OPEN LETTER TO ABIA CITIZENS by Onwubiko Emmanuel: A Rejoinder By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Dear Publisher,

Permit me to use this opportunity in your widely read online news journal to react to an article published by www.247ureports.com. The article in question has the aforementioned title which was purportedly authored by one Onwubiko Emmanuel who claimed to be a writer, critic and an activist from Bende LGA of Abia State.

This article which from a very objective interpretation represents a public relations piece meant to praise the current governor of Abia State Chief Theodore Orji has attracted my interest particularly because of my strong suspicion that it may have been planted to confuse my readers because of the similarity in byline. Since it started running, I have been inundated by series of disturbing calls from persons who wanted to know if I am the person behind this work which more or less looked like a piece from the Abia state ministry of information or from an affiliated organ to the current state administration in Abia state.

I have struggled to distance myself from this piece but callers have persisted that I do a rejoinder to either raise alarm of possible cloning of my byline or to simply disclaim the piece and put it in its proper perspective since the so-called writer made claims of doing virtually the same work that I have done in the past decades.

Following some observations by my admirers, I have therefore decided to put the records straight by disclaiming this so-called article and to state that first of all, I am not from Abia State and secondly I have no reason under the Sun to praise the Abia State governor whom by all accounts has failed spectacularly to deliver effective good governance to Abia State in the last seven years plus. It is also my wish to state clearly that I never commissioned any one to clone my byline with the surreptitious intent of confusing my good readers.

* Emmanuel Onwubiko is Head, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA)    and blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com; www.huriwa.org. 

25/4/2014

MRS. IZINYON: A REFLECTION ON DEATH By Emmanuel Onwubiko

In my first ever published work in the year 2003 while still working for The Guardian in the nation’s capital, a good friend lost his father which compelled me to dedicate the last chapter of that book to reflect on the concept of death.

By then the postulations by philosophers were predominantly focused on the sacred fact that in life, human beings are apprehensive of coming to terms with the existential reality that death is inevitable.

From 2003 till now, with happenings all around us as a population under the terrible siege by variety of armed freelance hoodlums who are unleashing mass killings of hapless and innocent people, the reality of death has become a daily occurrence and indeed a notorious fact.

Before reflecting on the issue of the sudden and indeed shocking departure to the great World beyond of Mrs. Grace Oluwayemisi Izinyon -a budding writer, lawyer, teacher and the wife of Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), one of the nation’s best known Senior Advocates and indeed one of the few egg heads in the Nigeria’s legal profession, let me return quickly to borrow some lessons from some reputable philosophy masters on the concept of death.

In a celebrated proposition of etica (Ethics), Spinoza affirmed thus: “Of no other thing does man have less thought of than of death; his wisdom remains not in the meditation of death, but of life, which he wrote in Latin language thus; “homo liber nulla reminus quam de morte cogitate. Et eius sapient non mortis, sed vitae meditation est”.

Battista Mondin said in his book “Philosophical Anthropology” that the above suggestion by Spinoza who is one of the fathers of philosophy and modern western culture has become the law for the adult’ ‘mature’, ‘free’ ‘secularized’ man of all times.

The argument or discussion of death has become ‘taboo’ not only for convivial conversations, but also for the serious meditations of philosophers and men of letters of all clime and times.

“The French Anthropologist L. V. Thomas observed that: “Between the society of today and intellectuals, there exists a tacit understanding: I count on you ‘say the readers’, as long as you furnish me with instruments with which to forget, disguise and negate death. If you do not perform the task I have given you, then you will be dismissed; that is, I will no longer read you”.

Ironically, death has become not only the most immanent characteristic of human existence, it is also an actual event; an absolute potentiality, and death is the fate of all human existence. For according to some philosophers the moment we are born, we are already candidates for death and condemned to die.

Blaise Pascal, one of the best known French philosophers presented the above fact of death in a very beautiful way when he wrote thus; “what we are speaking of is ourselves and our all. The immortality of soul is something, which regards us so strongly, which touches us so profoundly that we need to completely lose our good sense to be indifferent to the knowledge of how things stand. All of our actions and thoughts must take very diverse directions according to whether there is (or not) an eternal life to hope for so that it is impossible to make a sensible and prudent choice without working from the solution of this problem which refers to our final end.”

Battisa Mondin said, “Man cannot escape from the research of the existential truth- that is the truth that ensures a sense for and present and future life”.

For those who have not had the misfortune of witnessing the sad reality of death, this may appear like one of those creative tales coming out of Nigeria’s Nollywood movies industry.

But death is worth reflecting on so that each and every one of us would make an introspective journey to his/her better self and resolve to do good to every member of our human family.

