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Cassava can displace oil as
income earner, says minister
From Emeka Anutoro, Abuja
GUARDIAN
Friday, December 17, 2004
CASSAVA from which
President Olusegun Obasanjo targets a yearly income of N20
billion can overtake oil as the nations topmost revenue
earner.
Raising this hope was the Minister of Commerce, Alhaji
Idris Waziri who is also the chairman of the Presidential
Committee on Cassava while receiving the newly elected
officers of the National Association of Cassava Exporters in
his Abuja office.
Waziri noted that already a market for the product had
been created with China, South Africa and Europe, which is
expected to extend to other nations of the world. He
revealed that on his last trip to these areas, there was an
earnest request for the product.
The minister who said that President Obasanjo was
determined to create wealth, fight poverty, and create
employment from cassava production decried the over
dependence on oil for national income.
"Only one per cent of the country's populace benefit
directly from oil production. We need to revolutionise this
and empower the people."
He revealed that government had made some efforts towards
local processing of the commodity. He disclosed that next
year, a factory for glucose production from cassava would be
set up in Oyo State. Government was also working out plans
for starch production factories, he added.
Waziri revealed that Nigeria's cassava was tested and had
been proven to be the best. Its starch content is over 85
per cent compared with that of its closest rival, Thailand,
which has only 65 per cent starch.
With the new initiative, he said, even the ordinary man
in the street could become a productive participant and a
stable income earner.
He happily told the gathering that arrangements had been
concluded to see that the first consignment of cassava was
shipped to an anxious international market. What he said
remained was the presence of an organised body to handle the
exportation.
He expressed excitement at the president's insistence on
the setting up of a private sector driven association to
export the product and reasoned that government could not be
directly involved in the exportation of the commodity.
He challenged the association to reach out to the local
producers of cassava, noting, 'no economy will grow when
ninety nine per cent depend on government.'
Obviously supporting the setting up of the exporters
association, he said: This impact can only be made when
things are well organised. The market is huge and the
opportunities are big."
On his part, the national Chairman of Cassava Exporters
Association, Alhaji Sani Dambatta praised President Olusegun
Obasanjo for the bold initiative on cassava, adding that
never in the history of Nigeria had such step been taken. He
said that it was wonder 'that cassava and its production
could be a key issue in Nigeria.'
He revealed that a constitution drafting committee had
started working to produce and send the draft copy of the
association's constitution to stakeholders before forwarding
it to the president for scrutiny.
Similarly, he said, a technical committee had been set up
to explore the markets being created for cassava.
Dambatta expressed dissatisfaction that the local demand
was competing with the exportation drive and pleaded with
the minister to organise a special meeting with the
association and the producers to take a critical look at
local production and processing.
He assured that once the necessary support was given, the
first consignment of cassava would actually be shipped early
2005.
Answering questions on the possibility of mechanised
farmers hijacking the production of the commodity, he
assured: "The local farmers are the main producers of the
product. Some have formed co-operative. These co-operative
will organise the farmers and find out how to supply the
product to the exporters."
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SIFE: Developing Enterpreneurial
Skills in Students
By Idowu Sowunmi, THISDAY
December 14, 2004
When Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE)
was launched in Nigeria in 2001, many saw it as a major
global movement to encourage the nation's students of higher
institutions to develop their entrepreneurial skills and
play a vital role in developing their immediate community.
It was then argued by a school of thought that the presence
of SIFE in our polytechnics and universities would
discourage students from engaging themselves in occultic and
other nefarious activities. In fact, the pervasion of
various social vices then gave and still gives many
stakeholders serious concern.
According to the country deputy coordinator, Mr. Ayodele
Thompson, SIFE Nigeria provides the students the best
opportunities to make difference by developing in them
leadership, teamwork and communication skills through
learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free
enterprise. He pointed out that the selectional process that
would lead to both the regional and national competitions
would begin soon.
Explaining how SIFE works, Mr. Thompson said the concept is
very simple and requires team spirit. "Students are
meaningfully and practically engaged to design and undertake
various projects on their own. Such projects, which must
satisfy certain criteria, are executed as a team by each
institutions," he noted, adding that the teams through
intense hands-on learning process spend the academic year
conducting educational outreach projects that make a real
difference in their communities and the nation at large.
