THE CAVEMEN OF AMERICA?

The 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries have among other things, revealed to the world that some places in America will qualify as the last frontier and remaining abode of our forebears - the cavemen! The States of Pennsylvania and West Virginia are two states that are still stuck in pre-civil rights era America and has refused to yield ground to all the progress so far made within the American society since the 60s. Take Pennsylvania for example, their energetic governor, Edward G. Rendell told the world before the primaries of April 22nd that his State of Pennsylvania is populated by racist white men who would rather vote for a dead pig than vote for a black man. And the governor was right as the people voted as spoken; they tuned off to all that the campaign of Barack Obama has to say, but instead trained their eyes on the blackness of Barack Obama. Otherwise, how else would it be explained that Hilary Clinton won the State of Pennsylvania with such an overwhelming digits despite that she "misspoke" severally on both sides of her mouth equivocating on what her plans of action were concerning issues that affect the average Joe Pennsylvanian. Even their loved Senator Robert Casey Jr could not assure them enough on the viability of Barack Obama's candidacy, because according to them, his blackness forecloses every other such discussion or matter as may otherwise be arising; instead they moved en-masse to a fellow white person, Hilary Clinton. They went through the election campaign tone-deaf but sighted, and only saw a black man and a white lady campaigning; today, the rest is history. And we are talking about the Penn State as they would like to be fondly called! However the action of Pennsylvania is more tolerable than that of West Virginia because during the Pennsylvania primaries there were still some flicker of hope that the Hilary Clinton's campaign may resurrect but the West Virginia election result has no basis for rationality since Hilary's Campaign was dead at best! As if the action of Pennsylvania was not loud enough, the racist state of West Virginia, one of the last bastions of KKK in America and the State that produced Senator Byrd, the once dreaded KKK Capo as their Democratic US senator; slammed Barack Obama's campaign of hope and change. Are they averse to changing their old ways of hatred and prejudice against people of color? Or are they anti-hope? One may ask? They went to the polls like wildebeest and resoundingly thumped Barack Obama because he is BLACK! According to these former slave owners, proud KKK inheritors and humanity haters, Barack reminds them of their former slaves and it is unthinkable for them that such a seismic shift will eventually happen in America. Some of them intoned that they would prefer to have "a full blooded American as president" - a metaphor for a white American. West Virginia crass aversion to a "black man" was so manifested that some of them longed for John Edwards whom they gave 7% of their votes despite that Edwards long suspended his campaign about four months ago. Icheoku went to town to try and ascertain why West Virginia voted the way they did especially in view of the fact that as at the time they voted, Hilary Clinton was no longer in any serious contention for the Democratic Party's Presidential Nomination. Icheoku discovered that West Virginia is the second poorest and least educated States in the Union; only beating Mississippi to the last place. It was also found that majority of the population are hillbillies mountain dwellers who hardly know about anything happening outside their very closed enclaves. Like some African-American who were not aware of the abolition of slavery until much later date - the reason for Juneteenth celebration, some of these West Virginians still believe that American blacks are still enslaved. Some of them also do not have television set and the only radio they may have is tuned permanently to the local station that feeds them the news they want to hear coupled with a lot of country music. Further many of them have lost their teeth as a result of moonshine and methamphetamine addiction. Also that certain percentage of them are incestuous as they do not know any better. That their men like their women 300lbs big or more and relish tobacco chewing as their past time.That the biggest employer of labor there is coal mining and hence most of them spend their time under the ground, in the coal mines, from dawn to dusk and are oblivious of life outside their immediate nuclear family. People with such a way of life are not expected to behave otherwise but are implored to open up a little that they may assimilate the new America where everyone has become full citizens with equal rights. West Virginians you can still make up for this inexplicable behaviour exemplified in your votes and do right during the November general election, by voting for the Democratic Party!
Because of the crass racism displayed during the last primaries by these the two most racist States of the Union, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Icheoku hereby declare them the two remaining HELL HOLES of America's past! Hopefully a Barack Obama's presidency will help change their minds about other human beings who do not necessarily look like them, by positively affecting their lives and for the better. CHANGE YOUR WAYS PENNSYLVANIA AND WEST VIRGINIA AND HOP ON THE BARACK OBAMA'S TRAIN TO THE WHITEHOUSE!Speak Icheoku Speak!

IGBOS ARE FINISHED?:- an article by Professor Dr. Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai

Facilitator's note: - this article originally titled "BEYOND DISPUTATIONS ON NIGERIAN HISTORY" written by Professor Dr. Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai, was retitled "IGBOS ARE FINISHED?" for a more effective journalistic bite. The article speaks volume. Happy trails!

