Nigeria’s Politicians: When Swearing An Oath Of Office Is A Declaration Of War

By Ndidi Uwechue

8^th April 2022

Two very unfortunate things see to it that Nigeria has remained a “criminal enterprise”. Otherwise Aburi and much later PRONACO, had been missed opportunities to have set Nigeria free to become stable, and thus assured of continuing as one unit going into the future. The two unfortunate things that ruin Nigeria’s chances of longevity are #1) The deliberately inflicted ignorance of the population, and #2) The low morality quotient of both the middle class and the elite. 

Exasperating as it may be to observe, the ignorance of the masses is not their fault, and it can be reversed with a change in social and constitutional arrangements. Whereas, it is a choice for the middle class and elite, the creators of society’s values, to be such as they are. 

The situation in Nigeria is that despite the obstacles placed in their way, the non-violent NINAS Movement for Self-Determination has managed to create a growing countrywide consensus against the continued operation of the illegitimate forgery called the 1999 Constitution, the current instrument of governance. The middle class and elite are aware that the 1999 Constitution has been rejected, and even Repudiated, and they know that Nigeria became a Disputed Project from 16^th December 2020 when the joint multi-regional NINAS Movement proclaimed a Constitutional Force Majeure with a Notice of constitutional grievances and demand for Transitioning Process for an ORDERLY reconfiguration of the constitutional basis of Nigeria. Lacking the moral make-up to face the FACTS that the 1999 Constitution is a FORGERY, that it is UNJUST and UNDEMOCRATIC to keep on with this fraud, and that a Constitutional Force Majeure has now been thrown into the political and constitutional space, the middle class and elite ignore these, in the (vain) hope that the future will continue to be manipulated to favour their positions in society.

The worst among them are the politicians: both those holding or seeking office, plus members of political parties. For, in Nigeria, all political parties SUBSCRIBE to the illegitimate 1999 Constitution, whether it is an established party, a new party, an anti-corruption party, a youth party, or whatever party. They ALL endorse and champion that fraud and deceit called the 1999 Constitution.

Regarding the issue of serving politicians, they swear an Oath of Office to uphold, defend, and govern by the 1999 Constitution, in so doing they RENEW THE LIFE of the illegitimate 1999 Constitution. Thus, serving politicians of Ethnic Nations ARE RESPONSIBLE for actually bringing the harmful effects of that 1999 Constitution upon their own people. It has now been established by survivors and independent observers that there is an ongoing genocide against indigenous peoples by well-armed Fulani militias for land grab so as to establish a Fulani Caliphate in their hope to bring about Ahmadu Bello’s Declaration of 1960 that Nigeria is to be “an estate” of the Fulani. It is that 1999 Constitution that PREVENTS indigenous peoples from equipping themselves with matching weapons for protection, and to repel any armed invaders. Serving politicians know this, yet they cold-heartedly continue to uphold the 1999 Constitution over their people. This is why, especially in the Middle Belt but spreading southwards, indigenous peoples are being slaughtered on a regular basis by armed Fulani. It is quite scandalous that a false Document enables this slaughter. It must be understood clearly that that Document is both introduced into ancestral lands, and is then also upheld, by serving politicians – against their own people’s welfare, and endangering the lives of their people. When a politician brings death and destruction upon his people by placing upon them (via his Oath of Office) a fraudulent Document that is dishonestly titled the “1999 Constitution” which the people have Repudiated, and which facilitates armed Fulani to slaughter his defenceless people including children, is that not a declaration of war upon his people? It is for the Reader, and for all reasonable people to think this through!

At their high point, believing themselves to be invincible, the Nazis in power and in authority never knew that one day their war (genocide) against unarmed Jews would be stopped, and that they would face NUREMBERG! Serving politicians of the NINAS Territory (South and Middle Belt) should reconsider their treachery against their people, and should stop being an enemy of their people by upholding the death-bringing 1999 Constitution. That 1999 Constitution was not made by “we the people” as it falsely claims and it has been Repudiated. Therefore, serving politicians should do the right thing, and do the right thing the right way. That means, they should not manipulate and push their people to General Elections in 2023 to renew the life of the sham 1999 Constitution yet again. Instead, they should SUSPEND Elections 2023, get political parties to CLOSE SHOP even if temporarily, while they go to Transitional Government where current political office holders would retain their positions, and there would be Self-Determination Regional Referendums where “we the people” decide the future of the Union called Nigeria. 

