Chidiremosworld
News aus Nigeria
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NigeOrbitz - Travel Deals Online...Ad - http://www.orbitz.com Tue Jan 25 2005
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il: Ukwa East petitions Obasanjo over recognition ...
Vanguard Tue Jan 25 2005
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African summit to open in Abuja, focusing on food security ...
Peoples Daily Online Tue Jan 25 2005
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Nigeria Guardian Tue Jan 25 2005
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Nigeria's Telephone Lines Now 10m ...This Day Online Tue Jan 25 2005
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Nigeria understudies Argentina's debt management strategy ...
Nigeria Guardian Tue Jan 25 2005
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Lagos roads: The carnage goes on ...Nigeria Guardian Tue Jan 25 2005
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Nigeria oil unions to meet over strike plan ...
Gulf Daily News Tue Jan 25 2005
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WB approves $260-mln credit facilities to Nigeria ...
Xinhua News Agency Tue Jan 25 2005
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Yesterday: Xinhua: Rwandan president invited to attend AU summit in Nigeria ...
MONUC Tue Jan 25 2005
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Nigeria: ASUP to Embark On Strike in Lagos ...AllAfrica.com Mon Jan 24 2005
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Igbo Nation Worldwide Second Igbo Landing Dedication and Conference in Charleston, South Carolina
PROGRAM OF EVENTS FOR
IGBO LANDING 2003
TRAITOR! MASSOB Almost Killed Me.... For making peace between Igbo and Yoruba traders
New dawn for African traditional medicine
Wabara writes Obasanjo on Igbo plight
Links für tägliche News aus Nigeria/Afrika
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Aug 01, 2003
Igbo Nation Worldwide Second Igbo Landing Dedication and Conference in Charleston, South Carolina
EKWE NCHE ORGANIZATION, Chicago, IL, USA
(a non-profit organization registered under U.S. law)
P. O. Box 408250
Chicago, IL 60640
U.S.A
Phone: (773) 206 - 9401
June 14, 2003
The Igbo Nation Worldwide cordially invites you to its Second Igbo Landing Dedication and Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. The ceremony will take place October 11-12, 2003, at Sheraton North Charleston Hotel, 4770 Goer Drive, Charleston, S.C. 29406. This year’s commemoration in South Carolina is sequel to a similar conference and dedication August 30-31, 2002, held at St. Simons Island, Georgia, also in the United States.
The ceremony is being organized and hosted by Ekwe Nche Organization, with the assistance of sister Igbo organizations in Canada, Nigeria, and the United States, including Africa Connect based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Cultural Education Institute, based in Teaneck, New Jersey. Ekwe Nche is a non-profit organization registered under U.S. law that is dedicated to independent statehood for Igbos through non-violent means, foundation of a political system based on Igbo indigenous heritage, and (re)unification of Igbos in Igboland with tens of millions of their brothers and sisters from all over the world, including the United States and the Caribbeans. Our members are drawn from the Igbo Nation worldwide, including Nne Alaigbo (or Igboland), Haiti, Jamaica, the United States, and the West Indies.
Igbo landing commemorations are multi-purpose ceremonies that simultaneously honor the freedom-fighting struggles of our ancestors (who drowned themselves after disembarking from their ships in the New World rather than be slaves), promote closure and healing from the pains of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and strengthen the blood and other cultural ties between ancestral Igbos and their brothers and sisters in the global diaspora. South Carolina is chosen for sanctification this year as an Igbo landing site because of its acquired reputation as an “Ellis Island” for African American “migration” to the United States, given the massive amount of slaves, estimated at “over 40 percent” that passed through the State. Information we received in the course of our research for this conference reveals that “almost all of” the slaves who entered the Charleston port, were “briefly quarantined on Sullivan’s Island, before being sold in Charleston’s slave markets.” !
Highlights of this year’s dedication include a keynote address by a distinguished Igbo American educationist, an address on the state of the Igbo Nation Worldwide, presentations from branches of the Igbo Nation Worldwide, launching and presentation of an Igbo Calendar (Kalenda Ndi-gboo or Calendar of the Ancients), a procession to Sullivan’s Island and cleansing of the site, and an Igbo social forum and roundtable. The complete program of events for the ceremony is attached to this letter of invitation.
Important dignitaries expected at the ceremony include the keynote speaker; representatives of sister Igbo organizations from various parts of Nigeria, Canada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; and a designee of the High Priest of Nri who will conduct the cleansing at Sullivan’s Island.
Individuals and organizations attending the ceremony are advised to lodge at the Sheraton Northern Charleston Hotel, where we have secured a special group rate of $99 a night (Single/Double), plus tax, that they can take advantage of if they book their accommodations 30 days before the date of the conference. Contact information for the hotel are as follows: Phone: (843) 747-1882; and Fax (843) 747-1895. The hotel also has a website accessible at www.sheratonnorthcharleston.com. Individuals and organizations seeking to send congratulatory or solidarity messages to Ekwe Nche Organization and/or the Igbo Nation Worldwide or simply to advertise their products may buy space in a booklet of program of the events for the conference that we are preparing. The following donations apply: $300/back inside page; $100! /full page, inside pages; and $75/half page, inside pages. Further information relating to the conference, including updates, will be released as those information become available.
