Без труда, рыбу не выловишь из пруда.
(Русская пословица)

 Translation.
Without making any effort, you can't catch a fish from the pond.
(Russian proverb)

Omo to ba s'ipa, ni iya e ngbe.
 (Yoruba proverb)

"In spite of the bad grammer, in spite of the numerous typos, in spite of the obviously fake handle, in spite of the disjointed and, frankly some times, incoherent article, I dare say that , by and large, we still get the gist of his essay. I also dare say that it is painfully obvious to us, particularly those of us that are Igbos, that what he says is too close to the truth. Perhaps that explains the concentration of responses on technicalities like his grammer and spelling, rather than the substance. Sadly enough, this article is not the first to point out this painful truth, neither is it going to be the last. Even more sad is the knowledge that we will still carry on with the shameful shenenigans that he and others have pointed out.

Nike - NVS member.
Comment to Part 1 of article.

"The wise are instructed by reason, average mind by experience, and the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct."

Marcus Tczero.

"Give us a free and fair election - allow us to be fully part of Nigeria. What upsets the Igbo population is we are not equally Nigerian as the others. It was this practice of unfair treatment of Ndigbo that led to Biafra's declaration of independence on 30 May 1967. I regretted the war and the deaths but I am proud that my people had fought back."

 Odumegwu Ojukwu. (Nkemba of Nnewi)
Excerpt of interview given to Sun newspaper in July, 2007

"The ethnic balancing in the country has suddenly changed. We now have the three key posts in the government being manned by Northerners. We have a situation where Northerners head all the three arms of government - the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. Yar'Adua is the President, Legbo Kutigi is the Chief Justice, and they want another northerner to be Senate President.

 If you add that to the fact that both the secretary to the government of the federation (Ambassador Babagana Kingibe) and the head of service (Yayale Ahmed) are all from the North, you will realise what I am saying. We are saying the present set up is unfair to the rest of us.

We asked that we should restructure the country, but he (Obasanjo) was busy selfishly restructuring the human resources. We warned him then that his effort would be reversed within a short period. Now it has happened and it is staring all of us in the face.

  I will suggest that in the interest of equity and justice, the Igbo should be allowed to produce the Senate President. They were not given neither the president nor the vice-president, and Yoruba just had eight years ruling Nigeria. So they (Igbo) should have the Senate President.

Some people say he merely inherited them (National Security Officer and Chief Of Staff), but I disagree. He retained them because it suits his plan. If they did not tally with his agenda, he would have rejected them. Is he saying he cannot find good hands in the entire South? That was the point Obasanjo missed during his eight-year regime on this issue of restructuring and it is a shame that he wasted the opportunity to restructure the country while the chance was there. Rather, he was busy plotting how to get a third term.

 The problem of the Niger Delta will continue while lives will be generally unpleasant for all of us. We need to go back to the basics. All the regions should be sending rents and royalties to the central body not the other way round.

Unfortunately, some people in the corridors of power do not understand these things. In 2006, I delivered a paper at the World Yoruba Day in Atlanta Georgia, U.S.A., where I criticised Obasanjo for not restructuring the country. Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, came in the evening to dismiss what I said earlier. He said then that we the Yoruba should be happy that it is  Gobi' cap that is ruling Aso Rock. Can he say the same today? If there is a  Gobi' cap in that place now, it is the one Obasanjo forgot to take along with him. It is such short-sightedness that continued to make this matter to linger."

Yinka Odumakin. Afenifere Public Relations Secretary.
excerpt of an interview given in early June, 2007.

What really went wrong?

 It will be no exaggeration to assert that the contribution of Ndigbos to the development of Nigeria is invaluable. Hardly can one name a field of human endeavour that people of Igbo extraction have not only excelled, but as well rank among the best in the world. Take for example literature, Ndigbos have given Nigeria and the world some of the best writers in the world. Some of America's best scientists have their roots from Igboland. One of the most popular, respected and celebratedAmerican scientist, Phillip Emeagwalli was born in South East Nigeria. He is the pride of the black race as a whole. Ndigbos are known all over the world for their entrepreneurship spirit.

