N'Delta Militants Still At Work

Niger Delta Militants 

Reports suggest that at least eight soldiers were feared dead in the aftermath of the attack.

The spokesman of the group, popularly known as General Ben also confirmed the casuality figure on social media.

He also claimed the group executed the attack in Nkpor where three persons were killed and the burning of a police patrol van in Onitsha.

General Ben, in the statement, said the group’s action was to show the Federal Government and security agencies that they should not underrate the activities of the Niger Delta militants, or limit their operations to the region

The CML group said the members were working in conjunction with the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to cripple the nation’s economy.

Ben declared: “My men were responsible for the killing of eight soldiers at Onitsha river. They were killed when my men attacked their military gunboat in Onitsha. We are responsible for the incident in Nkpor near Onitsha.
“It may sound doubtful; but we want to tell Nigerians that we are not limited to Niger Delta region. This is a warning to the Nigerian government that no amount of security threat will deter us. More attacks will still take place.
“We stand by every ultimatum given to any group or company. We will touch the soul of the economy of this nation. We are not interested in resources but, sovereignty”.
General Ben further said it was not their intention to strike yesterday, as it coincided with the anniversary of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
“We had to execute the operation to teach the military lesson. We have been quiet for a long time, but time for action has come”, he vowed.

Source: Sun News

Federal Government Announces Agreement With Niger Delta Militants

Militants in Boats

The Federal Government and ex-militants have resolved to end the ongoing pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region, an official has said.

Paul Boroh, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger-Delta Matters and Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme, said this at the end of a meeting he convened in Benin.

Mr. Boro, a retired Brigadier General, told journalists on Saturday night that the pipeline vandalism in the Niger-Delta was reducing the economic fortune of the country and inflicting pains on Nigerians. ‎

He urged the agitators to dialogue with the relevant authorities over their grievances and shun destruction of oil installations.‎

He assured that plans were in the pipeline to provide the ex-militants with welfare and a housing scheme in addition to the existing programme and projects.‎

Mr. Boroh stressed the need to find lasting solutions to the current situation in the region.

The common factor is security challenges we are facing in our areas, in our region that is affecting the economy of the country.

“Personally it makes me feel bad that we don’t know how to solve our problem.‎

"To you my comrades, it is our responsibility to make sure that insecurity in our environment is well sorted out. Please let us do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t occur again.”‎

Mr. Boroh, who was optimistic about the success of the meeting, said: “We have all resolved that we will put our heads and hands and all in all together to prevent the re-occurrence of this type of thing.”‎

He assured oil firms in the country that the Federal Government is dedicated to end the problems associated with bombing.

“Collectively we (Federal Government and ex-militants) have agreed to work as a team to 2prevent re-occurrence.

“We feel bad that it is happening, it is affecting our economy and it is affecting development and we are very concern about it.”

Some of the ‘militants’ who were present affirmed to what the special adviser said and pledged to support the federal government to bring lasting peace to the Niger-Delta, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

(NAN)

Scorecard of President Muhammedu Buhari: After 365Days in Office

President Buhari during his swearing into office

It’s exactly one year that the Change government was handed the mantle of leadership of Nigeria for a four-year term. Irrespective of what anyone’s political leaning is, it’s very appropriate to measure the performance of PMB and his government as objectively as one can be. As a believer and supporter of this government, I have done some articles in the past to show support for the administration. Let see how our change managers have fared in the past one year.

The Positives

1. Successful implementation of TSA
The great idea to bring all government revenues under the umbrella of a unified single account known as treasury single account was birthed by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. But for some political reasons, GEJ was not able to implement the program. Since coming of PMB, implementation of the TSA was one of the first orders he gave and we now know that the implementation has saved Nigeria up to N3 trillion that hitherto would have been kept in different government’s accounts from where the politicians could do as they wish with such monies. I think the president has done well here and I score him 8/10.

2. Reduction in cost of governance and blocking of wastages
In the past, it was not uncommon to read that as many as 200 or 300 delegates accompanied the president on international trips. Since the coming of PMB, such numbers have been reduced to 20s and 30s even on the most important of trips.
PMB has also stopped the practice of government sponsoring private persons on holy pilgrimage thereby saving the nation some millions of dollars in the process. Last year alone, the FG saved over $1 million by not sponsoring people on Haj. Some states later followed this line.
By reducing the number of ministries from 48 to 24, the FG has surely been able to save some monies that could have been spent on overhead costs. The president scores 7/10 here.