See you in Charleston, South Carolina!
Sincerely,
Committees on Igbo Culture and Tradition
For and on behalf of Ekwe Nche Organization
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THE IGBO NATION WORLDWIDE
PROGRAM OF EVENTS FOR
IGBO LANDING 2003
IN CHARLESTON, S.C.
October 11-12, 2003
“After their horrific ‘Middle Passage,’ over 40 percent of the African slaves reaching the British colonies before the American Revolution passed through South Carolina. Almost all of these slaves entered the Charleston port, being briefly quarantined on Sullivan’s Island, before being sold in Charleston’s slave markets.”
Friday, October 10, 2003
Participants arrive by road and by air in Charleston, S.C, and lodge themselves, at their own expense, at Sheraton North Charleston Hotel, 4770 Goer Drive, North Charleston, S.C. 29406.
Note: Participants, please ensure that you book ahead of time before arriving by Friday evening. Take advantage of the group discount rate we have secured for the conference by booking your reservation at least one month in advance. Phone: (843)747-1882; Fax: (843) 747 - 1895.
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Notes: (1) Unless otherwise indicated, all events take place in the Sheraton Conference Center.
(2) Light music will intersperse events as necessary.
7 - 9 a.m. Continental Breakfast at Sheraton Restaurant
8 - 10 a.m. Registration ($25.00 donation per participant)
10 - 11 a.m. Breaking Kola Nuts
11 - 12 p.m. Welcome address by Ekwe Nche Organization
12 - 1.45 p.m. Lunch on your own
1.45 - 2 p.m. Introduction of Keynote Speaker
2 - 3 p.m. Keynote Address by Maazi Vernon Alufiel Grier, Ph.D.
3 - 4 p.m. Address on the State of the Igbo Nation Worldwide by Ekwe Nche Organization
4 - 5 p.m. Solidarity Messages from Igbo Sister Organizations
5 - 6 p.m. Address and/or Presentations from Branches of the Igbo Nation Worldwide
(no order imposed)
Igbo Biafra
Igbo America
Igbo Canada
Igbo Haiti
Igbo Jamaica
Igbo Israel
Others (including individuals)
6 - 7 p.m. Presentations and Addresses Suspended for Dinner at Sheraton Restaurant
7 - 9 p.m. Presentations Continue following Dinner.
Note: Presentations and addresses generated at the conference will be used in the preparation of proceedings of the conference that will appear after the Conference. To facilitate the production of the proceedings, presenters should please tender copies of their speeches to Ekwe Nche Organization by September 30, 2003.
9 p.m. - Events Over for the Day; Participants Retire into Their Lodgings for the Night
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Notes: (1) Unless otherwise indicated, all events take place in the Sheraton Conference Center
(2) Light Music will intersperse events as necessary.
7 - 8 a.m Continental Breakfast at Sheraton Restaurant
8 - 9 a.m. Breaking of Kola Nut
9 - 9:30 a.m. Procession to Sullivan's Island;
9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Introduction of Eze Nri Designee;
Performance of Dedication Rites at Sullivan's Island
10:30 - 11 a.m. Return to Sheraton North Charleston Hotel for Summation and Closing Event
11 - 11:30 a.m. Launching and Presentation of Igbo Calendar by Ekwe Nche Organization
11:30 - 1 p.m. Igbo Social Forum and Roundtable
1 p.m. - End of Ceremony
Participants Depart to Their Various Destinations - Until the Next Conference in 2004 in Haiti!
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To join the Sanctification/dedication bus ride from Chicago State University contact:
Ms Collins
at Chicago State University
Paul and Emily Douglas Library, Rm. 302
95th and King Drive
Phone: (773) 995 - 3864
Email: cj-collins@csu.edu
(Do not wait, there are limited spaces!)
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Seit mehreren Wochen bestimmt die Affäre um den im Niger gebürtigen und in Benin ansässigen Autohändler Hamani Tidjani die Schlagzeilen der beninischen Presse. Die Ereignisse wirken sich sowohl auf die höchsten Ebenen der nationalen Politik als auch auf die Beziehungen zwischen Benin und Nigeria aus.
