Ozuitem after the Biafra war 1970-1976

From a polygamous family of 12 siblings. Born during the war, with no memories of the war times, I was only too little to remember what happened. 

I wouldn't say I remembered hearing the sounds of the rockets that was a testament of imminent war. However as I grow older there were many signs around the neighbourhood that powered my thought in regards to what may have taken place. 

Such were the sights of skeletal human remains like skulls bones found on roads leading to the streams, farmlands and surrounding bushes. As scary as they seem, we kids, or I personally never asked questions because none of the elders were prepared to give any account of the war times. Rather, we kids made our own conclusions about what may have taken place.  My childhood conclusion was to follow the general superstitions that those forests full of human remains are hunted and should never be visited for any reason. However those beliefs soon changed overtime as I was growing up the fears vanished as I had needs to navigate those forests in search of firewoods, irrespective of the human ghosts that inhabits them.

Nevertheless, my older siblings never stop making things clear sometimes as they joke about their experiences during the mayhem. They managed to rename almost every part of their wartime experiences by either using those circumstances to represent strength or just for mere casual pass time jokes.

The civil war lasted for two years July 6^th 1967 to 15^th January 1970, claiming over two million Igbo lives according to statistics, apart from deaths from bombs and other arms hunger had a major devastating impact in the entire southeast, Ozuitem not exempted. 

Children and infants continued to die of malnutrition and various forms of diseases, people vacated the villages, all the different clans and communities were empty, people left to the northern part of the country while many traveled to the west in search of a better life. 

Some survivors obviously remained with their families to rebuild in every little way they could. 

Majority of  older folks returned to the farm, while some adults took to hunting wild animals. Lizards and rats were easy proteins, as well as flying termites and locusts, as there were no food, people could eat almost anything that moves. I can recall eating house rats and lizards, I even ate grasshoppers. A few people learned skills available to them to survive the hardship such as carpentry and tree sawing and palm wine tapping.

The war left behind all forms of devastations, but somehow children were immediately returned to normal education at least for those families that could manage to afford it, as education was never free in the Eastern part of the country. At Agbua my section of the settlement it was mandatory that all infants be registered at a Methodist kindergarten called mission centre after each child's second birthday. 

The reason for this was to get children out of homes so their parents could farm and cater for the entire family. It was also an opportunity to  give children an early start in life in education which the eastern people of Nigeria are well known.

The Methodist church premises was useful to the villages within Agbua communities and Ozuitem as a whole during and after the war time because it was a centre for supplies and distribution and also used as clinic during those war years. 

Methodist compound remained a centre for visiting doctors to provide indigenes all sorts of medical supports and for the provision of vaccines against some popular harmful tropical disease. I was lucky to have attended the nursery here as a child. I can still recall as a child learning under a large (ukwu-ugbaghala or oil bean tree)  in the church compound one very dry afternoon when suddenly the visiting doctors arrived. 

Some of us never suspected anything until we saw the visitors setting up tents and equipments, some children who first noticed their presence fled to nearby bushes because that day we were going to receive injections, however, I did receive a few injection on that fateful afternoon but I cannot recall against what diseases the jabs was for.

Our first teacher a native of  Ndiagho, Mazi Ikoro Nwabueze,  Ote Ikoro as we all know him, (Otee or Otete is a title in Igbo dialect, used as a respect for elders or a senior person, while Mazi represents the title “Sir” ) he engaged us in all manner of academic discipline including physical education. Ote Ikoro, a very energetic sport loving gentleman jogs to school every morning and whenever we see him, we all join him running, this morning exercising became the routine at least within minutes children from Ndiagho whose  homes are on the way to Methodist church. 

Children graduated from the mission  compound to Ekwampiti, the main community primary school centre after two years, by age four. Here they continue in the elementary education from primary one.  Ekwampiti was a big open space of land originally preserved by the Ozuitem people for the purpose of installing a secondary school eduction system which was something lacking in  Ozuitem at that time.

