The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • I lose concentration whenever I see her but I don’t know if she loves me

    Good evening ma. I’m Prince, 23 from Imo State. Please ma, there’s a girl I love so much but I don’t know if she loves me. I lose concentration whenever I see her. What can I do? Please help me.

    How would you know if she loves you if you wouldn’t interact with her and get to know her better? She may not even love you now because she may not know you love her. It’s possible you act shy whenever you’re with her and she might have noticed this. But shyness might be misinterpreted for so many things. For instance, she might even think you don’t like talking to her, not knowing you’re already losing your head for her. Buy her cards that say it all. Send nice messages to her and take her out for a drink. That giddy feeling in your head will soon start disappearing when you start spending time together and getting to know each other. And if she’s not interested, don’t force it. It’s possible she has her own guy. In that case, leave it till you find another person who makes you lose concentration n and then try these tricks all over again.

     

     

  • Baby sling, how safe for mother and child?

    Baby sling, how safe for mother and child?

    The world health organization reports that 80-90% of normal populations irrespective of race will at one point in

    time develop pain in the lower back. Though it has been easy to discuss etiological factors for back conditions such as job type, sports, life style, smoking, alcohol, trauma , body proportion and infections, the mechanisms that underpin the complex symptoms have not been exhaustively explained. Pregnancy and the necessary conditions imposed by nursing a baby through the first 18 months of life bring impressed forces to bear on the back bones of the mother and the child she is nursing. The bones of the back are designed in such a way that there are curves, four for a mother and two for a new born child-the other two will develop when the child is able to hold his neck without support, and later when he begins to sit down unaided. These curves help the back bone to bear weight 16(sixteen)times the weight that can be handled by a vertebral column without bends—this is in accordance with engineering principles and in concert with Newtonian Physics(Hooks law). The implication is that any attenuation or exaggeration of these natural curves will be amplified into clinical problems the magnitude of which will be modified, depending on several other considerations.

    It has become fashionable for young African mothers to put their babies in slings and place the slings on their necks with the babies spread out turtle posture, in front or back depending on what activities engaged them at the time. This is different from the older African method of carrying babies across the back with clothe belts of specific texture and size . It is also different from the relatively more expensive use of open or hooded wheeled baby carriage where babies are placed in more comfortable positions

    This discussion highlights how the use of baby slings can harm the bones of the back and lead to early degeneration of the inter vertebral joints . For a mother, resulting back problems such as low back pain may not develop immediately, but later when mother is older. For the child, all sorts of problems involving not only the spine and backbone but other parts of the body such as heart, lungs, and even arrest of growth may occur. Mothers find them selves paying frequent visits to clinics because of one problem or the other. Some babies may become very restless and cry endlessly, refusing any methods of pacification, even breast milk, because, they are unable to speak out their ordeal, discomfort and pain

    The problem of low back pain is worse for mothers who celebrate pregnancies with very short periods between pregnancies. In deed multi parous women that have had repeated exposure to the pregnancy hormones relaxin and progesterone( both are associated with excessive joint laxity and increased tendency for joints to sublux) are more likely to encounter probems.

    Older mothers are particularly vulnerable ; their bones are already getting soft (osteoporotic) because levels of estrogen the female hormone responsible for maintenance of strong bones( via estrogen receptors in osteoblasts), begin to go down as from age 38.

    Working mothers who also do much house hold activities such as cooking, washing, floor washing etc. are at increased risks .Also included are Mothers not getting enough sun light(required by custom to shield self and remain indoors), malnourished mothers not taking enough milk and calcium

    Others;

    Tall mothers, height above 1.8meters. Short mothers, height below 1.4m,

    Mothers with huge breasts, and mothers habitually wearing high heeled shoes

    Mothers and babies who are homozygous SS or carry the trait-AS or SC,AC-In these conditions there is abnormal hemorheology(abnormal blood flow pattern) ,such that red blood cells die in large numbers when they try to move across tiny blood vessels of the capillary beds. The consequences arising from the fragile sickle shaped red cells and their markedly reduced deformability manifest in the form of frequent vaso- occlusive sickle cell crises

    Mothers engaged in occupations which require them to stand for more than three hours or more in one or two stretches . In all these situations, the bones and joints of the back and the muscles that link them are engaged in more work than they are bioengineered to do, and the consequences from prolonged exposure to wear and tear will declare themselves sometime in the life of the individual-depending on duration.

    Mothers of old and in fact in rural communities who carry babies on their backs follow some carefully learned procedures, babies are not immediately strapped on the back immediately after meals, during periods of illness and when they are engaged in physical activities which involve much repeated bending and standing——during prolonged periods of standing, sitting, stooping and squatting, babies become quickly uncomfortable and try to draw attention of mothers by crying, squeezing their trunks and trashing, mothers from higher socioeconomic background pay attention and respond affectionately ,others simply carry on

     

    Positioning the babies involves the following

    The shoulders are abducted and laterally rotated maximally, The hips are also in maximum abduction and lateral rotation

    The neck is in extension and rotated in one direction to keep the face and chin away from mother’s upper back. The neck in normal humans has seven flat bones , with slots or holes placed at the extremes of the sides where huge blood vessels pass to and from the brain and skull. The bones of the neck are arranged in such a way as to allow for more nodding(flexion-extension) movements than rotatory/twisting ones. When mothers strap babies across the back, the neck is either allowed to oscillate between rotation, extension and flexion, or held to one side in twisted position with the blood vessels equally twisted ,resulting in narrowing or kinking .The neck bones and muscles provide protection for very important organs necessary for metabolism /growth and immunity of the growing child. These muscles can go into spasm ,and then fatigue with excessive metabolic wastes-the child will be in pain for as long it takes his mother to change his position or someone points out to her that child is in distress.

    For the growing brain, any little disruption will affect something some where within the vast array of neuronal organization.

    With the baby in sling or strapped on the back, thorax/chest region is curved backwards to reduce the normal kyphotic angle and the lumbar/waist region curved forward in excessive lordosis, but the prominent buttock of the African mother immediately limits anterior ward excursion of the baby’s pelvis, and so baby is held like a bow.

    With the baby strapped into position in mothers back, the following changes can be observed —the thighs are held onto the back and sides of mothers abdomen so the legs are effectively prevented from dangling without support. With the baby sling, the legs dangle freely, but blood vessels and nerves are at increased risk of being trapped.

    With the child on mothers back, the normal kyphosis (backward curve ) of the child’s backbone is distorted as it is forced into the hollow of mother’s back.

    Abdominal organs-liver, spleen, intestine, and stomach are pressed into the little space left.

    The lungs, heart and thick muscle of respiration-diaphragm which separates the trunk into the upper thorax and lower abdomen are all closely packed into this space.

    Venous return to the heart may be affected. The bladder which is an abdominal organ up to age six in children is included here . The genitals –testicles particularly in males is also squeezed on the area of the waist of mother. The ligaments which hold the bones of the back together are forced into tension at three points mainly—the neck, thorax and lumbar regions. The ligaments and muscles which holds bones of the shoulders and waist together are also under tension.

    When the sling is adjusted to hold baby close, the abdominal aorta; a huge blood vessels that supplies blood to the internal organs of reproduction, the bones and muscles of the waist , thighs, legs and feet , may be so compressed as to affect blood flow . Baby slides down and there is increased tendency for one group of muscles to slacken while the opposing groups go into exaggerated tension. As is often the case, Baby cries and trashes to draw mothers attention who draws sling tighter— This results in greater tension in the cervical (neck) and thoracic (chest) portions of the back bone. At some point, diaphragm is splint, reducing the thoracic capacity and child may find it difficult to breathe well; chest diseases which mothers cant explain.

