What NEW INFORMATION do we expect from the Ozubulu massacre?

Enough has been said on this matter.
Now, let's summarize.

The ease of publication on the social media has confronted us with over a hundred different accounts of the same event. It will be pretty easy over a short time frame to reconcile the different accounts regarding:

1) at which hour the attackers arrived,
2) how many they were,
3) how they were dressed,
4) how they were armed,
5) whether or not they blocked the gate with their car,
6) make, model and colour of the vehicle,
7) whether or not the church was brightly lit, (ie was the generator functioning properly),
8) number, names and identities of those killed and also
9) number, names and identities of those injured.

Also expected is the prognosis for recovery of the injured.

In more advanced societies, there would also be a report on ongoing efforts to contain the psychological wounds on the Ozubulu community, especially the Catholic faithful in St Phillip's Parish. Remember Columbine High and similar sad events.

MEANWHILE the Police and a multitude of commentators, (including on this platform), have each offered their own analyses about the blood feud supposedly at the root of this carnage. Of course these many versions CANNOT ALL be correct. Hence the need to slow down and allow our hopelessly incompetent security agencies to come up with the truth. In view of the current clash of narratives we have no choice but to trust them, this time around, to do this for us.

We have done enough of guessing, quoting unknown and unknowable sources, punditry and the like.

What the Fed govt MUST do?

This is the first time that I am hearing that the federal government MUST do anything. I have always been made to understand the the Federal government, especially the Buhari variety, is all powerful and cannot be ordered around. Moreover since Buhari is supposedly hand-in-glove with his northern brothers, I cannot understand this current posturing regarding a hitherto unthinkable flexibility in discussing with infidels from down south.

Is this for real?
Personally I do not trust these inadequate conciliatory moves by an Ango Abdullahi who is yet to fully distance himself from the Arewa Quit Notice on Ndigbo. Abdullahi and his sponsors are simply desperate to calm frayed nerves while continuing old style domination politics by other means.

He is educated enough to appreciate the sheer illegality of that demand, even if Ndigbo are citizens of Sierra Leone or Guinea. That IPOB is desirious of pulling Ndigbo out of Nigeria does not change a thing. It is this crass irrationally exhibited at the highest levels of otherwise educated class in the north that makes it impossible to discuss even the simplest of issues. How then is there any real possibility of taking the wind out of the sail of Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB and other angry groupings around Nigeria by approaching the discussion/renegotiation of #Restructuring, #TrueFederalism and #Biafra with GOOD FAITH?

Everybody knows that what is going on currently is a CON JOB. One other thing is that it does not require the wisdom of Solomon to appreciate that the discussion of the three different outcomes listed above IS ONE AND THE SAME. These are not three different negotiations. It is the outcome that differs. And it is going to be only one outcome. It is all in our hands and we can come to a peaceful resolution if only our northern "brethren" read the sign of the times and dismount from their high horse. .

Prof Abdullahi said, “When you want the latest on the quit notice, go to the youth. I am not a youth." .

Why did it take the learned Prof so long to recognize this obvious fact. I bet that if tomorrow we disband government and the gerontocrats and leave our youths to sort themselves out, this nonsense may end sooner than we can imagine. I don't know of any northern youth from say Chibok, who sits on the board of NNPC or owns an unearned mansion in Maitama. Prof Abdullahi and his agemates have taken the north and Nigeria for a ride for far too long. If they were not of a certain age I would have not just chastised them but added that they should go work for a living for a change. They have garnered enough for several lifetimes. My final plea is that they should step aside, not just talk about it.

Re: US GOVT APPROVES SALE OF ATTACK AIRCRAFTS TO NIGERIA'S BUHARI

This is very bad news.

Exerpt:
"Despite approving the sale to Nigeria, the U.S. is keeping up the pressure on Buhari's government to improve its forces' human rights practices and ensure accountability for violators, a U.S. official said." . . etc

Keeping up pressure on Buhari's government? How does the US President and Congress do that? An African "Magnitsky" Act targeting Nigerian and other African rogues and human rights violators, inside and outside of government, has long been overdue. But no, the same forces and sentiments in the US that are very much receptive of stolen money are still in control in Washington DC, New York and London. Check out TEDx on this issue.

The people of Nigeria's north-east, otherwise known as Boko-Haram country, have been hardly in a position to properly articulate their harrowing experiences. More often than not it is concerned outsiders that make their case for protection against a rampaging and incompetent militaristic regime couched as a democracy. This may explain why every single diplomat starting from US's John Kerry makes a beeline for the Muslim north, their Sultan and governors in a barely concealed effort to strengthen ties with ONLY ONE SECTION OF NIGERIA. This is highly disruptive. We do not know which tendency the former British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair represents. However his latest involvement in the decades old Nigerian crisis, formented by Britain for its own interests, goes along the same lines.

Let it be stated clearly here that the terrible Boko-Haram infestation in Nigeria's north-east is a local manifestation, which if properly managed will remain local. However, the muslim Hausa-Fulani hegemony, historically entrenched, and stridently reinforced by Buhari coming to power is the one factor that will provide the deathknell of Nigeria. It is probably the same John Campbell at the Council of Foreign Relations that bemoaned that the regular claim that Nigeria is a giant, has potential, has been sounding rather stale for decades now. It is now off-putting. What exactly does one do with "potential"? The Western World's interest to keep Nigeria under Islamic rule has now turned to the ridiculous. That is why a member of the CFR will find the motivation to disinform readers by claiming that one of the major reasons for the Boko-Haram flare-up is, wait for it, THAT SOUTHERN NIGERIANS HAVE REFUSED TO INVEST IN THE NORTH. I wonder if he had Ndigbo/Biafrans in mind, a people whose major crime is that they invest TOO MUCH in the north. My response then was that mere attendance at a number of cocktail receptions at African embassies in DC does not make one an expert in African affairs. I still stand by that opinion.

It is with sadness that we note that in referencing the objections of Amnesty International and others, the author did not make even a passing comment on the Sheik Zakzaky affair in Zaria, North-Central Nigeria or the big elephant in the room, namely the IPOB/MASSOB led agitation for nonviolent separation from Nigeria and Buhari’s scorched earth response. The McClatchy Bureau must be aware of these developments. I wonder if they and their readers are waiting for another Bruce Myrock (circa 1968) to immolate himself in protest about suffering Biafrans, before they get it? The arming of a Buhari regime, that believes that it is the military arm of the Sokoto Caliphate, is definitely an ill wind. The US Air Force University has routinely included in its failed states projections the rapidly diminishing prospects of a stable, peaceful and united Nigeria, in its present configuration. One wonders the purpose of the exercise, undertaken with taxpayers' money, if no action is taken to correct or checkmate the excesses.

Arming Buhari with Embraer Tucano Attack Aircrafts does not in any way advance the cause of peace and stability in Nigeria. The case has already been made that Buhari will use same for the objective of subjugating Ndigbo. The Boko-Haram must be defeated by boots on the ground, by their own people, by persuasion, deradicalisation, good governance, devolution of power and sustained economic development. These are things that no Embraer Tucano attack aircraft can drop from the air.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/…/national…/article165219552.html

IN BIAFRA, AFRICA DIED. So wrote the irrepressible Rev Fr Emefiena Ezeani.

I read a review of this book perhaps six years ago and subsequently picked up a bootleg copy on the streets of Lagos. I could tell because of the telltale signs of the quality of production on closer inspection. Since I buy books at about twice the rate at which I can possibly read, this challenge to the developed world by Fr Ezeani has remained on my shelf only partially read. This is understandable since I was "there" and have not been in any particular haste to reaffirm my own strongly held beliefs. I recall that it was Chinua Achebe’s THERE WAS A COUNTRY that forced me to read Kalu Okpi's violent narrative BIAFRA TESTAMENT which I had acquired many years earlier. I have imagined that my library will be the only thing of lasting value that I will leave for my grandchildren in this era of crass materialism and alt-facts.

