IPOB LEADER MAZI NNAMDI KANU WAS ABDUCTED BY NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT.

ICHEOKU says if it is the Interpol, every country that is a signatory to it honors the request of any other signatory country to extradite any of its citizen who it accuses of a crime but who took up refuge in the host country. But Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a British citizen with full residential rights in Britain and is not just ordinarily taking refuge in Britain, so what happened to his British citizenship? Why did the Boris Johnson British government acquiesce to his abduction under the color of arrest and agreed to his extradition to Nigeria and not refuse the request by Nigerian government since he is a British citizen? If he was abducted from another country, when will 10 Downing Street demand his release and return back to London as a British citizen who not subject to Nigerian jurisdictional authority?

It will be abhorable if the British government does not protect a British citizen Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from his native country Nigeria's government quest for vengeance and retribution. Such indifference will only demonstrates that some foreign citizenships are not necessarily worth their weight in gold and that they do not protect their naturalized citizens with the same vigor they protect their native born citizens. What then will such naturalized citizenship still be worth when such adopted country cannot protect the holder of its such citizenship. How can Britain permit such an abominable act and not defend and protect Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from the long arm of a country from which he ran away from, denounced and disavowed before taking British citizenship; especially when he is fighting for freedom and is against human rights violations in Nigeria. 

Although the details of his arrest: how he was arrested, where he was arrested and how he was brought back to Nigeria are still sketchy, but he is now in the custody of Nigeria government in Abuja. If the statement of Nigeria's Attorney General is any guide, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was abducted from a foreign country and flown back to Nigeria in the dead of the night on June 27th, 2021. According to his office, Nnamdi Kanu has been "intercepted" and brought back to Nigeria to continue his ongoing trial after disappearing from the country. A trial bothering on terrorism, treasonable felony, managing an unlawful society, publication of defamatory matter and illegal possession of firearms. According to the AG, upon jumping bail, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu engaged in subversive activities including inciting of violence through television, radio and online broadcasts against the Nigerian state and institutions. 

ICHEOKU says the operative word here is "intercepted" which connotes that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was literally hijacked enroute a destination which is not Nigeria. He was in another country or  going there when the Nigeria government forced the issue and had him detained, handed over to the Nigeria authorities and flown back to Nigeria. It means that the Nigerian government literary kidnapped Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and forcibly took him hostage back to Nigeria. It reminds ICHEOKU of the Umaru Dikko attempted kidnap in London in 1985 when the same Muhammadu Buhari was head of State in Nigeria. The then former Transport Minister in the President Shehu Shagari government which Muhammadu Buhari military junta had overthrown in a military coup, was on self exile in London when Muhammadu Buhari's regime contracted some international kidnappers to kidnap and bring him back to Nigeria. 

They nearly succeeded with the piracy as they had kidnapped Umaru Dikko, drugged him, put him in a shipping crate and were waiting for a Nigerian plane to evacuate the load at Stansted airport back to Nigeria when they were busted. But for Umaru Dikko's secretary who witnessed the kidnap and notified Scotland Yard which sent a country wide alert, the customs would not have known to detain the plane which was about to take off for Nigeria and discovered Umaru Dikko with three of his kidnappers inside the container marked as "Diplomatic baggage." So, is it possible that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu suffered the same Umaru Dikko's experience, admitted his own succeeded as he has now been "brought" back to Nigeria. From the way he was looking, very despondent and disheveled, he could still be suffering from whatever was injected into his body. 

ICHEOKU says now that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been apprehended with the help of Interpol and flown back to Nigeria to continue with his ongoing but temporarily suspended trial, with probably an amended charge sheet to include a retinue of other charges, what becomes of IPOB. Who will step in his shoes and what is the fate of the millions of Biafran people who have invested their hope in the promise of a Biafra rebirth now that their champion and chief promoter of the Biafra project is in the custodial detention of their chief traducer, the Nigeria State. Will it be a case of cut off the snake's head and watch the rest of the body wither away or will the Nigeria State act differently in order not to provoke a resort to full armed resistance and struggle by millions of his followers. 

How will the Nigeria State play its hand going forward, aware that the world have taken notice of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and will be paying very close attention to the latest development, admitted discreetly. Unfortunately, there is no clearly discernible apparent authority figure in the IPOB who can effectively step into Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's shoes and effectively continue to pilot the affairs of IPOB. It is one sad thing about how he ran the organization so far, too much centralized authority without a functional organizational chart and instituted hierarchical order of succession, through which another leader can emerge to continue leading the struggle. 

If only he had in place, a decentralized organization without being the sole face and "administrator of IPOB, his deputy would have immediately stepped in to continue holding the forte and navigating the tiller of IPOB ship pending whatever happens. But like with so many people, there was a rift between him and his former deputy Mazi Uche Mefor and it led to the elimination of the "office" of a deputy leader of IPOB. Now, that decision has come to haunt IPOB as there is no one to automatically step in to carry the mantle of leadership in his absence. 

However, the good news is that no matter what becomes the final fate of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whether he is hung or sent to prison for life, what he accomplished cannot be easily dismissed. He has introduced Biafra to millions of people all over the world and rekindled the spirit of Biafra in the hearts of millions of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), many of who were not even born when Biafra was first conceived and fought for. 

There is a new spirit in the land of Biafra that fervently craves for an independent State of Biafra and no amount of intimidation, kidnapping, torture and killing, including the possibility of convicting and even executing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu can ever erase. Instead it will make the agitation for Biafra more relentless as new leaders will emerge to carry on the flag and many more will still rise in the future to continue with the struggle. 

When Odumegwu Ojukwu first conceived the idea of an independent Biafra nation and went to war for it, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was still a baby in diapers. Nobody ever knew that 50 odd years later that he will rise to become a leader of IPOB pursuing the same independent Biafra business. It is evident that nobody can ever kill an idea, regardless of how many of the people sharing the idea that are killed, imprisoned, tortured, kidnapped and/or purposefully marginalized and dehumanized. The Jews thought that by killing Jesus Christ that his preaching against some aspects of Judaism will simply disappear, but look where followers of Christ have taken his message, globally. The leadership in Ankara thought that by imprisoning Ocalan that PKK will just wilt away, but PKK has not disappeared several decades after. 

Even the Catalonia agitation in Spain is still giving the government in Madrid sleepless nights, wondering what next to do to resolve the issue. Western Polisario Front is still ongoing till today, so many decades following their desire to be separated from Morocco. Yasser Arafat's PLO gave birth to a Palestinian government in Ramallah and the Gaza Strip. So yes, freedom fighting is not easy and it is not a task for the faint hearted or the 'I want it now" crowd. No, it is not a walk in the park or an endeavor which accommodates time or the consciousness of watch wearers. As Nelson Mandela once said, there is no easy walk to freedom anywhere; and many freedom fighters pass through the valley of the shadow of death several times before reaching the mountaintop of their desired freedom. 

ICHEOKU prays that this latest tribulation of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, his arrest, is the last valley of the shadow of death which he will pass through. That with it, he has made the last and final payment in the installation payment for Biafra which down payment was made by Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1966 and now he will reach the mountain top of the realization of Biafra. He has sacrificed so much personally with leading the agitation for Biafra through the IPOB and has earned the right to be rewarded with a Biafra come through. He fought the good fight and now ought to reap the reward. 

