A Place Nd'Igbo Conducted Business Becomes Kaiser Permanente

At a time, it was called the Santa Barbara Plaza sitting on the four square Mid-City streets - Santa Barbara Boulevard, Marlton Avenue, Santa Rosalia Drive and Hillcrest Drive. Santa Barbara Blvd. had been renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in honor of the Civil Rights leader.

Now Marlton Square and once the hub of small businesses run by Igbo entrepreneurs and other Los Angeles area local merchants, and going through a lot of changes by way of ownership and management over the last twenty years, coupled with ups and downs in the plaza's business-related affairs and the city's engagements, the plaza, Marlton Square, finally reached its destination.

Before this new development, Victor Ahaiwe ran a discount store in the complex while reaching an encroachment deal, capitalized and relocated. Felicia Okereke ran a church ministry and rented her spot for Igbo-related gatherings and parties - wake-keepings, wedding receptions, graduation parties, baby showers, bachelor night parties, Igbo community conventions, money-making related errands, Friday and Sunday night prayer meetings, and the list goes on and on, and on - before she was also settled and relocated. Charles Anyadike operated a counselling church helping folks to renew their lives. Leo Uzoka once ran a tax and accounting offices in the complex. Justine Ezeanioma owned a book club (African Book Club) which he leased for a series of Igbo-related parties and conventions.

Also, still sitting there are: Jerry's Flying Fox Lounge, a soul food restaurant and blues night club; Joy Gene's Personal Touch Hair Styling Salon; Affordable Black Art; Oran's International Studios, The Oran Z Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum; Black History Arts & Culture Center, offices and other small businesses that had served the community in the last three decades.

In my interview with Oran Z who owns the Oran Z chains of franchises about four years ago, he wasn't sure when his settlement would be finally reached in order for him to relocate since the encroachment did not meet to his demands. Oran Z is still in the facility while half of the complex has been demolished.

As part of his regular updates to city dwellers, Councilmember Bernard C. Parks, 8th District, whose job development programs leads the city in job creations, has over the months been sending information through his Twitter and Facebook accounts including newspapers within and around the City of Los Angeles on his office' newer projects by way of bringing development to the community. Parks, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and Commercial Mortgage Managers and only owner still standing while previous owner Earvin "Magic" Johnson missed the opportunity for redevelopment with the development group Capital Vision Equities, the square has been going through stages of construction starting from the demolition process which was begun in the summer of 2011.

So, as it has happened through consultations and related surveys carried out by the area's university students (UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount, Charles Drew University, etc.) on the possibilities of a healthcare facility in the community, Parks, last Thursday, announced a new tenant - Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser closing escrow at the 4000 block of Marlton Avenue will be opening outpatient medical office buildings.

"When we talked to Kaiser, the said the reason this site was so important for them is because it is in the heart of their membership pool and it is also in the heart of the community, which needs medical insurance," Parks said signalling a sign of relief. Also, there were remarks by former Congresswoman Diane Watson; Commissioner Valerie Shaw; Jamie Brooks who played a significant role in securing Kaiser as a tenant and other guests.

Finally, with all the speculations of Magic building one of his empires at Marlton Square and after missed opportunities though, Councilmember Bernard Parks Community Projects to create more jobs has kicked off and Kaiser Permanente is the new tenant on the 4000 block of Marlton Avenue.

The Ambrose Ehirim-Apollos Nwauwa Q & A Interview

Dr Apollos Nwauwa's teaching and research focus on modern Africa, especially colonial and post-colonial, intellectual and diaspora history. His published works include Imperialism, Academe, and Nationalism: Britain and University Education for Africans, 1860-1960 (London: Frank Cass, 1997), several book chapters, and numerous peer-reviewed scholarly articles featured in international journals including Anthropos (Germany); Cahiérs D'Études Africaines (France); Africa Quarterly( India); Journal of Asian and African Studies (Israel); History in Africa (USA); Canadian Journal of African Historical Studies (Canada); Ife Journal of History (Nigeria); Ufahamu (USA); and International Journal of African Studies (USA). Dr. Nwauwa serves on the editorial board of many journals and was Guest-Editor of special issue of the International Journal of African Studies in 2007. He is the President of Igbo Studies Association and recently coedited Against All Odds: The Igbo Experience in Post-Colonial Nigeria (Goldline & Jacobs Publishing, 2011). Dr Nwauwa is the Editor, Ofo: Journal of Transatlantic Studies.

Excerpts:

You and Ebere Onwudiwe worked on an important book, "Between Tradition and Change: Sociopolitical and Economic Transformation Among the Igbo of Nigeria." What inspired the project?

The publication of this book was inspired by the enduring commitment of contributors and co-editors to the growth and dissemination of serious scholarship on the Igbo. Between Tradition and Change was not initially begun as a book project per se; rather, it was the result of a scholarly dialogue by Igbo intellectuals about the historical, political, economic, social and cultural elements of the Igbo question. In 2005, Professor Ebere Onwudiwe, then Director of the National Resource Center for African Studies at Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio, invited prominent Igbo scholars for a conference on the Igbo ethno-political history with a view to understanding the place of the Igbo in the Nigerian political dispensation. The political situation in Nigeria at that time necessitated this conference. It was a time when the Igbo were debating the best way to fight what they saw as their systemic marginalization by successive regimes of the Nigerian state. It was the period when chatter on the Igbo role in national affairs (The Igbo Question) was hot, leading to a political environment ripe for the growth of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and the predictable hostile response of federal forces. At this point too, the role of Igbo intellectuals in national affairs came increasingly into question as they said or did very little on the Igbo question. The decline in national political influence mainly due to the civil war (1967-1970) undermined even the local authority of elders and traditional establishment in Igboland. Thus, the lack of national voice was gradually spilling over into an attenuation of the socio-political cohesion in Igbo land. Although the papers from this conference were published in a special issue of the International Journal of African Studies in 2007 for which I was guest editor, we felt that these quality papers deserved wider circulation and readership. Thus, Between Tradition and Change came about; it provides a detailed and insightful account of the transformation of Igbo society, politics and economy since the period of European contact. The Igbo experience demonstrates how internal and global factors gave rise to new dynamics of change as African societies engaged with the Western world and developments in the new global arena

How do you perceive the Igbo of today and the Igbo of yesteryears. What changed dramatically by way of cultural heritage?

To some extent, the Igbo have remained true to their roots; however, what has changed is the way they have responded to the vagaries and challenges of the modern Nigerian state. Just as cultural heritage of any society can be enduring, it can also be lost if not properly harnessed and preserved. Like other societies, the Igbo have adopted and adapted to new forces of change while striving to retain important elements of their indigenous society. They pride themselves as being the most de-tribalized Nigerians. This mindset has its own pros and cons. On the one hand, it is the only way migrant Igbo can fit into their host communities. De-tribalization has not really helped the Igbo in the Nigerian context. It did not help the political future of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe very much nor is it helping the current Igbo leadership in Igboland and in Abuja. Instead, it diminishes Igbo cultural heritage since the Igbo concentrates on how to fit into everyone else’s but their own culture. Thus, relations between the Igbo nation, other ethnic nationalities and the Nigerian state in the postcolonial period have been marked by intense conflicts and contestation for political and economic control. This tension, culminating in the Nigeria-Biafra war, introduced new significant currents that shape Igbo society today and her relationship to Nigeria and the global community. Yet, despite some strains and shifts in their traditional institutions, the Igbo remain well-equipped to address issues facing them as a nation within contemporary Nigerian society. The key to a meaningful progress centers around a visionary leadership in the spirit of the dictum: Show the Light and the People Will Follow.

What is the Igbo Diaspora not doing right in terms of influencing decisions back home to effect change, using its background of living in a thorough system and an organized society?

