Megalie Bamu (left) and Eric Birkubi (right) both 28 guilty of killing Kristy
A couple have been found guilty of murdering a teenager they had
accused of using witchcraft.
BBC reports that Eric Bikubi, 28, and Magalie Bamu, aged 29, from Newham, east London, had denied killing Bamu’s 15-year-old brother
Kristy.
Kristy drowned in a bath on Christmas Day in 2010, during torture to
produce exorcism, an Old Bailey jury heard.
Bikubi had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished
responsibility, but the prosecution rejected his plea.
The pair, who are both originally from the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced on
Monday. Observers say DRC witchcraft related abuse in DRC could only
be compared to Nigeria where children are said to be tortured and
killed or buried alive without much official action part from strong
denials.
Kristy died in unimaginable circumstances at the hands of people who
he loved and trusted”
Kristy Bamu’s family
The family of the murdered teenager said they had “forgiven” his killers.
A family statement, read out in court by prosecutor Brian Altman QC,
said: “We will never forget, but to put our lives back into sync we
must forgive.
Magalie Bamu “stoked the fire” of Bikubi’s violence, the court heard
“We take no comfort in the verdicts – we have been robbed of a beloved
son, a daughter, a son-in-law.
“Kristy died in unimaginable circumstances at the hands of people who
he loved and trusted. People who we all loved and trusted.”
Judge David Paget, who was presiding over his last trial before
retiring, told the jury of seven women and five men the case was so
“harrowing” he was exempting them from jury service for the rest of
their lives.
‘Begged to die’
“It is a case we will all remember,” he told them. “Court staff will
speak to you and offer help to you.”
During the trial, jurors heard Kristy was in such pain after three
days of attacks by Bikubi and Bamu, who used knives, sticks, metal
bars and a hammer and chisel, that he “begged to die”, before slipping
under the water.
Kristy had been killed while he and his siblings were visiting Bikubi
and Bamu for Christmas, the court was told.
Bikubi argued he was mentally ill, but the prosecution rejected his plea
During the stay, Bikubi turned on them, accusing them of bringing
“kindoki” – or witchcraft – into his home.
He then beat all three of them and forced other children to join in
with the attacks, the jury heard.
But it was Kristy who became the focus of the defendant’s attention,
the prosecution said.
Bamu and football coach Bikubi believed he had cast spells on another
child in the family, the Old Bailey heard.
Kristy had refused to admit to sorcery and witchcraft and his
punishments, in a “deliverance” ceremony, became more horrendous until
he admitted to being a sorcerer.
The defence had argued Bikubi was mentally ill when he carried out the
killing, with a scan of his brain showing lesions which “probably
contributed to an abnormal mental state”.
However, the prosecution had rejected this as a plea to reduce the
charge against him.
During her defence, Magalie Bamu told the jury Bikubi had forced her
to join in the attack on the children.
But the court heard there was ample evidence to show she hit Kristy
and “stoked the fire of violence” Bikubi had embarked on in the flat.
‘Never acceptable’
Outside court, chief crown prosecutor Jenny Hopkins said Bikubi “knew
exactly what he was doing”.
“His actions were nothing short of torture and he inflicted on the
victims violence on an unimaginable scale,” she said.
“It has also been proven that his accomplice – Magalie Bamu – acted of
her own accord.
“She willingly subjected her 15-year-old brother to extreme violence.”
Met Det Supt Terry Sharpe said: “Child abuse in any form, including
that based on a belief in witchcraft or spirit possession, is a
horrific crime which is condemned by people of all cultures,
communities and faith, and is never acceptable in any circumstances.”
Kristy’s family said they hoped comfort could be drawn from his death
through raising awareness “of the plight of children accused of
witchcraft or spirit possession and promote the need to safeguard
children’s rights”.
UN CONNCERN
United Nation Human Right is currently investigating cases of
witchcraft killing in Congo Democratic Republic. In a letter signed by
the Associate Human Right Officer of the Civil and Political Rights
Section, Irina Tabirta, says UNHR is currently drafting a report based
on the 2009 mission of the right to life in DRC.
“The UN Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions is currently drafting
a follow-up report on the situation of the right to life in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), based on a past 2009 mission
report to the DRC of his predecessor.
Since the 2009 report mentioned also the phenomenon of witchcraft in
the DRC and cases when it resulted in deaths (deaths and threats to
death fall within this mandate), we are looking for an update on the
current situation of witchcraft killings in the DRC… “
The Force of Witchcraft Belief
The level of witchcraft abuses and killing in Africa is growing every
day. Very little effort has been made to address this ugly trend by
the government as people, mostly children and the aged continue to be
lynched after accusation by religious groups. Even organisation
working to rescue those accused of possessing demonic power or
witchcraft spell still believe that some of the accused could still be
guilty, except an organisation called the Child’s Right and
Rehabilitation Network (CRARN) founded by a certain Sam Ikpe Itauma in
Eket, Nigeria that strongly professes not believe in witchcraft.
Nigeria: A Lagos court has dissolved the marriage between a couple after the wife cut off her husband’s penis with a knife.
The 28-year old woman, Janet Uduak was dragged to a customary court in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria by her husband, Kolawole Richard, for using a kitchen knife to slice his penis when he attempted to have sex with her.
Janet, mother of a kid, allegedly carried out the act because her husband demanded for sex from her against her wish.
Richard was seriously injured and as a result, he cannot have erection again.
The incident happened at 19, Jagun street, Okokomaiko, on the outskirts of Lagos.
After the incident, he dragged his wife to Ijanikin customary court for the dissolution of the marriage.
Richard asked the court to dissolve the marriage because Janet was violent and she does not perform her matrimonial obligation including allowing him to have sex with her.
He explained to the court that he went to her village in Akwa Ibom State and paid N50,000 dowry before marrying her, yet whenever he wanted to sleep with her, there was always trouble in the bedroom.
Richard, who is from Ondo state and a teacher, told the court that because of her behaviour, he was no longer in love with her.
He tendered a photograph of his severed penis before the court.
He also asked the court to grant him the custody of their only daughter.
Reacting, the remorseful woman pleaded to him to forgive her, promising that she will fulfil her obligation as his wife including
allowing him to have sex any time he wanted.
But Richard insisted that the marriage should be dissolved.
The President of the court, Mr. S. K. Hussain noted that the relationship has completely broken down.
He consequently dissolved the marriage and ordered Richard to pay Janet N26,000 as alimony.
