why governments took over his schools decades ago without paying his family as much as a single Kobo in compensation to this date. Where are the biographies of soccer legends Albert Onyeanwuna and Tesilimi (Thunderbolt!) Balogun?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">It was to help fill this nasty chasm that I decided to strike a blow in recording contemporary history in my own little way. (I have so far written three biographies – those of General Aguiyi-Ironsi, Eze (Professor) Green Nwankwo, and Mr. Peter Obi.) That was why I published Riding The Storms With God In My Sails. That is why my publishing house is currently working on three different biographies. There are other biographers, of course. But many more are urgently required. It is the reason I urge Nigerians to introduce fresh and heightened interests in the noble business of documenting and disseminating the stories of our people. Books engender far more education than the mere structures that are otherwise known as schools.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Now back to Admiral Madueke’s stint as the Military Governor of Imo State. He wrote that his administration constructed the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. Admiral Madueke tells the story of how he built that airport from page 279 to page 295 of his book. It contains five photographs related to the project. These are (1) The picture in which he and some of his officials posed with the traditional rulers of Logara-Obiangwu and Umuohiagu on whose lands the airport is situated. The picture was taken when the foundation stone of the airport was laid. (2) The picture where Admiral Madueke (then a Captain) was laying the airport’s foundation stone surrounded by his officials and some dignitaries. (3) A group picture of Madueke and the six members of the Airport Task Force. All their names are listed. (Behind them can be seen the peering head of Lieutenant Dele Ezoba, Madueke’s aide de camp, who later became the Chief of the Naval Staff in the rank of Admiral. (4) The fourth picture is of Madueke presenting a bowl of kolanuts to Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, the Chief of General Staff, who attended the launch of the Imo Airport Appeal Fund at the Aba Sports Stadium. (5) The last picture is the front view of the airport’s terminal building.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Shortly after Madueke’s book was launched in 2019, I as its publisher, started receiving angry calls from friends who said that, given my posture as “an honest man,” they could not understand why I subscribed to the fallacy that the Imo Airport was built by Alison Madueke. Some even spoke at me. Had any one of these accusers read the book? Hardly! But some of its readers told them that they encountered the lie’s repugnant face within the book’s covers</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Well, Rear Admiral Alison Amaechina Madueke is alive and well. I am certain that he is willing to answer those who publicly state their disagreement with his Imo Airport story. His book has not run out of stock. Some bookstalls still have it. Besides, it is always available at the annual Lagos International Book Fair which takes place during May. People should read the book and make up their minds. Not only on the matter of a facility at which aircraft take off and land. But also, on the numerous questions raised in the book that can still do with the joined issue.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">For today, this is from me to Admiral Madueke: Many Happy Returns Of The Day!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0.0pt; margin-top: 0.0pt;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Chuks Iloegbunam wrote in from Abatete, Anambra State</span></span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-21107512633330506602024-02-21T09:48:00.002+01:002024-02-21T09:51:43.393+01:00OHANAZE; IGBOS PLEASE DON'T JOIN PROTESTS AGAINST GOVERNMENT <p><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVmdYZnX_IXWIDUBTsgZ-FP-J9JJJ42ql6QJS0Q_NPCiUBJXf5h-3WGGgDSIqGD-JImJ5xz4fxSLvh-zArM97oZK1UZ-Jm_FcFk1cac4XZInOPb9YXaN5VqGD1NYjWtoXKtWPVuUsCIKEaHePb2HFSIWuDAuar_bLQOyFkTN9SHa68itlDFOfmBvOV0g/s800/18137337_1000075669_webp_webpdfd0ce567bb32320205a9c3104188a5e.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="800" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsVmdYZnX_IXWIDUBTsgZ-FP-J9JJJ42ql6QJS0Q_NPCiUBJXf5h-3WGGgDSIqGD-JImJ5xz4fxSLvh-zArM97oZK1UZ-Jm_FcFk1cac4XZInOPb9YXaN5VqGD1NYjWtoXKtWPVuUsCIKEaHePb2HFSIWuDAuar_bLQOyFkTN9SHa68itlDFOfmBvOV0g/s320/18137337_1000075669_webp_webpdfd0ce567bb32320205a9c3104188a5e.webp" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />On Feb 19 ;</span><span style="font-size: xx-large;">By Anayo Okoli.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">OHANAZE Ndigbo has directed Ndigbo all over the country not to join the ongoing protests against hardship.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In a statement signed by the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu entitled “Message to all Igbos worldwide”, he said: “I write as your leader at this critical period in our Country, Nigeria. Events in Nigeria today are no doubt very disturbing. The economy has turned very bad, a sceptre of frustration is everywhere.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have received many entreaties from many parts of the Country requesting me to call Igbos to join in demonstration and violent action in the Country against the Government.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">“As your leader, I am directing that no Igbo group or community in Nigeria or in Diaspora should join in this action. I am still studying the situation. I have asked Nigerians who approached me the following questions, what did they do when the past government disfranchised Igbo land?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Most of the Igbo are in the South East and the South East is very sadly marginalized in all ramifications. We are the only geopolitical zone that has only five (5) states. This situation has cost us billions of financial losses. It has also cost us losses in both political appointments and legislative representations. In 2005 and 2014, we raised this issue at various political conferences. All men of goodwill at the conference agreed that it was unfair for the Southeast to have only five States and recommended that an additional state be created in the Southeast but up till today, this has not been done. I have severally drawn the attention of the federal Government to this injustice against the Southeast. This statement should serve as a notice that if no step is taken by the federal Government and the National Assembly towards the creation of an additional state in the Southeast, I will have no choice than to go to Court.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"In the 1999 Constitution as amended, we all endorsed a federal character. Igbos by nature would have preferred the free competitive process rather than a federal character paradigm. But we realised that Nigeria is a federation comprising so many ethnic nationalities and as part of our sacrifice towards the unity of Nigeria, we accepted the federal character option but unfortunately, it has been used to manoeuvre the Igbo out of most critical positions in Government. For Example, the former President Muhammadu Buhari openly confessed that he didn’t give us our due because we didn’t vote for him.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Youths all over the world are very restive and sensitive to any issue affecting their future. In Nigeria, Igbo youths and youths from other tribes at various times expressed their dissatisfaction with events in the Country. It is clear to us that when youths from other tribes of the country are involved they are reprimanded and forgiven; but when the Igbo youths are involved they are arrested, incarcerated and even charged for serious offences. For example, the arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu generated a lot of problems for the Igbos. Many Igbos, including Governors, members of the National Assembly, Religious leaders, Traditional Rulers, and Business leaders pleaded with Mr. President for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu but without success</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Also, there are many Igbo Youths detained in various correctional Centres for flimsy excuses. For example, there is a case of Eze Fredrick Nwajiagu who has been in detention in Lagos without any justifiable reason.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Since after the 2023 general election, Igbos have been victimised over the failure of APC to win in Lagos and Abuja. It has been brought to my notice that there is a conspiracy to cripple Igbo business enterprise in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of Nigeria. All these are aimed at incapacitating the Igbos from all future political activities</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"In some parts of Nigeria, Igbos who answer Igbo names, who are raised in Igbo culture and tradition, continue to deny their Igbo Heritage. This is because some people outside the Eastern Nigeria who assume the monopoly of political power, have continued to brainwash this set of people and turned their minds against their kit and kin, the Igbos. For example, after the Civil War which was fought by the entire Eastern Nigeria this group of people profiled it as if it was a war by a few Igbos and they influenced our kit and kin in Rivers State to seize our assets in the name of abandoned property. Remarkably, the end of Civil War was based on 3Rs Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction. Most unfortunately, the 3Rs were never implemented in the war torn areas. History will always record the contributions of General Yakubu Gowon, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and General Obasanjo towards the peaceful conclusion of the Civil War on the basis of no victor, no vanquished. It is regrettable that up till today, in spite of the efforts of Igbos to demonstrate their commitment to one united Nigeria, Igbos are victimized in many parts of the Country and people profile them wrongly at various times.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It is clear to me that Igbos must work hard in order to succeed in Nigeria. It is no secret that most contracts executed by Igbo business men in Nigeria are bought from original awardees. In terms of political power, the Presidency of Nigeria was zoned to rotate between the North and the South. We accepted it. The last election was a defining moment in the country when in fact Igbos generally believed it was their turn to produce a president but some groups of Nigeria ganged up against Igbos and we failed in this quest. We once more thank all Nigerians who have shown their patriotism and love for one united Nigeria by supporting a very credible Igbo candidate, Mr Peter Obi. These Nigerian leaders are too numerous to mention but we cannot fail to express our thanks to Chief Dr. Edwin Clark, the Leader of South South region, Pa Ayo Adebanjo the Leader of Afenifere and Dr. Bitrus Pogu the Leader of Middle Belt Forum for their courage in supporting an Igbo candidate.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/02/hardship-dont-join-protest-ohanaeze-directs-ndigbo/amp/">Source</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-12622918786524106612023-11-29T14:45:00.001+01:002023-11-29T14:47:57.443+01:00THE STORY OF GEORGE IYAMU, THE CORRUPT POLICEMAN THAT HELPED ANINI AND HIS GANG<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d9I3l1SHfcpo01RbvEU2JZD4WGD6e7HOicSYNENITaNU8s8U7FZPXUJjDlEKp_WHg7RjTav_aPbusZncIA7E6VIxrUupg28s-kvcNkDKmvXT8J2Kt42cwsSsJT9wyiHZvtKudX-JLhVCPnnLrr_zD-NhH4vR4MU4OzDiAmiCNSsYxqr-XcmmM_Akygk/s1029/Fdm2SLiWQAU37U_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1029" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d9I3l1SHfcpo01RbvEU2JZD4WGD6e7HOicSYNENITaNU8s8U7FZPXUJjDlEKp_WHg7RjTav_aPbusZncIA7E6VIxrUupg28s-kvcNkDKmvXT8J2Kt42cwsSsJT9wyiHZvtKudX-JLhVCPnnLrr_zD-NhH4vR4MU4OzDiAmiCNSsYxqr-XcmmM_Akygk/s320/Fdm2SLiWQAU37U_.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br />George Iyamu was a corrupt Police officer back then in the 1980s, he worked for the notorious criminal Identified as Lawrence Anini. Back then in the 1980s, the citizens of Nigeria were being terrorized by the infamous Lawrence Anini and his gang. Lawrence was popularly called the Law by people in the country.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;">He used to terrorize Bendel State from the year 1980 to the year 1986 before his death. Lawrence used to be a professional Taxi driver but he stopped the job and started driving criminals in the city. Lawrence later formed his gang of criminals and they all robbed, kidnapped, and also killed many Nigerians.</span></div><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Lawrence Anini men was practically invisible due to the fact that he had some Insiders in the Police force. Some corrupt officers were also part of his gang, they gave him Intel and protected him from arrest. Lawrence was feared by everybody because he spared no</div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> one, he even killed over 9 Police Men in his time.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Lawrence Anini was caught on December 3, 1986 in the company of 6 Women. He was shot on his leg which later made the Doctors to cut off his leg. While Lawrence was in the </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">police station, he went ahead to reveal those members of his gang.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Lawrence Anini mentioned the Police Inspector George Iyamu as his accomplice. George was exposed for working with Lawrence before his arrest, he lived a life of affluence and owned </span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">several cars and houses. It was revealed that Inspector George used to protect Lawrence and his gang members from the law. He also used to give them guns and ammunitions, he also supplied them with Intel and logistical support.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large;">When Lawrence revealed the involvement of Inspector George in his criminal activities, the Police Man denied everything totally. Even though Lawrence could not speak proper English, he called Inspector George a bloody liar.</span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Nobody would have everimagined that a Police officer would ever assist a criminal in committing such a crime. That explains why it was difficult to catch Lawrence as at that time, he was able to get the necessary information he needed from Inspector George. Lawrence had to pay George a huge amount of money for him to keep shut and protect him from harm.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6wp_6Rcxv__dGhp_ju0at7gfgZf48M5DdbusE8dj7UARBO4z85kHSZ187GY-Zpl4X0fpB1J-mL0b-zPvYHzgrtIdyLzwsjeFGka9PQI19iPv2BCZ01Meh4vJbfuy_RfPVdYVwMX1jIbYvjKJQpFR4mDO5lP93ImUNtSr5Wu8BQs31_TpPLJbv3uIQi4/s1029/Fdm3EOTXwBE0k01.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1029" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6wp_6Rcxv__dGhp_ju0at7gfgZf48M5DdbusE8dj7UARBO4z85kHSZ187GY-Zpl4X0fpB1J-mL0b-zPvYHzgrtIdyLzwsjeFGka9PQI19iPv2BCZ01Meh4vJbfuy_RfPVdYVwMX1jIbYvjKJQpFR4mDO5lP93ImUNtSr5Wu8BQs31_TpPLJbv3uIQi4/w200-h133/Fdm3EOTXwBE0k01.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Inspector George and Lawrence Anini were sentenced to death by . squad on March 29, 1987. They were both killed in front of happy Nigerians that came to witness the end</div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">of the era of Lawrence Anini.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://wap.org.ng/read/story-of-george-iyamu-the-corrupt-policeman-that-helped-anini-and-his-gang/">SOURCE</a> </div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div></div></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-64813210109885819412023-10-27T18:12:00.004+02:002023-10-27T18:15:38.513+02:00VOODOO :A MISJUDGED RELIGION?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLH8WwdnkC2ILqIU47sGwHdzGLwTAdQs2ajYBmZ7dlAR-nLWghRxPfInfEM-gM3fEAYWjCznfjnBZ9R12CRipPAczT76-V8RDne454XOCWEopRBS7CNCZ-OohGkzjNpgARIwtlgm-oLIgTrNhpdcYtaHTR5enBJxjkRWWN-reu7uVsvdXkwSyNkMZ6rOg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLH8WwdnkC2ILqIU47sGwHdzGLwTAdQs2ajYBmZ7dlAR-nLWghRxPfInfEM-gM3fEAYWjCznfjnBZ9R12CRipPAczT76-V8RDne454XOCWEopRBS7CNCZ-OohGkzjNpgARIwtlgm-oLIgTrNhpdcYtaHTR5enBJxjkRWWN-reu7uVsvdXkwSyNkMZ6rOg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: 700;">By Pumza Fihlani</span><p></p><div class="ssrcss-1bdte2-BylineComponentWrapper e8mq1e90" data-component="byline-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem auto; max-width: 50rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-qt5zqv-BylineWrapper e8mq1e917" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-h3c0s8-ContributorContainer e8mq1e916" style="align-items: flex-end; border: 0px; color: #545658; display: grid; font: inherit; gap: 1rem 0.5rem; grid-template-columns: 1fr; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-1u2in0b-Container-ContributorDetails e8mq1e913" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; grid-column: 1 / 3; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-84ltp5-Text e8mq1e910" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.23077; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div></div></div><div class="ssrcss-jlwt2c-Divider e8mq1e915" style="background-color: #8a8c8e; border: 0px; font: inherit; height: 0.125rem; margin: 1rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2.5rem;"></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">While many African traditions and cultures are under threat from modern life, there is one which is holding its own - voodoo.</span></b></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">It has suffered from a bad press internationally but is an official religion in the West African country of Benin.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the voodoo heartland of Ouidah, the sound of drums fills the air, while men and women dressed mainly in white take turns to dance around a bowl of millet, a freshly slaughtered chicken and alcohol.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">These are the day's offering at the Temple of Pythons.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">They have an audience of about 60 people who have gathered from nearby towns for an annual cleansing ceremony.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Inside the temple, where more than 50 snakes are slithering around a custom-made pit, local devotees make amends for sins of the past year.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-19w8cxh-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper egtrm1f0" data-component="subheadline-block" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #141414; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 2.5rem 0px 1.5rem; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="ssrcss-y2fd7s-StyledHeading e10rt3ze0" id="Blood-snakes-and-power" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.125; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="-1"><span role="text" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blood, snakes and power</span></span></h2><div><span role="text" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">In voodoo, the python is a symbol of strength - the devotees explain they are relying on Dagbe, the spirit whose temple this is, to give them the power to change.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">And to make that change happen, blood must be spilled.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-xza2yt-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; max-width: 50rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-4qvfmb-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder etlorgc0" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 450px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first offering is a chicken - some of the blood is spread across the tiles of the temple and the rest is mixed into a communal bowl of millet - which the devotees eat as it is passed around.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Voodoo is rooted in the worship of nature and ancestors - and the belief that the living and the dead exist side by side - a dual world that can be accessed through various deities.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Its followers believe in striving to live in peace and to always do good - that bad intentions will not go unpunished, a similar concept to Christians striving for "righteousness" and not "sinning".</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-xza2yt-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; max-width: 50rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-4qvfmb-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder etlorgc0" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 450px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-xza2yt-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1" data-component="image-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1.5rem 0px; max-width: 50rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure class="ssrcss-4qvfmb-StyledFigure e34k3c23" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figcaption class="ssrcss-1mget3o-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(138, 140, 142); border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; color: #545658; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.28571; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0.5rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-y7krbn-Stack e1y4nx260" spacing="6" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">{Voodoo believers communicate with their gods through prayers and meditation}</div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Modest estimates put voodoo followers here at at least 40% of Benin's population. Some 27% classify themselves as Christians and 22% Muslims.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">But expert on African religions and traditions Dodji Amouzouvi, a professor of sociology and anthropology, says many people practice "dual religion".</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"There is a popular saying here: 'Christian during the day and voodoo at night'. It simply means that even those who follow other faiths always return to voodoo in some way," he tells me.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">To illustrate the closeness of the two faiths, there is a Basilica opposite the Temple of Pythons in the town square.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"At the moment many people here in Benin feel let down by the establishment, there are no jobs," Mr Amouzouvi.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"People are turning to voodoo to pray for better times."</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">But how did voodoo get exported to places such as New Orleans and Haiti?</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the edge of the sea in Ouidah stands La Porte du Non-Retour "The Door of No Return" - a stone arch monument with carvings of men and women in chains walking in a procession towards a ship.</span></p><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was from this point that many thousands of African slaves were packed into ships and taken to the Americas - the only thing they took with them was voodoo, which they clung to as a reminder of home.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">They continued to practise it, at times being beaten if caught by the slave masters.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizTlxd_rRYaTDtbszQOoBMPNoLL2Sl9-zw8Wl325TSbgcRbhoBuaMFIZcHJojqM8P-GtbeM75IdSVc9mcKd98rCZM2yVA8O2RkLR81F5nw-n-1bCdgPebm_FmQuwto5OEmD1R73XN_BNfzdJqqkopDGdvsug_yMQn2X33NLgWwSWjYCi1sfdax2v_b_Nc" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizTlxd_rRYaTDtbszQOoBMPNoLL2Sl9-zw8Wl325TSbgcRbhoBuaMFIZcHJojqM8P-GtbeM75IdSVc9mcKd98rCZM2yVA8O2RkLR81F5nw-n-1bCdgPebm_FmQuwto5OEmD1R73XN_BNfzdJqqkopDGdvsug_yMQn2X33NLgWwSWjYCi1sfdax2v_b_Nc=w200-h113" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />This made some even more determined to keep it alive, according to reports.</span><p></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some practices in voodoo can appear threatening to the outsider - the slaughtering of animals have in part earned the faith its unflattering image, some say.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">But Mr Amouzouvi says voodoo is not all that different to other faiths.