"World history has recorded attempts by composite parts of Federal states, which tried to exercise their right to Self-determination through rebellion or revolution. In their efforts, some succeeded but others failed. In his recent article entitled, "Settling Questions in Nigerian History", which was published in THE GUARDIAN Nigerian Newspaper of April 10, 2008, Dr. Edwin Madunagu attempted to elucidate some historical events in Nigerian history, which are often either misunderstood or misinterpreted. Nigerian history is characterized by chance happenings, of leaders and dealers sprouting like mushrooms from no-where. After a spell of newspaper and TV pictorial appearances, they get accepted as such. Barely ten months in office, advertorials adorn the pages of newspapers singing their praises. These advertisements are inserted by friends. relations, fortune and favour-seekers, who, in the end, push them, irredeemably, down the corruption avenue.
Now, I proceed to address one crucial issue in Eddie's article under review. He wrote, "If the historical perspective is adopted, the following facts come out and become prominent: The Eastern region of Nigeria was declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, on the basis of a resolution passed by the joint meeting of the Consultative Assembly and leaders of Thought on May 26, 1967. At the point of that declaration, the regime was in total control of the region. Subsequently, Biafra was recognized by four independent countries (states, mine), all members of the United Nations ".
My international law students, some now SANs and others- in -waiting, will recall that the international legal status of the Republic of Biafra (1967-70), featured often, in their examinations. Although some Federalist lawyers held divergent views on the issue, the consensus was and still is, that the Republic of Biafra, having satisfied the relevant provisions of the Montevideo Convention of 1933, and having sustained its struggle for three years, was a sovereign, independent state and a subject of international law. What are these relevant requirements? According to the declaratory theory, an aggrieved state , which was a composite part of a Federation, may, by virtue of a collective declaration of independence , assert its right to self-determination, from a sovereign state. In 1960, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Right of Nations to Self-determination up to Independence. The State of Israel declared itself independent by proclamation in 1948. States like the defunct Soviet Union, Cuba, China , America and France, became independent, sovereign states through revolution. It is imperative for dominant groups to treat their minorities fairly or face rebellion.
According to Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on the Criteria for Statehood, 1933, a state must have a growing population, a defined territory, It must have a government, a judiciary, an armed force in uniform, with officers ranks clearly shown. A state must be in complete or even partial control of its territory. It must have a constitution and be recognized by other states. It must have the capacity to meet its financial obligations and establish diplomatic relations with other states. It must conduct its affairs peacefully, among others.
Biafra fulfilled nearly most of these criteria. It was recognized by Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, while France allowed Biafra to maintain a Historical Institute, which was headed by Dr. Christopher Mezu. Biafra engaged Nigeria in diplomatic tussle for three years, as result of the caliber of people, who led the rebellion. That a delegation of the Biafran government , which was led by Major-General Philip Effiong , was received by the Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon,was significant, in that the surrender ceremonies brought the existence of Biafra to an end.
Federalist constitutional lawyers and international lawyers argued divergently about the international legal status of Biafra. Each lawyer showed clearly where he was squatting on the civil war. It is true that some hegemonists and tribal irredentists sought to use the war to destroy Umu Israel, as my witty mother-in-law, Madam Alice Ebinum-Nwosu, was fond of calling the Igbos. They survived. It is a pity that instead of reviving the spirit of "anyi-anyi", "ekwe-ekwe", "ogbu-mma ihe ofusa ya fusa", the post-war Igbo man accepted supine affiliations and embraced the epicurean habits of their compatriots.In mock mimicry, they took on chieftaincy titles like eze, nze, igwe, without ancestral evidence of royalty. Some of them buried their relations, who probably died of utmost neglect, with pomp and pageantry, as they do West of the Niger. In order to make it big, by hook or crook, some have resorted to fetish practices like Okotoko, Okija shrine membership, etc. One had thought that the Igbos surrendered but did not give up. Well, this is true in the economic field, but politically, they have not fared well as a result of the hurried eagerness by some Igbo leaders , who chose to seek alliances and were always placed second. For example, Mr. Philip Umeadi, Mrs Oyibo Odinamadu, Chief Alex Ekwueme, Chief M.C.K Ajuluchukwu, Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, etc. The Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, a respected association of Igbo leaders harbor some leaders/dealers, who have repeatedly demonstrated that they have the ability to negotiate for personal gains, at the expense of the race.
There is a roving Igbo contractor, who has lived off beneficient outpourings from any government in power, always looking for "ebe oga elite" (Onitsha) or "nga oga erite ihekpa" (Owerri). Once upon a time, there were Igbos like the Right Hon Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Dr. Nwafor Orizu, Dr. K.O Mbadiwe, Chief M.I. Opara, Professor Ikenna Nzimiro, Professor Eme Awa, Dr. Eze Ogueri and countless others, who were advanced thinkers and political giants. Where are their replacements? We can, of course, find them among the Igbos in residence in many Euro-American cities or among those, who took to trading at the age of 15, or among those, who live in Lagos and are found at social festivities( Mo gbo mo ya). The position of the Igbo in the new dispensation is, in my judgment, more fundamental. It should be regarded as vital and should go beyond historical disputations. I am prepared to engage in animated dialogue with "Ndi Ogom" (my inlaws), so that they can re-focus their attention from money-making to Nigeria real-politik. I am ready to discuss these matters in Onitsha Igbo, Owerri Igbo, Wawa, Ngwa, Ohafia, Item, Isunge na Osunge dialects, after all, I passed Igbo in my Cambridge School Certificate.
It can be recalled that in 1999, I published a similar article in The Guardian newspaper entitled, The Igbo Dilemma. Apart from the Anyim Pius Anyim Senate Presidency,I have not much to report on the worsening condition of the Igbos in Nigeria political space. IGBO UNU ANUGO ! Many things happened in Nigerian history, during the Nigerian civil war, which cannot be easily forgotten. After all, Europeans are still talking about the horrors of Hitler's war. They believe that people must talk about monumental injustices and struggles to fight such devastating injustices, which the devil sponsors, to destroy the Sons and Daughters of the Almighty GOD, using satanic, human and spiritual agents.
At times, full knowledge of history, acts as a deterrent to other beastly escapades by Luciferians on Planet EARTH. There are pretenders who would tell us not to go into history. My response is, do not do things, which history cannot but document their ignoble ends and stress to the aspirant( of evil-doing) the powerlessness of evil power. Biafran history was a dark period in our nation's history. Barrister Mrs Elizabeth Ngozi Esiemokhai was only ten years old, when she had to trek from Umuodom to Etchie to buy and sell during the Biafran war. This story, "mkowaya chi ga eji, chi ga abor". What of the story of the pathetic Biafran soldiers, who have been begging for alms at Oji River, since 1972? What of the mass impoverishment of the race through the compulsory devaluation of their financial worth? Lack of knowledge of Nigerian history has produced simpletons, who are found in high government positions and because they have no knowledge of the nation's past sufferings, carry on without qualms.
This is mainly why this nation rotates around a vortex of mediocre leaders, who have to rely on failed leaders and bureaucrats, to the nation's detriment.After the damage has been done to the nation, a cacophony of voices engage in a symphony of condemnations. Ask some of them what they said in historical time when the damage was being done. They will present a bovine stare, with wondering eyes and hanging lips. Those, who benefited most are now calling for a revolution!Haba.
The Igbos may re-align their political strategies, link up with progressive compatriots, unencumbered by the tragedies of the Biafran war, so as to re-focus their energies both economically and politically. Recently, some commentators say that corruption is endemic among politicians from a major ethnic group, and that this is a major impediment to co-operation. I disagree. For example, it was an Igbo Pro-Chancellor and a Yoruba Vice Chancellor, now OFR, who, were sacked for corruption, at the Obafemi Awolowo University , Ife, a decade ago One must search diligently for decent and knowledgeable compatriots. They have been consistently excluded , first , by the military, who did so by legislative props and then, by their anointed iconoclasts. Some think that with the current sunset in the West, people in the Land of the Rising sun, should re-position themselves staunchly in the unfolding dispensation, before Igbo lethargy becomes an acute sociological problem. I disagree, the sins of the arrow-heads of the Luciferian hierarchy in Nigeria, should not be used to rubbish a race. I will comment on the Yoruba in Nigerian history, in due course. Having lived and worked among them for twenty-seven years, I am eminently experienced to enter a fair assessment of the race, without prejudice. At BOSAS INTERNATIONAL LAW BUREAU, Abuja, we run a weekly dialogue on national and International affairs. The audience is growing as we try to find solutions to problems of national development. Join us. Edie's article touched me and I am sure he will understand my concern. After all , the writer’s joy manifests glowingly, when he or she awaken thoughts. Professor Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, has received universal acclaim because, the story stirs deep reflections. I told him so in 1974, when I interviewed him for an American magazine, long before he went to teach and live in the United States of America.
What has kept the Igbo people going is the remnant of that "anyi ga adi" spirit and like the 300 million Chinese Christians, a strong belief in Chukwu or Chineke or Osebuluwa, depending on the dialect you speak. Those, who perceive these musings as a challenge, would be right, otherwise, they would be wrong. That Umu Israel have allowed recent Nigerian history to recede so quickly in their memories, will remain an evanescent mystique".

