Uncertainties over meteoric rise of one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes in Nigeria

The founder of the MMM financial pyramid Sergei Mavrodi waves
The founder of the MMM financial pyramid Sergei Mavrodi waves as he leaves the Matrosskaya Tishina prison in Moscow, 22 May 2007.

The abrupt action of MMM has brought lot of fears and panic already which could even in itself crash the system.

(CNN) –  In spite of the government’s warnings against it, many Nigerians continue to invest in Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM), a Russian company that was responsible for one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes of all time.

On 13 December, the company said it was ‘freezing’ all confirmed accounts. While many that are opposed to the scheme believe the suspension may be an indication of an imminent collapse, MMM Nigeria assured its members it was only freezing the system for a period of one month.
“The reason for this measure is evident. We need to prevent problems during the New Year season, and then, when everything calms down, this measure will be canceled,” the administrator said in a message sent to all members.
In spite of the indication that things may not be in order with MMM, Ifeanyi Okoro and some other members remain confident in the scheme.
Registration galore....MMM participants are currently mounting serious campaign exercises to lure more vulnerable Nigerians to the Ponzi Scheme which has crashed in several countries.
Registration at a location; MMM participants are currently mounting serious campaign exercises to lure more vulnerable Nigerians to the Ponzi Scheme which has crashed in several countries.

Confidence remains

“Even with this minor setback, I still strongly have confidence in MMM. The government and the press will amplify this but we all know that MMM is not going anywhere,” Okoro said.
Joe Sanya revealed that he had already invested NGN1 million in the scheme. While expressing confidence in MMM, he warned that the only thing that could harm the system is the fear the news would instill fear in MMM’s prospective members and confirmed account holders.
“The abrupt action of MMM has brought lot of fears and panic already which could even in itself crash the system. Guiders will have to come up with a plan to put the mind of Nigerians at ease. I don’t know how they will do that but it has to be done. We need a constructive counter move from MMM against the enormous negativity going on via social media right now or else my one million naira and those of my friends will be gone.”
Michael Mbah, an MMM Nigeria top guider, added: “This is a temporary measure to save the system and saving the system is saving our money. Our money is safe. By January, the system will be back and it will be stronger.”
How did MMM successfully convince many Nigerians to look away from the facts, warnings and experiences elsewhere? The key is understanding how MMM works.

‘Like a charity’

A member is required to make payments directly into the bank account of another member. When this is successfully done, the payer is qualified to receive three times what he or she paid from someone else.
The scheme was launched in November 2015 in Nigeria but it got popular in 2016 and its philosophy is to financially empower its members who are committed to helping one another. New members are often recruited into the scheme by the promise of 30% monthly return on their investment and higher returns when they offer to assist members that ask for financial assistance.
When Chibuzor Chukwuemeka, a young Nigerian professional first heard of the scheme from a friend, he said he thought it was a scam. But since he joined about four months ago, he has had no regrets.
“I will tell you that MMM has empowered me financially,” he told CNN.
Isaiah Olasope, a university lecturer, said he joined the scheme with NGN50,000 (about $158) and was able to make a profit of NGN60,000 (about $190) within two months. He noted that the best approach to succeeding is via referrals and paying as soon as possible.
“I would have continued, but I stopped after I made more than what I put into it,” he said.
The scheme is especially popular among new graduates and the unemployed, and even entrepreneurs like Lydia Aborishade, who said she was able to get a tangible return.
“It’s like a charity organization where you provide and get help. If you help someone, you get twice what you give,” she said.

The government: ‘It’s fraudulent’

The scheme markets itself as a charity, which is why it celebrated its first anniversary with a Humanitarian week held from Nov 13th — 19th 2016 by donating relief materials worth NGN5 million to two internally displaced persons’ camps in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja.
But the Nigerian government has been unequivocal in discouraging citizens from participating. Through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it urged citizens not to get involved in MMM, calling it fraudulent.
“We’ve heard about the activities of MMM, but I want to warn you against it because they are wonder banks that are not regulated. Desist from participating, because they are fraudulent,” said Hajiya Kadija Kassim, ‎head, Consumer Protection Department of the CBN.
CBN also unsuccessfully attempted to stop financial transactions related to MMM and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) warned investors about the scheme.
Taking it further, Nigeria’s parliament directed security operatives to arrest MMM promoters, but in spite of these efforts, Nigeria has yet to officially criminalize MMM.
A spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wilson Uwujaren, said they are monitoring the scheme.
The government’s position is unsurprising to MMM participants: they claim CBN wants people to keep money in the banks which will in turn be used to further enrich the country’s wealthiest.
“The CBN we know has not in recent times made people-oriented policies, most of their policies favor the rich and that is what MMM has come to do — reduce the gap between the rich and the poor,” Chukwuemeka said.
Olasope added that the government is against the scheme because few people still save money in banks.
“I don’t think any bank will pay you interest of up to 5% in a month when you keep money with them, but MMM pays 30%. CBN officials know that MMM will make Nigerians to stop taking money to banks so their best approach is to make it illegal,” he said.