 After the catastrophic rule of Nigeria by the North and the military for almost 39 years, the expectations of most Nigerians was that the  battle for Aso rock would be between the South East and the South south respectively. If the presidential campaign had been limited to these two regions, Ndigbos being the largest tribe in the region coupled with the financial resources at their disposal, definitely would had emerged the winner in the battle. The denial of Ndigbos the opportunity to rule Nigeria by the so called "establishment" is not only evil, unfair and unwise but is a political time bomb that could explode at any time. Unfortunately, Nigeria and Nigerians are at a big loss. This does not auger well  for the unity of the country that we so much talk about, but in actual fact do very little to impliment. Who is really deceiving who?

 On the other hand, as already stated in part 1 of the article, with all my respect and admiration for Ndiigbos, it is very sad to admit that they have done very little or virtually nothing in order to occupy a befitting place in Nigeria's political structure. As far as the 2007 presidential election is concerned, the impression is that the Ndigbos really do not believe in themselves and their ability to produce Nigeria's no.1 citizen. How could such a brilliant and talented people allowed  themselves to be caught with their pants down during the presidential election? This is still a big puzzle
for me to solve.

 Unfortunately,  Ndigbos are now paying dearly for their shoddy approach or preparation for the presidential election. Out of all the major political appointments, not a single seat is occupied by anybody of Igbo extraction. The humiliation of Ndigbos in Nigeria's post election became so apparent and embarrasing to the extent that the legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi was compelled to come out publicly to appeal to Yar'adua to slot the post of Inspector General of Police (I.G.P) to an Igbo man. The civil rights lawyer was quoted as saying: "the leadership of the police has consciously or deliberately eluded the Igbos who constitute one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. If he (Ogbonna) was qualified to be a DIG of Police, why should he not be qualified to be an (IGP)? I demand an explanation from Yar'adua administration. Afenifere was also not left out in their sympathy to the maltreatment and injustice meted out to Ndigbos.

 The status of Ndigbos in Nigeria's politics has gone so low to the extent that only the post of I.G.P was being considered for such a great, talented and enterprising people. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the Ndigbos must admit that they themselves and nobody else are to be blamed for their calamity. The North now know that all they could do is to bark and not bite. The Ndigbos have sold their birth right, or should I say bona fide right, for peanuts. The price of practically all Ndigbo politicians is known to the North, and by all indications, they had all being bought right before the election. The consequences of the action or inaction of Ndigbos during the Presidential campaign will hunt them for long.

 It is widely believed ( I am not claiming or asserting that it is true) that Ndigbos love money so much to the extent that they are not only ready to sell even their mothers for it, but they are as well ready to wine and dine with the devil - irrespective of the fact that the latter is guilty of pogrom against his people - as far as he (the devil) promises to give him a contract that will improve his financial standing significantly. The believe in Nigeria is that no matter what you do to an Igbo man, once you invite him to Abuja and offer a piece of the national cake, he is not only willing to forgive and forget on the spot, but could equally sell his people to you without any guilty conscience. This is really very unfortunate. If Ndigbos want to be reckoned with in Nigeria's politics, most especially, if they want to occupy their right and befitting place in Nigeria's politics, they really need to work very hard to debunk this opinion about them.

 Is one supposed to put up with the bitter truth that when it comes to  political dexterity, manipulations, games and  intrigues, Ndigbos are no match for the "barbaric" North? Or do Ndigbos have some kind of inferiority complex when it comes to fighting for political power with the descendants of Othman Dan Fodio? Otherwise, how does one explain the fact that they did not put up any serious fight to claim what by all criteria belong to them? 

 Based on  my objective analysis, Ndigbos committed a lot of blunders during their campaign  for Aso rock. Otherwise, how does one explain the fact that Ojukwu who initially declared his presidential ambition then all of a sudden made a U turn and said that he was going to do all within his capability to deliver Ndigbos votes and the whole of S.E. to Atiku. Atiku of all people! Chineke! Tu fia pa. Chineke e ku lejo.

  What does Ojukwu really stand for?

