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Odera and his uncommon spirituality! *Tribute to Chinwoke Mbadinuju

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By Ody Chukwube
Odera’s instructions were swift, dangerous and mind blowing that mid afternoon.
“CPS (Chief Press Secretary), come along with me to the forests of Umuleri, Aguleri and Umuoba Anam , I want to—. “No, Sir” I interjected, as both cold and hot sweat struggled for space on my pitiful face, devastated by a mission which was, in my thinking, an obvious attempt at self- destruction.
“But, Sir, this is extremely dangerous. Let us reach out to the security people for advice”, I insisted. Quoting Psalm 46:10, “be still, and know that I am God”, Odera yelled at me even as he flipped through his Bible. “This is a trip we must undertake. The Commissioner of Police, the Director of SSS and the Army Commander at Onitsha, have warned against going to the forest, but they are not God”. I made another futile attempt to convince him, but he became furious and with a tone of finality, he declared “We must put an end to this mindless carnage in that area. It doesn’t matter if we pay the supreme price. God’s message is clear on this. That is is why I asked you to be still and listen to the voice of God.”
I was shocked by his effrontery, his near suicidal courage and faith. Nonetheless, I rushed to his young ADC, who was also helpless, if not hapless, given the circumstances. I called the ever calm and stable First Lady, Mrs Nnenne Mbadinuju, to save us from a possible annihilation, but she was unable to sway him out of what I thought was going to be an ill-fated journey.
The forests of Aguleri, Umuleri and Umuoba Anam communities were like the present-day Sambisa Forest, elaborately mined, with warriors that were heavy on drugs and armed to the teeth. It appeared foolhardy to undertake a trip to that area with a few poorly armed policemen and men of the security services attached to the office of the governor.
 “When they hear the word of God, they will drop their guns”, the new governor stressed as he sang divine praises. The journey to the Anambra “Sambisa Forest” was short but tortuous.
At the battle field, a staccato of gun shots from the militants who shot into the air, oblivious of our mission, welcomed us. Odera with his weather-beaten Bible, picked up the microphone and began to preach. “Jesus loves you, drop your guns and embrace peace . This war is needless and useless. Stop killing yourselves”.
 We went round different areas of the forest, preaching peace and reconciliation. We were vulnerable, and all, except Odera got enveloped in fear and trepidation.
On our way back, in an ironic twist or in a spirit- inspired action, some of the war-weary militants sneaked out of the bunkers and other hidden places and hailed, either with gun salute or voice approval, “Oderaaaaaaaaa”!
This marked the beginning of an end to the fratricidal war which had ravaged the area for over a century.
Quoting again from the scriptures, Psalm118, ‘This is God’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. CPS, is this not a miracle? Always be strong, prayerful and most importantly, be strong in faith “, was Odera’s advice during our post mortem of the trip to the devil inhabited forests where stench from decomposing bodies almost destroyed our nostrils. Most significantly, that axis of the state, to this day, has remained the most peaceful.
This visit, which was a few months into his administration, defined Odera, his undying faith in and love for God.
Odera believed that governance must have a spiritual foundation. He instituted a prayer regimen in Anambra which has remained a shining legacy. Every Monday, Odera, as Governor, mounted the pulpit and preached the Word to Anambra people in a live broadcast. All the offices and markets joined in prayers and gradually it became a positive habit which has remained to this day. Of all his achievements, Odera considered this his best . ‘More than anything else, always celebrate my determination to link our people to the truth through the Gospel. I will die, happy that I tried to establish a leadership anchored on Christ, our saviour “
Odera was a true believer, in and out of government. In his book, “God’s Kind of Leader, published more than a decade before he became Governor, Odera correctly predicted or putting it differently, gave prophesy of his time in government. He canvassed that a leader must strive to be responsible and righteous. And above all, be Christ-like in his disposition and character.
He suffered tribulations. He was betrayed and was maligned, but like our Saviour, he prayed for his enemies and adversaries. “My love for God and humanity is unquantifiable. I love everybody, including those who made attempts to tarnish my image”.
Those who thought that Odera was politically annihilated, unwittingly opened a new life for him. He devoted his last days to writing Christian books and at the last count, had about 22 books on the shelf. His book, The Spiritual Foundation of Good Governance, extensively chronicled his messages on the pulpit as a Governor.
For Odera, his was a miracle in governance. He was always positive, even in the face of humongous difficulties.
Odera was apparently the only Governor in the history of Nigeria whose office was bombed. At different times, hoodlums also attempted to force their way into Government House to attack him. If that was to frustrate him, they failed as he sang praises as a response
Odera received national accolades for a successful war against crime. Using an unconventional approach, he eradicated armed robbery and violent crimes in the state. While many considered this a result of strategic thinking, Odera felt it was a spiritual response to prayers of Ndi Anambra.
His numerous other accomplishments in government came out of an uncommon commitment to prayers and strong belief in God. With lean funds, Odera was able to establish a university, the present day Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University with campuses at Igbariam and Uli.
The financial status of the state was poor and with a miserable monthly allocation from Abuja, Odera did well in varying degrees. In some months, what was left after salary payment in Anambra state was less than N50million. How he managed to build roads was considered by many, including his opponents, as miraculous.
Prayers, Odera told me in our last encounter, led to the completion of legacy projects like the Ekwueme Square, the ABS complex, the Judiciary Complex, Ngozika Estate, and the Women Development Center now named Professor Dora Akunyili Women Developnent Centre. He did not start the permanent site of the Government House, but he did most of the structural work.
That Anambra State is now an oil-producing state is a result of his foresight. He did not only raise national consciousness to the existence of oil in the state, but set up an oil exploration and production company. Orient Petroleum was his brainchild. Again, Odera said in one of his books that God was instrumental to the milestones recorded by his administration.
Thank you Odera. You asked me to leave out controversy and talk about God, while writing about you. I have tried to do that. You know it is not my area of specialisation, but do tolerate my inadequacy.
You were exemplary in leadership, though misunderstood by some but appreciated by many. You were not a saint, neither were you a villain but you demonstrated love, commitment, responsible and responsive leadership.
 Your humility was disarming. Good people appreciated it and the bad, took advantage of it
.
May Perpetual Light shine upon your good soul. Good night Odera.
Chukwube, Chief Press Secretary to the former governor from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2003, wrote from Abuja 

