BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO

I had to suspend till next week, a piece I had concluded on the October 2009 second African Synod of Bishops scheduled for the Vatican City between African Bishops and the Holy Father Pope Benedict, the sixteenth, to feature this piece on the longstanding but unnecessary bickering over the appropriateness, propriety or otherwise of the adoption and use of the appellation or title of EZE NDI IGBO by appointed leaders of the Igbo speaking people residing outside the traditional predominantly Igbo speaking South Eastern States. It must be stated from onset that in the last three years that I have maintained this column in a national newspaper based in Abuja, I have never written on the issue affecting the Igbo people per se. The nearest I have done that in the recent times was when I actively campaigned for the appointment of the most senior Police officer Ogbona Onovo to rightly assume office as the first Inspector General of police of Igbo extraction since Nigeria became Independent. I have no apologies for writing this piece you are reading since I have equally written to campaign for child rights in Nigeria with particular reference to the issue of almajiris or kid beggars in the North. The reason for putting on hold such an important piece on the very strategic meeting of the most cerebral theologians of African extraction with the eminently respected theologian of the finest breed Pope Benedict, the sixteenth, to run this one is because of the urgent need to make a clear statement that the argument is not only unnecessary, puerile, but the threat by the Chairman of the South East traditional rulers council Eze Cletus Ilomunya to coerce the traditional rulers from the indigenous tribal communities outside of the South East to ban the use of the title of Eze Ndi Igbo for the popularly appointed or elected leaders of the Igbo Communities in their areas, if carried out, amounts to the fragrant abuse of the fundamental rights of the Igbo people to assemble freely, associate among themselves for the purpose of promoting their culture and tradition in a convivial and peaceful atmosphere. This must be resisted actively. Chapter four of the 1999 constitution which encompass the fundamental rights provisions which are enforceable and binding recognizes the right by all Nigerians to reside and do legitimate businesses in any part of the country and to actively associate freely under a legitimate umbrella for the promotion of the public good which includes the freedom to choose which name or title to give to those among them that have been chosen to lead these Igbo communities as Eze Ndi Igbo of that particular community. In Abuja, the Igbo community democratically decided to appoint a respectable statesman Eze Ibe Nwosu as the Leader of the Igbo people in the Federal capital territory just like what the Igbo community members in Lagos State did by elevating an immensely astute and successful business man Eze Nwabueze Ohazulike, a holder of Nigeria’s national honour of an officer of the order of the Niger, to become the leader of the Igbo community in Lagos State. It will be preposterous for any traditional ruler to seek by unconstitutional and dictatorial means to demystify or denigrate the choice of title made by the Igbo people residing outside the traditional Igbo home States in the South Eastern section of the Country.
Another very important reason for doing this piece at this auspicious time is because of my determination to put it on record that as the executive chairman of the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, I commissioned a group of researchers to work on the issue of whether title or name of the title for the leaders of the Igbo communities outside of the South East is the basic problem of the Igbo speaking people in Nigeria. The result turned in shows that those who have elevated the issue of trying through subterfuge and the deployment of immense financial resources to prosecute a well coordinated campaign against the decision of the majority of the Igbo speaking people residing outside of the South East to adopt the title of EZE NDI IGBO for their freely chosen leaders have a warped idea of what constitute the basic Igbo problem in Nigeria. The researchers found out that it is a misplacement of priority for Eze Cletus Ilomunya to waste public funds in the sponsorship of newspaper adverts, hosting of meetings of different traditional rulers from outside the South East to urge them to ban the use of the appellation or title of Eze Ndi Igbo by the chosen leaders of the Igbo communities in the domains of these traditional rulers in the North, South West and outside of the shores of Nigeria. Our researchers found out that rather than waste scarce resources chasing shadows, the chairman of the council of Igbo traditional rulers should engage with his counterparts in other parts of the country especially in the North to seek for ways and strategies for ending the intermittent religious crises that have flared up in those places that have unfortunately resulted in the gruesome murder of thousands of Igbo people and the wanton destruction and coordinated looting of the wares of the South Eastern people and the reprisals that have taken place in some South Eastern states. Our researchers found out that the traditional rulers in the South Eastern part of Nigeria have not lived up to the general expectation of their people by refusing to speak out against all traces of oppression and bad governance that have become the unfortunate experience of the majority of the states in the South East with the possible exclusion of the Mr. Peter Obi led administration in Anambra state.
The question asked by most watchers of development in the South Eastern section of Nigeria is why the traditional rulers who ought to provide leadership and always speak out against injustice and corruption irrespective of what it may cause them, have rather chosen to align themselves actively with the corrupt political office holders in places like Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu States. Why for instance wont the chairman of the South East council of traditional leaders Cletus Ilomunya not call Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo state to order as he goes about frittering scarce public funds in frivolities like placement of outrageously expensive newspaper advertisements congratulating the likes of Senator Jubril Aminu who to a large extent has not contributed to the well being of the Igbo speaking people?

+Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria.

             BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO

Only last week we discussed in this column the horrendous Human Rights violations committed daily by the Abuja command of the Nigeria Police and the disappearance of a Nigerian Citizen Jude Onunze and we demanded from the Inspector General of Police Mr. Mike Okiro to produce him to his family but instead of doing something transparent to produce him following his mysterious disappearance from the Kuje Police station in the outskirt of the Federal Capital territory, the authorities of the Nigeria Police in the Abuja Command are said to be pilling up pressure on the family members of Jude Onunze to downplay the agitation for his production by the police even as the top official of the command is said to have allegedly threatened to sack a close relation of the disappeared Jude Onunze who is a Police operative serving in Abuja. This scenario clearly depicts the kind of country we live where the rule of law and respect for the Human Rights of citizens are consistently breached by the law enforcement agents paid with taxpayers’ money to keep law and order.

But just like what I stated last week that we live in a country where strange things are the norms and where strange people are in the various political offices largely through hook or crook, strange things have continued to manifest themselves in our polity and as writers we cannot get tired of pointing out these terrible incidents and possibly point out workable panacea, ways, strategies of achieving radical transformation in our polity. Many of my admirers have expressed strong apprehension regarding my safety because of the nature of the Human Rights activities I am engaged in but I believe in the saying constantly chorused by my beautiful mother Gladys that ‘’one with God is majority’’. A trend which has become the mother of all human rights violations has emerged among some Governors and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory which if left unchecked could imperilled the human rights of the greater majority of citizens who are deeply impoverished, voiceless and need immediate, comprehensive and effective bail -out to eke out their living as human persons. This trend is simply called ‘wee-hour dumping of destitute from one state to another’. The other day we saw in a national daily that several hundreds of destitute were allegedly dumped in the streets of Kano State by officials of the notorious Abuja Environmental management Agency and that the Kano State Government through one of the Governor’s advisers had indeed protested in the strongest possible terms to the Federal Capital Territory Minister Mr. Adamu Aliero. The last we heard of that incident was the Newspaper report that the destitute were driven into the ancient historic city of Kano in the wee hour of the night and abandoned to their fate. The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria put a call across to the Kano State Governor’s spokesperson Mr. Sule Yau Sule but characteristically, he failed to pick his call. We sent him a text message and he immediately replied and denied knowledge of the incident. We are not shocked by this reply because as one of the elites in Nigeria, the Kano State Governor’s special adviser on Media may not necessarily be disturbed by this irritating story of the dumping of Abuja based destitute in the streets of Kano State. We have since confirmed that some of these destitute have returned back to base in Abuja and are actively engaged in what they circumstantially know how best to do-begging.

The most shocking of all is the reported dumping of Lagos- based destitute in the streets of Ibadan in Oyo State allegedly by the officials of the Lagos State Government. Shocking because of all the so-called Governors of the thirty six states of the federation with the possible exception of Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River, a lawyer who still regards the respect for the Human Rights of his people as sacrosanct, that of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola apart from being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is also regarded by a cross section of respected Nigerians as one of the only very few elected Governors and that he is working so very hard to change the face and infrastructure of Lagos State for the better. Why will such a man that most respected opinion moulders hold in high esteem go so low as to permit the illegal and unconstitutional mass expulsion of certain category of Nigerian citizens from Lagos State to another State and worst still abandon these Nigerians to their fate in the cruel and cold morning hours? Specifically, Daily Sun of Friday April 10th 2009 page 7 reported that the decision by the Government of Lagos State to dump 120 destitute in the capital city of Ibadan has generated stern criticism from Governor Christopher Alao Akala of Oyo State who described the Lagos State action as a deliberate sabotage. What a shame that Governors elected by the citizens are publicly quarrelling over what to do with these same people who voted them into offices that they have through their crass mis-governance and mis-rule rendered destitute and heavily impoverished? Is it not an irony that these political office holders who subscribed to the oath of office and allegiance to the constitution of Nigeria have now decided to breach the fundamental human rights provisions enshrined in chapter four of the nation’s supreme law? Section 41 of the 1999 constitution clearly states that ‘’every Nigerian citizen SHALL be entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no Nigerian SHALL BE EXPELLED FROM NIGERIA OR REFUSED ENTRY THERETO OR EXIT THEREFROM.’’ It is absolutely not justifiable in a democracy to make any law that will see to the forceful expulsion of some category of Nigerians who due to no fault of theirs have become economically weak and can only sustain their livelihood through begging. Why has the political leadership in Nigeria since 1999 failed abysmally to enforce section 16 of the 1999 constitution which recommends that the State SHALL control her national economy in such a manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom, and HAPPINESS of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity? Dumping of the destitute is illegal, immoral and unjust and politically incorrect.

+EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO heads the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria.