3. Appreciable success in the fight against BHT
No doubt this has to be one of the major achievements of PMB in his first year in office. Even though Boko Haram Terrorists group remain a threat to Nigeria’s security, it’s surely not as potent and as formidable as it was when the president took over as many of the terrorists have been killed while many towns and villages have been liberated by the Nigerian Army. This success has given renewed hope to the possibility of rescuing some of the Chibok Girls (if not all) from their captors. I score him 7/10 here.

4. Stemming the tide of corruption and prosecution of past corruption cases
Another signature achievement of PMB is the success being achieved in the fight against corruption. No matter how we dice it, we all know that corruption is responsible for the comatose state of our affairs. It was corruption that stalled our development as a giant of Africa. Since PMB’s coming, corruption has been given a bloodied nose even though there is still plenty of work to do. In addition to that, government officials now understand that they cannot engage in impunity and corrupt practices without getting punished.

We will have a better appreciation of the success of the government’s fight on corruption when the president finally reveals how much has been retrieved from past looters during his address to the nation tomorrow but we know the recovered monies run into billions of naira.Fingers crossed. Another 7/10 here.
5. Improved relationship with the outside diplomatic world
Despite criticism of his numerous travel abroad, discerning minds now know that Nigeria is gradually regaining her battered image in the comity of nations. The president had been recognized guest in many very important international functions where his efforts were recognized as well. It is our hope that by the time PMB completes his first tenure, our image will have been further improved globally. He scores 6/10 here.

The Negatives

1. Failure to reduce number of presidential airplanes
Despite largely reducing cost of governance, it is absurd and annoying that PMB has not deemed it necessary to cut the number of presidential jets from 11 (?) to six or five. This runs contrary to his stand before becoming president and there cannot be any justification for keeping such large fleet of money-gulping planes. I hope the president sees reasons to reduce the fleet as a matter of necessity and in line with his frugal image. His score here is 0/10.

2. Indecisive in tackling Niger Delta Avengers and other militants
The president has been indecisive in bringing the ND Avengers and other militants under control such that their criminal activities have reduced daily oil production from 2.2 million bpd to about 1.6 million bpd.
Why announcing that the militants will be treated as terrorists when in fact you had not made up your mind on how to treat them? To sum it up, I have not seen the carrots neither have I seen the sticks. Like I said in one of my posts, should the militants succeed in crippling the economy of Nigeria, I will not blame them and their supporters. The blame will go to the Chief Security Officer of the country, who is responsible for securing our lives and properties just as GEJ took the blame for BHT. I score him 3/10 here.

3. Worsened economic situation
No doubt the president inherited a badly damaged economy. But the fact is, if the economy was doing fine he would not have won the election. In other words, the president and his VP were elected to find solutions to the myriads of challenges facing the country. So, by all means necessary, we expect PMB and his team to solve the economic problems and not to give excuses why they can’t tackle them. EOD.
Cost of almost everything has doubled or more than double since beginning of this year. I am not sure Nigerians can go like this for another one year without people dropping dead on the streets. So, the president must find the urgent solutions to resolve the crisis bedeviling the economy NOW. Nigerians need improved electricity, availability of goods and services at reasonable prices, job opportunities for the unemployed, etc. Here the president scores 3/10.

4. Handling Fulani Herdsmen Criminality
This issue of Fulani herdsmen is as old as the entity called Nigeria. However, it has assumed a more alarming dimension since beginning of this year. The security agencies, under the commandment of our C in C have not lived up to expectations. Just as with the ND Avengers and other terrorists, the president has remained hesitant and indecisive with how to deal with them. I score him 3/10.

5. Absence of solid programs at diversifying the economy 
Past regimes paid lip service to diversification of the economy away from the largely oil-dependent to one that depends on multiple sources of income. Though we have seen the provisions in the budget that signifies that PMB will diversify the economy, however we have not seen necessary activities unveiling to support such provisions. For the fact that it normally takes time to diversify the economy and the fact that the budget was only signed in May, I will score the president 4/10 here.

So, by my analysis, the president has managed to score 48 out of 100. Not a good result in my opinion but he still has three more years to turn things around.

Source: Tiwa'sBlog

365Days of Failure: PMB One Year in Office

Akinleye Segun Opinion

Irrespective of what the Presidency has said as regards the one year in office of President Muhammadu Buhari, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has fallen short of the expectations of Nigerians by failing to deliver on its campaign promises, especially what it promised to achieve in its first year if voted into power.