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2007: Grand conspiracy against Tinubu will fail in N’Delta – Akpabio

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If the words of Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, indicate the true feelings of the people of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu will make a clean sweep of the votes available in their land in 2027, should he decide to go for re-election.

Akpabio, a day after assuring of the votes of his native Akwa Ibom for the President, during a stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), upped the ante on Saturday, with the assurance that the people of the oil-rich region, had also signed in to the Tinubu re-election project, because of the goodies the President had brought to the people.

At the grand finale of the 25th anniversary of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State as part of the activities to round off the week-long celebration, he told his audience that the people had decided to support Tinubu to continue in office beyond 2027 because of the projects that the administration had brought to the zone.

In the audience were Goodluck Jonathan, former President, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who represented Tinubu, Ibok-Ette Ibas, Administrator of Rivers State, lawmakers, traditional rulers, ministers, and key figures from across the Niger Delta.

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Anietie Ekong, his spokesman quoted the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and currently Chairman of the National Assembly, as recalling how the region was handed the short end of the stick in the affairs of the country, despite being the major revenue earner and how Tinubu had redeemed the ugly situation in the last two years, hence the resolve to pay him back handsomely with their votes in 2027.

Hear him: “In the past the Niger Delta was used as the goose that produced the golden egg with nothing to show for it. Today President Tinubu has set up an Environmental Sciences University in Ogoni land to take care of the environment which had been degraded as a result of oil pollution.

“He has also set up a Maritime University, signed it into an Act of Parliament in Okerenkoko in Delta State. He has given us several tertiary institutions in Agriculture, Technology and lots of others. So, it is not only in terms of appointments but various projects. This is the region that produces the wealth of the nation. We have the right to choose who manages our resources. So, people should not think that anybody can just come and become the President without consultation with the people of the Niger Delta.

