History in the Skies: AVM Ubadike becomes first serving NAF officer appointed as Professor - ITREALMS

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In a landmark achievement for the Nigerian military and the academic community, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Osichinaka Chiedu Ubadike has made history as the first serving officer of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to be appointed to the rank of Professor, reports ITREALMS.

The historic appointment in Aerospace Engineering was recently confirmed by the Governing Council of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), Kaduna.

FG disclaims unapproved history textbook allegedly excluding Igbo history - ITREALMS

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The Federal Ministry of Education has officially distanced itself from a controversial History textbook titled "Living History," which has been accused of excluding the history and culture of the Igbo people, reports ITREALMS.

The Ministry, in a statement by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, declared that the book is not an approved instructional material and has never been recommended for use in any Nigerian school. 

Digital Visionary: Uwaje pays tribute to late Prof. G.O. Ajayi, pushes for inclusive IT history - ITREALMS

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Former President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Chief Chris Uwaje, has paid a profound tribute to the late Professor Gabriel Olalere Ajayi, hailing him as a "true cerebral digital enigma" whose vision was instrumental in institutionalizing Nigeria's National IT policy, reports ITREALMS.

The tribute was delivered at the lecture and launch of the Prof. G.O. Ajayi Foundation, an initiative established to honor and "reincarnate the overwhelming vision" of the late Professor.

I AM IGBO!!!🏪- ITREALMS

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I am Igbo.
I am greatness forged in fire,
The embodiment of perseverance.
I rise, not because the world is kind,
But because I refuse to kneel.
No setback can break me,
No hardship can silence me.
My spirit is carved from resilience,
My path lit by the relentless pursuit of success.
Show me an obstacle,
And I will show you how an Igbo person turns it into an opportunity.

I am Igbo.
My ancestors traded in truth long before they traded in wealth.
My word is a contract,
My reputation my greatest currency.
I do not beg for respect, I command it.
My kings are heroes,
Standing tall in honor.
Dignity is our wealth,
And honor is our crown.

Seun Ojedeji makes history as first Nigerian on Public Interest Registry Board - ITREALMS

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In a significant milestone for Nigeria's growing influence in global internet governance, Mr. Seun Ojedeji, a renowned technology executive, has been appointed to the Public Interest Registry (PIR) Board of Directors, reports ITREALMS.

This appointment marks a historic moment as Ojedeji becomes the first Nigerian to join the PIR Board.

Pantami’s history of digital deception and desperation - ITREALMS

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In a recent press statement, Isa Ali Pantami, the former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, shamelessly proclaimed that he single-handedly raised the ministry's quarterly revenue from a meager N51.3 million to a staggering N408.7 billion.

This audacious claim, however, has been debunked by fact-checkers, exposing Pantami's desperate attempt to rewrite history and secure a comeback as a minister under the new administration of Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The fact-check by the Cable Online Newspaper, however, provides an insight into Pantami's pattern of deception, his habitual use of unverified statistics and dubious accomplishments throughout his career.

History never dies by Reno Omokri: A disinformation against Ndigbo in Internet age - ITREALMS

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“Tribal considerations were completely out of our minds at this stage. But we had a set-back in the execution… But the other three who were stationed in the South failed because of incompetence and misguided considerations in the eleventh hour … But in the East, our major target, nothing practically was done. He and the others let us down.” - Late Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, purported leader of 1966 Military coup in Nigeria.

Putting South East on a slab:

With the above, reading Reno Omokri recently in a piece entitled “History Never Dies” it reminds one of frantic efforts being made by some traducers who claimed the gift of the pen and closeness to the media work to mislead the rest of us, simply because Nigeria has deliberately removed history in schools’ curriculum, whilst they catch in to put Ndigbo or South East where Igbo is largely spoken on the slab for another pogrom probably.

ISA Confeb'22 advances Igbo society, culture, language and history - ITREALMS

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The Igbo Studies Association (ISA) has advanced society, culture, language and history at its 19th annual international conference and meeting held between May 12 and 14, 2022, reports ITREALMS.