    Some mothers prefer to have the baby in front, resting partly on the abdomen within the sling, the resulting problems depend among other issues on whether or not the mother has abdominal type obesity, height and lifestyle, size of the baby etc . Similar to what has been discussed, the head dangles here and there-a condition not very healthy for the growing brain, which in life appears like tooth paste but contains nerve bundles arranged in awesome and sophisticated pattern. Unlike the back, there is no free space when baby is hung in front, and the child’s abdomen presses on that of his mother much like pushing one ball of doughnut against another. Apart from causing great discomfort for the child, his back bone is excessively bent backwards to fit into the sling, – and each time mom tries to adjust baby inside the sling, the joints and the different parts of the back bones which are still soft (fusion not complete until about age six) are jolted and slammed against other parts , the results though similar to what was discussed earlier are worse when baby is in the sling in front of a fat, tall heavily breasted Mom. For reasons that have been explained, there will be episodes of unexplained illnesses every now and then, involving, nearly every system or portion in the growing child. Developmental milestones may not be grossly affected but subtle deviations from normal will be observed often ascribed to growing pains, teething, malaria, seasonal variation disorders, spiritual problems etc

    Suggestions

    Keep babies preferably out of slings

    If you must use baby slings, use the types that are adjustable and have enough pockets to house body segments-don’t use baby slings for extended periods of time –imagine your self in that position.

    Observe, feel and listen to baby-particularly when in the sling—these are easier said, especially when someone else and not the mother is carrying baby in sling, and mother is not around to see how much pain and suffering baby is going through. Some mothers/parents in developed countries install what is referred to as ‘I am seeing you’’ soft ware into home video systems that capture activities in the home and enable them communicate with whoever is nursing their babies while they are away.

    If you can afford it, get the hooded or open baby carriage system which comes in various forms, For those who can not afford such sophisticated products, any other arrangements will do-provided baby is placed to lie as comfortably as possible There are some that can be detached, assembled and placed as desired in cars, floors, tables, in offices and other safe places depending on the size and age of the baby. The bigger ones that can be pushed are now the vogue. Expensive quite alright but with small families, as opposed to large ones, they are affordable to those who plan.

     

  • Nikky Ogbuefi gets serious

    Lagos big girl, Nikky Ogbuefi, is easily one of the most stylish ladies in the Lagos social circle. She is blessed with a lovely figure and captivating looks. While there had been many events that rocked her world, she has remained resolute in her resolve to live life to the fullest. She consistently attends shindigs, smiling and striding happily.

    While she has had her own share of emotional pains, she has survived everything without losing much, and she does not seem to be in a hurry to settle down either. A few years ago, she got involved in romance a big wig. It did not matter that there was a yawning gap in their ages. The two were deeply in love, or so everyone thought, until things went awry between them.

    But then, Nikky gained a lot from the relationship. More than anything else, she came away with a daughter, Omodunni, as an evidence of her involvement with the Lagos-born businessman. Nikky dotes on her daughter and makes no pretence of the fact that her world revolves around her (daughter).

    Nikky has since moved on with her life. Only a few months ago, she opened a multi-million naira salon, Nikki O, in Lekki, Lagos. Since then, she has been very busy.

  • Jim Ovia stages high-octane wedding for daughter in London

    Those who attended the high-octane wedding of Isioma, daughter of former Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, and Ola Olowu, the elder brother of radio and TV personality, Adesola Olowu, in London, will not forget the shindig in a hurry. The wedding proper took place at St. Mark’s Hamilton, Terrace, St. John’s Wood, while the reception was held at Savoy Hotel, London.

    It was indeed a grand day for the daughter of Jim Ovia and her husband, as the Visaphone chairman exploited his vast contacts to make their day as remarkable and grand as possible. Eminent socialites from Nigeria made the wedding their convergent point. Sumptuous local and international meals and choice drinks were served aplenty.

    Jim Ovia, the pioneer Managing Director of Zenith Bank, was a proud father as he ensured that everything went as planned. Those who should know say the newly-wed couple will soon add to the nation’s population.

  • For Salmot Badru, good times are here again

    For Salmot Badru, good times are here again

    Call it destiny or sheer providence, the fact remains that Salmot Badru, a fomer Ogun State Deputy Governor, is one of the luckiest politicians around. The Awori-born politician served as the deputy to former Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel. After the expiration of their eight-year tenure, she was hardly seen in social or political circles. It was rumoured then that she had returned to her initial profession, nursing, as she was said to own some hospitals in Lagos.

    The quiet woman recently bagged another appointment from the Federal Government as a member of the board of the Federal Capital Development Authority. The President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan recently approved the constitution of nine new boards of federal parastatals featuring people like prominent businessman, Ben Murray Bruce and others.

    The composition of the boards was made public with a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim. Badru, who had to quit politics about two years ago, is back in the fold.

  • Toast to Sosanya, ANAN founder, at 70

    Toast to Sosanya, ANAN founder, at 70

    THIS book, Revolution of the Accountancy Profession in Nigeria (with a sub tittle: History of the The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN) and its author, Omoba Olumyiwa Sosanya, are somewhat reminiscent of “Solomon Grundy”, that famous traditional English nursery rhyme.

    How alike or unlike Solomon Grundy Omoba Sosanya is will be clear shortly. But first, the Solomon Grundy nursery rhyme:

    Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, grew worse on Friday, died on Saturday, buried on Sunday. That was the end of Solomon Grundy.

    To start with, Solomon Grundy lived for just seven days. In contrast, Omoba Sosanya has lived for 70 years and still counting and will continue counting for a long time to come!

    Then, apart from birth and death, nothing else was attributed to Solomon Grundy. His was practically a life without purpose, since he was just born, took ill and died.

    But again, in the case of Omoba Sosanya, there is a stark contrast. His life, thanks to the Almighty, has a purpose indeed, many purposes. But the main purpose, it would appear, is the life and life of ANAN.

    That is why, I guess, Omoba Sosanya is, at 70, writing about ANAN and not about himself! That is why the prince of Isara, Remo in Ogun State, is today presenting the politics, the commerce and the combat of ANAN’s founding and eventual legal charter, rather than his personal memoirs, documenting the other life odysseys of a 70-year old.

    Of course, between Omoba Sosanya and ANAN, there is but a thin line!

    As the Omoba himself enthused in the closing pages of the book (p. 342), while fending off reported treachery and perfidy of “enemies” within ANAN itself, after triumphing over the implacable enmity of ICAN: ANAN is Sosanya, Sosanya is ANAN!

    To be sure, that may appear a tad immodest. It may indeed communicate some disturbing vibes about the persona of the author. Still, after reading, in this book, the beating “General Sosanya” of the ANAN Army had to take and the psychological siege he had to endure in the battle to claim ANAN its due in Law, in logic and in common sense, you would agree the general has earned every bit of his epaulettes!

    Perhaps there is something, in the rustic innocence of Isara, Remo, that breeds rebels with causes! Need I remind you, distinguished audience, that this same Isara is the paternal ancestral homestead of that self-declared Ijegba man, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, and perhaps the most durable rebel with a cause in Nigerian contemporary history?

    In fighting the ANAN fight, Omoba Sosanya exhibited Soyinka-like courage, confidence, audacity, stubbornness and sheer brilliance. That perhaps explains the symbol of a lion, gracing the cover of the book, instead of that of the author himself. In ANAN affairs, Omoba Sosanya is nothing short of a lion heart!