Exactly a year today, the former president, Goodluck Jonathan handed over power to Buhari in a colourful event at the Eagle Square, Abuja and such, ushered in a new era of hope after the APC was able to sell its campaign promises to 15 million Nigerians who felt they needed a change from the way the country was being governed by Jonathan and his cohorts.

The APC set the country alight with billboards of promises people find so difficult and irresistible to ignore. They promised change in almost all the sectors. From security to economy, agriculture to unemployment, payment of N5, 000 to unemployed youths, the APC had a solution to it all. But in the words of the Russian Statesman, Nikita Khrushckev, “politicians are the same the world over. They promise to build bridges even where there are no rivers.”

365 days down the line, the story has remained exactly the same. The lot of the people has not been bettered. The ranks of the poor have continued to swell and their poverty increase while the consorts of the powerful enjoy unprecedented wealth.

In a General Babangida’s speech in August 27, 1985 when Buhari’smilitary regime was cut short in a coup de tat, the man started his speech by saying, “When in December 1983, the former military leadership of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, assumed the reins of government, its accession was heralded in the history of this country. With the nation at the mercy of political misdirection and on the brink of economic collapse, a new sense of hope was created in the minds of Nigerians.”

The story is exactly the same when you won the election. A new sense of hope was created in the minds of Nigerians. Even before the official handover, people were already celebrating you. The sudden constant power supply that followed immediately after your victory was attributed to your ‘body language’ and people couldn’t wait for more of such positive developments. But a year on, it has dawned on them that politicians are the same the world over.

In one of his many campaign speeches, Buhari said that, “we will strive to attack poverty through broadly-shared economic growth and attacking corruption through impartial application of the law.” This has not been so Mr. President.

You and the APC promised to create three million jobs within the first year of your administration, but what we have is the retrenchment of workers instead. Unlike the previous administration, nobody has been trampled to death in search of jobs, but mostly because there have really been no jobs to search for. Companies are folding up and the list of the unemployed keeps going up. This is a very bad omen, especially for an administration that used job creation as one of its strongest campaign points.

The menace called Boko Haram has actually been kept at bay, but a new form of threat has emerged. People from your tribe – the Fulani Herdsmen. They have been on a killing spree, maiming and destroying villages, leaving death, sorrow, tears and blood behind. It should be remembered that when the Fulanis and Yorubas had a clash in Ibadan under the administration of the late Lam Adesina, you led a delegation of Arewa people to the Governor’s office demanding why your ‘people’ were being killed. Your silence on this issue is deafening. Nigerians now cower at the sight of the rampaging herdsmen.

The Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently scored this administration poor in the areas of economic policies which is the bedrock of any society. Inflation, external reserve, exchange rate, GDP growth rate, Stock Market capitalization, agricultural sector growth, power output and the likes have all received negative ratings.

The one year in office of this administration has been unfavorable to the common man. Mr. President promised to institute just policies that afford people the dignity of work and pay them a living wage for their sweat and toil. Despite the increase in the price of fuel, a development that touches on every part of human life, your government has been ‘debating’ a proposed new minimum wage for Nigerian workers. “We will be a compassionate government, for out of compassion arises the truest forms of wealth and progress a society can attain.” Those were your words. A bag of rice now costs eighteen thousand Naira (N18, 000) in the market. Jonathan left it at nine thousand Naira (N9, 000). Tomatoes have turned to gold. Prices of commodities have skyrocketed. Do not let them tell you otherwise, you have failed Nigerians in this particular area. The hopes have been dashed. The light they felt was close by at the end of the tunnel, exactly a year ago, seems so far away now.

Nigerians have continued to live in a condition where the Power Holding Company and its successors seem only to have the power to keep us in darkness.

In his speech at Chatham House, London, Buhari labeled himself a reformed democrat and a different man from the General of 1983 who ruled the country militarily. The reverse is the case. One year on, you have showed Nigerians that a leopard does not change its spot. In this regard, there have been outright abuses of the rule of law. You have gone against many court orders. People have been detained unjustly while the self-acclaimed reformed democrat has turned the other cheek. 

Quoting another paragraph from Babangida’s speech, “Since January 1984, however, we have witnessed a systematic denigration of that hope. It was stated then that mismanagement of political leadership and a general deterioration in the standard of living, which had subjected the common man to intolerable suffering, were the reasons for the intervention. Nigerians have since been under a regime that continued with those trends. Events today indicate thatmost of the reasons which justified the military takeover of government from the military still persist.”