It was while still reading the day’s newspapers on April 15th 2014, moaning, groaning and regurgitating on the level of bestiality of the members of the dreaded Islamic sect- Boko Haram who detonated bombs in a parked public park in Nyanya, Abuja the previous day that I came face to face with the obituary announcement of the death of the wife of Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN).

In the obituary signed by the senior lawyer, he had stated thus; “with total submission to the will of the Almighty God, I announce the passing and sudden painful death of my dear wife, mother of my children and friend Mrs. Grace Oluwayemisi Izinyon”.

Dr. Izinyon continued in the most poetic format thus; “you left in a sudden twist and staccato indescribable. I am proud of you that we labored through thick and thin but you left without reaping the fruits. I still love you but God loves you the better….”

Grace Yemisi Izinyon was a professional teacher and a trained lawyer. She had her first degree in Education (BA.Ed) from the University of Ilorin in 1991 and a master degree in personnel psychology (M.P.P) from the University of Ibadan in 1997.

After teaching for many years, she proceeded to the university of Buckingham, England, where she obtained’ her LLB in 2002. She had her LLM in 2004 from Oxford Brookes University Oxford England.

The late Mrs. Izinyon then went to the Nigerian law school in 2004 for the Bar parts one and two and finished in 2005 whereupon she was admitted and called to the prestigious Nigerian bar in November 2005 and practiced.    

I must confess that although I have encountered Dr. Izinyon (SAN) since 1998 during the course of my professional career reporting the Abuja court rooms for The Guardian, the only time I met the late Mrs. Izinyon was only few years back when she joined the rank of Nigerian writers with the public presentation of her first work in which she reflected on the history of the professional rise to stardom of her lovely husband and the book was aptly titled; “The transmutation of legal Genius: The story of Dr. Alex Aigbe Izinyon (SAN).”

In chapter eight of the 131 page book, the late Mrs. Izinyon showered encomiums on her husband and rightly branded him ‘the golden fish”. Keen followers of the goings on in the ever busy political litigation industry in Nigeria, would have noticed that this gentleman has indeed carved a niche for himself as one of the most sought after intellectually deep lawyers. Izinyon became very popular with the dexterity with which he handed the case involving the erstwhile Delta State Governor- Mr. James Onanefe Ibori. Dr. Alex Izinyon represented the then Governor and this particular landmark political case proceeded to the Supreme court from the court of first instance on two occasions and on those two occasions he came tops. The stories of the successes recorded and the success story in the making from the law firm of Dr. Izinyon were replicated in this small but intellectually rich historical book written by the now late Mrs. Grace Izinyon.

She had written that her husband remains a Golden Fish in the following words; “With such a prevailing notion, there was the demanding task for him [Alex Izinyon] to carve a niche for himself and in the process build an image for generations to come, of Abuja lawyers. So he insisted that the hallmark of legal practice is qualitative legal representation which makes the lawyer the true advocate, i.e. the man who pleads the case of another.”

The passage of this intellectual queen-Mrs. Grace Izinyon is therefore not only a loss to her husband but to the literary society of Nigeria who have now lost the opportunity of reading her other collections particularly when her academic resume is so richly blessed with some of the finest post-graduate qualifications/degrees. It is true that the earthly departure of a budding and gifted literary mind meant the burning of a huge richly endowed library, but the wisdom encompassed in this beautiful book on her husband will remain admirable for years to come. The fact that she indeed helped in bringing up her children to attain lofty intellectual heights including some of them pursuing their dreams as lawyers, means that she lived a fulfilled life and the Angels of God will surely keep her good company in the bosom of our Lord.

She has transited. Equally, each of us will pay this debt that we individually owe.

Adieu great soul.

* Emmanuel Onwubiko; Head; HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA; blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com.  

15/4/2014 

Intersociety writes Obiano on crime, cabinet, Peter Obi’s legacy, environmental cleanliness, protection & traffic control

By News Express, www.newsexpressngr.com, on 11/04/2014

His Excellency
Chief Willie Maduabuchukwu Obiano
Executive Governor of Anambra State
Office of the Anambra Governor
Government House, Awka

Sir,

Issues Warranting Our Observation, Advice & Commendation

The leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law-Intersociety wishes to write Your Excellency over the above subject.

1. Crime Fighting & Dislodgement of Criminal Entities: This is so far so good. Your Excellency’s efforts in this aspect are commendable. But caution should be taken to avoid giving the concerned security agencies, particularly the Anambra State Police Command sweeping powers. Such sweeping powers will not only defeat the very aim of making Anambra roundly secured, but will also put the State under police siege with accompanying abuses and corrupt practices including torture and extra judicial killings, reckless mounting of roadblocks and extortion, trumped up allegations and charges, indiscriminate and reckless arrests, unlawful detention and pre-trial extortion.

