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Analysis

Nnewi, why I write on traditional and other affairs, by Godson O. Moneke

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For sometime now, I have through my many writeup drawn people’s attention to existing practices in the traditional institution in Nnewi which I find bizarre and illogical.

I am a typical Nnewi man because I proudly have roots in all the prominent lineages in the four towns of Nnewi. I stated this in one of my previous writeup. For example, I am from Umudim, Dim Onyedike lineage (former Obi Umudim), my mother was from Okpuno-Otolo (Ezenwegbu lineage), my grandmother was from Abubor-NnewiIchi (late DALLA Okenwa lineage), my great grandmother was from Edoji-Uruagu.

I am married into the famous Igbokwe family in Uruagu. For those who may not know, Igbokwe was the second son of Ogbufo, former Obi Uruagu and the younger brother of Obi whose lineage produces Obi Uruagu today.

My paternal grandmother was from UMUDIMNKWA-UMUDIM. Therefore, like the late poet and first president of Senegal , Leopold Sedar Senghor (1906-2001) would say, YOU CANNOT QUESTION MY NEGRITUDE.

I went this far to reiterate that my interventions are not selfish but borne out of altruistic desires to see the right things done in Nnewi.

God created us for many purposes and it may be, this is God’s purpose for my life. Most of the people who hold the view that I hate Otolo only talk out of ignorance. I grew up in Otolo and they treated me well like their NWADIANA.

I have more close friends there than I have even in Umudim. Otolo is always home to me because I feel at home there. What I advocate in Nnewi is enduring peace which is a minimum condition for growth and development anywhere.

This is the only way to guarantee lasting stability in Nnewi. Most of the people who make the loudest noises on this matter can not even touch the knobs of the doors which I open in all the Royal Courts in the four towns in Nnewi.

I have worked at executive management levels in both the public and private sectors of Nigeria’s economy. I understand the political economy of Nigeria and can confidently say that we misplace our priorities in Nnewi.

We normally make noise that Nnewi people are rich but fail to note that the total wealth of all the rich men in Nnewi may not add up to four -year statutory allocations of the governor of Anambra state, yet we prioritize TRADITIONAL RULERSHIP stool over that of the governor.

How can a people celebrate their foolishness? I only see this happen in Nnewi. If this is not misplaced priority, what is?

Any society which is not built on respected moral ethos and values is doomed. When some of us insist that you do the right thing in Nnewi, we are only giving people the benefits of what we know through our exposures to avoid a impending implosion.

People who talk of phantom stability and graveyard peace are only talking of immediate gains which will melt to nothing and obscurity in the future. In military warfare, they say that such a person is talking TACTICS NOT STRATEGY.

I reckon more with strategic imperatives and my interventions are anchored on strategic viewpoints. In retrospect, when the idea of state and local government creations was muted in Nigeria, it was the Igbos who were against it throwing up all sorts of conspiracy theories.

They pride themselves as the wisest ethnic group in Nigeria yet they are always holding the shortest end of the stick allowing those they mock as foolish to best them all the time.

Now, the number of state and local governments in a region is used for revenue allocations and all forms of political decisions in Nigeria. Why didn’t the Igbos anticipate this and position themselves advantageously as wise people were expected to do?

Now, we are crying marginalization and agitating for additional states and local governments but the rest of Nigeria will have none of that.

We are doing the CATCHUP INSTEAD OF BEING IN THE LEAD. I find this approach nauseating. That is the same thing that will happen to the autonomous towns and traditional rulership structures in Nnewi.

We shall realize what we are doing to ourselves when it is too late. I don’t like this perpetual catch-up mentality and that is why I prioritize planning in all I do. Some people phone me to express their support and endorsement for my position on the Nnewi matters but they cannot state their positions openly because they are timid ,cowardly and afraid.

Implicit in my motto is that any human being who cannot conquer fear is not worth to live. This does not mean disdain for reason and rationality, it only means that you must be alive to your duties to your society and humanity.

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My childhood friend, BS Nwankwo SAN (of blessed memory) told me a story of a magistrate who rebuked one rich man in court, telling him, YOU HAVE PLENTY OF MONEY BUT YOU HAVE NO COMMONSENSE. This is true of Nnewi today, MOST PEOPLE HAVE PLENTY OF MONEY BUT HAVE NO COMMONSENSE.