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Many religions recognise blood as a source of power, a sign of life. In Christianity it's taught that there is power in the blood of Jesus," he says.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Voodoo teaches that there is power in blood, it can appease gods, give thanks. Animals are seen as an important part of the voodoo practice."</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Regine Romaine, an academic with a keen interest in voodoo, agrees.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The African experience is open for all to see - people are invited to witness the ceremonies, the slaughtering and that same openness has been judged whereas it isn't in other systems like the Islamic and Jewish faiths," she tells me.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Slaughtering animals is not unique to voodoo. If you go to the kosher deli or buy halaal meat, it's been killed and allowed to bleed out before being shared.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Ultimately, the gaze on voodoo over the years has not been one of love - that's why it's been given a bad image."</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ms Romaine is of Haitian and US heritage.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip0cwfsUinvKZasWuSO7aHeyl6om0LTYlevK_6n3QrbkBJ2EpsW0BUNF-qT8pnzy3GGsbSFs1XyIh7Y49QCUnMlkIuZHmeA42RbFWmVCsp1OrxG9jqiMstHiPFbnsyvI2deeYKeEXZvCIDOu-E-bL8DxLBJQrffiOW-U-YTujmxJ9Khi_C8Q792ZuBKUY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEip0cwfsUinvKZasWuSO7aHeyl6om0LTYlevK_6n3QrbkBJ2EpsW0BUNF-qT8pnzy3GGsbSFs1XyIh7Y49QCUnMlkIuZHmeA42RbFWmVCsp1OrxG9jqiMstHiPFbnsyvI2deeYKeEXZvCIDOu-E-bL8DxLBJQrffiOW-U-YTujmxJ9Khi_C8Q792ZuBKUY" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">She first learned about voodoo from her aunt in Haiti - she travelled on a pilgrimage to retrace the "slave route" and her last stop was here in Benin where she has been living for more than a year.<br /></span><p></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-19w8cxh-ComponentWrapper-HeadlineComponentWrapper egtrm1f0" data-component="subheadline-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 2.5rem 0px 1.5rem; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h2 class="ssrcss-y2fd7s-StyledHeading e10rt3ze0" id="Voodoo-is-not-evil" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.125; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="-1"><span role="text" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">'Voodoo is not evil'</span></span></h2></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to Ms Romaine, voodoo's bad image abroad has a lot to do with what people have seen in Hollywood films.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"The image of voodoo went wrong from the first encounter - from the first visitors to the continent, the anthropologists who didn't understand what they were seeing and from that came a lot of xenophobic writing," she says.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"It was also worsened by the US invasion of Haiti much later, which gave rise to Hollywood's fascination with the horror stories that all had voodoo."</span></p><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back at the ceremony, the processing of devotees has now moved to the town square for the final stage of the rituals.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is more drumming, singing, dancing and after four animals are killed and cooked inside three large flaming pots of clay, the meat inside is shared by all those who have attended the day's proceedings.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Regional High Priest of Voodoo Daagbo Hounon is presiding over the day's rituals.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is dressed in ceremonial robes, with a striking top hat, and holding a staff made from cowry shells.</span></p><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is a big man with a booming voice and speaks passionately about their belief system - he tells me that their faith is misunderstood.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Voodoo is not evil. It's not the devil," he says.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"If you believe and someone thinks badly of you and tries to harm to you, voodoo will protect you. Some say it is the devil, we don't believe in the devil and even if he exists, he's not here," he tells me.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is keen to welcome international visitors.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The small town offers an "initiation" from people from all over the world to come and learn about the practice - from how to use herbal medication, how to pray and meditate, how to perform rituals for the gods.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">High Priest Hounon says the programme is popular with tourists from the US, Cuba and parts of Europe.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">For many West Africans in the diaspora, voodoo has become a symbolic coming home.</span></p><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ms Romaine, who is also member of that diaspora, believes voodoo is successful because it provides a connection to a neglected identity.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">She tells me that voodoo is gaining appeal in the US amongst young people.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">"There is a shift especially in the Americas. The younger generation now want to proclaim their identity in a way that the previous generation was perhaps more intimidated to do and spiritual identity is a part of that. For some voodoo meets that need."</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The government here in Benin is committed to upholding the practice.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_Zni6JiTXeBtjV2YWxj768x-pyytErk2TYw_QuGVD3WhAL5kT189iNUy20J5SYgHd3GDiq2l_5_w559yGcduKvCvMyvjq0EyQ-f1mpwDo0IOgSJ2ImJ-3ZernV_GyZEAOoSrRfBvOqZcnq7F5YPZ1aGnWrbbT1EgXU_1xczsZrHJ7kF3eaX0GJo56G9s" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_Zni6JiTXeBtjV2YWxj768x-pyytErk2TYw_QuGVD3WhAL5kT189iNUy20J5SYgHd3GDiq2l_5_w559yGcduKvCvMyvjq0EyQ-f1mpwDo0IOgSJ2ImJ-3ZernV_GyZEAOoSrRfBvOqZcnq7F5YPZ1aGnWrbbT1EgXU_1xczsZrHJ7kF3eaX0GJo56G9s=w200-h113" width="200" /></a></div></div><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the mid 1990s it built a monument to voodoo in a place known as the sacred forest - an ancient place of worship on the edge of town.<br /></span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Life-sized metal and wooden totems have pride of place amongst the towering trees - this place is meant to help teach young people here about their voodoo heritage.</span></p></div></div><div class="ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0" data-component="text-block" style="border: 0px; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 1rem 0px; max-width: 36.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the government supporting it at home and the descendants of slaves embracing it abroad, the ancient voodoo tradition has found a place in the modern world, where other African belief systems are often struggling for relevance.</span></p><p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41048840"><span style="font-size: large;">source </span></a></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><source srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9F4E/production/_97528704_img_4302.jpg.webp 976w" type="image/webp"></source></span></span></div></figure></div><span style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><picture><source srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 240w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 320w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 480w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 624w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 800w, https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/17C33/production/_97613379_38e86e96-01c0-4e72-abcd-019ccdc02e12.jpg.webp 976w" type="image/webp"></source></picture></span></span></div></figure></div></span></div></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-83951430740549993122023-10-21T13:38:00.000+02:002023-10-21T13:38:10.343+02:00LONG JOHN SILVER NWARU &i (The SP)<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1vx9Pj1l5IN16LuA4oHLTpj320ez3keTpqGt_MutUg_p3JOSIcB4El-IWnsVchwvRpIjmHolgGX1MXbh5O1hiJZUm1zwkADYSnzSdhInbGbVIDIEX5uC3zk1STI65mzE9VivrMo1_paFgARCJXulWwPE4wg31LHoumlo9hGc4icwm0NOsRuAXApLHik/s1114/Lumii_20231019_050741134.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="718" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1vx9Pj1l5IN16LuA4oHLTpj320ez3keTpqGt_MutUg_p3JOSIcB4El-IWnsVchwvRpIjmHolgGX1MXbh5O1hiJZUm1zwkADYSnzSdhInbGbVIDIEX5uC3zk1STI65mzE9VivrMo1_paFgARCJXulWwPE4wg31LHoumlo9hGc4icwm0NOsRuAXApLHik/w129-h200/Lumii_20231019_050741134.jpg" width="129" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The war was fought and everyone lost as in many wars . I found myself in Awgu County Sec Sch.(1972)and Jon was in class 4 (with my cousin Law Nwarueze). He was the deputy SP. The next year he was overwhelmingly and almost unanimously voted for the post of the SP. </span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">County had the air and hope equal to the one in Nigeria when Obi was winning with the obidents. It was a beautiful time.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Everyone attended the morning assembly to see this handsome SP that had much swags. His English was better and more Queenly than what you hear now in London . How he did that is still an enigma.His uniform fitted him more than ordinary and he had a way of carrying his frame which we all called 'Pirates walk' and imitated it. I remember my mom observed I was walking differently and cautioned me sternly. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">He didn’t carry the SP functions with iron fist ; we all obeyed all rules happily…… He was loved!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">We were told by some seniors that all the girls coming from Girls schools like Queens sch. Enugu , Rosary High sch Awgu , Ovim girls , Sedess Oghe etc to bring invitations to parties or association events all wanted to talk with him even if he wasn't the person to receive the invitations! . The SP was popular in all the female schools who 'crushed on' him and I suppose he knew but it didn’t bother him…..</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">December 1972 the WASC/GCE.., the send-off and we missed him …….</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">To be continued </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><a href="mailto:Charlie.mbc@gmail.com" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Charlie.mbc@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-74433973486071183992023-10-20T10:30:00.003+02:002023-10-20T10:44:23.125+02:00LONG JOHN SILVER NWARU & I<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NBDDF4ojSXcKqV0QNs2ol6a6jumhyJzHMRtyN8S0pVD96u3HBFgGmDhXbjuBjgQvEAbBugXKaeB-rjOG-V0W3Cay619jByK6BA5K0LYgcXErfumkLOxLvKXVvzMI6Ld-vnZUQ_BFttIYphtUPSIp8ReDlMiKqKObwIAXRG4g1yqI5urFOjIMaJYh7o4/s640/IMG-20231017-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NBDDF4ojSXcKqV0QNs2ol6a6jumhyJzHMRtyN8S0pVD96u3HBFgGmDhXbjuBjgQvEAbBugXKaeB-rjOG-V0W3Cay619jByK6BA5K0LYgcXErfumkLOxLvKXVvzMI6Ld-vnZUQ_BFttIYphtUPSIp8ReDlMiKqKObwIAXRG4g1yqI5urFOjIMaJYh7o4/w200-h200/IMG-20231017-WA0010.jpg" width="200" /></a></div> LONG JOHN SILVER NWARU & I<p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;">It was 1966/67 the pogrom was on, and like many places in the southeast, Nenwe had her own share of returnees. The schools especially St Peters were filled with new faces like the Mbahs, Mbanwarus,Nwaruezes,Chukwukadibes ,Kanus, Onwes etc. Most of them spoke igbo sparingly. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">However , there were also some people at Peters who weren't returnees but 'migrated' from St. Paul's, St David's and St Theresa's that hadn't elementary 5 classes, so we had to decipher the "Nenwe refugees" from the locals through their level of grip of olu Nenwe. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Jon was a college fellow anyway but when the real war began,schools closed the militias came to quarter in County from then we started to see such people around.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">My first contact with John was at the Altar under Rev Fr Silvester Eze who became the chaplain for the Biafran Militia in Nenwe etc.. He doubled with serving also Rev Fr Orji of Nenwe who also returned home . He was ordained just about a year or less.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">John was always elegant and thought us the junior ones mass serving diligently. It was the period that followed the transition of the old ways of mass( the Rev and alter backing the congregation) which we knew already. John was a patient and nice teacher. We travelled in Fadas' small Fiat 600 all around Nenwe. We served him, the reverend and the mass but I think serving him(Jon) was what we cared more for because as kids he would recommend any efforts to the Rev and his approval of our abilities was paramount …..Nenwe fell into the handsome the Federal troops (a.k.a Vandals) and we parted………. Truncated </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">To be continued.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Charlie.mbc@gmail.com </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-23588530000255756972023-09-06T21:38:00.003+02:002023-09-06T21:38:32.460+02:00HOPE by Ejike Eze (esq)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV63s8BDDVp0Z1RdhNhiSIkEOJE1fxZyZ8dfX4cnvQ0cbUjvbj-vStPCiKdy1HGAkljtfWVKdG2tu7WrOhy1TsuwSR7FU1nyl1QYNWneUsTlVmxYPtk0oFOF182nZio3MKsKwxQEAWAnxmKdgb49caBFG9oj3ko9uOKQ1gp3hCHuqMIXjpPH-ySmZ293g/s2400/efb948dc-6c4d-47a0-9b8d-278ff688044b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2400" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV63s8BDDVp0Z1RdhNhiSIkEOJE1fxZyZ8dfX4cnvQ0cbUjvbj-vStPCiKdy1HGAkljtfWVKdG2tu7WrOhy1TsuwSR7FU1nyl1QYNWneUsTlVmxYPtk0oFOF182nZio3MKsKwxQEAWAnxmKdgb49caBFG9oj3ko9uOKQ1gp3hCHuqMIXjpPH-ySmZ293g/w200-h113/efb948dc-6c4d-47a0-9b8d-278ff688044b.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Hope is such a powerful emotion.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It has been mined and manipulated by generations of smart people to get by in no small way and I am careful with words here.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">What will the day , tomorrow or next week feel like without hope ? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Hope for a better life, better results and outcomes even in the face of abysmally skewed odds!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Life is a pain and we must continue to create hope to get through each day .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Now some have moved hope to another court . The Supreme Court of Nigeria.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Some had hoped in the appeal court. Lived the hope even when our heads and environment screamed otherwise. Our hearts kept hoping. It was the only way to keep going. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">In a few months , we may begin to hope in the African Court of Justice , United Nations or the mirage like intervention of some foreign powers, or some supreme deity whose track record should ordinarily call for caution. We may even hope for the poisonous chalice of men in boots and armed with our guns.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Hope must be kept alive, even if to reduce for a short while , the hopeless misery that our lives are.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> ( by Barr. Ejike Eze)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Reacting to the court pronunciations on the electoral cases in Nigeria today </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-50784492954226391072023-08-30T09:54:00.003+02:002023-08-30T09:54:26.267+02:00GABONESE PRESIDENT ( BONGO) AN IGBOMAN?<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #212529; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw6IcyRJNlQS1JKZQFX5Tang5DrmNed1fjDKT7TTHBZurUHBAbt7salzM_kjWOWRi3DV90vDF_lFUWBfrcLVpvAwCTaEtLaXqGhKVBn-fSMgHcGsAe0XDPGwXySMvUU-p2jnAN3vpPFv5Kv5HhPiBZST4lbpYtn5Hd1hGBwly_YKy4mMTuGMwLa3GSLk/s510/President-Ali-Bongo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="510" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw6IcyRJNlQS1JKZQFX5Tang5DrmNed1fjDKT7TTHBZurUHBAbt7salzM_kjWOWRi3DV90vDF_lFUWBfrcLVpvAwCTaEtLaXqGhKVBn-fSMgHcGsAe0XDPGwXySMvUU-p2jnAN3vpPFv5Kv5HhPiBZST4lbpYtn5Hd1hGBwly_YKy4mMTuGMwLa3GSLk/w320-h202/President-Ali-Bongo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon is a Nigerian of the ethnic</span><b style="color: #212529;"> <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Igbo stock</span></b><span style="color: #212529;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> adopted by a former leader of the country during the </span></span><b style="background-color: white;"><span>Biafran war</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529;">.<br /></span><span style="color: #212529;">This startling revelation is about to be revealed as a court in western France Thursday allowed a family member of Ali Bongo Ondimba to view the birth certificate of the leader after accusations that he lied about where he was born.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #212529;">With next year’s presidential elections approaching, controversy has been brewing over Ali Bongo’s place of birth with critics saying he falsified his birth certificate to hide the fact that he was adopted from another country.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #212529;">If the allegations prove true, it could keep him from running for another term and cost him his wealth.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">The court in Nantes allowed 25-year-old Onaida Maisha Bongo Ondimba, a daughter of former president Omar Bongo, to view the documents in full.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">Her lawyer Eric Moutet hailed the decision as “enormous”, though “diplomatically complex”.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">Ali Bongo is the only one of ex-president Omar Bongo’s 54 declared heirs not to have produced the identification documents.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">Ali Bongo assumed the presidency following the 2009 death of his father Omar Bongo, who had presided over the west African nation and its oil and mineral wealth since 1967.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">The Gabonese constitution says one must be born Gabonese to serve as the head of state, but French investigative journalist Pierre Pean alleged in a recent book that the president was actually Nigerian and was adopted during the </span><span style="color: red;">Biafran war</span><span style="color: #212529;"> in the late 1960s.</span><br /><span style="color: #212529;">Bongo himself claims he was born in Brazzaville in 1959, former capital of French Equatorial Africa.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">The Nantes civil registration centre is responsible for all birth certificates of people born in French Equatorial Africa up to 1960, when the former colonial countries in the region gained independence to become Gabon, Congo, Chad and the Central African Republic.<br />Ali Bongo announced in late August that he would give “all his share of the inheritance” from his father to “the Gabonese youth” in a speech marking the 55th anniversary of independence.</span></div><p></p><div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #212529; font-family: Poppins; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/11/13/revealed-gabonese-president-is-an-igboman/">SOURCE</a> (written in 2015)</p></div><div class="AV63c00bf43cb923ad1905eb24" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 640px; width: 640px;"><div id="aniBox" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 40px;"><div id="aniplayer_AV63c00bf43cb923ad1905eb24-1693380817074" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><avp-player-ui _382ee1c9-h="" _382ee1c9="" avp="" class="avp-player-ui avp-horizontal" data-content-type="video" h="x4s x3s xxs" style="--avp-container-width: 640px; --avp-control-panel-block-size: calc(var(--avp-secondary-control-size) + var(--avp-timeline-block-size)); --avp-offset-bottom: 210px; --avp-offset-left: 10px; --avp-offset-right: 10px; --avp-primary-control-padding: 18px; --avp-primary-control-size: 72px; --avp-primary-middle-control-padding: 12px; --avp-primary-middle-control-size: 84px; --avp-secondary-control-padding: 11px; --avp-secondary-control-size: 42px; --avp-view-height: 360px; --avp-view-width: 640px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; align-items: center; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--avp-color); cursor: inherit; direction: ltr; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: Gilroy, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Helvetica Neue", Arial; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; overflow-anchor: none; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; pointer-events: inherit; position: static; scroll-behavior: smooth; tab-size: 4; text-size-adjust: none; transform: none; transition: none 0s ease 0s; vertical-align: initial; white-space: inherit; width: 640px;" w="x4s x3s xxs xs s m"><div _382ee1c9="" avp="" class="avp-floating-container avp-p-wrapper" id="aniplayer_AV63c00bf43cb923ad1905eb24-1693380817074Wrapper" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; pointer-events: inherit; position: static; text-align: inherit; transform: none; transition: none 0s ease 0s; vertical-align: initial; white-space: inherit; width: auto;" tabindex="0"><avp-caption _1a962852-h="" _382ee1c9="" avp="" class="avp-caption" style="--avp-secondary-control-padding: var(--avp-caption-padding); --avp-secondary-control-size: calc(var(--avp-caption-height) - var(--avp-close-button-overlay-bottom)); align-items: flex-end; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: inherit; display: flex; flex: 1 1 0%; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; height: auto; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; pointer-events: inherit; position: static; transform: none; transition: none 0s ease 0s; vertical-align: initial; width: var(--avp-view-width);"><div _1a962852="" avp="" class="avp-caption-title" style="align-items: center; background: none; border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: inherit; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; justify-content: center; line-height: var(--avp-caption-height); margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; overflow: visible; padding: 0 var(--avp-caption-padding); pointer-events: inherit; position: static; text-align: inherit; text-wrap: nowrap; transform: none; transition: none 0s ease 0s; vertical-align: initial; width: 640px;"><span _1a962852="" avp="" class="avp-caption-title-text" style="background: none; border-radius: 0px; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: inherit; cursor: inherit; display: inline; font: inherit; height: auto; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; pointer-events: inherit; position: static; text-align: inherit; text-overflow: ellipsis; transform: none; transition: none 0s ease 0s; vertical-align: initial; white-space: inherit; width: 630px;"></span></div></avp-caption></div></avp-player-ui></div></div></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-62672524997753363902023-06-12T19:16:00.011+02:002023-06-12T19:25:37.652+02:00SIRIKA LIED ABOUT AIR PEACE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaI5OfRGcaKN7ya9RcV_OPmajxKWt46npQ_s320sgvdKuDfx5ulX7hiS623CjU0I8p1NZCRzz4ZcsKiF7KhWRdUIGWgpQxfinnCV9FVvJ6KHQfgtGGlxP6OS-VN2ZdIuLkJ2iByiZKeJt1lcIAZzPtkJlR2XZgg_jaj1k6OBFq6U_yV8811krjPyM/s1280/images-2021-06-16T093554.895.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaI5OfRGcaKN7ya9RcV_OPmajxKWt46npQ_s320sgvdKuDfx5ulX7hiS623CjU0I8p1NZCRzz4ZcsKiF7KhWRdUIGWgpQxfinnCV9FVvJ6KHQfgtGGlxP6OS-VN2ZdIuLkJ2iByiZKeJt1lcIAZzPtkJlR2XZgg_jaj1k6OBFq6U_yV8811krjPyM/w200-h113/images-2021-06-16T093554.895.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> ARISE NEWS INTERVIEW: SIRIKA LIED ABOUT AIR PEACE<p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We watched with dismay the interview granted by former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika to Arise TV on Sunday, June 11, 2023, where he made spurious claims about Air Peace, Nigeria's foremost airline. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Air Peace deems it absolutely necessary to debunk these false assertions.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Firstly, Sirika, in his bid to denigrate Air Peace while praising Ethiopian Airline, stated that we leased 'two’ Boeing 777 aircraft on a monthly lease fee of $250,000, parked the aircraft for several months and incurred losses of $19 million while all the aircraft engines and landing gears became due for replacement when we were ready to fly. He went on to ask, "who does that?". He stated that Ethiopian Airlines would never do that.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This is a blatant lie as we have three and not two Boeing 777 aircraft which were never leased or rented, but were purchased outrightly by the airline. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Air peace never incurred such a loss, we never paid rentals contrary to his lies. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) can attest to the purchase and ownership of the Aircraft by Air peace. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, Sirika said the airline stopped flying to Dubai because 'we lack capacity'. This is another stark lie. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity. Air Peace commenced operations into the UAE in July, 2019, but in October 2022, the UAE Government announced a total visa ban on Nigerians. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Neither Emirates nor Air Peace is operating the Nigerian/UAE route since the ban. The persisting non-issuance of visas and the accompanying inconveniences necessitated the suspension of our Dubai operations from November 22, 2022 till date. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For the former minister to ascribe the suspension to 'lack of capacity' is not only shocking but also shows how keen he is to disparage an airline which ascendancy, has defied all the commercial odds and hostile environment placed on its path to continue to serve our nation proudly.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">How could an airline that placed a firm order for 13 brand new E2-195 aircraft, a firm order of 15 Boeing 737 Max 8 & Max 10, with over 30 aircraft already in its existing fleet be accused of lacking in capacity? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">How can an Airline that stood up for the entire nation during the Covid-19 outbreak, and embarked on rescue operations worldwide, evacuating Nigerians from far away China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, UK and South Africa during the Covid-19 lockdowns be accused of lacking capacity? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We implore the general public to disregard these lies told by the former minister of Aviation against Air Peace during the Arise TV Interview. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We take serious exception to a situation where Airpeace is being misrepresented in the public sphere, causing wrong perceptions about our brand</span>. </p><p><br /></p><p>SIGNED</p><p><br /></p><p>Toyin Olajide (Mrs)</p><p>Chief Operating Officer </p><p>Air Peace</p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-20605748572308787402023-06-12T17:52:00.001+02:002023-06-12T17:54:11.775+02:00DEMOCRATIC DESPOTISM* By JUSTICE CHUKWUBUIKE ANINWORIE<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcwWtAli5I9XtyUTKFXl6k_eoeMsy12PT8fosIUFWiJUE1Tic7rAL43N0KuxAN9YGG8IyOMIocNpgH6vm6SRWH_OSpJjJQFy3sNXJ3b-2CsDLBx5kOz8DPF6yKVhrfP6oa7ArhoaKa6CTKRiZoZ3FQAIJyq-7Z_sMBa00Zwabvgi9lY5OkRYR9N81/s720/IMG-20230612-WA0091.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="720" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcwWtAli5I9XtyUTKFXl6k_eoeMsy12PT8fosIUFWiJUE1Tic7rAL43N0KuxAN9YGG8IyOMIocNpgH6vm6SRWH_OSpJjJQFy3sNXJ3b-2CsDLBx5kOz8DPF6yKVhrfP6oa7ArhoaKa6CTKRiZoZ3FQAIJyq-7Z_sMBa00Zwabvgi9lY5OkRYR9N81/w200-h197/IMG-20230612-WA0091.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>*DEMOCRATIC DESPOTISM*</p><p>_(My June 12 democratic address)_</p><p>by Justice Chukwubuike Aninworie</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">_*<span style="font-size: medium;">"</span><span style="font-size: large;">Democracy is not by turns or waiting for it; democracy is by intense opposition to despotism wearing the garb of democracy."*_ -Juspoet</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, 12th June 2023, as in June 12, 1993, Nigeria faces the greatest threat and tyranny to Democracy.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democracy has been hijacked again after a fortuitous walk to it. And, once again in the hands of despots who determine for the people, as for the people, and as by the people. Riding on the back of democracy to crucify all that democracy stands for.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democracy was given an eternal definition by Abraham Lincoln at the Gettysburg address on the 17th of November, 1863 as "Government of the People, by the people, and for the people. " That simple definition of democracy for the assimilation of all men of whatever mental cognition was what was typically aborted in Nigeria by the erstwhile government of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in a dastardly executed silent coup which only brought Democracy to the threshold and murdered it; midwifed it, and mortified it, enthroning in its wake a government reincarnation of itself in changed garb, hyping a false hope of democracy. On February 25th, 2023, the Nigerian Government, a lingering lethal force of the changed garb of 1993 took it to a new height. It raised the hope of the ordinary Nigerians with diversionary promises and reforms hawked in dubious throts around the globe; it midwifed true democracy, and again mortified it with experienced ease and dexterity it has perfected over the 3 decades it held sway. It enthroned itself in changed garb.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We are talking about a government of the cabal which has turned Nigeria between the People and the Government. The Government, being select self-styled heroes of democracy struggle and oligarchs. The People are the Constitutional ordinary Citizens to whom belonged Power to chose by whom and how led in a majority. The government of Babangida determined the fate of Nigeria for the People, and flunked the will of the People aside. In the same vein, the wholesomely dependent Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria has again flunked the will of the People aside, crowned the people of the government, by the government and for the government, for the upteenth time. And, that's what we are forced to holiday in celebration.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, the people rue in holiday, while the government celebrate. It is the celebration of the few over their onslaught on the People. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The biggest damage to Democracy in its celebration on June 12 in Nigeria is the use of everything undemocratic to celebrate democracy. The Civic Academy defined Democracy as that system of government that allows ordinary people a decisive say in who governs a country and how they govern it. In this celibate celebration going on in Nigeria today, the ordinary people, to whom right and power to determine who and how Nigeria is governed have been ordained to the backwaters of bystanders who must listen to uncouth hominies and professionally written delusions on days like today, peremptorily poisoned with threats that send tremours to the very foundation of democracy. Democratic salvos come off podiums to threaten civil protest, rule of law, judicial actions, and majority good.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democracy is not democracy because our leaders broadcast it thus. Democracy is founded on these principles in the least:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">They are:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">1) Respect for basic human rights,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) A multi-party political system paired with political tolerance,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">3) A democratic voting system,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">4) Respect for the rule of law,</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">5) Democratic governance, and</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">6) Citizen participation</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is not the abridgment of garb-change of leaders on 29th May that abridges democracy. It is the abridgement of basic citizen's rights, intolerance for multi-party parliament, a sacred democratic voting result legally transmitted and unmutilated by hijacked electoral umpire, respect for Judicial self-correction through rule of law, democratic governance, and citizens participation that not only abridge but also abort Democracy and leave it a tragic comedy.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, the Elections held to enthrone democracy has emasculated it. The majority of the People are held in contempt by the minority of government. National milestones are reminders of despotism that has robbed them of their right to legitimate leadership. Today, the Courts see themselves as scapegoats rather than blind determiners of rights that has remedies. Today, state broadcasts are crafted by flocks of bigoted minders of tribal interests than national justice who mock the vanquished on an alexandrian Bucephalus.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two lessons come out of June 12, today as in 1993.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">One: Enemies of Democracy can never produce Democracy. Those who take the People captive for the government can never release the people on Democracy day! They are eternally incapable, lacking in moral and intellectual ability to midwife democracy. Nemo dat quod non habet. They cannot give what they don't have. No matter how their broadcasts, self-claims, and their gilded vaults are tailored, they can never culminate in a relief-sigh solution. IBB lavished so much goodwill and national wealth in a bid to enthrone a Government of the People, by the People and for the People, and despite the patriotic stands of Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, hevended up in a reincarnation of his kind. A still-water-that-runs-deep chairman of an Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mamoud Yakubu galvanized unprecedented patronage in the People's participation in a Government of the People, by the People, and for the People. He spent national treasure in trial, but ecause he is a chip of the old block, he lacked the moral capability to deliver. He dashed the historic destiny of a whole Nation without bathing an eyelid.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, as President Bola Tinubu rightly prophesied, June 12 was our 'second independence' to return to democratic governance. It is championed by those who take turns in reaping from their struggle. The ordinary People, Nigerian Youths, or Majority of Nigerians must rise and take Nigeria from those who turn democracy to despotic sharing and determination of government by government, for the government, in a 'Third Independence' from democratic tyranny where the powerful select leaders and determine how the country is run in defiance to the will of the People. Democracy is traversed when strongmen build bridges that cross the Niger and land on strongman's doors, while the People wallow in the mire of whitewashed sepulchre on which democracy is painted on National colours, but whithin which democracy has been interred. The People achieved so much in the 2023 election to let go. Those who end up their speech urging or begging the government of the Government to live up to expectation, turn a new leaf or support democracy are like angels urging hell to throw up its captives. Democracy is not by turns or waiting for it; democracy is by intense opposition to despotism wearing the garb of democracy.</span></p><p>-<span style="background-color: #04ff00;">Justice Chukwubuike Aninworie (Juspoet) is a lawyer, Author, Poet and advocate for political and social rights and Justice in Nigeria.</span></p><p><br /></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-57613321647719308562022-02-11T15:15:00.005+01:002022-02-11T15:27:03.879+01:00THE "DOMINATING"IGBOS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQCQm0tWE5_7wY6hiWdUaqCsFpsMH3oaUOUR4UJ5r9XHJEot-JKNK0G2o_JbrLpK145ww-weJKq8iKskxSeHFtcqx4yzfxoBczc1hIMxm2rxI4HsbIFwVoZZXruG8iHc52bKDWIe7PDLrAfQm2dOc6Gfa-CAJdajuDVwmgjeedyExcdomJrOZavKJvUQ=s247" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="204" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQCQm0tWE5_7wY6hiWdUaqCsFpsMH3oaUOUR4UJ5r9XHJEot-JKNK0G2o_JbrLpK145ww-weJKq8iKskxSeHFtcqx4yzfxoBczc1hIMxm2rxI4HsbIFwVoZZXruG8iHc52bKDWIe7PDLrAfQm2dOc6Gfa-CAJdajuDVwmgjeedyExcdomJrOZavKJvUQ" width="204" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br />WE ARE NOT TRYING TO DOMINATE YOU...WE ARE LIVING THE BEST WAY WE ARE WIRED.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">How do a people who have never picked arms to fight their host community home and abroad or people living in their own enclave always accused of dominating or colonising? How?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">We are not dominating you, we only travelled to your village, fill a need you probably did not see, render services you could not, sometimes start by sleeping in overpriced shops in the same village, few years down the line, buy small land, build one small hut, tried to just run our business and feed our kids while struggling with the evil policies of those who have hijacked governance since we were brushed aside decades ago....tell me, HOW ARE WE TRYING TO DOMINATE YOU?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Igbo boy finished his youth service in one village in Zamfara as a young medical doctor, decides to stay back in that VILLAGE to help because there is need for medical services which everyone is running away from....he noticed that if he stays, while solving these needs, he can also make some money.....few years down the line, after years of suffering while trying to grow...it is either he is dominating or he did blood money.....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">TELL ME, HOW ARE WE DOMINATING YOU?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Igbos have the greatest number of graduates that could not find their way into government pay job but instead of complaining about others DOMINATING, we can join spare parts b usiness to survive....even after doing that, few years down the line, it is either it is blood money or we are trying to DOMINATE. HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU DOMINATE A PEOPLE WITHOUT FIGHTING THEM, NEITHER DO YOU CONTROL GOVERNMENT THAT IS DEALING WITH EVERYONE.....HOW?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">If we demand for better treatment so we can be proper Nigerians as you claim you want us, we are trying to DOMINATE.....if we say, ok, allow us to leave this union and go and suffer like you have predicated we will, you will say we are making trouble. HOW ARE WE REALLY TRYING TO DOMINATE YOU?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">The lies of trying to DOMINATE fueled the bile why we were almost wiped out in 1966-1970...yet, after that near extinction, we are still accused of trying to DOMINATE....HOW?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Quota system and several other policies we believe was meant to stop us from DOMINATING have killed the fabrics of this nation...our kids are meant to score way beyond other kids in order to gain admission among their equals....even in the face of those injustice, WE ARE STILL TRYING TO DOMINATE...HOW?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">You build market stalls, over price them because Igbos will pay, yet, when you are done enjoying the money used in buying or renting the stalls, you turn and accuse us of DOMINATING....how?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Tell me how we are DOMINATING or colonising you, you sold a land to us, we bought, build small house or shop....you use the money for survival, send your children to school or abroad...yet, few years down the line, we are either accuse of DOMINATING or buying up your place? How exactly can a people who are not known for fighting tribal wars DOMINATE YOU?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">What instrument of force are Igbos using in this utopian DOMINATION?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">To kill a dog, give it a bad name.....to go after Igbos, first accuse them of DOMINATING.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">The truth is that lots of people don't know why they loath Igbos, they try to find or create the reason...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Few years ago while Aisha Yesufu was trying to diagnose negative energy she obviously noticed against Igbos, she made a claim that IGBOS NOT INCLUDING OTHERS IN THEIR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM IS WHY OTHERS DON'T LIKE THEM....how?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Apprenticeship program that was jeered at by others just few decades ago until now the world is noticing that it is a great tool for wealth redistribution and empowerment....and does not mean taking ourselves into slavery like many Nigerians accused us before.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Please, explain this to me like a nursery School child, HOW EXACTLY ARE IGBOS DOMINATING ANYONE?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">I used to hear that music does not suffer language barrier....no, not in Nigeria. A Catholic priest in Lagos of all States has taken the Igbo paranoia of DOMINATING into the church of God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Now tell me, instead of banning Igbo song why not encourage the learning of other songs in other languages? The priest of course used the language that precedes every Igbo loathing enterprise..."THEY WANT TO DOMINATE".....</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">How do a people that come into any space, respect the authority there, never causes any violence because violence is a minus to our businesses....how on Earth are this set of people trying to DOMINATE anyone?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">We get to church of any denomination or ministry, try to make ourselves visible, work, offer our time, offer our money....in the midst of this, all some people see is attempt to DOMINATE....how? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">This country should make up their minds about Igbos.....they seem to be saying, we don't really want you out of our way but we want to control the h.ell out of your destiny....place a limit to your aspiration, dictate how much you can grow?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">...but I have a good news for you my people, it won't work....we will sprout from every corner of the earth....we won't let a coming generation of Igbos to grow on bended knees, we will not cower, we will not bow.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> Block us in governance, we will sprout in commerce, even if you eventually block commerce, our chi will open up several other avenues.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">EVEN in the midst of our internally generated challenges and our faults which every human race and individuals posseses, we are the least of those attempting to hurt you, we only do what is done in every modern society... compete, seek growth, try to improve on our circumstances, do whatever we found doing with all our hearts, chase success, want to render services in your neighborhood and get paid for it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">HOW IS THIS A PROBLEM? HOW IS THIS DOMINATING? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It is more honourable to kill a dog if you so desire....but giving a dog bad name just to attempt killing the dog is lowest of all lows.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">HOW DO A PEOPLE DOMINATE OTHERS WITHOUT WEAPONS OR GOVERNING POWER? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">NB: For the Igbos that do not wish to offend friends, not speaking up on this danger of having next generation of Igbos grow to walk on egg shells and self guilt and condemnation.... ochestrated by others who want to dictate how they will breath and be defined....don't worry, we will do this work for your children and grandchildren and it will be on record that you were sleeping when the reputation of future Igbos were getting redefined. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">To friends who think we are sensitive rather that speaking to those who make us their punching bag always....we won't be gentle while sediments of profiling is heaped on even the generation unborn, it seem harmless now but we know that these constant profiling is a time bomb waiting to happen, it is a piling up of seemingly harmless profiling which will sediment decades from now and form the Igbo perception.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It will be utter irresponsibility that while we have several platforms now to counter both official and unofficial profiling, unlike our fathers, we sacrifice it on the altar of pleasing you, our friends.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx-KPuSI3YtOcE9NgKBiWiQBYlI7xNUTbFsfafCVjsUTQODdTWaImk9wx9sr-QqaznoUXE_bqXR75DLoYJoyZZW3tyAPJ6jOkOjWPO0l_L_89ac-iZ2UrMYjAMfqgjHCStTOZ3SP0_K2bdKohXyvSZq_yNKcpyjV3-TNbwbNkAzf5JfNXDecq9uG3viw" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><img alt="" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="85" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhx-KPuSI3YtOcE9NgKBiWiQBYlI7xNUTbFsfafCVjsUTQODdTWaImk9wx9sr-QqaznoUXE_bqXR75DLoYJoyZZW3tyAPJ6jOkOjWPO0l_L_89ac-iZ2UrMYjAMfqgjHCStTOZ3SP0_K2bdKohXyvSZq_yNKcpyjV3-TNbwbNkAzf5JfNXDecq9uG3viw" width="170" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Remember, Igbos loving money stuck on Igbos but we know those that have the highest number of billionaire army generals in the world and those their political leaders are more billionaires than anyone without them having a product or services in the market place.....this is while growing massive poverty.....yet, they are modest when it comes to Money and Igbos mainly struggling from one corner of the earth to another are the money lovers.......that is the power of unchallenged lies and profiling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">(COPIED)</span></p>ITALO NAIJA GROUPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14493694816062639571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-36448321909679900862021-07-02T09:57:00.003+02:002021-07-02T09:57:26.738+02:00RIPOSA IN PACE IL NOSTRO BIG SINDACO DOTT M. CARTURAN<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYU6ffxOAyDki8Xk_-GskNfCZcez3Ns3EQB2pqxnkduP8w7hKBhR6kEtdv8FelzYFC4PWWOgnOvv__ZecqI4uCTZ_UVfG_c36XLtvZ9965uA5Ol4aQmKMzQ4h0OR6JqQIwmE89xenXG8/s250/download+%252818%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYU6ffxOAyDki8Xk_-GskNfCZcez3Ns3EQB2pqxnkduP8w7hKBhR6kEtdv8FelzYFC4PWWOgnOvv__ZecqI4uCTZ_UVfG_c36XLtvZ9965uA5Ol4aQmKMzQ4h0OR6JqQIwmE89xenXG8/s0/download+%252818%2529.jpeg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Riposa in pace nostro “Big Sindaco”.</span></span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">La notizia della scomparsa del Dott Mauro Carturan è arrivata con un dolore inimmaginabile, anche con la consapevolezza che la morte verrà un giorno per tutti noi. Mi sono sentito peggio stando all'estero e non vicino alla nostra addolarata Città di Cisterna di Latina, durante questo giorno triste. Il Dott Carturan da più di 23 anni è stato non solo il mio "Capo" in ufficio ma un fratello-amico come si dice in Africa. La sua amicizia alla mia famiglia, la solidarietà all’associazione WELCOME e a tutta la comunità (migrante e non) non è quantificabile, anche quando non era sindaco. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9Fi_hR1TZK_MJy6Ab0gB1cJeSWMXAsMC03CbTn_Pa6YuXCcFRimYGxoG_KVDPWQohkq_YocvoBWnqaqecv5_aJGEvfLK-3qSIuReFJOEJWuoaTP2RbvHa_XDdjqqZzuKSbSIxSlz9A8/s1600/DSCF8684.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9Fi_hR1TZK_MJy6Ab0gB1cJeSWMXAsMC03CbTn_Pa6YuXCcFRimYGxoG_KVDPWQohkq_YocvoBWnqaqecv5_aJGEvfLK-3qSIuReFJOEJWuoaTP2RbvHa_XDdjqqZzuKSbSIxSlz9A8/s320/DSCF8684.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">La sua umanità, assistenza e umiltà verso tutti i bisognosi sarà ricordata da Dio. Ciao,ci vediamo "Big Sindaco"(come si chiamava amorevolmente nella comunità di lingua inglese).