Ignore preaching break-up of Nigeria, Buhari urges religious leaders

 ON MAY 9, 2016
 President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Katsina urged traditional rulers to spearhead the campaign for peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the diverse socio-political groups in the country. The president made the call when he visited the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabiru Usman, at his palace in Katsina, Katsina state. He said the call had become imperative in view of the activities of some groups who had been preaching hatred, disunity and divisive tendencies among Nigerians for their selfish motives. He, therefore, enjoined all Nigerians to always ignore those individuals and groups calling for the break-up of Nigeria. President Buhari, who narrated the role he played during the civil war in Nigeria, said over two million lives were lost during the war. The president, who expressed concern over the prevailing harsh economic realities across the country, called on the traditional rulers to assist in educating their subjects on the need to be patient and to always exercise restraints while commenting on state of the nation. He also called on community leaders across the country to introduce monthly or quarterly meeting in their respective communities to address issues concerning their welfare. According to him, such meeting will provide solutions to some challenges facing the people rather than awaiting government intervention to resolve such problems. President Buhari enjoined leaders to always be honest and straightforward while dealing with the people in order to ensure good upbringing of the younger ones in the society. On the current economic hardship being experienced in the country, the president attributed such hardship to dwindling oil revenue occasioned by the unstable global oil price. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to diversify their means of livelihood by engaging in agricultural activities to alleviate their sufferings. The president, who reiterated the determination of his administration to recover Nigeria’s stolen funds, reassured that the ongoing war against corruption was not selective but aimed at ensuring financial and economic discipline in the country. In his remarks, the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabiru Usman, called on the Federal Government to fulfill its promises of completing the dredging of River Niger as well as the Katsina state water and dam projects to boost irrigation farming in the state. The Emir also called for the federal government’s intervention in reviving teacher training colleges to uplift the quality of education in the country. He enjoined Nigerians, particularly the elite, to support and show more understanding to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration by offering special prayers for the success of the government. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has paid similar visit to the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar, where he reassured Nigerians that his administration would continue to promote programmes and policies that would ensure unity, stability and development of the country. According to him, the 2016 Budget of Change, just signed into law, represents a major step in delivering a new opportunity for Nigeria. He said despite the challenges, his administration has the will, resourcefulness and commitment to not only secure Nigeria and rebuild the economy but also deliver prosperity to the people. President Buhari, however, solicited the support of traditional rulers, religious leaders and well meaning Nigerians to mobilise the citizenry toward serving the interest of the country, at all times. In his remarks, the Emir commended the president for the steps so far taken by his administration to give a new vista of hope on the future of the country. Special prayers were offered for the nation and its leaders at the palaces of the two Emirs in Katsina and Daura. 

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/ignore-preaching-break-nigeria-buhari-urges-religious-leaders/

Buhari, Fayose, Ugwuanyi, and this horrid life

 On May 4, 201611:08

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” -Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

 “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

 VEXED voices have, in exasperation, been asking where Reverend Father Ejike Camillus Mbaka is. They are absolutely right who expect the priest to speak up. People should ask where Bola Tinubu is, the one who covets the feat of unknotting Pandora’s Box. People should be asking where many other previously vocal Nigerians are. People should conduct an investigation on the seemingly abrupt dryness of Niyi Osundare’s inkpot, for he has put an incongruous halt to his fondness for poetizing on national questions. All those experts on radio and television, all those incisive analysts on cyberspace and concourses – know you one thing! People have a right to ask what sneaked in and stole your voices. What crept in and rendered you incapable of standing up? What stealthily stymied your very humanity?

People also have another responsibility, which in fact is more fundamental than pointing accusingly at the supposed guilty. People should be asking themselves where they stand.

