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October 31, 2005

Police hunt for group over claim on mishap

A MAN-HUNT for members of the Coalition of Militant Action in the Niger Delta (COMA) has been initiated by the Police. The group had last week claimed responsibility for the Bellview plane crash at Lisa Village in Ifo Local Council of Ogun State on Saturday, October 22.

From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Police Command, which is co-ordinating the efforts to unmask the members of the self-confessed militant group, has therefore appealed to the public for useful information that could lead to their arrest.

All the passengers and crew members on board the flight from Lagos to Abuja died in the accident.

The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Samuel Adetuyi, who urged the public to assist security agents to track down the group at the weekend, said that the claim by COMA was of national importance and pleaded that the matter should not be trivialised.

He added that as the Yuletide approaches, the command had prepared itself to secure the state against all forms of criminal activities.

While responding to questions from journalists in his office, Adetuyi said: "If there is any information about it, please come and let me know because this is a very grave national issue and it should not be trivialised. So, if there is any information that you have, please let us have it."

COMA, in a statement by its Alliance Leader, Mr. Alaye Teme and Chief Strategist, Mr. David Igbi, had claimed responsibility for the air mishap. The group attributed its attack on the aircraft to the continued incarceration of the leader of Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.

Adetuyi also explained that there was on ground a joint task force of the police, army, air force and navy to check the activities of criminals in the state.

The task forces, he said, was being strengthened to sustain the command's anti-crime campaign.

He also hinted that more mobile policemen had been drafted from other states to Rivers by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero.

But Asari-Dokubo, charged with treason and felony, commiserated with the families of the victims of the accident.

He described COMA's claim as most irresponsible and intended to achieve nothing than to blackmail him and the Niger Delta region.

The NDPVF leader, who spoke through his attorney, Mr. Uche Okwukwu, said the statement by COMA that its members would continue to attack the infrastructure of the Nigerian state until he was unconditionally released was aimed at nothing but to present his struggle, ideas and principles in bad light.

Asari-Dokubo further said that the group's claim was also aimed at smearing his agitation by presenting him as insensitive to humanity contrary to his believe in justice, equity, peace and love.

Distancing himself from COMA's action, he said the group's claim to be in alliance with his organisation was deceitful.

"I urge the general public, the security agencies, the government and the families of the victims of the ill-fated plane to disregard the contention of this non-existing group and see Alhaji Asari-Dokubo as one who is touched by these deaths," he said.

Okwukwu explained that his client had since 2004 renounced violence when he surrendered all his arms to the Federal Government.

According to Okwukwu, Asari-Dokubo had moved from the creeks to an organised and lawful society. He said the NDPVF reaffirmed this in his brief and instructions to him during their three days incarceration when he (Asari-Dokubo) was first arrested.

The lawyer said his client was committed to non-violence and described COMA's claim as wicked and a cheap blackmail. He also commiserated with the President Olusegun Obasanjo on the death of his wife, Stella and the 117 persons that lost their lives in the Bellview plane mishap.

Posted by Publisher at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)

Breaking News: Missing Illinois College Student Found Dead

The body of Olamide Adeyooye, was found in Newton, Mississippi last Friday morning. Adeyooye, from Lagos, Nigeria, was a clinical sciences senior at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

By Walter Bell
(Crime Library)

She had been missing since October 13th, when last seen in a Normal video store.
On Monday morning, October 17th, Newton law enforcement authorities received reports of a chicken coop fire, off highway 80 in Newton County. Four days later, the property owner went to clean up his burned-out structure and discovered the body of an African-American female amidst the debris. The shocked man immediately notified the Newton County Sheriff's Office.

Mississippi Highway Patrol crime scene investigators began processing the crime site. Authorities noticed the unidentified body matched the physical description of Adeyooye, which they had received from electronic alerts. On October 24th, the Newton Sheriff's Office notified the Normal Police Department about the similarities and possible link.

Illinois authorities quickly sent Olamide Adeyooye's medical and dental records to the Newton County medical examiner. Yesterday, it was announced the body found in the chicken coop was hers. No cause of death has been released since there is an ongoing investigation.

"As far as the cause of death, we believe she was already deceased when the body was dropped off in Newton County," said Newton County Sheriff Jackie Knight. "We have investigators from Illinois here with us, but we believe the actual death took place in Illinois." He added that there were no signs of sexual abuse.

Lieutenant Mark Kotte of the Normal Police Department said, "We still have a list of persons of interest and that hasn't really changed. We still have quite a few people we need to talk to, and also people now that we will be re-interviewing." Kotte said they are still looking for Adeyooye's killer and her green Toyota Corolla, which is still missing.

The murdered woman's father, Adiodun Adeyooye, expressed his deep grief and commented that he wanted justice. "I believe Olamide's spirit will find the culprit. Whoever might have killed her, Olamide's spirit will find him out in Jesus' name."

Adiodun Adeyooye's 21-year-old daughter was to graduate in December.

Walter Bell can be contacted at wabell@comcast.net

Posted by Publisher at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

Nigeria to pay $6bn foreign debt today

ABUJA—AS the nation struggles to it feet following the tragedies which paralysed government and economic activities in the last one week, Nigeria is today expected to take the first step to exit the Paris Club by clearing the arrears it is owing the creditors which stands at about $6.00 billion.

By Emma Ujah
Posted to the Web: Monday, October 31, 2005

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who toiled to secure the $18 billion debt relief from the club of creditors gave this indication in Abuja. According to the minister who admitted that last week was a trying one for President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nigerians said in spite of the difficult situation the nation was going through, the president still wanted work on the debt issue to continue.

Her words: “We are mourning with the rest of the nation. There is no doubt that the tragedies of last weekend have really shaken the nation but it is the President’s wish that work continues. He is leading by example to demonstrate that we should march on and that is why we are continuing with the implementation of the debt deal with the Paris Club. We have done the necessary work before hand and the October 31 date for the first payment is still very much on.”

Meanwhile, officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance said President Obasanjo had sent a Bill to the National Assembly to seek its approval for the payment. The Senate Chief Whip, Mr Udo Udoma and three other federal legislators, Mr Bob Effiong, Alhaji Farouk Lawal, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, and Mr Sadiq Sanusi, Chairman of the House Committee on Loans, Aid and Debt Management who witnessed the signing of the agreement in Paris, promised to ensure the National Assembly worked with the executive to meet the terms of the agreement.

Under the agreement signed between the Federal Government and the Paris Club at the group’s headquarters in Paris on October 20, Nigeria was expected to pay the $6 billion arrears upfront, as a first step towards the cancellation of the $18 billion debt under the Naples Terms.

Under the Naples Terms, Nigeria would be required to settle arrears owed to the club. Arrears here refer to amounts of principal, interests and late interests that have fallen due, but have not been paid.

Under a standard practice of the Paris Club, debtors must clear arrears prior to commencement of debt relief negotiations. Nigeria’s case was, therefore, special in that the club gave its words on the relief even before the arrears are cleared.

Once the arrears have been cleared, there would be a reduction of the stock in favour of Nigeria on Naples Terms. This means that the club will write-off up to 67 per cent of the total debt stock. “Naples Terms” is derived from the fact that terms was used for the first time in Naples, Italy, in 1994.
What remains of Nigeria’s debt stock after the cancellation on Naples Terms would then qualify for a buy-back arrangement at a discount rate. It means that Nigeria would be able to pay less than the face value of the remaining debt, thereby making buy-back savings.

Posted by Publisher at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

Achebe: Oral tradition not needed

World-famous Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has said that Africans should not be overly concerned if the long-established tradition of oral storytelling dies out.

Many African communities have a long tradition of oral storytelling

Achebe, once described by Nelson Mandela as "the writer in whose presence prison walls fell down," told the BBC that he agreed that the art was dying out - but insisted it could be revived "if we decide that the oral story is absolutely necessary."

"Oral storytelling was important when I was writing - it may not be important when the next generation is writing," he said.

"Obviously I believe in the importance of stories, but whether oral, or written, or televised, I cannot lay down the law.

"We are fascinated by the oral tradition, and it's right that we should be fascinated. But if it's not going to work any more in the future, then rather than sit and weep and mourn, why don't we find out what has come to replace it?"

Maintaining Igbo

But Achebe, who last year rejected an award from his home country on the grounds that the country was in a "dangerous" state of affairs, also spoke about the need in Nigeria to continue telling stories in Nigeria's native languages.

Achebe, who is very critical of colonialism and its aftermath in Africa, explained that he himself writes in English because he is a victim of linguistic colonialism.

But he added that he felt it was important not to "lose sight of the need for our mother tongue."

I hope I have shown it is possible to show respect to English and Igbo together

Chinua Achebe

"The situation may well develop in the future, in which the different languages of Africa will begin to reassert themselves," he added.

"I have made provision for that myself, by writing certain kinds of material in Igbo. For instance, I will insist my poetry is translated back into Igbo while I'm still around."

He insisted that he wrote in English not to attract a wide international audience, but simply because he had been educated in English.

But he added that his use of English was inspired by his Igbo background.

"When I'm writing in English, Igbo is standing next to it," he added.

"I have therefore developed, I think, this possibly, in which these two languages are in communion.

"I hope I have shown it is possible, in these two languages, to show respect to English and Igbo together."

Posted by Publisher at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2005

Igbo in Warri transact business with Biafran currency

Few days after members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) organised a market fair in Onitsha, Anambra State, many Igbo traders in Warri, Delta State have started transacting business with the Biafran currency in the oil city.

francis onooronholo

Investigation by Saturday Independent revealed that many of the traders now accept the outlawed Biafran pounds and shillings in their day-to-day transaction.

A meat seller at Igbudu market, Darlington Nwani who was seen with a heap of the currency in his shed, told Saturday Independent that the money was legal tender because in Kano where he buys cows, it was accepted from him.

According to him, he had travelled to Kano severally to buy cows and on each of the occasions, he used 500, 000 Biafran pounds for transaction and it was accepted.

He said the value of the money was higher than the Nigerian Naira in Kano, adding that one Biafran pound exchanged for over N150.

An Igbo textile trader at the Warri main market, Nwadiegu Ekeh, who was also seen accepting the money, said it is exchanged easily at the Onitsha main market.

The textile trader said the Biafran currency was becoming acceptable each passing day.

