IT'S TIME FOR A NEW GENERATION-EDO STATE

BENINS' STRATEGY AHEAD OF EDO 2012 - TIME FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

It is a tragedy that it is only now that the Bini political leadership at this Bini forum finally came to the conclusion that a Bini candidate may not necessarily have Bini interests at heart. The Benin population reached this conclusion three years ago after the abysmal job performance of their native son Igbenedion and rejected PDP at the polls that brought ACN to power. Vox Populi Vox Dei - The voice of the people is the voice of God. The Bini people understand that a candidate does not exist in a vacuum. He or her is supported and enabled by the political party that sponsors him. And this political party (PDP) was and is made up of many of these same Bini politicians. And these same politicians were silent during the eight years of Igbenedion misrule that left Benin City and Edo State in disrepair. The question going forward is what exactly do these Bini politicians define as Bini interests? Are Bini interests served only when they get plum ministerial and board appointments, and contracts that benefit the narrow and pecuniary interests of themselves and their immediate family? Or are Bini interests defined as the development and upliftment of Benin City and Edo State including the provision of good roads, constant electricity, pipeborne water, healthcare, jobs, environmental sanitation, industrial and agricultural development?? Can the Binis place their hopes on this generation of Bini politicians who have disappointed them time and time again? Or is it time for a new generation of Bini leaders to take over and bring the Binis and Edo State, the development that they have yearned for all these years. Edo South must flex its political muscle but only for a candidate that puts the interests of Benin City and Edo State ahead of his or her own personal interests. These two interests are not mutually exclusive. For PDP to have a chance of securing the next gubernatorial election in 2010, the old generation of Bini politicians must hand the baton over to the next generation and demonstrate that they have understood the lessons of their last electoral defeat.

Best Regards,

Dr Sota Omoigui

 writes:

Important observation that being Bini does not necessarily imply that one is serving interests that are not self centred.

Note, however, that the writer is indicating that the thrust of the discussion moved beyond the need to have a Bini man( there were no women mentioned in the list of viable Bini candidates) to the need to have as governor a person who SERVES BINI INTERESTS. Those two are not the same thing.

The question remains-in a state composed of ethnicities besides the Bini , is it not more progressive for a state governor to pledge himself or herself to address the interests of all ethnicities of the state, as opposed to the interests of one ethnic group in that state? Is it not possible to build a think tank to work out such an understanding of state wide interests?

Would a pressure group based on such a think thank representing interests of all ethnicities in the state not be more powerful than one centred on only one ethnicity, even if we grant the writer's arguments on Bini numerical strength?

That is certainly possible, but working against that is the fact of various ethnicities wanting representation in public institutions.In that context, access to such offices and to the state's resources is understood in terms of inter-ethnic competition rather than in terms of working together to serve interests which are related without always being identical.

A more robust strategy is required for state wide growth.

oluwatoyin

On 27 November 2011 13:33, Otitigbe Alegbe <naijanet@oviri.com.ar> wrote:

The writer of the article cannot think. I just read part , when I saw that after naming great Ogbemudia he started adding useless people, I just close the page.

Otitigbe.

From: menre ayes

Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2011 9:48 AM

To: naijapolitics naijapolitics

Cc: edo_global@yahoogroups.com ; edo-nationality@yahoogroups.com

Subject: RE: [NaijaPolitics] BENINS' STRATEGY AHEAD OF EDO 2012 GUBER ELECTIONS

In the old Bendel State, which at a time, was filled with free education at all levels and lacked world stage prostitution by 'Edo/Bini' girls, secondary school kids would do a better research or write-up than this. There are more pressing issues facing Edo State right now than what the author of the article tried to present. I am not from that part of the country, but it is an established fact that the worst governor ever produced by Edo State was a Bini man - eight wasted years. Can the writer of the article think?

Menre

---

To: NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com
CC: Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com; edo-nationality@yahoogroups.com
From: toyin.adepoju@googlemail.com
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:57:18 +0000
Subject: Re: [NaijaPolitics] BENINS' STRATEGY AHEAD OF EDO 2012 GUBER ELECTIONS

Which is more significant-Bini interests or the interests of Edo State?

Oluwatoyin

On 27 November 2011 02:36, Steveogbonmwan <Steveogbonmwan@aol.com> wrote:

Binis’ strategy ahead of Edo 2012 guber election

Tweet

November 27, 2011

Politics

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM
Binis move to secure their interests in the post-Edo 2012 gubernatorial era.
For quite some time now, the political leadership of the Binis has found itself in a quagmire as regards the ability of the people to paddle in one direction in the politics of the state.
The Binis occupy the south senatorial district of Edo State and they are blessed with a larger population of about 60 per cent, while Edo Central and North share the remaining 40. The area is particularly known for its rich cultural heritage with the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, in charge of the entire land in the district.
But, politically, the people of the district have not fared well despite the fact that they have political gurus such as the two-time governor of old Bendel State, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia; the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion; Owere Dickson Imasogie; Sunny Uyigue; Rich-Arisco Osemwigie; Clement Edo-Osagie; and the former chief whip of the Senate, Senator Rowland Owie. And due to the large population of the district, nobody can become the governor of the state without the support of the Binis.
There are several incidence to buttress this fact. In 1978-79, the Binis, led by Barr Eddy Osifo and Owie, agreed with other Bini leaders that since Ogbemudia was governor for old Bendel for about seven and a half years, it would be better to have a non- Bini as governor even though some Binis said they should continue in the office. As a result, a section of the Binis supported Air Iyare, who was also an aspirant in the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, against the late Ambrose Alli.
But Osagie- led other young Binis to appeal to their people to accept a non- Bini to be governor. Consequently, they drafted Alli who was from the present Edo Central into the race. Because of that arrangement, the Binis voted for the UPN and that was how Alli became governor. Of the ten House of Assembly seats in Edo South, UPN won eight seats while the rival National Party of Nigeria, NPN, won two.
However, before Alli’s tenure ended, the Binis accused him of reneging on some of the agreements reached with them. Sunday Vanguard learnt that he was supposed to make a Bini man the Secretary to Government (SSG), but, shortly after he became governor, he appointed one Uduobe, who was a blood relation of his, to the office. After that, he was said to have sacked Barr.Eddy Osifo, who was Commissioner for Agriculture, and one of the Bini political leaders who drafted him into the race. Consequently, the Binis moved against him during his second term bid.
The Binis drafted Owie to run against him in the governorship primary of November 1982, but, because Alli had a firm grip on the party structure, the exercise went in his favour. Consequently, the Binis mobilized for Ogbemudia who just retired from the Nigerian Army and now the governorship candidate of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN. Majority of the Binis in the UPN, led by Owie, moved their structure to the NPN to support Ogbemudia. That was how Ogbemudia defeated Alli in the election. Ogbemudia’s tenure lasted for only three months before the army overthrew the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari.
The Binis also flexed their political muscle in 1991during the SDP and NRC era. Incidentally, there were two Bini sons in the race. Chief John Odigie Oyegun was the SDP candidate while Lucky Igbinedion was in the NRC. Of the two candidates, the Binis mobilized for Oyegun despite the fact that majority of the local government councils in the Bini speaking area were controlled by the NRC.
But when it came to the governorship election, the Binis mobilized for Oyegun who was the Bini choice. When the result in Edo North and Central were collated, Igbinedion was leading Oyegun with 14,800 votes but by the time the result of Edo South was collated, Oyegun offset the deficit of 14,000 and went on to defeat Igbinedion by 40,000 votes. And, in 2007, it was Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Prof. Osarhiemen Osunbor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Binis were already tired of the PDP due to alleged poor performance of the PDP eight years administration of Igbinedion, so they voted massively for Oshiomhole who is from Edo North. Whereas Edo North and Central voted against Oshiomhole, the vote of Edo South gave Oshiomhole victory As a matter of fact, the votes from Oredo, Ikpoba Okhai, Egor (Binis) can offset votes in Edo North and Central Districts and that makes the Binis the beautiful bride in the state. However, all these successes were recorded when the Binis spoke with one voice.
With this background of the past prowess of the Binis in the politics of the state, one can understand the tension created in Edo, last week, when a socio-cultural organization in the state, the Enunuedo, led by Ogbemudia, called a meeting of the Binis. In an open letter to the Binis, prior to the parley, Ogbemudia had said, “In recent times, a feeling has spread to the effect that our community has been sliding and drifting and calls have accordingly been made for redress. While opinions may vary in accounting for this new feeling and what must be done in charting a new course, our inability to cohere in devising and advancing a common standpoint in the interest of the community has been generally implicated. Quantitatively, the rest of the country cannot do without the Binis.
God knew this and endowed us with mental acumen, such that qualitatively our approach to issues is second to none. Even this natural gift is now being put asunder. This should not be allowed to continue”. After the letter was made public, there were insinuations that the retired general may have decided to uproot the Oshiomhole- led ACN government in Edo come the 2012 governorship election.
There were also rumours that the group had perfected plans to install one of their sons, Gen.Charles Airhiavbere, who just retired from the army, as governor under the PDP. Finally, the meeting held on Thursday, November 17, and it was ,as expected, well attended by the crème de la crème of the Bini political and traditional leadership. Among them were the Iyase (Prime Minister) of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe, Enogie of Siluko, Prince Omoregie Akenzua, retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice S.O.Uwaifo, former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof.Emmanuel Emovon, first civilian governor of the state, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former DG of NTA, Dr Tonie Iredia, Chief Oyiuku Obaseki, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, Madam Grace Bazuaye, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr Pius Odubu, Chief of Staff to the state government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, Elder Sunny Uyigue, former Chief of Staff to the state government, and Mr Isaiah Osifo. However, in his address, Ogbemudia told the parley that he decided to call the meeting after pressure from Binis that he should salvage the problems that had bedeviled the people all these years.
“I also share the concerns raised. I am a proud Bini man and I believe that all other well-meaning Bini people must be concerned about the direction our community is steered. Going by the statements and reports from different sections of our community, together with my own observation, I can humbly say that our community is not performing or competing optimally, therefore we must find solution”.
In his address, Oyegun explained that the meeting was not targeted at Oshiomhole, noting that the governor has done for the Binis “what some of our sons failed to do. The issue here is Bini unity and this group will be open to all governorship candidates but what we are saying is that the interest must be paramount in our dealings”.
Guest speaker at the occasion, Dr Tonie Iredia, was more blunt on the issue. He recalled how difficult it was for the Binis before they produced the first vice-chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) despite the fact that the university has been on their soil for over thirty years. He also pointed out the appointment of ministers and other political appointments in the state since 1999, saying that, whereas the Binis, with the largest population, had produced one full minister in the person of Gen.Godwin Abbe and a junior minister in the person of Dr Chris Ogienwonyi, the Edo Central, with the least population in the state, had produced four full ministers.
“And the problem is that our people are always at war with each other but the Esans are not like that, they are more cooperative. Bini is the only sleeping majority”. He declared therefore that the Binis must re-strategize by ensuring that a Bini candidate is supported at all times in any election no matter the potential of the opposing candidate.
The state deputy governor, Odubu, however, called for caution on the use of the word “Bini candidate”. He argued that the problem of the Binis was not a candidate of their own extraction but the interest of the Binis in the politics of the state.
He further noted that the Binis may get it wrong again when they go for a Bini candidate who may not have the Bini interest at heart, but the interest of foreigners. He, therefore, urged the conveners to delete “Bini candidate“ and replace it with “Bini interest” so as to get the best out of the meeting. His views were immediately accommodated in the communiqué.
The meeting resolved that, “in all situations, the Binis should not play a second fiddle. As far as the 2012 governorship election is concerned, the Binis are open to all candidates that will promote Bini interest as negotiated”.
Oyegun, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard shortly after the meeting, asserted that the implication of the decision is that “in 2012 whoever wants to be governor of Edo State must sit down with us and we will tell the person what we want and what we want must be what will be in the interest of the Binis”.

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Dr Stephen E Ogbonmwan

Churches Told Dying Patients They Were Cured

Churches Told Dying Patients They Were Cured

Patients were told to stop taking their drugs after being 'cured'

3:49am UK, Friday November 25, 2011

Liz Lane, Sky News reporter

At least six people have died in Britain after being told that they had been healed of HIV, and could stop taking their medication.

There is evidence that evangelical churches in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow are claiming to cure HIV through God.

We sent three undercover reporters into the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), which is based in Southwark, south London.

All of them told the pastors that they were HIV positive. All were told that they could be healed.

Once a month the church has a prayer line, where people from across Europe come to be cured of all kinds of illness.

It is foolish advice and it is tragic advice because the consequences of this kind of advice can only be that people pass on HIV and can only be seriously bad for the individual concerned - including death.

Former health secretary Lord Fowler

At registration they have to hand over a doctor's letter as evidence of their condition

They are filmed giving before and after testimonies, which are put on SCOAN's website.

The healing process involves the pastor shouting, over the person being healed, for the devil to come out of their body, and spraying water in their face.

One of the pastors, Rachel Holmes, told our reporter, Shatila, who is a genuine HIV sufferer, they had a 100% success rate.

"We have many people that contract HIV. All are healed."

She said if symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhoea persist, it is actually a sign of the virus leaving the body.

"We've had people come back before saying 'Oh I'm not healed. The diarrhoea I had when I had HIV, I've got it again.' I have to stop them and say 'no, please, you are free.'"

We are not the Healer; God is the Healer. Never a sickness God cannot heal. Never a disease God cannot cure. Never a burden God cannot bear. Never a problem God cannot solve.