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Remember him? In the sixties when many Igbos living in the Northern parts of Nigeria were slaughtered in thousands by the Hausas and driven back to their place of origin, Igboland, this Oxford trained historian and a Colonel in the then Nigerian Army who was the governor of Eastern Region declared the whole of that region, Republic Of Biafra. Nigerian government considered that republic illegal and vowed to use police action to crush the secession within twenty four hours. But it was not as easy. What followed next was a 30 month internecine war between Nigeria and the newly created republic. Conservative estimates put the number of Igbos killed during the outbreak of that hostilities as over one million. With the defeat of Biafra, Col. Ojukwu went into exile to Ivory Coast only to return during the
civilian administration of Shehu Shagari and was granted full pardon. Since then, he has rejoined the political community of Nigeria. But today, the man who wedged a tough war against Nigeria with little or no ammunition, is talking tough again. He takes another look at that war, what future holds in store for Nigeria, a report card on the present Obasanjo administration, etc. etc. In what may be considered a journalistic scoop, McLord Obioha, Editor of The Nigerian, met with Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu while he was in the United States to witness the birth of his third child, a son, Nwachukwu Ojukwu, by his wife, Bianca. This interview is as probing as it is explosive. Excerpts:
As a man who led Igbos following the creation of Biafra, perhaps, there is no better person to ask this question: Is the plight of Igbos better today than some thirty years ago?
OJUKWU: Well, there is no doubt in my mind that Igbos are the most marginalized people in the entire Nigerian complex. But before I go into it, I want to take this rare opportunity to give my best wishes to your teaming number of readers. I am particularly happy to have this opportunity to exchange views with them and I want to also stress the fact that we at home look very forward to them for leadership and leadership ideas. Now, it has to be stated as a matter of fact that Ndi Igbo after the civil war despite the proclamation of “No Victor, No Vanquished”, have been treated from the end of that war to the present day as a vanquished people. The Igbos are still not in Nigeria … no restitution for their goods vandalized or appropriated wrongly by those who fought on the Nigerian side. Ndi Igbo are still suffering the ravages caused to their internal economy by the heartlessness of Nigerian leaders. These are certain things that I will be taking up as we go along. Ndi Igbo were publicly told to bring, no matter what they had in the banks and then at the end of the transition, we were only given twenty pounds in return. There can be no worst assault on their right as human beings and citizens of a country than that. These things were done perhaps, sort of in the euphoria of sort … of supposed victory by the Nigerian troops! But it has to be decided whether we are full citizens of Nigeria or not. There is no way you can justify a situation not even as in great wars to have a people deprived of what clearly was their own. As the Jews today are being given their money back and their paintings back and so on, let me make it very plain and even put it forward as a warning to Nigeria that before there can be absolute peace, there must be a requisite restitution. No Igbo man can live fully in Nigeria as a disabled.
Why is the glass ceiling still holding sway in One Nigeria of today?
OJUKWU: It is very simple. You don’t blame the Igbo man for not rising to high level. It is the ceiling that makes sure that no Igbo man rises to a high level. We have not over the years won any political power. We haven’t got in a good lien on political power and it is… an Igbo… conspiracy of the war that persists long after that war is over. Sooner or later, it should be a political objective to dismantle the conspiracy that fought the war. Remember that this new government is so very much symbolic of that conspiracy. There is the minister of defense, Danjuma, there is the head of state himself, Obasanjo, and elsewhere within. It is still the same group that fought against Ndi Igbo. Now, very soon Nigeria has to decide whether there will be peace and for that, even in Kosovo there was a peace conference and I think very soon it has to be decided either a Nigeria peace conference, a national conference or a conference where the rest of the country and Ndi Igbo will reassess the peace coming from the end of the war.
Other tribes in Nigeria ridicule Igbos for not having a leader. Do Igbos have a leader?
OJUKWU:The funny thing about Igbos not having leaders is that the only people actually who said that with effect are the Igbos. Every Hausa man knows who the true lgbo leader is. Every Yoruba man knows. It is the Igbos rejecting leadership that is the issue and sooner or later we have to face the fact that we can’t really move forward without leadership. I look forward to the time when with open arms and hearts, the Igbos will embarrass their leadership. As I said sometime ago, as far as I am concerned… because when I say these things, people imagine I have vested interest in it. I haven’t. At 65, two things have to be very clear. I have run my race. I have my baton in my hand, it is a relay, I am waiting for somebody to take the baton from me. The other thing is that I still find it quite, quite incongruous, and I don’t know how to explain how I
will if l suddenly one day aspires to be president of Nigeria after being Head of State of Biafra. It is incongruous and then in fact it is almost part of the problem with Ndi Igbo. We like to have it both ways. We like to have our bread buttered both sides. It is what I call the Mbekwu syndrome. This idea that no matter the circumstance, we must hang on a little bit to one side. Now you’re probably wondering what I mean by the Mbekwu syndrome. I have always said when our people, somehow finally reflect like all other people are now, the hero of their mythology then …When you look at the Hausa’s who always proclaim the prowess of the Jackal, omnivorous and so on, and the Yorubas, their partners who always proclaim the prowess of the hunter, but don’t forget that the Yoruba hunter is a Trappist, then you will understand it clearly. They set the trap, they withdraw and when the trap has caught, they come back and take the prey. Finally, our experience with these two groups and others elsewhere tend to underline the fact that people usually act in accordance with the qualities of their mythology. Now you ask yourself, why do we choose the tortoise as ours, the tortoise will never confront, ends up eventually victorious either by stealth or cunning. At the end of the day, he has won and if he doesn’t even win, he will persuade you that he has won. And somehow in this modern day, it appears that the Igbos are moving towards that direction. I think politics of today deserves a better approach, a more forthright approach.
What really are the problem of Igbos?
OJUKWU: I think the problem of Igbos is 50/50. It is about leadership as well as followership. The leadership fails mainly because of the followership and of course the followership due to confusion of the leadership. The problem I have said always is that within the ranks of the Igboland, those who should be given leadership of Ndi Igbo they themselves are in conflict. We have not,you see, cleared our minds and we should do that very quickly as to our true positions… whether we are Ndi Igbo or whether primarily we are Nigerians. These are the problems.
Do you think that there are something that Igbos abroad can do to arrest these problems especially their so called marginalization in Nigeria?
OJUKWU: Well, the first thing as I have said they really need do is to forge a national identity and get them all working together. I believe actually that there should be no dichotomy between the Igbos abroad and the ones at home. I look to the Igbos abroad as our window to the world. I look upon them as those most likely to produce the next leadership. I look upon them because actually by our history, leadership has never emerged at home. It emerges from outside and then takes the leadership at home. So I keep on urging our people abroad to stop their inferiority complex. At 33, I was making earth moving statements and taking positions. A lot of them are in their 50 …a lot of them are certainly 40s. Now if they don’t make their marks today, when are they ever going to make it? So when they say to me that oh, they’re waiting for the people at home to give leadership, I laugh. I say this is avoidance of your duty because at your age, you should be giving leadership.
How do you assess Obasanjo’s regime?
OJUKWU: How can I assess it? I can’t assess it yet because I haven’t even lived under one single day of his governance. I have heard a lot about what he has done and what he hasn’t done in particular. I have heard one occasion to applaud in a certain way his retirement of certain officers. Personally, I think it was a good thing, but I have my fears. My fears derive from the fact that we are now running a democratic government and there is no way you can sidestep the institution of consultation. I don’t know whom he consulted or when the decision was taken. You see there is this talk, this appearance that even though a civilian government is in place, it is running in a military fashion. There are no decrees anymore, but when have these things been debated in the legislature only for him to take unilateral decisions? Of course today, Nigerians are applauding, clapping and clapping and all that, but we are falling back into the same trap. We are either democratic or we are not. My view is that we must proceed immediately to democratize all our practices and even our language. People do not say to you in a democracy “Until further notice,” “With immediate effect” and things like that. These are things we have to look into.