Ndidi Uwechue is a British citizen with Igbo heritage from the Lower Niger Bloc. She is a retired Metropolitan (London) Police Officer, she is a signatory to the Constitutional Force Majeure, and she writes from Abuja.

It’s fraudulent to go into 2023 elections with dead persons, child voters, HURIWA tells INEC

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA), on Friday, tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission to expunge the names of dead persons and child voters from its voter register ahead of the 2023 general elections.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said anything short of the removal of child voters and dead persons would produce fraudulent polls next year.

The group argued that child voting and the presence of dead persons in INEC database would encourage rigging and vote-buying by moneybag politicians who desperately want to occupy elective office in 2023.

Recall that INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, in a PUNCH report dated January 1, 2022 said that the names of dead voters and child voters cannot be removed from the voter register due to the absence of reliable data of births and deaths (https://punchng.com/why-we-cant-remove-dead-persons-from-voter-register-inec/).

The implication of this is that Nigeria may go into the 2023 general elections with a faulty voter register marred by multiple registration and underage persons which could mar the credibility of the elections as well as make the commission incur unnecessary costs, given that the commission might have to print ballot papers for the registered voters.

INEC had said that the Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on Saturday 25th February 2023, followed by the Governorship and State Assembly elections on Saturday 11th March 2023.

However, HURIWA stated that mere announcement was not enough, the commission must get to work, adding that with the assent to the Electoral Act 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari recently, the electoral umpire should be more concerned about having a clean and credible voter register. 

HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The preparations of INEC for general elections has not been impressive at all. With the Electoral Act in place although with some legal issues that would be resolved soon, INEC needs to be seen to be in top gears in preparations for the general elections which is around the corner.

“However, it is very clear and disappointing that INEC is just hibernating and not doing much to clean up the National Voter Register to ensure that all eligible Nigerians who wish to be registered are captured and automatically issued their PVCs.

“At the moment, millions of Nigerians have no voter cards and not much is heard from INEC on where to go physically and get the registration done. 

“INEC should by now be thinking ahead on the workability of the electronic voters machines and other technologies that are to be introduced or already used in the last Anambra election but did not yield maximum results. 

“INEC should conduct security audits of Nigeria and put in place strategies with the security agencies on how to prevent security challenges that always come up during elections. 

“INEC should by now have kickstarted enlightenment on voting rights and how to exercise the rights and INEC has not done anything to eliminate child voters that are a disturbing part of elections in most populous northern states like Kano and some riverine states in Southern Nigeria so that the coming election is not contaminated with children voting at elections when adults who are ready to vote are deliberately denied their PVCs. 

“INEC needs to work out  communication lines that are functional right now for Nigerians with election related complaints especially with the exercise of their voters rights to contact them and get redress. 

“INEC should by now be telling Nigerians living with disabilities that the voting environment will be made friendly and show evidence of the infrastructures that are already put on ground to ensure that disabled citizens are not disallowed to exercise their civic rights.”

Aprll 8, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

It’s sad soldiers who should fight Kaduna terrorists are protecting Fulani cows in Ondo – CSO

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria,(HURIWA) on Wednesday, said it is very unfortunate that soldiers who should be deployed to confront savage terrorists overrunning Kaduna State are wasting away in Ondo State, protecting Fulani cows.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, described as a blatant misplacement of priority, the deployment of soldiers in the entire Southern region of Nigeria including the South-West and South-East zones for purposes such as protection of herders and their cattle.

The group urged the military authorities to recall a sizeable percentage of troops posted to Southern Nigeria and redeploy them to Kaduna to combat bloodthirsty terrorists who have daily invaded the North-West state in the last two weeks, wreaking unprintable havoc including ghoulish killings, bombings and kidnappings.

According to news reports, terrorists killed 17 soldiers and wounded 40 others in an attack at a military base in Polwire, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna this week. This was barely a week after the marauders bombed an Abuja-Kaduna train, killing scores and injuring hundreds while many are still unaccounted for. 

The insurgents numbering over 200 had also invaded the Kaduna International Airport, killed an airspace worker and injured many other airport staff, even as they forced a plane from taking off from the airport. Many pockets of gruesome and macabre attacks have been recorded in the last two weeks in Kaduna. The death toll emanating from Kaduna in the last two years is concerning with over 2,000 murdered and over 5,000 killed by terrorists hitherto labelled bandits.