Pastors for MMM?

The MMM conversation has been extended to churches, where the official position varies from one place of worship to another.
At the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), the country’s largest Pentecostal church, some pastors are allowing MMM promoters to pitch the scheme to members from the pulpit. While others are against it, many are at crossroads.
Pastor Agbede Mayowa, who heads a branch of the church in Lagos, said MMM is a real dilemma for clergymen. Instead of having a position in the scheme, he said he is promoting an open conversation on the subject among members of the congregation.
“I have been inundated with messages and calls on MMM. ‘Pastor, is it a sin? Should a Christian be involved?’ Personally, I don’t think it’s a sin even though I have my reservations. Most people however think otherwise,” he said.
Ibadan-based economist, Lekan Adigun said the wide acceptance of MMM in Nigeria in spite of numerous failures of similar schemes is not in line with industry edicts; it preys on the economic recession and citizens’ desire for quick wealth.
“According to the Alexa ranking, MMM’s is the fifth most visited website in Nigeria, more popular than Facebook. It has also shown that Nigeria isn’t really a mobile first nation and getting the support of the government is overrated,” Adigun said.
A customer withdraws Nigerian naira from an automated teller machine (ATM) at a bank in Asaba, Delta State.
A customer withdraws Nigerian naira from an automated teller machine (ATM) at a bank in Asaba, Delta State.

“I think techies should leverage this MMM craze to promote online payment adoption. We’ll be solving two problems at once. We’ll ease pressure on banks and then entrench online payment if the burst is well managed,” he said.
Many experts believe that by not banning MMM, the Nigerian government positions the country as a target for copycat programs.
“It is really unfortunate that even though many Nigerians have lost money to similar Ponzi schemes in the past, the Nigerian government is still reluctant to go hard on MMM.
“When MMM eventually collapses, which will definitely happen, the exploitation of the citizens will continue under different names. This is going to be very harsh on the people of a country that is currently in recession,” said Adigun.
For MMM, experts believe that its next task is to ensure that its community in Nigeria continues to be its firm advocate and the pyramid scheme is sustained for as long as possible while for the Nigerian government, restoring people’s confidence in the banking sector is essential in addition to finding a way to ensure that activities of Ponzi schemes are regulated and protecting the funds of participants — even when they act against government directives.
MMM Nigeria didn’t immediately return a request for comment from CNN.
♦ Culled from The CNN

Flashback : Watch Actress “Clarion Chukwurah during “Occupy Nigeria” protest – blasts President Jonathan’s $200m. donation as a fraud

 

We reached our archives to uproot this U-Tube video – the day 4 of “Occupy Nigeria”, protest. Events got out of hand, and here is Star Actress “Clarion Chukwurah” in the video blasting  the government over funds that were supposedly given to Nollywood entertainers, claiming it was framed to win votes  for President Jonathan.

The question is, where are those activists now that they are really needed?

Nigeria: Militant surge blamed on weather and weapons

By Rafiu Ajakaye/

Fresh high-profile losses in Nigeria’s battle with Boko Haram militants are leading to analysis of the resurgence, with some chalking it up to weapons shortfalls as well as that bugbear of armies throughout history, the weather – or in this case, the dry season.

Late Monday Nigeria lost another senior army officer in an ambush by Boko Haram militants, barely two weeks after one of the country’s most celebrated military commanders, Col. Muhammadu Abu-Ali, and five other soldiers were felled by insurgents’ bullets.

Quoting military sources on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, local media say Lt. Col. B.U. Umar, the commanding officer of the 114 army special task force battalion, was killed in an ambush by militants in the Bita area of the northeast Borno state. A few other soldiers were reported injured in the incident.

