For the second day running, unknown gunmen have again struck and killed five persons in Borno state, bringing the total number of persons killed in pre dawn attacks in less than 48 hours to twelve.
The latest incident according to a statement by the spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in Maiduguri, Sagir Musa, occurred in Musari community – a village located at the outskirt of Maiduguri.
Mr. Musa said the gunmen sneaked into the community and “secretly carried out selective killings of five people including a serving Nigerian Police Traffic Warden”.
The JTF spokesperson said the incident happened in the early hours of Friday, between 1 – 3 a.m.
He also added that the JTF troops that responded to a distressed call came and arrested three of the suspected assailants and recovered 1 AK 47 Rifle with ten rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.
He said investigation has since commenced on the incident and the operation to apprehend fleeing members of the gang is ongoing.
It is recalled that a similar attack happened Thursday in various locations within Maiduguri, leading to the dead of at least six persons.
Also, Thursday, unknown assailants disguised as customers and killed a prominent business man in the city, Abubakar Girgiri Gashua in front of his store.
Today, we gather here to honour a true hero of the Ijaw Nation. We are here to pay our deepest respect to a great leader and national icon. For us in Bayesla State, the tragic, unfortunate and untimely death of General Andrew Owoye Azazi (CFRC) has created a huge vacuum that would be very difficult to fill. We have not only lost a kinsman, big brother, father, grandfather, friend and colleague; the Ijaw Nation has clearly lost one of its finest and very best! He was a patriot who gave his all!
That is why, as a government, we did not hesitate to declare him as a true hero of Ijaw land and one who is deserving of a heroic burial as his remains will be the first to be interred at the Heroes Park – an exclusive burial/final resting place reserved only for all true legends and heroes of the State. The Heroes Park, where General Azazi will be buried is a fitting tribute to his person and bears eloquent testimonies to the proud legacies and ideals that he was known and admired for. It will also serve as a constant reminder of his unblemished and outstanding record of service to the State and Nation.
To the wonderful family that he left behind, please be rest assured that our prayers will always be with you and you can count on our continued support and co- operation.
Truly, we have lost a visionary leader and statesman and there may be no greater tribute to General Azazi’s illustrious military career than the fact that he was a first class military officer, who rose through the ranks as a professional soldier and duly earned his place in the history of the Nigerian Army as the only decorated four star general who truly earned his rank. Upon his retirement from the army, he was appointed the National Security Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a position which further endeared him to the public as a thorough- bred intelligence officer with an uncommon insight. Undoubtedly, he left an indelible mark of service in this regard with a remarkable performance.
His career in the military was, no doubt, a feat and clearly he will be remembered as one of the most distinguished and outstanding officers of the Nigerian Army. And as the accolades continue to pour in to celebrate his noble stewardship from different quarters, we are further assured that General Azazi was really extraordinary, combining an enviable leadership character with a legacy of service and patriotism.
My family and I send our profound thoughts and prayers to General Azazi’s wife Alero, his children and grand children, to all members of his immediate and extended families and his loved ones.
General Andrew Owoye Azazi, an officer and a worthy gentleman, has finished his race but certainly his good deeds will remain in our hearts until we meet to part no more.
May the Almighty God grant our dear general eternal repose. Amen.
Urges Former President To Accept Incident With Philosophical Calmness
Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has commiserated with former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo over the fire that gutted some sections of his hill top abode in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Reacting to the unfortunate incident, Hon. Dickson expressed serious concern shock and sadness over the inferno, describing it as temporary setback, coming at a time when Christians all over the world are still celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
He called on the elder statesman to accept what has happened with philosophical calmness and remain thankful to God for His mercies and kindness that no lives were lost.
He said the Government and people of Bayelsa State were deeply saddened by the incident and have remained prayerful to God to give him the courage and strength to overcome the loses he suffered as a result of the inferno.
Governor Dickson used the opportunity to appreciate Chief Obasanjo’s immense contributions to Nation building and prayed God to continue to protect and guide him in all his endeavours.
Information available to 247ureports indicates that governor Idris Wada of Kogi State has been involved in grisly Motor accident.
As gathered the governor was seriously wounded in the accident which was fatal, the accident was said to have occurred as the governor was making his way back to Lokoja from Ayingba where he went for a function.