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, a development focused Non-Governmental Organization has on Tuesday decried the high incidence of killings of citizens in the country by organized armed robbery gangs and called on the Federal Government to urgently reorganize the Nigeria Police to make the operatives pro-active and sufficiently trained and equipped to battle the upsurge in the crime wave across the country. The rights group advised the current Federal administration to resign if it cannot provide security to citizens because failure to provide safety of lives and property of citizens is an impeachable offence.
Reacting to the spate of organized crime incidents across the country with the attendant high rate of casualties with specific reference to the recent wanton killings of scores of commuters by armed robbers in Oba, near Onitsha, Anambra State, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA in a statement endorsed by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko upbraided the current administration for paying lip service to the strategic issue of providing effective and professionally result-oriented anti-crime measures and challenged President Umaru Musa Yar’adua to either provide security to lives and property of citizens or resign from office since the provision of security to citizens is the primary constitutional duty of the Federal Government.
Specifically, eye-witnesses who spoke with newsmen stated that the suspected armed robbers who operated with one Toyota Hilux, Hiace commuter and one jeep were on the trail of a bullion van that took off from Onitsha to Nnewi through Oba old Road. The alleged well armed robbers were said to have launched a coordinated attack on the Bank bullion van within Oba area in Idemili South Local Government area of Anambra State leading to the wanton and indiscriminate killings of scores of commuters and passers-by.
The Rights Group condemned the Nigeria Police inability to cope with the high incidence of organized violent crime across the country and stated that these events are clear indictment of the current administration which has failed to fulfil the basic constitutional duty of providing security to the lives and property of citizens as enshrined in section 14[1][2] [b] that; ‘’the Federal Republic of Nigeria SHALL be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice and that it is accordingly declared that the SECURITY AND WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT.’’
HURIWA advised the Federal Government to tackle the issue of rising crime wave with the attendant wanton killings of innocent citizens by these dare devil robbers as a matter of urgent national importance and to declare a STATE OF EMERGENCY ON THE NIGERIAN POLICE in order to enforce measures that will sufficiently empower the police with the right calibre of hierarchy, operatives and crime prevention, detection and fighting weapons to combat the menace of high organized crime in all parts of Nigeria. ‘’A Government that has shown by action since two years that it is incapable of fighting organized crime should begin to think of emergency measures to adopt or be prepared to resign because the provision of security to the lives and property of citizens is the most fundamental constitutional duty of Government.’’

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, HURIWA, a development focused and democracy inclined non-governmental organization is of the strong view that for the sixty –day blanket amnesty granted to all armed militants in the oil bearing Niger Delta communities which lapsed on Sunday October 4th 2009 to achieve lasting and sustainable results, the developmental challenges posed by the widespread poverty afflicting the majority of the Niger Delta people and the gross infrastructural underdevelopment of the heavily crude oil endowed but massively neglected communities must be tackled frontally without undue bureaucratic delay.
The group which believes strongly that sustainable peace is unrealisable when poverty is widespread in any community, urged the Federal Government to view the issue of physical and general infrastructural development of the Niger Delta as a national emergency.
The Rights Group made this view known in a media release endorsed by its national coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko after an emergency parley to review the development recorded in the ongoing negotiation between the Federal Government and some erstwhile armed militant youths in the Niger Delta which culminated in a general declaration of amnesty by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.
HURIWA commended the Federal Government and the militant leaders like Henry Okah, Chief Ateke Tom and Chief Government Ekpemupolo [Tompolo] and the residents of the Niger Delta for constructively negotiating a peaceful and meaningful cessation of bloody violence in the Oil producing communities and tasked the Federal Government to ensure that the entire people of the neglected communities in the Niger Delta are carried along especially in the implementation of a comprehensive and result-oriented infrastructural facilities like educational, health, environmental and transportation facilities that will rapidly lead to the progressive development of the communities.
The Group urged the government at all levels to tackle the issues of unemployment, poverty, insecurity and poor roads network as quickly as possible so as to achieve lasting peace in the oil producing communities. It also called on the anti-graft agencies to check the increasing cases of political and economic corruption in the Niger Delta states and local councils. HURIWA affirmed that it is shocked that the Niger Delta States and local Government councils receive so much revenue from the Federation account but without any meaningful improvement on the living condition of the tax payers.
According to the Rights Group; ‘’we are indeed pleased with the pace, ways and manners and strategies that have been adopted by both the Federal Government and leadership of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, in the ongoing peace talks to end the spate of violence in the oil rich communities in the Niger Delta and to give the people of the oil bearing communities a sense of belonging by providing sustainable and durable socio-economic infrastructures to make the people live meaningful and economically empowered lives as citizens of Nigeria’’.
‘’We are however concerned that should the Federal Government fail to follow up the cessation of physical hostilities in the Niger Delta with rapid infrastructural development, then we may as well say goodbye to peace in Nigeria because the type of youth militancy that may follow the betrayal of trust on the side of the Federal Government may threaten the territorial integrity of Nigeria as a political entity. The Federal Government must take the issue of providing workable and lasting infrastructures in the oil producing communities as a top priority and as an integral developmental plan’’, it said.
The Rights Group also challenged the Federal government to monitor closely the operations of the multinational oil companies in the oil rich communities in the Niger Delta so as to prevent further monumental environmental degradation of the communities just as the Human Rights group urged the Federal Government to use legislative measures and punitive sanctions against all multinational oil companies engaged currently in gas flaring in the Niger Delta communities because of its adverse environmental damage to Nigeria.

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