LETTER TO NDIGBO AROUND THE WORLD :By Dr. Bọ́lá Adéwará:

LETTER TO NDIGBO AROUND THE WORLD

Yoruba people, kindly pay attention

By Dr. Bọ́lá Adéwará:

Ethnic profiling is a cancer to national unity and global coexistence. It breeds suspicion, fuels discrimination, and undermines peace among peoples. As it is wrong and dangerous to stereotype all Fulani as violent herdsmen or killers, it is equally unjust, and profoundly reckless, to label all Igbo people as criminals. Criminality has no tribal identity; it is an individual moral failure, not an ethnic characteristic.

I am compelled to raise this alarm because of the increasing global tendency to associate the entire Igbo ethnic group with crime, particularly in international spaces. Reports from countries such as Malaysia, China, Vietnam, South Africa, Kenya, and others often highlight the troubling actions of a few misguided individuals of Igbo origin. Sadly, these isolated incidents are now being weaponized to brand an entire race, one of Nigeria’s most industrious and accomplished ethnic groups, as inherently criminal. This is not only false, it is a tragic injustice.

Let it be clear: no race or ethnic group is immune from bad eggs. Every community has its share of lawbreakers. But to elevate the bad behaviour of a few individuals into a global narrative of condemnation against an entire people is not just unfair, it is dangerous.

I therefore call on Ohanaeze Ndigbo, all South-East governors, federal lawmakers of Igbo extraction, Igbo traditional rulers, community leaders, and cultural custodians to rise swiftly and boldly. This is no time for silence or strategic avoidance. When people remain silent in the face of public condemnation, that silence begins to sound like consent. If this negative profiling is not checked, the consequences for future generations of Igbos in the diaspora will be devastating, from visa restrictions to job discrimination, surveillance, exclusion from leadership opportunities, and even outright harassment.

There is a disturbing trend in some parts of the world, where law enforcement agencies and immigration officers openly target Nigerians of Igbo origin with suspicion and contempt. A recent video circulating online features a Malaysian police officer publicly declaring that "the people bringing drugs into Malaysia from Nigeria are the Igbos." This is a damning statement, true or false, it is a public relations disaster for Nigeria and for the Igbo nation. What is even more painful is that I have yet to hear a single response, condemnation, or strategic rebuttal from any respected Igbo leader or body. This is silence where there should be outrage.

Some of the cultural practices being exported to foreign countries by certain Igbo groups—such as the unregulated installation of Eze Ndigbo in foreign cities, may make sense within the context of Igbo culture and tradition. But when presented to people of other cultures, they can appear confusing, intimidating, or even threatening. Culture must be contextualized. It must be explained, engaged with humility, and lived with dignity, not with arrogance or braggadocio.

To every Igbo father and mother, to the sons and daughters on the Internet, this is not the time for ethnic chest-thumping or the exchange of insults. This is the time to own the narrative, to reclaim the name and dignity of your people. Explain your culture. Apologize for the excesses of the few. Denounce criminality boldly. Name it and shame it. Support efforts to identify and discipline those tarnishing the image of Ndigbo at home and abroad.

TO MY YORUBA BROTHERS AND SISTERS:

I urge restraint and wisdom. Do not join voices, whether from Ghana, South Africa, or elsewhere, in demonizing the Igbo race. The rivalry between Peter Obi and Bola Tinubu during the last elections must not be allowed to poison ethnic relations in Nigeria. Political disagreement should never become a tool for ethnic disintegration. Today it’s the Igbos; tomorrow it could be the Yorubas or the Hausas. If we allow ethnic division to fester, the enemies of peace and progress will consume us all. Unity is not optional, it is the lifeline of our fragile republic.

Let us not sell our brothers cheaply to external critics because of local politics. Let us not delight in the demonization of any Nigerian people because of past grievances or electoral defeats. Let us stand for truth, balance, and justice. Ghanaians, like every other nation, have their share of citizens involved in criminal activities abroad. Yet, they are not collectively condemned. Neither should Nigerians, especially the Igbos, be.

To the Federal Government of Nigeria: this is also your responsibility. Ethnic profiling against any group of Nigerians abroad must be met with swift diplomatic and legal response. Embassies must be proactive. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must take ownership of Nigeria’s image abroad and demand respect for the dignity of all Nigerian citizens, regardless of tribe or origin.

But more importantly, Igbo leaders must not outsource this responsibility. You must not pretend it is not happening. You must not defend the indefensible. The legacy of your fathers, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Flora Nwapa, Chukwuemeka Ike, Phillip Emeagwali, and countless other luminaries, calls for action. These men and women gave the Igbo race honour on the global stage. You must not let that legacy be drowned in silence and shame.

The time to act is now. Speak up. Stand up. Clean up. Reclaim your name. Defend your legacy.

Nigeria cannot rise when one of her pillars is broken. And Ndigbo cannot remain silent when the world begins to whisper, then shout, that their name is synonymous with crime. May it never be said of this generation that they allowed such a lie to take root.

Let truth be spoken, let wrongdoers be confronted, and let honour be restored.

NIGERIA (IGBO) MUST GO : GHANA,THE MANIPULATION

THE GATHERING STORM

GHANA,THE INTRIGUE TO HATE & HARM

Many Ghanaian groups are inflaming the social media especially TikTok  with incitements to  hate & violence against Igbo people of Nigeria  and their businesses in Ghana because  of a miscommunication of ideas in a 13 years old video made by an Igbo businessman resident in Ghana!

