States declare public holiday for Ojukwu

Igbo traders will shun markets on March 1 and 2 in honour of the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The late Biafran leader’s remains will be buried on March 2 in Nnewi, his home town. The funeral rites, which started last week, continued at the weekend with a requiem mass in London and a public lecture in Enugu. The remains of the late Ikemba Nnewi will arrive in Abuja from London today to a military ceremony at the federal capital. Traders’ spokesman and Southeast Markets Amalgamated Traders Association (SEMATA) President Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo said the decision to shut markets was reached during the meeting of the leaders and representatives of markets, held at the White View Hotel, Awka, Anambra State. 


He said markets would be closed as traders observe a sit-at-home directive as a mark of respect for the ex-Biafran hero. 
Nwankwo said that markets in Enugu and Anambra states will be shut down March 1, when the remains of Ojukwu will arrive at the Enugu Airport enroute Anambra State, adding that traders in the country will shut down on March 2. 
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all the leaders of the markets and traders in the country, especially from other geo-political zones to comply with the decision. No sacrifice made for the late Ojukwu will be too much that day, we are also appealing to traders in Anambra and Enugu States to comply with the directive of closing the market on March 1,” he said.


Ezenwankwo appealed to those who may want to use the opportunity to cause trouble by inciting the traders against their leaders, or causing confusion by giving contrary directives to the traders to desist from such act, stressing that traders should seek clarification from their leaders.
He said: “It is the duty of the traders to decide when their markets will be closed and when they will be opened; it is not a decision the Presidents and Chairmen of the markets can take alone. The traders were consulted before the decision was taken, and we expect full compliance.”
Ezenwankwo said that Anambra traders will hold a reception for the late Ikemba at the Alex Ekwueme Cenotaph, Awka, from where they will join the entourage to Nnewi for the interment. 
Following speculations that the funeral will witness a bloody combat between the military and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the movement said at the weekend there will be nothing like that.
Anambra and Enugu State governments have declared March 1 as public holiday for the late Ojukwu.
Abia State has also declared tomorrow as holiday.
The Local Organising Committee (LDC) Chairman for the burial and Anambra State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Dubem Obaze, announced the holiday yesterday in Awka.
He said Ojukwu’s body will arrive in Anambra State on Thursday. It will be flown in from London today.
Obaze also said the body will be taken to the Southeast states of Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu before arriving Anambra.
At 3pm on Thursday, Ojukwu’s body will arrive at the Dr. Alex Ekweme Square in Awka. Visitors will only be allowed to park vehicles at designated places.
He said there will be no role for MASSOB and local vigilante. The military, police, FRSC, civil defence personnel to take care of security.
MASSOB Director of information and communications, Uchenna Madu, said issues concerning security during Ojukwu’s burial had been settled.
He said an agreement had been reached between MASSOB and the military adding that soldiers would lead the security arm of the burial; MASSOB would complement them.   
“Some people think there will be a bloodbath during the funeral of our late leader, Dim Ojukwu, but I want to assure you that there will be nothing like that,” he said, adding:
“Our leader, Chief Raph Uwazuruike, has ordered that we support the soldiers in making sure that Ikemba Nnewi goes home in peace and that assignment will must carry to the later.
“We must accommodate everybody to give Ojukwu a befitting burial. We want the best for Ojukwu, the soldiers will lead the operation our own will be to support them.”
Soldiers have taken over security in Nnewi while vehicles moving inside the large Ojukwu compound are being thoroughly searched.
Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said that the best way to immortalise Ojukwu is for Nigerians to live up to the ideals he lived and fought for. He spoke at St George’s Cathedral, London, after the requiem mass for the late Ojukwu.
Obi said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of goodwill for Ojukwu by all segments of the Nigerian society and the international community.
During the mass, the celebrant, Rev. Fr. Professor Ike Obiorah, said the society needed men who believed in social justice as Ojukwu did. He called on Nigerians to strive to contribute meaningfully to the society rather than the culture of nihilism that is predominant in the society.
He recalled Ojukwu’s sacrifice for the good of his people and declared that Biafra was not dead as long as injustice remains in the country.
Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca, said she was moved to tears on the outpouring of goodwill that followed her husband’s death.
Ojukwu’s son, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Jnr., thanked God for the life of his father.
A wake-keep, which ended early yesterday, took place at The Enabling Centre, 640 Ripple Road, Barking, Essex. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Dozie Nwanna said the Igbo must remain thankful to Obi for his sacrifices for Ojukwu, especially in his last days.
At the service were: Obi’s wife, Margaret, Obi, Chief Victor Umeh, Dr. Tim Menakaya, Sen. Ben Obi, Gen. Isaac Obiakor, Ojukwu’s Chief of Staff, Prince Bob Onyema, the pilot who flew the last plane that brought relief materials to Biafra under the Joint Christian Aids, Phil Philip (83) and his wife, Jean Philip, among others.


Source: The Nation

Allow Every Nigerian Carry Guns, Pastor Oritsejafor Tells Jonathan

Many people believe that the Federal government of Nigeria is clueless on how to effectively solve the problem and security threat poised by the Islamic terror group Boko Haram, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor isn’t left in that kind of conscious thought as he as made a call to President Goodluck to allow every Nigerian arm themselves to the tooth, to carry guns, ammunitions for self-protection. This call by the CAN president isn’t unconnected with the recent bombast in Jos that left over 5 people dead and dozens injured .


