GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Friday, October 20, 2017

SGT DAVID JOHNSON: KEEP POLITICS OUT OF DEAD SOLDIERS.

ICHEOKU says whatever the politics, whatever the take him down tactical schemes and maneuvers which the far left have crafted against the president, please for Jove's sake, there must be boundaries within the current political hyperventilating in the country. What was said or how it was said is not really all that important. A soldier died and a president called to console the family and this is the only paramount thing here. How the call  came off or how it was received or felt by anyone, including the Democratic Congresswoman from the State of Florida Fredericka Wilson, is not the controlling authority here. Her perception, like the six blind men of Hindustan who went to see the elephant, is entirely subjective; as there is no stipulated standards which a condolence telephone call must conform to or met. 

If the president did not sincerely want to console the grieving widow, he wouldn't have bothered making the call in the first place. But a grieving chief mourner and commander in chief of the armed forces, who lost one of his soldiers, called to commiserate with his immediate blood family and now someone or rather some people are trying to say what; politicize it? Therefore it is disgraceful as it is disingenuous for anyone including the Congresswoman representing the dead soldier's district to try and make an issue out of the call which the president put across to the soldier's widow. The underlying objective of the president as the representative of the American people is the only imperative here and that is to show the widow that American people cares and appreciates the sacrifice which her husband made in the service of the country; and also to console and mourn with her for the loss. 

Therefore, since there is no set in stone way of delivering condolence messages or making a condolence telephone call, there being no manual or any formulaic literature on that, the intended objective of the president in making the call trumps and would have sufficed. So, instead of complaining that it was not said right or was not said in a particular manner or that certain exact words were not used or that it did not come out right, the Congresswoman should have been grateful that the president took time out to call her constituent, the grieving widow. Each and every one of us has different backgrounds and life experiences which affect our daily lives, including how we express ourselves such as when in mourning or extending condolences or sympathy to others who are bereaved. Some mourn by wailing and trashing themselves on the floor; others by mentioning a stoic silence and quietude, and observing introverted reminisce of the departed loved one. There is no one cap fits all generalized way of mourning or expressing and extending condolences, provided it is sincere, heartfelt and volunteered. 

The president did enough by meeting the three tests and the matter of how he said what he said should never have been raised or become an issue, regardless of how anyone perceived its delivery. Congress woman Frederica Wilson, Democrat from Florida, was therefore out of decorum in listening in to a phone call meant for another person and ratting about it and also for trying to fault the president on how he delivered the call. ICHEOKU is emphatic that the Congresswoman erred in saying a thing about the private telephone communication between the president and the widow of Sgt David Johnson. She was only privileged to listen in on the conversation, being not the intended recipient and should have respected the privacy of the primary communicants by shutting her mouth over what she heard or did not hear. She definitely crossed the line, listening into other peoples telephone discussion, especially the president, who did not know that a third party was eavesdropping on his telephone call and then running her mouth about what transpired. 

It is also very unfortunate that of the four soldiers who lost their lives in Niger Republic and to whom the president spoke to their loved ones about, it is only Myeisha Johnson, through Congresswoman Fredericka Wilson, who found fault with the communicated words of condolence and/or the tone of the president's telephone conversation. This is pitiful, regrettably unappreciative and utterly disrespectful to the president, who innocently reached out to condole her on her irreparable loss; only to now be forced into an un-bargained for drama which is currently playing out in the media. Why was it just only hers, one out of the four presidential telephone calls which the president made, that did no meet a threshold benchmark of an acceptable condolence communication. This is rather shockingly surprising; a matter compounded by the fact that the president did not owe her or anyone that call, as it is not required of him. 

So we have an ungrateful widow who did a lot of disservice to both her departed husband's memory and to the president, by enabling the current drama of he said, she said, going on between the president and Congresswoman Fredericka Wilson. She breached the president's privacy right to his communicated thoughts when she let in the Congresswoman into a private telephone call from the president without letting the president know that others were also listening in. By so doing, she created the current firestorm from a rather negligible supposed hurt feeling, assuming that her expectations from the president on how a condolence telephone call should be structured, fell short. The president was probably ensnared or unknowingly just walked into a set trap by people who have no favorable opinion of the president and who are looking for anything to take him down with. Why generate this storm from such an innocent tea cup, any dispassionate observer would ask; and the answer is the election of November 8, 2016.

ICHEOKU understands that the last presidential election did not turn out as some people had expected and wanted, especially so many African Americans. But American people decided on a less deficient candidate, with lesser skeletons in the cupboard and who out campaigned the other candidate and elected him president. This age long system of choosing American president should be respected by all and any disenchanted partisans should be encouraged to moved on. But whatever distaste left in anyone's mouth over the election must not crossover or be allowed to migrate to the issue of honoring the sacrifice of any KIA American soldier or the broader American military at large. It is one of the only things still holding the American people glued together and should be above politics of any kind. Anyone politicizing the military or trying to milk a dead American soldier for their own political agenda or to extend a skewed narrative of an uncaring president is the loser here and did not succeed. 

The president did well by making the call and how anyone decided to receive or interpret it, becomes that person's personal idiosyncratic problem. ICHEOKU is emphatic that decency was breached by nitpicking the president's phone-call and this is deplorable and should be condemned into-to.  No good can come out of this piling up by some people against a president whose only sin is that he took up former President Barack Obama's challenge - are you tough enough and do you have what it takes to be president, and won the presidency. It is on record that former President Barack Obama literally brought about President Donald John Trump's presidency. Barack Obama continually taunted, goaded and cajoled Trump that he is not good enough and that the American presidency is beyond his reach. Obama practically dared Trump to run for the office and he took up the challenge and waged a fierce, stellar and brilliant campaign battle and was handsomely rewarded by the American people with his election victory. Time for everyone to move on has since come and black people must also move on too, as the election is since over and President Donald John Trump is the president of the United States of America, regardless of whatever anyone wishes or desires.

ICHEOKU does not actually understand why black Americans are waging war against President Donald John Trump for defeating Hillary Clinton in the last election. This is a  woman who refused to chose black Senator Gary Booker as her vice presidential candidate. This is a woman who has not done anything tangible to show her love for black people. This is a woman who killed African King Moummar Gaddafi and laughed it off as "we came, we saw and he died." This is a woman who did not marry a black man. This is a woman whose daughter did not marry a black man either. This is a woman who does not live in a black neighborhood nor steeped in black tradition and culture. This is a woman who does not fellowship nor worship in black churches. This is  woman who did not go to black schools or colleges. This is a woman who refused to declare Nigerian Boko Haram a terrorist organization and instead said that terrorists who were killing and maiming and destroying lives and properties are innocent Northern Nigerian youths protesting Northern marginalization by a Christian Southern president Goodluck Jonathan. Lastly, this is a woman who called black American males Super predators. 

