Chief Tobby Anumaka, Patron Okpoko Igbo and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the victory of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate and Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano in the just concluded Anambra State governorship election as victory for the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi).
Has President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the South-East change the perception of an average Igbo about his person?
President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the South-East is a strong indication that he does not hate Igbo contrary to earlier insinuation that the President is anti-Igbo. I stand to be corrected; the cook, driver and most domestic staff of President Buhari are Igbo. Most roads, buildings and facilities in some secondary and tertiary institutions in the South-East were constructed by the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under Buhari. One of the roads he did in the region is the Onitsha Head Bridge/ Upper Iweka road, when Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe died in 1996 to enable those coming for the burial of Zik have easy access to his house . The sin of Buhari against Ndigbo was because he defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan who Igbo lined behind during the 2015 presidential election. Most of us saw it a defeat of Ndigbo. I always admonished our people that election is a contest and one person must win and after election both winners and the losers have to come together and move the nation or state forward. This Igbo must realise and come to terms with. Buhari is not President of the north but President of Nigeria. That you hate him cannot change anything, therefore we must embrace him as part us and then get our share of the national cake. The South-East should be grateful to God for the historical visit of President Buhari to the region. It is historical because that was the first visit by Buhari to the Southern part of Nigeria since he assumed office as the President of Nigeria in 2015. I think by the visit and promises made Buhari have expressed his love for Ndigbo.
What would you say are the benefits of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the South-East?
The president was emphatic about his resolve to shift attention of his government to infrastructural development in South-East. He made it clear that the just approved loan by the National Assembly will be channeled towards infrastructural development of the region. As I speak to you arrangement has been concluded for the commencement of work on the Second Niger Bridge. I’m sure Buhari will do what past governments were unable to do for Ndigbo in terms of road construction. I pray my brothers and sisters in South-East will do the needful to maintain this cordial relationship between the region and Mr. President. This can be possible if Igbo embrace APC and vote massively for the party in 2019.
How do you feel after the President’s visit to Anambra State and the people still did not vote for APC candidate, Dr. Tony Nwoye? Isn’t that a sign that Igbo have not accepted APC in the South-East?
That shows the kind of man Buhari is. Many wished that he influences the election result in Anambra but he never did just as he did not manipulate the results in Rivers, Edo and Ondo States. Buhari obeyed the wish of Anambra people. The visit of Governor Willie Obiano to President Buhari weeks before the election was a welcome development. Buhari does not play politics of do-or-die hence he is not desperate about winning at all cost as was the case with some past leaders. With the outcome of the Anambra governorship election, it is obvious that the electoral process under Buhari has improved. The President sees the entire country as his constituency. So, let’s wait till 2019 when Buhari will seek re-election whether Igbo will vote for him or not. It is too early to conclude that Ndigbo won’t vote for Buhari in subsequence elections.
You mean you are not bothered over the defeat your party suffered in Anambra?
Chukwuemeka Junior’s decision to join APC is for the best interest of Igbo. That does not mean that Ojukwu junior is not popular, but to keep Ikemba’s spirit and what he stood and died for alive, Anambrians decided to vote for APGA. Therefore, Anambra people did not vote for Obiano but Ojukwu. APGA is Ikemba’s legacy which I think Igbo vowed to sustain. I assure you that Igbo will see the importance of Emeka’s decision in 2019 because it will be the time Igbo will decide if they want to produce president of Igbo extraction or not.
What it means is that if Buhari is re-elected in 2019, the coast will be clear for Igbo to lay claim to the presidency because other geo political zones must have taken their turn. However, the South-East has no choice but to align with other geo political zones to re-elect President Buhari so that our chances will be brighter in 2023.
The result of Anambra governorship election showed that Igbo have accepted APC and have endorsed President Buhari for a second term by the result margin. APC polled closed to 25 per cent of the votes cast. If you juxtapose this with the perception of APC and Buhari by Igbo before the election, APC has been accepted by Igbo.
The heart, in a human body, may be as small as a fist, but its function is great. It is the heart that pumps “blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation.” If the heart stops pumping enough blood to any part of the body, stroke occurs. If the heart stops working, death occurs.
The heart is an important organ in the body that must be healthy. It is therefore inevitable to healthy heart. For those who don’t pay attention to their heart matter, the doctor mince no word in saying the consequences could be too grievous.
