Iran: Summons of Dr. Mohammad Maleki to serve a one-year prison term

William Nicholas Gomes
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January 26, 2012

Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

President

the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran,

Fax: + 98 21 649 5880.

E-Mail: [email protected]

Re: Iran: Summons of Dr. Mohammad Maleki to serve a one-year prison term
Dear Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,

I have been informed by Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), regarding the following situation in Iran.

New information:

I hav been informed by the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) of the summons of Dr. Mohammad Maleki to serve a one-year prison term.

According to the information received, on January 23, 2012, Dr. Mohammad Maleki, founding member of the Iranian Association for the Defence of Liberty and Human Rights (IADLHR)[1], was summoned to Evin prison to serve a one-year prison term (See background information) and was given three days to go to prison. He stands a high risk of arrest at any time.

I condemn the judicial harassment of Dr. Mohammad Maleki since it seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities and expresses its deep concern about the ongoing attempts to hinder the peaceful activities of human rights defenders in Iran.

Background information:

Dr. Maleki spent five years in prison from July 1981 to August 1986 as a result of his strong objection to the closure of universities. He was also arrested on March 12, 2001 and spent more than six months in solitary confinement without trial.

On August 22, 2009, Dr. Mohammad Maleki was again arrested after the presidential election for having boycotted the 2009 presidential election and protesting the post-election abuses and spent more than six months in detention in Evin prison before being released on bail in March 2010. He was then accused of contacts with opposition groups. During his detention, he was hospitalised several times owing to a heart attack and other physical problems including prostate cancer. He was also reportedly denied access to an adequate treatment[2].

His trial, which was initially scheduled at Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolution Court for July 27, 2011, was then re-scheduled to July 30, 2011 due to the refusal of the accused to attend the trial[3]. Dr Maleki then attended the court, but refused to defend himself and said he would not appeal the sentence, because he considered the court of first instance to be illegal. He had initially faced the charge of “moharebeh” (fighting God), “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamanei” (the incumbent leader) but was finally sentenced on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”

In September 2011, he wrote a brief report to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on the tortures he had suffered during his prison terms and was subsequently interrogated and received a notice banning him from travelling abroad.

Actions requested:

i.        Please guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Dr. Mohammad Maleki as well as that of all human rights defenders and their families in Iran;

ii.        Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Dr. Mohammad Maleki and more generally against all human rights defenders in Iran.

iii.       I urge you to conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular:

–       its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

–       its article 5.b, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels, (…) to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups”;

–       its article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

iv. More generally    ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.

Thank you for taking into consideration our concerns and recommendations.

Sincerely yours,

William Nicholas Gomes

William’s Desk

wwww.williamgomes.org

Cc:

·       Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader, Shahid Keshvardoost St., Jomhuri Eslami Ave., Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649, + 98 21 649 / 21 774 2228, E-Mail: [email protected]

·       Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, Ministry of Justice, c/o Public relations Office, Number 4, 2 Azizi Street, Vali Asr Ave., above Pasteur Street intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671 / +98 21 3 311 6567, Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

·       Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98-21-66743149, Email: [email protected]

·       H.E. Mr. Seyed Mohammad Reza Sajjadi, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, Email: [email protected]

·       Embassy of Iran in Brussels, 15 a avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: [email protected]

Mills Must Step Down -Kumah

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…John Kumah

A leading member of the Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) and a member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) communication team, Mr. John Kumah has stated that Professor Mills must step down as President before the December 2012 general elections.

In an interview with the Front Page, he said Prof. Mills has disappointed Ghanaians by saying that he did not know anything about the payment of the judgment debt to Mr. Alfred Abgesi Woyome which has become the issue of the day. He explained that the amount that was doled out to Mr. Woyome alone can improve the lives of Ghanaians in terms of good roads, good drinking water, schools, health-care and other basic amenities.

A fire-brand in the NPP communication team, John Kumah elaborated that as at now, Mr. Woyome has not being able to prove to the world that he had a contract with the previous government and so he deserved that kind of money, yet the NDC and Prof. Mills see nothing wrong with it and allowed those who connived with Mr. Woyome to go scot free.