So what exactly is the beef really, which African Americans have against President Donald John Trump, one may ask? Instead of being grateful and thankful that such a woman, who is substantially anti blacks and have severally shown her racist hands, was dealt a resounding blow in the last election, here they are always attacking the president and for no substantial reason at all. It is not as if Barack Obama was on the ballot or that Hillary Clinton vice presidential candidate was a black person and that black people had a candidate in the mix. It is not as if Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton had any specific plans on how to remedy black Americans situation, especially the inner cities joblessness and drugs induced killings and President Donald John Trump's victory aborted it. ICHEOKU is emphatic that Hillary Clinton was not going to protect black people's interest, any more than President Donald John Trump would and as he rightly articulated during the campaign. So why the unending attacks and pent-up community feuding against the president, instead of giving him chance to deliver on his promises for black Americans, especially our inner cities and youths.
ICHEOKU says from the review of the Congresswoman's account of what she said happened, it will require the suspension of disbelief to accept her account as the sole true testament of the telephone encounter. Further, listening to Chief of Staff General John Kelly explain and recount what he was present and witnessed when it took place reinforces ICHEOKU's believe that Congresswoman made up a whole lot of the story she narrated. The president made the call surrounded by some of his top advisers and also did not ad-lib the conversation. He most likely read or followed a prescribed written notes provided by people in the know, including the chief of staff who is a four star Marine General and who also have lost his army son and understands the solemnity of the occasion. How could the chief of staff be present and allow the president to misspeak and it is not as if the president is a baby or that would be the first time ever of his making such a call or consoling and comforting a bereaved family. ICHEOKU recalls during his campaign last September, when he took time off to attend the funeral of writer and constitutional lawyer and friend, the 92 year old Phyllis Schlafly, in Saint Louis Missouri. 
ICHEOKU says without equivocation or any scintilla of doubt, that the president's recollection  of what transpired is most probable in the circumstances, because it was out of the magnanimity of his heart that he initiated the telephone call to console the widow of an American war hero killed in action. So why would a man setting out with such empathetic motive then turn around to disparage the widow or dishonor the memory of the dead service man in any way. It does not make sense and it did not make any sense, not at all. 

Further, the same Congresswoman who said that the phone was placed on speakerphone during the president's call and that she listened in alongside the widow and others; went further to say that Myiesha told her after HANGING UP WITH THE PRESIDENT that "he did not even remember his (the dead soldier's) name." Query, if Congresswoman Fredricka Wilson was truthful that the telephone was on speaker and that she listened into the conversation while they were enroute the airport to "go meet the body", why then is the need or would Myiesha inform her "after she hung up with the president" that the president did not remember her husband's name? This consequential piece of information should ordinarily be a matter within her personal knowledge, being a percipient witness who listened into the telephone conversation; hence there was no need for Myiesha to later inform her of it "after she hung up the telephone with the president." Why did a Congresswoman who allegedly eavesdropped on the president's telephone conversation not hear when the president stammered a name or failed to remember a name or forgot the name entirely. It does not add up and it does not make sense and it never made any sense; at best, her recollection of the incident was fuzzy to say the least. 

Again, here is a Congresswoman who called the president "a sick person", yet went further to say that she have no reason to lie on the president with a dead soldier in her community. What other more disrespectful and lying comment is greater than calling a healthy man sick. If the congresswoman lied about the president's state of health, what else is she lying about? What other thing could she possibly not be truthfully, coming forth with or about? So, having lied about "this man is a sick man", it is not far fetched to say that she equally "lied on the president with a dead soldier in her community" regarding  the content of the president's telephone conversation with the widow. In her words: "I'm not the only person that was in the car, and I have proof, too. This man is a sick man. I have no reason to lie on the president of the United States with a dead soldier in my community." Yet, she failed to and/or did not produce her touted supposed "proof". 

ICHEOKU says if anyone is sick here, it is the Congresswoman who is actually sick by listening in on and divulging the president's private telephone conversation with the widow. The telephone call was not meant for her and she does not have a privilege to publicly disclose same and in the manner in which she chose to pursue her own version of the continuing piling up against the president by the leftist lunatic fringe. 

The president did not disrespect anyone including the dead soldier or his widow or his parents; anyone claiming otherwise is part of the motley crew trying in vain to distract the president from his laser-focused attention on solving American peoples problems. This is yet another distraction from the anarchists far left, by a wild-eyed feminist Hillary Clinton's acolyte, trying so desperately to make news with her own version of a "Russian Collusion". She is a friend to Debbie Wasserman who colluded with Donna Brassile to rig Bernie Sanders out of the Democratic Party primaries and make way for their preferred Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton. She is a feminist female who worked tirelessly to help Hillary Clinton win Florida but failed. She has been part of the "Russia Stole the Election for Trump" crowd and she sensed a political punch in the nose of the president and swooped for it. 

But not too fast lady, as this might come to bite her and the Democratic Party for politicizing a hero's death. Simply put, her conduct in stealing away the focus of attention from the great sacrifice made by this guy and his three colleagues, no matter how fleeting, was disrespectful, appalling and disgusting. Why focus on the form rather than the substance; how something was said and not the reason for it being said in the first place is now her preferred focus. Four American soldiers lost their lives in defense of the country's interest and instead of honoring their memory, someone is merely interested in how a condolence telephone message was delivered. ICHEOKU says acting as a devil's advocate, but what exactly is so sensitive in telling a military widow that her husband is a soldier and that soldiers do sometimes die on duty? In the words of the president: "But you know he must've known what he signed up for. Everyone knows when you go to war you could possibly not come back alive." 

ICHEOKU says so what if the widow was refreshed about the path to glory which her husband voluntarily too. What exactly is wrong with these comforting words or did the widow not know that her husband was in the military or that she is too young to appreciate that soldiers do die in combats? ICHEOKU cannot make out the beef here; except to say that the ruckus being raised here by the Congresswoman is both calculated and intentional. Most likely, the Congresswoman was merely trying to stir up another dust against the president for the benefit of her party's rabble rousers, their drug of choice and to keep them busily distracted, a continuing partner since losing the last election. ICHEOKU says enough of this extreme polarization of our polity and enough of politicizing military tragedies. Let us learn how to and agree to make our military great again by ensuring it is a politics free zone. As for dead soldiers, politicizing their deaths should be a no, period. ICHEOKU's condolences to the widow of the dead soldier, Myiesha Johnson; and to all the other three soldiers killed alongside in Niger Republic, rest in peace.

REPRESENTATIVE FREDERICA WILSON: WHO IS THIS WOMAN?



Tuesday, October 17, 2017

DAPHINE CARUANA GALIZIA MURDER: UNACCEPTABLE

DAPHINE CARUANA GALIZIA MURDER: UNACCEPTABLE
ICHEOKU says the European Union must not allow this barbarism to go unsolved or unanswered. A journalist blogger blown up in a car bomb because of her writings and in an European Union member country is simply unacceptable. As a result the authorities in Brussels must demand a thorough investigation or better still lead the effort to unravel the monsters behind her assassination and bring justice to them. Daphine Caruana Galizia's murder must be solved and cannot be allowed to become another statistic of journalists killed to suppress freedom of speech. May her soul remain restless and haunt her killers until they are served justice. Adieu Daph.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: A PETTY AND PITIFUL (PETITE) PERSON.