Auslöser der Affäre Der aus dem Niger stammende Hamani Tidjani handelt mit Luxusautos, Gold und Kleidung und etabliert sich zu Beginn der 90er Jahren in Benin. Vor dort aus beliefert er den schier unbegrenzten Markt Nigerias mit gestohlenen Autos. Die Fahrzeuge kommen zumeist aus Europa und Westafrika, teilweise aus Nigeria selbst. Im Laufe der Zeit baut sich Tidjani eine einflussreiche Position in Benin auf und er verfügt bald über Kontakte zu wichtigen Persönlichkeiten von Politik und Verwaltung, unter anderem zu Innenminister Daniel Tawema und zu einem der Söhne Staatspräsident Kérékous. Trotz seiner Beziehungen wird Tidjani im Jahre 1999 von der Polizei unter dem Vorwurf der Autohehlerei verhaftet, kommt kurz darauf aber gegen Kaution wieder frei. Die Autodiebstähle werden oft in brutalster Manier durchgeführt, wobei es auch zu Toten kommt. Auch der Polizei gegenüber ist man nicht gerade zimperlich. Höhepunkt ist ein Überfall in Nigeria im April 2003 auf den Wagen der Tochter des nigerianischen Präsidenten Obasanjo. Dabei werden der Fahrer und zwei Kinder von einer Freundin der Tochter Obasanjos erschossen. Daraufhin beginnt in Nigeria eine großangelegte Polizeiaktion gegen die Autodiebe und die Spuren weisen nach Benin. Am 22. Juli 2003 führt die beninische Polizei aufgrund einer Zeugenaussage eine Hausdurchsuchung bei Hamani Tidjani durch und findet sechs gestohlene Autos sowie gefälschte Fahrzeugpapiere. Die Polizei übergibt Tidjani dem beninischen Staatsanwalt Honorat Adjovi, der ihn aber aus Mangel an Beweisen auf Kaution freilässt. Einige Tage später ist Hamani Tidjani im Ausland verschwunden. Schließung der Grenze zwischen Benin und Nigeria Nigeria ist verärgert und bringt dies am 9. August 2003 durch Schließung aller seiner Grenzübergänge zu Benin überdeutlich zum Ausdruck. Benin ist ein Transitland und die Wirtschaft ist stark vom Handel – auch illegalem – mit Nigeria abhängig. Die Grenzschließung trifft Benin daher wirtschaftlich an einem äußerst empfindlichen Nerv. Am 14. August 2003 fand auf Ersuchen Benins ein Gipfeltreffen zwischen den beiden Staatsoberhäuptern Nigerias und Benins im nigerianischen Grenzort Badagri statt. Dort einigte man sich darauf, die Grenzen wieder zu öffnen. Ermöglicht wurde das durch ein Zugeständnis Benins, die Bekämpfung der Automafia verstärkt zu betreiben und Operationen nigerianischer Polizeikräfte auf seinem Territorium zuzulassen – kaschiert unter der Formulierung "der Durchführung von gemeinsamen Aktionen beider Sicherheitskräfte", Codewort "Operation Fire for Fire". Beninische und nigerianische Polizisten kontrollierten daraufhin gemeinsam den Transitverkehr und teilweise operierten bis zu 400 nigerianische Polizisten auf beninischem Gebiet um und in der politischen Hauptstadt Porto Novo. Bei einer großangelegten Untersuchungsaktion wurden insgesamt über 200 Autos kontrolliert. 9 Fahrzeuge waren dabei zweifelhafter Herkunft, unter anderem wurde auch Modeste Kérékou, Sohn des beninischen Staatspräsidenten, mit einem verdächtigten Auto angehalten. Trotz dieser gemeinsamen Aktionen bleiben die Beziehung zwischen beiden Staaten sehr angespannt und unausgeglichen, Letzteres vor allem zu Ungunsten Benins. Am 26. August setzt das beninische Parlament, nicht zuletzt aufgrund des öffentlichen Drucks, einen Untersuchungsausschuss zur Affäre Tidjani ein. Festnahme Tidjanis und Auslieferung an Nigeria Am 11. September 2003 wird Hamani Tidjani in Mali verhaftet und nach Benin übergeben. Am folgenden Tag beginnen Verhandlungen mit Nigeria über seine Auslieferung, da die Verbrechen auf nigerianischem Boden stattfanden. Die nigerianische Regierung setzt sich mit ihrer Forderung nach einem beschleunigten Auslieferungserfahren durch und Tidjani wird am 25. September dem Generalinspekteur der Polizei Nigerias übergeben. Die Öffentlichkeit in Benin ist über diese Aktion empört, da es offensichtlich wird, dass die nigerianische Regierung mit großem Druck ihre Forderungen nach einem rechtlich fragwürdigen beschleunigten Auslieferungsverfahren durchgesetzt hatte. Der Höhepunkt der Entrüstung folgte am 27. September 2003, als beninische Medien darüber berichten, dass Tidjani in Abudja zuerst gefoltert und dann von nigerianischen Sicherheitskräften exekutiert worden sei. Obwohl sich einige Tage später herausstellt, dass diese Meldung frei erfunden war und Tidjani dort einem ordentlichen Gericht überstellt werden soll, stellt sich in der (ver-) öffentlichten Meinung Benins ein Wandel in der Beurteilung Tidjanis ein: Wurde er in den Medien zunächst als Verantwortlicher für den Mord an Polizisten, Grenzbeamten und Zivilisten dargestellt, sind nun gewisse Sympathien für ihn erkennbar und man macht sich vor allem Gedanken über die Rechtmäßigkeit seiner Auslieferung. In den Zeitungen fordern beninische Menschenrechtsorganisationen eine gerechte Behandlung Tidjanis. Es häufen sich nun auch negative Berichte über die allgemeine kriminelle Situation in Nigeria und die Behandlung von Häftlingen. Dabei werden auch Einzelschicksale von misshandelten beninischen Staatsangehörigen, die in Nigeria in die Mühlen der Justiz gelangt waren, dokumentiert. Am 15. Oktober 