Okey Ifeachor World Discourse

15/07/2021

PRESS STATEMENT BY *ONU IGBO* (AN ASSOCIATION OF CONCERNED IGBO JOURNALISTS) ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE NBC, NPC BILL.

1. Our attention has been drawn to the obnoxious bills before the House of Representatives which seek to amend the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Acts. The Bills, sponsored by Honorable Olusegun Odebunmi, member representing Ogo Oluwa/Surulere Federal Constituency of Oyo State, understandably raised eyebrows within media circles and among persons of goodwill across Nigeria and beyond. The bills were subsequently reportedly stepped down to allow for further engagements with stake holders.

2. The NBC (Amendment) Bill intends to add "all online media" to the list currently under the control of the subsisting Act. In other words, the government, through the NBC, wants to censor online media contents the same way it currently censors radio and TV stations across the country. Given the way the NBC has recently exercised its powers arbitrarily against stations which broadcast contents that are construed to embarrass the government, this is clearly an attempt to make A*o Rock the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of all online content creators in Nigeria.

3. The NPC (Amendment) Bill is even much more invasive. Taken together, the proposals seek among others, to:
A. Put all board memberships and operational control mechanisms at the NPC firmly under the control of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the Minister of Information.
B. Give the Council power to license and revoke licenses for media practice in Nigeria with the approval of the Minister of Information.
C. Transfer some of the collective powers of the Board to the portfolio of the Executive Secretary of NPC who will be appointed by government.
D. Give the Council powers to write and manage a new Code of Conduct for media professionals in Nigeria.
E. Increase penalties (fines, suspensions and jail terms) due to “offenders."
F. Compel media houses to submit statements of annual income to the Council which may levy them for the purpose of shoring up its revenues.

4. In essence, Nigerian media houses will become subject to another layer of control beyond that currently exercised on all business entities by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

5. Against the backdrop of the recent ban on Twitter by the Federal Government; and against the backdrop of recent attempts to pass a Bill against “Hate Speech”; these fresh moves to inject draconian elements into the NPC and NBC Acts send a clear signal that Nigeria is currently being led on the path of dictatorship by a democratically elected government!

6. As a form of government, Democracy rests on the principle of Separation of Powers between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. It also recognizes that sometimes even these three arms may be compromised, especially by an overbearing executive, through the manipulation of state, party and/or other levels of control. It therefore provides for a totally independent "arm of government", the media, which is also called “The Fourth Estate of the Realm," to act as a check and balance to the other three.

7. A central character of the media in a democracy is its constitutionally guaranteed freedom. This is partly secured by free entry and exit of players within an "open marketplace of ideas" where the performance of leaders, governments and other aspects of society are freely discussed. This freedom is curtailed by a global code of ethics, the laws of sedition and libel, and by the people who exercise their judgment to choose good media content over thrash.

8. To seek to directly bring the fourth Estate of the Realm under the steering wheel of the Executive arm of government betrays not only a crass ignorance of the foundational principles of democracy but a brazen attempt to undermine it. It is a low blow. For a ranking member of the House, it is a profound self embarrassment. For the government in power, it heralds a descent into the abyss.

9. What is the ultimate intention of this proposed legislation? Is it to create a maximum rulership for Nigeria? What professional and stakeholder inputs did these proposed amendments get before getting to the floor of the House? When and where did public hearings hold to consider their merits and otherwise? Is Nigeria now such a Banana Republic that the fantasies of one man and his misguided co-travelers should threaten time-halowed traditions and principles of governance as enshrined in the Constitution?

10. By putting his name to the Bills for the Amendment of the NPC & NBC Acts, Mr. Odebunmi has earned a place in the Legislative Hall of Shame. He and his ilk should take note that laws are not made according to the whims and caprices of individuals and administrations in power. They are made strictly for the long term good of society. Therefore, they must pass the tests of universality and timelessness.

11. For the avoidance of doubt, *Onu Igbo* also wishes to state that the media do not create or invent news. They report on what people say and do from diverse perspectives. They analyze, interrogate and investigate. These perspectives, taken together, help society to glimpse the closest approximations of truth. Those who wish to circumscribe the diversity of media perspectives are enemies of the truth and the people. They are people and governments who are averse to transparency and accountability.

12. The laws which Odebunmi seeks to change were enacted before the onset of the 4th Republic in 1999. Since then, they have not been touched and for good reasons. It must therefore be a mark of the poor temperament of this administration that this legislative rascality were not only contemplated but permitted to be tabled before a legislative house of members who rode to power on the wings of free press.

13. *Onu Igbo* hereby joins other well meaning Nigerians and interest groups in hailing the suspension of the obnoxious bills. We demand that such pieces of legislative junk be put in the waste bin where they rightly belong. We also call on civil society and rights groups to ensure that such ill intended bills never see the light of the day anytime they rear their heads. Going forward, the National Assembly must save itself from further ridicule by preventing such poor quality work from getting to its floors or to the public domain in the future.

14. The practice of using the National Assembly to fly kites for poorly conceived bills and in the process distract the nation needs to stop. Our parliament loses much respect from such practice. Nigerians are faced with a myriad of issues that require urgent attentions. Such issues as insecurity, banditry, environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, should occupy the minds of our legislature.

15. At a time when the world is moving towards deepening the roots of democracy and human liberties, Odebunmi chose the path of infamy and retrogression. He would rather have Nigeria go back to the Dark Ages. We firmly stand against this. We insist that the legislative space is not for rascals and the narrow minded. We also contend that Nigeria will not be turned into a Banana Republic.

Signed:

*Chief (Sir) Emeka Attamah*

*Callistus Ebue*

For and on behalf of *Onu Igbo*

Dated: 15th July, 2021.

15/03/2020

*Full text of Tinubu’s position on APC crisis*

March 15, 2020

in News Update, Politics

By Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

2023: A DIFFERENT FORM OF AILMENT

Due to alert responses of Lagos and Ogun state governments, actively supported by the federal machinery, Nigeria was able to quickly identify and isolate the two cases of the novel Coronavirus 19. This action, thus far, has stopped the spread of the disease into the wider community as has been seen in other nations. We are grateful to God and to all those involved in the response effort, particularly the brave and committed medical teams on the frontline.

While Corona has been presently contained in Nigeria, we must be alert to another sickness that seems rampant within a certain segment of society. That sickness is old Ambition-virus 2023. This illness afflicts many in the political class along with their allies in the media.

Those touched by this malady find that their ability to tell time and discern the difference between the present and the future has been strongly impaired. The carriers of this sickness are confused as to the very season our nation now finds itself.

They conflate things, which no sensible person would conflate. The primary symptom of their malady is the driving tendency to believe the events of 2023 will be decided before we even exit the year 2020.

Consequently, everything they say and do is geared toward obsessive jockeying for position to control and manipulate a race still three years away. In doing so, they recklessly undermine the very party which they claim to serve and weaken the administration of President Buhari to which they claim to be loyal. They line up to run a race for which the track has not even yet been constructed.

Put another way, they seek to pluck the fruit before the seed is even planted. As such, their actions border on the pathological. True, ambition is inherent in human endeavour. Without it, nothing great is achieved. However, strong ambition applied in the wrong way has never done anything positive.

At best, it results in confusion. Usually, its results in something worse. No matter how great one’s ambition and how able one may be, nobody can rush or speed time. That is beyond the realm of human capacity. To do so is to contest against fate itself. When it ends, such a contest rarely ends well.

In a well-structured society, people come to understand that the time for politics is seasonal; it is periodic. The responsibilities of governance are what is perpetual. Many of our politicians sadly have inverted this reality. Politics and electioneering are secondary to governance for they are but tools of governance, the platforms by which one demonstrates his or her worthiness to lead a great people.

The more a person obsesses over and constantly engages in political manoeuvring is a warning sign. Not only is he prone to the 2023 virus. He likely has little to offer in the way of good governance. He wants to hold public office that you might serve him not he serve you. For if he had adequately studied and been acquainted with the ways and means of progressive governance, he would be focused on that important task at the present moment. He certainly would not drown himself and all around him in harmful political intrigue.

It is against this backdrop that we should view the present ploys and plots to undermine the APC National Chairman. The Chairman is human; thus, he has his merits as well as his flaws. Yet his humanity cannot be grounds for his dismissal. If so, the position will forever go vacant.

The Chairman has been a tireless campaigner and mobilizer for the party. He has steered the party through difficult elections. His contributions should not be undervalued now that the bulk of elections are behind us. To do so would be an act of ingratitude. It is no secret that the Chairman and Edo Governor Obaseki are in dispute. This is unfortunate.

However, the party has moved through proper procedures within the proper organs of the party to hopefully resolve this spat. All party members know this. Such decisions are part and parcel of internal party governance. Yet, motivated by ambitions that have nothing to do with the quality of the Chairman’s performance, people shunned the agreed party reconciliation mechanism and resorted to other means to oust him. These self-help attempts are unwarranted. These attempts reveal more about the mala fides of their perpetrators than they do about the Chairman.

The plotters launched their attack solely because they perceive the chairman as an obstacle to their 2023 ambitions. People went to court knowing full well the party constitution prohibits such action because these people had not yet exhausted all internal disciplinary procedures.

We even had a national deputy secretary improperly call for a NEC meeting on the basis that he believed himself the acting national chairman. Clearly, this man would not have summoned the temerity to make such a move had he not been instigated by powerful individuals who he thought would reward or, at least, protect him for committing the wrongful act.

Those engaged in these manoeuvres see themselves as clever or cunning. They do so because they only understand the mean craft of political intrigue. They have yet to understand the value and long-term utility of democratic governance. Thus, they embark on the strangest of quest. They would rather dismantle and weaken the institutional core of their party just to gain control of that weakened edifice in order to pilfer the party nomination, which they crave. This is more than sad.

Many of us expended sweat, tears, toil and sleepless nights to build this party. Our personal sacrifices were not insignificant. We built this party not simply as a vehicle for personal ambition. We built the party because we saw it as perhaps the only enduring hope to bring progressive governance to this nation. Those who now seek to abuse the party by using it as their personal device do it great harm. They should not be allowed to sacrifice this collective enterprise at the altar of their self-aggrandizement. Somehow, some way they should find in themselves the bearing to adhere to the democratic spirit on which the party was founded. To be an APC member means more than merely carrying a membership card. It means to believe in a set of ideals and principles geared to our highest purpose as a party and a nation.

In a broader context, those afflicted with the 2023 virus do a grave disservice to President Buhari and his administration. They should be trying their best to help the president. Instead of seeing President Buhari as our present leader and commander-in-chief, their sole contemplation is upon his eventual exit. Yet, not even a full year has passed since his second inaugural. How can they be committed to helping him realise his mandate when the fullness of their gaze is affixed to seizing this very mandate for themselves?

The President is faced with many challenges. He is fighting hard on security to keep the population safe. He is pushing for economic reforms that will augur future sustainable growth. His disdain for corruption remains unwavering. Add to it now the Corona crisis and its resultant social as well as economic impact. Politicians express loyalty to him but the words of too many of our politicians are like butter under a burning sun; they melt quickly away. Better to be loyal in deed. Instead of trying to manipulate party and other mechanisms solely to their political gain, it is time to shelve political intrigue for the time being. It is time for all party members to truly see what is at stake and work with Mr. President for the collective good of the nation.

This means we must rally around President Buhari. Instead of everyone saying they are working for the party and nation but going their separate ways based on their selfish designs, we must help him build a stronger national consensus on policies that will ensure safety and bring greater prosperity. If need be and when called upon, we must offer ideas and suggestions that move policy and progress forward. This is the time for governance. It is not the moment to bring the politics of 2023 into 2020. In due course, 2023 shall come. Nothing can prevent it. However, that time is not today. If we are earnest, the present offers sufficient work and challenges for us without trying to add to it by rushing the future. Let us dedicate our energies to helping President Buhari win the present. In this way, you better secure the future for the nation, the party and even for whatever personal ambitions you may nurture.

I have said what is on my mind in hopes that some people may leave the 2023 frenzy and commit themselves to the harder yet more rewarding task of improving progressive governance, whether within the party or at the local, state or federal levels. Yet, I am not so naïve to think all will heed this counsel. The stubborn, those obsessed with the obsession of their ambitions, will ignore all advice. They will constantly pull 2023 into all that occurs in 2020. Their vision is blurred and judgment made faulty by their ailment. We are democrats so we cannot physically quarantine them. However, we can quarantine their ideas and antics by not falling prey to them. This is the best way we help President Buhari fulfil his mandate and inoculate our party and the nation from grave folly.

SIGNED
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
March 15, 2020

12/03/2020

FG Files Six Count Charge Against Obinna Uzor, His Lawyer and Three Others

The Federal Government has filed a six count charge against Dr Obinna Uzoh, Anani Anacletus Chuka,Eziafa Enwedo, Aroh Ifunanya and Faith Samuel in Charge No. FHC/Abj/CR/78/2020 for allegedly forging court processes and judgment in a cloned Suit No.CV/3044/2018 at the FCT High Court Kubwa to remove Senator (Dr) Patrick Ubah from office as the duly elected senator representing Anamabra South Senatorial district.

Investigations by the officers of the Nigerian Police Force under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu NPM, mni unearthed what may be described as an unprecedented fraud and scandal-webbed in massive fraud currently rocking the FCT High Court involving several judicial staff, lawyers and litigants.

The suspects are alleged to have mutilated the court register and cloned Suit No. Cv/3044/2018 which was allotted in 2018 to S & M Holdings Limited V Persons unknown filed on the 17th of October 2018) and affixed Suit No. Cv/3044/2018 to Anani Ana-cletusChuka vs Ifeanyi Ubah & Ors.

The suspects also forged the assignment directive of the Chief judge of the FCT High Court to purportedly assign the matter to Honourable justice Kawu.

A copy of the investigation report and charge sighted by our reporter shows that the suspects forged all the processes purportedly filed in the suit with a view to obtaining judgment in a false pre-election matter filed in 2019 but backdated to 2018. Interaction with anonymous staff of the Court indicates that this level of massive fraud is unprecedented and that many ‘heads will roll’ as the Chief judge is determined not to allow the reforms he has brought into the FCT High Court to position it as model for other courts to be rubbished by compromised staff.

The charge filed by the police alleges that all the processes filed in the Suit were forged including the judgment. The purported filing fee receipt which was originally dated as 25th September 2019 was mutilated to read 19th October 2018. A letter written by the office of the Chief Registrar of the FCT High Court confirmed that the filing of the cloned Suit No.Cv/3044/2018 was done on 25th September 2019. The date of judgment in the suit, 11th April 2019, predates the actual date of filing the suit .

Following a complaint, the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court Justice Isaq Bello who restated his commitment to rid the FCT High Court of bad eggs directed the Petitions Committee of the Court to investigate the matter during which startling revelations were made. The committee commenced sitting on the 10th of March 2020 and concluding its hearing today. The staff of the FCT High Court who testified stated that the real suit filed by the suspect was in Suit No.Cv/2829/2019 which was filed on 6thSeptember 2019 with the same identical processes filed by the suspects in Cv/3044/2018 based on which the obtained judgment. Counsel to Senator Ubah C.N Nwigwe Esq at the concluding hearing of the committee today 12th March 2020 submitted that ‘ the court never sat for a day, the staff of the court and the judge sat down perhaps in a room and fabricated all the processes they put into the file and generated a judgment. The letter from the Nigerian Bar Association which is an exhibit before this panel shows that the seal of the lawyers affixed on the processes had not been produced as at the date of filing, the Chief Judge’s staff have openly demonstrated that the assignment directive of the suit to justice Kawu was forged and the FCT that the recipe number endorsed on the originating summons was a receipt issued in September 2019 more than 11 months after the suit was purportedly filed and about four months after judgment was purportedly delivered makes this case the biggest judicial fraud in the history of Nigeria’.

The suspects knowing that Suit No.CV/2829/2019 was time barred having been commenced after the conduct of 2019 elections connived with judicial staff to take a suit number that was already in existence, prepare processes and back date them to 2018, fabricate proof of service of those processes on Senator Ubah and INEC and the YPP and then generate a judgment in concert with judicial staff. The Independent Natonal Electoral Commission has also confirmed that the purported stamp of the commission that was affixed on the proof of service of processes in Suit No. Cv/3044/2018 were forged as they do not have a staff of the commission known as Alhassan Sule in the legal services department and the stamp affixed purporting to be that of INEC is also forged.


Some of the counts of the 5 count charge include:

That you Eziafa Samuel Enwedo ‘m’ on or about September 2019 at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire with Anani Anacletus Chuka ‘m’ ArohIfunanya ‘f’, faith Samuel ‘f’ and Obinna Uzoh ‘m’ all of who are now at large to commit a felony to wit: forging of originating Summons in Suit No. CV/3044/2018 Anani Anacletus Chuka v UbaIfeanyi Patric & Ors and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous offences ACT, Cap M17 LFN and punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the same act.

That you Eziafa Samuel Enwedo ‘m’ and the following persons now at large, that is AnaniAnacletus Chuka ‘m’ Aroh Ifunanya ‘f’, faith Samuel ‘f’ and Obinna Uzoh ‘m’ on or about September 2019 at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court with intent to defraud made a false document, namely purported judgment in Suit No. CV/3044/2018 knowing same to be false with the intent that it may be acted upon as genuine to the prejudice of Senator (Dr) Ubah Ifeanyi Patrick, a distinguished Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous offences ACT, Cap M17 LFN

It will be recalled that both the Independent national electoral commission and the National Examinations Council had earlier confirmed that the NECO Certificateof Senator Ubah was authentic and that he was the duly nominated candidate of his political party, the YPP.

Indications are rife that the Federal Government will file additional charges against the judicial officer and the judicial staff that are complicit as soon as the administrative process to disciple them at the judicial service commission and the National judicial council are concluded.

A date is yet to be fixed by the court for arraignment of the suspects.

13/02/2020

Supreme Court on Bayelsa State: Where are the condemning mobs?

07/01/2020

NEW ELECTRICITY TARIFF FOR SOUTHEAST: IGBO BU IGBO THREATENS COURT ACTION

A leading pan-Igbo organization, Igbo Bu Igbo Sociocultural Foundation, has rejected the new electricity tariff proposed by NERC for the Southeast in particular and the rest of the country in general, describing it as arbitrary, insensitive, outrageous and illegal.

In a statement signed the Chancellor, Dr. Law Mefor, and Secretary General, Chidi Omeje, the organization described the privatisation in the power sector as fraud and a sham.

The statement read in parts: "The new electricity tariff for the South East is again the highest in the country despite the relative small land mass of the zone, few industries and near absence of Federal Government presence compared to areas like the South West that is hosting most industries in the country yet paying far less.

"All factors and indices considered, the electricity tariff for the South East is arbitrarily fixed. The figures, compared to other zones, is not only insensitive and illogical but also provocative and criminal.

"The Federal Government has bailed out the power sector at least twice without the so-called investors making any meaningful financial investments in the sector. To balance their sheets and smile to the bank, they transfer their whole burden to the already over taxed Nigerians who are forced to purchase their own transformers and other materials needed for power.

"Fixed charges are collected from Nigerians even for periods they receive no electricity supply with government doing nothing about it.

"We are equally aware that DISCOs often deliberately refuse to pick up stranded electricity generated since they have access to free money from stranded Nigerians.

"Igbo bu Igbo is also aware of the replacement of stand-alone prepaid meters with dubious Smart meters and more worrisome is why this opaque practice applies only to the Southeast

"NERC should note that it has grossly disappointed Nigerians for failing to provide governance, supervision, enforcement and protection of citizens from the criminal excesses of GENCOs and DISCOs."

Igbo Bu Igbo further wondered what value the investors have added to the power sector since electricity supply has not meaningfully improved 6 years down the line except to describe them as "mere paper investors".

Continuing, the Group said, "The Federal Government needs to take another look at the whole exercise with a view to possibly reverse the entire exercise for value creation and humane pricing.

"Compared to privatisation in the communications sector, six years is more than enough to demonstrate seriousness and produce dividends for the huge government investment in the sector.

"Igbo Bu Igbo will not hesitate to drag NERC and EEDC to court if the outrageous new tariffs especially for the Southeast is not rescinded," the statement concluded.

26/11/2019

My service year purged me of tribal stereotype - Graduating corps member

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/naija-fashion/364146-my-service-year-purged-me-of-tribal-stereotype-graduating-corps-member.html

My service year purged me of tribal stereotype – Graduating corps member Peter Omoniyi Gidado
November 20, 2019

The news that I have been posted to Anambra State for the mandatory one-year national youth service greeted me with mixed feelings. For one reason, I was elated that I will be travelling very far from home for the first time having spent over two decades in my hometown, Ado Ekiti. I was delighted that I will be able to see other parts of my beloved country; learn a new language, and as a culture enthusiast, taste yet another sumptuous spread of Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

On the other hand, I was a bit worried that I will be leaving home to a place where some of my kinsmen, who are perhaps uninformed, said its inhabitants wear rudeness and unruliness like a flowing Agbada. Despite being torn between the two, I was resolute not to seek redeployment to another state. I wanted to confirm myself some of these allegations because I secretly believed they are mostly products of unfounded stereotypes and hearsay.