"To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain 'the last best hope of earth' for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history." - Senator John McCain.

ICHEOKU says with those words, Senator John McCain reignited his feud with President Donald John Trump; a matter which many thought has ended until now. By so doing, the Senator from the great State of Arizona is proving himself to be a very little person, who carries grudges and bitterness; and for such a long time and most likely will continue till a certain bitter end. Why a person so abundantly blessed, if not over blessed, will be so angry and vengeful is simply beyond any rational understanding. He was not acknowledged as a hero by then candidate Donald John Trump and he is still gunho mad at him for the slight; and you wonder does the fact that Donald John Trump did not acknowledge him now make him less a hero or took away his hero status in the eyes of many Americans. 

A good hearted person similarly situated, would have since tossed the matter away and moved on for his own peace of mind; but not Senator John McCain, who always goes back to the same regurge at every and any given opportunity which presents itself. A professor of criminal law, Professor Cyprain Okonkwo, once said that if a six footer kills someone for calling him a midget, the defense of provocation will not avail nor exculpate him; unlike a dwarf who is called out for being a shorty. The fact that Senator John McCain is still feeling sore about what Donald John Trump said over a year ago is suggestive that the Senator's experience in Vietnam might not be heroic afterall. From his reaction, it could be inferred that possibly, some peculiar facts of circumstance exists, which are only known to John McCain, which in his mind takes away his heroic status or at least diminishes it. Otherwise why would a true hero be mad that some adversary said he is not a hero. Why would a sighted person be mad for being called blind when he is not Steve Wonder, who would be the one reacting angrily for being reminded of his disability. 

That being said, so what if Senator John McCain was not called a hero or is he or will he be the first one ever to be denigrated or not recognized or appreciated or acknowledged for who he is or what he is or an honor he rightly merited. ICHEOKU says Americans should be more concerned on why Senator John McCain is always this reactionary anytime and every time and each time any question is raised about his experience in Hanoi Hilton. Is there something so suspicious and/or touchy about his experience that he doesn't want anyone to go there? Is there some unknown facts of consequence which if unearthed will make Americans see him in a different light, one not very complimentary. ICHEOKU says enough of this John McCain's tantrums and lashing outs. 

His voting against the Obamacare repeal should have been enough retaliation to even out and end the feud with President Donald John Trump. But the senator will not and did not chose the highway; begging the question, what will satisfy his appetite to avenge his slight by the president. The only possibility is that the none hero remark might actually not be the only beef the senator has against Trump and that in fact, the Senator might actually be jealous and envious of Trump and begrudging Trump for accomplishing what himself failed at - winning the American presidency. Yes, this angle is plausible because everyone knew how the Arizona Senator lost to President Barack Obama in 2008 and like Hillary Clinton, John McCain has not recovered from that painful loss. For him to now see Donald John Trump, a novitiate political entity, win the White House, must have elicited some envy in the senator and this possibly adds to his pain. It is possibly the bottled up pain that he tries to vent out each time he angrily lashes out at the man who actually accomplished something running for the presidency. 

ICHEOKU says whatever it may be and however painful the pain may be, it is time Senator John McCain move on from his grudges and end his reactionary attacks on President Donald John Trump. He should do it at least for the sake of the Republican Party so that it may not exacerbate and lead to an unending war of words between him and the president which might lead to some places, neither party intended it to. This becomes imperative considering the veiled threat made by the president that he might be forced to fight back and that it will be ugly if he does. ICHEOKU says time to call a truce is now, except the senator wants to be remembered as being so unforgiving and so petty; especially not now when he is fighting the fight of his life, battling cancer. Gentlemen, please sheath your swords and try expending your energy and time on finding solutions to America's numerous challenges for which you were both elected instead of bickering. Enough of these distractions which feeds red meat to the carnivorous media and aids their ratings. Let there be unity and progress among the Republicans; enough of the dog eat dog fight to the death. 

Monday, October 16, 2017

LAURA INGRAHAM: MEGAN KELLY'S REPLACEMENT DEBUTS 'THE INGRAHAM ANGLE'.

ICHEOKU says FoxNews pick for  Megan Kelly's replacement, the all American girl with blond hair and blue eyes; a crossover between Ann Coulter and Megan Kelly, is debuting her new show 'The Ingraham Angle' on October 30th, 2017 by 10pm Eastern Standard Time. Laura Ingraham will bring decades long experience garnered on radio, website publishing as well as her intermittent appearances on television either as a guest or subbing for other hosts, including Sean Hannity, will greatly come handy and easily propel her to the top. 

ICHEOKU says she has the television look and presence and personality and she also commands issues of the day such that she will be an engaging host to keep company of. She will successfully fill the void created when Megan Kelly was technically fired as no pretty face was left on television to glue watchers and make them tune in always. She is a lawyer and she is well traveled and will definitely bring a perspective that is different and which will be meaningfully informative to the FoxNews television audience including ICHEOKU.

ICHEOKU who will definitely tune in, at least during the first few days to see the weight and perspective which she brings to bear on the audience. According to her promotional release, 'The Ingraham Angle' will inform and entertain audience; and introduce new unexpected voices to television; voices of real and actual people who make America work. People who are indeed the American backbone and people who are impacted daily by decisions made in American high places. Continuing, she said 'The Ingraham Angle' will highlight issues of faith and cast stories that showcase the American spirit. ICHEOKU says will tune in and hope you too; and welcomes the addition this beauty and brain on our favorite FoxNews Network. Congratulations Laura Ingraham for your new gig and ICHEOKU prays for your resounding success hosting the The Ingraham Angle.  

Sunday, October 15, 2017

HARVEY WEINSTEIN: BEING LYNCHED?

ICHEOKU says is Harvey Weinstein a victim of a society of lynch mobs who readily and delightfully takes down any successful person and be gleeful about it. What is it with an American society that takes pleasure in building a person up, only to bring them down to a forceful fiery end, with a thud that shudders the grounds. Tiger Woods was once a victim of this rage; ditto Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and a host of many others who were summarily smacked down, despite the epicurean heights to which they had ascended and majestically occupied. American people cheered them on to get there and supported them all the way, as they propelled and rappelled to the top but as soon as they erred, the same people, who hate as much as they love, brought them down to a hard un-cushioned landing. They showed no mercy and their bile is unforgiving and they avenge the wrongs done to their fellow Americans, victims of these vile personalities. 

