Igbo Corner
Hope Uzodinma and the dying Imo ~ by Law Mefor
Four Catholic nuns have just been kidnapped in Imo state, one of such sad tales that have become almost a daily occurrence since Hope Uzodinma became the absolute ruler. The phrase, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” suggests that whenever a person has absolute power over other people or things, it makes him corrupt.
It morally destroys their nature and fills them with destructive pride. However, if the person redeems himself from this abuse of power, he is humble enough to align with the people and rule for the common good.
Again, a leader who hasn’t lost touch with reality works to bring sides together, and not create voids further separating sides. All this does not hold true for Hope Uzodinma and Imo State, which he governs with an iron fist like an ancient emperor as though he is an absolute monarch.
The author, Law Mefor
Imo, the southeast priced state, once prided as one of the most enlightened in the zone and indeed in Nigeria is adrift and nobody seems to care. Most Imo indigenes are either fighting on partisan party lines or too scared to talk.
Many have been hounded into silence, or kept far away from the state. Just like the rest of the country are hoping and praying for the APC-led federal government at the centre to exit in 2023; many Imolites are hoping the Imo state off-season guber election will come sooner to speak with the ballot.
The Supreme Court miracle governor of Imo state, Senator Uzodinma, has not shown leadership with clarity of vision and commitment to peace, unity, and development. For a man whose election was so absurd and most controversial in the nation’s annals, miraculously ferreted from 4th position to 1st by the nation’s apex court, he ought to be soberer.
The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua whose election was much less tainted had to admit it, and made amends with the Belgore committee on electoral reforms, which he promptly set up. Yar’Adua also led reconciliation efforts with Niger Delta militants and the rest of the country.
Uzodinma contrarily, rather than set up a peace and reconciliation committee, has remained in a war mood and war path. He is fighting a declared war with his two immediate predecessors, namely, Rochas Okorocha and Emeka Ihedioha, and, more dangerously, with IPOB and Eastern Security Network, ESN. These wars of attrition have left Imo state in tatters. Though his spin doctors want the world to believe that the state has witnessed phenomenal growth under Hope, discerning minds know better.
Imo has simply become a river of blood and one of the most unsafe places to live today. Ndigbo say that a man’s name seeks him out. The governor’s first name is ‘Hope’, and hope means a ‘feeling of expectation’ and therefore the anchorage of life itself and existence. Uzodinma in Igbo means almost the same thing – a hitch-free journey of life. So, to what extent has Governor Hope Uzodinma inspired hope, and to what extent is his journey and stewardship been hitch-free with the Imo people? You be the judge.
But it is clear that since the arrival of Hope Uzodinma as Imo state governor the state has known no peace and has been without hope and its journey is roughest so far (which in Igbo is: ‘Uzo di njo’).
Recall that what sparked the war between Hope and Biafra agitators was his invitation to the Nigerian military to tackle insecurity in the state. Internal security is the business of the police and before the intervention by the military becomes necessary, the police ought to be seen to have failed and a joint review committee called to recommend such an intervention if it is clearly warranted.
Ordinarily, such military intervention in the internal security of the country cannot be unilaterally called up by the governor as happened in Imo, Lagos during the EndSars and in some other places. But nobody hears of any such joint reviews and the criteria used, and approvals of both the chief of army staff and even the president who is the commander in chief.
Typically, the military action called up by Hope, which involved the air and ground operations in such brazen showmanship and show of force, with its attendant bloodbath, appeared to be on whims and ego trip. It was an expression of the governor’s lack of confidence and capacity to manage statecraft.
Come to think of it, Biafra agitation particularly ESN, was in existence when Rochas and Ihedioha were governors. It is on record that both men were able to manage the phenomenon and Imo enjoyed relative peace, stability, and economic buoyancy under them. But Uzodinma believes that force is all he needs to conquer and be on top of the state. This has not worked as Imo has been torn and bleeding.
The Imo governor’s Ebube Agu security outfit has been on a killing spree. Obviously, without requisite training and rules of engagement, these political thugs who are branded Ebube Agu, are out to main, kill and destroy. No week hardly passes without such a gory tale of killings of innocent and defenseless Imo people.
In their trails are sorrows, tears, and blood (apologies Fela Anikulapo Kuti). The most recent of this unmitigated bloodletting could be the killing of 14 wedding guests reported to be youths, who were returning from a traditional wedding ceremony in Awomamma in Oru East to Otulu in Oru West LGA, who were attacked by the said members of the Ebube Agu security outfit.
The statement by DSS about this sordid killing claimed that those killed were members of ESN. But even if they were, is membership of ESN now a death sentence? Which court pronounced that and authorised the illegal Ebube Agu outfit as executioners?
