Nigeria’s northeastern Yobe state on Sunday ordered the
closure of all secondary schools after a massacre that saw
suspected Islamist extremists kill 42 people in a gun and
bomb attack on a boarding school.
Yobe state Governor Ibrahim Geidam has “directed that all
secondary schools in the state be closed down from
Monday 8th July 2013 until a new academic session begins
in September,” a government statement said.
The attack early Saturday in the Mamudo district saw
assailants — believed to be Boko Haram Islamists — round
up students and staff in a dormitory before throwing
explosives inside and opening fire, said Haliru Aliyu of
Potiskum General Hospital, quoting witnesses who
escaped.
It was the third school attack in the region in recent weeks,
including two in Yobe.
The state government also called on the military to restore
mobile phone service, saying it was preventing residents
from reporting suspicious activity.
Nigeria’s military cut phone service in much of the
country’s northeast in mid-May, when it launched a
sweeping offensive seeking to end a four-year insurgency
by Boko Haram.
Satellite phones have also been banned, with the military
saying insurgents use them to plan attacks. Landline
service is extremely rare in Nigeria.
A number of residents had initially expressed support for the
phone cut if it could lead to peace, but the Yobe
government’s statement indicated patience was running
out.
Boko Haram, which translates roughly to “Western
education is a sin,” has repeatedly targeted schools in the
northeast as part of its insurgency.
One local resident said Saturday’s attack was believed to
be a reprisal for the killing of 22 Boko Haram members
during a military raid in the town of Dogon Kuka on
Thursday.
A senior police officer said the students were asleep when
the attackers stormed their school. They then started
“shooting sporadically and subsequently set the students’
hostel ablaze,” he said.
Lieutenant Eli Lazarus, spokesman for a military task force
in the state, said the gunmen “stormed the school around
5:30 am and began to shoot at the students from different
directions.”
Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has left
some 3,600 people dead since 2009, including killings by
security forces, which have come under criticism for alleged
abuses.
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Monday, July 8, 2013
Schools shut after Boko Haram massacre
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Bishop rapes 15-year-old girl in Nigeria
A cleric that described himself as the chairman of bishops in Rivers State, Bishop Chibuike Nwabueze, has been
arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl and sponsoring the abortion of the baby. The incident was said to have occurred at about 2p.m on April 29, at Calvary Army Ministry in Rumuoji Eneka, in Obio/Akpor Local Goverment Area of the state. The cleric allegedly admitted that he had a carnal knowledge of the victim (name withheld), but attributed the
crime to a set-up by his enemies.
Bishop Nwabueze, who was paraded yesterday, at the Rivers State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in
Port Harcourt, told journalists that anyone could fall victim under manipulation.
He alleged that it was his fellow bishop and the host where he went to minister as a guest preacher that planned the
incident because there had been a tussle for the chairmanship seat of the communion of bishops. “We have different colleges of bishops. I am the chairman of Communion of Bishops in Rivers State. Well, what actually happened was a set up. It was set up by my enemies. I have so many people who are my enemies. The man who is in charge of where I went to minister is my
enemy. He is the person that set me up.
“He invited me to his church for a programme, claiming to be my friend and after the programme, he set me up because of what we were dragging. We are in a tussle for chairmanship of the communion and that was why he set
me up.” He told newsmen that it was after praying for the girl in his office on the fateful day that she allegedly seduced him into having sex with her, pointing out that he did not rape her. Iwas surprised when I saw her pulling off her clothes . But,
before you knew it, I had carnal knowledge of her. That is the truth of the matter. “She laughed at me and said ‘are you angry? I told her that Idid not know what she had hypnotised me for and she said. I should not bother. I was so angry that I called some of my pastors and made a confession that I did not know what happened.” The suspect maintained that if he raped her as alleged, the
girl would have raised the alarm, because many people were within the church premises. According to him, it was after a month that the victim’s father called him on phone, saying that his daughter was
pregnant.
Though, the cleric admitted funding the victim’s laboratory test and other hospital bills, he stressed that it was the
girl’s father that insisted on abortion, adding that he took her to a clinic, where it was confirmed that the victim had
aborted the child. Meanwhile, the police have advised parents to carefully
choose where their children worship and be wary of some clergies. The Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of SCID, Samuel Okaula, who paraded the bishop and a male nurse, said the arrest of Bishop Nwabueze should serve as a
deterrent to other so-called clerics.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Mystery Catholic nun,
•Bleeds from head, hands while prophesying
•Pulls down evil shrines, trees •The story of Sister Martina Oforka
From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha (princemmy@yahoo.com)
Call this one another wonder of the century in Nigeria, and you would not be far from the truth. A Catholic nun in a remote Enugu village bleeds mysteriously on her forehead, palms, eyes and feet like the re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ during crucifixion by the Jews. Not only that, she receives revelations about many hidden things thereby unearthing and destroying several charms believed to have been used to chain the destinies of men.
On Holy Thursday, few days to Easter Sunday of 2012, this reporter embarked on a tortuous 12-hour journey to Umuagbedo Agu, Amachalla community in Nsukka, Enugu State.
In a local primary school in the community, the Last Supper mass, according to Roman Catholic tradition, was in progress. Time was 10:30 pm and a sea of heads covered the entire field. A woman with blue wrapper tied round the waist was discussing with a lady, telling her that she was already noticing signs and was afraid that if the priest did not end the mass before midnight, the passion may meet her inside the school field.
The officiating priest, identified as Fr. Ekwueme, finished the Eucharistic consecration and Sister Martina joined him in sharing the Holy Communion. There were so many people at the mass and sharing the communion lasted long. At a time, Sister Martina became restless and stopped.
The mass dragged on till about 11:59 pm. Suddenly the sister shouted in pain and beckoned on her assistant, Eucharia, to come and hold her hands. Sister Martina’s two hands had suddenly ruptured through the skin on the back of her palms and she started bleeding immediately. It looked exactly as if nails had suddenly and pierced through the two hands, leaving a gaping hole that bled leaving her reeling in pain.
In the twinkle of an eye, she ran to her house some metres away from the venue of the mass, causing a stir. Those who noticed the uproar also ran after her to occupy vantage positions for the event of the midnight.
This reporter joined the running crowd and ended up in one of the rooms of a four-bedroom bungalow she occupies. It was later realized that the room serves as her chapel where the priests working at Holy Cross Parish, Ikpamodo, the mother parish of Amachalla Station, have already established for her the monstrance containing the blessed Eucharist for perpetual adoration.
On reaching the room, the crowd surged forward, but the local security provided by Men of Order and Discipline Movement (MOD), a paramilitary security of the Catholic Church, controlled the situation.
Sister Martina went into deep agonizing pain, shouting for help as the blood continued to ooze out. A medical doctor, Sylvanus Nnadi, came in handy. The doctor tore a bandage and soaked the bleeding hands and legs with it and tied them to control the bleeding.
Suddenly, an unusual aura and aroma pervaded the entire room. The blood had begun to smell like red wine used in Eucharistic mass by Catholics. By this time, Fr. Ekwueme had concluded the mass in the primary school and with other worshippers trooped to Sister Martina’s compound. Fr. Ekwueme was also joined by Fr. Aaron Okogu and Fr. Samson.
Sister Martina, who was already lying on the rugged floor, began to bleed again from her forehead. Like a replica of the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of Christ, she began to manifest strange acts that baffled everybody. She moaned in great pains, as if an invisible hand was driving a crown of thorns down on her head.
At a stage, she began prophetic prayer. In a state of complete loss of her surroundings, she prayed for priests for continuous life of chastity. She also prayed for the sick, saying there was angelic healing going on. She said God was angry over the widespread of abortion in the world today. She mentioned the name of a small child and her mother, Perpmario Ebere, who was among the crowd and requested that they should be allowed to come inside the room to see her. She also requested to be given the Holy Communun.
A priest gave her one piece of host, but surprisingly, when she opened her mouth again, the white communiun was mixed with blood. Her white apparel had been soaked with blood by now and at a time she momentarily passed out. She also gave several messages about Nigeria, the church, leaders of the community, and plans by occult people to harm the children of God, among others. The drama continued amidst prayer and singing by the large crowd outside the compound and adjoining houses till the early morning hours when people began to disperse.
One week later, this reporter visited Sister Martina who was hale and hearty attending to guests. After introduction, she said: “Oh, whatever happens during the passion time is beyond me. It is a divine encounter and I cannot explain what I did then. Besides, I don’t talk to the press.
However, for the past one year and three months, Sunday Sun had been following the life, person and activities of Sister Martina. During the holy week of last Easter, precisely the Holy Thursday preceding the Good Friday, the scenario was almost the same, if not more severe. The passion was also witnessed by three Catholic priests and about four reverend sisters from another convent. This time, Sister Martina charged Ovoko women in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, who were having challenges of faith in their community to fast and pray. She told the women that they will emerge victorious in a court case coming up the following day, which eventually came to pass.
Last week, Sunday Sun visited Sister Martina’s place again. She vehemently refused to talk, but one of her assistants intervened thus: “Press man, you have bothered sister for so long and you should realize she is not seeking publicity. She can’t talk to you, but at least I authorize you now to write what you see provided there is no exaggeration and sensationalism in your report.”
Who is Sister Martina?
Born September 28, 1975, Sister Martina Oforka hails from Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State. Her parents, John and Joy Okoma Oforka, died when she was tender in age. Sister Martina was trained by some benefactors and contacts with some reverend sisters in Enugu. After her secondary school education, she joined the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour Congregation founded by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ede in Elele, Rivers State. She left the congregation by divine revelations in 1996, but eventually was consecrated a Religious in the Order of Virgins on October 6, 2000, by Bishop Ayo Maria Atoyebi, Catholic Bishop of Ibrin. Ten years later, on March 2, 2010, the Holy Father and now Pope Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, granted her papal blessings.
According to Mrs. Rose Onyekewlu, who was Martina’s benefactor, she started manifesting signs of a special breed at the age of nine. She initially stayed with her half brother, John Oforka, but at the age of 9 she went with some relations to the monastery. When she returned, her brother, who was a Pentecostal, insisted that Martina should stop saying the Hail Mary and must join him in his church, but Martina refused and was sent out of the house as punishment.
Mrs Onyekwelu disclosed that as a house help to some women, Sister Martina did her secondary school at Holy Rosary College, Enugu, and was supported by Rev. Fr. Simeon Eneh, then a seminarian who sent her to one Madam Ukoh through the help of Rev. Sister Maria Goretti of the Daughters of Divine Love (DDL) congregation.
“When she finished her WASC in 1992, she came home and told me that the Mother General of DDL sisters wanted her to teach in a nursery school as she prepared for JAMB. She taught in the nursery school for some time and joined the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour, Elele, founded by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ede. I persuaded her to stay with the DDL Sisters but she told me she was attracted by the Eucharistic Adoration and Marian procession at Elele. She said she was going to write to the DDL Mother General and other sisters, including the one she takes as her second mother, Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, to tell them she had joined the sisters at Elele.
“One day, we visited her at the Elele Convent and she told me that as she was praying, Christ told her that the place was not for her. The next time I visited her she told me that Christ was telling her to leave the place, but she refused and as a result, she had been having malaria which refused to get better despite all treatment.
Another day, I saw her at home and she told me she had left Elele. I asked her if she was expelled and she said nobody expelled her; that she left on her own. What convinced me was that the sisters from Elele were coming to beg her to come back, but she refused.
She eventually left home for Port Harcourt to see her ‘mother’, Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, from where she began to manifest this passion signs.
Sister Martina and Stigmata
Sunday Sun learnt that Sister Martina first manifested the signs of stigmata on March 2, 1997. At first, it started with flagellation, a mysterious beating whereby an invisible hand will cane her seriously, leading to wounds, pains and marks on her body. It was so severe then that it took series of prayers of supplication before it was changed to passion and bleeding on the head, hands, feet, side ribs and eyes. Since 1997 till now, Martina experiences such strange signs all through the Lenten season before Easter, Holy Thursdays preceding Good Fridays and every November 1, known as All Saints Day by the Catholics, preceding the November 2, also known as Holy Souls Day.
In Onitsha, Sunday Sun met Rev. Fr. Dr. Benjamin Udeh, a lecturer and chaplain currently at Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, who was undergoing further studies at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the very place Sister Martina first manifested such signs.
Fr. Benjy, who saw it all and had followed the life and ministry of Sister Martina since then gave an eye-witness account.
“On the last week of February 1997, Sister Martina came to CIWA, Port Harcourt, to see her sister, Rev. Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, and saw me there, too. She later went back to Enugu to see another sister and returned on March 3, 1997. That same day she told me the story of her encounter with the Lord thus: she said while she was in Enugu on March 2, 1997, she was sleeping in the living room of the DDL convent at Uwani, Enugu, when around 12 midnight a picture hanging on the wall fell down. When she woke up and moved to replace it, she turned on the light and another picture also fell mysteriously. It was then that a voice from no specific direction spoke to her saying: “My child, I came to you several times but you refused to come, why?” This was repeated three times and she replied: “Lord, if you are the one calling me, I am tired of you because your ways are full of suffering”.
“To cut the long story short, I was reluctant to believe the story at first until events prove that the Spirit of God was moving in her. I heard her confession that night and gave her communion around 2:30 am on March 4, 1997, and everything began to happen very fast.
“I observed that night that whoever wanted to speak to her, either our Lord or Our Lady, speaks through Sr. Martina’s mouth and she responds. This is because one would hear Martina speak and also hear her respond.
After the communion, our Lord told her, “On March 13, 1997, I will give you Holy Communion; I will also give you another holy communion to give to my chosen ones, the priests, to show that I am the Lord their God who is consecrated on the altar. Martina then said, My Lord, I am not worthy to do that.” Then the Lord said, “I am the Lord who sent you, you will receive this communion on Thursday, March 13, 1997.”
“After this encounter, she then began to suffer the passion of our Lord. At a point, it was too severe for her to come out for morning mass. On March 11, 1997, after the morning mass I sent Holy Communion to her as she was still in a trance. When I came, she muttered into Sr. Bernadine’s ear as she was too weak to speak out, to ask me to pray one Our Father, One Hail Mary and one Glory be to God, and I did so. She then asked for another priest, Fr. Alphonsus Okoji, of Abakaliki Diocese, who was asked to repeat the same prayer. I then gave her communion, and she told us to kneel down before the small altar there and repeat the prayer. We did and she then called on us, and brought out her tongue, and behold, the sacred host was still on her tongue, but swollen, the surface was whiter than usual. From the lower part it began to pour out blood. We were surprised as the bleeding was such that one needed not be confused it was anything else.
Again, on March 13, 1997, after the morning mass, between 8 am and 8:30 am, I brought her holy communion as she was in serious pains and too weak to walk. She was in a trance and told me to repeat that prayer for the sins of the world, which I did. She then requested that three other priests be called in, four priests came. She told them to say the same prayers individually, they did so. Then she said: “When you receive one sacred host, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are contained in it. We are three persons but one God. It is I who fed the multitude with few loaves of bread.”
She then brought out her tongue, and I gave her the small host (Holy Communion). She told us, five priests and Sister Bernadine, to kneel down and repeat that prayer for the sins of the world. We did that, and then she brought out her tongue. To our greatest amazement, the one host has turned into three equal hosts of the same size and shape with the one I gave her. This was witnessed by five priests and one Rev. Sister, namely: Fr. Mathew Arinze, Isele-Ukwu diocese; Fr. Alphonsus Okoji, Abakaliki Diocese; Fr. Uchenna Maduka, Okigwe Diocese; myself, Fr. Benjamine Udeh, and Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, of DDL congregation.
On another occasion, we were at a vigil when she received Holy Communion from heaven straight into her mouth and another two large hosts, which she dropped inside the empty ciborium to the amazement of all of us.
More strange happenings
Sunday Sun learnt that Sister Martina later left Port Harcourt and settled in a remote village in Enugu-Ezike, Enugu State, through divine direction. There, her gift manifested in several ways and she continued to do wonders.
Fr. Benjy and another brother, who pleaded anonymity, gave Sunday Sun insight on how she relocated.
“On the night of September 14, 1996, the Lord spoke to Sister Martina saying, ‘You have finished the work I told you to do here. Pack now and go to another place where I will show you. There you have a lot of work to do for me.’ The message was repeated again in 2007 with a specific instruction that the place she was going to settle was a strong hold where many people’s destinies had been destroyed and tied down by evil forces.”
Sister Martina first alighted at Obollo Afor and trekked many miles to Enugu-Ezike without asking questions. On divine direction, she settled at Umauagebedo Agu, Amachalla community, where she lived in a house already in ruins as a result of mysterious deaths. The house, a four-bedroom bungalow, had been deserted as many members of the household had all died except one man who was on the run for his safety and doing menial jobs in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Terror to demons
In the course of investigations, Sunday Sun gathered that Sister Martina soon settled down to work in the community and began to show signs and wonders under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Her prayers not only restored life in the deserted compound but the surviving young man who lived like a fugitive returned home, got married and his means of livelihood was revived.
Martina was to embark on several land cleansing prayers, both in the community and other places far and near. In some places, she mysteriously detected dangerous charms buried beneath the ground, which had been causing havoc to people. She not only exhumed those charms but destroy them liberating such families spiritually from the bondage of both seen and unseen evils.
At Inyi community, there was a time evil people held sway in the area. They killed women randomly, harvesting their vital body parts, which they allegedly sold to a syndicate in far way Abuja. The situation was so tense that even when members of the community knew those behind the atrocities, no one dared lift a finger against them for fear of being dealt with. Then, while the storm raged, no one dared walk alone at night in the community, but on getting information about the situation, Sister Martina decided to confront it headlong.
“She would storm the community around midnight, preaching the gospel of repentance to perpetrators of evil and also daring the hardened among them to challenge her. Sister Martina waged a relentless war against these evil men and with the grace of God she succeeded in running some of them out of town, some repented while others were arrested and prosecuted in Abuja. She rallied some women of the community who rose against such evil practices, marched in black attires alongside Umu Ada Igbo (Igbo maidens) in Enugu. Today, Inyi community is free from ritual killers and rapists. Not only that, she also succeeded in attracting a parish house with resident priests to the community, which helped in turning around the spiritual welfare of the once dreaded community,” Anthony Ugwuanyi said in Nsukka.
A nun and her ‘children’
Though, Sister Martina has vowed perpetual chastity, her house brims with several children and the aged.
Some of the children were picked up from the gutters dumped by teenage girls with unwanted pregnancy. One of the children named Paschal, who is now four years old, was found in a carton behind the fence of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
One of Sister Martina’s assistants said she was praying one day when she got a revelation that a little baby boy had been thrown away to die in the bush. In the same revelation she was given a phone number to call a priest she’d never met before, who was studying in the university. She instructed him to go to a specified location behind the campus and pick up the baby. The priest complied and saw the whole thing as directed and since then Sister Martina has been taking care of the boy. Paschal and other children who lost their parents at infancy are being taken care of by Sister Martina in her home.
Loving the poor and afflicted
Some residents of Amachalla and Enugu-Ezike, who spoke with Sunday Sun, revealed that Sister Martina had also felled many evil trees hindering people’s destinies. Currently, there is a museum in her compound where assorted destroyed charms, shrines, occult materials and masquerades are kept.
Francis Uja, former secretary of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, said he was rescued from a deadly poison through the prayers of Sister Martina and has been monitoring her activities for many years. He disclosed that many deadly shrines in some surrounding communities in Enugu State and beyond had been destroyed by the mystic nun.
“Here, we have seen a shrine made with four human heads and known as egunakpa ike destroyed by Jesus Christ through her. There is another one called abadainyi, oke okpo and an evil tree known as ebe ato, which the progenitors used three human beings to plant. This tree had caused untold havoc and anybody that wanted to fell it died in the process. But when the community consulted Sister Martina, the tree not only fell after prayers but the remnants became as firewood for many people. There was also a time she destroyed a charm in which it was alleged that a child was killed, fried and put inside a coffin by the owner of the charm who was a deadly witch doctor.
But the most significant thing in the life of Sister Martina is that she doesn’t charge any money for all this selfless service. She feeds more than 40 people in her household and yet does not complain. Right now, she runs a nursery and primary school in our community and that is the only school within this area where children have access to computer training and high standard of learning.
A strong benefactor of Sister Martina’s ministry, Anselm Okonkwo Onu, who is currently building an orphanage for Sister Martina in his community, Ogbodu, was said to have met Martina at a crossroad in his life. The Bangkok-based businessman had experienced series of misfortunes abroad and was contemplating returning home empty-handed when somebody recommended him to Sister. Martina. The nun prayed for him and later visited his homestead where another evil tree, oho Ogbodu, was later cut down. Before the cleansing, it was gathered that all young men who wanted to build houses in the community died mysteriously, leaving behind uncompleted buildings everywhere. New cars and other goodies of life were rare commodities in the area, but after the prayers and cutting down of the tree, which condemned four Dormers engines, fortune began to smile on Anselm and all his seized assets and opportunities were restored. In appreciation Anselm returned home and built an ultramodern multi-million naira church for his people and erected a modern orphanage and residence for the nun. He had earlier bought a Sienna bus for Sister Martina, but surprisingly, in living her ascetic and lowly lifestyle, she doesn’t drive the car which is still parked in the old bungalow. Another businessman benefactor to Sister Martina, Idoko Didymus Sunday, described the sister as a blessing to this generation. He likened her to departed saints of old like St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Padre Pio of Italy.
•Pulls down evil shrines, trees •The story of Sister Martina Oforka
From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha (princemmy@yahoo.com)
Call this one another wonder of the century in Nigeria, and you would not be far from the truth. A Catholic nun in a remote Enugu village bleeds mysteriously on her forehead, palms, eyes and feet like the re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ during crucifixion by the Jews. Not only that, she receives revelations about many hidden things thereby unearthing and destroying several charms believed to have been used to chain the destinies of men.
On Holy Thursday, few days to Easter Sunday of 2012, this reporter embarked on a tortuous 12-hour journey to Umuagbedo Agu, Amachalla community in Nsukka, Enugu State.
In a local primary school in the community, the Last Supper mass, according to Roman Catholic tradition, was in progress. Time was 10:30 pm and a sea of heads covered the entire field. A woman with blue wrapper tied round the waist was discussing with a lady, telling her that she was already noticing signs and was afraid that if the priest did not end the mass before midnight, the passion may meet her inside the school field.
The officiating priest, identified as Fr. Ekwueme, finished the Eucharistic consecration and Sister Martina joined him in sharing the Holy Communion. There were so many people at the mass and sharing the communion lasted long. At a time, Sister Martina became restless and stopped.
The mass dragged on till about 11:59 pm. Suddenly the sister shouted in pain and beckoned on her assistant, Eucharia, to come and hold her hands. Sister Martina’s two hands had suddenly ruptured through the skin on the back of her palms and she started bleeding immediately. It looked exactly as if nails had suddenly and pierced through the two hands, leaving a gaping hole that bled leaving her reeling in pain.
In the twinkle of an eye, she ran to her house some metres away from the venue of the mass, causing a stir. Those who noticed the uproar also ran after her to occupy vantage positions for the event of the midnight.
This reporter joined the running crowd and ended up in one of the rooms of a four-bedroom bungalow she occupies. It was later realized that the room serves as her chapel where the priests working at Holy Cross Parish, Ikpamodo, the mother parish of Amachalla Station, have already established for her the monstrance containing the blessed Eucharist for perpetual adoration.
On reaching the room, the crowd surged forward, but the local security provided by Men of Order and Discipline Movement (MOD), a paramilitary security of the Catholic Church, controlled the situation.
Sister Martina went into deep agonizing pain, shouting for help as the blood continued to ooze out. A medical doctor, Sylvanus Nnadi, came in handy. The doctor tore a bandage and soaked the bleeding hands and legs with it and tied them to control the bleeding.
Suddenly, an unusual aura and aroma pervaded the entire room. The blood had begun to smell like red wine used in Eucharistic mass by Catholics. By this time, Fr. Ekwueme had concluded the mass in the primary school and with other worshippers trooped to Sister Martina’s compound. Fr. Ekwueme was also joined by Fr. Aaron Okogu and Fr. Samson.
Sister Martina, who was already lying on the rugged floor, began to bleed again from her forehead. Like a replica of the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of Christ, she began to manifest strange acts that baffled everybody. She moaned in great pains, as if an invisible hand was driving a crown of thorns down on her head.
At a stage, she began prophetic prayer. In a state of complete loss of her surroundings, she prayed for priests for continuous life of chastity. She also prayed for the sick, saying there was angelic healing going on. She said God was angry over the widespread of abortion in the world today. She mentioned the name of a small child and her mother, Perpmario Ebere, who was among the crowd and requested that they should be allowed to come inside the room to see her. She also requested to be given the Holy Communun.
A priest gave her one piece of host, but surprisingly, when she opened her mouth again, the white communiun was mixed with blood. Her white apparel had been soaked with blood by now and at a time she momentarily passed out. She also gave several messages about Nigeria, the church, leaders of the community, and plans by occult people to harm the children of God, among others. The drama continued amidst prayer and singing by the large crowd outside the compound and adjoining houses till the early morning hours when people began to disperse.
One week later, this reporter visited Sister Martina who was hale and hearty attending to guests. After introduction, she said: “Oh, whatever happens during the passion time is beyond me. It is a divine encounter and I cannot explain what I did then. Besides, I don’t talk to the press.
However, for the past one year and three months, Sunday Sun had been following the life, person and activities of Sister Martina. During the holy week of last Easter, precisely the Holy Thursday preceding the Good Friday, the scenario was almost the same, if not more severe. The passion was also witnessed by three Catholic priests and about four reverend sisters from another convent. This time, Sister Martina charged Ovoko women in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, who were having challenges of faith in their community to fast and pray. She told the women that they will emerge victorious in a court case coming up the following day, which eventually came to pass.
Last week, Sunday Sun visited Sister Martina’s place again. She vehemently refused to talk, but one of her assistants intervened thus: “Press man, you have bothered sister for so long and you should realize she is not seeking publicity. She can’t talk to you, but at least I authorize you now to write what you see provided there is no exaggeration and sensationalism in your report.”
Who is Sister Martina?
Born September 28, 1975, Sister Martina Oforka hails from Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State. Her parents, John and Joy Okoma Oforka, died when she was tender in age. Sister Martina was trained by some benefactors and contacts with some reverend sisters in Enugu. After her secondary school education, she joined the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour Congregation founded by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ede in Elele, Rivers State. She left the congregation by divine revelations in 1996, but eventually was consecrated a Religious in the Order of Virgins on October 6, 2000, by Bishop Ayo Maria Atoyebi, Catholic Bishop of Ibrin. Ten years later, on March 2, 2010, the Holy Father and now Pope Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, granted her papal blessings.
According to Mrs. Rose Onyekewlu, who was Martina’s benefactor, she started manifesting signs of a special breed at the age of nine. She initially stayed with her half brother, John Oforka, but at the age of 9 she went with some relations to the monastery. When she returned, her brother, who was a Pentecostal, insisted that Martina should stop saying the Hail Mary and must join him in his church, but Martina refused and was sent out of the house as punishment.
Mrs Onyekwelu disclosed that as a house help to some women, Sister Martina did her secondary school at Holy Rosary College, Enugu, and was supported by Rev. Fr. Simeon Eneh, then a seminarian who sent her to one Madam Ukoh through the help of Rev. Sister Maria Goretti of the Daughters of Divine Love (DDL) congregation.
“When she finished her WASC in 1992, she came home and told me that the Mother General of DDL sisters wanted her to teach in a nursery school as she prepared for JAMB. She taught in the nursery school for some time and joined the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour, Elele, founded by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Ede. I persuaded her to stay with the DDL Sisters but she told me she was attracted by the Eucharistic Adoration and Marian procession at Elele. She said she was going to write to the DDL Mother General and other sisters, including the one she takes as her second mother, Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, to tell them she had joined the sisters at Elele.
“One day, we visited her at the Elele Convent and she told me that as she was praying, Christ told her that the place was not for her. The next time I visited her she told me that Christ was telling her to leave the place, but she refused and as a result, she had been having malaria which refused to get better despite all treatment.
Another day, I saw her at home and she told me she had left Elele. I asked her if she was expelled and she said nobody expelled her; that she left on her own. What convinced me was that the sisters from Elele were coming to beg her to come back, but she refused.
She eventually left home for Port Harcourt to see her ‘mother’, Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, from where she began to manifest this passion signs.
Sister Martina and Stigmata
Sunday Sun learnt that Sister Martina first manifested the signs of stigmata on March 2, 1997. At first, it started with flagellation, a mysterious beating whereby an invisible hand will cane her seriously, leading to wounds, pains and marks on her body. It was so severe then that it took series of prayers of supplication before it was changed to passion and bleeding on the head, hands, feet, side ribs and eyes. Since 1997 till now, Martina experiences such strange signs all through the Lenten season before Easter, Holy Thursdays preceding Good Fridays and every November 1, known as All Saints Day by the Catholics, preceding the November 2, also known as Holy Souls Day.
In Onitsha, Sunday Sun met Rev. Fr. Dr. Benjamin Udeh, a lecturer and chaplain currently at Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, who was undergoing further studies at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the very place Sister Martina first manifested such signs.
Fr. Benjy, who saw it all and had followed the life and ministry of Sister Martina since then gave an eye-witness account.
“On the last week of February 1997, Sister Martina came to CIWA, Port Harcourt, to see her sister, Rev. Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, and saw me there, too. She later went back to Enugu to see another sister and returned on March 3, 1997. That same day she told me the story of her encounter with the Lord thus: she said while she was in Enugu on March 2, 1997, she was sleeping in the living room of the DDL convent at Uwani, Enugu, when around 12 midnight a picture hanging on the wall fell down. When she woke up and moved to replace it, she turned on the light and another picture also fell mysteriously. It was then that a voice from no specific direction spoke to her saying: “My child, I came to you several times but you refused to come, why?” This was repeated three times and she replied: “Lord, if you are the one calling me, I am tired of you because your ways are full of suffering”.
“To cut the long story short, I was reluctant to believe the story at first until events prove that the Spirit of God was moving in her. I heard her confession that night and gave her communion around 2:30 am on March 4, 1997, and everything began to happen very fast.
“I observed that night that whoever wanted to speak to her, either our Lord or Our Lady, speaks through Sr. Martina’s mouth and she responds. This is because one would hear Martina speak and also hear her respond.
After the communion, our Lord told her, “On March 13, 1997, I will give you Holy Communion; I will also give you another holy communion to give to my chosen ones, the priests, to show that I am the Lord their God who is consecrated on the altar. Martina then said, My Lord, I am not worthy to do that.” Then the Lord said, “I am the Lord who sent you, you will receive this communion on Thursday, March 13, 1997.”
“After this encounter, she then began to suffer the passion of our Lord. At a point, it was too severe for her to come out for morning mass. On March 11, 1997, after the morning mass I sent Holy Communion to her as she was still in a trance. When I came, she muttered into Sr. Bernadine’s ear as she was too weak to speak out, to ask me to pray one Our Father, One Hail Mary and one Glory be to God, and I did so. She then asked for another priest, Fr. Alphonsus Okoji, of Abakaliki Diocese, who was asked to repeat the same prayer. I then gave her communion, and she told us to kneel down before the small altar there and repeat the prayer. We did and she then called on us, and brought out her tongue, and behold, the sacred host was still on her tongue, but swollen, the surface was whiter than usual. From the lower part it began to pour out blood. We were surprised as the bleeding was such that one needed not be confused it was anything else.
Again, on March 13, 1997, after the morning mass, between 8 am and 8:30 am, I brought her holy communion as she was in serious pains and too weak to walk. She was in a trance and told me to repeat that prayer for the sins of the world, which I did. She then requested that three other priests be called in, four priests came. She told them to say the same prayers individually, they did so. Then she said: “When you receive one sacred host, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are contained in it. We are three persons but one God. It is I who fed the multitude with few loaves of bread.”
She then brought out her tongue, and I gave her the small host (Holy Communion). She told us, five priests and Sister Bernadine, to kneel down and repeat that prayer for the sins of the world. We did that, and then she brought out her tongue. To our greatest amazement, the one host has turned into three equal hosts of the same size and shape with the one I gave her. This was witnessed by five priests and one Rev. Sister, namely: Fr. Mathew Arinze, Isele-Ukwu diocese; Fr. Alphonsus Okoji, Abakaliki Diocese; Fr. Uchenna Maduka, Okigwe Diocese; myself, Fr. Benjamine Udeh, and Sr. Bernadine Ikeji, of DDL congregation.
On another occasion, we were at a vigil when she received Holy Communion from heaven straight into her mouth and another two large hosts, which she dropped inside the empty ciborium to the amazement of all of us.
More strange happenings
Sunday Sun learnt that Sister Martina later left Port Harcourt and settled in a remote village in Enugu-Ezike, Enugu State, through divine direction. There, her gift manifested in several ways and she continued to do wonders.
Fr. Benjy and another brother, who pleaded anonymity, gave Sunday Sun insight on how she relocated.
“On the night of September 14, 1996, the Lord spoke to Sister Martina saying, ‘You have finished the work I told you to do here. Pack now and go to another place where I will show you. There you have a lot of work to do for me.’ The message was repeated again in 2007 with a specific instruction that the place she was going to settle was a strong hold where many people’s destinies had been destroyed and tied down by evil forces.”
Sister Martina first alighted at Obollo Afor and trekked many miles to Enugu-Ezike without asking questions. On divine direction, she settled at Umauagebedo Agu, Amachalla community, where she lived in a house already in ruins as a result of mysterious deaths. The house, a four-bedroom bungalow, had been deserted as many members of the household had all died except one man who was on the run for his safety and doing menial jobs in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Terror to demons
In the course of investigations, Sunday Sun gathered that Sister Martina soon settled down to work in the community and began to show signs and wonders under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Her prayers not only restored life in the deserted compound but the surviving young man who lived like a fugitive returned home, got married and his means of livelihood was revived.
Martina was to embark on several land cleansing prayers, both in the community and other places far and near. In some places, she mysteriously detected dangerous charms buried beneath the ground, which had been causing havoc to people. She not only exhumed those charms but destroy them liberating such families spiritually from the bondage of both seen and unseen evils.
At Inyi community, there was a time evil people held sway in the area. They killed women randomly, harvesting their vital body parts, which they allegedly sold to a syndicate in far way Abuja. The situation was so tense that even when members of the community knew those behind the atrocities, no one dared lift a finger against them for fear of being dealt with. Then, while the storm raged, no one dared walk alone at night in the community, but on getting information about the situation, Sister Martina decided to confront it headlong.
“She would storm the community around midnight, preaching the gospel of repentance to perpetrators of evil and also daring the hardened among them to challenge her. Sister Martina waged a relentless war against these evil men and with the grace of God she succeeded in running some of them out of town, some repented while others were arrested and prosecuted in Abuja. She rallied some women of the community who rose against such evil practices, marched in black attires alongside Umu Ada Igbo (Igbo maidens) in Enugu. Today, Inyi community is free from ritual killers and rapists. Not only that, she also succeeded in attracting a parish house with resident priests to the community, which helped in turning around the spiritual welfare of the once dreaded community,” Anthony Ugwuanyi said in Nsukka.
A nun and her ‘children’
Though, Sister Martina has vowed perpetual chastity, her house brims with several children and the aged.
Some of the children were picked up from the gutters dumped by teenage girls with unwanted pregnancy. One of the children named Paschal, who is now four years old, was found in a carton behind the fence of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
One of Sister Martina’s assistants said she was praying one day when she got a revelation that a little baby boy had been thrown away to die in the bush. In the same revelation she was given a phone number to call a priest she’d never met before, who was studying in the university. She instructed him to go to a specified location behind the campus and pick up the baby. The priest complied and saw the whole thing as directed and since then Sister Martina has been taking care of the boy. Paschal and other children who lost their parents at infancy are being taken care of by Sister Martina in her home.
Loving the poor and afflicted
Some residents of Amachalla and Enugu-Ezike, who spoke with Sunday Sun, revealed that Sister Martina had also felled many evil trees hindering people’s destinies. Currently, there is a museum in her compound where assorted destroyed charms, shrines, occult materials and masquerades are kept.
Francis Uja, former secretary of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, said he was rescued from a deadly poison through the prayers of Sister Martina and has been monitoring her activities for many years. He disclosed that many deadly shrines in some surrounding communities in Enugu State and beyond had been destroyed by the mystic nun.
“Here, we have seen a shrine made with four human heads and known as egunakpa ike destroyed by Jesus Christ through her. There is another one called abadainyi, oke okpo and an evil tree known as ebe ato, which the progenitors used three human beings to plant. This tree had caused untold havoc and anybody that wanted to fell it died in the process. But when the community consulted Sister Martina, the tree not only fell after prayers but the remnants became as firewood for many people. There was also a time she destroyed a charm in which it was alleged that a child was killed, fried and put inside a coffin by the owner of the charm who was a deadly witch doctor.
But the most significant thing in the life of Sister Martina is that she doesn’t charge any money for all this selfless service. She feeds more than 40 people in her household and yet does not complain. Right now, she runs a nursery and primary school in our community and that is the only school within this area where children have access to computer training and high standard of learning.
A strong benefactor of Sister Martina’s ministry, Anselm Okonkwo Onu, who is currently building an orphanage for Sister Martina in his community, Ogbodu, was said to have met Martina at a crossroad in his life. The Bangkok-based businessman had experienced series of misfortunes abroad and was contemplating returning home empty-handed when somebody recommended him to Sister. Martina. The nun prayed for him and later visited his homestead where another evil tree, oho Ogbodu, was later cut down. Before the cleansing, it was gathered that all young men who wanted to build houses in the community died mysteriously, leaving behind uncompleted buildings everywhere. New cars and other goodies of life were rare commodities in the area, but after the prayers and cutting down of the tree, which condemned four Dormers engines, fortune began to smile on Anselm and all his seized assets and opportunities were restored. In appreciation Anselm returned home and built an ultramodern multi-million naira church for his people and erected a modern orphanage and residence for the nun. He had earlier bought a Sienna bus for Sister Martina, but surprisingly, in living her ascetic and lowly lifestyle, she doesn’t drive the car which is still parked in the old bungalow. Another businessman benefactor to Sister Martina, Idoko Didymus Sunday, described the sister as a blessing to this generation. He likened her to departed saints of old like St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Padre Pio of Italy.
Undeserved rage against Adams Oshiomhole over death warrants
The social media has lately been awash with undue and undeserved criticism of Governor Adams Oshiomole for signing the death warrant of four criminals who had been adjudged to deserve capital punishment.
Osaremwinda Aigbuohian, Daniel Nsofor and two others were forcibly sent to the great beyond a week ago in fulfillment of death sentence passed by competent courts. A fifth person was temporarily relieved because the prison authorities said it could not comply with the terms of his mode of execution because the military tribunal which sentenced him, according to reports, said he would die by firing squad. There were conflicting reports about the status of the fifth death row prisoner. The status pales into insignificance compared to the outrage instigated by Amnesty International and other agencies over the execution. The executed people who were guilty of robbery and murder were hanged in Edo last Monday. They had been on the death row for a long time according to Henry Idahagbon, Commissioner for justice in Edo.
These sudden executions mark a sudden brutal return to use of death penalty in Nigeria, a truly dark day for human rights in the country’’ said Lucy Freeman Amnesty International’s Deputy Director in Africa.
Idahagbon said two of the warrants were signed by Governor Adams Oshiomole while two had been signed by the previous Governor.
‘’If the international community thinks it is wrong then they should approach the National Assembly to repeal the law’’ the commissioner told an international press agency.
Some civil society organizations in the country have also urged Governor Oshiohole to halt further action on signing execution warrants on convicted prisoners and urged the state government to join the widespread call for the abolition of death penalty. Some of the organizations include the African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice[ANEEJ], Gani Fawehinmi Movement for Good Government[GFMFGG], Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations[CONGOs], Coalition of Edo Youth Organisations[CEYO] and South-south Youth league. In a meeting with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of the state in Benin they expressed their stance against capital punishment. Executive Director of one of the groups Rev. David Ugolor who spoke on behalf of the others said their meeting with the commissioner was spurred by Monday’’s hanging of the death row prisoners. They urged the state to move in favour of abolition of death penalty and appealed to the governor to suspend further action on the convicted criminals for the sake of humanity. But the group also praised the state government for improving criminal justice system there. The legal opinion from the Department of Public Prosecution [DPP] must come within 30 days, a situation that makes for speedy administration of criminal justice in the state.
The bulk of angst and condemnation of the hanging came from the international community. Amnesty international leads the pack of critics. Advocate sans Frontieres France[ASFF] also condemned the execution of the four sentenced inmates.
The flak on Governor Adams Oshiomohle is made to look as though he had acted illegally. Such thinking negate the reality of capital punishment as a major canon in Nigeria’s penal code which, for the avoidance of doubt was bequeathed to the country from the colonial masters. The minister of foreign Affairs Olugbenga Ashiru said that much in defence of the undue criticism against the action. He said the Edo State Governor did not act outside his constitutional jurisdiction in the execution of Osaremwinda Aigbuohian, Daniel Nsofor and two others.
Critics of death penalty say an eye-for-an-eye as the penalty advocates will make everybody blind but the proponents say it serves as a time tested deterrent against crime. The point must be made that what happened in Edo transcends debates in favour or against capital punishment. The Governor acted in obedience to the law. The questions that ought to be asked are; to what extent did the inmates exhaust their appellate options and whether there were reasons to believe that justice may have been perverted in their matter . If no such loopholes exist it behooves the authorities to take decisions including hard ones as the foregoing in executing their duties. The Edo governor may have exhibited rare courage in signing the death warrants.
The psychological torture of death row inmates who do not know when their end would come ought to concern many. In the eyes of the law they have been adequately punished but the sentence has not been executed because some people have shied away from their responsibility. How does it feel to stay in prison not sure if and when your sentence would be executed? It gets worse if you have not been pardoned which implies that you wake up each day not knowing if that would be the last. In a way the decision to end the trauma is a psychological relief.
Those who kick against make it look as though it belongs in the past. But it is still in practice in many states in the United states of America. In the state of Texas Capital Punishment had been restored since 1976 to the point that a woman convicted of killing her elderly neighbor would have been executed by now. She was convicted of killing her neighbour and cutting off her fingers. She was to die by lethal injection. About 1337 executions are reported to have occurred in Texas since the return of death penalty including 12 women. The last woman before the current one was executed in September 2010. Texas is the leading state in Executions leaving Virginia a distant second. Examples abound elsewhere as has been shown. Edo Sate governor should not be meant to look like a blood monger. He only acted in accordance with the law. Those peeved with the incident should engage the National Assembly to remove capital punishment from the law. Oshiomhole has done nothing wrong.
Osaremwinda Aigbuohian, Daniel Nsofor and two others were forcibly sent to the great beyond a week ago in fulfillment of death sentence passed by competent courts. A fifth person was temporarily relieved because the prison authorities said it could not comply with the terms of his mode of execution because the military tribunal which sentenced him, according to reports, said he would die by firing squad. There were conflicting reports about the status of the fifth death row prisoner. The status pales into insignificance compared to the outrage instigated by Amnesty International and other agencies over the execution. The executed people who were guilty of robbery and murder were hanged in Edo last Monday. They had been on the death row for a long time according to Henry Idahagbon, Commissioner for justice in Edo.
These sudden executions mark a sudden brutal return to use of death penalty in Nigeria, a truly dark day for human rights in the country’’ said Lucy Freeman Amnesty International’s Deputy Director in Africa.
Idahagbon said two of the warrants were signed by Governor Adams Oshiomole while two had been signed by the previous Governor.
‘’If the international community thinks it is wrong then they should approach the National Assembly to repeal the law’’ the commissioner told an international press agency.
Some civil society organizations in the country have also urged Governor Oshiohole to halt further action on signing execution warrants on convicted prisoners and urged the state government to join the widespread call for the abolition of death penalty. Some of the organizations include the African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice[ANEEJ], Gani Fawehinmi Movement for Good Government[GFMFGG], Conference of Non-Governmental Organisations[CONGOs], Coalition of Edo Youth Organisations[CEYO] and South-south Youth league. In a meeting with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of the state in Benin they expressed their stance against capital punishment. Executive Director of one of the groups Rev. David Ugolor who spoke on behalf of the others said their meeting with the commissioner was spurred by Monday’’s hanging of the death row prisoners. They urged the state to move in favour of abolition of death penalty and appealed to the governor to suspend further action on the convicted criminals for the sake of humanity. But the group also praised the state government for improving criminal justice system there. The legal opinion from the Department of Public Prosecution [DPP] must come within 30 days, a situation that makes for speedy administration of criminal justice in the state.
The bulk of angst and condemnation of the hanging came from the international community. Amnesty international leads the pack of critics. Advocate sans Frontieres France[ASFF] also condemned the execution of the four sentenced inmates.
The flak on Governor Adams Oshiomohle is made to look as though he had acted illegally. Such thinking negate the reality of capital punishment as a major canon in Nigeria’s penal code which, for the avoidance of doubt was bequeathed to the country from the colonial masters. The minister of foreign Affairs Olugbenga Ashiru said that much in defence of the undue criticism against the action. He said the Edo State Governor did not act outside his constitutional jurisdiction in the execution of Osaremwinda Aigbuohian, Daniel Nsofor and two others.
Critics of death penalty say an eye-for-an-eye as the penalty advocates will make everybody blind but the proponents say it serves as a time tested deterrent against crime. The point must be made that what happened in Edo transcends debates in favour or against capital punishment. The Governor acted in obedience to the law. The questions that ought to be asked are; to what extent did the inmates exhaust their appellate options and whether there were reasons to believe that justice may have been perverted in their matter . If no such loopholes exist it behooves the authorities to take decisions including hard ones as the foregoing in executing their duties. The Edo governor may have exhibited rare courage in signing the death warrants.
The psychological torture of death row inmates who do not know when their end would come ought to concern many. In the eyes of the law they have been adequately punished but the sentence has not been executed because some people have shied away from their responsibility. How does it feel to stay in prison not sure if and when your sentence would be executed? It gets worse if you have not been pardoned which implies that you wake up each day not knowing if that would be the last. In a way the decision to end the trauma is a psychological relief.
Those who kick against make it look as though it belongs in the past. But it is still in practice in many states in the United states of America. In the state of Texas Capital Punishment had been restored since 1976 to the point that a woman convicted of killing her elderly neighbor would have been executed by now. She was convicted of killing her neighbour and cutting off her fingers. She was to die by lethal injection. About 1337 executions are reported to have occurred in Texas since the return of death penalty including 12 women. The last woman before the current one was executed in September 2010. Texas is the leading state in Executions leaving Virginia a distant second. Examples abound elsewhere as has been shown. Edo Sate governor should not be meant to look like a blood monger. He only acted in accordance with the law. Those peeved with the incident should engage the National Assembly to remove capital punishment from the law. Oshiomhole has done nothing wrong.
UK visa bond: Is Nigeria huffing and puffing?
UK visa bond: Is Nigeria huffing and puffing?
July 1, 2013 by Henry Boyo 5 Comments
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Nigerians were recently agitated by the British Government’s proposed demand for a £3,000 bond as a prerequisite for the issuance of a six-month visa for visitors from Nigeria, and five other Commonwealth countries to the United Kingdom. Expectedly, this development has also been widely condemned by the government and members of the National Assembly, who have unanimously urged the British authorities to recognise the value of our intimate historical and economic ties, and reconsider the adoption of such an offensive and hostile policy towards Nigeria.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, on his side, noted that the financial bond was a way of tackling abuse of the UK immigration system. In an attempt to assuage the concerns expressed, the UK mission advised that the bond would only affect a small number of the highest-risk Nigerian visa applicants, and those who do not violate the original terms of entry would receive a refund on return to Nigeria.
However, critics observe that the Conservative Party in the UK hopes to reap political, security and financial benefits from the “visa bond” policy, when effected. In recent years, the results of elections in several European countries have been critically influenced by a swelling demand by the electorate for tougher immigration policies, as indigenous European populations become seriously concerned about what they consider as the threat of liberal immigration policies to their culture and social welfare.
It is also expected that the requirement for a visa bond would enhance security by selectively reducing entry to potential fundamentalists and terrorist materials. It is noteworthy that with the exception of Ghana, the five other targeted countries, i.e., India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nigeria have predominantly non-Christian populations.
Third, critics also see a parasitic financial benefit in the proposed policy. For example, the British High Commission confirmed that over 180,000 Nigerians apply to visit the UK annually; in reality, with current visa fees of about N20, 000, this would translate to over N3.6bn annually; i.e. a sizeable revenue source that may, in fact, be adequate to run the UK mission in Nigeria!
Incidentally, in addition to the official visa levies, applicants are usually further oppressed with other fees often in excess of N50,000 from local agents, who are officially recognised as facilitators of the visa process.
Indeed, if each visa applicant pays the new bond price of £3,000, the British treasury will forcibly collect over £540m from Nigerians alone. Furthermore, if only 10 per cent of the applicants pay the £3,000 bond, this would still mean an interest-free loan of about £54m from economically-beleaguered Nigerians, just for the joy of visiting a Commonwealth nation, which arguably became sumptuously endowed from the sweat of the people and wealth of its former colonies. Curiously, francophone countries, from which the British derived minimal capital, and indeed, other politically more volatile Arab states have been exempted from the visa levy. Incidentally, there is no indication that the bond refunds would earn any interest for the six months “loan” to the UK government by visa applicants.
It is also not yet clear what currency the High Commission will demand as settlement for the £3,000 visa bond. Currently, several foreign missions are very clear about the quality of naira denominations that are acceptable for settling their receipted fees.
Not unexpectedly, both the Nigerian and Indian governments have cautioned the UK about the implications of retaliatory measures; Ambassador Gbenga Ashiru stressed that Nigeria might also impose the £3,000 visa bond on British visitors. However, the Nigerian threat may not bring much comfort to long-suffering Nigerians, who have witnessed dramatic government somersaults on such issues in the past. For example, since the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, threatened fire and brimstone over the oppressive airfares charged by British Airways between Nigeria and Britain, regrettably, nothing more has happened, and the initial yell of protest has become less than a whimper. Meanwhile, Nigerians continue to pay what some describe as selective extortionist rates to British Airways! The threat is that if the UK succeeds in its bid, other countries may also demand visa bonds from Nigerians. Instructively, however, even if Nigeria also makes good its threat to reciprocate the £3,000 bond, visa applications from British citizens, the revenue inflow will still be a far cry from the payment by over 180,000 Nigerian applicants for the UK visa.
Readers will recall that Nigerians have not always been unpopular visitors to the UK. For example, before 1985, I embarked on at least two visits to the UK without a visa issued in Lagos; the visas were ultimately issued without any fuss or harrowing demands at the point of entry at Heathrow Airport. Curiously, on one occasion, the immigration officers were alarmed that I wished to spend only a week in the UK, and therefore encouraged me to spend longer time and enjoy their “beautiful country”. Surprisingly, despite my reluctance to extend my visit, I was still given a six-month visa.
Curiously, even when Nigeria was a pariah nation due to military rule, Nigerian visitors were still gladly welcomed because the big spending appetite of our people was sweet music on British High streets! (Incredibly, our foreign reserves were below $5bn then, but naira exchanged almost at par with the British pound sterling, and wage levels and job opportunities in Nigeria were relatively better than elsewhere!). Not surprisingly, the commercial bond of friendship gradually began to wane as naira exchange rate literally crashed on the adoption of the IMF-sponsored Structural Adjustment Programme, and several industries closed shop as raw material costs escalated; evidently, the popularity of the Nigerian tourist has over time become negatively adjusted in consonance with our ‘sick’ naira!
The collapse of the Nigerian economy and abiding double-digit inflation rates over many years have led to reduction in job opportunities and ultimately opened the floodgates for Nigerian job seekers, some of whom embark on suicidal journeys across deserts and oceans to the UK and elsewhere. Paradoxically, we are encouraged to celebrate the cash inflow that comes as personal remittance from the employment of Nigerians in the Diaspora; whether or not this cash inflow compensates for the attendant antisocial impact of brain and manpower drain on the economy is another question entirely.
Painfully, also, according to a report credited to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Nigerians still spend over N80bn ($500m) annually, to train our young ones in the UK educational institutions. Worse still, the beneficiaries of this sacrifice will remain reluctant to come back to Nigeria after the completion of their studies, because of the scarcity of jobs as well as the foreign exchange valuation of the existing wage structure.
I’ll quit politics after my tenure –Obi
Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi
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Anambra State Governor Peter Obi says he will quit active politics after his tenure as governor in 2014.
Obi, who is also the chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum, stated this on Sunday at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Asata, Enugu.
He spoke at the thanksgiving service and award ceremony to mark the end of the second session of the 15th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Enugu.
He said, “A very prominent person called me today and asked me of my plan concerning politics after my current tenure. This is what I told him.
“For me, I have come to the end of it; I want to quit and rest. However, I have been praying to God that for the sake of the good people of Anambra State, please give them somebody like Peter Obi.
“The level of greed in Nigeria is overwhelming, where people cannot see the suffering of other people; they are just accumulating wealth. For me, it is time to go.
“I wonder why one person should own a house in Ikoyi, Asokoro, Dubai and he is not using them for anything. People accumulate what they do not need; it is madness. The level of greed in Nigeria is intolerable.
“I want all of us to be praying for Nigeria, so that God will touch the heart of our leaders to use public money for the people. In Anambra State, we have never borrowed money despite all the work we are doing.”
Obi, who frowned on the level of financial waste in government, said, “The cost of running a governor’s office in Nigeria is too much.”
He added, “When I came in as a governor, I found out that the state had 70 workers in Abuja office; apart from their salaries, we spent close to N15m maintaining that office. They had nothing doing other than going to the airport and welcoming me.”
Canvassing prudence in the running of public offices, Obi said he never bought a car for any of his children.
He said, “I have told them to buy cars when they make their money. I have also never celebrated birthdays for them. They can do that when they leave my house. We should stop wasting public funds.”
Re Ubah tackles Obi over 25bn supplementary budget.
Re Ubah tackles Obi over 25bn supplementary budget.
As the the drumbeat of 2014 gubernatorial election of Anambra State gathers momentum. Is quite disappointing, surprising and wired the method imbibed by the main forefront players who have refused to draw a concrete program that will challenge governor Peter Obi and his purported candidate. In recent past there has been an unabated attacks on the policies of the governor of Anambra State. Similar headlines such as this, Uba tackles Obi on the car gift to the Igwes, Ifeanyi Ubah floors Obi on the latter's education policies, today on 125N54b supplementary budget, had flooded the Nigerian tabloids and most of the times emanates from Ifeanyi Ubah's campaign desk. And I askes 'ugbua ka chi foro" where has Ubah been all this while or has Obi been getting it alright before now. Perhaps a campaign gimmicks, a show of insincerity- the McCain-politics with no better end.
Democracy and good governance, elections are meant to be won with laudable programmes, peoples appeal and acceptance; not boastful claims without substance and wilful distortion of facts. Any other means to victory is definitely crooked and unconstitutional. Ifeanyi Ubah should concentrate on educating the Anambra electorate with his leadership plans instead of this cave-man's tricks. We are in a modern world- age of speed and desperate for change. Ubah should tell the masses how he wish to transform the state into a modern city. This was tricks that almost opened the government house to Prof Soludo and Prof. Dora.
It is quite obvious that this recent, incessant and unabated attacks on Gov. Obi's policies indicates a state of one who has fallen from the governors grace. A show of 'all is not well' and the desperate man's way for survival. Senator McCain tried this unsuccessfully. For Hillary Clinton, the tricks opened more doors of hatred towards her. The latest victim of this trend was Governor Romney. In a nutshell, Ifeanyi Ubah has made futile attempts to launder his battered image, flaunting integrity and pedigree he does not possess and making unsubstantiated political rhetoric. This is politics of yesteryears. Ubah has been so blindfolded by his inordinate ambition that he fails to realise that the people of Anambra’s parameter for gauging political reliability has left the days of Jim Nwaobodos and Mbadinujus when you have to do the politics of betrayals and godfatherism and when you must be Obasanjo’s friend to win a election and the barometer of measuring trust and performance are no more where they left it, when it was just a question of posturing.
The people have had the opportunity of juxtaposing different system of governance and have clearly chosen. Today, the Anambra people are desperately yearning for a Joshua, a sincere leader who will lead them to a promise land having stayed in this wilderness of corruption, anarchy, insincerity and godfatherism on the part of the elected and the selected for a long time. They needs this people with Obama's modern idea of leadership transformation. Ifeanyi Ubah could be this Joshua but before this he must seek to be anointed by God and then the people and not from the governor. Several times in the past, we have gotten it wrong but this time all eyes are on us and by the grace of God we shall get it right. And my prayer is that Ubah's name will appear on the ballot paper.
Prince Okey Emezu Writes from Europe
As the the drumbeat of 2014 gubernatorial election of Anambra State gathers momentum. Is quite disappointing, surprising and wired the method imbibed by the main forefront players who have refused to draw a concrete program that will challenge governor Peter Obi and his purported candidate. In recent past there has been an unabated attacks on the policies of the governor of Anambra State. Similar headlines such as this, Uba tackles Obi on the car gift to the Igwes, Ifeanyi Ubah floors Obi on the latter's education policies, today on 125N54b supplementary budget, had flooded the Nigerian tabloids and most of the times emanates from Ifeanyi Ubah's campaign desk. And I askes 'ugbua ka chi foro" where has Ubah been all this while or has Obi been getting it alright before now. Perhaps a campaign gimmicks, a show of insincerity- the McCain-politics with no better end.
Democracy and good governance, elections are meant to be won with laudable programmes, peoples appeal and acceptance; not boastful claims without substance and wilful distortion of facts. Any other means to victory is definitely crooked and unconstitutional. Ifeanyi Ubah should concentrate on educating the Anambra electorate with his leadership plans instead of this cave-man's tricks. We are in a modern world- age of speed and desperate for change. Ubah should tell the masses how he wish to transform the state into a modern city. This was tricks that almost opened the government house to Prof Soludo and Prof. Dora.
It is quite obvious that this recent, incessant and unabated attacks on Gov. Obi's policies indicates a state of one who has fallen from the governors grace. A show of 'all is not well' and the desperate man's way for survival. Senator McCain tried this unsuccessfully. For Hillary Clinton, the tricks opened more doors of hatred towards her. The latest victim of this trend was Governor Romney. In a nutshell, Ifeanyi Ubah has made futile attempts to launder his battered image, flaunting integrity and pedigree he does not possess and making unsubstantiated political rhetoric. This is politics of yesteryears. Ubah has been so blindfolded by his inordinate ambition that he fails to realise that the people of Anambra’s parameter for gauging political reliability has left the days of Jim Nwaobodos and Mbadinujus when you have to do the politics of betrayals and godfatherism and when you must be Obasanjo’s friend to win a election and the barometer of measuring trust and performance are no more where they left it, when it was just a question of posturing.
The people have had the opportunity of juxtaposing different system of governance and have clearly chosen. Today, the Anambra people are desperately yearning for a Joshua, a sincere leader who will lead them to a promise land having stayed in this wilderness of corruption, anarchy, insincerity and godfatherism on the part of the elected and the selected for a long time. They needs this people with Obama's modern idea of leadership transformation. Ifeanyi Ubah could be this Joshua but before this he must seek to be anointed by God and then the people and not from the governor. Several times in the past, we have gotten it wrong but this time all eyes are on us and by the grace of God we shall get it right. And my prayer is that Ubah's name will appear on the ballot paper.
Prince Okey Emezu Writes from Europe
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