ICHEOKU is not holding brief for the latest victim of the American lynch mob hysteria, as he brought the wrath unto himself; only to say what took them this long and why now? How about the rest of the rat pack Hollywood predators who serially indulge in this sleaze; admitted sexual predatory is not restricted to only Hollywood but is prevalent throughout the America job sphere, especially where rising to the top is an all comers game but only the fittest gets there. As a result, people are wont to do whatever it takes to get an edge over their contemporaries and competitors; including offering and giving sexual favors to bosses and people who can influence their rise to the top. ICHEOKU says anyone pretending otherwise or feigning ignorance of the existence and prevalence of this tactic is to say the least either being economical with the truth or is playing a possum because it is a system wide knowledge that bottom power still works, any time, any day. It is an excruciating daunting task getting to the top, but some females don't care and would do anything or give in to whatever is necessarily required to get what they what or to where they want to go.

Yes, what Harvey Weinstein did is reprehensible; but he is not the only person who has done such thing. He is just the latest fall guy whose cup has runneth over and is now at the business end tip of the spear. Unfortunately, it is only when such people fall down from grace that people begin their righteous indignation, pretending that they are repulsed and that it was the first time they ever heard a thing like that. From Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky to Anthony Weiner to Bill O'Reilly to Roger Ailes to now Harvey Weinstein, it is a known and open secret that men of power use their position and influence to always get what they want, including having their way with women who are seeking some advantage and favors from them. ICHEOKU is not defending any of this decrepitude persons, but bemoans the holier than thou posture of many Americans, including people who are similarly situated and who have even done such nasty things in the past, if not worse; who are queuing up to condemn the latest victim of the lynch mob. Ben Afleck for example was mouthing off Harvey Weinstein until his own groping activity surfaced on the wen and he withdrew back into his shell, after tendering an apology. 

ICHEOKU also remembers vividly during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky-Gate sex scandal and the impeachment that it triggered, when Larry Flint offered one million dollars to any woman who has any dirt on any member of the House of Representatives. Four women appeared from the blues to tell tales of their sexual dalliances with members of the House, including the then speaker elect who had extra marital affairs with the woman. It led to the downfall of the Speaker elect of the House Robert L. Livingston of Louisiana  who resigned his office immediately. It is akin to our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth admonishing the people who wanted to stone a woman accused of adultery that he who is without sin should cast the first stone. The only reason Harvey Weinstein is getting all the haranguing now is that some powerful people want him out of the way and have dug up some old dirt on him and found some collaborating women to lead the crucify him crucify him charge. 

Admitted that Harvey Weinstein is probably guilty on all or most of the charges; but he failed to take a page from then candidate Donald John Trump's playbook and manned up and fought back. He capitulated so easily and so quickly that he turned tail and his traducers, having smelled blood, are now furiously charging behind him with their pitch forks and they will not rest nor let until they run him off the cliff or unto a fast moving freight train. His company has fired him; his wife has left him and the latest is the Motion Picture Academy which has removed him from their honoree roll. It is the way of the world and there is nothing anyone can do about it but to guard against falling into the trap that will take you to the rock bottom. Harvey Weinstein made a big mistake by not keeping his teeny weeny zipped behind his fly and was readily sharing it even to many uncomfortable guests, many of who he lured into a situation which they ordinarily would not want to be in. Yes, he thought he was God and sitting on top of the world and can do whatever he likes and would get away with same. It is unfortunate, but the rise to the top comes with a lot of sacrifice and some of these women probably did whatever it took to get them where their eyes was focused on - stardom, fame and fortune and Harvey Weinstein was a ticket to it. 

ICHEOKU is not saying that the victims necessarily brought their fate unto themselves, but that they did not do all they could have reasonably done to protect themselves, including literally physically fighting off his proposition and overtures. Harvey Weinstein is a horrible person who ICHEOKU finds utterly disgusting, listening to the tape where he was swearing with his children's name that he will not do anything untoward to the victim. ICHEOKU says that is the height of perversion and any man who is a husband and a father, who could stoop so low as to swear on the name of his children about not harming a girl as young as his daughter who he is about to assault, is out of his mind and needs all the medical help he could get and receive. Harvey Weinstein is addicted to sexual perversion and needs the peoples sympathy and not their scorn. He  should consider every possible medical treatment available to cure himself of this debilitating disease, including chemical castration, if that is what it will take to help him get the monkeys of his addiction off his back. 

Harvey Weinstein has admitted what he did and has asked for forgiveness and possibly deserves to be forgiven. he is human and humans err and ICHEOKU wants to believe that he has learned his lesson. But whatever happens, the current lynch him hysteria enveloping the country should cease because he is just one in a million other similarly situated powerful men and women who are using their position of authority, power and influence to get laid and by people they ordinarily wouldn't have laid. Even in our classrooms, teachers, both females and males, are using their position to get intimate with our children who they were supposed to be teaching. So it is a story that is pervasive in many work place environments as human beings continue to take advantage of their positions of privilege to get and have whatever they want and desire. Hopefully, the fall of Harvey Weinstein will be a great lesson to others who are still milking their anonymity and continuing with their predatory behavior. But there is a time for everything and just like Harvey Weinstein did not know that this day will come, so will others someday suddenly meet their own Waterloo, if they don't repent from their evil ways and now.  What a fall from an olympian height into the dustbin of history and odium. Poor Harvey. 

Saturday, October 14, 2017

A DEAR NNAMDI KANU LETTER BY REUBEN APATI


Dear Nnamdi Kanu,We have never met. I only know you by reputation and I have had cause in the last year to write on your activities within the public arena and offer my own views about you, your persona, and your interventions in the Nigerian debate. I sincerely hope you would get to read this letter wherever you may be, that is assuming you are still alive. Your father’s house was recently invaded by the Nigerian military (surprised you don’t have a house of your own!). We were later told that you simply disappeared into thin air, along with your parents. The murderous Operation Python Dance II that was unleashed on Igboland by the Federal Government of Nigeria has since become a subject of national interest. Many people have proclaimed that you have been killed, abducted and that many members of your family and movement – the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been wasted. Some people said you were called The Lion, but when trouble came, you were the first to run away from the zoo. 

You had boasted that you will deal with any invading force from Abuja. You also said it would be “Biafra or Death”. But when death came calling in the shape of Operation Python Dance II, your enemies insisted that you should have waited. Don’t mind them, oh. I have defended you in another piece where I argued that it is probably better to run away so you can live to fight another day. Of course, it is not every revolutionary that runs away. 

Che Guevara died in the struggle, and Martin Luther King, Patrice Lumumba, and so on. Nelson Mandela was jailed for life, but he lived to tell the story. In your case, the way the Nigerian state has been carrying on, it is clear they don’t want you to tell any more stories. You have been charged for treason. You have now been labeled a terrorist. Your organization has been proscribed, and labeled an enemy of the Nigerian state. A week after soldiers stormed your state, neighborhood and home, the Nigerian Air Force began to drop its men from helicopters all over Igboland. They call it show of force. 

I guess all of that is to let you and your men know that wherever you are, the Nigerian state is determined to hunt you down. If you are on land, they will grab you. If you hide in the skies, the Air Force will bring you down. And if you hide in the seas, the Nigerian Navy and the Amphibious Brigade of the Nigeria Army will fish you out. 

