‘Hate Speech’ And The Coming Hangman!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

When governments betray enduring inability to solve some of the very basic needs of their people in order to end (or at least reduce) their pains and suffering, and if also the democratic character of the heads of such regimes have begun to badly wither, their impatience and irritation for dissenting views will start growing with incredible speed as they see that in the eyes and hearts of the citizenry, their esteem and appreciation are badly plummeting.

At such times, their desperation to gag the people will become so palpable. It might even degenerate to a stage when merely speaking about your pain and suffering could be viewed as “Hate Speech” – depending on who is interpreting your complaint. After all, by talking about the hardship in the land due to failed, misconceived policies, the collapse of infrastructure and lack of basic amenities, you are portraying the government as a failure; that could qualify as “Hate Speech,” and you could go in for it. So, to stay out of trouble, you just have to act a “good citizen” by keeping quiet and suffering in silence. You may never know, the hangman might be a yelling distance away! History is replete with examples!

Dele Giwa: Lingering Echoes Of A Murder

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

 “Death is…the absence of presence…the endless time of never coming back…a gap you can’t see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound”.    – Tom Stopard, German playwright. 

*Giwa 

 

In the morning of Monday, October 20, 1986, I was preparing to go to work when a major item on the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) 6.30 news bulletin hit me like a hard object. Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, had the previous day been killed and shattered by a letter bomb in his Lagos home. My scream was so loud that my neighbour barged into my room to inquire what it was that could have made me to let out such an ear-splitting bellow. 

We were three young men who had a couple of months earlier been posted from Enugu to Abakaliki to work in the old Anambra State public service, and we had hired a flat in a newly erected two-storey building at the end of Water Works Road, which we shared. My flat-mate, clearly, was not familiar with Giwa’s name and work, and so had wondered why his death could elicit such a reaction from me. But later that day, as he interacted with people, he realised that Giwa’s death was such big news, and by the next couple of days, he had become an expert on Giwa and his truncated life and career. Across the country, Giwa’s brutal death dominated the news not just because of the pride of place he occupied in Nigerian journalism practice and but more because of the totally novel way his killers had chosen to end his life.

President Buhari, Bring Leah Sharibu Home!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

As President Muhammadu Buhari, the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, spends his two weeks “private visit” in the United Kingdom surrounded by all the luxury, comfort and care our oil money can afford, with his own family members safe and well-provided for anywhere they chose to be in the world despite the unspeakable hardship tormenting the Nigerian masses at home due to his failed leadership, a 16-year old, tender, innocent girl called Leah Sharibu is at the moment a hapless, pathetic and traumatised captive of Boko Haram terrorists, obviously, under the most dehumanising conditions.

*Leah Sharibu 

Given what has, reportedly, been the horrible experiences of young, beautiful girls like Leah who have been very unfortunate to be captured by these terrorists, one is really scared to imagine what she might have been subjected to for over a year now. Most painful is that she hardly gets mentioned again these days by those whose job it is to rescue and bring her home!

Is Nigeria Working?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

If Nigeria is working, we will know! Those were the exact words of late Prof Chinua Achebe, Africa’s foremost novelist and distinguished intellectual. In other words, the citizens do not need any bogus claims by government’s megaphones to realise that there is an improvement in their country’s economy because it will automatically translate to an enhancement in their lives.

*President receiving a get-well card 

And as they enter the markets to procure their basic needs or engage service providers for some of those services they just cannot do without, they would certainly have direct encounters with the “improvements” their country is alleged to have witnessed.

But sadly, what they are still seeing everywhere are benumbing evidences of further deterioration and the attendant pains – a direct result of very poor management of their country.

That Unprofitable Ministerial Screening In Nigeria!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Working as a political appointee in Nigeria is, perhaps, merely an exercise in extreme perfunctoriness. I doubt if those who accept these offices, those who offer them and those who “screen” and confirm the appointees, are driven by any vision at all, any objective to achieve for the progress of the country.

What is very clear is that whereas work for these officers is largely undertaken desultorily (with little or no intention to achieve any significant outcome), what appears to drive most of them is the opportunity to arrange or negotiate what might enter their private pockets from the public purse. It is at the point when there are funds to loot that one would be startled to discover that the Nigerian public office holder is, indeed, capable of being very zealous, thorough and focused, that he can conscientiously pursue a set goal and achieve it with amazing aplomb and precision.