Contrary to what many think, the Igbo Diaspora is not really a homogenous, coherent group. Like other ethnic nationalities in the USA, the Igbo Diaspora consists of peoples from all walks of life separated by everything and only united by the fact that they are all Igbo. Serious social class disparity exists between them; therefore, presenting a united front in influencing or engineering actions at home continues to be a challenge. Just as it is at home in reaching consensus, so it is, if not worse, in the Diaspora. Indeed, it is in the Diaspora that the Igbo maxim: Igbo-Enwe-Eze manifests strongly and often in a negative and counterproductive fashion. Worsening this dictum is the callous application of the American principles of American freedom of expression and choice. The World Igbo Congress effort in providing a common forum has often been bedeviled with challenges crisis within the organization itself, making difficult for any meaningful collective ideas and actions that will influence affairs at home. Thus, what can safely be said is that whatever influences, real or imagined, that the Igbo in Diaspora are making center on individual rather than a collective action. The Igbo Studies Association, though a scholarly/professional organization, is already in the process of forming an action committee that will liaise with colleagues at home in moving the Igbo forward in political, economic, and social-cultural spheres. Yet, the difficult part is to define the meeting points and boundaries between politics and scholarship.

On Igbo women in politics, it seems to be a level playing ground coupled with a changing world. Are the women becoming relative to the cultural and political culture in Igbo land? And what's your take on that?

Women’s participation in politics, like in other callings, is now a global phenomenon, and the Igbo have not been left out. Despite that British colonialism scuttle the progress that women made in pre-colonial Igbo society, the post-independence era has increasingly witnessed the steady progress in women empowerment in Nigerian politics. It has become the rule now rather than exception that list of commissioners and major political appointments must include women. Although there is still a long way to go, the Igbo has not done too badly compared with other ethnicities. Although the Igbo have produced female federal lawmakers in both Senate and House of Representatives, and state lawmakers and deputy governors, no woman has yet been elected as chief executive of any of the five states in Igboland. Igbo women are doing much better in appointive spots compared with elective positions. I do believe that with time, this anomaly will be rectified through more education, awareness, and recognition of the boundless leadership skills of Igbo women.

In 1997, you published a scholarly text " Imperialism, Academe and Nationalism: Britain and University Education for Africans 1860-1960.” You did research on 100 years of British Empire and education in Africa. Analysis on British Empire is almost everywhere and had been written in many forms. What was the need for the book?

Debate on the nature of British rule in Africa, especially their colonial education policy, is one that will never go away. Different scholars approach the issue from varying perspective based on new research and vantage points. Initially, we were misled into almost believing hook and sinker that British colonial education policy was instituted for the benefit of Africans. As new research became available, much of the conclusions that glorified colonial education as benevolent have been challenged. My work on Britain and university education falls under this revisionist history. It demonstrated that western education was the most seductive form of British“cultural imperialism” especially Africans realized that university education opened up prospects for economic advancement, individual dignity, and would ultimately provide the keys to political power and self-government.
From 1860s, African demand for a university in West Africa was frustrated by the British until 1948 when they created four universities – in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Gold Coast. My research was geared towards providing answers as to why the British rejected the university idea at first through the 1930 only to move swiftly in favor of it in the post-World War II period. Initially, the British worried about the place which the highly education African would occupy under colonial rule that depended on collaboration with traditional rulers under the indirect rule system and the fact that the highly education African elite would be difficult to assuage and control. In the meantime, Africans returning from America with higher education were proving to be too radicalized based on their racial experiences in the USA, and Britain was getting apprehensive about more Africans going to America for university education. London now felt that a British-run university education system in Africa would make it easier to mold the African character. Furthermore, the post-war circumstances ushered in a new era of fervent nationalist movements in Africa to which Britain could not forestall. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, it is my conclusion in this book that British effort to “manage nationalism” by producing a core of African elite imbued with British tradition and values that the British took on the expensive project of creating four universities in Africa in 1948 with mostly British taxpayers’ money. Existing studies on university education in colonial Africa did not engage in this aspect of my analysis and that's what makes my book unique.

Based on the text, and compared to now, what are the significant changes in independent Africa today with a fallen-in-standard educational system?

In the period following independence, there were no significant changes to the colonial education system that African countries inherited from their former European colonial powers. In those African countries that were formerly under French rule such as Senegal and Cote D’Ivoire, the French education system was retained downright. The same scenario was replicated in former British colonies such as Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, etc. While the curriculum in terms of subject areas may have been altered a bit to reflect the new era of independence, much of the pedagogical approaches remained essentially the same. However, the standard of education in each country has been proportional to the level of economic condition and political stability of the respective countries. In corruption-ridden economies with rogue leadership such as Nigeria, the standard of education had fallen proportionately. When Ghana’s economy came to its knees in the 1970s followed by political failures, Ghanaian standard of education collapsed proportionately. That is exactly where Nigeria finds itself today. Therefore, any solution to falling standard of education must first begin with stabilizing the economy and ending political corruption in government and the educational system.

What had caused the failure of the school systems in Africa today?

As stated earlier, falling standard of education has little to do with the system itself but has everything to do with the level of socio-economic and political situation in a country. When a country is faced with high level of unemployment for university graduates, poor pay for university teachers, lack of financial resources on the part of parents, and government neglect of education, the attendant consequence will be falling standard and system failure. The lack of accountability on the part of government officials infects educational institutions, administrators and teachers and thereby leaving the students and their parents more vulnerable. I do not believe that any country with such chaotic political and epileptic economy as Nigeria can realistically sustain high standard of education at any level.

Studying at Bendel State University, Ekpoma, one would expect you'd settle in Nigeria and provide your services for the country. What compelled you to leave for services elsewhere?

After completing my NYSC in Kaduna State in 1987, I was recalled and employed by my alma mater, Bendel State University, Ekpoma, as graduate assistant. I taught there for one year before leaving the country for further studies in Canada. After completing my doctorate in 1993 and getting ready to return back to Ekpoma, I noticed that even some of my lecturers and colleagues there were leaving for overseas in droves. The Nigerian economy had entered into a downward spiral and the political leadership had also entered into a major carnival of corruption that friends and family members persuaded not to return immediately until things get better. Thus instead of returning to Nigeria, I accepted an offer from the USA as an assistant professor in African history in one of their universities. At first, I thought this stay would be very brief but I was proved wrong when the political saga of the Babangida-Shonekan-Abacha triad pushed Nigeria deeper into political and economic uncertainties. Soon, I began to take my stay in the USA one year at a time. Twenty years and I am still counting. What a shame! That I am still in the USA today is an indication that Nigeria has yet to get the country in order.

There is the Nigerian Association of Greater Toledo. Tell me about it.

The simplest cure for nostalgia for many immigrants in foreign lands is to seek to replicate the socio-cultural practices at home in their new place of abode. The Nigerian Association of Greater Toledo was founded to fulfill this need. I served as the vice president of this Association for four years, and president for another two years. Formed in 2003, the Nigerian Association of Greater Toledo (NAGT) is a socio-cultural organization dedicated to the progress and vitality of the Nigerian community in the Greater Toledo area of Ohio. As the number of Nigerians in the community increased especially in the last few years, it became necessary to have an enrichment forum where issues of importance to members and their community will be received, considered and acted upon collectively. It was against this backdrop that NAGT was formed. Highlights of our mission include: To work cooperatively with public and private agencies, businesses, industries and community organizations on issues beneficial to members and the larger community; to foster unity and good relationship between and among Nigerians and members of other communities and citizens of Greater Toledo; to promote social, educational, cultural and economic interests of Nigerians both here and in Nigeria; and to educate and share with our children and the Greater Toledo community on the beauty and riches of the Nigerian tapestry of cultures and languages.

What would you say the organization has accomplished from the time it was established?

The success of every organization is measured against its stated goals and objectives. Despites its relative young age, the Association has already made its marks in Toledo and its environs through its socio-cultural, community and diversity activities as it continues to fulfill the goals for which it was constituted. The Association has united Nigerians in the Greater Toledo area into a vibrant community that caters for the welfare of its members while contributing to the socio-cultural and economic development of Toledo and its neighboring communities. Plans are underway for scholarship fund launching to help those in need.

I read about the Nigerian Cultural Heritage House. Is the structure in place now? If not, what's going on?

No, the Nigerian Heritage House has not yet become a reality although the idea lives on. The number of Nigerians living in the Toledo area is quite small compared to other larger cities in Ohio such as Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Therefore, to raise the funds that can help to procure and sustain the Heritage House remains quite a challenge. But given the progress we have made in terms of fund-raising so far, it is only a matter of time in no distant future for us to realize our Heritage project. The worse thing an organization such as ours can do is to hastily commit to a major real estate project without proper planning and readiness in terms of resources.