The reasons the APC gave a year ago for wanting the votes of Nigerians still persist a year after. Just like it was when Buhari truncated a civilian regime with the gun, this time around, it was through the ballot, but the trends are the same. The common man is still exposed to insufferable suffering due to deterioration in the standard of living. Unlike the events of 1985, Buhari should not worry about a coup, but instead, 2019 general elections. The unemployed youths, who voted because of the promise of N5, 000 monthly stipend are waiting by the corner. Those who have been on the harshest end of this economic uncertainty are also angrily waiting. Time is ticking, as a year has already been exhausted by Buhari and the APC. 

A piece of advice for Buhari: Mr. President should embark on a tour of his country so as to get in sync with his countrymen and not rely on those surrounding him. He has more to lose right now, as people are already questioning his ‘integrity’ and his plans for Nigeria. Nigerians are wiser. The cane that was used for the first wife remains on the rooftop to be used for the new bride if things remain the same for Nigerians. Let the positive change start now.

Source: ImpactLinkMag.Com

Niger Delta Avengers; We Want Sovereign State

The new currency is said to have started circulating with the Niger Delta, and militants in the oil rich region are using it to inform the government of their demands for sovereignty in the region.

According to The Daily Globe Watch, the  separatist feelings and aspirations which resulted in the ongoing bombing of oil and gas facilities in the region have eventually found expression in unveiling its ‘national’ currency.

There have been a series of attacks by militants in the region lately, the latest being the attack by Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on trunk lines belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

The NDA have vowed to stop at nothing until a sovereign state of the Niger Delta is actualized. It is their claim that much has been done to the region’s ecosystem resulting from the operations of oil companies in the region and that every hue and cry raised so far to draw the government’s attention to their predicament has fallen on deaf ears.

Hence the action to secede from Nigeria became absolutely necessary to save communities in the neglected region from gradual extinction. The NDA has threatened to do something that will shock the whole world. In a series of tweets, the militants revealed that they blew up another oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday, May 26, which they claimed was heavily guarded by the Nigerian military.

The group also blasted the Niger Delta stakeholders over the meetings they held in the region, stating that they want a sovereign state and not pipeline contracts.

Source: Tiwas'sBlog

Nigeria's and Africa's First Gold Medalist; Emmanuel Ifeajuna Tragic Life

Popular Nigerian high jumper, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, was the first black African to win a gold medal in Commonwealth Games, but his remarkable story had a tragic end.

Emmanuel Ifeajuna, celebrated for his Commonwealth Games gold medal and then reviled for his part in Nigeria’s civil war. Photo: A Ademoyega

The first time Emmanuel Ifeajuna appeared before a crowd of thousands he did something no black African had ever done. He won a gold medal at an international sporting event. “Nigeria Creates World Sensation,” ran the headline in the West African Pilot after Ifeajuna’s record-breaking victory in the high jump at the 1954 Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. He was the pride not just of Nigeria but of a whole continent. An editorial asked: “Who among our people did not weep for sheer joy when Nigeria came uppermost, beating all whites and blacks together?”

In the words of a former schoolmate, Ifeajuna had leaped “to the very pinnacle of Nigerian sporting achievement”. His nine track and field team-mates won another six silver and bronze medals, prompting a special correspondent to write “Rejoice with me, oh ye sports lovers of Nigeria, for the remarkable achievements of our boys”.

Ifeajuna, feted wherever he went, would soon see his picture on the front of school exercise books. He was a great national hero who would remain Nigeria’s only gold medallist, in Commonwealth or Olympic sport, until 1966.

The next time Ifeajuna appeared before a crowd of thousands he was bare-chested and tied to a stake, facing execution before a seething mob. He had co-led a military coup in January 1966 in which, according to an official but disputed police report, he shot and killed Nigeria’s first prime minister. The coup failed but Ifeajuna escaped to safety in Ghana, dressed as a woman and was driven to freedom by a famous poet. Twenty months later, he was back, fighting for the persecuted Igbo people of eastern Nigeria in a brutal civil war that broke out as a consequence of the coup.

Ifeajuna and three fellow officers were accused by their own leader, General Emeka Ojukwu, of plotting against him and the breakaway Republic of Biafra. They denied charges of treason: they were trying to save lives and their country, they said, by negotiating an early ceasefire with the federal government and reuniting Nigeria. They failed, they died and, in the next two and a half years, so did more than a million Igbos.