They cannot articulate logical hypotheses because they are lacking in intellectual rigor. That you have plenty of money does not influence your intellect in any positive way, likewise high education does not make you an intellectual.

Intellectualism depends on REASON AND RATIONALITY. Therefore, neither wealth nor education can make you an intellectual. That is why I laugh scornfully at those who question the power of interrogation on which intellectualism is built. We see talents which God has given to some people as INFERIOR because they are not built on wealth and other material things instead of harnessing all useful talents.

We cannot be wiser than God who deemed it necessary to create those talents. There are some uneducated men that are highly intellectual just as there are many academic giants but intellectual Lilliputians.

Money is good but it is not everything. Philosophically, the most important thing in this world is free and indispensable.

Why can’t we reason beyond the mundane. Most leaders in advanced countries are not multimillionaires and most wealthy people there are those who add value to the society.

Conversely, most rich people in Nigeria are those who exploit the weaknesses in the system and make it weaker but that is not the purpose of this essay. Most rich people in Nigeria cannot exist outside government patronage unlike what obtains in advanced countries.

You can not add value to your society if you don’t interrogate the status quo. This is origin of civilization which has brought us thus far. In Nnewi, we come across people who are eager to put forward loud arguments on burning issues but cannot defend the logic behind their lines of arguments.

That is why most of them are afraid to speak out because they lack self confidence and conviction. I have met people who argued that since the lopsidedness in the traditional rulership structure has persisted for a long time, it would be better to allow the sleeping dog to lie in order not to upset the applecart. What kind of reasoning is this? The reasoning of a dead man?

It is better for somebody to keep quiet instead of opening his mouth and talking nonsense. My people say that it is better for a fool to remain quiet in a gathering than to talk and remove all doubts. According to the school with this nebulous argument, injustice which has persisted for a long time should be accepted as a new normal since correcting it would disrupt existing status quo.

If we had held on to this, Nigeria would not have obtained political independence from Britain talk-less of subsequently becoming a Republic. Some people argue that the threes Obis do not appear dignifying and exude Royal aura enough unlike the Igwe but forget that Igwe Orizu has enjoyed government exposure, support , patronage and presence for over 60 years.

They make outlandish statements to justify their docility and inactions. Do you look down on your father because he is poor? Is it not your duty to uplift him? If you don’t like the way your father looks, make him to look the way that you want.

The Igwe and his greedy prince are swimming in billions of Naira acquired using the goodwill of the four towns while the threes Obis are left high, dry and empty handed. These ostriches do not see anything wrong with it? My advocacy is for the three thrones to be respected and not because of any special love for the occupants.

Those who have axe to grind with any of the occupants are being myopic because it is destiny and providence that placed them in their respective positions.

It is foolish to throw away the baby with the bath water because of silly pettiness. If you don’t like the way your Obi appears in public, teach him the rudiments of protocols to meet your expectations, I repeat.

You don’t judge somebody by a standard which you are striving hard to stop him from attaining. If this is not SADISM, what is ?

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The Obi of my town is not subordinate to any of the four Obis in Nnewi. Anybody who holds a contrary viewpoint should educate me on why I should change my position and not by resorting to intimidation and blackmail.

It is only a weak man that behaves that way. Your Obi is your Obi whether or not he appears in tattered clothes. If you are ashamed of the way he dresses, change his wardrobe. NWANNE K’ANA AMAZI AMAZI , OBUHO ENYI!!!

Any human being can choose his friends based on certain parameters like social, economic and political class, statuses and alliances but you cannot choose your brother and relatives but UBOSI NWANNE OYI ANAA!!!! People should be deliberative enough to leave situations better than they met them.

What kind of person weakens his traditional institution because he does not like the occupant of the throne? That amounts to cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face!!! No matter how much you support Igwe Orizu, you can never be ONYE OTOLO.

I am talking of traitors who readily sell their birthrights. This gives rise to tigers who in the words of Nigeria’s only Noble Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka are ashamed to PROCLAIM THEIR TIGRITUDE. They make you IGWE NNEWI Cabinet Members and give you Chieftaincy titles, yet important and confidential decisions are taken behind you and you don’t see yourself as ASHIKOTA EKWEE ONU or EJIM GUZUO.