These deaths only added to the rising tally of military casualties in the region in recent months. Noticeably, there has been surge in Boko Haram activities since late September. Heavy fighting in southern and especially northern Borno, an area where analysts say Boko Haram remains strong, has led to casualties on both sides. Several soldiers were declared missing in September, followed by a series of suicide bombings in October killing dozens in Maiduguri, Borno’s capital.

Freedom Onuoha, a counterinsurgency analyst who teaches at the National Defense College Abuja, said the resurgence could be blamed on a number of factors, including the coming of the dry season. During the season, he explained, the militant group is able to move fighters and logistics more easily.

“The resurgence of Boko Haram attacks may be a product of several factors such as access to more weapons by the group, better intelligence on military strategies, and plans from their moles,” he told Anadolu Agency.

– Weapons deficit factor

Onuoha said a weapons deficit due to wear and tear or delayed procurement may also play a role in the rise of militant attacks, as may greater support from foreign fighters fleeing the conflicts in Libya, some with access to weapons.

Last week, there were reports of Washington again blocking Nigeria’s efforts to procure some military assets to prosecute the conflict. Sources at the country’s Defense Ministry told Anadolu Agency that most of the Alpha jets currently in use in the northeast are weak and urgently need replacing.

“Efforts are ongoing to purchase some A-29 Super Tucano attack helicopters but no serious headway has been made,” a source said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Defense spokespersons did not respond to Anadolu Agency’s request for comment.

Similar attempts by Nigeria to purchase military platforms during the previous Goodluck Jonathan administration were also frustrated by the United States, citing human rights abuses.

Onuoha said the army is also overstretched due to the many internal operations it is involved in. Troops are deployed in the oil-rich delta where militants have resumed bombing of critical national assets.

“However the situation of the military is made worse by a terrible deficit in critical platforms that could confer a battle space advantage, particularly aerial assets that make it easier to identify and neutralize insurgents in an environment and terrain as difficult and complex as the northeast,” he added.

– The role of poor intelligence

Nigerian security blogger Fulan Nasrullah, famed for his knowledge of the insurgency, said the claims of resurgence appear hyped because militants have always attacked far-flung villages in raids not reported by the media.

“The dry season isn’t an alibi, it’s a fact of warfare. The amount of fighting possible in the rainy season is far less than that in the dry season,” he told Anadolu Agency, corroborating Onuoha’s statement.

Nasrullah insisted, however, that claims that Boko Haram had been subdued are at variance with “credible intelligence” that the insurgents are, at best, in “conservation mode” while retaining their core attacking assets.

The analyst said army officers who tell the truth about the real state of things are often shouted down, while their superiors reportedly feed the army headquarters and top political authorities with misinformation.

“And poor intelligence makes for poor decisions,” he added, explaining why Boko Haram continues to be a serious threat in the region.

UN says 75,000 children in Nigeria risk dying in ‘months’

A young child suffering from severe malnutrition lies on a bed in the ICU ward at the In-Patient Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP
A young child suffering from severe malnutrition lies on a bed in the ICU ward at the In-Patient Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP

By Agence France-Presse (The Telegraph).

 

The United Nations warned on Tuesday that 75,000 Nigerian children risk dying in “a few months” as hunger grips the country’s ravaged northeast in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Boko Haram jihadists have laid waste to the impoverished region since taking up arms against the government in 2009, displacing millions and disrupting farming and trade.

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has reclaimed territory from the Islamists but the insurgency has taken a brutal toll, with over 20,000 people dead, 2.6 million displaced from their homes, and famine taking root.

 UN humanitarian coordinator Peter Lundberg said the crisis was unfolding at “high speed.””Currently our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance,” by 2017, Mr Lundberg told reporters in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Out of them, 400,000 children are in critical need of assistance, while 75,000 could die “in (the) few months ahead of us,” Mr Lundberg said.

The UN hopes to target half of the 14 million people – a population bigger than Belgium – with the Nigerian government working to reach the rest.

But Mr Lundberg said that the UN did not have enough money to avert the crisis and called on international partners, the private sector and Nigerian philanthropists to “join hands” to tackle the problem.

“We need to reach out to the private sector, to the philanthropists in Nigeria,” Mr Lundberg said.

“We will ask international partners to step in because we can only solve this situation if we actually join hands.”

Maiduguri, the capital of northeast Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram, has doubled in size to two million people as a result of people seeking refuge in camps for internally displaced people.