I was eventually posted to the ancient town of Abagana for my primary assignment. In Abagana, I lived at Enugu Ukwu in Njikoka LG. I am thankful for my posting because it helped re-orientate and change my perception of the Igbos. I became a keen observer, then gradually a lover of the Igbo people. I fell in love with their way of life —food, language, mode of dressing and their industriousness

The Land of Beauties
One is immediately fascinated by the unrivaled beauties across Igboland. There, I saw independent women that glow more than the radiation of the sun and young ladies, and in fact, babies with stunning coverings. Yes, you might say pretty women are found in all societies and that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but I have my personal conviction and that I hold dear to myself.

Another endearment of the South East is the unrelenting business acumen of the Igbos. The Igbo men are fantastically industrious and business smart. The business sagacity of the Igbo people is second to none in the whole country, little wonder one of the busiest markets in West Africa is the Onitsha main market in Anambra State.

Most of the civil servants in the state also have other businesses that serve as a second, and perhaps a third source of income. This enterprising mindset is visibly transmitted to their young wards at an early age and this has not only helped to improve the living standard of the people but has also affected the economy of the state positively.

Catholicism Reigns Supreme
Catholicism is king in Igboland. The practice of Catholicism in Igboland seemed strange to me at first. Perhaps no phrase describes the Igbos religious leaning better than ‘more catholic-than-the-pope’. Once, I had thought I was in the heartbeat of Rome for I gasped Papacy in reverend fathers there. The unfettered regards for statues of Mother Mary, the Ave-maria girls with their long rosaries on hot Saturday afternoons, the pages boys zeal for service on holy Sundays and the profuse dedication of the catholic women and men to the church’s growth might be seen as fanatical to some extent to a newcomer, but later one is drawn in by the pervasiveness of it all that it becomes entrancing and enticing.

There are also countless Anglican churches with large edifice and the endearing zealousness of its parishioners. There are splattering of Pentecostal churches but their spiritual impacts are barely felt among the people.

Igbo Delicacies
How does one forget the mouthwatering Igbo delicacies? Although I am not a big fan of the oha soup, I find solace in the ever grinning Ofe akwu, the joyous nsala soup, the pale-looking bitter leaves soup and some other sumptuous meals I can’t stop gushing about. Street delicacies like Abacha and Okpa (somehow related to Yoruba’s moimoi) are always seen displayed by energetic hawkers. Akpu (foofoo), the staple in Igboland is paraded in every street corner and stall. Most times I wonder who buys the Akpu when almost everyone sells it. The matrimony of garden eggs and groundnuts in Igbo traditional events is superb but — hey! groundnut is profusely abused, and I am proposing a national referendum to tame it!

A People Steep in Culture
The Igbos have a steadfast admiration for their traditions and cultural heritage. The traditional breaking of kola nuts to connote peace is still held high in Igbo cosmology. The Igbo traditional wedding and burial ceremonies are events to behold despite their disregard for ‘Owanbe’ which is popular among Yorubas. The popularity of Christianity in the region has not deterred most of them from performing key cultural rites. Their rich traditions are also evident in the frequent outings of Masquerades and during the New yam festivals

Another impressive feature worthy of admiration is the profound positive imparts of community development associations in various towns and villages in the state. In Enugwu Ukwu, so many developmental strides were seen executed by the town union which includes the building of a town hall, assisting the government in the area of security of lives and properties, organising free jamb coaching for young school leavers and promoting a healthy lifestyle through monthly keep fit exercises.

Such exemplary gestures by the town union were also noticeable in other neighbouring communities like Nawfia, Abagana, Nimo and other communities I visited. I prescribe this act of sportsmanship to all towns in Nigeria, for the progression of our society does not lie in the hands of our government alone.

My experience in Anambra has really afforded me the opportunity to see people differently from what I was brought up to believe. It has helped me in seeing the country in a new light and has certainly taught me not to view things or people from a stereotypical lens.

A corps member who was posted out of his home region narrates how the programme helped in purging him of stereotypical beliefs.