You belong to a group where you rub shoulders and exchange greetings with special hand fans with a fraudster and ex-convict with whom you wear uniforms and red caps. What values are you laying for the younger ones and the society at large? That crime pays? If the Obis of the three other towns get ten percent of the money and perquisites that Igwe Orizu and his greedy son enjoy, they would operate at a higher standard.

During the colonial era when the colonial masters set up a Tribunal of Inquiry with the aim of probing and indicting the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe who was becoming a thorn in their flesh over the defunct ACB, the late Sir LP Odumegwu Ojukwu, the then richest man in Nigeria surprised the white people in testifying that “ HIS WEALTH WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO AZIKIWE’S WEALTH “ thereby throwing them off-guard. The import of that statement was that political and intellectual leadership is superior to financial and economic leadership. The late Odumegwu Ojukwu was a colossus in financial and economic leadership while the late Dr Azikiwe was himself a colossus in political and intellectual leadership. Only a deep thinker who is gifted with intellectual sagacity would reason that way. That was in the period of the rise of intellectualism among the Igbos in Nigeria. Unfortunately , we don’t reason that way now.

Everything now is about materialism and economic conception of history. The dominant belief in STATUS INCONSISTENCY whereby deliberate attempts are made to put down the intellectual class and elevate money and materialism in the body Polity is now the order of the day. That is why some misfits see acquisition of political power as inferior to preservation of Igwe Orizu as the only traditional ruler in Nnewi without explaining how that status was achieved or arrived at. Besides, it is an accepted principle that culture, tradition and custom are dynamic, so why are we behaving as if traditional rulership dynamics are cast-in-stone in Nnewi ? There is no action taken by human beings that cannot be revisited. It is only actions taken by God that remain perfect and sacrosanct forever and that is why we say that only God is OMNISCIENT, OMNIPOTENT AND OMNIPRESENT. To some people, Nnewi people are rich enough to ignore government and privately take over the development of physical infrastructure in the enclave to show government that they are equal to the task and can do without them. What kind of foolery is that? Are such people advocating ISOLATIONISM? Are they aware that PHYSICAL PLANNING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT are the exclusive responsibility of government. Are they advocating that Nnewi should work in a SILOS at this age and time? But that is the dominant thought among these perverts in Nnewi but it is ERROR-RIDDEN. The only thing important to these sadists and bigots is how Igwe Orizu will be the only recognized traditional ruler in Nnewi and enjoy all the privileges it brings while his brother Obis in Nnewi live in neglect and wants.. Nobody is talking of the strategy for acquiring political power in both Anambra state and Nigeria. You cannot achieve holistic development with that kind of mindset. A people who are obviously lacking in EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL QUOTIENTS cannot achieve holistic development in any context. The few Nnewi people who are close to the corridors of political power use that advantage for selfish aggrandizement , primitive accumulation of power and to service negativities. They never use their closeness to political power to advance the cause of their people. Nnewi people exhibit pride, boasts and arrogance which are often nauseating.

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There is no doubt that Nnewi people are hardworking and blessed but it should not get into their heads as to attract the envy and hatred of their neighbors. They must not look down on their neighbors because they need their support in any democracy.

The art of humility is clearly lacking in Nnewi people, both the rich and poor. Sometimes, I question some people’s definition of wealth which are often material wealth. To me, real wealth is measured by how many people a person is capable of lifting up not how many he is able to put down and intimidate.

Real wealth is in the quality of people you lift up not in your material possession. Most wealths disappear with their founders, it is only wealths built around human beings that outlive their founders. The concept of limited liability especially public limited liability is built around this reasoning.

Nnewi can only develop when the people prioritize political leadership over mundane financial and economic considerations. It is even worse when a greedy prince sees traditional authority as an avenue for personal enrichment rather than service to the people.

If Nnewi people are not the political leader, they should be in the political leadership with the vision to maximize the welfare of the their people through the provision of public goods.

Above all, as I have already said, Nnewi people should imbibe the art of humility and increase their emotional and social intelligence because they need others to grow.

Sadly, I can see some people falling over themselves to shamelessly be in the good books of some of some aggrieved moneybags.

While I detest showing disrespect to others whether rich or poor, rich people should stop throwing their weights around.

After all, it is the same God who in the Ten Commandments admonished children to always honor their parents that also warned parents to desist from provoking their children.