Synagogue Church of All Nations statement

SCOAN told our reporters they would be able to discard their medication after their healing and that they would be free to start a family.

Former health secretary Lord Fowler, who led the HIV/Aids awareness drive in the 1980s, says this message is dangerous.

"It is foolish advice and it is tragic advice because the consequences of this kind of advice can only be that people pass on HIV and can only be seriously bad for the individual concerned - including death."

Medical professionals have told Sky News of at least six patients who have died after being told by various churches to stop taking their HIV tablets.

Emmanuel came off his medication a year ago, on the instructions of a pastor at his church in North London.

"He told me I'd been healed: 'You've got to stop taking the medicine now. I'll keep praying for you. Once God forgives you then the disease will definitely go.'"

Emmanuel admits he suspects he may have passed his HIV onto his boyfriend.

"Yeah, I think I've passed it on. He got ill. Physically he's lost some bit of weight. He's very small. I think he's worried... Yeah I feel guilty, if I'm the one who passed it onto him I'm feeling guilty. Yeah very much guilty."

The Synagogue Church of All Nations is wealthy. It has branches across the globe and its own TV channel.

On its website it promotes its anointing water, which is used during the healing, and it also makes money from merchandise, such as DVDs, CDs and books.

Church members are expected to give regular donations.

It is also a registered UK charity. The Charity Commission is looking at our findings.

The Department of Health says it is very concerned: "Our advice is clear that faith and prayer are not a substitute for any form of treatment, especially for HIV treatment."

Sky News asked the church for its response to our investigation. Here is its statement:

"We are not the Healer; God is the Healer. Never a sickness God cannot heal. Never a disease God cannot cure. Never a burden God cannot bear. Never a problem God cannot solve.

"To His power, nothing is impossible. We have not done anything to bring about healing, deliverance or prosperity. If somebody is healed, it is God who heals.

"We must have a genuine desire if we come to God. We are not in position to question anybody's genuine desire. Only God knows if one comes with true desire. Only God can determine this.

"That is why, if anybody comes in the name of God, we pray for them. The outcome of the prayer will determine if they come genuinely or not."

RECOMMENDED STORIES

Synague Church of all Nations: Churches Told Dying Patients They Were Cured‏

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16117269

Asaba International Airport: Bridging the divide between South-East, South-South‏

Saturday, November 19, 2011

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Asaba International Airport: Bridging the divide between South-East, South-South

Written by Emmanuel Addeh

THE newly-built International Airport in Delta State is located in Asaba, the capital of the state. It is also the closest airport to Onitsha, the largest town in neighbouring Anambra State, and the economic hub of the South-East zone. Given the proximity of the airport to Onitsha and its economic importance, not a few have likened it to a second Niger bridge, linking the two states.

The former Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor chaired the foundation laying ceremony of the project in July 2008.

The airport was conceived to provide a stable and reliable means of air transport for investors, tourists, politicians as well as members of the public.

What started like a dream three years ago has now become a reality with the construction of the airport, except for a few patches. This brings the number of airports in the country to 22.

Many Deltans were sceptical at the outset of the project. As a result of the initial delay in its execution, they had wondered if the project was another white elephant. But the state government cleared all doubts when he said the delay was due to the need to update the facilities to enable it function as a cargo and passenger airport.

The airport, which is built on a vast expanse of land on the Benin-Asaba highway, was initially billed to gulp N14bn. The sum was scaled down to N7bn and eventually, the airport cost the state government N17.5bn to build. Although the project had received serious criticism from the opposition and with several individuals in the state insisting that there was no need for an airport when the people were hungry, the government maintained that it would boost employment and increase commercial activities in the South-East axis.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan had to explain why the state government embarked on the construction of the airport. He said, “The people in Asaba had to travel to neighbouring states to travel by air and in the process, waste several man-hours on the road because of the simple fact that the Delta State capital did not have an airport.

“With the huge eastern market just across the River Niger, the project will be viable. Asaba has been suffering from the absence of an airport for a very long time. This will not be an abandoned project. Asaba is long overdue for an airport and we are determined to complete it no matter the cost.”

After an initial delay, the first non-commercial flight to the airport took place on Thursday, March 24, 2011 and its maiden commercial flight took place between July 13.

The airport, which comes with a three-kilometre runway, a modern terminal building and a car park for over 1,000 vehicles, Sights & Signs of Nigeria gathered, was handled by ULO Construction Company.

In spite of the existence of the Osubi airstrip in Warri (owned by a number of multinational oil companies), the government had noted that it was difficult for people in the state to travel by road to other states to board airplanes when they needed to move.

At the first commercial flight which had passengers from Abuja landing at exactly 12.17.pm in a 48-seater jet with registration number 5N-BND, belonging to Overland Airlines, the government noted that the project would quicken the economic development of the state.

Apart from those in the state, one other major beneficiary of the state-funded airport is Anambra State, which has Onitsha, its commercial capital, less than 15 minutes from the airport.

It was learnt that before the airport was built, people from the state embarked on a two-hour journey to Benin city to board an airplane.

Uduaghan had also defended the alleged delay of the completion of the project, saying that the trend all over the world was “ it was not easy to finish work in an airport in one swoop’’

While fielding questions from journalists in Asaba, the governor had noted that it took a long time to construct an airport.

He explained that even the best airports in the world still had “minor works going on either in form of renovation or addition of more facilities.”

The Democratic Peoples Party criticised Uduaghan over the delay in completing the airport. But last week, the party’s reaction drew the attention of a public affairs commentator, Mr Jesutega Onokpasa, who described it as mischievous.

Onokpasa said, “Which pilot could land a plane on an uncompleted airport? “How many dual carriage ways, water projects, hospital construction and airports were undertaken in the past?’’

Few weeks ago, the Delta State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency in Lagos to boost air traffic operations into the Airport.

Sights & Signs of Nigeria learnt that by the agreement, NAMA would deploy air traffic controllers and air traffic engineers to the airport for safety of flight operations, while the Delta State Government would provide other logistics needed to enhance smooth services.

The Special Project Director of the Airport, Austen Ayemidejor, who led the government delegation to NAMA’s head office in Lagos for the signing of the MoU, described the event as epochal.

He said, ‘‘The signing of the document today means that Asaba Airport is safe for landing and with this endorsement by NAMA, safety cannot be compromised.” Also, the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr Nnamdi Udoh, who presided over the meeting promised to strive in providing quality air traffic services to airlines operating into Asaba Airport.

Apart from the costing of the airport which the opposition said kept changing, there were also insinuations by the contractors that they had not been paid by the government. The incident happened when some suppliers of some equipment used in the airport held a public protest against ULO.

But Uduaghan denied the allegation that he was owing the contractor handling the construction of the multi-million naira Asaba Airport N10bn out of the N17.5bn earmarked for the project.