The day of the execution was 25 September, 1967, and the time 1.30pm. There was a very short gap between trial and execution, not least because federal troops were closing in on Enugu, the Biafran capital, giving rise to fears that the “guilty four” might be rescued.

As the execution approached, the four men – Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo, Phillip Alale and Sam Agbam – were tied to stakes. Ifeajuna, with his head on his chest as though he was already dead, kept mumbling that his death would not stop what he had feared most, that federal troops would enter Enugu, and the only way to stop this was for those about to kill him to ask for a ceasefire.

A body of soldiers drew up with their automatic rifles at the ready. On the order of their officer, they levelled their guns at the bared chests of the four men. As a hysterical mass behind the firing squad shouted: “Shoot them! Shoot them!” a grim-looking officer gave the command: “Fire!” The deafening volley was followed by lolling heads. Ifeajuna slumped. Nigeria’s great sporting hero died a villain’s death. But he had been right. By 4pm two and a half hours after the executions, the gunners of the federal troops had started to hit their targets in Enugu with great accuracy. The Biafrans began to flee and the city fell a few days later.

Of all the many hundreds of gold medallists at the Empire and Commonwealth Games since 1930 none left such a mark on history, led such a remarkable life or suffered such a shocking death as Ifeajuna.

His co-plotter in the 1966 coup, Chukwuma Nzeogwu, was buried with full military honours and had a statue erected in his memory in his home town. But for Ifeajuna, the hateful verdict of that seething mob carried weight down the years. His name was reviled, his sporting glory all but written out of Nigeria’s history. His name is absent from the website of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, appearing neither in the history of the Federation nor in any other section. There is no easy road to redemption for the gold medallist who inadvertently started a war and was shot for trying to stop it.

Nigeria’s first foray into overseas sport was in 1948, when they sent athletes to London to compete in the Amateur Athletic Association Championships, and to watch the Olympic Games before a planned first entry in the next Olympiad. In 1950 there was cause to celebrate when the high jumper, Josiah Majekodunmi, won a silver medal at the Auckland Commonwealth Games. He also fared best of Nigeria’s Olympic pathfinders, the nine-man team who competed at Helsinki in 1952. Majekodunmi was ninth, with two of his team-mates also in the top 20. Nigerians clearly excelled at the high jump.

With three men having competed in that 1952 Olympic final, the Nigeria selectors had plenty of names to consider for the Commonwealth Games high jump in Vancouver two years later. Ifeajuna, aged 20, was not a contender until he surprised everybody at the national championships in late April, less than two months before the team were due to depart. His jump of 6ft 5.5in, the best of the season, took him straight in alongside Nafiu Osagie, one of the 1952 Olympians, and he was selected.

The high jump was on day one of competition in Vancouver and Ifeajuna wore only one shoe, on his left foot. One correspondent wrote: “The Nigerian made his cat-like approach from the left-hand side. In his take-off stride his leading leg was flexed to an angle quite beyond anything ever seen but he retrieved position with a fantastic spring and soared upwards as if plucked by some external agency.”

Ifeajuna brushed the bar at 6ft 7in but it stayed on; he then cleared 6ft 8in to set a Games and British Empire record, and to become the first man ever to jump 13.5in more than his own height. This first gold for black Africa was a world-class performance. His 6ft 8in – just over 2.03m – would have been good enough for a silver medal at the Helsinki Olympics two years earlier.

The team arrived back home on 8 September. That afternoon they were driven on an open-backed lorry through the streets of Lagos, with the police band on board, to a civic reception at the racecourse. The flags and bunting were out in abundance, as were the crowds in the middle and, for those who could afford tickets, the grandstand. There was a celebration dance at 9pm. Ifeajuna told reporters he had been so tired, having spent nearly four hours in competition, that: “At the time I attempted the record jump I did not think I had enough strength to achieve the success which was mine. I was very happy when I went over the bar on my second attempt.”

After a couple of weeks at home Ifeajuna was off to university on the other side of the country at Ibadan. His sporting career was already over, apart from rare appearances in inter-varsity matches. He met his future wife, Rose, in 1955. They married in 1959 and had two sons. After graduating in zoology he taught for a while before joining the army in 1960 and was trained in England, at Aldershot. Ifeajuna had first shown an interest in the military in 1956 when, during a summer holiday in Abeokuta, he had visited the local barracks with a friend who later became one of the most important figures in the Commonwealth.