Here is one review of IN BIAFRA AFRICA DIED which I picked more or less arbitrarily:

VICTOR CHIZI
In Biafra Africa Died by Emefiena Ezeani

Read in May 2017
I must begin by stating how I laughed with scorn on seeing the title of this book "In Biafra Africa Died" A bogus claim to make huh? However, I picked up the book from the vendor glanced through the table of content, It was too straight to the point particularly, each chapter dealt with most of the unanswered questions of the Nigeria-Biafran war.

Though I disagree with some of the statements made in the book given the absence of sufficient evidence to buttress such claims. Arguably, I consider Mr. Emefiena Ezeani work to be one of the best case or argument against the claim that the January 15th, 1966 coup was an Igbo coup.
Subsequently, the claim that Biafran war was due to Ojukwu's over ambitious nature were debunked in this book.

Personally, I must say I'm really fortunate as a Nigerian and youngster to have been taken on a journey back in time to the dark if not the darkest part of our history which is often not talked about in details like Mr. Emefiena Ezeani in-depth work.

In Biafra Africa Died is a book which awakens and ushers a believer in justice and equality especially a young Nigerian into a new level of consciousness of the reality and forces in the past and currently which hold our "union".
It's a must read for every young Nigerian.

https://www.goodreads.com/…/…/20626141-in-biafra-africa-died

AS VENEZUELA IMPLODES, CAN YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN NIGERIA AND VENEZUELA?

We are definitely in injury time now.
Or if you prefer, at the Tipping Point.
Any reference made by Nigerians to the implosion in Venezuela is not for the fun of it.

With its oil resources, Venezuela under Hugo Chavez was for decades able to thumb up it's nose at the US and at the same time provide a lifeline to an embattled Cuba. Support and opposition to Chavez and his policies were almost evenly divided especially where it mattered most in the comity of the Organization of American States, OAS. . Then Obama initiated a rapprochement with Cuba, a step that seems irreversible despite the huffing and puffing by President Trump. Time will tell.

Now with the passing of Chavez, the Venezuelans seem to have recovered their voices and lost all taste for authoritarian regimes. Hence the trenchant opposition to President Maduro continuing the policies and methods inherited from Chavez. It is simplistic assuming, like Maduro has, that the upheaval in Caracas and other cities was birthed in Washington DC. Nigerians, who will not lift a finger to oppose bad governance at home, have either railed against purported US interference or condemned the Venezuelan regime for its serial failure to return the nation to the path of growth. We must thank the highly unappreciated Senator Ben Murray-Bruce who had steadfastly reminded Nigerians that, like in the case of Venezuela, unearned oil-derived revenue will not take the nation to the promised land. That's the lesson we should all take away from the events in Caracas.

MY RESPONSE TO CHARLES OGBU'S -- THE SENATE, ANTI-RESTRUCTURING VOTE, BIAFRA AGITATION AND THE REST OF US

Many thanks to Charles Ogbu for putting the feet of our Igbo "leaders" to the fire. I wrote a forthnight ago that the position of the Elders of Igboland, calling for extreme caution, is but one of the several tendencies on the table up for discussion. I stressed that they are entitled to their views, even though many of us regard them as naive to expect anything good from the north. Unfortunately for them, they seem to have no followers, as in "troops."

If this latest blow by the Northern Caucus at the Senate does not open everybody's eyes, nothing else will.

On the demand for Special Status for Lagos, my views are on record and do not need repeating. It is however sad that the arrowheads of that demand, like Dr Jide Oluwajuyitan, have not learned any lessons from the debacle. For them to demand #Restructuring is to surrender to the Igbo narativre. Nigeria's national interest is readily consigned to the back burner simply because it willy-nilly coincides with demands of not only Ndigbo but the generality of people from Chibok-land, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue,Taraba all the way down to the Niger Delta.

As regards the recently floated South-East Reconstruction and Development Commission, please perish the thought.The very idea is 50years too late. Anyway it has had a stillbirth, courtesy of the Arewa/Caliphate positioning. No sane Igboman wants that distraction at this point in time. Same goes for Igbo presidency which kite some criminal elements flew recently.

In conclusion, our man Godwin Ogbu has only reminded us that the only person who currently has any agenda worth discussing is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Having ignored him in the past, obviously to our own peril, it is necessary to now come on board. You don't have to love Nnamdi or like his current methods. Your fault is refusing to engage him in any meaningful way.

THE SENATE ANTI-RESTRUCTURING VOTE, BIAFRA AGITATION AND THE REST OF US. By Charles Ogbu

This is certainly not the best of time for Nigeria. And most certainly not for the advocates of #OneNigeria as Tuesday's "No Devolution Of Power" vote at the floor of the Senate appears to have finally given a very serious form of institutional credence to the assertion by the Nnamdi kanu led Biafran movement that the Nigeria state is unsalvageable.

But beyond the rhetorics and verbal gymnastics, there are some wildly held opinions which the Senate vote has simply elevated to the status of fact. Here are some of them:

1: It is not the Senate as an institution that doesn't want a restructured Nigeria. It is the North as a region. Sadly, long years of military rule and the demonic 1999 Constitution championed by mostly northern military officers have succeded in skewing the political equation of Nigeria in favour of the North. As it stands now, the North is in a default position to hold the rest of the country to ransom and that is exactly what is happening. She gets whatever she wants no matter how scandalous such a want might seem and she ensures that what the other region wants doesn't see the light of day no matter how fair and just such a want might be. Even with the combination of the numerical strength of southern lawmakers, the North still has the veto power.

North East Development Commission bill was passed into law almost before it was even presented on the floor of the parliament. But, a bill to "gift" Lagos state with special status was killed. A bill to set up a development commission for the southeast was equally shut down. Before the adulterated version of PIB was allowed to pass 2nd reading, northern lawmakers made sure that Kano and Kaduna were included as beneficiaries of the Host Community fund even when those two northern states do not produce even one litre of oil.

2:No form of re-organization of the political and economic structure of the Nigerian state a.k.a restructuring, can be effected through the existing constitutional structure. The status-quo is terribly skewed in favour of the only region (North) currently benefiting from it.

The Yorubas want true federalism. The south south want to be in charge of their resources. Igbo elders want a well restructured Nigeria where every region will be able to harness her full potentials and develop at her own pace. Igbo youths, under Nnamdi kanu, is agitating for a total separation from Nigeria because they believe the North which holds the numerical advantage in every facets of state institution here would never allow for restructuring.

Under close examination, the aspirations by the aforementioned peoples/groups are not mutually exclusive but the bitter truth is that no amount of sophistry and beautiful poetry robed in flawless grammar will give us restructuring.

It was the height of naivity in the first place to assume that our Northern neighbours will willingly relinquish the undue advantage their military heads of state gifted them with, via the fraudulent Apertheid manual that is the 1999 Constitution, without a fight.

The North will never allow for a restructured Nigeria UNLESS she is confronted with an alternative such as a determined quest for a referendum by the other component units.

It is at this point that we must all admit that the leader of Indigenous People Of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has been right all along. The action of the Northern Senate caucus has further legitimised the Biafra struggle. Above all, it has buried the argument that the Biafra strong man, Kanu, should use institutionalized politics to push his quest for a referendum.

Contrary to a very popular Igbo saying, what the young man, Nnamdi Kanu, saw while lying down, the elders have failed to see even while comfortably perched ontop of iroko tree.

Our biggest mistake was antagonizing the IPOB leader rather than seizing the momentous occasion his Biafra agitation gifted us with to demand in practical terms, an end to the grave injustices and institutionalized daylight roquery in the Nigerian system.