Ironically these cries of violence against Igbos and the general igbo-phobia  are fuelled  and amplified by many Yoruba platforms who have become the proverbial "mourners crying more than the bereaved" and  are vigorously transforming Tik Tok to radio RTLM & radio Rwanda that we all know fanned the  embers  of the genocide in Rwanda .

Tik Tok should  be more proactive  in stopping being used  as ugly agents  or by anyone to cause  harm. 

The Government of Ghana we are sure will not permit the attack on anyone or any form of breaking down of law and order in Ghana. 

The Igbo community is also advised  to 'lower their voices' be humble as usual and use correct languages on their hosts at all times :  a must in the Igbo cosmology, culture  and way of life. 

One asks : is it not curious that a video made in the public glare 13 years ago resurface this year to cause this issues? Ask yourself again: Are there things we don't know?

We ask Ghanaians to pardon  whatever misunderstanding or wrong communication etc  with their  Igbo guests and  to as always use civil dialogue  as brothers  to resolve issues. 

I am 

Charles O Chukwubike

chukwubike@gmail.com

(Multicultural Mediator)

(Member CREIFOS Rome)

IGBOLAND IS NOT LANDLOCKED

 Igboland is not landlocked

By Aloy Ejimakor

26 May 2020   |  

It’s often said that a lie told so many times, if unchallenged, may – in course of time – begin to pass for the truth. 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 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. A few that knew it to be false just didn’t care anymore. And that History was banned since the end of the Civil War made it worse, 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. If you discount the territories excised from Igboland during State creations and the damnable boundary adjustments, it will be far less.

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. 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. 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. 

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. 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” (Baikie, 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, 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). The 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) are no longer sure whether they are Igbo or not. The worst injustice was in 1976 when the Justice Nasir Boundary Adjustment Commission made a serious and targeted agenda of carving out core Igboland territories into some neighboring States of the South-South. 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. 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. 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.

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.  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. 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.

Ejimakor, wrote from Abuja

source

An Open Letter to My Brethren in the "South-South"

An Open Letter to My Brethren in the "South-South"

By Donald Ekpo
Akwa Ibom State

"For as long as the Old Eastern region remain in disarray and not united, self-determination of the region will remain impossible." ~ An anonymous retired Nigerian Army Chief

The word “South-South,” even though it may sound absurd, is a name we have come to accept as a people. We can’t say exactly how we came about to be identified with the name neither can we say exactly when we were given the name, but we just know it is our name. While growing up back in the days, geography taught us about “the North,” “the South,” “The East” and “The West.” For proper definition of locations, we were also told about “The Northwest, NorthEast, Southwest and SouthEast” I can’t remember anything like the “NorthNorth”, “SouthSouth”, “EastEast” or Westwest , but here I am today, writing a letter to my South-South brethren. That is what happens to a people that are not in control of their Cultural Development or the Political and Economic Future.

That is what happens to a people that are just there for their numbers, that is what happens to people that are just kept for their services, that is what happens to people that are just custodians of wealth for a supposedly superior people, and finally, that is what happens to peoples that are slaves. Any name is suitable for them, they can only get whatever is given to them even if it is originally theirs. If in doubt, please remind me of the meaning of KUNTA KINTE.

I write this letter not because it is frustrating to see how we allowed a defrauded propaganda to position our people as the pawns in the Political Chess called Nigeria, but rather, I write this letter in an effort to request that we free ourselves from these propaganda that has lingered for too long. If our grandfathers and fathers did not ask questions, is there any divine law that says we cannot ask? We know we all belonged to the old Eastern Region of Nigeria before the Northern Protectorate took back their power after the gruesome murder of General Aguiyi Ironsi.

Just for the records, let me do us a bit of history here; Major General Ironsi as Head of State was cornered and arrested somewhere in western Nigeria on July 29th of 1966, his hands and feet were tied together, then tied to a Land Rover with a little space in between, and driven on a tarred road, face down for several kilometers. The then highest ranking Northern officer, an acting (Unconfirmed) Lieutenant Colonel was chosen to be the next Head of State ahead of serving Brigadiers, Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels of the Southern Nigeria, followed by the dreadful killings of officers and soldiers of Eastern Nigeria including our so called South South soldiers and officers.

The genocide that followed is what is recorded as the Nigerian Civil War of 1967 – 1970. As if that was not enough, the Eastern region was broken apart with the sudden creation of the then South Eastern State (today’s Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom), Rivers State (Today’s Rivers State and Bayelsa). It was during that war that propagandas were designed, created and generated to separate us from the old Eastern Region and make the average Igbo man our potential enemy in an effort to reduce their own presumed enemies. In as much as it is a bitter history, but I find it necessary to do you this preamble.

I write this letter to remind us that our region, known as the South-South today was a creation of the North for the sake of creating the disunity we face today. And moreso, it was not just for the disunity for them to win the war, but to also take away our resources, our manpower and our economic future. In 2014 when President Jonathan, a son of the so called South-South decided to re-contest the 2015 elections, Sheik Junaid Mohammed in an engagement on behalf the Northern Protectorate, reminded us that the so called South-South was a creation of the North for effective management of the Northern interest in Eastern Nigeria. How bad could this be? Can we imagine that? So while we are busy reminding ourselves that we are a different people or that the Igbos are wicked and are trying to kill us, the North is joyously taking over and owning 85% of our oil wells while the West takes over the left overs.

