Monday, August 8, 2016

APC AND DOGARA:the mourning of the return of a familiar way of life-Bulus Nnamdi Ndu

There were two lovers. They were both honorables(?) One a repentant sinner now a plain teller of truth,the other, an incurable sinner fadishly hugging the law. The spine of their love life was pretty scintillating. First it came as a fancy;then a flip over, a hots for another, then the spark,the passion, the rapture and the cohabitation. When things were squeaky clean, they were intimate bedfellows, not until one broke hearts across neighborhood, when the wrapper loose in resistance to the knowledge of the public that a lover has whipped his partner off the bed for not given to his cravings.
Agreeably, the event of recent days pried open to reveal the more, the belief that our democracy drives a certain brand of politics that can be caricatured as the frontier between politics and the failings of human conduct, which clearly communicate for one thing, an overwhelming impotence to shape shift from a habit.
Recently, a photo journalist had wanted to take aim at two political figures. The camera swing the way of the NASS,and visible in the rearview lens were the two men.If the pictures look familiar, look again. One is called Dogara,the other, Jibrin.One has without regard to his dignity “falsified the truth”, the other, a changed man, and a self styled candidate for sainthood, whose yarn of morality doesn’t really spin a moral yarn.Taken together, both the saint and the sinner are under same shades of sin-billion sins at that! In the opinion of the sinner,” padding” is no offense. It then makes sense to argue that “padding” might not be an offense, but for want of word,Dogara must have admitted to have compromised the integrity of the 2016 budget, but his argument against the rest of us could probably be that we lack the right word to qualify his act;but not “padding”. Funny. Well, I feel right fine being a Nigerian. This is a country with boundless gifts.Among the gifts is our sense of humor. Dogara from “United State of Nigeria” (haha) has ignited another strain of humor that invite us to start hunting up the true meaning of the term “padding”.
Ostentatiously, Dogara and Jibrin have set us a foot onto yet another political distraction, and I can’t help it than to train my disappointment on the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC).To me,this new found distraction offers a range of direction to know that we have gotten to the point where history changes direction. A change of direction that draws from the memories of the past: when in 2015,the ” change seekers “with one Jagaban on the lead,we balked at the idea and evil of infectious corruption of the Jonathanian era.We fantasize about the possible release from the loop of strategic political misdirection.But with the foam of events, it is as if my token show of support to the ” change seekers ” is now a thing that not just roils my heart but now a spur on my conscience (no regret). My vote for Buhari,the Don Quixote in town, was a forefront effort at forging a new political identity capable of rebuilding an already battered national image.The ugly contrast to this is not lost on the APC leadership, her dignified silence and the unwillingness to look at the issues trailing the budget scam.The directive to its members not to make a public exposé on the matter remains an unwise course of action that shakes the conviction and hope that APC can deliver on the promises made to Nigerians. Well, since “padding” is no longer offense, one can only thank APC,and move on in mourning of the return of the familiar way of life.
‪#‎BulusPoint‬

Friday, July 1, 2016

Choi! Chiwetalu Agu touches actress' naked boobs in new BTS pics from that naked village movie

In the pic above, veteran actor Chiwetalu Agu is actually grabbing the boobs of this actress...lol. It's from a movie called 'A Village in Africa'. See the full photo and more after the cut...


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Photos: Woman engulfed by flames as she was using mobile phone while filling up her car at petrol station


A young woman sustained burns on 60% of her body when she was engulfed by flames as she was using her phone while filling petrol in the car at a petrol station in Setapak Indah, Kualar Lumpur, Malaysia today, June 28.


"A spark ignited from the pump and triggered a reaction with her handphone," said Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Samsol Maarif Saibani.

Firemen were alerted to the incident at1.25pm and deployed five personnel from the Wangsa Maju Fire and Rescue Department.

Numerous signs are posted at petrol stations warning customers against using their phone there, especially when filling up petrol as it could trigger a fire. However, these signs are often ignored.

Source: NST

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Fayose,PDP Vs Aisha Buhari-Mad Dog Vs Assasins

"Enough is Enough Fayose. A mad dog that isn't chained. I refuse to keep quiet. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH FAYOSE IS AN UNCHAINED MAD DOG If Buhari is 73 years old, I Aisha am 45 years old, I have more than enough energy to face you," she tweeted.-Aisha Buhari.
@PDPNigeria stated 'Governor Fayose may have to take extra security measures to prevent Aisha Buhari or the 1st family from assassinating him'

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS: Refining Tests Tuesday June 14, 2016

The Rav would often teach that it is very simple to flow with the tide when things are going our way, but the way that we respond and react when things are not going our way is 

Ugwuanyi reconstitutes new revenue board


Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has inaugurated the newly reconstituted State Board of Internal Revenue, charging members to come up with new and effective strategies aimed at beefing up the State’s revenue base in view of the present daunting economic challenges in the country.
The new board is chaired by Chukwuemeka Anthony Odo, who pledged, on behalf of the members, to work diligently to operate a leak-proof revenue generation system for the state in order to shore up its economy.
While inaugurating the board at the Government House, Enugu yesterday, Governor Ugwuanyi explained that the charge on the members to work hard on their assignment has become necessary in the face of the severe economic depression that is threatening the solvency of government at all levels.
He observed that with the allocation from the federation account dwindling rapidly, most State governments have become increasingly dependent on internally generated revenue to fund their activities and service their obligations.
“Government as a result of the current economic condition, is struggling to meet its financial commitments to pay salaries, fund development activities, ensure social services and maintain security, among others”, the governor stated.
Governor Ugwuanyi pointed out that he had earlier envisaged this situation when he warned in his inaugural speech that revenue generation agencies should be ready to intensify efforts to generate more revenues to fund government’s development efforts.
He equally charged members of the board to ensure that all revenues accruable to government are fully collected and all avenues of leakages are effectively checked.
He promised that every Kobo that accrues to government will be fully utilised transparently and in a manner that will transform the life of every citizen of Enugu State.
On his part, Odo, a former executive director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc., stated that their appointment came at a time when the crashed oil price has affected the economic fortunes of the country negatively, and assured that they will explore and exploit all sources of internally generated revenue to ensure that government meets its obligations to the people.

UNN students protest power cut, water scarcity


Students of the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (UNEC) yesterday protested  against acute water scarcity and over three months of power failure around the campus.
The protesting students said the situation had become so unbearable that they needed to voice out their plight to the world, accusing the university management of insensitivity.

Brandishing their placards which read, “We are tired of blackout,” “We need Light”, “No Light, No Lecture,” “We want Water,” “Light is our right,” the students insisted that they would never enter the classrooms until electricity was restored.
The angry students said they had planned to march to media houses in Enugu to register their complaints, but the school security locked the two gates against them, preventing them from going outside. In turn, the students occupied the gates, making sure that nobody, not even the VC, would go in or out of the campus.  
The students said over  the years the school had been depending on the school generating sets which, they said, literally packed up over three months ago, adding that they did not have anything to do with public electricity.
Policemen were sent to the school to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
The Public Relations Officer of the university at the Enugu campus, Mr. Godwin Onah, emphasised that both the students and the management were holding meeting to resolve the matter.

Monday, June 13, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS: A Mighty Hand Monday June 13, 2016

I know that the things that happen in my life – however difficult they may be – are part of a grander plan: There is a Mighty Hand pushing me in a direction, whether or not I acknowledge it, whether or not I want to go there. We are put in this world with an assigned spiritual role, and the Universe will assist us towards fulfilling it.

Ali Modu Sheriff Storms PDP National Secretariat To Take Over Power

The embattled 'past chairman' of the Peoples Democratic Party has stormed the Wadata Plaza National Secretariat of the opposition party to take over the affairs of the party.


Mr. Sheriff led his group to storm the secretariat early on Monday morning.

Security operatives, however prevented from gaining entrance to the secretariat.

Modu Sheriff was sacked by party leaders during the National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital.

The party also announced the appointment of a caretaker committee headed by former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi.

Court sacks Enugu Rep member over illegal primary

A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Mr. Dennis Amadi as member of the House of Representatives, representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State.
Delivering judgment on Friday,  Justice Okon Abang held that  the purported Peoples Democratic Party’s  primary that produced Amadi was “illegal, null and void.”
The judge affirmed Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi as the rightful candidate of the PDP in the  2015 general elections in the constituency having emerged as the winner of the authentic primary of the party held  on December 6, 2014.
He ordered Amadi to vacate his seat and also directed  the Independent National Electoral Commission, the 3rd defendant, in the suit  to immediately withdraw the certificate of return it earlier issued to Amadi.
The judge also ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to Ozomgbachi.
The judge ruled, “After a careful reading through the submissions of counsel in the suit, I note that the election of the plaintiff was conducted at the designated venue for the Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State.

“The plaintiff has shown that the duly appointed electoral officers were present and declared him winner.

“I find merit in his request to uphold his election and therefore hold that he be declared the authentic winner of the primary held on the 6th of December 2014 having duly satisfied the party’s guidelines for elections in 2014.

“Dennis Amadi who is the 1st defendant in this suit shall also return all the monies collected by way of salaries, allowances or whatsoever since when he took the seat.”

Amadi had sued the PDP, the INEC and Ozomgbachi had praying the court for “an order of injunction restraining the 1st defendant or any other person acting for and on his behalf from interfering with the plaintiff’s rights as the elected PDP candidate for the Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency for the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

“An order of injunction restraining the 1st defendant by himself or his privies, servants or otherwise whosoever from parading himself as the 2nd defendant’s candidate for Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency and from presenting himself to any person or authority including the 2nd and 3rd defendants as being the 2nd defendant’s candidate for the Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency.”

Copyright PUNCH.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS: The Best We Can Sunday June 12, 2016

Each one of us has been put here with a specific purpose to fulfill. We are each an important piece of a grand puzzle. We are not built to be “perfect.” We are built to be who we are, and our job is to do the best we can from that place.

Medical doctor turned armed robber arrested in Anambra state

45 year old Richard Macaulay Obafemi, a medical doctor who trained at the University College London, has been arrested for Armed robbery by the Anambra state police command.

According to The Sun, Richard had his primary and secondary school education at Ipaja, Lagos State before proceeding to the Univer­sity College London, UCL, where he obtained a degree in Microbiology in 1987 and later studied medicine at University Colege London UCL, from 1987-1992.

In 1993, he did the housemanship in Hatsfield, London. In 1996, Obafemi who is an indigene of Ogun state, came to Nigeria for the Nation­al Youth Service Corps Scheme and was posted to Kwara State. At the end of the service year, Obafemi took up appointment with the College of Medicine, University of Benin, where he worked for two years from 1998 to 2000, before travelling to Saudi Arabia. He thereafter got another job offer at the University of Ghana in 2006 and worked there till 2015 when he decided to visit Nigeria.

“In 2015, I came to Nige­ria and visited Kaduna State. During that trip, a car I was driving had an accident and the victim died. I was charged to court and remanded at Kaduna Central Prison. But I was later released from prison on April 8, 2016″. While in prison, Obafemi developed a relationship WITH two other inmates, Stephen and Ifeanyi who were professional car snatchers and armed robbers. When he left prison, he met with these men who had also regained freedom and they convinced him to join their business. “After I left prison, I had followed Ifeanyi to Asaba and joined their gang, which specialized in snatching cars. We have stolen cars like Lexus, SUV in Lagos State, which I drove to Katsina State to sell to buyers from Niger Repub­lic. I sold one for N450,000. I didn’t go back to University of Ghana because when I was in prison in Kaduna, I didn’t communicate with them. When I came out from prison, I found out that there was no going back. I decided to join the armed robbery gang to earn a living. I am married and blessed with three children. I lost my wife, Mary in 2012 while my three children are in Canada.”


Luck however ran out on them when the Anambra state police arrested an alleged member of their gang, Vincent, in Onitsha who revealed information to the police. Investigations by the police led to the arrest of Obafemi on May 17th at a hotel in Anambra.

The police will charge him and his accomplices to court soon.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS: Lessons to Learn Thursday June 9, 2016

Each of us is both a teacher and a student, and everything that happens within our life is meant to teach us, not the other person. Yes, others have their own work to do, their own learning, their own experience. But they would not be in our experience were it not for the lessons we are meant to learn through our interactions with them.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

EFCC quizzes former Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime over N450m presidential campaign funds

Former Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Iheanachor Chime was today Wednesday June 8, quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the $115 million cash allegedly disbursed by Fidelity Bank on the instruction of the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke during the re-election bid of the former President Jonathan. Chime is expected to report on Monday May 13, for further interrogation.

DAILY AWARENESS: See the Light in Everything Wednesday June 8, 2016


It can be really difficult to see the Light in everything—to find goodness and growth in all that crosses our path. But nevertheless, that is the task we have taken on through our spiritual work: to look for the lesson in the pain; to see another individual and find out what is right, rather than what is wrong; to see the cup as half full rather than half empty. We are not actually here in this world to correct our anger or our selfishness or even the words that we have used to hurt others. These corrections are important, but our true purpose is to bring ourselves to a place where we understand — deeply and without question — that our world and everything in it is determined by our own consciousness. A positive consciousness is one that chooses to see the Light in everything. When you see only the Light, the Light is your only experience.

Breaking sad news:Udenu former first lady dies

We mourn  with the family of Hon Eugene Odo who lost his wife today after a brief illness.
Lady Nonye Odoh was a dedicated chemistry  teacher whose teaching experience helped to mold the youth.A woman of virtue and love of God.May her soul rest in peace

Fulani herdsmen returns to Nimbo.Rapes a woman

Fulani Herdsmen

As members of Ukpabi Nimbo community, Uzouwani Council, Enugu state prepare to bury their relatives slaughtered on April 25 by fulani herdsmen, fresh tension gripped the town following the return of herdsmen to the area.

The burial of the 20 natives killed in an early morning invasion of the community by herdsmen has been fixed for June 17.

The Guardian however, gathered yesterday that herdsmen had returned and occupied some farmlands in the community since Monday.

Farmers were said to have sighted them on Monday morning on their way to their farms and had run back and reported to the community.

The development has raised fresh fears and tension in the community as many residents have reportedly fled, despite the presence of security personnel at strategic places in the community.

An alert was said was sent to the Enugu state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and state commissioner of police, Emmanuel Ojukwu yesterday on the development.

Ojukwu had mobilized the Area Commander for Nsukka M. B Kuryas who along with the Divisional Police Officer combed various farmlands in the area yesterday apparently in search of the herdsmen.

Confirming the development at his palace yesterday, traditional ruler of the community, Igwe John Akor said: “There is fresh fear in our community .My people have not gone to the farms since Monday. Some even fled the community on receiving the information. We have contacted the relevant authorities to report this latest development.

Nothing is as offensive and hurting as the fact that people who were killed few weeks ago are still in the mortuary and those injured still recuperating only for the killers to return here for grazing. My people are still mourning and we have let the president to know how pained we are”, he said

Igwe Akor demanded that herdsmen should leave their territory, stressing that the economic potentials of the community had been seriously hampered since the incident.

Breaking Sad News!! Former Super Eagle’s Coach, Stephen Keshi Dies Suddenly At 54

Nigerian football icon Stephen Okechukwu Keshi died suddenly in the early hours of Wednesday in Benin City, Edo State, TheCable reports.

The former international football player and coach had lost his wife of 33 years, Kate, last year after a prolonged battle with cancer.

TheCable confirmed his death from a member of his family as well as one of his close associates.

“He was not ill at all, never showed any signs of illness, but we suspect he never got over the death of his wife,” a friend said.


He is survived by four children and his mother.

This is so sad!

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Doctors announce nationwide strike tomorrow

Askira said they are embarking on the strike because the Federal Government has refused to meet their demands.
The President of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD), Dr Muhammad Askira has announced that its members will go on a nationwide strike on Thursday, June 9, 2016.

Askira said they are embarking on the strike because the Federal Government has refused to meet their demands.

He said “16 out of 58 federal tertiary institutions or centres were exempted from the initial centre based strike for the commitment of the Chief Medical Director of the hospitals to implement the Federal Government’s directives.’’

Adding that “Due to the failure of the government to address the demands of NARD, it has declared a total and indefinite strike.

“NARD has to take this painful decision in order to highlight the plight of our hardworking members who have had to endure a long period of deprivation and disenfranchisement.”

Askira also threatened the government saying,  if by midnight of June 19, 2016, their demands are not met, other members across the country will join the strike action.

Muhammad Ali's 15 Quotes of Wisdom for Entrepreneurs (and everyone)

Yesterday we lost Muhammad Ali.  If you want to reflect upon how remarkable he was, look beyond his audacity and performance in the ring -- stunning as they were.  Think about who he was at what time in history.

He always had a lot to say to people in the arena since that was where he was raised.  Here is a sampling for those of building something from nothing -- any of us trying to make impact in any way:

 1) "I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want."

 2) "I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked."

 3) "What you're thinking is what you're becoming."

 4) “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

 5) “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

 6) “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

 7) “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”

 8) “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”

 9) “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”

 10) "I shook up the world. Me! Whee!"

 11) “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

 12) "Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you."

 13) "Don't count the days; make the days count."

 14) “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”

 And perhaps most importantly of all:

 15  "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."

Monday, June 6, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS:The Truth About Our Struggles Saturday June 4, 2016

Each and every one of us has certain tests to pass in our lives: certain elevations that we have to go through, certain pain that we need to feel, certain cleansing processes we must experience, certain specific missions that we have to accomplish. That’s why we’ve been put here on Earth. If we can go through our lives with the understanding that everything that we face and every place that we find ourselves is put in front of us to bring us to another level of spirituality, then we can move through each day with a new kind of strength and certainty. 

Sometimes we complain about our struggles, but if we truly understood the process we are in, we would realize that everything is as it needs to be — and that we wouldn't have it any other way.

 

DAILY AWARENESS: Certainty is... Tuesday May 31, 2016

Certainty is the knowing that whatever we encounter in our life, no matter how unpleasant or difficult, is there to benefit our spiritual growth. 

Each one of us comes into this world with our own job to do and role to fulfill in life, and often the road to accomplishing that job is wrought with challenge. With certainty we come to understand that the more difficult the challenge, the more effort it takes us to reach our place of growth, then the more energy there is for us encased within the process.

With this perspective, we might step back and look at a situation and say, “Hmmm, though this situation appears to be difficult, I know this is somehow an opportunity for me to grow.” Or “I don’t know how that door is going to open, but I know that it will.”

Sunday, June 5, 2016

DAILY AWARENESS: A Word of Certainty Sunday June 5, 2016

We all have times when we are bombarded with thoughts like, “You can’t make it. You’ll never get there. You might as well give up now.” That is one reason why it is so important that we encourage each other and lift each other up. Sometimes a word of certainty, in passing, can change the day or life of someone else. We never know what others are really going through, so it is best to use our words for kindness, positivity, and Light.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Original copy of Aburi Accord

THE MEETING

OF THE

SUPREME MILITARY

COUNCIL

AT

ABURI ACCRA GHANA

4-5 JANUARY 1967

1967

PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER

ENUGU

CONTENTS

PAGE

I Introduction ... ... ... ... ... ... 1

II The Aburi Meeting ... ... ... ... ... 4

III Implementation of Aburi Agreements ... 8

IV Bad Faith of Lt.-Col. Gowon ... ... .. 16

 

APPENDICES

 

I ,,Official Minutes of the Supreme Military Council

- held in Ghana on 4th and 5th January, 1967 ... 19

Annexure A: Agenda ... ... ... ... ... 28

Annexure B: Declaration on Use of Force .29

Annexure C: Statement on the Supreme Military

Council ... ... ... ... ... ... 30

Annexure D: Communique ... ... ... 31

Annexure E: Second and Final Communique ... 32

 

II Address by the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, His Excellency Lt.-Col. C. Odumegwu Ojukwu at a Press Conference held on Friday, 6th January,

1967 ... ... ... ... ... ... 33

 

III Report of the Meeting of the Law Officers of the

Federation held in the office of the Solicitor-

General, Mid-Western Nigeria, Benin City, on

Saturday and Sunday the 14th and 15th January,

1967 ... ...- ... ... ... . 37

 

IV "Comments on the ‘Accra decisions’ of the Meeting of the Supreme Military Council" by the Permanent Secretaries of the Lagos Government ..