    ANAN, of course, is The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria. It was formed in 1979 to compete with the older Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), chartered by Parliament in 1965, to train, uphold standards and regulate the practice of Accountancy in Nigeria. But ANAN did not receive its own charter by Decree until 25 August 1993, when Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, then as military president, signed into law the ANAN Decree 76 of 1993.

    Incidentally, that was two days before Gen. Babangida himself “stepped aside” from power, in the wake of protests against the military annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which the late Basorun MKO Abiola won. It was indeed a close shave for ANAN and its umpteenth quest for legal charter, raging for 14 years between 1979 and 1993.

    If Babangida had not signed the ANAN Decree, perhaps other subsequent governments would have, for ANAN’s argument seemed to progressively be gaining grounds against what seemed like ICAN arrogance and blackmail. But it would have been a restart of the process, just as when its incorporation by Parliament, was run aground in the Second Republic Senate in 1983, even after the House of Representatives had passed the ANAN Bill in 1981.

    Yet, both ICAN and ANAN share close shaves, either for or against. The ICAN Act of 1965 was, for instance, run through Parliament in a single day and signed into law in September 1965. Less than four months later, on January 15, 1966, the First Republic was terminated by a military coup. That was a close shave: maybe subsequent governments might have taken their time on the ICAN Bill and delayed its legal charter.

    That would not have been so bad, given the lack of rigour of the ICAN Act, which would come back to plague the Nigerian Accounting industry. When you charge professional oligopolists with industry monopoly, what you get is chartered impunity. The author was therefore spot on in his opening sub-heading, on page 1 of the book: “Monopoly: Sole preserve of impunity”.

    That would explain why ICAN, before the ANAN challenge, produced 45 “chartered accountants” between 1965 and 1978 (a period of 13 years; an average of less than four in a year!) and over 300 between 1979 and 1981, just two years after ANAN’s founding. Whatever other factors responsible for the rather slow start, it is curious that ICAN only gathered pace (even if it was too little, too late) when it sensed the ANAN challenge.

    Still, it is debatable if ANAN itself could have behaved any better, in ICAN’s pole position. Monopoly and its illicit gravy is, after all, no exclusive vice of anyone! The problem therefore was charging ICAN alone with not only training accountants but also setting “standards” not only for its trainees alone, but for every intending accounting trainee in Nigeria, in what presaged an everlasting monopoly. That was open to abuse, and it would appear ICAN fully milked that lacuna.

    ANAN’s close shaves came with running into the brick wall, each time it was close to a legal charter. After the House of Representatives passed the ANAN Bill in 1981, it ran into a ditch in the Senate in 1983. With the military overthrow of the Second Republic on December 31, 1983, after a hopelessly rigged general election, it was back to the starting line in ANAN’s bid for legal charter.

    As Senator Onyeabo Obi (no friend of the ANAN cause) noted in his illuminating contribution to the ANAN debate in the Second Republic Senate, ANAN needed a parliamentary charter to get a bite from the rich Nigerian accounting and auditing pie, since the then extant Companies Act, as well as the ICAN Act, restricted the auditing of companies to only ICAN members. Still, that was hardly a crime from the ANAN end. Why should public accounting and auditing be the exclusive preserve of a group of citizens to the exclusion of others with similar qualifications and competence?

    ICAN, however, demurred on this premise. To it, ANAN members were accounting flotsam and jetsam; veteran failures that could not have attained, or could ever attain, the “standard” required to break into that lucrative business. But the snag is ICAN’s “standard” would appear permanently locked in the closet of its few members’ whims and caprices, at least that is the impression Omoba Sosanya gives in this book. ICAN was therefore determined to retain the status quo, whatever it took, and for as long as possible. Such was the fierceness of the titanic war to stop ANAN, perhaps at all costs.

    Indeed ICAN’s pervasive influence and fearsome propaganda, most of it not based on reasoned arguments but on legal grandstanding or just wily filibustering to gain time and wrong-foot the younger accountancy body, were responsible for ANAN’s many near misses.

    Now, was there some divine intervention in the eventual ANAN charter? Maybe, as the author declared. And maybe not, as many others would argue: it was about time ANAN’s hard work, persistence and reasoned arguments paid off.

    Even then, despite his plucky response to Prof. Akanle’s threat, Omoba Sosanya would appear to resort to bluff and bluster to keep his own spirit alive. At that point, particularly the last presentation to, and exchange with Prof. Akanle, even most of the ANAN Council members had virtually resigned themselves to a seeming starkness: that the ANAN Decree was a mission-impossible. The author’s sole companion on that trip was Mr. Samuel Nzekwe, who he described as “a young member of ANAN”.

    Even with the signing of the ANAN Decree and its official gazetting, the gripping drama and anti-ANAN manoeuvre by ICAN never lost its intensity till the bitterest end.

    For one, Omoba Sosanya had to virtually shadow the decree from the Federal Ministry of Justice on the Marina, Lagos, guide it to the Government Printer at Apapa, pay for the printing with other decrees, closely monitor the printing over a period of time, pay for transport to ship the printed gazette back to Federal Government Bookshop on Broad Street, Lagos, send his staff to buy 10 copies of the gazette, and finally leak the gazette to radio, television and newspapers to be sure ICAN would not use its overwhelming influence to kill the decree! Indeed, for ANAN, the fear of ICAN antics would appear the beginning of wisdom!

    For another, ICAN, under the presidency of Mrs. Olutoyin Olakunrin, lobbied the Abacha government to scrap the ANAN Decree since, she claimed, it was promulgated in deceit. That ICAN memo to the government elicited a no less fierce riposte by ANAN president, Omoba Sosanya. That ICAN memo also prompted an ANAN’s courtesy visit to the new Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, who nevertheless congratulated ANAN on its new status but charged it to put Nigeria first in whatever it did.

    Still, there was nothing novel in the Olakunrin late rally to nail ANAN, even with its decree signed and gazetted. Indeed, beginning with the doyen himself, Mr. Akintola Williams, ICAN’s first president and Nigeria’s first chartered accountant, every ICAN president during the 14-year campaign, stiffly opposed ANAN all of the way.

    Even ICAN president, Otunba A.O. Ogunde, who proposed that ICAN membership be opened to The Association of International Accountants (AIA) members, had his proposal shot down by the ICAN Council, reportedly led by Mrs Olakunrin and Basorun J.K. Randle.

    The ANAN founding triad, who Omoba Sosanya referred to as “The Three Men of History” (Chapter 5): Sosanya himself, Olalere Akanbi Kolawole and Iyiola Olufemi Odefisayo, are all AIA members. And so were all of ANAN’s eight foundation members, except one.

    According to its website, AIA was founded in the UK in 1928, has over 7,000 members and 8, 500 students in over 85 countries. Although the UK Government affirms AIA “as Recognised Qualifying Body for statutory auditors under the Companies Act 2006,” and “as a Prescribed Body under the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 in the Republic of Ireland”, ICAN somewhat holds that its products were inferior to those of other UK chartered accounting bodies like the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA), among others.

    So, Otunba Ogunde’s proposal was a sort of envelope-and-swallow strategy that could abort the ANAN charter but which was rejected by Omoba Sosanya. Mr Akintola Williams had earlier dismissed the 1979 newspaper advert that announced the birth of ANAN, proclaiming that ANAN would die a natural death. But as reggae star, Jimmy Cliff sang in one of his famous numbers, the bigger anti-ANAN elements came, the harder they fell!