During the last Nigerian election, a prominent Yoruba professor in Lagos said and I quote, “The Yorubas can vote either way, because it
is our time,” what do you think of that statement?
OJUKWU: These outbursts actually have no great significance. The important thing is that the Yorubas have demonstrated the subtleties of their politics. They have moved from being number one enemy, rebel and everything straight into the State house and that is a measure of their astuteness in politics. It will do us good to accept, one, that we have been defeated, two, that the Yorubas are better at handling their own politics, because once you have agreed that way, then you can start learning from them instead of what we are doing … pretending that there was No victor. No no, no, we have been taught that they have found a mental lesson of politics.
So you are saying that the Igbos have been defeated?
OJUKWU: Yes… in politics, yes…
As an Igbo leader, how do you feel about it?
OJUKWU: I feel terrible.
Now is there a plan out there for Babangida to succeed Obasanjo after all? Who else do you think is in offing to take over?
OJUKWU: I don’t know how we keep on building bogies and after sometime we allow the boogies to whip us. I don’t know. Babangida has not told me anything. Why don’t people put it down and say, is there not a plan that Ojukwu or is there not a plan that Okafor will take over? Why do we think, even with our frame of mind as a defeated people, people with no right we should be thinking positively. Now, why don’t we sit down and decide that the next president of Nigeria will be an Igbo man and work for it? Four years campaigning…why not… nobody tells you not to campaign. Or would like to see that type of positiveness in thinking.
Major Abubakar Umar, former governor of Kaduna State said that it would be too uncomfortable for majority of Nigerians to accept an Igbo as president 30 years after that internecine war. What do you think about that kind of statement?
OJUKWU: Yes. Yes. He is my very good friend. In fact, I must confess that at a certain stage, I invited him to join the PDC. He is a good friend. He is forthright. But when he of course reflects his own antecedence, he will accept in fairness, perhaps, he will consider that arrogance and all what not. I don’t spend much time considering what others particularly on the other side say to great Ndi Igbo.
Do you think that the former military officers should be probed?
OJUKWU: Former military officers?
Yes. Those who have held government offices all these time and stalled democracy?
OJUKWU: Let me put it this way. I think that everybody who display unexplained wealth should be probed. That is an important issue. Not because you wore khaki or anything. No. If I see you today driving a Rolls Royce and I know it’s a brand new one, then I should ask you where you got it from. Now, you should show me how it reflects the tax you have been paying and your salary. Simple.
If you take a reflection of Biafra now, what would it have been like if it had succeeded?
OJUKWU: On one word, if we had succeeded, by now, we would have been like Taiwan. Taiwan of that geographic area.
Do you think that world powers knew this and did not want that to happen?
OJUKWU:I don’t care what they knew and did not know. The real point is, and we have to always look into it…you are the architect of your own fortune or misfortune. Don’t keep on looking for bogies all around when the whole purpose of this is actually to defy world reaction or opinion. It’s that simple.
It has been reported that you said if you had to do it all over again, you will … I mean another Biafra… for the sake of Igbo tribe which you said is being marginalized?
OJUKWU: I have always said to people that I am not only Igbo, I am Igbogburugburuigbo. I am the core of the Igbo race. Igbogburugburuigbo. Complete Igbo. That’s what I am and I make no bones about it. You see, my problem is that I accept that this is what I am. I don’t stop anybody from being anything for his own people but I want everybody to know that when you sit around the table with me, the first thing I will look for is Igbo interest. That is my duty and I am very proud of it.
So if it means fighting again, you will take up arms and defend the interest of Igbo race?
OJUKWU: I am now an old man. I don’t know the type of fight I will sort of carry out now. But if the interest is the word fight, yes, I will…
There were some Igbo children who were taken to Gabon at the height of the civil war, do you have anything to tell us about them.? Do you have any idea what happened to them?
OJUKWU: Some were returned to Nigeria, but from Gabon, quite a lot went to France. Those in the Ivory Coast were returned to Nigeria. To help their identity, I gave everyone that went from Gabon as a middle name, my own name, so you will find people who have Agnes Ojukwu or something else and so on and so forth. I said it was a little way of getting some form of identity. The other thing is that if you remember since the end of the war we have not as Ndi Igbo had the authority of government … If we had, we would do what a good government should be doing for its citizens. I deplore the fact actually that after the peace has been established, Nigeria as an entity has not found it necessary to set up a committee and investigate and try and get these children back because … What I did during the war was justified by the situation of a war. And I did the best I could as a government to save future generation. Well, a new government has taken over, they still have the same duty to our citizen. I believe they should have done it and whenever they decide to do it, I will give them total support in finding our children wherever they may be.
As a follow up to that question, why is there no war memorial for the Nigerian-Biafran war?
OJUKWU: I don t know, I don’t know. I don’t know, I don’t know what has happened to the Igbo conscience. I don’t know why we are so afraid of our shadows.
What about the Nigerian government?
OJUKWU: It is not for the Nigerian government to immortalize those they claim to have defeated, it is for us Ndi Igbo to immortalize our heroes, those who died so that we would live. Nobody has ever said we should not mourn our dead. Nobody has said we should not immortalize our perished heroes. It is up to us. It is a duty we have, And as far as I am concerned, actually, call it superstitious … but Igbo tradition says we will
never see good until we have led them to rest in eternal peace. Perhaps whatever we are suffering today is as a result of that… I don’t know. But I think it is a duty and a debt we all have to pay.
You wrote a book, “Because I was Involved” but many still believe you have not given the full account of your role from the sixties to the present. Is that the book you wanted to write? When are you going to write that long awaited book?
OJUKWU: I don’t know whoever employed me to write books. I write whatever I want to write. Whoever wants another book better sit on his posterior and write his own book. I will write a book when I feel like writing a book. I will write certain thing down for posterity, so that our children’s children will know as much as possible what actually happened from my level about the crisis and trauma which we are all still suffering now. Let nobody push me. Has Gowon written any book? The sooner he learns how to write and writes a book, the better…
At the dying days of Abacha regime, there were speculations that you were very close to him. Can you explain that?
OJUKWU: I was not close to him. He was in Abuja, I was in Enugu so I couldn’t have been close to him that way. Abacha became Ojukwu’s friend more so when everybody was running away from Abacha. When he was alive, I was not preeminent as his friend. You try and think back, we know those who were his friend, but I must say that as a person, Abacha treated me fairly. I have a certain friendship towards him. The very first of a public nature which he took in my favor was at the death of my erstwhile host, the president of Ivory Coast. He took me in good favor and took me as a member of his delegation to his funeral. And that was magnanimous. I went with him and ever since, at least he granted me access. Babangida granted me a certain level of access, but it was very studied and it was a question of army days, then towards the end of his regime that I saw him two or three times. But from day one, Abacha granted me access and that’s it. So I don t really know what happened at the last day of his life. I don’t know.