* Professor Dr. Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai is the Academic Chancellor, Bosas International Law Bureau, ABUJA, FCT. He grew up at ABA, in the then Eastern Region of Nigeria.

WHAT A FANTASY!

Behold the greatest sore loser of all times, Hilary Clinton! This is an embodiment of someone who has lived in a lying environment for so long that truth assumes the toga of a lie and vice versa. Monica Lewinsky, it did not happen? Bosnia sniper fire, it did not happen? I am running to win when there is nothing else remaining to be won, it did not happen? We made over $100million dollars USD and therefore we are not elitists, it did not happen? I am for the working class of Americans, it did not happen? Mrs Delusional what do you need to see happen before you wake up from this your coma and realize you have lost the battle for Democratic Party Presidential nomination? Will that be a President Barack Obama saying "so help me God" during his swearing in oath of office in January 2009? Hilary Clinton, it appears lives in a fantasy island where her version of reality is far different from that of a reasonable man in any given society. Her continuous assertion that she is the "strongest candidate" has so far, not been reflected in the polls that one is forced to ask, what is the paradigm for this her continuous extrapolation that her candidacy is the strongest! Only Hilary herself, her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea who can take the world into the mind of this presidential candidate wanna-be nominee and tell us what their game plan is; otherwise we call it for what it is - hallucination! Icheoku can only hope that this her sorry mental state does not metamorphose into a complete psychiatric breakdown needing long time medical intervention and rehabilitation. Only time will tell, Hilary Clinton, please wake up and smell the coffee, it is OVER or what part of that don't you understand?

IT IS OVER, HILARY CLINTON!

She is toast! The results are in and Barack Obama has survived the Rev Jeremiah Wright's anti America and his San Francisco bitter comments. Both were the albatross that nearly derailed his impeccable campaign. Only a miracle of fuzzy mathematics will now resurrect Hilary Clinton's campaign. But are we going to allow this her "if you calculate as i do" tactics to hold sway? As you know the Clintons have their own very prism wherein things are the way they are because they said so. They have different lens with which they see things - they live in a mirage! It is not going to happen and not this time. This is time to finally say the requiem. Adios Clintons and may America be forever spared of your shenanigans. So long!