He said, “once his ministers are disappointed and are now resigning from their positions, it goes to indicate the fact that, President Mills himself must also resign because he has disappointed Ghanaians”.

Mr. Kumah told this papers that AFAG will never allow the gargantuan crime which the former Attorney General (A-G) Mr. Martin Amidu alleged is going on will never be allowed to be swept under the carpet by the Prof. Mills-Ahwoi-Mahama administration.

The AFAG leading member noted that they will use the rule of law to let truth the come out even if not under this government. “We are sure Ghanaians have seen the difference between the NPP government and the NDC government and by the grace of God NPP will come back to power to correct all the mistakes of this NDC ‘sie me preko’ administration”, he concluded.

Source: Front Page Newspaper

ON NIGERIA POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES

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On Nigeria Police and other security agencies
By Samuel Noah Oluwafemi
Thursday, January 26, 2012

Late Ojukwu

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.- Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein; an all-time inscrutable scholar, in the context of my thought summarized this article in the fore-going witty axiom. Nigeria, like so many other countries within the Africa region seems to be fulfilling a part of this truism while other rational countries are on the other divide.

In advanced climes where everything works without agitation or demand from the populace, citizens have been relieved of the burden of having to call on God to solve all their problems including those He has already delegated. For example, citizens do not have to trust God for basic amenities that should define the existence of humans in the first place.

The opposite, however, holds true for Nigeria. We have to pray and ask God just about anything ranging from putting roof over our heads, to putting food on our tables, and providing clothes for us to put on. We also trust Him to be our security personnel – I only wonder how much we will be willing to pay Him for all these services at the end of the month, if He were to charge us or remove subsidy from them. Amusingly, we now even pray for him to turn water into petrol after he has given us the resource in large quantity!

While the developed climes have used their ingenuity to better the living condition of the larger percentage of the populace, ours have been the opposite. While citizens in economies that have applied the principles of love, integrity and trust are enjoying the eventual benefits, Nigerians often will have to seek God’s face for miracles in order to ave such benefits. Therefore, as the great scientist puts it, there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle – just in the case of access to basic amenities by most people in developed world. The other is as though everything is a miracle – obviously this resonates with our condition in Nigeria.

One of such conditions we obviously live in today is in the area of safety. Safety in this context is not restricted to the recent threat from Boko Haram but most importantly, this has to do with those who are paid to defend and ensure we are secured. An average Nigerian now trusts a vigilante over men of the Nigerian Police Force. The reason, however, is not far-fetched as police and some other security agencies have proven anti-people in critical moments when Nigerians are in dire need of their services.

Each time I read in the dailies of how Nigerians are killed over discomfited arguments with our national security operatives, I get disturbed. Within October 2011 to January 2012 alone, over five Nigerians have been buried from the killings of trigger-happy Nigerian policemen. On Sunday 16th October 2011 for example, Victor Emmanuel, 20years, was guned down while coming from Church on the account of challenging a police request of some sort in Bayelsa State. Most gruesome of the story is the killing of this 20-year-old right before Mrs. Victor Grace, the mother; a woman who has for 20 good years nurtured the young man.

As it is our culture to respond to issues while the memory is still fresh, House of Representative adopting a motion sponsored by Honorable Warman Ogoriba (PDP, Bayelsa), mandated its committees on Police, Human Rights and Justice to investigate the matter and report back in two weeks. That was in October 2011. We hope a report has been submitted and not just submitted, but the appropriate action taken against the culprit. I am sure most Nigerians will want to know what the current development about the case is.

Between that incident in October last year and January 2012, many other inhumane acts have been committed by the men of the Nigeria Police. Report has it that from January 1 to January 14 alone, not less than 4 people have been confirmed dead through the bullets of our supposed security custodians. Ademola Aderinto, 25, on the 9th of January 2012, though not part of the protest for the fuel subsidy removal, but playing football with friends in the Agege area of Lagos, was reported to have been shot and consequently died in his own pool of blood!

