Church and the Economic Growth-

January 16, 2018

“Finland has the most stable economy in world today. There are less than 20 churches in Finland.

Switzerland has the second most stable economy in the world. Switzerland has less than 30 churches.

Denmark is the third most stable economy in the world. Denmark has about 23 churches in it.

These are countries considered largely atheist in nature, yet so blessed.

Come to Owerri town, SE Nigeria, from MCC junction to Toronto junction, there are 36 churches. That stretch of about 5 km harbours 36 churches, more churches than the entire Switzerland.

Between Owerri and Mgbidi l counted 97 churches and gave up. According to CAC, Nigeria has over 23,000 registered churches.

We have more churches than schools and hospitals combined. More pastors than doctors and teachers combined. Everyone is born again. All are covered in the blood of Jesus. All are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Yet none of those claims reflects in the expected moral elevation of society. We are still one of the greediest, laziest, corrupt, deceitful, hypocritical and hateful set of beings on the planet today, with all our Christ and Holy spirit.

Our people need to draw the line between religiosity and spirituality.”

Christian Associations of Nigerian herein referred to as CAN is a confused organization who doesn’t know anything. I call them Noise makers. Imagine CAN telling us that Muslim want to islamize Nigeria just because they are giving free interest loan, free education. Why we the Christian can’t afford schools built with our offerings and tithes which we give to our denominations. Pls help me tell CAN to Christianize Nigeria by opening interest free bank, free education, reduction of their university fee per semester, Tell CAN to start free distribution of Bible all over Nigerian cities and villages, Tell CAN to abolish paying money before seen General Overseers and founders of denominations. Tell CAN to form and register a political party as it is done In Germany. Ask CAN where they were when Muslim started conducting white wedding. Ask CAN were they sleeping When Muslim started conducting Night vigils every Friday more than 10yrs ago and opened up camp grounds for their crusade? Ask CAN where were they when their sons and daughters in various offices are being used to bring anti-Christian policies; was it not a christian who was used to sack all president founders of ministries recently? was it not a Christian who chaired the committee of the merger of Christian Religious Knowledge/Civil Education?

Please tell CAN to Christianize Nigeria! Tell them to give Nigerians a better LIFE. Tell CAN that, four of their Pentecostal churches alone can establish a MEGA BANK. No! they won’t do that, their priorities are competition of Jet acquisition, building mega Cathedrals and palatial domains.

Ask CAN what is preventing them from establishing industries and farms in West Africa Whereas they only go to extend their branches to other nations for their selfish pursuits. Tell CAN to start Formulating a new strategy to Christianize Africa. Tell CAN to stop talking and doing the same things the OLD way. Enough of Traditions, we need a RADICAL Change. Blessed be the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

May His suffering on the Cross Never be in vain over Nigeria Christian.

Okonkwo ifeanyi innocent is a social analyst and commentator, Anambra state coordinator MOBIN!!

POSITIVE THINGS RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA WILL BRING!

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January 15, 2018

If Nigeria restructured into provinces –
1) Northern Province
2) Middle Belt Province
3) Oduduwa Province
4) Biafran Province
5) Niger Delta Province (Atlantic)
Then Central Government at FCT.

10 positive things that would happen within 5 years
(primarily due to inter-province competition)

1. The first province to experience economic explosion would obviously be the Western Province. The Oduduwua Master plan will be revealed. There would be trans-regional 4g internet fiber connection/rail/subways/highways/power grids etc. Yoruba will become the 2nd official language. They are relatively united. They have oil. They own academia. They have mega corporations. The WP would be the first to have stable 24/7 power supply! Foreign money will flood the province. More Forbes recognized billionaires will arise. Some of them will be internet billionaires. Lagos will be relieved a little from overpopulation as railway lines from other states will make living elsewhere and working in Lagos a breeze.

2. The Northern Province will have stronger islamic laws. Sharia will be entrenched and this will make the NP become the least corrupt province. The middle east (Arab) nations will move in to partner with them, bringing major development. Jaiz bank and Unity Bank will become mega banks. Arabic and Hausa will compete with English for dominance in schools. This province will generate more solar power than any other province. After the west, this province will be the 2nd to have 24/7 electricity. They will start exporting food as a major revenue generator.

3. The Middle Belt Province will have a development conference. Focus will be given to solid minerals development/
exports, tourism development and food production/exports. This will become a food hub in West Africa. They will export more food than any other province. Mega mining and food corporations will arise. This province will have foreign inflows through tourism development greater than any other province. It will host the most beautiful places to live in Nigeria.

4. The Eastern Province will transform into the Auto Industry Hub of Africa. Indigenous manufacturing of vehicles that will start competing with foreign vehicles will commence in earnest. This will grow to manufacturing of airplanes, helicopters, tractors, cranes, heavy duty construction equipment etc. Forbes recognised billionaires living in Anambra will arise. The Biafra agitation will fizzle out since formation of the EP will be seen as a Biafra success in another form. There would be so much development that villages (as we currently know them) will quickly cease to exist. This province will be the first to semi-urbanize all their rural areas as all the Igbos living abroad will rush back to take advantage of the changes.

5. The Atlantic Province will take the Uyo blueprint and run with it. An abundance of oil wealth and opening up of major sea ports at Rivers and Uyo will enable this region to revamp their infrastructure quickly. There will be more monorails here than anywhere else. This will be the 3rd province to achieve 24/7 electricity generation in Nigeria (mainly from gas turbine technology).

6. With provincial indigenous security forces in control, kidnapping, Armed robbery, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and the Niger delta militancy attacks will all fizzle out. Nigeria will become the most secure and peaceful African nation; thus attracting more foreigners.

7. Each Province will have their own airline professionally managed. And with better roads/rail, air and land transport costs will crash.

8. With the rapid development occurring all over, Nigerias GDP will shoot up. Obtaining visas to travel out will become easy as more people will want to come in than go out. A worldwide immigration into Nigeria will commence, as Nigerians living abroad will be struggling with foreigners to enter the country. ”Nigeria will become the most desirable Nation to live in”.

9. The central government at the FCT will become smaller and less powerful. There will be a mini-exodus from Abuja to the provinces as the action is now elsewhere. The outskirts of Abuja will no longer be heavily overpopulated. Abuja will become awesome again.

10. The 10th positive thing that would quickly happen positive idea.

source :social media

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Break News-Herdsmen asks for compensation for members killed during crisis

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January 15, 2018

The overblown crisis between herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria, has taken yet another twist as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) is now demanding for compensation for its members, killed during all forms of crisis in the country.

Herdsmen asks for compensation for members killed during crisis lailasnews 1

Baba Ngelzarma, National Secretary of MACBAN, who appealed to FG to set up a Ministry of Livestock Development to attend to the multidimensional needs of herdsmen, while briefing newsmen in Abuja, said no fewer than 1,000 of its members including women and children have been killed and 20,000 cattle rustled between June 2017 and January 2018 during crises in various states.