We need love and conviviality amongst us not hate and attrition. What I am saying is that everyone deserves respect because respect is reciprocal.

We should not use a WhatsApp platform meant for enlightened discourse to promote eye service and build a cult of personalities based on wealth.

People are very dishonest, they say sweet things about wealthy men in public only to define them in derogatory terms in private.

I advise that they should shun hypocrisy and eye service and be truthful always. One should learn to respect boundaries no matter the circumstances of the other’s material endowment.

People should realize that you do not get rich by running down rich people but by giving them their due respect and courtesies should not be elevated to hero worshiping. Being a wealthy man should not be seen as a license to engage in egregious conducts.

People, whether rich or poor should conduct themselves within the realms of decent and acceptable behaviors. We should be conscious of the fact that richness is an act of providence and respecting those whom God has blessed is not out of place but you must not worship them because they are not God.

The respect of other people’s rights is important knowing that your rights ends where mine begins. In the final analysis, all is vanity.

I have not seen a person who refused to die at his appointed time because of his wealth or poverty. I have also not seen a dead man wake up because the richest and most important personalities attended his funerals. The sudden death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah should bring this thesis nearer home.

*Godson O. Moneke is a polymath who holds degrees, diplomas and certificates in many disciplines. He is the author of the bestseller, NNEWI (AgbaN’ano). He wrote from Abuja.

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Analysis

APGA VS ADC: Can We Learn From Justina Azuka’s Defeat to Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe?

By Ifeanyi Chijioke

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Mimi Ifeoma Azikiwe

The Onitsha North Constituency 1 bye-election has come and gone, but the lessons learned from this election should be revisited. It should be used as a standard for future elections.

As opinion makers, writers must exercise caution when endorsing controversial views, as they may influence future standards. We have a duty to shape the future of our region politically, and it starts with getting the right people on board. Continuing with who needs to be continued with and dropping who needs to be dropped irrespective of emotion and emotionally charged interests.

I decided to touch this topic because we have not learned from experience, and one who can’t learn from experience will hardly learn. Politics should be devoid of emotion. Politics should be anchored on calculated people’s interest. When faced with a diamond’s brilliance, you wouldn’t choose silver, bound by its sentimental hold.

My good friend (writer) took a surprising decision I never imagined he would take by not only supporting Mrs. Azuka but whipping up emotional politics and choosing emotion over commonsense. It got to a point of accusing someone of murder, just to take advantage of public opinion.

Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe, in all ramifications, was a better candidate compared to others. She was the only one who could make a real difference in people’s lives and stand up for what they care about. None could stand with her in education, exposure, desire to impact lives, love for the people, service to humanity, and sacrifice for humanity. It’s a no-brainer, and neither is it a secret. It’s not rocket science; even the blind could feel the difference.

It’s my first time seeing my friend prefer emotion to facts and substance. He couldn’t give a simple reason Mrs. Justina Azuka was better placed to represent the people of Onitsha North Constituency 1; rather, his only reason was that her husband died and she should complete her husband’s tenure.

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By completing the tenure, he is saying the widow should get the salaries and financial bonuses left of her husband’s term. He is not saying the woman has the capacity to offer anything to the people but that we should be emotional and allow her to take the remaining money due for her husband’s term. It’s unbelievable, so it’s no longer about getting the right people into power to bring the needed change we desire.

When did political office become a condolence gift? Mrs. Azuka came up against a philanthropist whose election would benefit the people, and my colleague chose to emotionally back Mrs. Azuka to the detriment of the people. All of a sudden, he abandoned what is good for the people for partisan politics and emotion.

We should exercise caution in our words and writings to prevent exacerbating the challenges faced by our people. We need to vote based on merit to be able to tackle the backwardness we experience today in the country. No one should vote or support based on emotion.

For instance, many in the Southeast support Mr. Peter Obi to become the president of Nigeria because they trust his ability and his capacity compared to his counterparts, just like Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe was above other candidates in the bye-election

Then all of a sudden (God forbid), the presidential seat becomes vacant, and the opportunity comes for Peter Obi to occupy it, but my colleague wakes up and starts preaching the need for us to have sympathy and compensate the wife of the occupier.