May Chukwu Okeke Abiam protect him, guard his mouth from eating or drinking any compromised edible, solid or liquid; and also put a steel shield as an overcoat over his body and make it impenetrable and impermeable to any toxins, whether injected or aerosolized. It is well with Biafra and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's name is indelibly added to the pantheons of great people to have ever walked the soil of Biafra. God be with him IJN.

ICHEOKU CONGRATULATES ENGLAND.

ICHEOKU says ate the crow as England surprised everybody by defeating Germany 2:0, the first time ever during the last 56 years of many encounters between them. So, although ICHEOKU predicted that Germany will beat England, but it was not out of an irrational projection, based on antecedent. 

Germany played their hearts out but they were not lucky to convert the many missed goal scoring opportunities. Anyway, not making excuses here, just to want to admit that ICHEOKU was wrong. Congratulations to Her Majesty's subjects, all the best in the quarter finals Brits. 

PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA SENT TO PRISON: GOOD TIDINGS.

ICHEOKU says former President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for contempt of court. The former polygamous South African leader has repeatedly disrespected the court and flouted several orders for appearance in his ongoing corruption trial. A  rather recalcitrant behavior which the court described as "defiance and unlawful" and for which he will be punished. 

The court had enough of his misbehavior and decided to send a strong message to him by jailing him for 15 months, with the hope according to the judge, that it "sends an unequivocal message that the rule of law and the administration of justice always prevails". 

ICHEOKU says a very good step in the right direction towards instilling discipline in so many Africans. Hopefully too, it will serve as a deterrent to the proverbial African "big" men and women, who always see themselves as untouchables and above the law, and orientate them that they are not. Thank you, Judge Sisi Khampepe for courageously doing the right thing. Off to prison Zuma goes!

UEFA EURO 2020: WHO SHALL IT BE?

ICHEOKU says still rooting for Belgium to go all the way. England will fall to Germany and so will Ukraine to Sweden. Belgium will beat Italy, Spain will beat Switzerland, Denmark will beat Czech Republic and Sweden will beat Germany. Belgium will beat Sweden and Spain will beat Denmark and Belgium will beat Spain 1:0 in the final to lift the championship trophy. 

But whatever happens and in view of the fact that is not science but merely an educated guess based on close observation of the teams so far, may the best side win, admitted ICHEOKU considers Belgium the best side. It has been an interesting tournament so far and it can only get better going forward in this instant elimination period which the death zone, quarter and semi finals, is all about. Lets continue to enjoy the remainder of the games through July 11th. Have fun.

PULSE NIGHTCLUB NATIONAL MEMORIAL: HOW ABOUT OTHER MASS SHOOTINGS?

ICHEOKU says it is not only about bringing "pride back in the White House", how about bringing life in general back in the White House and America as well? A man who is almost lifeless was installed in the White House by the Deep State. Americans are still being killed in large numbers on the streets and in their work places. Planned Parenthood's abortion on demand is back on overdrive. Gasoline prices have skyrocketed through the roof and America's foreign policy is bleeding heavily. But instead of tackling these very cogent problems, which majority of American people would rather see solved or at least determinedly being pursued, it is pandering to the homosexual community of America that is topmost on Joe Biden's to do list and of utmost paramount importance to his administration. 

Joe Biden has ratcheted concessions to the LGBTQ community that nobody anticipated he would go this too far, too quickly and too soon, such that every other issue is literary following his gay agenda a distant second, in his order of priority and more than anyone ever imagined. This is a man who is supposedly a practicing Catholic, but who seemingly never read the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah to understand why God destroyed them. It also appears that his pretense Catholic teachings did not include the lesson on Exodus 20:13 of the Bible's "thou shall not kill" or he probably forget about it, the reason thousands of innocent unborn American babies are still being slaughtered in abortion abattoirs throughout America and he doesn't seem to care  either?  

Now, to add insult to injury, Joe Biden has selectively chosen to designate a homosexual mass shooting venue a national memorial and you ask yourself how about other mass shooting venues in America? Why are they not worthy enough or deserving of being similarly designated? A Joe Biden administration that already parades so many homosexuals including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Deputy Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Deputy Communication Director Pili Tabor and Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo just to name a few, has now extended his solidarity with the homosexual community by designating a gay spot in Orlando Florida a National Memorial Landmark. ICHEOKU says why?

Why only single out Pulse Night Club and leave other places where mass shootings also took place in America? Why not similarly designate all of them as National Memorials? What was the paradigm and benchmarks used in choosing Pulse Night Club which other places did not have or failed to meet in other to qualify? But Joe Biden cannot seem to pander enough to the queers of America, including striking down so many laws which were put in place to sanitize America's sociology because he consider them anti homosexuals and therefore have to change them. They include bathroom law, homosexuals in the military wasting tax payers money for sex change operations and selectively choosing when it is ok to identify females as females and when there should be no line between genders and other such senseless woke driven changes that have been re-instituted since January 20th 2021.

What a pandering of the worst order as Pulse Night Club Orlando Florida was not the first place to ever be shot up in a mass shooting in America nor was it even the deadliest. So, what factors were used in determining its sole eligibility as a national memorial landmark, far and beyond other places which have similarly suffered such heinous mass shootings in America. Why exhibit such one sided concern for adults homosexuals venue when 22 innocent kindergarten children were similarly slaughtered in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Where is their own national memorial? If the decision was based on the large number of casualties, where then is the national memorial for the Las Vegas country music festival mass shooting which claimed the lives of 60 Americans, which was more than the 49 that were killed in the Pulse Night Club shooting. Columbine High School did not get a national memorial either for the 12 students lost in their own mass shooting and the story goes on.

ICHEOKU says is not against any place being designated howsoever the authorities chooses; but where is the sanctimonious "equity" perpetually being preached by the Joe Biden administration, the reason it is marginalizing White people in favor of other colored people? ICHEOKU is merely seeking to understand how the decision to designate Pulse Night Club a national memorial was reached and why other mass shootings in America did not qualify for the same designation. Kindergarteners have been killed; High Schoolers have been killed and festival goers have also been killed. None of them got a national memorial, but it is only a place for the gathering of queers in Orlando Florida that Joe Biden now saw fit to designate a national memorial landmark and you ask yourself, why? 

In fairness and equality, as being preached by the Joe Biden administration, Joe Biden should have designated every place where mass shootings ever took place in America as as a national memorial or not designate any place at all. Or is Joe Biden, by his selective decision and action, now telegraphing to Americans that some lives are more important than others or that homosexuals are more equal than other Americans that their lives should matter more and be valued more than other lives in America? Why particularly honor them and not other Americans whose lives were similarly taken in mass shootings like those homosexuals at Pulse Night Club? 