THE MEETING OF THE SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL

AT ABURI, GHANA, JANUARY, 1967

 

INTRODUCTION

 

ON 17 JANUARY, 1966, the former civilian Federal Government of Nigeria handed over power to the Armed Forces. Major-General J. T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi as the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army assumed the headship of the Federal Military Government and established the Supreme Military Council. Subsequently, on 24 May, 1966, he promulgated the Decree No. 34 putting into effect the decisions of the Supreme Military Council to establish a centralized administration for the country. Six days later widespread violence and riots broke out in Northern Nigeria. Thousands of Easterners were massacred.

2. On 29 July, 1966, a group of Northern Nigerian Army personnel kidnapped and, as was later revealed, murdered Major-General J. T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, the Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government. At the same time they attempted to annihilate all Eastern Nigerian Army Officers and men at Ibadan, Abeokuta and Ikeja in Western Nigeria and at Kaduna, Zaria and Kano in Northern Nigeria. Nearly 200 officers and men of Eastern Nigeria origin were slaughtered. Those who escaped but later returned to their posts following assurances of safety were also murdered. The pogrom was soon extended to Eastern Nigerian civilians resident in Northern Nigeria, Lagos and the West; and by September, 1966, the killings and molestations carried out by the combined forces of Northern Nigerian soldiers and civilians had assumed such large proportions that Easterners everywhere outside the East sought protection within their home Region.

 

3. All these massacres, which claimed the lives of over 30,000 Easterners, jolted the conscience and aroused the indignation of the world. They were also fraught with tragic consequences for the country. The bond of comradeship which had previously held the Nigerian Army together completely severed. Mutual fear, suspicion and hatred have prevailed to such an extent that Army Officers and men Eastern Nigeria origin cannot now co-exist with those of Northern Nigeria origin. The massive movement of population which has resulted from these tragic events has also posed serious economic and social problems.

 

4.The fleeing Easterners had abandoned their homes, businesses for and employments and swelled the population of Eastern Nigeria by den nearly two million. As they returned a potentially explosive situation arose in the East and in consequence the Government of Eastern Nigeria was obliged to ask non-Easterners residing in the East to leave to the Region in the interest of their own safety. The flight of Easterners has also radically altered the machinery and structure of the Federal Government, for Easterners have been forcibly excluded from participating in the Federal Government, Federal Statutory Corporations and the other Federal Organizations outside the Eastern Region.

 

5.The disintegration of the Army and the mass movement of population, coupled with the necessary measures taken to prevent further friction, conflict and killing, have intensified Regional loyalties and made it impossible today for any one person to command the loyalty of all sections of the country.

6. It has been the view of the Government and people of the East

that a solution can and must be found quickly to the country’s present problems and in doing so full cognizance must be taken of the stark realities of the present in order to avoid future conflict and bloodshed. The East has accordingly co-operated with the rest of the country in efforts to find a realistic solution. But progress in this direction has been frustrated by incessant exhibition of bad faith on the part of the Military Leaders in Lagos and the North. A few examples will serve to illustrate this.

 

7. The disappearance of the Supreme Commander on 29 July, 1966, demanded that the next senior Military Officer should temporarily assume command of the Army and the headship of the Federal Military Government until the Supreme Military Council should determine the leadership of the Army and the country. But on 1 August, 1966,
Lt.-Col.Yakubu Gowon, Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters, announced that he had assumed the Offices of Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government, although there were at least half-a- dozen Military Officers who were senior to him. The Military Government of Eastern Nigeria found it impossible to recognize this seizure of power; nevertheless it was prepared to co-operate with Lt.-Col. Gowon in order to prevent further bloodshed.

8. On 9 August, a meeting of representatives of the Military -Governors of the East, Mid-West, West, North and Lt.-Col. Gowon met and unanimously reached agreement on five issues which were vital

for reducing the tension then existing in the country. The first demonstration of bad faith on the part of Lt.-Col. Gowon was his non-implementation of a number of these agreements which concerned him, particularly the one stipulating that soldiers should be repatriated to their Regions of origin and confined to barracks. Lt.-Col. Gowon

had also agreed with the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria that soldiers returning to the North from the East and vice versa should carry their arms and some quantity of ammunition for self-defence but that these arms and ammunition should be returned to their original armoury immediately the soldiers had reached their destination. Eastern soldiers returning from the North were not even given arms and ammunition for self-protection as stipulated. Furthermore, when Northern soldiers arrived at their destination they failed to return the arms and ammunition given to them in the East.

9. Another agreement reached on 9 August, was that a conference of Regional delegations should be held to recommend in broad outline the future form of political association for Nigeria. The Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference duly met from 12 September to 3 October when it adjourned for three weeks. By the time it rose it had reached a measure of agreement on a number of issues. But while the Conference was still in session, Northern soldiers with the aid of civilians massacred thousands of Eastern Nigerians in the North and some even in Lagos,

the venue of the Conference.

10. As the date of resumption of the Ad HocConstitutionalConference approached the question of the safety of Eastern delegates came to the fore. The Eastern Nigeria Military Government insisted on the immediate implementation of the agreement of 9 August whereby all military personnel were to be posted to barracks within

their respective Regions of origin. The Eastern position was unanimously supported by the Leaders of Thought Conference of Western Nigeria. But the proposal was not acceptable to Lt.-Col. Gowon, and without further consultations with all the Military Governors he dismissed the Constitutional Conference on 30 November, 1966.

At the same time he declared that he was appointing a "drafting committee" to draw up a constitution on lines which would be suitable to him, and threatened to mobilize enough forces to deal with anyone who opposed his will.

 

11. The Military Government of Eastern Nigeria thought that Gowon events were taking a dangerous turn and that it was essential for the Supreme Military Council, which had not been convoked since 29 July,

to meet. Since the situation in the country made it impossible for the Military Governor of the East to attend a meeting in any area occupied by Northern troops, various suggestions of alternative venues were put forward by him. So anxious indeed was he to attend the meeting that he purchased an executive plane to facilitate his journey to any acceptable venue. For long, however, his suggestions were treated with levity by Lt.-Col. Gowon, but eventually it was unanimously agreed that the meeting should hold outside Nigeria.

 

THE ABURI MEETING

12. The Supreme Military Council subsequently met at Aburi, Ghana, on 4 and 5 January, 1967. It had been recognized by the Military leaders that the meeting would:

(a) resolve the question of leadership within the army, restore the chain of command which had become badly disrupted, and examine the crisis of confidence amongst the officers and soldiers which had rendered it impossible for them intermingle;

(b) evolve ways and means of carrying on the responsibility of administering the country until a new constitution had been determined; and

(c) tackle realistically the problems of displaced persons. These considerations were reflected in the agenda which was agreed upon by members of the Supreme Military Council (see Appendix I Annexure A).

13. 0n the first day of the meeting the Military Governor of the East put forward a resolution, which the meeting endorsed, calling -on the military leaders to renounce the use of force as a means of settling the Nigerian crisis. It was this resolution which was embodied in a communique issued by the Council at the end of the first day of

the meeting (see Appendix I Annexure B).

14. After deliberating anxiously and seriously on the reorganization, administration and control of the Army the meeting reached aft agreements on the following lines(see Appendix I for the Official Minutes of the Conference):

 

"(a) Army to be governed by the Supreme Military Council under a chairman to be known as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Head of the Federal Military Government.

 

"(b) Establishment of a Military Headquarters comprising equal representation from the Regions and headed by a Chief of Staff.

"(c) Creation of Area Commands corresponding to existing Regions and under the charge of Area Commanders.

"(d) Matters of policy, including appointments and promotions to top executive posts in the Armed Forces and the Police, to be dealt with by the Supreme Military Council.

 

"(e) During the period of the Military Government, Military Governors will have control over Area Commands for internal security.

 

"(f) Creation of a Lagos Garrison including Ikeja Barracks."

15. It was further agreed by the Supreme Military Council that a Military Committee comprising representatives of the Regions should meet within two weeks from the date of receiving instructions to prepare statistics which would show:

 

"(a) Present strength of Nigerian Army;

"(b) Deficiency in each sector of each unit;

"(c) The size appropriate for the country and each Area Command;

"(d) Additional requirement for the country and each Area Command."

 

Pending the completion of the work of the Committee, it was agreed by the Council that further recruitment of soldiers throughout the country should cease.

 

16. On the implementation of the agreement reached by representatives of the Military Leaders on 9 August, 1966, the Council reaffirmed the principle that Army personnel of Northern origin should return to the North from the West. In order to meet the security needs of the West it was agreed that a crash programme of recruitment and training was necessary but that the details should be examined after the Military Committee had finished its work. -

 

17. It was in the course of discussing the reorganization of the Army that the crucial issue of the assumption by Lt.-Col. Cowon of the offices of Supreme Commander and Head of the Federal Military Government arose. The Governor of the East, in explaining why it was impossible for him to recognize Lt.-Col. Gowon as Supreme

 

Commander, pointed out that the fate of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, the legitimate Supreme Commander, was yet unknown and so no one could succeed him; that in the absence of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi whoever was the next senior officer in rank should manage the affairs of the country; and that the East was never party to any decision to appoint Lt.-Col. Gowon Supreme Commander. Subsequently, Lt.-Col. Gowon volunteered information regarding the murder of the MajorGeneral and his host, Lt.-Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, on 29 July, 1966. The Supreme Military Council decided to accord the late military leaders the full honours due to them.