Furthermore, one may also ask: how is the membership of IPOB or ESN determined on sight since there was no evidence that there were interrogations of the victims before their cold-blooded murder?
Those carrying out such killings should know they are murderers. The killing of any unarmed person, even a soldier in war, once unarmed, is murder, since the unarmed person poses no threat to warrant shooting to kill.
But rather than arrest and prosecute the so-called Ebube Agu killers for prosecution, the state provided them cover and justification for murderous nonstate action. This kind of security operation is counterproductive. It has been fueling insecurity.
It is also important to point out that insecurity in Imo has left so much collateral damage in the state and has spilled over to Anambra state. Since Professor Chukwuma Soludo was sworn in as governor of Anambra state in March, he has been grappling with insecurity along Imo – Anambra border towns and local governments.
So, it’s not only Imo state that is bleeding from the exacerbation of insecurity and conflict in Imo but the neighboring Anambra as well and there is evidence that most of the perpetrators of insecurity in Anambra state are mostly from Imo and one other Southeast state.
Imo, a great Igbo state, has to be saved from ravages of Hope Uzodinma’s dictatorship. There is a great need for Southeast leaders at all levels to prevail on Hope Uzodinma to regain perspective and change his leadership style and embrace rapprochement with his political opponents, both real and imagined, and Biafra agitators.
That is the only way to bind and heal the deep wound inflicted on the state and indeed Igbo land by the advent of Hope Uzodinma as governor.
Dr Law Mefor, a Forensic/Social Psychologist, is a Fellow of The Abuja School of Social and Political Thought and can be reached via Tel.+234- 913-033-5723; Twitter: @DrLawMefor; email: drlawmefor@gmail.com.
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There’s something about persecution that does two things to a people: it either breaks them, or it makes them beasts of survival.
For centuries the Jews… they were hunted, hated, and humiliated by empires. But they didn’t vanish.
They evolved. They adapted. And today, the Jews are arguably the most powerful tribe in the world economically, intellectually, and politically. Ruthless when necessary.
They are unapologetic about their survival. Now, look at the Igbo. A tribe known for industry, resilience, and brilliance.
A people who just want to live, do business, and thrive. But Nigeria doesn’t want that. Nigeria wants control.
Nigeria wants submission. And the one thing the Igbo have never known how to do is bow. And that’s the real issue.
So what does Nigeria do? It sidelines them. Isolates them. Provokes them. Bombs their villages under the guise of security.
Locks up their agitators. Shuts down their businesses. Mocks their pain. Ignores their history. Prevent them from voting. Play politics with their education. Sponsored bigotry on them.
And then Nigeria pretends to be surprised that there’s growing radicalization in the East?
Let me be clear: The Igbo didn’t start this fire. Nigeria did.
And history, the very same history we keep refusing to learn from, has shown us that when you keep pushing a tribe that knows how to survive, they evolve into something stronger, something unstoppable.
It’s happened before. With the Jews. Europe tried to exterminate them. Instead, they became the backbone of global finance, media, tech, and diplomacy.
You don’t touch a Jew today without consequences. You don’t push them to the wall and expect them to stay quiet.
Now Nigeria is doing the same to the Igbo, pushing, prodding, provoking.
But here’s the warning: when you push an animal to the wall, it doesn’t stay calm. It fights back. It bites. And this time, when it bites, don’t act shocked.
But this isn’t just about the Igbo solely. Nigeria has perfected the art of creating monsters, then acting surprised when they bite.
The Niger Delta? Radicalized. The region was exploited for oil, polluted beyond repair, and ignored until their youths picked up arms.
The Fulani terrorists? Radicalized. Left behind by the same government that claimed to represent them, now manipulated by religion and resentment.
The Almajiri? Radicalized. Abandoned by an elite that used their poverty as a vote bank and then left them to rot.
The Agbero? Radicalized. Uneducated, weaponized, and unleashed as tools of political chaos.
Even the middle class is slowly being radicalized, not with guns, but with hopelessness. That, too, is a ticking time bomb.
A nation cannot continue to marginalize its most brilliant tribe and expect peace.
The Igbo are not docile. They are not quiet. They are not forgetful. They are survivors, and survivors don’t beg for space forever. At some point, they take it.
The Igbo didn’t set out to be radicals. They were made into one by a country that won’t stop seeing their confidence as a threat.
You can’t keep pretending unity means silence. You can’t keep preaching peace while planting injustice.
The Igbo are not asking for too much, they just want to live, build, and grow.