2003 gewährt Hamani Tidjani in der Untersuchungshaft der nigerianischen Wochenzeitschrift „Tells“ ein ausführliches Interview, in dem er unter anderem seine Unschuld beteuert. Dieses Interview wird auch in Benin – in französischer Übersetzung – in großer Aufmachung veröffentlicht. Konsequenzen der Tidjani-Affäre in Benin In diesem Interview benennt Tidjani unter anderem seine Beziehungen mit hochrangigen Mitgliedern der beninischen Politik und Verwaltung. So wird beispielsweise als Detail bekannt, dass angeblich sogar Innenminister Tawema dem Hehler Tidjani trotz seiner bekannten Vorstrafen eigenhändig einen Waffenschein unterschrieben habe. In Verbindung mit den bisher bekannt gewordenen rechtlichen Unregelmäßigkeiten gewinnt die vom Parlament eingesetzte Untersuchungskommission unter Oberstleutnant Massou immer mehr an Bedeutung. Neben den Korruptionsvorwürfen und der Zusammenarbeit an höchster Stelle ist man in Benin über die Tatsache verärgert, dass sich das Land zu einer Drehscheibe für Verbrechen entwickeln konnte – neben Autohehlerei ist auch die Rede von Drogenhandel und Geldwäsche. Es blieb nicht nur bei Worten: Am 22. Oktober 2003 suspendiert der Ministerrat unter besonderer Mitwirkung von Staatspräsident Kérékou die ersten 13 Personen, die in die Affäre verwickelt sind, vom Dienst. Darunter befinden sich hochrangige Funktionäre, die direkt dem Präsidenten aber auch dem Finanz- sowie Innenministerium unterstellt sind. Auch hohe Polizeioffiziere werden ihrer Posten enthoben. Der beninischen Öffentlichkeit sind jedoch diese „eilig“ durchgeführten Schritte zu wenig. Es wird bemängelt, dass diese sogenannten Bauernopfer das wirkliche Ausmaß der Korruption überdecken sollen, vor allem, so die Argumentation, sei bisher die Involvierung des Wirtschaftssektors nur halbherzig überprüft worden. Und dahin zielt der Hauptvorwurf: Die Politik werde zunehmend von einer nach mafiösen Strukturen operierenden Wirtschaft beherrscht. Dieser Vorwurf wird mehr oder weniger direkt auch gegen Kérékou erhoben, dessen Ansehen unter der Affäre, je nach Betrachtungsstandpunkt, ebenfalls gelitten hat.
Spalte Zentral-->
Spalte Zentral-->
Benin: Die Hamani Tidjani Affäre
Wie ein Autohehler die Politik in Atem hält
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World Igbo Congress and the Igbo Nation
WORLD IGBO CONGRESS AND THE IGBO NATION
albo in his postulation emphasizes that the only regular feature of man is his ability to fumble and tumble, and his incapacity to escape the snare of time and history. The resilient trapping of apex Igbo organizations within this fringe is no news, rather what could be done to arrest the calm strive towards chaos and fatalistic journey to the unknown.
Ndigbo in Diaspora, retinue of infidels sponsored by government and other Nigerian participants are embarking on another World Igbo Congress convention in Nashville, TN with the hope to rekindle the dashed expectations and aspirations of our people. Concerned Ndigbo expect the convention to serve as a platform for sober reflection on the tragedy of the Igbo Nation and an articulation of the way forward, considering the looming political suicide where Nigeria's structural tripod may exist without Ndigbo in contemplation. Will it take the blood of a mortal for Ndigbo to come to terms with realities of the day, and go back to the rubrics with a view to chart a course forward, or is the convention another celebration of primordial decay and putrefaction?
A question clearly stated is half answered. The relevant posers before the conference are: What role did our political gladiators play in the tragic outcome of the legitimate quest to be integrated into Nigeria's political system via an election of a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction. Where Ndigbo serious on a quest which had already gained national prominence when the South East could not agree on a platform for actualization and presented over five presidential candidates at a time other regional blocks already settled on a presidential Candidate? How come our almighty apex organizations WIC and Ohaneze Igbo acquired the rudiments of a lame duck, lacking moral authority to purge herself of saboteurs, and assume a position of finite authority when it was most required?
The task of political and economic empowerment of Ndigbo transcends a banquet with Governor of Tennesse served with most appetizing Igbo cuisines, or a gala night with Igbo live band playing. Who really cares about a carnival at such a time Ndigbo suffered the most humiliating political defeat, with the only option to pick the crumbs from the custodians of power if they so desire. It is really thought provoking that while the North are already weighing their options between their most visible political actors preparatory to 2007, Ndigbo are yet to set any clear cut agenda. Detractors are quick to assert that it is too early to discuss 2007 elections, but mindful of the fact that 'today is the tomorrow we talked about yesterday', also the infinidecimal performance of Ndigbo in the last election was due to lack of no cohesive plan of action, the time to act is now.