How can it be that an "Emeka" from Akpugo-Nkanu in Enugu state must score not less than 120 to get admitted into federal govt unity college while an "Ibrahim" from Daura in Katsina state only needs to score 10 to be admitted into the same unity college......in the same country? And paradoxically funny enough, this same Ibrahim will most likely end up as the president of Nigeria even if he decides not to finish his secondary school education while the more intellectually endowed Emeka has less than 1% chance of even getting a job at the end of his academic sojourn??

Why should a state like Kano have the right to operate a parallel system of govt with sharia court (judiciary), sharia police known as the Hisbah working under the office of the governor (Executive) plus another very powerful body known as the Sharia commission (legislature) in the same country where Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, was almost crucified for setting up a security outfit to confront the marauding fulani herdsmen??

Institutionalized injustices such as these should be unacceptable even by the lowest moral standard of natural justice.

The enemies of Nigeria are not those pushing for her balkanization due to entrenched injustices in the system. The real enemies are the beneficiaries of the unjust system who have sworn to allow neither restructuring nor a referendum for us to determine our future. It is very important that we always remember this fact.

The fact that the advocates of restructuring are yet to hit the street in protest over the Senate action is a grave indictment on their seriousness and collective resolve as a group.

One thing is certain, the maintainability of the status-quo IS NOT an option.

Eventually, something must give.

The position of not just the Igbos but every southerner today DOES NOT call for political correctness.

By making a comprehensive restructuring of the system impossible, the North is only making the complete balkanization of the country inevitable.

NDIGBO WILL NOT SELL LAND TO NON-IGBO. SO THEY SAY - A Big Lie!

We have heard this argument before but now with increasing frequency in the heat of the current agitation by segments of Igbo society for a level playing field in their relationship with other Nigerians. Note however that not all ask for a better union believing that the time for that is long past. For them it is Biafra or death. It is in the midst of all this, which includes the #TrueFederalism Movement, that Ndigbo are being blackmailed and cowed into submission by a barely concealed campaign such as the heading above.

Igbo analyst have laboured to gently debunk that falsehood with discrete pieces of information. While Ndigbo and their other Nigerian co-travellers still disagree on many issues, it is strange that, regarding this particular matter, all the explanations proffered by Ndigbo intellectuals have been falling on deaf ears. #Liars have their minds made up before the lie and are hence impervious to the truth as in empirical data. This particular lie is essentially a distraction from more important matters up for debate. Our method must therefore change so as to put this irritant to rest.
#Is it not therefore about time that the governments of the South-East States published a comprehensive list of top Nigerians in the Military, Security Services, Banks, Multinationals, The Central Bank, Federal Parastatals and the Media who used their positions to CHEAPLY acquire choice land in all our state capitals over the past thirty years, AND SUBSEQUENTLY SOLD THEM? Shame! ! #That these people, who may perhaps be in their thousands, and for those still living, are probably occupying the commanding heights of governance and Corporate Nigeria, have refused to weigh in on this dispute bordering on a well-honed campaign of disinformation targeted at Ndigbo, is very instructive. Their silence is not pregnant but overtly criminal. #Only the truth will constitute a good foundation for either #Restructuring, discussion of #TrueFederalism OR the negotiation for a new #Biafra. Those who are not on our side and on the side of the truth are definitely against us. We need to call them out. We need to shame them, hypocrites who shout unity and inclusiveness during the day BUT are true "nabobs of negativity" at night or when nobody is watching.

This campaign should start now irrespective of whether or not we arrive at a properly restructured Nigeria in the short term. This information battle line is hereby drawn. It is going to be messy. However Ndigbo should take no prisoners in this bloodless encounter.

ON THE RENEWED SEARCH FOR OIL IN THE NORTH.

This is a case of Other People's Money - OPM. Anyone is free to search for oil, gold or diamonds in the middle of the Pacific, Sahara or Arctic. The problem is using my money/our money on such Quixotic ventures.

Not only is the Federation Account stuffed full with "stolen" money expropriated from the Niger Delta, but to waste same on the self-serving search for oil in the North-East is the height of impunity. All other oil blocks/prospects are offered to willing takers for a price. If the oil majors and their growing band of Nigerian collaborators ASSESS a prospect, they stake a position and assume most if not all the risks. The irrational position of our northern brethren is that somehow a global conspiracy had been hatched to deny the existence of oil in Nigeria's north. Such infantile insinuation! If the global oil giants can hang on in other war torn parts of the globe, what makes the case of Nigeria any different? See what difficulties the Chinese are weathering in Sudan and South Sudan. What about Iraq?

The worst tragedy is that if petroleum is discovered in the north, the people will not in the next 30years have the necessary manpower to exploit it. It is one long sad tale. The end is nowhere in sight.

IGBO HATERS IN HIDING

It is amazing that Dr Reuben Abati would attach his name to any opinion he holds and gladly welcome the fireworks that comes with that effort. What then can one say about the so-called South-South ghost who decided to utilize the public profile of Dr Abati to project falsehood onto the public space?
We have all encountered and engaged all manners of supporters and vicious opponents of the Biafra project re-launched by Nnamdi Kanu. The debates have been most passionate. However no one was hiding under the bed. We all kept our heads above the parapet, receiving as much as we gave. We must commend Abati for recognizing early on that his informant was a co-conspirator bent on passing off false opinions as real. I have no proof but I suspect that the Buhari Media Group or is it Centre has a hand in this campaign of disinformation.
In this era of democratized access to media, no angry or disillusioned writer needs the help of Dr Abati to get to the attention of the public. I know for a fact that Dr Abati is an avid reader. He wouldn't be a writer if he doesn't read widely. So for a buffoon to presume to guide him to scoops he may have missed, ONLY ON MATTERS IGBO, is most suspect.
I recommend that Dr Abati reveals the identity of this mischief maker so that we can deal with him directly.

IS ANAMBRA STATE WORKING? THEY SAY THAT IT IS.

IT IS FUNNY that because of the raucous politics in Anambra State since the days of the Federal govt inspired Ngige kidnap, people mistake the noise, etc for dysfunction. Anambra State is working!

Surely Anambra State can be far better than it currently is. If the external factors traceable to Abuja are addressed, there is still a lot more that the Anambra political class can do to improve governance and service delivery. Like better tax collection.

Against this background, it is therefore most embarrassing that Anambra State has been identified by many analysts, Sen Ben Murray-Bruce and now the former Vee Pee Atiku Abubakar and others as a leader, a beacon for other states. This only shows that most other states have not just been sleeping but​ have actually been in coma.

It is now obvious that the only way to save this imploding political arrangement is to #Restructure. The time to save all the political units, states if you like, is now. Any further delay will certainly be fatal for the federation

NDIGBO WILL EAT ONE ANOTHER UP IN BIAFRA? THEY DON'T LOVE EACH OTHER?

This has been the theme of the institutionalized response to the strident agitation for Biafra by a segment of Igbo society. Nobody knows for sure who are in the majority, the pro-Biafrans, the committed opposition OR the opportunists sitting on the fence. One thing though is certain. The current holders of elective and appointive political office, influential though they are, are an insignificant minority. It is clearly irrelevant on which side they stake their bet. They will easily be swallowed by the masses.

There is this video which probably has been making the rounds in social media. It smells like a hatchet job straight out of a wartime Propaganda Directorate. I should know, having served as a lower rung operative 50years ago. Honestly I have never before encountered such propaganda and disinformation originating from unidentified arms of Lai Mohammed's outfit. I believe that many more scurrilous endeavours are in the pipeline. Surely a good number of anti-Biafra and anti-Kanu articles, Facebook posts and videos such as this one have sneaked into the public consciousness as further proof that Ndigbo cannot make it alone, need Nigeria more than Nigeria needs them and finally will be sorely missed by Nigeria!