Chief Emeka Anyaoku joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1966, the year of Ifeajuna’s coup attempt. While his good friend escaped, returned, fought in the war and died in front of the firing squad, Anyaoku moved to London, where he rose to the highest office in the Commonwealth, secretary-general, in 1990. For four years at university he lived in a room next door to Ifeajuna, who became a close friend.

Why did the record-breaking champion stop competing? “From October, 1954, when he enrolled at Ibadan, he never trained,” said Anyaoku, nearly 60 years later. “He never had a coach – only his games master at grammar school – and there were no facilities at the university. He simply stopped. He seemed content with celebrating his gold medal. I don’t think the Olympics ever tempted him. I used to tease him that he was the most natural hero in sport. He did no special training. He was so gifted, he just did it all himself. Jumping barefoot, or with one shoe, was not unusual where we came from.”

Another hugely influential voice from Nigerian history pointed out that Ifeajuna, in his days as a student, had “a fairly good record of rebellion”. Olusegun Obasanjo served as head of a military regime and as an elected president. He recalled Ifeajuna’s role in a protest that led to the closure of his grammar school in Onitsha for a term in 1951, when he was 16. Three years after winning gold, while at university, Ifeajuna made a rousing speech before leading several hundred students in protest against poor food and conditions.

The former president also held a manuscript written by Ifeajuna in the aftermath of the coup but never published. It stated: “It was unity we wanted, not rebellion. We had watched our leaders rape our country. The country was so diseased that bold reforms were badly needed to settle social, moral, economic and political questions. We fully realised that to be caught planning, let alone acting, on our lines, was high treason. And the penalty for high treason is death.”

In 1964 the Lagos boxer Omo Oloja won a light-middleweight bronze in Tokyo, thereby becoming Nigeria’s first Olympic medallist. It was a rare moment of celebration in a grim year that featured a general strike and a rigged election. Another election the following year was, said the BBC and Reuters correspondent Frederick Forsyth, seriously rigged – “electoral officers disappeared, ballot papers vanished from police custody, candidates were detained, polling agents were murdered”. Two opposing sides both claimed victory, leading to a complete breakdown of law and order.

“Rioting, murder, looting, arson and mayhem were rife,” said Forsyth. The prime minister, Tafawa Balewa, refused to declare a state of emergency. There was corruption in the army, too, with favouritism for northern recruits. A group of officers began to talk about a coup after they were told by their brigadier that they would be required to pledge allegiance to the prime minister, from the north, rather than the country’s first president, an Igbo. Ifeajuna’s group feared a jihad against the mainly Christian south, led by the north’s Muslim figurehead, the Sardauna of Sokoto.

The coup, codenamed Leopard, was planned in secret meetings. Major Ifeajuna led a small group in Lagos, whose main targets were the prime minister, the army’s commander-in-chief, and a brigadier, who was Ifeajuna’s first victim. According to the official police report, part of which has never been made public, Ifeajuna and a few of his men broke into the prime minister’s home, kicked down his bedroom door and led out Balewa in his white robe. They allowed him to say his prayers and drove him away in Ifeajuna’s car. On the road to Abeokuta they stopped, Ifeajuna ordered the prime minister out of the car, shot him, and left his body in the bush. Others say the Prime Minister was not shot, nor was the intention ever to kill him: Balewa died of an asthma attack or a heart attack brought on by fear. There has never been conclusive evidence either way.

Ifeajuna drove on to Enugu, where it became apparent that the coup had failed, mainly because one of the key officers in Ifeajuna’s Lagos operation had “turned traitor” and had failed to arrive as planned with armoured cars. Major-General Ironsi, the main military target, was still at large and he soon took control of the military government. Ifeajuna was now a wanted man. He hid in a chemist’s shop, disguised himself as a woman, and was driven over the border by his friend Christopher Okigbo, a poet of great renown. Then he travelled on to Ghana, where he was welcomed.

Ifeajuna eventually agreed to return to Lagos, where he was held pending trial. Ojukwu, by now a senior officer, ensured his safety by having him transferred, in April, to a jail in the east. Igbos who lived in the north of the country were attacked. In weeks of violent bloodshed tens of thousands died. As the death toll increased, the outcome was civil war. In May, 1967, Ojukwu, military governor of the south-east of Nigeria, declared that the region had now become the Republic of Biafra. By the time the fighting ended in early 1970, the number of deaths would be in the millions.

