[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hings seem not to be at ease with 21-year-old Watford star, Isaac Success, after claiming to have been duped by four commercial sex workers he met in a strip club in London’s West End to spend the night with him. The premier league star had not played in Watford’s 2-0 win at Southampton on September 9 but enjoyed a night out the following day in London, when he met the girls.
The Nigerian striker gave the four prostitutes (Michaela Carter, Ms Alexis Domerge and two others) £500 each (which is approximately one million naira), for a night with him at a hotel after he boasted of his prowess to the ladies.
As a result of the excess intake of two bottles of Baileys liqueur straight from the bottle, he was unable to perform, despite everything they could think of to try and rouse the player but to no avail.
After about 90 minutes of inaction, the ladies notified him of their intention to leave, this got Success frustrated because the ladies declined giving him an extra time. He angrily demanded his money back.
However, things started to get nasty when disagreement ensued. There was a lot of screaming which woke the entire patron of the hotel. The hotel then sidelined them out. The star, who earns £30,000 a week, was arrested in the Hertfordshire hotel lobby after police were called following an allegation of assault.
It is claimed Success admitted to police he paid the girls for sex and he was put in handcuffs while claiming he had been cheated out of his money.
Meanwhile, Success, who signed for Watford for £12.5million in July 2016, told his bank to block the payment to the escorts. A spokesman for Hertfordshire Police confirmed they are investigating an allegation of assault reported to have happened at 6.30am on September 11.
He had since been arrested and de-arrested and inquiries are ongoing.
The new Lagos State Commissioner of Police Mr. Imohimi Edgal has tasked the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force SP Olayinka Egbeyemi to completely eradicate all criminal hideouts/black-spots across the State. SP Egbeyemi discolsed that the Commissioner of Police has mandated him and other Divisional Police Officers to wipe out all criminal elements from their hideouts across the State.
He stated that the new Commissioner of Police is poised at tackling all criminal challenges and making sure that criminal elements were no longer allowed any free reign: they will not be given freedom of space to practice any of their criminal acts. The Chairman listed areas to be raided as directed by the Commissioner of Police to includes Egbe-Idimu, Iyana-Ipaja (Abule-Oki & Car-wash), Ikotun, Mushin, Bariga, Apapa, Orile-Agege, Ajegunle, Ikorodu, Lagos-Island, Oshodi, Pen-cinema, Berger, Oyingbo, Mile 2, Fadeyi and Ojuelegba. SP Egbeyemi stated that government would not fold it’s arm and watch criminals destroying huge investment already expended on infrstructural development across the state.
The Lagos Police and operatives of the State Task Force in a joint operation over the weekend arrested about 50 suspected criminals and confiscated 48 bags of illicit drugs in the Akala area of Mushin as part of the state’s policy to eradicate criminal hideouts in Lagos. The mid-night joint enforcement operation was led by Mr. Soji Akinbayo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force SP Olayinka Egbeyemi as well as all Divisional Police Officers under Area ‘D’ command Mushin.
Speaking on the operation, the SP Olayinka Egbeyemi disclosed that 44 males and 6 female suspected notorious criminals were arrested during the raid. He disclosed further that 48 bags of substances suspected to be Indian hemp with packs of other illicit drugs such as ‘Novalyn with Codeine Cough Syrup’ and ‘A tuxil-c cough & cold with Codeine’ were recovered during the midnight raid.
SP Egbeyemi stated that the Task Force and Lagos Police Officers are battle-ready to maintain ‘Zero Tolerance’ on criminal activities across the State as initiated and directed by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Imohimi Edgal.
He commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for giving priority to security challenges in the State by supporting the Nigerian Police including Lagos State Task Force with needed working materials. One of the suspected male notorious criminals Sunday Adesoye a.k.a Malboro confessed that ‘Akala’ serves as a ‘Central Market’ for Indian hemp and illicit drugs to all miscreants and hoodlums across the state
He stated further that he sold an average of N500,000 worth of Indian hemp with other illicit drugs per day to his customers from Obalende, Oshodi, Pen-cinema, Apapa, Lagos Island, Fadeyi amongst others. A female suspect Mrs. Basirat Jimoh a.k.a Iya Suzzy, who hails from Ibadan in Oyo State, confessed to have been trading in Indian hemp and other illicit drugs at Akala area for over 17 years but denied being involved in any criminal activities.
All the arrested suspects have since been charged before Magistrate Lateef Owolabi of the Lagos State Mobile Court on a 3-count charge of Unlawful possession of weed suspected to be Indian Hemp, Trading in Indian Hemp and Conduct likely to cause Breach of Peace and Disorderly manner.
