The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • Anambra opens youth entrepreneurship office

    A youth entrepreneurship office just opened in Anambra State by Governor Willie Obiano has given hope to youths in the state.

    The office is working in conjunction with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

    The idea, according to the Special Assistant to Obiano on Youth Entrepreneurship and state coordinator of NACCIMA, Eloka Maduekwe, is to reduce youth unemployment in the state.

    The office was inaugurated in Nnewi during the 19th anniversary of Nnewi Chamber of the NCCIMA, which was attended by the state Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke, who represented Obiano. NACCIMA youth entrepreneurship focuses on youth development programmes including skills acquisition and economic empowerment.

    Maduekwe told The Nation that with the inauguration of the office, participating Anambra youths stand a chance of benefitting from NACCIMA.

    The youth leader said NACCIMA youth entrepreneurship will liaise with Government to assist youths in entrepreneurship skills.

    This, according to him, would equally ensure that youths acquire self-sustaining skills, rather than job hunting.

    Obiano in his speech presented by his deputy, Dr Okeke, sadi Nnewi Chamber of commerce needs steady power supply to boost the ever growing businesses in the area.

    He said Anambra and the federal government were working hand in hand to make sure the dream becomes a reality. He said the chamber was the biggest Chamber of commerce in Nigeria, adding that the state government would give it all necessary assistance for it to succeed.

    While presenting his speech, former president of NCCIMA, Mr Linus Ilozue said the chamber had already secured a massive land for its permanent office.

    He mentioned power supply as the greatest problem confronting it, while giving kudos to the Minister of Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola for taking the sector to a greater height since his assumption of office.

    He said the chamber was in constant consultation with the Minister on how to get it right for the people of Nnewi.

    Speaking with The Nation, the new president of NCCIMA, Ifeanyi Uzodike said his executive was ready to achieve more for the chamber with the cooperation of the members.

  • Erosion plagues Enugu’s agric base

    Nsukka, host of University of Nigeria, may be far more popular, but Eha-Ndiagu, a neighbouring community, feeds everyone in Enugu State. It is blessed with fertile soil and some of the most industrious farmers on offer in the country. They produce the best yams, bananas, mangoes, palm oil, honey, and cashew, among other crops. But right before their eyes, their soil is eroding at a pace they cannot understand. Farming, their major occupation, is in danger because their roads are tearing up and caving in, leaving the growers stuck with their produce on the farms, that is, if those farmlands are not also eroded.

    This is not the first time the community has been plagued by heavy erosion in the last decade. Eha-Ndiagu, a suburb in Nsukka Local Government Area, which shares boundaries with Ogbodu Aba, Imilike in Udenu Local Government Area, Neke and Mbu in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, also has such mineral resources as crude oil, coal, clay, limestone, and a population of over 4,500 residents spread across more than 15,000 acres of land.

    It has the largest voting strength in Nsukka Local Government Area, and with an estimated capacity of about 2,500 votes cast during the last general elections.

    This makes Eha-Ndiagu the highest producer of agricultural products in Enugu State.

    Between 1960 and 1970, Eha-Ndiagu Road was one of the feeder roads through which agricultural produce was transported to other neighbouring communities in the state.

    Regrettably, that feeder road which took commuters 45 minutes’ drive from the agrarian setup to Nsukka, now takes more than three hours due to the deteriorating state of the road, which is caused by heavy erosion.

    A community leader, Mr. Alfred Onah, bemoaned the bad state of the road, noting that it is one of the worst in Enugu State.

    “When I was growing up around the 70s, this road used to be one of the best roads through which agricultural products were being transported to the urban areas. It was so accessible that a driver can close his eyes and drive through without galloping. I am scared about what the road is turning into in the last decades. It is one of the bad roads in Enugu State,” he said.

    The horrible condition of the road has made it difficult to attract investors and businessmen. Not only that, expectant mothers and weak and ailing people go through an ordeal due to the deteriorating condition of the road.

    Mr. Chidi Ezeh, a businessman in the area, complained that since the condition of the road has grown from bad to worse traders from across the state see the area as a no-go place for business, especially during the rainy season.