It is also very important to remind Your Excellency that “a criminal” in strictest sense and according to law and international norms “is a malicious citizen of legally recognized mature age, who is in conflict with the written criminal law, whether misdemeanor or felony; and is subjected to the processes of arrest, detention, investigation, fair trial, conviction and sentencing”. Any individual that falls outside the legally recognized mature age, who is in conflict with written unlawful acts, is described as “juvenile delinquent”. The Children and Young Persons Act of 1944 and relevant Child Rights Act/Laws in the country contain processes to handle such citizens. Exceptions to this fundamental and unambiguous definition are very few such as when an arresting security operative is under violent attack from the malicious citizen, right to self defense may be invoked, with a condition that the force applied by the arresting security operative must not use force that is greater than that applied by his or her attacker. If killing occurs strictly on the foregoing premise, it is called “excusable homicide”.

Following from this, Your Excellency, it is unlawful to take suspects peacefully into custody only for them to be brought out from custody and shot dead. It is also wrong to arrest suspects peacefully only to be taken to police stations and killed extra judicially without investigation and trial. Our laws still forbid “trial by ordeal”.

One of the instance cases is that of Citizen Rapuruchukwu Donatus Ikwuanusi, 32, of 26B, Ihitenasaa Street, Iyiowa Odekpe in Ogbaru LGA of Anambra State. He owns Fish ponds located at 3, Ibekwe Street in Iyiowa Odekpe and SAKAMORI Lane in Nkutaku Layout, Ogbaru LGA. He was peacefully arrested on invitation by a 3-man SARS operatives (Prince, Azubuike and Kingsley) attached to Okpoko Police Station. The arrest took place on 29^th January, 2014 at a restaurant along Obodoukwu Road in Ogbaru. He was first taken to Okpoko Police Station’s SARS unit and later transferred to the SARS headquarters at Awkuzu, from where he disappeared till date. According to his father, Ichie Jude Ikwuanusi, quoting the OC/SARS, CSP Chima Nwafor, Citizen Donatus (fondly called “Daddy”) was accused of “keeping guns for a suspected armed robber named “UPPER”. His parents: Ichie Jude Ikwuanusi (75) and Mrs. Hope (60) Ikwuanusi, who reside with their disappeared son at No. 26B, Ihitenasaa Street in Iyiowa Odekpe Layout, were not informed of his arrest and whereabouts till date.

For crime fighting and control to succeed in Anambra State, there is need to overhaul the State Criminal Justice System. This includes introduction of multi sentencing system especially in the areas of simple, misdemeanor and “low” felony offences or non capital offences. Particularly speaking, fine sentencing should be introduced with biometric profiling of offenders to easily detect repeat offenders. Strict and statutory liability offences like traffic and sanitation/environmental law breaking should be a fundamental part of the foregoing. The Anambra State High Court Division should be professionalized with the appointment of judges with requisite qualifications in civil law to handle civil proceedings and those with requisite qualifications in criminal law, criminology and sociology to handle criminal trials. Magistrates should be barred from entertaining matters with capital punishments whether in the form of “holding charge” or otherwise. The State CID and SARS as well as the State DPP and criminal investigation management should be extensively overhauled and upgraded to modern standards.

2. Environmental Cleanliness, Protection & Traffic Control: We associate ourselves with efforts made so far by Your Excellency in this respect. Other than this, there should be minimum use of touts and militant youths for their enforcement and increased use of mobile courts and formal law enforcement agents. There should be “sanitation offences/environmental degradation mobile courts, sanitation fees mobile courts and traffic offences mobile courts. The major sentencing option of these summary courts should be fines or compulsory community/public services like clearing of drainages, cutting of flowers and weeds at roadways, footpaths and public gardens and parks. Jail sentencing options should be occasionally applied.

There should be flowering and city/road beautification project in the State including clearing and beautification of the Ojukwu Gateway and Upper Iweka areas. Any form of commercial activities within the State Government’s environmental fences between Niger Bridgehead and Onitsha Upper Iweka should be prohibited. The construction work going on at the new Abada Traders’ Market at the Head Bridge should be monitored to avoid the traders congesting the under Bridge and converting it into loading park. All inter-city buses at Upper Iweka should be moved into the State owned expansive park along Owerri Road.  

3. 3-Cs (Continuation, Completion & Commissioning of the Ongoing Projects): Your Excellency’s decision on this is very commendable. The huge investments of the Government and people of Anambra State into this area are at stake. Their completion and commissioning are very critical and a safety key for the huge public investments under reference.