    Beyond the whoop of victory and the whimper of defeat, however, what ICAN and ANAN offer are two contrasting but competing methods of training professional accountants. ICAN appears, at least from the contents of this book, comfortable with the age-old article-ship. Though these offer accounting and audit firms cheap labour, it opens the profession up to entrants, even as low as senior secondary school graduates.

    On the other hand, ANAN offers post-tertiary training via the Nigerian School of Accountancy, a concept close to the Nigerian Law School model. That means the ANAN route offers fresh university and polytechnic graduates in accountancy better remuneration, even during their post-Accountancy College work to gather experience, before enrolment as ANAN members. But ANAN’s minimum academic entry point is a university and polytechnic degree. That seems to block the way to school certificate holders hoping to pursue Accountancy as a profession.

    Whichever method is better, let the market decide! But before that, let professional standard be determined by a body independent of both ANAN and ICAN. That is the long and short of the ANAN argument.

    This 20-chapter, 386-page book, complete with a “Photo of Events” chapter, is a must read for students of Accountancy history from the very early times in Assyria, Babylonia and Sumerian civilisations, to Italy where Luca Pacioli’s immense contributions were well established and Britain, the bastion of the Accountancy profession in the modern era, not leaving out the politics, business and dynamics of accountancy in today’s Nigeria. It is indeed a fact-filled book that every accountant or intending accountant would benefit from.

    The book’s most serious setback is lack of indexing. That is a major setback, if the book must satisfy international readership, interested in accounting practice in Nigeria. Also, the publishers should work hard on removing typographical errors, in the second edition.

    Over all however, this book is the story and travails of ANAN well told by the man who was its founding president and its leader for the first 17 years, 14 of which it fought its tempestuous war for legal recognition. It is indeed, as Chief Obafemi Awolowo put it in those tempestuous early days, the pithiest rendition of the “revolution of accountancy profession, audacity of Sosanya.”

    I must not conclude this review without congratulating Omoba Sosanya, on a highly revealing and riveting book.

    And my tribute is simple: Omoba Sosanya, at 70, ANAN is your life!

     

    Being the review at the public presentation of Revolution of Accounting Profession in Nigeria, in Lagos on August 12

  • Revealed: River celebrities throng for spiritual bath

    Revealed: River celebrities throng for spiritual bath

    • What the scriptures say, by clerics 

    Jacuzzi, shower and bathtub are some elegant fittings celebrities and wealthy people install in their bathrooms. Others even go as far as building swimming pools in their compounds to enjoy pleasurable bath, especially after a hard day’s work.

    They clean the fittings and treat the water from time to time to rid them of bacteria. They also make the bathroom to scent and glitter in such a way that one would not mind sleeping or eating in it.

    It would, therefore, beat the imagination that many of Nigerian politicians, celebrities, and other affluent people leave the comfort of their homes and throng a river in the Badagry area of Lagos State for a soothing bath. Referred to as spiritual bath, it is considered by those who engage in it as the ‘mother of all baths’.

    The bath is taken in the open in a river medical experts would consider harmful to the human body. The river is located at a solitary spot called Iyana- Ibiye Bridge on the Lagos/Badagry Expressway.

    Many of the people who have their baths in the river ride to the place in Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and sleek cars. They park their vehicles at a distance away from the river and trek down to have their bath in it. Apparently to conceal their identities, some other visitors go there in chartered taxis. However, their appearance easily gives them away as well-to-do individuals.

    But it is not only an assembly of the rich; common men and women also troop to the river alone or in company of their prophets, herbalists or Muslim clerics popularly called alfa. It is an egalitarian setting where the rich swallow their pride and scramble for a bath in the same place with those they would ordinarily not want near their exotic bathrooms at home.

    Unlike their private residence where they clean their bathroom fittings and treat the water to avoid contamination, the rich here do not enjoy such privileges. They have their bath in the murky water they ordinarily would not touch with a six-inch pole.

    On the edge of the river is a rectangle-shaped covering made of dry palm fronds, which serves as a bathroom for the visitors. Devoid of a door or a roof, it is constructed with its back to the expressway. It is divided into two and users enter into them through small openings at the sides.

    Right inside the bathroom is a giant mango tree meant to shield the users from sunshine. Apart from the general bathroom, there is also a special one set aside for those who may not want to have their bath in the river. They simply take water from the river and go to the special bathroom to have their bath.

    Interestingly, most of the visitors prefer to have their bath in the general bathroom because of its closeness to the river. They believe that bathing there will make the river to wash away whatever problem had prompted their visit.

    Checks showed that the river is not under the management or control of any white garment church as commonly found. It was gathered that the river became a ‘Mecca’ of sort after its potency and curative powers were fortuitously discovered by a 72-year-old man who hewed woods for survival. The river’s purported healing powers were said to have been discovered as far back as 1979 by one Chief Taiwo in the area.

    Findings also revealed that a single bath in the river costs N200, while the native sponge used for such bath costs N20 each. The fee payable by those who visit the river are, however, not the same.

    Before our correspondent met the founder, workers at the river had told him that anyone who wanted the red oil provided by the management for spiritual cleansing would have to pay the sum of N500.

    A worker who gave an insight into what the red oil was meant for said: “This river has been in existence for a very long time. It is the most powerful of all the rivers in this area and beyond. People from all walks of life come here for spiritual healing. It is not restricted to any religion, denomination or persons. Traditional worshippers, Muslims and Christians all come here for spiritual healing.

    “It is an all-embracing river. It does not discriminate. Apart from religious people, many rich men and influential people also come here. The testimonies of other people who have had their prayers answered here always make them to come.

    “To have your bath, you will pay a sum of N200. The sponge costs N20 only. You can buy as many as you want. The fee is not the same if you want to make use of our red oil when having your bath. If you want the red oil, you will pay N500. The red oil is meant for people who are under spiritual attack or bondage. It is to be rubbed on your body and washed away in the river. When you do so, whatever forces that is keeping you in bondage will leave you.”

    He also spoke about a magical perfume that makes one to obtain favour from anybody that deprives one of it. The perfume, according to him, costs N10, 000.

    He said: “This perfume provides solutions to many human challenges. It helps you to get favour, especially where anybody denies you of what rightly belongs to you. You only need to come with the full name of the person. The job is as good as done once you come with the name of the person. If you have a boss who has money but would not take care of you, all you need to do is to use this perfume. When you use it, the man would begin to care for you. If the person is a woman, she may even fall in love with you. But on no account must you sleep with her. If you do, the perfume will lose its powers. Politicians who are seeking public votes use it very well. They come for it, especially when elections are approaching.

    “If there is a contract that you have been pursuing fruitlessly, immediately you begin to use this perfume, the contract will be given to you. There is no deceit about it because we have testimonies about its efficacy. We always bury it by the side of the river for 21 days, after which it will come out by itself. The simple fact that this place has been in existence for over three decades is enough for you not to doubt us.”

    In a chat with our correspondent, a white garment prophet met at the river argued that it is not against any biblical injunction for people to go to a river to have their bath whenever they face life’s challenges. He cited the story of Namaan in the Bible to buttress his claim.

    He said: “It is never against the commandment of God or Biblical injunction for people to go to the river to have spiritual bath. If it were so, the Bible would not have had accounts of people who received their healing after prophets asked them to go and have their bath in a river.