What is the worth of a Nigerian life to a Nigerian police? It was confirmed that another of those shot at the same venue as Ademola later died in the hospital that same day and others sustained several degrees of injuries. The police officials at the nearest station which happens to be the division in which the concerned culprit is attached even refused giving out a police report in order for hospital to treat the others who were also wounded until a reporter intervened.

While we wait on the House of Reps on their enquiry into the killing of Victor Emmanuel, we also hope Lagos State commissioner of Police will ensure that justice is done to the killer of Ademola and others who have been fell by the bullets of our security personnel. Above all, we hope the Inspector General of Police and other security chiefs will find lasting solution to this.
I sincerely hope that one day; Nigerians will not need a miracle in order to enjoy the benefits of the Nigeria police and other security agencies.

Oluwafemi writes from Lagos

ADAPTATIONS…A MIRROR ON NIGERIA

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Adaptations…a mirror on Nigeria
By THERESA ONWUGHALU
Thursday, January 26, 2012

With his eyes set on nation building, John Oyewole Adenle who teaches art at the Federal College of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, recently showcased 35 plastic sculptural pieces tagged Adaptations. Though his first solo exhibition, Adenle has participated in several group exhibitions over the years. He is currently a doctoral student for his PhD. in Art Therapy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He explained how he was inspired by Igbaro and Raqib Basorun’s works.

Expectedly, the exhibition held at Yusuf Grillo Art Gallery, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos, attracted other notable artists and art lovers. Some of the works include Ori-yeye-ni-mogun, Unequally-yoked, Kokoro to n jefo, Hydra-headed and Reverse. Ori-yeye-ni-mogun, which is made of plastics and fibre glass, is the first work carried out by Adenle in the progression of his experimentation with plastics. It depicts the plight of the downtrodden in society. The work literarily shows how hundreds of innocent masses suffer for offences not committed by them.

The mixed media work, National Cake, is symbolic of the reckless way the revenue of the country is being shared at the centre especially by the National Assembly. Apart from legislating outrageous increases of their salaries and wages, they share and eat allocations meant for their constituencies without giving back to the electorates. They have not only caused political decadency but have also made democracy to be expensive at the expense of economic development.

The artwork reveals the scrambling at the centre for national cake and the hunger and starvation represented by the dry bones at the four corners of the work. The thirty-six assembled bottles symbolize the lawmakers from the thirty-six states of the federation and they are united in their unwholesome politics of eating the nation to the bone marrow.

The piece, Unequally-yoked, is a fabricated plastics which depicts how Nigeria exists only as a geographical entity. It is now clear that Nigeria, a nation so complex in nature and culture ought not to have been amalgamated together as one. This fact has also led to civil war and in recently, led to fight for resource control, sectional militancy and tribalism. The plastic arrangement of the artwork outlines the map of Nigeria showing jumbled components that are forcefully joined in a marriage of inconvenience. The colours of the component plastics are in sharp contrast against one another. The black background also signified uncertainty that has already enveloped the nation and how it challenges national unity. The spotted red plastic at the Delta area of the country may as well translate to the fact that our oil may be our time bomb if no discussion is facilitated at a national conference table.

Kokoro to n jefo is made of both wood and plastics. It is a prefix of a Yoruba proverb that translates as: ‘The insect that infests a vegetable resides in its stems’. The insects or cankerworms that milk the national resources are not ghosts, they reside among the people. The work shows a design replicating the effects of ants’ infestation on wood. These people are the politicians and leaders who are merely interested in what they can benefit from. One may also be surprised that the corruption at the surface may be a child’s play compared to the internal invasion already caused by the ‘pests’. This work warns of the imminent explosion if the system is not fumigated with truth, probity and uprightness.

Hydra-headed is a plastic work that depicts the nature of Nigeria’s multiple problems. Each national problem is hydra-headed as the works reveals. This means each big problem has smaller ones. The work is a monster-like figure with multiple heads. Each head can be interpreted as representing each problem including insecurity, power failure, corruption, religious conflict, tribal war and sectional militancy among others. Reverse, another plastic work, explains the paradox of our growth and development, which is a mirage says the artist “We think we are moving forward yet in the reverse. We move one step forward and two steps backwards.” As much as the artist wishes to see Nigeria moving forward, he keeps seeing an inverted image that is bemused by roughness, coarseness and stone-heartedness.