The Prosecuting Counsel, Barrister Oluremi Kuku disclosed that after the 50 suspected notorious criminals including six females pleaded ‘Not Guilty’ before the court, the Magistrate granted them bail and the case was adjourned to 15th of November, 2017 for further hearing. The Lagos State Office of the Public Defender however provided free legal representation to the 50 accused through Barrister Bashiru Abdulsalam who appeared on their behalf during the trial.
Mr. Ganiyu Sekoni Balogun The National President of ATBOWATON
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transportation of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) has described the claims made by the marine police that it recovers between 10 and 15 corpses on daily basis in parts of Lagos waterways as not totally true. The National President of the association, Mr. Ganiyu Sekoni Balogun who stated this in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos said that even if something like that existed, it was exaggerated by the police.
Balogun further doubted if there is any accident that happens on the waterways that will not get reported by the media adding that even if there is, it may be such insignificant that it didn’t catch the fancy of the journalists.
He said,”I hope the police will not see it as if I am against them but that is not completely true because that will scare a lot of people away from the waterways. If that is true, 15 corpses? It is not 15 rams, it is not he-goat or she-goat.“Just like you asked, is that not being exaggerated? Somebody jumped into the water last time and committed suicide, is that the fault of the operators? He is not a passenger, somebody decided to take his life and jumped into the water. If that corpse was found undetected, it doesn’t mean that was an accident on the water.
“Besides that, when an accident happen today on the waterways, it is unfortunate that when a small or big accident happens on the water, the way it will be spread all over, meanwhile on the road, almost every two hours, there are accidents here and there across the country but it is not being highlighted like that”.
He informed that they were going to to the media on the way they report marine accidents noting that while they would not stop them from reporting marine accidents but they should not paint the picture that waterways transportation is not safe.
“Recently, I doubt if there is any u reported accident on the waterways. Maybe about 10 years ago, it may not be reported but now, especially with the new government that we have and the journalists these days, they look for stories of what is happening including the positive and the negative especially with these our mobile technologies, I can send you what I saw today and by tomorrow you put it on air.
“So, I doubt if there is, even if there could be, maybe 5% of the accidents on the waterways that are not reported. You know accidents have levels, any one that doesn’t claim life may not be reported. If a boat runs into an iron or into an object on the water and it breaks and the boat sinks, eventually almost all the people in the boat are safe and no course for reporting it to the police and there is no journalist there at that time it happened, it may not be in the news.
“But life is involved, definitely, the police will be involved and then the reporters will get it and it will be reported”, he said. Balogun who is also the Managing Director of Tarzan Boats however thanked the marine police for her quick intervention which led to the swift recovery of his snatched boat within hours of attack adding that “that was the first time in the whole history of marine business that they (robbers) took a boat and the police recovered it that same day and the engine was also recovered”.
He continued,”No boat that was stolen in the past and was recovered alongside the engine, you only see carcass but that one, I give kudos to them and thank the Governor of Lagos state who provided that both for them. That is why I am saying that there is no reason why the federal, state and local governments cannot work together if our target is to provide an enabling environment for the operators and a safe water transportation for the people of the state and the country at large”.
[dropcap]“M[/dropcap]onkey Tail,” though an unlikely sounding moniker, is simply a drink made of ogogoro (local gin) left to brew in igbo (marijuana leaves, stems, roots or seeds) for a few days or more, producing varying units of intoxication (UOI) for the user. The beverage gives users two different kinds of “highs” simultaneously with unpredictable outcomes, especially for a novice and depending on the alcoholic content, igbo potency and amount consumed. There is also the case of synergy where ten UOI of ogogoro plus ten UOI of igbo can cause thirty seven UOI when consumed.
Today, Monkey Tail is seen by Nigerians as popular masculine drink. Street boys are believed to abuse it recklessly, mostly as an agent of Dutch courage and ‘escape’ from the trials of street life. While at the higher echelons of the social structure, gentlemen are most likely to drink it responsibly and mostly for sexual purposes. Women who drink Monkey Tail would by default be perceived to be wayward or unwomanly.
Grassroots Publishers online uncovered that Monkey Tail throughout the 1980s and 1990s was a common ‘date-rape’ drug in Nigeria. At tertiary institutions of learning or in towns, the parties thrown by young men often served “punch”. Similar to the punch cocktails, the variant in question was mostly a concoction of Monkey Tail (primary ingredient), other spirits, dessert wine, Ribena, bits/slices of fruit and sometimes Guinness or palm-wine. Sweeteners and other additives were introduced to mask the sickly taste of marijuana. Some desperate guys even added barbiturates.
At the parties, usually small and intimate, called “mellows”, decent food would be served to all the girls with the fruity and delicious “punch” before any male. The girls loved the punch especially when ice was available. The unwitting girls were having a good time for all they cared. Then the dancing would start in earnest and within an hour one could observe all the social inhibitions of the girls had fallen flat with them laughing at each other’s antics. Not too long after that they would simply pass out.
Whatever happened to those girls often remains a secret to this day, but one source who spoke to Xclusive Magazine on condition of anonymity confessed that the primary purpose and outcome of the parties was rape. A lot of girls had compromising photos taken of their naked bodies or engaged in sex with a guy whose face could not be seen while theirs were. Many of these girls ended up being blackmailed for money and sex by the party throwers. In fact, it was claimed that many thousands of girls were forced into part prostitution as a result of the ensuing blackmail.
The source volunteered the information to Xclusive Magazine after openly confessing his sins to an undisclosed church congregation. He said he had discovered what is now known as Monkey Tail as a date rape drug by accident. He had given it to two girls who visited him on their insistence at his one room apartment in Benin-City while he was a teacher there in 1979. He went to have sex with the girls as they had become unconscious and he spread passed the word.
It was a scheme he and his friends exacted for several years on women with increasing sophistication, especially while he was an undergraduate. He also possessed many compromising photos of naked women. Today he claims to be totally repentant and seriously regrets his actions.
Monkey Tail has certainly had a silent but evil history. What is it used for these days?
…Making love to my wife is getting boring!
This is a serious matter and I am writing this with a heavy heart. Making love to my wife is no more interesting. This is an issue that is very common amongst my circle of friends and they have girlfriends who satisfy them when their wives aren’t doing the job right. After two kids, she is getting very boring in bed and it is really bothering me because I believe so much in the sanctity of marriage and cheating is just something I really don’t want to do. Please I sincerely need your assistance because am really desperate.
– James
Madam Love Mirror Says: This is a situation that is very rampant amongst families. First of all let me even commend you for still having morals and trying not to tear your family apart by having extra marital affairs. I have come across people going through the same stuff as yourself. It is not rocket science to think that marriage will lose its flavour over time – but first of all, ask yourself, is your wife someone that has been a sexual adventurous woman? If you married someone who isn’t really sexually adventurous, then this may pose a challenge. You really need to discuss this issue with her, sit her down and talk about this situation and am sure if she is truly in love with you and want this marriage to last, then she would co-operate within reason. Let us be factual here, the deed done in the bedroom is part of the grease that oils the wheel of marriage. Here are some suggestions:
Personally, I would say rent a x-rated movie, watch it with her and learn some fresh moves. Show her what you would like her to do for you and then learn some moves yourself and dispose of the film when the learning is complete because we don’t want you hooked to watching it.
Doing some roleplays as well helps out (you know dressing up in the bedroom)
Taking baths together, giving each other massages with soothing oils
Taking her out on dates
I would also like to add this: help her around the house; compliment her; buy her gifts even when its not her birthday because, to tell you the truth, most women are just tired from doing so much that after the whole day she is just tired, and most ladies when they are happy and relaxed, the men will receive the dividends in the bedroom. Try all that and see if it works. Remember if all fails, consult a professional like a Sex therapist.
My friend wants to get rid of a 6-month pregnancy
Please my friend wants to terminate a 6-month old pregnancy because it is her second out of wedlock. The father of the child has run away and she has promised never to have another child except in marriage. Her mother is currently helping her look after the first child and her mother will definitely not help her with this one. Everybody has tried to convince her to give the child up for adoption after the birth, but she has refused, and is bent on getting rid of the child. Help me out.
– Wale
Madam Love Mirror Says: Thank you so much for showing some love towards your friend and for caring. Getting rid of a six-month-old pregnancy, is she crazy? Why had she left it so late? Oh ma goodness! What’s wrong with her? That child should be left alone to come into this world, especially in a country where bringing up a child alone isn’t as hard. I understand what she is going through but she really needs to think about her actions. Although she may be emotionally unstable, she shouldn’t make long term decisions now. I truly understand where she is coming from because having a child out of wedlock is truly difficult and imagine having a second one, it’s difficult. Your friend really needs to think about her health as well in this situation. I know when you are desperate you just don’t care what you do, but with this it could have lasting effects that could affect her child bearing in the future. She also needs to think about how emotionally distraught she would be after the abortion. Ladies I have known that had aborted a child at some point in their lives have always mentioned how emotionally damaged they were after the deed. And I know advising people especially Africans to deliver a baby and give it up is always very hard; it isn’t really something we do. She also needs to consider the fact that there are millions of women worldwide that are looking to have children but they can’t. Having a baby is not really a right; it’s a privileged and one we should be grateful for. I also hope she doesn’t think that just because she has two kids from different fathers or out of wedlock, she won’t get a good man to marry her. Although it may be tough, there are men out there who will definitely marry her. However, the decision is still ultimately hers and all her friends and family really need to support her regardless of whatever decision she makes. All I know is that the good Lord that gave her the baby always has provisions made ahead of the birth.
Marrying a woman five years older than myself
I met this woman and the first time I saw her, she blew my mind away. She is the epitome of beauty and she had the wow factor from the start, even though she has two kids, own and her own house and is very independent. When I finally spoke to her and we clicked, I just fell in love with her even more because she is a kind-hearted, tender person and she is so clever – let’s just say she is my idea of a virtuous woman. But the problem I have is that she is five-years older than I am. And knowing the country I am from sometimes that is seriously frowned upon. I love her so much, however, I do not want to be blinded by love, and that is why I have written to you for advice.
– Fregie
Madam Love Mirror Says: How are you doing? Don’t worry Fregie, I will hit you with the facts. I like the way you are keeping things real, it’s so important not to be blinded by love and to speak to someone who will see things from the outside. Let me just say it like it is:
– You really need to be careful Fregie, even though I know you are in love but are you mature enough to handle this woman. I don’t know your age but are you emotionally and psychologically able to handle her? I commend you for even coming to her life and taking on the responsibility of being a father figure to her kids. Whether they see their father is in their life or not – you are now a father figure.
– Look five years down the line, when she starts losing her looks, will you stick around then? When your friend tease you about it how do you feel? When you see younger women, do you lust after them? This woman is a human being too and deserves the love and respect that she is due. So if you are just in for the short ride, then don’t even bother starting something you can’t finish.
– How does your family feel about her? I know you will say it has nothing to do with them, but sincerely it has a lot to do with them. I sincerely believe that when family members especially mothers do not approve of our partners, it puts an extra strain on the relationship. Also consider this, is she still of child bearing age because I am sure you want children. People say love is enough, but in a situation like this, love just isn’t enough.
For your love and soul solution , email Madam Love Mirror on madamlovemirror @grassrootspublishers.com
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says 31 suspected cases of monkey pox have so far been reported in seven states across the country. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of the NCDC, made this known on Monday in Abuja.
According to Ihekweazu, following the notification of a suspected monkey pox outbreak on September 22, 2017 in Bayelsa State, other suspected cases have been reported from six more states.
He listed the affected states as Bayelsa, Rivers, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Ogun and Cross Rivers.
Ihekweazu said samples had been collected from each suspected case for laboratory confirmation.
He said: “Results are still being awaited.
“So far, there have been no deaths recorded.
“It is unlikely that many of the suspected cases are actually monkey pox, but all are being investigated.
“All the suspected cases are currently receiving appropriate medical care and the patients are all improving clinically in their various states.”
Ihekweazu said the Federal Ministry of Health, through the NCDC, was supporting the affected states to ensure the outbreak is brought under control and to limit further spread.
He said: “NCDC has activated an Emergency Operation Centre to coordinate the outbreak investigation and response across the affected states.
“The EOC is currently supporting State Ministries of Health in their response to the outbreak through active case finding, epidemiological investigation and contact tracing.
“Measures have been put in place to ensure effective sample collection and testing for laboratory confirmation.
“Risk communication activities have been heightened to advise the public on preventive measures.
“All 36 States and the FCT have been notified for preparedness.”
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]ndigenes of Edo State under an umbrella group, Concerned Citizens of Edo State, have demanded that the State’s Commissioner of Police, Haliru Gwandu, should immediately comply with his redeployment by the Police Service Commission, noting that his continued stay and “gross incompetence” has given criminals freedom to cause mayhem.
The group, which led protests from Edo House to the Police Headquarters at Louis Edet House and the National Assembly complex in Abuja on Monday, decried the insistence of Gwandu to hold on to his office after being posted out of the command about three months ago.
The members of the group called on the Presidency; the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; and the National Assembly to prevail on tGwandu and see to it that the PSC posting is obeyed to the letter.
In a letter addressed to leaders of the National Assembly and the Presidency, signed by its Coordinator, Hon. Henry Okpamen, the group said: “We, the concerned citizens of Edo State, are gathered here today to share our pains with Mr President, the President of Senate and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and all their members on the worsening security situation in our State. While Mr Governor and his Cabinet, with cooperation from the revered Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, are working round the clock to encourage investments into Edo State, the Inspector General of Police has refused to support the government of Edo State in this effort.”
They said that the centrality of Edo State has made it vulnerable to people from different parts of the country, who come in with sundry interests, noting that Okada, Okpella, Ekenwan, Auchi-Ekpoma-Benin axis of the state are flashpoints of crime, which calls for responsive and intelligent policing.
The group noted that it was surprising that Gwandu was redeployed from the state about three months ago by the PSC, but he has since colluded with the IGP and other elements at the Presidency to frustrate the enforcement of the directive.
It stated that the posting, which was contained in a release by the PSC on July 5, 2017, has left many in Edo State confused because though one Johnson Babatunde Kokumo was announced Edo State Commissioner of Police, Gwandu and his minions still hold sway in the state.
They said while previous Police Commissioners posted to the state worked assiduously to check criminal activities in well-known security flash points, Gwandu applied a “lethargic and a rather nonchalant attitude” to his job.
According to the group: “The incompetence of Mr Gwandu came to the fore in March 2017, when a former Council Chairman of Etsako East, Hon. Suleiman Malik Afegbua and some other persons were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen along the Benin-Ehor road. Hon. Afegbua was later killed by the kidnappers.
“Strangely, while the family was still negotiating the release of the other persons that were kidnapped along with him, Mr Haliru Gwandu announced gleefully to the whole world that the kidnappers had been arrested by his men, which was not true. This breach of trust demonstrates that Mr Gwandu was out of touch with reality and incapable of relying on security reports to manage delicate situations in the State.
“Even after this well-publicized incident involving Hon. Suleiman Afegbua, herdsmen continued to operate freely in that area and this led to the kidnapping and killing of innocent, vulnerable farmers especially women in Ewu, Uromi, Ubiaja and Ebigbere communities of the state.”
The group said the State Police Commissioner has refused to cooperate with other security operatives in the state, which has often jeopardized the lives of innocent citizens.
To buttress this point, they said: “For instance, when Dr. Andy Ehanire, the renowned environmentalist and conservationist, was kidnapped on Sunday 24th of September 2017, which led to three police officers being killed in the process, available information indicates that there was ample and advanced intelligence report showing that criminal elements were planning to invade the area at that period.
“However, Mr. Haliru Gwandu, in his characteristic incompetence, slept away and decided to leave the criminals to operate freely and put the lives of his officers at the mercy of the killers. Without a doubt, this situation has precipitated fear all over the state and low morale among the officers.
“While the family of the slain policemen were still mourning, the family of the kidnapped victim and government were still negotiating with the kidnappers, another incident took place on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017 with the kidnapping of the renowned musician, Ambassador Osayomore Joseph. Mr. Gwandu, knowing fully well the security situation in the state was sighted on Televison attending a security summit which some of us refer to as a jamboree in Port Harcourt. Mr. Gwandu refused to establish a situation room to update the people of the state on what steps and progress had been made in the effort to apprehend the kidnappers of the two renowned Edo Personalities.”
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigeria Customs Service says it has seized 497,279 bags of imported rice between 2015 and August 2017 with a Duty Paid Value of N3.8 billion.
The Comptroller-General of the service, retired Colonel Hameed Ali, disclosed this in a document obtained by the Grassroots Publishers online. Ali said 90,073 bags of rice were seized in 2015 with DPV of N693 million, while 280,109 bags of rice were impounded in 2016 with DPV of N2.156 billion.
He added between January and August 2017, no fewer than 127,097 bags of rice were seized, with DPV of N978 million.
He said: “From January to March this year, about four enterprises registered with Tinapa Free Trade Zone Calabar in Cross River State syndicated the importation of 533 containers of rice.” He said the containers loaded with 299,564 bags of rice were brought into the free zone through Onne Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Ali said: “Certainly, this rice cannot be consumed within Tinapa and there is no value added through further processing as to bring it to Nigerian territory.
“It took the Nigeria Customs Service a big battle with the importers and Tinapa authorities to compel them to re-export it out of Nigeria.
“As at September 19, this year, 299 containers were re-exported.
“If this is to be allowed, it has the potential of undermining the food security policy of the Federal Government.
“With the attendant consequence of driving all the industries in the chain of production out of business, primarily the local farmers and rice millers.”
Ali said in the past, the Federal Government had introduced policies like Operation Feed the Nation and Green Revolution to ensure food sufficiency. He added that the major cause of failure of these policies was smuggling.
According to him, it is the realisation of this that made the Federal Government to ban the importation of rice through the land borders.
Ali said: “The ban of rice importation through the land borders has made the task of fighting smuggling by the NCS more challenging.
“Because major rice importers in the country have decided to shun the use of Nigerian ports and now divert their cargo to Cotonou where they bring it into Nigeria in trickles.”
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Tony Elumelu Foundation, Africa’s largest philanthropy focused on supporting entrepreneurship, on Thursday announced that the 3rd annual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum – the most inclusive gathering of African SMEs – will take place on October 13 and 14 in Lagos.
This is the first year the invitation-only Forum is open to non-TEF entrepreneurs and will allow SMEs from across Africa to attend and form networks, share knowledge, connect with investors, link with corporate supply chains and influence policy makers and business leaders in attendance.
“Since launching the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme – and committing $100 million to empowering 10,000 African entrepreneurs in a decade – we have unleashed our continent’s most potent development force – its entrepreneurs,” said TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu. “In just three years, our 3,000 entrepreneurs have created tens of thousands of jobs and generated considerable wealth. On October 13 and 14, we invite the global entrepreneurship community to Lagos toward the realization of a New Africa, a thriving, self-reliant continent capable of replicating the results we have seen in our ground-breaking programme.”
The two-day event features plenary panels, masterclasses, and sector specific networking opportunities as well as policy-led talks focused on improving the enabling environment for African businesses.
TEF Chief Executive Officer, Parminder Vir, said: “This is the first year we have opened the Forum up to include not just the 1,000 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs from the 2017 cycle of our Programme, but the full pan-African entrepreneurship ecosystem. In doing so, we are allowing disparate SME communities to come together and expand the possibilities for intra-African partnerships. I urge policymakers and investors to join us at the Forum as we empower the next generation of African business titans.”
Speakers at the event include: Wale Ayeni, International Finance Corporation; Stephen Tio Kauma, Afrexim Bank; Andre Hue, African Development Bank; Stephen M. Haykin, USAID Nigeria; Heikke Reugger, European Investment Bank; and Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, United Nations Development Programme.
The Foundation’s long-term investment in empowering African entrepreneurs is emblematic of Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions Africa’s private sector, and most importantly its entrepreneurs, as the catalysts for the social and economic development of the continent.
The indigenes of Asaba today recall to mind of a long-forgotten experience during the bloody civil war and the massacre of their men and male children.The open wound has refused to go even after 50 years. If we don’t tell the story, the generations unborn will not know the genocidal act Asaba went through in the hand of Federal Troops(Nigeria Army). Asaba wasn’t actively part of Biafra geographically and it was the retreating Biafran soldiers who blew up the Niger Bridge in frustration , the Federal Troops led by Col. Banjo who could not cross to the other side of the River Niger basically rounded up men and male children in Asaba and shot them to death.Four decades after the war, Asaba is now a busy state capital, looking to the future where the stars are made. The Asaba people and indeed, the Igbo people in general do not seek retribution, but only to tell their stories allowing the truth and facts of our experiences to be adopted into Nigerian’s collective memory. The realities today show that these expectations are far from being considered let alone accepted.
Asaba men before Massacre of October 1967
All efforts to share this common historical experience are truncated by the Nigerian government. And we cannot possibly deny the fact that the disunity amongst Nigerians deepens as the days go by. The same injustices of the war reappear today, though more subtly and less physically fierce.We can’t but tell our stories over and over again, for only when we do, we can appreciate the things that made the story and have more grasp of how to deal with the realities of today.
Asaba history will never forget this day called October 5, 1967, during the bloody civil war, federal troops occupied the peaceful town of Asaba, Nigeria, on the west bank of the Niger River. They accused the people of supporting the retreating Biafran army and for two days rampaged the town killing hundreds of innocent, unharmed citizens. At the crux of this genocidal act, on Saturday, October 7, 1967, thousands of the people of Asaba, came together screaming ”One Nigeria, One Nigeria,” believing a show of support for the Nigerian government would pacify the situation. Instead, after the separation of the women and children from men and adolescent boys, the bullet-hungry soldiers gathered the male folks in the centre of the Ogbe-Osowa village and turned their machine guns on them.
More than 700 died with many seriously wounded. Most families could not retrieve the bodies and the dead were buried in mass graves. At the end of that week, more than
1000 civilians were killed, raped, molested, threatened and Asaba laid in ruins. Many fled never to return until the war ended in 1970.
Colonel Murtala Mohammed was the commanding officer of the 2nd division which was responsible for the legendary beating back of the Biafran Army from the Mid-West
Region, as well as crossing the River Niger and linking up with the 1st Division which was marching down from Nnsuka and Enugu.