247ureports also gathered that the ADC to the governor died at the spot, while the governor has been taking to a government hospital in Lokoja the Kogi State capital; it is also gathered that he is admitted at the intensive care unit of the hospital alongside others that were injured in the accident.
Reports from unconfirmed sources said Wada may be in loss of consciousness at the State Medical Center where was rushed. The car was said to have somersaulted following what an eyewitness said was a high speed car-tire blow-out.
The accident occurred around Jingbe, just before Salem University (along Lokoja-Ajaokuta road) while the governor and his entourage were returning from Ayingba.
Meanwhile the body of Governor’s ADC is being taken out of the Kogi State Specialist Hospital, apparently for preparation for burial according to Islamic rites.
The popular Eleven Eleven Roundabout is for the third time being pulled down and reworked between 2007 and 2012.
The same treatment was extended this year to the Marian Road /Mary Slessor Avenue on which the epitaph of the famous twin -saving Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor seats on.
The Mary Slessor round about apart from having some of its pillars covered with tiles and the platform on which the image on which the missionary stands on, there is no much value and aesthetic addition.
The Eleven Eleven Roundabout which was built by the Mr. Donald Duke administration and had on its sides features which resemble Egyptian burials vaults, (mummies) was reworked in 2009 to remove those images which church leaders and most residents complained gave the impression that the state worships idols and replaced with a water fountain.
It was adored and loved by the people for its aesthetics but in November this year, it was pulled apart again and reworked without much change to the previous one.
This perhaps, agrees with the opinion of some people who believe that reworking these two roundabouts is ostensibly not for value addition but for egoistic and somewhat hidden reasons.
Some residents who spoke to crossriverwatch in Calabar said that the projects have created opportunity for some people to make money.
“I have not seen anything new that was done in those two roundabouts that is significantly different from what was there. My heart was ape when they removed the image of Mary Slessor from its stand but thank God they have brought it back” Offiong, a Calabar landlord told our reporter.
Ita Esin, another respondent who was waiting for a taxi at the eleven eleven roundabout told our reporter that “this work they are doing every year has become an avenue to steal money without suspicion. They have to do one thing that will last for years and use the money for other things”.
Laura Abang, a graduate from Unical said “when you want to develop a tourism town you have great aesthetics that form part of the tourist sites and one of them is roundabouts within the metropolis. Government has to look for long lasting aesthetic designs that will survive centuries and build their own fame and mystique rather than these stop-gap expediencies that come crumbling every year.”
There were also a lot of emotional outburst by most people interviewed as some of them threatened that, had the image of Mary Slessor not been restored; there would have been street protests.
To them the image of the woman on the strategic roundabout reminds most people in the state of the evil that was perpetrated through the killing of twins; an act that the Scottish lady stopped in Old Calabar kingdom.
“I was beginning to wonder what image they would hoist on that roundabout until they returned the lady. I would have gone on a one man protest if they had brought something else”. Sister Jane, a nun at the nearby St Bernard Catholic Church said.
According to her, what Mary Slessor did for humanity in the Old Calabar kingdom surpasses most efforts by politicians therefore her image standing tall on that roundabout while bearing a set of twin in her hands shows the love and care she brought to the land.
“The Sisters residence, the St Bernard Catholic Church, Holy Child Secondary School are marks of missionary activity, therefore her standing on that strategic roundabout is worth it” Sister Jane added.
On the Eleven Eleven roundabout, residents observe that the money spent on reworking it ought to have been invested somewhere else.
‘They are several roads in Calabar South which are impassable. Government should have deployed that money there and not on pulling down and reworking Eleven Eleven Roundabout”. Ilade Ekpang said.
According to him, the old structure at the roundabout was okay with water coming out from its fountain which contrast with what was previously there. “Close to the roundabout is a lodge which is hardly opened. With the water fountain, visitors would be preoccupied looking at the water not at the old building which houses the lodge”.
Operatives of the Nigerian Army yesterday killed five and injured two suspected members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Ladda’awatih Wal-Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, following a shootout between the two groups in Kaduna.
And in Abuja, there were feelers that men of the Nigerian Army foiled an attempt to attack Abuja, just as gunmen were reported to have killed six people in Riyom, near Jos, in Plateau State.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the Army operation, which lasted about five hours, took place at Namadi Road in Rigasa district of Igabi Local Government Area (LGA) in Kaduna metropolis when the men of the Nigerian Army stormed a bomb making factory in the area following a tip-off.
The Army operatives, LEADERSHIP further gathered, demolished the bomb factory after hours of gun battle, arrested some suspects and also discovered already made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
An eyewitness, who gave his name as Ibrahim Yusuf, said the well-armed soldiers, numbering about 50, stormed the house around 1:30am and conducted a search around the whole area.
“I saw dead bodies of the occupants of the house, numbering at least five, while their children were taken away by the soldiers; but we don’t know where they were taken to. We learnt that the house belongs to one woman who rented the house out at the sum of N120,000 per annum,” he said.
Yusuf appealed to traditional rulers and government to set up a committee to oversee the issue of rents, landlords and agents who are in the habit of giving out houses to people of questionable character.
The ward head of Miyyetti Allah, Alhaji Adamu, told journalists that when he heard the gunfire, he came out to ascertain what was going on, only to meet some soldiers outside his house who told him to go back to his house, and not to panic.
Confirming the incidence, the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 1 Division, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the operation took place between 1:30am and 6am. He said the terrorists had opened fire on the soldiers when they arrived at the area.
According to Usman, “On approaching the factory, some suspected terrorists opened fire and also threw already primed IED at the troops.”
He further stated that the factory had been demolished and advised property owners to be wary of their tenants, even as he advised people to always volunteer information to the security agencies.
The operatives recovered five Mark 4 rifles, three pump action rifles, 20 rolls of detonating cords, 21 nine volts batteries, two remote switches, one testing meter, five assorted daggers and jackknives and other IED materials.
He equally assured that the actions of the Army and 1 Division in particular were aimed at ensuring peace and securing lives and property of law abiding citizens of the state, urging the public to always report suspicious movement to the concern authorities
In Abuja, there are indications that the Army Garrison headquarters had foiled a plot by some terrorists to carry out a suicide bombing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to an unconfirmed report, two drums loaded with explosives, several cans including those of vegetable oils and palm oil converted to IEDS, about six AK 47 rifles and timing materials were recovered from the hideout of the plotters.
Military sources disclosed that two persons, the landlord of the house where the high calibre explosives were recovered and another man described as the middleman who facilitated the movement of the plotters as well as the IEDS to the house where the attack was to be coordinated, have been arrested by the AHQ Garrison, while a manhunt has been activated for the persons scheduled to carry out the bombings.
It was gathered that both the landlord and the middleman are being detained in a military facility in Abuja while the Police and the SSS have been co-opted into the effort to arrest the two runaway plotters.
Investigations showed that security agencies have beefed up security in and around Abuja, with all exit and entry points receiving special attention.
Meanwhile, patrol teams of the AHQ Garrison, Guards Brigade, SSS and the police were moving round the city while gadgets had been activated to intercept any movement of explosives or IEDS around the FCT.
Some military and public institutions premises are under the watchful eyes of heavily armed, fierce looking soldiers. However, when LEADERSHIP called at the Army Headquarters, it was gathered that the report had not been officially filed at the time of filing this report.
Gunmen Kill 6 in Jos
Unknown gunmen yesterday stormed Bachit village and killed three people, leaving several others with severe injuries and shattering the relative peace in the troubled Riyom Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State.
A retired soldier residing in Rim village in the same local government was also killed in his house by some people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on Christmas Day while celebrating with his family.
LEADERSHIP checks revealed also that the gunmen, who came in large numbers, stormed Bachit village yesterday morning and forced their way into a home where they shot a man and his wife in their sleep.
An eyewitness further disclosed that the marauders, while trying to escape, ambushed a man in the same village and killed him while other unlucky people that crossed their paths were also molested and shot, some of whom are presently receiving treatment at the hospital.
A member of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon. Daniel Dem, representing Riyom constituency, confirmed that about six people were killed in Riyom in the last few days.
He further said that the pattern of the killings were not different from the previous ones, adding that those behind the act were the same set of people that had been troubling the area.