Despite the World Food Programme warning of “famine-like conditions”, the UN has not declared a “level three” emergency, the classification for the most severe crisis that would draw more attention and desperately needed funds to Nigeria.

“The humanitarian response hasn’t scaled up adequately to meet a growing demand for food, particularly in the more remote camps in the northeast,” Roddy Barclay, intelligence analyst at consultancy firm Africa Practice.

Nigerian vigilante and security sources told AFP in September that at least 10 people were starving to death daily in a camp for IDPs near the Borno capital.

There is also the ongoing issue of insecurity. Despite the recent military gains, Boko Haram still prowls the northeast region and stages attacks and suicide bombings.

“The Nigerian army has scored notable military successes in containing Boko Haram. But that’s not to say they have stabilised the region entirely,” Mr Barclay said.

“Movement in remote zones remains high risk and the focus remains overwhelmingly on furthering military gains rather than addressing the very real socio-economic impact of the crisis.”

Those zones include the shared borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the Lake Chad Basin, said Ryan Cummings, director at intelligence firm Signal Risk.

“The scale of the humanitarian disaster in northeast Nigeria has been grossly underestimated,” Mr Cummings said.

“There’s an estimated one million people still living in communities inaccessible because of the ongoing insecurity.”

Now the fear is that Boko Haram will try to capitalise on the failure of the Nigerian government – and the international community – to save the hungry.

“There are many claims that resources allocated to IDP camps are being misdirected into avenues of corruption, so aid is not reaching the people,” Mr Cummings said.

Boko Haram could prey on that anger, he said, warning that “they could potentially end up being recruited back to Boko Haram.”

New MSF survey: Thousands of kids dying in northeast Nigeria

FILE- In this Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, a malnourished child is weighed on a scale at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Thousands of children already have died of starvation and disease in Boko Haram-ravaged northeastern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 quoting a new survey that is forcing Nigerian officials out of a state of denial. (Sunday Alamba, File/Associated Press)
FILE- In this Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, a malnourished child is weighed on a scale at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Thousands of children already have died of starvation and disease in Boko Haram-ravaged northeastern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 quoting a new survey that is forcing Nigerian officials out of a state of denial. (Sunday Alamba, File/Associated Press)
AP, LAGOS, Nigeria — Thousands of children have died of starvation and disease in Boko Haram-ravaged northeastern Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders said Tuesday quoting a new survey that is forcing Nigerian officials to stop denying the crisis.

The Paris-based organization hopes that official recognition of the calamity in which “thousands are dying” will help bring urgent aid before older children also start dying, Natalie Roberts, emergency program manager for northeast Nigeria, told The Associated Press.

A survey of two refugee camps in the northeastern city of Maiduguri shows a quarter of the expected population of under-5 children is missing, assumed dead, according to the organization. Under-5 mortality rates in the camps are more than double the threshold for declaring an emergency, Roberts said in a phone interview from Paris.

Speaking on her return from northeastern Borno state, the birthplace of Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising, she said the absence of young children was striking.

“We only saw older brothers and sisters. No toddlers are straddling their big sisters’ hips. No babies strapped to their mums’ backs. It’s as if they have just vanished,” Roberts said.

Doctors Without Borders first sounded the alarm in June but senior officials of the National Emergency Management Agency managing the camps as late as September denied any child was suffering malnutrition and accused the doctors of exaggerating the crisis to attract donations. That was after The Associated Press published images of matchstick-thin children fighting for their lives at a Doctors Without Borders intensive feeding center in Maiduguri.

The crisis is aggravated by alleged theft of food aid by emergency management officials being investigated by Nigeria’s senate.

“The difference now is that our figures have been checked by the statistician general, and we have official recognition from the government that they believe this is happening,” Roberts said.

An estimated 75,000 children could die within a year because donors have provided only one-third of requested funding and twice as much, $1 billion, is needed for the rest of the year and into 2017, says the United Nations.

A vital funding conference in Geneva next month could save the day, otherwise “it won’t be long before we could be in the painful position of having to turn away sick and starving children,” says the U.S.-based Save the Children.

Some 2.6 million people including more than 1 million children have been driven from their homes by Nigeria’s 7-year-old insurgency that has killed more than 20,000 people, left food-producing fields fallow, disrupted trade routes and destroyed wells, bridges and entire towns.