Weighing between seven and 15 ounces (200 to 425 grams), the heart beats an average of 100, 000- times daily, pumping about 7, 571 litres of blood. In one’s lifetime, one’s heart may have beat more than 3.5 billion times.
The heart is located between the lungs, at the middle of the chest, “behind and slightly to the left of your breastbone (sternum).”
According to the Texas Heart Institute, there is “a double-layered membrane called the pericardium” surrounding the heart like a sac. “The outer layer of the pericardium surrounds the roots of your heart’s major blood vessels and is attached by ligaments to your spinal column, diaphragm, and other parts of your body. The inner layer of the pericardium is attached to the heart muscle. A coating of fluid separates the two layers of membrane, letting the heart move as it beats,” the institute said in a publication on texasheart.org.
On the anatomy of the heart, the institute said: “Your heart has four chambers. The upper chambers are called the left and right atria, and the lower chambers are called the left and right ventricles. A wall of muscle called the septum separates the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles. The left ventricle is the largest and strongest chamber in your heart. The left ventricle’s chamber walls are only about a half-inch thick, but they have enough force to push blood through the aortic valve and into your body.”
How the heart works
Tanya Lewis, in a paper, “Human Heart: Anatomy, Function & Facts,” published in livescience.com, underlines the way the heart works, in performing its duty of pumping blood to all parts of the body.
According to Lewis, the “heart circulates blood through two pathways: the pulmonary circuit and the systemic circuit. In the pulmonary circuit, deoxygenated blood leaves the right ventricle of the heart via the pulmonary artery and travels to the lungs, then returns as oxygenated blood to the left atrium of the heart via the pulmonary vein.
“In the systemic circuit, oxygenated blood leaves the body via the left ventricle to the aorta, and from there enters the arteries and capillaries where it supplies the body’s tissues with oxygen. Deoxygenated blood returns via veins to the venae cavae, re-entering the heart’s right atrium.”
Lewis quoted Dr. Lawrence Phillips, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York, the United States, as saying blockage of any of these arteries can cause a heart attack or damage to the muscle of the heart.
“A heart attack is distinct from cardiac arrest, which is a sudden loss of heart function that usually occurs as a result of electrical disturbances of the heart rhythm. A heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest, but the latter can also be caused by other problems,” he quoted Dr. Phillips as saying.
Lewis wrote that a healthy heart contraction happens in five stages. “In the first stage (early diastole), the heart is relaxed. Then the atrium contracts (atrial systole) to push blood into the ventricle. Next, the ventricles start contracting without changing volume. Then the ventricles continue contracting while empty. Finally, the ventricles stop contracting and relax. Then the cycle repeats,” he said.
An unhealthy heart
A consultant cardiologist and Medical Director of United Heart Hospital and Clinics, Eugene Azubuike Nwosu, said heart-related ailments, also known as cardiovascular disease, was the second leading cause of death globally.
He identified some of the risk factors for heart disease to be: Eating poorly; old age; high blood pressure; diabetes, irregular physical exercise, high cholesterol in the body, smoking, family history, stress, pollution and poor dental hygiene.
Dr. Nwosu gave assurance that when certain precautions are taken, the risk factors could be minimised or eliminated, insisting that the key to overcoming cardiovascular infections was eating the right foods and avoiding sedentary lifestyle.
He said the major problems associated with the heart were the Coronary Artery disease (CAD) – the build-up of plague that clogs up the inside of blood vessels supplying blood to the heart muscles.
He said CAD affects all, with no respect to race, nationality or gender, adding that it is the commonest cause of sudden death.
He said: “Most sudden death in Nigeria is not Juju; it is heart attack. The incidence in Nigeria and the developing world is on the rise because of several factors, including changing life styles and diet, increasing obesity and diabetes epidemics among others.
“In order to reduce the incidence, we must recognise the risk factors and take action to modify those risks. The more the number of risk factors someone has, the higher his or her risk of developing the disease.”
Coronary artery disease
Experts say family background/history, age, weight/obesity, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle could cause heart diseases.
Research shows that a person, whose sibling, parents or grandparents have had early heart attacks by age 55, for male relatives and age of 65 for female relatives, is at increased risk of heart disease.
One age, heart diseases increase in men from age 45 or older and for women age 55 or older, but very high in elderly population of 75 and older.