And what do we get? Noise! Even the supposedly football legend, Sunday Okechukwu Oliseh is busy telling us he is not Igbo as if it is a curse to be Igbo. One wonders if the name Okechukwu is of Hausa or Yoruba origin. When you speak Igbo as a language and yet claim you are not Igbo, is that not the saddest thing that can happen to any people of identical culture? Even Major Kaduna Nzeogwu that led the first coup that was said to be an Igbo coup is from Okpanam village in today’s Delta State. Could he have come out to say today like Sunday Oliseh said that he was not Igbo? If the Abakaliki or Nsukka indigene that has a more distant dialect of Igbo is Igbo, how come the Anioma or Okrika indigene that is easily understood is not Igbo? How did a people of the same culture get so separated these far?

I write these letter to speak to those of us regarded as "minority tribes." How can we be minority when in essences we are known to be about 35 million of the said 180 million of the said Nigerian population? How can we be a minority in our own lands if we were not treated as such, or if we did not accept to be such? If those from the alliance that separated us from the West are said to be about 50 million in population, and our brethren in the East are said to be about 40 million, how can we accept we are a minority? Our compatriots from the alleged minorities of the North are said to be another 30 million, who then is the minority? Having run through these figures, we know who the real minorities are.

Be it as it appears, the truth is that our region was broken into two so as to weaken our original strength given that at a combined population strength of 35 million and 40 million people, our economic and entrepreneurial strength put together would be something the alliance will be worried about. So why should we ever think that it is logical to claim we are two different people when in essence, we have always been one and the same people for over 400 years before the arrival of the white man. If what the white man did to us was not bad enough, is it not ridiculous that we allowed a certain minority immigrants to assume control of our economic and political future?

I write these letter to ask my brethren in the South-South these pertinent question; Let us assume the very worst situation in this fracas between us and our Igbo brothers, why are we worried about the Igbos taking over our “natural resources” (assuming they don’t have theirs), ARE WE PRESENTLY IN CONTROL OF OUR “NATURAL RESOURCES”? Does it make more sense that our natural resources is being controlled by some strange people from over 700 miles away? People that kill us at will at a single provocation of their religion? People that even kill us in our land? People that challenge us to the ownership of these our resources? People that show absolute disregard of who we are? People that think it is a privilege for us to be in any position of authority? And finally, people that do not in any way have the kind of entrepreneurial skills that we have?

Why would we allow our imaginary quarrel or fights with our brothers translate to the decision of one of the women in King Solomon’s Judgment that insisted that since she couldn’t have the child, the other woman should not. So are we in essence saying it is better for none of us brethren to own our resources simply because we don’t trust our brothers, yet we do nothing about the stranger that has ripped us apart? Are we logically correct in these senseless quarrel?

Even while we are senselessly worried about how the Igbos will colonize our people because that is what we were told, and that is what some of these alliance are still trying to tell us; can we sincerely tell ourselves that the Igbos are that evil? Evil enough to leave their Natural resources in Abia, Imo, Anambra and Enugu states to come and take ownership of our resources? How will they do that? How possible will it be for a people that barely kill by the sword compared to our present oppressors? Do we honestly see that as a possibility? How and why did we allow these propaganda to go these far? Is these not what the alliance has used to rule us through the divide and rule scheme? Sheik Jumiad Mohammed said it clearly that our separation was a creation of the North for the effective management of our resources while we keep fighting an imaginary enemy.

I write this letter to remind us that we and our Igbo brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers have cultural identities, we uphold the sanctity of life, we do not kill a man like a chicken, we worship the same God, and we have identical looks and reasoning capabilities. Education is a respected virtue to both of us, entrepreneurism is a common love between us. We both respect constituted authorities. Even-though we both have the cultural odds that cannot, and should not be used to castigate an entire people. So how come the Igbo man suddenly became evil shortly before the war if the castigation was not a propaganda tool of the war?

How did we accept that our Igbo brothers were evil while we were saints? How are we saints? Is there any evil that is the monopoly of the Igbos that we are totally clean of? That we don’t have a single man/woman that does same if positioned in the same situation? How did we allow a distant people determine how we leave our lives? If we think we are different and as such we are treated better than the Igbos; have we noticed that the fate of the Onitsha Port is the same fate that befell the Ports in Calabar and Port Harcourt? We from the East are all forced to go to Lagos to pay taxes to those ports. How have we been treated differently by these alliances if we were different from the Igbos? Are we not facing the same fate as our Eastern brethren? How do you think we will fare if we were the only ones to receive these treatment given a circumstance where the Igbos are no more in this contraption called Nigeria?

I write this letter to our brethren to remind us that without a unified stand of the entire region, the self-determination process will be a farce. We need each other in all difficulties. We are the Eastern Region; we are the region of the Lower Niger; we are a common people; we are not different from each other. Starting from the Hills of Ogoja to the rocky soils of Ebonyi, down to the temperate region of Anambra down to the enclaves of Ishekiri and Isoko, we all look alike.