While Ozuitem indigenes are well into education, students of various Ozuitem clans have always attended the higher education outside of the Ozuitem settlement, hence Ekwampiti was getting prepared to hosts a high school with already blocks of old buildings destroyed by the war, these buildings which hosted the various primary classes from one till six grades. On the eastern flatter end of this land was a vast empty land, here the main community high school was intended, which whenever completed will house the Ozuitem secondary school Ozuitem (OSSO).

Ozuitem Carnival

The people of Ozuitem are preparing for their first carnival scheduled for the 28th of December 2013. As one member said this will be the first of its kind in this part of Nigeria. The carnival is actually planned to be a part of an annual event in Ozuitem.
Ozuitem people's facebook page has over a thousand members and more than half of the membership has agreed to the carnival being held in December, despite the fact that December is full of festivities and a busy time for most people who mainly travel home to visit friends and families they have missed after a long time.
Some suggested that instead of  this being called a carnival it should just be seen as a festival as most carnivals are held around February according to the Catholic tradition where carnival originated while festivals can be held any time of the year.

If you can't experience the legendary parade in Rio's Sambadrome or want to refresh memories of the excessive party memories of the excessive party atmosphere, this is the book for you. 

However, Ozuitem has a good tradition when it comes to this sort of activities example is the (Ikenji) New yam festival which is held in September of every year. The Ikenji festival is very popular both in and outside of Ozuitem as visitors from all the neighbouring towns and villages gather to feast their eyes. This can also be called a carnival because all the different villages in Ozuitem come out en mass everyone adorning the tradition george textile Ozuitem is well known with. It usually becomes a sort of competition between the various villages, young and elderly all troop along dancing and singing different songs with all kinds of musical instruments, spectators standing along the roads watching them in amazement.
The Ozuitem carnival is likely to be big event and might pull more visitors to the town if well planned and followed through, the town has nice terrain although some of  the villages are bit far apart from the rest but yet activities of this nature will well be carried out by the Ozuitem people. It will give the people something to look forward to as some of the old culture are going extinct due to civilisation.  

Who Colonised Africa ' Few Facts'

Colonialism is the system or policy by which a country maintains foreign colonies, especially in order to exploit them economically.

The purposes of colonialism included economic exploitation of the colony’s natural resources, creation of new markets for the colonialist, and extension of the colonialist’s way of life beyond its national borders. In the years 1500-1900, Europe colonised all of North and South America and Australia, most of Africa, and much of Asia by sending settlers to populate the land or by taking control of governments. The first colonies were established in the Western Hemisphere by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th-16th century. The Dutch colonised Indonesia in the 16th century, and Britain colonised North America and India in the 17th-18th century. Later, British settlers colonised Australia and New Zealand. Colonisation of Africa only began in earnest in the 1880s, but by 1900 virtually the entire continent was controlled by Europe.

Freemasons were behind the colonial rule. Though the mainstream answer to the origins of this organisation is that it developed in the late 16th century from stone workers’ guilds and became a fraternal organisation which carries out various charitable deeds for local communities… this is a far cry from the truth. Freemasonry in reality has roots that delve far back into the past… to an antediluvian source.

In 1879, the British colony of Natal invaded the neighboring Zulu kingdom. Large numbers of Natal Africans fought with the British against 

Freemasons killed millions across the world to dominate their countries for exploitation of rich mineral resources and earn profits, they also annihilated many ancient indigenous cultures like Indians, Aborigines in Australia, Native American Indians, Africans, Caribs, Maya, Aztecs etc. Freemasonry was imposed upon the people of colonial countries through violence and genocides, there was no other way people would have allowed these Freemason colonialists, who had absolutely no relation to their rich cultures and traditions, to enter their countries and establish Lodges.

Freemason colonialists ‘relinquished’ power and some of them left, but their Lodges are still operational, with members of these victim countries present in them, holding high ranks in both the Lodges and the government. These members were long ago corrupted, persuaded and bought by Mason colonialists, through enticement by material comforts and high social status.
Freemasons infiltrated various countries forcibly through colonisation, and that is a fact…

Freemasons, the very people who enslaved Africa, became freedom fighters and in those freedom struggles thousands were again slaughtered. Freemasons usually posed as the saviour of people during colonial times, but, due to ignorance, people didn’t realise that the colonialists were also Freemasons.

And the same fake freedom fighters initiated the local freedom fighters into Freemasonry, who later became presidents. The perfect example of this is 33 Degree Freemason Nelson Mandela, who was a South African freedom fighter and later became president of the country. He also signed the constitution of South Africa in 1997. Which raises the question of whether he was ever imprisoned, or was it just a mind control tool to derail the independence of black South Africa?

Kenya in the 1950s, one of Britain's most violent decolonisation wars

Another example is Jomo Kenyatta, who became prime minister of the autonomous Kenyan government, with Queen Elizabeth II remaining as Head of State (after Independence, styled as Queen of Kenya), represented by a Governor-General. Kenyatta later became Kenya’s first president in 1964.

The Mau Mau Uprising took place in Kenya against British colonialists, but after being persuaded and brainwashed by Freemasons, they ended up killing 50,000 of their own people.
Following Freemasonry’s style, “they used an … initiation oath as a way to secure loyalty to their secret political army. The early violence of Mau Mau was of the press-gang variety, directed against those of their fellow Africans who refused to swear the initiation oath.”

Mbiyu Koinange, a powerful Minister of State in the Office of the President during Kenyatta’s rule, had, among his guarded engagements beyond public duties, a membership in the Freemasons Society. A letter — now part of declassified personal files — he received on June 1, 1970 from Murad Kassam, the secretary of the Freemasons, reads in part:

“You are summoned to attend the Lodge at Freemasons Hall, Nairobi, on Friday 19, 1970 at 6.30 pm. The Lodge will be tyled up at 6.45 precisely. By command of the Right Worshipful Master, Brother M. Basheen Chaudry. Dress code: Dinner jacket and white gloves.”

In Masonic speak, to ‘tyle’ is to ‘guard the door from unqualified, malicious or the curious’.

Among the businesses of the day, reads the letter, was to “open the Lodge, read summons covering the meeting and ballot for initiation into Freemasons of Mr Humphrey Rugunda Njoroge, the Assistant Exchange Controller, Central Bank of Kenya.”

The other agenda was “to take collection in aid of the Lodge and to raise into the sublime Degree of Master Mason” of, among others, a former minister of Health, one of Kenya’s eminent historians and Mbiyu Koinange.

‘Brother’ Kyale Mwendwa was named in the letter as the Lodge’s ‘Inner Guard’. That is a junior officer who guards the Lodge from inside the door. Kyale Mwendwa later became MP for Kitui West in 1986, after his brother, former Chief Justice Kitili Mwendwa, died in a car accident in 1985.

Charles Njonjo, a former Attorney General and Minister of Constitutional Affairs, and Moody Awori, a former Vice-President, are self-confessed Freemasons.

There are thousands of corrupt, communist, racist Freemason politicians in Africa. These politicians are placed in power by their Masonic godfathers in France and Britain to plunder rich mineral and oil resources of Africa, and to keep Africans in extreme poverty.

Examples include: Denis Sassou Nguesso, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Congo. Sassou ruled the country from 1979 to 1992 as a dictator, when the country was a Marxist-Leninist single-party state. He was a communist, and was responsible for the Republic of Congo civil war.

Idriss Déby, the president of Chad, who used philanthropic money to buy arms instead of using it to eradicate poverty and hunger.

Ali Bongo, the president of Gabon, who succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, not only as the country’s leader, but also as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Gabon and the Grand Equitorial Rite.

Africa’s founding fathers were all Freemasons.