“We call on the government to pay compensation to victims of all crises to reduce their level of suffering.

If the government accepts that, it is left for them to establish a committee that will go and access the level of damage. We have a document of members that were affected by the pastoralists in the North-East but what we discovered is that none of them were captured in the IDPs programme because they are not sedentary.

Let the government compensate. That will help calm the situation very well,’’ he said.

Ngelzarma, who said the association had over 20 million registered members and no fewer than 50 million cattle, said that they were the most neglected farmers in the country. He further disclosed that the association welcomed the current resolve by the FG to address the lingering crises, adding that dialogue was the solution to the tackling the menace.“We submit ourselves for any positive participation to restore mutual and harmonious relationship in the country. We dissociate ourselves from any other group or individual that is out to foment trouble in the country. .

We demand for immediate disarmament of all illegally armed militias across the country in the interest of peace, security and stability,’’ he said.

source: Amibor.com

BENUE MASSACRE -THE BURIAL MASS MESSAGE FOR POSTERITY

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January 15, 2018

BEING A HOMILY DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERDENOMINATIONAL FUNERAL SERVICE AND MASS BURIAL OF VICTIMS OF THE RECENT GENOCIDAL ATTACKS BY DIABOLIC, CRIMINAL TERRORISTS IN BENUE STATE, ON JANUARY 11, 2018 AT IBB SQUARE, MAKURDI,

MOST REVD WILLIAM A. AVENYA
(Catholic Bishop of Gboko)

1. Introduction

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

We all know the reason we have all gathered here today. It is to pay our last respect to our brothers and sisters whose remains are before us; pray for the repose of their souls; beg God for fortitude and strength to bear the irreparable loss and solicit for peace in our State. Our deceased brothers and sisters have suffered the fate of dying gruesomely, dying under intense and inhuman torture, dying in an undignified manner for no fault of theirs. We also remember not only those lying here before us today but by extension all those who have been killed since the beginning of these attacks perpetrated by diabolic, criminal terrorists. May the blood of these martyrs bring healing to our land, may their death usher in a new dawn of peace in Benue State, may the excruciating torture they experience unite the people of Benue sate more than ever, and usher in a culture of civilization of love, true justice, peace and end the culture of impunity in our land. We also in a special way remember all those who are affected directly or indirectly due to the orchestrated massacre, but particularly those who are recovering from the injuries sustained due to the unwholesome attacks. We pray for healing and spirit of forgiveness.

2. Recent Genocidal Attacks in Benue State in Brief

On this day, it is important to recall in brief, the historical antecedence of these attacks. The Benue people in different parts of the State have been under siege from armed terrorists for protracted period of time. These attacks have been unrelenting, brutal, bloody, gruesome, barbaric, and indeed unjustifiable on innocent and vulnerable peasant communities. They have gradually carried the hallmark of genocide and led to the killings of our people in their thousands; several houses and farms have been destroyed, resulting in high rate of poverty and dependency, and with many children out of school. It is on record, that out of the 23 local government areas of the State, the criminal terrorists have unleashed terror in 14 local governments. Those mostly affected in the North West Senatorial District are Katsina-Ala, Logo, Ukum and Kwande. In the North East Senatorial District, they have attacked Guma, Gwer West, Gwer East, Buruku, Tarka, and Makurdi; while in the Benue South, they have attacked Ogbadibo, Agatu, and Apa.

3. Our Collective Silence

As we gather to pay tribute to the victims both living and dead of the killing rampage in our state, killings that are really genocides against a defenseless people, we have for the most part remained silent both as individuals and groups. It will be recalled that silence was maintained by the international community in the past concerning the holocaust in Germany against the Jews in 1933, the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 against the Tutsis, the ethnic cleansing against the Armenians in 1992-1995 and until recently, the failure of the world to stand up against the Rohingya persecution in Myanmar. All these, have stained the moral conscience of the world.

Here in our country, the government has in several instances remained silent on issues involving genocide against the people in local governments like Katsina-Ala, Logo, Ukum, Kwande, Guma, Gwer West, Gwer East, Buruku, Tarka, Makurdi, Ogbadibo, Agatu and Apa as earlier mentioned.

History is replete with the sacrifices made for the nation by the people of Benue State; the sacrifices of Benue indigenes and the blood shed for the unity of the Nigerian nation. Now, it seems, our pay back for this sacrifice is the silence and sometimes seeming complicity in the senseless killings, the wanton destruction of the means of livelihood and impoverishment of our people.

4. General Elections in 2015

We had high hopes in 2015 general elections that ushered in a new government; expecting a nation that defends the weak against the powerful, a nation that will protect itself not only against terrorists in the North East, but also unarmed farmers, against vicious terrorists masquerading themselves as herdsmen whose expansionist territorial appetite seems to be insatiable and to the conquest of the Benue Valley.

What has happened recently in Benue state may be called anything except a communal clash. It will be recalled that Benue people voted overwhelmingly for the government in power, yet what we get in return are the dead that are lying here. Lack of federal presence is exemplified in the broken federal roads from Makurdi-Gboko-Katsina-Ala, and Otukpo-Enugu that cast doubts on responsible leadership or leaving one to wonder whether there is any government in this country at all.

5. Some Consoling Biblical Texts

Man’s inhumanity to man is an old phenomenon; right at the beginning of the Bible, we are told that Cain killed his brother Abel. Every normal person who reads that story is shocked by Cain’s wickedness, and each time such a brutal and vicious act is repeated, it is difficult to understand why God allows such things to happen. In 2 Maccabees 12: 43-45, Judas Maccabeus led his army in battle, and discovered afterwards that God permitted some of the Israelites to be killed.

Time and again, precious lives and property have been destroyed in innumerable numbers in Benue state. Again one will ask why God would allow such outrageous massacres to be carried out repeatedly.

Brothers and sisters, while it is proper to raise this question, we are here not to attempt to answer the question or how God might judge the moral grey areas of human acts. We are gathered here to pray for our innocent, defenseless and vulnerable brothers and sisters, including children who were brutally murdered in cold blood.

The need to pray for the dead is highlighted in 2 Maccabees 12: 43-45. The passage shows that the pious Jews believed in praying for the dead; a practice, which proves that there is life after death (cf. Lk 20:27). It shows that praying for the dead was done prior to the time of Christ, and the Letter to the Romans states categorically that “we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rm 14:7-8). Indeed, the early Church continued the practice of praying for the dead, and hence it is praise worthy that we are gathered here in huge numbers to commend the souls of our slain beloved brothers and sisters to the Lord.

As we pray for the peaceful repose of our Benue martyrs, past and present, let us be consoled by the Maccabean text that affirms belief in life after death. This consolation is intensified in the Letter to the Romans 8:31-39, Paul is astounded by God’s unconditional love for all humankind and he offers three assurances, namely; i) that if God is for us, there is nobody or nothing that can be against us; ii) there is no condemnation of anyone, because in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are all justified (Rm 8:33-34); and iii) nothing can separate us from the love of God, be it tribulation, anguish, famine, nakedness or peril, persecution, the sword or death (Rm 8:35-39).