President Muhammadu Buhari last month set up a presidential committee to coordinate aid and the rebuilding of the northeast, even as an end to the rainy season has brought a predictable upsurge in attacks on military outposts and urban suicide bombings by the Islamic extremists.

Buhari and Nigeria’s military have said aerial bombardments and a ground offensive that have forced the insurgents out of most towns has the extremists on the run. But aid agencies say they can barely venture outside Maiduguri for fear of attack and are using helicopters to reach dangerous areas.

Boko Haram warns Donald Trump: ‘War is just beginning’

This screen grab image taken on September 25, 2016 from a video released on Youtube by Islamist group Boko Haram shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau making a statement at an undisclosed location.
This screen grab image taken on September 25, 2016 from a video released on Youtube by Islamist group Boko Haram shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau making a statement at an undisclosed location.

US supported Lake Chad governments in the fight against Boko Haram under the Obama administration.

By  (International Business Times).

A faction of the Nigeria-based terror group Boko Haram has warned US president-elect Donald Trump that “the war has just begun”. The faction leader, Abubakar Shekau, made the comment in an audio recording posted on social media on Sunday (13 November 2016), according to Nigerian media.

“Do not be overwhelmed by people like Donald Trump and the global coalition fighting our brethren in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and everywhere. We remain steadfast on our faith and we will not stop. To us, the war has just begun,” Shekau was quoted by the Sahara Reporters website as saying.

“We’re done with Obama, now we’re going to start with Trump… we remain convinced by our faith and we will not stop. For us, the war is just beginning,”Shekau added, according to news agency AFP.

It is also believed that Shekau claimed responsibility for an attack that resulted in the death of some Nigerians soldiers, including Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad Abu Ali, earlier in November.

The Islamist fighter made the remarks days after Republican Trump defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the US presidency.

Fight against Boko Haram

Boko Haram has waged a seven-year-long insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria, killing thousands of people. The conflict, which erupted in 2009, has spilled over into neiughbouring countries, sparking a grave humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad basin region, where 2.6 million people are currently displaced.

In addition to its own military operation Lafiya Dole, Nigeria is now leading a regional offensive – consisting of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin – against Boko Haram.

The offensive has scored some successes, such as the recapture of key territories and the release of thousands of civilians held captive by the group.

Although Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari declared a technical victory over the fight against the insurgents in December 2105, Boko Haram still carries out attacks, with security experts warning that underlying issues such as disenfranchisement, poverty and strong links with the Islamic State (Isis) would continue to pose major threats to stability in the region.

Earlier this year, the group split into two factions after Shekau was replaced with the IS-appointed Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, former Boko Haram spokesperson.

Shekau, however, denied he had been replaced and claimed al-Barnawi was staging a coup against him.

US assistance to Nigeria

The US, one of Nigeria’s closest allies, has repeatedly condemned Boko Haram attacks. In October 2015, outgoing US leader Barack Obama reiterated that the US “continues to support the governments and people of the Lake Chad Basin region in their ongoing struggle to defeat Boko Haram”.

Obama added his country would provide the Nigerian army with intelligence personnel and training. The US also said it was considering lifting its arms ban on Nigeria. The embargo is part of the Leahy Law, which forbids the US from providing military assistance or funding to countries that commit – or are suspected of committing – gross human-rights abuses with impunity.

Amnesty: Nigeria’s slum demolitions leave 30,000 homeless

Residents salvage roofing sheets from demolished houses that were set ablaze by government officials in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, Amnesty International says as many as 30,000 people in Nigeria's commercial capital are homeless after their community was set ablaze and demolished this week.  Sunday Alamba  - AP Photo
Residents salvage roofing sheets from demolished houses that were set ablaze by government officials in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, Amnesty International says as many as 30,000 people in Nigeria’s commercial capital are homeless after their community was set ablaze and demolished this week. Sunday Alamba – AP Photo

LAGOS, Nigeria – Amnesty International says as many as 30,000 people in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos are homeless after their community was set ablaze and demolished this week.

It was not immediately clear how the fire began in the Otodo Gbame community, but residents told the London-based rights group that police officers blocked them from trying to put it out. They said police then returned with a demolition team.

 Lagos officials have warned that makeshift waterfront settlements pose a “security threat” and must be razed, a process that could affect hundreds of thousands of people.

However, Amnesty International said a Lagos court on Monday granted an interim injunction against demolitions in communities, including Otodo Gbame.