Adeola M. Balogun, curator of the exhibition said the exploration of plastics both in two and three dimensional formats reveal a passionate experimentalist and environmentali0st in Adenle, while Dr. Kunle Filani, the Provost, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, , described Adenle as creatively curious, versatile and experimentally restless. Also Odubiyi James Abiodun, Head, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Federal College of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, said “Form this collection, we are brought into the world of Adenle as a passionate sculpture who expresses his talent through works of art. Apart from his duty as an academic, he has established himself as a frontline artist whose works and wealth of experience would inspire younger artists.”

Mr. Kehinde Adepegba, Art and Industrial Design Department, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, noted that Adenle is one of those artists who are deeply touched by the new spectacle of socio-political debacle in Nigeria after 51 years of independence.
“Through Adaptations, Adenle has expressed his innermost contemplation about the socio-political state of the nation. He does not only projects the problems for all to see but also offers solution in works titled: Angelic Visit and Voyage,” Adepegba said.
Meanwhile, Kenny Badary, Chairman, Society of Nigerian Artists, (SOVA) Ogun State Chapter said the initiative by John Oyewole Adenle is highly commendable as has reduced disposable needs and costs.

GROUP APPLAUDS INSTALLATION OF UWAZURUIKE AS IGBO LEADER

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Group applauds installation of Uwazuruike as Igbo leader
By PHILIP NWOSU
Thursday, January 26, 2012

The National Union of True Igbo Movement (NUTIM) has called for support for the leader of Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, following his installation as the new Igbo leader. National President of NUTIM, Dr. Samfo Nwankwo said Uwazuruike deserve the honour as “he has consistently fought for Ndigbo in the same manner our late leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu did.”

Nwankwo, who spoke to newsmen in Owerri criticized Ohanaeze Ndigbo for dissociating itself from the title bestowed on Uwazuruike and described the action as the product of envy.“Leadership is earned. To our objective assessment, Uwazuruike has earned his leadership of Ndigbo just as our late father, Dim Ojukwu did,” the NUTIM boss submitted.

He said unlike the current leadership of Ohanaeze, Uwazuruike had laid down his life severally for the survival of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
According to him, “there is no prison in Nigeria Uwazuruike has not been a guest. Was it because he stole? No! He has been suffering deprivations because of Ndigbo. Those who criticize him are known to be carrying their CVs from office to office groveling before men of power for their selfish aggrandizement.”
He noted that those opposing Uwazuruike also opposed Ojukwu for the reason that while the two leaders stood for the masses, the others ‘stood for their pockets’.

Nwankwo described Ohanaeze as a group that had lost relevance and should be disbanded, saying that the executive was no longer connected to the people.“Without equivocation, it was only during the tenure of Justice Ozo Ozubu that Ohanaeze represented the interest of Ndigbo. After that golden era, what we have are people chasing appointments and contracts,” he lamented.
He said it was unfortunate that while Arewa and Afenifere were defending the rights of Hausa and Yoruba people, Ohanaeze was acting like a servant to any government in power.

He was happy that with the assumption of office of Uwazuruike as the new Igbo leader, no government and ethnic group would take Igbos for granted again. “After the burial of our great leader no other person or group would speak on behalf of Ndigbo except Chief Uwazuruike,” he said. He said NUTIM members across Igboland would soon pay a solidarity visit to Uwazuruike to urge him to continue to make sacrifices for the wellbeing of Ndigbo.

According to him, “after the burial of Dim Ojukwu, we shall mobilize to formally pledge our loyalty and cooperation with Chief Uwazuruike so that together, we shall protect Ndigbo.”

