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Nana, I know it must be really depressing for you to learn that Igbos were a part of the Nsibidi revolution, but I'm afraid to confirm your greatest fear. Igbos were a part and parcel of it all. Re-read the sites that I supplied and that will show you. And Yorubas never developed anything near to Nsibidi. Infact, Nsibidi written by an Igboman could be understood by an Ibibio man, and one written by an Ejagham or Ekoi man could be read and understood by an Igboman so it is a cross-lingual writing, which is by far more advanced than what we are writing now, which can only be understood by an English-speaking/reading person. They will only need to add new vocabularies and Bob's your uncle.
Now let me get to the Ijebu wall constructions. It may come as a surprise to you that Ijebus claim they are not Yorubas. So I can quite clearly state (even without digging deeper to find the real ethnicity of the people that constructed it) that that structure was not put together by Yorubas. They claim to come from Waddai. Of course, over the years they adopted the language of the neighbouring people, so don't even try and claim that structure as a Yoruba thing. Secondly, attempts at dating the structure did not support the Queen of Sheba lines.
You have to know that people from that part make every attempt to associate themselves with anything good.....deserved or undeserved(as it is, in this case). Just a few years ago some Yorubas tried to fool the world by telling them that Olaudah Equiano was not of Igbo descent (JEALOUSY obviously). In fact you just made a lame attempt to associate Yorubas to the Nsibidi revolution unsuccessfully, and you try to belittle Igbo contribution also unsuccessfully. There are even claims that Ile Ife are the descendants of the lost civilisation of Atlantis. What a load of crap!!!!!!!
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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NwaUmu-Nri You got it all wrong. The Igbo history is my pride. All I am saying about Isipidi is give credit to where it is due. Nigeria is not made up of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa alone.
I now believe that you know more than you are selectively admitting. You can not and will not make me the enemy of my Igbo people. Try it on others. As long as we keep this decent, I will engage you until you get dirty as you and the other different ehtnic contributors do here.
So the Ijebu came from Waddai and are not Yoruba? You are in good comapany with Oba of Benin, some original Lagosians, some Isekiri, Ilorin etc. How convenient of you. I think others can see you clearly.
But the "Western Ibo" are Igbo, Opobo is Igbo, Rivers is Igbo, Cross River is Igbo etc.
Yet, the real Igbo are from Owerri, Onitsha is Yoruba/Igbo.
All of the North is Hausa, the rest are children of illegitimate Hausa father.
When are these arrogant Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo going to come off their high horses and give credit to minorities.
It is either we are all related by this expasion theories or we are not.
Back to Isipidi, which you now claim until you are forced to include the owners. Does Arabic, music or Chinesse letter make sense to you. It may not make sense to some of us because we can not read it. Does that make it crude? You have no respect for Yoruba letters even though it stares you in the face. You see it on people arms, on people's faces and make fun of it, on objects and materials and you can not understand it. Scholars mavel at the complexities of Yourba culture and called as you rightly pointed out "lost civilization of Atlantis" but you derided it. Ask yourself what is wrong with you.
As for my brother who asked why are we different if we are the same. I will ask you why are the children of the same mother and father turn out differently.
As for Biafra invention during the war, I am proud of my brothers and show what we can do if pushed against the wall. Necessity create inventions. Any Nigerian can if we try, stop thinking only certain ordained people can. It led to World War, it led to Biafra war, it has led us to destruction. Please STOP and hug your brothers across the Niger and Benue. Be constructive and let us drive Obasanjo and his cronies out, so that those cheated for so long and never saw power can assume the mantle.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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The land which was settled by the founding Nigerians had been inhabited since the pre-historical times.
Infect the earliest occupation has been traced by archaeologists to as far back as 65,000 BC Material evidence of human existence has been provided by a skeleton found at Iwo Eleru near Akure in Ondo State dated around 10,000 BC. And the canoe recently excavated at Dunfuna village in Fune local government of Yobe state dated 8000BC and presently at Damaturu in Yobe State capital.