Other traders like Godwin Nwajagu, Sunday Igbomara and Chris Nnanemere were also seen doing business with the currency, which they said had been transacting business with it in Warri for the past two months.

Nwajagu who sells leather said that at the Onitsha trade fair where he participated all traders freely used the currency.

Investigation revealed that only Ibo traders accept the currency while others reject it, describing the Biafran currency as an illegal tender.

For instance Ruth Obaye from Edo State and a petty trader at Igudu market said she would never accept the money from anybody.

According to her, “politics apart I am an educated person and I know what is legal and illegal tender. Nobody can come to my shed with the Biafran money and I will accept because it is illegal.

“The Igbos are accepting it for political reasons just to create awareness among themselves about Biafra and nothing more and I wish them good luck”.

Contacted, the DPO in charge of the Warri police A-Division Mr. Olivia Amaechi said he was not aware of the circulation of the Biafran currency in Warri.

According to him, “I will dispatch my men to carry out thorough investigation into the matter and anybody found with such currency will be arrested and prosecuted.”

Correspondent, Warri

Posted by Publisher at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)

Only APGA can give Ndigbo the Presidency – Chekwas Okorie

Chief Chekwas Okorie, National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, still has absolute confidence and trust in the dreams of the party as a credible medium for progressive elements to achieve political power in spite of the leadership crisis that has been threatening the party.

In this interview with Regional Editor, South-East, SUNNY IGBOANUGO, Okorie said so far, only APGA is poised to actualise Igbo dream of producing Nigeria’s president. Excerpts

H ow did your meeting go last weekend? What were the resolutions?

Well, the meeting was the caucus of the South-East Congress. The South East Congress is the new name we gave to the South-East Political Leaders Forum, which Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and I are co-conveners. That particular meeting was stalled a bit, because of the APGA crisis. But now the APGA crisis has taken a definite shape, heading for a quick resolution, one way or the other, legally or politically. So, we decided to renew efforts, because time is of the essence. So, the caucus met and took far-reaching decisions. One of the highlights of the meeting is that Igbo people will contest the 2007 presidential election. Igbo people will fight together on the platform of one political party. And that party is APGA, and that APGA is the one under my leadership. The committee set up at the previous meeting, headed by Dr. E.J.K. Onyewuchi, the ANPP Chairman in Imo state, submitted a report, in which they said that they had investigated the allegations against me and found them to be frivolous. They have also visited offices of APGA in the South-East zone and found out that all the officers were loyal to Chief Chekwas Okorie. They also contacted other members and Igbo people generally and they said that the APGA they would want to associate with is the APGA under my leadership. That was in their report and that report was adopted. We now also agreed that APGA would go into alliance with any of the major political parties, who have definite constituencies, for the purpose of forming a viable coalition government in 2007. APGA would be prepared, that is the South East Congress under APGA, would be prepared to assume either a senior or junior partner in that alliance, depending on our performance. It was also agreed, to sell this effectively to Igbo people. All the other similar organisations in Igbo land would be invited to participate actively in the activities of the South-East Congress. So the Onyewuchi committee was then further mandated to continue with their assignment of reaching out to the other groups. Another highlight of the caucus meeting was that the caucus would now move from state to state, beginning with Anambra. So by November, about the 20th of November, the South East Congress would be meeting in Awka, Anambra State. The caucus would now be holding a day before the congress itself. So, the next caucus would be at Chief Ume-Ezeoke’s residence in Amichi. In fact, he is the Chairman. We believe that in five months, we would already be in 2006. We would have covered the whole of Igbo land and then, we can take Delta and Rivers, where Igbo people are domiciled and then come back to the round table to see how far we have gone.

What was the attendance like?

Well, being a caucus, it was limited. We invited the governors, all of them. We received goodwill messages. They didn’t send representatives. But Chief Ume-Ezeoke, the Chairma was there. Myself, the co-convener, then Dr. Chudi Nwike, the National Treasurer of AD was there, Reverend Obioha, the Vice Chairman South-East, AD was there. From the ANPP side, of course I mentioned Dr. E.J.K. Onyewuchi. Don’t forget that Chief Ume-Ezeoke is the Deputy Chairman, Board of Trustees of ANPP. Chief Anike Nwoga, the National Youth Leader of ANPP was there. Dr. Joe Nworgu and Prof. Nworgu were there. Prof. Bonny Okere was also there, Chief (Mrs.) Maria Okwo and Chief Bridget Orjiako, former Commissioner in Anambra State, were there. Quite a number of people came. I can’t remember their names. But we were about 30, selected from the various states. Those who couldn’t make it, who belonged to the caucus, including Dr. John Okam, and Dr. Francis Egu, the secretary really, but he became ill and could not make it and somebody stood in for him.

Is this not another individual, independent and fragmented attempt at solving the Igbo problem, which has been identified as one of the greatest hiccup against achieving that goal? I ask this because there are some big names I expected to hear, which I did not hear. So what is the picture, where do they fit in?

No, quite frankly, when this thing started, there were other people. Chief John Nnia Nwodo was part of us originally, although I am not saying that he is no longer part of us, because he sent words to say that he was not disposed, Dr. Ikedife, who is a known name in Anambra and Igbo land, also sent in his regrets. I don’t want to start naming our members who didn’t come. I just talked about those who were there. But going to the question proper, I agree with you that a number of experiments have been made in Igboland to find a common platform for the promotion of Igbo political agenda. But one experiment has succeeded and that is the APGA experiment. Nobody can say that APGA has not become a movement, a political movement for Igbo people. So what is now left is to bring people, who belong to other political parties to see reason why it is in the collective interest of the Igbo people to embrace the movement called APGA, even if they still remain where they are, for the purposes of negotiating our people back into the mainstream of Nigerian politics, instead of the individual negotiations that have failed over the years. And in order to carry more people along, that was why the Dr. E.J.K. Onyewuchi committee was set up and further directed to reach out to these other groups that are springing up now and again.

The South East Congress is ahead of the others. The others are still at that preliminary stage of trying to organise. There is nothing you can do politically, in any part of the world, without pursuing them politically. That is why, when you hear that Ohaneze is going to bring a consensus candidate, it sounds so naïve and laughable. Because a cultural group cannot just bring a candidate and post him to a party. It is the party that can bring a presidential candidate, so that the cultural group can now work through the party. This is where the Yorubas are a bit more organised, where the Afenifere, know s that it is not a political group, so it works through the AD. Arewa would do the same thing through the ANPP. So the congress has identified a political party. And the people of the South East area, without being prompted, have also identified a political party of their own. So all we have to do now is to assure all the other people that they have accommodation in APGA and that nobody would be judged in terms of the time he joined. You can come and promote your own political agenda, aspiration, on that platform.

What is happening in the PDP, has helped to reinforce the fact that come rain, come shine, your own is your own. So, I believe that as we move from this stage, people will begin to see how all-embracing, the movement is. And it is to allow politicians and non-politicians the chance to participate in packaging the Igbo political agenda that we decided to use a name that is not a registered political party. But there is no doubt in our minds as to the vehicle to be used in actualising that agenda. That is the difference. Between the South East Congress and any other formation in Igboland. If you ask the others, they will not be able to pinpoint. If they tell you that it is the PDP, of course, immediately you begin to laugh, because PDP has been appropriated, and we know who appropriated it and that the Igbo interest is not part of their programme there.

So you believe that the project by Ndigbo to produce the next president of the country is still viable?

Yes. It is still viable. What we continue to harp on is to ensure free and fair election. Once we have an election in which the votes of voters will count, I don’t see how that cannot happen. Ordinarily, nobody would have expected that MRS. Angel Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany would become Chancellor. But when they went to election that was free and fair and there was no clear winner, her party was able to negotiate itself into prominence by giving accommodation to others and that saw to her emergence. In arrangement in which the LPD got more of the prominent ministerial position over and above the LCDU that is forming the government, that is what coalition is all about. That is why I said we will be prepared to either be senior or junior in the coalition. If there are two or three parties that have agreed to go into coalition, we must have an open mind that whoever is senior in terms of performance will be allowed to form government. So, with that arrangement, the two or three parties that had agreed to work together will now know what their chances are if they eventually emerge. But it is not to throw up our hands and say we cannot produce this thing when the prospect of becoming senior in that coalition is prized.

What are the indicators to guide you?

Majority of Nigerian progressives are inclined to APGA because it is broad based than the other parties. The PDP actually is not a progressive party. In fact, it is one of the most reactionary parties we have ever had in this country. There is no amount of pretence that will make people not to see the reality. The entire South-East people are emotionally and sentimentally attached to APGA. And I can tell you why: When we were conceptualising this party, it was deliberate on my part, because I initiated and conceptualised what is called APGA today. It was deliberate on my part to come up with the logo, the Cockerel. I also came up with the name UPGA. UPGA was a kind of an alliance, which was not a political party in 1954 when it was formed. Dr. Michael Okpara was the leader, with deputy leader, Michael Fajemro, from the west. And then the cock on the symbol of the NCNC which Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe led. So, I thought that I needed to gain two things that will evoke the memory of these great icons politically. So, I brought these things in. I then came up with an additional amendment to their condition that no name used before will be allowed to be used again and no logo or symbol used before will be allowed to be used again. I then went back to the drawing board and changed United to All. That was how we moved from UPGA to APGA. And then, we used the acronym, ADDA and put it under the cock, so that the cock can hang on the acronym. And that has therefore changed the logo. So, this invoked the reaction that we expected and that was how people came to be attached with it up till today. That is one.

Now, you go to areas where the NCNC and UPGA influenced, the Middle Belt, the UNITED Middle Belt Congress, led by J.S Taka was part of UPGA and of course the West. NCNC was part of UPGA, the Bornu Youth Movement was part of NCNC. The Northern Elements Progressive Union was part of UPGA. So, all those places that UPGA covered, either the same people or their children or those who were much younger at the time are naturally attached to APGA. So, this is the foundation from where we are going. And that is why in spite of APGA not having one local government to its credit, it became the fastest growing political party, rising to become the foremost opposition party over and above the ANPP that has seven governors and several local governments and senators and legislators at the National Assembly. So, we have a strong foundation. There is no doubt that there is crisis at the centre but the crisis would soon be over and then we would do a double-quick match to recover lost grounds. But I will tell you again about the presidential ambition in APGA now. We have two approaches at hand. It is either one long jump from where we are now into Aso Rock or up step and jump. These are two athletic events: the long jump and the up step and jump. So, this up step and jump is the one that we will capture through coalition. A long jump is when we do it, alone which is a little bit more remote.

