listen to others, Iwuanyanwu tells Kanu

 

Elder statesman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has advised the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to emulate the footsteps of late Biafra warlord, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

Iwuanyanwu, who spoke when the leadership of the Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders conferred on him the award of its grand patron in Owerri, the Imo State capital, pointed out that Ojukwu listened to his people.

He said “Ojukwu did not ignore elders and he never declared Biafra on his own. It was the people from all walks of life – the academia, businessmen, civil and public servants –  that called upon him to declare the state of Biafra and become its leader.

“That was why Ojukwu was able to hold Nigeria for three years without rebellion. Most of us who fought the war were intelligent, but we had to join and fight the war. We’re very proud that we fought that war.

“You (Nnamdi Kanu) can’t come on your own and declare Biafra and ask me, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, to follow you. Even in a monarchical system, people’s opinions are sought. What do you have that you are declaring war here and there? You are only endangering the lives of your brothers, the youth who you claim to lead. You have to come and seek advice from Igbo elders. They’re the people that will guide you.

“All we’re asking for in Nigeria is to restructure Nigeria, which Gowon agreed but his people rebuked him. Gowon also tried his best to fulfil most of the things that were agreed before the end of the war.”

IPOBs ESN vs Army - Igbo Group Calls for Peace

  

The Igboezue International Association, Nigeria and the Diaspora, IIAND, has called on the Federal Government and South-East Governors to handle the issue of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, formed by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, peacefully and with caution.

It also said that it has observed with dismay that any crisis in Igbo land has been reduced to an opportunity to kill Igbo youths and elders, destroy and burn houses their houses and shops, warning the security agencies involved and their heads to desist from such callous and reprehensible behaviours against Igbo people.

Addressing newsmen yesterday in Onitsha, the President General of IIAND, Chief Pius Okoye, said that it is due to the constant behaviour of shooting, killing, destroying and burning of Igbo people's property that they have always rejected the Army yearly exercise of Operation Python Dance, which is supposed to be an exercise that should give the people security.

also called on South-East Governors to step up action in winning the trust and confidence of Ndigbo, particularly the youths, who seem to have lost confidence in them due to some policy mistakes they made that did not go down well with them.

"The South East Governor should blame themselves for IPOB's establishment of ESN because the people of South East waited in vain for them to come up with a security outfit for the zone like done by their colleagues in other zones, but they were busy playing politics until IPOB came up with one.

"The Federal and South East governments should be cautious in handling issued concerning IPOB's establishment of ESN because any action that will lead the group into carrying arms will spell doom for Nigeria

"We have noticed with dismay that any crisis in Igbo land particularly the ones involving IPOB, has been used as an opportunity by the Police and Army to open fire on Igbo people, particularly the youths, destroying their houses and shops, that is no more acceptable to us.

"We are therefore warning against the further killing of South-East youths under any guise, criminals and lawless people should be arrested and prosecuted and not be killed extra judicially, enough is enough on the killing of South-East youths.

"We wonder how Police, Army and ESN clash in Orlu became an opportunity to kill people on the streets, burning house and shops and arresting and detaining worshippers in the churches in Orlu.

"It is this same attitude that Ndigbo has always rejected the Operation Python Dance Army exercise, which is supposed to be an exercise that provides security for the people.

South-East Governor should blame themselves for their delay in forming a South-East security outfit like their counterparts in the South West and the North, to protect Ndigbo from a violent attack of killer herdsmen.

"South-East Governors should drop their Presidential and Vice Presidential interest to work for their people, secure them and get back their confidence and wait for elections to come instead of playing politics with issues that concern their lives."

Introduction to Versa Points

Why Versa Points are important

 VersaPoints (VP) are points that are awarded to you for doing various actions (such as making sales, personal purchases, completing tasks, etc.) that support the growth and success of your SFI business.

There are two types of VersaPoints you can earn in SFI

Action VersaPoints (AVP)

Sales VersaPoints (SVP)

You accumulate Action VP for performing various actions outlined on your SFI To-Do List. When you joined SFI, for example, you had the opportunity to earn hundreds of AVP for confirming your email address, for uploading your account photo, etc.  There are dozens of other actions that you can do monthly to earn thousands of VersaPoints (see your To Do list for a complete list of available actions that earn you VP).