The Early Stone Age can be dated from around 3,000 to 35,000 B.C. Evidence of this occupation has been provided by tools of the Oldowan type (named after Olduvai George in Tanzania) which consists of bone, wood and stone for chopping and cutting.
THE MIDDLE STONE AGE
The middle stone age from approximately 35,000 - 12,000 BC, provided Acheulian type tools (after St. Acheul in Northern France). These tools were made in the early Stone Age and continued to be perfected in the middle Stone Age. They consisted of hand axes, of oral shapes, trimmed on both sides to provide cutting edges. Such tools have been discovered on Jos Plateau. Other tools include small stone hunting tools which have been found also at Afikpo in Imo State, Jos plateau, Iwo Eleru in Ondo State and Mejiro care in old Oyo. Sangoan tools, which were efficiently choppers somewhat like picks and so called because they were first discovered at Sango Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria, Uganda, have also been found in Nigeria in the Upper Sokoto River, Sokoto State.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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The land which was settled by the founding Nigerians had been inhabited since the pre-historical times.
Infect the earliest occupation has been traced by archaeologists to as far back as 65,000 BC Material evidence of human existence has been provided by a skeleton found at Iwo Eleru near Akure in Ondo State dated around 10,000 BC. And the canoe recently excavated at Dunfuna village in Fune local government of Yobe state dated 8000BC and presently at Damaturu in Yobe State capital.
The Early Stone Age can be dated from around 3,000 to 35,000 B.C. Evidence of this occupation has been provided by tools of the Oldowan type (named after Olduvai George in Tanzania) which consists of bone, wood and stone for chopping and cutting.
THE MIDDLE STONE AGE
The middle stone age from approximately 35,000 - 12,000 BC, provided Acheulian type tools (after St. Acheul in Northern France). These tools were made in the early Stone Age and continued to be perfected in the middle Stone Age. They consisted of hand axes, of oral shapes, trimmed on both sides to provide cutting edges. Such tools have been discovered on Jos Plateau. Other tools include small stone hunting tools which have been found also at Afikpo in Imo State, Jos plateau, Iwo Eleru in Ondo State and Mejiro care in old Oyo. Sangoan tools, which were efficiently choppers somewhat like picks and so called because they were first discovered at Sango Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria, Uganda, have also been found in Nigeria in the Upper Sokoto River, Sokoto State.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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Please not that the above was copied from the site provided by my dear friend Uwa-Umu Uri. Read for yourself without his or my interpretation.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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What a slippery fellow you are. When did I deny minorities any credit? In fact, it is you who have been trying hard without success to deny the Oba of Benin (a minority element)his rightful place in the development of the Yorubas vis-a-vis Oduduwa tale.
Some chap that goes by the name of Kesu came here calling Igbos all sorts of names and insinuating that Igbos are not civilized, and I brought out the case of Nsibidi which Igbos used to communicate in times past. Was his insult against the Ibibios or the Ejaghams? If it had been, then I will bring up the Nsibidi episode, without mentioning the Igbos, to rightfully place them where they belong.
Now regarding where Nsibidi originated from. Various sources have various claims. I've read that it originated from Ekoi. I've alread got it somewhere that it originated in the Ejagham community. I'm sure if I dig deeper I will find a claim that favours the Ibibios. But I've seen it in various places, that it originates from Igboland (Aro area). So today it is impossible for any group to claim ownership of it. But one thing no one can deny is the fact that a number of Eastern peoples used it to communicate intelligibly. NOW THAT IS CIVILIZATION!!!!! And let me also add that these groups lived side-by-side peacefully. Igbos didn't go "forming an empire" by subjugating their other Eastern brothers, as was the case elsewhere. That's why today there never was an Igbo empire as was the case in Benin or Ghana or Songhai.
