You seem to have been empowered by the silence I gave to your churlish remarks.
That's your mistake.
I resorted to spelling certain things out to my fellow Igbos to bouy them into more pro-active and pragmatic visualizations.

I'll tell you right now, that should one third of the Igbos exit Yorubaland to Igboland, the resulting economic catastrophe will be ricocheting all over Yoruba cities. Same impact will be felt in Hausaland. You will assuredly feel the negative impact.

Always remember that the Igbos wield enormous economic power in Nigeria. Should they organize systematic withdrawal of their manpower and trade from the west and north of Nigeria, Nigeria as you know it, will be over.

This is exactly the point I'm blatantly spelling out to my people. Igbos have the power, the means, and strategies to bring Nigeria to its knees. I'm trying to educate those who do not know it. The Nigerians know it, Obasanjo knows it, Hausa/Fulani knows it, and your imperial masters know it.

Know you that at the conclusive end, Yoruba will be the greatest loser when (1) Ndigbo vacate Youba and Hausa land(s) en masse (2) The Biafran territoy gets developed (3) Biafra gains her sovereignty.
Those of us who have the vision and wisdom already know that the implementation of numbers 1 and 2 is a covert independence for Biafra.

I caution you not to indulge in myopic glee against your perceived setback of Igbos and their quest for Biafra Actualization/self determination. As a Yoruba, it will come to haunt you. And as an ultra-nationalist, I will endeavor to see that Biafra do not suffer the Yoruba. You Yorubas need permanent taste of tribal/national subjugation. I don't believe in turning the other cheek.

Take a look at my last post and you will find that all I mentioned are realities that nothing can prevent from happening.

Meanwhile, I can't help but laugh any time I read something about the repercursion to Yoruba land or whereever whenever Igbos decide to withdraw from those places. Interesting. So what exactly will happen? Does it mean that Ruby wil not sing tomorrow?
Does it mean that the sun will never shine again, the wind blow and the dogs bark?

Dupe Adelaja and the Ibo Nation
By Joe Igbokwe

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Monday, December 10, 2001 is a day the Igbo nation will not forget in a hurry. It was a day Ibo nation was officially provolced by somebody whose duty, is to protect and defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria, and she gets paid every month with tax payers money. It was a day Mrs. Dupe Adelaja, the Minister of State for Defence (Navy) set aside to insult the sensibility and integrity of Ndigbo. It was a day Mrs. Adelaja told the nation that the Nigeria/Biafra war has not officially ended. Mrs. Adelaja's press briefing to mark the year 2002 Armed Forces Remembrance day was set aside to ridicule and humiliate the entire Igbo race.

Mrs. Adelaja had in her address, described the pardoned ex-Biafra soldiers as traitors who did not deserve to be paid pensions. According to Mrs. Adelaja. It is a bad stigma that you are a traitor. " After this Mrs. Adelaja added the stinker, "Yes, you can be doing your buying and selling."

Now, before I go further on the implication of Mrs. Adelaja's provocative and unguarded statement. Let us first of all try to know who Mrs. Adelaja is. Mrs. Adelaja is the daughter of Senator Abraham Adesanya, NADECO leader a chietftain of Alliance for Democracy (AD), the leader of Afenifere and the Yor~ha nation. C'hicl Abraham Adesanya is fearless, outspoken and highly principled. It was Senator Adesanaya, 76 that led other Nigerians to confront General Abacha in the years locusts. A serious attempt was made on his life by the Abacha goons and the man survived that attack. I remember one of his famous statements in those days, "I am not somebody who retire in the face of evil. If I try to change the society but the society is not willing to change, I will continue until the end of my life." He is a courageous leader who can hold his own without looking back. Senator Abrahan; Adesanya was a hero in the struggle for democracy and Justice in Nigeria. He is a great personality who is still standing tall above his contemporaries today. President Obasanjo knows it and many Nigerian leaders know it.

So when General Obasanjo (rtd) was clectecl the president of Nigeria in l 999 without the support of his kinsmen in wards, local governments, states and regional level he was not happy about it. Home support is a must for any good politician. Although Afenifere and AD opposed his candidacy those who chose him for us insisted that he should be president. The votes from the South East, South South and the North made him the President. President Obasanjo as an experienced politician needed desperately, the support of his people to run the government. To achieve this President Obasanjo needed the support of senator Abraham Adesanya by all means. And what he did in order to win him over was to appoint his daughter Mrs. Dupe Adelaja, an unknown name in Nigeria into his cabinent as a junior minister in the Defence Ministry. Mrs. Adelaja got the post not because she merited the post but because President Obasanjo wanted to use her to get the support of her father and Afenifere. I do not know Mrs. Adelaja before. I did not know what she was and what she was doing before she was appointed a Minister. During the struggle for June 12, I did not hear her voice or that of her husband. I did not know what Mrs. Adelaja is capable of doing because I cannot recall any serious achievement ascribed to her name. She has no political antecedents. But this is Nigeria for you where the sick does the work of a healthy man and the blind does the work of the people with eyes. It is only in Nigeria that people can come from nowhere to become our leaders. In a proper political setting where leaders are chosen because of what they have done and what they are capable of doing in future. Mrs. Dupe Adelaja will not be near to the seat of government talkless of being a Minister.