So what’s the difference?
OJUKWU: What difference?
The difference between access with Abacha or is it Espirit de Corp access or relationship with Babangida?
OJUKWU:Well, I don’t know. People are different. People are very different Don’t forget, because I don’t want to be misunderstood, Babangida after all released my late father’s property. And he saw to it that he did it before he steps out of power. So he did show a certain “at least” level of compassion if nothing else.
Speaking of property, what do you think about Abandoned property…?
OJUKWU: What can I think … What can I think? When it’s bad it’s bad, it is thoroughly bad. Actually, a lot of the leaders on the other side in Nigeria do not understand. As I said to them in my speech about reconciliation, that we have now formed a habit. On every Sunday, certainly I will think every Igbo man who is worthy anything… every Igbo man will take his son and go around pointing every house belonging to their father and explaining to them that this was taken by force. What does that do? It creates a reservoir of bitterness. If you really believe in Nigeria, if you really believe in peace, it does not matter what amount of money you spent to solve certain problems. What is money for after all? We can do it. You can give to people a certain amount that their properties are worth. As I said, we knew how much money each person took to the bank. You can start by paying them their proper equivalent, and that’s it. That’s the way it is done.
Do you think there may be another Biafra?
OJUKWU: I don’t go that way in my thought because Biafra is most a conscious plan as such. Circumstances created Biafra. And the way I look at it, those circumstances are not present as at now, but I am warning that if we are not careful, the circumstances will reappear. That means it is a warning and it is not that one sits down to say, oh, we want to do … And the other thing I want to point out is this, a lot will depend on the accommodation Nigeria gives. Certainly, if we go ahead without restructuring the federation, chances are that there will be another Biafra. It is the restructuring of the federation that will decide. If we have a federation, we should all agree on what type of federation. We should agree… what are the federating units. We should agree what are their powers. What are the general powers and what are the residual powers and where do they reside? These are the things we have to clear. How much autonomy do we get? We would not fight just for a name as such. No. The important thing is what do we get in this situation and how do we live in it.
Do you have any regrets in life?
OJUKWU: Oh yes. I have a lot I have a regret that I am 65 today. I will want today to be 35. Because what I will do for the rest of my life, I really need a lot of time to do it.
What do you consider as your greatest achievement apart from being the leader of Igbos?
OJUKWU: My greatest achievement is very simple. As far as I am concerned, it is the establishment of Igbo identity. Nothing makes me more proud than to listen to our former enemies even when they are referring to us as Ndi Igbo. That is fabulous.
Do you think Hausas are still controlling the affairs of the the nation today?
OJUKWU: Well I don’t know. I don’t know. I am waiting to see the evolution of Obasanjo’ regime. His government that is. Quite a lot of them in the positions but lets wait and see.
How much time do you think we should give for the restructuring of Nigeria?
OJUKWU: Well, it should have been done ten years ago. It is not a question of we should give … Nothing comes that way. We should be pressing for it before this interview, so that if we start off immediately and continue pressing for it, we hope that it will come in the course of the life of this government. Because actually, the Yorubas also agree that there should be a restructuring and when you look at problems in the Delta region there is evidence that there should be some restructuring to accommodate all these people.
When you take your mind back to the Ahiara Declaration in Biafra; what do you think about that speech now? Was that speech helpful to the Biafran cause…? If it did, how, and if not, why not?
OJUKWU: In Ahiara declaration, you will find my fundamental beliefs. The problem is that a lot of people don’t like to accept certain things. We will applaud a number of certain movements all over but I better warn that those we applaud in other countries have not enunciated any form of ideology to the level of the Ahiara Declaration. In fact, I would like instead of writing about Obollo Eke, Obollo Afo … and nobody is really in the movement of the battlefield… but I would like to look again at Ahiara and review it in the context of Nigeria because those things I want for the Biafran people is what we should have for the Nigeria that accommodates us.
Where are all those Biafran scientists who worked for Biafra? Why is Nigeria not using them? I mean those people who worked in Research and Production, (RAP) in Biafra?
OJUKWU: They are all there. Nigeria doesn’t want to use them. They are there in Nigeria. You see, we are justly proud of our scientist and what they did, but I am particularly proud that they were able to do it under my guidance. And the reason they were able to do it, they will tell you, is that I gave them absolute recognition. You see, a slave cannot make all these developments for you. You don’t expect them to build all these rockets, etc. when in effect they are doing it for the folks that tried to hold them down. In Biafra, I left it completely open, whatever you can produce, bring it. And the great thing was that even when I am sitting in a council meeting … a cabinet meeting … a note would come to me and say this has been done. I will just say to the council, this is what I felt. I must go and inspect and give honor to whom it is due. I was in a council meeting when I was told Biafra has developed a rocket. I was flabbergasted. I stepped out of the meeting and I was told a demonstration has been set up for me within the vast gardens of the State house. And it is funny, because when I stepped out from one end of the garden, this thing was fired. It took off and landed just by the other end of the garden. So we’ve solved the question of proportion. I was so very proud of our people. I must tell you that
before the end of the war, Biafran rockets were moving and homing unto their targets at six and half mile distance.
Why then do you think Biafra lost?
OJUKWU: We lost Biafra because we did not have the wherewithal to sustain it, that’s all.
As a respected officer, how do you think we can stop coups in Nigeria?
OJUKWU: Very simple. Remove the profit elements from coup making. That is the key! Nobody makes a coup in Nigeria to better Nigeria for policy or ideological reasons. No, it is to get their hands at the treasury and therefore all you need do, is make coup unprofitable. Anybody who has taken part always remember that it is a crime to act outside the constitution of the land, so it is high risk. Remove the statute of limitations on that issue. Whenever, as Ndi Igbo say, you take a child’s doll and put up your hands, sooner or later, your hands will start aching and you will put it down. The same way goes for coups. It doesn’t matter how long they stay in power, they will one day relax and pull out. Whenever they do, every member of that junta should be personally responsible for what he did whilst he was illegally in power. And all those who went to prison will sue. All those who were wronged for whatever it is, will take action. The other thing of course is the loot which is the attractive thing. We need to keep an eagle eye around the republic and any expenditure, any lifestyles that cannot be justified within the rules and regulations of Nigeria should be questioned. This is where you change the law a bit on this matter. Once you have been suspected of corruption, the government should immediately impose a seizure of your goods and you will be considered culpable unless you can prove your innocence. So when I see you spending so much money I’ll ask you, you can even say to me, Aha!, don’t you know that I have a tree in my house that have as leaves as Naira notes … in 50s. It is not wrong, the point is come and show me that tree. If indeed I see the tree in your house, you are not at fault. The only thing is that I will declare the tree a national property. But beyond that, you haven’t done anything bad. But If I get to your house and you cannot show me the tree, so you are in trouble.
Thank You or the interview.
OJUKWU: You’re welcome.
— * Mclord Obioha, a veteran journalist and the publisher of The Nigerian and a 24/7 online news outfit for Ndi-Igbo worldwide which is under construction.
Copyright 2003. The Nigerian Newsmagazine, New York, New York, August, 1999.