Love Nwantiti indeed!

It is amazing that people who routinely hunt Ndigbo like wild animals will go to such lengths to convince them that they are more loved outside Igboland. If that is the case, then what exactly have Ndigbo been complaining, nay crying about? That Nigerians love them too much? That they are covered with hugs and kisses at every street corner?

A student from Hong Kong graduates from Caltech​ and returns to make his fortune in that crowded place under the shadow of big China. No one tries to dissuade him. He has the choice to pick up a job in Silicon Valley or SpaceX but doesn't. Why all the scaremongering aimed at Ndigbo?

The current propaganda cum charm offensive simply indicates that Nigeria is finally worried about Ndigbo and Biafra. I may be wrong and the whole charade could turn out to be mere posturing. Question: What would Nigeria (I don't mean Buhari who is no longer in contention) do if indeed Ndigbo let bygones be bygones and stupidly re-embrace the subsisting arrangement? Will the #Reintegration which has eluded them for 50years be suddenly achieved overnight? Excuse me!
To your tents o Israel.

Ndigbo may ultimately have better protection in Nigeria as foreigners under ECOWAS protocols with the UN looking over everyone's shoulders than this no-war-no-peace joke of governance. Considering the scars that Ndigbo carry on their bodies from it's association​ with its "brothers" just over the past 50years, is it not about time they moved on to another compound? That's growth, if nothing else.

WHAT WILL A RESTRUCTURED NIGERIA LOOK LIKE?

Author: TONY OSBORG,
Founder of #RestructureNigeria & #TrueFederalism.

The most important task before us right now is envisaging what a restructured Nigeria would look like. We have agreed that Nigeria needs restructuring based on the principles of federalism. The next big question should be; what should a restructured Nigeria look like? This is what we have set out to answer in this lecture.

How should responsibilities be shared between the federal and state governments in a restructured Nigeria? We believe it will be inappropriate for us as a Movement to impose regions or even states on the people of Nigeria. This is why we believe the people (ethnic nationalities) themselves must be given the opportunity to decide whether they want regions or states as the federating units. Whatever the case may be, these twenty rules must be followed.To answer these questions, we have drawn up twenty rules that should guide us in our debate. Find below the twenty rules that we consider as fundamental to a two-tier system of federal structure and which we think is best suitable for a country like Nigeria.

The first rule towards restructuring Nigeria is to allow the peoples, ethnic nationalities and communities come together and create their own autonomous state governments as they please. It is only after the various ethnic nationalities have created their own autonomous state government that they can they then come together to create the federal government. There is nowhere in the world where the federal government creates the state governments, rather it is the autonomous state governments that come together to create the federal government and decide what and what political and economic powers should be given to the federal government and what will be retained by the state. This is the first principle of federalism that is currently absent in Nigeria's pseudo federalism. The federal government created the states, instead of the reverse.

These twenty rules highlight the basic principles of true federalism.

1. There should be two tiers of government recognized by the federal constitution; a federal and state government. Each of them should have a separate constitution.

2. The state government should have the exclusive right to create another tier of government as it wishes. We suggest that a community/city based government be recognized and established by the state as the last tier of government. Community/City based government should therefore replace the existing local government style tier of government. The constitutions must guarantee the autonomy of each tier of government. The community based government should have full control over the most basic things that affect the community. Issues like basic education (management and funding of basic schools), security, water, maintenance, health care, etc should be done by the community based governments. It should also have the right to raise its own taxes to fund its needs. The community based government should be the most empowered tier of government.

3. The federal constitution should limit the federal government responsibilities to only defense, monetary policy, foreign policy, immigration, customs and related matters. All duties not given to the federal government should become the duties of the state governments.
The federal constitution should be written by the representatives of the already existing autonomous state governments that now wish to federate (create a federal government). In the same manner, the state constitution should be written by the representatives of the the people, tribes and communities that would make up the state.

4. Ownership of all federal owned assets and institutions that are no longer under federal jurisdiction should be transferred to the states where they are located. Arrangement should be made to ensure that there is a fair balance of payment for the transferred assets. Where the states fail to offer a fair bargain for the new assets, the general public should be invited to take ownership of the assets. Federal institutions (i.e federal universities) capable of becoming autonomous should be declared as autonomous institutions and free from federal interference.

5. The federal government will no longer build hospitals, universities, rail lines, refineries, power stations, etc. These shall become exclusive duties of the state governments and the private sector. The federal government duty shall be limited to the items listed in number 2.

6. The federal constitution shall forbid both the federal and state governments from embarking on business ventures and shall limit their sources of revenue to only taxation and royalties.

7. The federal constitution should recognize the right of ownership of land and natural resources as belonging to communities and individuals and should therefore forbid both the state and federal governments from upturning this inalienable right. The implication of this rule is that resource control will now be in the hands of the individuals and communities and not the state or federal government as it currently is.

8. The state and federal governments should have two independent judiciary with each having up its own Supreme court. Because there will be federal and state crimes, there should also be federal and state prisons.

9. Right to self-determination should be enshrined in the federal constitution. Communities/towns should have the right to secede from a state and seek membership of another state within Nigeria while states should have the right to secede from Nigeria and seek membership of another country or form an independent country of their choice. The process of doing this must be by referendum.

10. States should be entitled to receive irregular annual grants from the federal government in the same way communities/towns should be entitled to receive irregular grants from their state governments upon meeting certain strict conditions. There shall be no more monthly allocations.

11. Parliamentary democracy could be adopted to replace the present presidential executive system. The House of tribes (House of Reps) should be abolished and a single parliament retained comprising of tribesmen, professionals, and town/city/state representatives.

12. The federal constitution shall guarantee the decentralization of the civil service.

13. The federal constitution shall recognize indigeneship and residency as qualification for occupying public offices in both state and federal offices.

14. Taxation shall be the major source of revenue for both the federal and state governments. Federal taxes shall be limited and deducted from the state governments while state taxes shall be unlimited and deducted at source.

15. Both basic and tertiary education shall be the exclusive rights of the state and community based governments. The federal government shall have no business with building and managing basic or tertiary institutions. Power generation and distribution shall also be the exclusive rights of the state and city governments.

16. The federal constitution shall guarantee the autonomy and need for federal, state, community and institutional police system with each having its own limit and jurisdiction.

17. Issuance of licenses (whatever kind be it exploration or social license) should be the exclusive right of the state governments while regulations of such licenses should be jointly done by both the state and federal governments.

18. The federal and state constitution shall guarantee the autonomy of every tier of government in conducting their own elections. Each tier of government shall be solely responsible for the conduct of its own elections without interference. The people of the communities, towns and cities that make up a state shall be solely responsible for electing the state government officials in the same way the people of the state government shall be solely responsible for electing the officials of the federal government.

19. The federal constitution shall separate religion from the state and state from religion.

20. The federal parliament shall be structured in such a manner that a bill can only become law if and only if it receives support from a minimum of 2/3 representatives from each state and not a 2/3 of the general House.

The above twenty rules are what we consider as fundamental principles of true federalism as may be applicable to the Nigerian society. Once we are able to establish these rules in Nigeria, Nigeria has become a true federal state! The rules will expand and be modified as the debate goes.

Nigeria needs a political system that is competitive, productive, efficient and self -sustainable. This our present skewed, unitary, military, feeding bottle federalism will not take us anyway.

By Tony Osborg

RE: 2019, THE NORTH MUST RETAIN PRESIDENCY

The National President, Arewa Youth Forum, (AYF), Alhaji Gamboa Ibrahim Gujungu must have been refering to "whatever is left of NIGERIA." I imagine that this would not include the Om'Odua. I do not see how it could.