Let's talk about the current situation in Nigeria. It has the same resemblance of the past. What's your take on that?

Undoubtedly, history seems to be repeating itself in Nigeria. It is like déjà vu all over again!Just like the 1960s crises that culminated in the civil war, the national polity is at the brinks again denoted by ethnic and sectarian tension and violence; mayhem and wanton killing of innocent people, especially the Igbo, fleeing the north for safety; government inability to stop the violence and bring perpetrators to justice; segments of the country feel that it is their birthright to rule Nigeria in perpetuity; and the call for sovereign national conference. Government officials have once again engaged in a carnival of corruption while the masses wallow in economic despair; power-sharing is detested and equal economic and political opportunities for all has become an aberration. All these social and political vices were the same scenarios that resulted in the crises of the 1960s. Observers fear that Nigeria may be heading toward total disintegration. While some would quip that we have been there before and Nigeria is still standing, others would argue that circumstances have changed as the country seems to be in more precarious situation with several cracks at its unity than the 1960 era.

What's your thought on the country's future?

Stability in Nigeria can only be assured if Nigerians themselves agree on the basic elements of national unity and the need to be united as one country. Forced and false unity does not always work. This seems to have been the case with Nigeria. Nigeria as a country was patchwork cobbled together by the British imperial governor, Lord Frederick Lugard, in 1914. From then on, successive British colonial governors of Nigeria instituted several constitutional revisions towards creating what they hoped would become a perfect union. This did not materialize before nationalist movement forced them to quickly retreat and transferred power to Nigerians. Since then, the ghost of the Lugardian patchwork has continued to haunt Nigeria and its successive leadership.

For Nigeria to resolve this lingering existential impasse, the inauguration of the sovereign national conference has become an absolute necessity. This conference will bring all the various ethnic nationalities in the country to a bargaining table to: 1. resolve to be a part of the union called Nigerian; 2. agree to the unity and inviolability of the union; 3. agree on ethnic or regional economic and political power-sharing principles; 4. agree on a federal system of government in which states have more power to legislate provided it did not negate the powers of the union; 5. resolve and recognize the separation of religion and state; 6. resolve the oil derivation and revenue sharing formula; and other matters. Part of this will be an understanding that these resolutions are only subject to alteration after 50 years. It is during this discussion that any group that does not want to be a part of Nigeria should have the opportunity to opt out or be persuaded to stay. This may seem like a recipe for disintegration but one cannot underestimate the power of negotiation. Once these agreements are reached and signed into law, a violation of any part of the contract by any constituent groups will be a crime against the Nigerian state.

Your thoughts on Nd'Igbo cultural and political future?

Unlike other ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo are a people that have done less to promote their culture and nurture their political influence. Language is a major feature of a people’s culture. Out of the three major ethnicities in Nigeria, the Igbo come up the rear when it comes to nurturing their language. A typical Igbo person takes pride in his/her ability to speak other languages other than Igbo. Challenge and education Igbo in the Igbo language, and you see the extent of the problem. In this sense, Igbo cultural future is in danger of extinction just as the Igbo language is in trouble.

Politically, the Igbo political influence in Nigeria has not fully recovered since the outbreak of the Nigeria civil war. In some quarters, it was partly the fear of Igbo domination that led to the mass killing of the Igbo in 1966 resulting in the Nigerian civil war. Since the war ended, although there was the much-talked about “no victor, no vanquished”, it was clear that all hands were on deck in many parts of Nigeria to ensure that the Igbo never rose in political influence again. It has been a struggle ever since; that partly explained why the most respected and influential national politician in the name of Nnamdi Azikiwe lost the 1979 presidential election to the little known Shehu Shagari. It is now 42 years since the end of the civil war and no Igbo person has ruled Nigeria as an executive president. While the Igbo are aware of this problem, they should begin to strategize on how to be relevant again. But unless the current Igbo leadership abandon internal bickering, selfishness and “pull him down” syndrome, and present a united front, the political future of the Igbo will continue to be in disarray.

Nd'Igbo are not writing enough about their history and I'm afraid Igbo history will one day disappear as a result. What should be done?

Just as the Igbo language is under the threat of extinction so is the Igbo history/studies. Both require urgent attention. Currently, enough studies and writings are not being carried out on Igbo history, culture and tradition for a number of major reasons: First, the Igbo no longer have enough historians; secondly, the available historians would rather focus on other fields/areas of study such as international relations where they hope to work as diplomat or secure a UN job that will do nothing about Igbo studies; and thirdly, the Igbo themselves neither pay attention nor support efforts for keeping the study of Igbo history and culture alive. It was more than a decade ago when Professor J. F. Ade Ajayi called upon Nigerians to cultivate a sense of history and to rediscover the value of history to nation-building and for the socio-political and economic development of the country. Ndi-Igbo have yet to heed to that call despite that it was the Igbo iconic historian, the late Professor K.O. Dike, who popularized the study of history not only in Nigeria but also in Africa as a whole. Other first class historians of Igbo extraction included J.C. Anene, Chieka Ifemesia, Adiele Afigbo and others. It is sad that the number of specialists in Igbo history have continued to shrink since the past ten years. Unless the Igbo begin to value their own history, recognize and patronize the works of their few existing historians, and encourage their children to value and read history in schools and universities, Igbo history will gradually disappear. As part of the effort to rekindle interest, southeastern governments should institute a commission on Igbo history, establish scholarships and essay contests on Igbo history at all levels of education in the states.

Tell me about Igbo Studies Association.

The Igbo Studies Association (ISA) was founded at the African Studies Association (ASA) Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 1999. The mission of the Association is to promote and encourage scholarship on IGBO history, culture and society in African studies; to forge intellectual links and network with scholars, policy makers, and activists inside and outside NIGERIA; to participate actively and collaboratively in continental and global debates with interested organizations in Nigeria, the U.S. and other countries on issues specifically relevant correlated to Igbo studies; to work actively for the promotion of Igbo language with interested organizations and/or institutions in diverse regions of the world. ISA holds an annual conference at Howard University in Washington, DC featuring numerous seasoned and young scholars working on topics relating to the Igbo. Participants come from Nigeria, USA, Canada and other parts of the world. So far, it is one of the strongest Associations dedicated to Igbo scholarship.

As President of Igbo Studies Association, what vital roles do you think should be played under your leadership to educate future Igbo leaders and role models?

Although it is true that the Igbo Studies Association, which I head as president, is not necessarily a political but a scholarly organization, I expect the Association to play a very prominent role in educating the political leadership in Ala-Igbo. Ideas generated by scholars on the political, social, economic and cultural life of the Igbo, if properly harnessed, will serve as reference points for Igbo leaders. Our hope is that with time, it will become absurd for anyone to present himself or herself for a leadership position in Igboland without an appreciable knowledge of aspects of the Igbo culture, history, and society. In recent times, the Igbo have abandoned education for quick money from dubious businesses and from political corruption. This sort of lifestyle contributes nothing meaningful to the general welfare of the people. Instead, it creates more avarice and crime. Life and property have become so unsafe in Igboland that prominent Igbo would rather stay in Hausaland and Yorubaland than visit their home towns and villages. But a well-educated person is an asset to the people, always finding ways to give back to society than to wreak havoc. The more education the Igbo are about their heritage and the need for genuine progress and development, the less likely they would turn to crime and avariciousness.

You and Chima Korieh wrote “Against All Odds: The Igbo Experience In Post-Colonial Nigeria.” Speaking of the ‘horrors of ethnic politics, civil war and the Igbo example of perseverance,’ the question here is, based on that perspective, did Igbo actually learn anything, looking at what had erupted over the months in Northern Nigeria?