About 30 years ago, on the 18th day of June 1982 Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Dikedioramma, staged a triumphal return into the ecstatic embrace of his countrymen and women, having spent 12 years, 5 months and 8 days in exile. He returned into the loving arms of millions of Nigerians of all ethnic groups and religions who besieged the airports and all his routes like sand on the seashore to celebrate a man who stood to be counted at a most crucial time in the lives of his people. That rousing welcome not only spoke volumes about his popularity amongst the masses, but also affirmed Ikemba as a uniting rather than a dividing factor in the Nigerian body polity.
Today, the outpouring of emotions and celebration of life that have continued to come Ikemba’s way on his glorious journey to eternity are clear evidence that not even death could diminish him. He has continued to soar in glory and grace, for no man dies who truly lives in the hearts of his people.
Dim Odumewu-Ojukwu lives on in our hearts as that legend, intellectual, patriot, brave soldier, enigma, colossus and great statesman from the land of the rising sun who contributed immensely to the development of our dear nation, Nigeria and Africa in general. Ikemba lives on in our hearts as a brave warrior who told Africa and indeed the whole world in bold terms that a people oppressed can stand firm against all forms of oppression; and that armed with courage and faith, a people can survive even the harshest of conditions. He lives on as a man who saw tomorrow, and indeed a great visionary whose concerns of yesteryears, misunderstood at a point in our history, manifest in a backlash of stack realities before our very eyes today.
Ezeigbo Gburugburu will forever be celebrated, not only among Ndigbo and Nigerians, but students of history the world over, as one of the few patriots, if not the only character in contemporary history, who rallied his people for self defence, yet remobilised them for a fast-paced reintegration into the mainstream social, political, and economic life of their nation. Ikemba exhibited an unequalled patriotism and statesmanship when he joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) on return from exile rather than the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) to apply himself as a uniting force on a national stage. He continued even after the fall of the Second Republic to join forces with other patriots and progressives to build Nigeria into one indissoluble entity. He for the presidency of this country in this Fourth Republic, an ambition and action that translated to a statement of inclusivity and absolute faith in the Nigerian project.
For those who are still in doubt about Ikemba’s stand on the unity of Nigeria, I wish to refer them to the lecture entitled “Nigeria: The Truths that are Self Evident” which he delivered at The Sunday Magazine (TSM) lecture series on February 22, 1994 preparatory to the 1994 Constitutional Conference- about 17 years today. Reacting to the erroneous interpretations to some of his comments at that trying time of our recent history following the annulment of the June 12 1992 presidential election, Ikemba reaffirmed his faith in Nigeria thus: “In 1967, the Igbo people were forced into WAR. Prior to that WAR, Ndiigbo under my leadership had declared the Republic of Biafra. This act was termed Secession. Unfortunately during this ongoing crisis and as we position ourselves for the Constitutional Conference, many have tried to raise the bogey of secession whenever an Igbo speaks. I do not deny the fact of secession in 1967 – this is a historical fact. What I deny is that the Igbo community to which I belong has been planning for SECESSION. Secession is not like COCAINE – it is not addictive…. Today I have more reasons to seek a better Nigeria than I did. Today as we all take stock, I find that I have invested so heavily in Nigeria”
Indeed, Ikemba had a vision of a true and prosperous federal state where every citizen finds joy and fulfilment, not one fraught with ethno-religious tensions and carnages. He had a vision of a Nigeria where every citizen lives without fears in any part thereof. He had a vision of a country great in name and esteem. He had a vision of a country well governed and devoid of the vultures of tribalism discrimination, ethnic segregation, religious nepotism, sectional cabalism, and a nation which potentials and might are not rendered weak by the vultures of corruption and greed.
In the 1920s, an English adventurer named Mallory, led series of expedition to climb to the top of Mount Everest. His first expedition failed. So did the second. Mallory made a third assault with highly skilled and experienced team, but in spite of careful planning and extensive safety measures, an avalanche wiped out Mallory and most of his men. Upon their return to England, the few who had survived held a funeral banquet in honour of Mallory and those who had perished on the mountain.
As the leader of the survivors stood to speak, he turned his back at the crowd and faced the large picture of Mount Everest, which was hanging on the wall silently like an unbeatable giant. With tears streaming down his face as it is for us today, he spoke to the mountain on behalf of his dead friends: “I speak to you, Mount Everest in the name of all brave men living and those yet unborn. Mount Everest, you defeated us once, you defeated us twice, you defeated us three times. But Mount Everest, we shall someday defeat you”
Mount Everest was eventually defeated and today people get to the top of the imposing mountain with ease.
Today, because our dear nation and her leaders owe it to the memory of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu to strengthen Nigeria as an indivisible political entity where justice, peace, love, and unity reigns, it is my hope that the mountain of hatred, religious bigotry, discrimination and intolerance which Ikemba fought against will be defeated and levelled in this country. It is my earnest expectation that we shall all depart from this house of mourning, recommitting to the struggle to ensure the optimal right to settlement, establishment, and happiness for all citizens in every part of Nigeria. It is my earnest desire that we shall in our lifetime witness a Nigeria where we will live with and among ourselves happily irrespective of our tribe, tongue or religion. It is, in fact our collective charge to rebuild this nation into one where national interest is supreme; where corruption is a thing of the past; and where every Nigerian is free and able to actualise his or her legitimate dreams and aspirations unmolested in any part of the country, irrespective of religious, political, and tribal affiliations and origin. This is the most befitting and greatest tribute we can pay to Ikemba.
Ikemba! Africa mourns you; Nigeria mourns you; and Ndigbo mourn you
Ikemba! Be rest assured that this house will not fall
Be rest assured that the termites will no longer eat down our fences
Be rest assured that the crows and vultures will no longer patch on our heritage
Be rest assured that the strangers will no longer walk over our portion
For the sun can only rise on our heritage.
Ikemba Nnewi
Ezeigbo Gburugburu
Iru dike na-anyu mma nko
Okaa oburu uzo
Odogwu eji eje mba
Anya okuko na-eche akwa ya
Agu na-eche ibe ya
Ochiagha gburugburu
Ahu nze ebie okwu
O muo olezuta anya
Ogaranya juru ndo soro ogbenye noro n’anwu
Atu okwu ujo
Ikemba! Okwa dike mee nke oji bia oche iru n’uzo ula
Iruzugo, ma oku igunyere anyi n’aka agaghi anyunari anyi
Jee nke oma
May the chariot of angels ride you to eternal rest. Amen.
—
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy President of the Senate
This great Hero lying before us today, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu
Ojukwu, is one of those rare enigmas, the discussion of which can
never be exhausted or caused to expire. The story of his life is actually a huge collection of stories. It is a massive montage and
kaleidoscope of dramatic and historic events.
Larger than life while alive and even more so, in death, Ojukwu is at
once, a historical and iconic personage, an enigma and myth who
bestrode his times like a colossus, and who responded to all emergent
circumstances in his environment with typical candour and valour.
There was the touch of the uncommon and sometimes, the unprecedented
in everything he did or had put his hand to – his background,
education, lifestyle, national service (civil and military),
leadership, his courage, his politics, his activism and so on.