I saw people talking about Mrs. Azuka being compensated, and that quickly drew me to the question as to what the people talking about compensation really know about politics and opportunity. Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe is a diamond we can’t afford to miss. She is unique, and it’s written all over her – she is a people’s representative.

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So, they know politics is about financial compensation, about permitting individuals to gain at the detriment of the public, about emotionally giving someone the opportunity to take what she doesn’t merit because she lost something. It’s a gift – in this case – a condolence gift. Imagine gambling with the fight for a better Nigeria.

Even those I thought had something upstairs were on the bandwagon. And the most annoying aspect of it is when I ask them why they supported Mrs. Azuka to occupy the position, they said it was because her husband died in office.

Mrs. Justina Azuka placed a distant second in the Onitsha North Constituency 1 bye-election. Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe won the election by a discriminating margin—a landslide that didn’t reflect the noise and victim card of ADC.

Colleagues, why was there no coverage on fundraising efforts to support Mrs. Justina Azuka’s instead of a political condolence gift?

House of Assembly office is not only about making money; decisions that could make or mal lives are made there, and had you made the office a condolence gift package, it would have taken us backward in our political journey for a better tomorrow.

Nonetheless, what happened in Onitsha North Constituency 1 gives hope of a better tomorrow—knowing that the people are still able to make choices based on merit, and not emotion is something to be happy about.

My friends, the election is over; now is the time for a handshake in the spirit of brotherhood. We shake hands with mixed feelings; mine is sweet, while yours is bitter. Take it with a grain of salt—common sense prevailed in this election.

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The people of Onitsha North Constituency 1 are happy not because of personal interest, nor because of any interest; rather, because a good woman occupies the office based on merit and in the ultimate interest of the people.

I am happy because more prisoners unjustly imprisoned will be released and a new life given to them. I’m overjoyed that Ifeoma Azikiwe’s win will bring hope and relief to many facing challenges in our community.

Friends, it’s disheartening that your coverage of the Onitsha North Constituency 1 bye-election lacked insight, missing the chance to guide voters meaningfully. But the wise stood firmly for what is most suitable.

Mr. Azuka, may his soul rest in peace, died in the hands of kidnappers who have been rampaging the Southeast. While everyone condemned Hon. Justice Azuka’s murder by kidnappers, you amplified the politicization of this tragedy.

You could have embarked on fundraising for her instead of viciously smearing others. To end kidnapping etcetera, Governor Soludo went as far as establishing a security outfit. He opened skills acquisition for youths with start-up-funds to fight crime.

But in effort to use the Anambra State House of Assembly as a condolence gift, you, my friends, crossed lines and disgraced yourselves.

This same problem contributed to our mainstream political failure. Rather than thinking critically, we let emotions guide us and lost our way in the Onitsha North bye-election commentaries. Onitsha North Constituency 1 constituents have established a lead; we can learn from their desire for a better Onitsha- shun emotion and embrace merit.

The governorship election is coming, and even though the people have proved to be wiser than petty tantrums and lies, you people should change for good.

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Analysis

Of Canadian Court and Terrorist Branding of APC, PDP

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The branding of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as terrorist organisations has been followed by a repudiation of the Canadian court by officials of both parties. In doing so, they ignored the fact that action begets reaction.

This is a truth that has been tested and upheld over the centuries. Like they say, there cannot be smoke without fire. But one truth is eternal here –the fact that the world has become a village where everyone knows, and observes, what the other is doing.

Both APC and PDP may deny the facts as upheld by the Canadian court, but public perception, within Nigeria, tend to show that both parties have, in their expression of political power, progressively abused democratic rights, and infringed on the people’s right to violence-free elections as well as destroyed the people’s right to freedom to enjoy the proceeds of their willfully cast votes.

These acts may add up to what defines terrorism in the mind of the Canadian court, and under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). After all, the simple definition of terrorism is “the use of violence and intimidation especially for political purposes to instill fear and coerce governments or populations.”

It is further described as “a calculated method aimed at achieving specific political social or ideological goals by creating a climate of fear.”

These understandings indicate that terrorism can be perpetrated by individuals groups or even state institutions.

The Canadian court may not have explicitly disclosed specific actions of APC and PDP governments that qualify them to be so branded, however, observed iinvolvement of their governments, and supporters, between 1999 and 2025, in the “subversion of democracy, political violence and electoral bloodshed” bring them within the context of the above definitions.