Over 30 sub-contractors had stormed the airport and temporarily disrupted activities as they barricaded the gate with their vehicles.

Uduaghan, who spoke through his Communication Manager, Mr. Paul Odili , had denied that the government was owing the contractor any money, insisting that the government had fully met financial obligation to the contracting firm.

Uduaghan might also have been reacting to this allegation last week when he said, “Some of these contractors do not follow due process. There are laid down procedures beforefunds are released to contractors and these procedures have to be followed’’.

The Minsiter of Aviation, Mrs stella Oduah had also expressed satisfaction with the high standard of facilities in the Asaba Airport, saying that they could be compared to some of the “best” in the world.

Oduah said the airport met global specifications and standard. She said: “I am very excited over this airport. It is very wonderful and has met global standard.”

But as the airport commences full flight operations, it is hoped that rough edges would be smoothened and regular maintenance carried out to avoid the decay in some of the airports in the country.
-------------------------

The Truth about the Oil Minister’s 20 Million Euro Mansion In Vienna, Austria

Boko Haram Suicide Bombers killed by own bombs Read more

Senator, Other Politicians Linked to Boko Haram Read more

The Truth about the Oil Minister’s 20 Million Euro Mansion In Vienna, Austria

Written by Uzoma Ahamefule

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 12:31

Dear President Goodluck Jonathan and honorable minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke, I am personally very happy about the urgency which this millions of euro mansion allegation in Vienna, Austria has been refuted and taken. Consequently I would want to inform you all, and fellow Nigerians that I went into action immediately after recovering from the shock of hearing that such amount of money had been invested in a foreign land in this manner in search of the truth. With all sense of frankness and fairness I can unequivocally say that I have as a concerned and disturbed patriotic citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria living in Vienna, Austria gone deeply and investigated this saga. I used all the available means and otherwise to get to all the people and agencies that are very important in finding the truth. My curiosity and sincerity in digging out the fact nearly got me into trouble at different occasions. Therefore, I can beat my chest and say that there was no iota of truth in this accusation. Some school of thoughts may have it that I am just an ordinary individual whose investigations could be limited and could easily be rejected or punctured by law on technical ground. As a result, I am waiting for the final pronouncement of the official findings which I believe that it will not be different from the naked truth I have just said. In consideration to this my honest private investigation on the bogus mansion and its result, honorable minister Madam, let your celebration start now because you are a conqueror for your God has given you another important victory to the shame of the devil and the evil ones. I did not find any mansion in Vienna, Austria in the name of Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke the honorable oil Minister Federal Republic of Nigeria. And I challenge anybody to prove me contrarily including “Heute” newspaper. Consequently I tender my unreserved apology for this misleading publication as someone who brought a translated version of the newspaper’s report to the Nigerian audience outside Vienna, Austria. The record must be kept straight that ‘Heute’ newspaper dated 7.11.11 on page 11 carried the news that Nigeria’s oil minister had got a mansion in Vienna, Austria and some Nigerians living in Vienna have got a copy of that paper including the Nigerian Embassy whom I have also had contact with regarding this fairy tale in my candid opinion. My article was not ambiguous as I stated clearly that my reactions were based on the report of the newspaper and had also asked the oil minister to refute the allegation or resign from her position. I am not a blackmailer, a politician, a contractor and evenly not looking for any favor from any individual or government in any form as to sell my conscience and integrity. I do not equally involve myself in dubious activities. I am just a patriotic concerned reliable citizen who also feels the pains of corruption by our political leaders in Nigeria. My actions are focused towards social change for the good of all Nigerians. This is what I am doing and will continue to do. Austria is ranked as developed by experts, therefore, if one cannot make a reference to a newspaper report in a civilized country then all the judges all over the world that have admitted any newspaper in evidence and used it in any form should be castigated and such cases re-tried. And as long as this has not been done those bunches of miscreants who are nothing but ethnic village political champions should get this into their heads that the news did not emanate from me. Even though I am not afraid of death at all because when it will come you cannot do anything to change it since it is not within your power but in the hands of the creator, but all the abuses and threats on my person and family must stop. However, if it pleases God that their threats will become reality, it will also please my soul because they may not know that they have played the role Judas Iscariot played in Jesus Christ’s crucifixion by fulfilling part of my destiny to eternity where I will die no more and will see corruption, blackmailing and threat no more. If God so wishes may his name be glorified. If a report from an Austrian licensed newspaper cannot be referred to as a source of information there would be no need for its existence just as we should equally not listen to BBC, CNN or NTA news etc. because it would be useless. If I should be scolded for making a reference to a newspaper report in a civilized country then we all are guilty of believing “The Times” in New York about the life of the US president Barrack Obama and his family in the White House because we have never been there and may never be. We should also not make a reference or believe Nigerian newspapers whenever they write anything about Aso Rock or President Goodluck Jonathan especially the regional newspapers until we as individuals go to Aso Rock and verify or see the president. If the reproach of some few individuals should be generally accepted then, we all are guilty to have believed newspaper reports about the former US president George Bush who is supposed to be in prison for his lies against late Saddam Hussein and genocide against Iraqi women and children because we were not in Iraq to see the war and count the number of women and children that were reported to have been killed by Bush’s arrogance in a supremacy show. For threatening a man who has done a patriotic job out of his own time, money and risk, we all should be jailed to have believed newspaper reports about the betrayal of Charles Taylor by African leaders who ate their words out of imperialism and complex and handed him over to their colonial masters against the peace accord reached in Monrovia, Liberia that led Charles Taylor to voluntarily relinquish his power as the president. Charles Taylor took asylum in Nigeria which was part of the treaty of his leaving power but it turned out to be a deceit and a gate way to his incarceration against the deal. Today Charles Taylor is standing trial in the same court that ceded Bakassi Peninsula against all glaring evidences and the feelings of Bakassi indigenes in Cross River state. You and I perhaps were not witnesses to all these historical events but yet we will quote, discuss and write as if it happened in our bedrooms because we believe in the media. As accredited print media house its primary aim is to inform and people rely on it for information because it is duty bound to verify its news and filter it before bringing it to the audience. It was on this note of respecting ‘Heute’s’ ethic professionalism as a licensed media entity I wrote in my article that I trust the newspaper, and consciously aware of the gravity of the allegation it leveled against the honorably minister and the insult it heaped on Nigeria, one had expected it to at least be very sure of its report. You can go back and read that article again. Therefore I think that I did a patriotic work by bringing a translated version of the already known news to the Nigerian audience and equally made a genuine patriotic call not only as a concerned Nigerian when I said that the oil minister must clear her name or honorably bow out from office but also as a Nigerian who is doing something in his own little way for the sought change we all are yearning for to take place. No Nigerian in Austria was happy after having read that insult from “Heute” newspaper but as usual most of them took the discussions to their sitting rooms, café bars and their clan meetings or to their small group of friends for sympathy. We have our problems in Nigeria including corruption in high places there is no doubt about that but corruption is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Therefore, ‘Heute’ must explain to Nigerians what gave them the impetus to disgrace our Honorable minister by portraying her as wicked and inconsiderate before the world without facts. Millions of Nigerians all over the world especially those living in Austria have been misled like me and humiliated in so many ways with this report and as a matter of fact need an explanation why their country should be so bruised sacrilegiously with the derogatory word “Hungerland.” The big questions now are: How did “Heute” come up with this damaging allegation? Who is behind this and what is the motive? For your personal clarification I have provided ‘Heute’s’ contact and mail addresses including telephone numbers bellow. Heute AHW Verlags GmbH Heiligenstädter Lände 29/Top 6 1190 Wien Fax: +4350950 ext. 12222 or ext. 12555 Phone: +4350950 ext. 12000 E-Mail: office@heute.at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Mr. President Sir, this humiliation and insult was not only a damage to the honorable minister but also to Nigeria as an entity. Your morality as the commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria who appointed Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke as a minister and your entire cabinets are equally not spared. Accordingly, genuine concerned Nigerians like me are expecting you to please restore our dignity and pride by encouraging and supporting speedy investigation and legal action against the newspaper and their agents because anything short of this to the knowledge of the public would be a colossal failure. In other words, please no diplomatic settlement outside the eyes of the public should be considered in any form otherwise the coffin of the damage would have been sealed. Sir, the real foreheads of the “Terrible Goliaths” which you said that are ready to kill their fathers and mothers or even their children just to stop your government maybe about to be exposed for your anointed stone to strike like David in the bible. Get to the root of this matter because from every indication Sir, it could afford you the opportunity of unmasking some of these monsters in the name of “Goliaths” or their agents. In retrospect to the brouhaha that trailed the re-appointment of the oil minister and the unwarranted uproar that is now associated with her including this FAKE mansion in Vienna, Austria it is now so obvious that some forces are after her. May God continue to protect her. Fellow Nigerians, we all should not forget that north, east, west and south - home is home, for that reason, let us all in unison play our respective roles well to move Nigeria forward and do away with blackmailing and distractions in any form. We should not allow ourselves to be a willing tool in causing pains to others. We must criticize genuinely and constructively because objective criticism brings the best out in any reasonable government. Kill that ethnic politicking in you and let us leave legacies for our children and not ill gotten billions in the bank from blackmailing and corruption. Nigeria must move forward. Long live the federal Republic of Nigeria, long live President Goodluck Jonathan and long live the oil minister Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke. Uzoma Ahamefule A concerned patriotic citizen Writes from Vienna, Aust uzomaah@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it +436604659620 sms only