A man of many perceptions, yet always one with a good cause. Ojukwu
was born a King, lived like a King and died a King. At the same time,
he devoted his might and resources to fight for the welfare of the
common man.
He was thus a Hero for his people and for millions of others around
the world who readily identified and still identify with his
philosophy, his doctrine and his attitude all of which were driven by
a burning desire to obtain the happiness and security of the
multitude.
In reality, published literature, pictures, works of art and the many
great speeches that have been and will still be made about him, can only capture but a snippet of what and who this great man was and what
he represented for the Igbo people, the people of Eastern Nigeria, the
people of Nigeria, the people of Africa and indeed, all the oppressed
peoples of the world.
We in Enugu state, understandably, feel more obliged than any other,
to take the leading role in his burial and funeral activities for the
simple reason that Enugu was and still is the capital of Eastern
Nigeria.
It was also the city that Ojukwu, first as Governor of Eastern Region
and later as Head of State of the defunct Republic of Biafra, brought
international recognition to as a fortress of self reliance and
defence against oppression and genocide in Nigeria.
He also not only made Enugu his permanent abode but more importantly,
he took as wife, one of its finest daughters. He was indeed a worthy
in-law of Enugu people.
As his remains lie in state here today in Enugu, en route committal
to mother earth, the people of Enugu State, join the rest of the
world to give a rousing Hero’s salute to a man who, though may be dead
physically, will live forever in the scrolls of human history.
Our hearts go out to our daughter, his widow, Adaigbo Bianca Ojukwu,
his children and the entire Ojukwu family. We ask the Good Lord to
give them the fortitude to bear this great loss.
I wish on behalf of the people of Enugu State, to express our profound
gratitude to the President and Commander –in-Chief of the Armed Forces
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, for not only ordering full military honours for our deceased
hero and approving this National burial/funeral ceremony in his honour
but also found time to be with us in this occasion.
Our gratitude also goes to everyone here who had, despite their other
pressing engagements, deemed it more paramount to join us today.
We also wish thank in a special way, the members of the Central
Organizing Committee and the Local Organizing Committee of this
ceremony, for the very excellent and terrific work they had done. We
must also thank all others who may have contributed in one way or
another to make this event an all round success.
We ask God to grant you all His journey mercies as you head for your
various destinations after this ceremony.
Finally, as the body of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu makes its
final journey to his home state and town for interment, we implore the
Almighty God to grant his soul eternal rest in His bosom. Amen
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has prevented the perilous incursion of a Pakistani drug cartel into Nigeria with 13 kilogrammes of high grade heroin. Operatives of the anti-drug Agency at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos aborted the plot with the prompt arrest of a 35 year-old Pakistani with the parcels of brownish powdery substances that tested positive for heroin hidden inside his hand luggage. Officials described the heroin as high grade with an estimated street value of about 120 million naira.
According to the NDLEA Airport commander, Mr. Hamza Umar, the suspect, Syed Waseem Ahmed Buhari with Pakistani international passport number BT3347071 arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight. “A 35 year old Pakistani was apprehended following the discovery of 13 kilogrammes of high grade heroin in his hand luggage. A Nigerian clearing and forwarding agent by name Okereke Benjamin Chukwudi, 42, who is suspected to be an accomplice have also been arrested and investigation had commenced” Hamza stated.
Syed, an electrical engineer who hails from Karachi is believed to be working for a Pakistani based drug cartel. He was found to have travelled from Karachi to Abu Dhabi aboard Pakistan Airline flight before taking Qatar airways flight through Doha to Lagos. The suspected Nigerian accomplice, Okereke Benjamin Chukwudi who hails from Ekulobia, Anambra State is cooperating with narcotic investigators.
NDLEA boss added that the arrest of the Pakistani few days after three Bolivians were caught in a suspected case of methamphetamine production is a demonstration of the Agency’s resolve to bring drug traffickers to justice. “The anti-drug crusade is total and must be pursued with determination. While working hard to prevent the involvement of our citizens in drug trafficking, the Agency will resist attempt by foreigners to smuggle drugs into the country. The NDLEA Act applies to all culprits. We shall yet be more vigilant and ensure that illicit drugs are intercepted in our country”Giade stated.
The NDLEA boss commended the officers for the arrest and urged them to remain dedicated to duty at all times. Both suspects will be charged to court soon.
The legacy bequeathed to the Yoruba race by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG) and later, Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was Education. Courtesy of Awolowo’s party, education was not only made affordable but also available in the entire Southwest States. But can it be said today that those who have used Papa Awolowo’s name and trade-marked cap to canvass for votes have done well in terms of promoting and sustaining this legacy?
Before the advent of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) government in the South Western States of Ondo, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos in 1979, there was only one secondary school in Okemesi-Ekiti, my hometown. However,
between 1979 and 1980, two more secondary schools, Okemesi Community
High School and Fabunmi Memorial Grammar School were established by the late Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin-led government of the old Ondo State. I attended one of them and I am sure many of the existing secondary schools in Ekiti State were established during that period.
Also, in the old Ondo State, the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti and Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo were established within the four years and three months that Chief Ajasin spent in office. Ondo State Polytechnic, which was established by Edict in 1979 with the name The Polytechnic, Owo by the then Military Governor, Sunday Tuoyo became operational in 1980, almost immediately Chief Ajasin took office. He (Ajasin) only changed the name to Ondo State Polytechnic.
Apart from the old Ondo State, all the States that the late sage,
Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s party, the UPN governed, including the old Bendel State witnessed establishment of new schools (primary, secondary and tertiary institutions). It was then that the Edo State University (Now Ambrose Alli University), Ekpoma, Lagos State University, Ojo, Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, Esa-Oke and Iree Satellite Campuses of The Polytechnic, Ibadan (now Osun State College of Technology and Osun State Polytechnic respectively), among others were established.
However, from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to Action Congress (AC) and now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has a single new school, especially tertiary institution been created by these self-appointed Awolowo disciples?
Between 1999 and 2003 that the AD held sway in the Southwest, only Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko was established and this was done as a result of the squabble between Ondo and Ekiti States over the ownership of the then Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State University).
It was only when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took over the Southwest States of Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Ogun that numbers of tertiary institutions in the States were increased to cater for the yearnings of the teeming admission seekers in the States.
In Ekiti State for instance, within the three and half years of the Segun Oni-led administration, four new Technical Colleges, University of Science and Technology and University of Education were created. Oni was also on the verge of establishing a College of Agriculture before he was removed from office.
Apart from establishment of new tertiary institutions, the Oni-led government also created Scholarship Scheme in which over 2,000 students benefited, Digital Education Programme under which 1,650 free laptops (connected to the internet) were provided for SSS1 students, School Feeding Programme under which school pupils were fed with eggs and chocolate was also established. All these laudable initiatives aimed at advancing education in Ekiti have been abolished by the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led government.
In Ogun, the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration upgraded the then Tai Solarin College of Education to a University of Education, and established a new College of Education at Omu-Ijebu, four Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Polytechnics.