Dr. Nwosu said: “Incidence of CAD is higher in males but women’s risk increase after menopause, when the protective effect of estrogen is lost.”
Hypertension: This is a significant risk. It occurs at younger age in people of African descents and is often more severe. It is a silent killer because in most people, it does not have any symptoms. It is imperative that the diagnosis is made and appropriate treatment to goal is achieved.
Smoking: Direct smoking and long-term exposure to second-hand smoke increase the risk of heart attack. Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the tendency for blood to clot. It also increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery.
“Cigarette smoking is the most important risk factor for young men and women; it produces a greater relative risk in persons under age 50 than in those over 50. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives greatly increase their risk of coronary heart disease and stroke compared with non-smoking women who use oral contraceptives,” Nwosu said.
Obesity: too much weight or fat increases risk of heart disease. In obesity, where you carry your fat, is very important. Apple shape has excess fat on the abdomen and has significant correlation with metabolic syndrome. Pear shape has lower body fat with excess fat on the thighs and buttocks. It has no significant correlation with metabolic syndrome.
One good advice therefore is eating an apple but do not become one. Obesity is associated with high cholesterol, high triglyceride and diabetes. Losing 10 per cent of your body weight can lower your risk.
Sedentary lifestyle: Lack of exercise and physical activity increase the risk of heart attack. Persons that are out of shape do poorly after heart attack and take longer to recover. Physical inactivity identifies people who do not get the recommended level of regular physical activity. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of dying prematurely from CAD. It helps to prevent development of diabetes and to maintain weight loss and reduces hypertension.
Dr. Nwosu explained that the small plaque build-up that occupies less than 70 per cent of the cross-sectional area of the coronary vessels typically have no symptoms, but are the usual cause of sudden cardiac death (cardiac arrest) and acute heart attack by the process of plaque rupture.
He said: “Plaque build-up of greater than 70 per cent of the cross sectional area of the coronary arteries can cause angina, which is defined as chest pain, tightness or heaviness that is brought on by exertion. Emotion stress can also cause angina. Other names that are used to describe coronary artery disease are heart attack, myocardial infarction, angina, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
“The effects of plaque build-up are that, sometimes its significant plaque over the years may affect coronary vessels depriving the heart muscles adequate supply of blood and nutrients. This results in weak heart muscles and heart failure.’
Food and heart failure
When Hippocrates said, in 400BC: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food,” he was stating the importance of food to the body. It is not surprising, therefore, that Nwosu is advising Nigerians to avoid poor diet, especially high fat, high cholesterol diet. He stressed the need to eat right and take note of what one eats.
In his words: “Traditional western diets promote inflammation and are toxic to our bodies. There are high in salt, simple sugars, processed food with preservatives, bad fat and low on magnesium and potassium. Our consumption of such diet has a lot to do with increased trend of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease and death.
“The best diet proved to decrease heart attack and CAD is Mediterranean diet: a lifestyle that includes food (colourful fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread and pasta, omega-3- rich seafood) activities, meals with friends and family and wine in moderation with meals.
“Several studies have shown that those following a traditional Mediterranean diet suffer significantly less heart disease and death from heart attack compared to those following traditional American diet. Mediterranean diet is very low in saturated fat and contains no trans-fat,” Dr. Nwosu said.
He warned against sugar cereal, potato chips, French fries, grilled steak, cheese cake, butter, soda, and high omega-6 fat diet. Omega-6 fat, according to him, is bad fat and found in vegetable oil and red meat. It promotes inflammation whereas omega-3 fat found in walnuts, flaxseed, and fish is good fat and anti-inflammatory.
Processed foods are also not good for the heart, as, according to experts, they “have been stripped of their healthful ingredients and are loaded with artificial preservatives. They contain excessive amounts of unhealthy fats, refined sugar and sodium.”
Consumption of red meat, which is meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or addition of chemical preservatives, should be reduced, to keep the heart healthy, as it is high in saturated fats, which raise bad cholesterol. It is and is high in Omega 6 fatty acid, which promotes inflammation. Fish, poultry or turkey several times per week is better.
Steps for better heart health
Dr. Nwosu recommended the following steps to ensure a healthy heart:
• Exercise of 10-minute walk: Physical activities aimed at generating heat in the body, like jogging, cycling and press-up help the heart to work better. However, when there is no time for exercise, a brief walk, clapping and marching are a great way to start. If you do, it’s a good way to add more exercise to your day.