They develop a better understanding of the principles of
free enterprise and how to use this information to empower
themselves and achieve their dreams. They impact
enterpreneurial skills to their immediate communities and
the same time gain from the exercise. Students often help
the people in their community to take the advantage of
Internet provision by harnessing its potentials and benefit
from the global economy, he observed.
Others include teaching the people to obey the business
ethics by observing the rules and regulations surrounding
the production of a particular commodity or service.
Besides, the students impact on practically the people basic
accounting, book-keeping, profit and loss, bankruptcy,
liquidation etc.
On SIFE World Cup, the country deputy coordinator said every
year one team from an institution represents Nigeria in the
tournament by joining other representatives of SIFE
countries across the world, in a gathering that brings
together thousands of students and the business leaders who
sit on the judging panel. He added that going to the
tournament is not on the platter of gold. "There are
challenges to overcome at both regional and national levels.
However, SIFE Nigeria has taken a giant step to have better
arrangement and delineated the country into three regions to
improve operations. The regions include North, East and
West," he stressed.
Mr. Thompson said from 2005, there would be a regional
competition in which the winners from each regions would
proceed to the National Competition to decide the country's
representative at the next SIFE World Cup coming up in
Toronto, Canada. As the race for the next year's competition
is drawing closer, he encouraged other higher institutions
to take advantage of SIFE potentials and discover the
students' great entrepreneurial skills.
While noting that nine institutions competed nationally this
year, he added that Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna emerged
winner and represented the country at SIFE World Cup which
took place in Barcelona, Spain. 37 National Champion Teams
participated in the tournament. 8 countries were from
African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South
Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Morroco. Nigeria
advanced to the Final Round Teams of the competition and
came third. Curtin University, Australia came first while
Flagler College of the United States of America emerged
second.
Over 800 people attended the tournament. They include over
150 business executives from different parts of the world.
Nigeria's delegates to the tournament were SIFE Nigeria
Country Coordinator, Mr. Peter Anyansi, his Faculty Adviser,
Mr. Abdul-lateef Latopa, Team Leader, Mr. Olaniyi Awotula,
Student President and Mr. Onoja Adama. Others include four
students: Ifeoma Okpara, Juliet Anyabe, Emmanuela Ikazoboh
and Ojonugwa Omede.
Nigeria took the same position Nigeria in 2003 through her
representative, University of Uyo at Mainz, Germany.
Commenting on the significance of Nigeria's project in its
2002-2003 Special Report Global Yearbook, SIFE International
noted that "SIFE Uyo reached more than two million people in
Ngeria with a message about ethics. The project, "Does
Really It Matter?," was designed to address unethical
business practices prevalent in the community."
SIFE Teams present summaries to the judges describing their
education outreach programmes and evaluated on how well they
have taught others a working knowldge of the free enterprise
system. The judges are mainly from the nation's academic and
business communities.
With its core philosophies predicated on community, teaching
and leadership services, SIFE is a global non-profit
organisation that prepares students for real world by facing
real challenges. Students are encouraged to tackle problems
that they may not find on the pages of a textbook. SIFE
serves as a bridge from the classroom to the working world
or labour market. Students are prepared for the workplace
with global awareness, a strong, socilly responsible work
ethic, leadership and communication skills.
Thanking KPMG Professional Services, the country deputy
coordinator said the company has been very supportive by
sponsoring most SIFE Nigeria's programmes. The organisation
provides SIFE Nigeria with necessary supports to realise its
dreams and also encourage the students by employing them
after graduation. It is hoped that other multinational
companies would join SIFE Nigeria to extend the programme to
the nation's nooks and crannies, he hinted.
SIFE Nigeria is presently constituted by about 30
institutions comprising Training Institute, Polytechnics and
Universities across the federation. Founded in 1975 in the
United States of America, SIFE has more than 1,200 active
college and university campuses in over 31 countries in the
world.
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Govt to increase food
security programme's sites by 100 per cent
GUARDIAN December 7, 2004
THE number
of projects sites of the Special Programme for Food Security
(SPFS) is to be increased by 100 per cent in 2005, its
co-ordinator, Dr. Salisu Ingawa, has said.
Ingawa said that because of the "substantial boost" given
the scheme by the Chinese current assistance to Nigeria,
arrangements were on to double the sites to 218 from the
current 109.
"In view of the success recorded so far, President
Olusegun Obasanjo has directed SPFS to triple its volume of
operation to establish more sites for the programme," he
told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently in Abuja.
"In line with the directive, we are making arrangements
to establish additional 109 sites in 2005 and another 109
sites in the year 2006.
"Our vision is that we shall gradually establish a site
in each local government in the country."
He said that the programme, which was planned to last for
four years, might be extended to ensure that the success was
consolidated.
He said that currently, there were 400 Chinese technical
experts in the country under the programme working in the
109 sites with the rural farmers.
According to the co-ordinator, the experts were engaged
in various activities geared toward the development of
agriculture in such areas as the constructions of dams,
ponds, water control, and irrigation.
"Some of them are specialists in livestock farming,
piggery and cattle fattening, rice production, fishery and
integrated agriculture," he said.
The co-ordinator stated that the cost of the programme,
which was under the South-South co-operation, was shared
between the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO),
Nigeria and Chinese governments. Ingawa commended the
enthusiasm of the Chinese people toward work, saying that
they were taking the projects very seriously and were
working very hard in all the sites. He said that many of
them were already learning fast, the local dialects where
they were working, to be able to communicate with the
people.
"We have a lot to learn from the Chinese, because their
ability to feed their 1.3 billion population is not a meant
feat," he observed.
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Obasanjo Canvasses ‘Home Grown’
Mechanisation for Food Production
From Tunde Sanni in Ilorin,
THISDAY November 30,2004
President Olusegun Obasanjo has
canvassed for a home grown agricultural mechanisation
technology to enable the country meet the growing food
demands of her mass population of citizens.
Speaking on Monday at the opening of "Promotion of
Agricultural Machinery Equipment and Machinery Technology"
organised by the National Centre for Agricultural
Mechanisation,(NCAM) in Ilorin Obasanjo said the nation’s
approach to modern farming should be such that would assist
in combating mass unemployment.
Obasanjo, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development, Malam Adamu Bello, called for
"intervention that are not misplaced, an intervention that
is based on home grown technology that will convince the
users of its benefits/dividends within short and long term".
In addition to ensuring food security, the President argued
that approach to modern farming should be such to crerate
wealth, sustain food production, combat mass unemployment
and restlessness of youths, stimulate rural development and
prevent rural urban drift.
He called on stakeholders in the agricultural sector to pay
more attention to commercial farming capable of responding
to technological changes.
The president, who noted that the nation was blessed with
both natural and human resources, noted that these resources
were yet to be tapped saying it was the responsibility of
stakeholders to evolve appropriate mechanisation policy and
strategies in order to maximize the nation’s potential and
economic prosperity.
Reiterating the determination of his administration to
improving the agriculture sector, the president said
government would continue to provide support to farmers in
areas of input supply; infrastructural development and other
services required to stimulate and accelerate production.
He said in order to raise the level of agricultural
mechanization in the country, the government was in the
process of acquiring additional 2000 tractors to be
distributed to states and the Federal Capital Territory
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Why employers shun
Nigerian graduates, by don
From Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta
GUARDIAN November 29, 2004
SO many things have gone
wrong with the nation's education system that employers have
become too sceptical to employ graduates of Nigerian
Universities, the Vice-chancellor of Babcock University,
Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Prof. Adekunle Alalade, has said.
At the weekend, during the sixth matriculation of the
university, Prof. Alalade declared that until the nation's
academic structures focused not only on needs but also on
"discipline, service-driven as well as functional and
holistic philosophy of education," the decay would persist.
He said: "So much has gone wrong with the education
system and for so long, wrong practice or attitude has
elevated error to the rank of virtue. This has given
inherent weaknesses in the system".
Alalade lamented that pseudo-systems had been established
for the evaluation of knowledge, validation of learning and
commendation of achievements.
He also stated: "Industry leaders and the Nigerian
boardrooms are just about giving up on the hiring of fresh
Engineering graduates who have never touched an engine, and
Masters of Business Administrations who can hardly manage
themselves".
He further highlighted the purpose of matriculation to
include explaining to the new students and the other
stakeholders, teachers, parents and the general public the
importance of education, its purpose, the cost of success,
the price of failure and the steps to success.
Steps to success he said, included
working hard, playing hard, praying hard and keeping
straight .