The Akwa Ibom man and the Abia State man are the same people simply divided by boundaries. The Calabar man and the Arochukwu man have identical ancestral masquerades. The Ikwerre man is just an Igbo man that was separated by the North to act as a different people. A British woman, camped somewhere in Kaduna decided to add the “R” consonant to the “U” vowel to totally break the identities of the Igbos in today’s Rivers State. The Ijaws, Kalabaris, Oron, Efik are practically the same people positioned in different locations possibly during the settlement centuries ago. We are all interrelated in the region and as such must not be divided.

We have been used for decades, disregarded at every opportunity, our rights are perceived as privileges if not favors. We do not have control over our future as instructed by the late Ahmadu Bello when he instructed his people not to allow us have control of our future, and should be seen as a conquered territory. Are we a conquered people by some strange people that believe they are born to rule, conquer and kill? These are a people who do not hold as sacrosanct what we revere as one. How can we continue in this Union that was designed to enslave us? How can we allow the lies told by these strangers to pitch us against ourselves?

AN ADDENDUM TO MY IGBO BROTHERS

I write to you to remind you that you can only fight a lie that was imbedded into the hearts of my brethren by putting yourself in his shoes to know how best to respond. We cannot fight evil with evil. Like we know, they say two wrongs don’t make a right. It is your responsibility to subtly ask those accusing you some logical questions that may prick their hearts to realities. We are all in this mess called Nigeria together.

Our Son, Goodluck Jonathan, was treated the same way General Ironsi was treated, they were both rejected. They were both despised. Both of them wanted a united Nigeria that existed beyond tribes and religion, but what did we see? President Goodluck Jonathan was lucky to escape with his life, but the General was not that lucky; He was tied to a Land Rover and driven on the rocky tarred roads between Abeokuta and Ibadan till he died and was shredded to pieces. Based on the Alhaji and Kunle’s phone conversation I believe we all listened to, we know that it could as well have happened to President Jonathan if he was not wise enough to let go of their birthright. But can we continue like this?

Look at what they are doing to Nnamdi Kanu? These are the same people that organized 70 lawyers to represent the Boko Haram suspects that have raped, maimed and Killed Nigerians, yet the one they choose to lead us says Nnamdi is too dangerous to be released because he has dual citizenship. Is these the kind of place we will continue to belong to when we are likely going to be having malicious morons of this magnitude leading us?

I write to you my brothers to remind you that the Gambaris know for certainty that having broken a greater part of you into other states in the "South-South," it may be difficult to successfully secede knowing what we know today. So it is inappropriate for you to remind my own brothers that with or without us, that you will succeed.

We cannot allow the propaganda of these gambaris to keep us apart. We must reject it by all means and efforts. We stand a greater chance to succeed as one region. As the older one of the two broken parts of our region, it is your responsibility to expose the deception that was used to mislead my people. It is you that will tell my people you do not have any intentions to colonize them. We have to collectively put these alliance to shame by consciously keeping our relationship cordial in the region. My dear brethren, I write to request that you take it as a duty to remind us that we are all one people because in truth, WE ARE ONE!

THE LOWER NIGER CONGRESS will not succeed if we do not position ourselves for success. We cannot go to a referendum with a divided house. We have to all agreed that we cannot continue in this contraption called a United Nigeria that was not just built on lies and propaganda, but was designed to fail while it enslaves our people. We have been battered, raped, disregarded, maimed and killed at will for the past 50 years. I am talking about the entire Eastern region. While we are being raped and killed, we are busy seeing each other as our enemy, while the real enemies smiles at our folly. We cannot continue like this. We should all take the opportunity presented to us by the UNITED NATION CHARTER ARTICLES ON SELF-DETERMINATION FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

The Lower Niger Congress, has so far made presentations to the US Congress on the plight of our people, made a presentation to the United Nations, and have been able to secure a period by which the referendum will take place here in our region. But will we succeed during the electoral process if we are not united? Is it not time we put our swords into plowshare and see how we can take control of our political, economic future and Cultural development?

The Lower Niger Congress having met with traditional and titled leaders in all the corners of the Lower Niger Region believes the project will not be a success if we do not see ourselves as a united body. We cannot afford to go into a referendum that may be sabotaged by the propagandas of the alliance of the North. It is our duty to educate ourselves, educate our relatives, and educate our brethren. It is the best duty we can do for the generations unborn of our region.

This contraption called Nigeria was never designed to succeed, not with the present fraud of Constitution, not with the present mentality that only a section of the country were meant to rule, and finally, not with the present odds that accompany those that make it to the leadership position.

Finally, brethren, I appeal to you all to join hands in actualizing our dream to build a new nation based on principles, agreed morals, agreed terms and...

SOURCE

STOP PROPAGATING HATE ....The ruling class

Nigeria is one(automatic and natural) when the mind set of the Northern Governors goes towards buying government approved Made in Aba  and Awka Keke-tricycle, Innoson vehicles etc instead of inviting Indians and other Asians at extra costs  to come and  teach young northerners  how to ride imported Indian keke and change oil/tyres.

Sponsor foreign competition against local producers  just because of their geopolitical  location and origin.


For your information The IPOB with those flags in the streets is even  less aggrieved than the IPOB not in the street.By the time  the two ideologies  will comprehend each other and 're-strategize' ,the 'Nigerian game' will naturally and peacefully  be over unfortunately. Unfortunately because we are supposed to be greater together.

