Joe Igbokwe

Opinion

Ifeanyi Ubah: Please Stop Embarrassing The Igbo – By Joe Igbokwe

Just recently the DSS invited a friend of mine and bonafide son of Nnewi, Chief (Dr) Ifeanyi Ubah of Capital Oil & Gas Ltd fame to come and give an account of the whereabouts millions of liters of PMS stored by NNPC on his Tank farms. Since this invitation, I have read some funny write-ups online in defense of the Nnewi Chief and some trying to read ethnic meaning to DSS intervention.
Now the truth is this: My good friend Chief Ifeanyi Ubah is capable of defending himself and Capital Oil & Gas Ltd. He has formidable structures in place and good lawyers to defend his case. He does not need yahoo, yahoo boys and girls and frustrated political hustlers to defend himself. He does not need internet rats and professional pay-me-I-write-for-you fraudsters. What I have been reading about this drama online is totally uncalled for. It is ridiculous, shameful and at best, clannish.
This brigandage did not start today. When Diezani Alison-Madueke was declared wanted by EFCC for fraud in the oil industry, we saw this kind of shameless intervention from people who should know better and those with full doses of Western education. When Stella Oduah was being probed for purchasing armoured BMW cars at astronomical prices, some Igbo leaders rose to her defense. They erected billboards in the South-East and celebrated her with a chieftaincy title, Ada Igbo Nile. The impression being created is that prominent Igbo citizens are being persecuted because they are Igbo. I call this PERSECUTION COMPLEX, LEADERSHIP COMPLEX AND DEFEATIST SYNDROME.
It is even annoying that Col. Sambo Dasuki’s defense is being done not by his northern brothers but Igbo who are sworn to bland defense of everything PDP. They are the most fanatical mourners of the loss of Jonathan and PDP even when the Ijaws have moved on.
NIA boss, Ayo Oke has been facing series of interrogations by the EFCC concerning the Osborne Towers 15 billion naira cash haul and I have not read any Yoruba defending him. Babachir Lawal, the suspended SFG, is being probed for contract scam and yet I have not seen his kinsmen rising in his defense. They allow investigations to go the whole hog.
There are litanies of such trials of corrupt people of all ethnicities and tribes going on everywhere in Nigeria, but it is only Igbo who defend their fellow tribesmen implicated in scandals.
Yet this was not always the case for Igbo. Indeed, Ala Igbo is noted as a land where our ancestors and forefathers abhorred evil and treated corruption with unambiguous disapproval from even pre-colonial times.
What is wrong with present-day Igbo? What we see today is not our tradition. It is not our culture. Let nobody rewrite our history, our culture, and our tradition of eziokwu bu ndu (truth is life).
We see this funny re-occurring decimal more in the South-East and South-South and it is becoming a national embarrassment. It must stop. I am told that stupidity is knowing the truth, seeing the truth but believing in lies. Igbo are a very hard-working, proud and successful tribe, but we need to come down from a 30,000-foot building to make sense to other Nigerians.
We need to stop this aberration that is demeaning and ridiculing Igbo in Nigeria today. We need to caution ourselves before we become objects of ridicule and butts of ribaldry of other Nigerians, as is dangerously becoming the fad in the country today.

Joe Igbokwe writes from Lagos.
 
Credit: Omojuwa.com

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Opinion: Governor Ayo Fayose Needs A Psychiatric Doctor |By : Joe Igbokwe

