Straight Talk with Chukwudi Obi

The rejection of the bill for the establishment of the South East Development Commission by the House of Representatives does not demonstrate the desired spirit of national accommodation and sensitivity towards the people and problems of the South East Zone. The South East caucus of the National Assembly must however be commended for bringing the issues of the needs of the region to the front burner. It is also heartwarming to note that a good number of lawmakers from other geo-political zones supported the bill. This is laudable act, shiwing shows that other regions are beginning to appreciate the issues related to the developmental predicaments of the South East. The current momentary hitch in the bid to establish a South East Development Commission must not be seen as the end of the road, or a badge of defeat. It should become a rallying stimulus for all men of good conscience across our nation to strive towards restrategizing appropriately in order to redress the shameful neglec

Where do I keep the booty Prof Niyi Osundare "My Lord, please tell me where to keep your bribe? Do I drop it in your venerable chambers Or carry the heavy booty to your immaculate mansion Shall I bury it in the capacious water tank In your well laundered backyard Or will it breathe better in the septic tank Since money can deodorize the smelliest crime Shall I haul it up the attic Between the ceiling and your lofty roof Or shall I conjure the walls to open up And swallow this sudden bounty from your honest labour Shall I give a billion to each of your paramours The black, the light, the Fanta-yellow They will surely know how to keep the loot In places too remote for the sniffing dog Or shall I use the particulars Of your anonymous maidservants and manservants With their names on overflowing bank accounts While they famish like ownerless dogs Shall I haul it all to your village In the valley behind seven mountains Where potholes swallow up the hugest jeep An

MEMORY AND NATION BUILDING: BIAFRA 50 YEARS AFTER:   A SOBER REFLECTION. Introduction. Before I thank the organisers of this Conference and pay my tribute to the Memory of my friend, late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, in whose Foundation Center this historic event is being organised, let me quickly dismiss certain lingering pernicious fallacies that have dominated all discussion about the coup of January 15, 1966 and the Biafra War. First, the Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, has alluded to the January 15, 1966 coup as an Igbo coup that, according to him, was replied by a Northern coup of July 29 1966. Let it be said loud and clear that that coup, namely January 15, 1966 coup, was not an Igbo coup. It was a coup led by certain Igbo and Yoruba Officers, involving the active participation of soldiers from the North. The aim, as has been stated again and again, by the leaders of the coup was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was in detention at the time and inst

Ignorance is not bliss, and I think we should sue the FG for scrapping history from the schools' curriculum. Today is Biafra Remembrance Day and I choose to observe it because whether you all like to hear it or not, I am Igbo and Biafra is part of my history. Some of the people displaying wilful ignorance on these issues, will mark Black History Month, right here from the comfort of their homes in Nigeria. Ignorance = disease. Not bliss. I am Igbo. At the heart of EVERY Igbo man, is that burning passion to be free of a Union that marginalises. One that is oppressive. One that views you as a seventh class slave, yet insists that you must be a part of the union whether you like it or not. We may disagree with the means and purposes of the present struggle as constituted, I disagree with it a million percent. I disagree with the main dramatis personae, I disagree with their gravamen. I disagree with the diasporeans who safe from their cocoons in foreign lands, are pushing the

So far from all the reports that I have gathered the sit at home instruction by the Independent People of Biafra has been successful.  From Umuahia, the Abia State state capital to Onitsha the economic hub of Anambra state and by extension the South East commercial activities have been grounded. News stations have been reporting it while pictures from Aba the commercial nerve Centre of Abia state and Port Harcourt confirm that many Nigerians obeyed the sit at home order.  The success of this action is three fold.  While many feel that the marginalisation of the zone by the FG in both federal appointments and infrastructure played a key role, others feel that the rising profile of leader of IPOB Nnamdi Kanu(who was incarcerated for over 500 days) helped push this agenda forward.  But a third school of thought belief that the systematic exclusion of ndigbo from the political sphere in Nigeria plus the killings of unarmed  civilians in states in the south east zone played a major part

