CNN International interviews Nigeria's President Obasanjo and Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfricaonline.com, 1st African-owned, U.S-based professional newspaper to be published on the Internet

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Anambra's rigged 2003 elections:
Chris Uba's confession at WIC 2004 in Newark, USA

By RUDOLF OGOO OKONKWO
Special correspondent and columnist for CLASS magazine,
USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston and USAfricaonline.com

USAfrica HIGHLIGHT: The Anambra forum audience in Newark, New Jersey followed up with questions after the younger Chief Chris Uba made his presentation and case against Anambra's governor, the older physician, Dr. Chris Ngige whom Uba says he played "godfather" to. There were questions about the way forward and where all these had left the Anambra people. As Uba tried to answer one question, more were thrown at him. At one point Uba was visibly upset, "You cannot be raising your hand when I am talking," he warned a forum member. Periodically voices were raised and proceeding was charged. It was apparent that the audience was determined to challenge Uba on every count of his presentation. The challenge irritated Uba especially when a distinguished woman member of the audience asked him "what about democracy?"

In a matter-of-fact manner, PDP's chieftain in Anambra Chris Uba stood up and astonished all that were present in Newark when he said, "We, the PDP, did not win the election (of 2003). I have gone to church to confess. The election had no document. I called the result before 12 midnight. I gave INEC the money and asked them to call the result." The revelation caused an uproar as well as some applause in the hall. "The person we took his thing is here," Uba said, pointing at Peter Obi (the APGA candidate) who was sitting among the audience, in the back row. There was a thunderous applause as people looked at Peter Obi and some began to call him 'governor.'

It was followed by a period of confusion. Voices were once again raised. Some screamed at Uba to continue with his confession. Others called him disgusting and asked him to sit down. Another called Uba the saving grace of Anambra state. Another man walked up to Uba who had returned to his seat and pointed a finger at him saying, "You despicable man stole my mandate and our votes." Uba's aides, including the dreaded Chuma Nzeribe swung into action. Uba, to the surprise of many, had the former chairman of PDP Anambra, Chief Dan Ulasi, among his delegation from Nigeria and Houston. When the forum turned more hectic, key members of the Uba delegation asked the controversial Uba to ignore those who demanded more answers. "Do not say anything again!" they told him. I watched Uba as he consulted his aides and immediately after he asked the video cameraman recording the proceeding to switch off his recorder. Uba tried to speak more but his voice was drowned by the noise. In frustration, Uba said, "Let them make noise. I won't answer any other question." Uba's aides were seen threatening those screaming at Uba, "Afterwards, you will come back to Anambra state. Won't you? We shall see...." Full report below:

It was getting to 2pm on Sunday September 5, 2004. The church service had ended and I was talking to MO Ene outside the convention hall of the Newark Airport Sheraton Hotel when the Chairman of the World Igbo Congress (WIC) came and urged that we come into one of the halls to listen to a Jewish lawyer, Mr. Silverstone who was invited as a guest to the WIC 2004

Inside the hall, he talked about the place of Igbo in Nigeria and why the Igbo must accept the responsibility of rescuing Nigeria. "They might not have your vision" Mr. Silverstone said, "but they share your dreams". It was a similar theme to those already expressed by Nigeria's former ruler, retired Gen. Muhammad Buhari on Thursday's convention forum who reminded the Igbo and other guests at the forum that things worked in Nigeria when the Igbos were in charge of things and everything fell apart as soon as the Igbos were pushed off the scene after the 1967-1970 Nigeria-Biafra 'civil' war.

Many times, Silverstone's presentation was interrupted by loud noise coming from the room next door. Several officials of WIC went to the next room to pacify the rowdy delegates - all to no avail. At the end of Silverstone's presentation, I inquired; there and behold was Anambra Forum session 'number two.' It had about 84 indivduals.

I walked into the raucous hall. Many delegates were standing by the door charging and arguing on top of their voices. I secured a seat by the front row. There was a videotape on pause. The delegates were in disagreement as to whether the video should continue to play or not. On the screen, with mouth wide open and words frozen in his mouth was Gov. Chris Ngige of Anambra state. "This is an insult to us," one delegate shouted from the back. "We have heard all these before." Another screamed out louder than the one before. "If you don't want to watch", yelled yet another from the left side of the hall, "get out and let those who want to watch do so."