IGBO REPUBLICANISM - an article by Kizito Ike Osuji

That the Igbo of Nigeria are unapologetically republican in nature is a fact; but whether or not this is a blessing or a curse in the context of Nigeria’s politics is debatable. Whereas one school of thought posits that this is a curse which is at the root of current Igbo marginalization and neglect, the other sees it as a blessing and the catalyst for the significant self help progress made by the Igbo in education, commerce and infrastructural development of Igbo land, even as successive Nigerian governments intensify the neglect and marginalization of the Igbo and Igbo land.
The recently concluded convention of Nigeria’s ruling political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the election of its national officers according to their zoning arrangement, which produced an Igbo, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, as it’s national chairman, has brought again to the fore the lingering question; is the famed republicanism of the Igbos a blessing or a curse? I invite you to a discourse.
But first, let me quickly get this out of the way; this is not a judgment on the qualification of Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, the new PDP chairman. As far as qualification goes, I have nothing to suggest Chief Ogbulafor is not; he is Igbo, well educated, with a well honed political pedigree, and not known to be one of those “political rogues”, rather, this is about whether the Igbo have turned one of their greatest positive attributes to a negative and how that has played and continues to play out in Nigeria’s political equations? It is also whether on the one hand the Igbo complain of marginalization, and rightly so, while on the other hand offer to other more political astute ethnic groups the weapons to further marginalize them? Why do I say so? It disheartening that a slot meant for the Igbo that could have been decided in Enugu or some Igbo town by the Igbo and presented on the national stage was foisted on them by outsiders, all because they could not forge a concensus.
I am inclined to believe that the republican nature of the Igbo is a positive trait, it served the Igbo well in the past and could continue to serve them well today and in the future, but in the recent Nigerian history it has manifested as a curse, and only because it has been adulterated and infused with individualism in the most crass form. Today, the term republican as is understood and ascribed to the Igbo is a curse. The Igbo must return to the term’s original content or forever roam the Nigerian political wilderness. Here is my argument.
“Igbo enweghi eze” (Igbo have no King) was a mantra that the Igbos proudly chorused like a badge of honor, and it indeed was. Yes, was. In the glorious era, the traditional Igbo society was an egalitarian republican society where every adult male had a say in the rendezvous of “umunna”, even if the “titled men” had their way. There was always a robust discussion where the impatience and urgency of the youth, the experience of the titled men, and the wisdom of the elderly, all had their say before coalescing into the decision of the community, the disobedience of which attracted repudiation and sanction. In matters appurtenant to women their views were sounded. This democratic approach to civic duties afforded ventilation to all shades of opinions and concerns, filtered greed, selfishness and egotism, and enabled a popular stand to evolve amidst built in checks and balances. With a bellowing chant of “Igbo kwenu!” and an affirmative chorus of “yeah!’ the collective decision was sealed. That was then. Regrettably, while the bellowing chants of “Igbo Kwenu!” are still heard at Igbo gatherings today, the responsive chorus of “yeah!” has increasingly become mellow and unenthusiastic. These days, wherever you hear an enthusiastic “yeah!” take a close look, it is the scripted response from the cracked voices of a motley crowd of “the otinkpus” (sycophants) hanging around the big masquerade, waiting for the crumbs from the table.
The mantra “Igbo enweghi eze” is now nothing more than a metaphor for crass individualism. The term has also been dubiously used as justification for selfish voyages, and for courses of action that are repugnant to the very ideals on which the Igbo society was built and served. The consequence of this is that while the other ethnic groups have strengthened their position and advanced their interest in the Nigerian Project, the Igbo which used to be one leg of the tripod on which Nigeria stood is today of little or no significance. It’s preeminent and trail blazing status has been decimated.
As an Igbo I wonder, is this republicanism in this crass individualistic form something innate in us we should have seen coming? Nothing in all the accounts of Igbo origin or mythology suggests that, whether it is the mythology of the Nri progenitor or that traced to the Hebrews of biblical Israel. If this troubling trend of individualism that is destroying the very fabric and essence of the Igbo has not been part of our nature where then did it come from?
The present sorry state of the Igbo nation in the Nigerian political context did not happen over night, and there are sundry reasons for that, however, to say, as some have argued, that the Igbo today are like sheep without Shepherd because they do not have a common monarchical authority around which they can rally and articulate their position and interest, is to detract from the issue and deny the fact that Igbo republicanism worked in the past. Some have also argued that the present individualism of the Igbo is a natural progression from their republican nature, only waiting to transmute when the time is right, and that time they say has come.
It is my belief and I submit that the present dysfunctional political compass of the Igbo is one of the major fallouts of the Nigeria/Biafra war. Without doubt the war was a devastating blow on the fortunes, unity and psyche of the Igbo from which we are yet to recover, but even more devastating were the policies of systematic, if not brazen, containment, deprivation and marginalization by successive Nigerian governments since the end of the war and which foisted on the Igbo this on your own mentality, the virus that has been gradually killing the Igbo nation. We have lost as consequence thereof, a society with intrinsic progressive qualities, a society with inherent methodology for decision making, leadership vetting and ascendancy. As Prof Chinua Achebe succinctly put it in describing the demise of Umuofia in Things Fall Apart, an apt description of Igbo of today’s Nigeria; a knife has been put in the things that held us together and the center can no longer hold.
Here are some illustrations. When the administration of General Yakubu Gowon upon the cessation of hostilities and surrender of Biafra, treated the Igbos as the vanquished, even while declaring NO VICTOR NO VANQUISHED, and proceeded to hand out the paltry 20 pounds sterling for any amount of cash previously owned by any Biafran person or family, followed by implementation of series of emasculating policies like the Abandoned Property Decree and the Indigenization Decree, the mortal blows were effectively struck. The bruising effects are still sore today; self centeredness, greed, and ambivalence.
We have seen Igbo leaders stand hands akimbo watching states and local governments’ creations, as well as census exercises in Nigeria, drive the Igbo into insignificance. From one leg of the tripod to just 5 out of 36 (plus one) states, we have become inconsequential. Census after census the Igbo population has continued to shrink in proportion to other regions, almost like the Igbos adopted China’s one child policy. Today, the entire population of the entire South East zone is only marginally more than those Lagos or Kano States. Where were the Igbo leaders when this political gamesmanship was going on?
An Igbo re-awakening in the form of demand for inclusion of state of origin in the last census as a way of demonstrating real Igbo population across board, particularly in states like Lagos and Kano, was roundly shut down without as much as a quibble from our leaders let alone declare the threatened boycott. The result of this do-nothing and sidon-look is that today revenue allocation and constituency delineations are on the basis of states, local government areas and population. Any surprise therefore, that a fraction of a single zone in the north or west could equate or cancel out the entire Igbo strength in the National Assembly.
When General Sani Abacha died, General Abdusalami Abubakar, the new Head of State, announced a firm commitment to return to democracy and blew the take off whistle. Like every other ethnic group south of Niger /Benue confluence, the Igbo joined in the clamor for the presidency to be zoned to them. We were not beaten in the articulation of reasons for such clamor, but crushed in that quest by reasons of poor strategy, crass individualism, and lack of leadership. While other groups were coming together to form a united front and a consensus around their common strength as a basis for matching other groups or forming an alliance for the preservation of their interest, the Igbo from every corner and of every shade was declaring for the presidency rather than coalescing around a consensus candidate or around Dr Alex Ekwueme who seemed our best shot then.
The senate presidency, a position the ruling PDP zoned to the Igbos in 1999, could not even be chosen by us. When momentarily it appeared the Igbo had come together behind a pan Igbo choice; Dr Chuba Odadigbo, our more astute political zones panicked at this Igbo consensus and set out to halt it. The rest as they say is history. Senator Evan Enwerem became the senate president. Even when Senator Enwerem lost out of the power game and Dr Okadigbo re-emerged, they made sure his hallways and pathways were laden with banana peels, and sure enough, he slipped and crashed out. A booby trap had been laid and the carrot was dangling in the face of every Igbo senator. One after the other they cut down senate presidents thus ridiculing the Igbo and the post, the one post the Igbo got in the power sharing arrangement.
After President Obasanjo’s 3rd term bid failed and it became obvious that a vacancy existed in Aso Rock, the Igbo again joined other zones in the clamor for the presidency to be zoned to them, but while other zones were strategizing how to achieve this, the Igbo were individually fighting on their own and falling over each other doing it.
Recently, following the election of a northerner, Alhaji Yar Adua, as the president, the ruling party the PDP re-zoned political and party posts, leaving for the Igbo this time the post of party chairman. No sooner that the whistle was blown than over thirty Igbos announced they were in the race. They could not come together behind one of them, and there was no Igbo leader or association to help determine who was in the best interest of the Igbo and help forge a united front behind him or her. We have seen the result, it was the Governors who got together and said to the Igbo and all; take or leave it! Ogbulafor it shall be, and so it became. Even if that deft move failed, the alternative would have been Dr Sam Egwu, the former governor of Eboenyi State, President Obasanjo’s candidate. Either way, none was the Igbo candidate chosen by the Igbo to fill a slot zoned to the Igbo.
Should we begrudge the other ethnic groups for our fate? No. They too legitimately fear a runaway Igbo race lapping the others in the race for progress and development, and they are smart enough, not only to fear this, but to know how to prevent it. And you can see this in the way and manner they have prevented the Igbo from forging any common front on any national issue, with the result that they decide for us, and even chose for us who occupy the crumbs the often skewed arrangements have left for us, and when they like, they change the occupiers whether we like it or not. Even in times that token plum positions have gone the Igbo way, and quite a few have, they had made sure they chose stooges, and where not possible to get a stooge they planted snitches all around them such that the Igbo and Igbo land have fared worse during those interregnums. Because there were no Igbo influences in their appointments they owed no allegiance to the Igbo cause. We had Chief Onyema Ugochukwu head Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for years, we had Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu head Federal Road Emergency Management Agency (FERMA) for years, and also for years Dr Andy Uba was reputed to be President Obasanjo’s closest confidant, yet no tangible benefit to the Igbo may be attributable to these people from the offices they held or relationship they had.
Since the exit from the stage, and eventual demise, of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and his political acolytes, there have been no Shepherds to gather the flock, no credible conveners of Igbo discourse, and no leaders to articulate Igbo views and champion their cause.
Today, what we have is a cacophony from all manner of groups mushrooming about, purporting to champion Igbo cause and looking well intentioned on paper and in their rhetoric, but whose leaders’ sometimes dubious intentions, manifest so soon after the launch. Groups like Ohaneze Ndi Igbo and MASSOB once held so much promise but soon began to self destruct from greed and power tussle as in the case of Ohaneze, and incoherent plan of action and illegible road map as in the case of MASSOB.
In conclusion, as gloomy as the horizon may look I see silver lining in the sky reminding us that all is not lost. While the war was providential, our failure to rise again from the defeat and reclaim our position is a character failing that must be quickly addressed as a way forward. Whatever the prescription for Igbo renaissance and emancipation, the first step, at the minimum, is to have an authentic umbrella association for the Igbo, be it a new one or a revamped Ohaneze, in which our remaining men of staunch standing and following, both at home and in Diaspora belong and are active. An Ohaneze that has Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, Chief Ebitu Ukiwe, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Prof Pat Utomi, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Dr Phillip Emeagwali, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, Prof. Charles Soludo, Prof Chris Okeke, Dr Leo Stan Ekeh, just to mention a few, working together to set the Igbo agenda, articulate and harmonize our views and position, vet Igbo aspirants to public offices whether elective or appointive, define Igbo expectations of our politicians and monitor their performance, coordinate other Igbo groups and associations in line with the common objective, call to order or exact sanctions on deviants individual or group.