NAF/BARAKALLAHU LAND DISPUTE: MILITARY CLEARS AIR

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NAF/Barakallahu land dispute: Military clears air
From ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, Kaduna
Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has expressed dismay over allegation by the host community, Barakallahu, of forced eviction and demolition of the community’s houses and destruction of farmlands around the Base in Kaduna.

This is coming on the heels of Monday morning’s demonstration by hundreds of women who took over the major Kaduna-Zaria Expressway protesting against their forced eviction by the NAF from their ancestral home at a village behind Barakallahu, near Rigachikun, a satellite town in Kaduna. The women were challenging NAF authority who had already mobilised workers to the site to build perimeter fence around the occupied community’s residences, farmlands and graveyards.

Meanwhile, in an interactive forum with newsmen at the Air Force Base in Kaduna yesterday, the Commander of 335 Base Service Group, Air Commodore Musbau Soladoye said NAF was not a tyrant organisation and had no intention to destroy anybody’s structure. He wondered why the complaint by the community, which, according to him, had enjoyed cordial relationship with NAF for decades, even after earlier extensive discussions with leadership of the host community over the issue.

“We rely on those people for the maintenance of security and they have been our neighbours with many of their children who grew up with us. I want to believe that people are inciting the residents against the Air Force because those people thrive on making trouble and causing public unrest,” Soladoye opined.

He, however, lamented that the community had continued to encroach on the NAF territory, saying “that is why the government and the traditional institutions in the state, in their continued resolve towards finding a lasting solution to the problem, convened a meeting with representatives of government, representatives of the Emir of Zazzau, Dr. Shehu Idris and the three leaders of Barakallahu, including the disputed leader of Ungwan Waziri, Samaila Waziri, in my office on Monday where an agreement was reached.”

According to the commander, “it was agreed that the demarcation exercise should continue and to stop demarcation up to places we do not have residential buildings. The meeting also resolved that the leadership of Barakallahu would be held responsible for any security breach in the area because they have been adequately consulted and what the NAF is doing is in line with what the government has put in place. The fourth agreement is that we are doing the demarcation in line with 2008 government agreement.”

BOKO HARAM: FEC SEEKS DIVINE INTERVENTION

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Boko Haram: FEC seeks divine intervention
From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja
Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) opened yesterday with prayers for divine intervention in the activities of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. The council specifically prayed God not only to expose and disgrace the perpetrators of the dastardly act but to grant the nation peace and President Goodluck Jonathan the wisdom to govern at this time.

At the end of its meeting the FEC approved the procurement of two 45 seater fast-moving Passenger Ferries (Catamaran) by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to improve water transportation in the country. The procurement, awarded in favour of Messrs Karflex Fisheries Limited, will cost the government N168.45 million, inclusive of taxes with a delivery period of six months.

Addressing State House correspondents, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, alongside his colleagues in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Bala Mohammed, Science and Technology, Professor Ita Ewa, Transport, Umar Idris and Interior Abba Morro, said “the provision of the ferries will promote waterways transportation, boost economic activities and reduce pressure on other modes such as road transportation.

“The project will directly create 23 job opportunities for professionals and non-professionals during the operation of the ferries while many job opportunities will be created indirectly when the ferries are fully operational”. “Council took a major step to make operational the lower River Niger which dredging has been completed. As you all known since the 1960s, every administration in Nigeria had planned to dredge the lower Niger to faciltate the movement of goods and persons through the lower Niger up to the north of the country. But this plans had remained in the pipeline until the advent of the Yar’Adua/Goodluck Administration.

The contract for the dredging of the Niger was awarded under the Yar’Aduna administration. In the last two years, the dredging of the Niger has been completed. What is going on right now is the maintenance dredging. Also the inner waterway ports have been virtually completed, some are set for commissioning.

“So in order not to allow the Niger to remain fallow after dredging, Council approved the purchase of two fast moving ferries to ply the Niger right from Ontisha-Warri-Lokoja, carrying passengers. These farries would be jointly managed by government and the private sector and part of government efforts to bring down the cost of transportation in the country. Only two weeks ago, the President launched a mass transist project involves the supply of long buses at free interest rate. He had also hinted the utilization of the use of waterways to bring down the closet of transportation.