Our selfish, parochial and 'tribalistic' rulers who  predominantly occupied the seats since independence  are holding Nigerian unity. The majority of the Northern youths are suffering more;but do they know? Stop keeping them low with lies and HATE/FAKE information about other groups.
The  jealousy and hate originates  from the higher/ruling class of all sides  and  the poor masses  are fed  with it  as instrument of self-destruction, and perpetual enslavement/subjugation.
Be wise  and  don't hate your neighbour. 
by: charlie.mbc@gmail.com 

Air Peace sets new record as B777 aircraft arrives

Air Peace latest aircraft, Ifechukwu with registration mark 5N-BVE taking the water salute after touching down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos  on Friday

Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace on Friday set a new record with the arrival of its newly acquired Boeing B777-200 aircraft, becoming the first and only Nigerian airline to procure and register the brand of airliner in the country.

The development is coming weeks after the airline took delivery of two Embraer 145 aircraft on January 31 and February 9 respectively and made history with the setting up a subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper to organise its short-haul operations in line with its no-city-left-behind project.
The 274-capacity aircraft, which touched down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 3.45 pm on Friday, is the first of two Boeing 777 airliners Air Peace recently acquired in preparation for its Dubai, Sharjah, London, Guangzhou-China, Houston, Mumbai and Johannesburg services. The airline is finalising talks to add two more B777 aircraft to its fleet soon.

The aircraft with registration mark 5N-BVE bears “Ifechukwu”, the middle name of the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema.
The aircraft, which was flown in by the Chief Pilot of the airline, Capt. Victor Egonu and Capt. Simon Donoghue, arrived to a rousing welcome by an excited team from Air Peace led by Onyema and and enthusiastic crowd of top aviation personnel as well as security operatives.

Speaking on the arrival of the aircraft, Onyema assured that Air Peace, which launched its its Banjul, Freetown and Dakar services on February 19, would soon start flights to Dubai, Sharjah, Guangzhou-China, London, Houston, Mumbai and South Africa.
"Air Peace is ready to begin operations on these routes as soon as we get the cooperation of our aviation agencies, our home governments, and the outside governments of the countries we are going to. As soon as we get their cooperation, we will make it happen, " Onyema said.

The feats Air Peace had recorded in just three years of its flight operations, he insisted, were a proof that Nigerian airlines could compete with and even outperform the legacy airlines if there was a level-playing field.

His words: "This is the first time a Nigerian carrier is acquiring a B777. What we have had in the past were through leases which were not favourable to the airline operators. So, I don't believe that Nigerian airlines cannot compete favourably with others. What we have been lacking is the necessary support.

"Within the last three years, we have been able to increase our fleet size to 24 aircraft. That is rapid growth and we are still growing stronger."
Onyema dismissed insinuations that Nigerian airlines were not safe, stressing that Air Peace spent up to $2.5 million annually in maintaining a single aircraft on its fleet.

"So,” he contended, “in terms of safety, we can assure our guests of the very best because even our technical partner is a firm from the United Kingdom.
"Air Peace cannot be said to be weak or indebted and if there are airlines that are going through that, they should come out and name them instead of generalising."

The Air Peace boss said he remained opposed to the Single African Air Transportation Market (SAATM) initiative, insisting that Nigeria had little or nothing to gain from it.
Onyema explained that most African airlines that would take advantage of the SAATM window to operate in the country lacked attractive destinations Nigerian airlines would reciprocally operate into.
He added that some of the countries on the African continent were imposing high charges in a bid to discourage Nigerian airlines from operating into their routes.
More photos:

Air Peace latest aircraft, Ifechukwu with registration mark 5N-BVE taking the water salute after touching down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos  on Friday

Air Peace Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Allen Onyema (right) and Chief Pilot, Capt. Victor Egonu acknowledging cheers from the enthusiastic crowd at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to welcome the airline’s Boeing 777 aircraft on Friday

Air Peace Chairman/Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, Mr. Allen and Mrs. Alice Onyema flanked by their children (L-R), Obinna, Nnenna, Ugochukwu and Chinonso at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to welcome the airline’s Boeing 777 aircraft on Friday

Pilots who flew in Air Peace’s Boeing 777, Capt. Victor Egonu (right) and Capt. Simon Donoghue with the airline’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, Mr. Allen and Mrs. Alice Onyema and their children (L-R), Obinna, Nnenna, Ugochukwu and Chinonso at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Friday

IKEJI ESTIVAL IN MGBOWO....

IKEJI FESTIVAL IN MGBOWO

Ikeji or New Yam Festival in Mgbowo is as old as Mgbowo Community. Today, the 16th of July 2017 marks this year's Ikeji or New Yam Festival that heralds the harvesting of new yam in my community. Many families are gathered today in their various ancestral places of meeting called NKORO to deliberate on serious issues that agitate the mind of each family member and to share EKA OKUKU (the wing of fowls) killed to commemorate the festival.

To add impetus to the celebration this year, I dug through my library to share with all my friends and Mgbowo people wherever they may be what IKEJI or New Yam Festival raelly means to the Mgbowo Man as eruditely presented by one of the celebrated Wordsmith of our time in Mgbowo MR. EGBUNA AKPA. Please enjoy.

TEXT OF A LECTURE DELIVERED BY MR. EGBUNA AKPA AT A SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZED AS PART OF EVENTS MARKING THE 2012 IKEJI FESTIVAL IN MGBOWO, THURSDAY, 19TH JULY, 2012. 

Protocol 

1.0 Introduction: Man and His Culture 

History and Religion testify to the origin and existence of human beings. However, while history subscribes to the Theory of Evolution to prove the emergence of homo sapiens; that is, human beings as we see and know them today, religion attributes it to the act of creation by God. 

Whichever way we may choose to look at it, the incontrovertible fact is that the world is peopled by human elements who are rational creatures. The rationality of man imbues him with the ability, not only to reason and judge, but also to speak, think, act, discover, invent, and use the materials around him to his own advantage. Also, man is endowed with the innate ability to learn from personal experience, from what happens around him and from what he inherits from his forebears. 

Thus, over the years, human beings have, in tandem with their immediate physical and social environments, evolved systems of beliefs, ideas, behaviour, custom and even artifacts, which they accept and share, as peoples of particular societies. These commonly accepted and shared ways of life are collectively called culture. 

Therefore, we may define culture as the aggregate or totality of a people’s way of life. It includes their language, beliefs and custom, as inherited from their ancestors. Indisputably, a people's culture is their special identity; in the same way as a person's name and habits are his or her identity. 

As a society of homo sapiens, Mgbowo Community has her own beliefs, ideas, dialect and custom, which constitute our cultural identity. One aspect of this culture is the custom of revering and celebrating yam as the king of all crops; otherwise called Ikeji, our New Yam Festival. It is in deference to our collective belief in this age-long traditional practice of our people that we are gathered here today to discuss this extant custom. 

It is expected that, at the end of our discourse, those of us who belong to the outgoing generation will have refreshed our memories of what it used to be in our distant past, while the younger elements will appreciate the wisdom of our forefathers, cling to it and protect our harmless traditional practices from imminent suffocation and death.

 2.0  The Ikeji Festival 

As we observed in our introduction above, Ikeji Mgbowo is an aspect of our people's culture. This custom dates back to the earliest days in our history when yam was treated as being sacrosanct, served as a status symbol, an index of wealth and as an object of title-taking. No other crop, wild or domestic, enjoyed such reverence or recognition among our ancestors. 

It is, therefore, not surprising that they had to translate their regard and respect for this king crop into reality by mapping out a programme of events to celebrate the yam at appropriate periods of the year; namely, during the planting and harvesting of yam. 

The celebration of the new yam at its maiden harvest is called Ikeji, while the veneration of the crop just before it returns to the soil is known as Enwu. We shall examine the relationship between these twin festivals in the course of this lecture. Suffice it to say that both occasions are also used to pray to the gods and ancestors for long life, productive farming, abundant harvest, communal peace, and unity, as well as for individual family favours and needs.

 

 2.1  Announcement of Ikeji Festival 

Generally speaking, Ikeji Festival, which is the greatest of its kind in our community, takes place in the 9th moon of our local calendar; otherwise known as Onwa Tonnu. In recent times, however, the authority and custodians of the festival have had cause to add or subtract a moon to or from the normal Onwa Tonnu, to bring forward or postpone, by one moon, the usual time or period of the festival. This practice is said to be justified when the weather adversely or favourably affects the growth of the planted yam. 

The custodians of Ikeji Festival have always been the Chief Priests of two of the major deities in Mgbowo, representing Ndi Ali Mgbowo and a representative of Uhuokwe family - Umu Olukaaji in Eziobodo Alechara Village who actually does the announcement. They are: 

a) The Chief Priest of Ali Ihiriho (from Ameta Village); 

b) The Chief Priest of Ali Dulaho (from Imeama Village), and 

c) The Umu Olukaaji Family (in Alechara Village). 

At the emergence of Onwa Tonnu, the three wise men decide when the festival will hold. It is their collective responsibility to announce the Ikeji Day. The announcement is made usually 8 days (or izulambo) into the 9th moon of Mgbowo Calendar year. The Ikeji Day proper falls on the 20th day of the 9th moon or 12 days (izulalo) after the formal announcement. Invariably, it is made to fall on Orio Market day. 

 

2.2  Phases of Ikeji Festival 

The Ikeji Festival is celebrated in five (5) phases, namely: Itu Nvula, Igbuji Ji, Eka Okuku, Oku Obodo and Ifu Ahia. 

 

2.2.1  Itu Nvula 

This expression suggests that Nvula (water yam) might be the oldest specie of yam known to, and planted by, our people. Be that as it may, Ilu Nvula is the opening phase of Ikeji, and takes place on the eve of the festival. Since Ikeji is invariably celebrated on Orio Market day, it means that Ilu Nvula takes place on Eke Market day; the day preceding Ikeji Day. 

The main activity of the day is the visit of married men to their fathers in-law. While going on the visit, the married men take with them tubers of yam, cocks, wine, tobacco etc, as presents. Where the father in-law is late, a man can visit and make such presents to his mother in-law. The idea is to share the joy of the coming celebration and further cement the existing bond of unity between both families. 

 

2.2.2  Igbuji Ji 

This happens on Orio day, the day after the Itu Nvula ceremony. It is the Ikeji Day proper. Activities of the day include men going to their farms to harvest the new yams, cutting the yam, breaking kolanuts and killing cocks, all at the entrance of their compounds. 

Also, the men otter oblation and pour libation on the same spot, while praying to God and the ancestors for good health, peace and progress, and to thank them for favours received, especially the good harvest expected in the year. 