Whether Murtala ordered the massacre or not, it was his Division and must therefore take full responsibility.The casualties were not soldiers or combatants. They were not caught by friendly fire or accidental discharge. They were gathered together and gunned down in what remains one of the most callous incidents of the Nigerian Civil War. Men who survived the war were those who were sick or too old to come to the square, those who were lucky during the shooting and those who escaped.
Interestingly, the Asaba story was never told as the starving children of Biafra dwarfed the gory event in Asaba.
After the soldiers left, leaving blood and death behind, the stinking unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave by the lucky survivors.For decades, Asaba has lived with this horrific and traumatic experience in silence. Most Nigerians have never heard of the fate that befell Asaba people on October 7, 1967. Ironically, those who led this massacre rose to become national heroes, with monuments named after them and beautiful stories told about them.
It is therefore pathetic that those who murdered unarmed civilians in Asaba have never been reprimanded in life or in death, neither has the Federal Government of
Nigeria admitted that its troops murdered its citizens, who pledged unflinching loyalty, without provocation is a dent on Nigeria’s image and a shame to a country
”where peace and justice” is supposed to reign.
“We can’t but tell our stories over and over again, for only when we do, we can appreciate the things that made the stories and have more grasp of how to deal with the
realities of today”.
This is the continuation of the articulation of narrations by survivors of the Asaba massacre of October 4-8, 1967 during the Nigeria-Biafra War. We hear them share
with us their direct experiences and of course, reveal the real truth and facts.
If you missed the experience , please read the bitter experience of survivors of Asaba massacre:
SURVIVOR 3, FEMALE, PATIENCE CHUKWURA: My husband and the brother, and all those about 400 people who were following them…they were shot in front of the Police
station at Asaba. I held on to the person I saw, the soldier…I said: “why did you kill my husband?”…(she pauses and continues) I don’t want to remember what
happened. The man with the button of the gun, hit me on the chest and said: “woman, if you are not careful, you’ll get killed as well”. At that point, I went home to
tell them (the people home) that they (my husband and his brother) had been killed.
Papa, (that’s my father-in-law), when he heard that his two sons were killed, he went out and before he could say, “what happened?” they shot him, they killed him.
NARRATOR: On October 6, in an attempt to end the violence, the leaders summoned all the town’s people to a peaceful match, pledging loyalty to Nigeria. On the morning
of October 7, thousands of men, women and children from every quarter of Asaba joined the parade singing and dancing.
SURVIVOR 6, PATRICK OKONKWO: They came, in the normal Asaba way, with a gong announcing that the soldiers were already in Asaba, killing people that if we can come to
welcome them and declare peace with them, we would be spared.
SURVIVOR 7 (MKPAYAH): We started hearing…you know…dancing group, saying “One Nigeira, One Nigeria…” so along the line, we said “let us go,” myself and my cousin.
So, as we were coming out towards the road, that time the group, the dancing group, the soldiers were surrounding them, guiding them…i.e. Nigerian soldiers carrying
guns…
SURVIVOR 6 continues: …and they lined up, said “women here men here…”
SURVIVOR 2 (PETER OKONJO): And women who came with their sons were removing their skirts and blouses to disguise (their sons). So when I saw this scenario going on, I
felt “something is wrong…if these women can disguise their children and my mother is not here, what do I do?” and I looked at the whole place…there is no avenue
for escape.
SURVIVOR 8 (MEDUA URAIH): They took us to a certain quarter and eventually the man who was the captain…he ordered them to start shooting us.
SURVIVOR 2: Gunshots…people were falling. So when people fell, I fell with them.
SURVIVOR 1, IFY URIAH: And they continued shooting, and shooting, and shooting. I lost count of times, I don’t know how long….after sometimes, there was silence. And
surprisingly, other people stood up from the ground and fled into the bush. I stood up also, but, I saw a cousin of mine who was lying not too far from me. He was shot
on the head. My body was covered with blood but I knew that I was safe, nothing had happened (to me).
My cousin said we should wait until it was dark, so we could go together and I agreed. You could hear the sound of the injured, crying…
Massacre of October 1967
NARRATOR: That evening, some women went to retrieve the bodies of their children, husbands and other family members. Joseph Nwajei lost two brothers aged 17 and 12.
SURVIVOR 9, JOSEPH NWAJEI: Mum in the evening, was able to identify their (my two brothers’) corpses, took them in a wheelbarrow, pushed them into the family house (he
pauses for a while amidst heavy tears and continues)…where they were buried. (He pauses again, wipes tears white a handkerchief and continues). I never saw their
corpses, never saw their bodies.