• Give yourself a lift: Lifting a hardcover book or a two-pound weight a few times a day can help tone your arm muscles. When that becomes a breeze, move on to heavier items or join a gym.
• Eat one extra fruit or vegetable a day: Fruits and vegetables are inexpensive, taste good, and are good for everything from your brain to your bowels. Start the day with some fruit and a serving of whole grains, like oatmeal, bran flakes, or whole-wheat toast.
• Stop drinking your calories: Cutting out just one sugar-sweetened soda or calorie-laden latte can easily save you 100 or more calories a day. Over a year, that can translate into a 10-pound weight loss.
• Have a handful of nuts: Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and other nuts are good for your heart. Try grabbing some instead of chips or cookies when you need a snack. Adding them to salads for a healthful and tasty crunch, or using them in place of meat in pasta and other dishes is good.
• Sample the fruits of the sea: Eat fish or other types of seafood instead of red meat once a week. It’s good for the heart, the brain, and the waistline.
• Breathe deeply: Try breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes a day. It can help you relax. Slow, deep breathing may also help lower blood pressure.
• Wash your hands often: Scrubbing up with soap and water often during the day is a great way to protect your heart and health. The flu, pneumonia, and other infections can be very hard on the heart.
Ahead of the 2019 elections and especially in view of what was termed as “the subsisting divisive and corrupt politics in the country”, prominent political leaders of thought and frontline activists in the country met in Abuja on Tuesday to initiate what they tagged National Intervention Movement, NIM expected to transform into the “Third Force” in the political scheme of country.
The political gladiators who met under auspices of the Nigeria Political Summit Group, NPSG, a non partisan, inclusive national democratic pan Nigerian platform facilitating national political cohesion among new brand of leadership of conscience for Nigeria announced a major national political Intervention towards reggiging Nigeria political system in 2019, once and for all.
According to the communique made available to BVI Channel 1 at the end of a parley in Abuja on Tuesday and signed by the Convener of the NPSG, Olawale Okunniyi (Veteran Che) on behalf of the group, the new Movement resolved to massively mobilize credible stakeholders and allies across the entire country, especially the Nigerian Youths both Females and Males, towards a major political system change in the country within the shortest possible period
The Inaugural Meeting which was attended by a cross section of new brand of aspiring Leaders from across the six geo Political zones of Nigeria is expected to immediately move to consolidate its resolutions at a national retreat scheduled to hold next month some where in the northern part of the country before convening a major National political Summit anticipated to hold in the first quarter of 2018
At the end of its deliberations, the inaugural closed door roundtable close door Consultation constituted a 19 member Steering Committee to pilot the agenda and resolve of Movement into a major National political Summit, where the Movement will be formally launched. Members of the Steering Committee include;
Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN
Dr Jhalil Tafawa Balewa
Prof Pat Utomi
Alhaji Rabiu Ishiaku Rabiu
Mr Donald Duke
Senator Ghada Abubakar
Dr Mrs Kemi Jorge
Hajia Ramatu Dalhatu Musa
Mr Frank Nweke Jnr
Prof Jibo Ibrahim
Comrade Isah Aremu
Dr Emeka Okengwu
Dr Olubunmi Usim Wilson
Dr Eugene Enahoro
Hajia Khairat Animashaun
Hajia Mary Manso
Two Reps of the Leadership of the organised Labour
Veteran Olawale Okunniyi – Head of Secretariat
According to the Conveners, this novel political intervention by the NPSG is geared towards mobilizing resourceful new brand of leaders in the country to join hands with a select team of the country’s leading lights and credible Political leaders in building a formidable momentum towards bringing about a popularly desired new Nigeria.
The group of good governance activists led by veteran musician, Charles Oputa, also known as Charly Boy, has vowed to occupy the Libyan Embassy in Abuja in protest against alleged crime of slave auctioning of Nigerians and other Africans in Libya. Charly Boy in a statement jointly signed by Charly Boy, Deji Adeyanju, Ariyo Dare Atoye, and Bako Abdul Usman, on Wednesday night, the activists said the peaceful sit-out in the premises of the Libyan Embassy would provide opportunity to convey their condemnation of the acts of inhumanity against fellow African in the North African nation.
The group said the sit-out will also serve as an avenue to promote value of humanity and the dignity of the African person.