The reason behind the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi is that Libya was the biggest obstacle to the continued super-exploitation of Africa and its vast resources. Libya was using its oil wealth to gradually close the doors to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the hegemony of the American dollar in the economic domination of Africa. We have eliminated a government which distributed its oil wealth more equally than any other Arab state and have destroyed Africa’s best hope for independent development.

Gaddafi’s determination to eliminate Africa’s dependence on Western financial institutions was one of the most serious threats faced by global capitalism. Gaddafi was not only in the process of creating the African Investment Bank (providing interest-free loans to African nations) and the African Monetary Fund (to be centred in Cameroon) and eliminating the role of the IMF, he was also in the planning stages of creating a new, gold-backed African currency that would seriously weaken the United States by undermining the dollar.

He was planning to introduce the Gold Dinar, a single African currency that would serve as an alternative to the American dollar and allow African nations to share the wealth.

There are 33 Masonic Lodges in Kenya, 25 in Zimbabwe, two in Seychelles, 18 in Sierra Leone, two in Gambia, nine in Tanzania, four in Uganda, 57 in Ghana, six in Namibia, two in Togo, 11 in Benin, one in Cameroon, three in Congo, 14 in Gabon, 17 in Liberia, one in Mali, 12 in Morocco, 10 in Mauritius, 99 in South Africa, one in Senegal and 31 in Nigeria, all recognised by The United Grand Lodge of England and Grande Loge de France.

Taken from  http://thetalkingpot.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/who-colonised-africa/

Posted on December 9, 2012 by angelishka

Share this:

Survey Finds Africa Is Most Religious Part Of World

WASHINGTON (RNS) Researchers say they've found the most religious place on Earth--between the southern border of the Sahara Desert and the tip of South Africa.

Religion is "very important" to more than three-quarters of the population in 17 of 19 sub-Saharan nations, according to a new survey.

In contrast, in the United States, the world's most religious industrialized nation, 57 percent of people say religion is very important.

"On a continent-wide basis, sub-Saharan Africa comes out as the most religious place on Earth," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which released the study Thursday (April 15.)

According to the survey, 98 percent of respondents in Senegal say religion is very important, following by 93 percent in Mali. The lowest percentage was reported in Botswana, 69 percent, which is still a healthy majority.

"That begins to paint a picture of how religious sub-Saharan Africans are," Lugo said.

Prayer, our conversation with God, needs no set formulas or flowery phrases. It often needs no words at all. But for most believers, the words of others can be a wonderful aid to devotion, especially when these words come from faithful fellow pilgrims.

The study is part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project. More than 25,000 sub-Saharan Africans responded in face-to-face interviews in more than 60 languages.

While the study confirms that Africans are, indeed, morally conservative and religiously pious, researchers explored a variety of topics, including religious tolerance, polygamy, the role of women in society, and political and economic satisfaction.

Islam and Christianity dominate as the most popular religions in the region--a stark reversal from a century ago when Muslims and Christians were outnumbered by followers of traditional indigenous religions.

But for the past 100 years, indigenous spirituality has been diluted as missionaries carried Islam and Christianity throughout the African continent.

The study reports that the number of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa grew faster than the number of Muslims, from 7 million in 1900 to 470 million in what year?. One in five of the world's Christians lives in sub-Saharan Africa.

While a majority of African Muslims are from the northern region of the continent, nearly 234 million live below the Sahara Desert.

Wooden Africa map pendant wooden beads chain necklace
Suitable for highlighting your dress and appearance. A good gift to your friends

Indigenous African beliefs have not disappeared, but are often incorporated into Islam and Christianity, the report found. A number of sub-Saharan Africans believe in witchcraft, evil spirits, reincarnation and other elements of African spirituality. More than half of the people surveyed in Tanzania, Mali, Senegal and South Africa believe that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm.

Mary Dhavale, a native of Tanzania who now lives in Atlanta, describes herself as a "righteous child of Jehovah God" and drives two hours every Sunday to worship at a Pentecostal church. She also said her grandfather was a traditional healer.

"You may call him a witch doctor, but he did good things for the people," Dhavale said.

Dhavale's grandfather attended Catholic services for most of his life, even as he concocted herbal drinks and crafted charms to ward off evil spirits or expose petty crimes in the neighborhood.

"If your child is sick or if your car is spoiled, people would go to my grandfather and find out who did it," Dhavale said.

Such syncretism of religions is not uncommon in Africa.

Sulayman Nyang, a professor at Howard University's African Studies Department, said by honoring traditional religious practices, sub-Saharan Africans are able to maintain their African identity and strengthen ethnic unity.

However, Nyang said indigenous religions are not practiced in a pure form because Africans want to maintain their "dignity" and "want to be accepted into the new world of modernity."

According to the Pew survey, most sub-Saharan African Muslims are Sunni.Within Christianity, Catholicism dominates in Guinea Bissau, Rwanda and Cameroon, while Liberia, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Botswana are predominantly Protestant.

Pentecostalism is rapidly spreading and deeply influential across the region, and also across Christian denominations.

High Quality Djembe Drum All drums are made of Mahagoni wood. All drums are stringed with goat skin.We only use dry and premium wood.Height around 60cm Diameter around 25 cm Weight around 4-5 Kilo. All drum are handmade , so sometimes there could be a little difference in painting or carving.Have fun when you play the drums.

"Casting out of the devil or evil spirits, high degree of apocalyptic expectations, the health-and-wealth `prosperity gospel' is the new Christian phenomenon of the Pentecostalism in sub-Saharan Africa," Lugo said.

The study suggests that the degree of concern about religious conflict is often interwoven with concerns about ethnic conflict. In Rwanda, for example, tensions between Hutu and Tutsi tribes erupted in the 1994 genocide. Nigeria continues to be wracked by Muslim-Christian violence.

The 19 countries represented in the survey comprise 75 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa. The countries are: Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/survey-finds-africa-is-mo_n_539704.html

Nyang’oma Kogelo Village In Kenya ''Welcome To Obama's Home Town''

Nyang’oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in Siaya District, Nyanza Province, Kenya. It is located near the equator, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital. The population of Nyangoma-Kogelo is 3,648.

It is a typical Kenyan rural village with most residents living modestly through small-scale farming.^[The village has a shopping centre with shops and a bar. The village has a primary school (Senator Obama Primary School) and a high school (Senator Obama Secondary School). The land for both schools was donated by Barack Obama, Sr., a native of the village and they were renamed after his son and then U.S. senatorBarack Obama in 2006. There is also a health centre. Previously the village had no electricity, but it was connected to the power network immediately after the 2008 US presidential election. In 2008 Kenya Police set up a police post at the village. The Nyang’oma Seventh-day Adventist Church is among the local places of worship.

This book focuses on improving your photography skills by giving you professional techniques and tips on how you can capture the best from different situations while photographing wildlife in the wild.

The village is along the unpaved C28 road between Ng’iya and Ndori  junctions. Less than 10 kilometres north of Kogelo, Ngiya is located along the Kisumu - Siaya road (C30 road). Few kilometres south of Nyang’oma Kogelo, a bridge built in 1930 crosses the Yala River flowing to Lake Victoria, before the road reaches Ndori along the Kisumu - Bondo road (C27 road).

Nyang’oma Kogelo is part of South East Alego electoral ward of Siaya County Council and Alego Constituency. Following the 2007 civic elections, the local councillor is Julius Okeyo Omedo of Orange Democratic Movement. South East Alego is also anadministrative location in the Karemo division of Siaya district. The location has a population of 17,294. As of 2008, the chief of the location is James Ojwang’ Obalo, whose office is located next to the Nyang’oma Kogelo shopping centre.

The idea for the book was spawned from wishing to record what is, for many, a once in a lifetime experience - a safari holiday in Kenya. I'm a semi-pro photographer, so I would be taking huge numbers of photographs and I was sure I'd have enough to make a reasonable photobook for myself.

Since 2006, the village has received international attention because it is the hometown of Barack Obama, Sr., the father of currentUnited States President Barack Obama. Barack Obama, Sr. is buried in the village. Some of their family members, including his paternal step-grandmother Sarah Onyango Obama, still live in the village.

Because of its connection with the American president, the village is expected to be visited by many tourists from the US and other countries. The Kenyan government is promoting it as a tourist attraction of western Kenya. An Obama-themed museum was to be built by the Kenyan government and opened in the village in 2009. A Nairobi-based cultural organisation will build the Dero Kogelo Library and Cultural Centre in the village.

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyang’oma_Kogelo}

Kiruhura, Uganda

Kiruhura is a town in Western Uganda. It is the largest town in Kiruhura District and the district headquarters are located in there. The district is named after the town.
Kiruhura is located approximately 62 kilometres (39 mi), by road, northeast of Mbarara, the largest city in the sub-region. This location lies approximately 245 kilometres (152 mi), by road, southwest of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and the largest city in the country.The coordinates of the town are:00 12 36S, 30 49 48E (Latitude:-0.2100; Longitude:30.8300).
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), estimated the population of Kiruhura at 12,500 in 2008. In 2011, UBOS estimated the mid-year population of the town at 14,000. 

The landmarks within the town limits or close to the edges of town include:

• The headquarters of Kiruhura District Administration
• Kiruhura Town Hall - The building housing the town council offices was opened on 26 January 2010
• Rushere Community Hospital - A 200 bed community hospital affiliated with the Church of Uganda, located approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), by road, east of town.
• A branch of Equity Bank - Located in Rushere, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) est of town.
• Rwakitura State House - The country home of the current President of Uganda is located in Rwakitura, not far from Kiruhura. Facts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiruhura#Location

'The Idealist' by Nina Munk: The Review - A Comment On Africa!

In a review to Nina Munk's book ''The Idealist'' here's what someone commented in his response to this-About Somali men and Africans in general!

"Then there are those cultural attributes that it is considered impolite to raise. "Somali men are not lazy," protests Mr. Mohamed's No. 2. "We are descendants of Abraham, and if you 
descend from Abraham you don't do manual labor." "

Africa is a warm climate where tradition has women involved in agriculture, which tends to often lead to matrilineal descent -- agriculture is associated with property ownership, and which ever gender is involved in it tends to develop expertise which they pass onto progeny of the same gender, and that's why most countries with a gender segregated division of labor either had patrilineal descent or matrilineal descent, but not "gender random" descent.

Men traditionally would be hunters in areas where women specialized in agriculture, and hunting required athletic skill.

Only in the North, in cold regions, would men traditionally own property and pass it onto their sons. Because it becomes necessary to build sturdier homes with heavier materials, livestock that is hard to manage for the physically weak needs to be kept, and any food hoarded over the winter needs to be guarded from theft.

What's interesting is that such insights like that are very easy for those who understand the social world to figure out -- which is different from what it takes to be a brilliant economist with great mathematical skills. Anyone who would want to help a community in Africa would need to do what Jane Goodall did when she went to live with the chimps, and learned their behavior. That would be, in the case of Africa, to move to a community, live with them for awhile, learn their customs, respect them, and then slowly figure out what sorts of things might help them live a little better, but which would allow them to live THEIR OWN LIVES THE WAY THEY WANT TO LIVE THEM a little bit better.

These movie stars and "celebrity economists" hob nob with the super rich. I heard Africa has tons of resources that make the super rich salivate with greed. I suspect all they care about is enslaving the continent of Africa. But those Africans are not stupid, so things don't go so well for them when they try.

This is a very enjoyable book. It is well written, informative , humorous and brings to life vividly what it is really like to go on safari. Having been on many safaris in those countries the book brings me straight back into the bush - I can hear, smell and see the bush and with the photos I am on safari in my chair! A must read for those who are planning on going on safari or merely want to...........