In this regard, death does not separate our slain beloved brothers and sisters from God’s love. We will always be led to victory in Christ because God is for us and there is no separation in our relationship with God by death. This passage should, therefore, comfort and console the immediate family members and relatives of our deceased brothers and sisters; indeed all of us.

In Jn 11:1-44, Mary and Martha separately say to Jesus “if you had been here my brother would not have died but even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him” (Jn 11:21, 32). This is our conviction and prayer too that God should grant eternal rest to our slain beloved brothers and sisters.

6. Schools of Thought

i. Fulani Pastoralist: The Fulani man that we know was at peace with his neighbour not criminal and diabolic. The Fulani man that we know used a shepherding stick but not an AK 47 riffle. Of course society is dynamic and keeps changing. So a Fulani man may not only walk on foot but move on a motor bike; he not only drinks fula de nono but drink beer and eat pepper soup. These are indices of a changing society. Hence, we call on the Fulani man to adapt to the modern world view and engage in activities that will be beneficial both to him and to society in general.

ii. Cattle Colonies: Recently, it was on the news that the Federal Government through the office of minster of agriculture desires to introduce an interim measure to forestall the regular clashes through the establishment of Cattle Colonies. We wonder if the Federal Government has blessed the anti-open bill that was recently passed into law in Benue state and assisted in providing a more sustainable measure for its implementation. While we applaud the good intention concerning the cattle colonies, we call on the Federal Government to animate the full force of the law on the anti-open grazing bill in Benue state.

iii. Anti-Open Grazing Bill: Given the changing trends of time, the Benue state Government and the Benue House of Assembly have after consultation with the Benue people passed into law the anti-grazing open bill. This Bill was received by the people of the State with a popular acclamation. We have to acknowledge that this is world best practice as far as care for our people is concerned. Unfortunately, we doubt if the bill has enjoyed the full support of the Federal Government. All we want is ranches. Let there be ranches and there will be peace in the land. This is our appeal.

7. Commendation

We commend our Holy Father Pope Francis for his singular response to the plight of Rohingya people. For our own, we commend the sons and daughters of Benue home and abroad, for their efforts to raise international awareness about the persecution of our people and their efforts towards lasting solution to this recurrent crisis. While we notice the rapid response from non-governmental organizations, and other agents, when these happen, these services regrettably most often come in the aftermath of the mishap. We are equally grateful to Nigerians who genuinely angry and have expressed solidarity with the Benue people. We call on the various governments and agencies in our nation to put in place practical measures to prevent the re-occurrence of this crisis.

We recognize the unflinching efforts of the Benue State Government under the leadership of Samuel Ortom to protecting lives and property. We commend his Amnesty program that recovered about 700 arms and ammunitions and over 800 youths giving up arms. We also acknowledge the desire of the Benue State government for her efforts towards constant peaceful-coexistence and his support in the passing into law anti-open grazing bill. On this note, we also appreciate the efforts of the traditional rulers, security agencies, nongovernmental organizations, media, relief-service providers, Church bodies, and numerous men and women of good will who are offering one service or the other towards the our sustainable peace in the land.

8. Conclusion

The people of Benue cannot be forgotten in the history of our nation. Our contribution to national growth cannot be overemphasized. In spite of all odds, we are committed in keeping the spirit of Benue alive. These attacks are nonetheless ways of crippling our economic and political force and therefore making us extinct as a people. We hereby condemn in totality the inhuman, brutal, barbaric, gruesome murders of our people. We maintain that no one has any justification to take life. We reiterate our commitment to the protection of life from the moment of conception to natural death.

All we desire is a nation, we would all be proud of, a nation where like the message of Christmas we have just celebrated reminds us the instruments of war, will become instruments of peace as prophet Isaiah says: “he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up swords against nations neither shall they learn war anymore (Is 2:4). We were heartened to hear at the advent of our new government, the words of our President ‘he belonged to everybody and to nobody’.

In the words of a Lutheran Pastor, Martin Niemoller we call on everyone to be actively involved in the efforts for peaceful co-existence in Nigeria. He is reported to have said

“They first came for the communist and I did not speak up because its a communist, then they came for the Jew but I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew, then they came for the trade unionist and I did not speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist, then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a protestant…” (let me interrupt the quote) then they came for the Tiv and I didn’t speak up because I was not a Tiv, then they came for the Idomas and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an Idoma) “then they came for me and by that time, no one was left to speak up”

Ultimately, it is God who brings peace and we have to turn to him to bless our land with lasting peace. Amen.

1. May the Spirit of Benue arise !
2.May the spirit of Nigeria arise!
3. May the spirit of the middle belt arise!
4. The spirit of Benue must not die!

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BIAFRA & THE BAKASSI BOYS :TO STOP FULANI HERDSMEN-BARR EMEKA

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January 15, 2018

In the 1990s while I lived in Aba, the crime rate became unbearable and affected most of the people including my clients who were shoemakers at Ariaria Market operating their businesses in the Shoe Line called Bakassi Line, off the Old Express Road Aba. The criminals called themselves “the mafia” and were so bold that they could enter any premises or shop and kill, maim, rape and steal any amount of money and walk away. They were little boys and youths but raped both young and old women (even women older than their mothers) and stole every money in the shops and houses in broad day light. They would just enter the shops and houses and ask the owners to surrender all the money to them. They collected the money with ease. They would not stop there but would rape every woman in the house. We continued to cry and pray, holding night vigils in prayer and calling upon God and the Police in Aba to help us.

The Police did not help us but something happened in 1998 which I realised to be an answer to our prayer. Some of my clients at the Bakassi Shoe Line held a secret meeting to kill the mafia boys by themselves without waiting for the Police anymore. They did not inform anybody. I did not know their plans. They bought the sharp head-cutting machetes and hid them in their shops. On a certain day when the mafia boys came to “collect” the money as usual, the shoemakers rose up spontaneously with their machetes and killed many of them in the Ariaria market. There was uproar in the market as many traders locked up their shops and fled before the Police could arrive. It was war between the mafia boys and the Shoemakers at Bakassi Line. The mafia boys did not expect the attacks and therefore fled. The Shoemakers pursued them to their houses. The war did not end there. They went from house to house combing out the mafia boys from their hiding places and cut off their heads, sometimes in the presence of their parents! The Shoemakers became known as Bakassi Boys named after their Shoe Line in the Ariaria Market.