But if you insist on turning their dignity into defiance, their enterprise into enmity, and their survival into sedition, then you are creating a monster.
And if history has taught us anything, it’s this: when a persecuted people decide that survival is no longer enough, when they decide to stop running and start resisting, they don’t just fight back. They win.
Nigeria must understand this: you cannot keep pushing people into a corner and expect submission.
When you back a lion into a wall, don’t expect it to purr. It will roar. It will claw. It will tear through anything standing between it and freedom.
So here’s the final warning, for those who still care to listen: Nigeria is radicalizing the Igbo.
But worse, Nigeria is radicalizing everyone. And it won’t end well.
When the fire spreads, when the rebellion multiplies, when the beast we created begins to fight back, don’t act shocked; no tribe will be left untouched.
Don’t pretend it wasn’t preventable. We all made it happen. You don’t corner a lion and expect peace.
Abolaji Rasaq is a public affairs analyst.
Palpable crisis is brewing in Nnewi over the election of the President General of Uruagu Community in the industrial town of Anambra State, with a business mogul and owner of Organiser Plc., Chief Innocent Okoli, accused of upsetting the apple cart.
The crisis has led to protests and resignation of members of the Board of Trustees (BoT).
One of the resignation letters sighted by News Band was from a legal practitioner, J. N. Obi, Esq.
Barrister Obi, until his resignation served as the Secretary of the Executive Committee and member, Uruagu Board of Trustees.
Tendering his resignation letter, Obi cited brazen violation of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union.
The letter was referenced OB/03 /296/2025, dated May 8, 2025, and addressed to His Highness. Obi A. C. Obi (Ogidi IV).
In the letter entitled “Letter of resignation as member, Board of Trustees (B.O. T) Uruagu Nnewi. Obi announced his resignation based on the following reasons:
- Article 8. 9 (a) of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union. 2022 (As Amended) states and I quote:
“The Board shall “Ensure the observance of this Constitution”. - Article 14.4 of the Constitution of Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union 2022 (As Amended) states and I quote:
“Each ward shall submit a list of the Electors In writing to the Secretary General of the Union, one month before any election.
“The submission of the list of the Electors shall be done by the Ward Chairman In consultation with the Ward’s Obi.” - “The election sought to be conducted on Saturday, 10th day of May 2025, did not comply with the above provisious as it was on the Union’s general meeting of the I3th day of April 2025 that the expiration of the tenure of the Executives was announced.”
The legal pratictioner, however, noted that the election to be held on May 10 will not be up to one month.
He, therefore, resigned his membership of B. 0. T for failure to abide by the above provisions of the Constitution as stated above.
On his part, the former President General of Uruagu Nnewi, Chief Ambassador Charles Nwonye, decried series of illegalities in the proposed election championed by Chief Okoli.
He recalled the efforts of past and present stakeholders to ensure that Uruagu Nnewi Community Development Union is recognised as a legal and responsible entity in the state.
He, however, speaking in a voice note obtained by Diaspora Digital Media (DDM), regretted:
“It’s very, very unfortunate that those counsels that instituted Uruagu Development Union are no longer alive.
“They were the ones who were known for speaking out the truth. But at the same time, we will not all keep quiet.
“I, hereby, wish to bring the following to the attention of all Uruagu indigenes, scattered all over Nigeria and in the diaspora that four years ago, a similar thing happened.
“Uruagu Nnewi Constitution was also flagrantly violated four years ago.
“At the end, a lot of stakeholders asked the former Executive Committee to resign and leave en masse.
“The Constitution, however, allowed them to recontest.
“The Executive Committee then honourably resigned and no one of us recontested, ushering in a new Executive Committee.
“They argued that following the election, the Constitution will be amended to correct all the flaws and ensure no such flagrant abused repeats itself.
“They went for the election and what happened there was the same illegality we’re talking about.
“Some of our youths went and connived with mischief makers, disrupted the election and declared the present Executive Committee members winners.
“The youths stood by them in their misguided thoughts that the Executive Committee members enjoy special gains in the office.
“They disrupted the election and ensured that the present crop of Executive Committee members was ushered in.
“The election was heavily flawed and rigged in favour of Eloka Ike and Innocent Okoli, but we let go and left peacefully.
“The new Executive Committee promised to preside for only four years and leave, but we are currently seeing the same illegalities.
“I dare ask: Should Uruagu be known only for illegalities? I thought Ndi Uruagu are smart people?
“I have observed that there are certain individuals who are hell-bent on ensuring that the Uruagu leadership fails.
“They seem bent on destroying all our efforts, acting as agents of chaos and destruction.