By the way, no offense should be taken by any Africans with my reference to Chimps. Indeed, if you study Chimpanzee society, you'll see Chimpanzees have controlling male leaders and subservient females who "go along with whatever the powerful leader says", which would describe these white celebrity economists better than it would describe Africans. Who I think, along with Italians and Latinos, tend to form communities resembling the social behavior of bonobos more -- matriarchal communities with males who are networkers, but not control freaks.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323906804579036652590072672.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

Shell to begin compensation talks over Nigeria oil spills

Shell is to begin compensation talks with thousands of Nigerian villagers who say their livelihoods were ruined by two massive oil spills in the Niger Delta, the energy giant said on Friday.The talks will start next week in Port Harcourt, the capital of Nigeria's southern Rivers state and the hub of Africa's largest oil industry, the Anglo-Dutch company said.

About 15,000 residents of Bodo, a cluster of fishing villages in Rivers State, are seeking millions of dollars of compensation over the 2008 spills.

My father. That’s what this is all about. Where does he end and where do I begin?’

Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed in November 1995. One of Nigeria’s best-loved writers and an outspoken critic of military rule, he was a prime mover in bringing the human rights abuses of Shell Oil and the Nigerian military to the attention of the world. His death was headline news inter....

"We're hopeful that an acceptable agreement can be reached with the Bodo community during next week's settlement negotiations in Nigeria," a Shell spokesman said.

Lawyers acting for the villagers say the local environment was devastated by the two spills, depriving thousands of subsistence farmers and fishermen of their livelihoods.Experts estimate the spills to be between 500,000 and 600,000 barrels, according to London-based law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the Nigerians.

Shell admitted liability for the spills in 2011 but disputes the amount of oil spilled and the extent of the damage.

"To date nothing has been paid in compensation and no clean-up work has begun," Leigh Day said. The Nigerians' lawyer Martyn Day described Shell's position on the clean-up as "pitiful".

He said: "We will be doing our damnedest to ensure that Shell pay out a fair amount for the damage they have caused and put the Bodo Creek back into its pre-spill state."

Shell said it hoped a deal could be reached with the villagers to provide "fair compensation, as well as a way forward on cleaning up the entire area affected by oil spills".

Previous talks have broken down over a compensation and clean-up package for the Nigerians.

Shell provided the villagers with food relief in 2009 but Leigh Day blasted the supplies as "entirely inadequate for a community of 31,000 people".

The oil giant said it rejected some of the claims made by Leigh Day, but that its goal was "resolution, not recrimination".

It described the 2008 spills as "highly regrettable".

Shell blames oil thefts and sabotage of key pipelines as the major causes of spills in the Delta, where swathes of land have been ravaged by oil pollution.

Nigerian environmentalist and activist Nnimmo Bassey welcomed the compensation talks, but added that Shell needed to clean up the spill.

"It is a good thing if Shell can compensate the villagers. More important is a cleanup of the mess: the spills, the pollution so that the fishermen and farmers can have their means of livelihood back," Bassey who heads local NGO Environmental Rights Actions told AFP.

Nigeria is the world's eighth-biggest oil producer, pumping some two million barrels a day.

Shell is the biggest producer in the west African country, where it has been drilling for over 50 years. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/international/shell-to-begin/804590.html

The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War. For more than forty years Achebe was silent on those terrible years, until he produced this towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events

African Sentiments

Africa from the outside world is seen as continent that stands together, unlike other continents where every one is defined by their own national or individual achievements. People see Africa as a country not a continent with many nations. But we know that we are more divided than what other people think of us. 

The fact is that we would be a bit successful today if what outsiders think, is really how things are. 

Using Nigeria as an example, a country where tribal differences has deprived the nation of its position in the global arena. 