 People will, perhaps, temporarily desist from wondering whether Wole Soyinka had embarked on a journey out of the planet Earth. The Nobelist’s voice finally crashed against the wall of eviscerating injustice: “Impunity evolves and becomes integrated in conduct when crime occurs and no legal, logical and moral response is offered. I have yet to hear this government articulate a firm policy of non-tolerance for the serial massacres have become the nation’s identification stamp. “I have not heard an order given that any cattle herders caught with sophisticated firearms be instantly disarmed, arrested, placed on trial, and his cattle confiscated. The nation is treated to an eighteen-month optimistic plan which, to make matters worse, smacks of abject appeasement and encouragement of violence on innocents. “Let me repeat, and of course I only ask to be corrected if wrong: I have yet to encounter a terse, rigorous, soldierly and uncompromising language from this leadership, one that threatens a response to this unconscionable blood-letting that would make even Boko Haram repudiate its founding clerics.”

 Fantastic! Except that Soyinka’s reaction is like that of a fowl on virgin territory that stands tentatively on one leg. For the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen, he faulted “this leadership”. Well, “this leadership” has at its head someone with a name. Why is the man’s name unmentionable? On Soyinka, there will be much more to say as the unfolding scalping encompasses the variegated swathes of the entity. For now, it requires to explore and expand his observation.

The Government of Enugu State received intelligence on the impending carnage by Fulani herdsmen. Dutifully, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi summoned a 10pm State Security Council meeting attended by the following on the state government’s side: Ugwuanyi, the Deputy Governor, the Secretary to the State Government, the Governors’ Chief of Staff, the State Attorney-General, and the Chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council. President Buhari’s government was represented by the following: Brigadier General Olufemi Akinjobi, the Commander of the Enugu Garrison (representing the GOC 82 Division of the Nigerian Army); the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nwodibo Ekechukwu; the Enugu State Director of the Department State Security Services (DSS), Mr. M. Abdul Malik; the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Lar Stephen; and the representatives of the Nigerian Air Force, the Federal Road Safety Corps and the Nigerian Prison Services, who attended as observers.

Yet, the carnage took place, costing anything between 60 and a hundred precious lives; leading to widespread destruction. Would this have happened if the threat had been on Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown of Daura?

 The attitude of three politicians in this dispensation – Buhari, Fayose and Ugwuanyi – best illustrates contemporary Nigerian antinomies. About Buhari, his inertia and nonchalance hardly surprise. Hadn’t he told the world that his stance on governance was preferentially tied to the quantum of votes he amassed from different constituencies during last year’s presidential ballot?

 On Governor Fayose, there is clear evidence of leading from the front. He has not, since his election, shied away from meeting the aspirations of his people upfront, doing so fearlessly, clearly conscious of the fact that he owes his gubernatorial mandate to the good people of Ekiti, not some potentate in Abuja. But, what has been happening to Fayose? His own people mostly – not those who elected him, mind – but his own people, nonetheless, have been vociferous in damning and condemning him at every juncture, to sustain an untenable patchwork coalition of Masters and Slaves. Some have hung a label of Afonjaism on the perversity.

And then, there is Ugwuanyi. This man looks and sounds pathetic. This was how he started his statewide broadcast: “Four days ago on Monday April 25, 2016 many of our brothers and sisters in Nimbo in Uzo Uwani Local Government Area of the state were murdered in cold blood by suspected Fulani herdsmen…” Four whole days passed before this man deemed it necessary to address his massacred and traumatised people. What was he doing in the interim, apart from leaving his handkerchiefs sopping wet with tears? He found time to be “very grateful to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, for his prompt and decisive reaction to the incident in Nimbo.” Someone certainly is trapped in cloud cuckoo land. The President hadn’t visited the scene of the massacres. He hadn’t sent a condolence message. He hadn’t ordered an investigation. When he met with Ugwuanyi, it was at the Governor’s instance. Still Buhari got effusively appreciated for his “prompt and decisive reaction”. This beggars belief. This provocative condescension was voiced in a broadcast that had the following only paragraphs away: “In less than three months, violent clashes have occurred in Enugu State in Awgu, Nike, Abbi and Nimbo between suspected Fulani Herdsmen and our people,” with absolutely no reaction from Abuja.