Generally, families stay in their homes to celebrate on Ikeji Day, except the younger male children who may move from compound to compound scrambling for broken kolanut lobes often sprinkled with the blood of fowls. 

 

2.2.3  Eka Okuku 

This takes place on the third day of the festival; that is, on Aho Market day; hence, Aho Eka Okuku. It is a very important phase of Ikeji Festival because it offers opportunity for male members of each clan in the community to assemble and discuss the state of their clan. Those of them living outside are expected to return for the festival and be present at the assembly. 

Usually, activities of the day begin simultaneously throughout Mgbowo, after palmwine producers have returned from their morning rounds. The wine they bring home is used for prayers and libation. 

Members of each clan assemble in their ancestral hut or house called Nkoro, which is often located in the premises of the eldest surviving member of the clan. To open the meeting, the clan Head, on behalf of all members present and those unavoidably absent, prays to God and the ancestors for being alive to see another Ikeji. He breaks a kolanut, offers oblation and pours libation to conclude the prayers. 

After that, kolanuts are shared, chicken meat (i.e. the eka okuku) is exchanged and drinks are also shared. Then follows the examination of the state of the clan. Reports and complaints are received from those who have them. It could be on disputes between or among members, the inability of a son or daughter of the clan to return to school or to marry due to indigence, or the decline of the business fortunes of a member of the clan, among other matters. 

The issues are discussed and solutions provided, as much as possible. The occasion demands that the truth is told and justice upheld, so that peace and harmony are restored where they have been truncated. Those who need or seek advice or counselling are obliged and, at the end of the session, everyone returns to his home at peace with himself and his kinsmen. 

Apart from the clan assembly, Eka Okuku Day approximates to Boxing Day in the Christian Calendar. It is a day of exchange of visits and presents among relatives and friends. Married women prepare and take to their fathers and other deserving male relations, rich food, the thighs of the cocks, killed by their husbands the previous day and, indeed, other edibles they can afford. Recipients of such generous gestures reciprocate by loading their daughters or sisters with presents in cash and kind, with new yams as part of the gift items. 

Eka Okuku day is generally observed as one of visits, feasting and merriment; it is a day when pounded yam is eaten, often with isasa soup or egusisoup interspersed with okpulekwa. 

 

2.2.4  Oku Obodo 

This phase of the Ikeji Festival comes up 4 days following the Igbuji Ji ceremony; that is to say, on the izu after Ikeji Day proper. The event of the day involves mostly the younger male members of the community and takes place in the evening at a place called obodo, the village square or playground. 

Earlier in the day, the children gather and stockpile firewood at a convenient corner of the village square. In the evening, they assemble on the square, carrying raw new yams, kitchen knives and bowls or plates of red palm oil often mixed with akpaka (sliced oil bean seeds). 

At the appropriate time, the huge heap of firewood is ignited, resulting in a huge bonfire. The excited children now push their yams into the blazing fire to roast and each guards his own jealously until it is done and ready for consumption. As the blaze declines in intensity and the yams are fully roasted, the children withdraw them, scrape them neatly and retire to their corners to enjoy the meal. After that each child returns to his home, full of joy and tales of what transpired during the oku obodo. 

This is to say that Ikeji Festival takes care of every segment of the population in Mgbowo; males, females, adults and children. It is our community's most universal cultural festival. 

2.2.5 Ifu Ahia Ikeji 

Traditionally, Onwa Tonnu ends 8 days (izulambo) after Ikeji Day. It is the day Ikeji Festival comes to a close with the spectacular outing of the populace in the community market place; hence, the phrase, Ifu Ahia. 

However, with the adjustment of Mgbowo market day from Orio to Eke in the late 1950s, Ikeji Festival now lasts for seven, instead of eight days and ends on Eke market day; a day earlier than used to be the case. 

Activities of this grand finale include the display of masquerades in the market place. Every village adorns and leads its own masquerades to the venue to entertain the jubilant audience with dances and acrobatic skills. The people cheer and pelt the dancers with cash presents. Everyone going to the market for this special event turns out in his or her best attire. 

At the end of the day, the Ikeji Festival is formally over and everybody returns home to wait, nostalgically, for that of the next year. 

3.0 Significance of Ikeji Festival 

Our elders believe that yam is indigenous to our community. This is unlike cassava, which is known to have been brought in from outside through Imeama Village; hence, the expression, "Sam bia gbaa Imeama I'ish;, which you would hear a woman say when she wants to eat cassava foo-foo. 

Today, both yam and cassava are cultivated as cash and subsistence crops throughout Igbo land and beyond but nowhere is the cassava revered or celebrated as the yam. Indeed, apart from the human being and land, yam is arguably the next most revered terrestrial object among our people; and, therefore, must be seen as having great significance, which is why it is celebrated in Ikeji Festival. Thus, we can safely assert that the significance of Ikeji is inextricably intertwined with that of yam as the king of all our local crops. 

For instance: 

* Ikeji is, by far, the most important common festival in Mgbowo and its month (Onwa Tonnu) the most significant month in our local calendar. In those days of Irosh; in Onwa Esaa, a family that could not perform the ritual during the month was free to do so in Onwa Tonnu. 

* Yam is regarded as sacrosanct in Mgbowo cosmogony or tradition. 