To earn Sales VP, simply sell an item or make a personal purchase at TripleClicks.com or any other Zing Network site. For example, if one of your Personally Referred Members (PRM) purchases a 200 TCredit Pack, YOU will automatically earn 1,800 SVP. A personal purchase by you for that item would also earn you that 1,800 SVP. NOTE: you can view the SVP attached to each product in its details page at the store. Just click the SFI Toolbox button for complete commission and VP breakdown, as illustrated below:

1. A minimum amount of SVP is necessary for you to advance in SFI rank. To gain the rank of Executive Affiliate (EA), for example, you must earn a TOTAL of 1,500 VP for the month. Out of that VP, 

a minimum of 1,000 must be Sales VP.

You can have more than the minimum SVP required, of course...earning the entire 1,500 required VP through sales/purchases. 

You can also collect the remaining 500 VP required for that rank via Action VP. It's up to you...so long as you collect the minimum amount of SVP required for your rank each month. (NOTE: To view each rank's required Sales VP, see each Team Leader rank entry in the Glossary.)

2. VersaPoints earn you shares in the Executive Pool. The more VP you collect each month, the more shares in the pool you can earn.

 We'll discuss the Executive Pool in more detail in coming lessons, but if you don't want to wait, you can learn more details at the SFI Compensation Plan. 

More VP also helps determine your rank in SFI; and the higher your rank, the more benefits become available to you–including Matching VP for even MORE shares in the Executive Pool each month! You can review the benefits of each rank at our Benefits Chart.

3. If you're still in your first year in SFI, VersaPoints are also important because collecting the most VP is the objective of the E365 contest (a contest for all SFI affiliates in which you have the opportunity to win thousands of Rewardical Tokens).  Learn more about E365 HERE.

4. VersaPoints are the key to our "Power Rank" program. Power Rank allows you to see how you stack up amongst your fellow SFI'ers in your class, in your country,

 and overall, too.  The more points you collect, the higher your Power Rank can go and the more prestigious your Power Rank badge will be.  Check out the current Power Rank Leaderboard and see where YOU are positioned now HERE.

BIAFRA : descends hard on Iwuanyanwu for warning Biafran agitators

 

The Indigenous People of Biafra has accused elder statesman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, of being part of the reasons Igbo land has remained underdeveloped.

Iwuanyanwu had in a statement accused IPOB of “endangering Ndigbo and their investment in Nigeria,” through their activities.

In response, IPOB  in a  statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, on Monday, said, “In case he doesn’t know, the current crop of Igbo youths are wise enough to identify true Igbo elders, and Iwuanyanwu is not anywhere close on the list.

“We are not surprised at such loose and careless remarks coming from a supposed elder like Iwuanyanwu who has always taken political advantage of every matter.

“We advise Iwuanyanwu to stop advertising his ignorance of global economics by giving fake analysis of Igbo investments in Nigeria. We are aware, and it’s a public knowledge that the economic power of 54 African countries will come to $26 trillion by the year 2056.

“With these verifiable statistics, one then wonders where ‘Elder’ Iwuanyanwu is getting his fake claims that Igbo investments in Nigeria is already worth over $12 trillion? Therefore, Emmanuel Iwuanyawu must get his records straight before coming out in public to make unverified analysis about Igbo economic power.”

Enemy Of Biafra Is British Government – Nnamdi Kanu,

 

“We will fight them in the bush and we will kill them, I want you to watch and see what we are going to do to the zoo.”

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has identified the enemies of the agitation for the secession of the South-East from Nigeria as the British government and not the Fulani.

Kanu revealed this in his New Year address to members of the proscribed IPOB in a broadcast on Radio Biafra on Friday.

The statement was made available to SaharaReporters on Saturday by the Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful.

Kanu described the British government as hell-bent on supporting the unity of Nigeria, at the detriment of the “South-East region that is part of the components that hold the centre”.

“You people think we are fighting Fulani. Who is Fulani? Those stopping Biafra is (sic) Britain because they know what Biafra is all about. Because (Governor Dave) Umahi wants to be the vice president, then I must allow Fulani from Mali to come and kill our people.”

Kanu also said IPOB would resist any attack on its members.

He said, “Happy new year to all of you, according to the Gregorian calendar. It is even unfortunate that I am unable to come to you live on Facebook. We have done everything humanly possible, all to no avail.

Those that are for Facebook in Lagos and everywhere have compromised themselves.

“This evening broadcast is to take stock of what we have been able to accomplish so far.

“As the Janjaweeed are coming down from the North to engage us which I know they will, their (will) land be vandalised by the bandits.