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Le nostre prime condoglianze vanno alla famiglia e alla città di Cisterna di Latina. Dedico nella mia pagina facebook 100 foto in memoria della sua amicizia e solidarietà .</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Charles O Chukwubike </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">charlie.mbc@gmail.com</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3JkWq63k0bRZ7WyxvMxQIKmD-ckmq6IK_nGCadGMCWPX7470FcSpOb6q1-k6TBjH6ybMgVG-xkThXz4TdH1k1hJdF_XeUldU1UWGf48RXVO_3-wtqHtWLJlrfvnRZekMPwLB5S2MISE/s1600/_DSC0326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="1600" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3JkWq63k0bRZ7WyxvMxQIKmD-ckmq6IK_nGCadGMCWPX7470FcSpOb6q1-k6TBjH6ybMgVG-xkThXz4TdH1k1hJdF_XeUldU1UWGf48RXVO_3-wtqHtWLJlrfvnRZekMPwLB5S2MISE/w640-h429/_DSC0326.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-34963330790112226042021-06-21T06:20:00.001+02:002021-06-21T06:31:19.125+02:00IGBOLAND IS NOT LANDLOCKED<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vhJO2J2BwBXqb2_Jt_6wN7Vzir25INvFMH7UncEM1ZOjCxXsB0dwoPQG9H2MBLy0FjMhgXHdDTH7eQcW8p_GiH7MRjJFu5sM6A_feqR7AxAVOERIyrHhHiGPJjoiNUj8QHNJa-uxJtc/s720/2899513_sea_jpeg0bf9d68749283e47d8a9849395abc426.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="720" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vhJO2J2BwBXqb2_Jt_6wN7Vzir25INvFMH7UncEM1ZOjCxXsB0dwoPQG9H2MBLy0FjMhgXHdDTH7eQcW8p_GiH7MRjJFu5sM6A_feqR7AxAVOERIyrHhHiGPJjoiNUj8QHNJa-uxJtc/s320/2899513_sea_jpeg0bf9d68749283e47d8a9849395abc426.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Igboland is not landlocked<p></p><p></p><p>By Aloy Ejimakor</p><p>26 May 2020 | </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">It’s often said that a lie told so many times, if unchallenged, may – in course of time – begin to pass for the truth</span>. One of such is the terrible lie, institutionally purveyed since the end of the Civil War, to the effect that Igboland is landlocked or has no access to the sea. The purpose of this essay, therefore, is to debunk this lie with some simple historical and topographical evidence that are even in plain view, if you care to dig or do some physical explorations of your own. Suffice it to say that <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">it is a profound tragedy that entire generations of the immediate post-War Igbos never bordered to check but seemingly accepted this brazen institutional falsehood, largely intended to taunt the Igbo and put them down.</span> A few that knew it to be false just didn’t care anymore. A<b>nd that History was banned since the end of the Civil War made it worse</b>, plus the fact that most people don’t take physical Geography that serious anymore, otherwise they would have known that Abia, Imo and Anambra States have varying short-distance paths to the Atlantic through Imo, Azumiri and Niger Rivers.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsWVfSshdMYs2taLFMgG_z3AUyeKCXTxS13tbq1TV4q2E5OVUhLlWTJvrHD7xabbanKkb0v5CMtB2T9U9BXAv-Zma266vH6_JvfYrGj7FrWogF64ez3jE6O4Q3oMTuSCrAaV5X72gV-I/s396/11551274_igboland_jpeg72ffdbe9771892b98ffe883330da1679.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="396" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsWVfSshdMYs2taLFMgG_z3AUyeKCXTxS13tbq1TV4q2E5OVUhLlWTJvrHD7xabbanKkb0v5CMtB2T9U9BXAv-Zma266vH6_JvfYrGj7FrWogF64ez3jE6O4Q3oMTuSCrAaV5X72gV-I/w320-h266/11551274_igboland_jpeg72ffdbe9771892b98ffe883330da1679.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It’s not really rocket science, as you can easily confirm this if you know how to read Google Earth; or conquer your fear of swamp snakes and walk through these areas on foot. <b>There are also many other hardly explored waterways and slithering tributaries, including the remote reaches of Oguta Lake and Oseakwa River in Ihiala (Anambra State) that meandered through Igbo-delta wetlands to the Southeastern ends of the Atlantic waterfront.</b> These rivers have varying lengths of short navigational paths to the Atlantic, and in some cases, are far shorter nautically (and even on footpath) than the Portharcourt, Calabar and Ibaka seaports are to their side of the Atlantic. Many of these pathways, including particularly the ones from the outer reaches of Imo and Azumiri Rivers terminate at the Atlantic at no more than 15 to 30 Nautical miles to the beachhead. To put it in lay language, one nautical mile equals 1.8 kilometers. <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Thus, the contiguity of Southeast (not even the greater Igboland) to the Atlantic is less nautical miles than the Atlantic is to the seaports in Calabar, Onne, Ibaka, Lagos and Portharcourt.</span> If you discount the territories excised from Igboland during State creations and the damnable boundary adjustments, it will be far less.</span></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">To be sure, Ikwerre land or Igweocha which bears the greater portions of the Portharcourt seaport was dredged up to 50 miles to the Atlantic front through the Bonny River. Onne seaport was dredged up to 60 miles to the Atlantic and Calabar seaport was dredged some 45 nautical miles to the Atlantic. Ibaka seaport is about 30 nautical miles to the Atlantic and the Lagos seaports dredged up to about 50 nautical miles to the Atlantic. <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Compare all these to Obuaku in Abia State, which is only 25 nautical miles to the Atlantic from the confluence of Imo and Azumiri Rivers, of which Azumiri, on its own merits, lies not more than 30 nautical miles to the Atlantic beachfront. </span>The less obvious one is the little-known Oseakwa River in Ihiala (Anambra State) which is mere 18 nauticals to the Atlantic, all with its 65 feet of natural depth, unarguably comparable to no other River in Nigeria. Additionally, what is geopolitically known as Igboland today is far smaller than what it was and legally supposed to be. </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyk0XTdX_YM8eyzJFz-UP8tY8xPuFFCtkci6apify5cWQJcbaGBDVz5Av9Dp0NNt7fyb2JCBMtRCy9gkmUri6n0Wem0Pj3gGSLp9SoYzXvcKLG6PkrZxEXKwIsaA_TD-FoE2FKPAoROKs/s1280/maxresdefault-6.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyk0XTdX_YM8eyzJFz-UP8tY8xPuFFCtkci6apify5cWQJcbaGBDVz5Av9Dp0NNt7fyb2JCBMtRCy9gkmUri6n0Wem0Pj3gGSLp9SoYzXvcKLG6PkrZxEXKwIsaA_TD-FoE2FKPAoROKs/s320/maxresdefault-6.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As far back as 1856, Baikie – one of the earliest and credible Geographers of ancient Nigeria, had this to say – “Igbo homeland, extends east and west, from the Old Kalabar river to the banks of the Kwora, Niger River, and possesses also some territory at Aboh, an Igbo clan, to the west-ward of the latter stream. <b>On the north it borders on Igara, Igala and A’kpoto, and it is separated from the sea only by petty tribes, all of which trace their origin to this great race” (B</b>aikie, William Balfour, published with a sanction of Her Majesty’s Government in 1856). But with that infamous post-War abandoned property policy and the egregious institutional injustices in boundary adjustments and the widespread anti-Igbo gerrymandering, <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Igbos physically and psychologically lost hold of their vested ancestral lands, all to the point of not caring anymore about their historical contiguity to the Atlantic, which their ancestors beheld and called ‘Oshimiri’ (The Great Sea)</span>. The <b>psychological beat-down and gang-up got so bad that some of the descendants of these Igbo ancestors (nearest to the Atlantic and now lying outside Southeast) <span style="background-color: #e06666;">are no longer sure whether they are Igbo or not.</span> </b>The worst injustice was in 1976 when the Justice Nasir <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Boundary Adjustment Commission made a serious and targeted agenda of carving out core Igboland territories into some neighboring States of the South-South.</span> But they didn’t quite make an absolute success of it. They missed the southernmost Southeast lands that possess Rivers that meandered through slices of Igbo-friendly South-South territories and ended up at the Atlantic, thus unwittingly placing Igboland and its right of access to the sea under the canons of customary international law. <b>As it stands, international law of the sea guarantees Igboland (whether it remains Nigerian territory or not) unhindered access to the nearest sea (in this case: the Atlantic) peacefully by the many short-distance rivers, waterways and tributaries that originated from Igboland but ultimately washed into the Atlantic through contiguous South-South territories. </b>For avoidance of doubt, there’s particularly the Obuaku confluence in Ukwa West (Abia State) that flows through Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State before expanding out and washing into the near-reaches of the Atlantic. And the River Niger which ultimately joined the Atlantic through a vast network of hardly explored creeks and mangrove swamps that abut the Bight of Bonny in the South-South.</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAn0wtSN8WFP0SXStacs7EeQuccFn2VN-K5OisvcjUDgBZ4DaYH7KoBkwkk2LUw0F57Unnh4swGGWIWUg0n-87ZDKqgBrjHnbIud5glShHwa5WL54CmaO5_RR7T0NZukfd9nnHgBjCebg/s220/download+%25285%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAn0wtSN8WFP0SXStacs7EeQuccFn2VN-K5OisvcjUDgBZ4DaYH7KoBkwkk2LUw0F57Unnh4swGGWIWUg0n-87ZDKqgBrjHnbIud5glShHwa5WL54CmaO5_RR7T0NZukfd9nnHgBjCebg/s0/download+%25285%2529.jpg" /></span></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Nigeria is subject to the International Law of the Sea and is therefore bound to abide by its provisions, should the need arise in a scenario of persistent sovereign oppression of an identifiable indigenous group within Nigeria</span>. The others are the United Nations Treaty of the Sea and the African Union Treaties and Conventions on the Sea, including particularly the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which Nigeria ratified and domesticated in 1983. The pertinent provisions are mostly embedded in the copious provisions relating to the collective economic and commercial rights of indigenous peoples lying within the Treaty nations. <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Ndigbo are undoubtedly an indigenous people presently lying within Nigeria. So, international law will surely come into play if a conflict arises out of Nigeria’s persistent institutional resistance to granting a seaport to Igboland</span>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Ejimakor, wrote from Abuja</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://guardian.ng/opinion/igboland-is-not-landlocked/">source</a></span></p>Chukbyke.Okey,C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16962984058168305029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-31430597431630207752020-12-30T02:22:00.002+01:002020-12-30T02:25:20.117+01:00ENGR. FRANCIS N. NWONYI (RIP)<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJOU62QzyM_NkpvwxyHsGiDRyBE8IZA4ZjVy6Qjp7JtwbAHkgG3ADu5A-xYuHdgi4VvNNuIiQZ6N7XFzQpjO61ADi6CDb6UqMSR2GNiWHcU5ejWkesGSCq6V8Pm9MGlzAn7FEVl16VKI/s526/121832909_10221138424201658_1154300023210584910_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJOU62QzyM_NkpvwxyHsGiDRyBE8IZA4ZjVy6Qjp7JtwbAHkgG3ADu5A-xYuHdgi4VvNNuIiQZ6N7XFzQpjO61ADi6CDb6UqMSR2GNiWHcU5ejWkesGSCq6V8Pm9MGlzAn7FEVl16VKI/w400-h349/121832909_10221138424201658_1154300023210584910_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We came to know this fine gentleman (Engineer Francis N. NWONYI)about 36years ago through his daughter Ngozi and through out the period I worked at Abakaliki he was like a father to us. I would rather say 'a friend ' due to his way of relating to the younger ones and the amiable heart to heart discussions he always had with me on different topics at anytime we met or we came to his residence.</span><p></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I admired much his listening abilities to issues which he had in some occasions sort my opinion.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I admired his resemblance with my father ;a complete 'family man' who valued the sane upbringing and good education of his children more than anything. He was a complete Igboman. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is really a pity we are not able to be present on this special day due to this pandemic that has disorganized many things this year especially when one is in another continent.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We the Chukwubikes of Nenwe,Rome & UK pray that the Almighty God acceot your soul in his kingdom. AMEN.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">signed . </span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Charlie.mbc@gmail.com</span></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-15678685340024084262020-12-16T11:37:00.003+01:002020-12-16T11:37:43.903+01:00BENNETH SUNDAY CHUKWUBIKE GOES HOME (RIP)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcGKAkcQa853Rv1p5Ev7MqbeYvWsmFy9MOT1ETB1QH9ElZiCBCFsJKKcaqFD2SjGCGtQyPBjWiH11fMs5eleS-UzYf3LYZpc2E_G4_E4hFWNCutVpAYvbKHMO7ZTaQnEBMs-LqujGXPU/s720/131226441_2809669459265592_595395641112758832_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcGKAkcQa853Rv1p5Ev7MqbeYvWsmFy9MOT1ETB1QH9ElZiCBCFsJKKcaqFD2SjGCGtQyPBjWiH11fMs5eleS-UzYf3LYZpc2E_G4_E4hFWNCutVpAYvbKHMO7ZTaQnEBMs-LqujGXPU/s16000/131226441_2809669459265592_595395641112758832_n.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #fcff01;"> </b><b style="background-color: #fcff01;">Ben Tito </b>goes home:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> One of the strong pillars in the Chukwubike's family.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">He was very,sociable, peaceful, respectful and great achiever </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> May his soul rest in peace</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is really painful to bury another Chukwubike within a month, however we still continue to be grateful to God for all his mercies.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Chukwu bu-ike anyi</span></p>Chukbyke.Okey,C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16962984058168305029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-9959336298077618052020-11-30T18:08:00.000+01:002020-11-30T18:08:37.276+01:00WINGS OF DISTINCTION: MEMOIR OF A FIGHTER PILOT (AVM CHRIS.N CHUKWU)OON <p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNzzIjzxWcncv143ozRojKSIBo_JYqnFP_HpMj5NzcZX6QbnFK5awZPUZJFk7JFQ034NjboNDxWnwUluZPBw_j2F-jA3aMDqLdMH-TRIx-olcZs-v2pL3JrSstzjWg0SwuDOlTbFt0o4/s851/127799915_10223955525493003_8143708803931923797_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="851" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizNzzIjzxWcncv143ozRojKSIBo_JYqnFP_HpMj5NzcZX6QbnFK5awZPUZJFk7JFQ034NjboNDxWnwUluZPBw_j2F-jA3aMDqLdMH-TRIx-olcZs-v2pL3JrSstzjWg0SwuDOlTbFt0o4/w640-h376/127799915_10223955525493003_8143708803931923797_o.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /></div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> PREFACE</b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><i><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 150%;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Some are born great; some achieve greatness; some have greatness thrust on them.</span></b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0pt 0pt 8pt 198pt; padding: 0pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">- </span><!--[endif]--><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 150%;">William Shakespeare</span></i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Air Vice Marshal Christian Ndubisi Chukwu was neither born great nor had greatness thrust on him. He achieved greatness by sheer hard work and providence. But in this, his story would be scarcely unique. It would seem that most great people all over the world started life from humble beginnings. Check out the biographies or autobiographies of the likes of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa and Moshood Abiola. Read about Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela. Then Abraham Lincoln, regarded as the foremost American President and one of the America’s founding fathers. In our own generation, read the story of Barack Obama who rose to become the first African-American President of the United States. None of these great people could be said to have been born great or had greatness thrust on them. All achieved greatness by dint of hard work. Yet, Aliko Dangote, the present richest man in Africa may have been born with silver spoon but, by his own account, while in primary school, he used to buy and sell sweets – not for fun but to make money.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Yet, as you begin to study the lives of great people, you discover that though they may have something in common in their humble beginnings, along the line their stories become unique. This is also true of Air Vice Marshal Christian Chukwu. In fact, in his case, the story is not only unique but exceptionally so. </span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-YTjQfkcxWDleUl_euVgO7yiPfLZXi1He_JAH_UuZjp49eKON4Wo1AVymM2KK2e9DsyYkCS-4PXxw0s1WU1Ml8gD8sP-Wntp3FceHppVG75pjzNBvdoMQhTQyiPtGGPbxEfb1hc6JKY/s2040/121009499_10223569104072709_7171932154235805134_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="2040" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-YTjQfkcxWDleUl_euVgO7yiPfLZXi1He_JAH_UuZjp49eKON4Wo1AVymM2KK2e9DsyYkCS-4PXxw0s1WU1Ml8gD8sP-Wntp3FceHppVG75pjzNBvdoMQhTQyiPtGGPbxEfb1hc6JKY/s320/121009499_10223569104072709_7171932154235805134_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">AVM Christian Chukwu was the seventh son of ten children, seven boys and three girls. The mother had hoped he would be a girl so that she would be going to </span><i><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Omugo</span></i><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">. But not yet. She would have daughters, three of them in fact, but that was after Chris, this child of destiny. Did I just say “destiny”? We have all heard about the stories of some people referred to as, “stranger than fiction.” The story of AVM Chukwu is definitely one of them.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">There is a chapter titled,<span style="background-color: #ea9999;"> “Liberia: The Smell of Death”.</span> It was not once, not twice but several times that AVM Chukwu smelt death in the course of his hazardous career, particularly during his ECOMOG mission. In fact, the smell of death ran from his father, <b>Albert Chukwu</b>, through his eldest brother and mentor, the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">legendary Sqn Ldr John Chukwu</span></b> down to himself. </span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Yes, the smell of death had run through the family. His late father, Albert Chukwu, was lured into slavery by a teacher he was living with in his native hometown of Nenwe to Ishiagu in the present-day Ebonyi State. The chief of the town who had bought the little Albert of about 9 or 10 years planned to use him for sacrifice to the gods of the town. By Providence Albert came to know about the evil plan. He escaped into the thick forest in the middle of the night. He later recorded this episode in his diary. His escape was miraculous because he could have been devoured by wild animals or recaptured by the natives who were sent by the chief to comb the forest. Albert smelt death but he escaped and eventually returned to his family. Had he not escaped, obviously, we would not be reading the story of AVM Chukwu today.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">The story of the late Sqn Ldr John Ikeokwu Chukwu, AVM Chukwu’s eldest brother and role model would require a book in its own right. <b>Here was one of the best trained Nigerian fighter pilots who had already showed his prowess but found himself on the side of Biafra during the Nigerian civil war. </b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">He was the leading Biafran fighter pilot who caused a lot of havoc on the Nigerian military targets at the early stages of the war.</span> JC smelt death when his aircraft came under attack of Nigerian anti-aircraft batteries over a town in the Niger Delta and a bullet pierced his body and exited but missed his heart, spine and head. That was miraculous.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1m9KWedvueIdcKZzJQ-0fjhXDSlYJQz_vsR5uopiRaMR0jDUgYRw_8Jnum5QS-qtutogjDLuB6Q7kPLYUcqXAoq1wizp2ziHneSQkqqtpnLQ9mQq93F2ft0GXOeS_BKoQFlJJ38L9V0k/s2015/26756820_924346517716197_7811094962105355262_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2015" data-original-width="1274" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1m9KWedvueIdcKZzJQ-0fjhXDSlYJQz_vsR5uopiRaMR0jDUgYRw_8Jnum5QS-qtutogjDLuB6Q7kPLYUcqXAoq1wizp2ziHneSQkqqtpnLQ9mQq93F2ft0GXOeS_BKoQFlJJ38L9V0k/w202-h320/26756820_924346517716197_7811094962105355262_o.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; text-align: justify; text-indent: 24px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sqn Ldr John Ikeokwu Chukwu</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">John or JC as he was popularly called, was among the pioneer Nigerian Air Force cadets sent to train in Germany in 1963. Among his course mates was<span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><b> Ibrahim Alfa</b>,</span> a lifelong bosom friend who after the war sought and took JC out from where he was hiding with the family and ensured that he was reabsorbed into the Nigerian Air Force. That rare account of former friends turned warring enemies and later re-uniting as friends again, is one of the stranger-than-fiction anecdotes in this book, which incidentally AVM Chukwu witnessed live as a boy of just nine years. That experience, according to Christian, was the motivation for him to become a soldier, and indeed serves as the starting point of this personal account of his military career. Thus, when unfortunately, we lost JC in 1978 at his prime, aged 35 years, due to illness, it was only a question of time before Christian Chukwu stepped into the giant shoes his brother left behind.</span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbgt9berF7WR9Sp_h_zzvLv2bJaujwBK6NQ-zidxJPmTZPOg9DMXma6AcyPdVoKJn2Iylg25jjNPEi9xrWyqnS4mmb9UvCF0rDbjVpAJnUKRYJqioPRDtB48kR2HWgZkHAShjdNhYMpw/s960/69688342_10219663889244779_5670454718850138112_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbgt9berF7WR9Sp_h_zzvLv2bJaujwBK6NQ-zidxJPmTZPOg9DMXma6AcyPdVoKJn2Iylg25jjNPEi9xrWyqnS4mmb9UvCF0rDbjVpAJnUKRYJqioPRDtB48kR2HWgZkHAShjdNhYMpw/w320-h213/69688342_10219663889244779_5670454718850138112_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 18pt;">The story of AVM Chukwu is laced with adventures. <span style="background-color: #ffe599;">During his Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) in the United States in 1982</span>, he also caused some anxiety for his instructors. On a solo sortie one fateful night, his jet developed electrical fault. The control tower advised Chukwu to declare emergency so that he could be given priority landing. This dare-devil and self-assured fighter-pilot in the making declined the advice and went ahead to perfectly land the jet with what they call EXTD (excellent touch down). That incident raised his profile but also earned him the sobriquet, <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">“</span></span><b style="font-size: x-large; text-indent: 18pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="background-color: #f9cb9c; font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">that Nigerian student who flies around at night without light</span></b><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">”</span>.</span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7p-mDIR-LwCyEVxct378IDDsO5lmDMSuiuBTTql4yPJoDOI08ci_b9osEZ4OceeREZ1oWTtimxR708MbBdLfn1IxYbZdEgIrYkaNVQ0_K8C93wMf-lS-ay1exVEa29uUEcqFmYJXxGo/s368/im-alfa448903988.