Igbo Corner
Joe Igbokwe & Dan Ulasi, two brothers from one mad father ~ by Omife Omife
They talk and behave as if they are from one mother.
I do not know because they have different surnames.
All I know is that both are from Nnewi — Dan Ulasi and Joe Igbokwe!
The author, Mazi Omife I. Omife
I believe they are brothers from one mad man called Congo Professor before the war.
Congo Professor used to move from one village to another in Nnewi, and from one motor park to another.
I had expected the people of Nnewi to caution, and in fact disown Joe Igbokwe and Dan Ulasi whose behaviours are becoming more annoying by the day.
They should not only caution them, but also compel them to make an open apology to Ndigbo.
It is surprising that all Nnewi people have kept sealed lips while their sons engage in unmitigated sabotage and open insult to Ndigbo over our collective and long quest for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
Igbos know and regard Nnewi as the cradle of Igbo struggle for freedom, justice and equity which was spearheaded by their son, late Dim Emeka Ojukwu, who virtually single-handedly bankrolled the fight for the freedom of Igbo people in Nigeria for about 30 months.
So, why are Nnewi people sitting on the fence while their sons attempt to demolish the principle and vision of Igbo freedom initiated by Ojukwu and which he fought for and sacrificed so much from his youth until his death.
Just listen to the utterances of Joe Igbokwe every now and then cursing Igbo people, as if he is not one of them.
Of all his self-claimed political exposure and education, if indeed he had any worthwhile education, doesn’t he know the meaning and importance of one’s ancestral roots?
Does it mean there is no elderly person in Nnewi who can educate him on the significance of one’s native roots?
In recent times, many Afro-Americans and people from other countries who have traced their ancestry to Africa and Nigeria in particular have been trooping back in search of their roots.
Even in the bible, Jacob while on his death bed instructed his children to make sure that they took his bones to their ancestral land and bury him there.
And here is Joe Igbokwe raining curses on his roots on daily basis. I am honestly amazed at the way he curses Igbos and often wonder how much he is being paid to insult his own people the way he does.
For 20 years he has been curing Igbos, what has Tinubu done for him? Only an inconsequential and humiliating appointment as personal assistant on Lagos gutters something like that . And recent portfolio of publicity secretary of APC Lagos State or something like that.
Ndigbo ibem, are these enough reason for him to keep insulting Igbos every now and then.
If he really has any genuine advice to Igbos, he knows the proper Chanel to reach Igbo leadership and not through the social media. By going through the social media, he is only trying to show his masters that Joe Igbokwe is working so he doesn’t lose his pay.
If Tinubu honestly loves him, has Joe Igbokwe not served him long and slavishly enough to secure a higher job for him at Abuja, like minister or even Special Assistant to President Buhari, since Tinubu is the APC National Leader and claims it was, he Tinubu who made Buhari President.
In the NCNC days, Zik placed many of his non-Igbo political acolytes in good positions.
Paul Unongo from Tiv land was minister for steel.
Janet Akinrinade was Minister of State, Internal Affairs, later a commissioner in Plateau State under Solomon Lar.
Olu Akinfosile from Yoruba was minister for communications.
TOS Benson from Yoruba was minister for Information.
And many others.
Did they curse their people in order to appreciate or impress Zik?
All these years Joe Igbokwe has been cursing his people, has he ever won any elective political position in Lagos State?
Two Igbos in Lagos won elections to House of Reps. Did they first curse their fellow Igbos before they were able to win?
It was the same Tinubu who said that Igbos cannot vote in Lagos.
It was in the same Lagos State that Igbo traders were driven from Mushin market.
It was in the same Lagos State that Igbo houses at Alagbedo were recently destroyed.
It was in the same Lagos State that attempt was made to prevent Igbo traders at Alaba from registering for PVC.
For all his hobnobbing with Tinubu, not one single thing has Joe Igbokwe done to protect Igbo interests in Lagos State. Only curses everyday.
I can go on with more facts that will make Joe Igbokwe realize himself as a big fool, and that even Tinubu and other Yoruba people have no regard for him. Just one of those people going about causing trouble and creating enmity between Igbos and Yoruba.
Look at Fani-Kayode. The first day he declared for APC, the same day he was flown to Abuja to have a handshake with Buhari. Thereafter he was given a juicy political appointment as a big boy.
For over 25 years Joe Igbokwe has been cursing Igbos to please Tinubu, he has nothing to show for it except appointment as Lagos gutter cleaner.
At no time in Nigerian political history have Igbos played second fiddle to Yoruba people. It is on record that Awolowo who is regarded as a tin god by the Yoruba people deferred to Zik for the position of Nigerian Prime Minister during the first republic and later in 1979 referred to Zik as Father of the nation.
Joe Igbokwe claims that Igbos are not united. That is in his own imagination. He should say one instance where Igbos were not united.
Was it during the Nigeria –Biafra war?
Was it during the reception of Ojukwu when he came back from exile or when he died?
Are Yorubas more united than Igbos? In what ways?
When Abiola’s presidential election victory was annulled, was it not another Yoruba, Earnest Shonekan that became the head of the Interim government?
Was it not another Yoruba, Oladipo Diya who conspired with Abacha to overthrow Shonekan?
I will go no further to waste words.
I am surprised Dan Ulasi has joined him.
Dan Ulasi should be in the age bracket of 70 and 75 now. If he were younger, it could have been a different story altogether.
At his age, he is old enough to be a grandfather who should always apply wisdom in his actions and utterances.
It is a puzzle to me why each time outsiders want something from Igbo land, he looks for a cheap Igbo man or woman to brainwash Ndigbo and rubbish the agenda of their own people as Dan Ulasi is currently doing.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry in Igboland and Nigeria as a whole know that Igbos have been subjected to a lot of injustice in this country for several years now.
But each time Ulasi appears on the TV, he never says a word about this glaring discrimination and marginalization of Igbos. Instead, he spends all his time castigating Peter Obi, and by implication, Igbos.
APC ticket has gone to a Yoruba and PDP to a Fulani. Meaning that Igbos have been played out of the 2023 presidency by the two major parties. And Igbos have to wait, by their own calculation, for another eight years to make another attempt for the presidency which we are not sure of getting, because of saboteurs like Ulasi and his brother.
Every day, Dan Ulasi goes on TV castigating and blackmailing Peter Obi, who has been selling himself to Nigerians, not because of personal interest but because of a better Nigeria, Igbo political identity and sense of belonging
If Dan Ulasi has any genuine case against Peter Obi when he was governor, why is it now, nearly ten years after Obi left office that Dan Ulasi is bringing charges against him? Purely a hatchet job.
If Dan Ulasi feels too bad about Peter Obi’s candidature, why NOT say anything good about other Igbo presidential candidates, like Prof Peter Umeadi of APGA?
In the entire world, no one is perfect. Nobody expects Peter Obi to be perfect or to be a saint. While in office, it is inevitable he must have stepped on some toes.
If it is people like Dr. Chike Obidigbo (Osisioma Ndigbo), one time governorship aspirant under APGA, or Ifeanyi Okonkwo ( Allied Bendix) that are talking, people will listen. But who is Dan Ulasi.?
I plead with Nnewi people and all Igbo organizations in pursuit of Igbo cause to call Dan Ulasi to order. I also call on all Igbo social platforms where Dan Ulasi belongs to expunge his name from such platforms. Ditto for Joe Igbokwe.
It is as clear as day light that Dan Ulasi and Joe Igbokwe are spies, spying Igbo political plans and strategies to their masters at Lagos and Adamawa. Read more.
Mazi Omife I Omife
Mbuze Mbaukwu
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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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