Against All Odds is a scholarly book which explores the experiences of the Igbo in postcolonial Nigeria and evinces both the grim side of postcolonial politics in Nigeria, particularly the horrors of ethnic politics, civil war, and the Igbo example of perseverance and human potential to overcome dreadful conditions of such magnitude. The study illuminates the tension emanating from the enduring colonial legacies and their influences on Nigerian peoples and public life; it links socio-economic, cultural, and political events in Nigeria since the 1960s and the peculiar circumstances faced by the Igbo ethnic group with the continuing attempts to forge a more perfect nation state in which every constituent group is treated with fairness and equity. Yet, it has become increasingly more glaring that the Igbo did not gain or learn much from the horrors of the 1960s which resulted to the civil war. An important gain would have been the recognition of the Igbo as equal partners within the Nigerian political and economic contexts. But this has been quite elusive. It has been a little over 41 years since the end of the war and the phony declaration of “no victor, no vanquished,” yet no Igbo has ruled the country ever since. As at the moment, that possibility remained in the distant future. While it is true that the Igbo are partly to blame for their lack of organization and strategic coordination to attain this goal, there is no question that other ethnic groups, especially the bigger two, have some lingering reservations against an Igbo leadership of the country. It was only just recently that an army general of Igbo extraction was ever appointed as the chief of army staff since the end of the civil war. Yet, one wonders whether the Igbo have learned anything from the civil war. Although they are aware of the enduring animosity against them and the fact that they have not been fully accepted back into Nigeria, the Igbo assumed otherwise. Thus, they returned back to the North in droves only to become targets and victims of wanton killings again and again anytime their host communities got upset over often flimsy and mundane issues. Time and time again since the end of the war, the Igbo run back to the East only to return to run yet again. Who said the Igbo have learned from the civil war. Naively they still believe that hatred and animosity against them would disappear at dawn only to be disappointed at sunset.

Your teaching and research focuses on modern Africa. Is Africa developed by way of technology compared to the West and a fast-paced growing Asia? And if not, what seem to have been the problem?

When I use the term “modern Africa,” in my teaching and research, I focus on the period from 1800 to the present, and this encompasses the colonial and the post-colonial eras. Africa’s post-colonial condition is linked to its colonial past, and this colonial past laid the foundation for the development of Africa’s underdevelopment. There are a variety of indices of measuring a country’s or continent’s development and the lack of it. If development is defined as improvement in human welfare, quality of life and social wellbeing especially as they relate to technology, it can be argued that Africa is still a developing continent – the best way to state that the level of this development is low just as its pace is slow in comparison to the West and Asia. Technologically, Africa still remains a consumer rather than producer of technology. There is almost no type of technology you see in the West and Asia that you cannot find in Africa; the difference, however, is who produces the technology. Of course, it is the producers rather than the consumers that profit from it! Here lies the problem – colonial legacy, which created and continues to sustain unparalleled dependency syndrome in Africa. For example, Africa is one of the largest cell phone consumers today but how many of those phones are made or patented in Africa. None! It is also the low level of technology in Africa that compels Africans to ship their raw cocoa to the West only to turn around to buy chocolate that have been processed elsewhere with improved technology. Unfortunately, there is now no end to this economic pattern since under globalization, no continent or country can successfully close its door as Japan did in the eighteenth and nineteen centuries. Such isolationism in today’s world can only spell doom for a country since economic, social, and technological processes are intertwined in a complicated fashion with serious political consequences.

Utterances of Bigotry and Hatred against the Igbo, Northern Nigeria House of Assembly, Feb-March 1964

“On the allocations of plots to Ibos, or allocation of stalls I would like to advise the minister that these people know how to make money and we do not know the way and manner of getting about this business. We do not want Ibos to be allocated with plots, I do not want them to be given plots.”

---------------Mallam Muhammadu Mustapha Maude Gyari

“I would like you, as the Minister of land and Survey, to revoke forthwith all certificates of occupancy from the hands of the Ibos resident in the Region. [Applause from the assembly floor].

--------------Mallam Bashari Umaru

“I am very glad that we are in Moslem country, and the government of Northern Nigeria allowed some few Christians in the region, to enjoy themselves according to the belief of their religion, but building of hotels should be taken away from the Ibos and even if we find some Christians who are interested in building hotels and have no money to do so, the government should aid them, instead of allowing Ibos to continue with the hotels.”

--------------Mr. A. A. Agigede

“I am one of the strong believers in Nigerian unity, and I have hoped for our having a United Nigeria, but certainly if the present trend of affairs continues, then I hope the government will investigate first the desirability and secondly the possibility of extending the Northernization policy to the petty Ibo traders. [Applause].

--------------Prof. Iya Abubakar (special Member: Lecturer, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria)

“I would like to say something very important that the Minister should take my appeal to the federal government about the Ibos in the Post Office. I wish the members of these Ibos be reduced. There are too many of them in the North. They were just like sardines and I think they were just too dangerous to the region.”

---------------Mallam Mukhtar Bello

“Mr. Chairman, Sir, well, first and foremost, what I have to say before this honorable House is that we should send a delegate to meet our honorable Premier to move a Motion in this very Budget Session that all the Ibos working in the Civil Service of Northern Nigeria, including the native authorities, whether they are contractors, or not, should be repatriated at once.

--------------Mallam Ibrahim Muse
“There should be no contracts either from the government, native authorities, or private enterprises given to Ibo contractors. [Government Bench: Good talk and shouts of “Fire the Southerners.”] Again Mr. Chairman, the foreign firms too should be given time limit to replace all Ibos in their firms by some other people.”

--------------Mallam Bashari Umaru

“It is my most earnest desire that every post in the region, however small it is, be filled by a Northerner. [Applause]”

-------------The Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sarduana of Sokoto

“What brought the Ibos into this region? They were here since the colonial days. had it not been for the colonial rule, there would hardly have been any Ibo in this region. Now that there is no colonial rule the Ibos should go back to their region. There should be no hesitation about this matter. Mr. Chairman, North is for Northerners, east for the easterners, West for for the Westerners, and the Federation is for all. [Applause}.”

--------------Alhaji Usman Liman

“Mr. Chairman, Sir, I do not like to take up much of the time of this House in making explanations, but I would like to assure members that having heard their demands about Ibos holding land in Northern Nigeria, my ministry will do all it can to see that the demands of members are met. How to do this, when to do it, all this should not be disclosed. In due course, you will all see what will happen. [Applause]”

-------------Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Cashash, Minister of Land and Survey

(Statements on the floor of the Northern House of Assembly on what to do about the Igbos - [Feb-March 1964] presented by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at the OAU Special Session, Addis Ababa, August 05, 1968.)

C. Odumegwu Ojukwu on "The Future Of Africa"

“...Colonial state generates a colonial posture. This automates a series of complexes which remain with the African long after the colonial stimulus has ceased to have direct contact. The continuation of these complexes is seen in a state of mind which permits colonialism as a reflex. During this period the remoteness of the stimulus is often misinterpreted as nonexistent, thus generating a false sense of security in the minds of Africans lately out of bondage. The stimulus exists, its virulence undiminished. In fact, what happens is that the imperial power at this time, finding itself undisturbed, conserves energy, spreads its contagion, prepares the ground, and concentrates all its efforts toward the achievement of its main objective--that of economic exploitation.

These were my views as a student, discovered in a pile of my student-days essays. Today, after fifteen years, my views remain sunstantially unchanged. The future of Africa depends entirely on the ability of the African to overcome his own colonial mentality, which permits his erstwhile colonial masters to manage him by impulses generated from a remote control station, usually some European capital.

For the African, therefore, to measure up as a man in the full sense of the word, for him to be truly free, it becomes imperative that he must first understand himself, his psychological disability, then recognize his enemy--still his erstwhile colonial master--recognize the fact of neocolonialism, its destructive potential, and then take urgent and drastic steps to rid himself of this malignant blight which, if left unchecked, will surely destroy him. This is why I believe that the Black man will not emerge until he is able to build modern states based on a compelling African ideology.

The need for an African ideology arises from the fact that the withdrawal of the colonial masters and the effect of a long period under tutelage left most emergent African countries with an ideological vacuum. In order to fill this vacuum, the battle for men’s minds continues in Africa today. The African leaders is often left with very little to choose between one ideology or the other, each designed to serve needs other than his own. It is this that creates in Africa a state of instability, and this instability is bound to continue until Africa generates from within an ideology of equal dynamism that can fill the vacuum and act as a bulwark against foreign imposition. Our struggle, therefore, is African nationalism conscious of itself and fully aware of the powers with which it is contending...”