 What is one supposed to make  out of Nkemba of Nnewi's second declaration? Are we to understand this to mean that the civil war hero is suffering from anaestia when he made this statement since he had previously declared his intention to be the resident of Aso rock to all Nigerians come May 29, 2007? Or is one to interpret this statement to mean that the Oxford trained General had abandoned his presidential ambition in favour of Athiefku, a northerner? Or did it really mean that the man was just confused?

 Many questions, little answers.

 Other relevant questions still beg for answers as far as Ojukwu's declaration of support is concerned. They include the following:

 (1) Whom among prominent Ndigbos sons, daughters, organizations and businesses did Ojukwu consult with before making such a very sensitive declaration?

 (2) What was their response? (a) Mild objection. (b) Strong objection.     (c) Indifference.  (d) Mild acceptance.  (e) Strong acceptance

 (3) Was Ojukwu's declaration a unilateral declaration?

 (4) What was Ojukwu, the S.E. and  the Ndigbos in general promised in return for supporting Atiku's presidential bid?

 (5) Why did Ojukwu decide to support another presidential candidate despite the fact that he was also a contender?

 (6) Why did Ojukwu decide to support a non-Igbo candidate, and not an Igbo candidate?

 (7) Why did Ojukwu decide to support a very controversial figure like Athiefku out of the 34 presidential candidates?

 (8) Was Ojukwu aware of the fact that Athiefku was indicted for fraud when he declared his support for him?

 (9) If Ojukwu was aware of Athiefku's indictment, why did he go ahead to declare his support for him?

 (10) Did Ojukwu believe that Athiefku is corrupt?

 (11) If yes, why did he (Ojukwu) go ahead to declare his support for Athiefku?

 (12) Why did Ojukwu declare his support for a candidate who was not a member of his party?

 (13) Did Ojukwu assess the chances of Athiefku winning the election before declaring his support for him?

 (14) What percentage of the Ndigbos did Ojukwu expect to vote for Athiefku?

 (15) And last, but not the least, why did Ojukwu go on to contest despite the fact that he had already made a pledge to Athiefku to deliver the S.E. and Ndigbos votes to him?

  As intelligent as Ndigbos are, they should know that among all the Ndigbos that showed interest in the post of president at the initial stage, Ukiwe had the best chance of giving other candidates, most especially from the North, a match at the polls and a run for their money. Ukiwe has to his credit an impeccable military service, his uncompromising position as the no.2 citizen during IBB's reign and his popularity across the country in general. Ukiwe is regarded by many Nigerians as an intelligent, liberal and well-educated military officer - a reputation rarely accorded to Nigerian military officers.

 Perhaps, it is quiet possible that on paper, academically, Utomi, theoretically  might be a better candidate compared to Ukiwe. However, in terms of popularity, reality and peculiarity of Nigeria's politics, in  my humble opinion, Ukiwe stood a much better chance than Utomi. Unfortunately, those who claimed that Utomi's popularity was limited to Lagos only might be right. But the same can not be said of Ukiwe.

 If elections were limited only to Nigeria's intelligentsia, Utomi, most likely, stood a much  better chance compared to Ukiwe. Unfortunately, most of Nigerian electorates are still mainly semi-illiterates, stark illiterates and/or politically ignorant.

 The congress held by Ndigbos in the U.S.A with the sole purpose of choosing a single candidate at the early stage of the presidential campaign, where potential contenders made their presentations at the congress, was a right step in the right direction. It was not a surprise that Utomi being an academic carried the day with his flawless  presentation.  If Nigeria was a democratic, civilised  and enlightened  country, undoubtedly, Utomi  is the ideal candidate. However, as we all know, Nigeria is far from being a  civilised, enlightened and democratic  country.

 The delegates to the congress made their choice based on Utomi's excellent academic presentation. Unfortunately, what the delegates forgot was that Nigeria is not America. It seems to me that most of the attendees have lived for so long in America that they had forgotten about Nigeria's political reality. The bitter political reality is that most people in Nigeria do not cast their votes for candidates based on his excellent academic records, impeccable professional background, brilliant debates, presentations e.t.c. If they do, Falae and not Obasanjo would had won the 1999 presidential election.

 The bitter and unconsoling reality is that an average Nigerian electorate uses other criteria which are comprehendable  to him alone. But, whatever the criteria could be, I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubts that as far as the April 2007 presidential election was concerned, Ebitu Ukiwe was the best candidate among the Ndigbos that showed interests at the initial stage. They should had rallied around him and support him with everything needed to win the election. Poor Ukiwe was frustrated out of the race for lack of support before the real battle even started.

 Personally, I strongly oppose retired and useless (and redundant) Nigerian military officers not only from taking part in elections but being appointed as well to government civilian posts. I still strongly hold the belief that the military and the North due to their visionless, reckless, insincere and fraudulent reign plunged the country into its present state of economic, social and political catastrophies.

 However, Ukiwe to me, is an exception to the rule. I would had voted for him with my two hands and legs respectively if he had taken part in the elections. He  stood out among all Nigerian officers with his intelligence, erudity, vision,  honesty, courage and uncompromised principles. He was far from being your  typical  Nigerian military officer. I remember vividly well, as a school boy,  watching Ukiwe took part in economic, social and political discussions on TV. The impression is indelible. From the way he spoke, you could see that he was not just a very brilliant officer, but he equally had a complete understanding of the country's problems and had real and workable solutions to them. Undoubtedly, Ukiwe  could had done a lot for the country if the evil genius had not double crossed him. He could had being Nigeria's Jerry Rawlings.

  By not rallying around Ukiwe, Ndigbos have not only wasted him but have also blown a real chance of producing the president. At large, the country and its citizens were denied the opportunity of having a dedicated, patriotic, honest, competent and brave leader. What a pity.

TO BE CONTINUED

abm1900@mail.ru

Robot  # 1 | 13.07.2007 07:54

Без труда, рыбу н&#...Read the full article.

kvin33  # 2 | 13.07.2007 19:36

Ndiigbo should have presented Ukiwe, supported Ukiwe, given Nigeria Ukiwe, if only Ndiigbo listened before the election, we will have an Igbo in Aso Villa. Unfortunately, just like in the past Ndiigbo collected money and even Ojukwu endorsed Atiku and on election day Ndiigbo trooped out enmasse and voted for the current occupant of Aso Villa even while the rest of the country were screaming on Utomi, on Kalu, on Ndiigbo we stand. No one expected this but as the votes were counted on election night it became clear that Ndiigbo have once again denied Nigeria their dream of having an Igbo President. Instead of having Ndigbo cornering all the key top posts, we instead have Northerners. Those What? I guess foreigners? What? are they children of evil, aliens, child snatchers and eaters, scounderels? Come on, Are we being serious? What elections? This is a funny way to approach politics. If you support Ukiwe, fine, that's good. You should have been at Eagle Square demonstrating not blaming Ndiigbo or suggesting that North in 3 arms of govt is a new phenomenon in Nigeria. You know, very few understand traditional Igbo mentality or society. Probably just the monarchical and hierarchical systems that have come in contact with Igbo land -like the Benin, British, the Sokoto caliphate etc, have a clear understanding of the true nature of the threat posed by Ndiigbo. You see, those who scream that Ndiigbo are not united fail to understand that, precisely that is the source of the Igbo strength, resilience and power. Quick example, Godfatherism has worked in every part of Nigeria and it is thriving except in Igbo land. How many political Godfathers have come and gone? In Anambra, in Imo, in Enugu? Yet Kwara, Adamawa, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe, Borno... have been controlled for decades by a few. Where else in Nigeria is as slippery to control as igbo land? I once warned that what was happening in Anambra will eventually reach all states as they'll attempt to unshackle their states from the remote control gang. That is what scares them and why they decided to throw Ngige oveboard -look how well that worked. Now the entire region is being taught a lesson through denial of merited positions, deploying humiliation tactics -this is not new and Igbo land will not budge. Go and look at the number of petitions at the election tribunals in Awka -Godfather who? Igbos love money, give an Igbo money and he will sell his people, did you stop to consider who sent him to collect the money? Anyone who believes that giving one Igbo man money equates to purchasing all of igbo land does not understand Igbo land. True you could buy Igbo land with money, the problem is you have to buy every single Igbo! Some just never learn. You know how much Nigeria has spent to contain Igboland since the end of the war? Just in surveilance and SSS operations alone? My point is simple, a Nigeria where anyone has such limited chances that they could "blow their chance" of producing the President because the presidency is a prize in an ethnic football match and the "winner" takes all, is not a country worth fighting for. To the Igbo I say, you are at a fundamental disadvantage in a game of ethnic politics where absolute unity is a precondition for success. Like they say in the American south, it's like a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest, you just can't win that game. Solution, reject the game! Change the game! Reject rotation, Reject zoning, Reject these archaic creations that fundamentally disadvantage you and quite frankly everyone. This nonsense is being adopted as the lingo of internal politics in almost all states of the federation. Rotation for everything, zoning for everything soon latrine usage, marital relations will be rotated, today the North, tomorrow the South. Reject it and forever level the playing field! Anyone who says bring out this man, all of you support him then we will come and join is either being mischievious or naive. In any case, don't bite! Unity in the furtherance of bigotry, tribalism, regionalism is no virtue. If that is unity, then unity is overated.

lara  # 3 | 13.07.2007 20:02

=Robot;191531>Без труда, рыбу н&#...Read the full article. TO BE CONTINUED. :icon_ques . I'm damn sure that wasn't what i saw. Lara.

Nigerian  # 4 | 13.07.2007 21:18

I have a dream that someday, non-Igbos will stop swallowing panadol on behalf of Ndigbos.

Tony  # 5 | 14.07.2007 03:02

@ Bode: I like your write-up but I will take you up on 2 issues: (1) Igbo loves money? The claim by some ignorant Nigerians that Igbos love money is a myth. Such ignorant stereotypes one of which use to be that Igbos dont go to school exist in the heads of fools, because the jamb statistics in their website is available to prove the contrary. What people mistake as Igbo love of money is the drive, doggedness and enterprise of individual Igbos to succeed. That to me is a good quality much better than those who have chosen to be Almajiri's and lazy beggars. Would you say the Americans or Japanese love money because of their individual drive, ambition and enterprise? What is wrong with being ambitious and working hard for your money? Nigeria's political history is also a testimony that the claim of Igbo love of money is balderdash. In the first republic no Igbo was ever accused of corruption. The great Zik, General Aguiyi Ironsi etc etc was never accused of corruption. In the second republic Vice president Alex Ekwueme was as clean as a dove, he was cleared of any form of corruption. On the contrary the 2 biggest thieves of the 2nd republic were Yoruba and Hausa, Umaru Dikko and Akinloye. When people say an Igboman can sell his mother for money, it is easy to see the lies. If that was to be true, there would have been no Biafran war as the federal government would have bought them over with money. On the contrary Igbos can be very principled. They stood firm and fought the Biafran war against all odds. If you think it was easy to fight such a war, remember June 12. Many Yoruba collected money and sold out June 12, the rest ran into exile. Ernest Shonekan, Oladipo Diya, Abimbola davies, Obasanjo, Ooni of Ife, Arisekola, etc etc who hastily sold out and abandoned June 12 were all Yoruba, so dont ever make the mistake of thinking prosecuting the Biafran war was easy. Ebitu Ukiwe was the first Nigerian in history to resign from office because he disagreed with Babangida putting Nigeria into the OIC, if he loved money he wouldnt have resigned, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the second Nigerian ever to resign, if she loved money she would not have resigned, and both of them are Igbos. Igbos have been marginalized since the end of the war, such that they have not had much presence in government, yet Nigeria is hopelessly corrupt and dying of corruption. So who is responsible for the corruption? How come the ethnic groups that pretend they dont love money have been controlling government yet Nigeria is the worlds most corrupt naton? Bagandida, Abacha, Tafa Balogun, Pastor Akanni, Makanjuola,Abdulsalami Abubakar, Obasanjo, Ehindero, Akinloye, Umaru Dikko, Olabode George, Tone Anenih, and all the retired billionaire Generals, and Customs officers etc etc who are mostly Yoruba and Hausa, none of them is remotely Igbo. Since they are not supposed to love money, can you explain how these men robbed the nation blind to the extent that Nuhu Ribadu declared Abacha the most corrupt dictator in the world? Do you know the ethnic group that controls Nigeria’s dysfunctional and massively corrupt federal civil service? Find out for yourself. Obasanjo’s regime brought out people like Dora Akunyili of NAFDAC, if she loves money NAFDAC would not have been effective. Before she took that position nobody knew NAFDAC because the Hausa and Yoruba directors were corrupt. Another example is Oby Ezekwesili (madam due process) and Central Bank Governor Chukwuma Soludo. These are incorruptible Igbos that served Obasanjo’s regime. The issue of Igbo politicians being settled in Abuja is funny, which politicians in Nigeria are not settled in Abuja? Are Nigerian politicians from East, West or North working for the interest of their people? Where in Nigeria has politicians taken up arms to fight for their people? My brother those who do the fighting are the youths and not the politicians. The Niger-Delta MEND that is fighting today are the youths, their politicians are even more corrupt than politicians from other areas, the OPC are the youths, the Igbo MASSOB are also the youths, if anything fighting will be done by the Igbo it is going to be by the youths and not by the politicians. My brother let me tell you what you might not know. Obasanjo presidency did not emerge through Yoruba struggle because most Yoruba politicians took money and joined the Abacha for life camp.If not for Abacha’s death, he would have continued to rule this country supported by Yoruba politicians and nothing would have happened. (2)Igbo block support for a single candidate: Your comments that all Igbo should have supported Ebitu Ukiwe, to make him the president demonstrates how ignorant you are of the political process in Nigeria. Which Nigerian leader ever became president through the block support of his ethnic group? Go back to your history books. Both Zik and Awo had block support and following of their ethnic groups but they never ruled Nigeria. If the cabal in Nigeria had wanted an Igbo to become the president they could have done it even without Igbo votes or support. For example; Obasanjo in 1999 lost the election in the whole of Yorubaland and even in his village yet he became the president through the blessing of the cabal. In 1979 an unknown Shagari imposed by the cabal beat Zik and Awo, that is the Nigerian system for you Open your eyes my brother. Power for now in Nigeria is given by a cabal. Votes don’t count. Whoever the cabal chooses even a goat or a chimpanzee becomes the president. Peter Odili is also an Igboman, he came close to winning, but the cabal as usual dumped him and picked Yar’Adua. Rochas Okorocha another Igbo beat Northerners like Marwa and Gusau to come second in the presidential primaries, under normal circumstances he should have become the vice, but because votes don’t count, they dumped him and picked Goodluck Jonathan, a man who did not even contest. So my brother open your eyes very very well and avoid ignorant barber shop myths and stereotypes. Igbo presidency is in the hands of the cabal and not in your votes or my votes, except Nigeria changes through a revolution, guerrilla warfare, or breaks-up. THANKS!

fulani  # 6 | 14.07.2007 03:35

@Tony.. Wow, you got really pissed off I see. Good points you made to support your position/ethnic group. However, I think you lost some lusture by disparaging others. All the same, I admire your aggressive support of your position.

Enforcer  # 7 | 14.07.2007 04:35

=Nigerian;191756>I have a dream that someday, non-Igbos will stop swallowing panadol on behalf of Ndigbos. Nigerian????? Shallow point of view! Tunnel vision way of looking at issues!! The Igbos are Nigerians, which makes their problem a Nigerian problem. An Igbo president of Nigeria isn't wholly and exclusively an Ndigbos’ affair. It is good for Nigerians to discuss Igbo issue. As they say, to solve a problem you need sometimes to look beyond the problem itself to find a solution. All responsible Nigerians will fight and keep "swallowing panadol" in support of good courses that will reduce the level of injustice in our society, irrespective of the ethnic group affected.