    He said, “Ever since the condition of the road became bad, we hardly make sales because people that come here to buy goods no longer come here because of the road. Nobody sells anything now. Even if you go to Nsukka or Orba markets to buy goods there are no commercial vehicles to transport your goods because the road is bad. Meanwhile, the only means of transportation we have now is okada (commercial motorcycle), and that is too hard on us because the expenses are too much. We are suffering too much here, especially our women and children. Even if someone is on the verge of death, there is no means to take the person to the hospital because there’s no road.”

    The residents are calling on “the people’s governor, His excellency Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to deliver us from erosion in the area.”

     

  • Baby factories return in Imo

    The menace of trade in humans especially the sale of babies in Imo State, otherwise known as baby factory, was thought to have been drastically reduced if not completely erased but recent records prove otherwise. From available records, there is a massive resurgence of baby traffickers, suggesting that the operators had only gone underground to escape the heat of security clampdown.

    In fact the baby factories have returned under various guises and more sophisticated. To beat security checks and recruit unsuspecting and vulnerable teenagers, the operators have devised fronts under which they carry out the heinous crime without raising any suspicion. The baby factory operators now float orphanages where they hide to recruit, impregnate young girls and lure or coerce them to sell their babies for paltry sums of money ranging from N50, 000.00 to N150, 000.00 depending on the sex.

    Between 2011 to 2012 when the baby factory business was booming, not less than 2500 babies were rescued from the traffickers in the Southeast, with Imo State constituting the highest percentage according to the statistics released by the Campaign for Democracy (CD).

    Security operatives in the state had already ruled that baby factory has been decimated and as such does not pose security threat anymore. But that is not to be, the evil had grown in leaps and bounds in the last three years after a period of incubation.

    Apparently acting under intelligence, the state government recently uncovered 157 Baby Factories during a massive clampdown on the illegal social homes and a large number of children and pregnant teenagers.

    The special assistant to the Imo State governor on Non-Governmental Organisations and Allied Matters, Rev. Dr. Simeon Nwulu, said the action became imperative to check the resurgence of Baby factories in the state.

    According to the governor’s aide, his office embarked on visitation of the 27 Local Government Areas of the State of the state and found out many social homes, majority of which were operating as fake Non-Governmental Organizations.

    In his words, “we’re doing our best to ensure such a thing does not exist in our society anymore. We’ve revoked so many fake homes. Out of 272 homes across the state, only 15 were genuine others are fake. Some of them are registered with the government but their activities are not genuine and we’ve seized their licences. Very soon we will be charging some of them to court over their nefarious activities.

    “At the same time, this office has moved to ensure we stop illegal sales of children because the rate at which children are being marketed and sold like ordinary articles of trade is very alarming. At a peanut, the destiny of a child is destroyed and most of these adopters are not well-to-do to take care of these children”.

    He advised Churches within the state to get deeply involved in building motherless babies homes and old people’s homes and encourage well-to-do individuals in the society to adopt such children.

    “If somebody becomes motherless, it does not mean that such a child cannot be somebody in the future.

    “I’m glad some churches have shown interest to partner with government on that. Some of them have picked the forms to establish social homes. But we’re asking them to make the environment very conducive for the children and not to use it and make money because we know that nobody can take care of the children more than the church.

    “We’re going house-to house appealing to people to adopt these children because we have over 2000 motherless children in different homes whose future seem very bleak without hope. As someone God has blessed, even if you have 10 children, please try and give these ones’ life and hope”, he appealed.

    He also disclosed that his office was working hard to ensure NGOs such as churches start fulfilling their mandate such as building institutions to help the needy and the poor.

    “The bedrock of every NGO is the church. Unfortunately, the present day church is not like the former church. The present day church is no longer involved in humanitarian or spiritual activities, but materialism and flamboyance.

    “Before now, churches built schools and it was free of charge for people. Churches used to take care of the welfare of the needy, but today schools owned by churches are the most expensive in the country, the same as their hospitals. In fact, everything that belongs to the church is for the rich and not the poor and needy.

    “We want to ensure that churches start building hospitals. If you look around, churches are no longer building hospitals. They are only building schools that will get them quick money. So, we’re asking churches to start building hospitals to complement the effort of the state government. The government is ready to assist them to equip the hospitals so that they will be for the benefit of our people. That is what churches used to do in the past”.

    The governor’s aide stated that another issue his office was battling was to “ensure that NGOs partner with us to see how we can resuscitate the mentally-deranged people in our society, premature births or births out of wedlock.

    “In our society, if a young lady conceives out of wedlock, it becomes a taboo and seems that such a girl her hope is lost. Today, we’re saying that such girls their hopes are not lost, it’s a mistake. If a car breaks down along the way, it does not mean, the car will no longer function. The car will still get to its destination. If a young girl gets an unwanted pregnancy, it does not mean she cannot be somebody again. She needs to be encouraged from the church, communities and even the government. This is one of our jobs”.

    He said to curb such situations, the state government had fashioned out skills acquisition programmes for all those concerned to ensure that such girls were empowered with skills and funds to live a normal life again.

    But the State Police Command maintained that there has not been any report about baby factory or baby trafficking in the state lately.

    The State Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Enwerem, a deputy superintendent of police, said that baby factory has been greatly decimated in the state.

    He said, “Baby trafficking is one of the crimes that have been dealt a terrible blow in Imo Command and there has not been any report of Baby Factory or trafficking in recent times. Anybody with any report in that regard should come forward”.

     

  • Ndigbo conquer division monster

     

    Two feuding prominent groups in the Southeast, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a rallying organisation for the region, and the secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have put their differences behind them. CHRIS OJI reports

    Of all the challenges facing the Southeast, some reckon division is the worst. They say the cacophony of voices has robbed the region of its place in the federal equation.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo’s apex socio-cultural organisation, and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group, exemplify this disunity. But right from the day of its inauguration, the present executive of Ohanaeze led by Chief Nnia Nwodo did not disown the Nnamdi Kanu-led IPOB.

    Nwodo made it clear on that day while fielding questions from reporters that the IPOB members “are our children, we cannot abandon them to their fate.” Then Nnamdi Kanu was still incarcerated.

    But the IPOB did not see anything good in the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization. Even if Ohanaeze sang praises of the IPOB to high heavens, the later would still respond with hostile statements.

    The main issue of disagreement between the two centred on which way forward for Ndigbo. While the Ohanaeze preferred restructuring as the soothing balm for Ndigbo, the IPOB insisted on outright declaration of Biafra through referendum.

    Each time Ohanaeze spoke of restructuring, the IPOB would let fly another blow to its favourite punching bag. The IPOB went to the extent of threatening to unleash mayhem at the recently concluded Summit on Restructuring held at Awka by Ohanaeze. But the threat turned out to be empty as the summit was a success.

    While Ohanaeze also preferred the Biafra issue to be pursued diplomatically and politically by agitators, the IPOB would not take such “rubbish”. They rather prefer ceaseless protests. Ohanaeze, the IPOB continued to see it, as a good for nothing pan Igbo organisation.

    The cat and mouse relationship between the two has ended.

    Eminent lawyer and iconic member of Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), Professor Ben Nwabueze said no. Enough of the hostility. ýNwabueze brokered a meeting between the two. The meeting was held in Enugu behind closed door.

    Ohanaeze was led by its President General, Chief Nnia Nwodo while IPOB was led by its deputy leader, Uche Mefor. Some other notable Igbo leaders were present at the meeting. The meeting was actually a huge success as IPOB agreed in the meeting to ceasefire on its attack on Ohanaeze.

    It was also gathered that the Igbo leaders were able to talk sense into the IPOB leadership for them to change their method of agitation and embrace diplomacy.

    Although the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership was reluctant to issue a statement on the outcome of the meeting, saying it is family affair that does not need to be made public, the IPOB through its deputy leader, Mefor issued a statement that effect.

    The group has to stop all forms of verbal attacks, name calling and other forms of abuse against the leadership of Ohonaeze Ndigbo, forthwith.

    The statement says: “Following an important meeting with some respectable Igbo elders, the representatives of IPOB and leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo earlier today July 6, 2017 in Enugu, under the distinguished chairmanship of the very eminent Prof. Ben Nwabueze; IPOB High Command hereby mandate that all forms of verbal attacks and name calling on all media platforms against Ohaneze Ndigbo seize with immediate effect. No IPOB family member should disparage Ohaneze Ndigbo or its leadership until further notice.

    “This is strictly to give room for a number of representations and demands made by IPOB, to those present at the meeting to be given due attention within the shortest possible time-frame, under an atmosphere devoid of rancour.

    “The meeting stressed among other things the need for our people, who are presently under siege in parts of Enugu State, to recognise the urgency and need to synergise and constitute a common front against all forms of threats to our existence as a people.

    “Should this gesture by IPOB, in the face of well documented betrayal and blackmail by the political class be taken for granted, IPOB shall have no option but to stand in the gap to defend the aspirations and collective will of the people of Biafra against every enemy.

    “IPOB, as the most potent and largest freedom fighting outfit on earth, remains focused, determined and resolute. Our unalloyed commitment to a referendum in pursuit of our emancipation remain sacrosanct and insurmountable.”

    President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo confirmed the development through his Media Adviser, Emeka Attamah. “Yes it is true. We have reconciled,” he said.

     

  • Obi wades through mud to reach school

    A former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has advised students of Crowther Memorial College, Umuikwu Anam on the virtues of persistence and staying focused always even in times of great odds. He spoke during his visit to the school to which he presented a cheque of N1 million for development support.

    Obi revealed that he could have turned back when his vehicles were stuck in the mud, which needed much physical exertion to get them out. Using the experience as an illustration, the former Governor exhorted the students to remain focused in their positive endeavours and not allow any temporary set-backs to dampen their spirits.

    On the foundation for perseverance, Obi told the students that it lay in a solid education: ”Once you acquire education, it will equip you to become better in life. It will enable you to face the challenges of life fully confident in yourself. If not for my education, I would not have reached the level of success I have attained today in both the financial and administrative worlds,” he said.

    Responding to Obi’s gesture, the Anglican Bishop of Mbammili Diocese, Bishop Henry Okeke – in charge of the school – thanked God for using the types of Peter Obi to show humanity that all was not lost. He expressed gratitude to Obi for remembering their school as Governor and even years after leaving office. He noted that after his tenure as Governor, Obi had variously donated a bus as well as many cash gifts that have helped in the growth and development of the school and students.

    The Bishop, represented by his wife,  Mrs. Julie Okeke also recalled how Obi’s continued visits to them both as Governor and now has given the school, the students and the community a sense of belonging. She further observed that if Mr. Peter Obi could visit a school in far-away Garaku in Nassarawa State, where her husband has served previously, she knew that he had indeed adopted Nigeria as his constituency.

     

  • 500 get medical care in Abia

    It was meant for residents of Isiukwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency in Abia State, but upon learning that a medical outreach was afoot, others turned up from every part of the state and even beyond.

    The outreach was organised by a lawmaker representing the constituency Hon Nkeiruka Onyejiocha in conjunction with a foreign-based foundation, Living Hope Medical Team.

    It was held at Isuochi General Hospital in the state.

    Some ailing participants came a day ahead of the exercise. Tests, treatment and medications were free.

    One of the patients, Ifeanyi said he left the hospital where he was on admission for the venue because he believed that since the medical team were experts from the United States, the programme would be better, adding that his health did not improve at the private facility where he was on admission in Bende Local Government Area of the state.

    It was gathered that the increasing number of patients was as a result of testimonies from some of the patients who had been treated by the medical team in the past 10years that the event has been running.

    In an interview with Hon. Onyejiocha she said “you know that I have sponsored several bills and three out of those bills I sponsored are now laws, which is an act of parliament. That means that am fulfilled as a parliamentarian.

    “But then, the people that I represent, do they understand that my job is just to pass bills and then, get them to become law? And the answer is No!

    “So, if it is No, what are am I going to do for them to feel my impact? This is just my little way of trying to help out. Of course you know that several times hospitals will go on strike and people at such times would be left to suffer. Some because they could not afford the medical fees charged by private clinics and hospitals die in the process.