What we thought was a small matter expanded in its operation when the Bakassi Boys decided to extend their war to all the evil men and evil women in authority, in government, in businesses, and in all other socio-political and economic activities in Abia State. They became a government unto themselves and set up a court in the Ariaria Market where they tried the suspects. They went from place to place arresting suspects. Many people in Abia State received them with joy and gladness as they could do what the Police failed to do. They converted the old burrow-pit along the Expressway behind the Market into an Execution Pit. Any suspect tried and condemned by their court was taken to the burrow-pit and slaughtered. To the Bakassi Boys, it appeared there was no difference between small crime and big crime. What a civil court could classify as a misdemeanour attracting 3 months’ prison sentence could become an offence under the Bakassi Boys punishable with instant death by machetes. Initially everything was going well in accordance with the original vision to sanitize the society and exterminate the menace of crime. However, as many people began to refer cases to the Bakassi Boys instead of going to the police and civil courts, the original vision was compromised. What started as a glorious revolution became a curse to us and many people began to complain.

Aba started getting worse. Politicians took over the Bakassi Boys to settle political scores with their political enemies. The whole city was left in ruins. The fear of insecurity returned. There was no government presence. The following year in 1999, Ralph Uwazuruike came up with his MASSOB, Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra. It was a big Biafran movement. He came to an uncompleted building at 175 Faulks Road Aba and declared the Republic of Biafra and hoisted the Biafran Flag. MASSOB set up its own government and targeted Petrol Stations selling fuel at exorbitant prices and also engaged in settling cases for people with civil disputes.

While the Bakassi Boys had their Court in the Ariaria Market, MASSOB had many Courts at various uncompleted Buildings in Aba. It appeared they had special interests in using uncompleted Buildings for their courts. We therefore had two functional and effective non-official governments in Aba run by Bakassi Boys for criminal matters and MASSOB for civil matters. There was failure of Government in Abia State. The Federal Government of Nigeria sent its army and police to kill the MASSOB members because they were preaching for the secession of Biafra.

Aba was destroyed again. The Bakassi Boys were unchecked. They became a law unto themselves. They engaged in unorthodox and unusual method of fighting crime by the use of “spirits”. Nobody was safe as their “spirits” could condemn any person and nobody could question the “spirits”. At this time, some of us began to think and seek for the best solution. This was when we advised some members of the Abia State House of Assembly to pass a Bill into law creating the Bakassi Boys as a Government Security organ to fight crime under proper guidance and regulation. This advice was accepted and the Bill was passed into Law creating the Abia State Vigilante Services (aka Bakassi Boys) in the year 2000. The Boys became very effective and professional in their operations. In the same year, the Anambra State Governor invited the Bakassi Boys to help in eradicating serious crimes at Onitsha. He also adopted the same law and passed the Bill into Law as Anambra Vigilante Services Law. The Imo State Government also followed afterwards.

Therefore, the Bakassi Boys is a lawfully constituted regional security organ of government to protect the lives and properties of the people of the East. It is a regional army or regional police backed up by State Law. We do not need any other law but I will recommend that other States in Biafraland which have not adopted the Bakassi Boys Vigilante Law should pass the Bill into Law in their Houses of Assembly.

I further recommend that the existing Bakassi Boys Vigilante Law should be amended so that the Boys will be given more powers to defend the Eastern Region against the aggression of the Fulani Herdsmen. The Bakassi Boys should be given more training whether locally or in foreign countries in community policing and modern security defence system. Defending the lives and properties of the Easterners also includes defending us from the menace and attacks of the Fulani Herdsmen. If the Fulani Herdsmen think that they know how to cut off people’s heads and massacre the people in their farmlands, the Bakassi Boys can cut off the heads of the Fulanis better, lawfully and professionally. They are our regional police or regional army created by our State Law. Let us make use of what we have now. The Bakassi Boys are legal and must be used now to protect the East. Every reader should forward this message to the members of the Houses of Assembly in Biafraland.

Signed:
Emeka Emekesiri, Esq., Barrister & Solicitor

Emeka Emekesiri, Esq., Chairman of MOBIN, the Vision Bearer of the Legal Methodology of Self-determination, Indigenous People of Biafra

Security: Southern Nigeria at the mercy of the North – Nwabueze

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January 15, 2018

An elder statesman, Professor Ben Nwabueze has called on Nigerians living in the South to be weary of the fact that their entire security apparatus rests in the hand of the North in what he termed President Muhammad Buhari’s Northernization agenda.

Nwabueze disclosed this in a statement entitled, “Whether the eradication of corruption is the motivating object of the on-going war against it.”

He said, “northerners are occupying the offices of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Director- Generals of DSS, NIA, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Nigeria Ports Authority, Controller General of Customs, Immigration, Minister of Internal Affairs, National Security Adviser, Minister of Petroleum, 15 out of the 22 Assistant Inspectors General of Police among other sensitive positions.

He added: “The 15 appointments listed above are strategic appointments as they relate to the prosecution of the war against corruption.

“Ibrahim Idris, IGP, appointed over the heads of some southern officers senior to him. The IGP is heading a Police Force, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, in which 15 out of the 22 Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, AIG, who exercise much of the function of the operational control of the Force, are northerners, while three are from the South-West and two from the South-East.

“These blatantly lopsided appointments, all of which were made since the inception of the Buhari Administration, portray the NPF as an army of occupation deliberately designed to carry into effect President Buhari’s Northernisation Aganda in furtherance of the dream of the Sardauna to reduce the South to a conquered territory and thereby prevented from having control over its future.

“The President’s implacable opposition to re-structuring which envisages the establishment of State Police should not, therefore, surprise us. He wants to be able to continue to exercise control over the internal security of the Southern States and to continue to hold them hostage. It caricatures true federalism that a constituent state in a Federation should be under the control and yoke of the Federal Government in the matter of its internal security.

“Daura, Director-General, Department of State Services, DSS, replacing Ita Ekpenyong; apart from the DG, the directors are mostly northerners. The control of the NPF and DSS by northerners must be taken together with the fact that the Minister of Interior and the Permanent Secretary of the ministry are northerners; that the Army and Air Force are headed by northerners; and, above all that President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and has the power under the Constitution to direct the operational use of the NPF for the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order; his power to direct the operational use of the DSS is even more plenary.

“The implication of the control of security by northerners is that the security of Nigeria and Nigerians is an exclusively northern affair, thereby putting the rest of us at their mercy. “Abubakar Malami SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF, a young SAN, who was raised to the rank in 2008, i.e. seven years before his appointment as AGF.

“Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Danbazau, rtd, Minister of Interior.

“Magaji Abubakar, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior; he has publicly admitted to have wrongfully sidetracked the Head of Service, HoS, Mrs Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, a southerner, in the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, and has apologized to her accordingly: see the Vanguard of December 1, 2017.

“Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC; still kept in office in an acting capacity since 9 November, 2015 because of repeated refusal by the Senate to confirm his appointment.

“Hamed Ibrahim Ali, Controller-General, Nigerian Customs Services; customs is the underbelly of corruption in Nigeria. “Mohammad Babandede, Controller-General Nigerian Immigration Services; immigration stands implicated in Maina’s escape out of Nigeria after his sack from the civil service and his subsequent re-entry into it.

“Amb. Muhammed Dauda, Acting Director-General National Intelligence Agency, NIA, replacing Ayo Oke, a southerner; after he was sacked, following the discovery in the NIA offices in the Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, of the sum of $43 million, £27,800 and N23 million.

“Alhaji Amed Idris, Accountant-General of the Federation, replacing Jonah Ogunniyi Otunla, a southerner. Maitanti Baru, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, replacing Ibe Kachukwu, a southerner, who, as Minister of State for Petroleum and Chairman, NNPC Board, was sidelined by Baru in the process for the award of some NNPC contracts; earlier he has been downgraded from Minister of Petroleum to Minister of State for Petroleum, with the President taking over as his own Petroleum Minister.

“Abdulrasheed Maina, Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform; although his initial appointment took place before the Buhari Administration, his reinstatement after he was sacked occurred during that Administration, with the President’s approval as the evidence shows…

“There are of course other lopsided strategic appointments, such as the appointment of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and Hadiza Bala-Usman as Head of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA. The listed appointments raise critical issues as to the intention or design behind them. “They look like a swoop on the South, a jihad designed to foist Northern domination, or even subjugation, on the South in pursuance of the Sarduna’s agenda, announced as far back as 1960, to subjugate the South and reduce it to a conquered territory, with the object of preventing it from having control over its future,” an agenda which President Buhari, in a speech in May 2015 as President-elect, re-echoed and vowed to carry to a finish.

“What other reason could there be for concentrating in the North the appointments to all the positions vital to the effective prosecution of the war against corruption? We need to be told. One hopes that the order for the purchase of war planes from the U.S., ostensibly to fight Boko Haram terrorism, is not connected with the hidden agenda for a jihad.

“The 15 appointments stand uncontroverted. And yet in a futile attempt to controvert the incontrovertible, the President, responding to a newspaper report that 81 of 100 appointments made by him were from the North, published a list of 159 appointments made by him, 85 of which were from the South and 74 from the North: see the Vanguard November 6, 2017.

“We are being treated again to another irrelevancy designed to befog a critical issue and to hoodwink the Nigerian people. The President is simply preying on the gullibility of the public in anything that comes from him.

“What all this means is that corruption is being fought, not by an all-inclusive team of officials, but by officials drawn from one section of the country, the North, separated in interests, outlook and attitude from the South, which makes the war look like an exclusively Northern affair.

“Hence the increase in public cynicism about the President’s sincerity as leader. The cynicism seems to have reached its peak in the Maina case, tagged by the media as the Maina saga or Mainagate, involving several billions of naira allegedly stolen from the pension fund scheme superintended by the Presidential Task Force Reform Team of which Abdulrasheed Maina was Chairman.

“The aspect of the Maina case that aroused great public interest and heightened public cynicism about the sincerity of the President as leader of a crusade was the threat by the Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, a northerner, to “query” the Head of Service of the Federation, HoS, Mrs Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, a southerner, for saying that she informed the President of Maina’s reinstatement which was effected against her opposition.

“The threat was made in the view of people, including the Vice-President, arriving at the Council Chambers for the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council. The threat and the HoS instant but angry response triggered public reaction. Is the HoS under the authority of the Chief of Staff as to make her amenable to a query by him?

“Why should he publicly utter such a threat, except perhaps as an over-zealous show of solidarity for a master from the same section of the country, the North? Was the motive a concern to shield a fellow northerner? The public was not told anything more about this scandalous exhibition of sectionalism other than that the controversy had been settled by the President meeting privately with the two quarrelling officials.

“But the public cynicism remains. Was something being concealed from the public about the whole Maina saga? Was the President in fact privy to Maina’s return to the country and his reinstatement into the civil service, and did he authorise it? Maina’s testimony came on 29 November, 2017, as reported in the Vanguard of that day.
He said: “When this government came in, the president gave his note that go and sit down with Maina. I have given you the approval. They sat down with me… The process of my reinstatement started after the Attorney-General, Mr Malami, visited me. As soon as the present government decided to sit with me, and after sitting with me, I told them I will not leave you to go back to Nigeria without something in your pocket. I’m going to give you something in your pocket, and the Minister laughed.

“Maina’s testimony has not been countered by government. The eradication of corruption requires the concerted efforts of all Nigerians fighting together as one people under an all-inclusive government, not a government perceived to be one for one section of the country only, the North, and from which the other section feels alienated.”

source : social media

CATTLE COLONIES IN BIAFRALAND IMPOSSIBLE-BARR EMEKA

bvichannel1

January 15, 2018

In a statement personally signed by Barr Emeka Emekesri and forwarded to BVI ,Barr Emeka told the Minister of Agriculture that CATTLE COLONIES in Biafraland is not possible.

Emeka Adolf Chigozie Emekesri Esq is a tripartite professional trained in both secular and sacred studies,in science and Arts,Law,Theology,Estate Management,Planning and Environmental Studies.Along with his professional practice, he is the presiding Bishop of a Charismatic Pentecostal Church known as Christ The Rock Community and operates the gospel ministry in the pattern of the Apostle Paul who laboured with his own hands to feed himself as well as preach the gospel without motive of financial gains.

Bar Emeka is the Solicitor for Indigenous People of Biafra as well as the Legal Adviser,Supreme Council of Elders Of Indigenous People of Biafra.He is the Lead Council to the case between the Indigenous People of Biafra and Federal Republic of Nigeria & The Attorney –General of the Federation with Suit No FHC/OW/CS/192/2013 at Federal High Court ,Owerri,Imo State.

The detail of the statement reads:

‘I have just read the news report published by the Nation Newspaper on 9 January 2018 where the Federal Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Mr Audu Innocent Ogbeh, said as follows:

“On the issue of cattle, we have to start immediately; 16 states have given us land to work on. The programme is not going to be cheap. Mr President has personally informed me that if we seek help from him, he will give it to us over and above the budget we have, and when that budget is released I plead with all of you to come on board to work hard to achieve results. We are talking of cattle colonies, not ranches, so to speak, where we will provide water, grass, training for herdsmen, cattle breeding and insemination….Nigerians are getting extremely uncomfortable with these killings….Let us do our own duty by eliminating the conflict by creating cattle colonies”.

Well, Mr Ogbeh did not mention the names of the 16 States that have given them five hectares of land each to create cattle colonies for settlement of the Fulani herdsmen. I hope his village in Otukpo is one of the cattle colonies. Some of you may not understand what one hectare of land means. Let me explain it as an Estate Surveyor & Valuer. One hectare of land is 10,000 square metres. Five hectares of land is 50,000 square metres. Perhaps, you still do not understand. 50,000 square metres is approximately 108 plots of land measured in 50’ x 100’. This is sufficient in law to form a Fulani village and ward in the area they settle as colonies with equal right to have Councillors to represent their wards in the Local Government. They now have 16 colonies in 16 States. Let me make it clear to Mr Audu Ogbeh and his cattle associates that we will not give an inch of our land to the Fulani herdsmen to establish cattle colonies in Biafraland. If the Federal Government thinks that they can go through our Governors under the Land Use Act 1978 to give our lands to the Fulanis by compulsory acquisition, then they should get ready for real trouble. We shall resist and nullify the Acquisition Notices issued by the Governors.

Many people have heard me say several times that we shall use the law, politics and diplomacy to fight for our freedom. There is a provision of the law that gives us the power to resist and nullify the compulsory acquisition of lands if it is not in our best interest. It is unfortunate that many people are ignorant. Everything we do in our freedom movement shall be lawful because we believe in the legal methodology. I now advise all the Biafran people to watch out for any Public Notices of Acquisition of lands issued by any State Government in Biafraland and inform the Biafran lawyers immediately. We shall advise the communities to resist the compulsory acquisition because it is not in the public interest but for the selfish interest of the Fulanis. Did they acquire lands in Sokoto State for the Igbo Yam and Cassava colonies? Did they acquire lands in Bauchi State for the Igbo Motor Spare Parts colonies? Did they acquire lands in Kano State for our Computer Village colonies? Did they acquire lands in Adamawa State for the Igbo Hotels and Restaurants colonies? Did they acquire lands in Niger State for the Igbo Palm Produce colonies? What about our fleets of vehicles for transportation all over the country? Did they acquire Luxury Bus Terminals for our transport colonies? They are talking nonsense. Cattle business is not more important than other businesses in Nigeria. Why should the Government promote cattle business at the expense and detriment of other businesses run by the citizens from other parts of the country? Mr Audu Ogbeh is talking rubbish, with due respect.

We know that the creation of cattle colonies is a plan to give the Fulanis the power to Islamize the whole country called Nigeria. By the use of the colony system, they will colonise the whole area and in future they become Fulani Communities. Thus, they will be protected by law and given seats in the Local Government Councils and State Houses of Assembly as indigenes of the land. It will take about 200 years and the area will become Islamized with their Emirs ruling the communities. This is how they took over the indigenous Hausa communities when they came from the Futa Jallon Highlands. They have already penetrated into Ebonyi State and established the largest Islamic centre in Africa soon to be upgraded to an Islamic University while our people were sleeping. The indigenous peoples of the land will be assimilated by the Fulanis as they will be given incentives such as free education and quick promotions in government offices. The social psychology of Nigeria is that the Nigerians usually follow any person with money and power, and not the person with brain. The Fulanis have the money and the power. They are now combining their money and power with legal and diplomatic wisdom to rule over the nation forever.

The plan to Islamize Nigeria did not start today. I give the Fulanis the credit of foresightedness and planning ahead for the future of their people and for holding unto their religion and culture with unflinching loyalty. They have a vision to Islamize the whole world, not only Nigeria, and they are holding unto their vision. At Page 278 of my book published in 2012 titled, “Biafra or Nigerian Presidency- What the Ibos Want”, I stated as follows:

“Officially Nigeria is an Islamic Country

The plan to convert Nigeria to an Islamic country was made by General Murtala Muhammed and given to Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Babangida to implement. The Federal Government of Nigeria under General Buhari and General Tunde Idiagbon registered Nigeria as a member of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) with Observer Status but in 1986 General Babangida made Nigeria a full member of the OIC. He brought Obasanjo to power and on 24 February 2001 General Obasanjo attended the D8 Summit of Islamic countries in Cairo, Egypt. The members of Boko Haram are aware that Nigeria is officially an Islamic country. They are therefore trying to implement what has been signed by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Their religion allows them to use jihad and make converts by force and by conquests. It is very likely that they will succeed in implementing what has been signed. Only the Igbo territory has remained immune to the Islamic onslaught. Nigeria is an Islamic country!”

We must prepare for war of self-defence now because the Fulanis have prepared themselves for what they call “holy war”. The State Houses of Assembly in the East can pass the necessary Bills into law for the security and protection of our Region. In my previous message, I explained how the Bakassi Boys security organ was created and given legal status by the Abia State House of Assembly because I was there and some of the Boys were my clients while I lived in Aba. Any private army you form in any State without a Bill passed into Law by the State House of Assembly to give it a legal backing is unlawful and treasonable. We cannot form a Biafran army now or Biafran Security Service because Biafra is not yet sovereign but we can have Security Organs like the Bakassi Boys created and regulated under the State Law. Many Biafrans have not read my book quoted above and yet it contains the master plan and blueprint for our independence struggle. I blame the Biafran activists of today for not being wise enough and for being short-sighted. Many Biafran activists have no time to read and understand issues. We left our own Customary Law System while the Fulanis uphold their Sharia Law System, and yet both the Sharia Law and Customary Law are provided by the Nigerian Constitution. We develop the North and the West with multibillion naira investments but abandon the East. We left our own Efi Igbo (Ehi Igbo) to start consuming “NAMA” and patronizing the Fulani Herdsmen. The Biafrans compete among themselves in buying many cows for their celebrations every week without realizing that they are actually contributing money for the Fulani herdsmen to purchase more bullets. Why should cattle rearers move about with heavy sophisticated machine guns such as AK47? I consider them as terrorists and not cattle rearers! We shall not give our lands to terrorists and religious fanatics from the Futa Jallon highlands who believe that God appointed them to rule over Nigeria!

Most of the Biafran activists are not knowledgeable. We are not in power, not even at the regional level. The Biafran activists have nobody in the Houses of Assembly in the East. The present Igbo politicians do not have interest in the Biafra Project otherwise they would have presented the Biafran Bill for debate in the National Assembly even though the Bill will not succeed at the first attempt because the North has the majority seats in the National Assembly. The worst thing is that some of the Biafran activists have told their fans and followers not to participate in the politics of Biafraland but to boycott the elections. Their argument is that the Nigerian Constitution is fraudulent. Now let me explain this issue again.

We know that the Nigerian Constitution is fraudulent and skewed against us because it was not made by us but imposed upon us by the Military Government of Northern Nigeria. However, there is a rule of law that says that every law remains valid until it is abolished or set aside. At the moment, the Nigerian Constitution has not been abolished and therefore remains valid. I heard about some Biafran activists who have challenged the Nigerian Constitution in Court praying the Judge to declare the Constitution null and void ab initio. The problem is that the Judge and the Judiciary were created by the same Constitution and if the Judge should declare the Constitution null and void, the whole Judiciary would collapse immediately; the Judge would sack herself or himself immediately because he is sitting on a fraudulent judicial seat created by a fraudulent Constitution; the Senate and House of Representatives would be dissolved immediately; all the States in Nigeria and their Houses of Assembly would be dissolved immediately because the States were created by the Constitution; all the Local Government Councils would be dissolved immediately; all the University Degrees and Certificates obtained under the Nigerian law would become invalid; all the Nigerian Passports and Driving Licenses held by all Nigerians anywhere in the world would become invalid; the Nigerian currency, Naira and Kobo, would cease to be legal tender; the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police would be dissolved immediately; in fact, there would be anarchy! For this reason, the Judge would uphold the public law principle of “salus populi est suprema lex” to resolve the problem. It means, “the safety of the public is the supreme law”. The Judge would decide the case in the interest of the public to ensure that the people are safe and protected until the Constitution is abolished by due process.

Therefore, as long as the Nigerian Constitution remains valid, we shall use the law, politics and diplomacy to fight for our freedom. At least, we have the Houses of Assembly in the East which can pass our bills into law to protect our territory. It is quite unfortunate that while we advise the Biafrans to participate in politics and vote the Biafran activists into power in the States, some Biafran leaders advise their followers to boycott the elections. How shall we then put our people in the Houses of Assembly to pass the necessary Bills into law to protect our territory if we boycott the elections? How shall we establish our Regional Government and govern ourselves by laws made by our own Houses of Assembly before outfight independence if we do not put the Biafran activists in power? Now is the time to checkmate the activities of the Fulani Herdsmen. They are using the Nigerian law to gain access to our lands. We can also use the Nigerian law to stop them from gaining access to our land. Our State Houses of Assembly can pass the Anti-Grazing Bill or Anti-Cattle Colony Bill into Law to protect our region. Every law validly made by the State House of Assembly is deemed to have been made under the Nigerian Constitution because it is the Constitution that gives power to the Houses of Assembly to make laws. Unfortunately, we have no Biafran activists in the Houses of Assembly because their leaders have advised them to boycott the politics of Biafraland so that the United Nations would give us Referendum. This is foolish advice hyped into the hearts and minds of the people by false radio propaganda. This is zeal without knowledge, without wisdom and without understanding. It is quite unfortunate.

If you are convinced that the Biafrans must take over political power in the Eastern Region and pass the necessary Bills into laws to protect themselves and establish our regional government before outfight independence, please contact MOBIN at www.mobinbiafra.org and join the first and only political movement of the Biafrans now. We must re-orientate the minds of the Biafrans to participate in politics and take over political power in our region. We must stop Mr Audu Ogbeh and his cattle colonies now!

Signed:
Emeka Emekesiri, Esq., Barrister & Solicitor
Founder & Vision Bearer, Indigenous People of Biafra

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vincent anaenugwu

endino2015@gmail.com

2347087187189

Umeh dedicates victory to rule of law

bvichannel1

January 15, 2018

The Senator-elect of Anambra Central Senatorial District, Chief Victor Umeh, has dedicated his victory to the enforcement of rule of law.

Umeh, who was reacting to the conduct of the rerun election and his eventual victory on Saturday, said the entire thing was not about him, but doing things the right way.

He said by the conduct of the rerun election, he had made a point that it was unacceptable for anyone to circumvent the process, disobey the laws of Nigeria, and still want to serve the same country.

The former national chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) stressed that the only way to have enduring democracy is for all who want to take part in it to submit themselves to due process.

“For those who have prevented this election from taking place for more than two years, unfortunately for them, it is not about Victor Umeh, it’s about our people and doing things the right way.

“The only way we can have enduring democracy is for everybody, who wants to partake in it, to submit himself or herself to due process; to what the law says at all times; winning elections with the votes of the people, not through any other means, and I think our people will be happy for this.”

On the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) he said: “One thing that is certain with this process is that the INEC has proved to those who doubt the integrity of the commission that it is ready to defend democracy and rule of law.

“The one that is very important in this process is obedience to the rule of law. The commission’s leadership has shown remarkable integrity at this time where it refused any form of intimidation and manipulation and stuck to what the law should be, that is why the election was possible.”

The APGA candidate, Chief Umeh, yesterday had a landslide victory in Anambra Central Senatorial District rerun election to emerge the Senator for the district.

Umeh scored 64, 879 votes to end the two years tortuous journey to the red carpet chamber of the National Assembly.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) came a distant second with 975 votes while the Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) came third with 116 votes.

Umeh’s victory gave APGA its first Senate seat.

Declaring the result after the final collation of the results at INEC headquarters, Seka, the Returning Officer and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Charles Esimone, said Umeh, having scored the highest votes, satisfied the provisions of the law and he “is, hereby, declared winner and duly returned.”

The results showed that APGA scored the following votes in the local governments areas: Njikoka Local Government Area , 11, 506; Awka North LGA, 7,572; Idemili South, 4,647; Dunukofia LGA, 7,307; Awka South, 12,384; Anaocha, 12,245 and Idemili North Local Government Area, 9,218.

In a related development, APGA Women for Good Governance, has congratulated Umeh over his victory on Saturday. The women group said Umeh’s victory was well-deserved and sweet music in the ears of all lovers of democracy in Nigeria.

A statement signed by the National Coordinator of the women group, Mrs. Grace Chike, said for over two years, the people of Anambra Central Senatorial Zone were denied effective representation that would have provided dividends of democracy to them at this period of economic recession and political upheavals in the country.

The group commended Umeh for his sagacity and tenacity of purpose .

in pursuing and recovering his stolen mandate, saying his victory is for due process and rule of law.

It also commended INEC for being fair, firm and decisive in complying with a clear order of the Court of Appeal to conduct the rerun poll despite unprecedented blackmail, harassment and intimidation by political hirelings masquerading as democrats who did not want the fresh election to hold till 2019 general polls.

“For over two years, Anambra Central Senatorial Zone has no representative in the Senate, due to multiple litigations instituted by opposition political parties and their candidates/aspirants in the zone to frustrate the conduct of the court ordered rerun poll on March 5, 2016.

“A man of enormous intellectual ability and charisma, his courage in defence of democracy and rule of law are reflection of his vision and mission to provide quality representation to the longsuffering people of Anambra Central Secretariat Zone, indeed, to all marginalized and oppressed people of Nigeria. It is a new dawn to Anambra Central Senatorial District compatriots. It is a new dawn to representative governance in Nigeria.

“We call on aggrieved political parties and politicians to stealth their swords, give peace a chance and support Victor Umeh in the Senate and Governor Willie Obiaro in providing good governance that will raise the people’s standards of living.

“We commend the Independent National Electoral Commission for being fair, firm and decisive in complying with a clear order of the Court of Appeal to conduct the rerun poll despite unprecedented blackmail, harassment and intimidation by political hirelings masquerading as democrats who do not want the fresh election to hold till 2019 general polls. It is time for patriotism. It is time to consolidate Nigeria’s fragile democracy and respect the will of the people on who sovereignty resides,” the group said.