The don told the new students that education was not
supposed to be a cerebral accumulation of information as
attested to by grades and certificates obtained in the
classrooms.
His words: "The greatest injury possible to a growing
adult would be to train him or her on a curriculum that
would minimise the balanced development of the person".
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From Josephine Lohor in Abuja,
THISDAY November 26, 2004
President Olusegun Obasanjo has given
January deadline for the compulsory use of at least 10 per
cent cassava flour in the production of bread in Nigeria.
Obasanjo who gave the directive yesterday when members of
the Apex Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) led by
Admiral Murtala Nyako, visited him at the State House,
however, noted that about 350,000 tonnes of cassava flour
would be required annually to adequately meet with the
demand that would arise from his directive.
Obasanjo, also used the opportunity afforded by the AFAN
visit to direct the Minister Malam Adamu Bello, to take
another look at presidential initiatives that have to do
with agricultural products before this year ends.
He charged the Minister of Agriculture to "review all the
Presidential Initiatives on agricultural products before the
end of the year so that we can know where we are/"
The President also said henceforth, the Minister of
Commerce, Ambassador Idris Waziri, who he described as the
Chief Salesman for all exportable products from Nigeria,
would from now lead only producers and farmers to
export-promotion drives abroad and not government officials.
He also added that Nigeria could indeed earn $5 billion from
cassava alone if investors took interest in the production
of chips, ethanel, garri, flour and other cassava products.
Obasanjo who emphasised that agriculture was the surest
outlet to the nation's continued dependence on oil, stated
that supporting the agricultural sector would come in the
form of adequate prices, improved seeds and aggressive
export promotion.
While assuring farmers that the Federal Government would
continue to support agriculture in order to diversify the
nation's economy, he emphasised that "we are too dependent
on one commodity and we have to move away from this.
Agriculture is the way out."
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UNESCO tackles decline in
technical, vocational education
By Emmanuel Edukugho
VANGUARD Thursday, November 25, 2004
With less than one percent (1%) of secondary education
oriented towards technical and vocational skills in the
country, the United Nations Educational Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), is currently implementing a
project aimed at equipping large numbers of young Nigerians
for the world of work. This is being done in co-operation
with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), by
revitalizing Technical and Vocational Education and Training
(TVET) throughout the country.
Project implementation started in February 2001 with a
review of the curricula for 28 disciplines in electrical,
mechanical and building. UNESCO international consultants
from Australia, Iraq, Kenya and Britain in concert with
Nigerian experts participated in the final review and
updated the curricula at a workshop.
According to UNESCO source, high unemployment is causing
acute poverty and serious social problems in Nigeria.
Coincidentally, there has been a decline in TVET enrolments.
The need to revitalize TVET as best means of improving
economic opportunities for Nigerian youths become
inevitable. A cost-sharing project agreement between UNESCO
and the Federal Ministry of Education was signed to revise
curricula for secondary technical colleges and
post-secondary polytechnics and establish a new system of
continuing technical staff development and training.
Also, seven Staff Development Centres (SDC) were created
in Federal Polytechnics located in each of the six
geo-political zones at Auchi, Bauchi, Bida, Kaduna, Lagos,
Nekede and one at NBTE headquarters. Core teams of trainers
were put together in a special course organized by UNESCO
and NBTE in Kaduna to train technical teachers, principals
and heads of departments in the usage of the new curricula.
Since February 2002, the seven SDCs have held over 34
training workshops which benefitted 572 staff members from
different schools across the country. By the end of 2002,
the project had provided initial training to about 20% of
the staff in Nigeria’s TVET system.
UNESCO pointed to a future plan which includes the
continuation and expansion of the training programmes
offered by SDCs for staff in TVET institutions as well as
starting non-formal training programmes for the unemployed
and the community at large as component of the poverty
alleviation effort. In the pipeline is a second "training of
trainers" workshop to increase the training capacity of the
SDCs.
A major initiative to develop technical textbooks based
on the new curricula would soon be launched. At the end, the
project will make SDCs self-sustaining. TVET human resource
development providers to help prepare young people in
Nigeria to lead productive and peaceful lives while
contributing to national economic development.
Vanguard Education Weekly investigation showed that
provision of vocational skills training constitutes an
important part in national strategies for achieving
Education For All (EFA).