The conference with the theme “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya: Everyone Counts,” the three-day virtual event of intellectual engagement and interaction of the USA-based association advanced ISA’s mission to foster active collaboration among academics and professionals towards the promotion and advancement of Igbo society, culture, language, and history.

Brief history of Awba-Ofemili - ITREALMS

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Awba-Ofemili is a town in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. The town has an estimated population of 15,978 according to the 2006 Nigerian Census. Awba-Ofemili has eight villages, each of which made up small communities of kindreds.

The eight villages in Awba-Ofemili today include Umuokpe, Umuchibu, Ezike, Akpana, Enugwu-Agu, Umuosite, Enugwu, Umuezeavu.

HRH Igwe Ezekwesili Maduagwuna,
Ofemili 1 of Awba-Ofemili

Awba-Ofemili is about 30kilometers (km) from Awka, the capital city of Anambra State. Like most towns in Awka-North, Awba-Ofemili’s climate and soil conditions are favorable to farming, especially for rice mass production.

Between history and current demands in Nigeria

Commentary@ITREALMS:

One of the propositions of Leftists’ theory of history is that human beings are the makers of their own history. A corollary to this – that human beings do not make this history simply as they wish, but that they make it with materials and circumstances fashioned and transmitted by and from the past – is as important as the main thesis.

This composite proposition has remained a pillar of Leftists’ political and social action. And it is one of the propositions which Leftists bring to the workers’ movement, revolutionary groups and, indeed, all movements that genuinely wish to change the world or segments of it for the benefit of the exploited, the dominated, the enslaved, the deceived, the humiliated and the abandoned.

An injunction that issues from this proposition is that those who fight for justice, freedom or equality should not lie, should not falsify history – however strong the temptation to do so may be. This is not simply a moral injunction. It is a political and ideological injunction because – as history itself has demonstrated over and over again - falsification of history ultimately weakens the falsifiers’ cause.

In late 1990, as a full-time member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, I wrote a 10-part column titled A refutation of official history. The present article is offered both in anticipation of the appearance of an updated edition of that essay and as a commentary on the current wave of “politics-inspired” re-interpretations of our country’s history.

From about 1990 to 2005 there was an intense national media debate on a subject variously called “the national question”, “the ethnic question” or “the ethnic nationality question”. The first alternative name is considered the orthodox variant. Nigerian Leftists not only raised the intellectual level of this debate but also made it wider and more political by introducing the concept of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and demanding for it. I took part in that debate both as a socialist and as a member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian.

Among the sharpest and most passionate contributors to this unstructured national dialogue from the Left were Comrade (Professor) G. G. Darah and the late Comrade (Dr) Bala Usman. But they entered the “National Question” and “Sovereign National Conference” debates from diametrically opposite ideological and political directions. The debate however never degenerated to personal abuses and never employed “ad hominem” arguments.

The National Question and Sovereign National Conference debates did not come to a close. Rather, it went into a lull. It remained that way until a couple of years ago. But when the debate resumed it did so as something entirely different: it had ceased to be informed by verifiable historical facts and true sequences of events; perspectives and methods could no longer be apprehended or characterized; the language had become simply horrible and the social media – unavailable to the last generation – had become the main platform for the debate – or rather, the abuse.

The concrete issues around which the “national question” debate or abuse is currently being fought may be grouped into three: One is the question of “restructuring” or “geopolitical restructuring” of the country. Positions being canvassed on this question include the retention of the present structure; “strong” restructuring; “weak” restructuring (if we may borrow the language of the current Brexit debate in Europe); and the right of any of the present six geopolitical zones to secede from the federation. The second issue is national political re-alignment (combinations and dissociations) in preparation for the 2019 general elections. The third issue is the current widespread destructions and killings which have been officially classified as herdsmen – farmers clashes.