So please when next you try to twist my writing to suit your purposes, just remember that I am intelligent enough to reveal what you are trying to hide.
Let me also repeat for the umpteenth time that Yorubas have no writing form like the Egyptians, or cuneiform in Mesopotamia or NSIBIDI in Igboland
I will make a suggestion (which you may or may not accept). I will suggest that you APOLOGIZE to minorities for rubbishing their true tale of Oduduwa's emergence. Please don't try and be arrogant about this, coz this is one of the problems you guys are having in Nigeria.... Yorubas and Awusas(apologies MeB) conveniently rubbishing the minorities, as you've done here. I do not need to make any apologies, afterall I know that my fellow Easterners were a part of the Nsibidi revolution. A fact that I accepted years ago. But I don't think you are willing to accept a minorities position a la Oduduwa.
You wrote "I now believe that you know more than you are selectively admitting."
I take exception to the word SELECTIVE as I am giving you the whole truth. Nothing is spared. But I'm happy you recognize that I know a lot. I will be in the Messageboard, guarding against any twisting of Igbo history and culture. Gotta protect my brodas' backs from anyone that is trying to play ojoro on them, with our heritage. I'M AN NRI MAN......you know
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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Uwa-Umu Uri, Slippery? I will take it you do not mean that, otherwise I am done with this engagement.
I think others are reading this as well and they can make up their mind on this site. I have told you over and over, Igbo does not belong to you alone. They are my brothers and sisters too.
As for minorities. Let the Ijaw tell you the story of Oduduwa/Adamu and compare it to Yoruba or Oba Benin version. Let the Yoruba in Benin Republic, all over West Africa and as far away as Cuba tell you the story of Oduduwa.
Even the people in Edo can not be fooled. Do you know that Oba Benin still pay honorary rent to Ogiso for the palace he lives? Do more readings on that.
Are you aware of the claim of Oba Benin on the Igbo? Do some readings on that.
Just be polite.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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Netters, From the snippet posted by Nana, you can see nothing of significance was discovered in this hyped up Iwo Eleru. They dug out human remains from this area that was dated around 10,000BC, which is hardly an evidence of civilization. All it proves is that a chimpanzee-lookalike was around the place 10,000BC.
The only other place where Iwo Eleru was mentioned also has Afikpo mentioned in it. This is the section that confirms that certain rudimentary implements were found in these sites. So yet again, Yorubas have nothing on Igbos. Nice try though:-))
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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So you now don't want to apologize to the Oba of Benin (a poor minority guy) for belittling his contribution in the Yoruba-Oduduwa story? I warned you against this arrogance that you seem to habour against minorities. It is really unfortunate.
Secondly, stop asking questions. Please lecture us on Oba of Benin's claims on Igbos. Stop asking smoke-screen questions that will enable you to avoid having to apologize to minorities for putting them down as you've done here, against the Oba of Benin. If you wish to state the Benin/Onitsha tales or Benin/Asaba tales, then mention them, and I will know that is what you are referring to, and I will either complete the stories for you, or I will correct it, if I see flaws in them.
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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Netters? Please make up your own mind on evidencse of "artistry", not interpretations. Here is a quote:
Included in the survey, organized by the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History in Los Angeles, are upward of 150 beaded objects: masks, crowns, thrones, necklaces, instruments of divination, slippers, works of sculpture and modern-day paintings. All reflect a distinctly Yoruba world-view.
According to Professor Henry Drewal, co-curator of the exhibit, the earliest evidence of artistry in what is now the domain of Yoruba- speaking peoples dates to about 8000 B.C. at Iwo Eleru, where finely worked stone implements were found. The site yielded up no beads, but the stone-working technology existed for their creation.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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So how come the Ife bronze discoveries are by far, more popular than this Iwo Eleru implements?