4. State Executive Council: The quality of commissioners and special advisers recently nominated by Your Excellency and cleared by the State House of Assembly gladdens our heart. But one recurring decimal among Anambra’s recent and past commissioners is armchair syndrome. Another is creation and maintenance of illicit revenue bodies and persons. These malicious bodies and persons apply all manners of roguish methods to collect illicit and privatized revenues, after which they return a part to those malicious political aides that created and maintained them. Your Excellency’s new commissioners and special advisers should be roundly monitored and be made to spend most of their duty hours on the fields. They must not be allowed to convert their public offices and duties into “business enterprises”.

5. Peter Obi’s N86.65 Billion Cash & Investments in Office: As Your Excellency may be aware, some faceless groups believed to have been sponsored by malicious politicians have described Mr. Peter Obi’s N86.65 Billion worth of cash and investments left for the State as a fiction. Our re-investigation of the matter clearly showed that what Obi left in office is N86.65 Billion and not N75 Billion as he earlier declared on 8^th of March, 2014 during his public steward presentation.

The breakdown of our re-investigated figure is as follows: 1. Local Investments in SABMiller, Independent Power Project, Orient Petroleum,  Agulu, Awka & Onitsha Hotels  as at 17^th  of March, 2014, N27 billion. 2. Foreign Currency Investments (external bonds with due dates & interests) spread in Diamond, Access and Fidelity Banks as at 17^th day of March, 2014, $156 million or N26.5 billion. 3. Certified State / MDAs / MDGs’ cash balances as of the date under reference, N28.165 billion. 4. Federal Government of Nigeria’s approved refund for federal roads done and completed on its behalf by the Government of Anambra State as at 17^th day of March, 2014, N10 billion. 5. These bring the grand total to N91, 65 billion.  When deducted from the received and paid  certificates of already executed projects of N5 billion, the total  remaining balance as at 17^th day of March, 2014 is put at N86.665 billion.

Though, in the course of our re-investigation, we saw relevant government and bank documents that detailed the said investments and cash, but there is need for Your Excellency to speak publicly on the issue. We also saw the gubernatorial handover letter from Mr. Peter Obi to Your Excellency, wherein the breakdown of the cash and investment credit was clearly given. We believe that three weeks plus, which Your Excellency’s new government has lasted, is enough to verify the authenticity or otherwise of Mr. Peter Obi’s cash and investment credit of N86.65Billion contained in the handover note he handed over to Your Excellency. There is public need for Your Excellency to speak today because today it is Mr. Peter Obi being lied against, tomorrow, it could be Chief Willie Obiano.

Following from these, our sacred questions are: Did Peter Obi owe arrears to retired and serving work force both at State and LGA levels as at 17^th of March, 2014? Did he owe State contractors over satisfactorily and certified executed projects of any type? Did he leave the State in huge domestic and foreign indebtedness? Did he leave any MDAs and MDGs cash of N28.165 Billion as at 17^th of March, 2014? Did he buy foreign currency bonds of $156 Million or N26.5 Billion for the State? If yes, where are they located? What about the State investments of N27 Billion? Do they exist or are they a fiction? Is there any Federal Government approved refund of N10 Billion for federal roads done on its behalf by the Government of Anambra State?

On a related premise, we pray Your Excellency to concern Your Excellency’s attention on “economic governance” and avoid being drawn into “political governance” by detractors and enemies of the State. The like of Imo State is already on a doomed path because its gubernatorial elected public office holders abandoned the hallowed governance path and crashed unto “political governance” path. Today in Imo State, it is “debt, debt, debt and debt” all over the place. A House of Assembly speaker now reportedly awards road contracts. Political charlatans appear to have been on rampage in the State!

Avoid Sir, people who want to create friction between you and your predecessor. Anambra People are inpatient and intolerant to showbiz and propagandist public governance. Making things happening on positive side, moment by moment, gladdens their heart and catapults the popularity of the achiever to the hall of fame. Some quarters have raised accusing fingers at Your Excellency’s camp as the sponsors of the faceless groups under reference. But we still cannot fathom what that will add to Your Excellency’s political values as well as the collective well being of the people of Anambra State if Your Excellency’s accusers are right.

For instance, assuming, but not conceding that Your Excellency’s camp is behind the sponsorship of the faceless groups, does it mean that leaving a whopping credit of N86.65 Billion for the State is a crime? Will Your Excellency wish to leave Anambra in huge deficits at the end of Your Excellency’s tenure? These questions have further made it imperative for Your Excellency’s urgent public pronouncement on the said matter so as to rest it once and for all. We congratulate Your Excellency for a good start.

•This letter, dated April 11, 2014, was signed by Intersociety’s Board Chairman, Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi (emekaumeagbalasi@yahoo.co.uk), and Head, Publicity Desk, Comrade Justus Ijeoma (justuchei@gmail.com).

11/4/2014