    “One of such was that of Namaan, a great warrior. He suffered from leprosy and went to Prophet Elisha for healing. When the prophet asked him to go and bathe in River Jordan seven times for him to be made well, he got angry, saying he thought Elisha would only come out, wave his hands and cure the leprosy. He queried why he should even bathe in any of the rivers in Israel which were not as clean as rivers Abana and Pharpar in Damascus.

    “He was eventually advised by a young maid to do what the prophet asked him to do. When he did it, the leprosy disappeared.

    “The exercise we come here to do is spiritual and in line with the scriptures. It has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the water as Namaan desired. If it is about the cleanliness, most of the people coming here would not come, because they have the best of everything you want in a bathroom.

    “I have brought top politicians, businessmen and socialites to bathe in this river, and after doing so, their prayers were answered. Is it not better to have your bath for a few minutes in this river and have your problem solved than to keep carrying them about because of what people will say if they see you?

    “I can tell you with all sincerity that those you are even avoiding go to worse places to seek solutions to their problems. Even Pentecostal churches, which criticised us in the past, come here to pray because they have seen that it provides the needed solution. ”

    An Osun devotee, who brought her client to the river for healing, also spoke with our correspondent. She had gone to the river with a gong, a pigeon and some edible items to make a sacrifice for the client.

    She explained: “This river is a very powerful one. We have gone round and have discovered that there is no other river as powerful as it is in this area and even in the whole of Lagos State. There is no time of the day we don’t come here. We come as early as 1 am or 2 am. When you come around that time, you will be shocked to see many people here.

    “At times, you may see the river goddess physically. She doesn’t scare or harm anybody. It is only those with evil intentions that can be scared of coming here. If you are here with clean minds to seek solutions to your problems, you don’t have any reason to be afraid even in the dead of the night.”

    After many fruitless efforts were made to meet the founder, luck finally smiled on our correspondent penultimate Wednesday. Pretending to have come for consultation, he prodded the founder to give a detailed account of how the river became a melting pot for people of various religions and origin.

    He started by giving an insight into his background, narrating that he was born in 1942 and attended primary school before he went for apprenticeship as a carpenter but had his dream of excelling in the profession disrupted by a recurring ailment.

    He said: “When I was doing the job, I was always falling sick. Later on, there was a vision that I should stop the job because it was not my calling. Thereafter, I resorted to farming and fetching firewood for sale. That was what I was doing when I discovered the potency of this water in 1979. I cleared the area and put it in good shape because I found that it would meet the need of people looking for a river where they could pray and wash away their problems by bathing.

    “I did not fix any amount for whoever came here to bathe initially. I was only collecting whatever they gave me. I pegged it at N200 now because of the cost of managing and maintaining the surrounding. I don’t come here very often like I used to do in the past because I have people who look after it for me. They collect money from visitors and remit certain amount to me. If you want to kill a pigeon, goat, etc for sacrifice, you will pay N500.

    “Like I said earlier, the charges are basically for the maintenance and upkeep of the people working here and myself. For example, if you sacrifice a goat around the river or rub red oil, it will spill on the ground. We clean all this and cut the grasses and other things that obstruct the flow of the river. If we have not been taking good care of the place, some people would have messed it up.”

    Apart from the skill of carpentry which he acquired later in life, he said he inherited the knowledge of herbal medicine from his father. Even though he holds a top position in his church, he said, the Christian faith does not prohibit one him from offering sacrifice to the river.

    He said: “I am a traditional healer although I am a Christian. My father was a herbalist and I got the knowledge from him. I also acquired more knowledge from others who know better than I do.

    “I am the head of Agbomola Traditional Medicine Association and also the baba ijo (father of the church). My Christian faith does conflict with my practice of herbal medicine. Abraham offered sacrifice so I also offer sacrifice. I do offer sacrifice to the river, but there is one major sacrifice I am yet to do. I ought to have killed a cow but I have not done so because of financial challenges. I plan to do it soon. If I don’t do it, I will be penalised and money will not stay in my hand.”

    He also explained the signs that indicate when the petitions of visitors are answered.

    He said: “People come here from dusk to dawn. Some Christians come here for vigil, while some others come for baptism. When visitors make their sacrifice and the river carries it, it shows that their prayers have been answered. If it does not carry the sacrifice, we would push it forward so that it does not return to the person.

    “It is not a good omen if the sacrifice returns to the person that offers it. It is meant to be carried away by the river as it flows to show that the person’s problems have gone never to come back. We don’t bathe for anybody. Every visitor bathes by himself. We also don’t compel anybody to come to us for prayers and spiritual assistance.

    “Some people come to have their bath and go without talking to anybody, while others may feel like coming to us for help. The charges depend on the nature of the problem.

    “There is no category of people who do not come here. Women who are looking for husbands and those who are looking for jobs or children all come here to pray and bathe. When mentally challenged persons are brought here, I always refer them to my brother who cares for such people. People even bring their mentally sick relations from psychiatric homes for cure.

    “Everybody bathes by himself and it is turn by turn. Those that have been coming here will always attest to the powers of the river. Many of them will tell you that they have been to so many other rivers but have found that this is the most powerful of them all. So, people have been coming here from Abuja and other parts of the country. They always tell me that somebody directed them here after he had come to pray and got solutions to his problem.”

    Enumerating his gains since he started managing the river, he said: “There is no huge financial gain that I get from doing it apart from feeding my family and meeting their basic needs. I am only contented with the fact that God used me to discover this kind of place where people from all walks of life get solutions to their problems.

    “I had built my house before I started this work. Apart from meeting the needs of my family members, another gain I have had is that it has enabled me to raise money to replace my leaking roof twice. It is actually those that bring their clients here that get huge financial gains.

    “I don’t know the who is who in the society. So, when people even bring influential people here, I don’t know them. It is after such clients would have gone that they come to say ‘Baba, do you know the man that just left?’ I would say no and they would say he is XYZ in the society.

    “Before then, they would have collected a huge sum from him and would only come to give us the N200 or N500 that others pay. I have no ill-feelings against them. There are people that would come and beg to bathe free of charge because they have no money and need solution to their problems. I do allow them to bathe because my primary concern is for people to have solutions to their problems.

    “The only unfortunate thing is that most of them don’t come back to show appreciation when they have got answers to their prayers. But that will never stop me from showing compassion to others. I will also not stop my children who want to toe my path from doing so.”

    However, speaking on the the position of the Bible on taking spiritual bath, Pastor Praise Ekwere of Life Centre Christian AssembyIdimu Lagos, said: “Elisha only gave a prophetic instruction as directed by God at that moment. It was meant to address that particular situation for Namaan alone and not to be adopted as a ritual or doctrinal practice. In theology, there is what we call logos and rhema. ‘Logos’ refers to the written word of God, while ‘rhema’ is a specific word of God revealed for a particular situation at a specific time. It is just like an inspirational solution that can be used to solve a particular problem.

    ‘’You teach doctrine because it has biblical basis, but you don’t emphasise ‘rhema’ above ‘logos’ because it can be abused and idolised. This mode of worship is common among idol worshippers and white garment churches. They are ignorant of the foundational doctrine of God’s words and are spiritually ‘rootless’. The bible describes such practice as the doctrine of Nicolaitans in Revelation 2: 14- 15.

    ‘’Namaan was not asked to go and have spiritual bath. He was only asked to dip himself in the river seven times. This he did without using any soap, sponge or what have you. It is also not advisable for people to go for baptism in such rivers because of other unholy practices that take place there. Somebody can even contact a demonic spirit in the course of being baptised in such river. This is why many churches now make use of private of public swimming pools where the cleaniness of the water can be guaranteed to a good extent.

    ‘’The use of perfume for the pupose of obtaining favour is equally not biblical. If you read Isaiah 60: 10 – 22, you will find that the condition attached to every blessing from God is that one must be in convenant with God. Let us be careful because we are in the last days where all manners of ideas, principles and strange cultural practices will be done in the name of worshipping God. The only way to avoid this is to be in the right assembly or church where the truth is taught and practised. ‘’

    On his part, Pastor Kyode Ajayi of the Redeemed Christians Church of God said: “Yes, a prophet of God told Namaan to take a bath in a river for healing, he did and became healed. But I don’t think there is any record where someone else went on his on accord to take a similar bath in such a river for the purpose of healing. When we turn an event in the Holy Scripture to a ritual without God’s instruction and approval, it becomes men’s tradition and not God’s. When God instructed a feast of Passover, He told the Jews to do it annually. When Jesus Christ instituted the last supper (Holy Communion), He told His disciples they should do it on a regular basis in remembrance of Him. In this regard, these are not man’s traditions but God’s and you would see divine results because they have divine backing.

    “In a man’s tradition, demons take such an opportunity to give results. The long-term effects of such results may be more devastating because of the demonic background they have. If God has not instructed you to take a spiritual bath, such may give you a desire result but you may go home with a bigger problem in exchange. God instructed Moses to strike a rock with his rod to give water for the Israelites, water did come out (Exodus 17:6). At another time He told him to speak to the rock but Moses stuck the rock, however water came out but God disciplined him for this (Numbers 20:7-12). So it is not about the result but about if God is instructing the action. Christians should be careful about of such spiritual bath. They should remember that as God’s rod in the hand of Moses could turn to a serpent, the rod of Pharaoh in the hand of his magician also could turn to a serpent.”

     

  • Street fashion

     STREET style is when the everyday person puts together amazing outfits on a realistic budget. And it is more than a runway inspiration. Though I enjoy fashion/runway shows, I love street style much better. Street style gives you the opportunity to experiment with things which in most cases bring out the best in you.

     

     

     We pick out the most desirable pieces that are hot  on the street 

    IT is the season of the waist accessory; accentuate yours with cute small belts.

    Lace-embellished pencil skirt and top/blouse is a real show stopper.

    Floral trousers like the floral dress are a must that we cannot do without this season.

    Also floral and animal print knickers-line shorts will be all the rage.

    Monochrome and neon dresses are making it bang on trend!

    Statement ankara or prints blazer is our must-have item.

    Now it’s time for shirt stripes.

    Teaming blazer with jeans and a tee for a chic look is still going strong and hotter by day.

    Make oriental fashion statement from scarf prints in pants (trousers) or dress.

    High pump shoes in all manners of heels.

    One of today’s hottest pearl styles is to wear multiple strands of pearls as wrist or neck ornament.

    Every woman likes to look different from the rest of the lot. Selecting fashion accessories that are unique can achieve this idea.

    Transport yourself back to the 1960s with amazing tie blouse. Tie blouse is a great everyday basic top for anytime of the year.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Tuck it in!

    NERDY fashion has been one fashion trend every woman who loves to look good has been rocking this season. When the geek sunglass came back, fashionistas from all around the globe rocked it perfectly. There is another great come back in the nerdy fashion and this one is super trendy and classic. This is also considered as nerdy fashion because of the belief that only geeks tuck in their shirts but these days, its super fantastic. This fashion trends seems very easy. Yes it’s easy and very suitable for the formal lady and the one who loves to look chic. In today’s fashion world, you can tuck your shirts in almost everything ranging from shorts to skater skirts, leggings and any other bottom item you can think of. This is only possible if you know how to do it right and couple it up with the right accessories. Let’s see how we rock this fashion trend:

    *When tucking in, put your shirt or top on first then your skirt or trouser.

    *Pull the shirt down as far as possible before buttoning them.

    *Lift you arms so that some of the shirt comes out.

    *Have a great shirt or T-shirt. No over-sized one please.

    *A lovely belt would look good when tucking in as it would complement the outfit.

    *You can try to tuck in halfway. This is another fashion trend of partially tucking the shirt in the waist band of a pair of trousers just to show off the buckle of a belt. It’s totally fabulous!

    *A pair of lovely earrings and bracelets on the wrist would make you look stunning.

    *Fill empty neckline with statement necklace.

    *Round off your outfit with cute shoes and a bright coloured handbag or clutch.

  • What went wrong with Biafra —Ben Gbulie

    What went wrong with Biafra —Ben Gbulie

    Col. Ben Gbulie is widely known for his role in the January 1966 coup in which he and other majors and captains upturned the political and military status quo in the country. Having been detained in Enugu alongside Victor Banjo and others who participated actively in the coup by the Federal Government, he was subsequently released by Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil War in 1967. He rose to the rank of a Colonel in the Biafran Army  where he held important positions which included the de facto commander of the 7th battalion, Nsukka, Supply and Transport and later as the Military Administrator of Aba Province. In this interview with Edozie Udeze and Chris Orji in Enugu, he reiterates how he and Gen.Alabi-Isama and others joined the Nigerian Army in March 1960, why Obansanjo’s My Command is full of half-truths and how Nzeogwu was killed, among other salient war related issues. 

    Gen Alabi Isama was emphatic in his book that the invasion of the West by the Biafran forces through Ore was a serious blunder. He said instead invading Lagos from Ilorin, or any other alternative route would have been a better military option. What do you think?

    Now, with regards to the war itself, I fought on the side of Biafra, what you call the rebel side. In other words, the Biafran side, because there was a country if you can refer to Chinua Achebe. And he (Isama) fought on the Nigerian side.

    Now, with regards to the Ore issue…First of all, Alexander Madiebo has actually resolved this matter; that the Biafrans going into the Mid-West was Ojukwu’s way of pleasing Banjo. And that alone raises a number of other questions, because I was detained prior to all that due to the coup of January 1966. And Banjo was also with us in prison. I don’t know if you have read my book titled The Fall of Biafra.

    If you have read it, you’ll see where I talked about Banjo speaking to us in Enugu prison before we were released by Ojukwu before the war started. And Banjo made it quite clear that he didn’t support any question of secession. That instead he wanted the creation of more states. Initially, the North didn’t want the creation of states. But they let superior argument prevailed and so they let the British guide them. And so they supported the creation of states. As at that time, Ojukwu in Enugu, well, in the Eastern Region, said it was not right to create states. That it was to emasculate the East. Ojukwu and the East were against the creation of states. So, when Banjo came out of prison with us, released by Ojukwu himself, he asked the Ojukwu the same question what about the creation of states.

    It is all covered in my book. Now, as to the question of we going into the Mid West in August 1967, it was a matter for Biafrans to decide. So, you don’t decide for us. Not even Alabi Isama himself, because Alabi-Isama is a strategist. He did courses in strategy and so there is no question of him asking why should we do this or why should we do that. No, he shouldn’t do that; it is all in the past. The thing had taken place.

    Banjo, by the way, a Yoruba man, took former Easterners to the Midwest, that alone in my book, I said, is a monstrous gamble. It is like paying your own assassin. So, there are many questions that came out of that. Do you understand? So, Banjo alone was bad news, because he didn’t support Biafra. But Ojukwu too, he was bad news, because he was pig-headed. He wanted to use Banjo to go to Lagos. But Banjo also wanted to use Biafran troops to get to his people, to overthrow Gowon and become head of state of Nigeria. This was very clear to everybody. So, whether we should have gone into the Midwest or not, it was the choice of Ojukwu and Banjo. So the critique is well-taken. But those two people are dead already. So, what am I going to say?