He appealed for calm and enjoined the people to be more vigilant. He also counseled them not to be overly reliant on the security men posted to the area, but that they should brace up and not be carried away by the Christmas and New Year festivities.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abuh Emmanuel, said that he was yet to get the details of the attack and promised to get back to our reporter, but never did at the time of falling this report.
Police arrest 4 over attempt to bomb Enugu Airport
Meanwhile, the Enugu state police command have arrested four persons for allegedly attempting to blow up the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu with explosives, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, has said.
The ploy was earlier yesterday by operatives of the Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) of the Enugu State Police Command.
The suspects, whose identities had been kept secret for security reasons, were apprehended while driving to the airport at about 8.30am yesterday.
The four suspects including the driver of their vehicle with registration number KJA 359 AP were reportedly heading towards the airport when they were stopped in their tracks by EOD operatives on routine duties.
According to the PPRO the suspects were arrested after the vehicle conveying them was stopped, upon a thorough search by the operatives, some items believed to be dangerous fireworks contained in two cartons were discovered in the vehicle.
Elders and youths from Peretorugbene, the hometown of the late National Security Adviser; General Andrew Owoeye Azazi, have kicked against the plan to bury the late General in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital
The immediate family of the late General in consultation with the Bayelsa state government had fixed the December 28th and 29th for his burial ceremony in the state, with plans to bury him in a site within Yenagoa.
Addressing a news conference in the state capital on Thursday, some natives of Peretorugbene in Ekeremor local government council of the state led by the Tonkepa of Oporomor kingdom, Chief Abeke Ebikake, described late General Azazi as a great leader who had tremendous respect for the Ijaw tradition and culture, hence their demand for his body to be interred in his home town.
Also speaking at the occasion, the youth leader of Peretorugbene Kingdom, Mr Clement Ekpefa appealed to the wife of the late General to reconsider the decision of the family, saying the planned burial of General Azazi in Yenagoa is an “aberration.”
Peretorugbene is a riverine community in Bayelsa. It is reported that the families’ decision was based on averting numerous helicopter flights that will be needed to convey the General’s corpse and guest to the community.
The former NSA died in a helicopter crash in Nembe area of Bayelsa state on the 15th of December, alongside the former governor of Kaduna state, Mr. Patrick Yakowa and four others.
As part of funeral activities for the late General Owoye Azazi, a service of songs was held in his honour in Lagos on Wednesday.
The police provided cover while the illegal importers warehoused the explosives. The firecrackers, which caused the Lagos explosion, were brought in with active connivance of police officers, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
A police station, Oko-Awo police post, is also located a few metres from the warehouses where the illegal firecrackers were stored before explosion, Wednesday, at Jankara, Lagos Island. The explosion, which killed one and injured 40 others, left 10 buildings severely burnt and damaged.
Residents said the police were aware of the movement of goods in and out of the warehouses prior to the incident. Monsuru Mohammed, who owned one of the destroyed buildings, said that container loads of the illegal explosives are regularly brought into one of the warehouses by a man identified simply as Jossy.
“When coming to offload, he’d come with mobile police. So who will challenge them?” Mr. Mohammed said.
“This is not the first time banger will be causing destruction in our community. About eight years ago, there was a similar fire in Idumagbo Avenue caused by the same people who own the warehouse that caused fire on Wednesday,” Mr. Mohammed added.
A police officer at the Oko-Awo police post declined to comment on whether they were aware of the illegal goods at the warehouse.
Efforts to speak with Ngozi Braide, Lagos State Police Command spokesperson were not successful. Calls made to her phone were not answered.
While visiting the scene on the day of the incident, Ms. Braide had said that the owner of the building “would not go unpunished.”
“It is illegal to deal on goods that are prohibited by law let alone importing such goods into the country,” Ms. Braide said.
Barred from homes’
On Thursday, a bulldozer from the Lagos Public Works Corporation continued to pull down remnants of the burnt buildings; as a handful of fire-fighters sprayed water at the last of the dying flames. There were periodic bangs from firecrackers within the buildings.
The explosion sites remained cordoned by armed police officers to keep dozens of onlookers at bay. The police barrier also kept people who live near the explosion sites away from their homes.