Events in the recent past makes the WIC conference most herculean. It is no longer news that there was no election or the purported election was massively rigged in the entire Igboland. The 2003 elections to say the least, was a scientific electoral fraud, blatant manipulation of the collective will of the people, total abuse of the rule of law and electoral process in any democratic setting. The Governor Ngige and Godfather - Chris Uba Saga in Anambra state is only a tip of iceberg of a career in political oblivion and monumental electoral fraud foisted against Ndigbo. More worrisome was the unabated politically motivated assassination recorded in the South east. The gruesome murder of prominent Igbo Sons, Chief Victor Nwankwo of Fourth Dimension Publishers, an erudite publisher, founding member and first chairperson of the African Publishers Network, Uche Orji, a senatorial candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party ANPP for Imo state, the state Nigeria Bar Association Chairman killed in Anambra state etc.
The congress may not have dwelt on a wasted time if appropriate measures are put in place to pursue logical conclusion of investigation of these horrible acts in Igboland with a view to expose and sanction the culprits and their collaborators as a deterrent. It is a challenge on WIC think-tank to proffer solution to ensure compliance, obedience, and discipline in our polity which currently remain a mirage.
Can Ndi Igbo objectively talk about Socio-economic empowerment when our masses back home are already devastated by hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance, unemployment, with the consequent stampede to premature graves? The plight of Igbo rural populace in lamentable. Bisi Olawunmi in his article "Nigerians in U.S." captured the unavoidable role of Nigerians in Diaspora leading to town Unions galore. "Today one area that is witnessing phenomenal growth among Nigerians in U.S is Town Unions". Frankly the employment of town unions and ethnic organizations has metamorphosed into a strategic tool in the socio-infrastructural development of forgotten rural villages. It is the responsibility of the apex organization to complement and harmonize efforts geared towards development of Igbo nation. Again, the congress must review the long list of developmental projects that never see the light of the day, focus on dwindling education of Igbo youths who have already lost interest in seeking higher education with the high rate of unemployment and incessant closure of the school system. Long term redemptive strategies are no longer needed, but precise use of tentative measures to at least reduce the alarming screams of anguish, present socio-economic quagmire and mess.
For the already bruised and battered Ndigbo to limp high, the past must wake up in the present. The statement of purpose and program of action of the congress must be devoid of all romantic pretensions and idealistic delusions. It is not the "wringing of our hands, nor the gnashing of teeth that will provide the vehicle for Ndigbo reorientation and regeneration, but the mapping out of immediate relevant strategies and workable blue prints to herald a new dawn. Sometimes, the dry cough of the thunder brings the first showers of rain of a new season. Some other times, the thunderous sound only seek to laugh and mock us in the face of our impotence. What does the 2003 World Igbo Congress hold for Ndigbo?
Traitor! MASSOB almost killed me.... For making peace between Igbo and Yoruba traders
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TRAITOR! MASSOB Almost Killed Me.... For making peace between Igbo and Yoruba traders
Saturday, August 30, 2003
On that fateful Thursday morning when he got the report that Igbo and Yoruba traders in Alaba International Market where at loggerheads, he had quickly left his shop in a bid to make peace. When he was doing this, betrayal was the last thing that was on his mind. He never imagined that somebody was going to see him as a traitor. He went there on the moral authority of being one of the founding fathers of the market and as the Vice President of the Founding Fathers Association of the market, he also felt qualified to interfere in the fracas.
But this act of restoring peace to the market and amongst the warring groups, almost cost Chief Faco Ochudo and his wife their lives as he alleged that he was labelled a traitor of the cause of restoring the Biafran nation.
According to Chief Ochudo in an interview with Weekend Vanguard, sometime ago, on the 6th day of February, 2003, in the Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos State, a report was made to me in my capacity as the Assistant Chairman of the Founding Fathers, Alaba International Market (in the absence of the chairman who was out of town) and as a leader of the community, that there was a fight in the market between two sister associations i.e. the IFELODUN Association (predominantly Yorubas) and the GTEADAN association (predominantly Igbo). I went to the scene immediately to stop the fight and settle the matter.
While I was there with the leaders of the two associations preaching peace, a group of men singing war songs were marching down with force to the scene of the incident. On getting close to where we stood, we discovered from their vests and dressing that they were members of "MASSOB" as there were the inscriptions on their vests "MASSOB" "BIAFRA". Some of the Yoruba leaders present ran away. But I stayed and called some of these MASSOB" men out and I spoke to them on the dangers and implications of their presence and intending action (as they were poised for war) which could be misinterpreted as tribal war between the Yoruba and Igbo. I persuaded them to sheathe their swords.
My intervention seemed to have infuriated these "MASSOB" men as they left with a threat that they would report me to their master, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike for "disturbing them from taking action on the IFEOLODUN people."
In the morning of the next day, 7th February, 2003 at about 8:00 am, a large group of these "MASSOB" men numbering over twenty, and led by one Mr. Okwuchukwu forced themselves into my premises at 5, Alaba International Market Road, by Union Homes Bank, Plc., Ojo Lagos State, and kidnapped my wife and myself. We were bundled into a waiting van with our eyes tied.
We were tortured along the way until they got to a place which I later discovered to be the residence of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike at Ijesha, Surulere, Lagos State. At Chief Ralph Uwazuruike’s residence, I was subjected to another round of severe torture, this time, with my eyes opened and under the supervision of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike who was accusing me of betraying the Igbos and being a cog in the wheels of the "MASSOB" course.