You can make all the claim you want here, but it won't take a genius to note that Ife discoveries are more popular than the Iwo Eleru discoveries, just like Igbo-Ukwu discoveries (which outdate and require more intricate skills than the Ife discoveries) are more popular than the Afikpo discoveries (which are the contemporaries of the Iwo Eleru ones).
So to every intelligent human being, the few messages I've posted on this board with regards to whether Yorubas are more civilised than Igbos (which have been completely debunked by my superior information and revelations) will help to shed light on everything.
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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Nana, Your sense of justice baffles me. Don't you think you should be directing your "holier than thou" attitude to Kesu, who attacked my people's intergrity initially before I joined?
But now that I've blown Kesu's theories of Yoruba superiority to smithereens, you turned round to refer your last statement to me.
You should try and look at things from a hollistic point of view, and not just choose the ones you want to believe.
As you've clearly left Kesu out(who called Igbos unprintable names in his initial messages), I will choose to ignore your statement, as it was not born out of fairness.
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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I hardly get personal. But for the record I have equally cautioned anyone on this site who is ethnocentric. So please check my contributions to the site before making wild allegations.
Posts: 37 | From: Congo | Registered: Oct 2006
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Nana, Well, I suppose if you are now convinced (or you were already in the know) that Yorubas are by no stretch of the imagination, more civilized than the Igbos, then I have no problem with you.
Of course, you mentioning Iwo Eleru and conveniently ignoring Afikpo does not give credence to my above supposition.
But I will let the sleeping dog lie..............FOR NOW!!!!! Until I spot another attempt to belittle my people.
___________________ The Sun which rises from the East, shall ECLIPSE Nigeria (the spent asteroid) Posts: 92 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2006
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DESPITE the repeated assurances by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it is ready next year's general elections, a delegation from the International Republican Institute (IRI), Washington D. C. United States thinks otherwise.
For the group, which has spent one week speaking to groups in Nigeria, nothing has been on ground to indicate that the election will hold and if it is held, that the process will be free and fair.
Addressing journalists last night on the outcome of their weeklong findings in the country, the leader of the 10-man delegation, Pierre-Richard Prosper, said that many Nigerians believe that President Olusegun Obasanjo and his administration face a tough challenge of creating faith and building trust in the country's electoral system.
Prosper, who was a former US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crime Issues, said the delegation believes the next five and a half months will be a well-scrutinised test of Nigeria's commitment to democracy. According to him, "we note that some statements made by leaders and representatives of government bodies in Nigeria indicate a determination to hold elections that are a true reflection of the will of the people.
"But the words of commitment will be judged by actions. It is an opinion of this delegation that in many respects, the actions, to date, have been deficient, "adding that the delegation had found out that there was a clear consensus among all that preparations were not adequately being implemented, most significantly in the voter registration.
"We express grave concern over the fact that with only two weeks remaining before registration deadline, less than half of the machines needed to capture voter data electronically have arrived, let alone deployed to registration centres throughout the country. We are further concerned that only 3.5 million of the potential 60 million eligible voters have been registered as at the end of last week.
"The leadership of the INEC has set a noble and ambitious goal of implementing this cutting edge system to deter the past fraud in the registration efforts and the ensuing acrimony and ability. However, to meet the expectations of this goal on the time-table established is quite seriously in doubt, based on interviews with majority of those with whom we met. As a result, INEC is losing credibility with the general public".
"In its entire stay in Abuja, the delegation did not see one single poster with relevant information, and our attempts to view a registration was stymied by the fact that no one knew how to locate one," it added INEC'S PREPARATIONS SHODDY U.S. Team declaresPosts: 88 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2006
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Nigeria loses $1 trillion to corruption - UN
Clement Idoko, Abuja Wednesday, December 6, 2006 UNITED Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in Nigeria has said Nigeria pays over $1 trillion in bribes with devastating consequences. NIGERIA LOSES $1 TRILLION TO CORRUPTION - UN
The Country Director of UNODC, Mr. Cyriaq Sobtafo, made this known on Tuesday in Abuja, at a pre-event press conference ahead of the International Day Against Corruption slated for today through Saturday.