In his statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, He said: “we urge the president, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to stop the orgy of ethnic cleansing or accede to recent calls for all Nigerians to carry arms”.


“If the president could no longer guarantee the safety of life and property of Nigerians, in accordance with the oath he took, then the National Assembly should immediately enact a law that would make every Nigerian to carry arms for their own protection”.


The man of God concluded that the country was deliberately moving towards its total collapse in 2015 as predicted by an American prophecy.
What do you think? Does the bible allow for such vengence or has the Pastor gone too far??

North ready for restructuring, say Lamido, Aliyu, Ayu, others

The North picked up the gauntlet yesterday and declared it is now poised for the restructuring of Nigeria in the face of what it called identified threats confronting the region.

The region’s who is who in politics, academia and media at a meeting in Abuja expressed hope that the lopsidedness in the polity “will be a key issue.”

The Coalition of Concerned Northerners meeting came against the background of the call for the review of the present revenue sharing formula by the governors of the 19 northern states; the recent agitation by South West governors and other stakeholders for Sovereign National Conference (SNC); and the state of insecurity in the country.

Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum,Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, speaking at the inauguration of the Advisory Council of Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Abuja on Thursday, described as unfair a situation where his state (Niger) would be receiving a monthly allocation of between N4.2 billion and N4.5 billion while some others would be getting about 20 times of that; a veiled reference to the 13 per cent derivation paid to oil producing states.

This, he said, was responsible for the wide gap in  development between the North and the South.

He was echoing a statement made by the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi last month, in an interview with the Financial Times of London.

Sanusi, in the interview, linked the prevailing poverty in the North  and the violence being perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect to uneven distribution of the nation’s wealth.

In a communique at the end of yesterday’s meeting, the Northern leaders, among whom were two serving governors, a former Senate President, a former deputy Senate president and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, expressed concern over the activities of Boko Haram, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) and the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

The communique reads: “A coalition of Northern politicians, academics, professionals and businessmen met yesterday (Thursday) at Asokoro in Abuja to deliberate on matters of serious concern to the Northern States of Nigeria and their peoples.

“In the course of the meting, the Northern Group reflected on the deteriorating security situation in the region, particularly with regards to the growth and spread of attacks and impunity by the Boko Haram insurgents and other ethnic and religious militias in the North.

‘’In addition, the meeting dwelled on the threats posed by the resurgent activities of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), other Niger Delta militant groups, Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). In addition, the meeting dwelled on the threats and recent calls by groups for a Sovereign National Conference.

“The meeting reflected on the elements that bond the Northerners and their cultures together, irrespective of ethnicity and religion over many years at their association, and expressed their sadness that the basis of unity of the region has of recent come under a serious assault. The meeting noted the positive fallouts of the recent nationwide strike, in the course of which the ordinary people of the North and of the rest of the country manifested a refreshing desire to support and protect one another against the clear evidence of orchestrated designs to polarise and keep the people apart.

“The meeting also received the shocking details of the several excesses of the JTF (Joint Task Force) which amounted to no less than gross human rights abuses. The meeting expressed the view that the threat posed by Boko Haram insurgency could best be attended to without the attendant attacks on individual rights and on businesses.

“The meeting resolved to support the calls for the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation in the hope that the lopsidedness in the structure of the nation’s politics and economy will be a key agenda issue.

“It then called on the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) to liaise with other stakeholders in the North, such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Union (NU), Jama’atul Nasirl Islam (JNI), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), women, youth and student bodies and other groups to join hands together to tackle the identified threats confronting the region.

“Among those who attended the meeting were the governors of Niger and Jigawa states, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, OON, CON and Alhaji Sule Lamido, CON; the convener of the meeting, Dr. Junaidu Muhammed; a former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu; a former Deputy Senate President, Dr. John Wash-Pam, CON; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, CFR; former ministers, such as, Dr. Shettima Mustapha, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri and Mallam Lawal Batagarawa; and a former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, Prof. Nur Alkali.

“Others were a former Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Council, Mr. Solomon Dalung; former Presidential Legal Advisers, Ibrahim Ismail and Prof. Awwal Yadudu; as well as newspaper publishers, including Sam Nda-Isaiah and Mohammed Haruna. 

The rest included university vice chancellors, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Prof. Risqua Arabu; businessmen such as the Chairman of Mainstreet Bank, Alhaji Falalu Bello; a former Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, Engr. Hamman Tukur; a former Solicitor-General of the Federation, Prof. Ignatius Ayua; Prof. David Iyornem; Alhaji Dahiru Mohammed and two former managing directors of New Nigeria Newspapers.

“Others included the first female editor of New Nigeria, Mrs. Bilkisu Bintube; another female editor from Trust Newspapers, Mrs. Aisha Kabiru Yusuf; Dr. Bashir Kurfi of Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU, Zaria) and Timaus Mathias, a veteran journalist.

“Also present were Mr. David Garnva, former President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Mallam Abba Gana, former Deputy Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Alhaji Shehu Kaikai, Sanusi Abubakar, Garba Shehu, Mr. Simon Gunkat, Mallam Adamu Yakubu, Barr. Zannah Mustapaha, Mallam Sambo Ingawa, Kalli Ghazali, Abubakar Michika and Prof. Abubakar Mustapha.

 It was signed by Second Republic member of the House of Representatives,Dr. Junaid Muhammed, the convener.