Officially, we have been told that you and IPOB are worse than violent herdsmen and the Boko Haram who have killed thousands of Nigerians in the last year alone. The Boko Haram has been declared the fourth most violent group in the world, but the Nigerian government insists that you pose a greater threat. In fact, a government spokesperson sounded as if there is a secret plan in place to give herdsmen and the Boko Haram national honors. 

There is probably something that the Nigerian government and state actors know that we do not know. You were dealing with the charge of treason, now there is the additional allegation of terrorism. Don’t ever deceive yourself that if you get arrested again, you’d be released, except perhaps you change your identity and claim that you are now a herdsman or a member of the Boko Haram. There may be many people who have Nicodemus access to you who may be telling you to come and confront the Nigerian state.  That is how Nigerians sweet-tongue people to their death. I am sure that by now, from your hiding place, you would have learnt some lessons. 

The Nigerian state may be against you, but the people you really have to fear are the same people you claim to be leading, that is the same people who used to call you messiah and who followed you about, kneeling before you and kissing the ground on which you walked. Of what use is a change-agent without committed followers? Of what use is a revolution without the people’s buy-in? Of what use is an ideology without foot-soldiers? The moment the Federal Government activated Operation Python II, most of the people who used to support you have gone completely silent. 

The Biafra Secret Service is nowhere to be seen. The Biafra National Guard threw away its uniform. Some of those boys who used to wave the Biafran flag and wear the Biafran cap have thrown them away too. One or two persons are still issuing statements on behalf of IPOB, but even those statements sound like they were issued from business centers.  Your own kinsmen have called you a tyrant and an opportunist. Many of them have written social media pieces advising the Federal Government to deal with you, because you don’t listen to advice.  They even say you are not a true revolutionary but a gold-digger. 

In all manner of ways, the Governors of the five Igbo states are using you to play politics. They have declared IPOB an illegal organization. They are openly abusing you. All the big men in Igbo land are as quiet as the dead sea. Igbo traditional rulers have refused to support your father who is their colleague. Some of them have in fact asked the Abia state Governor to withdraw his certificate and staff of office and appoint another person in his place. Even the big men who signed your bail documents have refused to defend you.  You used to boast about international support for the Biafran cause. 

It has been said that the government now knows some “treasury looters” and international groups who are funding you and that IPOB accounts have been traced to some countries, particularly France. The French and the Turkish promptly distanced themselves from you. But the European Union and the United States spoke nicely. America says IPOB is not a terrorist organization and America will know. 

But the Nigerian government that may not know half of what America knows is insisting that it is now a crime for anybody, even as young as five years old to identify with Biafra, regardless of the Constitutional right to the freedom of speech and association and the right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter.  Indeed, it would appear as if the Nigerian Government has been able to break the spine of your movement, at least for now, and certainly, the way things are, the November 18 election in Anambra state will take place – with or without you. If anybody expected that there would be a massive protest in the South East over the treatment that has been meted out to you, that has not quite happened. All the markets in the South East are open; Igbo traders across Nigeria have moved on with their businesses. Life is so normal in the South East, the Nigerian military is dancing and beating its chest. 

Northern and South Eastern Governors are holding meetings and congratulating each other. You turned 50 yesterday, apart from a few messages on social media, everywhere was quiet in the South-East. If this had been a month ago, the crowd that would have gathered at your doorstep would have stretched from Isiama Afara to Afikpo, and the cakes you would have received would have been uncountable. Rochas Okorocha recently got 27 birthday cakes, presented by 27 women, representing the same number of local governments in Imo State, you probably would have received a cake from every local government in the entire South East! 

Since your disappearance there has also been little talk about self-determination or Biafra among Igbos. The sound of the narrative is gradually changing. There is more talk these days about Igbo marginalization, and the need to appoint Igbos into offices. One prominent Northerner from Kaduna has since gone to Chatham House in the UK to say Igbos should not complain about marginalization when they didn’t vote for President Buhari in 2015, and that it is foolish for any Nigerian to expect to reap where he or she did not sow. Nnamdi, you’d be surprised that appointment-seeking Igbos will mobilize your people, including your followers, to vote massively for the same people who are currently hounding you, in 2019. 

You can be sure this will happen. In fact some people are already boasting that the only way to have peace in Nigeria is to make an Igbo man President or Vice President in 2019. While you were shouting “Biafra or death”, some people were eyeing the business and political side of things. Every proposed revolution often runs into its own contradictions. 

But don’t worry. It may be fashionable now to criticize Nnamdi Kanu but the wisdom of the mob is not always the best guide. I sincerely hope that you are alive, and that you’d not end up as an Abogunrin. Not every man has the opportunity to witness what life would be like after his own funeral. Treachery is one of those unsavory ingredients of the change process. The deserters of the cause would claim they prefer to survive. The coffin maker prays fervently for business but he would never wish that his own family members should die. But take heart, hope is not lost. The fire that you have lit will continue to burn. Your struggle speaks directly to the subject of the national question. You have reminded all and sundry that Nigeria remains a troubled country and that there are many unresolved issues. Every effort has been made to kill your voice, and your movement, but the ideas that you have forced out of the cupboard will continue to resonate. 

The good news also is that there are Nigerians in the diaspora who have taken up the struggle. They went to demonstrate at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York and on the streets of London.  Your friends, FFK and Ayo Fayose are still standing by you. There are many others out there who also do not agree that you are a terrorist, even if they do not agree with your methods and rhetoric. You have also exposed the hypocrisy of the Igbo elite. You have exposed the desperation of the ruling class. Don’t let your head swell, though. If I must tell you the truth, you over-acted. Too much acting dey spoil cinema. You paid too much attention to ceremony. You were obsessed with your own heroism. 

As you read this piece and reflect on your life at 50, let me remind you of the following statement which you made on August 27, 2017:“Where we are is Biafra land. Aba is the spiritual capital of Biafra land. We started in Aba in 2015 at CKC. That day, heaven authenticated our move that IPOB will restore Biafra and that’s what we have come to do. We died in Aba at National High School. They shot and killed us in other places in Biafra land where they were protesting for my release. As our people rest in the grave, we’ll never rest until Biafra is restored. I don’t care what they say in Abuja. I don’t give a damn what they say in Lagos. I’m a Biafran and we are going to crumble the zoo. Some idiots who are not educated said that they’ll arrest me, and I ask them to come, I’m in Biafra. If any of them leaves Biafra land alive, know that this is not IPOB. Tell them what I said. Tell Buhari that I am in Aba and any person who comes to arrest Nnamdi Kanu in Biafra land will die here. I’ll never go on exile I assure you.  Some people talk about restructuring, are we doing the restructuring of Nigeria now? Are we doing fiscal Federalism? Are we doing devolution? What we want is Biafra! Forget all the nonsense they write about us. We are not slowing down and no man born of a woman can stop us…”Words on marble, Mazi Kanu, these are strong words on marble… Whatever happens, the fight of the python and the lion is a defining moment for Nigeria.Reuben Abati

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE RAVAGES WINE COUNTRY.