Mr. Sobtafo with the ravages corruption, the future of the citizens could not be guaranteed unless positive and concerted efforts were made to stem the tide.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), in his statement through his Special Assistant, Tunde Basari, said corruption was one of the major threats to development, democracy and establishment of the rule of law.
“The corruption at the highest level of government can destroy national security, erode stability, undermine the prospects for economic investment and extinguish democratic rule,” the minister stated.
December 9 every year has been set aside as the anti-corruption day following the UN convention against corruption of 2003.
Nigeria was the first African country to ratify the treaty in line with the administration’s anti-corruption crusade.
UNODC director further explained that the theme for this year’s International Day Against Corruption is You Can Stop Corruption and was aimed at reminding every Nigerian that “the power to shun corruption lies within us.”
He lauded the efforts of the Obasanjo administration in the war against corruption through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), among other reform policies, saying they must be sustained and built upon to deliver the people from the shackles of poverty.
He said as part of its responsibility, the UNODC was committed to assisting member countries to implement the measures in the convention.
He noted that corruption was capable of impeding realisation of the millennium development goals and called on all and sundry to imbibe the spirit of anti-corruption.
Posts: 88 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2006
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Folks, This is why we need an international airport in Ala-Igbo. The OBJ government should allow foreign airlines fly to Owerri airport, so that people will remain sane, after a visit to nigeria from overseas. Obj's attack dog, Fani-Kayode minister of aviation need to be tamed. His is too wild for the office he holds.
The Benin-Ore Road and Christmas travellers By Luke Onyekakeyah
THE recent declaration by the Federal Government that it has no funds to repair the disaster ridden and impassable Benin-Ore Expressway once again brings to the fore the insensitivity and anti-people posture of most government policies and programmes in Nigeria. What else would the hapless citizens do? The hope of millions of people using that one and only link road between the Eastern and the Western states has been dashed. And this is coming as the festive periods of Christmas and New Year celebrations are around the corner. There is bound to be heavy vehicular movement of goods and people on the highway. The crisis on that road presents a daunting challenge to all the road users. In all sincerity, the devastated condition of that road vis-ˆ-vis the volume of human and material traffic makes it a disaster.
What else is a disaster? A disaster is an adverse condition or event that brings pain and misery to people. It could be flood, explosion, fires, collapse of buildings or bridges and other infrastructure destruction. When a bridge collapses it is also a disaster because the linked areas cut off by the incident are thrown into pain, suffering and death. Such an area is declared a disaster. In the case of the highway in question the road has failed thereby cutting off three heavily populated zones of the country. The only right thing to do in the circumstance is to deal with the matter as an emergency in a disaster fashion. Special official government attention is required to deal with the problem.
The key words are "special official aid". That is required in a disaster situation to mitigate the ugly misfortune that has befallen the people. Viewed from this angle, the Benin-Ore road is a disaster. Government ought to rush special assistance to deal with it. There is budget for ecological disasters in the country. There is an agency charged with the management of disasters. As an oil rich country, ecological disasters are commonplace. Pipeline fire explosions, oil spills, forest fires, ecological destruction, etc. No one tells a raging inferno to wait until another budget is made. It is foolhardy to say that.
On this note, what does government mean by saying that it has no funds to intervene in the Benin-Ore road disaster? Do disasters ring bell before happening? Even when there is early warning like the Benin-Ore road, which deteriorated gradually overtime before finally collapsing, once the disaster has taken place, only immediate official action is needed to tackle it. What is the rationale for saying that the disaster was not budgeted for? By the way, is there no budget for disasters this year? What is the ecological fund meant for? What is the function of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)? Where on earth are victims of disasters left to fate while the authorities feel unconcerned?