    “I decided to bring this free medical treatment for my people in order to address some of their medical challenges. It is not going to be enough, but just to try and help, even if it is one or two people that receives treatment, it will go a long way to sooth their pains. We have done this over the years and this is just for 2018.

    “This is the 11year of this kind of medical mission and I can tell you that it has impacted a lot. The medical team has performed surgeries on people who cannot afford it. Some people were referred to the hospital even before they come here. They left the hospital just because they couldn’t pay. So, you can see the population here and I am confident that with the help of the people from Living Hope Foundation, they will be attended to without paying any dine.

    “The impact is so much and that is why every year, it is increasing. It is to tell you that our health system has not captured what it is supposed to capture. This center is a General Hospital for a local government that only opens when we are doing free medical which speaks volumes about our health system; we come here and remove rats among other things.

    “It means that the health system has collapsed and so, if you check what this medical outreach it, then the impact is not commensurate to the need of the people. People are still dying because of malaria, headache. The health system has collapsed.

    “It is consoling that every year hundreds of people especially people that are going through hyena operation, cataract, glaucoma and other ailment come here and get treated free of charge from a medical team that are not paid. I am begging them to do it because nobody knows whose turn it will be tomorrow. It is a way of me giving back to the people because I know and believe that health is wealth.”

    Asked she managed to keep bringing the medical team from the States and yet don’t collect money from the patients, Hon. Onyejiocha said, “that is my little secret and I keep saying that it is not for the press. What I know is that I have found people who are thinking together and so, we came down together and we sat and we agreed that we have to do it.

    “If God keeps us alive by next year, we will still be here same time. Maybe, that time, government would have woken up to give us a befitting structure.”

    In an interview, the leader of the medical team, Dr. Sonny Acho described the exercise as fruitful, but however lamented absence of medical facility and conducive environment at the health center which he noted has been one of the major challenges

    Dr. Acho who said that they are working with some Nigerian based medical doctors and specialists in different areas of medicine listed hyena, glaucoma, cataract, malaria, etc, as some of the prevalent medical issues that the team handled.

    According to him, they referred some of the patients whose cases could not be handled by the team to better equipped hospitals in Nigeria.

    Michael Oguesie, from Amuda Isuochi who was scheduled for a hyena operation at the time of the interview said that he got to know about the outreach through announcements in the church and thanked the lawmaker for the care she has for the sick especially, the poor who could not have afford their medical treatment and access to good health facility.

    He urged other well to do individuals and politicians in the state to emulate the kind gestures of the Isiukwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency lawmaker. This is even as he appealed for extension of days and number of medical personnel in subsequent editions.

     

  • 100-yr-old repairman’s Biafra regrets

    No one knows how many antique wristwatches, bicycles or radio sets he brought back to life but one thing is certain: versatile Pa Benneth Chukwukadibia Uchendu, 100, who has retired as a radio repairman in Anambra State, regrets that one of his sons who would have succeeded him in his trade was killed in the Nigerian Civil War. EMMANUEL UDODINMA reports

    ho would like to be repair watches, bicycles or radios for a living? Not many these days.

    Pa Benneth Chukwukadibia Uchendu who hails from Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State took on all three trades and more. He eventually settled for radio from which he made enough money to build his house apart from raising his family.

    He loved his job but he also has quite a few regrets. The youth, he said, do not want to learn a trade; they want quick cash. Pa Uchendu is also troubled by one consequence of the Nigeria-Biafra War, which claimed one of his sons who would have taken over from him on retirement.

    He spoke to The Nation at his country home, having officially retired as a radio ‘mechanic’ last year after over 60 years in the vocation which he practised from Warri now in Delta State to Nkwo Alor Market, his hometown.

    With five male children, a female and grandchildren, and living in his own house, Uchendu ordinarily should be a happy man but that is not the case.

    The man, who put his age at not less than 100, said his greatest regret was that nobody stepped into his shoes as he vacated his workshop at Nkwo Alor Market, where he plied his trade for decades.

    According to him, youths of the area were not interested in such trade, because they want quick money. Unfortunately, the one that would have succeeded him was killed in the 30-month civil war.