 

18. The Supreme Military Council recognized that with the demise of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi no other Military Leader could command the support of the entire Nigerian Army and that a new arrangement was necessary for an effective administration of the whole country. The Council also took cognizance of the fact that extreme centralization had been the bane of the Military Regime in the past and that it was essential to re-define the powers of the Federal Military Government vis-a-vis the Regional Military Governments in order to ensure public confidence and co-operation.

19. When the Supreme Military Council resumed its deliberations at Aburi on January, after members had spent the night at their various posts with their advisers, it proceeded to discuss the powers of the Federal Military Government vis-a-vis the Regional Governments. -The upshot was that the Council re-affirmed its previous decisions on the reorganization of the Army and also took the following additional decisions: -

"(ii) On appointments to certain posts.

The following appointments must be approved by the Supreme Military Council:

(a) Diplomatic and Consular posts.

(b) Senior posts in the Armed Forces and the Police.

(c) Super-scale Federal Civil Service and Federal Corporation posts.

"(iii) On the functioning of the Supreme Military Council Any decisions affecting the whole country must be determined by the Supreme Military Council. Where a meeting is not possible such a matter must be referred to Military Governors for comment and concurrence.

"(iv) That all the Law Officers of the Federation should meet in Benin on the 14 January and list all the Decrees and provisions of Decrees concerned so that they may be repealed not later than 21 January, if possible.

 

"(v) That for at least the next six months, there should be purely a Military Government, having nothing to do whatsoever with politicians."

 

20. The next item discussed was the Ad HocConstitutional Conference which Lt.-Col. Gowon had unilaterally dissolved on 30 November, 1966. The Council agreed that the Conference should resume sitting as soon as practicable to continue from where it left off, and that the question of implementing the unanimous recommendations of the Conference in September, 1966 should be considered at a later meeting of the Supreme Military Council.

 

21. Finally, on the problem of displaced persons, the relevant section of the Official Minutes of the Council reads as follows:

 

"(a) on rehabilitation, that Finance Permanent Secretaries should resume their meeting within two weeks and submit recommendations and that each Region should send three representatives to the meeting;

 

"(b) on employment and recovery of property, that civil servants and Corporation staff (including daily paid employees) who have not been absorbed should continue to be paid their full salaries until 31 March, 1967 provided they have not got alternative employment, and that the Military Governors of the East, West and Mid-West should send representatives (Police Commissioners) to meet and discuss the problem of recovery of property left behind by displaced persons."

 

22. On his return from the Aburi meeting the Military Governor of the East held a press conference to reassure Easterners who had considerable apprehension about the meeting and its outcome. (For the full text of the Military Governor’s press statement see Appendix 2.) He emphasized at this conference that the Aburi meeting had been worthwhile and gave the assurance that provided the agreements reached were ~implemented much progress would have been made towards relieving tension and banishing fear within the country.

 

 

 

IMPLEMENTATION OF ABURI AGREEMENTS

23. The Military Government of Eastern Nigeria was represented at the meeting of the Solicitors-General held in Benin on 14 and 15 January. (For the Report of the Law Officers see Appendix III). The Eastern delegation received full briefing in the light of the Aburi decisions to which its views strictly adhered. Since some other delegations had not been fully briefed it became necessary to refer a number of issues back to the Supreme Military Council. One of the most important was section 69 of the Nigerian Constitution in respect of which the Report of the Law Officers’ meeting reads—

"As regards the powers of the Federal Military Government

vis-a-vis the Regional Government, all the Law Officers, excepting those from the East, are of the view that effect would be fully given to the Accra decision in this regard by repealing section 3 of

Decree No. 1 and restoring the provisions of the suspended section 69 with necessary modifications whereby the Federal Military Government will now have power to make Decrees to the following extent:

(a) With respect to the Federal Territory of Lagos, on any matter whatever;

(b) With respect to the whole of Nigeria, or any part thereof (other than Lagos), on
matters included in the Exclusive Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List; provided that where there is an inconsistency between a Federal Decree on a Concurrent matter and a Regional Edict on the same matter, the Federal Decree will prevail.

 

"Under this arrangement the Military Governors will have no power to make Edicts on matters on the Exclusive Legislative List but will have powers to make Edicts on matters in the Concurrent Legislative List and on residual matters."

 

"The view of the Eastern Law Officers is that the introduction of the element of Regional consent in Federal legislation must necessarily modify the position as it was before 17 January in the sense that there will be a lacuna in the legislative activities of both the Supreme Military Council and the Regions where consent is not given. It appears, therefore, to be the intention of the Accra decision that such a lacuna should be filled by the Regions. With respect to matters on the Concurrent Legislative List, it is their view that the Regions can legislate in relation to Federal Law."

 

24. The views of the Eastern Nigerian Law Officers quoted above from the Solicitors-General Report clearly reflect the spirit and letter of the Aburi decision on this matter. One of the main areas of friction between the Regions and the Central Government during the last civilian regime concerns the exercise of powers over matters on the Concurrent List. The controversial issue was the provision whereby a law passed by the Federal Government superseded any other law passed by a Regional Government on the same subject. This problem was fully recognized by most delegations to the meeting of the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference in Lagos in September, 1966. It was the objective of the Aburi meeting to eliminate such sources of friction, hence the decision that "the legislative and executive authority of the Federal Military Government should remain in the Supreme Military Council (not in one man) to which any decision affecting the whole country (whether on the Exclusive or Concurrent List) shall be referred for determination provided that where it is not possible for a meeting to be held the matter requiring determination must be referred to Military Governors for their comment and concurrence."There can be no doubt that this modified the position before 17 January, 1966, when the Military Regime took over, and that it provides a new governmental arrangement needed for Nigeria "in view of what the country has experienced in the past year (1966)."

 

 

25. Since the receipt of the Report of the Law Officers by the members of the Supreme Military Council, the Military Governor of Western Nigeria has vindicated the stand of the Eastern Nigerian Law Officers as regards section 69. He commented—
"In the light of what has been stated at pages two to three of the

Report, it is considered that only the Supreme Military Council should have power to make laws on matters on the Exclusive Legislative List. As regards matters on the Concurrent Legislative List, it is felt that the exercise of powers concurrently by the Supreme Military Council and the Military Governors of the Regions with respect to the same subjects could lead to conflict or friction of a type which ought to be avoided under the present Military Regime. It seems that one sure way to avoid such conflict or friction would be by making new provisions whereby the Supreme Military Council will have power to make laws on matters on the Concurrent Legislative List in respect of Lagos only whilst the Military Governors will have power to make laws by Edict on those matters in respect of their Regions."

 

 

 

26. The Law Officers held divergent views on such questions as the machinery for the meetings of the Supreme Military Council and the manner in which the concurrence of the Military Governors, as members of the Council, should be signified in the making of Decrees. On these questions the Military Governor, West, has again vindicated the stand of the East when he commented as follows:

 

"...a meeting of the Supreme Military Council will be properly

constituted and can properly be held if any Military Governor is
absent, but as agreed at Accra, any Military Governor not
present will be given the opportunity to express his comments
on, and concurrence with, the decisions taken in his absence
before they are implemented.

 

"(b) Where all the Military Governors are present at a meeting of the Supreme Military Council decisions should now be taken only with the concurrence or unanimity of all the Military Governors. Decisions by majority would have been the best thing in ordinary circumstances but in the present situation in the country, one has to admit that such a rule could lead to open disagreements and conflicts and so to the revival of tension which everything must be done now to reduce."

 

 

27.Again, the Eastern Military Government readily sent representatives to the meeting of the Committee of Army Officers at Benin which, as was agreed at Aburi, would discuss matters relating to the quantity of arms and ammunition available in each Unit of the Army in each Region and in the unallocated stores, as well as the sharing out of such arms equitably to the various Commands. The Committee - -could not progress with its work for lack of co-operation from the representatives of Lt.-Col.Gowon.

28. While the Military Government of Eastern Nigeria has been making a determined and sincere effort to act according to the spirit and

decisions of Aburi, Lt.-Col. Gowon has
deliberately set out to ignore both.
Ten days after the Aburi meeting the Gowon
Government issued a booklet, entitled Nigeria 1966, parts of which attacked and libelled
the Military Governor of the East. The booklet also contained tendentious statements the sole aim of which could only be to inflame passions and cause disaffection within the country. This booklet was launched in New York, London and other capitals of the world.

29. Worse still, three weeks after the meeting, at a press conference which he held on 26 January, 1967, Lt.-Col. Gowon reproduced a truncated and distorted version of the agreements reached at Aburi. The source of Lt.-Col. Gowon’s statement was not the official minutes of the meeting, which had been prepared by his own officials, but a hostile commentary on the Aburi decisions prepared afterwards by people with vested interests in Lagos—men who were neither members of the Supreme Military Council nor were present at the meeting. These people were in a position to advise Lt.-Col. Gowon before the meeting since the agenda for the Aburi meeting were agreed to well beforehand. Furthermore, most of the major decisoins at Aburi were taken on the second day of the meeting after members had spent the night at their respective stations, consulting with their advisers.

 

30. A few days after Aburi some Permanent Secretaries in Lagos met to criticize the decisions reached by the Supreme Military Council, the highest authority in the land. With regard to the reorganization of the Army they objected to the new title of "Commander-in-Chief" on the grounds that—

"(1) it would be a subtle way of either abolishing the post of Supreme Commander or declaring it vacant to be filled by unanimous decision of the Supreme
Military Council... and

(2) The Accra decision transfers the
Executive Authority of the Federal Military Government from the Head of the Federal Military Government and Supreme Commander (in accordance with Decree No. 1) to the Supreme Military Council. The implication of this is that the Commander-in-Chief would have no power of control or dismissal over the Regional Governors..."