Consequently, it is an abomination for any Mgbowo person to steal yam and, if one deliberately uproots a newly-sown yam seedling, one has grievously offended the gods. In addition, a menstruating woman is forbidden from entering yam barn, and two persons don't hold a yam when it is being cut. 

* Yam confers on the "big yam farmer" social esteem, recognition and wealth. 

* It is used in all important ceremonies secular and spiritual; such as marriage, birth, death, and presented as gifts to beloved and important persons. 

Aside from these values attached to yam, its significance is also felt in the impact it has in our people's way of life. For example, 

* Ikeji marks the end of the planting of yam in the course of Mgbowo calendar year. However, if for any reason a man must sow yam anytime between Ikeji and Enwu, he must do so with a knife; not with a hoe. 

* Ikeji authorizes every Mgbowo person to eat new yams for the year, wherever he is. This is to say that no indigene of Mgbowo would eat new yam until our community has celebrated Ikeji Festival. 

 

4.0  The Ogbu Ebele Ji Title 

We have observed that a great yam farmer is regarded with awe and very high esteem. He is easily a man of means and is most disposed to dine with priests and elders. To further enhance his status in the community, he could decide to take the yam title of Ogbu Ebele Ji, with the additional compliment of Onyiri Umuejonni (conqueror of gluttons). 

The taking of Ogbu Ebele Ji title is a lengthy and expensive business. It lasts for eight days (izulambo) during which rams (ebele), fowls and some other animals are slaughtered in the man's compound. Since he is supposed to have more than enough yams to feed the entire community for the period, nothing is cooked or eaten in his compound except yam and its by-products. 

On the final day of the ceremony, the title -taker's compound is a beehive of activities. People who come from far and near throng the premises and more animals are slaughtered and used for preparing soup and yam porridge to feed the people. Cultural dancers perform but prominent among them is the Ogeji music group, which provides the music for the title holder to dance. 

Finally, the yam deity, (Joku JI) is installed in the man's barn in the form of an earthen bowl (oshiri) and sacrifices made to it with a ram and fowls. From then, the barn becomes a sacred and restricted area, out of bounds for thieves, menstruating women and dishonest men. 

The celebrant has become an Ogbu Ebele Ji, and can join others before him to adjudicate in all cases involving the abuse of yam in Mgbowo. Also, in conjunction with Ndi AIi, they are first to plant new yams after Enwu Festival. 

5.0 Relationship Between Ikeji and Enwu Festivals 

Without delving into the nitty-gritty of Enwu as one of our traditional festivals, I consider it necessary, for a better understanding of our subject, to discuss the relationship between it and Ikeji. In a sense, both festivals have something to do with yam; though, while Ikeji is totally a yam festival, Enwu only serves as a whistle for yam farmers to take off in the race. This is to say that Ikeji marks the beginning of yam harvests but Enwu heralds the planting of seed yams. 

As we observed earlier in his lecture, the sowing of seed yams terminates with the harvest of new yams on Ikeji Day. The ban, as it were, is lifted on Enwu Day and fresh planting can begin the immediate next day; that is, the day after Enwu. 

Another semblance between Ikeji and Enwu is the occurrence of Eka Okuku in both festivals, during which male members of every clan in the community meet to share prayers and victuals, and to discuss issues of common interest. 

The practice, significance and rules that govern Enwu festival should be reserved for another lecture of this nature. 

 

6.0  Summary and Conclusion 

In this lecture, we have been discussing Ikeji Festival, which we have described as an aspect of Mgbowo traditional culture. I must appreciate the patriotism and foresight of the organizers of this occasion for the opportunity they have given us to recreate our remote and proximate past through this lecture. Coming at a time most of our once-cherished traditional practices have gone extinct, it is incumbent on us to use the opportunity to reflect on the consequences of presiding over the regrettable demise of our own culture and heritage. 

Agreed that Christianity and civilization have dealt stunning blows on most of our local deities and rendered them impotent and anachronistic, why should we sit back and watch while our non¬idolatrous practices are casketed and buried? Agreed that we should not return to the era of killing fowls in order to cure fevers or to the days of idol worship, why have our women stopped the child¬outing ceremony (ifuta I'omugwo) all in the name of Christianity? 

As far as I know, there is nothing fetish or idolatrous about ifuta I l’omugwo and there is no reason why it should be banned. As far as I am concerned, nothing stops us from recovering and restoring our stolen cultural heritage, no matter whose ox we may gore in the process of doing so. 

Our culture is our identity; so, to lose that culture is to lose our very identity and essence. In the good old days, what we may call the golden era of Mgbowo, our people were synonymous with humility, positive pride and ambition, hard work, honesty, truthfulness, reliability and fortitude, among other enviable attributes. They traversed the length and breadth of this country and beyond without let or hindrance; hence, they were known as ogaluzo atu utu. These qualities provided the ladder with which most prominent Mgbowo people climbed to the lofty points of success and progress. 

Today, the reverse is largely the case and we have been paying dearly for our indiscretion in the form of youth restiveness and youth mortality. It seems to me that the solution to this problem lies in turning round and returning to our roots by placing premium on those traditional values that once made Mgbowo Community and her citizens the doyen of humanity on this side of the globe. 

Thank you. 

Egbuna Akpa 

Zonal Director (Rtd.)

National Broadcasting Commission 

South East Zone.