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: "Maiandra GD"; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="341" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7p-mDIR-LwCyEVxct378IDDsO5lmDMSuiuBTTql4yPJoDOI08ci_b9osEZ4OceeREZ1oWTtimxR708MbBdLfn1IxYbZdEgIrYkaNVQ0_K8C93wMf-lS-ay1exVEa29uUEcqFmYJXxGo/w298-h320/im-alfa448903988.png" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Air Marshal Ibrahim Mahmud Alfa</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Now, if the younger Chukwu’s solo night flight experience in the United States was seamless, that was not the case with “Aggressors in Thunderstorm” later in Nigeria. It was another case of smelling death by the AVM. He and three other “Aggressors” had gone for military exercise, named, DOKO NDAPONGI around Bida in 1987 with four Alpha-Jet aircraft. They had successfully completed the simulation of the battlefield interdiction, with the army troops. When the Aggressors finally departed, bad weather had enveloped the Kaduna military base and they were diverted to the civilian airport. Meanwhile, they were all running out of fuel and the weather at the civilian airport was equally terrible. While the pilots were manoeuvring their jets with poor vision, Chris almost collided with another aircraft. According to him, if he had stretched out his hand, he would have touched that aircraft. Instinctively, he ducked expecting to hear a bang but as he did not hear any, he knew he was still alive. As a very experienced jet pilot, Chukwu made quick decisions and diverted to Zaria where he managed to glide the jet to land at the small airfield with fuel virtually at zero. This narrow escape was the first time he personally experienced what they had been told during training, about pilots’ knees involuntarily knocking together after a narrow escape. He later learnt that the rest of the aggressors also experienced the same thing!</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">There are several of these near mishaps which would hold the reader spellbound. Most of these happened during his altogether nineteen months of participation in the <b>ECOMOG operations</b> on many occasions, between 1990 and 1994. They included what he calls, “Mysterious Spin over the Atlantic” and “Near Death at Omega Tower.” However, the climax of these near-death missions is titled, “A Date with the Rebels.” Their mission was to destroy the convoy of trucks conveying Charles Taylor’s troops and ammunitions to Buchannan Port. As is often the case, Chukwu was leading the attack with a wingman. With professional efficiency he accomplished the task and was ready to return to their base at Lungi airport in Sierra Leone. Alas, his jet was hit by anti-aircraft canons and a large part of the canopy was blown off, missing his head by inches. Before long the remaining chunk of his canopy broke off and the plane was virtually tumbling. If he ejected, he would either have been caught by enemy troops or devoured by crocodiles or other wild animals in the swamps below. Chukwu finally decided to head to Spriggs airfield regardless of the long-range artillery fire from the enemy. He landed safely without canopy, applying the necessary procedures from his several years of training and experience. There was wild jubilation among his colleagues in Lungi, when eventually he and his wingman arrived there that night. Before then, there was much panic because of the news put out by the Taylor’s men that they had shot down two Nigerian jets. In fact, that rumour also reached Nigeria and naturally to Nenwe people. For Chukwu, “This was one of those missions I will never forget.” </span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">If one were to summarise the military career of AVM Chukwu in one word, one could say it was a life of encounters with death at every corner but surviving to tell the story the next day. But it is also the story of military professionalism, excellence, brilliance, hard work, courage, devotion to duty and above all, love of fatherland. Indeed, it is a fascinating and inspiring story.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupS_ysBJTRgD0xh9EEuo95mrIikd9mMrK1vI9WyefRjzBUw2njDYXFVvANTxuPnoSE3Cs23t8sJQb68_1tNQBBFcpRHc87vuiX64PRhAjbITnQ2ZsoPLuB0qWowvVfAzEagR_wjM5PMA/s869/43199581_10217029987678886_430350023637598208_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="869" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupS_ysBJTRgD0xh9EEuo95mrIikd9mMrK1vI9WyefRjzBUw2njDYXFVvANTxuPnoSE3Cs23t8sJQb68_1tNQBBFcpRHc87vuiX64PRhAjbITnQ2ZsoPLuB0qWowvVfAzEagR_wjM5PMA/s320/43199581_10217029987678886_430350023637598208_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Enough of the hazardous zone. There is also the life of the soldier which is full of training, simulations and exercises, particularly in peace time. For the fighter pilots, aerial demonstrations are their stagecraft. From 1</span><sup><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%; vertical-align: super;">st</span></sup><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"> October 1985 as a young Fg Offr, up to attaining the rank of AVM, Chukwu was involved in virtually all aerial demonstrations of the Nigerian Air Force, whether during National Day celebrations or the Nigerian Air Force Day celebrations. </span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">The most memorable of the AVM’s aerial demonstrations was the Air Force Day celebration of 15 April 2000 held in Enugu, his home State. As a Wing Commander then, Chukwu was the leader of the four-ship L-39 aerobatic team and the one who performed the solo aerobatics. Chris was at his best in the aerial manoeuvres. As I read the account, of what he was doing with the jet up in the sky, with several turns and even inverted flights and landing in a short distance, involuntary tears of admiration were running down my cheeks. One can then imagine how the spectators who watched the show live felt; spectators that included his family members and <b>particularly his mother!</b></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 18pt;">Chukwu attained the zenith of his career in the Nigerian Air Force with promotion to Air Vice Marshal (Major General) in 2010 and disengaged on 13</span><sup style="text-indent: 18pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%; vertical-align: super;">th</span></sup><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; font-size: x-large; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 18pt;"> August 2016, after excellently serving his country for 37 years. He deservedly earned his promotions and has been honoured in several circles, including by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nigeria Air Force and his Nenwe Community. The Federal Government first conferred on him the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) and in 2000 upgraded it to the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). In 2017, his hometown, Nenwe, bestowed on him the title of <b style="background-color: #ffe599;">NKPUME NENWE (ROCK OF NENWE).</b></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhcd8OLbPt0DKoVwuvSZ2QW_F-1SPD0NKiXduxFVHODkRVW3gpleT1jSW78L4JXHgYcNTP11c9vfgbxJ2Twmj08tZ79G5vuB_gMiCQUxqIqpYv7-9pgsoKNnJYIhhZO-LsRLLSC9iLbM/s960/106006726_10219919966122970_7729421752713103852_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJhcd8OLbPt0DKoVwuvSZ2QW_F-1SPD0NKiXduxFVHODkRVW3gpleT1jSW78L4JXHgYcNTP11c9vfgbxJ2Twmj08tZ79G5vuB_gMiCQUxqIqpYv7-9pgsoKNnJYIhhZO-LsRLLSC9iLbM/s320/106006726_10219919966122970_7729421752713103852_n.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">AVM Chukwu, to borrow from Julius Caesar, has come, seen and conquered. He was not only a brave fighter pilot but also an instructor pilot who brought up generations of fighter pilots. In doing so, he instilled in his students, high level professionalism, discipline and courage. In his military career, he believed that one must go the extra mile if one wants to achieve extraordinary results. For this, he advised young pilots to operate “with the highest level of proficiency … they will need the survival instinct and the angel of good luck on their side.”</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mEaYjH3aIjkBzyf8cTOyTkvoJMOvjYK2TMGy5PMRvBDZwiBIVIJKVd1FtcEHlQ8mAIJKnPL50LoUMGSPxrvcz-F9DTwXdbCHw1_XkRG4HY7MonPDr2jbZFTE0tWvdF46e7AXRX_vaz4/s2048/50940276_10217934450649895_4163006010673332224_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mEaYjH3aIjkBzyf8cTOyTkvoJMOvjYK2TMGy5PMRvBDZwiBIVIJKVd1FtcEHlQ8mAIJKnPL50LoUMGSPxrvcz-F9DTwXdbCHw1_XkRG4HY7MonPDr2jbZFTE0tWvdF46e7AXRX_vaz4/s320/50940276_10217934450649895_4163006010673332224_o.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9QkVGsp3aSgXz3K7hUyfUAWUXbJ7usZ-IoDekgJOYKlnek7EJUgGFv7v3AMdmtwv7WV_xbFwSnp4Xt0oWl5BjiJyT7AdoERMMwLyvTM7rJWD2Fc64SrOSzZyt3hJG4yeCNYnpPngM8g/s960/51286703_10217958287325797_5614600713570091008_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9QkVGsp3aSgXz3K7hUyfUAWUXbJ7usZ-IoDekgJOYKlnek7EJUgGFv7v3AMdmtwv7WV_xbFwSnp4Xt0oWl5BjiJyT7AdoERMMwLyvTM7rJWD2Fc64SrOSzZyt3hJG4yeCNYnpPngM8g/s320/51286703_10217958287325797_5614600713570091008_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Chris is a very fulfilled man, an officer and complete gentleman. <b><i>Very unassuming, approachable, religious, humane, highly respectful and respected</i></b>, the comments on his personality and character by some close colleagues who cut across ethnic and religious affiliations, included in this volume, are very inspiring. He is known to have always assisted both subordinates and colleagues to further their career, because, as one of his colleagues, AVM Zannah, revealed, “Chukwu, because he is sure of himself, therefore he never sees anybody as a threat to his career”. In the same vein, he has been providing guidance to young people both from his community and across Nigeria to make a career in the military. Characteristic of his humaneness, he reproduced in this volume his emotional </span><i><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Ode</span></i><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"> (Tribute) to some of his fallen colleagues. Furthermore, AVM Chukwu, though he did not amass wealth, has decided to be touching the lives of the less privileged with whatever resources are available. To this end, he and his adorable wife have established a charity organisation they named, in memory of the<b> two great mentors in Chukwu’s life, <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">JohnAlfa Foundation.</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 18.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">This memoir of the life and military career of AVM Chris Chukwu, is simply unputdownable. It is a privilege and honour for me to be among those who read the manuscript and to be requested to write the Foreword. It is a story of courage and adventures with remarkable anecdotes. We often hear about something being one in a million. This book perfectly belongs to that category. It should be an inspirational book not only for those aspiring for service in the Military in general and Air Force in particular but also for the Nigerian youth in general. For military authorities and the general reader, it is a must read for knowledge and relaxation. </span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;">Professor Mike Maduagwu</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD"; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">Directing Staff,</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">National Institute for Security Studies. Bwari – Abuja.</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">(Former Senior Fellow/Directing Staff</span><span style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru – Jos).</span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">May, 2020. </span><span style="color: #c00000; font-family: 'Maiandra GD'; font-size: 16.0000pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: "Maiandra GD";">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span dir="LTR" style="font-size: 12pt;">EDITED VERSIONS OF COMMENTS</span></u></b><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR">This autobiography is indeed a masterpiece on the life journey of Air Vice Marshal Christian Ndubuisi Chukwu so far. Certainly, it is a commentary depicting an insight into the environments in which he grew up and worked. Generally, his sojourn through the Nigerian Air Force, and particularly his escapades as a fighter pilot was aptly captured in this exciting book. It will be an interesting read for all book lovers across board and should serve as motivation for younger readers who may wish to have a career as pilots in the Nigerian Air Force. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR">While in Service, he brought to bear appreciable courage, tenacity, integrity and excellence in executing specified and assigned tasks, while appropriately applying the experience so acquired in dealing with issues outside the Service. Overall, he exhibited exemplary leadership in his personal and professional conduct, which endeared him to superiors, contemporaries and subordinates alike. Congratulations on this onerous achievement and best wishes always.</span><b><i><span dir="LTR"> </span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span dir="LTR">AIR VICE MARSHAL MOHAMMED S USMAN</span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR">Chief of Defence Intelligence, Nigeria</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: 1.5000pt solid rgb(0,0,0); margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: 1.5000pt solid rgb(0,0,0); padding: 0pt 0pt 1pt 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.2500pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Reading through the scintillating life history of AVM Christian Ndubisi Chukwu</span><b><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></b><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">held me spell bound for several days. This book climaxes the dexterity of a man bound in several talents. It could not have come at a better time than now that it seems excellence has taken flight in our national</span><b><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"> </span></b><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">mores. Many of those who come across Christian, on the face value, may be tempted to take him for granted due to his unassuming nature. However, beneath that simplicity is a sapphire. A man so determined relentlessly, even in the face of mounting difficulties in the nation, to strive to be the best he can be, as vividly captured by this memoir. I am glad that he eventually acquiesced himself to render his story for the benefit of younger generations of Nenwe, Enugu State and the Nigerian Air Force. It is indeed a biography like no other.</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.2500pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.2500pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">AIR COMMODORE CJE OZOEMENA (rtd) fdc</span></b><b><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.2500pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.0000pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Ogbanukwu II</span><b><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: 1.5000pt solid rgb(0,0,0); margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: 1.5000pt solid rgb(0,0,0); padding: 0pt 0pt 1pt 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAceta-HFMx8hsMGfGarKReQWQJXtXJfM41_L0CqhiQwMzLtJyZWicN1pZ7JK-ycTV6dSzRiNjxR2RvvQxzb7ZohF5SeMgktZUL4r2jr07_QSDWE11f-POqndu8tVagj9AHp2hluU1N8/s960/62073960_10218928547101685_1579056193937080320_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAceta-HFMx8hsMGfGarKReQWQJXtXJfM41_L0CqhiQwMzLtJyZWicN1pZ7JK-ycTV6dSzRiNjxR2RvvQxzb7ZohF5SeMgktZUL4r2jr07_QSDWE11f-POqndu8tVagj9AHp2hluU1N8/s320/62073960_10218928547101685_1579056193937080320_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avm Chris Chukwu <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span dir="LTR">FOREWORD </span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 150%;">I am delighted to comment on the book “Wings of Distinction” — Career Memoir of a Fighter Pilot” by Air Vice Marshal Christian Ndubuisi Chukwu, OON (rtd). The publication of the book is indeed very timely, coming at a time that the career experiences of distinguished senior officers are needed for the guidance and motivation of serving members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, particularly the junior and mid-career officers, in the face of daunting national security challenges.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 150%;">A memoir is a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge. This is exactly what the author has articulated in his “Wings of Distinction” presented in 3 parts — early life, operational experience and fruits of distinction which detailed his personality, non-military life and achievements. His local and foreign training prepared him for the exemplary operational accomplishments in the various tours of duty he had, especially during the ECOMOG operations. The “Wings of Distinction” is replete with accounts of enviable accomplishments of the senior officer during his 37 years of Service to the nation.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 150%;">The experience as captured in the book are commendable and worthy of emulation, I hereby recommend the book to all serving and retired military officers as well as all stakeholders in military career development. I heartily congratulate the author for the publication, which is a remarkable asset to the promotion of Military Service.</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span dir="LTR">General AG OLONISAKIN </span></b><span dir="LTR">NAM</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p align="justify" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0000pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span dir="LTR"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; text-align: center;"><span dir="LTR"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Chief of Defence Staff, Nigeria</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-37376645157329998962020-11-30T07:17:00.000+01:002020-11-30T07:17:06.929+01:00THE NORTH; TELL YOUR SONS TO SAVE ALL OF US NOW <p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4nS7_3CU2oIcVaxUp9rhfFd4pbzHkYMuWd7LfDykkdzVpOeua0TJrHCH8HZm6SoJ0YbVw2503eRzrejIeAxQ7aJyuK_aWnFXFnJXsbnmRfhoQpooiykBxGBZijhpbbKai4toPbxCho4/s770/AP_20334576846542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4nS7_3CU2oIcVaxUp9rhfFd4pbzHkYMuWd7LfDykkdzVpOeua0TJrHCH8HZm6SoJ0YbVw2503eRzrejIeAxQ7aJyuK_aWnFXFnJXsbnmRfhoQpooiykBxGBZijhpbbKai4toPbxCho4/s320/AP_20334576846542.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">THE NORTH; TELL YOUR SONS TO SAVE ALL OF US NOW !!!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Yesterday “Fulani Herdsmen sacking a village in middle belt, kills pregnant woman in Delta state , Today 45 Killed in Katsina by Muslim fundamentalists , today Boko Haram kills 100 poor farmers in Bornu State…. Etc . These are the News you receive daily from Nigeria :Northerns being butchered by their fellow Muslim (fundamentalist) and Southerners killed daily by Muslim Fulani herdsmen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> Of all these nobody has ever been brought to “that book” he always promises by lip service to bring </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPc_EL2SFoscok2gpWHh-1upM9hy9vMdBrX5YjwWI3cmlJ4y1zTapurAySe9cHT3hjFXbNQe3fDw2zE-NhFG880dQrP0J4xgSyQqAP3pplrLpQAQ0O_L-XDjx3cRARiFaeFc_zzBwOOw/s263/newly-appointed-service-chiefs-in-Nigeria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPc_EL2SFoscok2gpWHh-1upM9hy9vMdBrX5YjwWI3cmlJ4y1zTapurAySe9cHT3hjFXbNQe3fDw2zE-NhFG880dQrP0J4xgSyQqAP3pplrLpQAQ0O_L-XDjx3cRARiFaeFc_zzBwOOw/s0/newly-appointed-service-chiefs-in-Nigeria.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">them.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Once upon a time while travelling to Shagari village in Sokoto we used to rush to drive away through the South before dark and to continue our journey in the safe North at nightfall, now ironically the reverse is the case. The South has been virtually militarized (for other intentions) by the majority Northern soldiers and policemen leaving their homes to bandits and terrorists while indirectly and unintentionally securing the South relatively . </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">At this point it is no more the case of religious, tribal or party debates and divides; all these poor peasants are our brothers and sisters , they are human beings. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is urgent and imperative the good thinking northerners should call their sons (who incidentally are occupying the command of 98% of the security organs and presidency) into a room and talk to them. In Igbo they would be told “nna ifegonu na ifea ekweru unu omume oo. Ka anyi chotanu ndi ozo tufu ife- emebiea “ meaning “brothers you can see you cant manage the situation, lets look for other people before things get worse”. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />Why should we because of “foolish pride” wait to be overrun and be busy finding things to divert peoples attention as the opening of Enugu uncompleted airport to divert people from the 22 Enugu boys massacres at Enugu while having a meeting. The succeeded. The case has been put in ‘that his book’ instead of the culprits. </span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-C1jSXDgX3IzdjfHq6CxDYx2onpcoAHceXM9u4xUFv6qScBn6ARxrqYD7nKzaPkIJzNfQI-B46cZ9GO7QVGu6Yh90O0DK60cNLTzR5V8lU1BA0iIcoW4VRrkkZRzfw-XLUitvEMDHTs/s1024/Buhari-ans-service-chiefs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-C1jSXDgX3IzdjfHq6CxDYx2onpcoAHceXM9u4xUFv6qScBn6ARxrqYD7nKzaPkIJzNfQI-B46cZ9GO7QVGu6Yh90O0DK60cNLTzR5V8lU1BA0iIcoW4VRrkkZRzfw-XLUitvEMDHTs/s320/Buhari-ans-service-chiefs.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Can you imagine the “convincing” comments and reactions from the North if the President and Security chiefs were from the south or even Northern Christians ? Certainly the absurd Kano mobs as usual would have already started hitting on Igbo traders as if they were them the Moslem terrorists.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The Northerners should rescue the North and save all of us in the country by talking and kicking up and out (if necessary)their sons. GEJ is in the creeks now and has been there since five years s lets forget what he did or didn’t do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">charlie.mbc2@gmail.com</span></p><div><br /></div>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-42274088236698824652020-11-10T09:56:00.001+01:002020-11-10T09:56:19.192+01:00 BISHOP GODFREY ONAH :CONDEMNS INJUSTICE & VIOLENCE-- by Rev. Fr. Vitus Ugwu.<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFj5zE71GXO10_HcV3tbPrdEMoV9EnefBF5XLIDS_bq3S4qW9BaApEIcfkO0jeHndVsN32ZDoGBB8U9I2GBp8ZTVKpUc-el5X2FxZygluMBcB5YLI05HP07zygQbeCbSUyBiHd3c3KvI/s718/1c325f2a6e8e91287027c452a2ca61f1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="718" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFj5zE71GXO10_HcV3tbPrdEMoV9EnefBF5XLIDS_bq3S4qW9BaApEIcfkO0jeHndVsN32ZDoGBB8U9I2GBp8ZTVKpUc-el5X2FxZygluMBcB5YLI05HP07zygQbeCbSUyBiHd3c3KvI/s320/1c325f2a6e8e91287027c452a2ca61f1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bishop of Nsukka <br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Leave Bishop Godfrey Onah Alone</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">One of my parishioners just sent me a link showing a tweet of one Salihu Tanko Yakasai said to be a media aide to the Governor of Kano State, His excellency Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. In the said tweet, Mr. Yakasai dared to incite the government against Most Rev. Prof Godfrey Onah over a video clip in which the Bishop decried the injustice meted out against Christianity by the Nigerian government. <b> </b><span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><b>The Bishop had in that short video clip called for equal opportunity and treatment to both Christians and Moslems</b>.</span> Weeks after the video clip made the rounds, a Hausa Moslem youth attacked an Igbo Tricycle rider, Mr. Kelly, over the latter’s insistence on the complete payment of his money. It was said that the altercation ensued between the Mr. Kelly and Aisha and the latter put a call to her son, Sabiru. The report had it that Sabiru ran to the scene and attacked the Keke driver. The actions or reactions that ignited or trailed this unfortunate occurrence are worth looking at. Although the riot was short-lived thanks to the <b>intervention of security agents and the timely press statement of Bishop Godfrey Onah</b>, Saturday the 31st of October, 2020 came like any other day but ended differently from other normal days in Nsukka. As we thank God that the riot was nipped on the bud, we have to condemn in its entirety the skewed narrative currently peddled by some mischief makers who masked their ill-will, anti-national cohesion and anti-democratic tendency in a veneer of patriotic posturing. From last Saturday till now, varied reactions ranging from religious bigotry, to tribal sentiments, and to political threats have been expressed. The worst of it all is a bungled attempt to blame it on a seasoned homily of our firing Bishop. We will attempt below to put the records right for the sake of posterity and to disabuse the minds of the misinformed persons out there. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A bad doctor treats symptoms instead of cause. This is what the ilk of Salihu Tanko Yakasai have done. To avert this mistake, we have to trace the causes of the rift. The first is the behavior of Aisha and her son, Sabiru. How did we get to the level where our police officers are not trusted and invited in the moment of misunderstanding? How inefficient has this institution become that the aggrieved do not look the way of police for justice? The Aisha’s reaction to these simple feuds tells us something about our dwindling or dead security apparatchiks. It is either the people are not civilized or the police are too tardy in responding to situations like that or both reasons are conjointly responsible. The woman is not alone in that mess. Many who had problems with their neighbours had used cultists, or the disbanded SARS to intimidate their opponents to submission. In a civilized world, one who feels his right was trampled on by another immediately dials the police number. In Nigeria, we call our family members because either we are still at the brute level where might is right or the police system is moribund or both. In the same vein, look at the offense of the invited son, his action! From which part of the world is he? This question has no derogatory intent because he is a typical Nigerian and many would have acted the way he did. <b>But we have to interrogate this way of acting. What level of reasoning makes us believe that our relative is always correct in a ruction?</b> That was the mindset that led Sabiru to come against Mr. Kelly, the Tricyclist, without patience for dialogue. Should he not have patiently asked what the matter was? <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">Why would he go to such scene with weapon? The fact of possession of weapon means a foreclosure of dialogue.</span> The Keke man had no sword or harmful instrument. How on earth would someone run into such feuds to maim without first listening to the matter. The ill-fated decision of Sabiru was the sole catalyst of the unfortunate event of the last Saturday of October. <b>There and only there you find the necessary connection between cause and effect. Critics should leave Bishop Godfrey Igwebuike Onah out of this!</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">Look at the jungle justice of the mob! It is not different from the mental hue of the initial attacker. Like Sabiru who hit Mr. Kelly without much ado or dialogue, so did the mob. The same senselessness and impatience in the face of provocation spiraled from that spot to other parts of the town. Like the attacker who appropriated the anger of his mother and acted based on it, so were the mobs who appropriated the pain of the victim and went on rampage.</span> In this inherited or transferred anger lies the senselessness of the whole thing. A rational person is able to distinguish between his mother’s enemies and his own enemies. Only an irrational person blindly assumes his mother’s enemies as his own enemies. This is the fault of Sabiru as well as the subsequent gangsters. The former saw not just a neutral Keke Driver simply because his mother had biased him against Mr. Kelly while those who went on rampage failed to distinguish between the original offender (Mr. Sabiru) from the innocent Hausa people who were about their normal businesses. There is that tendency either in the North or the South to judge the whole using a part. This fallacy of overgeneralization is a common disease responsible for Nigeria’s trajectory. <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">How could we destroy the property of the southerners in the North because of a felony of a Southerner? How could mobs have gone after Northerners because of the crime of one Hausa person? It is either because they are illiterates or they are ill-literates! Why the attacks on Mosques just because of the misdeed of a Moslem? Did Sabiru hit Mr. Kelly at the prompting of a Mosque or because he is a Moslem? None of these. So, you see how senseless a mob can be? </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are commentaries on the sad incidents. First, <i><u>we return to the tweet of Salihu Tanko Yakasai. He seemed to have attributed the brief riot to a juicy homily of Most Rev. Prof. Godfrey I. Onah. Thus, he wrote: “This will be a good scapegoat for security operatives to make example of. You CANNOT use place of worship be it Mosque or a Church and incite violence…. I call for the arrest & prosecution of this man.” </u></i>This appears uncouth, disrespectful, abrasive and a tout-like daring insolence on the highly revered and widely sought-after Bishop reveals something about our colossal decadence. Yakasai seems to epitomize it all in his tweet. His somewhat rude verbal diarrhea contains the germ of intellectual asphyxiation similar to that which blighted the mental contour of the mobs. Certai<b>nly, his position may have taken him out of the street, but his tweet did not reflect it. That is why he was unable to analyze the contents of the homily instead he chose the easiest part, namely, cast slur on the purveyor</b>. It appears he wrote with that gestapo venom congenial with despots who would rather raise sycophants at all cost than listen to priceless voice of a prophet. <i>He tweeted from the same spirit of autocracy that made Ambassador Coomasie to instigate the government to use iron fist against peaceful protesters. </i><span style="color: red;"><b>The same spirit that called for the silence of the peaceful protesters is calling for the muzzling of a peaceful prophet. </b></span>I understand that ranting is now a lucrative business for some social misfits who sacrifice every modicum of decency in their morbid craze for insalubrious relevance. That should be least expected of a person of Yakasai’s status. He should not be a good specimen for the discernible rot in our system where mentally deficient individuals with connections are promoted while the best brains go down the drains as jobless. Nigerians should expect better things from people like Yakasai and not cheap instigation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I read the rant of Yakasai and initially did not want to react to it. But the reaction of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) almost in the same line with Yakasai, has compelled me to debunk the lies. NSCIA in a statement signed by its deputy secretary, <b>Prof. Salisu Shehu, referred to the innocuous homily of Bishop Onah as inciting</b>. They alleged that the Bishop’s homily led to attacks on innocent Muslims in South East and South South zones of the country. Weird and incoherent extrapolation indeed! I was going to call on this body to stand up with CAN and defend the freedom of pastors and Imams from men like Yakasai! But because of the expressed vituperations, it has become imperative to analyze the video contents. It is noteworthy<span style="background-color: #fcff01;"> that the video was a cut-out clip</span> from the homily of Bishop Onah for 18th October, 2020. It was posted online three days after.<b> In that homily, <span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">he voiced the bewilderment of the people that our security agents (SSS) are efficient in mowing down unarmed Igbo boys who gathered for a meeting in Emene but leave undisturbed the armed and organized bandits in our forests and farm lands</span></b>. <span style="background-color: #f6b26b;">He stated the obvious that Mosques are rising freely for example in Nsukka such that we could hear as early as 4.00am the call to prayers by Moslems from their minarets.</span> <span style="background-color: #ead1dc;">He then contrasted this freedom of religion with what happens in Abuja when Christians go out to preach with Bible only to be attacked and killed by Islamic fundamentalists and nothing happens.</span> <b>He then stated that that injustice, not just EndSARS, should discontinue.</b> <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">He made it clear that it is about injustice and violence.</span> He did not say that Moslems, or mosques are not acceptable, but that <b><span style="color: red;">injustice and violence against any set of people are not acceptable. </span></b></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLYP1kceEXLf4sxX-R31Ax2H8uddy-YoxIm9RSYmA5OUjP47OGsCppxEZExD9dFuGGRFjCZ5phDV7JdJxhLLu0lUGbjLXJXJQ4xScmHsHXKwwjYzsr5nj-rqrKAMhRWYmtoRRmpTGTv8/s1017/Bishop-Onah-and-Sultan-of-Sokoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1017" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLYP1kceEXLf4sxX-R31Ax2H8uddy-YoxIm9RSYmA5OUjP47OGsCppxEZExD9dFuGGRFjCZ5phDV7JdJxhLLu0lUGbjLXJXJQ4xScmHsHXKwwjYzsr5nj-rqrKAMhRWYmtoRRmpTGTv8/s320/Bishop-Onah-and-Sultan-of-Sokoto.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">How do sane minds try to rope Bishop Onah into the totally reprehensible show of shame that happened on last Saturday or <b>call for the arrest of one who in the homily showed us the way to go?</b> Those who listened to the homily did not leave from the Church to the Mosques to attack anybody. <b>That shows us that they understood what Yakasai and NSCIA failed to understand from the homily.</b> <span style="background-color: #01ffff;">It was more than two weeks after the homily that the clash came. It was not a Christian who went and hit a Hausa Muslim first, instead, the latter did.</span> So where does the homily of the Bishop which <b>condemned violence and injustice</b> come into this picture? If you call for the arrest of one who demanded an end to all forms of violence and injustice, do you prefer violence and injustice or are you a beneficiary of either or both of them? If the Hausa Muslim, Sabiru, had not attacked the Mr. Kelly, would there have been any riot? Or are these men saying that the Hausa Muslim attacked the Tricycle driver because of the homily of Bishop? It is impossible to establish that <b>from the patriotic homily. </b>Are they saying that the hoodlums would have swallowed the egregious offensive from the Hausa boy but for the homily? This too cannot be proved. So, where does the homily of Bishop Godfrey Onah come into this? <i><u>The harmless homily had nothing to do with the attack on a Keke Driver by a Huasa Muslim but everything to do with vengeance, albeit wrong, for perceived grievance.</u></i> The people already heard the homily long before the attack on the Keke driver and none raised a finger against a Muslim Igbo or Hausa or Mosque. How then do people leave the immediate cause and attempt to connect the gruesome occurrence to a repentance-aimed homily of Bishop Onah? From the foregoing,<u> it is safe and logical to conclude that the perpetrators of the dastardly acts of the last Saturday of October, 2020 were not Christians but hoodlums. </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Evidently, many things are not adding up in this convoluted causal link. With the <span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">high rate of illiteracy and mal-education, </span>mobs are handy in every part of Nigeria. I cannot recall any case of an Igbo man stabbing his fellow Igbo man and going scot-free, no thanks to mobsters. Not even a Northerner would stab a fellow Northerner in Igbo land and not risk of being lynched by a mob. The same is also true in any part of Nigeria. That is the regrettable level of the people who take the laws into their own hands. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Such revered body like NSCIA should be concerned that a Muslim chose violence over better alternative ways of resolving disputes just as CAN should have been concerned had Christians taken part in such sordid retaliation</b>. One expected NSCIA to issue strong words of admonition to all Muslims and indeed, Nigerians, to eschew such reprehensible vengeance as two wrongs cannot make a right. <span style="color: #ff00fe;">Instead, the body chose to look away from the causal crime and the criminal and at the same time seek to impute the blame on an innocent, peace-loving, perspicacious and God-and-people oriented Bishop. </span>This attitude exhibited by NSCIA may foster or embolden Muslims to take to violence as a way of settling scores. The silence of NSCIA over the attack on Keke driver is disturbing and may suggest tacit acquiescence to the attack. Contrary to the statement from NSCIA, Father Bishop Onah, through his Diocesan Secretary/Chancellor, Very Rev. Fr. Cajetan Iyidobi, issued a fatherly statement no sooner than the crisis erupted. It partly reads:<b> “Our Father Bishop, Most Rev Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, therefore appeals to all sides in this agitated situation to remain calm but vigilant. He further appeals that people should avoid taking laws into their hands….</b>” This statement came less than two hours into the riot. It was thanks to it that calmness immediately returned. His Excellency Most Rev. Godfrey Onah deserves commendation for his promptness in addressing the world that day. He remained neutral while calling on both parties to embrace peace. I expected NSCIA to do a similar thing. <b>Southerners have lost billions of dollars in the North in similar attacks in the past and no one ever passed the buck to Imams</b>. Is NSCIA now telling us indirectly that such jungle justice hitherto perpetrated in the North were incited by Imams? Absolutely not. <span style="background-color: #ffa400;">On the contrary, those who constitute themselves as mobs most often neither listen to a Bishop nor an Imam. That was the case in what happened at Nsukka last Saturday</span>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">No one knows better the ethics of a pluralistic people than Bishop Onah who has spent most of his intellectual years in the eternal and tolerant City of Rome. <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">He had in the past visited Imams to commiserate with them in the event of any lost or calamity. His episcopacy has healed many divisions among Christian denominations in Nsukka and opened new vistas for brotherly relations with Moslems.</span> Bishop Onah calls both Christians and Moslems together to celebrate with them at least once in a year. <b>He has employed Moslems to work for him.</b> Those who attack this angel in human person just betray their lack of knowledge of his antecedents with Moslems and indeed, people of other faiths.<b> I am sure that Imams in Nsukka cannot make such unguarded utterances against Bishop Godfrey Onah like did Yakasai.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">To Nsukka youths, I advise you to be wary. I have watched the lists of suspects caught in connection with arson and breaking of Bank ATMs during the protest-turned looting in Enugu. Those who made it to the list are mostly from a neigbouring State. We must not give hoodlums the opportunity to steal the peace between us and our Moslem brothers and sisters. We have lived in peace with our Moslem brothers and sisters and we must not allow that good rapport to slip off our fingers.<b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> In a similar way, we commend our indigenous Moslems brothers and sisters for refusing to fall for the ploy of people like Tanko Yakasai! We will never allow them to use religion to cause friction within us</span></b>. </span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBApPdmq1BujZlT18Btoy8fAx9Wlf5baM-D5u5ur_t5zchbapZS4cb8dfblQwXSZTs2rAozuT1MfqZ_lL-uUdLHupNxzhu0McfWbwHuTa3-dIM_uht0AoZu0nD7mwSq8QwD9WmasJqEg/s862/FB_IMG_16045923354097096-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="696" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvBApPdmq1BujZlT18Btoy8fAx9Wlf5baM-D5u5ur_t5zchbapZS4cb8dfblQwXSZTs2rAozuT1MfqZ_lL-uUdLHupNxzhu0McfWbwHuTa3-dIM_uht0AoZu0nD7mwSq8QwD9WmasJqEg/s320/FB_IMG_16045923354097096-1.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> religious authorities, we have got to fulfil the mandate we receive from God. Let us be vocal in condemning injustice even at the cost of being misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented as our savvy Bishop is.<b> A true prophet has never enjoyed the praises of any corrupt government and it would be stranger for men of God to kick against their own kind</b>. We have to form a common front irrespective of our faith variance—<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">a common front that will make it impossible for violence and injustice to thrive.</span> It is repugnant to reason for men of God (Imams or Pastors) to essay to pitch the government against one who truly and creditably fulfils God’s divine mandate just because the unjust structures favour them today. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Finally, I have no doubt that <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">our government will not stoop so low as to become a stooge and puppet in the hands of anybody that seeks to use it to witch-hunt and harass anyone.</span> Instead, a competent government should strive to look at itself on the mirror of the bitter truths such as Most Rev. Godfrey Onah has given. Besides, the government has to be aware that we have army of jobless youths today.<b> It may not take time before these unarmed youths will arm themselves against the government that refused or failed to arm them with the means of survival. </b>When that day comes, do not blame it on anybody. <b>So, people should leave Bishop Godfrey Onah alone! What we see today all over Nigeria are consequences of systemic failure. </b></span></p><p>Rev. Fr. Vitus Ugwu.</p>Chukbyke.Okey,C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16962984058168305029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-85444447618581408872020-09-30T02:47:00.000+02:002020-09-30T02:47:27.614+02:00IGBO ARE THE MAKERS OF MODERN NIGERIA" -- PROF TEKENA TAMUNO<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="160" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCs17ZPCfbMHpzc9cdk-2K-EhKtSbk2LaeQrzQ6_ut4VPD2GYPE94WDreSu3nS0BMbeFnWLwjKXZnfu6TEbsxhpxirFAzshw6sVxq13PzVpmO4qdh9-Drszo1pCvVBgeCN87eG-VnSWlo/s0/download+%25282%2529.jpeg" /></div></div><p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">THE IGBOS BY PROF TEKENA TAMUNO</span></p><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><i>I always insist that the greatest merit for Igbos in recent times is *not simply the advent of the internet on the surface!* _It is the social media aspect of the internet_ which now allows independent thinkers to *challenge the lies of history.* In Nigeria, our little corner of the world, *through social media presentations,* scholars are now debunking the false stories perpetuated by the Yoruba press *(with the help of the north who has always been paranoid about Igbos).* The Yorubas took advantage of their civil war take-over of the press *to rewrite the history of Nigeria as it favors them...,* and if you believe them, *"every post independence success in Nigeria was Awolowo influenced"* and every problem in Nigeria was *"instigated by Azikiwe, Ojukwu and the Igbos!"*"The truth is reluctantly coming out"* and _Igbos are gradually being vindicated!!!_ Read this masterpiece below by *Professor Tekena Tamuno.* By the </i><i>way, he's not an Igbo man</i><i>!</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">" *IGBO ARE THE MAKERS OF MODERN NIGERIA" -- PROF TEKENA TAMUNO*</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*Fact, not twisted stories to misinformed and mislead*</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The problem with writing skewered history is that it equally misinforms its target: Kayode Esho was a great jurist, but Akunne Oputa was the "Socrates" of the Supreme court. Enahoro was a young editor, but Azikiwe made him that young editor with Osita Agwuna as his assistant, at his paper, the Southern Nigerian Defender in Ibadan, where my own father incidentally started as a rookie before shortly abandoning journalism for the stable berth of the civil service. The myth of Awolowo as building the first this and that does not match the documented economic history of the period.</span></p><p style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Between 1954 and 1964, Eastern Nigeria was described as "the fastest growing economy in the world," by the Harvard Review; faster than China, faster than Singapore, and all the so-called "Asian Tigers."</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Awolowo is often credited with "free ed</span><span style="background-color: white;">ucation".</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But no one yet has pointed out any surviving school buildings of the period built by Awo. But all over the East there were quality schools built by the various communities using the Town Development Unions from 1954, and acessing the matching grants of the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation. And this was the East with the poorest revenue resources of any of the regions. The Mbaise secondary school exists, the National High School Okigwe exists, the Ngwa High school exists, the Enyiogugu Grammar School exists, etc. These were solid schools built all over the East with matching goverment grants. But where are the buildings of the Modern schools in Western Nigeria? They do not exist. They were makeshift.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="750" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR6gx2JSSUueLJql81hD36Q9fMdtolPA0Oq8g_Ojg1oCcDbFOhhPbMKD9MEk9wKqrGXa2olKADMtGPlZN6RxeprqbNYHL_HPDUW_SAerDO7ag-5XY_zMU_3o2c3dn9vphzoeoQR8fspw/w572-h263/Awolowo-Azikiwe-750x415.jpg" style="background-color: transparent;" width="572" /></span></p><p style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">T</span><span style="background-color: white;">he Catholic church forced the Azikiwe government from its scholarship program, but it is also on record, </span><b style="background-color: #fff2cc;">that the Eastern government was the only government in the world that invested 45% of its revenues in education. The East had the highest number of schools; the highest school enrollment; the broadest penetration of medical services; and the best modern road network in west Africa.</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Indeed if we look carefully, the only public hospitals and most of the schools still standing in the East today, at various stages of run down are the schools and hospitals built by Azikiwe/Okpara. <b>Every division of the East had a Joint Hospital as part of the Eastern Medical services. </b>So it is often claimed Awo built the first television station; the first sky scraper, and the first Sports stadium, the liberty stadium in Ibadan. Well, these are prestige or white elephant investments.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJmXRkaWP_Jq1GQxnVilMBHsHsi_Ftu_5N-O7ueRLgvrjmjhQGzV6z7MDBtlnlEbTu1tNj9sVAhPFKXmVDgzOTLgZyEkNPMcANab94jLQYLYfp5hJPAnfKjJip7NnA89-FePxOACurD4/s275/download+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJmXRkaWP_Jq1GQxnVilMBHsHsi_Ftu_5N-O7ueRLgvrjmjhQGzV6z7MDBtlnlEbTu1tNj9sVAhPFKXmVDgzOTLgZyEkNPMcANab94jLQYLYfp5hJPAnfKjJip7NnA89-FePxOACurD4/s0/download+%25281%2529.jpeg" /></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;">First, the Eastern Outlook, the government paper of Eastern Nigeria was the first newspaper established by any government in Nigeria, and it was of such quality and impact that the literacy level of Easterners, and the depth of public information retailed by Outlook was without compare. This is besides the fact that Western Nigerian Broadcast Services, WNBS-TV founded in 1958 only preceded the ENBC-TV founded in 1959, by only seven months. But Outlook preceded Sketch by about 15 years.</span></p><p style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-color: white;">Now Azikiwe built the Onitsha Modern market, the first modern mall or trade emporium in West Africa. Onitsha was effectively Dubai before Dubai.</b><span style="background-color: white;"> People traveled all over Africa, from as far as the Congo and Sudan and Egypt, to come and buy and trade in Onitsha. The economic impact of this was humonguos. So, give me the vast Onitsha modern market over Cocoa House in Ibadan.</span><b> <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Azikiwe built the first Nigerian University at Nsukka with the first School of Law, the first School of Engineering, the first Business School; the first school of journalism, and the first school of music and performance, etc. By the time its first graduates took the Nigerian civil service exams in 1963, everybody began to raise the cry of </span><span style="background-color: red;">"Igbo domination"</span></b><span style="background-color: red;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">starting with Akintola and Ayo Rosiji. Give me UNN over Liberty stadium.