Icheku News

26/12/2024

Warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season and a happy New Year!

29/06/2023

To all my Muslim friends and associates, May Allah grant you and your family peaceful and prosperous life. May the blessings of Allah never leave your side. Wishing you the heartiest Eid ul Adha Mubarak!
- The Golden Pen.

06/08/2022

UGO DI EBUBE 2023
In the words of the great French poet, Victor Hugo, “no army on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.”The ADC candidate for Aba Central State Constituency in the forthcoming election, Emmanuel Kelechi Amucha (Mkpisiolaedo) says to the people of Aba Central, that he doesn’t have Money, Rice, Fuel, Wrapper, Kerosene etc. to share to them now and r**e there development tomorrow.

“ I offer myself for dedicated and selfless service to you, if elected to represent you in the Abia State House of Assembly”

In due course, Ihe a gba n'aka, ejighi enyo ele ya. Mkpisiolaedo has served you in the past as an associate graphic artist with NTA Channel 6 Ogborhill Aba. He taught Cultural and Creative Arts in Standard Comprehensive Secondary School, Ehere and Ovom Girls Junior Secondary School. Under a great leader Dr. Godwin Chinedu Duru, he served as the Supervisor for Education/Information, Aba South LGA.

Kelechi Amucha was the Diocesan President of Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria, CYON, Aba Diocese. He led the CYON Owerri Ecclessial Province as the Provincial President.

Few years ago, he served as a Special Assistant (Media) to the Executive Governor of Abia State who working directly in the office of the Chief Press Secretary. In all these areas of service, he performed excellently.
Aka ekpuchighi Onwa.

Many have benefited from Mkpisiolaedo's creative prowess.

That he is stepping forward to represent Aba Central is in his quest to continue to contribute in a bigger way in serving his people and bringing representation closer the people.

As an accomplished educator (professional teacher), Human Development is one area of interest he considers indispensable.

Support EMMANUEL KELECHI AMUCHA, ADC Flagbearer for ABA CENTRAL STATE CONSTITUENCY .

27/05/2022

According to Billy Graham “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but a legacy of character and faith.”
Children are the heart and future of any nation. If this is true, no nation should joke with the education, health and welfare of her children. So, I would want government to provide free education, so that poor children can go to school, as well as provide employment for so many jobless youths that are just roaming about. Government should also provide conducive environment for learning and make it fun. Government should also see to the welfare and well-being of our teachers and parents, so that they can take good care of their wards/children.
I think Nigeria should be more successful than it is now. There are no reasons for other nations to look at us with suspicion, because the country is blessed with natural resources and intelligent people.
Children are the future. Nurture them right, so that they grow up to be able leaders and lead the country towards light. Happy Children’s Day.

Emmanuel Kelechi Amucha (Mkpisiolaedo),
ADC Flag bearer, Aba Central State Constituency in the forthcoming Abia State House of Assembly election

16/05/2022

TO ACTUALIZE A DESTINY OF SERVICE TO MY PEOPLE - Kelechi Amucha

No cause, no purpose, no mission can ever be greater than the desire to serve the people and to improve the condition of our existence. That desire for service has lived in me for years. It is now time to give it the expression it deserves. To do so, I have chosen to submit myself as the servant of the people who will represent them in the State House of Assembly in the 2023 election.

Standing on the sideline, watching events and complaining that things are not going well has never been my option. I believe that genuine services call for practical examples. I believe that I have a duty to step forward onto the arena and do things the way they ought to be done. That is exactly what drives me to present myself to my people for their endorsement as the man they can trust to represent them.

I have carefully observed the yearning needs of our people, the failure or absence of the essentials needed for fulfilling existence. I have seen the absence of infrastructure, the lack of institutions and the resources needed for progress. I have seen the increasing levels of poverty and underdevelopment at a time when others are moving in strides. I understand very intimately what our people need and what they lack.

At the same time, I have seen the world, having lived and schooled in Western Europe. That gave me ample opportunity to know how things ought to be. That gave me a clear sense of direction for progress. What I now ask for is the endorsement of my people so that I can serve them in the capacity of their house member in Umuahia.

My mission calls for our people to come together. Let’s put our differences aside and unite and work together. And nothing can stop our greatness.

