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Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Remove the Roadblocks

Enugu, also known as the Coal City and referred to as 042, is one of the most resilient cities in the world, a feature subtly attained during the last administration. This city used to experience an annual “Roadblock” event, where the Seat of Power was in perfect conviviality with cheerful citizens, attracting visitors from far and near. The influx of celebrities from the entertainment industry grew the local economy, with many of them being 042 born and bred. The Mmanwu Festival was also in the process of being developed into an annual Carnival. All roads led to Okpara Square during such high-octane events, and citizens looked forward to this arena becoming an international tourist attraction.

However, Enugu has witnessed a decline in recent years. The government has distanced itself from the people, and roadblocks and barriers have been erected in and around the Government House, shielding corny officials. This attitude is an insult to the people of Enugu, and something needs to be done.

It is time to remove the roadblocks and barricades surrounding the Government House. If the government must build a fence, they should go and fence their villages. The people of Enugu should elect leaders who have their best interests at heart and who will work towards the betterment of the city.

Enugu deserves better, and the people must demand better. The spirit of 042 cannot be killed, and it is time to remove the roadblocks and barriers that are preventing the growth and development of the city. We must act now and not continue to complain in silent murmur.

Saturday, March 18th, is a day to remember, and it is time to take action. Let us work towards building a better Enugu, one without roadblocks and barriers, but with open doors to the governed, mindful of the needs of the people.

042 is not just a code, it is a Lifestyle.

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Chinweizu Writes Anya Ndi Igbo

Contingency planning (2) for 2023 Election results


To: Anya Ndi-Igbo and other Igbo elite groups


c/o Chidi Osuagwu


From: Chinweizu


Date: 12 January 2023


Subject: Contingency planning for the 2023 election results


Chidi hi,


There is a possibility that the Peter Obi campaign result, if not properly handled, could be disastrous for Ndi-Igbo. I therefore suggest you guys at Anya-Ndi-Igbo should do contingency planning on ways to handle it to avoid the dangers. Consider these three scenarios and the dangers they pose:


Case #1: Peter Obi is declared winner by INEC


Ndi-Igbo have a track record of not knowing how to behave safely in victory or what looks like their approaching victory. Examples: (a) Daddy Onyeama’s reckless and notorious boast in the 1940s that “Igbo domination is only a matter of time”; this provoked fear of Igbo domination in other Nigerian nationalities, and they took steps to prevent it. (b) Zik’s pointless threat in 1946 to the Brits and their Nigerian ‘stooges’; 


“I must warn that when Nigeria comes into her own, and we are in power … every one of them [the stooges], indigenous or alien, shall be held to strict accountability and shall be impeached for high treason against the safety of the State of Nigeria.” 


 Of course, forewarned, those he threatened made sure to deny him power.


(c) A bloody and ominous example is the spontaneous triumphalist reaction by Igbo masses in January 1966 to the UPGA multi-ethnic coup that Nzeogwu publicly led. The unwise pattern of killings helped create the false impression that it was an Igbo coup. Furthermore, the boastfulness of the Igbo masses together with their thoughtless taunting of their hosts in the North and their insensitivity to the possible perception of the coup by other Nigerians helped trigger the countercoup and pogroms. So, given their character and lack of a wise and centralized leadership, how are Igbos likely to react to an Obi victory? Will some try to appropriate and turn the Obi-dients Movement into an Igbo affair? An Igbo project? What should be a wise response? How can Igbos, both the prominents and the masses, be trained to follow a wise path?


Case #2: Peter Obi is rigged out


The danger here is that Igbos may feel even more desperate about their plight in Nigeria and rally totally behind the Biafra agitation and its brainless leaders. If that happens, the damage being inflicted in Igboland by the Simon Ekpa followers and enforcers will intensify. So, once again, the question is: how are Igbos likely to react to an Obi defeat? What should be a wise response? How can they be trained to follow a wise path?


Case #3: Backlash organized by Nigeria’s anti-Igbo politicians.