The genocide of 1966 happened before me. Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the then Governor of Eastern Nigeria, did not respond to that anti-Igbo pogrom by grinning ear-to-ear before the murderers of his people; he didn’t go about salaaming them. It is inconceivable that Governor Fayose, were he in Ugwuanyi’s shoes, would have allowed a single night to pass before taking exception, before acting like a man with his people’s mandate. That recommends itself as the stuff of commonsense. The bloody trail of mass murders by Fulani Herdsmen is unfolding in front of all our eyes. Think of the quotes from Archbishop Tutu and Martin Luther King Jr. above. Think of the dictate of conscience. Think of the sacredness of life. Think of the impunity of these mass murderers. Consider that “Impunity evolves and becomes integrated in conduct when crime occurs and no legal, logical and moral response is offered.” Then ask yourself this question: Am I sitting on the fence, deadening my senses in silences?

Mr. Chuks Iloegbunam, an author wrote from Lagos.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/buhari-fayose-ugw

WAKE-UP

WAKE -UP  & THINK !!!!

Fulani herdsmen removed hearts, fingers of victims – Enugu community

By Emmanuel Uzodinma on May 2, 2016

The last is yet to be heard about the attack on Nimbo community, of Enugu State by Fulani herdsmen. This is as the residents made a shocking revelation during the visit of the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.
One of the natives told DAILY POST that the marauders did not stop at killing the defenceless residents, but left with either their hearts or their fingers.

“What we witnessed here is the most gruesome thing I have seen in my life; I’m over 60 years old but I have never seen this kind of thing.
“These are not human beings as far as I’m concerned; do you know that they left with the heart of some of their victims? They cut their bodies open from the back after killing them and removed their hearts.
“We also noticed that for some other casualties, its either they left with their fingers of their jaws”, he said in tears.
He equally lamented that “even the survivors equally lost one part of the body or the other; some of them are at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, battling to see if miraculous healing could come their way.”

Meanwhile, the South-East Governors are set to visit Nimbo for an on-the-spot assessment of the carnage wrecked by the herdsmen.
This is as the South-East Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rose from their closed door meeting with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu in Enugu State on Sunday with a resolve to visit the troubled community, where scores of persons were gruesomely murdered last Monday.
The governors include, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.
Brieting newsmen at the end of their meeting, Ekweremadu said the governors would get their colleague governors from Anambra, Chief Willy Obiano and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State to join them in the proposed visit to the community within the week.
He said the visit was aimed at taking stock of the carnage in the area, with a view to taking a definite position as leaders of the South-East zone.
He explained that all the five governors would have been part of the meeting, noting that the impromptu nature of the gathering made it impossible for them to reach out to the governors of Anambra and Imo States.
They, however, condemned in strong terms the massacre of innocent, hapless and defenceless people of Ukpabi Nimbo community and asked that efforts should be made to arrest the security problem before it got out of hand.

Herdsmen attack: Civil society groups stage protest in Enugu

By Emmanuel Uzodinma on May 3, 2016

No fewer than 13 civil society groups stormed Enugu State on Tuesday protesting the killing several indigenes of Nimbo community in Enugu State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Speaking while addressing them at the Government House, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State announced that internally displaced camp (IDP) would be set up at Ukpabi-Nimbo very shortly to cater for those who abandoned their homes at the wake of the invasion.
Addressing the protesters, Governor Ugwuanyi narrated how every effort he made to forestall the herdsmen attack were frustrated by security agents.

He consoled the women and people of Nimbo and appealed to those who ran away for dear lives to return as government was about to set up IDP camp for them.

He also announced that the government and all the Bishops in the state would be holding prayers at Nimbo on Thursday to pray for God’s intervention and return of peace.
Governor Ugwuanyi expressed gratitude to God that Ukpabi-Nimbo killings were attracting the attention of the entire country and the world at large, saying that it means there will be concerted effort to find solution to the menace.
Earlier in a statement jointly signed by the groups which they handed over to the governor, the spokesperson, Mrs. Joy Onyeso said the 13 NGOs decided on the protest after their meeting in Enugu.
“We strongly condemn the killings, rape, abductions and maiming of our people in vilnerable communities in recent past, especially the killings on April 25th at Nimbo Community of Uzo-Uwani LGA that claimed several lives.

“We strongly condemn security agencies who despite early signs failed the law abiding citizens they were supposed to protect”.
The groups include Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Nigeria (WILPF), Forum for Promotion of National Ethos and Values (FPNEV), Women Aid Collective Enugu (WACOL) and J. C. Ibekaku Hope Project (JCIHP).
Others are: Women in Peace building network (WINET), Federation of Muslim Women Association Nigeria (FOMWAN), Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), FIDA, NAWOJ and CWO.

Massive protest in Enugu over Fulani herdsmen attack Nomso Obiajuru 5 hours ago 93989 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send email – Residents of Enugu take to the streets to protest killings of villagers in Ukpabi Nimbo – The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu Reactions have continued to trail the killing of scores of Enugu locals by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ukpabi Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani local government. The attack, which left scores dead, properties worth millions of naira destroyed, hundreds displaced and many others battling for survival at various hospitals, has remained point of national discourse. Following the killings, residents of Enugu state took to the streets today, May 3, to stage a massive protest, Daily Post reports. It was gathered that a group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Enugu state, moved to the streets, demanding an end to the killings. READ ALSO: Photos of Enugu locals after herdsmen attack will make you sad The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu. Dr. McGinger Ibeneme, the spokesman of the group, decried the incessant destruction of farmlands, killings, rape and kidnapping of people of the Southeast geopolitical zone by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Ibeneme said: “The crux of the matter is that every day people go to their sleep and Fulani cattle herdsmen will come and slaughter them. “Just few days ago, over 200 people were massacred in their village in Uzo-Uwani. Nobody has said their crime, there has never been any arrest; if a

Read more: https://www.naij.com/818284-fulani-herdsmen-attack-something-big-happening-enugu.htmlMassive protest in Enugu over Fulani herdsmen attack Nomso Obiajuru 5 hours ago 93989 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send email – Residents of Enugu take to the streets to protest killings of villagers in Ukpabi Nimbo – The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu Reactions have continued to trail the killing of scores of Enugu locals by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ukpabi Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani local government. The attack, which left scores dead, properties worth millions of naira destroyed, hundreds displaced and many others battling for survival at various hospitals, has remained point of national discourse. Following the killings, residents of Enugu state took to the streets today, May 3, to stage a massive protest, Daily Post reports. It was gathered that a group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Enugu state, moved to the streets, demanding an end to the killings. READ ALSO: Photos of Enugu locals after herdsmen attack will make you sad The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu. Dr. McGinger Ibeneme, the spokesman of the group, decried the incessant destruction of farmlands, killings, rape and kidnapping of people of the Southeast geopolitical zone by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Ibeneme said: “The crux of the matter is that every day people go to their sleep and Fulani cattle herdsmen will come and slaughter them. “Just few days ago, over 200 people were massacred in their village in Uzo-Uwani. Nobody has said their crime, there has never been any arrest; if anything, the Agwu indigenes were arrested for chasing away the invaders. They had to bail themselves. Their women were raped, men being abducted. “We have heard about a Catholic priest being abducted, we have heard about churches being burnt, we have heard about women being raped. Every single day, day-by-day lives are lost. The federal government has refused to say anything; the presidency has been quiet over the Fulani. Are cows worth more than our lives? Why are they killing us, is it a crime to be a Nigerian? We just want answers. When will the killings stop? Why hasn’t the president sent the army, why hasn’t the president deployed the intelligence? “They call them hoodlums, who are the hoodlums? Do the hoodlums have an army, that they invade a village and kill in hundreds? Were the Nigerian police asleep? Has there been any arrests? “My appeal to the people is to open their eyes, to be alert, to be vigilant, to protect themselves against the invaders as the government can no longer protect us. It’s only a tree that will hear that it will die and it stays put. We are human beings; we have to shout for the whole world to hear us. “The genocide is going on. There is a systematic killing of our people. After the massacre the government will now send the police to come and calm us down so that there will not be reprisals. We are dying in our numbers.” READ ALSO: Photos: Police lament poor treatment in Enugu community On Monday, April 25, scores of Enugu locals, mostly farmers, lost their lives as Fulani herdsmen wreaked havoc in Ukpabi Nimbo community. According to villagers, they were abandoned even after they alerted security agencies on the plan to attack them. However, the police denied this claim, saying they didn’t get intelligent reports and accurate facts from the villagers.

Read more: https://www.naij.com/818284-fulani-herdsmen-attack-something-big-happening-enugu.htmlMassive protest in Enugu over Fulani herdsmen attack Nomso Obiajuru 5 hours ago 93989 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Send email – Residents of Enugu take to the streets to protest killings of villagers in Ukpabi Nimbo – The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu Reactions have continued to trail the killing of scores of Enugu locals by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ukpabi Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani local government. The attack, which left scores dead, properties worth millions of naira destroyed, hundreds displaced and many others battling for survival at various hospitals, has remained point of national discourse. Following the killings, residents of Enugu state took to the streets today, May 3, to stage a massive protest, Daily Post reports. It was gathered that a group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Enugu state, moved to the streets, demanding an end to the killings. READ ALSO: Photos of Enugu locals after herdsmen attack will make you sad The protesters, marched from New Market through Okpara Avenue, Holy Ghost Park, Edinburgh Street, to the state House of Assembly and ended at the government House Enugu. Dr. McGinger Ibeneme, the spokesman of the group, decried the incessant destruction of farmlands, killings, rape and kidnapping of people of the Southeast geopolitical zone by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Ibeneme said: “The crux of the matter is that every day people go to their sleep and Fulani cattle herdsmen will come and slaughter them. “Just few days ago, over 200 people were massacred in their village in Uzo-Uwani. Nobody has said their crime, there has never been any arrest; if anything, the Agwu indigenes were arrested for chasing away the invaders. They had to bail themselves. Their women were raped, men being abducted. “We have heard about a Catholic priest being abducted, we have heard about churches being burnt, we have heard about women being raped. Every single day, day-by-day lives are lost. The federal government has refused to say anything; the presidency has been quiet over the Fulani. Are cows worth more than our lives? Why are they killing us, is it a crime to be a Nigerian? We just want answers. When will the killings stop? Why hasn’t the president sent the army, why hasn’t the president deployed the intelligence? “They call them hoodlums, who are the hoodlums? Do the hoodlums have an army, that they invade a village and kill in hundreds? Were the Nigerian police asleep? Has there been any arrests? “My appeal to the people is to open their eyes, to be alert, to be vigilant, to protect themselves against the invaders as the government can no longer protect us. It’s only a tree that will hear that it will die and it stays put. We are human beings; we have to shout for the whole world to hear us. “The genocide is going on. There is a systematic killing of our people. After the massacre the government will now send the police to come and calm us down so that there will not be reprisals. We are dying in our numbers.” READ ALSO: Photos: Police lament poor treatment in Enugu community On Monday, April 25, scores of Enugu locals, mostly farmers, lost their lives as Fulani herdsmen wreaked havoc in Ukpabi Nimbo community. According to villagers, they were abandoned even after they alerted security agencies on the plan to attack them. However, the police denied this claim, saying they didn’t get intelligent reports and accurate facts from the villagers.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/818284-fulani-herdsmen-attack-something-big-happening-enugu.html

OHANAEZE NDI IGBO WORLDWIDE SANCTIONS FULANI HERDSMEN.

May 2, 2016 By Duruebube

(34-POSITIONS & PRESENTATION OF CONCERNED IMEOBI MEMBERS)
RE: UNPROVOKED MASSACRE OF OUR PEOPLE AT NIMBO, UZOUWANI LGA, ENUGU STATE BY FULANI HERDSMEN , ON MONDAY, THE 25TH DAY OF APRIL, 2016,. 
OUR 34 POSITIONS:

1. We have viewed with grave concern, the reckless and callous attitude of the Fulani herdsmen, who had the effrontery to bring down their violence to our peaceful south-eastern states of Nigeria, by recently attacking our defenseless kiths and kin at Nimbo Community, Uzouwani, LGA, Enugu State, MASSACRED AND DISMEMBERED a lot of them, without any respect or value for human life.
2. These itinerant herdsmen have indeed drawn a line on the sand, and their actions and audacity will no longer be discountenanced. We must take steps to reduce the chances of re-occurrence of this kind of evil, again.
3. Surely, we will not do anything illegitimate to express our displeasure in the killings of our people in our own land, by these itinerant Fulani herdsmen.
4. Our people were killed for Cows; and Cows we shall detest!
5. We must express our disgust, in the modus operandi of the Security apparatus of this country. Security of lives and properties, have long been thrown into the winds, and people are dying like flies that encountered pesticide, and properties are being lost on daily basis from insecurity. Each time there is a heinous crime in this country, the security hierarchy will tell us that they will investigate and get to the root of the matter, and will bring the perpetrators to book, BUT no feedback of such investigations are ever heard again ad infinitum, examples abound. Till now we are still waiting to get report or feedback about the mystery multitude of corpses deposited at Ezu River, Amansea, Ugwuoba Enugu State few years ago.
6. Our confidence greatly dwindles, as we believe, from experience, that the circumstances surrounding this current MASSACRE of our people at Nimbo Uzouwani; has, from the date of the incident, commenced its journey to being swept under the carpet. The Security network of the country should be accountable, up and doing, so as to restore our confidence.
7. No reasonable person should try to politicize this issue of this ‘Nimbo Massacre’, by trying to make caricature of identity of the perpetrators of this heinous crime, which is well known to our people, to be the Fulani herdsmen.
8. The pains of the killings of our brothers and sisters at Nimbo, in this millennium, in the manner the herdsmen did it recently, will NEVER go, unless strategic sanctions follow. We can NEVER mourn our brothers with continuous patronage to the blood-suckers, and vandals who brazenly trespass our backyards and farmlands in the name of feeding their cows. They feed their cows with our farm produce, impoverishing our people with failed agricultural yields; and finally they sell their Cows to us, and also sell their Farm produce, from their own undisturbed farmlands to us. Yet, no appreciation whatsoever is accorded to our cooperation, rather they killed and massacred our people (their major customers).
9. We are not at war with the herdsmen, yet they treated us like this in our own country, and in our own land! 10. The intensity, frequency and ferocity of clashes between herdsmen and rural farmers especially in the North-Central and Southern Nigeria constitute a clear and present danger to our national cohesion. The number of deaths, burnt houses, rapes, and murder of citizenry are too gruesome to be acceptable to any government.
11. The present situation and development of killings of our people at Nimbo, is unacceptable, and an affront to the peaceful communities trying to irk out a living from subsistence farming in their own home.
12. Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo also maintains that cattle rearing is a private business like every other business. It is therefore an absurdity, an infringement and abuse of citizens’ right for any legislator or Federal Government to think of acquiring other peoples’ land, for other peoples’ business, as suggested by the Grazing Reserve Bill 2016 being discussed by the National Assembly. We therefore totally dissociate ourselves from that. Such idea is unjust, unconstitutional, discriminatory and unfair.
13. It also baffles us that the herdsmen are allowed to bear prohibited sophisticated firearms, and are NEVER arrested, while for other Nigerians it is against the law. Suffice it to say that justice demand that everybody should be given equal privilege in that regards; or they should be checked and disarmed as a matter of urgency, and publicly prosecuted accordingly. Concerned Imeobi Members of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, Worldwide therefore maintains as follows:

14. It is high-time our people are encouraged to defend themselves, “first”, before placing reliance on any other person; and should articulate themselves to wade-off any invader in future.
15. Our people should learn and imbibe the culture of being ready to defend themselves legitimately at all times, and at all levels; at least to offer reasonable defence, in event of any impromptu attack, as we the Igbos are vulnerable and are grossly endangered.
16. That the National Executive Council of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo MUST set up as a matter of urgency, a ‘Security & Strategic endurance Committee’, and a ‘Central coordinating Security sub-Committee on Town Unions, Vigilante groups and Neighborhood watchers’.
17. That we cannot mourn our kiths and kin, and the hostility against us in our own land by the continuous patronage of our assailants; hence ALL FAMILIES IN IGBO LAND SHOULD DE-LIST BEEF FROM THEIR MENU. There should be an outright indefinite suspension on the consumption of cow meat by any Igboman in Nigeria, even Cow SUYA. This should be one of the ways, we can mourn and remember our people that were massacred because of ‘common Fulani Cows’. In alternative, our people can go for the consumption of Igbo Specie of Cows, Goat, sheep, fowls etc.
18. There SHALL be no more use of Fulani Cows for any Ceremony like Burials, Funerals, Weddings, Marriages, Thanksgivings, Celebrations etc, in Igbo land.
19. Our youths should start as a matter of urgency to commence breeding ‘Igbo Cows’ for it to be used in place of Fulani cows in our ceremonies etc. Our Philanthropist should fund this project for the youths in their various domains.
20. Honour and respect should be accorded more to any man or family who uses ‘Igbo cows’ for his ceremonies, as he or she is the true mourner, of our dead brothers at Nimbo Uzouwani; and also the person with the best interest of Ndi Igbo at heart.
21. That our people who deal on these Fulani Cows should as true mourners of our dead brothers and sister, takes the needed steps to diversify their trade and de-emphasis Fulani Cow meat.
22. Our people who are hoteliers, should quietly de-list beef from their menu (Except if it is Igbo Specie of Cow), in our collective interest.
23. Ohanaeze Ndi igbo will need the cooperation of every Igbo family on the face of earth to achieve our goal; of eradicating blood thirsty vagabonds around us, who have no value for human life; especially by complying with the above stipulations.
24. Town Unions, Village and kindred formations, Neighborhood Watch groups and Vigilante groups are to discreetly sanction and surcharge anyone of us who purchases or slaughters Fulani cow in his domain for any ceremony within the South- East. Such persons should be considered Saboteurs of our collective interest as Ndi Igbo, should be handled as a Traitor , by their own kinsmen, according to their individual local traditions and culture. Any sanction should be done without infringing on any dissident’s right, but in line with the tradition and customs of the concerned locality.
25. He, who kills his customers, will no longer expect patronage; as he has killed his market! The Fulani herdsmen have overstepped their bounds in the South Eastern Nigeria, and they have killed their market with us; hence should find elsewhere.
26. All Igbo formations anywhere in the World, should rise up to condemn this attack on our peaceful home, and demand arrest and public prosecution of the perpetrators of this heinous crime against us. No Igboman or Woman, or group should shut up; Voice out!, Killings are taboo and abomination in our own land! It will NEVER be treated with kid glove!

27. That this massacre, is the first major massacre against the Igbo man in his own land since after the civil war ended in 1970. Hence 25th April, 2016 should be remembered by our people, as a mark of further aggression on our peaceful domain.
28. A day will be set aside for the mourning of our lost kith and kin who were slaughtered and massacred by the Fulani herds men, in our own land. On such day, all markets, shops, and private trades and corporate offices of any Igboman will shut down in solidarity. Professional groups like NBA in the South East, will be expected to join in solidarity, except those on essential services like NMA. And no Igbo man (except civil Servants) will visit any government office (except Hospitals) in Nigeria for any transaction, on the said date.
29. The State Houses of Assembly in all South Eastern states should as a matter of urgency pass a bill that will forbid any one from parading cattle across our farmlands, without being restrained, and without obtaining state issued license, and Local Government permits.
30. That the Fulani herdsmen should as a matter of urgency vacate our backyards and farmlands as their security is no longer guaranteed, because of their crime against us, and because of the prevailing distrust. Every person, village and groups should join hands and legitimately treat them like trespassers. They are violent trespassers, which ought not to be condoned; and they are also nuisance that ought to be abated.
31. Communities, businessmen and well meaning Igbo philanthropists should help equip and motivate the vigilante groups and neighborhood watches, in the South East.
32. We warn our people against any unwholesome attitude, of betraying our collective interest, especially those who might be gullible to the extent of receiving gratifications and conniving with the Fulani herdsmen for economic gains, to perpetually seed out the land of their people. Serious complaints have so far been received about the President General and Traditional Ruler of Igboariam in Anambra East LGA, Anambra State; and we expect them to watch their steps.
33. We know that some insensitive Igbo People, will try to make caricature of these sanctions, and flout it; but do not join them, for they shall, at the fullness of time, return to folk like the prodigal son.
34. Let Ndi Igbo start with the above position, and see to which extent it can carry us. Enough is Enough! God bless Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo! God bless the Igbo man !