This country is very rich considering the huge income government reaps from oil daily. If all things were equal, there is more than enough money to accomplish any task of governance in this country. But the reverse is the case. Greed and avarice have truncated the wheel of progress of our country. The welfare of the people is of no consequence. That is why the roads are dilapidated, the citizens go through hell but government gives no damn. Obviously, there is money to repair the road and save the citizens from anguish. But it seems that the money is used for other matters that have no immediate bearing with the people. Perhaps, government is busy organising elections. The Benin-Ore road should wait until we know who should repair it after the elections next year. In fact, it should become a campaign subject!
From whatever angle one views the government's position, it is difficult to swallow. How can a responsible government ignore the hue and cries of its citizens who are passing through excruciating pains as a result of a dilapidated social infrastructure that could easily be fixed? It is difficult to understand what the Ministry of Works is doing. For me, saying that there is misgovernance makes it simplistic. The whole thing looks like there is no responsible authority involved in governance. In that sense, the citizens are just on their own.
But this is not exactly the situation. We have a government but it is like the government cares more for itself than the citizens. Government is less concerned about the ugly condition of the Benin-Ore road. Therefore, it doesn't matter what pains and suffering the citizens are passing through; it doesn't matter how many accidents occurred there; it doesn't matter how many people lose their lives; it doesn't matter the volume of goods that overturn there and waste; it doesn't matter if armed robbers take advantage of the spot and wreck havoc on innocent people. In short it is a sorry state.
Since the middle of this year, precisely at the peak of the rainy season when sections of the Benin-Ore federal highway broke into two, it has been tales of woes, horror and trauma by travellers using the road. The horrendous experience of commuters is better seen than described. Under normal circumstances, a journey from Lagos to Benin takes roughly three hours. But with the present deplorable condition, the same trip takes upwards of twelve hours and in worst cases one day. How many people will risk travelling through the road during Christmas and New Year?
The Benin-Ore road is the only arterial East-West highway that links all the states in the three geo-political zones of the south, namely Southwest, Southeast and South-south. These states constitute over 60 percent of the country's population. Furthermore, the three biggest seaports namely Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar are in this zone. The same goes for the three biggest airports in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. Above all, the country's oil industry infrastructure is location in this zone. Millions of tons of cargo are hauled through this highway to and from the various ports to factories and industrial centres. Furthermore, about 25 million people would use the road during this festive period.
Arguably, the steady deterioration of the road is due to the high volume of traffic it carries. In the absence of railway to handle bulk cargo, every cargo from the ports to the hinterland is hauled through this road. In decent climes, this highway would be designated special federal highway and given special attention. Where does government priority lie if an all-important highway as this is ignored?
It is sad and unimaginable that a highway of this importance is abandoned to turn into a death trap. Travellers face the risk of their lives on the road. Aside from the heart-breaking delays caused by traffic holdup, men of the underworld have a field day on innocent travellers. Before now, the Benin-Ore road is notorious for armed robbery hijacking of passenger buses and robbing them of their belongings at gunpoint. The degraded condition of the road has made prey of commuters to the ravaging robbers.
The nightmare on the road posses a grave danger to would-be Christmas travellers using the road. It is absolutely not safe to travel on this road especially at night. There is no guarantee that a night bus traveller will reach his destination safe and sound. The risks involved are too many. Risk of loss of life and property. During Christmas, some unscrupulous transporters put worn out buses on the road to transport people. Most of these buses that often prefer travelling in the night are not road worthy.
Quite often these buses break down in the middle of the bush at night and the passengers are abandoned to their own fate. This is a warning to some unwise parents that would put all their children in one rickety bus at cheap price. The safety of the passengers is not guaranteed and there is no insurance cover. With the deplorable condition of the road, travellers run the risk of losing their lives, money and personal belongings.