But, as the EFA monitoring report published in 2003 by
UNESCO reveals, efforts made by developing countries tend to
concentrate on universal primary education and literacy,
without sufficient attention given to skills training for
youth and adults. Even when there are numerous schemes on
providing education and training people from marginalized
groups, they are often small in scale and are not always
recognised as part of a comprehensive national education
policy.
UNESCO’s section for technical and vocational education
and International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP)
launched a project aimed at integrating a vocational skills
development component in the National EFA action plans of
five selected least developed countries.
The needs of marginalized groups like out-of-school
youth, the rural poor and girls/women are prioritized in the
project.
In 2003, existing skills training programmes for
disadvantaged groups were reviewed, and policies,
institutional environments were analysed in four countries
in Africa and Asia (Mali, Senegal, Lagos and Nepal).
National workshops gathered different EFA, stakeholders
(ministries, representatives of civil society and
international partners) to discuss the results of the
studies and to develop realistic strategies to implement the
proposed EFA skill development plan.
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Ibibio Landscape As Signpost for
Hospitality
THISDAY (online
version) November 25,2004
Ibibio people have a rich cultural
heritage which has contributed to Nigeria’s development.
This was evident at a recent exhibition held in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom, writes Nseobong Okon- Ekong
Amongst ethnic groups of the south-south
geo-political region struggling for a fourth place;
following the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo, the Ibibio of
Akwa Ibom state, perhaps have entered the least
representation. This may not be for want of enduring and
laudable landmarks as much as the panache and verve to set
deliberate objectives and pursue them to a logical
conclusion. This lack lustre trait is uncharacteristic. It
is a recent mannerism that is not traceable to the
gargantuan achievements of Ibibio heroes of yore.
To be sure, Ibibio is used here in a more embracing reach,
like in the times when the collective aspiration of the Akwa
Ibom people was not sacrificed on the altar of communal and
personal interest. The reference here is to the days when an
educational institution called "Ibibio State College" was
sited on Annang land (Ikot Ekpene) without any rancour. This
was one of the monumental legacies of the Ibibio Union
founded in 1928.
Definitely, that was the year of formal activities to
proclaim the IU a legal entity. There is no doubt that it
existed before that time. Today, many Ibibio who are not
aware of this proud heritage exhibit timid dispositions,
having been subdued by the stereo-type of Ibibio who are
permanently relegated to househelp roles.
Even this seemingly embarrassing activity is nothing to be
ashamed of, for two reasons. One, when the white man came to
Nigeria, it was from the Akwa Ibom/Cross River axis that he
found a people with enough sense of hygiene that he could
allow to come into contact of handling his food and other
domestic necessities. Again, these were the only people who
the whiteman could leave his valuables with and go to sleep.
To date, the honesty and hardworking disposition of the
average Ibibio man is not in doubt. The truth is that the
man who handles your food and enters your bedroom, perhaps
has your life in his hands. That is the kind of influence
and power that this so-called Ibibio houseboy has over his
master.
That an Ibibio would sooner accept to be a houseboy is not
because he didn’t go to school, rather he is driven by a
God-fearing conscience to apply himself to any honest labour
that he finds. Recently in Uyo, Prince Ubong Idiong,
grandson of the one of the founding fathers of the IU, Obong
Sampson Udo Idiong put together an exhibition of
documents-including pictures, newsletters, newspapers and
memos left by the departed Udo Idiong. It was a show that
put a lie to the wobbling testimonies of those who seek to
re-write history with scattered and jumbled evidence of the
background of the peoples who constitute Akwa Ibom State
today.
The exhibition mounted as part of the national celebration
of the World Tourism Day, hosted by Akwa Ibom state
government showed incontrovertible evidence of a business
trip to London in 1930 which had the likes of Ibanga Udo
Akpabio and Prince Eket Inyang Udo. This was six years
before British Airways made its maiden trip to Nigeria
through Kano in 1936.
Going through the display, it was easy to see how the IU was
able to reach such lofty heights. Its membership was not for
a show of nominal aggregate. The commitment was exemplary.
Members wore such distinguishing titles as "dedicated",
"passionate", "prominent", "patriotic", "faithful" and
"influential". It was not enough to be a member. Your
membership had to be qualified.
It is also on record that the struggle for
self-determination in Nigeria started and was coordinated
from the part of the country known as Akwa Ibom state today.
Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the late Justice Udo
Udoma was in the vanguard of a body agitating for COR (Calabar,
Ogoja, Rivers ) State. At the Uyo exhibition, there were
copies of a newspaper’COR Advocate, published by this body.
Today, we celebrate Isaac Adaka Boro (and rightly too), but
who remembers the contribution of the proponents of the COR
state? Is it because they didn’t resort to the use of arms?
When we talk of the Agbekoya in the South West, few know
about the man-leopard (ekpe ikpaukot) society and how it was
employed in the struggle against the colonialists. Governor
John Macpherson had to visit Abak in 1952 at the height of
the incident. I doubt if the degree of violence unleashed by
the present day Oduaa Peoples Congress (OPC) can match the
fear that the ekpe ikpaukot struck in the hearts of
perceived enemies of the Ibibio nation in those days.
One has been privileged to go through a
certain state in the South West, where a big edifice stands
in the name of a college for cooperative society. But do the
students learn about one Obong James Udo Eka, who is
acknowledged as the father of cooperative society in
Nigeria? The history of the Ibibio is replete with a proud
heritage of achievers who stood heads and shoulders above
their peers. For instance, One is yet to learn of a Nigerian
who garnered as much educational qualifications as Rev.
Professor Ata Nkere (who changed his name from Silver Nkere
Effiong). He was the national chaplain of th IU. He has
awarded BA Hons, MA, D.ed, Ed.S (PDK), LL.B’ Dip. Journ, Dip
Bible, Dip. Psychology, Dip. Pub Speaking etc. Incidentally,
the father of the present governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong
Victor Attah ranks highly in this category. He was one of
the "six merchants of light" sent by the IU to study in
America in 1938. The elder Attah who was Secretary-General
of the IU in 1958, is reputed to be the first masters degree
holder and the third African to attain that height.
Until recently, every reference to the women’s uprising in
1929 tied it to Aba. The proper location of that historic
event was Ikot Abasi, but because Ikot Abasi was under Aba
Division and the District Officer was stationed in Aba, the
event was attributed to Aba. The question is how many women
from Aba or of Igbo stock died in the ensuing massacre? At
the Uyo exhibition, the public was privileged to see a
photograph of the historic spot where the women drowned in a
river in Ikot Abasi. This unfortunate incident led Chief
Sampson Udo Idiong, a crack police detective to resign in
protest against the massacre.
The IU had thriving branches in Lagos, Ibadan, Port
Harcourt, Enugu and Kaduna to mention a few. In 1959, Chief
Nyong Essien was sworn in as Premier of the Eastern House of
Chiefs. He was the first and the last to hold that office
till 1966. Even on the opposing side of the political
divide, Ibibios could boast of such astute figures like Hon.
Effiong Okon Eyo (Eyo Uyo), an ally of Chief Obafemi Awolowo
of the Action Group.
During the civil war, which remains Nigeria’s most turbulent
era, an Ibibio, Col. Phillip Effiong and his compatriots
were convinced to fight on the Biafran side. Effiong, it was
who surrendered to Nigeria (after Chief Emeka
Odumegwu-Ojukwu had been persuaded to take a tactical
leave). Those who are familiar with the history of that era
may also remember the efforts of ace broadcaster Chief
Okokon Ndem. Places like Ikot Ekpene, Itu and Calabar were
some of the hot theatres of that war, yet when Senator Uche
Chukwumerije on behalf of the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo came before
the Justice Oputa Panel to make a case for N1.8 trillion to
compensate the Igbo for the civil war, no mention was made
of other ethnic groups like the Ibibios who fought gallantly
on the Biafran side.
Prince Ubong Idiong may not realise what a mighty lifting he
has given to the spirit of proud Ibibio men by giving them a
bastion of historical facts to lean on. According to him, he
was only carring out the instruction of his grandfather. An
anthropology graduate of the Univerisity of Uyo, Ubong
expressed appreciation to the family of Chief James Udo Eka,
who gave him some of the documents for exhibition.
His effort may lack of finesse, by way of presentation, but
it was one of the most profound aspects of the national
celebration of the World Tourism Day this year. Ubong who
runs an electronic devices company, Glitter Industrial
Company, would be glad to have support from individuals and
from any level of government to build a museum where these
documents can be kept for posterity.
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