Also in Osun State, the Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola administration established the Osun State Universit (UNIOSUN) with multi-campus concept while in Ondo State; the Dr. Olusegun Agagu-led government established a University of Technology.
Today, the PDP governors, who are not seen as disciples of Awolowo are no longer in power in the Southwest. Those running the affairs of States in the region are the self professed Awoists. But what do we have in the States? Legacies built over the years are being destroyed.
Governor Fayemi of Ekiti State led the onslaught on tertiary institutions in the Southwest States and other ACN governors have followed suit. In spite of the difficulties being faced by Ekiti youths in securing admission into universities, Fayemi merged the three state owned universities, University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD), University of Science and Technology, Ifaki-Ekiti (USTI) and The
University of Education, Ikere-Ekiti (TUNEDIK) into one. The new sole University is known as the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti (EKSU).
Even with the merger, no increment has been made to the fund allocated to EKSU as the university still gets the same amount it received when it was UNAD. Instead of increased funding of EKSU, the sole University, monthly grant has been reduced by fifty percent and. Most importantly, Fayemi, who annouced to the whole world on December 3, 2010 that no student would pay more that N50,000 in the State University has now increased tuition fees in EKSU to as much as N190,000!
As a result of this merger, a trip to South Korea by 34 students of USTI for a one-year Exchange Programme with the Semyung University, Jecheon City, Chungbuk, South-Korea was cancelled. The one-year
programme would have enabled the students to obtain dual degree certificates.
Also, out of vendetta, Fayemi declined the request of the 74 year-old Semyung University to take over the funding of USTI. When Fayemi said he was scrapping USTI because the State cannot fund more than one university, top functionaries of the Semyung University visited him to signify their interest to take the burden of funding USTI off the State Government, but the governor refused to acede to this request that would have saved USTI from being scarpped!
After it appeared that Fayemi had successfully carried out his own agenda of scrapping tertiary institutions established by his predecessor, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State commenced his.
In one fell sweep, TASUED and the four ICT based Polytechnics
established by the Gbenga Daniel government were gone!
Like Fayemi in Ekiti, reason adduced for scrapping TASUED and the four ICT polytechnics was that Ogun State could no longer fund them.
However, unlike Fayemi’s Ekiti, people of Ogun State, including
leaders of Governor Amosun’s party, the ACN are not flowing with the governor. They have told him in clear terms that he cannot scrap the institutions. Even Senator Gbenga Kaka, representing Ogun East
Senatorial District went to the extent of dragging the governor to Court. Also, leaders of the ACN in Ogun East Senatorial District have told the governor to exercise restrain over the matter.
ACN leaders like Alhaji Rafiu O.Ogunleye, Senator Sefiu Adegbenga Kaka, Alhaji S. Abimbola Awofeso, Otunba Oluremi Onasanya, Mr F.A.
Sabitu, Alhaji F.G.O. Elias, Hon. Samson O. Onademuren, Mr Obafemi Adegboyega, Hon.(Engr.) Afolabi Odusote, Otunba T. Olu Adebanjo and Hon. Bukonla Taofeek Buraimo have told Governor Amosun his decision to scrap the institutions had created ominous problems and dangers in academic communities in the state.
“The meeting believes in expansion of the scope and scale of education and hence does not support the scrapping or merging of the tertiary
institutions in the State. Consequently, all tertiary institutions in Ogun State at present should be allowed to exist independently,” the
ACN leaders resolved after a meeting in Idowa on February 26.
While the Ogun debacle is yet to be resolved, rumour mill became agog that Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has also concluded plans
to scrap some of the tertiary institutions in the State.
On Monday, February 27, teaching and non-teaching staff members of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa stormed the palace of the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, protesting the alleged plan of Governor Aregbesola to scrap and merge the institution with another in the state.
The workers and students vowed to resist such a move especially now that the institution is already looking forward to the time it would become a full-fledged degree awarding one.
The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Aregbesola, don’t play with fire”, “Osun Government be warned”, “Aregbesola, we are ripe to be a university, don’t destroy a growing institution”, “Aregbesola, stop deceiving the people of Osun State.”
Apart from the Osun State College of Education, Ilesha, other tertiary institutions in Osun State are Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke (OSCOTECH), Osun State Polytechnic, Iree (OSPOLY), Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, Osun State University, among others. OSPOTECH and OSPOLY were established in 1992 (20 years ago). Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun was established in 1979 (33 years ago) as a Campus of Oyo State College of Education (now Osun State College of Education, Ilesa. It became autonomous in 1981 (31 years ago). Osun State College of Education, Ilesa was established in 1978 (34 years ago).
Several governors, including Chief Bisi Akande, the current ACN National Chairman, have ruled Osun State and funded the Schools before Rauf Aregbesola.
Besides, when Osun State College of Education, Ilesa was established in 1978, Aregbesola was just 21 year old. He was 24 when Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun was established in 1981.
Therefore, if truly Governor Aregbesola intends to scrap any of these institutions, it will simply mean that he (Aregbesola) is the only person who knows best how to govern Osun State among those who had governed Osun State before, including Chief Bisi Akande and had allowed these institutions to exist?
Interestingly, these same ACN governors that are scrapping schools on the excuse that there is no money to fund them are finding it more convenient to increase their Secuty Vote by as much as 200 percent. They are running government with over bloated cabinet members and aides, with increased salaries and allowances.
Painfully, the situation that the Southwest States is being confronted with is like that of the invasion of a cassava farm by locusts. The locusts will never plant, they will destroy. The level of destruction will also be determined by how long the farmer allows the locusts to have a field day in the farm.
In other words, the locusts that are now on rampage in the cassava farms of the Southwest States have just started the destruction of the plantation. They have started with scrapping of educational institutions, increment of school fees, revocation of duly issued Certificates of Occupancy, introduction of obnoxious taxes, demolition of churches, houses and shops.
Most importantly, the locusts are discouraging private investors from investing in the States by revoking all business agreements entered into by their predecessors. They are even demolishing structures already put in place by these investors as was done to water concessionaires in Ekiti and the multi-billion naira Abeokuta Golf Resort Hotel, among others in Ogun State.
Soon, very soon, they will begin to destroy the people themselves, and by then, there will be no option for everyone than to run for cover. Reason is that, the locusts will not likely be patient enough to look at party identity cards. In fact, there will be no room for discrimination.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday offered an Iranian opposition group a path to get off of a U.S. terrorism blacklist, a move that would end years of high-profile campaigning from the Mujahadin-e-Khalq and infuriate Iran.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a House committee Wednesday that MEK’s cooperation in a relocation plan from its paramilitary base on the Iran-Iraq border “will be a key factor in any decision” on whether to take it off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. The United States will help ensure the safety and security of the camp’s residents as they are moved to another site inside Iraq, she said.
Clinton’s guidance was the clearest indication that the U.S. is close to removing the MEK from the list. The State Department has been ordered by a federal court to re-evaluate the designation of the MEK, an obscure Iranian dissident group that carried out a series of bombings and assassinations against Iran’s clerical regime in the 1980s and fought alongside former President Saddam Hussein’s forces in the Iran-Iraq war.