Boko Haram sponsors: SSS detains senator

Yes, Some ray of hope at last.

The following report is encouraging.

SEO

A member of the National Assembly, Sen. Ali Mohammed Ndume has
pleaded not guilty of conspiracy to commit a felony.

However, an Abuja Magistrate Court presided over by Mrs. Oyebode Oyewole
has convicted the spokesman for the sect, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga of
conspiracy to commit a felony and breach of official trust contrary to 79, 98
and 398 of the criminal procedure code.

Konduga, who was arraigned with the senator, pleaded guilty to the one count
charged file against them by the State Security Service, SSS.

The sect spokesperson told the court that he was behind the threat text
messages sent to the judges of the election petitions tribunal sitting in
Maiduguri and that Sen. Ndume supplied the text messages and the phone
numbers of the dignitatires.

Recipients of his threat messages were: governor of Jigawa State, Sule
Lamido, Niger State Babangida Aliyu, Senator Sanusi Daggash, a former
Minister of Works and senator as well as Ambassador Dalhatu Tafida, Nigeria’
s ambassador to the United Kingdom who was also the Director General of
the Jonathan-Sambo presidential campaignorganization.

The court said the suspects would be sentenced according to section 398 of
the penal code which deals with criminal intimidation of government officials
by anonymous communication. The offence carries 2 years imprisonment.

Since Sen. Ndume has pleaded not guilty, the court would have to wait to
hear the senator’s case before sentencing the Boko Haram’s spokesperson.
On Monday during interrogation, Ali Sanda Umar Konduga, spokesperson of
the Boko Haram sect had implicated the embattled senator alleging that he
was one of their sponsors.

Senator Ndume and Konduga will remain in SSS custody until December 6
when hearing on his (Ndume) bail application will commence

In a message dated 23/11/2011 02:22:00 GMT Standard Time, phbamaiyi@yahoo.com writes:

Some ray of light at last!

SEO,
My brother wahala dey o. I just hope GEJ will summon the courage to unravel the nest of killers that has tormented, killed, and maim Nigerians. This also calls on all political parties to reflect more on the characters they present to Nigerians for electoral nod. We can't continue this way for too long.


------
Thanks Biodun for sharing this message. This is an eye opener that those paid to protect and foster Nigerian unity are the same people undermining her due to personal greed and quest for power. We hope Justice will prevail in the end and the laws of the nation upheld but those who have been sent to the grave very early and indiscriminately as they were mostly killed by bomb blast will never and should never be forgotten. SEO In a message dated 22/11/2011 06:58:26 GMT Standard Time, sowunmi@hotmail.com writes: Boko Haram sponsors: SSS detains senator By Yusuf Alli and Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja 6 hours 26 minutes ago Font size: sen Ndume Suspect names ex-Governor Sheriff, ex-envoy as backers SECURITY agents last night arrested a Senator who a suspect named as a Boko Haram sponsor. Senator Ali Ndume (Borno), who is being held by the State Security Services (SSS), is likely to face trial today in Abuja. The Nation learnt also that 13 suspects have been arrested by the Joint Task Force in connection with the recent bombings in Damaturu, Yobe State. Ndume will be arraigned in court with some members of the sect already in SSS custody, sources said. A source, who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, broke to The Nation news of the senator's arrest at about 10.20pm. He said: "He is presently being detained in SSS custody, pending his arraignment in court. "Based on the confession of some Boko Haram suspects in custody, we have interrogated Ndume and he has made a statement accordingly. We are going to charge him to court on Tuesday (today) with some of the suspects in our custody. "With this development, we hope that Nigerians will appreciate that security agencies are doing our best to tackle terrorism." Attempts by some Senators to see Ndume last night failed. A suspect named Ndume, former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and Nigeria's former Ambassador to Sao Tome and Principe, the late Saidu Pindar, as financial backers of Boko Haram. The suspect, Ali Sauda Umar Konduga

Cholera killed 728 Nigerians in 11 months – UNICEF‏

Cholera killed 728 Nigerians in 11 months – UNICEF

Written by Mustapha Salihu

No fewer than 728 lives were lost to cholera outbreaks in 25 states between January and November, UNICEF Chief Officer on Water and Sanitation, Mr. Vinod Alkari, has said.

Alkari said at the third National Round Table Conference on Community-led Sanitation held on Monday in Katsina, that 22,686 others, who were affected by the disease within the same period under review, survived.

He attributed the high prevalence of cholera to poor sanitation in the 25 states. Agency reports have it that the nation loses about N455bn annually to sanitation problems.

Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, said that his administration had spent about N5bn in the last four years to provide clean water for the people.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Jamilu Danmusa, at the conference, the governor stated that the government had also constructed and rehabilitated 2,000 rural water schemes.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, in her speech, enjoined state governments to embark on vigorous campaign for proper sanitation.

She explained that the forum was organised to provide opportunity for stakeholders to rub minds and learn from one another towards achieving the set objective.

According to her, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources will support implementation of community-led sanitation.

A member of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Gyang Dantong, said the Senate was planning a public hearing to work out ways to end the scourge.

Dantong claimed that in Jos, Plateau State, on Monday that the disease was still wreaking havoc in 25 states of the country.

He said, "This (cholera) is a disease that can easily be prevented by maintaining basic hygiene, but it has continued to kill so many people over the years.''

The senator also added that the destruction by the tropical disease was a major source of concern to the Senate, assuring that the legislature would step up enlightenment campaigns to check the menace.

Datong said, "Money is not needed to prevent the disease. The Senate will soon organise a public hearing, where stakeholders and other members of the public will work out the quickest way out.

"We shall focus on resuscitating the activities of the environmental and sanitary inspectors in the villages. We shall insist that every house must have toilets and other sanitary facilities and recommend severe punishment for defaulters.

"In the past, the disease was fully controlled because sanitary inspectors were always going around to do their job. But we no longer do that and the very costly consequences are here with us."

He further assured that the Senate committee on health was also worried about the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia, decrying the high number of people affected by the tropical disease which he described as alarming.

Red Factor says; Being rich out of Nigerian government is now a shame worldwide. Too many people are dying to tilt the scale. Let us keep praying but keep one eye open...we are heading for a revolution.

60% Of Prostitutes in Italian and Belgian towns are Nigerians...reactions

This is not a woman issue but men problem. Let not be stereotypical with this unfounded

report. If men can control their sexual urges, the world will be safer for young

girls growing up especially in Nigeria. Now, we have other reports indicating (pedophilia)

men having sexual activity with children. Children as young as two year old. By the way,

are these report causing some men to have sexual gratification?

I am really troubled by this constant interest in this area when there are

bigger issues affecting the country security and stability.

"If there are no buyer then, the seller will internalized other areas of trade".

Let us join hands and say NO to child exploitation. Just imagine a child that was sexually

molested without counseling, she may grew up having split personality. Most of the time, she

may have unstable adulthood, possibly issues with Bipolar/Borderline personality.

Katie

The lucky prostitutes now end up in Europe, the rest go to african countries like mali, tanzania etc. Nigerian leaders; your heartlessness knows no boundary. May you all get what is coming to you. Give the youths a chance to rule.

 

Red factor

---

 : 60% of prostitutes in Italian, Belgian towns are Nigerians – NAPTIPPDF

--- On Wed, 11/23/11, Urhobo Community <urhobocommunityburkinafaso@yahoo.fr> wrote:

From: Urhobo Community <urhobocommunityburkinafaso@yahoo.fr>
Subject: Re : 60% of prostitutes in Italian, Belgian towns are Nigerians – NAPTIPPDF
Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 8:30 AM

I was in Nigeria in the month of june through end of october, and visited the Niger delta region campaigning from office to office with facts and figures and a completed documentary film on this subject of Nigeria girls trafficking within the West african countries.
I also suggested to the naptip that we can bring this phenomenon to a stop within the west africa countries since the center of stocking is Burkina faso.with facts on

1. The source and methods of this trafficking ( Nigeria as a base)
2. Techniques or methods used by traffickers
3. Routes or roads used by the traffickers within West Africa countries
4. Strategic approaches to be applied for the education of this scourge
5. What we need to combat or eradicate this phenomenon

Our NGO LUTRA JEUNES did a thourough investigation on all routes and have a project that can eradicate this phenomenon in Burkina faso, that will lead to reducing the phenomenon in west africa and then probably what we are saying as global.

But the Naptip head quarters in Abuja refused to received our delegates to their office, because they were following protocols at the gate.
It is a shame that the NAPTIP will say things and would not work with other NGOs like ours to effect reletive changes to this ugly trends.
it is time that we know what we want and stop what we want to stop instead of just using NGOs name collecting huge funds for the purpose of fighting the phenomenon to a halt and then refusing to collaborate with active NGOs who are effortless and sacrificially fighting to bring this ugly trade to a halt.if william wilberforce and other volunteer back then can abolish slave trade then NAPTIP can definitely stop this ugly trend in NIgeria

We are ready to collaborate if they NAPTIP are ready to listen to others and collaborate .

We look forward to cooperation and collaboration to form one formidable force to save Nigerian young girls who are victims of this modern day slavery, because the next victim may be our daughters or close relations.

Untill then to your Tents oh Israel !

Ochuko Patrick Otoba
The President
LUTRA JEUNES BURKINA FASO
lutra_jeunes@yahoo.fr
tel:+226 72442737
Nigeria Chapter
Nigeria Line +234 70 61851849
www.lutrajeunes.bf

27 female Deltans prostituting in Mali repatriated‏

27 female Deltans prostituting in Mali repatriated

November 23, 2011

News

By Austin Ogwuda, Asaba

TWENTY-SEVEN female Deltans found prostitution in Mali have been repatriated home, Director of Women Affairs in the State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Philomena Onyekweli has said.

She told reporters in Asaba that out of 104 Nigerian female deportees “ten of them who are Deltans have arrived the State and currently being cared for by the State Government through the Women Affairs ministry while 17 others are still in Abuja undergoing further interrogations”.

Already, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Betty Efekhoda has visited the girls promising to ensure that rehabilitated and re-united to their families.

Meanwhile, Efekhoda in a separate forum while addressing participants at a workshop on the dissemination of the provision of United Nations Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women decried the absence of legal instruments on protection of women and children’s rights.

According to her, the existing norms provided material advantage to the males while at the same time placing severe constraints on the role and activities of the females.

“It restricts women access to material resources and besides, due to their non-economic empowerment, women and children are vulnerable to sexual abuse, prostitution, hooliganism, just to mention a few”, she added.

Red Factor says; We must create modern jobs that gives satisfaction to our young men, girls and women back home. Our leaders are out of touch. Its time to give oppotunities and backing to the clever Nigerians. Prostitution, kidnapping and armed robbery will go away or reduce. No more bullshit from Nigerian leaders pls...we've heard it all before.