    The centenarian sobbed as he narrated that the workshop that provided food and shelter for him and his family as well as fetched him fame, especially within their locality, has been taken over by a patent medicine dealer, while his tools idled away since last year when he retired after his wife died.

    He said, “It is a long story. It all started before the Nigeria-Biafra civil war in Warri now Delta State. I started as a bicycle repairman, and then diversified into repair of watches including all kinds of wall clocks before adding radio.

    “I came back and established at my hometown Alor, when the war started. And even when the war was raging, I was busy practising my trade. I did not fight during the war because I was above the age needed for recruitment into the army. They were recruiting the younger ones. Besides, the federal troops did not enter Alor Town. Many came to take refuge in Alor. God really saved my community because that time, the federal troops were desperate to enter Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka  Odumegwu Ojukwu’s hometown through Alor but they could not do that before the war ended. So, I was busy doing my business.”

    How did modern technology affect your business as a radio repairer?

    That did not affect me at all. My customers were still coming because you know many people were and are still using radio sets not minding the ones they have in their phones. It did not affect me in any way.

    How many people did you bring up in this trade?

    When I was in Warri, I trained people from Nkpor and Aguleri, although the one from Aguleri didn’t survive the war. The other one is alive but he lives in the north. The number of people I trained is up to 10 but they are scattered here and there. There is another one from Ukwuani in Delta State.

    Did you receive any formal training to be a radio repairer?

    There was a man who I understudied, so to say. The fact is that I have a very sharp brain. I easily catch up with anything I come in contact with. So, I learnt from one man in Warri. I did not even go to school the way you are going today. I attended night school. But I know I’m very intelligent.

    Is there anyone to continue from where you have stopped in this line of trade?

    It is unfortunate that our people don’t like to learn trade. Everybody wants to start big and make it big even some without working for the fortune. I trained someone in my community but he died during the civil war. So, it is difficult to have a replacement because many people do not see the trade as something that could sustain them for life. That is the product of jet and computer age.

    What gives you happiness in life?

    I felt happy when people brought their items for repair and I was able to repair them to the satisfaction of the clients. I felt very happy at that moment. That gave me job satisfaction.

    Could you give an insight into how you lived as a youth?

    I was very careful in my youthful days. I was not a womaniser, I was not a drunkard or into rough life. Boys of this generation run after women and that ruins them. In my own time as a youth, I did not know women.

    I remember what happened in Warri when I was a bachelor. There was this lady who used to call me her husband wherever she saw me. One day I went to church and came back to go where we normally played an indoor game, draught. It was my apprentice who was at home. So, my boy said the lady came looking for me. She took her bath in my home and went to rest on my bed and then left after a while. When my boy told me that, I had to gather all my beddings and burnt them; that tells you my attitude to women in my youth.

    As for drinks, I managed to take that local gin, (kai kai), for some time and gave it up without anybody asking me to do so. If I went to a bar, I could request for a bottle of palm wine which I hardly finished. But there was a day I became drunk. That day my bed was turning upside down. That was the first and last day I was drunk in my life.

    What’s your advice to youths of this generation?

    They should know God. They should have the fear of God in them. It is unfortunate that many youths these days do not have fear of God in their doings. They do everything with impunity as if there is no God. But God records every activity of man and will pay back accordingly. They should start with God and end with Him in anything they do in life, if they want to succeed.

  • Women mark Widows’ Day in Enugu

    In their determination to give back to the society, members of the God’s Battle Axe Women Fellowship International (GBAWFI) in Enugu have feted more than 60 widows drawn from the five Southeast states of the country.

    The occasion which took place at the Living Praise Worship Centre For All Nations, Ugwuaji Road, Independence Layout, Enugu, was part of activities marking the 2018 World Widows’ Day whose theme was “The Spirit-Filled Woman”.ý

    In her address, the leader of the group, Dr. Linda Oge Okoye said the association founded in 1995, holds the event annually with a view to giving succour to the widows who are in deep financial hardship.

    She stated that having been blessed with some level of resources and good health, there was no better way to appreciate God than to touch the lives of the needy.

    The GBAWFI boss said, “It will be interesting for some of us who can afford to eat daily, to also think of our next door neighbour who is in pains, we should see ourselves as God’s servants”

    Okoye, a former dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, told the widows not to lose hope, but to see their present condition as temporary.