Narrating further, Ochudo revealed that after the series of torture which left me almost in a state of coma, we were forced to sign, under duress, a note which contents I do not know. Chief Ralph Uwazuruike warned me to desist thenceforth from interfering in the course of "MASSOB" and its agenda. While these warnings were being issued by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, I collapsed and lost consciousness.
"I later regained consciousness at Ijesha Police Station where I was told that a report of the incident was made by my wife who miraculously escaped from Chief Ralph Uwazuruike’s residence as I was being tortured. I cannot say how I got to the Police Station. To my chagrin, I was advised by the Police at Ijesha to close the matter and forget about it. I was taken home by my wife.
After he returned home, Ochudo thought the worst was over, but he was shocked when he alleged that; "the next day, on the 8th of February, 2003, these men of "MASSOB" among whom were one Mr. Atanasius Enwerem and Mr. Okwuchukwu came to my premises and threatened further to kill me if I take further steps on the matter with the police or with any law enforcement agent to expose their master, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and for what happened to me.
Chief Ochudo alleged that "the men also seriously warned me that the only choice for my survival was to join their organisation, "MASSOB". They further threatened to burn down my house, destroy my property and bathe me with acid if I take any further step with the Police on the matter".
During the horrifying experience, Ochudo told Weekend Vanguard that he lost the following items on the day he was kidnapped and taken to Chief Ralph Uwazuruike’s residence: One Erikson T29X handset (value: N58,000), One wrist watch (Rolex) silver brand (N8,000), One pair of shoes (N3,000), One black tornado walking stick (N1,200),One necklace chain (N2,500),one chieftaincy cap (N1,000), complete blue Guinea suit (torn) (N15,000), Cash of N4,500. He placed the total value of all the things he lost at N93, 200.00.
He is worried that despite his numerous petitions to the Police authorities at various levels including the Inspector-General of Police, nothing has been done on the matter. He has been living in fear since then believing that those after his life might still want to do him harm. Right now, he is pleading with the Police to come to his aid and save him from those who want to kill him.
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New dawn for African traditional medicine
Daily Independent Online. *
Wednesday, September 3, 2003.
New dawn for African traditional medicine
By Onche Odeh
Daily Independent, Lagos
The commemoration of the first African Traditional Medicine Day on August 31, 2003 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) may have unveiled an entirely new era of the practice in the region and in Diaspora.
The theme "Traditional Medicine: Our Culture, Our Future,"
suggests the uniqueness of the import of alternative medical practice to the well-being of Africans as the world faces the reality of the efficacy of herbal products to the health scheme.
The decision to observe an African Traditional Medicine Day follows the adoption in
2000 of a resolution to promote the role of traditional medicine in health system. This strategy meant for the African region was conceptualised by the region's health ministers, who requested the institution of the day on the WHO calendar for observance by member states as a way of making the practice more transparent and attractive.
More people, including professionals in the orthodox medicine practice, have come to appreciate the popularity of the traditional medicine practice, especially in Africa.
Dr Ephraim Malik Samba, WHO regional director for Africa, seems to be aware of the ominous consequences of non-recognition of this aspect of medicine. Samba said during the declaration of the day in February that more than 80 per cent of Africans depended on traditional medicine for their heath care needs.
According to him, the celebration of the African Traditional Medicine Day, which is the first of its kind, will further serve to stress the significance of this health-enhancing resource in the lives of the people.
He explained that the choice of the theme at the inaugural celebration of the Day was designed to further raise awareness and profile of traditional medicine in the region as well as promote its integration into national health system.
It has been established that traditional medicine is a component of African culture and heritage. It occupies a pride of place in Africa because it is affordable and easily accessible; it is also socially endorsed and culturally acceptable.
Bearing this in mind, it is pertinent that instead of showing disdain to this aspect of African culture, sanity and professionalism should be introduced to the practice of traditional medicine.
Dr Dora Akunyili, director-general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), an agency at the forefront of sanitising the quality of products dispensed by medicine practitioners and manufacturers in Nigeria, is apparently not oblivious of the mammoth patronage African traditional medicine enjoys among Nigerians.
This obviously would have resulted in her recent recognition of the practice and the products by the practitioners. She observed that the need to address issues of safety, quality, efficacy and standardisation of the traditional medicine products in the country has become important for any meaningful progress to be made in achieving sound health scheme.
Professor Adenike Grange, a professor of paediatrics and consultant with WHO, while corroborating Akunyili's view, said, "a major challenge for us now is to institutionalise and integrate traditional medicine into our mainstream health care delivery systems."
The image and profile of traditional medicine received a boost in Africa in 2001 when the continent's Heads of State declared in Abuja, in April, 2001, that research into traditional medicine should be made a priority. They followed up this declaration with another one in Lusaka in July 2001, designating the period 2001- 2010 as the Decade of African Traditional Medicine.
Traditional medicine is one of the priority programmes of the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) which, in 2000, developed the above mentioned regional strategy document. The development and adoption of the African Regional Strategy was complemented by the launch, in 2002, of the first global strategy on traditional medicine by WHO.