Lagos officials were not reachable for comment. Amnesty International said those made homeless should be given alternative accommodation.

Release: Official Communique of The World Igbo Summit held at Gregory University Uturu Abia State

igbo-day-celebration-690x450

OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE RELEASED AT THE END OF THE WORLD IGBO SUMMIT HELD AT GREGORY UNIVERSITY UTURU ABIA STATE BETWEEN 27TH – 30TH OCTOBER, 2016

My dear Igbo greats, following the completion of the 4-day Igbo Summit held at the Gregory University Uturu, Abia State, to herald the 50-year Visioning programme for the Igbo nation, I hereby present to you the official communique agreed and presented at the end of the Summit. This is the official and authentic version of the communique. Kindly disregard any previous communique as they were released without full authorization:

COMMUNIQUE OF THE WORLD IGBO SUMMIT HELD AT THE GREGORY UNIVERSITY UTURU ABIA STATE FROM 27TH – 30TH OCTOBER, 2016.

The World Igbo Summit took place at the Gregory University Uturu, Abia State, from 27th – 30th October, 2016. The Summit was organized to bring together the great minds of Ala-igbo from across the globe to dialogue and give for Igbo nation a strategic roadmap for growth and development going forward. The Summit heralded the 50-year Visioning Project initiated to strategize, document and design a roadmap for the sustainable development of Igbo nation to catalyze wealth repatriation and reinvestment in Igbo homeland by all Igbo sons and daughters in all parts of the world.

The theme of the World Igbo Summit is: Igboka – Visioning the Igbo Nation. The theme epitomizes Ndiigbo as a supreme race, a unique people, an autochthonous race and a great people of destiny whom God imbued with the manifest destiny of becoming the pride of the black race through her ingenuity, industry, dispersion, resourcefulness, creativity, hard work, honesty, perseverance and fear of God.

The meeting was co-chaired by General (Sen) Ike Nwachukwu, His Excellency Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chief (Col.) Joe Achuzia, Chief Francis Oji and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. The well attended Summit has in attendance great leaders of Igbo extractions from the East and West of Igboland including His Royal Majesty Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Obi of Onitsha), Eze Eberechi Dick (Chairman South East Council of Traditional Rulers), Prof, Joe Irukwu, Prof George Obiozor, Prof Ihechukwu Madubuike, Igwe Prof Chukwuemeka Ike, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, Prof Epiphany Azinge, Prof Pat Utomi, Igwe Engr S.O Okafor, Dr Greg Ibe, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Chief Simon Nsobundu Okeke, Dr Ifedi Okwenna, Prof Maurice Iwu and so many other Igbo great intellectuals, professionals, businessmen, Civil society activists, gender advocates and other experts of Igbo extraction residing in different parts of the world. The Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke. The Governor commended the World Igbo Summit Group and the Igbo Renaissance Centre of Gregory University Uturu for coming out with a commendable visioning project.

After a three day deliberation, the Summit resolves as follows:

Ndiigbo have made the biggest sacrifice and contributions to the building of the modern Nigeria and insist that henceforth will work for a Nation where the Igbo are allowed to live and operate as equal citizens without any discrimination, bias or intimidation.

Ndiigbo Insist that the 1999 Constitution should be repealed and a new one enacted that will recognize the inalienable right of each constituent group to self-determination and Regional autonomy as enshrined in the 1960 Independence Constitution and 1963 Republican Constitution.

We call for the implementation of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference report as doing so will enhance the unity, peace and stability of the country.

Ndiigbo hereby resolve to take full responsibility for the rebuilding of the Igbo economy and development of Ala-Igbo and hereby shall adopt the digital economy as the organizing paradigm and implementation framework for the sustainable development of Alaigbo.

That in line with the recent resolution of the Southern Nigerian Peoples Assembly, the National Assembly and State Assemblies should legislate the prohibition of nomadic grazing by herdsmen and the establishment of grazing reserves and ranches with public funds. We therefore call on the National Assembly to oppose the grazing bill in both chambers.

That in view of the threat by the Fulani herdsmen which constitute present and imminent danger to peace and security in Igboland, the Summit called on the Igbo Governors and the States Assemblies to immediately legislate against any form of open grazing in Igbo land.

That the Biafran spirit is the Igbo spirit of enterprise, hard work and excellence that seeks for justice, equity, and fairness for all. The current agitations therefore is a cry for justice for Ndiigbo. Thus the Biafran agitation is not a threat to national security. We therefore urge the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu and all other prisoners of conscience in line with the rule of law.