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Azikiwe began the first modern library system in West Africa. The East had a system of city libraries starting with the very modern Ziks Library in Enugu</b>. I Literally grew up in the Umuahia Divisional Library. These libraries were built all over the East. Schools in the East were built with libraries. Moreover the Eastern Nigerian Library Board had a sysem of rural amd mobile libraries. There was nothing like it anywhere else in Nigeria: kids having library cards and able to borrow or order books from the public library. Give me the the first library over the first TV. I do not by this mean that Awolowo did not make his contributions, but the regular skewering of the facts, and angling of contemporary national narratives often makes it seem these days like the greatest contributor to the founding of Nigeria and its development is Awolowo and the Yoruba, when the actual facts speak differently.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuiLOL19B2uWWmK7jKHLVWpYkXEG2Uf92q6U3zsdgzuFiajlAUbUuttn2A0SCM4-zHBVmsAyB6rxa0X1o5IK_GSaYlY57jdnBW2eeHPqaIbE_vp_xntBBr1U-l4E5OK5hkOx1E-4niTM/s2048/CHZ_7280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #1c1e21; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuiLOL19B2uWWmK7jKHLVWpYkXEG2Uf92q6U3zsdgzuFiajlAUbUuttn2A0SCM4-zHBVmsAyB6rxa0X1o5IK_GSaYlY57jdnBW2eeHPqaIbE_vp_xntBBr1U-l4E5OK5hkOx1E-4niTM/s320/CHZ_7280.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;">The great Ibadan historian, Tekena Tamuno, was unambiguous in stating once at NIPPS, Jos, that</span><span style="color: #990000;"> <b>"the Igbos are the makers of modern Nigeria. When they abandoned their project, Nigeria collapsed."</b></span><span style="color: #1c1e21;"> <b>We must remind Nigerians, particularly Igbo children, daily of these fact, to achieve what Achebe called " a balance of stories." </b>And that also means we must read beyond the surface of things. Babarinsa's Guardian essay is angled carefully to maintain a revisionist narrative. And that is to be always challenged, however innocent it might seem.</span></span></p><p style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i style="background-color: white;"><b>Even today, most Yoruba think that Awolowo founded the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos.</b></i><span style="background-color: white;"> No one has reminded them that it took Azikiwe's pressures for a university for Nigeria, in his meeting with Arthur Richards in 1946, that led to the cobstitution of the Eliot commision and subsequently the founding of the University College, Ibadan. This fact is even clearly conveyed in Michael Crowder's eponymous book, The Story of Nigeria. Nsukka was Azikiwe's critique of what he felt to be the conceptual limitations of Ibadan. The University of Lagos was the result of NCNC's ideological contributions to the federal policy during the ill fated coalition government with the NPC. UNILAG was an NCNC project, shepherded by Aja Wachukwu as minister for education. </span><span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Even the great UNILAG in her 50th anniversary failed to mention Prof Eni Njoku as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the university, a man that layed the solid foundation of what made Unilag what it is today.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">These facts must be made known and put as forcefully accross as possible, without any bias towards our Yoruba Brothers, who equally have contributed immeasurably.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Again, until the lion tells his own story, the story of the hunt will belong to the hunter.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 6px 0px 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Copied</span></p>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-55526854130093178402020-09-10T05:19:00.001+02:002020-09-10T05:22:18.766+02:00THE IGBO SPIRIT <p> </p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 24.48px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">THE IGBO SPIRIT</h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-7680380999271429485" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", trebuchet, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 1.3; position: relative; width: 340px;"><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHNRAAapVldmgjoK2whsoh_g29yDIAERzznJVUt3AbOozGK9O6448XECeq-LAEwk68r7VrZ44-Az26W6oVX_UB7Zu0pWoaTr48sopsBBVY8H2XuLXeAGoRX8uieMqX5y8OQk7mP193ZE/s1280/Igbo-Day-celebration-1280x720.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #888888; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoHNRAAapVldmgjoK2whsoh_g29yDIAERzznJVUt3AbOozGK9O6448XECeq-LAEwk68r7VrZ44-Az26W6oVX_UB7Zu0pWoaTr48sopsBBVY8H2XuLXeAGoRX8uieMqX5y8OQk7mP193ZE/w220-h103/Igbo-Day-celebration-1280x720.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="220" /></a></div><br /> *PETER ALEXANDER ASHIKIWE ADIONE EGOM; the Legendary “MOTOR-PARK ECONOMIST” wrote this article before he died on March 3, 2013, aged 70.*<p></p><p><br /></p><p>*THE IGBO SPIRIT:*</p><p><br /></p><p>I am of the Igbo stock from Ukala-Okpunor in Oshimili North LGA of Delta State. I am 61 years of age annd have from late 1965, during my undergraduate days at Downing College, Cambridge, England, been fascinated by my people, the Igbo, and specifically by what makes them such a pulsating enigma of a people.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was, indeed, a chance remark by the late and distinguished scholar in Social Anthropology at Cambridge, Professor Meyer Fortes, which set me on my lifelong journey of private enquiry into the ethno-spiritual makeup of the Igbo. My then larger-than-life and boon companion was my fellow undergraduate at the Cambridge University faculty for Archaeology and Anthropology, Mallam Ibrahim Tahir of BBC Bush House fame. As was our wont, we were on this particular autumn afternoon having tea at a teashop that was just across Ibrahim's King's College when our Professor in Social Anthropology, Meyer Fortes, walked in and sat with us for a chat. One thing led to another and we soon found ourselves discussing ethno-types in Africa.</p><p><br /></p><p>Professor Fortes had been one of the bright lights in Lord Bailey's team of Africanists that did the regular tome of Africa Survey for the British Foreign and Colonial Office. And Professor Fortes told us that, according to Lord Bailey, the Igbo, out of the legion of African ethnic groups they studied, were the least encumbered with any cultural baggage. In a manner of speaking, the Igbo come light and go light with the baggage of culture.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, Professor Fortes assumed that Ibrahim and myself knew what Lord Bailey meant with the concept of cultural baggage and did not venture into any explanation of it. But as soon as he took his leave of us, Ibrahim and myself fell to a very passionate but friendly discussion of this hazy concept. And, if my memory serves me right, we eventually let the matter be without agreeing on what the concept of cultural baggage stands for. But there was something, which my mind could not let be after this encounter. I had to know more about my people, the Igbo, who come light and go light with the baggage of culture.</p><p><br /></p><p>My lecturer in Social Anthropology at Cambridge, Mr. G. 1. Jones an ex-colonial administrator in the Eastern Region of Nigeria, and an Igbophil of sorts, was on hand to give me advice on where to find materials on the Igbo. And what I could glean from the diverse tomes of Igbo historical and ethnographical that came my way was this. There was no love lost between the European slave-dealers and colonialists and the Igbo either on the continent of Africa or in the Diaspora. Igbo slaves were difficult to handle, prone to rebellion and bad for the economy of the slave-owner. And, the fear of the Igbo was, in a manner of speaking, the beginning of economic wisdom among European slave-owners and, later, colonialists.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Igbo was a troublemaker and a troubleshooter in bondage as one saw in Haiti in the rebellious years leading up to the overthrow of the French and the independence of the island in 1805 and in the Southern States of North America where Igbo slaves jumped into the sea rather than face slavery! So, the Igbo were bad news as a slave. And in the restricted freedom of colonial Nigeria, as the colonialists saw to their continued irritation, the Igbo was uppity, difficult to convince and difficult to lead. He was never really the darling of the mandarins of the British Foreign and Colonial Office at Whitehall, London!</p><p><br /></p><p>But, all of the above was what European predators thought about the Igbo! I was not satisfied with it. I wanted to know what made the Igbo uppity, difficult to convince and difficult to lead in the restricted freedom of colonial Nigeria and what made him a troublemaker and troubleshooter in the bondage of slavery abroad. I simply wanted to touch the Igbo spirit in order to better understand who I am. And the books I read then in England could not lead me anywhere in this direction. And so I shelved the project of my search for the essential attributes of the Igbo without knowing whether I would ever come back to it.</p><p><br /></p><p>But, did I really shelve this project? Not at all. For what I failed to realize at this time in Cambridge is that I had begun a lifelong journey of an inquiry into my essential, I as a member of the Igbo stock and that this project could never be shelved until the very day I died. Indeed, my search for what makes the Igbo what he is my search for my true identity as a full-blooded Igbo. There is no way my mind could rest the matter as soon as it had embarked upon its search. So, what I do now see, in retrospect, is that my mind has been, for nearly four decades now, trying to put a tangible structure to the Igbo spirit. And what I do give in this brief write-up is my status report on what I think makes the Igbo what he is as a man of vision, mission, adventure, integrity and compassion. But, before I embark upon this my brief ode to the Igbo spirit, let me fill in the reader with a few titbits about my life after going down from Cambridge in June 1966.</p><p><br /></p><p>My flight back to Nigeria was scheduled for that blighting day of July 29 1966 and had to be shelved until August 4 1966. I made it to Lagos on that day and came to see a Nigeria that was calm on the surface but was doing unspeakable horror and mayhem to the Igbo in Lagos, at Ibadan and all over Northern Nigeria. But I never felt that I was in danger and went about Lagos without any fear for my life. And in so doing I came to catch an instructive glimpse into the mind of the Igbo.</p><p><br /></p><p>The heavens were about to fall upon him and even the ground he stood upon was giving way under him. Yet, he did not panic. He reacted with bone-chilling firmness and maturity. Kai, was I happy to be an Igbo? Save, for the Roman Catholic Church, the Igbo had no friends at home or abroad. This is what I saw with my own eyes in Lagos from August 4 1966 until July 18 1967 when I was taken into a seven month detention spell at Ikoyi and Kirikiri prisons and mercifully kept out of harm's way in the hands of my fellow countrymen. And after my release from detention on March 14 1968, I bolted for Europe on April 18 1968.</p><p><br /></p><p>I spent the ensuing fourteen years in Denmark and Tanzania teaching social anthropology, reading and teaching economics and doing research in economics. But in late 1982, nature and culture reached out to me in Denmark and brought me back to Nigeria for keeps. And on my coming back to Nigeria, what I saw, after twelve years of the end on January 15 1970 of the Biafran hostilities, was as marveling to me as it was encouraging. The Igbo, my people, were back into the mainstream of the Nigerian socio political and economic life as if nothing had occurred between 1966 and 1970.1 was happy to be back to Nigeria and I have no desire whatsoever to ever leave Nigeria again for anywhere else. Why so? Because the Igbo spirit is the future of Nigeria.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Igbo spirit is not a conquering spirit, an imperial spirit or an exploiting spirit. The Igbo spirit is an Afro centric spirit, a competitive spirit, a liberating spirit and a spirit that restores. In fact, the Igbo spirit is the quintessential IslamoChristian spirit of the common good as one finds in the holy books of the Quran and the Bible. Thus, the Igbo spirit thrives and lives by the democratic ethic of one for all and all for one.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the liberating and restoring spirit that is about to encompass Nigeria and to take her to great heights of material and social plenty and of individual freedoms. And there is nothing anyone anywhere on this earth or in the heavens can do to stop this Igbo spirit from encompassing and elevating Nigerians and the black race as a whole. For the matter has long been settled in the highest heavens, the abode of God Almighty.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, it is quite understandable that the Igbo must go through, as they are doing today, the harassment and chicanery of the sworn enemies of light and of the liberation and restoration of the black race. The Igbo spirit is the bearer of light and where light comes, darkness must disappear. So what we are experiencing in Nigeria today is the era of pitch-darkness, which must precede the dawn of freedom and plenty. In fact, what we are witnessing in Nigeria today, with the Igbo bearing the full brunt of it, are the thrashing death-throes of an old and uncaring dinosaur of a Nigeria of the ungodly where local slave dealers have unleashed, on behalf of their old European slave-dealing puppet-masters, a culture of impunity and lawlessness on all Nigerians and especially on the Igbo. But it will not last. This is simply so because the 21St century is the century of the African and the Igbo are in the forefront of the war for the economic liberation and empowerment of the black race. This is what makes the Igbo spirit the ethical template of the future for the common good of all Nigerians and every black person.</p><p><br /></p><p>What then are the attributes of the Igbo spirit? One, it is God-fearing and God loving. Two, it is democratic to the core. And three, it is private enterprise write large. The Igbo puts God Almighty at the center of his sociopolitical and economic life and this is what explains why he is so fiercely democratic and so competitively entrepreneurial but so passionately communal to the core.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, the Igbo spirit is not about the ethnic subjugation of one group by the other. Rather, it is about the opening up of equal vents of opportunities for the small as for the medium size and for the big, for the weak as for the half-weak and the strong.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was, indeed, this very stark and unmistakable difference between the Eurocentric spirit of oppression and enslavement that rules Nigeria today and the Afro centric Igbo spirit of liberation and restoration which will rule Nigeria tomorrow that I had in mind when I wrote as follows on pages xviii and xix of the Preface to my book of 2002, "Globalization at the Crossroads: Capitalism or Communalism? "</p><p><br /></p><p>"Consequently, the centre is extremely attractive to any budding ethnic politician in Nigeria. For, they are all ethnic politicians. It is there at the centre that the financial and fiscal power of Nigeria is concentrated. So, every ethnic politician wants to get to the imperial centre at all costs. And when he eventually gets there, he wants to keep the imperial reins of Nigeria's financial and fiscal power within his ethnic bailiwick for all time and at all costs. It is an ethnic winner-take-all affair where only the ruthless and the idolatrous survive.</p><p><br /></p><p>"However, we do want a Nigeria that has ample room for all of us. This Nigeria must deal, even handedly and fairly, with all of us no matter the physical size of our persons or the purported numerical strength of our ethnic origins. Equal representation and participation for all of us shall be the whole of the law. Thus, each and everyone of us, individuals and groups, who belong to Nigeria must be allowed to use our native and achieved financial, human and material resources for our private good and for the common good..."</p><p><br /></p><p>But the reigning Eurocentric spirit of oppression and enslavement in Nigeria today is the sworn enemy of democracy. This is so because it puts Mammon, instead of God Almighty, at the centre of the socio economic and political life of the Nigerian. This is the source and sustainer of the culture of impunity and lawlessness, which pervades all levels of governance in Nigeria today. For where Mammon is in charge, do what thou wilt is the God-hating and God-baiting whole of the law. Fortunately, however, the Afrocentric Igbo spirit which seeks to put God Almighty first in the thoughts, words and deeds of the Nigerian, is, most certainly, around the corner to consign this Eurocentric spirit of the congenital blighter, the cowardly scourge of the Nigerian and the black race, back to the pit of hell where it belongs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Therefore, the Igbo in Nigeria have nothing to fear but fear itself. They should always bear it in mind that to whom a lot is given, a considerable much is expected in return. God Almighty has blessed them with the knowledge of the financial and industrial ways and means of turning sand into gold. It is their duty to open up and spread this knowledge among their ethnic neighbors in the near and far beyond of Africa in order to forge such an ever widening and concentric wave of financial solidarity among different ethnic groups in Nigeria and Africa, that will empower each African ethnic group to yield its best of social and industrial products for the common good of all Africans and to the glory of God Almighty.</p><p><br /></p><p>In fact, the true social message of the Igbo spirit for the Nigerian in particular and for the black race in general comes straight from the Catholic Social Teaching and more specifically from St. Paul's 2 Corinthians 8: 1315 and St. Peter's 1 Peter 4:10 as follows: Financial solidarity among Nigerians and Africans leads to the industrial subsidiary of each Nigerian and each African. This is what the dividend of democracy is essentially about. It is the enabling environment to dream dreams and to see one's dreams work out in practice in one's lifetime. And this social message that allows the zillion flowers of entrepreneurial excellence to bloom in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole is the essential social ethic of Islam as in Qur'an 16:90 al'adl walihsan. Hence, the Igbo spirit is the IslamoChristian ethic for the economic liberation and restoration of man in Africa and beyond.</p><p><br /></p><p>Consequently, the Igbo in Nigeria and in the Diaspora should take heart and continue to put all before the Throne of Grace. For their past and current tormentors, both Eurocentric and local, are just but a passing storm in a God-baiting and God-taunting teacup. Uyagami!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbhrwKjD3_ntsQbqcgAVZmNYwMdBwvlTfPR3-hmYc5SwmrIfA4jeye-AGuVJR2Rta7X7JMK7I50PEaZ7W5xQU5Zw2HUvPB5NZLRwopRuRzoX0LU1PvoJgbdzynTgBi0EXGrzOWB9Wlyg/s1280/Igbo-Day-celebration-1280x720.jpg" style="color: #33aaff; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWbhrwKjD3_ntsQbqcgAVZmNYwMdBwvlTfPR3-hmYc5SwmrIfA4jeye-AGuVJR2Rta7X7JMK7I50PEaZ7W5xQU5Zw2HUvPB5NZLRwopRuRzoX0LU1PvoJgbdzynTgBi0EXGrzOWB9Wlyg/s280/Igbo-Day-celebration-1280x720.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="280" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div>Chukbyke.Okey,C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16962984058168305029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-56537418640828440932020-08-20T14:12:00.007+02:002020-08-20T14:40:06.780+02:00JEE NKE OMA : CHIDERA COLLINS HARRISON (RIP)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilH61OBK9N1hZn-4okfknCAyzA5ZMFgfOuGL_7FDFHLH1mZiduN9LFCaDIf10H4Adwm7Y2Hljffta20Ly2FAG8L3_TZkHXoqGs0qWz4B0hiLGiOSBzWY9915lWwzteF6o-mtFXwGdOF70/s0/WhatsApp+Image+2020-08-20+at+12.11.55.jpeg" /></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">È stato un 14 agosto molto tragico nelle famiglie di Harrison ChukwuMba e Chukwubike in Italia.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: #01ffff;">Chidera Collins Harrison</span> (una delle nostre seconde generazioni) è morto durante una vacanza in famiglia. La tragedia è stata così dura per la famiglia, l'intera città di Cisterna, la Provincia di Latina, le comunità Enugu e nigeriane in Italia da quel giorno.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Sua madre Ebere Prescilia Harrison, la zia ,mia moglie Ndidi Harrison e altri numerosi fratelli in Europa e in tutto il mondo sono difficili da consolare.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Possa la sua anima riposare in pace .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i>Ci ha lasciato troppo presto...</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i>In così poco tempo hai riempito i nostri cuori di tanto amore.</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i>Chidera, non sarai mai dimenticato ! ti amiamo.</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i>Possa la tua anima riposare in pace</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I funerali del nostro amato Chidera si svolgeranno <b>venerdì 21 agosto 2020 entro le ore 15</b> presso la Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Francesco Cisterna di Latina.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Contributi commemorativi possono essere effettuati a un ente di beneficenza di vostra scelta o alla madre del deceduto (Post Pay) IT86X3608105138299169499200 -Harrison Prescilia Ederechukwu</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">-----------------------------------------------------</span></p><p><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="720" height="643" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-Y2IB_ya5s3X4XaNzLN-x38n-QyZY91ZgFpZR9yceQAuG5NcfltLms-YGInRIaPKaur35HpJZ1oNlk6jaswcHy78y6nAWqjuAedF9gIgECV2DQE-dAUn-QRIfYr_abrzoF4es-YgrKc/w595-h643/WhatsApp+Image+2020-08-20+at+12.11.56.jpeg" width="595" /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">It was a very fatal 14th August in the Families of </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Harrison Chuk</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">wuMba & </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Chukwubike in Italy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: #01ffff;">Chidera Collins Harrison</span> (one of our 2nd generations) died during a family holiday.The tragedy has been so hard on the family, the whole City of Cisterna, Latina provence, the Enugu and Nigerian communities in Italy since that day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">His mother Ebere Prescilia Harrison, his aunty, my wife Ndidi Harrison and other numerous siblings in Europe and all over the world are hard to console.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">May his soul Rest in peace .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b>Gone too soon...</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b>In such a short time you filled our hearts with so much love. </b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b>Chidera, you will never be forgotten we love you.</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b>May your soul Rest In Peace</b></i></span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglecQrtkHdGrOYVaJ4sBaSCjP4d-TUhCmmEw-YqJF28fb1iVelVrH_Xwe6UPD2ZUbbHbgOZ3geK5Rklb5crikXb5IVYl5kzsswVjbydKw3DxHq8VrBUiEXvGCjEgKHC65bAE3db71mD5s/s525/WhatsApp+Image+2020-08-20+at+12.11.56+%25281%2529.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglecQrtkHdGrOYVaJ4sBaSCjP4d-TUhCmmEw-YqJF28fb1iVelVrH_Xwe6UPD2ZUbbHbgOZ3geK5Rklb5crikXb5IVYl5kzsswVjbydKw3DxHq8VrBUiEXvGCjEgKHC65bAE3db71mD5s/s0/WhatsApp+Image+2020-08-20+at+12.11.56+%25281%2529.jpeg" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">The funeral of our beloved Chidera will take place on Friday 21st August 2020 by 3pm at San Francesco Parish church Cisterna di Latina.