We note, sadly, that there is no issue or sub-issue on the list of issues articulated above which we can say had been inspired by the Left or the popular-democratic movement either in its own name or in the name of the masses of Nigeria. Of course, all the issues affect the masses and their resolutions – one way or another – will, as usual, carry grave consequences for the masses.

It is, however, not the aim of this piece to squeeze into this small space explicitly Left demands such as popular-democratic restructuring and the massive re-deployment of the nation’s resources in favour of the masses as articulated in my previous article, Further notes on people’s manifesto. Rather, I wish to use the space that is left here to draw the attention of debaters to some elementary facts on the origins of, and political developments in, Nigeria up to the civil war. These are verifiable simple facts which you must respect if you intend to use your arguments and positions to persuade living human beings.

Fact One: In 1977, Professor Obaro Ikime, one of the earliest and most accomplished Nigerian historians, offered an important book on Nigerian history to scholars and non-scholars alike. The book is titled The Fall of Nigeria: The British conquest. It is divided into two parts. The second part, Episodes from the British Conquest of Nigeria, tells the stories of the British military defeat and occupation of 12 selected Nigerian communities: Lagos, Calabar, Oyo, Ilorin, Brass, Benin, Aro, Tiv, Borno, Zaria, Kano and Sokoto. If you put up a current map of Nigeria, you will see the spread of just some of the areas where military battles were fought between the British colonialists and the native populations between 1885 and 1914. Ikime studied these battles.

My proposition here is: By 1914 all the present 36 state capitals and the federal capital territory had British military presence – by conquest. Put differently: The colonialists decisively won each of the battles listed in the preceding paragraph and several others not listed, put the conquered territories together and forged a country they called Nigeria.

When our ancestors rose to resume the struggle, they rose not as individual communities, but as Nigerians fighting for the independence of Nigeria. And they won independence not as members of previously defeated autonomous communities, but as citizens of Nigeria. This point was made by Bala Usman and conceded by several debaters including myself. But the point, though a powerful one, did not settle and has not settled the question of national unity decades after independence. It has, however, eliminated a large field of arguments.

Fact Two: In 1900, the British proclaimed their ownership of three territories, namely: the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Colony of Lagos. In 1906, the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was merged with the Colony of Lagos. And in 1914, the two protectorates were merged and named the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria with Lagos as capital. In 1936, the protectorate of Southern Nigeria was divided into two groups of provinces – the West and the East. By 1954 Nigeria had become a federation of three regions: North, East and West and the Federal Capital, Lagos. Independence was won for Nigeria on October 1, 1960. And in 1963, the fourth region, Mid-West, was carved out of the West.

Fact Three: On May 30, 1967, the whole of Eastern Region comprising the present southeast geopolitical zone plus the present Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River States was declared the Republic of Biafra. A 30-month war broke out. On January 15, 1970, the 1967 declaration was renounced and the status-quo ante was restored.

These are simple and verifiable historical facts which must be respected by debaters. They neither support nor oppose any of the current demands or opposition to any demand. But a truthful reconstruction of historical experience is a powerful weapon in any struggle for a just future. And that is why Leftists (socialists and radical democrats) invest so much energy in self-education and popular education.

*Edwin Madunagu, mathematician and journalist, writes from Calabar, Cross River State.

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3 Nigeria women set for history @Winter Olympics, seeks support on gofundme.com

ITREALMS:

Three Nigerian women, Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga have are all set to make history by being electing to be the first Nigerian representatives to qualify to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, in the sport of Bobsled, reports ITRealms.

This, ITRealms gathered, is coming as the trio are seeking support to make this dream a reality via gofundme.com.

As said by Seun Adigun in her gofundme.com campaign, they are all based in the United States and are determined to add Nigeria to the list as they vie for a spot at the event which will be taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

She also disclosed they have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds and create awareness around the historical feat they are set to accomplish in the next two years.