SOURCE: SUN

Are Nigerian economists masters or pupils of their game?

bvichannel1

January 12, 2018

If the question, do Nigerian professional economists know economics, is asked, there may be some feeling someone is beefing another. This is especially in the light of the fact that some of these Nigerian economists come with star-bright and shiny diplomas. And a pretty good number of these diplomas come from the gold standard institutions. The Yales, the Harvards, et al.
But the possession of diplomas, however sterling, is really a certification of nothing, professionally. At best, it is proof of your accomplishment as a student, not as a professional in practice. Of course, history has records of first-class-making students who are professional failures. Worldwide, there is the infamous example of the ‘’best and the brightest’’. They and their star-lit credentials ran America aground and into humiliation in Vietnam.
And on the flipside, history also comes with tales of third class pupils who smashed through the race and ended as enduring professional superstars. Late Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, is such an example.
Finally, the only professional judgment upon a student, post-pupilage, is his record of achievement. If he is not able to turn water into champagne, or rot into gold, then there must be a question mark on his alleged brilliance. In fact, such as one may be counted a failure, Yale or no Yale.
Now, for the Nigerian professional economists, the jury is out. The national economy is a basket case. Nothing is working. Yes, it is true the clueless insanitary and nepotistic governance of APC has worsened things. However, the rot had set in before APC bewitched the nation with fake news and dud promises. That is to say, the Nigerian economist as a professional genus has failed. They have failed us and themselves.
So, the next move is to ask why and how. We have suggestions. A key part of the failure of Nigerian economists is their narrow cast, pitifully granular understanding of economics. I am yet to sight any practicing Nigerian economist who is compositional in his understanding of economics. Too often one hears them mouth one bromide or another. For example, they are wont to claim that, if the economy goes well, all the nation’s sectarian wahala, a la Boko Haram, Niger Delta, IPOB, OPC, etc., will wither away. The lie in this is their assumption that, in economics, politics is an inertial mass, that politics is not a framework of economics or the markets. To them, economics and the markets can prosper in spite of institutional and institutionalised injustice. Can they? The answer is no.
Just the other day, The Guardian ran this insightful report: Akwa Ibom State government has lamented the absence of Federal Government infrastructure in the state. The state’s commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh, disclosed this position yesterday in Uyo. According to him, the state lacks Federal Government investments, despite its over 40 per cent contributions to the country’s economy. On effort to relocate the headquarters of international oil companies to the state, he said the ongoing 21-storey building being built by the state is to create facilities for modern offices, “Akwa Ibom contributes much to the Federal Government, gets nothing in return.” (https://guardian.ng/news/akwa-ibom-contributes-much-to-fg-gets-nothing-in-return/)
Now, is it not clear that no amount of filibustering or obstructionist wizardry shall make such a naked and bleeding injustice sustainable or bankable? In fact, the logic of apartheid has proved beyond doubt that economic philosophy of Bantustanism cannot run. You cannot exclude a people from their wealth and be deluded you will have peace or economic prosperity. It has never happened.
Now, there is an American theoretical physicist that is my G, my guy, as the millennial youths will say. I just love him. Murray Gell-Mann says, and correctly, that there are only fundamental laws and accidents. The important point of this insight is that an accident, of history or whatever else, cannot be built or reconstructed into being a fundamental law. For example, the civil war and the temporary seizure of the oil revenues by Gowonism cannot be a basis of eternal Nigerian governance. And it makes sense, accidents are not by definition laws. They are blinks you notice and repair, and restore to the ancient bankable orders.
The other point is that injustice has its diseconomies. Injustice is too much a cost to run while trying to run an economy. Its diseconomies never lets the parent economy make a hit.
Now what is to be done? The Federal Government should, first of all, thank its stars that they have a G, a guy, a statesman running shop in Akwa Ibom. Udom Emmanuel, the governor, is literally a guy cut out of the great tradition. An ace and big ticket banker, his wide international exposure has gifted him with enviable tools kit. The first is his insider knowledge and practice experience as a banker. The fact is that, as a prince of high finance, he possesses the informed vision and grit that one can crush stones and press for milk. All he has been about in Akwa Ibom is to download this unique proposition. And that is a proposition that served him as a banker. Now, he wants same for the greater collective, the citizens of Akwa Ibom. And records are that he is succeeding. And like all great entrepreneurs, all he did was to awaken the imagination and inner hitherto dormant assets of the people. A great politician, by the way, is a state-transformation entrepreneur.
No less important is the cross-cultural exposure his financial workload afforded him. In dealing with across-cultures, across-currencies entrepreneurs, he has a homerun ability. It is to fix diplomatically what others may seek by war and mayhem. So he canvasses peace in the creeks, the streets, while he awaits a headstrong nation to bow to greater reason. Via diplomacy, he is telling them like he knows that the most sustainable and successful enterprises in business or politics are those in which all players are granted dues, are granted justice.
Now imagine a scenario where it was not possible for him to crush stones and press for milk. Imagine a scenario where he was one of these street-side governors whose instincts are like those of rogue elephants. Imagine if he like a rogue elephant were calling for jungle justice, calling for wars and alarums of wars? Just imagine! The nation should be thanking Emmanuel. He has kept his people non-restive, thanks to his stone to milk economic beneficiation, thanks to his all-inclusiveness. What then is the Federal Government to do? Let the Federal just push for a signal relocation of the international oil companies (IOCs) from wherever to the Niger Delta. That is a place to start from. Already, Akwa Ibom state, under Emmanuel, has constructed befitting headquarters for IOCs. That is a brilliant pull factor. All that we await is the push force. And that is to come from the Federal Government. We, economists and all, must canvass for this. Justice is the only path that an economy, any economy, grows on.
Simply put, it is insanitary to run Nigeria as a colonial outpost. Lagos or Abuja are designated like imperial capitals and the South-South as extractive backwaters, pollution, degeneration, degradation and all. With nothing to show for the wealth you drain out of her. Just like the Brits did to the whole of Nigeria and her other imperial possessions? If, however, the nation insists on the current order, then things may unhinge. “Federal presence” must begin to look towards Akwa Ibom and indeed the greater Niger Delta. It is vital for our own economic development and growth as a people, as a nation. Justice is the first economic good. Justice, not profit.

source : sun written by Jimanze Ego-Alowes

Evangelist Joseph Agbo mourns Mother

bvichannel1

January 11, 2018

Public Announcement

Evangelist Joseph Agbo loses his lovely mother- Late Mrs Cecilia Agbo(Nee Onah).

The final internment has been announced by the family as follows: Date – 12/1/2018.Venue- St .Stephen Church,Neke,around Ugwogo -Nike and the Agbo Compound ,less than 30 minutes drive from Nike lake resort,Enugu along the nsukka road.Time- 10am

Note that Evangelist Agbo is the PRO of CG-IPOB and a Director in MOBIN.All those under the authority of CG-IPOB are invited to attend the burial ceremony.

You can reach him via 09070609871 to send your condolence messages.

Directorate of Information,CG-IPOB

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