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice or to the mother of the deceased <i>(Post Pay) IT86X3608105138299169499200 -</i>Harrison Prescilia Ederechukwu</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Announced: by Charles O. Chukwubike</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #04ff00; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">CLICK ON THE VIDEO TO PLAY</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy4AEgEIaYDh4EoEIZSZSDmgKwB_Reak0d_-e2KhjFvaFaZQRbTbDb5XVAKrivMD9yXuRXZGJY_pwpMV1-rBw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chukbyke.Okey,C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16962984058168305029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-48099338528828485982020-03-27T23:39:00.000+01:002020-03-27T23:39:11.190+01:00Pope Francis’ Homily at Extraordinary ‘Urbi et Orbi’ Blessing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pope Francis’ Homily at Extraordinary ‘Urbi et Orbi’ Blessing</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Posted by POPE FRANCIS on Friday Mar 27th, 2020 at 5:06 PM</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“When evening had come” (Mk 4:35). The Gospel passage we have just heard begins like this. For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air, we notice in people’s gestures, their glances give them away. We find ourselves afraid and lost. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat... are all of us. Just like those disciples, who spoke anxiously with one voice, saying “We are perishing” (v. 38), so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is easy to recognize ourselves in this story. What is harder to understand is Jesus’ attitude. While his disciples are quite naturally alarmed and desperate, he stands in the stern, in the part of the boat that sinks first. And what does he do? In spite of the tempest, he sleeps on soundly, trusting in the Father; this is the only time in the Gospels we see Jesus sleeping. When he wakes up, after calming the wind and the waters, he turns to the disciples in a reproaching voice: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (v. 40). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let us try to understand. In what does the lack of the disciples’ faith consist, as contrasted with Jesus’ trust? They had not stopped believing in him; in fact, they called on him. But we see how they call on him: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” (v. 38). Do you not care: they think that Jesus is not interested in them, does not care about them. One of the things that hurts us and our families most when we hear it said is: “Do you not care about me?” It is a phrase that wounds and unleashes storms in our hearts. It would have shaken Jesus too. Because he, more than anyone, cares about us. Indeed, once they have called on him, he saves his disciples from their discouragement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The storm exposes our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits and priorities. It shows us how we have allowed to become dull and feeble the very things that nourish, sustain and strengthen our lives and our communities. The tempest lays bare all our pre-packaged ideas and forgetfulness of what nourishes our people’s souls; all those attempts that anesthetize us with ways of thinking and acting that supposedly “save” us, but instead prove incapable of putting us in touch with our roots and keeping alive the memory of those who have gone before us. We deprive ourselves of the antibodies we need to confront adversity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this storm, the façade of those stereotypes with which we camouflaged our egos, always worrying about our image, has fallen away, uncovering once more that (blessed) common belonging, of which we cannot be deprived: our belonging as brothers and sisters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” Lord, your word this evening strikes us and regards us, all of us. In this world, that you love more than we do, we have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things, and lured away by haste. We did not stop at your reproach to us, we were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world, nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet. We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick. Now that we are in a stormy sea, we implore you: “Wake up, Lord!”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” Lord, you are calling to us, calling us to faith. Which is not so much believing that you exist, but coming to you and trusting in you. This Lent your call reverberates urgently: “Be converted!”, “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing. It is not the time of your judgement, but of our judgement: a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not. It is a time to get our lives back on track with regard to you, Lord, and to others. We can look to so many exemplary companions for the journey, who, even though fearful, have reacted by giving their lives. This is the force of the Spirit poured out and fashioned in courageous and generous self-denial. It is the life in the Spirit that can redeem, value and demonstrate how our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people – often forgotten people – who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines nor on the grand catwalks of the latest show, but who without any doubt are in these very days writing the decisive events of our time: doctors, nurses, supermarket employees, cleaners, caregivers, providers of transport, law and order forces, volunteers, priests, religious men and women and so very many others who have understood that no one reaches salvation by themselves. In the face of so much suffering, where the authentic development of our peoples is assessed, we experience the priestly prayer of Jesus: “That they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). How many people every day are exercising patience and offering hope, taking care to sow not panic but a shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday gestures, how to face up to and navigate a crisis by adjusting their routines, lifting their gaze and fostering prayer. How many are praying, offering and interceding for the good of all. Prayer and quiet service: these are our victorious weapons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”? Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we founder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars. Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives. Let us hand over our fears to him so that he can conquer them. Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Lord asks us and, in the midst of our tempest, invites us to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering. The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive our Easter faith. We have an anchor: by his cross we have been saved. We have a rudder: by his cross we have been redeemed. We have a hope: by his cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can separate us from his redeeming love. In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side. The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us, to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering flame (cf. Is 42:3) that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Embracing his cross means finding the courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time, abandoning for a moment our eagerness for power and possessions in order to make room for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring. It means finding the courage to create spaces where everyone can recognize that they are called, and to allow new forms of hospitality, fraternity and solidarity. By his cross we have been saved in order to embrace hope and let it strengthen and sustain all measures and all possible avenues for helping us protect ourselves and others. Embracing the Lord in order to embrace hope: that is the strength of faith, which frees us from fear and gives us hope. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”? Dear brothers and sisters, from this place that tells of Peter’s rock-solid faith, I would like this evening to entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Health of the People and Star of the stormy Sea. From this colonnade that embraces Rome and the whole world, may God’s blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace. Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: “Do not be afraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, “cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us” (cf. 1 Pet 5:7). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">[Original text: Italian] </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pix by Charles </span>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-30050040594160898532020-01-21T17:22:00.002+01:002020-01-21T17:22:27.360+01:00Buried for 50 years: Britain’s shameful role in the Biafran war Frederick Forsyth<header class="content__head content__head--article tonal__head tonal__head--tone-comment
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Buried for 50 years: Britain’s shameful role in the Biafran war</h1>
<span class="content__headline content__headline--byline" style="display: block; font-family: "Guardian Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.125rem; font-style: italic; line-height: 2.375rem; padding: 0.1875rem 0.625rem 4.5rem;"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><a class="tone-colour" data-link-name="auto tag link" href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/frederick-forsyth" itemprop="sameAs" rel="author" style="background: transparent; color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;"><span itemprop="name">Frederick Forsyth</span></a></span></span></div>
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A million children starved to death. I’m haunted by the images I saw there – and by the complicity of the Wilson government</div>
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<time class="content__dateline-wpd js-wpd" data-timestamp="1579586448000" datetime="2020-01-21T06:00:48+0000" itemprop="datePublished" style="display: inline-block;">Tue 21 Jan 2020 <span class="content__dateline-time">06.00 GMT</span></time></div>
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<span class="drop-cap" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e05e00; display: inline-block; float: left; font-family: "Guardian Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; height: 5rem; margin-right: 0.25rem; padding-top: 0.0625rem; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="drop-cap__inner" style="display: inline-block; font-size: 6.8125rem; line-height: 4.6875rem; vertical-align: text-top;">I</span></span>t is a good thing to be proud of one’s country, and I am – most of the time. But it would be impossible to scan the centuries of Britain’s history without coming across a few incidents that evoke not pride but shame. Among those I would list are the creation by British officialdom in South Africa of the concentration camp, to persecute the families of Boers. Add to that the Amritsar massacre of 1919 and the <a class="u-underline" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1959/jun/16/hola-detention-camp" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;" title="">Hola camps</a> set up and run during the struggle against Mau Mau.</div>
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The northern and western regions were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of Igbo were slaughtered</div>
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But there is one truly disgusting policy practised by our officialdom during the lifetime of anyone over 50, and one word will suffice: Biafra.</div>
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This referred to the civil war in <a class="u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/nigeria" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;">Nigeria</a> that ended 50 years ago this month. It stemmed from the decision of the people of the eastern region of that already riot-racked country to strike for independence as the Republic of Biafra. As I learned when I got there as a BBC correspondent, the Biafrans, mostly of the Igbo people, had their reasons.</div>
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The federal government in Lagos was a brutal military dictatorship that came to power in 1966 in a bloodbath. During and following that coup, the northern and western regions were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of resident Igbo were slaughtered. The federal government lifted not a finger to help. It was led by an affable British-educated colonel, Yakubu Gowon. But he was a puppet. The true rulers were a group of northern Nigerian colonels. The crisis deepened, and in early 1967 eastern Nigeria, harbouring about 1.8 million refugees, sought restitution. A British-organised conference was held in Ghana and a concordat agreed. But Gowon, returning home, was flatly contradicted by the colonels, who tore up his terms and reneged on the lot. In April the Eastern Region formally seceded and on 7 July, the federal government declared war.</div>
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Biafra was led by the Eastern Region’s Oxford-educated former military governor, “Emeka” Ojukwu. London, ignoring all evidence that it was Lagos that reneged on the deal, denounced the secession, made no attempt to mediate and declared total support for Nigeria.</div>
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I arrived in the Biafra capital of <a class="u-underline" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enugu" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;" title="">Enugu</a> on the third day of the war. In London I had been copiously briefed by Gerald Watrous, head of the BBC’s West Africa Service. What I did not know was that he was the obedient servant of the government’s Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO), which believed every word of its high commissioner in Lagos, David Hunt. It took two days in Enugu to realise that everything I had been told was utter garbage.</div>
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I had been briefed that the brilliant Nigerian army would suppress the rebellion in two weeks, four at the most. Fortunately the deputy high commissioner in Enugu, Jim Parker, told me what was really happening. It became clear that the rubbish believed by the CRO and the BBC stemmed from our high commissioner in Lagos. A racist and a snob, Hunt expected Africans to leap to attention when he entered the room – which Gowon did. At their single prewar meeting Ojukwu did not. Hunt loathed him at once.</div>
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My brief was to report the all-conquering march of the Nigerian army. It did not happen. Naively, I filed this. When my report was broadcast our high commissioner complained to the CRO in London, who passed it on to the BBC – which accused me of pro-rebel bias and recalled me to London. Six months later, in February 1968, fed up with the slavishness of the BBC to Whitehall, I walked out and flew back to west <a class="u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;">Africa</a>. Ojukwu roared with laughter and allowed me to stay. My condition was that, having rejected British propaganda, I would not publish his either. He agreed.</div>
<figure class="element element-image img--landscape fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares " data-component="image" data-media-id="367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b" id="img-2" itemprop="associatedMedia image" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="color: #121212; font-family: "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.0625rem; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 1rem 0px 0.75rem; position: relative;"><a class="article__img-container js-gallerythumbs" data-is-ajax="" data-link-name="Launch Article Lightbox" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/21/buried-50-years-britain-shamesful-role-biafran-war-frederick-forsyth#img-2" style="background: transparent; color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;"><source media="(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="620px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e84af6ef799c388246cbac2732c3b3e2 1240w"></source><source media="(min-width: 660px)" sizes="620px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=48bd2be4a9b81933d8fd12e2beeae7bb 620w"></source><source media="(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="605px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e53d022225fe9acb89a1e330ecb1977f 1210w"></source><source media="(min-width: 480px)" sizes="605px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f030dae3ebd9ab685e2d3b8f11e34406 605w"></source><source media="(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="445px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=2bd694bb97f9bddf2ecbfe9a375d2642 890w"></source><source media="(min-width: 0px)" sizes="445px" srcset="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a71a3c4ad0f7a0eb632bf14de60e4bbf 445w"></source><img alt="Harold Wilson" class="gu-image" itemprop="contentUrl" src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/367f6988a009b2b4372189898513b0a1eabf898b/0_262_3906_2344/master/3906.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=e38d8e87424d12f1e27bbdc7677ad672" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 204.031px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 340px;" /></a><figcaption class="caption caption--img caption caption--img" itemprop="description" style="color: #767676; font-family: "Guardian Text Sans Web", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 1rem; min-height: 2.25rem; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0.5rem;"><span class="inline-triangle inline-icon " style="fill: rgb(224, 94, 0);"><svg class="inline-triangle__svg inline-icon__svg" height="10" viewbox="0 0 11 10" width="11"><path d="M5.5 0L11 10H0z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg> </span>‘Weapons and ammunition poured in quietly as Whitehall and the Harold Wilson government lied and denied it all.’ Photograph: Wood/Getty Images</figcaption></figure><div style="color: #121212; font-family: "Guardian Text Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.0625rem; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin-bottom: 0.75rem; padding: 0px;">
But things had changed. British covert interference had become huge. Weapons and ammunition poured in quietly as Whitehall and the Harold Wilson government lied and denied it all. Much enlarged, with fresh weapons and secret advisory teams, the Nigerian army inched across Biafra as the defenders tried to fight back with a few bullets a day. Soviet Ilyushin bombers ranged overhead, dropping 1,000lb bombs on straw villages. But the transformation came in July.</div>
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Missionaries had noticed mothers emerging from the deep bush carrying children reduced to living skeletons yet with bloated bellies. Catholic priests recognised the symptoms – <a class="u-underline" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kwashiorkor/" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;" title="">kwashiorkor</a> or acute protein deficiency.</div>
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That same July the Daily Express cameraman David Cairns ran off a score of rolls of film and took them to London. Back then, the British public had never seen such heartrending images of starved and dying children. When the pictures hit the newsstands the story exploded. There were headlines, questions in the House of Commons, demonstrations, marches.</div>
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As the resident guide for foreign news teams I became somewhat overwhelmed. But at last the full secret involvement of the British government started to be exposed and the lies revealed. Wilson came under attack. The story swept Europe then the US.</div>
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Donations flooded in. The money could buy food – but how to get it there? Around year’s end the extraordinary <a class="u-underline" data-link-name="in body link" href="https://rememberingbiafra.com/timeline/formation-of-the-joint-church-aid-jca-a-group-of-churches-from-33-countries-that-worked-together-to-increase-the-aid-flow-to-biafra" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 0.0625rem solid rgb(220, 220, 220); color: #e05e00; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none !important; touch-action: manipulation; transition: border-color 0.15s ease-out 0s;" title="">Joint Church Aid</a> was born.</div>
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The World Council of Churches helped to buy some clapped-out freighter aircraft and gained permission from Portugal to use the offshore island São Tomé as a base. Scandinavian pilots and crew, mostly airline pilots, offered to fly without pay. Joint Church Aid was quickly nicknamed Jesus Christ Airlines. And thus came into being the world’s only <em>illegal</em> mercy air bridge.</div>
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On a visit to London in spring 1969 I learned the efforts the British establishment will take to cover up its tracks. Every reporter, peer or parliamentarian who had visited Biafra and reported on what he had seen was smeared as a stooge of Biafra – even the utterly honourable John Hunt, leader of the Everest expedition.</div>
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Throughout 1969 the relief planes flew through the night, dodging Nigerian MiG fighters, to deliver their life-giving cargoes of reinforced milk powder to a jungle airstrip. From there trucks took the sacks to the missions, the nuns boiled up the nutriments and kept thousands of children alive.</div>
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<a class="rich-link__link" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background: transparent; color: inherit; cursor: pointer; touch-action: manipulation;">Half of a Yellow Sun summons a gilded age as well as an atrocious war</a></h2>
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Karl Jaggi, head of the Red Cross, estimated that up to a million children died, but that at least half a million were saved. As for me, sometimes in the wee small hours I see the stick-like children with the dull eyes and lolling heads, and hear their wails of hunger and the low moans as they died.</div>
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What is truly shameful is that this was not done by savages but aided and assisted at every stage by Oxbridge-educated British mandarins. Why? Did they love the corruption-riven, dictator-prone Nigeria? No. From start to finish, it was to cover up that the UK’s assessment of the Nigerian situation was an enormous judgmental screw-up. And, worse: with neutrality and diplomacy from London it could all have been avoided.</div>
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Biafra is little discussed in the UK these days – a conflict overshadowed geopolitically by the Vietnam war, which raged at the same time. Yet the sheer nastiness of the British establishment during those three years remains a source of deep shame that we should never forget.</div>
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<span class="bullet" style="color: transparent; font-size: 0.00625rem; line-height: 0.00625rem;">•</span> Frederick Forsyth is a former war correspondent and an author</div>
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<span style="color: #121212; font-family: Guardian Text Egyptian Web, Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/21/buried-50-years-britain-shamesful-role-biafran-war-frederick-forsyth</span></span></div>
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CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2025671017128564121.post-36914857390914186442019-11-07T10:19:00.000+01:002019-11-07T10:19:11.465+01:00BEAUTIFUL FROM THE HEART<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX994kpkh1sVckK4_KUt5D2T8azxFP4V3h7-r98F4UoNbPH2Ge3sfD2lUwmBjx4lahAB2aW7edo3xqLSJEOMKdnhyphenhyphenMPY7uKtAQJqD1GegASJHC1SWYjno3wMzbl_Qza4dLXOFGEPP7DQg/s1600/Image%257E3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX994kpkh1sVckK4_KUt5D2T8azxFP4V3h7-r98F4UoNbPH2Ge3sfD2lUwmBjx4lahAB2aW7edo3xqLSJEOMKdnhyphenhyphenMPY7uKtAQJqD1GegASJHC1SWYjno3wMzbl_Qza4dLXOFGEPP7DQg/s400/Image%257E3.jpg" width="306" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A great amazon with a beautiful heart that eloquently radiated on her face.A great heart that touched and continue to touch many through her legacies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Its 20 years today you left us (too early) but with the greatest gift on earth :PEACE & LOVE for all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You lagecies will always be upheld.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Continue to Rest in peace mama.</span>CHARLIE.MBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08895974414571315765noreply@blogger.com0