But just as the terrorists are unfortunately overrunning Kaduna, classified a war zone by Governor Nasir el-Rufai and presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, men of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigeria Army, Akure are gallivanting in Ondo, demanding the release of Fulani cows seized by the Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun Corps for violating the state anti-open grazing law.

Reacting in the statement released on Wednesday, HURIWA’s Onwubiko described the deployment of soldiers in relatively peaceful states of Southern Nigeria as a misplacement of priority.

Onwubiko said, “It is an established fact that Kaduna State is a war zone going by the carnage committed by terrorists in the last two weeks, especially and going by the description of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; as well as presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina. 

“The onslaught by audacious terrorists is unprecedented in the entire North-West and akin to the Boko Haram/ISWAP ferocious attacks in the North-East.

“However, instead of deploying most of its men to the theatre of war to stamp out terrorists overrunning Kaduna State and having a field’s day, the Nigerian Army, sadly, is more concerned about the safety of trespassing cows than the thousands of innocent Nigerians killed by insurgents in Kaduna State month in, month out. This is most unfortunate.

“This sort of misplacement of priority abound in media reports of the past seven years because the Federal Government in Abuja elevated cows to a sacred position far above the sanctity of life. This is why the combat readiness of soldiers are declining because they are being deployed for roles they are unsuited for due to selfish reasons. This is indeed why rampaging Fulani terrorists are killing soldiers and bombing down military jets and nobody is called to account.

“HURIWA urges the service chiefs to face reality and put away ethnic sentiments. Kaduna needs all the soldiers that the military can muster now. War, aside weapon sophistry, is also about numerical strength. Apparently, the terrorists are recruiting en masse. For 200 terrorists to invade an airport at once? Who knows how many hundreds of them bombed the Abuja-Kaduna train, amongst other vicious attacks. The service chiefs should act fast and deploy soldiers lagging away in Southern Nigeria to Kaduna, the new theatre of war in Nigeria. The earlier the better. A word is enough for the wise, the elders say.” 

Aprll 6, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

It’s buffoonery to talk about expelling a civil society leader: HURIWA

A bunch of apparently jobless clowns some of whom are surviving by jumping from one government office to the other on a rampage to capture as much as possible the crumbs that fall off the masters table in Abuja, have just issued a very illiterate statement that is so illogical and irrational saying that my humble self has been expelled from a so-called civil society coalition.
They said their reason for “expelling” me is because I criticized Mr. Godwin Emefiele the CBN GOVERNOR for allegedly meddling into partisan politics. The views I gave were published in PUNCH Newspaper. 
At first the entire statement published in a section of the media sounded comical and unreasonably dramatic because it is inconceivable that any thinking being can conjure up this sort of baseless and meaningless publication that is groundless and is baseless and bears no resemblance to critical thinking that someone can actually come up with such a drab statement. 
At first, I never wanted to honour such an illogical statement with a response because it is self-evident that the writer or writers is/are embarking on an adventure of intellectual idiocy. 
How do you expel a citizen from the civil society? Assuming without conceding that the contraption that was elevated to a scale of a pseudo platform do actually exists in the imagination of the writer, a follow up question to ask is this, can you expel an entity or an individual that is not affiliated or connected in anyway to you? Can you remove what you never constituted? 
We are only doing this response so that the writer (s) does/do not benefit more from this show of shame that is as unrealistic as it is impracticable. Nigerians should dismiss this as fallacious and unreasonable. 
 Recall that in a publication, a group identifying itself as the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the aegis of the CSOs Coordinating Center (CCC), have expelled the Convener, Adopt A Goal Initiative, Dare Ariyo-Atoye; Coordinator, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Onwubiko; and the National Coordinator, Advocate for People’s Rights and Justice, Giwa Victor.
 
The reason for expelling them, according to the group, was their attack on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
 
The Centre’s Director, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said that they were motivated “to smear Emefiele and expel them from activities of the CSOs Coordinating Center, which is an apex platform for all CSOs involved in public advocacy and ban them from attending any event that the CCC is part of for one year until they apologise for the smear attacks.
According to the statement, Mohammed said we hope they will retrace their steps.”
Mohammed further raised alarm over plans by some desperate politicians to continue to sponsor some CSOs to embark on ceaseless campaigns of calumny against their perceived opponents ahead of the 2023 general elections.
 