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Biafra Lodge, Owerri, May 30, 1969

Ojukwu on "Our Role In The Development Of Nigeria"

Christian education and Western training stimulated and enriched our native resourcefulness, industry, and dynamism and so contributed in no small measure to the leading role we played in the development of Nigeria during the half century before 1966. In all spheres of life in the former Federation of Nigeria--economic, social, cultural, political, and constitutional--we were in the forefront of the struggle for unity and equality, justice and progress. Economically, down to the late 1950s, our territory was relegated to the backwaters as a destitute area. national institutions, projects, and utilities were deliberately sited outside our territory.

Nevertheless, we invested confidently in the development of whole of Nigeria. We unhesitatingly built houses, hotels, shops, market stalls, etc,. in various parts of the country, sometimes on the strength of mere certificates of occupancy which could be, and indeed often were, revoked at will in Northern Nigeria. We provided intermediate and high-level manpower for the development of Nigeria, only to be later frustrated and expelled from positions we had earned on merit.

After the fashion of the Christian missionaries, we built schools and colleges and supplied teachers and lecturers for general education throughout the country. In the same manner, we established hospitals and nursing homes and provided doctors and nurses for healing and tending the sick. We strove in every way to identify ourselves with the peoples of the areas in which we settled. We spoke their language; we intermarried with them; and Northern Nigerians even declared that, because we wore their dresses, they had conquered us culturally. Yet, in spite of all this, in Northern Nigeria we were physically and socially segregated from the indigenous people. In contrast, the people of Western Nigeria who shared the same education and cultural experience, took pride in being “traditionally reluctant” to settle in and contribute to the development of places outside their region...”

In the field of political and constitutional development, while we advocated a strong united Nigeria and had for our watchword one country, one constitution, one destiny, Northern Nigerians consistently and openly maintained that the Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914 was “a mistake.” Not surprisingly, in January 1950, at the General Conference Summoned at Ibadan to discuss proposals for the review of the Nigerian Constitution, the Northern Nigerian delegates announced that “unless the Northern Central Legislature it would ask for separation from the rest of Nigeria on the arrangements existing before 1914.” In other words, Northern Nigeria would secede. Eventually, to avoid breaking up the country, we conceded this demand.

At the Ibadan conference of 1950, also, Northern Nigerians insisted that “only Northern Nigerian male adults of twenty five years or more, resident in the region for three years, should be qualified for election to the Northern House of Assembly.” In reply, our delegates were obliged to enter a minority report in which they raised an issue of fundamental principle. They asserted:

“It is our view invidious that any Nigerian could under a Nigerian Constitution be deprived of the right of election to the House of Assembly in any region in which he for reason of the accident of birth or ancestry.”

Three years later, in May 1953, during one of the recurrent constitutional crises of those years, Northern Nigeria again agitated for secession. They published an eight point proposal for the establishment of a “Central Agency” to maintain what was in effect a Common Services Organization. To secure the implementation of this proposal by force, Northern Nigerian leaders organized and carried out violent demonstrations, during which they slaughtered and wounded hundreds of our people then resident in Kano, Northern Nigeria, acts of genocide which they had perpetrated at Jos in Northern Nigeria earlier in 1945. In the end, we had to abandon the idea of a strong and united country which we had been advocating and, with difficulty, persuaded Northern Nigeria to accept a stronger federal system of government than that which was envisaged by them.

The following year, as a result of its failure to absorb Lagos, Western Nigeria also threatened to secede and was only prevented from proceeding to make good the threat by a stern and timely warning from the British Secretary of State for the colonies, Mr. Oliver Lyttleton (afterward Lord Chandos).

Address Delivered at the OAU Special Session, Addis Ababa, August 05, 1968

Q & A Interview with the House Chairman

This syndicated publication would like to know who you are. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am the Ekwueme 1, Iyi 1, Oshimiri 1, Ego Obara 1 of Ezidinma Village in the city of Mgborogwu. I am also the Osuohia 1 and Nwakaraka of the Ahia Mgbede Group of Companies. And also, to let you know, I know men of high places.

Gosh! What the hell are you talking about? I asked about your 'humble' beginnings; things like, say, where were you born, your family background, etc. Can you tell me about it, please?

I attended cosmocollagial Akirika university. I have First School Leaving Certificate; West African School Certificate; High School Certificate; BSc Hons, Otimpku Market; A London Diploma in Fishology; MA Imanjakiri Square; PhD Talkology and another PhD in Clearing and Forwarding. I also run paralegal errands. And I teach Mbamara at Zik Ekwuo Aru University. Do you have more questions to ask me? I don't know what is wrong with you people who don't respect we the chiefs, the omemgbeojis of alaigbo.

Answer my question. What's your origin?

Do you know who I am? Where did you go to school? Have you built a house? Look if you know who I am you will not ask me all these rubbish questions. Ask Chief Nkolo who I am. Ask Lolo Urembaukwu who I am. Ask Barrister Nshi Umuagbarandi who I am. When they tell you who I am you will fear me. As Osuohia, I will clear your village. I am Onukwu Eze Obodo 1 of Nkwo Ndi Na Elo Gari Village of Obodo Ocha. I conquered onye ocha, and my grandfather, the Mbuzo of Obodo Ocha, took all the land where he built mbari, now a historical monument. I have spoken to presidents and royals of all nations.

Ok, now I see, you are from Obodo Ocha. At least, you are now making some sense. So, what are you doing with all these titles in an era the whole world is changing? Is it still relevant?

Yes it is. Mrs.-m, get me some nkwobi and make sure you add plenty, plenty ugbakala and okporoko' and some tombo liquor, too (calls 'lolo' for a bowl of nkwobi dish and palmwine and laughter all over...). You know (as he eats his nkwobi), you little men of no title don't respect me who have built mansions in ozara, ikpa, and elu-ugwu in alaigbo. I have fleet of cars -- danfo, nnabe krota, nze benz, and for your information, nd'ahia alanshi just gave me another title, the Uzo Ukwu of Nd'Aru.

So, why are you telling me all these stuff that has nothing to do with building bridges?

You see what I have been saying? Are you one of those that parade around to say the government is not doing well? Are you one of those that keep talking bad things about ahia mgbede? Are you one of those that sit down and say we chop, chop, chop and chop? Look, my friend, the governor is my best friend, the president is my buddy, we go to the whore houses together with bags of money full to the brim. Now shut up!

I will not. I have the right to free speech. Let me ask you, who is the local government chairman of your remote village?

His name is Dr. Nwagbaraochandigele Gburugburu and he is my friend. I helped elect him so he gives me a lot of dash and we also go to point and kill in Abuja where women bokwu. Too many women and I always carry my tube. These are wild women and it is dangerous out there, you know...Don't ask me any question about Biafra.

What is point and kill?

Ahaa...you see, I told you I am the alpha and omega and I do go places, dine and wine with royals and presidents. Point and kill is a fish place where only the rich go to pick up a fish and it will be fried on the spot along with nkwu elu.

That's a fish market. Why is it a big deal?

It is ndi ji ego that goes there. Poor people like you cannot go there.

What is ndi ji ego?

Ndi ji ego is rich people who have built mansions and have patronized the whore houses.

That is cheating on your wife. Don't you know that?

How about you? Don't you cheat?

I don't have to cheat. But anyway, what do you think about the forthcoming elections?


None of my business. All I want is more contracts and the things I do on the road for my PI office runs.

Thank you, sir, it's a pleasure having you!

Moral to this story: A clueless and disorganized bunch

Haters, Admirers And My Biro

Wake up everybody
No more sleeping in bed
No more backward thinking
Time for thinking ahead
The world’s change so very much
For what it use to be
There is so much hatred
War and poverty

----Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes


"I thought you said it's happening."

"What's happening?"

"Here we go again. You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"What you said earlier."

"What did I say earlier?"