Arguably, if either of Ifeajuna’s plots had been a success, those lives would not have been lost. The verdicts on his role in Nigerian history are many and varied: his detractors have held sway. Chief among them was Bernard Odogwu, Biafra’s head of intelligence, who branded Ifeajuna a traitor and blamed him for “failure and atrocities” in the 1966 coup. Adewale Ademoyega, one of the 1966 plotters, held a different view of Ifeajuna. “He was a rather complicated character … intensely political and revolutionary … very influential among those close to him … generous and willing to sacrifice anything for the revolution.”

The last time Anyaoku saw Ifeajuna was in 1963, in Lagos, before Anyaoku’s departure for a diplomatic role in New York. He later moved to London and was there in 1967. “I was devastated when I heard the news of the execution,” he said. As for Ifeajuna being all but written out of Nigeria’s sporting history, he noted that: “The history of the civil war still evokes a two-sided argument. He is a hero to many people, though they would more readily talk about his gold medal than his involvement in the war. There are people who think he was unjustifiably executed and others who believe the opposite.”

One commentator suggested recently that the new national stadium in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, should be named after Ifeajuna. It will surely never happen.

Source: Tiwa'sBlog

I'LL STILL COME BACK TO NIJ: ALESH AKEEM NIGERIAN LEADING PENCIL ARTIST

Celebrity portrait artist, Alesh Akeem unveils plans of going back to school, presents portrait to NIJ Provost

Nigeria's leading pencil artist, Alesh Akeem has revealed his plans of going back to school after he deffered his tertiary institution programme about two years ago.

Alesh Akeem who deffered his admission during his second year at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) made this known to the media during institution's Annual Awards and Dinner event.

ALESH AKEEM WITH STUDENTS SHOWING HIS ARTISTIC WORKS

The 20-year old Artist while speaking to the media said, "although I had to leave then due to some challenges but you know God is forever faithful and NIJ is my home, so I have plans of coming back to complete my programme and I'm sure God will see me through".

RED CARPET INTERVIEW WITH ACE BROADCASTER DAYO FALOPE AND ALESH AKEEM

Alesh Akeem who was also a celebrity guest at the event also presented a portrait to the Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Gbemiga Ogunleye for his exceptional leadership which was received by the Deputy Provost, Mr Jide Johnson.

ALESH AKEEM PRESENTING PORTRAIT TO DEPUTY PROVOST JIDE JOHNSON

Jide Johson in his statement, said, "It gives me great joy to see students of this great institution making exploits even beyond the shores of this country, and the Provost of this institute is also an exceptional leader who is never intimidated by anyone's success, rather he will always support you. I urge our students to keep up the good work and he will always support them" he concluded.

CHANGE MANTRA: FUEL PRICE HIKE AND ECONOMY ISSUES

When the All Progressive Congress (APC) came with its change, many Nigerians did buy into it because it represented hope for the average Nigerian. However, almost one year into the administration of president Muhammadu Buhari, life for average Nigeria as been nothing near the change promiesd.

Although, the Buhari-led government has continued to assure Nigerians to keep faith that 'change' will still come, INFORMATION NIGERIA in the meantime brings you the 7 things Nigerians who voted Buhari are currently dealing with...

-Your face when you were busy criticizing the fuel price increment but someone you roasted when GEJ did the same thing comes for you.

-Your reaction when people shade the heck out of you over Buhari's constant abroad trips but you don't get, because its not like he takes you with him.

-Your reaction when the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said "But this particular president is not corrupt..." when David Cameron was caught on camera yabbing Nigeria and Afghanistan as the 2 most corrupt Nations of the world.

-The way you act when Nepa hasn't given you light for 2 weeks but you were one of those who sang Buhari's praise the early few weeks there was constant light the few weeks when he just assumed office.

-When you go to the petrol station to buy fuel and there is Africa's longest queue but you can't complain because you voted for "change".

-When the economy is so bad that Derica of rice is more than Two hundred naira and its easier to buy diamond than fresh tomatoes. And when your income is barely enough to cater for your need but you can't still have to defend Buhari because you believe there is hope and change would come some day.

-How you look when somebody screen grabs your old tweet totally declaring support for Buhari and post it on your IG and your FB wall because you simply tweeted about how Buhari handled a particular bad situation and you're like 'can't somebody play with you people again?'.

WHO CAN RELATE???