ICHEOKU says may the victims of the biggest and most deadly wild fire in California find the strength to bear their loss and those already dead, find solace in the bosom of our Lord. It was a disaster of no mean magnitude which has so far killed 43 persons, burnt down nearly 5000 homes as well as numerous farmlands, vineyards and other structures. 

GRATEFUL TO BE CARRIED FULL TERM

GRATEFUL TO BE CARRIED FULL TERM 
ICHEOKU says another lucky one that survived the abortionist's pincers from the over 360,000 unlucky ones that get flushed out each year. May God help us all have a better resolution about unwanted pregnancies

Friday, October 13, 2017

OBAMA'S FECKLESS POLICIES: BEING NUKED, ONE POLICY AT A TIME.

ICHEOKU says in keeping with his campaign promises including to make America great again and respectable once again; and to unapologetically pursue an 'America First' state policy, President Donald John Trump has nixed the Iranian Nuclear deal, albeit technically. The president has send the deal back to the Congress, to either rectify it or stand it killed; pledging never to re-certify it again as is required to keep it valid. By sending the deal back to Congress to legislate on, the president is technically re-empowering the Congress and giving it back its legislative power and authority to make laws; thus helping to Make the Congress Great Again. 

ICHEOKU says way to go Mr President. It is yet another clear and incontrovertible evidence that the president's love for Israel is not a mere lip service sanctimony; but deeply rooted and unwavering. There is wisdom in America's founding fathers who made the separate but co-equal arms of government and ceded to the people, through their elected representatives. the sole power to make laws. President Donald John Trump is a true constitutionalist who believes in the need to respect the separation of powers and to avoid having an imperial president who would usurp the power of the Congress and absorb it, in addition to his own executive powers. 

The Iranian Nuclear deal now joins a litany of other knee jerk policies of the Obama administration which President Donald John Trump has eviscerated since coming into office. Will the world like the decision just like they did not like the decision to withdraw America from the Paris Climate Accord, who cares? ICHEOKU says provided the decision will be beneficial and in the best interest of America and one of its chief ally Israel, and in keeping with the president's 'America First' stated policy objective, it is oh well and dandy. Iran will now have a choice to make between complying with full transparency or stand headed into the deep, as it watch her economy tank. Why the Islamic State needs a nuclear weaponry technology, ICHEOKU does not know; since there are a lot of their are economically beneficial things they could be pursuing, short of seeking a weapon of mass destruction, which they neither will be allowed to use without being completely wiped out or even need at all for their own internal security objectives.

ICHEOKU says America now has a president who says what he means and means what he says and he does not suffer doubters and fools lightly. President Donald John Trump   steadfastly keeps faith with the American people, especially those who voted for him, believing that he is not a typical politician and would keep his campaign promises. So far, the president has not disappointed the American people who facilitated his presidency and this is despite all the roadblocks from both a do-nothing Congress and a court system which has been overruling his actions. It is instructive that President Donald John Trump has dealt a lot of TKOs to former President Barack Obama's policies, especially those he rammed down the American people's throat without Congressional approval. The list is extensive and includes changing Obama's 'America should learn to live with the fact of the existence of ISIS terrorists', which the president promised to bomb the hell out of and has steadily kept the heat on them ever since his inauguration. 

To date, ISIS is nearly completely wiped out of their miserable existence of terror and are now currently only holding out in one little corner of Raqqa, their supposed capital city, where they have been cornered and praying that their death could come sooner. The pressure is such that the ISIS remnants wanted a safe passage out of the hell in which they have been confined into, but which the American military backed coalition said thanks but no; and that only their dead bodies will suffice and ensure that they do not go elsewhere to ferment their troubles anew. Recall that the former President Barack Obama had told the world that they have to learn to adjust to the new reality that is terrorists ISIS and how to accommodate sharing the political world space with them. But President Donald John Trump said nope, that no civilization will accept to share this beautiful God's world with thugs, murderers and torturers; people who derive macabre joy in seeing innocent people being brutally tortured to death, some roasted alive in burn fires. 

ICHEOKU is completely satisfied with this Obama's accommodate them policy which has now been completely decimated. It shows once again, that strength works and that you do not have to negotiate with pinheads and any recalcitrance, especially one involving terrorism, should be decisively rooted out and completely annihilated. Kudos to President Donald John Trump for taking it to ISIS and for bombing the hell out of them as promised during the presidential campaign. Mosul is completely liberated of their evil stranglehold; Baquba the same and pretty soon Raqqa will enjoy their own complete freedom from the evil that is wearing the face of ISIS.

President Donald John Trump also dealt a blow to former President Barack Obama's DACA policy of allowing child illegals to remain in the United States and pursue their respective American dreams. With just a stroke of the pen, the president reversed President Barack Obama and sent the DACA matter back to the Congress to either come up with an acceptable law thereon within six months or have the policy ended. Then add the President Barack Obama's Paris Climate Change Accord which the president has withdrawn America from; the coal policy which he also reversed to allow coal miners to go back to work; the do no harm appeasement foreign policy which the president reversed by not bowing to other nations leaders including their Kings and Queens; the Keystone pipelines which is now ongoing; the Trans Pacific Partnership reversal with intent to replace the former free trade laisse-faire with a fair trade. 

The president also reversed Barack Obama's policy of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, which the president said he is going to keep open and going to load it up with some very bad dudes. EPA unfreezing many energy activities which former President Barack Obama had frozen, including oil exploration and drilling. It is a fair assessment to make that by the time President Donald John Trump completes his first term in office, whatever useless legacy the former President Barack Obama had his name and signature to, would have been completely wiped out of existence; leaving a somewhat tabula-rasa of a never happened presidency. 

ICHEOKU says although the president's main promise to repeal and replace Obamacare is still meeting some resistance from a do-nothing Congress; and the two attempts made thereto did not succeed; the president is not resting. He has so far signed two executive orders attacking the the main structure of the failing Obamacare, one to no longer compel Americans to show to IRS proof that they are compliant in maintaining a health insurance; and the latest stoppage of payments of bribes masked as subsidies to Insurance companies to entice them into continuing coverage. ICHEOKU says this subsidy removal is actually Obamacare laid to rest, as its vein will now completely wither away naturally, deprived of its subsidy water, hence the need to repeal Obamacare might soon become moot. 

Yes, indeed, President Donald John Trump understands what needs to be done to keep his promise to Make America Great Again and he is methodically pursuing them, one policy at a time; and when obstructionist Congress and liberal courts gets in the way, he plays a fast one on them by going subterranean on them, achieving the same result through another means. As at this moment, Obamacare is technically no more, killed by a double massive heart attack as the Insurance companies will do the job which the Congress will not do or rather lacks the will to mission accomplish on. ICHEOKU says congratulations to President Donald John Trump for outfoxing his detractors and obstructionists and may the Make America Great Again be fully accomplished. Iran's nuclear deal and Obamacare subsidy are now history. Well done Mr President and you have earned yourself another term, a second term in office; and ICHEOKU will, as before, throw its full weight of support come 2020. 