"That your biro is mightier>"

"You should know better; and, of course, it is the biggest weapon. The people are talking; and they are, on a serious note, and by all means, pulling the bull by the horn. It is happening in Tunis. It is happening in Cairo. It's about to be happening in Jordan and Algeria. It's the real deal. It is the voice of the people. The network is fantastic. Some call it a political reform. Some have called it a revolution through the powerful means of the biro. President Barack Obama has been watching as all the events unfold. And, eventually, Hosni Mubarak threw in the towel. You see how it goes?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess it's about time, huh?"

"Of course, it's about time but not with the chairman of the house."

"Which chairman of the house are you talking about?"

"Oh, you mean you don't know? The house chairman who runs the affairs of state and would gather the fat cats and his colleagues within his uncivilized enclave to boycott all boycotables."

"How did Mazi Mbonu Ojike pop up in this discourse?"

"You tell me!"

"Tell you what?"

"Boycott the biro!"

"You see, that is not possible. The biro is mightier than you could ever imagine, which is why it is now getting down. But tell it not on the streets of Abuja, Owerri and Awka. The fat cats don't want to hear it because they will make no meaning out of it."

"Who are the fat cats you keep talking about? Am I missing somethin?"

"Nope! The fat cats are the Omemgbojis of Emekuku and the Oshimiris whose flowing gowns and haul of titles speaks volumes when they meet in their respective huts of who is king and who is not king in their uncivilized world of erecting edifices on dusty alleys without street numberings and disturnbingly an avalanche of power outages."

"What the hell is that?"

"What the hell is what?"

"The jargon, fat cats?"

"Well, the fat cats and house chairman are 'just' full of it, wondering what school of thought one came from for the fact they are limited in training."

"What are you talking about, man?!"

"Obviously, the people are talking and sooner than later you will be seeing it the world over."

"You mean the fat cats and the house chairman?"

"Not at all. The fat cats and house chairman are midgets in what I'm talking about. I'm talking about something of a greater capacity."

"Would it be boycott all boycottables as in Mbonu Ojike's own word, to negate a colonial mandate during the constitutional conferences?"

"Naaaaaaaa, it has some kind of similarities, though."

"Look, man, I'm done with you. I have no idea what you have been talking about."

"Ok, now, I have exhausted all my options of a research project.

"What research project?"

"I am conducting interviews on our war veterans, victims of the numerous pogroms and elite Igbo Diaspora to enable our history not to vanish from the face of the earth."

"Maybe you should consult the house chairman and fat cats to fund your research projects."

"Are you doublespeaking now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about a research project for Igbo common good and you are refering to the boycottables. I don't get it!"

"Well, you have a great idea but I'm afraid and I must warn you that the people you are talking about will tell you to move on and forget about the pogrom. And If you don't cease and desist, they will start insulting your mother, your father, your brothers (if you have any), your sisters, your family members and your entire kindred."

"Holy Moses! What kind of people would insult your entire clan just for your freedom to express your views on paper?"

"Because you keep creating an outrage."

"What outrage o?"

"The stuff that you write. The thought-provoking stuff."

"But I'm telling the truth, now?"

"You are right. The truth hurts!"

"How about the reptiles?"

"Which reptiles?"

"The dangerous reptiles that crawl out when they smell my biro."

"I'm out, man!"

"Good! Gotcha!"

Since I have been reading all kinds of literatures and various kinds of journals from growing up, I must admit, I have tossed quite a number of thought proking issues, and quite a great sum had been polarized in responses, chiefly, the ones not too long ago: "Lagos Cafe's Arrogance and Horrible Services is a Culinary Disaster," "Donald Duke Launches his Presidential Campaign in Los Angeles," "Death of an Igbo Club in Greater Los Angeles," "Blind Followers of Donald Duke," and the list goes on and on.

What the responses, the haters, to be precise, incited, was for yours truly, this writer, to go bonkers into mudslinging with them from what I had written and looking forward to a coherently, intellectual rebuttal based on the subject matter rather than the rantings typical of a clueless bunch who had fallen from the standard and had fallen apart. From that shred of lack of substance in responses, I moved beyond ridicule.

The painful truth is, taking a closer look at what I had penned, the haters did what they were good at in their attempt to be relevant regarding their thoughts on a topic that pops up. For instance, a response from one of Lagos Cafe's admirers when I criticized the eatery:

"Mr Ambrose, How much did Veronica's kitchen give you for the free advertisement. I am sure you eat free food any time you're there, bcos from the tone of your write-up, Veronica must have given you a lot of dollars."

With such inflammatory remarks, wouldn't it be necessary to see my humble self not worried on a crop of issues that shouldn't have arose by all accounts putting into perspectice how it all began and if the ideology was valid? But the thing is, many accused me of sleeping with Veronica Ogbeide; their reasons why I spoke well of her eatery (Veronica's Kitchen); and spoke ill of Ronke Bernadette, who then ran Lagos Cafe on the 14000 block of Crenshaw Blvd. in Gardena, because of the former's love affair with me. Fact is, if Veronica wasn't becoming in her services the numerous times I stopped by to eat out, without question, I would have expressed my dissatisfaction of a service not worthy.

Don't get me wrong. There were admirers who read many of the pieces I had written over time, digesting the entire contents and seeing the topics by way of reporting, analysis, narratives, storytelling, satire and things like that coherently put together on the issues that arose, with sustained accuracy, thus applauding a well done work.

One other controversial affair was about the outraged Donald Duke followers who had "observed" my write-up on the presidential aspirant as a poisonous political stunt to stop Duke or have him throw in the towel for his presidential ambitions he had tailored to sell to a vulnerable and gullible Los Angeles-area-Nigeria populace, the ones I had thought were schooled in the elementary ABCD's of the basics in academia, but sadly unable and unwilling to read, comprehend and to think, critically. And it all began when Duke popped up on my list of literary works when I had expected a free-floating, acclaimed public intellectuals to engage said article that was based on facts to be challenged in that regard, rather than the rigidity one saw at the symposium.

Apparently, Duke's presidential campaign, his blind followers and a bunch that lacked societal vision, have died naturally. Where are Duke's coattails? Where are Duke's followers who knew everything about presidential politics? Where are my critics and all their rantings for my clear vision that Duke was going no where with his bid by starting his campaign from a clueless and politically impotent Diaspora? Where are the acclaimed activists and technocrats who had at any time in their lives played significant roles to show their work of activism by way of demonstrations to challenge corrupt regimes and things like that? Where are they; the ones of bigotry and hatred, who felt challenged from a simplistically, truthful pieces on the social ills of its people?

Enter the rantings of a confused bunch responding to the commentary "Death of an Igbo Club in Greater Los Angeles." In literary terms and disturbed by a Igbo Diaspora to get things done, things that depicts Diaspora as we have seen elsewhere; immigrant groups that established societies and even founded countries at the expense of indigenous populations, often in their stead by way of pragmatism and organizational effectiveness. I have caused commotion when the above-mentioned article was lambasted by a group when I wrote clearly of a bunch tainted with the stain of original sin, from which it can never be absolved:


"A mentally, impotent and unchallenging bunch could not come up with anything other than picnic in its engagement. Things like providing employment opportunities and having economic impact within its community, as in all communities in Diaspora who are doing stuff. From Pico Blvd. and Fairfax Ave. to Olympic Blvd. and Fairfax toward the Miracle Mile on the Wilshire Corridor, sits Little Ethiopia and all Ethiopian owned businesses. On the Westside, is the Armenian community whose history of genocide is, today, in the books, from mounted pressure groups. On the Eastside lies China Town, Little Tokyo, the Hispanics and series of communities dwelling together spreading all down the San Gabriel Valley. And, of course, there is Little Vietnam in Westminster and other Asian communities in and around the Long Beach areas."

I think I'm done with this and if anyone expects me to join a band of blind leaders like the Chief Priest would put it, "Big Blind Country," it will never happen, and they can have it!

No Nonsense!

Ekwuchaa nam!

Uzoma Nwachukwu is "Making it Look Easy"

By Brad Cox, The Battallion

Photo: Stephen Fogg/The Battallion

Uzoma Nwachukwu is on pace to be the most prolific receiver in Texas A&M history.

It should come as no surprise then that his first name literally means "the road is good."