The Canadian court cannot, therefore, be wrong if, for instance, one takes into context the expressions of APC supporters in Lagos during the 2023 governorship elections.

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For instance, video recordings of MC Oluomo threatening Igbo people resident in Lagos with death if they stepped out to legitimately exercise their democratic rights in the governorship election, is still available on the internet.

It is also viewed by millions of people around the world including officials of the Canadian government.

This is just one of such cases. There are numerous others that qualify for assessment as terrorist actions for which no evidence exists of their repudiation by APC.

Canada’s IRPA sections 34(1)(b.1) and 34(1)(f), bar individuals affiliated with organizations engaged in terrorism or subversion of democratic processes.

The court, presided over by Justice Phuong Ngo, upheld the Immigration Appeal Division’s (IAD) findings that both the APC and PDP were implicated in “political violence, subversion of democracy, and electoral bloodshed.”

The ruling cited instances of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation, and killings during the 2003 state elections and 2004 local government polls, under the PDP’s tenure.

That is now extended to the APC based on similar patterns of electoral misconduct.

That provides logical grounds to conclude at mere membership in either PDP or APC, regardless of personal involvement in violent acts, was sufficient grounds to trigger the labeling.

What this indicates is that the eyes of the world are upon Nigeria, and its political leaders no longer need to go on behaving like Nigeria is an island ostracized from the world, existing on its own and for itself only as their actions, may trigger reactions, like the instant one from the Canadian court, which could be expressed under national security interest and the protection of democracy.

The Canadian court’s decision hints us that Nigeria’s elections, even as seen in last weekend’s bye-elections, constitute a breach of democratic processes under Canada’s legal standards.

It is for Nigerians to understand that actions such as electoral violence, voter suppression, and manipulation of the electoral process are translated as subversion and meet the threshold for terrorism under Canada’s IRPA.

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This contrasts with Nigeria’s local context, where electoral violence, voter suppression and intimidation as well as other electoral infractions, though criminal, are often normalized as part of a ruling party’s prerogative, and show of popularity.

APC and PDP collectively control the presidency, governorships, and majorities in the National Assembly and state legislatures since 1999.

The terrorist label on them, even if limited to Canada’s immigration law, risks undermining their legitimacy. This is made worse by the fact that Nigeria’s politics is already plagued by public distrust with citizens viewing politicians as corrupt, lawless and self-serving.

For the APC, which has been Nigeria’s ruling party since 2015, the designation could embolden opposition narratives that portray it as a terrorist-enabling regime linked to violence and authoritarian dictates.

The PDP, as the main opposition, faces similar challenges, as the ruling reinforces perceptions of its past governance from 1999 to 2015, which was also marred by electoral rascalism and manipulation.

The implication is that this could erode public confidence in both parties, and potentially drive voters away from them and to new platforms like the African Democracy Congress (ADC) or strengthen the call for independent candidates in future elections.

The ruling also has the capacity to deter politically active Nigerians, particularly youths, from joining or remaining affiliated with either APC or PDP.

Guess this is why both parties have rushed to dismiss the ruling through press statements without any further action to have it set aside or make commitments about concrete steps that they would take to prove that the Canadian court was wrong.

Young Nigerians, who may be out in search of asylum in Canada, may be discouraged from identifying with the APC or PDP, or even to talk about their previous engagements with the parties with Canadian authorities as that may trigger fear of habouring dangerous persons with a history of association with a terrorist group thus jeopardizing their future prospects.

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This may also extend to foreign jurisdictions who may have such legal understandings that could make them to uphold the judgement of Canada’s courts.

This is part of the danger ahead, which could also negatively affect Diasporan Nigerians who identify with both parties causing them to suffer such things as visa denials, asylum rejections, or travel bans.

There is also the possibility that countries, which have legal understandings with Canada, may also adopt the ruling into their own legal jurisdictions.

If this happens, APC and PDP leaders, or members, could be effectively isolated from global opportunities and labeled terrorists and denied certain services like visa and other consular needs.

Besides, the ruling also implies critique of Nigeria’s democracy as fundamentally flawed.

This could encourage international organizations and foreign governments to impose sanctions, monitor elections more closely, or withhold development aid tied to democratic governance.