Anybody who sees Ayo Fayose, the so-called governor of Ekiti State should please beg him to see a psychiatric doctor before it is too late.
From the look of things now, I do not know if the man ever sleeps at all. From the look of things I can say authoritatively that he wakes up in the dead of the night to cry and curse the day General Buhari was born. I am sure he has fallen out with everybody; his siblings and members of his family included because of this Buhari factor.
After robbing former Governor Fayemi of Ekiti State, Fayose has been on top of the world celebrating his so-called victory until the bubble burst.
 When the results of the June 21 Ekiti guber elections was made public I remember I told anybody who cared to listen that APC must find out what went wrong before it happens in other APC States.
When the elections shifted to Osun State, APC knew that it had to stand up or PDP will get bolder and repeat the same onslaught. APC took the bull by the horns and the rest is now history.
Now almost seven months after, the sordid story of what took place in Ekiti began to emerge. It took the well-respected online publishing company, Sahara Reporters, to unravel what went wrong in Ekiti State.
Nigeria and the world was shown the audio recording of how Ayo Fayose, Musliu Obanikoro, Chris Ubah, Iyiola Omisore, Police Affairs Minister, Jelili Adesiyan, Brigadier General Momoh and many others conspired to rob former Governor Fayemi at gun point.
Ayo Fayose, Jelili, Obanikoro have since acknowledged their presence at the meeting but still denying the obvious and painful truth that they ordered the police and military personnel around and used them extensively to steal Ekiti State at gun point.
But the worst hit in this criminality and brigandage is the man Ayo Fayose. Never in the history of this country have we seen this type of abuse of the military in a civilian dispensation by a bloody civilian.
Ever since General Buhari emerged the candidate of APC and the events that have followed his emergence, Ayo Fayose has been a ghost of himself.
He fears Buhari more than anything under the sun. Even though Buhari is yet to win the Presidential elections slated for February 14 2015 and now shifted to March 28 2015, Ayo Fayose will not sleep.
He fears even his shadow and even a knock at the door by his siblings, his aides and neighbours. For Ayo Fayose, the fear of Buhari is now the beginning of wisdom. This is the reason he wants General Buhari dead by all means.
Fayose once bought the front pages of the Punch and Sun Newspapers not only to pass a death sentence on Buhari because the man is 72, he used the same medium to mock dead leaders from a section of the country.
Fayose nearly provoked an ethnic war in the country but the situation was managed by leaders across Nigeria who rose in their thousands to condemn Fayose without mincing words. But Fayose will not listen.
Soon Fayose started the campaigns that Buhari is sick. He has been trailing the APC Presidential candidate anywhere he goes.
He has been monitoring the man’s movement anywhere he goes. Buhari travelled to London and Fayose followed him to London claiming that GMB has gone for treatment.
Now can’t Buhari go for medical check-up like every other Nigerian of his status? Can’t Buhari go for treatment just like any other Nigerian of his caliber? What is wrong in anybody going for medical check-up or treatment? When has it become an offence for prominent leaders to go for check-up?
Today in all the papers and everywhere on the internet, the mentally retarded Fayose says, BUHARI CAN NEVER RULE NIGERIA. Now who is Ayo Fayose in Nigeria that will stop candidate Buhari?
Where is his capacity and capability to stop this movement? Who is behind this loose cannon? Who is beating the drum for this naked dancer? Of what meat is Ayo Fayose fed? I know that a million Ayo Fayoses cannot stop Buhari from being sworn in as president in May 29 2015.
I know Fayose is playing to the gallery. I know Fayose is being tormented by his past. Fayose has two murder cases hanging on his neck. Fayose has used thugs to attack a High Court Judge.
Fayose has abused the State Assembly in Ekiti State. Fayose has abused and frustrated the Speaker by using five members of the House to impeach him. Fayose has used five members to screen his Commissioners.
Fayose has passed the 2015 Budget with five members of the House of Assembly out of 26 members. Power has turned Fayose to something else that he no longer thinks.
Soon Fayose will be called to come and give an account of his open criminality and brigandage in Ekiti. Buhari will bring Fayose to judgment in the fullness of time. The world is now seeing why Jonathan must go for Nigeria to breathe fresh air.
Fayose knows that the moment General Buhari wins this election he has to run away from Nigeria. He knows that he is sitting on a stolen mandate. He knows that he needs nobody to advise him on what to do the moment it becomes obvious that Buhari is the next president of Nigeria. A thief runs when nobody is pursuing him.
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General Buhari Is Unstoppable Now | By: Joe Igbokwe