05/02/2022

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF….

Breaking new grounds in representing his constituency using innovative experiements and methods is what Isiala Ngwa North State Constituency has been experiencing since the inception of its dogged representative Hon. Ginger Onwusibe.

Ginger always communicates a shared vision; demonstrates integrity, self-awareness, teamwork, and risk-taking. Empowers and encourages self-development and growth.

So, my question is; what would happen if Abia State House of Assembly, Umuahia 2023 assembles only members of the same school of thought with Ginger?
O I forgot that each constituency has its peculiarity. But last time I checked, Emulation still means effort to match or surpass a person or achievement, typically by imitation.

“No one builds a legacy by standing still.” Onwa, higher higher as we expect more 2023

God bless the reader.

-Kelechi Amucha
(Mkpisiolaedo)

04/02/2022

ABA WATERSIDE ACCIDENT: AMUCHA CONDOLES WITH ABA RESIDENTS, VICTIMS' RELATIVES.
An educationist and socio-cultural activist, Mr Emmanuel Kelechi Amucha (Mkpisiolaedo) has sent a message of condolence to Aba residents in general and victims' relatives in particular, over the fatal accident that took place at Waterside Market, Ogbor Hill Aba recently.

In a statement personally signed by him, Amucha described the accident and deaths as unfortunate, painful and difficult to bear.

He thanked all those selfless residents who came out to the accident scene to rescue the injured and give them care.

While calling on the government of Abia State to expedite action towards relocating the Ahia Udele to a safer place, he prayed God to grant those who lost their lives eternal rest and wished all the wounded a quick recovery.

19/02/2021

https://web.facebook.com/mkpisiolaedo.civigraphics/photos/a.126604034082087/3694724660603322/

MOTHER OF ALL CVs

NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA
The citation to end all citations!

Biography of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (as seen on WTO's website)

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Currently, Dr Okonjo-Iweala is Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its creation in 2000, Gavi has immunized 760 million children globally and saved thirteen million lives. She sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was recently appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. She is a skilled negotiator and has brokered numerous agreements which have produced win-win outcomes in negotiations. She is regarded as an effective consensus builder and an honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders.

Previously, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria's Finance Minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions. She distinguished herself by carrying out major reforms which improved the effectiveness of these two Ministries and the functioning of the government machinery. She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the No. 2 position of Managing Director, Operations. As a development economist and Finance Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala steered her country through various reforms ranging from macroeconomic to trade, financial and real sector issues.

She is a firm believer in the power of trade to lift developing countries out of poverty and assist them to achieve robust economic growth and sustainable development. As Finance Minister, she was involved in trade negotiations with other West African countries and contributed to the overhaul of Nigeria's trade policy enabling it to enhance its competitiveness. She has closely followed developments at the WTO, as she believes that a strengthened multilateral trading system is in the interests of all countries, particularly least developed and African countries.

She is renowned as the first female and African candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012, backed by Africa and major developing countries in the first truly contestable race for the world's highest development finance post. As Managing Director of the World Bank, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank's $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia. Dr Okonjo-Iweala spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008-2009 food crisis and later during the financial crisis. In 2010, she was Chair of the World Bank's successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.

As Minister of Finance in Nigeria, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria's debt, including the outright cancellation of $18 billion. In her second term as Finance Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was responsible for leading reform that enhanced transparency of government accounts and strengthened institutions against corruption, including the implementation of the GIFMS (Government Integrated Financial Management System), the IPPMS (Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System), and the TSA (Treasury Single Accounts).

Dr Okonjo-Iweala has been listed as Minister of the Decade, People's Choice Award by Nigeria's This Day newspaper (2020), one of Transparency International's 8 Female Anti-Corruption Fighters Who Inspire (2019), one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders (Fortune, 2015), the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014), the Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, 2011 and 2012), the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (Forbes, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), the Top 3 Most Powerful Women in Africa (Forbes, 2012), the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Africa (Forbes, 2011), the Top 100 Women in the World (The UK Guardian, 2011), the Top 150 Women in the World (Newsweek, 2011), and the Top 100 most inspiring people in the World Delivering for Girls and Women (Women Deliver, 2011). She has also been listed among 73 “brilliant” business influencers in the world by Condé Nast International.