POWER IS TOO EPHEMERAL!

Who could have imagined in his wildest dream that the medicine man of Otta, Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo would one day be so sidelined from power that his daughter Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello will be hiding in a basement somewhere trying to evade arrest by EFCC for her role in a 300million Naira corruption scandal?

Now who could have imagined that an "ordinary" Abuja chief magistrate court would order the arrest of the national coordinator of Police Equipment Foundation (PEF) and a brother in-law of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Kenny Martins, over allegations against him bordering on fraud and misappropriation of N50 billion meant for the purchase of police equipment.

Who could also imagine that Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo's own title "UBANYAKIN ZURU" could be taken away from him and bestowed on his former jailed-enemy, Retired General Bamayi by the Gwandu Emirate of Zuru? Emir of Zuru, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani Sami Zuru disclosed that the emirate council has withdrawn the traditional title of Uban Yaki conferred on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and conferred same on the former jailed Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ishaya Bamayi.

Not this blogger in his farthest dream! That men could go to the extent they go in search of power even if it means dining with the proverbial devil just to get it is beyond every sensible imagination of this blogger. This is so because of the ephemeral nature of power and Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo is a living example of a man presently without power, who has fallen from grace to grass. Gradually but surely, the matching boots of the arresting enforcers of the state are closing their distance from his Otta farms to finally seal up his faith as a powerless ex-dictator. That Obasanjo will be arrested, is just a matter of time. And Arewa Consultative Forum has also decreed so!

Now the former chairman of PDP and one of the henchmen of Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Ahmadu Ali is also piling up on Obasanjo. This is very regrettable because this very Dr Ali been an Obasanjo man-friday since the seventies when he served Obasanjo's regime as Education Minister and earned the infamous "Ali must go" war cry of rioting NANS students. How is the mighty fallen and why is everybody deserting this Titanic? It is the foolery of men of power who think that they are beloved only to be left marooned when the power goes out!

If anyone has been wondering why the death grip on power which African leaders has been known for, they should look no further but at Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo. Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo is a case study that once you are out of power, you become a mere sitting quarry whom the new men of power can decide to "incinerate" at any time. In other words such an ex-leader is chased away into the jungle where he is left at the mercy of vapid vampires eager at the slightest sign of weakness or vulnerability to make a mince meat out of such a walking cadaver. Imagine Zuru Emirate Council stripping an Olusegun Obasanjo of a title which they had hitherto conferred on him; and just to spite him further, re-conferred that same title on an Obasanjo-jailed enemy General Bamayi. Bamayi it would be recalled has been a prison-guest of Olusegun Obasanjo, throughout his presidency, but was recently freed from detention after eight years of just awaiting trial. In essence Bamayi was in detention throughout Obasanjo’s eight years in office between 1999 and 2007, only to be finally set free because the grounds for his initial detention was frivolous.

And Icheoku would like to ask, how does one get compensated for a lost eight years of his life especially when there was no basis both in law and in fact for the initial detention and loss of liberty?

GANI FAWEHINMI IS SICK!

Please pray for him and remember him in your prayers! The Senior Advocate of the Masses(SAM), the social crusader/critic, the tormentor of all the oppressive governments of Nigeria, the only man in Nigeria whom the evil genius ex-Head of State of Nigeria, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida himself admitted has no price because he could not be compromised; a trailblazer and revolutionary of Nigeria law review publications, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, legal luminary and publisher, human rights advocate extra-ordinaire, humanitarian, philanthropist, educationist, benefactor, watchdog, the uncompromising truth seeker and detector - Chief Gani Fawehinmi is sick! He has cancer of the lungs which was recently diagnosed in London after all the "quack" medical facilities in Nigeria could not correctly diagnose what was ailing him over a period of time; but instead were all over the map with their inaccurate trial and error diagnosis including one of heart trouble/disease.

Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN, is a fighter and with our collective prayers he will surely overcome this illness which fortunately has not metastasized. We at "Icheoku" wish him a speedy recovery. Please pray for him as he battles this ravenous monster called cancer. Remember he is about the only remaining real-deal human rights activist whom all the monstrous authorities and henchmen in Nigeria still fear and revere. If he exits now, these urchins will have a field day and we pray it never happens. His other compatriots, Beko, Fela, Tai Solarin, Ken Saro-Wiwa etc are all gone without seeing any much positively change in Nigeria. Gani could be an exception with our concerted prayers for him, to support his fighting chance during this trying times, that God may forgive him and heal him, in Jesus name, AMEN!