I have posed the following question to Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari: What is the pesidency worth to the northern masses? My answer is: NOTHING AT ALL.
Read on:

MASARI HAILS BUHARI'S GOVERNMENT OF LIMITED OBJECTIVES - May 2, 2016
Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari has been reported in the media to have said that northern Nigeria would have been in misery had former President Goodluck Jonathan won the 2015 presidential election.

Speaking at the 33rd annual symposium in memory of late Malam Aminu Kano, Governor Masari described the situation the north found itself as precarious in which the region fell short in every aspect of human development. If the governor had been following the annual UNDP report on Human Development, he would have noted that the indices for the north have been dismal at best over at least three decades. No northern dominated federal administration has yet been able to reverse that trend. Most Nigerians will easily agree that that is one of the reasons why Buhari was elected into office.

On the comment by Governor Masari that the lives of the people of northern Nigeria have been rendered valueless by the Boko Haram insurgency, it is clearly up to the citizens in the north to decide to change that narrative.

He maintained that the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president brought a glimmer of hope to the north and anticipation of the return of socio-economic prosperity.

With Buhari now in power, are we then to understand that the north is no longer in misery even as we speak? Are the people of the northern parts of Nigeria exactly ecstatic now that another northerner is president? Has the Buhari presidency, eleven months and counting, been of much help, any help? Somebody should please answer me.

I was 19years old at the start of the Biafran war in which I was a participant. I know what misery looks like. Currently I see it on the faces of internally displaced persons wandering to God-knows-where with only what they can carry on their heads. I see it on the faces of hospitalized suicide bomb victims, lucky to be alive. I see it in the regular television footage of despoiled Agatuland with the natives expelled from their now destroyed homes and farms and forced to eke out a precarious living on the streets of Oturkpo, Gboko and Makurdi. That's misery live, and it is still very much with us, the Buhari presidency notwithstanding. Obviously Governor Masari, a Katsina State blood brother of President Buhari, is ignoring the facts on the ground and hence celebrating too soon.

When a gang up of otherwise enlightened Arewa politicians decided to foist a government of limited objectives on hapless Nigerians, they got more than a little help from the likes of Tinubu, Fashola, Onu, Oyegun, Ngige and my humble self. The question is clearly what do we do next? Nobody eats the presidency, as intangible as it is.
One version of the above report has Gov Masari indicating a desire for the president to fast-track the establishment of three or four megaprojects in the north. I cannot resist asking: Who will work on these projects? The Almajiri ill-prepared for the 21st Century? In the end, planners, engineers, architects, welders and craftsmen will have to be hired from China, Pakistan, India, Abia State and also Anambra, Edo, Delta, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, etc. I am sure that readers have gotten my drift. .

Gov Masari seems not to have learnt that the problems of the north, which have kept it shackled to poverty, are quite fundamental. We must keep repeating them. Universal education is one. Former president Jonathan, against common wisdom and consternation of a few southerners, built model schools for the Almajiri. They remain more or less empty while the elite see no evil. On the health front, the north remains a place where a routine outing for an immunization exercise could turn out to be an appointment with death. We keep ignoring these issues to our own peril. The north must confront its demons and fight its way out. It is not going to be easy though. Meanwhile I wish Buhari and the entire north well.

ON THE QUIT NOTICE - NORTHERN GROUP DISOWNS TAPE URGING GENOCIDE AGAINST IGBOS

It has been reported that the spokesman of the Northern group Abdulaziz Suleman stated as follows:

“Just last week, a leader of our Coalition Amb. Yerima Shettima told the world that we would review the earlier position of the Coalition in appreciation of the recent position of the South-East governors that denounced Biafra."

It is obvious that this eminent northern group is missing the point. The mere act of the South-East governors either supporting or denouncing the agitation for Biafra is a value neutral development. It is neither good nor bad. The governors are rightly expressing their freedom of speech. I doubt that they claimed to be representing anyone. That is unless we are not operating a democracy. Thus it is inappropriate to hinge a reaction, (say a call for Igbo ethnic cleansing a.k.a. genocide), on the public statement of half a dozen men, which would be most bizarre. The governors never called for Biafra and are therefore not in a position to call off the agitation. This is the fact on the ground. For now.

I encourage all those who have curiously fallen madly in love with Ndigbo and their neighbours to show that, first of all by talking to them in a most endearing manner ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT NDIGBO WANT TO TALK ABOUT! No more obstructionism. #Restructuring seems to be the lowest demand on the table. Any Arewa who doesn't want to discuss restructuring is simply not serious. He should preferably go and sort himself out with Alhaji Asari Dokubo and Ms Ankio Briggs who have indicated no further interest in #Restructuring. Perhaps Ndigbo should wait to see the communique coming out of that ongoing exchange.

*The group had further described the audio tape as inciting. Suleiman further stated that the group distances itself from the pronouncement, its maker and the content of the audio.”
What are we to make of this?
Was this do-good group doing anybody any favours at a time the entire northern establishment had either backed the Arewa Quit Order or kept a conspiratorial silence. It was simply saving it's own skin and image. After all those who loudly and publicly backed the Order have not attracted any sanctions from the security agencies. Excuse me!

The "Northern Group" of men with "good" intentions should simply face reality.

JOYCE OJELEDE IS ENAMOURED OF NORTHERN NIGERIA

Joyce wrote recently on Facebook that she and her family have lived peacefully and happily in the North for decades. She indicated that she feels most welcome and safe there based on her experiences with her most accommodating friends, neighbours and acquaintances. Isn't she so damn lucky? I wish she is able to compare notes with writer Jennifer Chinenye Emelife who has also catalogued her own findings.

In response I had pleaded with Joyce to kindly complete the canvas by filling in some anecdotes about Igbo hospitality (or lack thereof) on their home turf. Here I am assuming that the vast majority of Ndigbo are immune to Nnamdi Kanu's stupid(?) quest and methods. If she has not had the fortune (or misfortune) of living for any extended periods in Igboland, she must know those who have. Joyce should tell us their stories. These will make up the building blocks of this Nigerian unity that everyone seems to desire so fervently.

It is heartwarming to learn that her Hausa friend, who works with (or is it for) her is very reliable and definitely not a kleptomaniac. A good many of us have such friends. However there is something else that we would wish to learn from her.

At her age Joyce must have weathered a good number of popular religious/tribal upheavals for which the north of Nigeria is well known. Granted that her "friends" may not have had the inclination to do her and her family any harm, what exactly do they usually do to be safe? Do they boldly step into the street fully confident that they are not the target? Do they feel lucky of blessed that they are not? Without any identifiable tribal marks, how was Joyce, in the heat of battle, able to prove that she was NOT Igbo. Honesty, in the profile picture, she looked just like any other Igbo woman to me. On the other hand, do they simply hide and hope that the whole thing soon soon blows over? Anyway I wouldn't want to be in her shoes at such times. Meanwhile I just cannot fault her love for Northern Nigeria. To do so would be irrational. Even I do have a kind of paternalistic love for the north, the kind one has for a retarded child. I wish I could find some other way. The people of the north deserve better. I wish Joyce luck going forward.

DID A "HATE SPEECH" EVER KILL ANYONE?

At each moment in time, I have at least twenty draft comments and opinions on current issues in my smart phone, my workhorse. Because I often tire of hearing my own voice, I do not pursue all of them, to bring them to the public domain. Let us take this example.

The Acting President recently summoned the media chiefs and gave them the marching orders to stifle "hate speech" on their platforms, and to desist from publishing same. On the surface, that was a noble gesture. I leave it to the reader to deduce whether that stand was aimed ONLY at IPOB. Then again what was the jamboree worth? Find below an exerpt from the opinion which I wrote a forthright ago. There has been no urgency on my part since I feel like I am talking to the deaf.