    The larger issue was that the Biafran high command didn’t collectively take that decision.

    Now, you are talking about Biafran high command. What was the Biafran high command? What was it? Ojukwu was everything. Okay, if you read Madiebo, he wrote an addendum by way of foreword in Alabi’s book. I have a copy of it. He did say that even the commander of the Biafran army did not know about Biafran crossing to the Midwest. We were not told. Ojukwu was not telling people about a lot of things. Even where our arms and ammunitions were kept, he didn’t tell anybody. He was always dealing with civilians, sending them abroad to even buy ammunitions of war for us. And if we want to face facts I must say that anybody on sideline outside Biafra could feel free to criticise our own way of handling things. But Isama did also give us credit for having some flashes of genius in the war. He did. And so I cannot fault him entirely.

    What other blunders were also caused by the Biafran high command?

    Good Lord! Again you are talking about Biafran commanders. Be very careful. You got to study Biafra and the way Biafrans were organised in the war before you start asking such questions. For instance, Ojukwu was the commander of the Biafran troops and at the time when Biafran troops entered the Midwest it was Njoku who was the commander. But Njoku was arrested and detained by Ojukwu. He was detained throughout the war. Don’t you know that? So, what is all these about? Biafran hierarchy or whatever, did we have any?

    Ojukwu was everything and that was one of the problems we faced. And eventually what happened? A number of people- Victor Banjo, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Alali and Agbam, they were shot by firing squad. Don’t you remember all that? Don’t you know? We equally had our own inherent problems. Even Nzeogwu was not involved in the war. He decided, because he was an Igbo man to go and give us support at the Nsukka sector. And he paid with his life. But Ojukwu never involved him in the war, because of petty jealousy. You ought to understand these things. Anyway, this is not to tell us that I hate my people, my dear Igbo people. No. It is to me that I am looking inwards and discussing with you what actually went wrong. Many things went wrong. For instance, the declaration of Biafra took effect at the wrong time. It was wrongly timed. Whereas other military leaders in the West, in the Midwest were cooperating with Gowon, even if you didn’t like Gowon.

    Don’t you remember that Adebayo was the governor of the West and both Awolowo and the western officers were saying that northern troops should leave the West. But eventually they supported Gowon and that didn’t mean they liked Gowon. You play up to someone until your time is ready. But Ojukwu had not much patience. That was not the way to handle it and he did not do it well, anyway. So, you can now deduce from what I am saying whether Alabi was right or wrong in some respects. I have told you that by hindsight, anyone can say anything. In other words, referring to what had happened based on what had happened and the result and that is what happened today.

    In other words, why did we go into the Midwest in the first place? After all, Midwest was actually a buffer area. Midwest was not enemy of Biafra. We had plenty Midwest officers who were Igbo or Ika. Why did we go there in the first place? By that we upset the apple cart as it were. So, it is only Ojukwu who can say that. Ojukwu promised us before he died (may his soul rest in peace) that he would produce the The Book. But he never produced it and died. And so I am not going to write it for him.

    I have written my book, The Fall of Biafra in which I criticised a lot of things. And there are many things I criticised and you know what, Ojukwu held a press conference saying – I am not going to rejoice with Gbulie on the fall of Biafra. He held that press conference in Lagos and until a long time we never saw eye-to-eye. Not because he was not my senior or commander. Oh, he was. For instance, the problem with our people is that we don’t look inwards, we don’t consider issues thoroughly.

    Do you know that Ojukwu was one of the people that aborted the coup of 1966 in which I participated? And he said so in his book Because I am Involved. That was on page 120 or something like that. I was just reading it this morning. Read the book yourself. He aborted the coup. And now get me right. When he was appointed the governor of the East and the Northerners started acting on the killings of January 1966, he started defending Igbo people.

    This was a man who created the impression ipso facto that the coup was an Igbo affair and then he later became a messiah for Ndigbo. That was where the problem lay. Because the people he was defending were being killed in large numbers in the North as a result of the impression that the coup was on Igbo affair.

    What situation gave rise to the issue of saboteurs in the Biafran army then?

    (Laughs) You know why I am laughing? Why I am laughing is that there is what you call the human element. Ojukwu was indeed entitled to his own human element. Ojukwu would say something and he wouldn’t want anybody to argue with him.

    By the way, that does not mean that some Igbo senior officers were not against him. They were. For instance, in the case of the sabotage levelled against Ifeajuna, Agbam and Alali, my thinking was that it must be true. Yes, it must be true.

    Ifeajuna, in my book, supported Banjo. He supported Banjo and the plan was that Banjo would get to Lagos with our own troops, the Biafran troops, overthrow Gowon, take over Nigeria. Then they would send Ifeajuna to the East, to his own Biafra, flush out Ojukwu and then he Ifeajuna would become the governor of the East. That was their plan. And a man called Wale Ademoyega would be made the governor of the West. So it was clear-cut and it was clear Ojukwu knew about this. Do you know that when we were released in March 1967, Ojukwu did so, because we were being held in his domain? He released us, that was after Gowon had taken power. After we were released, Ojukwu was clear-cut that he understood what was happening. He gave us instructions, those of Igbo, that we should go home, spend one week or so, then get ready to come back to join our various units. Thereafter, we were deployed. I was deployed to Nsukka. Now what happened to Ifeajuna and Banjo, who were living with him at the government house here in Enugu?

    That was why when Ifeajuna was told he’d been deployed to Nsukka, he turned him down. It is in my book. Ifeajuna was in government house together with Victor Banjo because before the Nigerian crisis, Ojukwu was the quarter-master-general of the Nigerian army. And Ifeajuna who joined the army later, by then I was an officer-cadet, but Ifeajuna had a university degree. He joined and their total aim was to rule the country. There was no doubting that. Now, if you read Professor Eleagwu’s book titled Gowon, even then Ojukwu was reported to have been planning a coup. That was in 1964. But ours was in 1966.

    Do you know why? As at that time, there was this federal election in which the NCNC refused to take part. And Zik decided not to recognise Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. It is there. Eleagwu is talking sense and you have to read that book. It was Gowon who reported Ojukwu who was able to wriggle out of it.

    If the Biafrans had put their acts together, is it true that they would have won the war instead?

    Just a minute, wait a minute! The same Alabi also said if they had put their acts together in the Nigerian side, they would have won the war in three months. Do you know that Gowon gave us only twenty-four hours within which to win the war? Do you know it was called a police action – that is using only the police to overrun Biafra? That presupposed that the war would not last for more than one month? But what happened? Never you think that some people are weak. You think that some people are weak until the time comes for them to act, to prove themselves.

    But then, you don’t remember the tenacity of people, about the resilience of people, about the indomitable will of the people. You don’t easily conquer people like that. No, you don’t. So, Alabi is entitled to his views but I wish he can come and argue with me.

    Let’s go back to Nzeogwu. You mentioned professional jealousy…

    Oh, no, no. You are talking about jealousy. No, no. you see, he and Ojukwu had only clash of personalities. It wasn’t a question of professional jealousy between the two. That Nzeogwu did the January 1966 coup, he became very popular. He was a revolutionary. Yes, he was indeed. Ojukwu didn’t quite like this. It is in my book titled Nigeria’s Five Majors. We sent captain Udeh to Kano and he was arrested in the Officers’ Mess. Ojukwu was there with him while the coup was going on.