The South East Governors should establish a Joint Commission for development of Ala-Igbo and be supportive of good Igbo initiatives.

It was further resolved that henceforth Igbo Political leadership (elected and appointed) must act in the best interest of Ndiigbo and be prepared to be held accountable by the people for all their actions and inactions.

We restate that the principles of Igbo Social Justice – Akulueuno, Eziokwubundu, Onyeaghana-nwaneya, Igwebuike, Ezi-afaka-ego, Egbe-bere-ugo-bere, Akon’uche, nwanyi-bu-ife, ntorobia bu-Ike Obodo would be fully applied in our interactions among Ndiigbo and our neighbours.

The Summit resolved to recognize the contributions of the NdiiIgbo in the DIASPORA-Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia etc. to the achievement of our vision and committed to sharing their aspirations and challenges and we encourage them to think home and invest home.

The Summit expresses their appreciation to the Chancellor and Management of Gregory University Uturu for being a wonderful host and for their commitment to the reengineering of Igbo growth and development through her Igbo Renaissance Center.

Long Live Igbo Nation

Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria

Sen (Gen) Ike Nwachukwu

HE Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife

Chief Col. Joe Achuzie

Chief Francis Oji

Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu

Prof George Obiozor

Dr Gregory Ike Ibe

Iyom Josephine Anenih

Dr Joe Nwaogu

Prof. Joe Irukwu (SAN)

Prof. Ihe Chukwu Madubike

We thank all who came to Uturu and participated actively at the Summit.

My Special thanks goes to Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe who commuted from Onitsha to Uturu for two consecutive days and delivered a mind-lifting paper that form the fulcrum for the Visioning Process. The Keynote speakers Prof Epiphany Azinge and Dr Chris Aniedobe were indeed very outstanding. To all resource persons. I say thank you. Dr Greg Ibe is indeed a gift to the Igbo nation and we shall ever appreciate him. May God keep him and continue to bless him. To all who were physically present and all who were with us in spirit, thank you and may the good lord bless you all. Oga adiri Igbo nma.

(Dr Ifedi Okwenna Director General World Igbo Summit Group and Summit Secretary).

 

Capacity building for women and the Nigeria’s political trends

By Edel-QuinnAgbaegbu

The recent development in the polity regarding the controversy on the role of Nigerian women in leadership has generated various interests and thoughts to explore measures towards women emancipation. These concerns are borne out of necessity to facilitate an environment to breed transformational generation of women for a better Nigeria. The rationale behind the incorporation of women into the system is due to the fact that women constitute about 54% of the population of about 188,375,518 million people of Nigeria and their under utilization represents a functional challenge in modern leadership.

It is appalling that despite the immense contribution of the few privileged Nigerian women in economic growth and sustainable development, there still exist major prohibiting pressures limiting positive actions and total commitment from the women folk. Factors such as gender disparities, discrimination against women and girls, gender based violence and stereotypes in education and career are fundamental challenges militating against the course of women development.  Elimination of some of these pervasive barriers is vital to enable women and girls realize their full potentials to actively engage in leadership.

Although government has instituted some ministries and agencies to address these constraints and many more, the predominant dysfunctional system suppresses effective management of the nation to accomplish this task.   Powerful change therefore is required through a powerful movement. No wonder, women are more committed now to taking concrete actions both nationally and internationally as appropriate to eliminate every discrimination against them and accord a proper space to themselves in the society.

There are various relevant concepts aimed at offering constructive strategies towards unlocking the potentials of Nigeria women for proper integration into the process of national building. Training is an essential component in this regard for a quantum leap to enhance women capabilities to actively engage in the society and take control of their destiny.

Capacity building for women and girls through training and non-formal education is advocated to improve their opportunities to benefit from inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth and quality of life at home and in all spheres of the society. It is an applicable concept that has been considered to deliver a frame work to equip women with transformational competence including knowledge, skills, expertise and personality values. It is a critical component for women’s commitment and essentially advances and strengthens women reputation. Women capacity development enables full and effective participation in all aspects of peace building continuum from conflict prevention to resolution and ultimately reconciliation with a view to contributing to the implementation of Agenda 2030 and all its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Capacity building for women and girls through training and non-formal education is advocated to improve their opportunities to benefit from inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth and quality of life at home and in all spheres of the society.
Capacity building for women and girls through training and non-formal education is advocated to improve their opportunities to benefit from inclusive, sustainable and equitable economic growth and quality of life at home and in all spheres of the society.