The statement reads in part: “We are horrified by the reports and footage of hundreds of Africans, including Nigerians, being sold into slavery by slave dealers in Libya as published by CNN and several other international media houses. “These videos show men, women and children being sold for as little as $400. They also show the dehumanizing conditions in which these victims are kept, beaten, starved and killed. “It is shocking to find that slave trade, a horrible part of African history which is best confined to our collective past and best studied to avoid a repeat, is being conducted so brazenly in these modern times. “As part of efforts to condemns these acts of inhumanity, we shall be holding peaceful sit outs in front of the Libyan Embassy in Abuja, on Thursday November 30th, 2017 “We urge all members of the public and the media to join us as we seek to promote humanity and the dignity of the African person.” the statement concluded.
In a related note, Customary Government of the Indigenous People of Biafra in a statement made available to BVI Channel 1,the statement reads ; ‘ We are certain that most of those Nigerians found in Libya are Biafrans trying to escape the hard and harsh economic conditions in Nigeria.There is no doubt that the Nigeria Government is not interested in the welfare of Biafrans still living in Nigeria and that is the obvious reason why many of them are scattered all over the world trying to eke out a living.It is not right for the Government of Nigeria to pretend that all is well when millions of Nigerian Youths inside Nigeria could not be say to have economic freedom which is another form of slavery’ The statement concluded.CG-IPOB further directed her Chief Liaison Officer – Rev Leon Ugwu to make necessary contacts with Biafrans in Libya in order to ascertain the true identities of those involved.
Anambra State Governor,Chief Willie Obiano has warned that there will be no room for corrupt individuals in his Government.Obiano handed down the warning at a meeting with top state government officials.
BVI Channel 1 gathered from the Governor that he would not blink an eye in throwing out any official engaging in fraudulent practice.
BVI Channel 1 Comment
We want to advise Gov Obiano to set up whistle blowing Unit to track corrupt cases in Anambra State.Also ,let all the people working with His Excellency declare their asset(s) to the Governor and the Public as not a few of them are after their pockets.
If APGA plans to capture other eastern states,Ojukwu /Biafran ideology of Equity,fairness and justice must be put to work.
Over the past several years, l have been deeply worried about the fate of Ndi Igbo in Nigeria’s political equation. My worry centers mostly on the fate of our youths. I am worried about our growing army of unemployed young people., l wonder what the future holds for them and for the rest of our society.
The unconcealed greed,mindless and criminal wealth acquisition of Igbo political class has kept all manner of economic growth and development in check. So where and when will the jobs come that will sustain our youths? The text of a speech delivered by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe at the ICAM Convention in Mississippi USA on October 7, 2017 with the above title,actually became the trigger that fired all the desired inspiration, direction and focus l needed. I only came across this speech of late,hence the delayed reaction from me. Although the distinguished Senator stated from the outset that what he had to say might surprise many people, It surely did not surprise me and many others.
The Senator representing Abia South senatorial district shared his thoughts on a variety of issues ranging from the prevailing socio-economic condition of Nd’Igbo in Nigeria vis-à-vis the agitation for a separate state of Biafra by the youths, to the paucity of infrastructure in the Southeast geopolitical zone. However, while Abaribe intelligently dissected the challenges facing Nd’Igbo in Nigeria, he failed to shed light on the failings of political leadership in the zone.
He attributed the agitations by youths for a separate state of Biafra to frustrations, arising from the perceived marginalization of Nd’Igbo in the present dispensation.
The Senator noted that President Muhammdu Buhari’s statement in the United States that he would not pay attention to the five percent that did not vote for him during the 2015 election strengthened the frustration by the youths.
This is how Senator Abaribe put it: “You will recall that when this government came into place, President Buhari went to the US where he made a most unfortunate statement that was widely condemned at that time. He reportedly said that he doesn’t need to bother about the 5 percent that didn’t vote for him, but will rather concern himself with the 97 percent that voted for him.
“I had at the time the statement was made raised concern that such declaration from an elected President sounds discriminatory and may create the impression that our elected President Buhari is sending a message to those who didn’t vote for him that he will be partial in his decision making.”
Casting his net wide, Abaribe suggested, “the people who are in and around the president didn’t advise him properly. They left him to make appointments and take decisions that gave the impression that there are some parts of the country that are not supposed to be part of Nigeria.”