E-Campus Television Is Now Known In Several Institutions Within And Outside Nigeria – Emmanuel Aloysius

In 2013, Mr. Emmanuel Aloysius, a graduate of Mathematics and young entrepreneur, founded E-Campus Television where he now serves as the CEO. In this interview with Nigerian journalist and writer, Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, he shares the story of the organization and where he hopes to see it in the next few years…

Excerpts:

*Emmanuel Aloysius 

Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye's Peep Into Nigeria's Looting Culture

By DAN AMOR

Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye is not only a quintessential Nigerian writer and journalist, he is, undoubtedly, one of the most formidable literary and social critics in the country today. Ejinkeonye, whose birthday is today (May 27), is not only a wordsmith of note whose diction, and images capture the experiences and nebulous fancies of the Nigerian condition, he is also one of Africa's most celebrated newspaper columnists and public affairs analysts.

Now Available on AMAZON

Imo: Will Emeka Ihedioha Be Different?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Since Mr. Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged the winner of the governorship election held recently in Imo State, all sorts of people who are able to get themselves interviewed by reporters have been filling our ears with rambling tales about how a new “messiah” had emerged to liberate Imo people from the hands of their “oppressors” and “exploiters” and usher them into a glorious era of limitless happiness.

Emeka Ihedioha 

As a citizen of Imo State who has closely observed several governors enter and leave the Imo Government House, I find the whole absurd drama so revolting.

If only Mr. Ihedioha would spare some moments and reflect, he would realize that there is nothing new about the drab performance that these characters are staging today; nor is it peculiar to Imo State.

Nigeria: Who Hates The President?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

In the buildup to the 2015 elections, the wild, uproarious promotion of General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the man with the panacea for   Nigeria’s myriad of problems wasted no time in saturating the air.

*Buhari 

 This was, however, sloppily packaged with a strange, aggressive refusal to give the slightest consideration for any voice of caution, any alternative opinion no matter how sound and redemptive. You either joined the rowdy herd or you are a “hater” of the “messiah.”

Yes, Atiku Should Go To Court

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

The decision of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to wage a legal challenge against the proclamation of President Muhammadu Buhari the winner of the February 23, 2019 presidential election has not received the encouragement of a few informed minds in the country.

*Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar

One respected voice, for instance, thinks that Atiku should instead join hands with other well-meaning Nigerians, the civil society and like-minded politicians to help to properly set up and strengthen democratic structures capable of hamstringing the repeat in future elections of the large-scale malpractices that allegedly marred the last elections – an issue that constitutes the main plank of Atiku’s suit.

Calm Down Nigerians, It’s Only Four Years!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

Early on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, by 4.40 am and four days after the presidential election held in Nigeria on Saturday, February 23, the Chairman of the ‘Independent’ National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, announced that Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been reelected Nigeria’s president. What this means is that, if the legal challenge being undertaken by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, comes out unfruitful, the next four years will see Gen Buhari piloting the affairs this country. 

*President Buhari 

President Buhari has already warned Nigerians to expect four years of excruciating hardship. He, reportedly, called it “tough times” which he said would be far worse than what Nigerians experienced in his first term, and I have no reason to doubt him. Obviously, he does not want to once again mesmerize us with tantalizing promises which would only end up advertising his inability to redeem them. He is telling us exactly what to expect so we can brace up for this really tough journey through the wilderness.

Has President Buhari Forgotten Leah Sharibu?

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

As President Muhammadu Buhari, the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, moved from one state to another, campaigning for a second term despite nearly four years in office which has been widely adjudged a horrendous failure, a 15-year old, tender, innocent girl named Leah Sharibu remained a hapless, pathetic, traumatized captive of Boko Haram terrorists, obviously,  under the most dehumanising conditions.

*Leah Sharibu 

Given what has, reportedly, been the horrible experiences of young, beautiful girls like her who have been captured by these terrorists, one is really scared to imagine what Leah might have been subjected to for nearly one year now. Most painful is that she hardly gets mentioned again these days by those whose job it is to rescue and bring her home!