– Presented by Concerned IMEOBI Members, of Ohanaeze Ndi igbo, Worldwide; during IMEOBI meeting of 1st May, 2016, held at National Ohanaeze Secretariate, No. 7 Park Avenue, GRA, Enugu

from....https://oblongmedia.net/2016/05/02/ohanaeze-ndi-igbo-sanctions-fulani-herdsmen-ohanaeze-ndi-igbo-worldwide/

44years after, Igbo demand N2.6trn reparation over civil war

44years after, Igbo demand N2.6trn reparation 

over civil war

on July 15, 2014  

BY HENRY UMORU, LEVINUS NWABUGHIOGU & JOSEPH ERUNKE

FORTY- Four years after, the Civil War ,  Igbo delegates asked for N2. 6 trillion as reparation and compensation for the devastation Igbo land experienced during the 1967 to 1970 war.

In an amendment to the proposed National Intervention Fund, the South East delegates said the former Eastern region and part of the former Mid-West region which are now in South-East and South-South zones were centres of war, with high level of devastation that brought untold hardship to their citizens.

In a document titled: “Atrocities and Injustices against Ndigbo: Ohaneze demand for Reparation” which was circulated with the amendment to the proposed National Intervention Fund, the delegates said it was incalculable to put a price on the death of millions of Igbo who were killed in the civil war and other occasions.

They said: “The case of the South-East, which bore the full brunt of the civil war for 30 months, is particularly tragic. Most of it remained a wasteland, despite General (Yakubu) Gowon’s declaration of the three ‘Rs’, Reconstruction, Rahabilitation and Reconciliation.

“The federal government should pay N400 billion each to the five states of the South East as compensation to those who lost loved ones and properties and those still suffering dislocation today in Nigeria. The same amount should also be paid to the government of Delta State for the benefit of Anioma area of the state.”

The motion was sponsored by former Minister of Foreign Affairs and a delegate on the platform of Elder Statesmen, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, and 14 others. The Igbo stressed that the demand became imperative following the “atrocities and injustices committed against Ndigbo in Nigeria over a long period.

They argued:  “All fair minded citizens of this country are wont to agree that the former Eastern Region and part of former Mid West Region, which encompass the present day South- East and South- South zones of Nigeria were theatres of the civil war which devastated the two regions and brought untold hardships to their citizens.
The case of the South-East, which bore the full brunt of the civil war for thirty months, is particularly tragic. Most of it has remained a wasteland, despite General Gowon’s declaration of the three “R”, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation.

Issue of reparation
“Boko  Haram insurgency in parts of the country, and especially in the North East Zone, has brought up the issue of reparation and reconstruction in whatever guise, to the fore and the National Conference through its Committee on Devolution of Power has tackled it headlong.

Since what is good for the goose is good for the gander, the Conference cannot afford to ignore the yearnings of our people to rehabilitate and reconstruct the war divested South-South and South-East zones through the proposed National Intervention Fund or through any other integrated platform or plan available to the Federal Government.

“Several panels set up by the Federal Government including the Oputa Panel, had approved reparation for war damages, but till date, this has not been addressed.”

In their prayers they said, “that Since the proposed National Intervention Fund is to address the vexed issues of devastation and upheavals caused by an act of war or by outright war itself, that the South East and the South-South zones be adequately taken care of by the fund in terms of the physical infrastructure, rehabilitation, development and other losses resulting from the civil war. That the Federal Government sets up a body to work out agreed reparation to settle the civil war issue once and for all.

The Igbo who lamented that several panels set up by the federal government, including the Oputa Panel, had approved reparation for war damages but till date this has not been addressed.

In their prayers the South East delegates demanded that “Since the proposed National Intervention Fund is to address the vexed issues of devastation and upheavals caused by an act of war or by outright war itself, that the South-East and South-South be adequately taken care of by the fund in terms of the physical infrastructure, rehabilitation, development and other losses resulting from the civil war.”

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