He said: “Part of the strategy is to enlist some unsuspecting sections of the media into a plot to continue to blackmail and ridicule their opponents by whipping some sentiments against them.”
 
Mohammed noted that one of such perceived opponents, who have been marked by desperate politicians with the aim of pulling him down in the media is Emefiele.
 
Mohammed said: “We, members of the CSOs Coordinating Centre, also expressed our confidence in Dr Emefiele’s leadership of the apex bank and positive achievements being recorded under his watch.” 
The National Coordinator of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) is by this rebuttal is informing members of the public that tjese bunch of persons are unknown to the critical section of the organised civil rights community in Nigeria and should not be accorded any level of attention. 

Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko:
National Coordinator:
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). APRIL 5TH 2022. 

Group accuses EFCC of ethnic profiling against Igbo:

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) on Tuesday, expressed profound trepidation and worry that a lot of critical minded members of the public in Southerm Nigeria have accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of ethnic profiling against Igbo notable sons in the last few months.

HURIWA also strongly recommend to the hierarchy of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to adopt transparent and accountable methodology of operation irrespective of whether it is Northern or Southern Nigeria so they are not permanently perceived as a group of people who have deviated from the time honoured and time tested mandates of anti -corruption crusade devoid of Ethnic or religious profiling. 

“The idea that whenever Igbo youths may be due to exuberance are shown on videos to appear to be spraying HUMONGUOS amount of cash at social or religious functions such as funeral rites or weddings, the next day the principal characters seen in the videos who are Igbos are profiled and arrested at the airport or just somewhere and the next day the newspapers are awash with propaganda demonising the arrested citizens of South East origin. But the same EFCC officials are never seen arresting or profiling Northern youths similarly captured during high profile social or religious functions like the weddings of Sons of prominent Northern politicians who obviously treated like sacred cows”. 

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the field officers of the anti-graft agency under the leadership of Abdulrasheed Bawa must be probed for allegedly picking up innocent Nigerians in Gestapo style, sometimes in the middle of the night, after invading their residences and hotels.

The group described as witch hunt, the arrest and humiliation of popular socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, known better as Cubana Chief Priest; his associate, Obinna Iyiegbu, known as Obi Cubana; ex-Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano; amongst other prominent sons of Ndigbo locked up on unproven allegations of tax fraud and money laundering whereas suspects of Northern origin even hitherto charged to courts for alleged heist of billions of public fund are suddenly left off the hooks and progressively railroaded into influential national political offices only because of their Ethnic affiliations with those presently wielding political powers in Abuja.

Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko urged the EFCC under Bawa to thread softly and carefully, and quit launching attacks on prosperous Igbo sons. HURIWA thinks the EFCC should operate within the confines of the law so Nigerians will.be able to know when armed robbers have struck. 

“The indiscriminate arrests of Igbo notable sons by overzealous and discretion-less EFCC operative is worrisome. The show of shame  and commando-like raids being branded as legitimate operations that is a pastime of EFCC agents was aptly captured in a PUNCH Editorial dated September 1, 2021 (https://punchng.com/efccs-gestapo-raids-on-hotels-residences/).

“The earlier the EFCC comply with rules of engagement and desist from ethnic profiling of the Igbo the better. Also, the anti-graft agency should investigate its field officials who are alleged to be extorting school children by arresting, detaining and forcing them to part with a lot of money. 

“In as much as we condemn advanced fee fraud, we condemn any activity of the EFCC that is deemed inimical to constitutional democracy and norms and principles of rule of law and due process.”

Aprll 5, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

Attacks: South-East govs should explore dialogue now, says HURIWA

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria(HURIWA), on Monday, urged the five governors in the South-East geopolitical zone to explore dialogue and consultations to proffer lasting peace and security to the zone.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said constant military deployment in the zone has proven to have failed over the years, hence, the need for a dialogue with aggrieved parties.

The group stated this following the series of attacks in the South-East last weekend including the setting ablaze of the secretariat of Orsu Local Government Area in Imo State as well as the killing of officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps by gunmen along the Igbo-Uku- Uga Road in Anambra State.