Adigun confirmed actually conceiving the idea, and went on to recruit her other team members, described the project as a difficult one, but also as one of the most impactful things she will ever initiate.

“The fate of Nigeria’s eligibility to be represented in the 2018 Winter Olympics rests exclusively on my ability to qualify as a competent driver. I decided to accept this responsibility and recruited two wonderful young women, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga, as my brakemen,” Adigun said.

Banji Boye/GEE

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pix: Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga

Operation Araba in history: How Murtala murdered Ironsi, Fajuyi

commentary@ITRealms: 

The ancient city of Ibadan comes alive on Friday July 29, 2017 as dignitaries from all walks of life converge to remember that gallant, brave and outstanding soldier, Col Adekunle Fajuyi, who was murdered 50 years ago by Northern military officers who massed on the capital of the Western Region to take out then Head of State, Major General Johnson Aguiyi- Ironsi.

The International Conference at the University of Ibadan is the place to be as prolific writer and teacher, Prof Niyi Osundare, speaks on “Fajuyi and the Politics of Remembrance”. Fiery preacher, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Prof Wale Adebanwi will spice his thoughts. I spoke with a 27-year-old a few weeks back and I was shocked he had no idea who Fajuyi was. And it quickly dawned on me that those who stopped the teaching of History in our schools have succeeded in wiping off the   memory   card of our pertinent stories .They want us to be blank but we must keep telling our stories.

Adekunle Fajuyi did not commit any crime than the fact that he was playing host to Ironsi on July 29,1966 when Northern officers who staged a revenge coup following the Kaduna Nzeogwu-led coup of January 15,1966 struck.

Disgruntled Northern officers led by Murtala Mohammed, TY Danjuma, Martin Adamu and others spearheaded a rebellion within the army after the event of January. On one occasion, Murtala called Ironsi a “fool” in the presence of other officers and threatened to avenge the death of his Northern officer colleagues. His position as the Inspector of Signals became quite veritable for the planning of the revenge coup nicknamed “Operation Araba”(Araba is Hausa word for let’s divide it).

Murtala and his Northern colleagues had totally lost confidence in the Nigerian federation and their plan was to break Northern region from Nigeria. Their politicians had earlier pulled out of the Federal Parliament in 1953 after the crisis that followed their rejection of Enahoro’s motion that Nigeria should become independent in 1956.They produced an eight-point demand which effectively wanted a confederal Nigeria as a precondition to return. As their coup began on July 29, 1966, it was Murtala who coordinated the take-over of the International Airport in Lagos,an edifice to be named after him 10 years later.

When he and his troops arrived the airport, they hijacked planes to ferry their families back to the North as a prelude to the exit of the region from Nigeria. An Igbo officer (Captain Okoye) was captured by them and tied to an iron cross and beaten to death. In Military units across Lagos, Kaduna and Ibadan, Northern troops went gaga and murdered their Igbo colleagues in gruesome manner, eliminating hundreds of them.

The arrowhead of the whole operation was Murtala who had close links with NPC as his Uncle Inuwa Wada was the Defence Minister. When Danjuma and co arrived Ibadan they made for the Government House where there was a detachment of 106 Artillery commanded by William Walbe from Plateau State on guard.It later came   to light that Walbe was part of the conspiracy. He later became ADC to Gowon. By some act of naivety Fajuyi’s ADC was one Lt Adamu, while Ironsi had Lt Sani Bello.

In an interview granted to an Hausa paper, Rariya in 2013, Jeremiah Useni who was a Lieutenant at the time of the coup said the following : “But while that was going on, words started going round about what the Igbo officers were saying: That they had killed the snake, but had failed to cut off the head. Which meant those of us left might make them suffer later, that there was therefore the need to finish us off. Instead of them to show remorse and apologise, they were planning another sinister attack.