Mrs. Dupe Adelaja called the entire Ibo race traitors because they fought to defend their honour, dignity and integrity. We were receiving truck loads of dead bodies in Enugu and Onitsha, we were receiving refugees, we also received the dead bodies of pregnant women whose wombs were ripped open and the babies killed. If General Gowon refused to implement the Aburi Accord. Revenue due to the Eastern region was confisticated. Again, what General Gowon called police Action was full scale declaration of war on Ndigbo. Now, did Mrs. Adelaja know all this? Did she know anything about the Nigeria-Biafra war? How old is Mrs. Adelaja when the war started? Has she been born then? Did Mrs. Adelaja understand the meaning of the word, traitor? Do you force people to live together in any nation where there is no justice and fair play.?

I was modestly but deeply involved in the election of Chief Moshood Abiola as president in 1993 and when that free and fair election was annulled by IBB, I felt that a grave injustice had been done to the Yoruba nation. I am one of those who put their lives on the line to ensure that IBB never got away with the annulment. IBB was disgraced out and so was Chief Ernest Shonekan. General Abacha had to die i n office. General Abubakar ruled for only nine months before President Obasanjo took over in 1999. Now, if the June 12 struggle had degenerated into a full-scale war between the rest of Nigeria and the Yoruba nation and consequently, the Yoruba were defeated, will I call the Yoruba soldiers who fought the rest of Nigeria traitors? No, I cannot. I saw what happened. I saw how leaders of the Yoruba nation were being hunted by Abacha and his cohorts. At a time their first class leaders were either killed, jailed or sent to exile. When Senator Abraham was nearly killed at Sampson Street Lagos, I remember I issued a statement, warning other Nigerians not to pretend that they do not know what was happening in the South West. I remember said that tidal waves from the Atlantic Ocean may hit Lagos first but there is no guarantee that Abuja and Nnewi will not feel the impact. This warning was reported . in most of Nigeria's leading newspapers including an international magazine based in London (Africa Today). Many Igbos including Ndubuisi Kanu, Ebitu Ukiwe, Pini Jason and my humble self said in our silent moments that it will be dangerous to allow the rampaging oligarchy that defeated Ndigbo, defeated the Ogoni and humiliated the Middle Belt to defeat the Yoruba nation. Those who came to the launching of my book. Heroes of Democracy would have noticed that almost all the eminent leaders of the Yoruba nation were physically present at NTIA Lagos. It was a . pay day for me. Senator Abraham Adesanya the father of Mrs. Dupe Adelaja was there. Governor Tinubu was there with all his commissioners. Governor Segun Osoba was there. Chief Bola Ige was the presenter. Morin Babalola was the master of Ceremony. Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Ayo Opadokun the late pa Onasanya and many others were there. The point is that l am at peace with the Yoruba nation. We have been throwing as many bridges as possible between the East and the West in order to make the iron curtain of dichotomy irrelevant. Mrs. Adelaja's nonsensical effusions may put spanner in the works, If she is not called to order.

When Mrs. Adelaja told the ex-Biafran soldiers to go and continue with their . buying and selling business, I needed no English master to know that she was referring to the Ibo nation as traders. Mrs. Adelaja's scurrilous drivel had been the mindset of other Nigerians especially in the South West. Today every Dick and Harry including, baby politicians from other parts of the country use the baseless assertion to ridicule the Igba nation. But the truth of the matter is that Ibo run the engines of Nigeria. I have been privileged to read Lee Iacocca's book to learn that real wealth is under the engines where hands are made dirty and not in banks or insurance companies where round tripping is the in-thing. One Dr. Philip Emeagwali, a bright Ibo son from Onitsha developed a complex computer that solved 3.1 billion problems in one second. The point is that one Philip Emegwali is worth more to the world than 20 million good-for-nothing fellows who steal people's money in millions to earn a living. Some people in Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja sit down in their mansions to make certain comments that are not in any way, the true position of things. Some people who have not left their domain to other places to earn a living and try to understand other people. They sit in their domain to say what they do not know. A silent revolution has been going on in Nnewi in the past 10 years and some people are not paying attention. Very soon, emphasis will not be on oil but technology and like Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore the Ibo nation will prove themselves.

The history of what led Ndigbo to buying and selling business in Nigeria and . beyond is well-known to all and sundry. The conspirators conspired after the civil war to give any Ibo account holder in Nigeria before the civil war just 20 pounds simply to make sure that Igbo will not rise again. Again, Nigeria was sold mainly to a section of the country during the indegenization programme in 1973 when our peoole were just coming out of the war. We know those who bought almost all the companies. There was no 'Marshall' plan for the reconstruction of Igbo land as practised in civilized countries of the world. Mrs. Adelaja knows also that the Ibo nation is the only nation in Africa that fought a civil war of self determination, lost the war, lost all her belongings, lost almost one million souls and yet the people were able to work themselves back into the system through dint of hardwork. If other Nigerians should work as the Ibo, move and live in other places like the Ibo, Nigeria would have been a better place now.