Recently, you made a call to Igbo people to rise and fight the war that is about to consume them. I don’t know if there has been any reaction since when you echoed that challenge?

Well, there were some reactions. For instance, the South-East Congress considered very seriously sending a high power delegation led by its Chairman to Professor Maurice Iwu to find out why he would choose to destroy APGA; to find out why APGA constitution could be so flagrantly violated under him? If it was true that the Guobadia regime took the decision, as he is claming, why didn’t they implement it? If they allowed him to come and do it, why didn’t he ask questions if he was to be believed at all? That they were not saying that Chekwas Okorie must be chairman at all cost but that their position is that if Chekwas Okorie must be removed at all cost there should be due process in his removal. The congress also frowned at a situation where an Igbo man like him will be used to distabilised the Igbo political agenda. That was considered; and there was another opinion to tarry a while, may be for one or two more weeks to see whether based on all the memoranda sent to him from many quarters including APGA, he would have a rethink. If he doesn’t, then they would go to meet him with these views; and whatever he says will be made available to entire Igbo people; perhaps in the next five weeks congress and meetings coming up in Awka on the 20th of November and then Igbo people will know who their enemies are. This is because you must let the people know where their problems lie. And if it is from the internal force, they should be able to know that this is where it is coming from. And if it external forces, they should be able to know, because if you don’t know who your enemy is, you may be fighting in the wrong direction. But one thing is obvious, the Igbo people have decided that in 2007 they would be preparing for two things: first option is an election that will be free and fair, the second option is war in with which they will defend themselves. A situation where somebody will come in, write results and ask us to go to court will not arise again and it will not be tolerated. So, if anybody is nursing that kind of idea, that he can manipulate machines and deny the Igbo people their inalienable right to choose their leaders, the person should just forget such ambition because it will not be taken or tolerated.

How prepared is APGA for elections?

Well, by now some people would have indicated interest to run on the platform of the party but with the confusion Maurice Iwu has created, it would be difficult to present a candidate until this matter is resolved. And this is why we believe he is doing what he’s doing deliberately to make it difficult for APGA to present candidates and campaign for their candidates from the united platform. We hope he would not be seen as a traitor who has come to destroy Igbo people. I said this because there was an election a week ago in a ward, a bye –election in a ward in Isu local government of Imo State. And the State Independent Electoral Commission, INEC in Imo State decided for the first time, I don’t know whether it was because of the crisis in the PDP in which Achike Udenwa is being marginalised, but the commission decided to have a free and fair election. I am quoting the commission, there are 3,400 registered voters in that ward and because people no longer have interest to come out and vote, only 1105 voters voted. And they counted these votes in the ward there and then to the satisfaction of everybody. APGA got 1119 votes; PDP got 245 votes; the rest of the votes were shared by the remaining 28 olitical parties. This is a free and fair election in a ward in Imo State last weekend. So you can imagine that, and this happened when nobody went to campaign. When we have a candidate in a senatorial zone and we all launched out to campaign and if INEC decides to conduct a free and fair election, APGA will take 90 percent of the votes. And APGA candidate will be sworn in. So, that is why the PDP is tired of battling with APGA and Iwu has made himself a winning tool in their hands. He may continue to exacerbate the APGA crisis so that it would not be able to present the front. If there is change of mind on their part, I can assure you that APGA will not just present a candidate but would win.

Posted by Publisher at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)

Stella will be re-buried in Iruekpen – Monarch

I will pay compensation – Obasanjo

In line with tradition, Stella Omotola, wife of President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was buried yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, will be reburied in her parents’ home in Iruekpen, Edo State.

uwakwe abugu
Bureau Chief, Benin.

However, during the re-burial, her body would not be exhumed but a measurement of her grave would be taken with a stick and that stick reburied in Iruekpen.

And to assuage the grouse of Stella’s homestead, President Olusegun Obasanjo at the burial assured the Esan people that at the appropriate time, whatever fine imposed for defying their custom would be paid.

According to Obasanjo, he was aware of their complaints that their daughter was sleeping “permanently in Abeokuta” but that “ at the appropriate time, whatever fine that may be imposed, will be paid.

This has finally put paid to speculations on the matter.Esan Youth Movement had in a paid advert during the week, protested the internment of Stella outside her ancestral home..

Insisting that the custom of the Esan people must be respected, the traditional ruler of Abia, Iruekpen where Stella’s parents hail from, the Onogie of Ogwa, Esan West Council Area, H.R.H Zaiki J. Ehizogie, said the son of the late First Lady, Muyiwa, is expected to lead the ceremony.

The traditional ruler explained, “After the so-called burial, yes, I call that so-called burial in Ogun state, the final resting place has to be in Abia, Iruekpen.”

The monarch said that Stella was buried in Abeokuta in line with her will and that is why they acceded to it. According to him, apart from the question of the couple deciding their final resting place when they die, the arrangement was accepted because “it is a family arrangement, it is a formal respect for the President and then, for Pa Abebe.

“We accept that they can choose their burial site but we also reserve the traditional right to our daughter’s final resting place. So, we expect that the final arrangement would be complied with shortly so that our custom will not be too grossly abused or neglected”, he maintained.

“But we don’t need to exhume the corpse. All we need to do is to take the measurement of the grave where she was buried using a stick. Then, that stick will be formally re-buried in Abia, Iruekpen here. All the other procedures will be followed by her people, particularly her first son. That is the custom here”, he insisted.

Asked when that will be done, he explained that “the consultation will be held with our people here and the time for that final burial will be fixed but that will be after the Abeokuta burial.

He contended that there had been much pressure from the Esan people especially those living outside Edo State, who questioned the decision of the Abebe family and the elders in accepting that Stella be buried in Abeokuta.

The deceased’s father, Dr. Christopher Abebe, was away to Abuja when our reporter visited his Abia, Iruekpen country home during the week to get his comments on the matter.

But his immediate younger brother, Thomas Abebe, toed the line of the monarch.

According to him, the issue of where the late Mrs. Obasanjo would be buried had raised much dust amongst the Esan people within and outside Iruekpen immediately the burial programme was announced.

He said he personally went to Abuja to confer with his elder brother over the issue of the burial site since there were protests from their people.

Abebe explained, in passable English, that his brother told him that he had agreed to the arrangement of the burial taking place in Abeokuta because Obasanjo revealed that he and his spouse had agreed to be buried in the same place.

“Obasanjo said that he would send people to us to explain the agreement they had reached regarding their burial place. It is our old custom to bury our daughters when they die. But when they write a will they reverse it,”he stated.

Posted by Publisher at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

SSS Seizes Newspapers With Biafra Briefs in Rivers

Men of the State Security Services (SSS) yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State began mass seizures of all newspapers and magazines in the state that carried any story, article or information on Biafra nation from newspapers’ vendors.

From Okon Bassey in Port Harcourt, 10.28.2005

The swoop on the vendors came a week to the hosting of the 72nd birthday of the former warlord of Biafra, Dim Emeka Ojukwu in Port Harcourt, November 5, 2005 by the Igbo in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
THISDAY gathered that the SSS men clamped- down on the vendors in the early hours of Thursday and warned them to henceforth stop assisting in the circulation or displaying of newspapers and magazines on the streets of the state that contain Biafra stories.

Though no arrest was made, a vendor at the Education Bus-stop in Port Harcourt told THISDAY that, they were given the last warning to desist from selling or distributing newspapers with Biafra stories and cautioned that they (vendors) know the type of papers to sell.

Sources said among those papers seized with cover price ranging between N50.00 and N200.00, were Global Star, Eastern Pilot, News Desk, The Igbo Spirit Magazine, Freedom News, Voice of Biafra, National Question and the Mandate.

Posted by Publisher at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)

Protests In Jos Over Us, Britain’s Support For Israel

Hundreds of Muslims in Jos yesterday took to the streets after Jumat prayers in protest against the stance of the United States of America and Britain on the call by Iran that Israel should be wiped off the map of the world.

From Ahamefula Ogbu in Jos, 10.28.2005

Dressed in red, the protesters who paraded major streets in the Plateau State capital also distributed leaflets most of them in Arabic which some of them who spared some steps to respond to questions said were in condemnation of the two countries.

The peaceful demonstrators in an apparent show of displeasure with the official position of US and Britain dragged their flags along the streets where they staged the protest thereby causing panic among residents of a possible breakdown of law and order.

Shops around Dilimi and Abuja markets temporarily closed in apprehension of the protest possibly getting out of hand and becoming a full blown inter religious.”

Posted by Publisher at 01:55 PM | Comments (0)

The bellview plane crash: Oh, we got no chance for final goodbye, families lament

“A voice was heard in Rama, Lamentation, weeping and great mourning. Rachael was weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are no more.” — Matthew 2:18

Story by Chioma Anyagafu, Assistant Editor and Fred Iwenjora
Posted to the Web: Saturday, October 29, 2005

HOW else will you describe the disaster that befell Nigeria last Saturday when Bellview Airlines Flight B3 210 crashed at Lisa village in Ifo Local Council of Ogun State, killing all 117 people on board? Is there ever any compensation for life? How will you compensate a woman who not only lost her husband in the crash but also the opportunity to say a final goodbye and give the body a befitting burial? How do you console a woman begging to be given only a finger or an ear of her late husband to take home as something to represent the whole body?

What story would calm a woman who had prepared a yam porridge for her daughter and her son-in-law who were coming in from a honeymoon, but never got home while the prepared food remained in the freezer for 48 hours after the young couple had long died?

How do you calm a husband who pleaded with his wife to postpone the journey till Monday since Saturday and Sundays were no working days to no avail? Would a young man who drove his own brother to the airport and was told his brother had missed the flight by fifteen minutes and should wait for the next one ever comprehend how his brother entered the same flight he was told he missed after the former had left?

Questions, questions, questions! These were some of numerous questions that demanded answers as relations after relations of people perished in the ill-fated Boeing 727 Bellview flight trooped into the corporate headquarters of the airline at Opebi in Ikeja, Lagos or at the airline’s office at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
It was, indeed, heart-rending as emotions ran high for hours and for days. Some came crying, others registered their protests as they all demanded answers from the officials of the airline concerning their beloved ones who were in the Abuja-bound flight that Saturday night.

The tears, the pains, the expression of anger, the visible apprehension, the feelings of hopelessness were all natural expectations from people so anguished by the cruel tragedy.

Who do you calm? The widow, the widower and the orphans whose circumstances were created by the crash? Would some relations of these victims ever get over the agony, the psychological trauma of losing their loved ones? How will parents who lost their only sons or daughters ever recover from the reality that their wards whom they waited for at the Abuja end of the airport that Saturday night would never land to their embrace? Could anything have saved the pilot from flying with his sister in the same aircraft? What is the future for Faith and Patience Imasuen, the twin daughters of the pilot who flew the ill-fated Bellview flight 210?

Indeed, there have been no answers. Only questions and questions. It was a pitiful sight at the corporate headquarters of Bellview as relatives of the dead got nothing but only insurance forms to fill, with words of consolation coming from the airline’s officials who were also mourning because even their beloved ones also died in the crash.

Saturday Vanguard was there and at the airport for days and came face-to-face with the bereaved families. And for all, one common denominator was the feeling of emptiness by the distinct families that they would get no chance to bury their dead, even as they did not get any opportunity for the last goodbye. We bring to you the grief, agonies and views of the affected families.

‘I narrowly missed boarding the
flight but my brother died in it’

SOLA and David Oneh, both of Deeper Life Church came to join the shuttle bus from Bellview office to the sight of the crash. Sola was the person who accompanied Steve Bayo, (92 on the list of the crash victims) to the airport that day. Both were to travel together because they had much belongings but the sight of many passengers at the airport who wanted the same flight made them to drop Sola. He tells the story.

I cannot get this picture off my head. I saw all the people that boarded the flight because Steve and I got there early. We had much load and we spent so much time booking them in. I even helped the white couple and their son with some of their loads at the booking. There was also another old lady who boarded the flight whom I also helped with her luggage.

My brother (Steve) had wanted us to travel because his load was too much but many people wanted that flight because of the time. There were some people who still missed it and perhaps they never knew how lucky they were at that point at the airport. I stood with the passengers and interacted with many of them because I stayed long. I had to wait for Brother Steve to leave before I left.

We had already concluded plans. We had called the Abuja end and asked them to bring a bigger bus to the airport to pick our belongings. I waited till they boarded the airline’s bus that took them to the tarmac. I watched from a distance as they boarded the plane.

I still remember the mood at the airport, the discussions, the laughter, the phone calls. You know whenever it is time to board flights, people make calls and we were all standing there. I would have been a victim but something happened at the airport that made us to buy only one ticket. If we had come late, perhaps I would have boarded that plane but because we came early and finished checking in our goods and made arrangements for a bus to wait at Abuja to pick them, we decided that there was no need for me to travel with Steve.

What I really want now is to be taken to Lisa Village. We have been coming since the Sunday that it was confirmed that the plane was sighted somewhere. They even showed our cheque, the Deeper Life Bible Church cheque. Brother Steve had died but God knows better. It’s unfortunate we had no chance to say bye to him but we know he is happy with the Lord.

Too sad, he’s gone without a final
word, mourns Uche Okolo’s brother

Casmir Okolo, elder brother of Uche Okolo who died in the ill-fated flight from Lagos to Abuja still looked stupefied as he brought out the particulars of his brother and began to fill forms given to him at the corporate headquarters of Bellview Airline. He paused, looked up and asked his companion, Clement who brought him to the place if his brother, Uche, was now being referred to in the past tense. As a man, he tried not to shed tears but they were unstoppably rolling down his cheeks.

“So, we’re filling forms that Uche is dead, abi? And he is not coming back? Clement, are we now filling forms about Uche and we’re talking about him in past tense? Uche that missed his flight by 15 minutes! How did he get into it? He called me to say he missed his flight and would wait for the next one. Yet, it was the one he missed that crashed and he was in it. How did it happen?”

Ironically, it was the same Clement who brought Casmir to the premises of Bellview plaza that also drove Uche to the airport that Saturday evening.
“I was with him at the airport,” he told Saturday Vanguard. “Uche was my boss and my friend. We got to the airport 15 minutes behind schedule. He had already missed the flight because the flight was loaded and set to leave when we got to the airport. The engine of the airplane was running already when I dropped Uche. The ticketing officers told him to wait for the next flight and I handed over his personal effects.

“Uche always travelled like that. He said he wanted to come back Sunday morning. He made many calls at the airport and asked me to tell some of his friends and associates he had appointment with that weekend to come on Sunday afternoon. Then, he asked me to leave and I did. We all knew he missed the flight by 15 minutes and I can’t really say how he ended up boarding that same flight.”
According to his shattered brother, Casmir, “we’ll all die but how did Uche die this way, without even saying a word to us?”

We didn’t want my wife to travel that night— Olaniyan
MR. Olaniyan was one of those who insisted on being taken to the site of the crash. His wife, Mrs. Remilekun Olaniyan was among those who perished in the crash. Olaniyan went to the site, saw the debris and trembled all the way back because he was convinced from what he saw that nothing could have saved the victims.

We didn’t want her to travel that Saturday night. We all begged her that since it was Saturday, that whatever she wanted to do could wait till Monday but you see, she gave some good excuses why she needed to be there that Saturday night and that’s that. The rest is history.

You and I know the story but I have come to ensure that really there’s no mistake. No, there was none. My wife that left that Saturday evening is not coming back to us.

‘Nkiru was pregnant when she died with her husband’
Oby Oluigbo and her sister Vivian, both wearing dark glasses to cover their blood-shot eyes came out of the Bellview plaza on Opebi fuming. Their anger was not directed at anybody but at fate itself that dealt them a deadly blow. Their younger sister, Nkiru and her husband Chukwuemeka Okoli were on their way back from Ghana and some African countries where they went for their honeymoon when they boarded the ill-fated Boeing 727 Bellview flight that crashed Saturday night.

“Isn’t this life incredible?” Oby asked the journalist. “Isn’t it funny how things turn out? Nkiru was my younger sister. She was aged 22 years, so full of life. A few weeks ago, we were all together, family and friends during her wedding to Chukwuemeka and everybody was happy. Nkiru was pregnant with her first child and died with it and her husband. Is this life not wicked?”
Oby Oluigbo told this paper that her sister and her husband were returning from honeymoon, the last lap of which they spent in Ghana.

“They called us before they boarded that flight that they were already in Nigeria and would be in Abuja in the next one hour. They asked us to wait for them at the airport and asked my mother to prepare yam porridge for them which she did. We’re still waiting for their flight to land.

“Do you know that none of the wedding gifts has been opened? Not even an envelope or a gift has been unwrapped. Everything is still like that, like they were given to them during the wedding. Some people even brought their presents after my sister and her husband had embarked on their honeymoon. And they were coming back from that honeymoon when it happened.

“Have I told you about the child? Nkiru was pregnant, her first child and they all perished. Do you see the way life is? You needed to have seen my sister and her husband, so full of life, very much in love, so happy and now this happened!

“Where do I begin their story and where do I end? Do you know that my mother prepared yam porridge and is still waiting for her daughter (Nkiru) and son-in-law, Chukwuemeka to come home and eat. The yam porridge is still in the freezer. My mum is still waiting for this joke to be over. But it’s alright. They are happy wherever they are today. God will take care of them.”

But Vivian would want more explanations. “It’s not God’s wish for anyone to die young. Nkiru was 22. Are you saying no one could explain this? Are they saying this could not have been avoided? Just three minutes after take-off and it was death. Why did it take Nigeria so long to find where the aircraft crashed? Did rescue come early enough to try and save some souls?

“Some things have not been properly explained to us and that is what we are demanding from the government and the airline. What really happened? Nkiru and Chukwuemeka and all others would feel better in their graves if we find answers to their death.

“And could you imagine the misinformation? We had been all over the place, from Kwara to Ogbomosho, Kishi, Shaki and finally to Lisa village. We’ve seen the debris and all we know is that Nkiru and Chukwuemeka are dead. All we want to know is why the happy couple, so much in love and their unborn child would ask us to prepare yam porridge for them and are not yet back. We saw the carcass of the plane. We know where Nkiru and Chukwuemeka are buried. It’s so painful we won’t be able to give them a befitting burial. It equally painful that we couldn’t meet our sister and her husband after their honeymoon.

“Is this the end of a story that began happily? Nkiru was younger than us but she found love earlier and settled down in marriage. Now, is this the end? Buried in that strange land we went to with body parts scattered all over the place? It is a sad story. This is nonsense. We want to know what happened?”

NANM will forever miss Sabulu, says Okoh
COMRADE Linus Sabulu, president of the National Associaton of the Nurses and Midwives (NANM) had come to Lagos to be part of the Nurses and Midwives Council of Nigeria meeting. The meeting had lasted from Thursday - Saturday, October 22, 2005.

Sabulu who hailed from Gombe State had checked out of the hotel and was eager to rejoin his family in Abuja even though his wife had told him not to bother returning till the next day. Love for family had an upper hand and that was how he boarded the ill-fated flight.

According to Frank Okoh, secretary of the Lagos State chapter of NANM who was with him on Friday said: “Sabulu had thought the meetings would have ended on Friday but it spilled over to Saturday. I had gone to his hotel room to discuss some personal and association matters. He was full of hopes for our association and how to put it on the path of progress. The association will really miss his astute leadership. He rose from auditor to financial secretary, deputy president before eventually becoming the president in the over ten years of his involvement.

“Sabulu was a very nice guy. I am not saying so because he’s dead. He was a result-oriented leader. His driving force propelled the association to greater height. He was a man always after success. Only God knows why he and the other passengers of the ill-fated Bellview flight had to die that way.

“Our association’s executives have been meeting and will soon come up with plans on how to honour him. He was a friend and a wonderful colleague. We would forever remember him for his positive attitude to things.”

‘It’s a pity search-and-rescue efforts were slow’
KUNLE Martins is the president of Cabin Crew Members Association of Nigeria which was formed in 1990. Three crew members who belong to the association in the persons of Victoria Etim, Queen Ozekhome and Sanni Steve were involved in the air crash. Martins spoke on what the body intends to do to ensure that the families of the deceased get their entitlements.

There are those who would point to the risky nature of our job, but I want to tell you that some people have flown for thirty five years and nothing has happened to them. But I want to call on the government agencies involved in this business to take it seriously. I say this because a few months ago, we organised a seminar/workshop on safety in air transportation in Nigeria. No one came from FAAN, NAMA.

But Governor Tinubu who didn’t even have a stake, sent a representative. I want the government to put certain checks in place. Government must check how much money is released to different agencies and how they spend the money. This administration must look into these things.

It is also shameful that our search and rescue team could not trace where the aircraft crashed. I was with the AIT crew when we got to Lisa. I saw pieces of parts of the aircraft and human beings and could only imagine what may have happened to the plane. Our lives are not safe. It is not like that all over the world. We only have to rely on God.

I have been flying since 1993. I started with Okada Air. I see the work as just another job. An accident does not make you not to drive around anymore. What must worry Nigerians is the lack of knowledge and inability to take prompt action when there is an emergency.

The area where we, as a union, will take seriously is monitoring what happens to the insurance pay cheque of the victims. This is an area where there is always a problem. I recall the case of one young woman who worked for one airline and died on active duty. We fought that case until she was paid her entitlements. I don’t believe Bellview Airlines will try to do anything funny. But as a union, we’ll only monitor it to see that the families receive the rights of our late colleagues who were wonderful crew members of note in Nigeria.

Posted by Publisher at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

Tribute: To reflect and...Act

WHEN one loses a loved one and it occurs in an abrupt manner, such that you least expected it to happen, it dawns on you with a clarity more real than imagined that indeed man’s existence on earth is a vain pursuit after the wind.

By Hector Igbikiowubo
Posted to the Web: Saturday, October 29, 2005

The ill fated Bellview flight 210 crash last Saturday at Lisa, in Ifo, Ogun State which claimed 117 lives abruptly is one such instance.

I understand that one of the passengers who got on board the flight had arrived the airport a little late and was told that he could not get on board the ill fated flight. The passenger then called his home in Abuja to inform them he would not be returning till the next day. However, in a last ditch effort to get on board the plane which was still on ground, he approached one of the officials and after a tip had changed hands, he was taken to the plane where the official called on the radio to let those conducting check-in know that there was one more passenger approaching the plane. He succeeded in boarding the plane and the rest like we know is history. How could he have known that he was tipping his way to his death?

Although the rest of the passengers who boarded the ill fated flight did not have to tip any official to get on board, an inspection of the flight manifest shows that some of those who boarded did so with tickets belonging to other people. Could they have taken the chance if they knew it would be their last? Certainly not!
Although no life lost in the crash could be said to be greater than the other, I feel a personal connection with Mr. George Ikemefuna Enenmoh, the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Ascon Oil whom I spoke with one hour before he boarded the flight. Enenmoh bestrode the oil industry like a meteor in the sky.
Barely three months ago, he celebrated his 50th birthday, the expansion of his company’s petroleum product’s storage capacity from 30 million litres to 70 million litres, the commissioning of an 18,000 line capacity telephone exchange and the commissioning of two ships.

Enenmoh had at least three hundred staff in his employ and these staff were a reflection of his belief in one Nigeria. He strove for perfection in a manner only he could and he believed in the regeneration of Nigeria through enterprise, hard work and discipline. With Enenmoh there was no dull moment. Maybe, he knew his days were numbered when last week, he sent me a mail insisting that I had to read it. The mail was titled ‘to reflect and ....act’. There is no better way to give an insight into the persona called George Ikemefuna Enenmoh. It read:

The difference between the poor countries and rich ones is not the age of the country. This can be shown by countries like India and Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old and are poor.

On the other hand, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries and are rich.
The difference between poor and rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japan has a limited land territory, 80 per cent mountainous, inadequate for agriculture and cattle rearing, but it is the second largest economy in the world. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.

Another example is Switzerland, which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In its little territory, they raise animals and till the soil four months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality. It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order and labour, and this has made it the world’s strong safe.

Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.
Race or skin colour is also not important: immigrants labelled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.

What is the difference?
The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by education and culture.

On analysing the behaviour of the people in rich and developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:
*Ethics, as a basic principle;
* Integrity;
*Responsibility;
*Respect for the laws and rules;
*Respect for the rights of other citizens;
*Work loving;
*Strive for saving and investment;
*Will of super action;
*Punctuality.

In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.
We are not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. We are poor because we lack attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich and developed societies.

If you do not forward this message nothing will happen to you. Your pet will not die, you will not be fired, you will not have bad luck for seven years and also, you will not get sick.
If you love your country, let this message circulate. A majority of the people this message reaches could reflect about this and change.

For want of better adjectives to qualify Enenmoh, I would call him a true Nigerian patriot who accomplished so much within his 50 eventful years on earth, impacting on people, thinking and conducting affairs within and outside the country. Even though he could afford to live a life of lavish splendour outside Nigeria, his abiding faith in the regeneration of a prostrate Nigerian polity kept him rooted to the motherland. He presented several papers at various fora within and outside the Nigerian oil and gas industry and was in the vanguard of increased local participation in the oil and gas sector.

On his 50th birthday, I asked him what he looked forward to doing in retirement and he said he planned to build a school someday where he could pay attention to imparting knowledge. May his soul and those of others who lost their lives in the ill fated flight find repose in the bosom of the Lord God.

Posted by Publisher at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)

The bellview plane crash: Udeka’s wife cries: God, why me?

NUMBER 13, lshola Taiwo Street, Lekki Phase I, Victoria Island in Lagos, was, Tuesday afternoon, like a Mecca of sort.

Stories by Celestine Okafor, Assistant Editor
Posted to the Web: Saturday, October 29, 2005

From the array of exotic cars parked outside the gate, you could observe that people, lots of people were in the premises of the sprawling edifice to condole with the deceased family whose breadwinner and Managing Director of African Continental Bank (ACB), Mr. John Udeka lost his life in the ill-fated Bellview crash last Saturday night.

As the reporter entered where the late banker’s wife, Mrs. Mamune Udeka was sitting with some family members receiving visitors, one of them, a cousin to the late Udeka said: “I know you want to speak to madam over this incident. It’s a pity she won’t be able to talk now. Uncle’s death has thrown everybody off balance.”
Determined, however, to talk with Mrs. Udeka who sat on the chair, even if to conmiserate with her and in the process chip in a few questions, the grief-stricken woman looked at her guest without uttering a word. She was too shocked for words.

And when she found the courage to talk, Mrs. Udeka said: “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that John has left me this way! It just can’t be true. Will I ever come out of this pain? God, where do you want me to start from? I’ve always served you and reposed my faith in you. God, why? Why? Why me?” she asked as she began to cry.

At this point, a female sympathiser, a middle aged woman held her close to herself and began to offer consolatory words. Mrs. Udeka suddenly got up and as if forgetting something, walked into the inner room and came out again a few minutes later and back to her position.
Without talking to anybody in particular this time, the widow yelled: “Oh life, so this is life? God, I thought you loved me. Why did you allow this to happen to me? Why did you allow this to happen to him (John Udeka)?” •
Mrs. Udeka acknowledged the comforting words of the visitors but would not go into any further interview. “What do I say? I just can’t say anything. This is just too much for me,” she lamented amid tears.

We bow to the will of Allah,
by Waziri Mohammed’s brother

IBRAHIM Mohammed, younger brother to late PDP chieftain and chairman of Nigeria Railway Corporation, Alhaji Waziri Mohammed who was among the victims of last Saturday’s plane crash at Lisa village sees the death of his brother and mentor as the will of the Almighty Allah.
My brother’s death was painful, very painful to everybody in the family. We were not expecting that Alhaji would die so soon and in this manner. He was such a lively young man. He was good to everybody in the family. He cared for everybody who needed his help and attention.

He used to advise us on the need to work hard in life and to be faithful to Allah. He was a deeply religious person who was never fanatical about his faith. He tolerated everybody who came his way. He also made friends in both high and low places. He was a respected person in the high circles because of the way he carried himself and the way he related with people. He was a good model in humility. Among you journalists, he had lots of friends that I know very well. For him to die in this manner, is most painful. Everybody in our family is seriously affected by his death. Infact, right now, more and more people are coming into the house to offer their condolences. People have been coming in and going out since this incident happened on Saturday.

His wife, Zainab and other family members are right there inside the house receiving people. The President was here in the house yesterday (Tuesday) to condole with our family. The Senate President and some members of the National Assembly and PDP officials were around to also sympathise with us.

The most painful aspect of it was that we could not pick his corpse because of the way their plane crashed. We would have loved to give him a befitting burial. We understand the rescue operation teams are still trying to put a lot of things together. I hope they (rescue operators) can be able to recover his body.
It is very said that this kind of thing can happen in this country and there would be this kind of delay before rescue efforts began. The death of my brother is painful but we have left everything to God as Islam would admonish us. I believe that Allah chose to call my brother at His own time. So, there is nothing anybody can do. We have resigned to the will of Allah.

I want to use this opportunity to condole with Mr. President on the death of his dear wife and other families like us who lost their loved ones in that crash. They should take heart because this is a shared pain. It is only the Almighty Allah that knows why that thing (plane crash) happened.”

I leave our future to God– Igwe
MRS. Ketebu Igwe, wife of Chief Joseph Igwe, Bolingo Hotel boss who was among the victims of last weekend’s ill-fated Bellview flight to Abuja says she leaves their future to God. Agony and grief arising from unexpected tragedy involving the sudden loss of a loved one has a way of drying words from the mouth of the bereaved. Mrs. Becky Ketebu Igwe, a former minister of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first term (1999-2003) however found herself in this situation following the crash.

She was understandably not in the mood to respond to any press chat and worsened by the fact that she was busy receiving sympathisers including President Olusegun Obasanjo as well as other dignitaries who were around to condole with her and her family over the death of her husband. The ex-minister however managed to say: “I am mourning right now please. I lost my dear husband a few days ago and that’s enough tragedy for me. But I leave my sorrows and our future to God.”

We’ll probe the crash, pledges Nzeribe
House of Reps committee chairman on natural disaster, Hon Chuma Nzeribe says that his committee mandated on Monday by the House to investigate the circumstance surrounding the crash in Ogun state last Saturday night would leave no stone unturned in its quest to probe the incident.

Yes, the House committee on natural disaster headed by me is currently probing that crash. Though we are starting our investigation formally next week, we have started making moves in that regard. It is a 10-member committee. The decision for mandating the committee to move in and investigate the matter was based on a number of reasons. That incident falls within our legislative jurisdiction as house committee on natural disaster because we indeed regard it as a natural calamity which cannot be explained until a proper probe is carried out.

Secondly, it’s a disaster which claimed the lives of 117 Nigerians and non-Nigerians including eminent people of this country. That incident also affected most families across the six geo-political zones as you can see that mourning is taking place simultaneously in virtually different homes across this country. So, it is a national calamity.

Thirdly, there is an urgent need for us to know all that happened regarding that air crash, whether it was a result of human error or something like that. People are eager to know all that happened so that we can take measures, adequate enough, to forestall such occurrence again in the future.

Fourthly, we are going to investigate the extent of culpability of the appropriate aviation agency or agencies responsible for response intervention and rescue operations but who perhaps failed to do their job. So, we are going to look at the aviation management in general and then make our recommendations to the House for appropriate action.

Now, I am not going to pre-empt the committee because I don’t know for now what form our investigation will take until we start. But what I can tell you is that we are going to visit all the necessary places especially the site of the crash. We are going to invite all the persons, agencies or organisations concerned or connected with that ill-fated flight including the management of Bellview airline.

We will like to look at the profile or history of the aircraft and management profile of Bellview airline and how they take care of safety of their passengers because we are talking about what involves human lives.

Above all, we will like to know why NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) and all related agencies couldn’t act promptly. We need to find out all these details and report back to the whole House of Reps that mandated us to do this assignment. And in the cause of carrying out our investigations, we are going to look at the handling of our aviation system in order to know how safe we are. I must assure that whoever is found culpable would be mentioned and exposed by my committee because that incident was a big shame.

Posted by Publisher at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)

The bellview plane crash: GRIEF, PRAYERS AT LISA VILLAGE

THERE was grief everywhere at Lisa village where the Bellview aircraft crashed last Saturday night. The shock was understandable and unstoppable. Most of the families that turned up for the inter-faith service in honour of the crash victims turned away inconsolable.

By Okey Ndiribe
Posted to the Web: Saturday, October 29, 2005

More pitiable as they arrived were the wives of the dead ones and the children who had lost their fathers or mothers. For the former, they always had their friends and relatives who offered helping hands and words of consolation when the women came to the stark realities that it was, indeed, this Lisa forest that their beloved ones were buried underground.

The case of Oby Oluigbo was more pathetic. She had lost her sister and in-law in the air crash She could not hold back her emotions and burst into tears while President Olusegun Obasanjo was addresing the congregation last Thursday. While the younger Oby wept uncontrollably, her elder sister, Vivian told this reporter that their sister named Nkiru had married Chukwuemeka Okoli recently and both of them perished in the air crash.

However, Mrs. Grace Yetunde Omotade who also lost her husband in the crash managed to pull herself together. She said it was the belief she and her children had in Jesus Christ that had sustained them during this trying period. She said her three daughters have been devastated by news of their father’s death even though they were all living abroad.

Mrs Sabulu, wife of the late Comrade Sabulu President of National Association of Nurses and Midwives ( NANM) was in a state of deep shock and could barely utter audible words when she was approached by a group of journalists for an interview.
The sleepy village was thronged by thousands of people from different parts of the country who attended the inter-religious service. As early as 10 a.m., many Christian and Muslim clerics had arrived the village to begin preparations for the inter-faith service. The choir of Winners chapel was on hand to render various renditions for the day.

President Olusegun Obasanjo who arrived Lisa at about 1 p.m, urged relatives of the victims of the crashed aircraft to refrain from grieving too much and take solace in the injunction of the holy books of Christianity and Islam that there is life after death.
He said that relatives of the air crash victims must not weep like people who have no expectations of a life after departing this world.

President Obasanjo who attended the occasion along with several members of his Federal Executive council and the governors of Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti , Oshun and the Deputy Governor of Lagos State expressed condolences to the Nigerian and foreign families of the victims over the air crash. on behalf of himself and the Federal Government.

He thanked all those who have so far participated in the rescue efforts at the scene of the crash. He thanked the govermnor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel for his efforts in arranging the inter-religious service at the scene of the crash.

He further stated that the national tragedy had revealed to him that Nigerians could be united in sharing grief and sorrow, adding that there was no household in the country that had not been affected in one way or the other by the event of last Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
The Christian service was led by Bishop Oderinde of the Methodist Church.
Pieces of papers and documents were seen lying all over the place. The bulk of the search and rescue team was made up of men of the Nigerian Navy.

Among the dignitaries who attended the service were Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and his counterparts from Oyo, Chief Rasheed Ladoja; Ekiti, Prince Ayo Fayose and the deputy governor of Lagos State Prince Femi Pedro.

Also present were the the Minister of Finance, Dr Mrs Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of Aviation Professor Babalola Borisade; Minister of Information Mr Frank Nweke ; Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari and the Inspector General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero.

Efforts to excavate the remains of the crashed Bellview aircraft from where it was buried underground at Lisa village, in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State would commence today.

Sources close to rescue workers at the scene of the crash told Saturday Vanguard that necessary equipment needed to pull out the remains of the aircraft would commence as soon as the equipment for the exercise by Julius Berger Construction Company arrives Lisa today.

Posted by Publisher at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)

The bellview plane crash: Desolate forest yields corpses

THE rusty, desolate forest of Lisa, an equally sleepy village in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, delivered mangled bodies of the 117 passengers who died in the Bellview Flight, Saturday night. In bits and pieces, the remnants from that tragedy stretched as far as the eye could go.

By Ikechukwu Eze
Posted to the Web: Saturday, October 29, 2005

Identity cards, uncashed bank cheque, Nigerian passports, used airline ticket stubs and bibles were among some personal belongings picked from the crash site by anxious relations and rescue workers, Sunday evening.

But getting to Lisa was more tortuous for the relations, journalists, rescue workers and adventurers who embarked on the journey after news filtered in that the ill-fated flight had at last been located several hours after the aircraft went down.

It progressed like a trip to nowhere. It was one hour into the journey from Ifo bus stop and the dare-devil commercial motorcyclist (okada man) was still going at break-neck speed. His pace was quite inconsistent with the narrow, erosion-tortured dirty track that snaked on endlessly. It was getting dark, a situation worsened by the cover provided by interlocking foliage from the sprawling thick forests.

Of course, one saw it coming and that did not need a soothsayer’s crystal ball. The cyclist and this reporter fell after the bike attempted to hop over a sudden deep crater on the road. There was no obvious injury, just a mild pain on the left foot.

Naturally, there was apprehension of some sort but the journalist’s instinct took over: rather than spare a moment to nurse the pain, one’s mind was already tinkering with an appropriate headline: ‘An Okada crash on the way to the plane crash scene.’

When the editor deployed one last Sunday afternoon to go in search of the site of the Bellview Airlines plane which crashed Saturday night, information about the actual location of the disaster was still scanty. “Get to Ifo in Ogun State and find your way to a village called Lisa.” That was all the brief.

At Ifo, many people admitted that they had heard about Lisa and the crash but only a handful knew how to get there, since according to them, the place could only be reached on a bike. I talked to several commercial bike operators who declined. Later, one brave okadaman popularly called Ebube named an outrageous price. There was no other option than to accept.

As the journey progressed, the road became narrower and more dangerous as the forests turned thicker. It was a journey further and further away from civilisation. No houses, no farms, just the enveloping groove. There were many motorbikes already abandoned in the forests. Ebube guessed that some either did not have enough fuel for the long journey or they buckled under the strain of the rough terrain.

The feeling of expectation and adventure gradually gave way to despair and utter apprehension. It got worse when one finally lost service on my GSM phone. How can I be traced in the wilderness if anything went wrong with the journey? There was the thought about returning to Ifo, but what would one tell my editor? How were we going to inform our readers?

“Keep going, it is still far away,” was the refrain we kept getting each time the cyclist tried to find out the location of Lisa from the people we passed.
I have always wondered why most plane crashes occur in the middle of nowhere: either in the wilderness, on rocky mountains or into the bowels of the deep blue sea, away from human habitation. Perhaps, that is God’s intervention to save cities from devastation and limit the damage.

Finally, we didn’t need anybody to tell us when we eventually got to our destination. Lisa, a sleepy, hilly settlement amidst a cluster of low-lying houses, that evening transformed into a centre of global attention. Fire service trucks, Lagos State government ambulances, Red Cross road runners and cars, mostly SUVs belonging to relatives of crash victims had already made their way to the village. Hundreds of people, mostly curious youths, thronged the narrow beaten path to the crash scene. Dusk was setting in. But not to an extent to prevent those arriving at that time to still see the devastation caused by the sudden coming down of the Boeing 737 aircraft in the wild.

From a distance, it looked as though a forest had been cleared by a bulldozer to signal the beginning of the construction of a gigantic stadium. Big trees were uprooted and shrubs cut to size. Perhaps, the experienced pilot still had the state of mind to attempt a tutored landing as there was ample evidence of efforts made to taxi. But since there is no runway in the bush, the plane only ran for a short distance before slamming its nose into the ground with an impact that created a crater deep and wide enough to bury a skyscraper. Obviously part of the ill-fated plane remained buried in the crater as smoke was still coming out from under the earth by Sunday night.

And all that could be seen were small pieces of metals and other splintered plane parts scattered all over the forest as pieces of papers and other documents were strewn all over the place.

The sight was awe-inspiring. Nondescript roasted body parts and strands of flesh were clinging to trees, shrubs and grasses. It was the sight of disaster beyond description, a crash which manner of destruction had no precedence. Except forensic experts think otherwise, the option of easy identification was simply not there as there were really nothing anybody could call human bodies; only burnt, chopped parts and crushed skulls.

The rescue workers could only but gather as much human parts that were put into one big bag, as Nigerians continue to lament the long hours taken before the crash site could be located. Soldiers, firemen, villagers, sympathisers and relatives of the victims and other onlookers stood in awe, as if pondering the futility of humanity.
Questions were asked without waiting for answers. Tears rolled down cheeks freely and mouths that were aghast found it difficult to speak. Indeed, people were too shocked to speak.

The only sound of life came from the generating set powering the Outside Broadcasting (OB) van of one television station which had braved it to the bush to beam live reports to people’s living rooms. “It’s so sad that it took Nigeria such long hours to find out where something as big as a plane crashed.” That was all one man managed to say to break the silence.

The Baale of Lisa village, Chief Sadiku Odugbemi told Saturday Vanguard that the villagers had not seen anything like that before, stressing that they were only lucky to be alive to tell the story. “What if the plane had crashed directly on the tiny houses in this small village with villagers already gone to bed? All of us would have been history,” he said.

The night before, Chief Odugbemi told this reporter that the villagers saw a huge ball of fire fly over their heads, then a loud bang and a defeaning sound like a thousand cars crashing. They were too afraid to come out of their homes that night, so it was only in the morning that they managed to go to the sight of the crash.
Ironically, the crash site belongs to Odugbemi. According to him, the place was his farm which he had been tending for about ten years. He planted cassava, cocoa, kola and oranges which were all destroyed in the devastation.

The Baale was emphatic that he would not be asking for any compensation because the villagers were also saddened by the unfortunate incident. His plea was that the government should conduct an environmental impact assessment to determine whether the affected farm land still retained its fertility, especially after the impact of the crash. But more than that, he pleads with the government to do everything to ensure that no epidemic results from the crash that may hit Lisa villagers.

Posted by Publisher at 01:50 PM | Comments (0)

Family Seeks Probe Into Ubani's Death

APPARENTLY suspecting foul play in his death, the family of the late human rights activist, Chima Ubani on Thursday called for a probe into the incident.

FROM GORDI UDEAJAH (UMUAHIA)

Ubani's brother on behalf of the deceased family told the human rights community that they risk losing credibility if they fail to investigate and discover the real cause of their son's death.

According to Chidozie "those who murdered Ubani did not murder his spirit. He lived a good life and was prepared to stay in darkness. He was offered a job at the Institute of International Tropical Agriculture but he rejected it for human rights struggles."

However, it was indicated that the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) had set up a committee in conjunction with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the auto crash that killed Ubani.

According to the CLO's president Titus Mann, "it will be na夫e and irresponsible of us to dismiss the accident as one of those that happen on our roads."

Meanwhile, to immortalise Ubani's, the Abia state government has instituted a N2 million endowment fund for his children. It also named a street in Aba after him.

The state government also donated N500, 000 to the family of the late Vanguard Newspaper photojournalist, Mr. Tunji Oyeleru.

Posted by Publisher at 01:49 PM | Comments (0)

Haim hails Okocha's return to Bolton

Bolton Wanderers, defender, Tel Ben Haim, as stated that the trotters are happy to have the team's captain Austin Okocha and Gary Speed back to the squad after their injury lay-off.

BY EDDY OHIS ASEIN

Speaking in the club's website, Thursday night, the Isreali international said that:: It's great to have both players back to the team ahead of Thursday's UEFA Cup tie.

The captain (Okocha) has been a source of inspiration to the team, i think he is one player any coach would want to play. he quite, discipline and has great potentials and he is one of the most experience players in the squad right now. We have missed him in the last few games and I must say he is coming back at the right time, when the team is preparing for Thursday's UEFA Cup,・he said.

Posted by Publisher at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2005

Bellview plane crash: Pilot’s family disowns widow; They wont succeed, says Victoria

STRONG indication that the centre may no longer hold for family of pilot of the crashed Bellview plane which killed 117 people, Captain Lambert Imasuen emerged yesterday when two members of his family disowned one of his widows, Victoria.

FRANCIS AWOWOLE-BROWNE and OLATUNBOSUN SOWEMIMO

A Customs Officer, Victoria had lived with her husband until his death last Saturday and allegedly had children for him.

But speaking with Daily Champion yesterday, at the late pilot’s Ajao estate Lagos residence, his family members said Victoria was not known to the family and so unwelcome.

They also raised alarm that an imposter had approached management of Bellview airlines claiming to be next of kin of the late pilot.

Younger brother to the late pilot, Eghosa Imasuen and his elder sister, Omonigho, alleged that property of their late brother were already being looted by suspected "relations of the self acclaimed widow."

They said the only widow known to the family was Florence who is presently with the late pilot’s mother in Benin, mourning.

According to them, claims of marriage to their pilot brother by Victoria is a hoax and therefore, "we don’t know her as a wife to our brother."

Eghosa and Omonigho challenged Victoria to come out and tell the world any member of the Imasuen family that knew and was present at their wedding, if indeed she was married to the late pilot.

"In Benin, we have a tradition and also marriage has a process. We don’t know Victoria, the only person we know as our brother’s wife is Florence now in Benin.

"Any other person is just wasting her time, Florence is our brother’s wife, she has four children Uwa, Usosa Tracey and Osayande who is barely two years old.

"To the best of our knowledge Victoria is just a girl friend or at best a concubine. She has no child for Captain Imasuen our brother. No legal marriage between them. How come she is now claiming to be the widow," the relations argued.

They also told Daily Champion that imposters have invaded the family laying claims to the property of the late pilot.

Omonigho said the Bellview Airlines management had told the family of the presence of a 20-year old boy at the company claiming to be the next of kin to the dead pilot.

She further said, that the family and the Airlines management have reached an agreement that names filled by the late pilot in his employment form should be used to determine the next of kin.

However, speaking with Daily Champion Victoria explained that she was just a victim of circumstances lamenting that those claiming to be family members were no where to be found when Captain Imasuen was alive.

Sobbing, the widow said she had two children for her late husband and that she was duly and legally wedded to the Pilot with genuine family members in attendance.

Victoria, who was surrounded by her relations wondered why the death of her husband would now tear the family apart having lived peacefully with her husband for years.

Boasting she was ready to brave the odds to defend her rights in the family, Mrs Imasuen said she was aware that devil was at work and was using the family members that are now threatening her.

"I have two children for Captain. I am a legitimate wife," she stated.

Posted by Publisher at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)

...What came to my mind – Obasanjo

WHEN I heard of the crash, what came to my mind was that most of the victims, if not all, must have said to their relations that we are coming home’. Is this (scene of the crash) home?"

KOLA ADEPOJU, Abeokuta

These were the words and poser of President Olusegun Obasanjo as he toured site of the tragic plane crash at Lisa, Ifo, in Ogun State, where a Bellview aircraft crashed last Saturday killing all 117 persons on board.

His lamentation came even as a lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, who had earlier visited the site where he lost a niece, Mrs Queen Morrison (nee Ozekhome) said he had no confidence in the foreign experts the government had invited to help unravel mystery behind the crash.

Speaking at an inter faith prayer service for the repose of the souls of the victims at Lisa, Obasanjo regretted that the victims who left the Ikeja Airport with the hope of returning to their relations died in the crash.

Going philosophical, he said "that should serves as a lesson to every one of us because whether we like it or not, there will be a day when our destination will be cut short."

Obasanjo, who noted that the crash affected every family in the country charged Nigerians to use the prevailing unity in sorrowing and mourning the death to bury differences and be united.

Besides, he charged them "not to mourn like people that have no hope in God but to do otherwise, because both Christianity and Islam tought that there is life after death."

According to him, "while we are mourning and sorrowing together, we must bury whatever may be our differences and be united."

"But should we continue to mourn like people that have no belief in God and I know that both Islamic and Christian religion give us hope that is beyond death," he added.

The president, charged relations of the deceased and Nigerians at large, to realise that "there is not much we can do for the dead except take care of what they left behind."

Thereafter, Obasanjo and Governor Gbenga Daniel proceeded to scene of the crash and laid wreaths in honour of the dead.

Decked in a two pieces "agbada" Obasanjo, who arrived scene of the crash at 11.45 a.m. was received by Governors of Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun states along with the deputy governor of Lagos State.

He was accompanied by the Ministers of Finance, Aviation, Information and National Orientation and Police Affairs.

Information and National Orientation Minister, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr) who had earlier visited the scene wept like a baby describing the crash as too tragic for him to bear.

Earlier in his sermon at the inter faith service, General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church, Rev. (Dr) Wilson Badejo described death as a gateway to better things, especially paradise.

Gov Daniel read the only lesson of the service from the book of Job Chapter 14 verses 1 to 14.

Posted by Publisher at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

Stella, agent of stability –Iwuanyanwu; More Nigerians pay last respects

FRONTLINE politician and member, Board of Trustees of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief (Dr.) Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu has said that with the death of First Lady, Chief (Mrs) Stella Obasanjo, Nigeria has lost a stabilizer.

IHEANACHO NWOSU and RASHEED BISIRIYU

Chief Iwuanyanwu stated this just as more Nigerians paid tributes to the former First Lady at the lying-in-state held at Agbeloba House, Abeokuta.

Speaking with Daily Champion yesterday, Iwuanyanwu, who also expressed sadness over the crash of Bellview aircraft which claimed 117 lives, said the late Mrs Obasanjo was a nation builder, a home builder, and a mother.

"The woman was a leader, a mother, her role was more or less reconciliatory at all time," he recalled, maintaining that "she was a true mother and she spent all her life making peace."

He said: "Nigeria will miss the services of a stabilizer. She was a stabilizer in the system", explaining that "most cases when people have problem, they go to her. She made herself accessible to people, she was interacting with everybody".

Chief Iwuanyanwu, a one time Presidential aspirant wished that the First Lady had lived to see the ongoing socio-economic and political reforms by the President Olusegun Obasanjo government to the end.

"Like you know the husband is championing a reform. Any student of history knows how reformers are regarded. No reformer has ever been lived by the people, people always turn against them.

"If all these our reforms are fully implemented, they will completely change Nigeria. He needs somebody like Stella, who is a rare gift to him, stand by him. This is what she has been doing in the past six years", he said.

Likening the former lady to the late Princess Diana of the United Kingdom, the philanthropist said the hope Mrs Obasanjo had given to physically challenged children as well as her love for the oppressed and the downtrodden will remain indelible in the minds of Nigerians even with her absence.

According to him, "of course, for the physically challenged, they found a mother in her", adding that "the death of Stella is similar to that of Diana of Britain because the way Diana was regarded in Britain is more or less the way Stella is regarded here".

Elaborating, he said "she interacted with the poor, the underdog, the handicapped, physically challenged and the rich. Everybody was going to her for succour".

Counselling President Obasanjo on how to bear the loss, Chief Iwuanyanwu urged him to continually place his trust in God. He said: "the president has been somebody who has put his trust in God and God has been guiding him. God has used him to achieve a lot of things. He should remain with God".