"It's funny because it's motivating to me," said Nwachukwu, who is a descendent of the Igbo people of Nigeria. "Because I think that God has a plan for me, and that the road is going to be good and everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to."

The 6-foot tall freshman whose last name means "child of God" leads the Aggies with six receiving touchdowns and 445 yards after six games in 2009.

If junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson continues to connect with Nwachukwu at the same rate, the man nicknamed "Eazy" will make sophomore Jeff Fuller's record of nine touchdowns in a single season look easy.

Nwachukwu is on track for 12 single season touchdowns and 48 career touchdowns, and that's not including a rushing touchdown he scored against Utah State on Sept. 19. In that game, Nwachukwu touched the ball four times and scored a touchdown each time.

"He's growing as a player," said A&M Head Coach Mike Sherman. "He still has a long way to go to be the type of route runner and the receiver that I want him to be. He's not a complete receiver just yet but he's working towards it, and I think someday he will be."

In a 62-14 loss at Kansas State this past Saturday, Nwachukwu accounted for all 14 of the Aggies' points on two receptions in the third quarter.

On a team that is struggling at the midpoint of the season, he is doing what his nickname implies and is making it look easy.

"He's a great player and he's put in a lot of work," Johnson said after Nwachukwu's game against Utah State. "He's a young guy so it was exciting to see him get his first shot on Kyle Field. I'm happy for him, and I don't expect anything less from him."

Long before Nwachukwu donned the maroon and white, he had scholarship offers from across the nation from school such as Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Arkansas.

He was a four-star receiver on a state championship team. He could have chosen a school with a better record or a more pass - oriented offense, but he chose Sherman and the Aggies.

"A big part of it had to do with Coach Sherman selling the program to me," Nwachukwu said. "He said he wanted to install passing and he needed the receivers to do it. He sold it real well and everything just felt right coming here."

Sherman wasted no time throwing Eazy into the fire. In his first game, Nwachukwu had three receptions for 53 yards, including a 42-yard reception on A&M's first drive.

"At first, I was getting my juices going, my heart started beating a little bit," he said after the first game. "It was a good experience because of the Twelfth Man. It was amazing to see them twirling their towels around."

Nwachukwu continued to show off his abilities as the season progressed, sometimes looking like he was perfectly in tune with Johnson.

Much has been said in the media about the nature of the relationship between Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and receiver Jordan Shipley.

Though Nwachukwu and Johnson don't fish together or throw the ball to each other from land to boat, Nwachukwu said they might have to find something to do like that.

"Jerrod's a cool guy," he said. "We share a lot of the same interests and things like that. We joke around all the time. We have pretty good chemistry on the field and off the field. He's just a fun guy to play with."

One thing that binds the pair is their musical chops.

Nwachukwu, who likes to spend time with his guitar playing Gavin DeGraw's "Follow Through," said Johnson and freshman running back Christine Michael are two of the best singers on the team.

"They might have to have a sing-off because that is a real close one," he said. "They both can sing pretty good. I haven't tried to get at them or anything like that. We'll see."

Nwachukwu jokingly said he might join up with the pair and release an album. A song at the top of the list could be "Lean on Me," which has become an unofficial anthem for the Aggies.

"I get into that song because that's my song right there," he said. "I love it. I get real in rhythm. I get the guys going with that."

But the football field is never far away, as is his potential future in the NFL.

Sherman said it's too early to tell if Nwachukwu will be an NFL-caliber receiver, but he said Nwachukwu hasn't done anything to make him think he won't be.

Igbo Village and Museum in Virginia is just not Baby Talk?

Just like it happens all the time when someone tries to pick on me to talk about something he had no business with, sometimes in a desperate move to figure out all that Igbo mysteries that keeps perturbing the nosy ones among us. Yes, it happened on one of this month's hot weather while I was trying to catch my cool beating the summer heat in an attempt, and as always keeping it real when a whole bunch of stuff popped up. It wasn't anything about music or the crazy-dubby nightlife in the Hollywood-Los Angeles circle that my colleague and friend, Austen Oghuma, sent me an email addressed from one of the Igbo-related forums, penning on a new development regarding Igbo Diaspora. I wasn't shocked anyway, but it was interesting to know, though I have been in the know of the happenings, especially something worthy and commendable.

First of all, how did Oghuma who is not Igbo got to know all about the facts and logics going on in Igbo forums? Who is sending him every piece of information in a supposedly behind closed doors forums we all had thought was a members only area?`

Nevertheless, it was a good thing he found out progress is being made in Diaspora by my kith and kin, and let's not start pumping our chest for it is not yet Uhuru. Of course, those fantastic shots by Amadiebube speaks volumes and the write-ups from around the Staunton area in Virginia was also fascinating. And good to know the whole project had been started on a good foot. Since many volunteers based on media reports acknowledge work is in progress "passing egg-shaped masses of clay, Stan Ogbonna had the honor of slamming each into place as the foundation of a third mud house took shape." Finally, an Igbo village and museum in the United States? Wait a minute, let's hold our breath. For real? An Igbo village in America?

Oghuma often asks this particular question and now that it seems to be taking shape, he is holding his breath. Oghuma has engaged me numerous times in Igbo-related issues, and most of our discourses takes us into the night. But that's beside the point, though.

The Igbo village and museum in Virginia being talked about is real because there has been eye witness accounts. In due course, I should be paying homage myself and what I would be looking forward to seeing should be the originality of Igbo custom and traditions from the way it had been with our forebears and I have used the above images as an indication. The aziza, brooms used in sweeping Igbo village compounds, cassava squeezing machines, the palm tree and a setting of the palm wine tapper, the kolanuts, how the kitchen looked in those mud houses and the odo used in pounding the cassava, yam or cocoyam, whatever the case may be. It's a bunch of cultural stuff and culture, indeed, is an entity.

So far, it's looking good, and Amadiebube, what a great shot you had in there.

Main Street: In Da Hood

On Easter Monday, as we usually called it back home, I was invited by a good friend over dinner and some drinks, and some talks. While we ate and drank, we talked about a whole lot of stuff including the new arrivals on the book shelves -- Caught Between Hitler & Stalin; From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women; A Constitution of Many Minds: Why the Founding Document Doesn't Mean What It Mean Before; Founders: The People Who Brought You A nation; ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen "High Value Detainees" in CIA Custody; The political Worlds Of Slavery And Freedom; Nazi Germany and the Jews; The Black Death; Engaging The Muslim World; Hitler's Pope; Captives and Countrymen: Barbary Slavery and the American Public; The Irony of American History; Adolf Eichman and many other books that just arrived on the shelves, particularly about the Holocaust. He is disgusted with Nd'Igbo and why nobody is writing with regards to the pogrom.

On Nollywood, we talked about how the New York Film Academy's Film and Acting Conservatory now has locations all around the world except for 'Nigeria.' The New York and Acting Conservatory has locations in United Arab Emirates, Italy, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Spain, Dubai, England, France, Belgium, Germany, and so on. My buddy stressed on how a location in Abuja or Lagos could help produce better movies to meet up with the standards of the Academy Awards after going through the institute's workshop in filmmaking, acting, producing, screenwriting, documentary, cinematography, editing, cinema studies, music video, musical theater, photography and other movie producing essentials.

After some long discourse, I let him do all the talking and too many issues popped up since I was the one listening while he did the talking.

First, in his monologue, he started with what our women have done ever since they set their foot on the shores of this land reminding me of the current debate going on at BNW Messageboard which is actually getting nasty. On these women who have destroyed our cultural heritage, he blamed Oprah Winfrey and said that the 50ish feminist needs to get a real husband to feel how it's like, and that there are certain values money can't buy. He wondered "how can you spend your lifetime savings, paying your dues in this great country called America and ending up being screwed-up by a woman you brought here." He cited Texas as the mother of all craziness and failed marriages regarding 'our women' who'd lost every sense of purpose, ala, destroying our family values in its entirety. He was so pissed he blamed the 'boys' for starting something they could not finish.