    Citing Luke chapter 2, verse 25 in the Holy Bible, Dr. Okoye, recalled the story of Anna who lost her husband after seven years but God came to her rescue after praying and fasting for over 60 years, saying “any time you cry, God will hear you”.

    The group’s leader further explained that the association’s mission statement was built on raising and grooming women to greatness, as instruments of change in our society, adding that “every woman is a sharpened instrument in God’s hands”.

    She called on the wealthy and corporate bodies in the country to always remember the needy in their budget.

    Mrs. Gloria Aniakor, who spoke on behalf of the widows thanked Dr. Oge Okoye and all members of the Battle Axe Women Fellowship for remembering them in their time of difficulty and prayed God to continue to bless them with resources and good health.

    The widows who were entertained lavishly later went home with a bag of rice each.

    The spiritual director of the Living Praise Worship Centre, Enugu, Pastor Emeka Okoye, and top government officials from Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states were among dignitaries who graced the occasion.

  • Ebonyi community gets new bridge

    A MORE solid bridge has replaced the old one that has since outlived its uses on Umubo-Onicha Road in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo  area of Ebonyi State.

    The old Bailey Bridge had claimed lives and caused many injuries because its decades-old structures had dilapidated and were not really designed to be permanent.

    A member of the House of Representatives representing the area Linus Okorie built the project.

    Okorie while conducting reporters around the site said he fell into the river in 1978, and that many others have suffered similar or worst fate as a result of the poor state of the bridge.

    He said the situation forced him to build a new bridge for the people.

    He said, “As a young boy in 1978 I fell into the river there.  It has remained a Bailey bridge till recently when I intervened constructing a new bridge.”

    A resident of the area, Mr Rowland Ogbonna corroborated Okorie’s statement.

    According to him, he and his sister nearly lost their lives in 2011 on the bridge when an iron on the old bridge caused his brake to fail, plunging them into the ditch beneath.

    ”On 10 November, 2011, this bridge in question nearly claimed my life and that of my cousin, Ezeh Chinenye. I took her to the local govt headquarters to collect her local govt identification certificate after she gained admission into the university”.

    ”As we approached the bridge, I applied my brake, little did I know that my brake pedal will come in contact with the iron on the floor of the bridge and my pedal cut off immediately”.

    ”We fell through the rough and sharp iron blades into the ditch. People that came to our rescue thought that we were dead but thanks to Almighty God who through His infinite mercy preserved our lives to witness today (the construction of this bridge). Though the scar of the broken clavicle I sustained during the accident still remains but I am happy because the construction of this bridge will always give me succour to the wound”.

    Meanwhile, over 2000 persons in Okposi have received free medical treatment in the ongoing free medical health outreach by the lawmaker’s CaringHeart Foundation.

    The programme which began in Januray has treated over 10,000 persons free of cost in 6 town in the constituency courtesy of Mr Linus Okorie the sponsor of the programme.

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr Okorie said the programme is to augment the good works of Governor David Umahi in the health sector.

    ”What we met here is a record setting situation. One is concerned that so many people need health intervention.  Everybody is ill and we are very pleased that this call for intervention is yielding the kind results and the kind of response from our constituents. We will find a situation where the enlightenment will also linger and build a habit of getting closer to health facilities to attend to their needs”.

    “There is a general hospital in this Okposi area and it is one of those being renovated by the state government. If you go there now, you will find out that it is almost like teaching hospital. The government has also rightly put in place a manpower improvement scheme where they are going to not just build modern facilities, equip them but they are bringing also the necessary medical staff that will take care of it”.

    “What we are doing here is just a peg to support what the state Governor is doing to improve the lifestyle and living standard of our people”.

    Dr. Agu Martins, the Medical Doctor heading the Medical Team at the function said the Medical Team made two referrals to the General Hospital whose condition were very serious.

    ”So far, we have done two referrals in this Okposi outreach. One is a woman that we discovered in the scan that the baby is dead and she is bleeding. The other one is another woman that needs urgent attention”.