Was an elementary school not a place of acceptance? Was a festival not a place of joy? So, why were the tragedies of Sandy Hook Elementary and Las Vegas not of "unspeakable pain and loss" magnitude to warrant them being named national memorial landmarks or have we fully recovered from them not to remember that they ever happened? Why are there no monuments to the loss that occurred in these other places as well? And yes, those killed in these other places are family members, parents, children, friends, veterans, students, young, black, Asian, Latino and of course Whites as well, all fellow Americans; admitted Joe Biden would rather ignore and not mention the White people who similarly fell to the bullets of the mass shooter at his preferred Pulse Night Club. 

Joe Biden's antipathy against White people has taken a turn for the worse that he mentioned every other race that was killed at Pulse Night Club but purposefully left out mentioning the majority White people who were killed that night at that night club, why? Although what Joe Biden's administration was going to be like was anticipated by many people, but nobody ever knew that it was going to be this rivetingly so anti White people. Is it possible that there were no blacks, Asians and Latinos victims at Sandy Hook Elementary, Columbine High School and Las Vegas country music festival, the reason those mass shooting places were not worthy of being designated national memorials. And for a guy who is supposedly a practicing catholic to be this divisive and you wonder what type of catholicism he learned growing up and what part of catholic teachings guides his actions. 

But unfortunately, an equally damaged catholic church, many of whose priests are homosexuals and pedophiles, is apparently handicapped by the Biblical parable of the speck and the log in Matthew 7:1-5 and lacks the moral authority to admonish and/or reprimand Joe Biden and encourage him to mend his ways and stop hating White people and propagating sinful behaviors. The Catholic Church is so weakened that it cannot even seem to reach an agreement on something so ordinary as stopping Joe Biden from receiving holy communion; talkless of completely excommunicating him from the catholic church for not being a good catholic as his morality has nosedived into near counter catholicism. 

ICHEOKU says Joe Biden owes American people some explanation, particularly those who lost loved ones in other mass shootings in America, on why their own loved ones were not memorialized and their killing venues similarly designated National Memorials. These other grieving American families need such a place too, where they can periodically visit to pay homage and spend some quiet time with their departed loved ones, in their last place alive and spiritually engage with them. So, why Pulse Nightclub and not all these other places? This is the only question which this author is seeking an answer to, the reason for this piece; and not that the author is in any way or form anti the designation, but that fairness and equality demand a one cap fits all designation of all mass shooting venues in America as National Memorials or none of them at all, including Pulse Night Club Orlando Florida. #TheirOwnNationalMemorials; #AllOfThemOrNoneOfThem.

WHISPERING JOEY: HAVING FUN OR SOMETHING GONE TERRIBLY AWRY?

ICHEOKU says until now we used to have whispering wind as recorded in 1 Kings 19:12 in the Bible. We also have Cesar Millan the dog whisperer and of course the tree known as the whispering pine to mention a few. Suddenly, Joe Biden happened and  America now have added to their lexicon of whispering, a leader who whispers instead of roaring as an American leader should, ought and is expected to always forcefully speak, without fear or intimidation.

The leader of America has now morphed into a whispering Joey, a complete caricature of an American leader; thereby bringing to focus the atrocious Deep State's manipulation that was November 3rd 2020. Yes, it is the same Joe Biden whose wife is Doctor Jill, whose dog Champ recently passed away and whose other dog Major bites people in the White House, needless to add that it also pees and poops everywhere in the White House as it has no manners nor doggy home training at all. Then add his crackhead son Hunter and the not so stellar tale of the Biden's family equation comes a full complete circle. 

But why has the physically feeble and mentally heavily depreciated Joe Biden suddenly chosen to whisper instead of to speak audibly loud enough so that his audience can hear him clearly well without straining their ears in an effort to decipher what he is whispering? Was it just for fun or has he began to see dead people as old people his age who are nearing their end of life usually hears, forcing them to exhibit some child-like behaviors including whispering. 

Although Osment of Sixth Sense does not belong to this group of geriatrics, but his was understandably  purposefully attuned. Old age makes mockery of people and Joe Biden in particular, who is now being guided by nurses for directions and personal business, is beginning to exhibit alarming  signs which suggest that confinement in a senior citizens center and away from the White House and its associated arduous responsibilities is the right thing to do now. Even his periodic lucidity and psychiatric evaluations should be instituted now.

Imagine what Saturday Night Live would have done with his character if only they were not too "wokely" biased and fully bought into the Joe Biden's charade body and soul and will not go there, with characterizing his person in their skits. Imagine what the talking circus and the media would have done the day after airing such skit where a whispering Joe Biden made it on SNL the night before. This is the reason they have lost the wind underneath their sail and their once hilarious show has thanked with a drastically reduced audience nationwide. Other comedians have also conformed to the "do not touch Joe Biden" rule having succumbed to the wokeism which now pervades America. Just imagine all the comic materials that could have been mined from Joe Biden but which now lay undisturbed. 

Sometimes ICHEOKU wonders if Joe Biden is even aware of himself, his essence and/or his presence in the White House; and you wonder for how much longer American people will be able to put up with his continued staged presence in the White House before something is forced to give way. Suddenly, not even the 25th Amendment gets mentioned any more within the leftist woke fake news media and Democratic Party circle, now that an apparent reason exists for not only its mention but it's invocation. This is unlike the President Donald John Trump days when it was frequently brought up simply because President Donald John Trump misremembers a name or forgot about one obscure date. 

Imagine what the decibel of such noise would have been right now, had it been that it is President Trump who is so confused and obviously lost and has no required presence of mind to be in the White House. But it is Joe Biden and he is barely cognitive, yet it is alright with the media as they have safely navigated away from both calling for 25th Amendment and even observing the apparent mentally challenged Biden with even a mere mention. They have refused to go there because their Joe Biden is above reproach and cannot be questioned and neither can his mental quotient be subject to any doubt or psychiatric evaluation and analysis. 

ICHEOKU says blames the whispering on advanced old age and rapidly deteriorating mental condition.  As anyone who has dealt with aging parents or relatives would readily attest, such weird behavior sometimes comes with the aging process and Joe Biden is far gone into the territory and aging has not been particularly very kind to him. Some people age gracefully with their mind and body very much in intact relatively speaking. 

Queen Elizabeth of England is one such example and she is obviously in a far better shape, physically and mentally, than Joe Biden. The Queen is still very coherent, still very much self self aware and still easily finds her way around without minders or assistants; unlike the mumbling and feeble old fella from Scranton who went from an Amtrak riding senator from Delaware to vice president before the Deep State installed him in the White House. 

ICHEOKU says Joe Biden's glorious days are since behind him and he should do the needful now and quit the scene before he stumbles America into a big doodle. He doesn't even know what he is doing any longer, such that he will threaten to veto an infrastructure bill which he sponsored and proudly hailed as a milestone achievement, only for his managers to later recant and deny that he so threatened just within 24 hours of his doing that. Is this what America will be forced to put up with for the next three and half years remainder of this administration? 

What happens when his minders let their guards down and he does or says something that becomes an international embarrassment to America? What happens when he can no longer lip through prepared remarks or stumbles and falls flat on his face in public? ICHEOKU prays that the good Lord continues to protect America from such event and strengthen Joe Biden to enable him saunter through the remaining three and half years and if he can't, to give him the wisdom to know when to call it quit and resign honorably. Hopefully, the Deep State will not be able to pull off another hijack of an American election and cheat Americans out of their lawful votes and  enable Americans, to in fact, have someone they actually elected be in the White House. 