    There’s this belief that Nzeogwu was not actually killed by the federal troops…

    Look, Look! Wait, wait! I want to stop you there because if you ask me I was not there on the spot. But I do know that Nzeogwu would have died earlier. I do know, because I fought at Nsukka sector. He would have died earlier the way he was carrying on. He was having what I would call a maniacal or suicidal bravery. He would put his head and everything into what he was doing. He came to Nsukka on the second day of the war without anybody inviting him. Then, he took over command. Col. Eze was our commander and then Nzeogwu burst into our Zik’s hostels at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Eze was his senior by the way. But Nzeogwu would not know whether you are his senior or not. He would just take over command. He was very dynamic and so he started dishing out orders, including giving orders to the then Major Emma Udeaja, to me and to Eze himself.

    And that was the first issue of sabotage, because before you knew it, that was about 7pm of that day, there was an explosion downstairs. Somebody had exploded a grenade and Nzeogwu quickly dashed downstairs and threw another grenade. Remember in January coup, he threw grenade. He loved throwing grenades but he was a very great man. He was hurt in that grenade. He was a dare-devil, no doubt about it. So he could have died then. As at the time he died, nobody called him. Our headquarters, in fact, was at Opi Junction at the time. He just arrived and decided to go for an operation by himself.

    He went on patrol in the night and he used this armoured car, a monstrosity that had nothing but was called armoured vehicle. So, he paid with his life. They were ambushed by the federal troops. It was the same federal government that announced his death. So, anybody who tells you that Ojukwu killed him or something else is talking rubbish, complete rubbish. Nigeria announced his death and his body was taken to Kaduna, was buried in a cemetery in Kaduna with all military honours. This is indeed the complexity of the Nigerian situation. This was a man who did a coup and you termed it Igbo affair and the same man who organised it, you killed him and then gave him military burial. And you said he was misguided. Who was not misguided?

    The Abagana war sector was said to be the largest gathering of the army…?

    Hah! Which army? Whoever was there to say it was the largest army? Who had the statistics to say so? Where did they get the fact from? What was the strength of the army? It was the second division – second div., under Murtala Muhammed. They tried to cross through the Niger three times but failed. If you read Alabi-Isama, when they tried to cross the Niger, a lot of people died. A lot of people perished. Nigerians perished in the water. A lot of people, over 2000 people, died. So, he sent the troops, those carrying arms, ammunitions, petrol and other things through the main land. And they came in and there was an ambush at Abagana. I don’t want to go into that because I was not there myself. I went to see it but I was not there.

    Many people have claimed credit; that they were the people who did it. That is absolute rubbish because we know those who claimed credit when something good happened to Biafra. But anytime anything went wrong you won’t see them.

    Was it true also that the federal troops kept prisoners of war whereas the Biafran side kept killing their own during the war?

    Who said so? Can you please listen to me? The matter is that most people go with the winner. They never go with the loser. If we lost the war so anybody can concoct stories against us. That is rubbish. This one is not true and could never be. I can name many people killed even after the war by Nigerian troops. One of them was Tim Onwuatuegwu, another was Major Ukpai. Kalu Ezera was also killed. I don’t want to start naming them here now. So what are they saying? They died, they were killed. So, let’s let sleeping dog lie.

    Another issue was the Owerri sector. It became tough that the Federal troops would capture a part and the Biafran troops would regain it. Why was it so for a long time?

    Please, please, you should know that Owerri was strategic in its location. It was very near our airport and the centre of gravity for Biafra. The centre of gravity was the Uli airport. So, the airport was actually a beehive of activities in Biafra. Things were coming into the nation from there.

    We were surrounded by the federal troops, by land and by air. So, the only place that was available was Owerri. Don’t forget Alabi gave us credit for building two airports within the time of the crisis. Is it easy? Yes, there were things that happened as it were and you see the ingenuity of the Igbo man. So it was actually this tenacity of purpose and this indomitable spirit of the Igbo that made them to last so long in the war. Otherwise the war would have been a matter of days and it was over for us.

    Owerri was strategic. Initially it was captured by the 3rd Marine Commando under Col. Benjamin Adekunle. By the way, Adekunle and I met at Sandhurst. He was my senior there. But he was ruthless with his artillery, with his weaponry. He was always known to deploy artillery pieces and fire them all at the same time. He called them his own personal thunder. So, he captured the place, I mean Owerri, but Biafrans took it back because of the strategic nature of the place. It was like Nigeria going to capture Oguta. It was so strategic to us too. It couldn’t happen and we were prepared not to let it happen no matter how long. But eventually what must be must be. It happened when it had to happen. By then our leader had left for Ivory Coast.

    What is your comment on the book, There Was a Country by Chinua Achebe

    All I can tell you is that Chinua was a writer of high standards. He was a raconteur, a prolific story teller of immerse proportion. He was telling a lot of stories. I saw a lot of inaccuracies in some of what he said. I saw a lot of them. Anybody could see them. Alabi pointed them out. For instance, one of the causalities of our war was truth. So, Alabi said it was actually Biafrans who committed a lot of atrocities in Ikot Ekpene and other places in the area. And he was right. We didn’t impose the war on Nigeria, Nigeria imposed the war on Biafra. And we resisted because we wanted to protect lives and property. There were errors in that book but that does not make the book bad. Achebe is not alive today to defend himself.

    You have read My Command by Obasanjo and Isama’s book…

    Yes I have read all…

    Can you compare the two books?

    Listen. Let me answer it straight away. Obasanjo was captain when I was captain in the Nigerian Army. We served together but he was my senior just like he was Alabi’s senior too. We were in the same army engineer. He said he was my commander in his book. No, he was my OC that is Officer-Commander and OC and CO are two different things. But it doesn’t matter. I saw many lies in Obasanjo’s book.

    I saw them with my eyes because I happened to be with Obasanjo in the army. I also happened to be with Alabi in the Nigerian Army. I happened to know what was happening. I was in fact in the vortex of the crisis, for which I was detained by Ironsi from 1966 when the coup took place till 1967 when Ojukwu released us here in Enugu.

    Gowon said Ojukwu had no right to release us. So, he detained us again. So, from 1970 to 1974, I was in prison, languishing behind prison bars. We were eight of us. Alabi is writing on facts. This man called Obasanjo is writing on half-truths. I tell you something that book is full of half-truths and that is it. In the launching of Alabi’s book, Gowon wrote a foreword which though belated is what I believe in. That the government of the day, that is Gowon, appointed Obasanjo the commander of the 3rd Marine Commando.

    There is no disputing the fact. So, at the end of the war, whether Obasanjo was quarrelling with Isama or Akinrinade or with other people, it was not really what mattered. Obasanjo was the one who stood in for the federal government and received the instrument of surrender. That fact has to be made clear at all times. And Gowon put it quite clear for everybody. He had every right to do so because he was the commander, even though he was not there on the spot. Even though Akinrinade had come down before him, he was the commander. The commander was appointed by the head of state.

    And therefore if you want the buck, the buck stops on the table of the commander. Akinrinade came first and then Effiong came into it. Later Obasanjo came and we were called. If you read My Command, he addressed me there as a captain which was the rank I was before the war started. He said that Captain Ben Gbulie was Effiong’s secretary, while Lt. Col. Akinrinade was his, which is ridiculous. Then he pointed out that Akin and Gbulie were course-mates at Sandhurst which is the truth. So, you see there are complexities here and there.