In a statement on Monday, HURIWA’s Onwubiko again urged the new Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, to use his new office to champion the campaign for the release of all illegally detained Igbo sons and daughters including leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The group reminded Soludo to act on the “action plan” on insecurity in the zone, according to his inauguration speech last month when he said, “Criminality cannot be sugarcoated. This must stop. All the stakeholders must now review both the narrative and the action plan.”

Onwubiko said, “The insecurity in the South-East has become a serious debacle and the governors in the zone must strengthen consultations and dialogue with representatives of all shades of opinion with a view to ascertaining the identity of the sponsors of the violence and to reach a truce. 

“The Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, and Anambra state traditional Council had promised to initiate a regional wide movement to agitate for the earliest release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. That promise must be fulfilled in earnest.

“The Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, who is the closest to President Muhammadu Buhari must as a matter of fact take passionate interest in jointly taking steps with other governors of South East to realise the objective of securing freedom for Nnamdi Kanu and cessation of all violence and for all groups within the zone. Uzodinma should join forces with his brother governors to stamp out criminality in the zone and stop sounding false alarm, blaming opposition politicians. 

HURIWA said it was wrong for the military to have clampdown violently on the Eastern Security Network simply for procuring arms to protect their native farmlands from foreign invasions by armed Fulani terrorists who have killed hundreds of farmers and raped many women on the farms in the South East of Nigeria with none of the killers ever arrested or punished.  

“It is even unjust to isolate ESN for decimation whilst the Civilian Joint Task Force in many Northern States operate side by side with the military to rid their territory of terrorists wondering why the same operational guidelines were not put in place in the South East but the young boys who took up arms to protect their native farms were massacred on the orders of the Commander-in-chief after a clear misinformation from the government of Imo State”. 

HURIWA however said since the mistake has been made and the only thing necessary to stop the bleeding and violence now is to restore normalcy, stability, peace and security in the South East which goes to demonstrate the pivotal place of constructive dialogues by all groups and the governors. The Rights group urged the governor of Imo State to stop further accusations of his rival politicians for the unprecedented violence in Imo State but should be opened to sincere dialogues on the best way to stamp out the bloodshed through non kinetic methodology.  

“The Federal Government and security agencies must also realise that  military build-up alone without the components of civil dialogue can’t bring about lasting peace in the South-East.”

April 4, 2022

Emmanuel Onwubiko

National Coordinator – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

Fulani Oligarchy Aborted The Aburi Accord That Would Have Saved Nigeria From All Her Problems

By Femi Adesina
        

Researched and Presented
By Emmanuel Gandu

FEMI ADESINA is the current spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari. He wrote this article on Friday March 2, 2012 after the demise of Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Please read on.

In December 2009, I was at Aburi, while holidaying in Ghana. We Nigerians call it A-b-u-r-i, but the Ghanaians pronounce it as E-b-r-i. For those who have read widely about the civil war that we fought between 1967 and 1970.
Aburi is a significant place. This was what I wrote about Aburi, after returning from that journey:
Aburi. Beautiful, serene Aburi, set daintily atop a hill. It is home to a botanical garden that is 119 years old. But for us in Nigeria, Aburi goes beyond just nature and its preservation.

It is the town where General Yakubu Gowon and Odumegwu Ojukwu met, to try and avert the Nigerian Civil War that lasted between 1967 and 1970. They came out with Aburi Accord, which later broke down. And a shooting war started.
You could see the Presidential Lodge on a hill, where the Nigerian leaders had parleyed at the behest of Ghanaian leaders. It all ended in futility.”

As one of the key parties to the Aburi Accord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, returns to mother earth today, it is also apposite to return to Aburi, and look at the letter and the spirit of the accord once again, an agreement that was violated by the Federal side, and which made a bloody internecine war inevitable.
For most part of 1966, the northern part of Nigeria, particularly, had been turned to killing fields.

Non-natives, especially Igbos, were killed in thousands. Many fled, many others were displaced. There was complete anarchy in the land. The average Igbo looked up to Lt. Col Odumegwu Ojukwu, military governor of the Eastern Region, to provide leadership and direction. He did not fail. He picked the gauntlet and championed the cause of his people.

By January 1967, the drums of war were loud and clear, reverberating across the length and breadth of Nigeria. But there was a last ditch effort to prevent what was imminent. There was a peace meeting hosted at Aburi, in Ghana, by the then Ghanaian head of state, Gen J. A. Ankrah.