“The capacity of the ferries is 45 seater the cost of N168.4 million.

MAKE 2ND NIGER BRIDGE OUR FIRST PALLIATIVE, JDPC TELLS JONATHAN

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Make 2nd Niger Bridge our first palliative, JDPC tells Jonathan
From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha
Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Onitsha Catholic Archdiocese, has appealed to the Federal Government to muster courage and construct the Second Niger Bridge from the proceeds of the oil subsidy removal.

Making the call in Onitsha, the Archdiocesan JDPC Coordinator, Rev. Martin Onukuba, said the reactions of angry Nigerians on the subsidy removal policy of the government was as a result of the betrayal of trust by successive governments in Nigeria in the provision of basic infrastructure and making life meaningful for the citizens He also regretted that the construction of the Second Nigeria Bridge had been a campaign gimmick by political office holders in the past while the present Niger Bridge had been over burdened. He therefore called on Mr. President to build and consolidate trust among Nigerians by taking firm decisions and matching words with action.

“The much talked about Second Nigeria Bridge has been a recurring issue for so many years and we don’t know whom to trust again. The most scandalous in the whole thing was the revelation that the contract was never signed in the first place even when a former president once came to flag off the project. This has been a promise and since we’ve heard it over and over again, we urge the government to now actualize the project. Let this be our first benefit from the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme.
“While we appreciate government’s plan to bring back railways, we also should think about this bridge first because if this is done, the people of South-east and Nigerians will give more support to government programmes.”

Also reflecting on the lessons learnt from the protest over subsidy removal, the cleric said it had shown that Nigerians were now more conscious of their rights and the power of their voices in a democracy. He, therefore, advised political office holders to perform because their mandate renewal during elections henceforth would be determined by their output while in office.

TRIBUTE TO OJUKWU

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Tribute to Ojukwu
By Felix Elemchukwu Onuoha
Thursday, January 26, 2012

Late Ojukwu

Historically, the world, at one time or the other, receives from God, as gifts, talented great men and women destined to render critical services to man. The births and lives of these men and women are severally shrouded by mysteries and their bodies spiritually fortified to carry out difficult divine tasks. Their coming into the world usually provokes both Satan and man to challenge their mission.

They come in different forms with different messages; suffer great oppositions, rejections and confrontations. They preach and do not less of their vocations, and in turn are hated. Although many of them died half their journeys, their missions had never been uncompleted. Many are of lowly birth while few are of noble birth, but both show resemblance of greatness in contrast.

Like dispersal seeds, they are scatted across the world to places of their divine mandates as liberators, reformists, redeemers, leaders, scientists etc according to God’s divine will for man. It was for this same reason that General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was sent to the Igbos in Nigeria to defend and liberate them from extinction. Born on the 4th November, 1933, into the family of Sir Philip Odumegwu Ojukwu, the first Nigerian millionaire, from Nnewi in Anambra State of Nigeria, he had his early education in Nigeria, Britain and after graduation, joined the Nigeria army against his wealthy father’s will.

When he joined the army, no one knew why and what God wanted to do with him for his great race, until 1966. A nobleman of great affluence, but yet humbler than most men. To me, he was one of the amazing men ever lived. A man who laid his life and wealth to save his entire race from programmed decimation.

He was a genius in many areas than most men, and was also an astonishing soldier and leader. His prognostications were thirty years ahead of their time. His speeches were awe-inspiring and his remarkable ideas depicted great mind at work. His talent was amazing such as his drive was phenomenal. A man so fashioned by God and lavishly supplied with such influence and grace, charisma and ability that wherever he went or turned, each of his actions was so divine that he left behind all other men and clearly made himself known as a genius  endowed by God to achieve a divine mandate for his race.

The Igbos saw great passion in Gen. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who demonstrated great practical love for them which has never been sufficiently noticed and praised. And I hope that this  would be done at his burial and thereafter. A man endowed with inestimable grace and infinite wisdom in every action and capacity so fit and so vast that wherever his mind turned to difficult tasks, he resolved them completely with ease. His nobility and affluence joined with proficiency, and sincere spirit and bravery were steadily stately and liberal.