What happened in 1993 between Alhaji Bashir Tofa and the late Chief Moshood Abiola of the blessed memory is about repeating itself in Nigeria in Nigeria today. Before the June 12 1993 presidential elections, handlers of Alhaji Bashir Tofa knew that comparing Bashir Tofa and Chief Abiola is like Apples and Oranges comparison.
They knew that it is like comparing a giant with a dwarf. They knew that there is no basis for the comparison, and if it is a 100m dash Chief Abiola would have hit the tape while Tofa is at the starting point. The handlers led by Dr Doyin Okupe initiated a strategy to hit Chief Abiola from all corners and try to panel beat him to Tofa’s level. They failed miserably and woefully too. In the process of doing that they helped in no uncertain terms to catapult Chief Abiola to an unprecedented height. The rest is now history.
In 2015, the reckless, useless and fraudulent historians and hack writers are at work again. This time it is a battle between President Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari has contested presidential elections in 2003, 2007, 2011 and even though he did not make it, he gave a good account of himself.
Though he was cheated out, he got millions of votes. He remained consistent, committed and courageous even in the face of all the troubles he had to go through. President Jonathan became a deputy Governor and through luck he became Governor, Vice president and now President and he would have ruled Nigeria for six years by next year.
In 2015, Nigerians will take stock. Nigerians are looking back, they are looking at the present and as well as the future. In the past sixteen a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Nigerians have seen a lot. Devastated, pillaged and gang raped in all fronts, Nigerians are now thinking seriously. Shall we continue with this mess? Do we have an alternative? Can we do things differently? Is Nigeria a basket case? Are we helpless and hopeless? Are our destinies in our hands? Can we bring the change we all desire? Can we raise the bar of leadership in 2015? Can we recover our stolen country?
Many hard questions demanding hard answers. After the 2011 elections, General Buhari said he may not seek the highest office again. But the crisis of leadership in our country has pushed him to throw his hat into the ring again. He has been compelled by the forces of history to step forward again and this time it is a different ball game.
 General Buhari of yesteryears is no longer the same Buhari of today. Things have changed. Time has changed. The calculations, equations and permutations have changed. Nigerians want Buhari to come clean up the Augean Stable PDP led federal government is leaving behind. GMB is coming to change the way we think and the way we work.
But the enemies are at the door again. The thieves are at the door once again. They are with guns, bombs, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (IBM), Rocket Launchers (RL), Warships, Jet fighters, Bows and Arrows, AK-47s, etc to shoot him down. They tell us he is a Religious Bigot, an Islamic fundamentalist, a semi-illiterate person, too old and too weak to get things done. They are still manufacturing every bad thing under the sun and are heaping them at GMB’s doorsteps.
They are desperate, vicious, hopeless, helpless and potentially dangerous. They are doing everything humanly possible to stop and if possible to kill General Buhari. This is the reason why l want maximum security for General Buhari now.
These meretricious mediocrity can pull the house down to remain in power. They are ready to slaughter thousands to remain. They are ready to continue to divide the country to remain in power.
The corrupt people and criminals in the land will do everything humanly possible to stop Buhari. We have seen them at work. They know the consequences of General Buhari’s presidency. They know that he is a no nonsense man. They know he will fight criminals head on. They know he is going to remove feeding bottles from their mouths. They know he will do things differently. They know his puritanical disposition and they know he will stop at nothing to stop the mess in the land.
General Buhari may be a religious bigot, he may be a fundamentalist, he may be a dictator, he may be an old man and semi illiterate, he may be everything they claim he is but these congenital liars from the pit of hell will kiss the dust. They will swallow their words when the chips are down. They will go down with their pathological lies when it dawns on them that no 21st century idiot will stop an idea whose time has come.
They can call General Buhari names, they can call him anything but it will amount to nothing. Those who claimed they are PHD holders have disappointed us. Those who claimed they are not dictators have bruised and oppressed us. Those who claimed they are young brought shame and mediocrity to us. Leadership is not measured by height or age.
Mr Webster wrote Webster Dictionary at the age of 80. Buhari remains a candidate to beat in the 2015 presidential election and I pity these characters who will dare to stand on his way. I pity those who did not know when the train left the station. I sympathize with those who did not know when to call a spade a spade. I fear for those who did not know that an idea whose time has come is here. I worry that history is leaving some people behind in Nigeria. I fear that some compound idiots who have ruined Nigeria for years are yet to come to terms with GMB’s towering personality.
TIME WILL TELL
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Ekiti People Must Hear This | By: Joe Igbokwe

“How on earth, in the year of our Lord 2014 can anybody compare Kayode Fayemi, our incumbent Governor with Fayose, our former Governor who we are trying hard to forget that he ever ruled our state” – Professor Akin Osuntokun.

I have known Prof. Akin Osuntokun as an academic, scholar, writer, leader, teacher, historian, diplomat, elder statesman, and thinker for years now. At 80 plus, Professor Akin Osuntokun has paid his dues and done his best for Nigeria in various capacities. His numerous interventions in matters of leadership and politics in Nigeria will be too much for me to recount here. Infact, time and space will not permit to dig into this great man’s works in Nigeria but I know history will ever remain his witness.