Taking the MEK off the terror list would lift U.S. economic sanctions, which prevent the group from fundraising.
The group says it renounced violence in 2001, and it has assembled an impressive roster of advocates, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey, FBI Director Louis Freeh and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
Earlier this week, the MEK asked a federal appeals court to clear its name, arguing that its status was putting members long exiled in Iraq at risk. About 3,200 residents remain at Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad, but are being pressured to leave by the new Iraqi government, whose Shiite officials want to build stronger ties with Iran. An Iraqi raid last year left 34 exiles dead, and the group claims its terrorist status has helped Iraqi authorities justify mistreatment of members and made it harder for residents to find permanent homes in other nations.
Clinton rejected the suggestion, saying that no country has raised the issue of the MEK’s terrorist designation with the State Department. And she backed an Iraqi relocation plan that has already taken 397 camp residents to their new, temporary home at the former U.S. Camp Liberty.
“There were complications but it was peaceful,” Clinton told lawmakers in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, several of whom have strongly pressed the MEK’s case. “There was no violence. The safety so far has been protected and we are watching that very closely.”
The closure of Ashraf remains an issue because it was the main paramilitary base for the MEK when it conducted terrorist attacks. Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Americans disarmed several thousand MEK members and promised to protect them at Ashraf, but for Iraqi authorities it essentially remained a no-go zone. They’ve bristled at the MEK’s attempts to defend a sovereign zone inside Iraq, which U.S. officials say contributed to the violence.
Clinton stopped short of explicitly saying the U.S. would remove the MEK from its list in exchange for fully leaving the Ashraf camp, but her comments suggested that any other requirements for delisting have largely been met.
The MEK is deeply controversial. Critics call it a cult with an ideology mixing Marxism, secularism, an obsession with martyrdom and near adoration of its leaders; American officials have long cited its role in the murder of Americans in the 1970s and attacks that killed hundreds of Iranians.
The group helped Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrow U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. But the MEK quickly fell out with Khomeini, and thousands of its followers were killed, imprisoned or forced into exile. It launched its campaign of assassinations and bombings against Iran’s government in retaliation.
Yet the group also has provided the Americans with intelligence on Iran and has convinced many governments that it has abandoned terrorism. The European Union removed it from its list in 2009.
The group was designated a terrorist organization in 1997 at a time when the U.S. sought warmer relations with Iran under the reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami.
Tehran insists that the MEK continues to commit acts of violence. It claims the group has worked with Israel to kill several Iranian nuclear scientists in recent years. The MEK rejects the allegation.
The controversy that enveloped the candidature of retired Nigerian Army General, Charles Ehigie Aiwiriavbere, to contest the gubernatorial ticket and the stream of fresh controversy after he emerged as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the July 14, 2012 Edo State governorship election does not seem to simmer. The choice of who becomes his running mate is further deepening emotion and the future health of the party in the state.
From his own camp, former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Zakawanu Garba and Johnson Abolagba have pitched fiercely against each other in the fight. Whereas, some concerned members of the party feel that the deputy governorship ticket should have been given out to the more popular candidates defeated in the primaries as a way of getting their support and structures to deliver the party against a seemingly formidable Adams Oshiomhole of the ACN who are already reaching into the PDP flanks.
Electoral values: For party pundits, both Zakawanu and Abolagba may not deliver the quality of electoral values to the party in the 14th July election. Zakawanu is from Etsako-West. He was Speaker. He’s gotten so much from the system. The average person from his constituency is so jealous and not too happy with him because he can barely count how many youths he has helped to be better with the political offices he has held. His electoral strength is Auchi and within Etsako-West.
Whereas, Abolagba, a former House of Representatives member and former chairman of Owan-West local government area is very popular amongst members of the party’s leadership but not with the lower rung of the followership of the party. He contested and lost a bid to return to the National Assembly by not winning a ward in his constituency. An opponent of his within the party described him as a moral burden despite being the vice chairman of the PDP in Edo-North.
If the party must do well in the general election, the wisest thing to do was to secure the favour of the Mathew Iduoriyekemwen group with the deputy governor slot. They were able to wire all the dormant youths in the party structures across the state for the primaries. The primaries were like a war between the old forces and the very young generation. These new folks were more in population and aggression. They were mobilised without cash. They volunteered and worked so hard.
The old generation held on to Dan Obi (the state PDP chairman), Zakawanu Garba, General Aiwiriavbere who had the stamp and support of Chief Tony Anenih, the former Minister of Works under Chief Obasanjo’s administration who is seen and addressed as “the leader”.
The new generation were effectively carried along by Iduoriyekemwen and his campaign director, Jarret Tenebe. A top politician in Anenih’s camp who offered to do this analysis on condition of not being quoted said, “if Tenebe is offered deputy governor, if he will accept it, that will mean that we can get Iduoriyekemwen and his structure to return to the fold because they would have won the election if not for the intervention of the leader. You know that Oshiomhole is already reaching out to them and to the Kenneth Imasuangbon folds.”
The electoral mathematics: Iduoriyekemwen is from Ikpoba-Okha one of the largest and most populous local government councils in the state’s South constituency. Tenebe, his campaign director, is from Etsako-West (where AdamsOshiomhole is from). His mother is from Etsako-East, he school in Etsako-Central. This candidature can help weaken the base of the ACN candidate to the advantage of the PDP. Which other candidate in the General’s group would have delivered the combined Iduoriyekemwen-Tenebe structure. If Oshiomhole gets this value to what he already has in addition to the incumbency factor, its surely a home run for his second term. Don’t forget the way and manner their flank controlled the votes from Ovia-South, Ovia-northeast and Oredo.
The current ticket bearer, General Aiwiriavbere, is from Edo South. He got the votes in the primaries from Edo north and Edo central based on instructions from Chief Anenih. His own people rejected him at the primaries. How does he convince them to vote for him in the general election? What about the investigation hanging on his neck by the EFCC? Will the opposition not maximize his records against the PDP?
Intra-party healing processes: Two other candidates that ran in the primaries who would have been considered to be good to sort out the deputy governorship ticket in the media to strengthening theparty are Professors Julius Ihonbvere and Osarhiemen Osunbo. Both men are considered to belong to the “old school” in their 60s. They have their own followership no doubt but they should not be expected to be looking for the deputy governorship slot as that will mean the whole leadership will be old, conservative and pensionable. Osunbo and Imansuagbon are both from Edo central.
Unverified sources claimed that the way the duo went ahead pre-primary worried the old members of the party. They poisoned the mind of the leader who eventually saw in them a more viral set that can be worse than Oshiomhole. This informed why he gave instructions that the General should be the candidate anointed to carry the flag of the party.
Meanwhile, when reached, one of the losers in the primaries are nursing a legal challenge to the party’s ticket. “We have concluded to go to court to challenge the result. By our party’s constitution, only Oredo local government held primary election. The other 17 local governments did not. We are still awaiting the results. Our constitution recommended that primary elections shall hold in the local government council headquarters with the results announced in the state capital. It is this legal interpretation we want to explore,” he said.
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