The Great Exchange, Tribalism/ ethnicity in Nigeria for Racism in the Western World

Isn’t life a parody! Back in our respective homelands we complain and gripe about tribalism, ethnicity and the multiplicity of ills that befall us as a result of the regions we come from – the North/South divide and more recently the South/South divide.

We moan and groan about limited access to higher institutions, discrimination for lucrative jobs and political positions, social infrastructural developments, access to health care facilities and lack of pivotal investments in our respective towns and villages.

We even take up arms, machetes, axes and any forms of weaponry that we have access to, to inflict untold hardship on folks from neighbouring towns and villages in the fight or is it quest for land domination, access to natural resources and the control thereof.

Rather than immerse ourselves in changing these attitudes and behaviours we become immersed in the same ills that we speak against and realising that our efforts alone cannot in any way revolutionise these entrenched ways of live and rather than fight for those beliefs we hold so dear, we seek the easy way out.

We simply extract ourselves away from these tribal and ethnic discriminatory practices for a life in Western societies where oftentimes similar ills are visited on us disguised as racism.

Whilst the majority of us are quick to blame some of our inadequacies on racism and the resulting discrimination, we seldom admit to ourselves and the communities that we have now become a part of that we came here out of our volition, at times uninvited but yet given an equitable platform to contribute and share equitably on what there is.

To me this smacks of gross ingratitude because as benefactors of what we often take for granted, we are quick to forget that we are and will for centuries to come become assimilated into host cultures, therefore it is beholden us all to deride any perceptions of racism, rise above it, develop coping mechanisms for ridiculing any manifestations of such acts by being the very best there is in any works of lives that we find ourselves.

By doing this, our mental attitudes becomes refined, our perceptions becomes progressively positive, our demeanour and disposition towards such tenets (racism) becomes much more adaptable in so far as our performance and behavioural dispositions places us uniquely on a par with those who seeks to so discriminate on such grounds.

It is rather easier to wallow in self pity by taking comfort for our failures on the grounds of discrimination rather than exploiting the values that are derivable from the positive

discrimination policies that we have been afforded by State Institutions in attempt to equalise our rights of access to those opportunities that were hitherto closed to us.

Sincerely,

Philip Orumwense 

The Nigerian Sex Market.

•Pregnant women, mothers & daughters involved

From ALOYSIUS ATTAH Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sex Worker
Photo: Sun News Publishing

It was a Sunday evening, a supposedly holy day for Christians. Traditionally, the major markets are closed in Onitsha, the commercial capital of Anambra State in South East Nigeria, and it is either a visiting day for the city dwellers or time to attend town union meetings. It is also a day to unwind at the various drinking joints.

Time was 6:45pm and this reporter was at the Lagos Park bypass near the Chisco Park to investigate an already conceived script from enquiries about some areas of the city, inhabited by women of easy virtue.
Dusk was gradually kissing the day goodbye and the area was bustling with a flurry of activities. Commercial cyclists (Okada) and motorists honked their horns while music blasted from the loud speakers of a nearby record store. Everyone seemed in a hurry either to get home or to complete other tasks before nightfall.

Travellers were boarding the night buses to Lagos even as motor park touts scouted for more passengers. This reporter sat on a plastic chair at Mama Nkechi’s kiosk where the middle-aged woman sold all kinds of spirits, local concoctions, kola and gin after getting her permission under the pretence that I was waiting for a brother traveling to Lagos that night.

While fiddling with my phone, the reporter’s “third” eye was also fixed on an unfolding scene nearby. Two young ladies clutching leather handbags and another black polythene bag popularly known as ‘walkie-talkie’ suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, near the Chisco Park toilet. They briefly exchanged pleasantries, scanned the environment and walked towards a lock-up stall painted in a popular noodles wrapper’s colour and began fiddling with their phones. Soon after, other ladies joined them.

One of them approached the Chisco Park gate and pretended to hang around when a man, probably in his late 50s, emerged from inside and handed her a big sack tied with a rope. She took the bag to the lock-up stall and in a jiffy, the other ladies helped her untie it and they used it to create an emergency room in front of the stall. Within seconds, two young men appeared carrying double wooden benches, which the ladies collected and placed inside the make-shift tent. By this time, their number had increased.

Another woman in wrapper and blouse with dark glasses covering her eyes, who sat beside this reporter at the ogogoro kiosk, rose from her seat, crossed to the other side of the road and also joined them. All the ladies, now over 20, pulled out the content of their ‘walkie-talkie’ polythene bags and began to undress. Like a relay race where the athletes wait for the referee to shout on-your-marks, they all pulled off the semi-decent clothes they wore and changed into something wacky, provocative and all-revealing. In just two minutes, the jeans trousers, skirts and tops suddenly disappeared and bikinis and petty coats took over.

By now, darkness had fully descended and illumination was only from the head lamps of passing vehicles and motorcycles. They lit candle sticks inside the tent while some among them also lit cigarette sticks and began to puff away. As if on cue, young men begin trickling into the arena and the ‘business’ then took off for real.
Welcome to Onitsha-Lagos park bypass, the unofficial headquarters of illicit sex in Onitsha. Prostitution, they say, is one of the oldest ‘professions’ in the world. It takes various forms and methods, depending on the peculiarities of the people and the area involved.

Sunday Sun investigation in Onitsha revealed that illicit sex trade thrives unabated despite the campaigns against the spread of Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) coupled with all the preaching against immorality in churches and mosques.
Investigation further revealed that some of the prostitutes engage in unprotected sex with clients provided the monetary exchange is right. This reporter spent several days combing different parts of the town between 6pm and midnight and the discoveries were incredible.

The Onitsha big sex market 
Apart from trying to unearth how the prostitutes start their business every night, it was discovered that the prostitution business is a big network at the Upper Iweka-Lagos Park, comprising various actors with different roles. Located conspicuously behind the Upper Iweka flyover and sandwiched between Ekeson and Chisco parks is a thriving prostitution racket. Here a bottle of beer costs more than a bout of illicit sex. It is an open market for barrow pushers and other classes of men, who desire to sleep with women for a price.
There is no night life in Onitsha owing to the security situation and peculiarity of the area. But another sort of night business thrives, unknown to a large number of the city dwellers.

The Onitsha-Lagos park wakes up early as the cock crows for those who want to take the first buses to their various destinations. Surprisingly, the area never goes to sleep. This is not because trading or business lasts that long but a different transaction, weird in nature, replaces the normal businesses of the day. Prostitution, debauchery and other crimes take over from 6:45pm to 10pm.
From the entrance of the bypass to the end connecting the flyover and Port Harcourt Road, commercial sex workers in different sizes, colours and shapes beckon to male passers-by, soliciting patronage. Dressed in the most provocative wears, they chorus: “Fine man, I will do you fine oh”; “Brother, you will like my service”; as well as other seductive and amorous clichés.