Thursday, October 12, 2017

HARVEY WEINSTEIN: HILLARY CLINTON ATTRACTED TO PERVERTS?

ICHEOKU says isn't it rather interesting that Queen Crooked Hillary Clinton is particularly attracted to certain types of men. Men who are addicted to sex and of a particular kind and whose fetish is as weird as it gets. Funny too is her always pretended lack of knowledge of their deviant misbehavior; resolutely denying ever knowing of their sexual proclivities while it lasted; and once they are busted, she will crawl out from whatever woodshed she was hiding in prior, to make a rather laborious denial of knowledge and denunciation of their activities; but usually not their person. 

From Bill Clinton to Anthony Weiner and now Harvey Weinstein, all sexual predators, who plowed the land and used their power and influence to overwhelm the resistance of their victims. They are all associated to Hillary Clinton, one way or the other; and you wonder if it was poor choices or her stars are playing funny tricks on her. BIll Clinton whose sexual wild fire started at Arkansas and who was nearly taken down by the Monica Lewisnky's blue dress sexual scandal is married to Hillary Clinton. He had series of women victimized, some he raped, some he threatened, some he cajoled. including an intern, Monica Lewinsky, who was too young and too naive to withstand the pressure of the president of the United States of America and went down on him at the White House. Yet, Hillary Clinton made excuses and excuses for him; never left him, but stuck out with him till date. It is on record that she even blamed some of the victims as having brought whatever it was that they were alleging on themselves. Yes, Bill Clinton, the chief pervert, is married to Hillary Clinton and she still finds him good enough to continue to call him her husband till date. 

Then enter Anthony Weiner, a friend of the Clintons and the former husband of Hillary Clinton's rumored lesbian-love interest, Huma Abedine. Yes, Anthony Weiner's own fetish was sexting young underage girls his bulged private part and mouthing off how he was going to dislocate their waste upon encounter. Not once, not twice; but repeatedly and he was finally disgraced out of his public service and now sentenced to 21 months in prison. It is a test of strength and intolerance of bad behavior that his wife of many years, Huma Abedine, walked away from the marriage and divorced him. So, query, if Human Abedine could feel so repulsed by the misdeeds of her former husband and could muster the courage to denounce him so vehemently by divorcing him; why did Hillary Clinton not give Bill Clinton a similar treatment? How does Hillary Clinton stand Bill Clinton and still look him on the face based on the litany of recorded sexual perversions under his belt. ICHEOKU says it takes a special kind of cold, unfeeling soul to tolerate and accommodate a spouse who has exposed a fellow spouse to such unimaginable, despicable and shameful public odium.

The latest in the series of Hillary Clinton's men of perversion is the now unraveled Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, a friend of Hillary Clinton and a handsome donor to her political campaigns, causes and the family foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative Foundation. Yes, these are the type of men who Hillary Clinton either feel proud of or is attracted to, possibly by a mere dint of fate. Harvey Weinstein is also a funder and bundler for the Hillary Clinton's two failed presidential bids, funneling to her campaign millions of dollars during the last 2016 election. Photographs do not lie and the fact that both individuals have a strong relationship is consequential; which explains the extended delay before Hillary Clinton mustered the courage and straight face to offer her condemnation of the sexual deviance of her long time friend, Harvey Weinstein. 

Once again, going by her usual playbook, Hillary Clinton is denying any prior knowledge of Harvey Weinstein's sexual escapades. While this is doubtful, considering the generally wild spread nature and open secret that was his sexual prowling, ICHEOKU is prepared to give her a benefit of the doubt that something came in the way that prevented a prompt reaction to the development. Admitted she did not expressly call out Harvey Weinstein by his name and condemn him specifically for his misdeeds, but let everyone accept it that Hillary Clinton has condemned her friend Harvey Weinstein and has now technically thrown him under the bus. However, ICHEOKU expects Hillary Clinton to refund, in full and entire, whatever dime she and her campaign as well as her family's foundation ever took or received from Harvey Weinstein. This is the only way she will categorically denounce what happened and disassociate herself and family completely from what took place. It is not acceptable for her to say that there is no person to give the money back to; to which ICHEOKU says sign the check to his wife as it is a community property.  Nothing else will suffice and ICHEOKU hereby call on Hillary Clinton to give back the money.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

HARVEY WEINSTEIN SEXUAL PERVERSION: OBAMA AND CLINTON OFFER REMARKS.

"I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein. The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated. Their courage and the support of others is critical in helping to stop this kind of behavior." - Hillary Clinton. 

"Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein. Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status. We should celebrate the courage of women who have come forward to tell these painful stories. And we all need to build a culture -- including by empowering our girls and teaching our boys decency and respect -- so we can make such behavior less prevalent in the future." - Barack Obama. 

ICHEOKU says are they going to return the millions of dollars their campaigns received from Harvey Weinstein, including the $100,000 he donated to the Clinton Global Initiative Foundation. This is the only meaningful way of expressing real disgust at a despicable misbehavior and not just offering remarks that waited for five long days before coming; especially because it is the most political expedient thing to do now. Further, ICHEOKU hopes that the president's daughter Malia was never similarly victimized by the pervert when she interned for him last summer. Now, both should return the pervert's money to him. 

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THE KACHIKWU LETTER: A TOO LITTLE TOO LATE GOOF.

Overall, Ibe Kachikwu's letter to President Muhammadu Buhari was unnecessary as a resignation would have been most appropriate under the circumstances. The weight of  the alleged transgressions shows that they could not possibly have happened without the President being in on them. Without the President's approval, direct or tacit, no subordinate GMD would be this so brazen in confronting and challenging the authority of his apparent boss, the Junior Minister. Therefore ICHEOKU is emphatic that President Muhammadu Buhari who doubles as the substantive Minister of Petroleum had a hand in the travails of his Junior Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu and denying it is akin to contesting whether the sun rises from the East. 

Unfortunately, Baru's rebellion is not the first time a junior Fulani official challenged his Southern boss's authority. The Southwest Yoruba man who is the Health Minister also once had his own rude shock  from a Fulani stork, when he tried to fire or rather suspend a Fulani director of a parastatal under his supervision. Even Vice President Osinbajo was not spared of these mistreatment as he continually was disrespected and disregarded as Acting President during the President's long medical leave of absence, to the extent of being derisively named the Coordinator of National Affairs by the same Fulani gangsters in power. It is the Fulani way as a Fulani does not recognize any authority that is not Fulani being above them. So Ibe Kachikwu was just another victim of the Fulani born to rule crass mentality and should have either sucked it up or resigned in protest. 