ICHEOKU says is not a fan, never was and could care less whether what almost everyone knew a long time ago but which some people kept silent about, is now undeniably starring everybody on the face. A heavily physically depreciated and mentally fatigued Joe Biden in the White House was not American people's choice nor making; it was a construct of a contrived Deep State's machination. This is why dictators all over the world never change their old ways because they know that they can easily wait out any American president. 

They believe too that American presidents are largely mere figure heads and hold no real power, the reason anybody can be placed in the White House to fill the role. Barack Obama got into the White House a green horn and now Joe Biden is in the White House nearly vegetated. Anyway, lets see how soon Kamala Harris will be called upon to finish whatever is left of the term; but the truth be spoken, things are definitely not looking good for Joe Biden.

BRITISH CHEATING SECRETARY OF HEALTH RESIGNS.

British Health Secretary Matthew Hancock was forced to resign his office for kissing and cuddling another man's wife, his side chic, while the British coronavirus lockdown's six feet distancing was still in place. He is married and his paramour Gina Coladangelo is also married, but the two were caught messing around with each other, cheating on their respective spouses, with the now erstwhile Secretary grabbing her arse and giving her a firm butt squeeze. 

It speaks volume about what goes on inside the corridors of power everywhere in the world, including all those facade of "just mingling around" with colleagues. It is a non stop quid pro quo, all manners of trade offs, including sexual favors for political favors. 

This is yet another incontrovertible proof that marriage or monogamous relationship hardly works and is a ruse for the most part. However, the former secretary was even lucky that he only lost his position because in Nigeria, one such side chic recently stabbed her married lover to death and also stole a lot of his money. ICHEOKU says may be legalizing polygamy and polyandry will help solve some of these marital and infidelity problems, so that those who want to be like King Solomon can freely do so; ditto those who want to be like the Queen of Sheba. Enough of the heartbreaks.

DEREK CHAUVIN'S 22.5 YEARS SENTENCE: FAIR, GEORGE FLOYD CAN NOW REST.

ICHEOKU says if only victims of police brutality in America are always this reasonably compensated and their death atoned for, with award of huge death settlement and severe punishment of the offending police officer, things would have since changed for the better. The police would have adjusted their manner of law enforcement and victims' survivors would not be always as angry each time they are victimized through the loss of their loved ones in the hands of the police. With $27 million in wrongful death settlement and the killer police officer Derek Chauvin now sentenced to 22,5 years imprisonment, it is without doubt that George Floyd's death has been fully and adequately recompensed. 

So, yes, George Floyd's death was not in vain afterall, as in addition to his death calling world's attention to police brutality in America especially against black people, it also brought some financial succor to his family and now the police officer who strangled him to death has been maximally punished as allowed by law. George Floyd can now finally breathe, aware that he accomplished more in death than ever imagined alive and that his name is now indelibly written in the annals of history. It will be the first time a police officer was charged, convicted and then stiffly punished for an abuse of authority which caused the death of a citizen. The precedent has now been set in stone and it will serve as a guide going forward.

So, as former Minneapolis police officer and convicted murderer Derek Chauvin spends the next twenty two and half years of his life behind bars, in the cold concrete walls of a prison cell, he will have enough time to reflect on his action which put him in the tiny six by twelve prison cell. He will also have time to fully understand the ramification of arbitrarily wielding of force and over an unarmed citizen; and being ruthlessly so mean that he took his life in the process. 

Hopefully, each time he tries to catch some sleep, he will have George Floyd to always keep him company and together, they will relive the nightmare of kneeling on a man's neck for nine long minutes until he choked him to death. Finally, such experience will later become so unbearable for him to put up with that he will consider a noose exit out of his harried nightmare, assuming other prisoner's shank doesn't get at him first. 

In his pre-sentence remarks, the Judge said that Derek Chauvin was cruel, abused his authority, acted with others and in front of children. All aggravating factors which influenced the harsh sentence which was handed to him. The first time in the history of America that a police officer was punished so severely for a crime committed under the color of authority. It is a good sign that things have changed forever in America and the old days of giving them a slap on the wrist, when and if charged, is now over. 

The punishment is stiff as no matter how anyone weighs it, 270 months behind bars is not a walk in the park nor a vacation in the Bahamas. Even if he serves only two third of the sentence for good behavior or is someday pardoned, the fact  remains that the precedent has now been set and it will serve as a deterrent and help modulate overall bad policing. 

ICHEOKU had in a previous article following his conviction in April said that Judge Peter Cahill must also come through with justice for George Floyd by meeting the public's expectation of a stiff sentence. In the article, imposing at minimum, the half of the maximum allowed sentence for the highest convicted charge of second degree, 40 years, was suggested. So, 22.5 years is definitely more than 20 years and for this, ICHEOKU is completely satisfied that Derek Chauvin was sufficiently punished for the callous murder of George Floyd. 

ICHEOKU is also glad that the motion for a retrial was denied as there was no abuse of process and the convict was not denied his constitutional right to fair trial. In one other article, ICHEOKU had observed that it does not matter how many times the case is "retried" or in whichever venue it was moved to, the conviction will never be upturned and that such will be merely wasting the resources of the city or police union which will foot the bill. 

Anyway, it is good that the George Floyd's matter has now come to an end, admitted some Federal cases against Derek Chauvin are still evolving through the system. But the nation will now move on to other challenges facing the country, with the George Floyd matter now effectively put in the rearview mirror, where it now belongs. A sentence of 22.5 years, an order to register as a predatory offender and prohibited from ever owning or possessing firearms and/or ammunition for the remainder of his natural life are more than anyone could have anticipated. Therefore, it was a resounding victory for George Floyd who now laughs last, admitted in the land beyond. Rest on George and to Derek Chauvin, please do the time as you did the crime; and Judge Cahill's sentence was fair enough. 

MIAMI BUILDING COLLAPSE: EERILY SIMILAR TO 9/11 AND OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING.

ICHEOKU says authorities should not rule anything out, including a possible terrorist bombing, as buildings do not ordinarily collapse and pancake as this one did. Speaking of Champlain Towers South of 8777 Collins Avenue Surfside Miami North Florida. Watching the video of the collapse and the nature of the disaster, particularly how the entire section housing the 55 units of the 136 units of the building, quickly came down, it is possible that it was due to an active sabotage. We have seen such before in New York City Twin Towers as well as Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. 

If as some people are theorizing that the Miami building collapse was caused naturally as a result of some seismic activities of liquefaction, the entire building containing the entire 136 units would have all collapsed since they all rest on the same foundation and was built with the same specifications, using the same blue print. If as some other people opine the building was weakened as a result of sea effects, it is illogical because the building was not the only building located close to the ocean as so many other buildings are even closer to the shores than the collapsed building. This is why every rock must be turned over to unearth the cause of the building collapse in Miami as such buildings do not just collapsed in this manner. 