On the establishment of Military Headquarters, the Permanent Secretaries stated that "the establishment of Military Headquarters with equal representatives from the Regions headed by a Chief of Staff amounts toconfederation". They made no effort to define what they meant by a "confederation". As regards the creation of Area Commands the Permanent Secretaries took exception to what they considered to be "dividing up the Nigerian Army into Regional ones, without links with or effective unifying control over the Army by the ‘Supreme Commander’." This advice, which was clearly motivated by selfish interests, ignored the anxiety of the Nigerian public for a workable and effective settlement of the crisis and a quick return to normal conditions. In strict compliance with this advice, however, Lt.-Col. Gowon, true to his well-known characteristic of ignoring solemn agreements, made a volte-face at his press conference. On the issue of the reorganization of the Army he declared—

"We reviewed the situation in- the Nigerian Army and we all

agreed that there should be one Nigerian Army under a unified command as at present. We recognized that in the context of the events of 1966, the most practical way of achieving this aim is to organize the Army into area commands. The preponderance of T the army personnel in each command will be drawn from the re indigenes of that area. Each area command will be under an P Area Commander who will take operational instructions from the Military Headquarters which will be directly under me as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Under the proposal, the Military Governors can use the area command for internal security purposes but this will normally be done with the express permission of the Head of the Federal Military Government. We definitely decided tit against Regional armies."

As could be seen from the Minutes of the Aburi Conference, no decision was taken that the Area Commands should be directly under Lt.-Col. Gowon "as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces" nor that the Military Governors should obtain his permission to use the Area Commands for internal security.

31. Again, instead of emphasizing that the Supreme Military

Council, in recognition of the fact that no single government in the

Federation has its writ running throughout the country, has introduced the element of Regional consent into the process of reaching its decisions, Lt.-Col. Gowon merely stated—
"We, however, agreed to return to the status quo ante 17 January, 1966, and this is in keeping with my earlier public pronouncements that Decrees or parts of Decrees which tended towards over- centralization should be repealed. We will continue to operate the existing Federal Constitution and the Federal system of government until a new Constitution is drawn up. A decree is now under preparation which will give effect to the decision to return to the Constitutional position before 17 January, 1966..."

32. Turning to the problem of displaced persons the Permanent Secretaries suggested:

"(a) when the meeting of Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance resumes, the principle of revenue allocation should not be discussed as it was not mentioned in the minutes of the Accra meeting.

 

"(b) the decision to continue to pay salaries till the end of March, 1967, does not take into consideration economic factors which are linked with it . . . Secondly, it does not make sense to include daily paid workers among those whose salaries should continue to be paid. The decision should therefore be reconsidered."

 

The insistence of the Permanent Secretaries that "the principle of revenue allocation should not be discussed" at any future meetings of Permanent Secretaries, Finance, is clear evidence that they intend to strangle the East economically since they are well aware of the mass return of nearly two million Easterners to the Region, the loss of £20,000,000 in property by refugees from the North and the forcible

exclusion of Easterners from the Federal Civil Service, the Federal Statutory Corporations, the Foreign Service and other Federal institutions. - Surely they cannot expect the East to survive economically in these circumstances under the existing system of revenue allocation. Moreover, whatever economic factors are linked with the Supreme Military Council’s- decisions on this matter it is patent that the displaced employees are in no way responsible for their present plight. And the inequitable treatment suggested by the Permanent Secretaries in respect of daily paid workers can only remind the country of the industrial strife which such an application of double standards caused in the days of the former civilian regime.

 

33. In spite of all these Lt.-Col. Gowon in his press conference defers to the recommendations of the Permanent Secretaries on this head. Although the decision at Aburi was that the salaries of all displaced persons who had not obtained alternative employment should, without qualification, be paid until 31 March, 1967, Lt.-Col. Gowon stated that "each case is to be considered on its merit" and that Federal Corporations would find it"very difficult" to continue to pay their displaced employees.

 

34. With respect to appointments to certain posts in the Federal Public Service, the Permanent Secretaries commented as follows:

 

"(a) whichever category of officer is meant, the effect of this decision will tend to paralyse the functions of the Federal Public and the Police Service Commissions;

 

"(b) if Regional Governors have power to appointments, the loyalty of Federal Officers would be to their regions of origin—meaning in effect that there will be no Federal Civil Service;

"(c)the acceptance of this decision would also require, as the law officers have reported, amendments to those sections in the
Constitution dealing with appointment to Nigeria Police,Federal Public Service
Commission and sections of various acts dealing with appointment in Federal Statutory
Corporations;

(d) furthermore, it is observed that while Military Governors will have power to appoint, or approve appointments of
Federal Government Servants, there is no corresponding power of the Supreme Military Council to even influence
the appointments to senior posts in the Regional Public Services. This clearly makes the Federal Military Government."

Obviously the Permanent Secretaries are not concerned with the peace, stability and even the survival of Nigeria; their sole interest is to maintain the status quo because any attempt at a fair distribution of posts -in the Federal Civil Service, the Federal Corporations, the Foreign Service and other Federal institutions would mean a diminution of the powers they now enjoy. The East must remain permanently excluded from these services and institutions for the selfish ends of Federal Permanent Secretaries. The East must be relegated to obscure embassies abroad where they will- be ineffective and unheard. In his press statement Lt.-Col. Gowon, in his attempt to keep to the advice of the Permanent Secretaries, was caught up in contradictions. In one and the same breath he said that these appointments should be approved by the Supreme Military Council and that the Federal public Service and Police Commissions should retain their present functions. His exact words were-

"There have been some speculations about the effect of our decisions on senior appointments and - promotions in the Federal Public Service. It was agreed that top posts such as Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors will have to be approved by the I ship Supreme Military Council. I would like to explain that the Armey Federal Public Service Commission as well as the Police Commissionand i will continue to function as at present."

 

35. Finally, on the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference the Permanent Secretaries stated that it was rather advisable for Gowon stick to their previous recommendations and advice, namely:

 

"(a) that the Ad Hoc Constitutional
Conference should stand adjourned indefinitely;

"(b) that the immediate political programme announced to the nation on 30 November, 1966, by the ‘Supreme Commander’ should be implemented and the country must be so informed."

 

The Permanent Secretaries have here revealed that the origin of Lt.Col. Gowon’s
"political programme"
of 30 November, 1966, was "the recommendations and advice" given to him by these Permanent Secretaries. In accordance with this advice, however, Lt.-Col. Gowon, while not appearing to re-affirm "that the Ad HocConstitutional Conference should stand adjourned indefinitely", said— "So far I have not set up the Drafting Committee and the Constituent Assembly promised in my broadcast (of 30 November, 1966) because it was the intention that normal conditions should be fully restored before they begin to function... I am carrying... on the necessary consultations with all sections of the Nigerian - community and when eventually the names we are screening are announced the general public will be satisfied."

In this context, the indications are that Lt.-Col. Gowon would rather take steps to implement his pet programme than facilitate the resumption of the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference as decided at Aburi. This is borne out by the draft Decree which he produced after Aburi.

 

36. This draft Decree, which has been circulated to the Regional Military Governors by Lt.-Col. Gowon, accordingly by-passes or ignores all the major decisions taken at Aburi. It seeks to return Nigeria to the constitutional position before 17 January, 1966, while in fact the decisions of the Supreme Military Council were on specific issues and were not limited by dates. In the draft Decree the title of "Supreme Commander" is still retained contrary to the decision at Aburi to alter it to "Commander-in-Chief". The draft Decree also retains the word "President" instead of "Chairman of the Supreme Military Council" as was agreed at Aburi. Again it enlarges the membership of the Supreme Military Council to include "Head of the Nigerian Army (a non-existent post), the "Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces" and the "Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army". No such decisions were taken at Aburi. It was merely agreed that there should be one Chief of Staff at Headquarters.

 

37. In addition, contrary to the Aburi accord, the draft Decree vests executive and legislative powers either in the Federal Military Government or in the Federal Executive Council. But the Aburi meeting clearly decided that the legislative and executive authority of the

Federal Military Government should devolve on the Supreme Military Council to which any matter affecting the whole country should be referred for determination.

38. The draft Decree also completely ignores the decision at Aburi that appointments and promotions within the upper hierarchy of the Army, Police, the Public Service and Corporations must be approved by the Supreme Military Council.

39Lastly, the draft Decree proceeds to restore sections 70, 71 and 86 of the old Constitution, which had been suspended, without also restoring the safeguards provided in that Constitution. By this action Lt.-Col. Gowon, contrary to the spirit and letter of the Aburi agreements, arrogates to himself the power to declare a state of emergency anywhere in Nigeria.

 

 

BAD FAITH OF LT.-COL. GOWON

40. The failure of Lt.-Col. Gowon to adhere to the decisions unanimously reached at Aburi is only the latest evidence of his bad faith, inconsistency and lack of realism.

41. On the first day of his seizure of power he had pleaded for co-operation from the East Military Government, and had promised to retain power only temporarily in order to normalise the extraordinary conditions created by himself and his fellow Northerners, military and civilian. Thereafter the Military leaders were to meet and decide on the leadership. Lt.-Col. Gowon has never fulfilled that promise. The breach of his promise to see to the return of arms and ammunition by Northern soldiers evacuated from the East has already been mentioned in paragraph 8 above. Lt.-Col. Gowon also assured the Military Government of the East in August, 1966 that he would stop the killings in the country, but these killings subsequently increased in organization and ferocity until they reached the proportions of a pogrom. He moreover promised that the inquiry set up by Major-General Aguiyi Ironsi into the May massacres of Easterners in Northern Nigeria would "certainly go on as scheduled". Nothing has been heard again about this inquiry ever since. So also most of the difficulties preventing the return to normal conditions in the country have stemmed from Lt.-Col. Gowon’s bad faith in not implementing the unanimous decisions reached by the representatives of the military leaders at their meeting in Lagos on 9 August.

 

42.Early in September 1966, armed soldiers of Northern origin from Ibadan raided Benin Prison and removed soldiers who had been detained as a result of their
alleged involvement in the attempted coup of

15 January. The Northerners among the detainees were set free and repatriated to the North; the remainder, mainly Easterners, were murdered under brutal circumstances. And although Lt.-Col. Gowon gave assurances that the murderers would be brought to justice, so far the perpetrators of the atrocities have gone unpunished.

 

43. It was exactly this same sort of bad faith that Lt.-Col. Gowon exhibited in September, 1966. In his opening address to the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference, he had himself instructed the delegates to choose one of the following alternatives in formulating a new Constitution for Nigeria:

"(a) Federal system with a strong Central Government;
"(b) Federal system with a weak Central Government;
"(c) Confederation ;or

"(d) An entirely new arrangement which may be peculiar to Nigeria."

At the same time Gowon disavowed any intention of dictating to the country a particular constitution. When, however, he saw that the delegations were veering towards the second or third alternative, he adjourned the conference indefinitely. He thereupon
announced that "the idea of a temporary confederation is unworkable" and that he was appointing "a drafting committee" to prepare a constitution which "will reflect the generally expressed desire for a stable federation". it will be recalled, however, that the delegations to the Ad HocConference went to Lagos in September, 1966, after extensive consultations among the people in each Region. Thus each delegation went
with a mandate representing the "expressed desire" of its people. But, true to type, Lt.-Col. Gowon placed a dubious construction on the submissions
of the delegations to suit his purpose and that of his advisers.

 

44. Contrary to the decisions at Aburi recruitment into the Army has continued in different parts of the country except the East; contrary to these agreements, Lt.-Col. Gowon has proceeded to appoint Ambassadors without reference to the Supreme Military Council; contrary to the agreements, purchase and importation of arms have continued. Lt.-Col. Gowon unilaterally postponed the meeting of Military officers to discuss the reorganization of the Army as agreed at Aburi. The proposed meeting of Finance officials on the problem of rehabilitation of displaced persons has not even been held because Lt.-Col. Gowon’s Finance Permanent Secretary does not think that such a meeting will serve any useful purpose. -

45. In the light of the foregoing and since there is clearly no hope of a change of attitude on the part of Lt.-Col. Gowon, the East Military Government considers that the time has come when it must take a final stand against a regime which cannot abide by agreements voluntarily arrived at. The Military Government of the East is irrevocably committed to the task of ameliorating the suffering of its struggling people and providing them with the peace, order and good government which are their overriding needs. To this end the Government will publish shortly its future policy towards the implementation of the Aburi agreements.

How Britain Perpetuated Northerners in power — Chief Mbazulike Amechi By Ochereome Nnanna

In the 1959 election, the election that preceded independence, the NCNC, which was predominant in the East, having 50 per cent in the West and having a foothold in the North through NEPU, scored a total of 2,594,577 votes to capture 94 seats in the Federal House. The Action Group/UMBC alliance had 1,992,364 to capture 73 seats in the House.The NPC scored a total of 1,992,179 votes to capture a total of 142 seats in the House. So, the constituencies were carved out in such a way that the North would always be in control, and if you look at subsequent delimitation of constituencies and the population figures, the North has always ensured to maintain this pattern of dominance because nobody will like to throw away his advantages voluntarily.That was a creation of the white man.

How Britain Perpetuated  Northerners in power — Chief Mbazulike Amechi By Ochereome Nnanna

*Why Zik did not work with Awolowo *The genesis of agitation for COR state Getting to the country home of Chief Mbazulike Amechi in Ukpor Nnewi, was no easy task, even in a Jeep. But when we eventually got there on Wednesday, February 3rd 2010, we met a man of 80 plus a couple of  months still standing tall, still handsome and still very sharp in the mind and memory. Our mission was to encounter him in this interview to get a clearer picture of some historical issues surrounding the early political life of Nigeria before it degenerated to the sorry state in which we find ourselves. When I was through with him, he autographed three of his books which I have since found to be invaluable for the better understanding of Nigeria’s early beginnings. It is my pleasure to present to you, Chief Amechi, Have a PLEASURABLE READ. You are known as “The   Boy is Good”. How did you come by that name? (Chuckles). I think it was in 1957. A constitutional conference was taking place in Lagos. I was in the secretariat team of the National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) delegation. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was leading our team. The Sardauna led the Northern team and Chief Awolowo led the Action Group. At the Lagos Marina, the Sardauna had just arrived at the residence of the Colonial Governor. He drove into the compound. Awolowo arrived with his own team and they drove into the compound. As we approached the compound we came down for Zik to enter the compound in a Chevrolet station wagon. As we opened the gate for him to drive in, one big stone landed on the side glass of his car.The driver quickly applied the brakes. I was in my car together with Chief Fred Anyiam, an old Zikist. As I looked back to see what was happening, I saw a young man dressed in a fine suit pull out one long, sharp dagger from under his coat. He meant to stab it on the chest of Zik. Then I shouted: “this is an assassination! This is an assassination!” I jumped out of my car and grappled with the young man. The policemen who were there looked the other way and everybody was scared. I held him by the hand and he stabbed me in my hand (shows a large scar on his right forefinger).I was bleeding and yet the white police officer who led the policemen stationed there looked the other way. As I was grappling with the man I shouted to Zik’s driver: “Sam, don’t you see it was your master they wanted to kill? Common, drive into that compound, don’t be silly!” he drove into the compound and I raised the traditional Igbo war cry: Igbo onozikwa ebea e? Igbo onozikwa ebea e?”At this one Inspector Chukwuma, from Anambra as I was later made to understand, rushed out with a long baton, gave the man a big blow on the head and on the elbow and the dagger-holding hand, and the man slumped. The Inspector stepped on the dagger and then picked it up and I was rushed to the General Hospital in Lagos Island. I was treated by a lady doctor, Dr Ofili. This was relayed in the news everywhere. And when Zik was narrating the story in Onitsha, he kept saying: “the boy was really good”. That was how it started. Since then wherever I come in contact with people they hail me: “The Boy is Good”, and it has become part of my name”.So it has a noble connotation. But today “The Boy is Good” now means, “He is rich”. He has a lot of money? Good luck to him. We hear of “Awoist”. We hear that some people are Aminu Kano’s political disciples. Who is a “Zikist”? What is Zikism?When nationalism was building up it took a dramatic crescendo when Zik returned to Nigeria around 1934-35. He went to Ghana or Gold Coast and when he returned to Nigeria he set up the West African Pilot and other newspapers. Nwafor Orizu came back and wrote a book on youth and dynamism. Azikiwe means Azi ka iwe (or, the youth are more revolutionary than the elders). It was a source of inspiration to us and we decided to make a radical organisation out of him.The Zikist Movement was founded around 1944 with MCK Ajuluchukwu as its first National President and Dr Kola Balogun as its first National Secretary. As the organisation grew the NCNC in 1948 tried to revolutionise its activities and drew up what they called the Freedom Charter at the Jos convention. Then in 1949 the youths in the Zikist Movement felt that the NCNC elders were not sufficiently forthcoming in implementing the Jos resolutions. So the Zikist Movement drew up its own programme and passed its own resolution.The first phase of it was Passive Resistance. After that we would enter the phase of Dynamic Action. And after that we would enter the Total Revolution stage. The stage of passive resistance was to educate the people on their rights and ask them not to do anything that is anti-Nigeria or anti-nation as may be ordered them by the white colonialists. The second stage was to urge Nigerian people to stop paying tax because taxes then were being paid in favour of the British government in Nigeria.The final stage was to go into demonstrations, to go into positive action and to urge the police and military officers not to obey their white commanders. So, it was decided that the first stage should be given effect in a lecture. We looked for somebody to deliver the lecture and we zeroed in on Osita Agwuna. He agreed to deliver a lecture entitled: “A Call for Revolution”.He delivered the lecture. Anthony Enahoro was the chairman of the lecture. Zik was billed to chairman the lecture but he sent a message late that he was not feeling well and would not be able to attend. Enahoro, who was then the Editor of The Comet, one of Zik’s newspapers, presided. A few days after the lecture, the authorities pounced on Agwuna and arrested him, seized the text of the lecture and charged him to court for sedition and being in possession of seditious documents and so on. Agwuna was defiant in court. He told the magistrate that he did not recognise his court because the court was an instrument of British imperialism and not a Nigerian court, even though his salary was being paid through the Nigerian tax-payers fund. The executive of the Movement decided to repeat the lecture a few days after Agwuna’s arraignment, at the Glover Memorial Hall, Lagos. It led to the arrest of more Zikists: Mallam Raji Abdallah, Obed Macaulay, Fred Anyiam, Mokwugwo Okoye and others. They were all arrested and sent to prison. They made no plea in the courts. This was late in 1949 and it spilled into 1950. In my book: The Forgotten Heroes of Independence in Nigeria, I captured it all. I was in Benin myself as the Assistant Secretary of the Zikist Movement. Henry Igbosua was my Chairman. The files were in my house. They searched my house and found a circular directing us on what we must do.They arrested me and sent me to Benin prison. I did not know that the Oba of Benin stepped in on my behalf and the case was withdrawn from court. I quickly moved down to Lagos because when the other leaders were arrested it created a sort of vacuum so there was a need for people to come in. Bob Ogbuagu was in Jos.The Zikist Movement was meant to cause a revolution in the country and achieve independence through revolution, and that was why many of us swore never to get married until Nigeria became independent. We did that because we did not want to bring into the world young children who would be fatherless or to create young widows. We expected to die in the struggle. We were not expecting to survive. We were prepared to die for Nigeria’s freedom. That was the same spirit with Dr Nelson Mandela. When he was being pursued by British intelligence in South Africa, he escaped to Nigeria to stay with me in Lagos. Nelson Mandela?Yes. He stayed with me for six months. By then Nigeria had got independence I was a Parliamentary Secretary. I got married immediately Nigeria’s independence was imminent in 1960. When Mandela came to Nigeria with his wife after his release from prison he came here to my house in Nnewi. When he was in prison he was writing me. I still have some of his letters.After six months, Mandela decided to return to South Africa, saying he was tired of hiding. He said he wanted to go and be part of the struggle. “If I die”, he said, “Many people will be inspired and continue with the struggle. But if I did not die and we won, I will give leadership to the people”. That was the kind of decision we Africa freedom fighters had taken. We would rather die and give inspiration to people who will succeed us or give them leadership. He went back and was sent to prison for 27 years. He came out and led South Africa. When the Zikist Movement was approaching the drive for the independence of Nigeria through that revolutionary method, was the same push being applied in other parts of the country? The North and Western Regions? No. Except in the West. The Action Group elders were like the NCNC elders who wanted to proceed with caution. But there were in the Action Group young people who were nationalists, like Olu Adebanjo, Bisi Onabanjo and so on, who were thinking along the same lines with those of us in the Zikist Movement. For example, when the Queen was to visit Nigeria in 1956 we formed a joint committee of NCNC Youth Association (when the Zikist Movement was banned we changed the name to NCNC Youth  Association) and Action Group Youth Association, and these two bodies worked like radical wings of the parent political parties.In the north, no. There were radical elements like Aminu Kano, Tanko Yakassai, Bello Ijumu, Sa’adu Zungur and others. But they could not form a body in the north to come and join us in the south because the influence of the white rulers and the emirs would not allow them because  of  their system of governance. If you said a word they would just seize you and send you to prison with or without trial. This was the  system they had which the white man saw and allowed them to function under the Indirect Rule approach. Would you say that the different approaches to   decolonisation in the East as compared to the North made the British colonialists to load political advantages against the East and in favour of the North when they were about to go? Definitely, it was Zik that opened the eyes of people. And then, the radical elements in politics were found more in Igboland and second to Igboland was the Yoruba side. The British colonial authorities did not allow themselves to trust the Igbo man or Yoruba man. The Hausa/Fulani was the man they could trust. And so, they gerrymandered the constitution that brought independence in such a way that made sure that the North had all the powers. If you go to my other book: Nigeria, the Two Political Amalgams you will see the figures I gave there.In the 1959 election, the election that preceded independence, the NCNC, which was predominant in the East, having 50 per cent in the West and having a foothold in the North through NEPU, scored a total of 2,594,577 votes to capture 94 seats in the Federal House. The Action Group/UMBC alliance had 1,992,364 to capture 73 seats in the House.The NPC scored a total of 1,992,179 votes to capture a total of 142 seats in the House. So, the constituencies were carved out in such a way that the North would always be in control, and if you look at subsequent delimitation of constituencies and the population figures, the North has always ensured to maintain this pattern of dominance because nobody will like to throw away his advantages voluntarily.That was a creation of the white man. And two, when elections were over like this and there was no one with a clear majority, what usually happened was that somebody could be  called upon to form a government. But in the case of Nigeria it was not like that. Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the NPC was not called upon to form a government. He was not invited by the Governor General to form a government. He was appointed Prime Minister. Balewa’s emergence as the first Prime Minister of Nigeria was by appointment. What led to that? They could easily have invited him since the figures indicated they had the majority? What happened was that even the North was not expecting that. They were afraid. But we knew that the British government wanted the North to produce the Prime Minister because they did not trust an Igbo or Yoruba Prime Minister or anybody from the South.After the elections and the three parties saw their standings, we were meeting at Onitsha a message came to Zik telling him that Awolowo was sending a delegation for the purpose of forming an alliance with the Action Group. They proposed that Zik should be the Prime Minister while Awolowo would be the Finance Minister. We were discussing with the delegation in Zik’s main sitting room when the telephone rang upstairs. Zik went up to answer the phone. When he was coming down the stairs, he said in Igbo, as if he was talking to someone upstairs: “agwo anyi na ya no bu kwa agwo isi na-buo!” meaning: “the snake we are dealing with has two heads!” When he came down, he told the Awolowo delegation: “Okay. Go and tell Awolowo that we are considering his proposal. We will send a delegation back to him”.When they left, Zik told us that the telephone that he went to answer was from the Sardauna of Sokoto, and the Sardauna told him that a delegation from Awolowo was with him, offering the North Prime Minister and Awolowo the Finance Minister. This meant that if he got what he wanted from the North he would kick the East out and if he got it from the East he would kick the North out. There and then, Zik and the Sardauna decided that this man was a treacherous person and was not the type of person they wanted to work with in a government that would usher in Nigeria’s independence. It was on that ground that Zik and the Sardauna agreed to negotiate.During the negotiation the North insisted that they should produce the Prime Minister, otherwise they were not ready for independence. In the agreement signed at the Lancaster House, it was agreed that if any Region said that they were not ready for independence, independence for Nigeria would be postponed indefinitely until all regions were ready. The North took advantage of that. Zik and the top leaders of the NCNC said having fought for independence and sacrificed so much, it was better to allow the North produce the Prime Minister so that the independence would  be achieved. So this was what happened when they got the Prime Minister and the NCNC got the Finance Minister through Chief Okotie Eboh? Yes. Isn’t it an irony of Nigeria that when General Gowon needed to build his federal coalition against Biafra, he quickly released Awo from prison and offered him the Finance portfolio which he coveted so much? You see? Let me tell you how Okotie Eboh got the Finance Minister portfolio under the first indigenous federal cabinet. Sir Louis Ojukwu, Emeka’s father, contested election to the Federal House. Another multi-millionaire like him, one Shodipo from Abeokuta, contested and won election also on the NCNC platform. In those days you had to be a member of the House of Representatives to be appointed Minister. Both of them as millionaires, were expecting to be appointed minister of finance. The way power was shared between NCNC and NPC was by putting all the posts on the table and NPC to pick first and NCNC next until all the posts were exhausted. They chose the Prime Minster, we chose Finance. They chose Minister of Defence; we chose Commerce and Industry because our people were mainly traders. It was not a question of one victorious party or region sitting down and choosing what to give to the junior partner. We got Finance and gave it to Delta (Okotie Eboh). We got Communications and gave it to Ondo  (Olu Akinfosile). Shodipo was bent on having the Finance portfolio. Ojukwu was bent on having it. The NCNC leaders sat and deliberated on this. They said if we give it to Ojukwu, the Yorubas will opt out accusing us of tribalism. If we give it to Shodipo Igbos will feel very bad, and Ojukwu was a major financial muscle of the NCNC. They decided to look for a rich man from the minority areas, and that was how Okotie Eboh got it. Immediately after that, Ojukwu resigned from the House, and I took over his seat. Let us revisit the famous carpet crossing event, which many people blame for the tribal nature of Nigerian politics. Could you tell us exactly what happened? Yes. That was in 1952. There were elections to the Western House of Assembly, Eastern House of Assembly, and Northern House of Assembly. Lagos was part of Western Region then, and NCNC was in control of Lagos. From Lagos, the NCNC put up four candidates: Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Olorunnimbe, H. O. Davis and Adeleke Adedoyin. We defeated the Action Group in Lagos and all members of the Western House of Assembly