We were together with Col. Remawa at the time, he was serving in Abeokuta, and we heard of a grand plot to kill our emirs. A meeting of all emirs was called in Ibadan, all our emirs gathered in Ibadan, that the head of state, Ironsi, would address them. So we said, are we going to let him come, address them and leave? Or should we just kill him or what?   Our fear was that he was in the company of our emirs, and you know bullets do not select whom to hit. What do we do? We don’t want even a single emir to die.

“We also considered arresting him at his lodge before he goes to meet with them. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi was the governor of South West at the time, and the head of state, Ironsi, was staying in his house in Ibadan. So we don’t want a situation where they would say he conspired with us. So we decided the best thing to do was to open fire there even if Governor Fajuyi was also caught, so that they would just be buried together, and that was what happened.” When the soldiers seized Ironsi, Fajuyi insisted on going with him as he considered it a betrayal of valour to abandon his guest at the most decisive hour.

They pushed them into a Land Rover and drove them to Lalupon on Iwo Road where the duo were shot dead. When the killings were done with, senior Northern officers converged at the Ikeja Cantonment in Lagos. Brigadier Ogundipe who was the most senior surviving officer could not face them given their mood and had to send Chief of Staff (Army) Lt-Col Yakubu Gowon to mediate. It was 28-year-old Murtala who was most recalcitrant as he insisted that Northern troops should destroy Lagos, pull out to the North and secede.

When the Military Governor of the East, Lt-Colonel Ojukwu managed to reach Ogundipe, the latter told him that Northern troops had stated their conditions for a “ceasefire”: (1) the repatriation of Northerners and Southerners to their respective regions (2) the secession of Northern Region from Nigeria.

Ojukwu’s   response was “let them go if that is what they want”. He later urged Ogundipe to take charge since Ironsi’s whereabouts was unknown and promised to make a broadcast 30 minutes after Ogundipe in his support. But Northern officers were no longer in the mood for a Southern rule. Ogundipe got it in clear terms when a Northern Sergeant told him: “I do not take orders from you until my (Northern) captain comes”.

A Northern Private equally refused to obey orders from the Military Governor of Lagos State, Major Mobolaji Johnson. When Gowon gauged the mood of his northern colleagues, he called the head of the Police Special Branch, Alhaji MD Yusuf and informed him that the Northern soldiers had drafted a speech declaring the secession of the Northern region from Nigeria.

He asked for a lawyer to look at the speech which   was influenced by Murtala and Major Martin Adamu.A Northern judge,Mr Justice Bello who was in Lagos at the time told the soldiers that all the nation’s money was locked in the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos and asked them how they would pay their soldiers after secession without   access to the CBN.Some of the soldiers quickly went to throw cordon around the CBN.

The Northern officers were joined by the British and American ambassadors, Sir Francis Cumming-Bruce and Elbert Matthews, respectively. Among other civilians with them were two Northern judges,head of Northern region’s civil service, Ahajji Ali Akilu,Muktar Tahir, Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola,Mr Justice Bello,the chairman of the Public Service Commission, Alhaji Sule Katagum. There were also permanent secretaries such as Alhaji Musa Daggash, Abdul Aziz Attah, Yusuf Gobir, Allison Ayida, Ibrahim Damcida, etc.

Police representatives included the Inspector -General of police, Alhaji Kam Salem and the head of the Special Branch,MD Yussuf From three days they argued ferociously over the soul of Nigeria with the civilians trying hard to convince the soldiers that the North had everything to lose if it should secede as it would be landlocked between the South and the sea.It was a cul-de-sac as the coup was not planned with any objective for Nigeria as a whole but a mere revenge against the Igbo and to move the North out of Nigeria. After they failed to convince the meeting on secession and with the country without a government for three days, the Northern officers agreed to drop their plan to secede but only on the condition that the most senior officer among them Lt-Col Gowon be appointed the Head of State.