Exploring the potentials and the role of women in today’s socio-political context and their vulnerability to dangers is a recurring phenomenon. It is significant to note that women are among the worst hit by conflicts. About 80%of the civilian casualties, refugees and internally displaced persons globally are women and children. It is therefore empirical to incorporate women as mediators in conflict management to introduce alternative perspective to conflict prevention. It also reinforces their positive contribution in post conflict reconstruction and peace consolidation as women are natural peace makers and more pacific than men.

It is time to confront this endemic trait of marginalization of women in Nigeria which is perpetuating poverty and preventing the fulfilment of Africa’s potential as a whole. Supportive initiatives should be encouraged to boost campaigns for social, economical and political rights. Efforts should be made towards promoting public services that respond to women’s need, ensure women’s access to economic opportunities and build women’s engagement in decision-making process. These are essentials if we are determined to achieve global economic growth and sustainable development most especially in Nigeria.

♦ Edel-quinn Agbaegbu is the Executive Director, Every Woman Hope Centre, Abuja, Nigeria based NGO and Publishers of LifeCare Journal.

Nigeria’s federal ministers decry repressive work environment under President Buhari

buhari-and-ministers

By Anthony Obi Ogbo/

International Guardian, Houston, TX – Federal ministers in Nigeria may be seriously operating under President Buhari’s severe and pervasive conduct that represses the work environment and impedes with their ability to perform official duties.

Most of them are being subjected to disciplinary servitude with practically no option of resignation, International Guardian investigation reveals. “It would be a big risk to just resign because the EFCC would come after you with something, so they are really trapped” an aide to one of the ministers confided.

The ministers, we gathered were forcefully made to sign several pacts that compromised their constitutional job descriptions. For instance, in July 2015, President Buhari announced in his visit to Washington DC that ministers would no longer have power to award contracts. International Guardian reliably gathered that Buhari’s ministers are currently stripped from fully making major decisions regarding their divisions.

In May, 2016, Buhari reportedly shutdown a meeting with his ministers, and walked out on them over dissuasions about their concerns, especially accommodation. The ministers were seeking financial benefits for their accommodation, but their unconcerned boss,  President Buhari impolitely stood up and stormed out, leaving the ministers miserably hopeless.

An informant very close to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation told our newsroom that, “we have to be patient with our ministers. They are trying. Do you know that they cannot make any official decisions, or suggestions without consulting with the General, and that is slowing down everything we are doing here?”

One of the major stipulations, it was gathered was a mandatory restriction to grant press briefings or issue major press statements without President Buhari’s approval. An aide to a minister specifically told our newsroom that most press releases attributed to their sector directly come from the Presidency. “We actually get wind of most of those from the social media,” the aide confided.

In May, 2016, Buhari reportedly shutdown a meeting with his ministers, and walked out on them over dissuasions about their concerns, especially accommodation. The ministers were seeking financial benefits for their accommodation, but their unconcerned boss,  President Buhari impolitely stood up and stormed out, leaving the ministers miserably hopeless. The ministers, it had been reported, were living like squatters in Abuja, dwelling in rented motel rooms, homes, and apartments without any official remuneration to supplement their expenses.

ministersbuhari
Buhari, Ministers in a group photo – In May, 2016, Buhari reportedly shutdown a meeting with his ministers, and walked out on them over dissuasions about their concerns, especially accommodation. The ministers were seeking financial benefits for their accommodation, but their unconcerned boss, President Buhari impolitely stood up and stormed out, leaving the ministers miserably hopeless.

Resignation may not be a pleasant option, our newsroom gathered. “One has to come up with a major excuse like ‘poor health condition’ or ‘real family issues’ to ask to resign. If not, it might be a big risk. You know Buhari does not want his cabinet in the news – anything that would embarrass his cabinet, he would take serious,” a ministerial aide said.

This may explain why some recent ministerial nominees politely turned down their appointments. For instance, one Akinwande Akintunde, a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently rejected Buhari’s appointment to head the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); then one Usman Bugaji of Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) from Katsina state turned down and Pauline Tallen, Former Deputy Governor of Plateau state, turned down their Ambassadorial Appointment respectively.

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