Should Obi emerge as winner, it is most likely that some anti-Igbo politicians will attempt to neutralize him and his movement by whipping up Igbophobia. And should Obi lose, some anti-Igbo politicians are likely to seize their opportunity and push for a final solution to what they see as their Igbo problem by stomping their boots on a people they’ve knocked to the ground. So, once again, the question is this: how are Igbos likely to react to an anti-Igbo campaign triggered by an Obi victory or defeat? What should be a wise response? How can they be trained to follow a wise path?


I suggest the Anya Ndi-Igbo leadership should give these scenarios their urgent attention and work out safe solutions and carefully guide Ndi-Igbo to successfully implement them. 


Anya Ndi-Igbo might consider quietly sending cautionary advisories to leaders of Igbo organizations asking them (1) to educate their members about these dangers and (2) to urge their members to exercise restraint and self-control and not go firing off unguided missiles into the arena of public opinion. Igbos should keep to themselves their personal opinions on the matter and let Anya Ndi-Igbo orchestrate public statements on their behalf. And by orchestrate I mean this: Anya Ndi-Igbo should play the role of a coach who, while staying out of the playing field, makes the game plan, watches the game closely, works out moves and signals them to the players on the field. In this case, it should give prepared statements to selected organizations and persons to make publicly.


I hope that helps.


Mma mma,


Ya gazie,


Chinweizu











Monday, July 04, 2022

Need for Igbo-Yoruba Détente

By Chinweizu

By the way there is historical evidence, from a well-placed non-Nigerian source, that the Igbo-Yoruba Cold War was needlessly unleashed by Zik in 1948, and not, as Igbo mythology has it, by Awo through the Carpet crossing in 1951.
Here is the story of how Zik declared war on the Yoruba in 1948
It was in this year [1945] that a group of Yorubas, led by Chief Awolowo, Dr Oni Akerele, Chief Abiodun Akerele, Akintola Williams, Chief Rosiji and others, founded a Yoruba organization in London called Egbe Omo Oduduwa, meaning “a society of the descendants of Oduduwa.” . . . Our friends from the Eastern Region and some from the Western Regions of that vast country showed their hostility to the formation of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa of the Yorubas.
       Those of us who did not hail from Nigeria were highly disturbed by the threat of our unity as West Africans under the banner of W.A.S.U., which was itself predominantly Nigerian. Although there had been in existence an Ibo Union for some twenty months or so before the birth of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, not much notice had been taken of it at W.A.S.U. In any case, for obvious reasons, this new association looked formidable enough to merit our attention. All attempts to persuade the founders to squelch the new-born association proved futile.
       Happily, this did not break up our great W.A.S.U. although it did leave bitter feelings all over. In Nigeria itself, the new Association did not take root until 1948, when another powerful group of Yoruba leaders formed one in Lagos. The names of the founders were indeed names to conjure with among the Yorubas in the capital—Sir Akintola Maja and many others. It was after that great event in Lagos that Chief Awolowo himself plucked up courage to inaugurate a branch at Ibadan. An editorial in Nigeria’s West African Pilot of September, 8 1948, which reached us in London, warned of the battle ahead.  Among many other things, the editorial carried these ominous words: “Henceforth the cry must be one of battle against the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, its leaders at home and abroad, up hill and down dale, in the streets of Nigeria and in the streets of London and in the residence of its advocates.” The language was familiar enough. This was Nnamdi Azikiwe’s. Were our fears about the unity of Nigeria about to be justified? The parting knell had been tolled. It might in retrospect be said that the first salvos of the civil war had been fired by these words.
-- Joseph Appiah, Joe Appiah: The Autobiography of an African Patriot, Accra: Assempa publishers, 1996, pp. 160-161,
 This testimony from a Ghanaian who, for many years, was a member and President of W.A.S.U. in London, should give Igbos pause about the version of the Igbo-Yoruba Cold War they have accepted. The key point is that the Ibo Union had been in existence before the Egbe Omo Oduduwa was founded. Yet Zik declared war on the Egbe Omo Oduduwa. Why?  If it was because the Egbe Omo Oduduwa was not Pan-Nigerian, then what of the pre-existing Ibo Union?  In other words, it wasn’t the Yoruba who introduced tribal unions and tribalist politics into Nigeria but the Igbos. But whatever his reason, Zik was the one who declared war on the Yorubas; he was the aggressor.
With that aggression as background, the carpet crossing becomes an understandable response to Zik’s declaration of war. If somebody who declared war on your people arrives to govern your homeland, what should your leaders do? Welcome him and let him govern, or drive him out by any means necessary? The carpet crossing accomplished just that. And Igbos, following Zik, the instigator of the response, condemn the Yorubas for defending themselves from Zik’s aggression.
Zik’s conduct is an example of how Igbos can act without thinking of how their action might look to those their proposed action might adversely affect. That is a weakness Igbos should be on guard against, and should work to eliminate by extra self-awareness and constant self-criticism.
For seven decades, we have paid for Zik’s aggression against the Yorubas. The Cold War which Zik started made it possible for the British to install the NPC in power in 1959 when Zik refused to join with Awo to form the Federal government. He explained it away by alluding to his distrust of Awo that stemmed from the Carpet crossing affair. In other words, Zik is ultimately responsible for our disasters and oppression under the Caliphate. But the pertinent issue at this time is that we, not the Yorubas, are responsible for the Yoruba-Igbo feud. We are not the innocent victims of Yoruba tribalism and hatred. That fact should inform our attitude in seeking rapprochement with the Yorubas, especially now that we need a Yoruba-Igbo alliance to help create conditions for us to exit our imprisonment in Lugard’s Nigeria."

Sunday, September 20, 2020

A Valentine Like No Other!

 


Love is in the air!

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in different styles all over the world, but 14th February 2016, witnessed a unique Valentine Dinner in the Coal City of Enugu. Designed for exclusive couples, and tagged Sweet 16, the organizers, JetSet Events, in association with Aaron’s Place, used the occasion to introduce a touch of class to this uncommon event.

Even Cupid would be proud of the ambience at Aaron’s Place, as Katchie of White Magic, decked out the atmosphere in glorious Valentine colours, with a matching Red Carpet, anchored by the beautiful Miss Betty. Activities opened by 5:30 pm as guests began to arrive, resplendent in the day’s dress code, which simply said: A TOUCH OF RED.

As the guests settled down for the main event, Dr Igwebuike V. Onyiaorah, a Consultant Pathologist, of the Directorate of International Collaboration and Linkages: Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, stepped up to deliver the first presentation. He had chosen a theme in sync with the prevailing circumstances of the day – Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Economic Crisis. This was followed by a second presentation by none other than the iconic Rev Msgr Prof Obiorah Ike, of CIDJAP, Enugu. The Monsignor traced the history of Valentine Day, from the time of St Valentine in the ancient Roman Empire to the present day. The respective medical and spiritual counsels from these two professionals made all the difference to this unique gathering.

The seminar speeches were naturally interlaced with spectacular performances by the Young African Stars, led by Ambassador George Urunwoke, which left the guests asking for more! But it was time for the main course, after all it was still a dinner party, and since the kitchen at Aaron’s Place was ready, the guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner from the assorted menu. Moreover, Coca Cola, Nigerian Breweries and Juhel Nigeria were available with their distinctive arrays of drinks, and Westlog Nigeria also introduced a new member of their line of products – the Rowlands Rosé Spritzer wine.

Entertainment was powered by MC Daddy Saint, featuring MC Attraction, with some amazing upcoming artistes, including VanPee, Silver, and De Two Brothers, just as the guests took to the dance floor. Interludes of comedy were much in excess; and prizes were awarded to the longest married couple, the best dressed couple, and the best dance couple.

The presence of Waterock Global, JetSet Interiors and Mekkan Technologies also contributed in no small way, towards making the evening a most memorable event. The Coal City is already looking forward to the next Valentine Day!

Tribute to Sista!