I settled down and tried to observe the rowdy scenes. Oyibo Achebe, the President of Enugu-Anambra indigenes in New Jersey, began to calm the audience down. He had to scream over and above the disorderly crowd in order to be heard. "I didn't know who Chris Uba was until now," Achebe said pointing at Chris Uba who was sitting directly in front of me "but I think we should listen to his presentation and afterwards those who have questions would ask him." Miraculously, the audience calmed down and the tape was once again turned on.

It was a documentary that chronicled the journey of Chris Uba and Ngige. It covered the period before the campaign, during the campaign and afterwards when their relationship was dandy. In several instances, Ngige was seen singing the praise of Chris Uba and attributing to Uba the sole responsibility for his victory at the election. The tape also showed Uba boasting about his confidence in Ngige and in his ability to make Ngige governor.

After the tape had played, Chris Uba was called upon to explain the essence of the tape. Oyibo Achebe premised the call by channeling the discussion towards the finding of a lasting solution that would bring peace to Anambra people. The World Igbo Congress (WIC), he said, had charged the forum to come up with resolution that would be integrated into the WIC's communiqué.

"Ngige is like someone afflicted with diarrhea. He has been going around the press talking," Uba said, "I want to explain to you people my own side of the story." With that, Chris Uba stood up and began to narrate the history of his relationship with Ngige. He bragged about how he literally picked Ngige up from obscurity and single handedly made him a governor, irrespective "of the signs" that Ngige was, in his assessment these days "not trustworthy." Ngige, he revealed, had rocky relationships with everyone including his father and siblings. According to Uba, Ngige's own brother, Emeka Ngige, urged him "not to make Chris Ngige governor.... When we got to Enugu, I pulled Ngige into a room, locked the door and asked him to tell the truth about his relationship with his father. I insisted that I should see his father."

Uba, whose brother Andy is a close personal aide of Nigeria's president Obasanjo went on to talk about how he visited Ngige's father and how the man reluctantly endorsed his son. President Obasanjo, Chris Uba alleged, also had doubts about Chris Ngige's worthiness to be governor. He revealed how he took candidate Ngige to Obasanjo who queried the candidate on Uba's report regarding Ngige's relationship with his father and siblings. Uba claimed Obasanjo was particularly concerned that Ngige was not, allegedly, in a talking terms with his father "over a land issue" and felt that such individual must not be entrusted with the governance of a state.

In light of these concerns, Uba said, he decided to sign several agreements with Ngige before they proceeded to have him as the PDP candidate - the same party Obasanjo belongs to. These agreements, he said, were aimed at ensuring that Ngige would not default from the expectation of the caucus that put him in office. Copies of these documents prepared and signed by Ngige were distributed. The Uba group had earlier bought over 17 pages in an African newspaper in which these documents were splashed.

Chris Uba proceeded to lay fresh accusations of how Ngige had been misusing Anambra state resources. He accused the governor of mismanaging 150 million Naira monthly security vote and of claiming 36 million Naira for meals every month. Uba mentioned instances where he would pay for hotel bill after a visit to Lagos and Abuja with Ngige and their entourage and Ngige would get back to Awka and claim the money from state coffers. On the marvelous road works Ngige claimed he had been doing in Anambra state, Uba said he would pay for three people from Anambra U.S.A to come home and verify if any of those claims were true.

Uba seemed unapologetic and rather condescending to the incumbent governor of the state (who was not at the forum number two. Several times, Uba stunned the audience with the words coming out of his mouth. His derision of the governor was perhaps unpalatable to those who have spent a great deal of their lives in western styled democracy.

Uba, without any qualm, used expressions like, "I forced Ngige to…" "When I brought the commander in chief…" "Ngige started to cry and to beg me…" "I told Ngige that today is today". "I called him and asked him to rush down…"

Responding to the general impression that he was running the state as if it was his personal property, Uba told the forum "I do not control Anambra state. I control the federal government." The ease with which he threw around the president's name in his tales was shocking and revealing. His unrestricted access to the president was apparent. It was obvious that Uba either had no sense or did not care about how unappealing his deportment was to the audience. He made spirited efforts to convince the forum that he made investment in Ngige's political career and deserved a pay back.

"Ninety-five percent of the things Ngige signed," Uba said, "was for the interest of Anambra state." As if the forum would be impressed that Uba only wanted five percent. "If I want to get back my money," Uba bragged, "I will recommend a contractor."

The Anambra forum audience in Newark, New Jersey followed up with questions after the younger Chief Chris Uba made his presentation and case against Anambra's governor, the older physician, Dr. Chris Ngige whom Uba says he played "godfather" to. There were questions about the way forward and where all these had left the Anambra people. As Uba tried to answer one question, more were thrown at him. At one point Uba was visibly upset, "You cannot be raising your hand when I am talking," he warned a forum member. Periodically voices were raised and proceeding was charged. It was apparent that the audience was determined to challenge Uba on every count of his presentation. The challenge irritated Uba especially when a member of the audience asked him "what about democracy?"

In a matter-of-fact manner, Uba stood up and astonished all that were present when he said, "We, the PDP, did not win the election (of 2003). I have gone to church to confess. The election had no document. I called the result before 12 midnight. I gave INEC the money and asked them to call the result." The revelation caused an uproar as well as some applause in the hall. "The person we took his thing is here," Uba said, pointing at Peter Obi (the APGA candidate) who was sitting among the audience, in the back row. There was a thunderous applause as people looked at Peter Obi and some began to call him 'governor.'

It was followed by a period of confusion. Voices were once again raised. Some screamed at Uba to continue with his confession. Others called him disgusting and asked him to sit down. Another called Uba the saving grace of Anambra state. Another man walked up to Uba who had returned to his seat and pointed a finger at him saying, "You despicable man stole my mandate and our votes." Uba's aides, including the dreaded Chuma Nzeribe swung into action. Uba, to the surprise of many, had the former chairman of PDP Anambra, Chief Dan Ulasi, among his delegation from Nigeria and Houston. When the forum turned more hectic, key members of the Uba delegation asked the controversial Uba to ignore those who demanded more answers. "Do not say anything again!" they told him. I watched Uba as he consulted his aides and immediately after he asked the video cameraman recording the proceeding to switch off his recorder. Uba tried to speak more but his voice was drowned by the noise. In frustration, Uba said, "Let them make noise. I won't answer any other question." Uba's aides were seen threatening those screaming at Uba, "Afterwards, you will come back to Anambra state. Won't you? We shall see...."

An armed security man was brought in and he spoke to the forum members to calm down or be kicked out of the hall. When calm returned, Uba declined to comment further. Peter Obi was called up and he spoke with discretion and wisdom.

In a measured voice, Obi told the forum "If I say what is happening in Anambra state, you will be mad." He said, ironically, he would trust "this person here, Ochiagha" (pointing to Chris Uba) before he would trust the man he (Obi) contested with for the position of Anambra governor, Dr. Chris Ngige. Obi told the story of how Chris Ngige confessed in his presence and in front of Bishops that he (Ngige) did not win the 2003 governorship election. He once again repeated what had become his mantra when he said, "When the premise of an argument is wrong, the conclusion is also wrong." Mr. Obi charged Anambra people abroad to help "save our State" saying that only those abroad could rescue Anambra. "If you reason like the people at home, we'll all be finished. You're our hope." He went further to warn, "The society we abuse today will tomorrow take revenge on our children."

Thereafter, the session ended as rancorous as it began. As Chris Uba and his entourage drove into town, I followed him for an interesting evening....

Are we Igbos or "Ibos"?
By CHIDO NWANGWU

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The "Ibo" misspelling of the south eastern Nigerian Igbo ethnic nation of almost 32 million people reflect, essentially, a post-colonial hangover of British and Euro-Caucasoid colonial miseducation, misrepresentations, and (mis)pronounciation preference. It is/was just easier for the White man/woman to say 'Ibo' rather than 'Igbo.' We must remember the late psychiatrist, pan-African scholar and activist Franz Fanon's mytho-poetic and insightful words in his 1952 book, Black Skin White Masks, that "A man who has a language [consequently] possesses the world expressed and implied by that language." Should Igbos and other African nationalities, incrementally and foolishly give up the core of their communal and national identity on the discredited altars of Euro-Caucasoid racist supremacy and colonial predations? I have two modest answers: first is No; and second is No.

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Regarding the use of the word "Ibo" as opposed to "Igbo" in some media outlets, commentaries and recent announcements by some of our folks, may I make a few observations:

First, let's state the most important element of this language advisory: the erroneous, incorrect usage and blatant dislocation of the Igbo identity and name is the preference for the colonial spelling and reference, lazily spelled as "Ibo." Second, the "Ibo" misspelling reflects, essentially, a post-colonial hangover of British and Euro-Caucasoid colonial miseducation, misrepresentations, incorrect spellings and (mis)pronounciation preference. It is/was just easier for the White man/woman to say 'Ibo' rather than 'Igbo.'

Such language and cultural impositions which are fancifully and farcically adopted by the colonized natives and the dispirited are still evident across the African continent, south and central Asia and parts of Latin America where colonialist predation was not only economic but a crude decapitation of the languages, mores, culture and identities of the ethnic nations they invaded and colonized.

Third, and more important, the linguistic history, autography and anthropological identities of the almost 35 million citizens of the enterprising, vibrant, resourceful, unduly intra-antagonistic, capitalistic, religious, and republicanist communities and people who form the Igbo nation show, credibly, that our language and ethnic nation should always be identified and spelt as Igbo.

Note the fact that there's an Igbo alphabet identified as "gb" as distinguishable from "g" and "b"; same for "gw" as distinguishable from "g" and "w". For instance in Nwangwu, which many inattentive non-Igbo, put forth a wrong, hurried misspelling: Nwangu.

Again, they remove the Igbo alphabet "gw". For the nation, Igbo, the 'gb' is the key.

Many Igbos and other people have mixed up the Igbo identity/name/language/people with this colonial misrepresentation as "Ibo(s)."

We must not dilute the correct spelling(s) of the Igbo nation and people; and in fact ours, individually. Otherwise, we should all gladly celebrate the backwater hatefulness encapsulated in the misspelling of Obigbo and Umumasi as (R)umuigbo and (R)umumasi. It's that important and basic, too.

We should not give up any Igbo alphabet and spellings, in this regard, therefore. It is different from abbreviating a long surname or first name.

Immediately after the birth on December 20, 1998, of the Houston octuplets, I believe one of the better things I've contributed to global Igbo interest was factually and materially causing the world's number 1 news agency AP through some of its news staff, especially Mark Barbineck (bless him!) to change the reference to Igbos as "Ibos" as a minimum standard for me to do the interviews with AP (same standard was held up for any other media corporation during my pro-bono (free) international multimedia projection services and news interviews I offered to benefit the octuplets and their parents. It has become, thankfully, the AP standards as well as those of almost 30,000 newspapers who take the AP and Reuters' news feed to refer to us as Igbo(s). If your local newspaper does the "Ibo" stuff, kindly write them and demand a correction.

I never heard/read the Azikiwes, Okparas, Ojukwus, Achebes, Nwangwus, Nzeogwus, Obis, Emeagwalis, Nwafors, Ogbalus, or Obicheres refer to us as "Ibo(s)".

Hopefully, this modest language advisory will set the affirmative, conclusive identification on the issue of whether we are "Ibos" or Igbos. It is, for me, Igbos, sui generis, as a people, an identity and as a language.

We must remember the late psychiatrist, pan-African scholar and activist Franz Fanon's mytho-poetic and insightful words in his 1952 book, Black Skin White Masks, that "A man who has a language [consequently] possesses the world expressed and implied by that language."

Should Igbos and other African nationalities, incrementally and foolishly give up the core of their communal and national identity on the discredited altars of Euro-Caucasoid racist supremacy and colonial predations? My modest answer is No.

Before some demagogic and ill-informed "native" comes to the defense of the Euro-Caucasian impositions, let's quickly note that this is not a debate about language accretion and/or adding conceptual properties and descriptive symbols to enrich our language, or any language, for that matter. For example, I argue we should add the words Computer, Internet, etc to the Igbo language, and regarding same in its contextualized Igbo meaning or word(s).

 I'll state, without fear of contradiction that no language, today, is clinically restricted and strictly reflective of its national borders. None! Not even the Talibans in their tunnel vision of the world, and cultural phillistinism.