To the Senator therefore, all those must have left Igbo youths with the feeling of being left out “and not having anything to give them hope in Nigeria, (thereby) believing that a separate country would be better.”
As a clever politician who has an unbroken record of visible participation in Nigeria’s fourth republic democratic experience from 1999 till date, I am convinced that Abaribe is eminently qualified to adumbrate on issues that he dabbled into in his speech at ICAM Convention in US.
But as an industrialist & wealth creator myself,with more than thirty years of seamless experience in indigenous manufacturing, I find it unacceptable that the Senator representing Abia South district should spice his speech with a supercilious rhetoric of why Igbo in Diaspora do not invest at home.
In apparent show of political double speak, Abaribe had queried: “Should we continue to blame the Federal Government for the dilapidated infrastructures in Ala Igbo? What of our home governments in Igbo States?
“Sam Mbakwe of blessed memory did not wait for the Federal Government before undertaking massive rebuilding of old Imo State. We think that we have not given our best to our people with the little we got.”
Although the main purpose of this intervention is not to throw stones, which sometimes l love doing, I am inclined to say that it is the glib talking politicians of convenience,like Abaribe that stoked the neglect and monumental lack of infrastructure in Ala Igbo.
Perhaps Enyinna forgot that he was part of the same home government he found convenient to traduce. Or was he not the deputy governor of Abia State, the centre of Igbo industrial complex?
It is such a shame that the class of politicians from Ala Igbo that found themselves in top political positions feel comfortable with their primitive accumulation,while the Igbo heartland and countryside wallowed in infrastructure dilapidation.
While their forward looking counterparts from other parts, particularly Southwest, were thinking home and for the collective interest of their people, our own first eleven were only interested in Ghana Must Go transactions at the National Assembly.
It seems the correct index of how far Ala Igbo fared under the prevailing circumstances is to look at the number of state governors facing trial for graft. And the last time I checked I did not hear that Abaribe resigned from his post for a principled stand against lack of institutional focus in the delivery of sustainable infrastructure in Abia State when he served as deputy governor.
Even while he migrated to the National Assembly as Senator, it is not on record that Abaribe rallied round his colleagues on a vision to redress the dearth of infrastructure in Ala Igbo. Rather they have been in competition in constructing hotels and cornering contracts.
There have been subdued allegations that the face of infrastructure in Southeast bears eloquent testimony to the character of political leaders from the zone from the period 1999 to date, of which Abaribe is a proud subset.
From abandoned contracts, to recommendation of substandard contractors,through the diversion of accruable federal interventions, Southeast politicians cannot exonerate themselves from the ugly state of roads and public amenities in Ala Igbo.
Perhaps time has come for the Niger Delta Development Commission, Federal Ministry of Works, Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), National Independent Power Project (NIPP) and Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria (REAN) to publish the list of failed projects, their beneficiaries, contractors and nominees. Many of our Senators must surely have cases to answer. Even in the area of insecurity where Abaribe complained abroad that “nowhere have we hurt ourselves and investment in Ala Igbo than in the insecurity pervading all parts of our homeland,” could he and his ilk be excused of blame. Never.
The preponderance of political thuggery that reigns supreme during elections, represent our own share of democracy dividend initiated by our political leaders.
As they armed and trained these young men, most of whom were emergency students of some tertiary institutions, the politicians deepened their appetite for money through sundry corrupt approaches, including the diversion of money meant for constituency projects and other poverty reduction and empowerment schemes.
And in a nation renown for poor knowledge of history and institutional memory, Senator Enyinna Abaribe found it very convenient to stand before umu Igbo in America to pontificate: “Of course the latest imbroglio in Abia, especially in Aba and Umuahia, has worsened matters. We run the risk of undoing all the efforts made in promoting ‘made in Aba’. l once proudly contributed to the promotion of Made in Aba as a member of National Council of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. As local industrialists from Ala Igbo we embarked on the Made in Aba project so as to provide the needed catalyst for the industrial growth of Igbo land. “Industries have relocated from Ala Igbo to other parts of Nigeria especially Lagos and Ogun States because of the very serious insecurity such as kidnapping and armed robbery faced by those who attempted to invest at home” claimed Abaribe.
Two things stand out from the above claim by Abaribe. In the first place, some of us who have remained steadfast in investing at home against all odds, know that it was from the college of political thugs that kidnappers and other anti-social elements, graduated and discharged after every electoral cycle.