Some witnesses said that they heard loud explosions as clapping thunder and earthquake would make and that it was the craziest and scariest sound they ever heard. But being so late in the night, nobody so far has claimed that they saw any flashes as explosives would make or even smoke as exploding dynamites would cause; but the absence of this should also not be a reason for completely ruling out such a possibility. If the Twin Towers and Oklahoma City Federal building terrorists bombings had happened in the night, without eye witnesses seeing the active terrorism take place, possibly, we may still be wondering what exactly brought the buildings down. So, we must not allow the lack of witnesses to rule out the possibility that the building in Miami also took a deliberate hit. ICHEOKU is not saying that the Miami building was brought down by an act of terrorism but that terrorism should not be ruled out as a possible causation.

Luckily so far, 102 people have been accounted for, with 97 people still unaccounted for and three already confirmed dead. Hopefully the good Lord showed mercy and saved the rest of still to be located people or at least the majority of them. It is very unfortunate that another structure just came tumbling down in America, so close to the collapse of the pedestrian bridge in Washington DC. It questions the structural integrity of buildings and other civil structures in the United States of America and demands urgent action. Such stories of sudden collapse of structures are usually the exclusive preserve of third world "shit-holey" countries, but that it is now beginning to happen and with such frequency in the almighty first world United States of America, leaves many people dumbfounded and wondering what has gone wrong. 

Now, every person residing in a high rise building, especially in Miami Florida, will be second guessing their decision as to the choice of residence. New York Twin Towers collapse shook skyscrapers and high-rises loving New Yorkers to their marrows and it took a very long time to restore their confidences. The collapse of the 12 storey Miami building will not be any different as it will put fear into the hearts of high-rise residents in Miami and Florida in general. 

Anyway, may the souls of those who have died now rest and may God help those still unaccounted for to be found in one piece. To the great first responders and emergency crew, working overtime to either rescue or recover those still believed trapped in the building wreckage, God's speed. It is sad that American tragedies never stops but keeps on piling up, from gun violence to accidents to natural disasters to now structural failures. What is going on America or may be, is it about time we re-invite God back to America that he can once again take effectively control in our lives and be the one in charge of affairs in America. It used to be his country until Wokeness chased him away and now he silently watches sidelined, as things go wrong in America. #LetsGiveGodHisAmericaBack.

PHILIPPINES FORMER PRESIDENT AQUINO: DEAD AT 61, ADIEU NOYNOY.

ICHEOKU says he was only 61 years old and died from complications of kidney problems and a heart condition. He had a heart surgery and was also undergoing dialysis for a period of about five months preceding his death. Noynoy was the 15th president of the Philippines and served from 2010 to 2016 and was succeeded by the incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte. 

He was unmarried throughout his life and even as president, had a hairdresser friend who stood in as Philippines "First Girl: whenever official function required it. Many people are convinced that he was a closeted homosexual gay man, but hey, all of that are now dead with him. May his soul now rest. The former President Benigno Aquino III will be missed by his people. ICHEOKU extends our condolences to the great and interesting people of The Philippines for their loss. Adieu Noynoy.

JOHN MCAFEE COMMITS SUICIDE AT 75: WAS IT NECESSARY?

ICHEOKU says he should not have done that, kill himself, not after having lived this long and now nearing the final eclipse of his life. He should have toughed it out and bowed out like a man, standing on his two feet and squarely faced his adversary. But to die a coward who is afraid to face prison time is neither acceptable nor understandable. Unless of course, he did not kill himself just like his "Epstein didn't kill himself", but was also another victim of some dark forces out to exert their revenge for some unforgivable wrong which he did to them. But even if the United States government would have secured his conviction and he goes to prison for 30 years, was it worth killing himself in order to avoid? 

At his advanced age and with good behavior, it would have been very easy to secure him some reprieve of parole, pardon or even probation and/or payment of fine in lieu. He could also have had whatever sentence imposed commuted. More-so, it may not have been an automatic 30 years prison sentence upon conviction and even if, every court decision is appealable and an appellate judge might have seen the case differently and enough to reduce the sentence, order a new trial or completely throw the case out.

He said that he did not want to die in prison as America government would have given him a 30 years sentence, a life sentence at his age; which meant that he would have died in prison; but ironically, he ended up still dying in prison. So what difference did it make now that he took his own life in a prison confinement which he vowed that he did not want to die in? But he would rather commit the worse crime anyone can ever imagine, killed himself by hanging, violently dying in prison in Barcelona instead of peacefully dying in a prison in America. As a suicide, the world has rejected him and so will the heavens too; and now he is most likely going to end up in hell, if he is not banished to a perpetual wandering about life of a restless ghoul, all of which were otherwise avoidable. 

It was like a cornered criminal killing himself instead of going out through suicide by cops, so that the cops can bear the burden soul of killing the person. He would have allowed American government to be the one responsible for taking his life, if imprisoned and eventually died in their prison custody; as that would have spared him the harshness of self kill. He suffered the agonizing pain of a neck break and his name will now forever live in the shame and infamy of being a suicide. Regardless of how surreal and inhuman American prisons are, a life in prison is still far better than being dead and rotten inside a grave, especially when one was violently transported there through suicide. 

However, John Mcafee was somewhat witty and one of his ICHEOKU's favorite play with words was: "I was stunned by Epstein's suicide, though probably not as much as Epstein himself." Another was when explained in an interview who his father, who also committed suicide, really was to him: "Every day I wake up with him. Every relationship I had, he was always by my side. Every mistrust I had, he was always the negotiator of that mistrust. So my life is fu*ked" (because of him). 

Anyway, whether he was Epstein(ed) in the Barcelona prison or not, the imperative now is that John McAfee has since assumed room temperature and no longer alive. May his soul now rest. ICHEOKU strongly says that he would have taken his chances and not have taken his own life, He once said that heaven is relative and that for prisoners who have a free shelter, three meals a day, sleeping bunks and some other accesses, their life is heaven compared to some hunger starved and diseases stricken people throughout the world who have none of those "privileges". But the big question remains why he still killed himself after vehemently stating that suicide will never be his portion and that if anything like that ever happened, that it was not his voluntary act. 

Unfortunately, no one will ever know the answer to whether John McAfee indeed took his own life as the government has told the world that he committed suicide in his prison cell and so will the story remain. After what happened to Jeffrey Epstein inside New York Metropolitan Correctional Center and the overbearing evidentiary circumstances strongly suggesting that suicide was not his weapon of choice, the world moved on, believing that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. So, as with Epstein, so shall it be with McAfee and the world will similarly go on living, admitted that John McAfee immortalized himself in his anti virus software McAfee and will live on though it. Adieu Jon. 

LAUREL HUBBARD OF NEW ZEALAND: GIVE WOMEN THEIR WEIGHTLIFTING BACK.

ICHEOKU says the world must stand together and not allow the idiosyncrasy of New Zealanders to become the new benchmark or template for the rest of the world in women sports. That the International Olympic Committee has signed off on the aberration does not make it right and should be resisted. If the absurdity works for them in Kiwi land, it does not mean it also works for the rest of humanity or should be forcibly imposed on the world as the new gold standard. 