On the talk show hosts, media elites and still blaming Oprah, he really doesn't give a "fuck" about Sean Hannity, the drug addled Rush Limbaugh, Larry Elder, George Stephanopolous, Dianne Sawyer, Charles Gibson, and that there's nothing there but commerce. "Without commerce," he would continue, "all of them ain't worth shit." He is critical of all the talk show hosts and commentators, including Oprah whom he dislikes with a passion.

On the global economy, he blamed a retarded George W. Bush and a "fucked-up" Dick Cheney for screwing-up everybody by fighting a useless war in Iraq and squandering all the surplus bad boy Bill Clinton left in the nation's coffers. He insisted Bush and Cheney should be tried for mass murder.

On President Barack Obama, he said Obama should be very careful, even though he's going on the right direction, that the stinking conservatives are doing everything within their reach to see that the president who is yet to mark a hundred days in office and a whole lot accomplished doesn't succeed. He listed Obama haters -- Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Denver's Bob Newman, Bill Cunningham, Chris Baker, Michelle Malkin, and the rest bigots -- as, cough, cough, the airheads who have nothing else to say about the president but trash talking.

On the main subject matter, what we have earlier discussed before my stopping by in da hood to see what was cooking and what the gist was all about, and exactly stuff like that. The gist was Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie's new book, The Thing Around Your Neck, a collection of short stories about what historians describe as the "push factor," the economic and social conditions that compelled us to leave our native land for a better life abroad.

Regarding Adichie and her new book, he paused and scratched his head. He did not scratch his head because of Adichie's book. He was worried Adichie, now 32, and no marriage, might end up sooner or later becoming a hardcore feminist, that at a certain age and a woman not married based on our culture, that she will be scary and that alone turns men off. According to him, early marriage for a woman is evidence of good upbringing and an indication of keeping ones cultural heritage viable and intact. That Adichie can tell all the finest stories out there; and without marriage she has no place in Igbo land, that Igbo tradition from long time ago must be preserved like any other people on Earth, citing the unique culture of the Japanese, the Chinese, the Jews and the Indians.

He said Adichie is now bent on writing books being praised on the literary circle but forgot to realize the dual feminine role of women in our society. He concluded a woman's role is that of mother and nurse, that the moment a woman crosses that line, the sign of failure becomes obvious unless the man in question is crippled.

Boy, I was wondering if this guy was Okay. He brought up the Minnesota incident of Mike Iheme who had murdered his wife in the most brutal way and blamed society for pushing the man against the wall. He talked about other killings and men who have strangled their wives in the Igbo community.

I had to cut in and change the subject before he drags me along with him on domestic violence cases I have never been part of. I decided to review Adichie's new book and he began to listen.

I read Adichie's two previous books, Purple Hibiscus (2003) and Half of a Yellow Sun (2007); and both were good books of narrative politics, life events and storytelling. Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck is told with familiar names and characters. "Cell One," which is the first story was told in the format of Nollywood casts -- gangs and cults in university campus engaging in all kinds of criminal activities "copycating" American hip-hop and pop culture.

Then follows the northern religious riots against the Christian South and a brief encounter between two females during the fracas; one a medical student of Igbo origin, and the other a trader of Hausa extraction in a mutual order with regards to mankind to resist and overcome the predicaments of tribalism which has led to many deaths. Seriously, an engaging episode where the Hausa market woman relatively indulges the Igbo medical student for a way out of the chaos urging the medical student to do something, begging, "my nipple is burning like pepper." She had shown her nipples to the Igbo medical student in that plea, the plea to stop the violence.

In the case of sojourn to the United States, Adichie enumerated in detail the consequences of culture shock and asks if it's even worth it to embark on such a journey -- especially in a situation the "overclass" Nigerians send their wives abroad to have babies but adjusting to Yakee way of life never becomes easy.

There's also the case of arranged marriages with a Yankee. And it falls out. And sexual favors were denied. And there was anger. And there was the threat to leave on the ground that sex was not part of the deal -- the arranged marriage. And, also, there was the case of Chinaza Udenwa, (The Arrangers of Marriage) who had to change her name to Agatha Bell on the recommendation of her true husband.

Quite some thrilling stories as one reads on. Ending up with no place like home, Adichie concludes by recounting the tale of a boy sent to a missionary school by his mother which eventually turned sour. The woman's granddaughter does the opposite sideling expectations of family and cultural heritage. By the time it was all over she has earned a degree, returned back home and changed her Christian name, Grace, to Ahamefule, and found out the idea of leaving one's country in search for a better life did not add up and was not worth it. There is no place like home. And home has always been the best.

After my narratives on Adichie, he cut in and was becoming erratic. He had a frowned face eager to let off all the stuff in his chest. I knew what was about to happen. I gave him his time. He calmed down, murmured and scratched his head. I found out he was ready to release what had been bothering him. He said, clearing his throat, "are you finished?" I shook my head as a gesture of being done. He began his part of the observations as I questioned.

On Nd'Igbo he said they are -- cough, cough -- finished; that it is too late to start thinking otherwise, that it is up to the newer generation, the ones that do not speak Igbo and have no clue about Igbo culture to take over the mantle of leadership and do whatever they want to do with it; and that it might work since they have no one to favor or anyone to influence them for they have nothing to lose.

On the situations in Nigeria, he said "forget it." He paused and took a deep breath on the ground whenever the country is mentioned he feels like throwing up. He loathes the country for many reasons. A country that is 48-years-old with enormous hunman capital and abundant natural resources yet has nothing to show for its existence since its birth. A country corruption is institutionalized and nothing works except by way of illegal activities.

He spoke with anger regarding Nigeria. That the schools left by the missionaries are vanishing from normal operation. That the industries and infrastructures set up by the "founding fathers" have not been maintained to standard and in some cases left abandoned. That the hospitals are messy with no equipments, questioning the medical errand boys who take credit for doing a wonderful job from their medical missions to save the sick. He said the next fifteen years Nigeria will cease to exist from a whole lot of complications, citing the wrong choice of electing a sick man who coughs persistently and smokes like a chimney, having no time to take responsibility in the affairs of state. I mean, this guy kept talking and talking with bitterness to a point blaming the opportunists who had helped adding insult to injury.


And who are the opportunists when I asked. He paused again and took a deep breath with anger all over his face. The opportunists, according to him, are the errand boys who are here in Diaspora, who use their access as conduits for money laundering and looting of public funds by the "elected" officials, who supposedly should be held accountable for raping the treasury of a people. And that it originated from the fabricated red cap chiefs na eri awoof and that these corrupt "chiefs" have deliberately destroyed all that our forebears left behind.

Boy, this guy never stopped talking. He talked about how bad leadership had made the Naira worth nothing and uncompetitive in the global market economy. He talked about the growing cases of pollution while the civilized world is talking progressively about the green movement. That 'Nigeria' cannot claim to be a democracy when bribery and corruption is still widespread, when government officials and politicians who engage in criminal activities are not prosecuted to the limit of the law, when revenue allocation is not proportionally distributed, and when the power holders are not living up to the creed of a concocted constitution as a result of a failed judiciary.

On the educational system, he said it was a "total failure." That what need is the education when college graduates can't find work or have government assisted programs whereby individuals who feel like running their own businesses can do so under supervisory programs by government regulatory agencies. That, until there is a political revolution or somehow, a radical step, that 'Nigeria' will never be better; and that, to do so (effecting change) "will take men with liver."

He went on to say that a country that tends to forget its past has no history, citing the pogrom in which over two million souls perished, and that up until now, no form of apology has come forth.

Again, citing another era of humankind, he used the Jews as an analogy citing how powerful the Jews has become from the lessons of the Holocaust. That books are published every second about the concentration camps, about Adolf Hitler and his atrocities, about cities in Europe where the deaths were carried out, about Treblinka, about Auschwitz, about Adolf Eichman, about Polish confrontations with Soviet power during the Holocaust, about Nazi rule meaning death to all Jews, and about Anne Frank.

He was bitter and wished Igbo could do something. Nothing was funny, at all. He asked how an infallible and confused bunch of Igbo Diaspora have no legal team to defend its own who's been unjustly incarcerated. And we have "high profle lawyers." And we have "millionaires around the block." And we have "visionaries." And with all that, what do they have to show for it?

It is a tragedy and the saga continues!