I am still at a loss why Mrs. Adelaja chose the Christmas period a period of peace to do this damage to the psyche of Ndigbo. Is she speaking the minds of those in power? On whose benefit did Mrs. Adelaja engage in this exercise that was meant to belittle a dynamic race like the Ibo? I take solace in Isaiah 5:20-23, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!"

I am therefore challenging every Ibo son or daughter who knows how to put words on paper to throw more stones or missels to Mrs. Dupe Adelaja's glass house until she deems it necessary to go to the National Television to tender an unreserved apology to the Ibo nation. Her inglorious remarks have been an object of discussion anywhere two or more Ibo people gather and what I hear them saying is that Mrs. Dupe Adelaja has turned out to be the number one enemy of Ndigbo. If she were the Minister of State in the army, Ibos would have been calling for her removal because her hatred for Ndigbo can cause her to deploy soldiers to clear the people from the surface of the earth.

Finally, let me share with Mrs. Adelaja what a famous school of thought says: When you get to the top too quickly you find out that there is no other place to go except to go down .

Now that Mr Joe Ibekwe has unraveled the problems Igbos face in Nigeria, I expect him to offer pro-active solution. Success in actualizing Biafra is the best revenge.
He has to start making better use of the power of the pen he has by outlining the urgent need for Ndigbo to start moving out of Lagos, other Yoruba cities, and Hausaland to Igboland. Once they channel their energy and resources into investing in Igboland, they'd appreciate the need for the development of Igboland.

If these Igbo men fail to make this needed move and still stay in Yorubaland and complain about a Yoruba woman's insult at them, more Yoruba women will be more empowered to haul more degrading and sacrilegeous insults. If this man, Joe Ibekwe, is not pro-active toward Biafra Actualization AKA freedom, how does he expect to regain respect and dignity? Those who give up freedom in order to gain security deserves neither freedom nor security.

You can laugh as much as you want while you still can. While the Igbos have their problems to contend with, Yorubas' problems are staggering in comparison. Just the volatility of your religious mix alone, can break the backbone of Yoruba nation and culture in merger with the Islamic culture and heritage. But, that's your cross to bear. My concern and care belongs to none but Biafrans.

You said, "This has been my point, seek your Biafra for the right reason and forget about us. We can sure take care of ourselves just as we have been doing. And if we cannot, that would sure be our business - not so?"

quote:

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Those who came to the launching of my book. Heroes of Democracy would have noticed that almost all the eminent leaders of the Yoruba nation were physically present at NTIA Lagos. It was a . pay day for me. Senator Abraham Adesanya the father of Mrs. Dupe Adelaja was there. Governor Tinubu was there with all his commissioners. Governor Segun Osoba was there. Chief Bola Ige was the presenter. Morin Babalola was the master of Ceremony. Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Ayo Opadokun the late pa Onasanya and many others were there.

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Sir,

Please tell us who raised that girl Dupe? Don't you think that she was only repeating what her parents and their friends say in private over some Amala and Gulder(sp)? Having been here in America for a number of year, I have come to realize that most racist families pass it down to the next generation. Children learn from parents and sir, as you were dining and drinking with those men on your list, they were seeing you and trying to sell a book.

This above is key to the future.

On a different point though :-

All the time though, we have to ensure we keep an eye on our joint rivals. Feel the amount of energy we spend on fighting each other should be spent on articulating and extracting what each group wants in a structured manner as one thread.
The other separately configured thread should be to protect our survival from our joint/external enemy nations who do not care for Igbos neither do they care for Yorubas and all their policies act against us.

I believe those are 2 separate streams.

Igbos determining their own future vs igbos and Yorubas knowing when they have to deal with the common enemy. Both need to be resourced now, but the latter is more dangerous and will hit us shortly.

E.g The Scots and English dont get on an squabble all the time, however when theirs a common enemy they tackle the enemy together for their joint survival and the wiser of the two will always plan and use it as a negotiating point to get more of what they want. The IRA also know when not to attack Britain for their own common good.
France and UK bicker, but when theres a common enemy they unite.

The Brits and the Americans have some tension underneath the facade. Its all a circles game.

To me education of people groups is the key.

With Education, the Hootos and the Tutsis of Rwanda and Burundu would not have had such a painful decade.

Rivalry? NO! not if we end up like Rwanda.... or any of the others where each group takes it in turn to massacre the other.

I say live and let live, if Igbos want out, do it one step at a time. That is how slavery ended, that is how the American civil rights movement was won. And guess what, it needed cooperation from caucasians.

Not all caucasians agreed with slavery and marginalisation, but as always, the idiots always have the power.