It is not acceptable for a 43 year old man to just decide that he is no longer a man but a woman and allowed to compete in women weightlifting and participate in the Olympics as a female weightlifting athlete. How can anyone, with any iota of reasoning, ever find such decrepitude acceptable in women sports and giving undue advantage to a 43 year old man over women; otherwise why was women sports created in the first instance. Why have women sports if men are allowed to compete in them using whatever subterfuge and guise to con their way through. In the alternative, ICHEOKU says it is better to completely erase the currently existing dichotomy between men's sports and women's sports and make sports in general a gender neutral activities and get it over with. 

But unfortunately, women who are supposed to be up in arms against such insanity are not raising their voices in such numbers as would matter and vehemently protest against Laurel Gavin Hubbard competing with women in the Olympics women weight lifting events. Is it because women do not really care about other women as the saying goes or that women selectively choses when to profess their womanhood, when it suits a specifically predetermined narrative and objective. Why is it that despite the many decades of their complaining that men are dominating them and championing women liberation, that they would now turn around and accept this by signing off on a continuing male domination of women, disguised as "tolerance" for transgenderism. 

When will enough really going to be actually enough? Must society allow itself to be continuously blackmailed into accepting values which were previously seriously frowned at; and if, who knows what they will come up with next? It started with asking to be accepted as queers and people who are different from the rest of normal human beings. Then they began imposing their weirdo lifestyle on society by publicly parading themselves as the new normal. The society accommodated it just for the sake of good neighborliness; but instead of staying on their own newly granted lane, they have shifted their focus and are now full throttle for the total domination of the entire society, eager to replace societal norms with their own manufactured lifestyle of crisis and conflict. 

Who would have thought a decade ago that a time will come when men will be parading themselves as women or as they will like to call it, "transgendered"; and actively seeking to displace women in women sports. But it is happening and with a mercurial speed as the International Olympic Committee has now bought into the New Zealand's experimentation by approving the participation of a 43 year old New Zealand man, Gavin Hubbard, in women's weightlifting competition at the Tokyo Olympics, the first time in the history of the Olympics. IOC have bitten into the poisonous apple of Wokeism and are now infected, hence their decision to accept that Gavin Hubbard is now Laurel Hubbard and is free to compete as a female in their organized Olympics. 

ICHEOKU says the rest of the world must say no to this and refuse to accept this deviancy.  This attempt by New Zealand colluding with the IOC to impose their societal depravity on the rest of the world must be rejected. If it means boycotting the weightlifting event involving Laurel Gavin Hubbard, so be it; but to participate in it, fully aware of the predetermined outcome of such skewed event, will be aiding and abetting the assault on women's sports. Nothing justifies it and nothing will ever make it alright for men to suddenly claim that they are no longer men but women and demand that they be allowed on the train of women's sports. Women must stand up and resist and fight in order not lose the gains of their over century old battle for liberation. They must not stand aside and look as their women sports is taken over by men. They must do something about it and stopping Laurel Gavin Hubbard might be a good place to start.

But with a world already on its head, where Caitlyn Jenner, after fathering some children, now parades himself as a SHE; and where the 43 year old Kiwi man Gavin Hubbard now competes with women in women's weightlifting competition as Laurel Hubbard, it looks like the battle has already been lost. Who knows what other shoe will drop next and when? The world Society is on a rapid decent into the dark abyss of anomaly where things once frowned at are now suddenly new and acceptable where a previously shameful minority are now crawling their way to the mountain top unabashedly shameless. But for how long will the society continue to tolerate this madness of an otherwise very negligible minority which is hellbent on remaking the world in their utopian image. What happened to majority rule or will the society allow itself to be silenced by these bat shit nut jobs? 

In the final analysis, why is it acceptable to disqualify a female athlete who takes steroids and any title won stripped, but it is ok for a man to be allowed to compete with women in a women sports.  Steroids is primarily to boost muscle mass and men naturally have more muscle mass than women, so why is it ok for Laurel Hubbard to be allowed in the Olympics? Like ICHEOKU, everyone should be tired of the bizarre leftist extremism which is spreading like wildfire across the globe. It is time to break their backbone and kneecap their radical ideological agenda and the world can start by giving back women their sports. Enough of the madness. Gavin Hubbard is a man and he cannot just wish that away simply with a change of name, because Laurel Hubbard has the same genetic markers, make up and propensities as Gavin Hubbard. So do not allow him cheat his way to weightlifting laurels at the Olympics. #SayNoToHubbard.

ETHNIC PRIDE AND PREJUDICE IN NIGERIA - SIMON KOLAWOLE.

Riddle: name the Nigerian ethnic group known for being “arrogant” and “clannish”. I will give you one or two clues to make things easier. They are perceived by others as thinking and acting like they are God’s greatest gift to Nigeria. They think they are by far superior to the other ethnic groups. Give them a space in public office and they will take a yard, filling every available position with people from their ethnic group. Even the gateman, the cook and the cleaner will be from their own part of the country. When one of them starts a line of business, sooner than later they will populate and dominate that space with their kith and kin. Any guesses? Yoruba? Hausa? Fulani? Igbo?

Maybe your guess is Yoruba. They are accused of “ethnic arrogance”. They actually call themselves the “Yoruba race”, meaning they are not just an ethnic group like others but a whole race — as you have the white race, the black race and the human race! In fact, the Yoruba pride themselves as the “most educated” and the “most sophisticated” in Nigeria. Their elite often say “the rest of the country is holding us back”. The solution is the revival of the defunct Oyo Empire under an Oduduwa Republic! There is this Yoruba saying: “Ajise bi Oyo laari, Oyo kiise bi eni kookan” (“You can only imitate Oyo; Oyo do not imitate anyone”). Pride? Arrogance?

On clannishness, some argue that the Yoruba are the kings of “tribalism”. Some say Yoruba started ethnic politics in Nigeria when the Greak Zik was denied premiership of Western region in 1952. President Olusegun Obasanjo was initially accused of running an “Afenifere government” in 1999. Mr. Louis Odion, respected columnist, wrote in Daily Sun (November 9, 2003) that Obasanjo had established a “new Yoruba oligarchy”; the NNPC GMD, the police IG and the CBN governor were all Yoruba, he said. Most recently, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo was accused of filling government with Yoruba and Redeemed Church members within two weeks of being acting president!

Being classified as “arrogant and clannish” is not limited to the Yoruba, so my riddle remains unsolved. You want to make another guess? The “born-to-rule” Fulani and their Siamese twin, Hausa! I grew up being made to understand that the “Hausa/Fulani oligarchy” think they own the country. In fact, I used to hear of the “Kaduna Mafia” that decided everything about political power in Nigeria. The rest of Nigeria believed (believes?) if you do not pander to the Hausa/Fulani interest, you can never become president. The late Alhaji Maitama Sule, former minister, was once quoted as suggesting that northerners were the ones divinely gifted with the leadership of Nigeria.

As for clannishness, one of the raging accusations against President Muhammadu Buhari is that he has filled his government with the Hausa/Fulani. Since he came to power in May 2015, there has been an outcry that most revenue-rich agencies (“plum jobs”, as we call them in Nigeria) and key security bodies are headed by the Hausa/Fulani. The recent recruitment by the DSS, in which more people were employed from Katsina state than the entire south-east, is further given as evidence. The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was also intensely accused of not just filling strategic positions with northerners but making sure they were from the Katsina-Kano axis.