Igbos are not happy to welcome any Yoruba acheivement and the same with the latter. I'm only using Nigeria as example because I was born there. I believe other African countries are not any different, as tribal wars in Congo and Rwanda is a proof.  People  are too selfish and corrupt, clinging to their tribal and individual belief. We forgot that we're living in a new age where our old beliefs can neither help preserve our culture nor help us forge ahead or compete. 

Tribalism is the evil that is eating up African countries, it has delayed their development while leaving them barren, while the small profit they make from the huge resources are taken abroad by their thief leaders. It even helped slave trade. Yet the Africans are not learning to stick together to fight the common enemy. 

This book has been illustrated and published by the students of Edgbarrow School in Berkshire, England as a special project to raise funds for their Ghana Sponsorship campaign. DESCRIPTION: The Yoruba people are descendants from a variety of West African communities. They are united by Geography, History, Religion and most importantly their Language. Many years ago, before the advent of the West African slave trade, the Yoruba people inhabited an area which stretched, along the coast of West Africa, all the way inward and down to Angola in South West Africa.....

There're exceptions though, descendant of the diaspora. These youths try to forge together as one, not really caring who is from what tribe. But this is only out of ignorance and because they are away from home. In countries like the UK, the African youths seem to mingle, socialising to the grudge of other race. But of course these kind of youth association sometimes breeds criminals. And some go to the extent of joining some radical groups all to gain recognition.

The tribal sentiment is in every African and is denying the continent its huge pride in the new world.

African expatriates abroad are helping in the development of their countries of residence. These men and women of great knowledge are not ready to come back because of the hatred and envy that is the order of the day in their various homelands. They know their safety is not guaranteed even with the invitation of the head of state, then talk of ordinary visit. 

Today while continents are building bicycles tracks, Africa is still struggling to feed its population. Yet the people in power do not care, none of the government is ready to implement  any change that will directly benefit the people.  

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, and is seen as the most prosperous after South Africa, with Petroleum as its major export. The returns petrol is bringing to the country is not worth the disaster that goes with it. Just imagine the amount of corrupt politicians the country has produced since the discovery of petroleum. And all the lives lost in pipe explosions. 

If Africans can learn to support whoever has a good idea, by promoting him or her and make sure his discovery is brought to the limelight, and not minding his tribe or family background, we will start seeing some good changes.

Africa has the largest tourist safari with the wildest animals in the world, It also has one of the best climate. Its people are the most divers which means everybody is in Africa and if everybody is in Africa, you'll definitely have everything in Africa. If its people can work together to secure its resources and promote each other, Africa will stand strong and build itself without much help from the outside world. 

Uche & Uzo Say it in Igbo 1...animals we see at home is an Igbo (Ibo) picture-work book showing animals found around the home and on the farm. The book has * a picture-word section with appealing illustrations and * a work book section for colouring and writing to help recognition of Igbo (Ibo) alphabets Children will find their new Igbo (Ibo) friends Uche and Uzo, fun companions all through their discovery of the Igbo (Ibo) language. Using the book along with its companion video, children will learn correct pronunciation of the Igbo language starting with simple words.

African orphans inspire charity ball

A VILLAGE in Burundi will benefit from more than $65,000 after a fund-raising ball last Saturday.

See your ad here

Cibitoke will be host to a new school, medical centre and houses thanks to the money raised at Villages of Life's annual ball on Saturday night.
Founders Ted and Lorraine Bosveld, of Legana, said the organisation raised money to build villages for orphans of the small African nation.
Held at Riverside's Tailrace Centre, the ball gave its 270 guests a two-course meal and entertainment from two bands.
Mrs Bosveld said a highlight had been the cake auction.
The 27 cakes sold for a total of $9800 and a two-tiered mud-cake sold for $900.

See your ad here

``The giving really shows in the cake auction,'' Mrs Bosveld said.
Mr Bosveld said the money raised on Saturday night exceeded the couple's expectations.
The Bosvelds will travel to Burundi in October for the opening of the school, which will be attended by about 190 students.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/1693861/african-orphans-inspire-charity-ball/?cs=12