“We the people of the Niger Delta have assessed President Tinubu and have found him fit to continue in office beyond 2027. So let the people who are conspiring against President Tinubu hear this. They did it before and conspired to remove our son, President Goodluck Jonathan. This time around the entire Niger Delta region has decided to speak with one voice. And we are telling the President ‘on your mandate we stand.’ No conspiracy formed against this Government that has recognised the Niger Delta shall prosper.”

Akpabio, however, decried the high turnover of management team of the NDDC which he said had slowed the pace of development of the oil-rich region, stressing that the outcome, also created endless cycles where new leaders were removed before finishing projects, leaving thousands of initiatives abandoned and wasting billions meant for development

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He however extolled the present team led by the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, for adhering to the vision of the founding fathers of the interventionist agency by embarking on projects that had impacted positively on the lives of the people of the region.

His words: “There were many reasons we have had so much problems in NDDC. Part of it was leadership tussle. In the Niger Delta region, we have what we call ‘periwinkle politics.’ This is politics where everybody bears the same head. Nobody wants to wait for his turn. Everybody feels that he should be there and not the other person.

“So there was always this conspiratorial situation. Each management in the NDDC would conspire against themselves and ofcourse the staff will assist them to quarrel and shortly after they will sack the management. And one of them would become the acting Managing Director.”

Akpabio, who was also the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, at a point, which oversaw the commission recounted how for over 20 years it could not complete its headquarters building until he took charge of the Ministry and gave a marching order to its leadership to complete the hitherto long abandoned project.

Recalling also how the Commission left behind over 14,700 abandoned projects because regime change brought with it new projects, he explained that having discovered such a lapse and how it retarded growth Tinubu found it worthy to allow Ogboku complete his tenure.

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“I salute the present management,” he said, particularly enthusing on how Ogbuku, and his team brought stability to the commission, while urging it to break away from endless cycles of sabotage and focus on continuity so that development projects can be completed.

Jonathan, who also commended Tinubu for continuing with the present board of the commission, noting that development would engender sustainable development of the region, which he acknowledged, remained pivotal to the region’s economic growth and material well-being of the people.

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Abati on Shettima: Teacher, Don’t Teach Me Nonsense!

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By Sunny Igboanugo

This Reuben Abati sef! What was he trying to say again this morning on Arise? After the 2023 presidential election, when Nigerians were bemoaning their fate as the courts were churning out one bizarre, funny and outlandish verdict after the other – judgements without justice in support of the obvious heist – he took it as his remit to pour cold water on the righteous indignation pervading the land.

He chose a time of general anger, moral outrage, weeping, wailing, mourning and gnashing of the teeth trailing the official endorsement of the political larceny that had just happened to people to deliver his notorious declaration – Public opinion is kilometres and kilometres away from law.

Such insensitive, if not thoughtless move, as he sought to paper over a serious injury to the essence of decency and heavy blow to public good and integrity of democratic ethos, rankled at that time as it still does today. It was akin to adding salt to injury to a grieving community.

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As many asked then, what then is the essence of law if it defeats or is glaringly antithetical to public opinion? From whence did the dictum – justice must not only be done, but seen to be done derive from if public opinion is not part of the context?

I remember the treatise of Justice Obiora Nwazota, former Chief Judge of Anambra State, when he dissected the issue of public opinion in relations to the phrase – right-thinking members of the society – and how he concluded that the term did not suggest fish mongers at Ose Okwodu market must be the ones to decide. Anyone with little education or tiny matter in his brain, ought to discern between the shape of the letter ‘B’ and the footprint of a cow!

So, on Thursday, when Vice President Kashim Shettima, took to the podium to make a profound statement, in one of the rarest outings on the nation’s political scenes in recent times, to the fact that No President in Nigeria has the powers to Remove a councillor, not to talk of a governor, his audience heard him loud and clear.

Now, Shettima, has been on the political scene for much of the 25 years the current experience has lasted. Before becoming VP, he was a commissioner in Borno State, from where he rose to the seat of governor and then Senator. Is this the same man that would mount the podium to speak on such a sensitive matter at a time the State of Emergency is still a live-issue, and you say he is not referring to the same matter?

It means the VP must be a political daft – which he obviously is not – not to know, or at least suspect the interpretation the public would attach to such a comment at a time like this, given the prevailing circumstances and arguments on the matter.