So maybe Hausa/Fulani is the answer to the riddle? Or Igbo? I recently got entangled in a protracted but decent argument with a reader over my article, “Biafra is Not a Dirty Word” (May 28, 2017). In it, I broached the possibility of a president from the south-east in 2019 to balance the national equation and continue the nation-building project. The reader objected furiously. She said she would never support an Igbo to become president. She said the Igbo think they are superior to everyone else “and that the rest of us are just making up the numbers”, reminding me that the Greak Zik was quoted in 1949 as saying the Igbo were created “to lead the children of Africa from bondage”.

She referred to a statement attributed to Mr. Charles Onyeama, an Igbo lawyer and member of the central legislative council, in 1945 that “Igbo domination of Nigeria is only a matter of time”. She argued that the central thesis in Prof. Chinua Achebe’s book, “There Was a Country”, is that Nigeria was making progress when Igbo were the ones calling the shots — “an arrogant suggestion that merit is an exclusive Igbo thing”. She added: “Achebe more or less said Nigeria was no longer a country because his Igbo brethren lost their strategic positions at federal level after the July 1966 countercoup. That is conceit undisguised.”

Sure, I am aware of the arguments being articulated against the Igbo by other ethnic groups, particularly the charge of clannishness. They are often accused of seeking to dominate anywhere they operate. It is said that when an Igbo trader rents a shop, he will soon make sure all the surrounding shops are taken by fellow Igbo traders. I am aware of the accusation that Senator Anyim Pius Anyim filled his office with Igbo when he was secretary to the government of the federation, and that the financial sector was overwhelmingly Igbo when Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was minister of finance. So, is Igbo your final answer to the riddle?

Wait a minute — what about the Ijaw? They were also accused of being “arrogant and clannish” when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power. Ijaw leaders and youth constantly reminded the rest of Nigeria that it is “our oyel” (also known as “oil”) that is sustaining Nigeria, isn’t it? The haughtiness of Ijaw militants such as Asari Dokubo and Government Tompolo, it was said, stank to high heavens. They were accused of walking on people’s heads. The Ijaw also speak proudly of their rich history, reminding anyone who cares that they had an embassy in Portugal many centuries before the rest of Nigeria knew civilisation.

And the clannishness? I used to argue that there were only two Ijaw appointees in Jonathan’s 42-person cabinet: Elder Godsday Orubebe and Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke. So how can you accuse Jonathan of running an Ijaw government when there were only two of them in his cabinet? Then I was reminded of the influence the “almighty” Chief EK Clark, the Ijaw leader, had on Jonathan to the extent that Clark’s word was final on most of Jonathan’s decisions. All Clark’s nominees for federal positions got appointed, I was informed, and the militants virtually ran Aso Rock — in addition to controlling the pipelines.

To solve the riddle then, we may need a lifeline. But here are my thoughts and personal convictions:- 

One, there is no ethnic group in Nigeria that cannot be accused of being “arrogant”. We always use Abuja and any incumbent government to make our conclusions about ethnic pride and prejudice, but when we shift the focus to our states and localities, we will discover that these complaints and accusations are universal. Ethnic pride is human, I suppose. Go to India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Singapore and even mono-ethnic societies such as Somalia and you will find it there. Even the most advanced societies are not immune to it. You have white supremacists all over the world.

Two, “clannishness” is not confined to one ethnic group. Sociologists and anthropologists are in a better position to explain why the Yoruba control taxi business in Jos, why northerners dominate retail kiosks, and why Igbo rule the motor spare parts trade. More so, every ethnic group uses derisive terms to describe others — “Ofe Manu”, “Awusa”, “Yanmiri”, “Aj’okuta ma mumi”, etc. It is not limited to Nigerians, I know, but why are our prejudices so inflammable and so easily mobilisable, thereby leading to conflict? We have to view this within the bitter competition for limited opportunities in a country where whoever holds political power controls the juices.

My conclusion, lest I forget, is that we will never build a strong and viable nation if we continue to look at the negative traits in others rather than the positive things they have to offer. Agreed, every ethnic group has something bad to say about the other, but why do we always have to look at one another from the points of weakness rather than the points of strength? I will never argue that conflicts, prejudices and biases will disappear from our society. There is no society in the world devoid of prejudice — be it ethnic, racial, religious, ideological or regional. As far as I can see, it is human. I am not expecting Nigeria to become the first perfect country in the world. Not so fast.

My expectation, however, is that those who call the shots, those who mould opinion, those in positions of influence would reflect deeper. There are no saints in the underdevelopment of Nigeria. No ethnic group is devoid of arrogance, clannishness, corruption, indiscipline and greed. How then can we begin to construct a positive story for Nigeria, in spite of prejudice? That is the challenge. I’m convinced Nigeria can work. Unfortunately, it is easier to destroy than to build. What Nigeria desperate needs are builders, but what Nigeria is getting is a growing tribe of preachers of hate and purveyors of prejudice. Those who wish Nigeria well must create a new narrative. Imperative. 

BLUE ORIGIN SPACE FLIGHT: PLEASE DON'T JINX IT FOR JEFF.

ICHEOKU says why are people so mean that they would rather see Jeff Bezos get lost in space and not return back on earth once he launches into space on July 20th, 2021. What is wrong with some people that they are this evil and so hating that they would wish such a fate upon a fellow human being. What did Jeff Bezos do wrong that some people are this antagonistic against him that they are petitioning to get him out of this world and will not mind if aliens hijacks him and confiscates his Blue Origin spacecraft. 

But to all these hateful vermin, be assured that Jeff will safely launch and safely reenter earth in one piece on July 20th, 2021, regardless of their negativity and ill will. If there is any doubt about the safety of his adventure, he would not embark on it, talkless of going to take his only brother along with him for that ride; as well as two other space enthusiasts who have shelled out a lot of money for two seats on that rocket to the edge of space. The Blue Origin vehicle was engineered for this purpose and has been severally, successfully tested over the years; and on July 20th, 2021, will satisfactorily perform as designed. 

It is very unfortunate and smacks of crass pettiness, envy and jealousy, for anybody to begrudge someone who realized his American dream to its fullest just because he now wants to go on some space adventure. Jeff Bezos built his Amazon empire from scratch and none of these ill wishers ever noticed when he was grinding himself through the ladder of success. But now that he has made it, it is time for these urchins to crawl out of their woodworks to dictate to him how he should spend his money by giving them all away; and when he refuses and chooses otherwise, they are wishing him ill. But the good news is that their mere words will not a thing impact and Jeff Bezos will not be negatively affected by what these nut jobs are saying.

ICHEOKU says anyone wishing Jeff Bezos ill with his scheduled July 20th, 2021 space flight should repent of their evil thoughts or better still, just take a leave of this planet themselves. It is not right; it is condemnable and it should be condemned by every decent person as the thoughts of some warped and demented individuals. 41,000 people so far have signed petition to stop Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin's reentry into earth once it rockets out and you wonder who they will hand the petition to for enforcement, aliens may be and will they go to Roswell to turn it in? They want to prevent Jeff Bezos from returning back to earth once he leaves and you wonder what manner of people are these anyway, whose minds are this so messed up. 