At the meeting were Gowon, Ojukwu, all the military governors of the regions, and some top civil servants, both from the Federal side and the Eastern region. The meeting held on January 4 and 5, 1967, and came out with what is popularly known today as the Aburi Accord.

The agenda of the meeting consisted of three crucial issues: (i) Reorganization of the Armed Forces (ii) Constitutional agreement (iii) Issues of displaced persons within Nigeria.

The two-day meeting reached consensus that were acceptable to both sides. Among others, it was resolved that legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government was to remain in the Supreme Military Council (SMC), to which any decision affecting the whole country shall be referred for determination provided it is possible for a meeting to be held, and the matter requiring determination must be referred to military governors for their comment and concurrence. What does this mean in simple language?

The SMC would run the affairs of the country, but not without consulting the regions as represented by the military governors. This was something akin to federalism, even under a military government.
Other terms of the agreement include that appointments to senior ranks in the police, diplomatic and consular services as well as appointment to superscale posts in the federal civil service and the equivalent posts in the statutory corporations must be approved by the SMC. What does this mean again in simple language? Equity, fairness, true federalism.

Other matters like the holding of an ad hoc constitutional conference, fate of soldiers involved in the January 15, 1966 coup, rehabilitation of displaced persons, etc, were also amicably resolved, and the conferees returned happily to Nigeria. Only for the Federal side to deliver a blow to the solar plexus: the Aburi Accord, Gowon said, was unworkable, and he reneged on all the agreements.

Using the Eastern Nigerian Broadcasting Service, Ojukwu played the tape recording of the proceedings at Aburi repeatedly, to educate the populace on who was playing Judas. Later, he made a broadcast in which he said: “we in the East are anxious to see that our differences are resolved by peaceful means and that Nigeria is preserved as a unit, but it is doubtful, and the world must judge whether Lt. Col Gowon’s attitudes and other exhibitions of his insincerity are something which can lead to a return of normalcy and confidence in the country.

“I must warn all Easterners once again to remain vigilant. The East will never be intimidated, nor will she acquiesce to any form of dictation. It is not our intention to play the aggressor. Nonetheless, it is not our intention to be slaughtered in our beds. We are ready to defend our homeland.”

In a piece I did last December, shortly after Ojukwu passed away, I said he was virtually pushed into war by the infidelity of the Federal side to the Aburi Accord. I still stand by that position. Ojukwu was called ‘warlord’ for many decades, but he was by no means a warmonger. He only did what he needed to do for his people–and for the country.

As his earthly remains are interred today, it is tragic that Nigeria is still submerged in the morass that Ojukwu already identified about 45 years ago. Today, bombs go off like firecrackers in the country. There is agitation for the review of the revenue allocation formula.
There are strident calls for the convocation of a sovereign national conference. Even some component parts are threatening to pull out of the federation if anything happened to their ‘son’ who is now in power. Didn’t Ojukwu warn of these landmines ahead? Were all these issues not already settled at Aburi?

Foremost journalist and media administrator, Akogun Tola Adeniyi, in a recent media interview, explained the Aburi Accord this way: “Let every region be semi-autonomous and develop at its own level.” Yes, that was the spirit and letter of Aburi, but which sadly became a road not taken.
And is that not why we are still suffering today, living in a rickety and decrepit country that can burst at the seams any moment? I tell you, Ojukwu was a prophet, and like most prophets, he had no honour in his own country. Pity. But whether we like it or not, there’s no way we won’t return to Aburi. Willy-nilly. I only hope it will be sooner than later, before Nigeria goes to grief. On Aburi I stand.

Federal Government was perfidious and duplicitous on Aburi. It is still the same way today. That is why as Nigerians, we are most times disillusioned, dismayed, dispirited, dejected and depressed. When will change come to this land? Our hearts are getting weary.

Last December, I wrote that Ojukwu should be buried like a hero. I’m glad at the rites of passage so far, culminating in the interment today. Yes, bury him like a true hero. An icon, an avatar, deserves no less. This generation will surely not see another like Ojukwu. He fought not only for his own people, but for a true federation founded on justice, fair play, equity and rectitude. Unfortunately, he did not see the Nigeria of his dreams. Will we? Adieu the Ikemba, the Eze Igbo Gburugburu. May your soul rest in peace. Ka nkpur’obi gi zue ike n’adukwa.

                   Peace ?
                   1/4/2022