“My house was not directly affected but the police have cordoned off the area. I don’t even know where I’m going to sleep,” said Aishat Baruwa. “I have been outside all day and they will not even allow me to take any of my belongings.”
Police, Customs culpable
The Chairman of Lagos Island local government, Wasiu Eshinlokun, said that the Nigerian Customs and the police are responsible for the incident.
“However, it will also serve a lesson to all of them that, in future, they’ll be more alert to their responsibilities.
“We must have a multi-faceted approach to it. We must do a re-orientation, sensitization, and application of the law,” Mr. Eshinlokun said.
“The next line of action is for government to look at what had caused the problem, those involved in the trading of such items, then how do we mitigate the sufferings of those who were affected?” he added.
The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had also demanded a thorough investigation of the source and ownership of the bangers. The governor, during his visit to the site of the explosion on Wednesday, said everyone involved should be brought to book.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s write up titled “ We Remember Differently: Tribute to Chinua Achebe @ 82” posted in Saharareporters on 24th November 2012 and published in The Guardian of Sunday, November 25, 2012 on pages 34- 35 was a good effort.
In the said write up, Chimamanda did well in bringing out more meanings and interpretations of the issues raised by Prof. Chinua Achebe in his latest book titled “There was a Country…” especially as they concern late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the civil war starvation strategy. She also made an interesting point to an unreading nation that “… we must hear one another’s stories”, therefore there was need to discuss Biafra and related issues people suffered or enjoyed differently during the 1967-1970 civil war. I will come back to this later.
Two of such issues, Chimamanda wrote, were the abandoned properties issue and the changing of Igbo names all in Port Harcourt. She said: “Abandoned property cases remain unresolved today in Port Harcourt, a city whose Igbo names were changed after the war, creating ‘Rumu’ from ‘Umu’”. Take note that Rumu is an Ikwerre word for children and was not created from the Igbo word Umu. Also, Port Harcourt is the political and oil city of the Ikwerre people. So the two issues were directed at the Ikwerre people. Ikwerre is an ethnic group in Rivers State and was under the Eastern Region during the regional government era in Nigeria, between 1951 and 1967. The then Eastern Region government was under the total domination and control of the Igbo; just like the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani did in Western and Northern regions respectively.
As Ikwerre, I understand the old misunderstood argument by the Igbo that Ikwerre people, after the civil war, changed their Igbo names to Ikwerre names. Also, the Igbo claimed that Ikwerre did this to deny being Igbo. These incorrect claims by the Igbo must be corrected.
Let me educate Chimamanda that Ikwerre names were first changed by the Igbos when the latter colonized the former under the Eastern Regional Government. During this time, Ikwerre was under total social, economic and political control of the Igbo, hence it was extremely difficult then to challenge the changing of Ikwerre names by the Igbo. Who was Ikwerre to challenge Igbo maximum leadership actions in Ikwerreland? We know the indignities suffered by late Chief E. J. A. Oriji in the Eastern House of Assembly and indeed in the hands of the Eastern Region government by insisting that Ikwerre is not Igbo.
Another means through which Igbo names came into existence in Ikwerre was via other interactions between the Ikwerre and the Igbo. But note that these interactions were initially with mutual respect but later became one between a stronger culture (Igbo) and a weaker culture (Ikwerre) within a new rampaging political regime that favoured the Igbo culture aimed at becoming an absolute dominant culture in the region. For example there were names like Port Azikiwe (Igbo name) for Port Harcourt; Igirita (Igbo name) for Igwuruta; Amaweke (Igbo name) for Rumuokwuta; Obinna (Igbo name) for Ovundah; Onyemaechi (Igbo name) for Yelemaekhile etc. Take note that the non-Igbo names were there before they were changed by the Igbo into Igbo names. Natuarally, the Ikwerre did not like the changing of such names; but Ikwerre could not challenge these local colonizers.
Also recall that during the Eastern Regional Government, Igbo language was the second official language used to teach in schools throughout the region, to worship in churches and used in offices. Some Ikwerre who dared to use Ikwerre language in the church for example were punished by the Igbo who were in charge of the churches in the first place (see page 145 in my book titled: The Challenge of Ikwerre Development in Nigeria 2011).