“As I told you, there is a way to our madness. The Janjaweed army will come to the South to engage us, but this time around, we are waiting for them in our bushes, we are not going to fight them in our township.

“We will fight them in the bush and we will kill them, I want you to watch and see what we are going to do to the zoo.”

In September 2017, the Federal High Court in Abuja gave judicial backing to the executive order of President Muhammadu Buhari, outlawing IPOB and its activities in Nigeria.

The Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdu Kafarati, granted the order proscribing the group, which declared that the activities of the group constituted an act of terrorism and illegality.

military reshuffle belies serious security concerns

 

As Nigeria battles a domestic insurgency and wilting trust in its armed forces, President Buhari's overhaul has exposed exasperation with the military's ineffectiveness to guarantee security for the country.

Nigerian soldiers clear camps belonging to the Islamic militant group Boko Haram

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced four of the country's top military heads following months of pressure over the nation's worsening security crisis. 

Buhari, who took office in 2015 with a pledge to stamp out the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency, had long ignored advice to dismiss the commanders of Nigeria's army, navy and air force, as well as the chief of defense staff. He announced their resignation and replacements on Twitter on Tuesday.

A recent spate of skirmishes in south-eastern Nigeria between the army and the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra group (IPOB) has further deepened Nigeria's security woes. 

Coupled with Boko Haram's continued presence in the north and a spike in armed banditry, swathes of Nigeria remain near-ungovernable.

"Nigeria is probably more insecure than it's been in recent history," Ryan Cummings, the director of analysis for the Africa-focused risk management consultancy Signal Risk, told DW.

New chiefs face 'high expectations'

The reshuffle saw Major General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Irabor become Chief of Defense Staff and Ibrahim Attahiru become Chief of the Army. The air force and navy now have new leaders in Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao and Rear Admiral A.Z. Gambo, respectively.

Presidential spokesman Malam Garba Shehu said the reshuffle was "routine" and endorsed the new leaders.

"None have them have served less than 30 years in the armed forces," he told DW. "I think they are well-equipped to carry out the task at hand as long as the government gives them support."

General Ibrahim Attahiru has been appointed chief of the Nigerian Army

Kole Shettima from the Center for Democracy and Development told DW the new chiefs will be facing "high expectations, especially given that three of the four were at one point deployed to the north-east."

Shettima believes coordination and personal understanding between the new leaders would be a big factor in their potential success.

"I think everyone probably knew the previous service chiefs were not even on talking terms and that undermined their ability to prosecute the war against the insurgency," he says. 

For Cummings, the reshuffle is a sign of Buhari's "exasperation and toughness."

"The buck has been passed on to the four figures that have been removed from their respective offices rather than the president himself," he says.

Cummings adds that many of Nigeria's security threats are "rooted in systemic issues," such as resource challenges.

"This is not an issue where a simple change in military leadership all of a sudden addresses both symptoms and causes of insecurity in the country," he explains.

President Buhari reshuffled his defense chiefs, but securing lasting stability across Nigeria is proving elusive

Fighting ongoing in southern Nigeria

Developments in south-eastern Nigeria have taken a violent turn this week, with clashes between members of IPOB's newly formed armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, and the Nigerian military.

There are reports of deaths on both sides. The origin of the flare-up is disputed, but correspondents say the Nigerian army retaliated after IPOB members allegedly killed soldiers.

In the town of Orlu near the Imo state capital Owerri, eyewitnesses said there was sporadic shooting, with residents taking cover to avoid stray bullets. The Imo state government has since imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in affected areas.

Resident Nawwal Yusuf placed the blame on IPOB "agitators."

"They attacked the northerners and killed four of them," he told DW. "We discovered four dead bodies. They have already been buried."

Peter Uche, a member of IPOB, told DW the separatist group had been repeatedly harassed by the government since starting a security outfit in their region.

"The soldiers and this government have been kicking against the IPOB members," he said. "I am not happy about it. Other regions in this country have their own security outfit. But we have been fighting, they have been fighting us, trying to eliminate us."

The Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970 came after the secession of Biafra

Separatist movement remains active

Historically, south-eastern Nigeria has been a hotbed for Biafran separatist agitation.

The Nigerian Civil War, which lasted from 1967 to 1970, pitted southern separatists — who wanted to form the independent nation of Biafra — against the Nigerian government.