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Pray! How does the constitutional interpretation of Removal and or Suspension become the issue or dominate the debate when Sim Fubara, has remained out of office as governor and democratic institutions in the state out in the cold as a result of the emergency rule in Rivers State? Is that not the bottomline here instead of the fine grains of law?

What law is Abati trying to teach us, dan Allah, e jowo, biko nu? We may not all be lawyers, but as Nwazota, said, we are not all fish-mongers as well. We are capable of discerning a common issue and determining what someone says. We understand KS, very well and know that he said what he meant and meant what he said.

If anything, this is a man, whose job is currently at stake and has remained subject of intense speculations. Would it not be more apposite to interpret his outing as loud coughing to draw attention to himself and indicate that he is still very much around and perhaps warn those toying with the funny idea of seeking his leg for pepper-soup to be wise and more prudent?

I’m particularly enchanted by Abati’s immense intellectual prowess. It literally puts me in my rightful place as “uneducated” and “unlearned” – his usual terms for dismissing people like us. In fact, each time I listen to him, I seem to regret that half of my school hours were wasted fighting in the streets or plucking mangoes than being in the classroom. He is one of the major reasons I never miss watching The Morning Show on ARISE NEWS, each day, if I could help it.

But even at that we cannot be detained permanently by inability to measure up to his scholarly attainments or deceived all the time by legal masturbations in a matter that is as straightforward as the statement of the VP. You can only tell a blind man that there is no oil in the soup and not that there is no salt.

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I don’t know whether his outing on Friday is intentional or inadvertent. But whatever it is, may I plead with Reuben Abati, my brother and compatriot to apply brake and add hydraulic. To him I say, this day borrowing from Fela Anikulapo Kuti – Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense! _ The Tiny Voice

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And Akaneme died! The other side of Soludo!

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By Sunny Igboanugo

Okey Akaneme, former President of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce Industries Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), has finally gone to meet his maker.

His damning fate, encapsulates the entire sad tale of Anambra State under the supervision of Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State since March 17, 2022 till date.

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The Story: On October 11, 2024 men of the Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA) paid him a midday visit. That was the last time he functioned as a normal person. The rest of his days were spent in a vegetative state from one hospital to the other in Anambra and Enugu.

The ASWAMA men, having delivered their trademark blow, left his spine broken and and rendered him permanently dysfunctional until he finally gave up, ending the earthly agony.

Perhaps he could have lived longer, but the last time I heard about him, he had been abandoned at, I heard, Park Lane Hospital, Enugu. The Anambra State Government, which reluctantly intervened after a long period of public outrage, forgot, failed or outrightly refused to pay further hospital bills.

I hear also that before their intervention, Akaneme’s family had spent all they had, including selling off family properties to raise money to save his life, to no avail.

Now, everything is gone – loving husband, father and breadwinner – gone – leaving family in distress – physically – emotionally – financially!

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The culprits? Nothing! Nada! Mum is the word at government quarters. The last I heard of the official side was that the “Government is investigating.” Meanwhile life goes on. More parties to celebrate the mint-₦150billion Government House!

If you’re waiting for the devils that went on that mission and delivered that lethal blow of October 11, 2024 to be rounded up, prosecuted and deservedly locked away from a decent human society, then you’re in for a long wait.

Your answer might come in a different society and probably the next generation. You might just try the International Criminal Court )ICC) at The Hague.

If you’re waiting for emotional compensation in terms of visitation to the family or official apology since the atrocity bears the imprimatur of government, directly or vicariously, then you’re talking about a different Anambra.

As I write this amid droplets of tears for Akaneme and other victims, the streets of Awka and many communities are swarming with thugs, toughies, and roughnecks wielding all manner crude weapons which they freely employ on citizens at the slightest excuse or no excuse at all, other than just animalistic pleasure – pure sports and entertainment.

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The other day it was Enugwu-Ukwu and the other, Obosi, where the Men of Aka-Odo – a dangerous brand of ruffians with the modus operandi of torturing their victims with wooden pestles, deliberately aimed at the tendons, calves and knee-caps to inflict maximum pains and cause temporary or permanent paralysis – reportedly came calling and eventually left in their trails their usual imprint of destruction – weeping, wailing, mourning and gnashing of the teeth.