Jeff Bezos have been dreaming about going to space since his childhood. He has worked so hard to earn the right to make his dream adventure into space come true, so why all the grudge? These knuckleheads petitioning to Mother Nature or the aliens to intervene and not allow Jeff Bezos back to earth, should instead pray that his mission is successful and that he comes back safely in one piece. His utility to the people of this earth is still very much valuable and the world is generally a better place with Jeff Bezos in earth. So, quit hating, people; and let us all join our hands together in prayers in wishing the maverick Jeff, God's speed!

UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC PREJUDICES IN NIGERIA - E O EKE

The evidence would suggest that there is deep seated ethnic prejudices against Igbos in Nigeria, but not in the form many believe. I am not talking about the ethnic banter that sees Igbos call Yorubas "Ndi ofe nmanu" (people who eat oily soup) and Yorubas call Igbos "Aje okuta ma Mu omi" (people who can eat stone without drinking water), or Hausas call Igbos "Nyamiri" (please give me water to drink) and Igbo call them "Ndi Awusa" (Hausa people). 

I am talking of prejudice of the type that resulted in the Holocaust and Rwandan genocide, which is why I am alarmed.The evidence does not support the generalization that Yorubas, Hausas and other ethnic groups hate Igbos. The facts would suggest that a percentage of Nigerians, as is the case all over the world, harbor ethnic and religious prejudices and, every ethnic group in Nigeria has their good, bad and ugly. 

Unfortunately, for many reasons, which include the way Nigerians are educated, the Nigerian bad and ugly almost always, end up in position of power, where they hide behind ethnic and or religious identities to act out profound immorality, wickedness and depravity hatched in the dark recesses of their ignorant and prejudiced minds. This is why it is dangerous for any society to tolerate or normalize ethnic prejudice the way Nigeria appears to have done. 

There are prejudiced Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, Ijaws, Ibibios, Fulanis etc. It is their actions that are projected to their ethnic groups, which creates the impression that one ethnic group hates another and perpetuate the ethnic discord in Nigeria. These are the people who will lead in committing crimes against those they hate. In other words, the unacceptable behaviors of an individual or group of people from an ethnic group is projected to and ascribed to their ethnic groups. This is stigmatization  which is first step towards prejudice. 

I say these because I lived and schooled in West Nigeria among Yorubas and worked in the North amongst Hausas, Fulanis, Biroms, Kuramas etc., and East amongst Igbos. I have seen the best and worst of the diversity of Nigeria and how easily it can be upset by the actions of a few people. When I was in the university of Ife in the 80s. I bought a room in the post graduate Hall in my year 3 from a student from Edo state. When I wanted to move in, another student from Rivers state, who also bought his bed space from another post graduate student said that I would not move in because he did not want to share a room with an Igbo man with my Igbo sense. 

He threatened to deal with me, if I moved in. I left the room I paid for and pirated with a friend, in Fajuyi Hall, with a friend Chinedu Onuoha, a computer science student. A year later, I was elected president of Ife University medical student Association by majority of Yoruba students in preference to a 'son of the soil'. If Yorubas and Igbos hate themselves the way some people would want the world to believe, this would not have happened. 

Today, there are many examples in Nigeria of good interethnic relationships, but these are not highlighted and given the same coverage and consideration like the negative examples. As president of IFUMSA, I was also in charge of making sure that the rooms on campus halls earmarked for medical students were in fact occupied by medical students. On one of such inspections, I found out that the man, who chased me out of Post graduate hall the previous year, was occupying a medical student room in Fajuyi hall. He had failed his exams and was repeating the year. 

When he saw me his countenance changed and I felt he thought I would evict him. I had every right to evict him, that was what the rules stated. If I did, it would not have been because of what he did to me, even though it would be impossible to convince him otherwise. I made sure that every clinical medical student, entitled to a room got one and left the man alone. Unfortunately for him, my room was in Fajuyi hall and any time we met, he appeared uncomfortable. One day, he stopped me and apologized  He told me that what he did was wrong and I reassured him that I was not waiting for the day I would repay evil with evil. We made up. 

I knew that Ijaw people did not hold a meeting, where they decided to hate Igbos and I have never attended any meeting, where Igbos decided to hate people of other ethnic groups. I believe with education and leadership, the mistrust and ethnic tensions, which Nigerian politicians, turncoats and ethnic nationalists are exploiting for their selfish ends can be addressed. 

Nigerians are incrediblely caring, hardworking and generous people and, it would be a shame, if we allow ethnicity, religion and men, who think like, Jonathan, Buhari and Obasanjo to provide the excuse that makes us decide to go our different ways. I belong to the Nigerian generation, whose future was stolen by the Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida and Abacha generation. These men raped Nigeria and wrecked her future and expect Nigerians to bow down, whenever they appear. 

They are responsible, to a considerable extent, for many things that are wrong in Nigeria. The corruption they embraced, ensured that the country has been unable to make the necessary investments and grow the values that ensure strong and peaceful nations and their contempt for due process and rule of law has allowed autocracy, brutality and impunity to flourish. No people would be happy to be part of a country, which consciously excludes their region from developmental projects, subjects them to discriminatory treatments and find excuses to slaughter them in large numbers. Why should Nigerians expect Igbos to accept this systematic and deeply engrained injustices and prejudices? 

I believe in Nigeria, but actions like exclusion of Igbo state from interconnecting rail network make me wonder, if Igbos have a future in a Nigeria, where the likes of Buhari, who keep silent, when the Fulani herdsmen slaughter Ndigbo would be in position to determine the fate of Igbo people. If the decision to exclude Igbo States was made by Jonathan, what stops Buhari, if he is governing for the whole Nigeria, from remedying the injustice? 

This discrimination must now stop. The civil war ended more than 40 years ago. How long do the likes of Buhari and Obasanjo want Igbos to be punished for wanting to be free before they realise that what they are supporting is pure evil. The continued pursuit of policy of discrimination and active underdevelopment of Igbo regions, is an act of economic violence, collective punishment, abuse of power and misuse of position for political vendetta. 

This policy of the federal government of Nigeria, will only make more Igbos resolve to leave Nigeria and seek their future in an independent country or in any arrangement that would grant the regions the powers to develop at their own pace and control their destiny. No people with any atom of pride and sense of what they can achieve, would choose to be part of a country, where they would continue to be treated the way the government of Nigeria has treated and continue to treat Igbos and their region. It is time to end government discrimination against Igbos, link Igbo regions to the East-West rail line, repair federal roads in Igbo regions and complete the new Niger Bridge. 

These will assuage the just anger of Igbos. An East-West rail line that links Igbo towns will be one of the busiest rail lines in the world, if built and it will be a win win for Nigeria. In fact, it will be one of the best strategic moves, to make it more difficult for the region to break way from Nigeria. Nigerian government should stop hurting the country, by pursuing policy of sectarian empowerment and trying to punish Igbos. Igbos have done nothing to deserve the prejudice and punishment we have endured. It is time to end this madness