iii) If Ojukwu had not continued to hound Major Nzeogwu and his men where Ironsi stopped, because both of them were jealous of the towering popularity of Nzeogwu and his men, Ojukwu should have given Nzeogwu a fighting unit to command in the Civil War. A pamphlet ‘The Revolution: Heroes of Change The Life and Times of Major Kaduna Nzeogwu & Who Killed Him’ by Prof. Tom Forsyth, published by Ivory Tower Publishers, Atlanta Georgia USA, said “Another strange rumour about Nzeogwu’s death, has it that although he died in the battle field, the bullet that killed him wasn’t from the enemies, but from own soldiers who were detailed to kill him … “OJUKWU’S REACTION TO COMPLICITY IN NZEOGWU’S DEATH …
Zik decided never to ally with Awolowo after the carpet – crossing incident of 1951 in the Western House of Assembly at Ibadan, which prevented the NCNC from forming the government in spite of the fact that the NCNC was declared the winner of that election or as Achebe would put it “Chief Awolowo ‘stole ‘ the Government from him(ZIK) in broad daylight.” Job opportunity or who would take over from the departing British was never part of the issue at all. During the colonial era and immediately after, the Igbo relied on merit and competence for advancement and securing appointments in the public service .
When I read your trilogy on Biafra, published in The NEWS Magazine of 25, February, 4 and 11 March 2013, based on 21,000 pages of American Secret Files, as you claimed, I wondered whether it was the same Damola Awoyokun who wrote EINSTEIN AND THE EXPRESSWAY CHURCHES in resplendent logic and language that is writing again. To read 21,000 pages is quite a feat, even if each page contains one line only! The time needed to read 21,000 pages will certainly tend to infinity as we say in mathematics.
Extracts from a speech delivered by Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia State, and coordinator of Njiko Igbo, to the British House of Commons on April 18, 2013.
It is indeed a cruel twist of irony that while on my way to return to base after an exceedingly successful US trade delegation on infrastructure to Nigeria March 11 – 15, that my attention was drawn to reports in our media of the possible souring of relations between Nigeria and America because of the above two issues.
He insulted your great-grandfather, great-grandmother, great-grandaunt and a few grand parents – he did mine too. Or did he merely say what he saw of and thought about them? Ponder that!
Protocols
I am hugely delighted to return to my alma mater the great and only University of Nigeria to speak at your 42nd convocation. Twenty eight years ago I sat just like you those of you who are part of the graduating Class of 2013; excited by my graduation. It was 1985 and I was very privileged to be one of the then only 3% of our own youthful population that had the opportunity of a university education. Today, you are still fortunate to be one of the yet paltry 4.3% of your own youthful generation with an opportunity for university education. For Nigeria that percentage does not compare favorably with 37.5% for Chile 33.7% for Singapore 28.2% for Malaysia, 16.5% for Brazil and 14.6%. Our lag in tertiary education enrollment is quite revealing and could be interpreted as the basis of the competitiveness gap between the same set of countries and Nigeria.
Africa Rising – That is the headline of (last week’s) cover of Time Magazine. It is for me an appropriate place to start my discussion on the theme “Governance, Security and Peace in Africa”; and, if I might say so at the onset, it is a somewhat misleading if not patronizing headline.
BEFORE the advent of the 1999 constitution, the principle of derivation was subjected to severe and whimsical gerrymandering by the various Presidents and Heads of State that had ruled Nigeria. This was due to the fact that, though the principle had been acknowledged and accepted there was no governing formula. Up till 1970, derivation stood at fifty percent. Decree No.113 of 1970, put forward by the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo and promulgated by General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd) reduced it to 45 per cent and at the same time appropriated the entire offshore oil revenue to the federal government.
“The philosophy and goals of the leaders of the struggle for Independence, the promise of pro-people programmes that would follow the attainment of Independence inspired the remarkable progress achieved in the decade before Independence and the immediate post-independence years.” Chief Philip C. Asiodu, CON, beams his searchlight on the public service , the challenges ahead, the need for a vision, the type of public sector required and the after-effects of the overthrow of the the Gowon administration in 1975.
That Nigeria was born with great and positive dreams in 1960 is accepted by all. Taking the pulse of the domestic and international opinion in 1960, there was an expectation that Nigeria was going to be a great nation because it had a large population that dwarfed the population of most of the African states, it had vast quantities of natural resources and it had an enlightened elite, that was educated and experienced.
Although successful macroeconomic stabilisation was necessary to restore economic growth, it was not sufficient.
On the morning of July 17, 2003, I sat down at my desk in Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, just after being sworn in with other ministers by President Olusegun Obasanjo as a member of the cabinet.
Chairman, Technical Committee, National Council of Privatisation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, Monday, in Lagos said the governors’ firm in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, bid flouted the rules.
I am a historian and I have always believed that if we want to talk history we must be dispassionate, objective and factual. We must take the emotion out of it and we must always tell the truth. The worst thing that anyone can do is to try to re-write history and indulge in historical revisionism. This is especially so when the person is a revered figure and a literary icon.
The Corporation may accept gifts of money or other property upon such terms and conditions as may be specified by the person or organisation making the gift provided such gifts are not inconsistent with the objectives and functions of the Corporation under this Act.
A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LEGAL, FISCAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA AND FOR OTHER RELATED MATTERS
Do we need to point out that as a nation we are covered with shame that it took an external court of justice, of the former colonial masters, to finally put an end to the costly shenanigans of another of your former brother governors, one who held the forces of anti-corruption at bay, led them a merry dance all the way to Dubai until he was plucked out of his imagined sanctuary?
Entertainment
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Pop duo Bracket releases hot new video ‘Temperature’
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Tuface, Ras Kimono, Faze, others clean up Lagos streets, feed hungry destitutes
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Davido releases hot new single ‘Kalo Connect’
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Kanye West releases strange artwork for album cover ‘Yeezus’
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African film enjoys rare Cannes outing
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Gospel artistes, pastors pray for Nigeria
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Wizkid beat PSquare, Flavour, others to win African Artist of the Year
Health
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“Tobacco smoking leads to low sperm count, weak erection”
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Lagos closes gap in knee replacement surgery
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Doctors react to alleged detention of patients in hospitals
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20% Nigerians feed on less than $1 daily – POLL
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Experts seek improved manpower for child health care
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When women survive, families and nations thrive – Jill Sheffield
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Hypertension, commonest cardiovascular disorder, says Cardiologist