from Lagos were NCNC members.Generally, the NCNC had a very comfortable majority in the rest of Yorubaland in the Western House of Assembly. The constitution then said that the leader of the party with the majority in the house would be the leader of the House, and when self governance came he would be designated Premier of the Region.Awolowo quickly mobilised the Ooni of Ife and other prominent Yoruba Obas and said: “can’t you see the danger that is coming on now? If we allow an Igbo man to be the Leader of this House the Igbo man will one day be the Premier of this Region”. His message hit home, and the Yoruba members of the NCNC were lobbied to cross over the Action Group to stop an Igbo man from coming to be the Premier of Western Region. When the House met, there was a red carpet and the Speaker’s bench was in the centre, the government side was this side and the opposition bench was over to the other side.The NCNC, the majority party occupying the government side, had the red carpet separating them from the opposition. The Governor was then the Speaker or Chairman of the House. He took his seat. Awolowo got up and said he had a matter of urgency to raise to forestall a situation that could lead to riots and anarchy, which he said, many members of the House had decided to correct. One by one, our members got up and said Your Excellency, I don’t want to be part of a situation where Yorubaland would be set on fire.So, I am crossing over to the other side. He would get up, walk across the carpet and take his seat. It started from Ibadan, where Adisa Akinloye led the four decampees. Adelabu, Richard Akinjide and Mojeed Agbaje, refused to cross over. Adeleke Adedoyin from Lagos, Olorunnimbe from Lagos, and others crossed the carpet. After the crossing, the NCNC majority was reduced to a minority. Okotie Eboh broke down and started crying.At that time to be a member of the House of Representatives you had to be elected a member of the Regional House of Assembly. That was how the expression: “Carpet Crossing”, came into the political dictionary of Nigeria.The leaders of the NCNC decided it was no use for Zik to be the leader of the opposition in Western Nigeria; that it was better for him to go to head the government of his own region since the politics of Nigeria had been reduced to this absurd tribal level. It was then that a member representing Onitsha was persuaded to resign for Zik to take his place at the Eastern Region House of Assembly.It was also decided that Professor Eyo Ita, who was the Leader of Government Business in the Eastern Region House of Assembly, should resign for Zik to assume that position. Eyo Ita refused to resign. Eyo Ita, along with R. R. Uzoma  of Orlu and A. C. Nwapa, Ubani Ekeoma, all of whom were ministers at Enugu, refused to resign. So it was not possible for Zik to come in. Another crisis was created, this time in the Eastern Region. Then I was the Secretary General of the NCNC Youth Association which, as I told you, was a reincarnation of the Zikist Movement. During the crisis, I was arrested along with Malam Umaru Altine and five others and imprisoned at Enugu because we insisted that the proper thing must be done… Which was that… Which was that these five ministers must quit. The Governor, C. J Pleass, was backing them. The House decided to dissolve itself, so the Governor had no choice but to dissolve the House. Fresh elections were conducted throughout the Eastern Region and Zik became the Leader of Government business and later, Premier of Eastern Region.That was why the minorities of the East said the Igbos took advantage of their majority and elbowed away Eyo Ita. But the leaders of the Party did not see it in that light. What we were looking at was that it was absurd for the national leader of the Party to be a floor member while an ordinary floor member could  be the leader of the government. Naturally, the national leader of the party should take precedence over everybody. The minorities then started their agitation for the creation of the Calabar/Ogoja/Rivers (COR) State. You mentioned Umaru Altine, the first Lord Mayor of Enugu. Many people just mention the name but they don’t know how a Fulani man became the first Mayor of Enugu. Can you explain it? These days, people are harassed and killed in parts of the country, and they have no right to be elected or get jobs outside their states of origin, especially in the North? It will interest you to know that Malam Umaru Altine was not appointed. He was elected Mayor of Enugu two times. Malam Umaru Altine was the Vice Chairman of the NCNC Youth Association at Enugu. He identified with the NCNC as a political party. During elections NCNC decided to nominate him at Coal Camp where he lived. He contested and won the election in the same manner as we did that kind of thing in many places. After what happened at Ibadan and the crisis it precipitated in the East, Altine was fully involved with us. He was arrested with me as I told you, and we were imprisoned together. That was in 1952. I shared the same prison cell with him and one Ernest Obianwu and one Akunne Nwanolue, and one Okeke, a blacksmith from Awka.Later, one M. E. Ogon from Ogoja later came and joined us. When Altine won the election, we decided that this man did not see himself as a Fulani man but a nationalist. And we NCNC we believe in one Nigeria. So, let him be the Mayor of Enugu. In the same manner, John Umoru, from Etsako in today’s Edo State which was then in the Western Region, was presented by the NCNC as a candidate for the House of Assembly, and he won to represent Port Harcourt in the Eastern Nigerian House of Assembly. Later, Zik appointed him as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier. That was the way we saw Nigeria at that time. When the Eastern House of Chiefs was constituted Malam Umaru Yushau, the Sarkin Hausawa or chief of the Hausas at Onitsha, was elected as a member of the Eastern House of Chiefs. He was there until the military coups of 1966.I must mention that a year or two before the coup, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Region, reciprocated our gesture by appointing one Felix Okonkwo, then known as “Okonkwo Kano”, as a special member of the Northern House of Chiefs. He was the leader of the Igbo State Union, which was very strong. It had Igbo State primary and secondary schools everywhere, including the North. The term: “One Nigeria” of the NCNC vision, was it the same thing as the One Nigeria of today which emerged after the civil war? It is not the same thing. In our own time we said it and we meant it. We used it as a slogan but we concretised it in action. During the Second Republic, the NPN took it up. That is the symbol there (pointing to a wooden statue that had a bunched hand with one middle finger pointing upward standing on a shelf in his sitting room). And One Nigeria then was that the North would produce the presidential candidate after Zik was deceived by Jim Nwobodo into believing that the NPP could give him the presidency. When Zik left the National Movement (which became the NPN) we insisted on the One Nigeria policy to the extent that that was what led to the coup of 1983.President Shagari and the leadership of the NPN agreed that the next president of Nigeria after Shagari in 1987 would be an Igbo man. So, Buhari and the northern hawks said they cannot live to see this. That was why the coup of January 31 1983 took place. Dr Umaru Dikko said that. That it was not acceptable to him that an Igbo man would be president in 1987? No. Dikko exposed the conspiracy that led to the coup. That was why they crated him and wanted to bring him back alive and kill him. Umaru Dikko said this was the motive behind the coup; this is where the conspiracy was hatched. Was this before or after the coup? After the coup. He was speaking in London before they put him in a crate. You know, Professor Jibril Aminu has always kicked against that notion that the coup of 1983 was staged to stop Ekwueme from being president in 1987? I wouldn’t say it was staged to stop Ekwueme but to stop the Igbo. Aminu says it is not true. What did he know? He was not in the party hierarchy at that time. He was running the University of Maiduguri. He was not in a position to know what was happening. Could it be called a Northern agenda to stop the Igbo producing the president? It was not a northern agenda. There was a group they used to call the Kaduna Mafia. It could either be the agenda of the Mafia or just the hawks in the military and few of their confederates in the civilian class.The hawks in the military must have been in the vanguard of it because they were the ones who fought the war. Obasanjo was one of them. When in 2006 he came to visit in Amichi in my local government here where the surrender document was signed he said, how do you people expect that  after conquering you we come and hand over power to you? Many of the northern officers had that feeling. He said it when he had lost his bid for third term. So it could have been said out of frustration. You mentioned Igbo State Union, which was very strong and did a lot of exploits. Can you compare and contrast the Igbo State Union and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo of today? I can only compare and contrast them insofar as I can compare and contrast them in relation to the Igbo politicians of that time and the Igbo politicians of today. At that time, Abiriba Union could invite an erring Abiriba son at Port Harcourt and say: “come and kneel down here” and he would come and kneel down. That was the picture of discipline. But today you find someone whose mental faculty or even natural intelligence is limited. If you tell him to wait, if he looks into his bank account and finds some one or two billion naira which could be stolen he will tell his father, “who are you?”. His own father. That is the mentality of today.I am not saying this anomaly is found only among the Igbo. It is a growing trend across the board. That’s why there is no more discipline now. There is no more patriotism now. In those days, just like today, there was no part of Nigeria you would go and not find an  Igbo man. If you found an Igbo man engaged in a fight, once the news went out that an Igbo man was involved in a fight with someone who was not an Igbo, the Igbos in that area would come out and fight the non-Igbo to submission. At the end, they would ask the Igbo man, what caused the fight.Then where he was wrong they would tell and warn him to desist from doing such a thing in the future. It is no longer the same now. I shudder to think of what would have happened to Zik in those days when that young man wanted to stab him. If it were today, unless he had his well paid thugs with him who are working for their money, he would have perished. More so, if I had not intervened and I shouted as I did, the policeman, Inspector Chukwuma, would not have responded. He would have been more concerned for the safety of his job and his own skin. I would have perished. At that time, one Igbo man’s problem was the problem of all the other Igbos in a branch of the Igbo State Union. Today the Igbo man will mortgage or sell his own brother to make money. At that time, politics was more for patriotism and nationalism, rather than opportunism and mercenary tendencies. Today, the politics of Nigeria is politics of money. No principles, not patriotism, no nationalism. The same thing has permeated the Ohanaeze. You saw what happened. While the Igbos were saying that they did not want Obasanjo and his third term, the then President General of Ohanaeze,  and the Secretary General,  along with the PDP governors of the South East, came out with the statement that had have consulted with 50 million Igbos and they all said they supported Obasanjo for third term. See what is happening with the Yar’ Adua case now. Look at the five South East Governors issuing a statement saying that Yar’ Adua is right in what he is doing, without consulting those who elected them.The present crop of Igbo political actors have no sense of patriotism and are more influenced by material and mercenary considerations than patriotism and national interest. How would you situate Olusegun Obasanjo in Nigeria’s history? Was he an Igbo hater? Obasanjo was a soldier. He fought for Nigeria against Biafra. As a military head of state he handed over to civilians in 1979, which was a patriotic act. Obasanjo was elected president in 1999. How well he performed is for history to determine. But I don’t think he was the best president Nigeria ever had. I do not know if it was deliberate but he did not project the interest of the Igbos. He was there as a Yoruba president and if he did not have love for Ndigbo he did not hide it.Is this the Nigeria you nationalists fought for? Certainly not. We envisaged a country that was rich in human and natural resources. We founded a country that was big and had the potentialities to lead Africa. We founded a country where patriotism was the motivating factor. But unfortunately, an unpatriotic military came and intervened and distorted everything. And so from there change came. What we have now is not in any way near the country we envisaged. In our own time there was no oil and gas or mineral resources except coal, copper and tin.We only had agricultural produce such as palm oil, cocoa and groundnuts. Look at how rich the country is in natural resources and there is nothing we can do for ourselves. Common electricity, common water supply. Even the industries we created with our lean resources at that time have all been killed. They have all died. The only investment you find in Nigeria is in oil and gas.But a lot of the oil is offshore, and people just suck the thing, give a little part of the proceeds from the stolen oil to people who are around them, people in government, people in the military, some privileged traditional rulers and chiefs and these foreign countries cart away billions and billions of dollars worth of oil everyday. I have here an industry where I process kaolin. I can no longer continue because there is no electricity. I have a generating plant but I cannot afford the high cost of diesel.There is no security in the country. How would you expect an American investor, a European investor, a Chinese investor, to come and establish an industry in Nigeria where there is no running water and electricity, where they can be kidnapped, where armed robbers can kill them on the road? This is not the country we envisaged. This is a creation of the military, inherited and further developed by an unpatriotic political class raised under the tutelage of the military. Finally, what should Yar’ Adua do at this juncture? Before answering that question, I don’t know whether I should not put it back to you. Are you sure that Yar’ Adua is in a position now to understand what I tell him to do? Are you sure he is conscious? What happened is that a few hawks, a few nation-breakers have stolen the issue of Yar’ Adua’s illness to perpetuate their own interest, to run and own the country, even if it means destroying the country. They have taken the country to such a dangerous precipice that the constitution, which is the thing that holds the country together, is being violated with impunity. And when that happens, this country could break up.The constitution is clear. This is president. This is vice president. If the president for one reason or the other is not able to perform his duties the vice should continue to perform those duties. Then you have one Attorney General,  who has no scruples twisting the constitution. You have a jellyfish national assembly just sitting down there thinking of money and passing the buck to the Executive Council asking them to pass a resolution as to whether Yar’ Adua is fit. How do they expect them to do that? All members of the Federal Executive Council were appointed by Yar’ Adua.The moment they say that Yar’ Adua is no longer fit to continue it automatically means they have lost their jobs. Even Osama bin Laden who is wanted by powerful American intelligence is in hiding. But once in a while when he issues a statement he brings out a tape. Al Jazeera or other world television networks will publish the tape to show he is till alive. Have you seen any tape about Yar’ Adua?So, who is sure that… well he is still alive because as a Muslim if he dies he will be buried at once…but is he in a conscious state? If he is not in a conscious state, then why should the health of one man hold 150 million people to ransom? If they want to keep violating the constitution because they don’t want Goodluck Jonathan to take over, if anything happens, those hawks in Aso Rock will be the first to suffer.

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