HATE SPEECH, NATIONAL UNITY & SECURITY
Hate speeches and "divisiveness", whatever that means, are the least of our problems. For crying out loud, Nigerians need to feel and actually be equal and safe, if not in far away South Africa, at least IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY.

Did any Igbo man or woman ever collapse and die or his property suddenly went ablaze as a result of the "extreme rhetoric" by the Arewa compatriots? That is why I find it impossible to agree with the new assignment that the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has cut out for himself to convince the press and citizenry to talk more kindly about one another. As for me, so long as my fellow Nigerians abide by the constitutional undertaking to do me no harm, I can absorb all the insults that they may deem proper to heap upon me. In street parlance, "Na dem sabi" In Igbo, "Na aru fa li."

Post Script:
From the records we know that some Ndigbo who were murdered in 1967 in the north had only a day before had a most convivial encounter with their would be murderers - joking, eating, drinking, buying and selling, playing droughts, even visiting each others homes, etc. What then is a hate speech worth if indeed it is all "njakili" with no murderous followup? That's where the government's role comes in. To protect me even if I say the "wrong" thing. All the huffing and puffing by the likes of Tanko Yakassai, Ango Abdullahi, Junaid Mohammed and others, I can take in my stride, IF AND ONLY IF my government can assure me of protection from their murderous knives. Fear those who with a smile on their faces say no ill, but come at you in the dark. That's the Nigeria that we live in.

THE AREWA CONSULTATIVE FORUM HAS RUN OUT OF TIME AND IDEAS

The Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Mr Anthony Sani has claimed that if the restructuring was in the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would have shown genuine interest in the agitation for it.
Since freedom of speech connotes all sorts of fulminations and extremes, (including hate speeches), we must learn to cope with this one.
The one problem is the issue of if Sani can presume to make any statement on behalf of the APC. He obviously cannot, even if the position of the APC and ACF were to strangely fall into alignment.
The ACF is now in the last throes of its imminent death. Whether Nigeria restructures or not, the primordial stranglehold by the ACF of unwilling elements in the socalled North held together by a contrived fear of the South, has loosened for good. We can never go back to the "good" old days. This latest claim of group and institutional amnesia is a hopeless alibi. Nobody is fooled.

BIAFRA AT 50 . . ARE IGBOS THE PROBLEM? NO!

I classify Ireke Kalu Onumah as a late comer to this debate. He is probably among the comfortable elite who in the words of Alex Oti, don't play politics, to their utter regret.

Now a nobody like Nnamdi Kanu has rightly or wrongly taken centre stage. Hence this panic in the house. Where were we all this while? How did we confront earlier manifestations of this agitation by the likes of Chief Ralph Uwazurike? Many of the leading lights of Igboland have been sleeping on duty as it were. We have an abiding duty to jump into the fray and robustly SUPPORT Biafra, #Restructuring or Whatever OR similarly OPPOSING some or all of the above WITH SOLID ARGUMENT AND ANALYSIS. That is leadership. This is not something you do in your spare time, AFTER YOU MUST HAVE COLLECTED PAYMENT FOR THAT INVOICE. No! Involvement, like religion, is supposed to cost you something. It is unlikely, but it may even demand your very life. As a professional busybody, I have had occasion to say the same thing to my Daura-born Fulani friend while discussing the dangers up north of advocating mass education and immunization against polio, measles etc.

Some money-miss-road have recently woken up from their slumbers or returned from their journeys only to propounding what Nnamdi Kanu should or should not do! Can you imagine? They kept Kanu at armslength, refused to engage him in order to influence him and his movement ONE WAY or THE OTHER. Now everyone is suddenly an analyst. The truth is that most of us abdicated our God given responsibilities long ago.

It is impossible for Ireke Onumah to write such a long essay without striking a couple of notes with which different constituencies will identify. He succeeded in this regard, thus invalidating the main thrust of his essay that IT IS ALL THE FAULT OF NDIGBO. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have always addressed this matter from a number of perspectives. The first is the institutionalized deprivation of the South-East such that it cannot provide for itself. Note that I am not referring to Revenue Allocation. Ndigbo should be able to do so if unshackled. I am not necessarily talking about Biafra.

Ndigbo can build all the roads, bridges and power plants that it needs. Without these, there cannot be industrial development and jobs, including agro-processing. Not to recognize that the present arrangement prevents Ndigbo from doing so is an exercise in self-deceit.

Ndigbo are ready to invest both at home, in the Nigerian Diaspora and beyond. These are not mutually exclusive as is being made by some commentators. But in the absence of power and a determined policy thrust to keep things the way they are, no amount of brilliance or capital can achieve a positive change. I have been in manufacturing almost all of my life. It pains me when people who have never been involved in MAKING anything or CREATING JOBS presume to understand the relevant linkages in a productive economy.

Then again the writer finds it distasteful that Ndigbo hobnob with our so-called enemies in pursuit of profit. That is an unnecessary incitement. The future is pregnant regarding New Biafra and/or Restructuring. For now we are Nigerians for goodness sake. Ndigbo participation in both the politics and economy of Nigeria, despite holding the short end of the stick, is a given. Those activities should be undertaken without any apologies. It is on record that many host communities after selling land to Ndigbo mistakenly (or is it deliberately) replace the verb SOLD with GIVE. This is obscene! Nobody ever gave anything to an Igboman. The self-serving and overused statement of having "welcomed" Ndigbo in their communities indictates a serious lack of knowledge regarding the Nigerian Constitution. Notwithstanding the outcome of this current national soul serching,Ndigbo will continue to discern areas of potential investment "abroad." Perhaps with more misgivings and increased apprehension because of the current wave of discontent that have overtaken Nigeria.

Let me round up. I have consistently preached to the young Igbo who fall under my span of control that the much ballyhooed statement that NDIGBO ARE BAD is patently false. Any Igbo elder who wilfully spreads such falsehood is only pandering to his self appointed Slave Master. No people, not the least Ndigbo, needs another's validation.

Surely there are many things that Ndigbo can and should do better. However the truth is that present day Nigeria has somehow managed the miracle of bringing out the very worst of Ndigbo. And to add insult to injury, they gloat about it. Haba! . Yes, what you see now is not us. Set Ndigbo free. If the punishment for being loud, insolent and competently hardworking is genocide then I give up all hope for any sensible World Order.

http://www.chidoonumah.com/biafra-at-50-we-are-the-problem/…

A WELL FED SLAVE SLAVE SHOULD BE HAPPY. RIGHT? . WRONG!

I have stated the following over and over again. The Children of Israel who struck out to depart Babylon in order to return to Judea etc, were ALL born in Babylon. They did not experience the tragedy of the exile with their great great grandparents. They had more or less settled down to what could have called a normal life. They were definitely not starving. However something else was missing. The Children of Israel WERE NOT FREE!

They subsequently faced the opposition and snide remarks of those who had complacently settled into the routine of working, eating, marrying and begetting children. Why upset a system that works? Why bother? The similarities with many communities in Nigeria, not just among Ndigbo, are many. In the final analysis, in the fulness of time, the Children of Israel set out for home when, with Divine Providence, the opportunity presented itself. There is no biblical record that they brought any houses back to the Promised Land.

I rest my bag!

"WHEN AN OLD BACHELOR MARRIES A YOUNG wife...

 what does he expect? . He expects, . No, the crime carries the punishment along with it." - A character from SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL. - Richard Sheridan

Every action or omission has consequences!

NNAMDI KANU has been all things to all people. Everybody have suddenly woken up from self-induced slumber and now presume to offer him advice. He has also had to bear escoriating ctiticism.

Nnamdi Kanu is entitled to as many mistakes and destructive mindsets that he wilfully allows himself. Nobody elected him, or identified with his cause. The elite was ever too busy with the daily bread and butter issues to properly oppose his message and methods while identifying with his grouse with the Nigerian polity - zoo he called it. Apart from calling Nnamdi names, there has been no alternative message on the table. .