Indeed, AFRO has welcomed the declaration by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) of the period 2001 to 2010 as the OAU Decade for African Traditional Medicine.
Samba said the declaration was a positive development, and an important milestone in the development of traditional medicine in Africa as well as a boost to WHO's efforts to encourage and support research in traditional medicine in the region.
The truth is that traditional medicine has been with us since time immemorial. The majority of our population use it. This declaration by the African leaders is expected to, above all, boost the development of traditional medicine to the benefit of more than the over 80 per cent of Africans who use it for their health care needs.
Samba added: "It is incumbent on us Africans to be proud of our own, and WHO will continue to encourage and support research in traditional medicine with a view to further developing its potential, and that of traditional health practitioners in the prevention, care and management of priority diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, hypertension, sickle cell anaemia, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.''
In adopting the declaration, the African Heads of State and Government requested the OAU General Secretariat, in collaboration with WHO and other interested stakeholders, to assist OAU member states to prepare a plan of action for its implementation. AFRO provided technical support for the preparation of the OAU declaration.
In furtherance of its willingness to support OAU members states to institutionalise traditional medicine and integrate it in their health systems, the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, at its 50th session held from August 28 to September 2, 2000 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, adopted a regional strategy document developed by AFRO on promoting the role of traditional medicine in health systems. More recently, in May 2001, the Regional Office constituted a 12-member expert committee to support member states in monitoring and evaluating progress made in the implementation of the strategy.
The Lusaka Summit endorsed a May 2000 OAU Nairobi Declaration which formally recognised traditional medicine as the most affordable and accessible form of health care system for the African population. It also endorsed the commitment contained in the Nairobi Declaration to support the two August 18, 2001 ongoing processes started by the OAU General Secretariat to initiate an African Model Law for the protection of the rights of local communities, farmers and breeders, and for the regulation of access to biological resources.
Recently, some Nigerians were alarmed by Dr Jeremiah Abalaka and Jacob Abdullahi's claims to possess traditional antidotes to the dreaded HIV/AIDS. The scepticism may have resulted from the stiff opposition that greeted the duo's initial claims from the government, as the orthodox medical world holds the belief that there are yet no curative measures to the scourge.
But in an apparent shift of position, the Nigerian government only recently approved traditional research into the cure of HIV/AIDS alongside orthodox research and treatments.
According to the Chairman of the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Prof Babatunde Osotimehin, the new approach is based on the fact that some of the traditional anti-fungal and anti-bacterial drugs have proven to be effective in the reduction of diarrhoea and in boosting the immune system.
This is a good development, as more meaning would be added to every aspect of traditional medicine practice in Nigeria.
The same trend seems to thrive in some other African countries as laboratory tests over a six-month period on the efficacy of a herbal preparation used for the treatment of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe have shown promising results.
The results, made available by Zimbabwean authorities to the WHO Regional Office in Harare in July, showed a significant reduction in viral load in most patients recruited for the study. According to the results, changes in body weight observed in most patients showed a general agreement between increase in body weight and an increase in the level of immunity of patients.
Commenting on the results, Samba said: "Although these results are encouraging, there is a need for research to further evaluate the safety, efficacy and quality of traditional medicines not only for the management of HIV/AIDS, but for other priority conditions as well".
In May, WHO received similarly encouraging preliminary results on the evaluation of herbal preparations used for the management of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Zambia, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.
The results showed that herbal preparations for HIV/AIDS management in those countries seemed to alleviate HIV/AIDS symptoms in patients recruited for the studies.
If WHO, the world's most respected health watch-dog, could attest to the efficacy of the traditional African medicine, then it is worth taking serious by any country of the world.
In Nigeria, many practitioners have decried the increasing menace of quacks and dearth of qualified traditional medicine practitioners. Most of them attribute this phenomenon to the lack of a national policy on traditional medicine practice
Dr Olusola Fafure, president, Nigerian Council of Physicians of Natural Medicine, has called on the government and regulatory bodies to institute constant dialogue with the natural medicine practitioners as a way of bringing confidence and transparency to the practice.
Fafure also called for collaboration between Nigerian universities and alternative medical practitioners, to allow for indepth researches on natural medicine products. According to him, this will open up the practice of alternative medicine in the country, which will bring sanity to the profession.
Interestingly, the Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma has established a collaborative partnership with Winners Research Institute, a research institute pioneered by Dr Jacob Abdullahi of Winners Medical Centre. Abdullahi happens to be one of the claimants to the cure for HIV/AIDS.
The partnership is supposed to be in the area of researches into local plant materials for medicinal use. It is reported that another university in the western world is also involved in the partnership.
If other traditional practitioners could tow the line of Abdullahi who has moved a step further in his practice through the use of ultra modern research devices to enhance his claims, then a better future sure awaits traditional African medicine practice in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
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Wabara writes Obasanjo on Igbo plight
From Alifa Daniel and Jide Olatuyi, Abuja
ALARMED by the deplorable state of infrastructure in the South-East zone of the country, the Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, has written a letter of appeal to President Olusegun Obasanjo to address the ugly sight.