    “We discovered that she has a low line placenta and her blood pressure is also high. So, what we decided to do is to refer them to nearest hospital where they can get the right care, the general hospital here and we gave some money so that they can take care of the treatment”.

    “Our target is to make sure that we identify those with emergency care and treat the ones we can here. Then those that are not emergency that needs urgency, we plan their treatments at a better referral centre”.

    Meanwhile, a kidney failure patient from the community, Mr Ogonnaya Okoro who was at the health outreach has appealed for help from Mr Okorie to save his live.

    According to him, he was a business man in Edo state but the sickness has led to the folding of his business as all his money have gone into treatment and still it still persists.

    He said he needs money to continue his dialysis treatments which he has been unable to do which has worsened his health condition.

    Mr Okoro, whose body was swollen up called on the lawmaker and Ebonyi state government to come to his aid.

    ”I have a problem since five years ago. I have treated it before in a hospital in Abakaliki. I went there and they told me I have kidney problem. After treating me that time, I got myself. But it has been coming back every year. I went to hospital  in Oshodi, Lagos last year and did dialysis but I don’t have money to go back there for treatment”.

    “I don’t have money again to treat myself. I don’t have mother, I don’t have father, I am the only son. My mother has died, my father has died. I am begging government at all levels to come to my aid. I am also calling on Hon. Linus Okorie and public spirited individual to come to my aid”.

    “I am a trader. I am doing business in Benin Edo state. Since this sickness started five years ago, I am no longer doing the business; I no longer have strength to do something. I am 34 years, I am not married”.

    Okoro’s Elder sister, Ntasiobi Samuel appealed for support as the family has spent all they have in trying to get him cured to no avail.

    “He is my younger brother. Since five years when this sickness started, we have been moving from one hospital to another. It has cost us lots of money and we have borrowed a lot to ensure he gets better. My younger sister later took him to hospital last three years and he was given treatment”.

    “Last year, the sickness started again and we went back to Lagos. This year, it worsened and we started moving from hospital to hospital again and we don’t have money again to continue moving him to the hospitals”.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ndigbo seek unity at Ohaneze rally

    Unity was the battle cry as the Lagos chapter of Ohaneze Ndigbo inaugurated its new executive committee.

    Following an election in April, a new crop of leaders was sworn in at the National Theatre Iganmu, Lagos, where the Igbo were urged to come together and speak with one voice.

    Dignitaries who graced the event included former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko; former Vice President of Nigeria, Ebitu Ukiwe; former minister of Information and Culture, Walter Ofonagoro; Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Real Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (Retd), and Yinka Odumakin, among others.

    Chief Ogbonna Aguene Solomon won the election and was sworn in as president after securing 401 votes against Tony Nwakaeze who got 201 votes.

    Mr Fredson Chijioke Okoli (SAN) who administered the oath, stressed the need for executives to discharge their duties in accordance with the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos and the overall constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo nationwide and to avoid conflicts with the constitution.

    The inauguration also included officials of various Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas, women leaders, youth leaders and state executives.

    Chairman, Electoral Committee, Chief Agunze Ikokwu said the election has shown that a lot could be achieved with the unity of the Igbos.

    “Even in a multi-lingual and cultural country like Nigeria, we can achieve unity amongst the Igbos. Hence, the new executives have been sworn to uphold the tenets and value of the Igbo community and they would be held accountable for their efforts,” he said.

    Mimiko said the Igbos have conducted themselves well even in light of the controversy which has rocked the Lagos faction of the group.

    A restructured Nigeria, he said, is possible if all socio-cultural groups are united.

    President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo nationwide and in the diaspora, Chief Nnia Nwodo said: “This election has brought peace to the affairs of Ndigbo in Lagos. The baton of leadership has been passed to Chief Solomon and his team and they have been saddled with the responsibility to pilot the affairs of the group.”

    In his acceptance speech, President-elect, Ohaneze Ndigbo Lagos, and art collector, Chief Solomon said the support of all the factions of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos has made the event a historical one.

    “We also appreciate the support of Ndi-Yoruba who have always stood by us. As we have been voted to coordinate the affairs of Igbo people in Lagos, we pray for continued support and prayers of everyone,” he said.