This was done for the 32-year-old in spite of the presence of more senior officers in the chain of command (all Southerners) like Brigadier Ogundipe,Commodore Wey, Col Robert Adebayo, Lt -Cols Nwaw, Imo Kurubo, Effiong,Njoku and several other Lt-Cols who were commissioned before Gowon. Adekunle Fajuyi The initial coup speech given by Gowon was poorly edited that it still dripped with the poisonous mindset of Murtala and his “Araba” colleagues.

Hear him: “I  have now come to the most difficult part, or the most important part, of this statement. I am doing it, conscious of the great disappointment and heartbreak it will cause all true and sincere lovers of Nigeria and of Nigerian unity both at home and abroad, especially our brothers in the Commonwealth.

 “As a result of the recent events and the other previous similar ones, I have come to strongly believe that we cannot honestly and sincerely continue in this wise, as the basis of trust and confidence in our unitary system of government has not been able to stand the test of time. I have already remarked on the issues in question. Suffice to say that, putting all considerations to test-political, economic, as well as social-the base for unity is not there or is so badly rocked, not only once but several times.

I therefore feel that we should review the issue of our national standing and see if we can help stop the country from drifting away into utter destruction” (Yakubu Gowon, August1, 1966). The “difficult part” that was to cause “heartbreak” had been deleted from the speech of course and it was time to Go-On-With- One-Nigeria on their own terms. When the same folks today tell us that the “unity of Nigeria is not negotiable”, they are definitely not talking  about the unity they once questioned as narrated above. I think what they are saying is that “our conquest of Nigeria is not negotiable"

Courtesy: Yinka Odumakin

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Osinbajo makes history, signs 2017 Appropriation Bill

ITRealms:

The acting vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo made history Monday when he signed the 2017 budget at his office in Abuja, reports ITRealms.

With the signing of the Appropriation Bill into law for the year 2017, Prof. Osinbajo historically is the first Nigeria’s acting president to perform such a duty.

This follows the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari authorizing him to perform that constitutional assignment.

Senior Special Assistant to the President, (Media & Publicity), Mr. Garba Shehu, according to the receipt of a full brief on the 2017 Appropriation Bill as passed by the National Assembly.

He buttressed the unity at the highest level of government, stressing that President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated that it is in the interest of the nation's economy for the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to sign the Appropriation Bill into law.

In a letter dated June 10, 2017, which he personally signed and addressed to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, the President also said he was "pleased by the joint resolution that the Executive would submit next year's budget proposals by October 2017 and the National Assembly will conclude the Appropriation process by December 2017, so that the country can return to a normal fiscal period from next year onwards."

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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21st century questions: Understanding Biafra without history

Commentary@ITRealms:

I was speaking with a very young pharmacist from the South-East yesterday. I advanced the restructuring/true Fiscal Federalism as what I believe is the way out of Nigeria's muddle. He would not buy it.

"Forget it ma'am. It's better we just go. Give us 10-15 years and see how Biafra would be transformed." He spoke with conviction. His eyes shone with what I thought was longing. "Just forget it. There is no need dragging this thing with them," he concluded.

A good number of Igbos, and I dare add, other young Nigerians, are totally not understanding Nigeria as it is right now. It is not enough to make dismissive remarks like "They were not even born when the war happened." Or remarks like "They don't understand what they're asking for."

Make them understand. That is, if you understand what you're asking them to understand. If it makes sense to you. It even gets more annoying when you hear the older ones, the actors and spectators of the unfortunate war, urge the younger ones to learn from history.

According to Osinbajo, "experience is the best answer for a fool. History is a much gentler teacher.'

I agree.

But comments like that could even draw the ire of the young ones who have today been denied history classes in school. Who keeps a people ignorant of their history? But even more annoying is the fact that those who urge this learning have themselves not only failed to learn from experience, but have bluntly refused to learn from history, the much gentler teacher.

And what is there to learn? What is there to understand?