His fame and name spread so widely that the least of his race holds him in a high esteem even onto his death and thereafter. To the Igbos, he seemed indispensable. To others that are not Igbos, his death has brought an end to his uncompleted divine mandate. But like Moses, the God that anointed him will choose his own Aaron to complete his mission.

This great man, a sage and warrior, is dead at a time we need him most. His death is painfully obvious and lamentable. Yet, he has done his best. As a soldier, he rose above others. As a leader of Biafra, he was a hero. And if he had been a businessman, he would have been a guru. If he had been an engineer, optician, an architect, a manufacturer or studied science, he would have been a master. If he had studied mathematics, he would have been greater than the great Prof. Chike Obi. As a historian, he was admired by his peers and protégés and all professionals that have deliberated on his life.

A Renaissance and Universal man; the Ikemba Nnewi, Eze di Ora mma of Igboland and Eze Igbo gburugburu  (The grand commander of Igbo race).  Ikemba,  who will speak for us again? Or whose face would be as beard or as fierce as yours in tackling Igbo matters again? If you have not died, your words and warnings would have jittered the spineless boko haramists and
their sponsors to a stop. If you were alive, the Igbos killed in Madalla, Niger State,  and other parts of Northern Nigerian by Boko Haram would  have received much government attention and caused more street protests than the fuel subsidy withdraw.

From the foregoing, it is not mistaken if the Igbos and the world revere and idolize him. As we mourn him, we should reflect on the man ‘Emeka Ojukwu’, what he represented, stood for, his believes and what he preached. We should also reflect on his life, ideas and exploits. It is hoped that in doing so, his death and burial would unravel the untold truth about this great son of Ndigbo and offer other Nigerians a new vista to see and say the truth no matter which section of Nigeria a person comes from. What Ojukwu felt, what he taught and what he did were all the same. His silence worried his foes and portends difficult riddles.  Before now, you, Ojukwu, were like an iceberg that there is much more to you than meet the eye. Except for the Igbos, only about 15 percent of you were noticeable. Your real Emeka Ojukwu and your character was below, shrouded.  That was why many Nigerians knew you not and misunderstood you.

Ikemba, your vociferous stance on Igbo issues, fierce eyes and formidable face combine with compelling and flawless pronouncements on Igbo positions in Nigeria and beyond would certainly be missed.  On the other hand, the Igbos should not only give him the best state burial, but immortalize him much that generations yet unborn would see and say, ‘a shepherd and warrior has once been born unto the Igbos. They should also make the 26th of November of every year, a public holiday to commemorate his death.

A documentary on him (both in print (books) and electronic (video) should be made for our children to read and emulate his sterling quality and selfless life. His dream(s) should be kept alive. The Igbos, wherever they may be, should close their businesses and offices and accord this great son of ours the last respect come March 4,2012, he would be buried. For to whom more is given, much is expected. Ikemba, we love you, but God loves you most. Adieu, our beloved brother and leader!.

Onuoha writes from Abuja

JONATHAN FIRES IGP, ABUBAKAR STEPS IN

News Ghana
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Jonathan fires IGP, Abubakar steps in
On January 26, 2012 ·

By Clifford Ndujihe, Kingsley Omonobi & Daniel Idonor
LAGOS — EMBATTLED Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr. Hafiz Ringim has been fired by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The former police boss, who is due for retirement in March is to proceed on terminal leave with effect from yesterday, January 25, 2012, according to a statement by President Jonathan’s Media Spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.

In his stead, the President approved  the appointment of Mr. Mohammed Dikko. Abubakar as Acting Inspector General of Police “as a first step towards the comprehensive reorganization and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force.”

Before his elevation as IGP, Abubakar was Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 12 Headquarters in Bauchi. Born on May 5, 1958, Mr. Abubakar  enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1979.