The perceived unhindered free flow of traffic at night is no longer the case on the dilapidated Benin-Ore road. There is traffic snarl on this road even in the night. Traffic is one-way in many sections. On other sections, over-turned trailers and heavy-duty trucks that get stuck hold traffic to stand still for hours.
It is incumbent on the federal government to take immediate steps to put this ever-busy highway in good shape. I commend the efforts of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for its efforts in sand filling sections of the road. Given the volume of traffic and heavy rainfall is this zone, the entire road should be rebuilt with heavy stone blasts to prevent failure
Posts: 88 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2006
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The Loud Mouth Nation: How the incompetence of a nation becomes a virtue among nigerians
CHIEF AWOLOWO AND FALSE REPRESENTATIONS (IKECHUKWU KANU)
I promised to respond to your comments over the weekend. I realized that the issues raised will be lengthy and hence, decided to break it down into two components. The first part is to demonstrate that late sage, Chief Awolowo, is received in the minds of his most ardent followers and apologists, not as a human being but as a Yoruba god. Therefore, there is Chief Awolowo, the Yoruba mystical god and the other, who is the practical one, the Nigerian politician. Some uninformed persons seem to bunch the two together and hence they make the mistake in their comparative analysis of him and his peers. This is the same mistake l find you making on this topic which l shall turn to. You cannot compare religious fiction with practical realities.
Chief Awolowo started misrepresenting his accomplishments from day one by standing reason and commonsense on its head. Let me quote him in order to continue this discussion. "In regard to British administration was carried out by incompetent, inferior officials, and that the British do not have the true interests of the country at heart. In fourteen months under the present government, we have done more for Nigeria than the British did in 120 years." Chief Awololowo in 1955.
This is the beginning of the making of Chief Awolowo the legend or Yoruba god. This type of statement appeals to only scatterbrains or religious fanatics. Let me cull another of Chief Awolowo's contrived achievements that flies in the face of commonsense.
Publication Information: Book Title: AWO: The Autobiography of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Publisher: Cambridge University Press. Place of Publication: Cambridge , England . Publication Year: 1960. Page Number: 287. "Thus while there were 6,775 pupils in secondary schools in the Region in 1952, our secondary school population in January 1959 stood at 84,374. This is far larger than the combined population of all the secondary schools in other parts of Nigeria." Chief Awolowo
Chief Awolowo claimed that under his government as western region Premier for five years, secondary school enrollment increased 1,200% or 12 times. Chief Awolowo introduced tuition free primary school education in 1955. It takes 8-years to graduate from primary school before going to secondary per the educational system bequeathed to Nigeria by the British Colonial Government. Those who entered primary school in western region in 1955 would graduate to enter secondary school in 1963. Therefore, where did Chief Awolowo get his figure of 1,200% increase in secondary admissions in 1959? To increase secondary school enrollment will require: acquiring lands with certificate of occupancies, surveying them, designing them, awarding the contracts, building the secondary schools; what about teacher's training colleges and teachers that will teach the new students? These are the types of claim Chief Awolowo was publishing and propagating that cannot stand intellectual scrutiny.
According to US Library of Congress, secondary level enrollments in Nigeria went from 10,000 in 1947 to 36,000 in 1957. That is 36% growth per year. But Chief Awolowo was telling us that under his watch, the growth rate was 178% per year. There is no record with integrity anywhere that shows Yorubas enrolling more students in primary, secondary schools and universities from the 50s to the current than Ndiigbo, their higher revenue base notwithstanding. JAMB records are my proofs and coupled with the US Library of Congress report. Below is the link to US Library of Congress. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field "On the eve of independence in the late 1950s, Nigeria had gone through a decade of exceptional educational growth leading to a movement for universal primary education in the Western Region. In the north, primary school enrollments went from 66,000 in 1947 to 206,000 in 1957, in the west (mostly Yoruba areas) from 240,000 to 983,000 in the same period, and in the east from 320,000 to 1,209,000. Secondary level enrollments went from 10,000 for the country as a whole in 1947 to 36,000 in 1957; 90 percent of these, however, were in the south." Chief Awolowo can say anything and can claim anything however illogical and senseless those claims may be, they were irrelevant to him.