In a letter dated August 27, 2003 but made available to journalists yesterday, Wabara particularly lamented the deplorable state of roads in the South-East.
He wrote: "I sincerely request Mr. President to use your good offices as you have always done in the past to initiate necessary intervention measures with the appropriate authorities with a view to ensuring that budgetary provisions made in the 2003 Appropriation Act ... are duly implemented as a first step in the realisation of our people's expectation from their consistently high support to this administration."
Wabara added: "I have always noticed how you feel about the deplorable state of infrastructure in the whole country and how you have been visibly shocked by the way Nigerian contractors regrettably abandon government projects. It is for this reason that I wish to draw your attention to my observations in my recent visit to parts of the South-East."
The Senate President listed projects in the roads, electricity, water sectors as areas in which he needed presidential intervention. He observed that "almost all the federal roads in the South-East have become death traps." The "most impassable roads", he listed, are: Ururuka-IsiCourt-Aba; Umuahia-Bende-Ohafia; Abia-Uturu-Ahaba; IsiCourt-Olokoro-Akwa Ibom/SB; Umuahia-Abiriba-Arochukwu/Iko Ikpe; Aba-Azumini-Ekparakwa; Ututu-Isu Road and Bridge in Abia State. Others are, Owerri-Port Harcourt; Owerri-Obowo-Umuahia; Owerri-Onitsha; Enugu-Abakaliki Express; Abakaliki-Ogoja; Okigwe-Afikpo; Nnewi-Okigwe in Imo and Ebonyi states. Wabara also named the Awka-Agulu-Ekulobia-Uga-Imo border; bridges across Anambra to Aguleri/Otuocha; Oba-Nnewi-Okija; Enugu-Onitsha Express (Orji River Sector); Adoru-Nnsuka-Adani; Aba-Ikot Ekpene; Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road; Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway; Okigwe-Mbano-Umuahia roads in Enugu state as deplorable.
On water, Wabara noted that the supply of potable water was another area of social development that was abysmally lacking. "Federal schemes to supplement peoples' self-help efforts have been epileptic and desultory," he stated.
Among the water schemes, which he said were already earmarked in the 2002 and 2003 Appropriation Acts, were: Abakaliki greater scheme (Ebonyi), Obizi project in Aguata (Anambra), Aba, Abiriba and Arochukwu. Others are the rehabilitation of underground water projects in Ngwa North and Ngwa South, water supply in Abia Central district through motorised boreholes in designated towns, water supply in Abia South, and Ntigha Ngwa Ukwu Water Scheme in Abia State.
Wabara observed that economic and industrial activities of the South-East have suffered "severely from inadequate or non-existence of electricity arising from delay in implementing federal projects in this sector."
Among the "most serious neglects" in the electricity sector are the Oji River in Enugu State, Second Benin-Onitsha 330KV single circuit line, Onitsha 30KV substation, Abakaliki Transmission reinforcement, Alaoji-Umuahia substation, Umuahia-Ohafia 132KV single circuit line, Okigwe 2x30/40 MVA 132/33 KV substation, Ohafia 2x 30/40 MVA 132/33 KV substation, Arochukwu 2 x 30/40 MVA 132/33 KV substation.
The Senate President also listed the Enugu International Airport, Isiikwuato erosion in Abia, Erosion projects in Anambra State and Uburu Salt Lake project in Ebonyi State as other federal projects that have suffered neglect.
Meanwhile, Works Minister, Adeseye Ogunlewe, has tasked South Eastern engineers in the ministry to ensure that they do everything humanly possible to ensure appropriate provision of good and quality roads in the area.
Speaking at an interactive session with engineers of South-East extraction in the ministry in Abuja, the minister decried the past negligence of the officers. He also accused the engineers of compromising quality and standards. He, therefore, urged them to be transparent and be conscientious in the discharge of their duties.
About two weeks ago, the Abia State House of Assembly embarked on a seven-day hunger strike to protest the poor state of roads in the South-East.
The lawmakers had earlier planned holding vigils and wearing black clothes to mourn those who had lost their lives on the roads.
They, however, called off the strike following an appeal by well-meaning Nigerians for understanding. Even the South-East legislators in the National Assembly have also planned a parley on the state of roads in the zone.
However, the Federal Government recently released about N3 billion for road rehabilitation nation-wide.
Echoing government's determination to provide infrastructure, President Olusegun Obasanjo assured a delegation of Ogun indigenes who visited him that government will ensure equity and justice in provision of infrastructure.
Over the years, the South-East zone has continued to groan under serious ecological problems, characterised by flooding and erosion.
Relatedly, Wabara has promised to build an ultra modern Igbo Unity Centre in Enugu to help in the reinvention of the Igbo people.
Wabara announced his new pet project at the World Igbo Congress in Tennesse, United States.
A statement yesterday by his spokesman, Mr. Henry Ugbolue, quoted Wabara as saying that the Centre "will minister to our many social, educational, cultural and political needs but it shall also serve as a rallying point for all Igbo groups."
Wabara challenged delegates to search for ways of moving the Igbo race forward, adding that the race could no longer blame others or the civil war for its woes.
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