There are also religious divisions between predominantly Muslim northerners and southerners, who are largely Christian.

Currently, numerous splinter groups in south-eastern Nigeria are loosely united, demanding the right to form their own state. IPOB's leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is in exile. 

The region is one of Nigeria's richest in terms of mineral resources, specifically oil. But with oil prices currently low, the Nigerian government is struggling to finance its budget.

"You have a population and Igbo population that feels somewhat disconnected from Nigeria's federal government structures," says Cummings. "They feel that President Buhari does not specifically represent their interests."

But despite the increasingly loud calls from the IPOB for the formation of the state of Biafra, Cummings adds that, despite dissatisfaction with the Nigerian government, wider polls show 

NIGERIA : Genocide in Nigeria 'happening before our eyes'

 

Parents of abducted schoolboys wait outside a camp to receive their children on their release in Katsina, Nigeria, on Dec. 18. (Photo: Kola Sulaimon/AFP)

The Catholic bishop of Gboko, Nigeria, and the Knights of Columbus added their voices to a Dec. 17 congressional hearing spotlighting sectarian violence in Nigeria in which thousands of Christians have been killed simply for their faith identity.

The hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was spurred by recent developments: the fatal shooting of 51 peaceful protesters in Lagos Oct. 20; the kidnapping of over 300 schoolboys in Kankara, which government officials there said was instigated by bandits masquerading as the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram; and the Dec. 7 State Department designation of Nigeria as "a country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The boys were rescued Dec. 18, and while the hearing included discussion of a congressional resolution of condemnation plus the imposition of sanctions, it didn't get into the specifics of either response. Sanctions would become a decision of the incoming Biden administration.

"This is a genocide that's happening right before our eyes," said Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, the commission's co-chair.

"It is depressing that our Middle Belt region has truly become a vale of tears, a region where mass burials are very common," said Bishop William A. Avenya of Goboko. "Since the consistent attacks began some five years ago, there has hardly been a single day without killing in one part of the region or the other.

"In fact, one cannot give the accurate figures of those who have been killed since the beginning of these atrocities," he said.

"Interestingly," Bishop Avenya continued, "no one has ever been arrested or questioned or prosecuted or convicted of any charge related to this spree of killings. Yet, these killers are not invisible, neither are they unknown. Instead, these atrocities are made to look as though they were ethnic or communal clashes."

"Nigeria's Christians have suffered grievously at the hands of Boko Haram and other groups," said Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, in a statement. "The Christians of Nigeria, both Catholic and Protestant, deserve attention, recognition and relief now."

The death toll from the conflict in Nigeria's Middle Belt region caused by the pastoralists, or cattle herders, who are mainly Muslim and ethnic Fulani, against farmers, who are predominantly Christian, relies on analyses from humanitarian groups, since it is never verified by the government.

An estimated 2,000 are believed to have been killed annually between 2011 and 2016 as the conflicts over land and a dwindling water supply, exacerbated by climate change, continue.

Religious organizations have urged the American government to pressure the Nigerian state to provide protection.

Earlier this year, the International Committee on Nigeria calculated, based on what they said were primary sources on the ground, that since 2015, Fulani militant attacks are "exponentially increasing," killing more than 9,700 in the past five years.

Adding to the urgency, the latest statistical risk assessment of the Holocaust Memorial Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide calculated that Nigeria faces a 7.3% risk of experiencing a new mass killing by the end of 2021, the 6th highest in the world. In 2019, Nigeria was ranked 17th with a 5% risk.

Genocide has become virtually a daily threat, said Annigje J. Buwalda, executive director of Jubilee Campaign USA. "We would additionally ask that more consideration be proffered to ... the rising frequency of deadly midnight attacks on predominantly Christian farming communities in Nigeria, which are carried out by groups of heavily-armed radical Islamist Fulani militants," she said.

In November, Democratic Reps. Al Green and Joaquin Castro, both from Texas, introduced a House resolution supporting the peaceful protest movement in Nigeria.

"The resolution is not enough, but it is something we can do," Green told the hearing. He said it meant "that Black lives matter, no matter where they may be."

Robert Destro, an assistant secretary of state, said he hoped for an "early warning network" to detect atrocities before they occur.

But he said one principal difficulty is Nigerian officials have told him it's "impossible" that religion is a factor in the killings. "They need active ground-level intelligence to be able to protect themselves."

Destro said of President Muhammadu Buhari's government, "They're going to have to want to change."