From the comments above by people like Dr Ozodi Osuji, one gets the impression that some people instead of contributing to the debate are gleefully waiting for Kanu to self-destruct. That denotes a sadistic mindset. What does it profit a Nwafo-Igbo to want a movement for self-determination led by someone with whom he disagrees to flounder? I do not see such people valiantly pushing alternative viewpoints, by putting their money where their mouths are. Femi Fani-Kayode has very harsh words for those who, not having the stomach to fight for their freedom, strangely find the strength to disparage those who do. For such men, in the privacy of their own homes, their wives will not "hear one for them", as they SAFELY rave and rant about the inequities of the Nigerian abstraction.

At almost seventy, despite having never held a high government position, I cannot successfully distance myself from a most discredited generation. We have failed the restive youths and our grandchildren. The sooner we realize that "when come comes to come" our fat bank accounts, palatial residences, stocks in blue-chip firms and land holdings all over the globe, would count for very little. It is my age-mates and younger who are intellectually absent while ostensibly warming seats as Ministers, undistinguished Senators and dishonourable members of the House of Representatives. I expect to be tarred and feathered with all of them. Vicarious responsibility it is called. . I suspect that there is a strong element of jealousy involved here. Talk true! . We wilfully surrendered centrestage first to Ralph Uwazurike and now finally to Nnamdi Kanu. I cannot imagine that Kanu ever envisioned that the more brilliant, better spoken, better connected sons of Igboland would allow him to hold this mantle for so long. Now everyone who has access to social media is propounding what Nnamdi Kanu should or should not do. We have long missed the boat. Let's get that into our thick skulls.

ON NIGERIA, FOREIGN INVESTORS, THE RULE OF LAW AND THE COURT SYSTEM.

A friend Adémólá Olúsúnmádé wondered on his Facebook wall if Nigeria truly understands that it imperils it's ability to attract the foreign investments (that it sorely needs), by the routine undermining of the judicial system. My response to this is that we do understand. However we obviously do not care.

Just try to follow the controversy surrounding the last three Federal Government administrations and Dr Bart Nnaji's GEOMETRIC POWER over the agreements signed for the defined Aba Industrial ring-fenced area. This is only one example. There are very many others. At times one wonders whether our many Attorney Generals went to Carpentry School.

With Buhari in power, how many have cared to rewind 30years to our engagements with the INTERINFA CONSORTIUM for building the moribund Lagos Metro Line? Allison Ayida, Phillip Asiodu, etc did not or could not get then Military Head of State, Gen Buhari to desist from scrapping that landmark project initiated by Alhaji Latif Jakande. To add insult to injury, when the matter went for arbitration in Paris (where else?), Nigeria lost and was required to pay up (and has paid) more than 70% of the project value, WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT! Fast forward to today; we thank God for Tinubu and Fashola, despite their human limitations.

It is clearly not politically correct to remind either Buhari or his friends. If we are to learn anything, it should be that to expect brilliance and foresight from those who are blank is futile.

AGBASI MARYANN OGOO'S ADVICE TO NDIGBO TO COME HOME

This Biafran activist recently prayed that Ndigbo should stop all investments in Nigeria outside Igboland. This prayer will not be answered. Ndigbo will not sit on the floor when they can reasonably afford chairs. The types of residences which the natives/their hosts make available for the sourjourning or settling Igbo has never been acceptable to them. Or in adequate supply. The issue of reciprocity never comes to mind. Ndigbo never figure in their calculations the fact that others hardly ever invest in Igboland.

Our people want to live in relative comfort when they are in foreign land and are prepared to pay for it. It does not matter if it is Abidjan, Douala, Lagos, Samaru or Accra.

The takeaway from Agbasi Maryann Ogoo's advice is that Ndigbo should make a preponderance of their investment in Igboland. That is good! This is why I have a lifelong passion about Electrical-Power-in-the-South-East. Few people understand this important connection. With power available, we will not have to beg Ndigbo to invest at home.

Meanwhile those outside, and they are many, must necessarily build homes, simple or palatial, to the envy of their hosts. This notion that by posturing to be low achievers Ndigbo will somehow be loved is misplaced. No matter what, Ndigbo cannot take up residence under the flyovers in Abuja or Lagos.
Tufiakwa!

SERMON AT THE ORDINATION OF DEACONS AT THE NATIONAL MISSIONARY SEMINARY,

GWAGAWALADA ON SATURDAY 17TH, JUNE, 2017

As usual, Nigerians are doing what they do best: making themselves the laughing stock of the rest of the world, behaving like spoilt brats of a rich but irresponsible father, or like players in a game with no rules and no referee, a game in a field of moral free fall. Perhaps by way of a metaphor, that is really a summary of our condition. Those who have held the nation to ransom, non state actors constituting themselves into a calumnious conspiratorial tag team of sorcerers’ apprentices believe that what they cannot have, no one can have. They are prepared to drag the nation down with them even if they do not know where they are going. We are forced to ask ourselves the timeless question, how did we get here and indeed, where are we?

The froth has come to the top: Nigeria’s broth of deceit and opportunism masquerading as politics has triggered a diarrhea with dire consequences for the public space. Except we concede that we are a cursed nation, it is difficult to fathom how we could have ended up where we are now, a nation in a permanent stupor and always unable to celebrate its victories not to talk of avoiding its sorrows. How did we leave so many doors open that a small coterie of nondescript individuals with neither known addresses nor antecedents suddenly took centre stage?

A first time visitor to our country in the last few weeks would think they have crashed into a party organised by drunken criminals who, in their bouts of raucous inebriation have resorted to a serious brawl with self injuries while overturning tables and food, destroying both glasses and plates. Given the huge opportunities and resources, is this where we should be? My people, what has God not done for us?

Suddenly, the nation seems to have come unhinged. Across the country, sounds of very irresponsible and provocative utterances fill the air. The media lapped it all up and by giving these adult urchins publicity, created the impression that the end of our nation had arrived. And yet, the late Chinua Achebe warned his Igbo people in general and Nigeria in particular of the consequences of the men with ideas leaving the stage to the money-miss-road ragamuffins, men and women with no records of service or achievement, men and women who elsewhere should be in jail taking up the stage and doing what they know best, creating a maelstrom, ratcheting up the volume of vitriol and creating a discordant orchestra of artistic chaos. My people, what has God not done for us?

But while all this was going on, look at the other side, the abode of reason, rationality and integrity. Look at what has happened to us in England. In one fell swoop, seven of our sons and daughters were elected into the British Parliament, an unprecedented feat in the history of Democracy anywhere in the world. The following week, England won the Under 21 World Cup with the assistance of three young men of Nigerian descent. In the same England, just a few months back, our son created history by winning the World Heavy Weight Boxing title. Talk about the colony striking back! My people, what has God not done for us?

Within the same kingdom, across the sea to Ireland, one of our favourite sons was also making history. After about a hundred years, the Vatican announced the appointment of the first African as the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Jude Okolo to Ireland, the land of our missionary ancestors. After a hundred years, Rome announced the appointment of a Nigerian-born Most Rev. Dr. Eusebius Chinekezi Manugwu, as pioneer Bishop of Port-Gentil, in Gabon. After almost a hundred years one of our daughters is now Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Almost on a monthly basis, Nigeria has continued to receive news of the spectacular achievements of our children who are breaking academic records in America and Europe, feats that few people from any developing country have achieved. They are daily breaking the glass ceilings and scaling walls that racism and colonialism had erected for the black man. In almost every corner of the world, wherever black achievement is mentioned, if there are two names, both or one must be a Nigerian. My people, what has God not done for us?