It was in these circumstances that, especially after the creation of Rivers State, Ikwerre people got relieved and encouraged enough to change some of the Igbo-imposed names back to their original Ikwerre names. It was this second change of names that Chimamanda and indeed most Igbos see as Ikwerre’s effort at denying being Igbo. That is not true! The real reason for the second change of names was to return the names to their true and authentic Ikwerre names.
Notwithstanding this second-change-effort, Igbo names still exist in Ikwerre as relics of Ikwerre history, just like Nigerians still bear English and Arabic names. Is a Nigerian bearing David Mark an English or German? So far, researches on Ikwerre origin do not overwhelmingly suggest that Ikwerre is Igbo. But long time lopsided relationship between Igbo and Ikwerre had led to the semblance of Ikwerre as Igbo. This has led to Ikwerre being stampeded in Nigeria as a minority ethnic group and Ikwerre had suffered all kinds of humiliation, marginalization and denials within an unbrotherly Federal Republic of Nigeria. Do you know what it means to live between two enemies? Ikwerre live between the Igbo whose aim remains to own the areas up till the Atlantic Ocean and have a port there for her businesses; while the Ijaw will not allow that to happen. But Igbo cannot get to the coast without passing through Ikwerre and other lands which do not belong to them. And Ijaw needs some land to claim true ownership of the coast and adjoin land areas. This is why Port Harcourt had remained essentially an economic and political issue between the Igbo and the Ijaw: hence, you hear the Igbo insisting that Ikwerre is Igbo and Ijaw saying Ikwerre is Igbo so that they can claim Port Harcourt. So for the Ikwerre, it has been a tug of war to sustain her identity in this heavy acrimony.
Now, let us go back to the issue of discussing Nigeria’s past that had planted hate, intolerance, indiscipline, corruption and ultimately underdevelopment in Nigeria. Those issues to be discussed should include the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates on January 1, 1914; Bakassi Island; the creation of Nigeria into three regions that appeared like sharing out Nigeria to the so-called majority ethnic groups of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa-Fulani; the ethnic minorities second class status in Nigeria; the election and denial of Nnamdi Azikiwe into the Western House; the sacking of Prof. Ita Eyo by Azikiwe from the Eastern House; the imprisonment of Obafemi Awolowo; the Weti; the 15th January 1966 coup; the 1966 genocide against the Igbos across Northern Nigeria; the 29th July 1966 Danjuma coup; Biafra; the Gideon Orka coup in April 1990; Dele Giwa; the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election; the killing of MKO Abiola; Kenule Saro-Wiwa etc. The success of this discussion may mark the beginning of the true healing process of Nigeria’s hateful past because these are the key issues that had embittered Nigerians against themselves and indeed Nigeria. May I suggest that if this discussion is ever allowed to hold and it succeeds, it must naturally lead to a national conference for the making of the Nigerian peoples’ constitution? Nigeria cannot succeed with its peoples having deep hurt and spite in their hearts, while fickle selfish unprogressive minds in politics and business pretend that all is well. Never mind, the Nigerian revolution will take care of them!
Therefore, if there is any ethnic group that desires to participate in the discussion Chimamanda suggested in her article, that ethnic nationality is the Ikwerre who is still leaking her unhealed and festering wounds inflicted on her by her serial colonizers: the Igbo, Ijaw, Britain and Nigeria.
Since the inception of civil rule in Nigeria in 1999 there have been several interventions initiated at the instance of wives of important political office holders such as the Wife of the President; Wives of Governors at the state level and wives of key national legislators.
These interventions have received diverse attention from a broad spectrum of observers and the general perception among these critical observers is that a clear majority of these initiatives were and are introduced by these women for purely selfish aggrandizement; self promotion and ego-tripping. This is because most of these projects are o cosmetic that they do not make significant impact in the lives of the poor populace that keep increasingly by the day due to political corruption and economic crimes by the political elite. Most of these initiatives were not designed with the people in mind therefore not relevant to the needs of the people.
Surely not all of these interventions in the different areas of human endeavours introduced by wives of serving influential political office holders at the different levels of government in Nigeria are introduced for these kinds of selfish purposes but these analysts are altogether not completely wrong when they asserted that majority of these interventions especially by the wives of state governors are not well thought out even as most of these initiatives die and fade away as quickly as the husbands of these women who created them in the first instance quit their political positions.