Without caring about roads, these politicians mostly those in the legislatures, donated motorcycles to young men in the name of economic empowerment. In actual fact those are but facilities deployed subtly for their next election, where ballot box snatching and other electoral offences used to be the main strategy for winning.
I am still at a loss why Senator Abaribe, a former deputy governor of Abia State, forgot to explain to his audience why no legislator ever bothered to establish industries to employ the youths,as part of their constituency projects.
Secondly, the rise of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which the senator struggled to blame on political marginalization from the federal authorities, was actually a product of frustration and protest. Protest against the politicians, who not only connived with outsiders to deny them of opportunities, and also frustration that their voice could not be heard through rigged elections and promotion of money politics.
Truth be told, in Ala Igbo, political leaders made it impossible for the falcon to hear the falconer, because not only were they dishing lies through false promises, they deceived the youth with false value judgment that the end justifies the means.
Some of us that have been engaged in mentoring young people in Igbo land are aware that the unemployment level in the area is a ticking time bomb. But the politicians, with eyes fixed on the next election, don’t seem to bother; after all with money they can buy their way to the next public office.
We that are involved in indigenous manufacturing in Ala Igbo have been crying out against all forms of debilitating taxes, against unprovoked police and other official harassment, against the impact of bad roads, against high-energy tariff on our overhead costs, yet no single legislator from Ala Igbo has deemed it fit to take up the challenge. How then will local industries grow to create more jobs? Why then won’t many relocate to Ogun or Lagos states,where the environment is safe and enabling?
At the level of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), we have held countless seminars and workshops, none of the politicians showed interest to understand the plight of indigenous manufacturers, who are the highest employers of labour. Abaribe and his colleagues don’t just care. They are only keen over matters that would sustain them on the political front, not love of community or concern for future generation.
But for space constraints, one could go on and on to place the apathy of Igbo politicians to the blind zeal of Igbo youths to take their future in their hands, having been deceived and disappointed by the so called leaders. That, more than lack of understanding that Igbo has more stake in the Nigeria project, propelled their quest for a separate homeland, even if it is utopia. Nnamdi Kanu and his followers find it hard to trust Igbo leaders because they lack authenticity or workable plan for a better future. Abaribe is not a good authority on the sorry state of affairs in Ala Igbo: he wants to live in two worlds at the same time. That Kanu could not heed whatever advise he had to offer is an indictment. That exploits of Igbo entrepreneurs, which resulted in the fact alluded to by Abaribe in his speech that the largest group of direct domestic investors in Nigeria are from the southeast, are traceable to individual efforts rather than a planned line of action.
The absence of a buoyant economy similar to the ones the senator cited as existing in Computer Village in Ikeja, Ladipo Spare Parts market, Alaba Electronic Market, Balogun International Market, Balogun (Trade Fair) International Market
Aspamda market in Festac and Orile Market for house fittings and appliances; is because of the failure of leadership among the Igbo political class.
It therefore amounts to self-exultation for Abaribe to heap the blames alone on governors without recognizing the place of laws as essential raw materials for good governance. I ask, which laws have the Senator and his colleagues put together to protect and preserve the business interests and endeavours of Igbo entrepreneurs.
The situation in Ala Igbo calls for collective action and not sanctimonious preachments from self-serving politicians. If Igbo lawmakers did not find it distasteful that there is no functional seaport on the former eastern region to begin advocacy, what do they have to tell us about investment and economic growth in Ala Igbo? Instead of campaigning for election boycott, Igbo youths should mobilize to sack the present class of visionless and selfish leaders from Ala Igbo for a fresh start. God bless Igbo youths.
1.Nigerian Ambassador seek help to prosecute human traffickers
2.5,000 Nigerians evacuated from Libya in six months – Dabiri-Erewa
3.Jobs, stable power supply will keep them home – Nigerian community
4.President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire, has finally spoken on the vexed issue of allegations that hundreds of African refugees and migrants passing through Libya were being bought and sold to modern-day slave markets.
BVI Channel Comment
1.Many of the Nigeria Government Officials working in different embassies are most wicked and insincere.Many of them do not care about the welfare of Nigerians in their host countries.Many Nigerians prefer dying in the desert than being frustrated at home without anybody to care for them.