So, don’t wait! Expecting any form of civility, humane treatment or empathy in the instant case is like pleading for sympathy in the captivity of those blood-thirsty terrorists strutting the landscape of Nigeria. Don’t even go there.

It means you’re yet to appreciate the tenor of those in charge. It means you’re still sucked-in by the noise you hear about the totally Audio Performance. It means you’re still blind to the arrogance – the selfishness – the self-conceitedness – the loath-inspired Pull Him Down (PHC) syndrome at Agu Awka.

It means you’re on all fours with the cluelessness that suggests that the best and only way to generate revenue by the government, is to chance on common citizens trying to eke out a living in the streets of Amawbia, Nnewi and Ekwulobia and give them the Aka-odo treatment or swoop on the managers of the few surviving enterprises in Awka and Onitsha, still deeply thinking about how to pay the next salaries and give them the Akanaeme treatment.

It means you’re what they say you are – uneducated mumu, the derisive name they call you in open and in the private and think you truly deserve, for your inability to think outside the box and for following them sheepishly, unable to change your destiny by taking it in your hand.

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If you’re still detained by the alluring feeling that you have a Professor who will professor well and deliver to you the Dubai-Taiwan of Africa, then the joke is on you.

In an era where these Professors, in fact, Vice Chancellors of universities – the highest job for an academic – are procured to write, collate and announce fake results and create outcomes capable of consuming their country, as is now evident in Nigeria, just because they want to join the club of SUV owners and own buildings in Abuja and other big towns, what else do we have left as dividends of academic attainments?

If you’re not yet appalled by the fact that a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is currently struggling with one complete illiterate counterpart who could not even pronounce the figures in a state budget before the House of Assembly, on how many roads he has built – a routine activity even a complete imbecile could do – then you’re part of the problem.

If you’re convinced that it doesn’t amount to monumental failure that a former CBN governor has not attracted a single local industry let alone one that mimics global concerns like Huawei, Microsoft or Tesla, which is really why he was hired in the first place, having promised to do so – take a bow of ignominy.

If you also thought as you quaffed the O Mpa in your glass, or sipped your Hero Malt that the only reward the architect who made it possible that they are readily available on your table and at your weddings and burials, is deserving of, is to be pulled down and concerned to political ruins by the ex-CBN boss, to satisfy his whims and jealousy-influenced inordinate desires, despite his own zero performance on the same score – good luck to you on the road to infamy.

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If you thought that the hands that wrought this horrible fate on Okechukwu Akaneme should be strengthened and it’s your remit to help in doing so, just know that even at work in the social home in England taking care of the elderly or in the US court crusading for justice for the immigrants struggling to escape the hammer of Donald Trump or at Jankara, Ladipo in Lagos or Sabongeri in Kano or Ogbete Enugu or Eke Oka, Orie Amaesi, Nkwo-Igbo, Eke Ekwulobia – as long as you say yes – the joke is on you.

Don’t say aka m adighi ya, I furu m ebe ahu? You can’t escape it. You share in the culpability. You are liable. You are guilty. Your hand dey there. Because there will be more Akanemes!

There’s only way to not only to escape culpability in the instant case but prevent future Akanemes and other unknown victims – Punish the hands that did this evil.

Stop the wickedness at Agu Awka. End the cluelessness. Olusegun Obasanjo warned Nigerians in 2019 with Muhammadu Buhari not to reinforce failure. The result of not heeding that warning is there, obvious for the world to see today.

Isn’t the same warning apt in Anambra as we stare at each other and wonder what manner of a Professor thinks that Aka-Odo is the best model of generating revenue? Must we then reinforce failure? If yes, good luck, if no, you know what to do. I don’t need to tell you.

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As Okari Obodo – that dangerous masquerade in my community, was always wont in warning parents – Onwehi onye ma onye o je awu nnwaya – translated – nobody knows whose child is next. I’ve done my part.

May the soul of Okechukwu Akaneme and the souls of other victims of Agu Awka atrocities, rest in peace. Amen _ The Tiny Voice!

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