His recent article on Ekiti State Governorship elections coming up on June 21, 2014, moved me to write this piece. The title, EKITI MUST NOT DIE ON THE DAY OF DESTINY pricked my conscience and compelled me to contribute to the debate even though I am not from Ekiti State but I know Dr Fayemi very well. Ekiti State is the land of knowledge, the home of professors, and the land of the gifted. The renowned Professor of history and international relations cried out as an elder because of the strange Political developments in Ekiti state at the moment.

He cried out because men without conscience, liars, motor park touts, scoundrels and common illiterates are planning to seize Ekiti State by telling lies a thousand times to make it sound real. He cried out because people who do not know are trying to sell fake drugs to the knowledgeable people of Ekiti State. The erudite professor is calling on Ekiti People to rise up to defend the integrity and honour of Ekiti State, the land of their birth, before they make the mistake of allowing Ayo Fayose to grab power again through whatever means. Hear the professor:

“If we are sensible people and I think we are, we should not be faced with this choice but the choice is clear. There is no meeting point between darkness and light, between peace and war, between serenity and confusion, between murder and life, between development and underdevelopment, between progress and backwardness and between education and illiteracy.”

It is only in Nigeria that illiteracy, mediocrity and madness is celebrated. But I can understand. Any celebrated idiot or vagabond in power is celebrated because there is a lot of money to spend and there will always be supporters to urge the person on. Yes since they are benefiting, then the man is always good, and God sent. But this stupidity must stop in Ekiti on June 21, 2014.

Ekiti people known for possessing common sense, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom and understanding must set the pace for the other States to follow. Ayo Fayose must be stopped in Ekiti State. Ekiti people must end his political career for the good of the commonwealth. Comparing Ayo Fayose with Dr Fayemi is like Apple and Orange comparison. It is like comparing a primary school boy with a competent university graduate.

If experience is the Yardstick to determine who the cap fits, Governor Fayemi is the one. If performance and service delivery are the criteria for consideration, Fayemi has performed and delivered services to Ekiti people in his last four years. If education is the parameter to judge, he is a Ph.D. in War studies, intelligence and strategy. If power of elocution and engagement are the criteria, he has got it.

If flamboyance, glamour, carriage, charisma are the rules of the game, he has got them sufficiently. If character, integrity, honour is to be considered, he has them in abundance. If trust is the parameter he has been tested and therefore he can be trusted. If local, national and international connections are the rules of the game, he has got them plenty. If careful and prudent management of both human and material resources are the criteria for endorsement, he holds the ace. If capacity for leadership is the benchmark of consideration, please give it to him.

In the days of the locusts I knew Kayode Fayemi but I knew not Ayo Fayose. Dr Fayemi anchored Radio Kudirat International, when the lives of his people were in danger but nobody knew about Fayose then. Dr Fayemi was one of the real men, who stood up to be counted when it mattered most but cowards like Fayose hide in the corners. I blame former President Obasanjo for rigging this violent man to an exalted position of a Governor meant for serious- minded people.

For almost three years he was in power, violence, murder, arson, thuggery, corruption, and political rascality took the centre stage. Ayo Fayose was impeached and disgraced out of office by the Ekiti State House of Assembly. As I write this Ayo Fayose has a murder case in courts to be saddled with. Young and dynamic University graduates trained abroad returned to help their state to grow but Fayose stopped them by ordering that they should be shot.

We have passed the age of political stupidity and rascality to the age of big ideas. We have moved away from brigandage and idiocy to the age of character and integrity. Dr Kayode Fayemi belongs to the Class of Nigeria’s upcoming leaders not more than ten in number, who hold the keys to the future.
Ekiti people must speak up wherever they are now before June 21, 2014 or a mistake would be made which will cost 4 or 8 years of no progress in Ekiti State.

Evil triumph in any society when good men do nothing. Wise men suffer the rules of idiots if they do not struggle for power. Bonafide citizens become Slaves, when idiots seize the centre stage. Politics is too important to be left to politicians alone. Allowing a compound illiterate like Ayo Fayose to return to Ekiti State is to reverse Fayemi’s Progress in the last four years. Allowing Fayose to return to power is like forcing Ekiti to drink poison. Let every Ekiti man go home to salvage their land from Ayo Fayose and his motley crowd.

Joe Igbokwe

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