In March 1966 Chief Awolowo wrote to late Gen. Ironsi asking the federal government to grand him pardon from continued prison sentence for treasonable felony. What reason did Chief Awolowo give as why he was sentenced to jail? Chief Awolowo brazenly claimed that he was sentenced to prison because he was planning to go into political alliance with NCNC. He claimed that if he were to renounce such plans, they would have released him from prison. Chief Awolowo was playing ethnic card in order to awaken ethnic sentiments in General Ironsi by claiming that the North sent him to jail because he was planning to team up with Ndiigbo, meaning NCNC. Please see the link below to read what Chief Awolowo wrote himself. http://www.dawodu.com/awolowo11.htm
Justice Sowemimo sentences Chief Awolowo to ten years imprisonment with hard-labor for treasonable felony. Chief Awolowo was accused of training insurgents in Ghana to overthrow the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Balewa. Please follow the link below to read why Justice Sowemimo sentenced Chief Awolowo to prison. http://www.dawodu.com/awolowo6.htm
Now let me tell you what Chief Awolowo did for the Yorubas. Chief Awolowo formed Omo Oduduwa as a reactive force to counterbalance the political and economic forces from Ndiigbo led by Dr. Azikiwe in the 40s and 50s. That was the nationalism the Yorubas exploited when Ndiigbo took themselves out of Nigerian federation during the war.
Yorubas exploited indigenization decree that was passed in 1972. When Ndiigbo left federation during the war, all the financial houses and insurance companies in Nigeria became monopolized by the Yorubas because of their population in relation to Edos and other minorities in the former Midwest . The Yoruba bankers and insurers liberalized credits to many Yoruba ethnic nationalities to buy up 60% of business shares in Nigeria at often times for give away prices. That came about by confluence of unintended consequences of the war and not by Chief Awolowo's creation. Indigenization would have taken place if the civil war did not break out. The sorry affairs of Ndiigbo today, political, economic and social, are the residual consequences of the civil war. Professor Ben Nwabueze said it all and l quote: Quote Was it mere thoughtlessness that propelled us into rebellion knowing, as we did, that the inevitable outcome would be war for which we were thoroughly ill prepared? It must be something more than thoughtlessness that made us insist on fighting the war over every inch of Igboland, instead of negotiating an honorable termination of it at an appropriate time earlier. I think that rebellion and continuation of the war in those circumstances betray both thoughtlessness and a headstrong disposition. Professor Ben Nwabueze Unquote
The next part will deal with Azikiwe and Ndiigbo. Please brother, put out of your head the doctrine of Chief Awolowo the mythical Yoruba god contrived by the Lagos-Ibadan axis of Nigerian Press. By the way, Chief Awolowo was a very brilliant man and very disciplined. As a politician per the real meaning of the word, Chief Awolowo was too ordinary to contend with Zik, many fantastic stories about the former not withstanding. For instance, they claimed that Chief Awolowo managed Nigerian civil war without borrowing - false; truth was that Nigeria borrowed hundreds of millions British Pound Sterling by issuing treasury bills; that he brought electrification project in the western region - false; Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was a federal government of Nigerian statutory corporation; that Chief Awolowo created economic renaissance in the West - false; they were economic institutions he inherited from the colonial government; that free primary tuition education he started in 1955 put Yorubas ahead of other ethnic groups in Nigeria in education - false; eastern region was graduating more students in primary and secondary school education during the reign of Chief Awolowo as the Premier of Western Region. There are many of such bogus claims making rounds that cannot submit to critical analysis.
Olisa H. Osita
[ December 24, 2006, 05:28 AM: Message edited by: Amadi O. ]
___________________ achieve Biafra and show the difference Posts: 642 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2002
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