'NIGERIA: Why Looting May Not Stop' – The Book Every Nigerian Should Read!

Now Available on AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS IT ON AMAZON

Excerpt from the blurb:

''…Graphically presented in this book is the complicated case of a pathetically malformed giant in continuous, clearly avoidable decline where institutionalised corruption, misgovernance, mediocrity and, worse, collaborative passivity (or even outright solidarity) with thieving public officers by sections of the citizenry, have joined forces to continue grossly diminishing and degrading a generously endowed country…''

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This book might make you sad and angry (and it should); but it should motivate you to do what is possible and needful to salvage your country…

Time to halt the rot…

 

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS IT ON AMAZON

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You Can Also Get You Copies In Lagos At The Following Bookshops 

SURULERE

---------------------------

ShopRite, Surulere 

(Patabah Bookshop) Shop B18

ShopRite Complex

Adeniran Ogunsanya Street,

Surulere, Lagos

08091025092

---------------------------------

Muritala Mohammed Airport, 

Lagos (MMA1 - For Air Peace and Arik Air)

'Old Local' 
Arrival Hall Book Stand

-----------------------------                                                                       

LAGOS ISLAND

----------------------

CIBN BOOKSHOP

Bankers House

PC 19, Adeola Hopewell Street,

Victoria Island, Lagos

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IKEJA

----------------

Glendora Bookshop

ShopRite

Ikeja City Mall

 Alausa, Ikeja

Lagos

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OWERRI 

Departure Hall 

Sam Mbakwe Airport, 

Owerri, Imo State 

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IBADAN 

University of Ibadan Bookshop,

Ibadan

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MORE BOOKSHOPS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Distributors and Bookstores should call ‘Prof’ :07068390310

Nigeria: Only Fools Die For Looters!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

A chapter in my new book, “NIGERIA: Why Looting May Not Stop” (which will be in bookstores in Lagos next week) is entitled, ‘Dying For Looters.’

Tomorrow (Feb 16, 2019) is the presidential and national assembly elections in Nigeria. One very sad, painful truth is that there are some fellows who call themselves “party supporters” who may not live to see the end of the voting exercise tomorrow or hear the results declared. 

The Flowing Tears Of Leah Sharibu

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

As President Muhammadu Buhari, the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, moves from one state to another, campaigning for a second term despite nearly four years in office which has been widely adjudged a horrendous failure, a 15-year old, tender, innocent girl named Leah Sharibu remains a hapless, pathetic, traumatized captive of Boko Haram terrorists, obviously,   under the most dehumanising conditions.

*Leah Sharibu

Given what has, reportedly, been the horrible experiences of young, beautiful girls like her who have been captured by these terrorists, one is really scared to imagine what Leah might have been subjected to for nearly one year now. Most painful is that she hardly gets mentioned again these days by those whose job it is to rescue and bring her home!

Buhari And The Enduring Hate Narrative

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

In the buildup to the 2015 elections, the wild, uproarious promotion of General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the man with the panacea for   Nigeria’s myriad of problems wasted no time in saturating the air.

*President Buhari 

This was sloppily packaged with a strange, aggressive refusal to give the slightest consideration for any voice of caution, any alternative opinion no matter how sound and redemptive. You either joined the rowdy herd or you are a “hater” of the “messiah.” 

Indeed, Christmas Is Idolatrous!

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

The recent statement by the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, that Christmas is idolatrous has attracted widespread reactions.  Pastor Kumuyi was quoted in the Punch newspaper of December 13, 2013, as saying: 

“We don’t celebrate Christmas. It actually came from idolatrous background. That is why you don’t hear us sing what they call Christmas carol. Never! ... When you find anybody coming in, or any leader, trying to introduce the idolatry of mystery Babylon that they call Christmas, and you want to bring all the Christmas carol saying that is the day that Jesus was born, and you don’t find that in the Acts of the Apostles or in the early church, then you don’t find that in the church either.  If you don’t know that before, now you know.”

*Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 

These are indeed weighty, unsettling words on a widely cherished festival. The reactions they immediately stirred were, therefore, to be expected. However, it was a very courageous assertion by Pastor Kumuyi and I would love to pitch my tent with those who insist that he is right, and that those attacking him are either doing so out of sheer lack of adequate information on the matter or, worse, unwittingly betraying their reluctance to let go of a cherished idol.

The Bigger Picture In Ekiti Governorship Contest

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

A day after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the July 14, 2018, governorship election in Ekiti State, a video of Fulani herdsmen brazenly parading their cows on the streets of Ado-Ekiti went viral on the social media. Reports say the video was shared on Facebook by one Isaac, the younger brother of Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose, the outgoing governor of the state. 

*Fayemi and Fayose 

In a comment accompanying the video (reproduced unedited), the younger Fayose wrote: “Fayemi was rigged in on Saturday against the wish of Ekiti people. Today, Fulani herdsmen have the boldness to rear cow on the street of Ado Ekiti. This is pathetic! This is scary. I pity Ekiti and her people!” 

To Kill In The Name Of God Is Outrageous Murder – Archbishop Obinna

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THE CHINUA ACHEBE 

FOUNDATION INTERVIEW SERIES

  April 2006

All Rights Reserved ©

______________________

*Archbishop Obinna during the interview 

Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri, is one of Africa’s foremost theologians and scholars. Born on June 26, 1946 in Emekuku (near Owerri), and educated at St. Peter Claver Seminary, Okpala (near Aba), and Bigard Memorial Seminary, he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on April 19, 1972. Obinna graduated with First Class Honours in Divinity, from the Bigard Memorial Seminary, an affiliate of the Pontifical Urban University, Rome. He left for Rome for a Masters Degree in Theology, and then for the United States for another Masters in Religious Studies, concentrating on Religion and Culture, and then a PhD in Education and Theology.

A former lecturer in the Religious Studies Department of the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Archbishop Obinna is the current Chair of the Education Committee of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Nigeria (CBCN). He was ordained a Bishop on September 4, 1993, and became the first Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri when it was created in 1994.

In this interview with UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE, Archbishop Obinna canvasses an attitudinal change, which he hopes will help steer Nigeria out of its present political, moral, and economic descent, and reroute it to the path of progress and lasting development.

Excerpts:

Your Grace, do you think we can in all honesty say that we have freedom of worship in Nigeria today?

Well, constitutionally there is freedom of worship. So, to some extent, it is possible to say: yes, Nigerians worship as they choose. But we have had problems in certain parts of our country, where people were prevented from worshipping, as they desire. There have been attempts to muzzle Christians in some parts of the country, and that goes to show that the freedom of worship enshrined in the constitution is not given its full play. In the more Christian-dominated areas, I believe that there is no prevention of anybody from being a Moslem, from worshipping God. But in some areas of our country, there have been churches that were bulldozed, and land allocations have been refused to Christian worshippers.

'Abandoned Property' Was Coined By Those Intent On Perpetrating Daylight Robbery' – COL. ACHUZIA

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THE CHINUA ACHEBE FOUNDATION INTERVIEW SERIES 
November 2005
All Rights Reserved ©

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Joe Achuzia 

*About Col. Joe Achuzia

Born seventy years ago, in the present day Delta State, Col Joe Achuzia has been involved in the programmes and activities of Ohaneze NdiIgbo, the apex socio-cultural organization in Igboland, for the past fifteen years. Since he assumed office as the Secretary-General of Ohaneze NdiIgbo, he has been distinguished by his frankness in public communications and the passion with which he canvases the Igbo position on matters of national and regional interests. He believes strongly in one, united Nigeria, where equity, justice, fairness and mutual respect for one another are unreservedly operational at all levels of governance and social interactions. He is of the opinion that the deterioration in the country is as old as the country itself and that the only way to ensure harmony and progress in the nation is to convoke a conference of ethnic nationalities where the thorny issues plaguing Nigeria could be properly addressed.

After the Biafra/Nigeria in which he played a prominent role, he was detained by Nigerian authorities. Fearing he might not survive the incarceration, he wrote his book, Requiem Biafra, to articulate his role in the war, and check attempts by later writers to, in his own words, “superimposed falsehood” on him.

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Excerpts: