Shut up, Afulezi

By

Niger Delta Congress

Reading through the vituperative but comical write up of Mr. Uju Afulezi, "Princewell: Scallywags and Political Hot Air" one is tempted to laugh it off, but these are trying times, therefore, we apologize to our teeming supporters to bear with us while we take time out to re educate Afulezi. Not too long ago, Agwu Okpanku wrote a piece in the Renaissance newspaper, on Obi Egbuna, and described him thus: as one of those generals who would rally his troops for a fight when the battle had long been over. Could Mr. Afulezi tell the world which sector he fought in during the biafran war, when men were answering their fathers’ name. Or, was Afulezi hiding out in the biafran broadcasting service speaking an Ibo language on the air, which does not belong to him; only to show up 30 years later and call others 'cowards'.

We are sure any reasonable Ibo man who has read the press release by the Niger Delta Congress "Uwazuruike and his biafran presidency" will notice that there was no mention of the word Igbo, in a derogatory or abusive sense. The article was our response to Mr. Uwazuruike, but only an egocentric, megalomaniacal scavenger like Uju Afulezi could see it as an insult to the Igbos. [whose Abia State Assembly has found it fit to ban MASSOB] This knick knack vendor of idiosyncrasy who cannot take a step without his snuff box thinks by threatening the people of the Delta with attacks from his more numerous[?] ethnic group, he would get his way. Mr. Ogaranya, the problem is not Igbophobia [what is there to fear] but the selfish ethnocentrism of troglodytes like Afulezi, who similar to Bala Usman., are suddenly tracing their ancestry to the Niger Delta. Igbophobia? My wife is from Onitsha [note, I did not say she is Igbo] and incidentally her name is Uju. 

Igbo Ethnography.

A new, sad and disturbing trend is permeating the air and unfortunately it has to do with historiography. Kenneth Onwuka Dike, eminent as he was, did not write the Bible. And, even if he did, it is the height of intellectual brigandage and irresponsibility, to bandy the name of Dike about without making reference to the actual thing Dike said or wrote, but Afulezi with his ‘Aba Made’ Ph.D probably does not know this. There was nothing like an IGBO tribe two hundred years ago. Even Dike himself has alluded to this. The EBOE that was identified by Portugese sailors who first came in contact with this tribe during the slave trade, did not include the northern migration into the Anambra valley and the western thrust through Benin to form the Oni cha groupings. Within the last hundred years the word was changed into IBO. Dike himself confirms this, and the first secretary of the Ibo State Union lamented about the attitude of many Ibos who did not see themselves as Ibos. This was at the dawn of Independence when most cohabiting ethnic groups formed alliances to present themselves as majority tribes. The same goes for the Yoruba. There is a stream separating the Egba town of Ajura from the Ijebu town of Ogere and it took some wranglings to bridge it and form Ogun State. Today, in the northern part of the country, there is a fault line between Kaduna North and Kaduna South. A couple of years back, they were all proud to be called Hausas. It is the epitome of dubious intelligence for Afulezi, a latter day Igbo, to wake up and classify a newly minted English word 'Igbo' to be an ethnic group while 'Niger Delta' or 'Middle Belt' cannot be. Then hides under his almighty tribal group to pick a fight with a minority ethnic group. Very clever. What is it with the Ibo man, that he cannot take his destiny in his own hands and chart a course for himself without wanting to subsume other ethnic groups? Is it inferiority complex? Easterners are mending fences? Mr. Afulezi there is no fence separating Ngwa and Annang only a feeling of bad blood. Try mending that. 

Geography lessons.

Which ethnic unit in the Igbo federation or tribe can honestly say that their forefathers were fishermen which was the predominant profession of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta?  Afulezi, tell the world and substantiate with facts what part of ala-Igbo extends to Port Harcourt, when did they get there and what was their primary skills and accomplishments?

Fire burns.

Could somebody tell Afulezi and his kind, that with the level of their ‘so called’ intelligence, if they want to follow a pretentious nincompoop like Uwazuruike on his forlorn biafran journey, nobody is stopping them. But, we reiterate that the people of the Niger Delta are not interested in biafra in any shape or form. This does not preclude the 'contract of understanding' we have with respectable Igbo organizations like the Ohaneze.  Mr. Afulezi, MASSOB is not synonymous with Igbo. 

Mr. Afulezi, since when did you become a spokesperson [not man] for biafra? we know you as a senile, haggish looking captive immigrant, who absconded to New York after running an Imo State parastatal aground. There is no fire in your belly, only puerile, fatuous jingoism and as for mentioning my ethnic group, didn’t your elders teach you that one does not wrestle with an osu at the public square.

Uju Afulezi…..shut up

Chief Mpaka Princewill

Chairman, Niger Delta Congress

August, 2001