There have therefore been clamour from a cross segment of the society for the wives of state governors to take their time to assemble community of experts to think through any interventions and initiatives that they intend to start so that these programs and policies can stand the test of time and serve the objective for which they are established and especially to serve the utilitarian purpose which is to promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number of their citizens and especially the very indigent and poverty- stricken segment of their populace in their respective states.
This is because it is a sacred fact that poverty walks with four legs in much of the 36 states of the federation and Abuja.
As I write this piece I am spending my Christmas in Ndiuche -Arondizuogu in the Aro-Umuduru Autonomous community in Onuimo local government council of Imo state and I can report that there is no single functional primary healthcare center here to service the large rural populace who are mostly peasant farmers; big time farmers and traders and yet these people are law abiding that they pay their taxes as at when due. The question therefore is why there are total absent of basic amenities like rural roads; clean water/sanitation and electricity power in this part of Imo State and yet we read daily in the press that a revolutionary rescue mission is happening in Imo state? Governor Rochas Okorocha must stop this media showmanship and begin a process of deliberate rural development anchored on the provision of basic infrastructure to make life bearable. The wife of Imo state governor should borrow a leaf from her Ebonyi state counterpart and start up a project that would impact on the large rural poor women especially in the area of providing succour to their health challenges and empowering them economically through credit schemes to expand their agricultural activities to feed Imo state people. I am aware that she recently donated a block of flats to some few widows in a part of Imo state but this is not enough even though it is a commendable step.
In Nigeria, rural and urban poverty have become very disturbing and every interventions to reduce and/or eradicate these poverty in line with the millennium development goals ought to be encouraged by all and sundry and these respective interventions must importantly be well institutionalized and backed up with all the necessary legal frameworks to sustain their existence and consistent service deliverance to the poorest of the poor in our communities scattered across the states of the federation.
But a clear departure from the routine projects and programs introduced by wives of state governors in Nigeria is the medical apostolate started in 2007 by the wife of the Ebonyi state governor Mrs. Josephine N. Elechi which is known as the Mother and Child Initiative [MCCI]. Studies and pragmatic research conducted by this writer on the invitation of one of my very supportive human rights activists- Mr. Ivoke Philip Ivoke, shows clearly that the Ebonyi state Mother and Child Initiative [MCCI] introduced in 2007 is very unique in the sense that it was set out to address a very complex and complicated health challenge confronting a great number of young but poor rural and urban women in Nigeria known as OBSTETRIC FISTULA.
Specifically, obstetric fistula is clearly a major public health challenge in Nigeria and studies shows that the health problem is largely noticeable in the Northern parts of Nigeria but other poor young women and mothers in other parts of the country are affected. I was told by some medical professionals that early marriage of little girls to older men is the fundamental cause of this health problem which at a time was of grave proportion in severity. The prevalence estimates range between 400,000 and 800,000 including an estimated 20,000 new cases every year, according to scientific paper obtained from the office of the Ebonyi state Mother and Child Initiative [MCCI].
An interesting dimension in all this wonderful story is that the wie of the Ebonyi state governor is not alone in introducing this unique kind of medical related interventions aimed at providing affordable and/or free healthcare services to the poorest of the poor because in Cross River State the wife of the governor Mrs. Liyel Imoke also has an initiative aimed at tackling the increasingly health challenge posed by PNEUMONIA. The Cross River state Governor’s wife has also established orphanages and homes whereby young vulnerable females put in family way by morally depraved men in the larger society and abandoned are taken care of till delivery. Mrs. Imoke is reported to have taken away hundreds of thousands of street children off the streets. Mrs. Imoke and Mrs. Elechi of Cross River and Ebonyi states are therefore great testaments that good things still abound within the precinct of political administration in Nigeria. This is a symbol of hope that must be supported and sustained to make remarkable positive impacts in the lives of millions of disadvantaged and very critically poor Nigerians.
Few weeks back when Mr. Ivoke Philip Ivoke drew my attention to the activities of the Ebonyi state Women and Children Initiative of Mrs. Josephine Elechi, a professional Nurse by training, I was fascinated to discover that her initiative which started only in 2007 has gone a long way to achieving so much to address this huge health challenge posed to a lot of rural women by the OBSTETRIC FISTULA particularly because of the graphic reality that with only 2,000 to 4,000 fistula repair surgeries being carried out yearly, there is a large backlog of patients waiting for surgeries.