“How can one man gather a bunch of Umuezeagu indigenes and take them to the court, claiming that they sued the union to court?
“They deceived the High Court and got a frivolous injunction against Uruagu people, all in the name of election!
“When I got this information, I knew that something was wrong.
“How can someone, after serving a tenure fraught with irregularities, fight his way to a second tenure against the people’s wish?
“I want to make it clear to all the delegates in the so-called election that it will not be possible to make an illegality legal.
“Anyone who casts a vote in that sham election is an agent provocateur, as well as a villain.
“Let it be on record that I denounced the so-called election founded on illegality and fraud and all participants, be it a delegate or participant in any manner is an enemy of the people.”
Chief Okoli and other responsible people of Nnewi leadership could not be reached for comment at the moment of this publication.
More details will follow…
The remains of HRH Eze Stephen Nwabueze Ugorji, Orji Ukwu 1 of Lorji Nwekeukwu Autonomous Community in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, will be laid to rest on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
The late Eze Ugorji will be buried in his palace at Orji Ukwu Estate, Lorji, following a Catholic funeral Mass at St. Andrews Catholic Church, Lorji.
News Band was informed that His Excellency the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara Diocese, Bishop Okezuo Nwobi, has been invited to officiate at the ceremony.
Bishop Nwobi, it was learnt, has also accepted the family’s invitation to officiate at the funeral rites of the late grand traditional ruler.
This information was provided to members of the press in Owerri by the Opara Eze (First Son of the Eze), former Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji.
His Lordship Bishop Okezuo Nwobi, the Catholic Bishop of Ahiara Diocese (Mbaise) and Eze Nwabueze Ugorji’s First Son, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji
“The family is grateful to His Lordship for granting us a rare request to officiate at a funeral on a Thursday,” Dr. Ugorji said.
“Our father will feel honored and appreciated because he was not just a devoted Catholic, he shouldered the building of the St. Andrews Catholic Church at Lorji until his death,” the former commissioner added.
Igbo Corner
EXCLUSIVE: Ngozi Orabueze dissolves Biafra Govt In Exile as Simon Ekpa may spend longer time in prison
Dr. Ngozi Orabueze has abruptly dissolved the Biafra Government In Exile following secret information that his former boss, Simon Ekpa may not be coming out from Finnish detention in a hurry.
News Band reported that Mrs. Orabueze, a former Chief of Staff to Mr Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra Government In Exile, toppled his principal after he was thrown into prison for promoting violent agitation and terrorism in the Southeast of Nigeria.
Ekpa’s trial is scheduled to start in May 2025.
Ngozi, a former chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Atlanta, United States in a statement on Wednesday, announced the dissolution of Biafra Government In Exile.
She said all assets of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile and it’s affiliates shall be transferred to the secretary of the State of the United States of Biafra.
Orabueze also directed all officers of the former exile government to report to their counterpart with the United States of Biafra for reassignment.
The statement reads, “It is resolved that the Biafra Republic Government In Exile (BRGIE) is hereby dissolved as it’s reason for the existence has been superceded by the November 29, 2024 Declaration of the restoration of the Independent United States of Biafra
“All assets of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile and it’s affiliates(BRGIE corporation ID: D237527271) shall be transferred to the secretary of the State of the United States of Biafra.
“All officers of the former exile government shall report to their counterpart with the United States of Biafra for reassignment. All activities of the Biafra Republic Government In Exile shall cease as of February 15, 2025”.
Meanwhile, an insider source in the movement reliably told News Band that Ngozi decided to dissolve BRGIE after receiving intel that Simon Ekpa might spend longer time in prison.
The source also revealed that the Nigerian government is doing everything within it’s power to nail Simon Ekpa for all his atrocious acts in the SouthEast region.
So, the only way to keep the agitation going in the absence of Ekpa is to dissolve BRGIE.
“Yes, Ngozi Orabueze dissolved the Biafra Republic Government In Exile so as to be fully in charge of the assets belonging to the movement. With the way the Nigerian government is going about the case of Simon Ekpa, he may spend longer time in prison”, the source said.
Moreover, before now, Orabueze has been at war with some arrowheads of the separatist movement who refused to acknowledge her authority.
This however, has led to series of fights, accusation and counter accusations among the agitators.
We celebrate the life of Mrs. Roseline Udu Eze, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and pillar of strength.
Her unwavering love, kindness, and selflessness left an indelible mark on all who knew her.
Though we mourn her passing, we take solace in the legacy she leaves behind and the cherished memories we hold. Rest peacefully in the arms of the Lord, dear Roseline.
You will forever be missed.
May her soul rest in perfect peace.
Amen.
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