Unknown gunmen on Friday attacked the Maiha Prison and Divisional Police Station in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa.
A resident of the town, who preferred anonymity, said in Maiha in Adamawa that the attack took place at about 3 am. on December 28. The source added that the attack also affected the Government Lodge and two courts, which were set ablaze by the gunmen.
The witness, however, could not confirm if there were casualties or if some prison inmates were released during the incident. Reacting to the development on phone, the state Controller of Prisons, Andrew Barka, confirmed the attack.
Mr. Barka, who declined to give details of the attack, however, said that he was on his way to Maiha. “I am on my way to Maiha with the Commissioner of Police,” Mr. Barka said.
The Police Commissioner, Godfrey Okeke, refused to speak about the issue, dismissing the reporter with, “Please I am busy for now, don’t disturb me.”
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.