We parade the best writers with the greatest world recognition for any one country in the developing world. Our sons and daughters have won some of the most prestigious international awards there are in various fields of Art, Science, Sports and almost everything. Our Medical personnel, Lawyers, Engineers, Professors, Scientists are in the most prestigious laboratories all over the world. It will be difficult to find any good University or institution of research and learning anywhere in the world that does not have Nigerians as their brightest and best teachers or students. So, what is going on? Are we under a tragic spell? My people, what has God not done for us?

When I look at our country, I feel a sense of both shame and pity not for myself but for our teeming millions who simply want to be left to do what ordinary human beings have come to take for granted elsewhere: get married, raise a family, live in peace and prepare the next generation. Is this too much the ordinary citizens of Nigeria to ask? We have become the butt of jokes around the continent and the world. Those who brought education to us are in awe of our intellectual capacity and they hide their jealousy by accusing us of being loud and arrogant. Our cousins on the continent, most of whom we have sent technical assistance to and tried to share our wealth with, look on us as a threat. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, as in the world of international diplomacy on the global stage, they never fail to collude with others to subvert our global ambitions and leadership claims. Where did we go wrong? My people, what has God not done for us?

Today, we stand on the crossroads of shame and seeming despair. An energetic and brilliant generation of young Nigeria, roaring to take their place in the public stage are held back by a political class which prefers to feed its gargantuan appetite. Governance has become a massive fraud and a heinous crime scene. The easy question is to ask, how do we get out of this self-inflicted mess where we continue to feed our children yesterday’s barf?

This is the world to which the young priests being ordained today are going into. This is the world that the next generation of our young people growing up are coming into. How should today’s priest be prepared to respond to the social questions of the time?

While all this is going on at a national political scene, we in the Catholic Church also have our own sad drama that has been playing out in Ahiara for the last five years. In Ahiara, the devil has had his day. Now it is the turn of God to have His way. This is not the time for judgment of condemnation. It is a time for those who have ears to adjust them so that they can listen to the voice of from the gentle breeze as Elijah did (1 Kgs 19:12). I am glad that a prayer for Ahiara is circulating among Catholics. Please recite the prayer. The devil cannot be more powerful than the prayers of faithful Catholics around the country and the world. We commit Ahiara Diocese and its entire people to our Blessed Mother. May she, the patron of Priests intercede for our brothers and sisters.

It is clear that we as a Church are not free from the cobwebs of confusion that adorn our society. Whether we call the events under question ethnicity or faithlessness or greed, the fact is that our society is in deep trouble. And here is the challenge of the Catholic priesthood. This is where I want to challenge all of us who are Priests especially to sit up and confront the rut in our society by really and truly being signs of contradiction, signs of hope amidst this despair. We can only do this if we free ourselves from the temptations of material power. I want to focus my thoughts on the Priests because even if our people are broken and injured as individuals or families, we are called to be their healers. But to play our roles, we must disengage from the blind material pursuit that has rendered our mission ineffective. For, as Chaucer said: If gold rusts, what will iron do?

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It is worthy of note that today's ordination is taking place on the 40th anniversary of the foundation of this Seminary, the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul and her supporting agency, the Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP), by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria under the leadership of Dominic Cardinal Ekandem of blessed memory. By Divine Providence, this month marks also the centenary of his birth. Thus, about a week from today, June 23rd, the Archdiocese of Abuja which was also his brainchild, invites all of us to the party marking the one hundred years of his birth!

In a society that is being pulled apart by atavistic cleavages and divisions, we priests must become instruments of peace and unity, just like Cardinal Dominic Ekandem strove to be in his own days. Yes! He was an instrument of peace and harmony. He was a bridge-builder where polarizing forces and selfish interests were hard at work. Being the visionary leader that he was, he founded this Seminary as an instrument of unity and service to humanity. So, you new priests of today, like this great Father of our Faith and your Founder, Dominic Cardinal Ekandem, must do all within your power to rise above the atavistic forces that are attempting to pull this country apart. Like the great patriot that he was, the Cardinal worked for the unity and progress of this blessed land. You too must, and in fact all who call this land our home, must speak and work for peace and justice in our Church and Society. We must become champions of united positive actions. This constitutes a great part of our vocation as Christians but even more for us who have been called to the priestly ministry.

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Today, as we ordain these five young men priests, we must reflect on the meaning and ministry of priests. Here we return to the words of the French Priest Fr Henri Lacordaire whose timeless words transcend any other definition of the Catholic priesthood. He said to be a priest is to:

To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures;
To be a member of each family, yet belonging to none;
To share all suffering; to penetrate all secrets; To heal all wounds;
to go from men to God and offer Him their prayers; To return from God to men to bring pardon and hope;

These are difficult times, they are times that try our patience. But they are times of hope and courage. The priesthood will continue to be challenged because there are many versions of the priest as there are parishioners. Thankfully, we are called to serve and not to seek popular approval or applause. Again, the timeless words of one of our priests remain when said:

The priest exists for the community and only for the community. But not everyone in the community thinks the same.
Some bless him, others pity him, and so many others ignore him.
If the priest is young, they say he is inexperienced.
If he is old, they say he is outmoded, ill fashioned and conservative.
He should retire!
If he dresses well, he is a middle-class snob. If he dresses poorly, he is an agitator.
If he is happy and enjoys life and believes in love, he is wordily and not a churchman.
If he lives an ascetic life, the say: he is a "monk" and not a committed priest of the 21st century.
If he is jovial and makes people laugh, he is a joker and a clown. If he doesn’t laugh with people, he is distant, proud and full of himself.
If he visits his parishioners, he is never at home...he is a walkabout. If he does not, he is proud and lacks pastoral prudence.
The poor are angry if he associates with the rich and they call him a capitalist. The rich are insulted if he devotes himself to the poor and they call him an economist.
If he is generous and helps the poor, he is a populist. If he is moderate and judicious in spending, he is called a stingy man.
If he decorates the church, he is spending too much. If he does not, he is allowing things to deteriorate.
If he asks for funds, he likes money a lot. If the parish fund is low, he is a "bad business man."
if he talks of moral decadence, he is putting up a holier than-thou attitude. If he doesn’t, he is morally lax and condones evil.
If he is out-spoken and criticizes the social order, he is a radical prophet, if he is gentle and prudent in criticism, he is a cunning diplomat.
If he is agile; he is hyperactive. If he is sick and weak; he does not care about his health.
If he dies, Oh! There will never be a Priest like him again!

We are not called to solve all the problems of our time. However, today’s priest must wake up to the reality of the return to the twin forces of neo-paganism, sorcery, witchcraft, shamanism among our faithful for whom Christianity is merely superficial. This skin-deep faith cannot survive the challenges of hostile forces of secularism that threaten to engulf our public life. The solution is not the superfluous expressions of dubious religiousity which have turned the churchman into a rival shaman extracting favours from a reluctant god who responds to incantations and is seduced by false sacrifices. Do you recall Paul’s shock at Ephesus when he asked the brethren there is they had received the Holy Spirit? Their answer was: We have never heard of anything like the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). It would seem clear that we Christians must address the issues of whether we have indeed heard and accepted such a thing as the Holy Spirit. Because if we have, then its fruits of love, charity, prudence should be the glue to hold our society together.

Finally, our people must embrace community life and be ready to hold on to the shared values that held us together. It was not wealth that held us together. It was largely the sense of solidarity that we had, a gift that was always considered part and parcel of our DNA as Africans. I leave you with the words of one of the greatest writers, our own Chinua Achebe who said: A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to redeem them from starving. They all have food in their own houses. When we gather together in the village ground at moonlight, it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his compound. We come together because it is better for kinsmen to do so. Therefore let us continue with the team spirit and enjoy the power of togetherness. Let us smile not because we do not have problems but let us smile because we are stronger than our problems.