Femi Fani-Kayode "O Igbo arise! O Igbo arise! O Igbo arise! Let the chains of subjugation be broken, let the yoke of slavery be shattered and let the shackles of servitude fall.  For the voices of your ancestors and your dead are calling. The voices of your slaughtered children wail, scream and screech through the night and they shed whimpering and pitiful tears through the day. They call for justice and vengeance that their souls may be appeased and that they may find peace and eternal rest. For they were slaughtered in their millions by the barbarians and infidels and they were butchered like cattle in the sanctity and privacy of their churches and homes. They cry for Biafra. They cry for the land of the rising sun.  They cry for the memory of the fallen and those that stood like men to defend their honor. They cry for the pitiful souls of the chidren yet unborn. Heed their cry and honor their sacrifice. Forget not the land of the rising sun. Forget not Biafra. Forget no

By Mike Ozekhome I am shocked that the Igbos are not speaking up at the apparent siege laid on their land by uniformed person of different categories. They range from Army, Navy, Police, Civil Defence, Customs, FRSC, etc. My journey had taken me by road from Isele-Mkpitime, where I had gone to pay tribute to a Nigerian icon, Chief (Dr) P.K.C. Isagba, the Odogwu of Isele-Mkpitime. He was one of the first Nigerians to believe in my ability as a young fledgling lawyer. I had been handling his cases whilst at Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s Chambers. When I left as Deputy Head to set up my practice in January 1986, Chief Isagba personally went to Chief Gani Fawehinmi, to allow him move his files to me, to continue handling his cases; a request the amiable and selfless Gani granted immediately. So, Chief Isagba became my first major client as a tottering practising lawyer, trying to find my groggy feet. He became my bossom friend and elder brother. My journey from Isele-Mkpitime, through Asaba, t

Dear Nigerians, I bring you good wishes from President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who as we all know is away from the country on medical vacation. Today marks the second anniversary of our assumption of office. We must thank the Almighty God not only for preserving our lives to celebrate this second anniversary, but for giving us hope, strength and confidence as we faced the challenges of the past two years. Our administration outlined three specific areas for our immediate intervention on assumption of office: these were Security, Corruption and the Economy. In the Northeast of our country, the terrorist group Boko Haram openly challenged the sovereignty and continued existence of the state, killing, maiming, and abducting, causing the displacement of the largest number of our citizens in recent history. Beyond the North East they extended their mindless killings, as far away as Abuja, Kano And Kaduna. But with new leadership and renewed confidence our gallant military immediately b

Never in my entire stay in Umuahia, not even when the Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo paid a visit to Umuahia, the Abia State capital have I seen and witnessed the show of force as exhibited by the Nigerian Police Force,  The Army,  even the Nigerian Prisons service and the FRSC! Like in the movies as if the FBI was hunting a terrorist, the surveillance helicopter hovered around the Isi gate axis first, at about 11.30 am. The distance from the helicopter to the ground was quite close, enough not only for one to read the large inscription of "Police" in blue paint,  but also the terrifying breeze that came with it scared street traders who took their heels. Their wares well balanced on their head, they took to their heels in fear that the large bird was about to crash.  But I got the hint when not quite far off I could hear a siren blaring.  I knew quite well that the Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu did not go around with sirens. That was part of his routine and what made h

FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT GENERAL OHANEZE NDIGBO, DR NNIA NWODO'S SPEECH AT BIAFRA @ 50 COMMEMORATION ON MAY 25, 2017. 50 YEARS AFTER BIAFRA: REFLECTIONS AND HOPES PROTOCOLS: 1. I am grateful to Shehu Musa Yar Adua Foundation, Ford Foundation and OSIWA - the co-sponsors of this event for your kind invitation. I commend your foresight in convening this conference, the first major conference discussing Biafra outside of Igboland. Nigeria. In hosting this conference the Yar’Adua Centre, which is best known for promoting national cohesion, honours the legacy of a great patriot: Shehu Musa Yar Adua. He died building bridges of understanding across our nation. I salute his family and associates for sustaining the legacy of Shehu through the works of this Foundation. 2.  It is significant that you have chosen to harvest sober memories of Biafra. By so doing, you help us to wisely situate today’s talks of Biafra in the proper context: namely, as an opportunity for nation building; and not