That a boy from Anambra State aspiring to get some education at the prestigious Unity Schools has to score about 139 marks in the entrance examination while his counterpart, perhaps even his classmate or neighbour from Zamfara State would only have to score 4 marks. And that it takes an even weirder turn when they are done with school, at which point the Zamfara boy would have over 80 per cent more chances at a federal job than the 80 per cent more studious boy from Anambra. How do you explain that to a young Nigerian so that he may understand?

How can they understand that a State like Kano, created at about the same time as one like Lagos, has about 44 local govt areas while Lagos State has a paltry 20 constitutionally recognized local government areas. Bear in mind that Kano State has long been sub-divided into two states of Kano and Jigawa. Jigawa alone has 27 LGAs of its own. You can say that the old Kano State has 71 LGAs while Lagos still lags behind with 20. And that the entire South East of five states has only about 94 local govt areas? Did it strike you that the South East is the only region still dawdling with five states? It would not have mattered of course if the National cake wasn't shared on the basis of local governments. Only if it was baked on that same basis. How would any young person without a brain for understanding twisted things get this?

How can they understand that in the present Govt, the entire South East has no representation in the security body of the country. So when the security chiefs sit to discuss security, the primary role of any govt, there is nobody from the entire SE region in attendance. How can anyone understand this.

How can even a gentle teacher make anyone understand that a South South youth would die for daring to steal crude oil from what used to be his fertile and arable farmland, while his Northern counterpart can freely mine minerals from his backyard. We only get to hear anything about it when lead poisoning begins to ravage communities.

How do you understand that we have Petroleum Equalization Fund which ensures that petroleum products get to the people in the North at the same price at which it gets to those in the South but we do not have Tomato Equalization fund or Carrot Equalization Fund to trim the cost for people in the South? Break it down for me so that I may understand since I didn't witness the war.

How do you break down the brazen massacres of Igbos, Christians and other innocent Nigerians any time the North wakes up from the wrong side of the bed? Or when an artist draws a denigrating sketch of Mohammed in countries some of the victims have never heard of? Or when a group of girls decide to bare their bodies in beauty pageants? Or when a man cannot win elections? Or when a farmer must till his farmland? Or just about when anything ... Just unbelievable impunity. And no one ever gets justice.

But we can start by explaining how Katsina State alone just got allotted more slots that the entire SS, than the entire SW, than the entire SE, than the entire N. Central in the ongoing (or is it completed?) recruitment by the DSS.

And a host of flustering matters.

So what is it you want History to help you teach? That the oppressed should stay calm and "ask nicely" like Obasanjo put it? They should ask nicely for their share of a piece of cake jointly baked by all? They should treat Nigeria with love like Obasanjo again suggested. It shouldn't matter that they get only rebuffs in return. I don't blame Obasanjo. It's probably the way he knows love and reconciliation...one sided. Any wonder his daughter would literally disown him publicly?

I listened to all the speeches made at the Biafra@50 event. They were all rich in flowing grammar, beaming with rhetorics but glaringly bare on commitment. Nobody but Nwodo dared point a way out. 

Osinbajo's speech had no mention of restructuring, something I can bet my last finger that he believes in. It would seem like we don't want to find a way out of our predicament yet.

Make no mistake, the clamour for Biafra is getting more tumultuous by the day that I fear that the voices of some of us preaching 'restructure' may soon be drowned.

And this house may come crashing on us all.

*Contributed by Nneka Aroh

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THE LAST JOB - making Africa's 1st movie franchise

ITRealms 

Born Ideh Chukwuma Innocent, also known as ONESOUL has been the brain behind a lot of Nigerian and other African artist's music videos. ONESOUL has made his mark in the music industry and now sets his sights on taking film making to another level

He has decided to make history by creating the first African movie franchise titled THE LAST JOB which took him about five years to create. Production will commence in November 2014 and this will be history in the making….it will change the phase of African film making industry.

Enjoy this momentary film as ONESOUL takes us through the journey so far in creating the first movie franchise in Africa... enjoy!

 

DOCUMENTARY VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKMmvvN1weA

FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @1SoulMusicFilm

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