If such are adopted, they could further destabilize Nigeria’s political environment, and make it more difficult for the APC and PDP to project stability and legitimacy

Canada could also be seen as precipitating a diplomatic row with Nigeria with the ruling, which has the tendency to prompt retaliatory measures or diplomatic tensions while also discouraging diaspora Nigerians from openly affiliating with both parties.

This may negatively affect financial contributions and advocacy for both parties from the Nigerian diaspora.

This is particularly critical for APC, which had leveraged diaspora support to bolster its international image as a reformist party.

The PDP, which seeks to regain power, may also struggle to mobilize diaspora support because its members who fear immigration repercussions may go underground and withdraw support for it.

This, therefore, indicates that both parties may have to work together to appeal against the decision and show cause why they need not be branded as terrorist groups. They must not just verbally dismiss the ruling.

(The Sun).

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Analysis

Anambra Human Rights Violations: The NYSC And State Governors of Jennifer Edema Elohor And Her Fellow Corps Members 

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By Frank Tietie

A disturbing incident occurred recently in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, where operatives of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, also known as Operation Udo Ga-Achi, assaulted a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member named Jennifer Edema Elohor and her colleagues.

A viral video, shared by the Haven 360 Foundation on August 18, 2025, showed armed vigilantes storming a corps members’ lodge, accusing them of being internet fraudsters (“yahoo people”) despite the victims presenting valid NYSC identification cards and uniforms.

In the footage, Jennifer Edema Elohor was beaten, stripped naked, and left covered in blood, subjected to humiliating and sexually degrading threats.

The Anambra State Government condemned the assault as “unacceptable” and confirmed that the operatives involved were arrested and detained pending investigation. The Anambra State Police Command is also investigating the case.

However, the incident has not sparked the expected public outrage, including calls for justice and compensation for the victims, as seen in the recent case of Comfort Emmanson, the unfortunate assault victim at the hands of Ibom Air attendants.

Perhaps since Haven 360 was discreet in sharing the video of the naked girls without revealing cleavages, there are yet to be announcements of compensation from good Nigerian males to the young women who were brutally beaten and sexually humiliated by a band of non-state actors who have had the tacit support and endorsement of the Anambra State Government.

However, more importantly, recently, the amiable Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, set a new trend by taking responsibility for the actions of Vigilante Group members who killed 16 travellers from Northern Nigeria, particularly Kano State, as they were passing through Uromi in Edo State on a supposed hunting trip.

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As tempers flared across Northern Nigeria over the Uromi killings, the smart Edo Governor chose the responsible course of action by visiting the people of Kano State, not only to apologise and seek forgiveness on behalf of the Edo people but also to offer significant compensatory payments to the victims’ families. That was a masterstroke in responsible governance.

In Anambra, where young female graduates deployed to the state on a mandatory national youth service were targeted and attacked by a barbaric group of untrained and uneducated village men operating as a state-sanctioned security outfit because the state government could not guarantee security for the people, Nigerians, the NYSC, and the Federal Government must demand accountability from Governor Charles Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State.

Communities across Nigeria have long taken pride in accepting and caring for NYSC members serving the children and women of their communities as medical doctors, school teachers, agricultural extension service providers, etc.

A group of uneducated village men, armed with unrestrained power and intoxicated by illegal local authority, would easily stereotype these upscale NYSC girls serving in their communities as “yahoo yahoo people” because of their relatively urbane lifestyles compared to those of the villagers.

This must be a massive embarrassment to the people of Anambra and a call to review the NYSC Act to ensure the security of Corps members and to blacklist hostile communities and, by extension, some states and their people.

Returning to responsible governance, Governor Soludo must apologise to the NYSC and the Federal Government on behalf of the Anambra people.

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Even if the girls were culpable for a reason, the way they were sexually and physically abused is unacceptable by minimum legal standards.

The administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, as part of its duty to protect the well-being of Delta State residents like Jennifer Edema Elohor, must demand accountability on her behalf.

It should also ensure that the investigation reaches a proper conclusion, that the offenders are punished, and that suitable compensation is provided to the victims. The same procedures should be followed for other female corps members who were victims of the brutal assault.

The attorneys general of the states from which the corps members originate and the National Human Rights Commission must offer the necessary legal advice and support to enable the corps members to receive adequate compensation if their rights have indeed been violated by the so-called vigilance group of Anambra State.