2.If 5000 Nigerians could be evacuated from Libya alone ,how many Nigerians are in other African Countries? Perhaps ,millions! Why is Nigerians running away from home? Running away from the political criminals? BVI Channel 1 believes that the cabal in political power are very few people with large pockets and very high propensity to consume.Therefore,instead of taking risk to die on the high sea,it is better to fight at home.Nigeria is practicing democracy and with the power of ballot and voters card,all the political criminals will be sent to early retirement for young,dynamic ,purposeful and visionary Leadership. BVI Channel 1 believes that this is achievable with the right people at the helm of affairs.
3. For Govt to talk about job creation,every Nigerian has to be captured on a biometric identification platform and only then shall we begin to talk of real job creation and not political job.
4. About 110 million Nigerians are slaves.There are corporate slaves everywhere in Nigeria,domestic slaves,Government slaves,religious slaves etc.Because there is weak institutions in Nigeria,the ‘Oga’ on top will always have his way .
First son of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Chief Emeka Ojukwu Jnr, has turned down overtures of Governor Willie Obiano to return to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Ojukwu Jnr, who barely 48 hours to the Anambra State governorship election defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saidhe is not going back to APGA.
He said he is no longer interested in playing emotional politics, and added that, by wanting to play politics at the centre, he is following the steps of his father.
Speaking to newsmen in Awka, Ojukwu Jnr.described the governor’s overtures as too infantile and smacks of ignorance about the workings of politics in Nigeria.
He said like his father, he ensures that his actions are informed by the best interest of Ndigbo, recalling how, shortly after his return from exile in 1982, his father joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) rather than the Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) seen then as Igbo party.
“I can afford to stay back (in APGA) and wallow in sentimental politics that ‘Nkea bu Nkeanyi’ (this is our own), but in the long run, what becomes of our tomorrow and place in the great Nigeria project, for which our forefathers laboured, invested their time, talent and even their blood?
“Which is preferable; to be a big fish in a small pond or a big fish in the ocean? Real champions are never afraid of the big league. That could be why late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo asserted that if you cannot reason beyond petty sentiments, you are a liability to mankind. Igbo are not better off with emotional politics.”
Ojukwu Jnr. reacted to a statement credited toGovernor Obiano, that he considers Ikemba’s son as of no consequence, but has extended an olive branch to stakeholders and co-contestants in the recent Anambra governorship poll. He said the governor was still playing kindergarten politics.
He wondered why Obiano and other party chieftains should condemn him for identifying with APC while they struggle to impress President Buhari that they support him for a second term in office.
“So, while they seek to crucify me for joining APC, they express support and solidarity for the APC leader. Which is worse, to walk the talk or pander to politics of deceit and duplicity? What is the essence of being in a party that would rather support the presidential candidate of another party than choose its own?”
According to him, having supported President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in office, Ndigbo have decided to support President Buhari in the spirit of fairness and political goodwill, so that when a president of Igbo extraction emerges, other ethnic groups would reciprocate.
Yul Edochie, Nollywood actor turned politician, under the umbrella of Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC), against all odds, contested during the Anambra governorship election and secured a total of 145 votes.
The state’s gubernatorial poll took place on Saturday, November 18. BVI Channel 1 gathered from the father of two who has returned to his base in Lagos after the loss and he painfully spoke about how he was betrayed just few days to the election. He said: “First let me congratulate Governor Willie Obiano on his victory at the polls. The process was a fulfilling one.
Stressful but I would do it all over again for the good of the people, the youths. I think I saw my loss coming towards the end. Three days to election some of my party members went to pay allegiance to another party, accepted money from them and said that I had stepped down. Which they didn’t discuss with me before doing. And it went viral.
I did a video to counter that. But the propaganda had spread so quickly and my supporters thought I had stepped down. But I hold nothing against anyone, its all politics.” The fine boy Nollywood actor also revealed what’s next for him. “No regrets at all. I’m happy I ventured into it and I have come to stay in politics. And I urge more Nigerian youths to come into politics. We all need to know how our state and country is being run and make contributions.
If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. 95% of the people in Nigerian politics are there to grab money, they don’t care about giving the people good governance. So if we keep waiting for them to change things then we are wasting our time. We need more good people of integrity to come in and kick start the real change we want. Well, I left acting and directing for months to achieve this. And a lot of my people missed me. I missed them too. I’ll be back”