May God continue to enrich the Igbo nation as we protect, project and defend our heritage and identity into the new millennium. I'll close with the wise words of the same, late African warrior Franz Fanon who wrote, "Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it." On whose and which side are you?

Igbo traditional life, culture and literature
By Prof. Emmanuel Obiechina

Monday, June 17, 2002
Re: USAfricaonline.com: Are we Igbos or "Ibos"? By Chido Nwangwu

In a book co-edited by Michael J.C.Echeruo and myself in 1971, I devoted considerable space dealing with this question of the correct naming of
Ndi-Igbo, the ethnic nationality, the language, and the identity, in a fairly lengthy "Introduction." I commend this discussion to your audience.
The book is titled Igbo Traditional Life, Culture and Literature and was published by Conch Magazine Press in New Paltz, New York.

It is now out of print, after a number of reprints, but it is available in major libraries in the United States. An interesting aspect of this question is that it has been deliberately and intelligently dealt with by James Africanus Beale Horton, a Sierra Leonean intellectual whose parents were Igbo, in the nineteenth century.

From all available evidence, it is obvious that from deepest antiquity, the people have always known themselves and their language as "Igbo."
Prof. Obiechina, a leading scholar on English, literature and African sociology, teaches at Harvard University. He was a deputy vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Tuesday, December 11, 2001
Re: USAfricaonline.com: Are we Igbos or "Ibos"? By Chido Nwangwu

Chido, (you've written) an excellent insight. Please continue the good work of educating our kith and kin who swallow foreign rubbish, hook, line and sink(er)!
I once told one racist that I care less what he decides to answer since he cares less how my own name is pronounced. I cannot struggle to pronounce McPherson with all the tonal accents when the Caucasian does not care a heck how Chukwudi is pronounced.
Ndiribe is a Professor of International Relations at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Wednesday June 12, 2002
Re: USAfricaonline.com: Are we Igbos or "Ibos"?

I salute Chido Nwangwu for a well-articulated position. It is baffling that in the year 2002, some segments of the Western world still need to be educated that we are Igbo not "Ibo." These guys must be tone-deaf. The earliest Europeans who wandered into our lands were incapable of pronouncing "Igbo" (and didn't bother to learn how to pronounce it).

They found it more convenient to refer to our forebears as "Heebo," "Eboe," and "Ebo" -- as evidenced in the accounts of those of them who visited the Lower Niger in the 19th century (e.g. M. Laird, R. A. K. Oldfield, W. Allen, T. R. H. Thomson, Richard and John Lander, William Baike). By the turn of the 20th century, the Europeans had settled on "Ibo" -- and for quite a while some of our Westernized kinsmen and women went along with them in this regard.

The "consensus," over the past 20 years, has been to abandon the colonialist corruption of our collective identity (Ibo) and re-instate the original and true usage (Igbo). Today, only walking museums of the European muddling of African languages still refer to the Igbo as "Ibo." Incidentally, this is an elaboration of lines I had written in December 2000 on www.jendajournal.com/jenda/vol1.1/responses
Nwaubani teaches at the Department of History, University of Colorado at Boulder.

This issue is food for thought....
By C . Ukachukwu <c_ukachukwu@yahoo.com>
Tuesday, December 11, 2001
Re: USAfricaonline.com: Are we Igbos or "Ibos"? By Chido Nwangwu

This happens to be a pet peeve of mine: Ndigbo who address themselves as "Ibos". Simply because it was good enough for the whiteman doesn't mean it ought to be good enough for nwa afo Igbo. This goes to the core of one's identity. We are Ndi Igbo.

Contrary to popular belief, we shouldn't view mangling our own identity as cute. I've called people's phones at work (and sometimes even at home!) to hear their imitation of Americans imitating the French (or whoever) trying to pronounce their own Igbo names. "Hello, you have reached Nu-wa-nko's desk,..."(he means Nwankwo!) How about this: "Sorry The Yoo-Bah family cannot take your call right now..." (Yoo-Bah is for Uba). I can go on. If one voluntarily validates the wrong identity erroneously hung on one by an unwitting associate where does one eventually stand to get it right? This food for thought by Mr. Nwangwu is worth a sober digestion.

Thanks for the correction.... Thanks for your great work.
By Ngozi Nweze-Eleweanya

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