Any man or woman of courage who is similarly situated would have stopped the GMD cold right from the start; and made it clear to him who is the boss and that he will not tolerate any disruption of the hierarchically tiered order within the Petroleum Ministry. Ibe Kachikwu should have been more assertive in standing his grounds; but he made the fatal error of judgment by allowing the GMD to get away with his earlier infra digs, believing that things would eventually sort themselves out quietly; but forgot that he was dealing with a Fulani man who is possessed of Fulani mentality. This was his greatest undoing as the erosion of his powers continued until he went belly-up powerless. 

What stopped Ibe Kachikwu from resigning or is the job so that important that without it he will go homeless and hungry. Where is his honor and manhood that a subordinate was riding him like a camel and all he did was whine and complain to a President, who is most likely incahoot in his ordeal, to save his pitiful self. Why did he not fire the guy and let the president overrule him and then turn in his resignation. But Nigerians and Africans love the perks of power so much; and regardless of their precarious perch or lack thereof, and provided the appearance is there that they are in authority and are part of the movers and shakers of the society, they will cling to it so dearly, despite the abysmal nature of their power hold. 

That being said, Ibe Kachikwu left much to be desired by the letter which he wrote to the President as he did not represent his academic credentials very well. The form and substance of the letter are not befitting of a man with his storied academic credentials, begging the question, did Ibe Kachikwu write the letter or his secretary did; and if so, did he not review and revise the letter before signing it. That he did not follow prescribed format is also quite glaring, including certain loosely form of writing which he employed into a rather formal petition. Further, he was too patronizing in the letter, suggestive of a slavish servant desperately begging for his sustenance not to be taken away. There are so many things Ibe Kachikwu did not do right in the letter, including feebly ending the letter, without assertively asking of the President to either act with the expected maximum dispatch and redress the situation or consider the letter as his two weeks notice to resign the office. 

Ibe Kachikwu disappointed many, especially those who know that better is an improved version of good and an aspiration to best. There is no satisfaction to be driven from the Kachikwu's letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, as he did not say anything new or out of place within the Nigerian political space; nor did he substantiate any of the alleged litany of misdeeds conclusively. The letter is also not punchy enough to arouse any serious curiosity or to warrant any investigative excursion into its merits or lack thereof. Were are the evidence of misdeeds or corrupt practises; both of which would have grounded a better moralizing. If ICHEOKU were to grade the Kachikwu letter, will score it a C+ as it failed both in content, form and scholarly mettle. Oh poor Ibe Kachkwu, who knows what his regrets are at this time. SAD! 

ICHEOKU will end this oped with a trite summation by one Ifenayi Izeze concerning Ibe Kachikwu, the now fabled letter writer and his letter to President Muhammadu Buhari: - "How else can one describe the letter of lamentation by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, to President Muhammadu Buhari on the contracts scam and the serial misdemeanor of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Maikanti Baru, if not to say it was not only childish but outrightly naive. Is there anything in government that makes even our brightest minds think and act like dullards once they join the cult? What made Ibe Kachikwu think that the NNPC boss had been acting unilaterally alone without the full backing and approval of the substantive Petroleum Minister who also doubles as the President of the Fulani (Federal) Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari." ICHEOKU says the whole truth and nothing but the truth, concisely surmised, so help Ibe Kachikwu, God.

Monday, October 9, 2017

MURTALA MUHAMMED: ASABA MASSACRE AND THE NIGERIAN QUESTION - CHARLES OGBU

For the people of Asaba, Delta State, October 7, 1967 remains a day they will forever rue, for that was the day the Nigerian state executed one of the worst forms of savagery against them. 

As I sat listening to a number of survivors narrate their experience at Grand Hotel, Asaba, venue of the 50th commemoration of the massacre, I was left wondering if those men and women were narrating scenes from some horror movie they had just watched. But as it happens, I wondered wrong, for they were actually narrating event that had happened a few steps away from where we were all seated. 

In the early days of the Biafran war in 1967, it happened that Nigerian troops had entered the town of Asaba in pursuit of the Biafran soldiers who had retreated into the core East. On getting into Asaba on the 4th of October, 1967, the Nigerian soldiers led by Col. Murtala Muhammad with Col. Taiwo as his deputy, wasted no time embarking on the indiscriminate killing of men and boys in the town on suspicion of being sympathetic to the Biafran soldiers. 

After two days of such killings, the leaders of the town had gathered all their people, both young and old, to the village square to officially welcome the federal troops and pledge their allegiance to #OneNigeria. Dressed in the customary white cloth (akwa ocha) signifying peace, they all marched before the Nigerian troops, singing #OneNigeria. 

But for Col. Murtala Muhammad and Ibrahim Taiwo, nothing short of total annihilation of all boys and men in the town would suffice. Those two military men would gather all the boys and men to one side before ordering their soldiers to shoot them all at a very close range. At the end, not less than 1500 people lay dead, according to survivors of the massacre who spoke at the 50th anniversary. Murtala Muhammed and his men would later remain in the town where they raped many women and girls and forcefully married some. 

Now this is not even the biggest tragedy of October 7. The biggest tragedy here is that the Nigerian state would later reward, not punish, those two murderous military commanders. 

While Taiwo Ibrahim would later become the military governor of Kwara State, Murtala Muhammad did not only become head of the Nigerian state, a foremost international airport, Lagos airport, still bears his name till date. His face dons the twenty naira note. Asaba people use this airport the same way they have no choice but to look at his murderous face each time they spend the twenty naira note. 

As for Yakubu Gowon, the Commander-In-Chief under whose watch this unconscionable act took place, he is busy gallivanting from one church to another with some prayer group known as The Nigeria Prays. 

Fifty years after this clear case of barbarism was committed by a body that calls itself a nation, there has been no restitution of any kind, no explanations, not even a recognition, not to talk of attempt at reconciliation. 

If Nigerian soldiers could do this to civilians in Asaba even after pledging allegiance to #OneNigeria, is it not safe, logical and reasonable to assume that civilians in the core East must have been gifted with a fate more cruel than that during the Biafran war? 

How can anyone feel proud to be associated with a country that does not just murder her own unarmed citizens but equally celebrate the murderers? How can I love a country that is deaf, dumb and blind to the sanctity of the lives of the same citizens she exists mainly to protect? How does one show patriotism to a country that has no conscience, no sense of morality, no nothing? Just kill everything and everyone WITH IMPUNITY! 

A country that feels she is too big to apologize to her own citizens! A country where some people can commit all sort of unimaginable crimes and their names and religions would be all that would be required to ensure they are rewarded instead of being punished. How can anyone just wake up and claim that the so called unity of such a murderous entity masquerading as a nation is non-negotiable? 

It is understandable if a people chose to lie to themselves. What is neither understandable nor excusable is for a people to choose to swallow their own lies as the gospel truth. Sadly, this is the terrible situation of Nigeria today. 

This country has progressed in error for far too long. Unless she turns back from this suicidal route, she can never get to her destination. It does appear that for Nigeria as a country, the night beckons with a knife. Will she bend to escape this knife or will she be cut to pieces? Your guess is as good as mine!