On the crash of Bellview aircraft flight 210 last weekend, Chief Iwuanyanwu described the incident as a tragedy which will be difficult to forget.

Betraying emotion, he said: "it is a very said thing for Nigeria to lose such a galaxy of illustrious persons in such a painful manner".

Meanwhile, the lie-in-state of body of the First Lady, in Abeokuta yesterday provided an avenue for reconciliation between President Obasanjo and Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, as both embraced each other in public.

Professor Soyinka, an avowed critic of Obasanjo administration in the last six years was also one of the conveners of a parallel Sovereign National Conference along with elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro.

Before the arrival of the President at Agbeloba House in Abeokuta, venue of the lie-in-state, Prof Soyinka was already in the hall with Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, with other dignitaries.

As soon as the news came that the President was around, the Nobel Laureate came out to receive him and they both embraced. This drew an applause from the crowd.

Prof. Soyinka prayed for the repose of the First Lady and commiserated with the President over her death.

Earlier, in his short speech, Governor Daniel had urged the first family to be invited and prayed for God to bless the soul of the departed.

Serving and former governors, Ministers, captain of industries and friends of the first family were at the place to pay their last respect to the First Lady.

The dignitaries later moved to Government House, Abeokuta for Christian wake which started at 6.00 pm.

Among those who attended the event are Governor Peter Odili and his wife, his Ondo State counterpart, Dr Olusegun Agagu , Lagos State Deputy Governor, Chief Olufemi Pedro, Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Lyel Imoke and his wife, Education Minister, Mrs Chinwe Obaji with her husband, and Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

Others are former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Chief Chukwuemeka Chikelu and factional National Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, Chief Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa former Chief of General Staff, Lt General Oladipo Diya, Chairman of Diamond Bank Pascal Dozie, former chairman Oodua Group of Investment, Otunba Jobi Fele, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Executive Chairman of Champion Newspapers Limited, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and President Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mr. Ray Ekpu, the Secretary General, Mr Emma Agu, who is the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Champion Newspapers.

Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor (Mrs) Dora Akunyili, Newswatch editors, including Mr Dan Agbese and Mr Yakubu Mohammed.

Also at the venue were Chairman Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu and Chairman Daar Communication, Dr Raymond Dokpesi.

Posted by Publisher at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

Diamond Bank acquires Lion Bank; Platinum, Habib banks merge

DIAMOND Bank Plc yesterday secured final approval from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to acquire Lion Bank of Nigeria Plc. It is the first actual takeover of a bank in the consolidation race.

OKEY NWANKWO

CBN’s final approval was conveyed to Diamond Bank in a letter signed by Mr G. A. Oladejobi on behalf of the Director of Banking Supervision.

Also boards of Platinum Bank Plc and Habib Bank Nigeria Plc have approved merger of the banks to form PlatinumHabib.

Chairman of Platinum Bank, Professor Pat Utomi and his counterpart at Habib, Alhaji Kola Abiola speaking yesterday at a press conference in Lagos, said the emerging bank will be a formidable institution that will be at the forefront of banking in the post consolidation era.

But the CBN letter issued yesterday reads: "We refer to your letter of October 17, 2005 in respect of the above subject matter and hereby convey final approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the proposed takeover of Lion Bank Plc by Diamond Bank Plc.

According to the letter, Lion Bank has handed over its banking licence to the Director of Banking supervision.

Following the final approval, the two banks have fused as one business entity operating under a single trade name - Diamond Bank.

Daily Champion notes that both banks signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 14, on the basis of which they agreed to combine their operations under the Diamond Bank brand name.

The signing of the MoU in Jos was followed by a due diligence examination of the operations of Lion Bank, while the two banks adopted a common business strategy as well as a programme of business alignment for their combined entity.

On August 27, 2005, the acquisition process was boosted when the CBN gave its approval-in-principle for Diamond Bank to proceed. This was followed shortly by The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval-in-principle on September 9, 2005.

The Diamond Bank/Lion Bank combination has been widely adjudged to be the fastest of such arrangement since the inception of the bank consolidation drive by the monetary authorities.

Diamond Bank’s strategy for meeting the CBN equity benchmark for banks has been that of retaining its brand and brand equity post-consolidation, and to achieve this objective without eroding its underlying fundamentals as a very profitable operations.

Towards meeting this objective, the Bank had in late 2004 executed a highly successful Private Placement share offer scheme. The offer itself was 125 per cent subscribed. The outcome of the PP immediately raised the Bank’s shareholders ‘ funds from N6.7 billion to about N19 billion. A further 100 per cent consolidation of year 2005 net earning took the shareholders’ funds to about N21 billion.

Diamond Bank also approached the capital market in September to raise an additional N6.8 billion in equity through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 1 billion shares of 50 kobo each at N6.80 per share. At the end of the offer scheme, and with the Lion Bank acquisition, the Bank’s shareholders’ funds will be in the region of N33 billion.

On his part Prof. Utomi said the group has already applied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for pre-merger consent while application for approval-in-principle will follow immediately.

He said both banks intend to conclude the merger in record time, ahead of the December 31 deadline for the consolidation programme.

The Platinum Bank chairman said the merger arrangement has gone beyond getting "unstuck" as considerable time has been spent out all essential issues.

On the choice of partners, he explained that the two banks came together in order to build an institution that would create values for stakeholders.

He said "our strategic intent is to build a national and diversified franchise creating superior value for our stakeholders through an unmatched superior customer service experience.

Prof. Utomi said in order to achieve and surpass this goal the emerging institution will be built on effective corporate governance framework, performance oriented corporate & culture and executive leadership that is firm and inspirational.

On his remarks, Alhaji Abiola said the merger brings Habib Bank to a new phase of growth.

According to him, the emerging institution will provide clients and customers unrivalled services adding the union will create value for shareholders.

PlatinumHabib Bank group has a combined asset base of over N116 billion, deposit base of N60 billion, shareholders fund of over N25 billion, gross earnings of over N14 billion with a network of 10 on-line, realtime branches.

Posted by Publisher at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

Auto crash claims 20 lives in Enugu

The spate of tragedies that has bedeviled and bewildered the nation since last Sunday apparently continued on Thursday in Enugu when an early morning accident allegedly claimed the lives of over 20 people and several others in critical conditions.

The accident which occurred along the Enugu-Nsukka expressway in the early hours of the day involved a luxurious bus that was apparently heading for the northern part of the country and a Mercedes 911 truck laden with heavy logs.

Eyewitnesses said over 20 people perished in the mishap and when the Daily Champion visited the scene bodies of seven of the deceased passengers were seen spread across the road with the injured and other survivors moaning in agony while volunteers made frantic efforts to pull more bodies from wreckage in which both vehicles were damaged beyond recognition.

A police patrol team which later arrived the scene and together with other sympathisers, volunteered their vehicles began to remove the dead bodies and the injured to nearby hospitals and mortuaries while many other passersby stayed back to bemoan the disaster.

Among those who died in the mishap were two female youth corpers identified by their uniforms, drivers of both vehicles and many young men believed to be traders as well as some middle aged women.

Most of the survivors were too much in pain and shock to talk to reporters but one of them who gave her name as Mrs Nnamdi said she boarded the bus at Onitsha while it was in transit adding that she did not know where it was coming from.

She said the accident occurred around 6.30 am when the luxury bus driver attempted to overtake a lorry at a bend and ran into the on-coming truck loaded with timber adding that the passengers had warned the driver over his reckless driving until the incident happened.

"We kept warning the man but he refused to listen, then i saw him swerve suddenly and the next thing I heard was gboa! and you can now see what happened", she wailed.

Efforts to reach zonal commander of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the police Public Relations officer in the state for comment on the tragedy proved abortive as they were said not to be on seat while their telephone liens failed.

Posted by Publisher at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

Uwazuruike: MASSOB gives 7-day ultimatum

Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, (MASSOB), has given a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to release its leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruke, or face wrath of members nationwide.

Emma Ogu, Owerri

Chief Uwazuruike was arrested in his home at Okwe, Onuimo council area of Imo state Tuesday evening, by men of State Security Services, (SSS).

MASSOB in a statement in Owerri yesterday signed by its Deputy Director of Information Chris Mocha, said members of the group were shot at by the security operatives while trying to effect arrest of Chief Uwazuruike.

"MASSOB wishes to state as follows: that chief Ralph Uwazuruike should be released unconditionally or brought to a court of competent jurisdiction immediately.

"That if within seven days starting from today (Thursday) October 27 our demand is not met MASSOB will not be held responsible for anything that happened in the Biafran territory, the statement read part.

The association also urged security agents to realize that "they are holding the father and initiator of non violence in the Biafran struggle", stressing that the association’s non violent philosophy should not be seen as weakness.

"Daring us will be suicidal", MASSOB warned.

A MASSOB activist who spoke to Daily Champion Mr. Isaac Isreal, said the movement has mobilized its memebrs across the nation for action, should the authorities refuse to release Chief Uwazuruike or charge him to court within seven days.

Israel however disclosed that MASSOB has contacted some lawyers to secure release of chief Uwazuruike.

While he noted that MASSOB will continue to remain nonviolent in-line with its philosophy the activist said the group has been pushed to the wall by the arrest of Chief Uwazuruike. "We cannot remain silent, the world will hear us if they refuse to release him" he warned.

Daily Champion gathered that Cheif Uwazuruike was flown to Abuja on Wednesday in a jet which took off from the Port Harcourt international Airport.

Eye witness confirmed that the MASSOB leader spotting a black T-shirt with a fez cap on blue Jeans trousers, was accompanied on the journey by three SSS.

Posted by Publisher at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

Court remands Adams, Fasehun, 8 others

A Magistrate’s court sitting at Igbosere, Lagos, yesterday ordered remand of factional leaders of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr Fredrick Fasehun and Chief Ganiyu Adams, along eight others, in prison pending formal charges against them.

ACHILLEUS UCHEGBU (Deputy News Editor)

Those remanded along with the duo are Chief Muraina Komolafe, Oluwatoyin Osoba, Samusideen Opeloyeru, Aremu Niyi-Oba, Edward, Olushola, Alhaji Mudashiru Adeniji, Chief Wahab Isiaka and Oyinlola Awe.

Daily Champion gathered that as they await outcome of