blondie  # 8 | 14.07.2007 10:37

Tony in his elements is a marvel to read. Keep it up bros. That is what I call a philippic! And a didactic one for that matter. Please tell those dinosaurs that keep saddling themselves with stereotypes of the 1950s that they should stop rationalizing their lack of ambition and their laziness. What beats me is how vociferously people you think are in sync with modernity always shout that Igbos should always queue up behind one candidate in every election. So whatever happens to freedom of choice as demanded in democracy? People that say this , I understand, come from regions that are used to monarchial system of government. Fortunately the Igbo, being the oldest democracy in Africa, does not conform to having an overlord. Take a look at the Igbo village unions or even the town unions. Once a man is of age and begins to attend town meetings, his freedom of expression is usually guaranteed. He is not used to prostrating to a big man or whoever. Now on the issue of Igbo presidency, can't we grow beyond this ethnic thing? How did he OBJ presidency change the fortunes of the common man in Yoruba land? Are there no more Yoruba taxi drivers in Abuja and PH and Lagos? Does it mean that if an Igbo man becomes president then every Igbo man will become a millionaire? How has presidency coming from the north for a very long time changed the lot of the alhmajiri and the talakawas? Shouldn't we be talking about getting a man that has the interest of the masses at heart than worrying ourselves with such inanities like Ijaw presidency, Koma presidency and all that crap. Like Tony pointed out, we should first of all extricate ourselves from the stranglehold of the cabal that is stifling our development instead of these stupid stereotypes.

Anon  # 9 | 14.07.2007 11:13

=Tony;191786>@ Bode: I like your write-up but I will take you up on 2 issues: (1) Igbo loves money? The claim by some ignorant Nigerians that Igbos love money is a myth. Such ignorant stereotypes one of which use to be that Igbos dont go to school exist in the heads of fools, because the jamb statistics in their website is available to prove the contrary. What people mistake as Igbo love of money is the drive, doggedness and enterprise of individual Igbos to succeed. That to me is a good quality much better than those who have chosen to be Almajiri's and lazy beggars. Would you say the Americans or Japanese love money because of their individual drive, ambition and enterprise? What is wrong with being ambitious and working hard for your money? Nigeria's political history is also a testimony that the claim of Igbo love of money is balderdash. In the first republic no Igbo was ever accused of corruption. The great Zik, General Aguiyi Ironsi etc etc was never accused of corruption. In the second republic Vice president Alex Ekwueme was as clean as a dove, he was cleared of any form of corruption. On the contrary the 2 biggest thieves of the 2nd republic were Yoruba and Hausa, Umaru Dikko and Akinloye. When people say an Igboman can sell his mother for money, it is easy to see the lies. If that was to be true, there would have been no Biafran war as the federal government would have bought them over with money. On the contrary Igbos can be very principled. They stood firm and fought the Biafran war against all odds. If you think it was easy to fight such a war, remember June 12. Many Yoruba collected money and sold out June 12, the rest ran into exile. Ernest Shonekan, Oladipo Diya, Abimbola davies, Obasanjo, Ooni of Ife, Arisekola, etc etc who hastily sold out and abandoned June 12 were all Yoruba, so dont ever make the mistake of thinking prosecuting the Biafran war was easy. Ebitu Ukiwe was the first Nigerian in history to resign from office because he disagreed with Babangida putting Nigeria into the OIC, if he loved money he wouldnt have resigned, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the second Nigerian ever to resign, if she loved money she would not have resigned, and both of them are Igbos. Igbos have been marginalized since the end of the war, such that they have not had much presence in government, yet Nigeria is hopelessly corrupt and dying of corruption. So who is responsible for the corruption? How come the ethnic groups that pretend they dont love money have been controlling government yet Nigeria is the worlds most corrupt naton? Bagandida, Abacha, Tafa Balogun, Pastor Akanni, Makanjuola,Abdulsalami Abubakar, Obasanjo, Ehindero, Akinloye, Umaru Dikko, Olabode George, Tone Anenih, and all the retired billionaire Generals, and Customs officers etc etc who are mostly Yoruba and Hausa, none of them is remotely Igbo. Since they are not supposed to love money, can you explain how these men robbed the nation blind to the extent that Nuhu Ribadu declared Abacha the most corrupt dictator in the world? Do you know the ethnic group that controls Nigeria’s dysfunctional and massively corrupt federal civil service? Find out for yourself. Obasanjo’s regime brought out people like Dora Akunyili of NAFDAC, if she loves money NAFDAC would not have been effective. Before she took that position nobody knew NAFDAC because the Hausa and Yoruba directors were corrupt. Another example is Oby Ezekwesili (madam due process) and Central Bank Governor Chukwuma Soludo. These are incorruptible Igbos that served Obasanjo’s regime. The issue of Igbo politicians being settled in Abuja is funny, which politicians in Nigeria are not settled in Abuja? Are Nigerian politicians from East, West or North working for the interest of their people? Where in Nigeria has politicians taken up arms to fight for their people? My brother those who do the fighting are the youths and not the politicians. The Niger-Delta MEND that is fighting today are