WHO KILLED THIS MAN?

His name was Bolaji Ige. He was a lawyer who attained the preeminent legal pinnacle of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) which is equivalent to the Queens Counsel (QC) in Britain. He was also also a politician and was a governor of a state in Nigeria called Oyo State. The disgraced former despotic ruler by fiat of Nigeria, Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, invited him to serve in his "regime" as Energy Minister and later Justice Minister of Nigeria. It was while he was serving his fatherland in this later capacity that he was killed by invading "marauders" and in his country home while eating dinner with his wife and children.

It has been several years now since the sad incident but no one has been arrested, indicted and/or convicted for the gruesome homicide. This lackadaisical, wilful indifference and/or foot-dragging with which the investigation into his death is going by the government, feeds the school of thought theorists which posits that his death was sanctioned by the highest authority in the land. Thus our quest, as we pontificate "who killed this man"? As a serving Minister of Justice of Nigeria, he was the head of all the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and by his accomplishments both in the legal field and politics, he was not a plebeian but a man of paramount stature whose murder could not be possible except it was sanctioned or otherwise approved at the highest authority then in Nigeria. The one and only then subsisting authority superior to this murdered man and who peradventure is the only person upon whose command and authorisation the murder of Bola Ige could have only been possible is no other person but the ex-president of Nigeria, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo. This man and and only him could have "authorised" or tacitly approved through wilful indifference the killing of his Justice Minister, Chief Bolaji Ige, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. If Aremu Obasanjo did not sign off on this cold murder, this blogger strongly believes that it would not have been possible or practicable considering the very high position, which the late Bola Ige occupied in the government. Also worrisome was the manner and circumstance of the killing which was so heinous and calculated for it to be just another accidental or chance killing in a crime prone country, Nigeria. This blogger takes this strong position because as a serving Justice Minister with his towering stature in the Nigerian society, and as a politician being a former governor of a state coupled with his accomplishments in law as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he had a security detail comparable to that of the President. It therefore does not make sense that the "beasts" that took Bola Ige's life could have easily penetrated his security condone and killed a sitting Justice Minister and to date no serious investigation has been carried out or anyone with probable cause to kill him yet arrested or charged or convicted. Only in Nigeria could this horrendous extermination of a sitting Justice Minister be possible.

For the reader of this blog to be able to make up his or her mind on the possible complicity or otherwise of the devil may care, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo in the killing of Bola Ige; he or she need to understand the circumstances surrounding this killing. Bola Ige as a serving Justice Minister was assigned about fourteen security details by the President himself in whom the prerogative lies to withdraw or pull them out as he may please. In other words the security details were answerable to the President and to him they owe utmost allegiance to. To date none of them has been arrested or charged concerning this death and no plausible explanation has been put forward to try to explain away their involvement or lack thereof. According to the narrative, Bola Ige was en route Abuja capital city, after an official engagement in Lagos, when he was persuaded to make a detour to his Ibadan country home that evening to call it a day. At his house, he was having dinner with his wife and children when some "hoodlums" came in through the door and pumped several bullets into his body with his wife and children watching their father and husband brutally murdered and before their own very eyes. As if this is not enough horror already, the "bandits" emptied several magazines inside his body and with the help of a stethoscope made sure he no longer breathed. Then here is the stunner, Bolaji Ige as a Justice Minister of no mean stature was assigned a fourteen man round the clock security detail - called MOPOL in Nigeria which to certain extent is comparable to America's SWAT team that sometimes doubles as a protection force for dignitaries. The government buffoonery of an explanation was that all these security men went out for their own dinner-break when these killers breached the compound perimeters and killed Bola Ige. But such story can only be told to the marines, period! It is no brainier. It does not make sense. It is so lame that you have to suspend disbelieve to believe it. It flies in the face of whatever is plausible and reasonably obtainable; that one is wont to ask, what was the use for a fourteen man security detail if not to provide a round the clock security condone around the subject to be protected? Why would all of the security detail then go to their dinner-break at the same time and the same very window the supposed "marauders" stormed into the residence and took his life. How did the "marauders" know the security details' minute operational details so much as to strike at the very time and window of opportunity in which they struck - when they all went to a "dinner break"? How far were their removal from the premises not to hear any altercation, the sound of the first gunfire, followed then by several other bullets being fired thereafter and then the final "Houdini escape" from the compound of the "bandits"; with none of them having been caught ever since. Did they disappear from the face of the earth since none was caught on the premises of Bola Ige's compound or in his city of Ibadan or his State of Oyo or his country of Nigeria or from any other place on planet earth, ever since.

Tell this blogger the government does not have any plausible explanation because they are looking at themselves while searching for the culprits. They are also looking in the mirror of their investigation and only seeing themselves because under the circumstances as narrated, there could not have possibly been any external intruder that night. It is is not right! It stinks! It cries to the high heavens! The most annoying aspect of the incident is that the always vociferous Yorubas whose son Bola Ige was, have been uncannily very taciturn regarding the pursuit of his killers or in demanding a thorough investigation thereto. This lack of desire to unmask the real killers of Bola Ige by the Yorubas is fuelling the school of thought theorists which posit that the then government headed by another of their kinsman, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo knew more than they are willing to admit of what happened to Bola Ige. The death of the Cisero of Oke-Ona, as he was fondly referred to, must be avenged. All those people or person who in anyway was an accomplice to his murder shall not know peace until they complete the process of absolution - they must confess, they must repent and they must face their penance if ever they want to find true peace in forgiveness. What was Bola Ige's offense that he must be killed and killed in front of his wife and children? What did Bola Ige do that he must be eliminated by fellow mortals? It is not like the approving authority for his killing will live forever and not someday die headed to the hottest place in Hades. A popular aphorism says that there are two types of evil people - those who do evil and those who condone evil. The Yorubas, for not forcefully agitating for the investigation and prosecution and possible conviction of the killers of Bola Ige are as such qualified. Something has to be done otherwise Bola Ige's death will go into the cold doldrums wherein Dele Giwa's death by parcel bomb has been since the eighties.