RINGIM: Fired and ABUBAKAR: Ready to serve

To pave the way for Abubakar, six Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIG) were retired with immediate effect. The retired DIGs are  Mrs. Ivy Uche Okoronkwo, DIG POL 2i/c Force Headquarters, Abuja; Mr. Azubuko J. Udah, DIG Administration (“A” Dept); Mr. Sardauna Abubukar, DIG Training (“E” Dept.); Mr. Audu Abubakar, DIG Operations (“B” Dept); Mr. Saleh Abubakar, DIG Works (“C” Dept.) and Mr. Mohammed A. Yesufu, DIG Planning and Info-Tech (“F” Dept.).

The President also established a Special Committee headed by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande to oversee the urgent reorganization of the Nigeria Police Force.

President sets up panel

Other members of the nine-man panel are: Mr. Casimir T. Akagbosu, AIG (rtd.); Mr. Bashir A. Albasu, AIG (rtd.); Major Gen. S.N. Chikwe ( rtd), Prof. S.D. Mukoro, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), Aisha Larai Tukur, Solicitor General of the Federation and  Permanent Secretary, SSO, Office of the SGF, who will serve as the secretary to the committee.

Specifically, the panel was charged to:

*To identify the challenges and factors militating against effective performance in the Nigeria Police Force and make recommendations for addressing the challenges.

*To examine the scope and standard of training and other personnel development activities in the Police to determine their adequacy or otherwise.

*To determine the general and specific causes of the collapse of public confidence in the police and recommend ways of restoring public trust in the institution.

*To examine records of performance of Officers and Men of the Nigeria Police Force with a view to identifying those that can no longer fit into the system due to declining productivity,  age, indiscipline, corruption and/or disloyalty;

*To make any other recommendations for the improvement of the Nigeria Police Force.

The committee’s recommendations shall be implemented along with those by previous committees set up by Government on the reform of the Nigeria Police Force.

Ringim’s rigorous  tenure

Since his appointment as the 15th IGP on  September 8, 2010,  Ringim  faced stiff challenges, with little or no success. His biggest problem was the dreaded Boko haram Islamic Sect, whose murderous activities have claimed over 1000 persons since 2009. Ceaselessly, Boko Haram attacked police stations including Police Headquarters, Abuja, Army barracks, churches and markets, etc at will even after giving notices.

Ringim’s lacklustre tenure in tackling Boko Haram’s  terrorist activities was worsened by the escape of Boko Haram kingpin, Alhaji Kabiru Umar, alias Sokoto, from Police custody last week. President Jonathan had handed him a 24-hour ultimatum to produce Umar or be sacked. He could not produce the escapee.

And matters were worsened with the series of bomb blasts and gun duel in Kano since last Friday, which has claimed over 211 persons including security agents.

President Jonathan who was billed to attend a World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday had to cancel the trip at the last minute to conclude serial security briefings to allegedly shop for Ringim’s successor.

Some Boko Haram attacks and mayhem under Ringim

Some of the prominent icidences of attack under the tenure of former IG, Hafiz Ringim included:

* December 2010: At least 80 people were killed in the Dec. 24, 2010 bombings as well as in clashes two days later between Muslim and Christian youths in Jos.

* January 2011: Human Rights Watch said more than 200 people were killed in violence over preceding month, with many hacked to death or burnt alive in attacks on villages, and reprisal killings in Plateau State.

* August -September 2011: At least 70 people were killed in clashes in central Plateau State since beginning of August. Cycle of violence started when Christian youths attacked Muslims as they gathered to celebrate end of Ramadan in Jos.

* Nov. 2011: At least 90 people killed in Northeast city of Damaturu when Boko Haram bombed churches, mosques and police stations.

* December 2011: 44 persons were killed on Christmas day in Madalla when Boko Haram bombed a Catholic church.

* January 5, 2012: Sect killed 8 at Deeper Life Church, Gombe:

January 5 and 6 2012: Boko Haram unleashed a wave of bloody attacks killing 28 people and wounding  many others in Gombe and Mubi, Adamawa State.

* January 20: Bomb attacks and gun battles in, Kano, killed 186 people.

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