From the several nights spent in the area, it was discovered that most shops and kiosks in that axis were converted to emergency brothels when the rightful owners had closed for the day’s business. Sex takes place on wooden benches arranged in double rows. Each tent contains a minimum of three wooden benches and the male clients have sex with the prostitutes in turns. Sometimes, the three benches can be occupied at the same time while everybody does his own thing not minding the other person’s business.

The benches are owned by some men inside the park, who rent them to the prostitutes for a fee daily.
Further enquires revealed that the sex workers have an informal union as any intending member must first be inducted before she is allowed to ply her trade in the area.
Pretending to be a ‘customer’, the reporter gave one of them, who identified herself as Jane, a generous tip and she disclosed that the business was good and revealed further how they operate.

“We have our oga (boss) here, who supervises what we do. He is the one who supplies us condoms through one of his friends, who is a medicine dealer at the Onitsha Bridge Head Market. We also pay him a certain stipend at the end of the day. A round of sex here is N300 but sometimes we reduce the amount if the person is stingy.”
Sunday Sun also learnt that the proprietor of the sex business has private rooms within the park that serve those who do not want to share the sex tent with others. A private room for ‘short time’ costs N700.

The scramble for leftovers
The activities of the sex workers assume a frenzied dimension from 10pm. During the peak period between 7pm and 8.30pm, it is not easy to get the ladies to follow a client home for all-night service. But it is a different ball game from 10pm as they become willing to follow a prospective customer home. This is when Okada riders and bus drivers, who sleep in the motor park for the next day’s onward journey, come to make their pick for the night.
Onitsha is a transport hub for many mass transit companies. So, most of the drivers, who book turns for the following day’s journey, sleep inside their vehicles in the parks. But some of them choose to sleep with female company.

A driver with one of the thriving transport companies in the South East, who craved anonymity, said: “I wish somebody could record scenes in most of these motor parks at night on video. The playback will shock people. Despite warnings by the management, most of our drivers bring in prostitutes late in the night and sleep with them inside their vehicles. Some of the vehicles people board in the day are moving brothels. 
“What they do is that they have sex with these women inside the vehicle by adjusting the seats to look like beds. They clean up the seats and discharge the women by 5am and fix their vehicles for passengers to board from 6am. Some of the crashes you see on the road these days are as a result of the weakness of the driver from the hangover of illicit sex the previous night.”

The army barracks sex market
Located inside the Onitsha army barracks is another sprawling sex market, popularly known as Sokoto Road. Although nobody could say how the name emerged, the area is very popular among residents of the cantonment and easily known by all Okada operators within the barracks.

This is another world of its own. Parading women of all categories, Sokoto line is an archetypal Sodom and Gomorrah. A visit to the area confirms the saying that some parents at the snap of their fingers can trace their family lineage to three generations, yet cannot trace where their daughter slept last night.
Sokoto Line is a place where mother and daughter hawk their bodies for money at the same time. Consisting of ramshackle structures built with wooden or zinc batchers, the inhabitants are resident prostitutes ready to offer lustful pleasures to willing customers without batting an eyelid that the doors are open.

In this place, it is a free world. Pornography and sale of alcoholic beverages and weeds are some of the accompanying features.
Sex has coded meanings here. One of the prostitutes, a big dark-skinned lady sitting in front of her room with an opening to advertise her well made bed, asked this reporter: “Brother, you wan toilet?” meaning, do you want to have sex?
Another said: “Come and shine your congo, Nwoke oma (fine man).” Another wanted to drag the reporter inside her room just as a young lady was shouting in Igbo language: “onye ga alam otua ego o nyem (who will have sex with me and offer me money?)

You see men streaming in and out of the rooms while this reporter settled down to a bottle of drink at one of the joints. Even pregnant mothers and young girls between 18 and 20 years are not left out. Some of the older ladies readily accept N100 for a round of sex. The ladies openly flaunt their assets and try to entice any man passing by.
There is no electricity in the area but the well-to-do among them use generators and decorated their rooms with flashy lights to attract clients while those who cannot afford the luxury rely on candles and lanterns.
A conversation with the proprietor of one of the restaurants known as “Bravo” revealed that it is a case of if-you-can’t-beat-them join-them. Bravo said that he had lived in Sokoto Line for 16 years when he was ejected from his former residence inside the barracks because he couldn’t pay his rent.

“I came here and started this business and that was when I began to foot my bills.” Asked whether he was not worried that his children may be influenced by the negative lifestyle of the residents, he quickly retorted: “It is God that trains children. What of those who came from noble families but still join cult groups in school and end up being killed? My children are well trained, disciplined and focused. They cannot be influenced badly,” he said 
On what might be responsible for the upsurge in prostitution in society today, a clinical psychologist, Dr. Kene Onyekwelu, attributed it to economic reasons, unemployment and the drive to belong by some women.
“Seventy per cent of women who engage in prostitution do it out of greed. Others enter as a result of lack of good family upbringing and inadequate parental monitoring while some others suffer from some kind of psychological disorder,” he said.

A public affairs analyst, Martins Onuegbu, blamed the high rate of prostitution in Onitsha on systemic failure just as he indicted the regulatory agencies, citizens and the government.
“Look at the society and you will see that we are actually the architects of our own problem. The police normally patrol the streets in the day and at night but instead of arresting those destroying the society, they look for their own pockets. Men are also to be blamed because the prostitutes would have closed shop a long time ago if men don’t patronize them. Most of us sleep with anything on skirt at the heat of passion without remembering the consequence.

“Also, most of the girls resort to selling their bodies because there are no jobs and the government is not even ready to employ in the nearest future. They will tell you that they cannot even pay minimum wage not to talk of employing more hands,” Onuegbu stated.
But the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Dr Cordelia Ego Uzoezie, countered those who blame the government for not doing enough in empowering women. 
Speaking in a telephone interview, the commissioner admonished those involved in commercial sex business to re-examine their lifestyle and avail themselves the opportunity of various empowerment programmes provided by the government.

“Government has been doing a lot in Anambra State to rehabilitate and empower women. Those who castigate the government are either not serious or are being economical with the truth.
“Every local government council in the state today has a skill acquisition centre and it is open for groups and individuals. How can a healthy woman take to prostitution on the excuse that there is no job? Recently, a blind lady came to my office with several bags she produced using local beads. We encouraged her and even enlisted her to be part of our programmes in the future.

“For the past two years, we have been encouraging people to access our skills and rehabilitation centre at Nteje in Oyi local government but some will choose to live a loose, carefree lifestyle and turn around to blame it on government,” she said.

via Daily Sun

Red Factor says

This affects edos and every Nigerian city. Nigeria is quickly turning into malaysia and China in terms of prostitution. These are clever women/ girls that the leaders have let down and Nigerians from abroad and local just participate. I look at Egypt, liberia, etc, Nigeria must be next. Something has to happen.