NARRATOR: But most were buried in mass Grave with no opportunity to require ceremony.
SURVIVOR 10, EMEKA OKONKWO: Though I was so small, I remember what I saw-lifeless bodies. My dad was among those people that buried the dead. He left the house with a
shovel, and this scented leaf, he put it in his nostril that would enable them to stand the stench there.
SURVIVOR 11, FRANK IJEH: It was after when they have decayed…you know…smelling all over…that the people there gathered and dug a common grave and they started putting them in. There are so many…I cannot remember…so many, so many.
NARRATOR: Many towns’ people ran into the bush all across to the East. The troops remained in Asaba and threat of rape hung on many women and girls.
SURVIVOR 12, FEMALE, NAKANDELIN MADUEMEZIA: (Speaking of the women) they were forcibly married by soldiers. I have an aunt who was forcible married by a soldier.
Children were raped, adults, even old women were raped too.
SURVIVOR 13, FEMALE, DELICIOUS NWANDU: And even when they saw that you are a young girl, they would forcibly take you as their wife. That is, if you don’t want, they
kill (you).
NARRATOR: As people trekked back, they found the once thriving town deserted, houses burned and everything of value stolen.
Later, Quaker Relief Services reported on the appalling situation in Asaba: “about 900 of the 1,186 houses were completely destroyed. Three hundred more are
uninhabitable because roofs are missing.
Schools are symbols of self-respect. Their present condition is a constant reminder of the humiliating situation in which the town finds itself. The furniture was used
by Nigerian soldiers as firewood.”
SURVIVOR 13 continues: We have no home to enter, no house to enter. Our house was burned down, everything. In fact, where we went, we had to be tying; you know the
bags they put rice and beans…that’s what we tied, because there were no clothes, nothing to hide our nakedness. A lot of children (suffered) Kwashiokor. You know,
people were dying just like that. We ate rats, lizards…in fact, Asaba suffered.
NARRATOR: Exactly how many died on October 7 (only) is not clear. Between 500 and 800 seemed likely. In addition to hundreds killed in the previous day, many families
were designated.
SURVIVOR 11 continues: My immediate elder brother, the one following him, and one of my cousins, three of them were killed (though they were harmless civilians).
NARRATOR: Patience Chukwura was a young mother, pregnant with her fourth child. She lost her husband, Eddie, two brothers-in-law, and her father-in-law.
Hwr.mother lost all five brothers.
SURVIVOR 3, PATIENCE CHUKWURA continues: You need to know who my husband was. Harmless, couldn’t harm anybody. He liked life, he liked himself, and he was a lovely
man.
NARRATOR: Philip Asiodu, an Asaba indigene, was a member of General Gowon’s war cabinet in Lagos. His brother Sydney, was an Olympic athlete, living in Asaba when
troops arrived. His diary, found after the war, ends on October 6. His fate is unknown.
SURVIVOR 15, PHILIP ASIODU: He was my favorite brother and he was outstanding as a student. He was captain of cricket, captain of soccer. He was a sprinter, and was
in the Nigerian 4×100 meter relay team. So it was a great loss to the family. Of course, one tries to forgive.
SURVIVOR 16, FEMALE, MARTINA OSAI: (Martina was 14 years old when soldiers killed her father, Leo Isichei, on October 7, along with almost 40 men in her extended
family). My father’s name is Leo Samuel Isichei. He was a teacher, a darling father. We looked up to him so much, he was everything to us. He wanted to bring his
children up, to make sure they had education. I want people to know, because not many people know what happened, even my own children. God knows why I had to survive.
For me to have a story to tell, and that’s what I’m telling you now (the narrate).
NARRATOR: For decades, the massacre of Asaba remained almost unknown outside the community. In 1967 the Nigerian Press was tightly controlled and few foreign reporters
were not on ground. In the words of Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, the Mid-West Igbo were the most vulnerable Nigerians. The world actually became famous in 1968,
after the federal government imposed the blockade starving Biafrans to death and submission in 1970.
Silence (on the massacre) began to lift in the mid 1990. In 2001, some survivors testified in Nigeria Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission known as the
Okudo panel which set the stage for more people to speak.
Asaba women in pains and starvation after the Massacre of October 1967
SURVIVOR 17, CHUCK NDUKA-EZE: (speaking about the panel) it was for us, the first opportunity. We were going to have to even air the matter. But the aim was really to
begin something by way of a healing process. If you wrong somebody and the person has an opportunity to talk about it, assuming you show some contrition, you
apologise, or you go some way to alleviating their pain and suffering, then the healing process can begin.
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