the youths, their politicians are even more corrupt than politicians from other areas, the OPC are the youths, the Igbo MASSOB are also the youths, if anything fighting will be done by the Igbo it is going to be by the youths and not by the politicians. My brother let me tell you what you might not know. Obasanjo presidency did not emerge through Yoruba struggle because most Yoruba politicians took money and joined the Abacha for life camp.If not for Abacha’s death, he would have continued to rule this country supported by Yoruba politicians and nothing would have happened. (2)Igbo block support for a single candidate: Your comments that all Igbo should have supported Ebitu Ukiwe, to make him the president demonstrates how ignorant you are of the political process in Nigeria. Which Nigerian leader ever became president through the block support of his ethnic group? Go back to your history books. Both Zik and Awo had block support and following of their ethnic groups but they never ruled Nigeria. If the cabal in Nigeria had wanted an Igbo to become the president they could have done it even without Igbo votes or support. For example; Obasanjo in 1999 lost the election in the whole of Yorubaland and even in his village yet he became the president through the blessing of the cabal. In 1979 an unknown Shagari imposed by the cabal beat Zik and Awo, that is the Nigerian system for you Open your eyes my brother. Power for now in Nigeria is given by a cabal. Votes don’t count. Whoever the cabal chooses even a goat or a chimpanzee becomes the president. Peter Odili is also an Igboman, he came close to winning, but the cabal as usual dumped him and picked Yar’Adua. Rochas Okorocha another Igbo beat Northerners like Marwa and Gusau to come second in the presidential primaries, under normal circumstances he should have become the vice, but because votes don’t count, they dumped him and picked Goodluck Jonathan, a man who did not even contest. So my brother open your eyes very very well and avoid ignorant barber shop myths and stereotypes. Igbo presidency is in the hands of the cabal and not in your votes or my votes, except Nigeria changes through a revolution, guerrilla warfare, or breaks-up. THANKS! When Tony or Felix are on point or really mean business they really do mean business and make some of the more intelligent contributions I read on this website. They are able to deal decisively with most of the irredentist opinions and base stereotypes that folks on this site continue to peddle about Igbo people as a whole, however I wish they would do so without abusing or castigating other tribes. Since I read what he wrote up there early this morning, I have been tethering on whether to use my thank you button, but since I won't go as far as to really castigate (in a bad way... yes the word I have been looking for is denigrate) other groups compeletly in order to make my own very valid points, I merely held back. Thanks for your post Tony, but just tone down the attacks a little and you would surely have a lot more audience and people would see clearly the points you are making. Nonetheless your general and over all point are not lost on many of us. Bode my friend, I see part 2 made it here, let me go and read it and come back to comment.

Exxcuzme  # 10 | 14.07.2007 14:06

Bode, Bode! Na wa for you o! Who do you want to be reading this crap. You think you are being pro Igbo or what? Last time I told you to scrap this crap, you did not listen? It will be better for you to let us know what is happening in the Vodka country. All what you wrote about, some Igbo guys have written about and they were excoriated by many Igbos. Why do you think your continue arse- licking, pseudo Igbo-loving write-ups are any better?. Igbos don’t like you , Yorubas are rolling their eyes at you and Hausas would skin you alive with your irredentism (Gwobe) with nonsense you have been writing on them. Watch yourself, you got no friend for 9ja!

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