A president or head of state whose primary duty is to protect the citizens of the country, have turned into a blood-sucking vampire feeding on the crimson of her people and of their brightest minds. Dele Giwa was a seasoned investigative journalist and publisher; and Bola Ige was a well learned lawyer Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a successful politician. How could this happen and the silent majority are cowering in a fear-induced stupor simply because they do not want to also end up in the belly of the beast; but who lives forever, anyway? It is not right! Do not let the man in you die because of your silence! If everyone has been standing up to speak up against all the maladies prevalent in the Nigerian society, maybe some common sense would have been put into the heads of the so-called leaders and peradventure they would have stopped their evil deeds or at least try, in order for Nigeria to really move forward. It is a supreme duty call on all to speak up to empower the people to start looking for a way out of the woods wherein several years of maladministration has driven Nigeria into. My heart bleeds for Nigeria and the cowardly indifference of her populace leaves much to be desired; and this is the single most reason why their rulers ride them like donkeys or beast of burden who must perpetually obey without any complain. It is because of this disposition that an inept Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo could rule Nigeria twice and on both occasions failed Nigerians but has not been prosecuted for his atrocious misdeeds. It is about time, Nigerians take a stand against injustice, corruption, maladministration, state sanctioned murders and all the ills of society affecting her development and well being.

Whose turn next is it anyways? Nobody knows. If the sitting President, Police Chief and the Justice Minister cannot investigate what happened to Bola Ige, who is sure that the same cannibals will not strike again next time; which reminds me of the poem 'for whom the bell tolls'. The death of Bola Ige SHOULD be investigated and the culprit brought to justice and this position should be the chorus of every Nigeria particularly the Yorubas of Nigeria. Their continued silence regarding this does not portray Nigerians well especially the Yorubas who by their tacit silence are being perceived now as a people that eats one of their own. Can you imagine the hullabaloo and brouhaha they would have raised were Bola Ige to be serving under a Hausa or Igbo president when he was killed? Bola Ige was one of your own and belong to the Awoist school of politics and hence must not die unsung like a destitute. He deserves better than that. At least he earned the right for his death to be investigated and conclusively too. Bola Ige served Oyo State well as their governor in the second republic and he was also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Icheoku hereby states and for the records, that it is the right thing to do - to officially and formally invite Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo as well as then Inspector General of Police, Ehindero to tell Nigerians and the world all that they knew about the authorisation, plot and eventual murder of the former Justice Minister of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ige, SAN and the time is NOW!

CNN, NOT THIS TIME!

The Chinese won't take it! They are not Nigeria whose government lacked the necessary backbone to confront what the Chinese news agency referred to as a news terrorist organisation, CNN. The Cable News Network has on numerous occasions in the past maligned and disparaged Nigeria and Nigerians with their sometimes very biased "news" reportage or editorial or documentary of a jaundiced eye with which they see black men, Africa and Nigeria in particular. Look at the demeaning sneer of doll-baby Lou Dobbs and the vituperation he pours on every non white American both on his gig at CNN and his morning radio show on 9.10AM station; discussing his endless illegal immigration matter like his great forebears got visas from native Americans before breaching their shores into the new found land. It is also needless to mention that majority of the colored anchors on CNN have been sent "away" starting with the very award winning Bernard Shaw of the first Gulf war fame.

In their infamous documentary "How to rob a bank" CNN portrayed Nigerians in the United States of America as "criminals" who are engaging in all sorts of criminal behaviour especially fraudulent credit and bank activities. Majority of Nigerians in the United States are decent men and women whose home government has failed them and who are trying to eke a living; and while some of them have succeeded they are numerous others who are still to realise their fabled American dream. Then in between these two groups may be a handful of "deviants" whose infractions CNN has ballooned into a "criminality of a people". CNN ignored these honorable men and women but instead spent over ninety minutes of valuable airtime portraying a people as criminals. It was only at the tail end of the said documentary that CNN tangentially mentioned a few Nigerians who were showcasing their rich cultural heritage at an Independence party. It is also pointless to say that the so called ephemeral "positive" coverage was for less than five minutes of the entire documentary. It is always about sensationalism and their coverage of the Niger Delta of Nigeria freedom fighters caused a serious stir in the world of Nigerians in Diaspora. The relevant Nigeria Embassy officials were contacted to protest such an asinine coverage of a people and to demand an apology and a retraction from CNN but to no avail. CNN treated it as a news item and that they saw no need to apologise; Nigerians as well as their supposed officials cowered down. But the damage to reputation is already done and the stain will not easily wash away, if ever. The need or usefulness of a Nigeria Ambassador in the United States and/or diplomatic officials who could not forcefully protect her peoples' interest or her country's image leaves much to be desired.

Now, a beast of burden, the Chinese has been stirred and they are not taking it. They have demanded an apology and surely they will get it from CNN. This is a country whose diplomatic officials are worth every dime being spent on their missions. CNN's offence to the Chinese pales in comparison to the vicious, offensive and "criminal" documentary here above referenced. Jack Cafferty of Cafferty Files of CNN referred to Chinese leaders as a bunch of goons and thugs and to Chinese made products as junks. Quoting the said statement, he said "we continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food and export, you know, jobs to places where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff we're buying from Walmart. So I think our relationship with China has certainly changed. I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last fifty years". China through her Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu protested to CNN saying "we are shocked by and strongly condemn the malicious attacks on the Chinese people by CNN's Cafferty. We demand CNN and Cafferty himself take back the malicious vile remarks and apologise to the Chinese people". So far CNN had tried to explain away the remark as not disparaging to the Chinese people but was merely referencing their leaders; but the Chinese authorities will not take any of that but insisted that CNN do more as well as Cafferty himself with a threat to close down CNN's Bureau in China.

The rat race is on and hopefully the Chinese will extract a tooth from CNN's mouth this time. It is called international pressure-cooker diplomacy and it is earned over a period of time. But when a country such as Nigeria is being ruled then by a despotic person in the person of Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo whose very corruption the entire world knows about and whom the world knows, strictly speaking does not have the real mandate of the people of Nigeria to rule them, then they see him and the country that tolerated his rule as a bunch of spineless people who could not muster enough vigour to mount any major offensive against CNN or mobilize the advertising corporation to boycott CNN. There is need for the goonbahs who have held Nigeria in a throttle-choke hold all these years to yield power and vacate the scene so that Nigerians can start having a real say in who governs them. This way, whenever there is an infra-dignity treatment meted to Nigeria or Nigerians, at least the government will know that her people will support every counter offensive measure it may deem fit and proper in response to such unwarranted rabidity against her people. It is called a government with real mandate. Is there any person the world over who is not proud of the drama playing itself out with the American Presidential primaries? It symbolises the beauty of a working democracy. Only in America! God Bless America! At the end of the day, whoever emerges will assert himself/herself as American President with authority to do everything necessary in the interest of the American people with conviction that his actions are sanctioned and will be supported by the populace, necessary implication being that where a sanction is called for it will be forcefully met. This somewhat collective responsibility, which the people feel by having freely elected their president and by extension their government, provides the government the much needed muscle to affect matters, including effective diplomacy.