It is estimated that our country accounts for 40 percent of the World wide prevalence of OBSTETRIC FISTULA. From the look of things, this is a big health issue in the same dimension with the wild polio which has brought international opprobrium to Nigeria. The effort by the Ebonyi state governor’s wife to bring the problem of obstetric fistula to the front burner of public discourse is therefore noble and must be supported by all and sundry even as the Presidency through the office of the Senior Special Assistant on the Millennium Development Goals must take special attention to the activities of the EBONYI STATE MOTHER AND CHILD INITIATIVE and provide the project with the necessary funding support to continue to address this big health issue and also because ending and/or halving the effects of mother and child mortalities and morbidities are among the eight Millennium Development Goals which the United Nations member nations including Nigeria has set for themselves to achieve by the year 2015.
The vision of the Ebonyi state mother and child initiative as discovered from our investigation based on facts and figures made available by competent sources is to facilitate the creation of an optimized environment that will allow for the attainment, fulfillment and self actualization of the Ebonyi women and children.
The objectives of the initiatives which are being carefully implemented by a formidable team of resource persons appointed to coordinate the program by the wife of the Ebonyi state governor are to empower the Ebonyi women; to reduce maternal mortality; to promote an environment that will allow for the eradication of maternal morbidities like VESICO-VAGINAL FISTULA; to facilitate the establishment of functional primary/comprehensive health facilities in the state and promote effective referral systems; facilitate the establishment of cancer screening centers in Ebonyi state; to educate the public on unhealthy lifestyles and how to avoid them; to facilitate the development and empowerment of Ebonyi youth and to promote mother and child survival.
Some of the verifiable achievements made since 2007 that the Ebonyi state Mother and Child initiative started include the fact that the number of deliveries in all types of health facilities in the state has doubled in 2009 compared to 2006 before the inception of this noble project. As a result of this landmark health achievement made possible by aggressive community mobilzation and provision of free maternal care in mission hospitals thousands of poor women and children have received health reliefs. Secondly, the number of antenatal care attendance has tripled in the same period even as 524 women of Ebonyi state origin and 13 other states of the federation in Nigeria have had their fistula repaired at the SOUTH EAST FISTULA CENTER. The strategies adopted and the intervention implemented by the Mother and Child Initiative of the Ebonyi state governor’s wife has been comprehensive and integrated in such a way that a synergy has been created with relevant government interventions at state and local government levels. This is important so that pet projects commenced to compliment government core mandate does not encroach or take over the fundamental functions of institutions established for public good funded with tax payers money. Again I support the clamor for these pet projects to be backed up by firm legal frameworks to make them people oriented and to be able to outlive their founders. There is need for continuity of these projects and humanitarian services to poor populace by wives of state governors.
During the course of doing this research for this piece, Mr. Ivoke Philip Ivoke provided documentary evidence to show that the Ebonyi State women and children initiative has successfully developed and implemented strategies and interventions in several areas including advocacy and community mobilisation activities leading to effective prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of patients in need of assistance. Such are they proves of initiatives that should be supported to gain firm root in our society whereby the majority of our people are poor, disadvantaged and uneducated.
By this remarkable institution established by the wife of the Ebonyi state Governor, it is evident that not all the so-called pet projects of wives of political office holders are cosmetic; selfish and untenable. This is to call on all the wives of state governors to borrow a leaf from the wife of the Ebonyi state governor who has used her professional calling as a professionally trained and experienced Nurse and Midwife to start a revolutionary medical apostolate that is aimed at providing succor to women who are suffering from this serious health complications that cost a lot of money to treat. The most salient aspect is the issue of advocacy campaign waged by this non-governmental organization to educate the Ebonyi state women and women in other states of the ways of preventing this health problem so as to give them healthy life for themselves and their children. The office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Millennium Development Goals should look into ways and manners that it could partner with this credible initiative of the wife of the Ebonyi state governor to stop the spread of this serious health problem among the rural women and their urban poor counterparts.