It is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to a true friend! A stranger who became a colleague, a friend and then a sister! As one of the first people I met after arriving in Nigeria, Tina’s attitude and work-ethic impressed me! I saw a fighting spirit, a willingness to learn and grow! Her eyes sparkled, her smile mischievous and her passion unrivalled! 

Tina challenged me like none other, her sense of humour made Nigerian life easier and her ability to see the positive in any situation was admirable! We shared so many experiences opening hotels in Enugu, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Lagos and Obudu! She was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and get on with the job at hand! 

We don’t know why God chose to take Tina this early but I am blessed to have known such a strong character! My condolences to BJ, Emeka and the extended family! 

RIP Sista!  ~Sven Goosen.

Tribute to My Mother In Heaven

Oh Mommy! I miss you. I wish you were here. I can tell you that a Mum is irreplaceable for a child. I still cannot believe that you're really gone. The loss makes it hard to breathe.

It is unimaginable to think that I will not see your smiling face again! I will miss your laughter forever …and I will feel your absence every day of my life. Such emptiness will be the hardest point of each day.

Now that you’re in heaven, I know that you will continue to guide me, as the Angel you have always been. Rest peacefully in the bosom of our Lord.

Adieu, Sweet Mommy.

- Emeka.

Tribute to My Angel

 

My light went out on 27th January 2019 when you, my beloved wife, passed away after a four month struggle with a debilitating illness. It was a terrible shock because we all believed you were making favourable progress towards recovery. You resisted this fate; you fought it with every essence of your being; we could see that you wanted to live. From both far and near, friends rallied round family, providing support, absolutely committed to your recovery at all cost. But God in His infinite wisdom had other plans. He took you to a heavenly home to be with angels just like you.

My dear wife, Omalicha Beejay, you were not only a wonderful wife and mother but you were a meticulous homemaker, with an amazing capacity for multitasking. Combining your very busy schedules at work with keeping us happy at home could only be achieved by specialized abilities, possessed by someone with a definite natural advantage. Your job demanded a lot from you and you handled every challenge with the same positive mind, always cheerful and completely trusting God.

I am left with a combined feeling of humility and submission to Divine authority. I know many men have a wonderful wife but no one has ever had a better one than I. You were my love, faithful, efficient, loyal and true. You inspired me in ways I cannot explain. I have lost a worthy helpmate in you but I have nothing but happy memories of our nearly fourteen years of life together. Your interest in helping the needy is exemplary. I will do my very best to ensure your legacy lives on.

I sorrow now for you, my love. You will be deeply missed.

Rest in perfect peace in the bosom of the Lord, till we meet to part no more.

BJ Chiawa

Friday, May 02, 2008

Emeka

He arrived on 25th March, 2007. Emeka (short for Chukwuemeka) is 13 months old now. Do you still wonder why I've been absent from here for so long?

It's a joy to watch Chukwuemeka growing up; even as he explores his environment, scattering (more like destroying!) everything within reach. Toys? None is ever the same after 60 seconds in his grip!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Chinweizu 2 Marshall

Clem Marshall:
I am glad you are troubled by the plans to wipe out Afrikans and that you are sending out these updates on their implementation.

But am quite amazed that any Pan Afrikanist is just getting to see the picture. After all Garvey warned about it back in the 1920s! Or is it that Pan Afrikanists dont read the documents of Pan Afrikanism or that they dont take seriously what they contain until some white boy says the same thing? Well, as they say, if you want to hide something from niggers, just put it
in a book, like Garvey did.

Anyway, better late than never.

But I am even more amazed at your reaction, now that you've caught on to the situation.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Soul Food

We love music, and like good wine - the older the better, the rarer the more better. It doesn't really matter who made it; if the rythmn is right, we consider it food for the soul.

The Chiawas may claim no record labels yet, but we've got our ears tuned to good music, old skool and modern jamz alike. The only member of the family who had come closest to making music was Cyprain Ozochiawaeze, of blessed memory. He made melodies in his time, and his favourite instrument was the guiter. It is also on record that he taught Gentleman Mike Ejeagha, of the Akuko n'Egwu series, how to play the guiter.