Commentator's Note: we later realised that the Chinese have abstracted their pound of flesh from the ever bullish CNN; CNN have apologised to the Chinese as was demanded. According to sources, CNN issued an apology late on Friday April 18th 2007 stating that " it was not Mr. Cafferty's nor CNN's intent to cause offense to the Chinese people, and we would apologise to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way" - BUT THIS "ANYONE" DOES NOT INCLUDE NIGERIANS FOR THE DISPARAGING "HOW TO ROB A BANK" DOCUMENTARY!

BE AFRAID! BE REALLY AFRAID!

.....of these men! If you are a Nigerian and you have been wondering why things are the way they are, have been the same, with little likelihood they are going to improve, then take a serious look at these men - they are the reason why. If you are a Nigerian and your life is unfulfilled and you seem not to have any opportunity to make a headway in life, these men caused it. If you are a Nigerian and you feel so shortchanged in life, look at the faces behind your woes. These are the men who have brought about your condition because of their hapless leadership which led Nigeria to no where. These men are the reason Nigeria has stunted. They all at one time or another, ruled Nigeria and Nigeria has nothing to show for their inept leadership. They also have one thing in common - they have no real love for their country otherwise they would have made some very serious effort at bettering the lot of most Nigerians. They will jet out to European cities at the slightest headache or dislocation of joint or heart murmur to consult with specialists over there and tell the millions of ordinary Nigerians without such capacity "you are on your own". They could care less if any medical facility exists to take care of the millions of malaria victims therein and where sometimes some sort of a structure exists, there would be no medicals available. During their rule, Nigeria realized over $1000Billion dollars USD and where is the tangible evidence of this mind boggling revenue at work for Nigerians? Really there is nothing, nothing seriously speaking, to show for this humongous revenue. Their failure to provide a responsible leadership caused all the decadence, decay, lack of infrastructure, joblessness and very low ebb of morality pervading the country of which corruption is the mother of them all. It is very shameful indeed!

Whereas Nigerians may cut Umaru Yaradua some slack for being a new kid on the block with the jury still out on him; and Abdulsalam Abubakar for his less than one year transitional rule; Ernest Shonekan for the shortness of his rule which was just for about four months; Muritala Ramat Mohammed for his tenuous six months rule; Aguiyi Ironsi for his eight months rule and finally Nnamdi Azikiwe for being merely a ceremonial president, all the others are guilty as charged and liable to Nigerians for their lacklustre leadership. They did not inspire anyone; they lacked vision; they had no template or blueprint for where they would like Nigeria to go; they did not provide a road-map for navigating the nation into anywhere spectacular; they did not properly account for their stewardship and each of them had gazillion amount of money wasted or misappropriated or proliferated. In other words, they all failed the country intoto!

You should be afraid of these men because some of them are still very much around like the ghost of Mississippi and have transformed themselves into puppet masters pulling all the strings in Nigeria. We need God's intervention over them and NOW that Nigeria may seriously commence her recovery project in all honesty. This is so because as long as these men still manipulate the Nigeria nation state, Nigeria will never take flight but will only continue to revolve on a rotary axis - it will remain all motion and no movement. Each of these men have an unfinished agenda. Each of these men is entrenched in his failed position and will not tolerate any seismic shift in the way of doing things lest his vast vested interest be infringed upon. Until their ignominious exit from the Nigeria political landscape, Nigeria will never move forward. Gerry Rawlings of Ghana foresaw a likewise spindle and hence the cleaning of house which he carried out in Ghana; which enormously helped in accelerating the Ghanaian nationhood as well as her economy. By his action, Gerry Rawlings put Ghana on the right trajectory and today, Ghana has become the destination for African-visiting tourists and investors from all over the world. That something like power/light does not go off any longer in Ghana is a testimony of what is possible where the ground is cleared of all these stumbling blocks. How can a government spend over $16Billion dollars USD on power and yet blackouts still pervades the entire country? The other day, it was reported in the newspapers that power went off while the President, Umaru Yaradua was giving a keynote address somewhere? This defies all logic and Nigerians should start asking the tough questions and NOW! Would it take a Gerry Rawlings-like intervention to save Nigeria from itself? Sometimes it appears that the situation is becoming hopeless and pandemic that it is no longer coupists that are corrupt but even academia as typified by the disgraced former Minister of Health, Professor of Pediatric, Mrs Grange and the 300million Naira embezzlement scandal. If only Nigeria will be fortunate enough to witness the Ghana-type epiphany! Where is Nigeria's Gerry Rawlings, one may ask? General Babatunde Idiagbon under Buhari regime proved that it is possible to sanitize Nigeria; that decency is achievable in the Nigerian society once a leadership is able to motivate the populace and shows them a positive direction in that regard.

However, the two horned Lucifer among them is the medicine man of Otta, Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo - twice was he entrusted with piloting the ship state of Nigeria and twice did he run it aground. First was during his first missionary journey between 13th February 1976 and October 1st 1979 misadventure when he allegedly made away with then $2.8Billion dollars USD missing oil money; with which as suspected, he established Obasanjo Farms in Otta; and most recently from May 30th 1999 to May 7th 2007 during which period a yet to be determined amount, however in excess of $16Billion dollars USD as has so far been revealed by the probe of the power sector, has not been accounted for. He also established Bells University during this period, and built himself a "presidential library" which contains nothing of significant note and also a 250 room mansion and this is a man who was worth less than $200dollars USD at the time he took office in May 30th 199. For all his foibles, reckless abuse of trust, flagrant abuse of human rights of Nigerians as well as economic pillage of the country, Nigeria, the medicine man of Otta, Babalawo Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo is hereby declared by Icheoku as an enemy combatant of Nigerians! Shame on you OBASANJO! OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, ICHEOKU SAYS, SHAME ON YOU!