In our pursuit to enhance Nigeria’s living standards, we must emphasise individual rights and well-being as the foundation of governance and development.

Frank Tietie, Esq.

Development Lawyer and Media Personality,

Writes from Abuja

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Analysis

All Roads Lead To Ikot Edibon For ARISE Town Square Meetings’ Finale

By Ofonime Honesty

Published

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By

The pre-event news has gone viral. The banners are up. The people are waiting. On Saturday the 23rd of August, 2025, the Arise Town Square Meeting storms Nsit Ubium Local Government Council Grounds in Ikot Edibon.

It is the culmination of the epochal town square meetings and empowerment series convened by Governor Umo Bassey Eno across the ten Federal Constituencies in Akwa Ibom State.

The marathon of accountability and people-powered dialogue, which commenced in Abak-Etim Ekpo-Ika Federal Constituency in March 2025, berths in Etinan-Nsit Ibom-Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency, the home turf of His Excellency, the Governor.

It has been hectic and tedious, but do not expect a governor limping to the grand finale, weary and spent. Believe me, he will arrive bristling with confidence, joy, and high watts of energy, armed with a scorecard of promises kept, and ready for the people’s verdict.

This is not a jamboree; it is a day of accountability and massive empowerment for the people of the three Local Government Areas.

It will also be a moment of reckoning. The microphone, as it has been in other federal constituencies, belongs to the governed. Methinks the ARISE Town Square Meetings have proven that governance is a conversation, not a monologue. And on Saturday, thousands will throng the expansive Nsit Ubium Local Government Council Grounds for this all-important meeting.

Time for the meeting is 1:00 PM. See you there!

*(Ofonime Honesty hails from Ikot Udobia Community in Etinan LGA)*

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Analysis

Open Letter to Rev. Father Ebube Mounso

Published

on

Ebube Mounso

By Ifeanyi Chijioke

 

Dear Rev,

Firstly, I want to loudly and emphatically relay the message: Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe won the election. You personally threatened voters with death.

The threat to not vote for APGA etcetera in Onitsha North Constituency 1 because of the ADC candidate came from your pulpit, and usually, our people fearfully listen and obey commands from the pulpit. But this time, they disobeyed and chose a kindhearted woman over you.

Rev., somebody might not have shared this blunt truth with you, so now listen up: the more you engage in this kind of vindictive politics, the more you lose relevance. The more you issue threats of death and the people don’t die, the more you abuse your pulpit and expose yourself.

Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe won, and the people didn’t vote ADC. Today, I am still waiting for the count of those who died because they didn’t vote ADC. Rev. The earlier you realize that your battle is spiritual and not physical, the better for you.

There is a religious revolution that swept across the Southeastern part of Nigeria; gone are the days religious leaders sheepishly control the people. Stop living in your imagination; politics is not religion.

Rev., you built schools with the money of the poor and rich who attend your church, but you made the schools outrageously expensive for the poor and average, yet the people who fight to build alternative schools where the poor and average can attend are being fought by you.

I am not saying you shouldn’t have your opinion or belong to a political party or cabal of your choice, but learn to be godly and be principled.

READ ALSO:  LGBTQ controversy in Nigeria ~ by Charles Ude

Stop threatening the people who disagree with you with ineffective spirituality or religion. Stop the dance of disgrace and shame. Stop the grandstanding and be principled for once.

Finally, let me bring to your notice that people online have been insulting you and making a mockery of you. They are saying that a woman floored you. They are saying that Mimiy Ifeoma Azikiwe is a class your money and threats couldn’t shake.

They said nobody takes you seriously anymore because you have disgraced yourself and rolled yourself on the muddy ground of church politics.

Your close associates might be fearful to tell you that you are destroying everything left of you, but it’s alright; you can accept it with a pinch of salt from me. You are truly destroying everything left of you.

Today is still early. You can make amends and reach out to those you offended or are warring with. Make peace with everyone and diplomatically go about the business of politics.

As a Rev. Father, you have the right to vote and be voted for. You have the right of association—to belong to any political party. But you don’t have the right to threaten the electorate under the guise of religion.

The people will continue to vote based on their convictions and scorecards of candidates, and not based on your pulpit threats and religious leanings.

Thanks.

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