In 2020, she became an Angelopoulos Global Public Leader at Harvard University Kennedy School. She was also appointed to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) for President of South Africa His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa. In 2019, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, she received the Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Award from the Aspen Institute, the Women's Economic Empowerment Award from WEConnect International, and the Vanguard Award from Howard University. In 2016, she received the Power with Purpose Award from the Devex Development Communications Network and the Global Fairness Award from the Global Fairness Initiative in recognition of her contribution to sustainable development. She was also conferred High National Honours from the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire and the Republic of Liberia. She is also the recipient of Nigeria's third highest National Honors Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). In addition, Dr Okonjo-Iweala has been awarded the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2014), the President of the Italian Republic Gold Medal by the Pia Manzu Centre (2011), the Global Leadership Award by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (2011) the Global Leadership Award by the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (2010), and the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award (2010). She is also the recipient of the TIME Magazine's European Heroes Award in 2004, named Finance Minister of the Year (Africa Investor Magazine, 2014), Finance Minister of the Year for Africa and the Middle East (THE BANKER, 2004), Global Finance Minister of the Year (EUROMONEY, 2005), Finance Minister of the Year for Africa and the Middle East (Emerging Markets Magazine, 2005), and Minister of the Year (THISDAY, Newspaper 2004 and 2005).

Dr Okonjo-Iweala is currently also Chair of the Board of the African Union's African Risk Capacity (ARC), an innovative weather-based insurance mechanism for African countries; and co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate with Lord Nicholas Stern and Mr Paul Polman. She is also Chair of the Board of the Nelson Mandela Institution, an umbrella body for the African Institutes of Science and Technology, and Chair of the Board of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja. Dr Okonjo-Iweala is a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She presently serves on the following advisory boards or groups — the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Harvard University International Advisory Board, the Oxford University Martin School Advisory Council, Mercy Corps International Advisory Board, Women's World Banking Africa Advisory Board, the International Commission on Financing Global Education (Chaired by Gordon Brown), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Advisory Board, Tsinghua University Beijing — School of Public Policy and Management Global Advisory Board, the CARICOM (Caribbean) Commission on the Economy, the Bloomberg Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health, and Tax Inspectors Without Borders of the OECD among others. She is a member of the B Team of Business and Civic Leaders cofounded by Sir Richard Branson, a board member of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Foundation, and also co-chair and board member of Lumos, an Africa focused renewable energy company.

Previously, she was also a Senior Adviser at Lazard (2015-2019) and she served as the co-Chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation with UK Secretary Justine Greening, and Chair of the World Bank's Development Committee (2004). She was also a member of the International Monetary and Finance Committee of the IMF (2003-2006 and 2011-2015), the United Nations' Secretary General's High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Danish Government-led Commission on Africa, the World Economic Forum Global Leadership Council on Transparency and Corruption, and the Commission on World Growth (led by Nobel Prize winner Professor Michael Spence). She served for a decade on the Rockefeller Foundation Board and the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. Dr Okonjo-Iweala has also served on the advisory board of the ONE Campaign, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Global Development Network, and the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala is the founder of Nigeria's first ever indigenous opinion-research organization, NOI-Polls. She also founded the Center for the Study of Economies of Africa (C-SEA), a development research think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria. She is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, and also at the Brookings Institution, premier Washington D.C. think tanks.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala graduated magna cm laude with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University (1976) and earned a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1981). She has received honorary degrees from 15 universities worldwide, including from: Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Trinity College (University of Dublin), Amherst College, Colby College, Tel Aviv University, and Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica. She also has honorary doctorate degrees from a host of Nigerian universities including Abia State University, Delta State University, Oduduwa University, Babcock University, and the Universities of Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Ife (Obafemi Awolowo). She is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons co-authored with Julia Gillard (Penguin Random House, July 2020), Finding A Vaccine is Only the First Step (Foreign Affairs, April 2020), Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines (MIT Press, 2018), Reforming the UnReformable: Lessons from Nigeria, (MIT Press, 2012), Mobilizing Finance for Education in the Commonwealth (Commonwealth Education Report 2019), Shine a Light on the Gaps — an essay on financial inclusion for African Small Holder Farmers (Foreign Affairs, 2015), Funding the SDGs: Licit and Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries (Horizons Magazine, 2016), and The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy (Africa World Press, 2003). She also co-authored with Tijan Sallah the book Chinua Achebe: Teacher of Light (Africa World Press, 2003).

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is married to neurosurgeon Dr. Ikemba Iweala. They have four children and three grandchildren.

08/01/2021

Extracts from the burial ceremony of the mother of a Catholic priest of Aba Diocese, Rev Fr. Obinna Umekwe held at Umuode Nsulu in Isiala Ngwa North L.G.A of Abia State. The burial attracted many clergy and laity of the catholic church. Among the clergy were His Lordship Rev. Prof Augustine Echema of Bishop of Aba Diocese and Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu · Apostolic Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, Antilles · Titular Archbishop of Aquaviva · Apostolic Delegate to Antilles.

08/01/2021

*CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE AND HER RECENT INTERVIEW:*
*A WAKE UP CALL FOR THE NIGERIAN CHURCH*

*by Rev Fr Emeka Okite*

1. A recent interview by the internationally acclaimed Nigerian author and social reform advocate, Ms Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has sparked an avalanche of reactions on social media. The reactions are based on the report of the interview (or rather a small fragment of it) published in Premium Times on 2nd January 2021. In this report titled “Why I stopped attending the Catholic Church in Nigeria”, Adichie is purported to have taken a shot against the Catholic Church: “Nigerian Catholicism is way too much about money, fundraising, and thanksgiving. Some in the east even look at who’s wearing gold. I think the focus of religion should be things Nigerian Catholicism doesn’t focus on”. The reactions to this report have ranged from a complete applauding to furious ad hominem attacks on Adichie from overzealous Catholics, including priests.

2. The first problem with these reactions is that, as usual we have proved how easily we can be switched off and on by media reports, without first stopping to ask further questions. A simple search on Google would easily connect one to the full content of the interview, which is available on YouTube, and which will then allow a serious critic to get the perspective and context that will ensure a proper assessment of her statements. Adichie’s interview was granted to BounceRadio and conducted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. It was an interview that lasted more than two and half hours, and covered a plethora of topics and issues, including her personal and family life, her childhood in Nsukka and educational background, her views on serious cultural issues, politics etc. One hour into the interview, the issue of religion came up. The interviewer, who himself is also a Catholic, wanted to know whether Adichie’s extensive stories of the life and practices of a catholic family in her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was based on her own personal experience. Adichie answered in the negative but indicated that she could write about Catholics because she comes from a deeply catholic family. She spoke nostalgically about her childhood and Catholic upbringing, the relevance of the mass, her Catechism classes, her very Catholic father, who attended morning mass every day, and her understanding of how religion (in this case Catholic religion) could be a strong force in shaping a person’s life positively, how Catholic religion for her is more than just a religion but a culture, etc.

3. Asked whether she is still a Catholic, Adichie gave the honest answer, “I guess nominally. I still feel protective about things in the Catholic Church.” Then came the question do you still go to Church? Her answer, “Certainly not in Nigeria.” Why is that? What’s the difference?”, asked the interviewer. She heaved a big sigh, almost like thinking, “how am I to answer this”. One could feel the reluctance of a born and bred Catholic to say the hard truth that may sound critical, but which she felt compelled to say. With her voice lowered an octave, she said: “I think it’s way too much about money, fundraising and …” to which the interviewer completed “thanksgiving” and she concurred. Then she added: “I think, for me the focus of religion should be things Nigerian Catholicism doesn’t really focus on.” On whether she goes to Church regularly outside of Nigeria, she replied “Certainly not often. There are times when I have gone, when I found a Catholic Church that is progressive.” It is actually this part of the interview and the way it was presented in the article by Premium Times, that sparked off the controversy.

4. I believe the article in Premium Times, when read out of context, can easily misrepresent Adichie. It puts next to one another statements made at different points in the interview, making them seem like one running commentary. It failed to capture the context of her statements. It dropped the sections where she spoke lovingly and nostalgically about the beauty of the mass, her love for the Pope, and her impatience with anyone who would attack the Catholic Church unreasonably. But at the same time, those who have uncritically gobbled down the story, and took sides pro and con, have not done a good job of it at all.

5. Having analysed the story thus far, I now present my take on the whole matter. The major reason she gave for her not attending Church anymore in Nigeria is that it has become “way too much about money.” The clergy in particular and the ultraconservative Christians are irked by this assertion. For those who want to crucify her for this, let us face the fact, where lies the untruth in her statement? Have our worships in Nigeria (Catholic and non-Catholic for that matter) not become “way too much about money”? How many times does a Sunday Mass (or service or worship) begin and end without additional calls for collections, donations, etc? Those schooled in the art of rhetorics and philosophy can easily twist the argument and point out that money is necessary to run the Church, that it is necessary to call for donations during the festive periods to allow the “abroadians” contribute to the development of the local church. But apparently, Adichie does not have any problem with Church collections; these have always been part of Church services universally. Her problem is that it is now “way too much.” Most members of the Clergy would argue that they have ongoing building projects, etc. which need money to execute.

6. But can any project ever justify turning almost every occasion for worship into launchings and money-raising opportunities, as is currently the case in many places? Until recently, by which I mean the last fifteen to twenty years, this trend was not there. Yet parishes ran smoothly, built beautiful Church edifices, ran several projects and took care of their priests. So, the question to be asked, is “What changed?” Why do we now claim that it is impossible to run a parish well unless these “way too much” emphasis on money is done. Throughout the history of the Church, lack of money has never resulted in the destruction of the Church anywhere, but I’m afraid that our overly quest for money in the Nigerian Church might be her doom. Chimamanda Adichie may be only the one we are hearing her outcry now because she has a platform. But there are so many others in our parishes who are crying out quietly, but their voices are not heard. A friend of mine, a good Catholic, said to me, not too long ago, that whenever he is on his way to mass and remembers that there will certainly be calls for extra collections and donations, and knowing his current economic situation, he develops cold feet about continuing. Then he gave a parody of Psalm 122:1 “I was downcast when I heard them say, ‘Let us go to God’s house.’”

7. As a Catholic Priest, whenever I read stories such as that of Chimamanda Adichie, I do not hold it against her, I rather feel pained. While I do not think her excuse for not going to Church is justified, her story calls for a proper introspection, a self-examination, by all well-meaning priests. How possible is it, we should ask ourselves, that our conduct and quest for money in the Church, etc. are causing some people to distance themselves from the Church? Why should our need for money (no matter how necessary we think it is) get to the point where people are afraid to go to church, or murmur as they do so? As a defence someone may argue that no one is forced to give. But that is the problem, because you think that force exists only when you physically compel people to do something. But in religion, force can and does exist in other forms, spiritually and psychologically, when we make people feel they are offending God unless they respond to our calls for donations, or that they deserve less blessings from God, or when we make them feel socially less in the parish because they do not always come out to give.

8. We should not feel attacked or betrayed by people who point out what has gone wrong. That is another trend I see among priests. It saddens me the extent to which members of the Clergy will go to put up defence whenever a bitter hard truth about us is pointed out, not just regarding money, but about our life in general. Instead of picking the substance of the criticism (which we often know to be true) and resolving to address the issue and making a change, we begin to pick holes in the logic of the person’s presentation. “It is the fallacy of over generalization”, “It is not everybody”, “He committed the fallacy of argumentum this, argumentum that”, etc. Sometimes there is a resort to attacks on the person who raised the issues. We claim they are disgruntled people, who hate us. Some of us even make light of the critics, with remarks such “Ahia amaghi onye na-abiaghi” (The absence of a single individual does not stop the market from going on). We act as if it is beneath us to be told we have done something wrong. We behave like demigods who cannot stand to be criticised by mere mortals. But that is very wrong. Every criticism, should always call for a re-examination of conscience. If what is said about me is true that I’m behaving wrongly, I should resolve to make a change. If what they say is true, but in my view my actions are in order, I should ask myself why this aspect of me, which I believe is not wrong, is causing scandal to people. If it is false, then I should ask myself why someone out there is perceiving me to be this way.

9. Instead of attacking our critics or making light of the points we should be grateful for the opportunity to call ourselves to order. I believe these critics are not trying to destroy the Church; they are trying to stop us from destroying it ourselves. We are in an age in which social media has empowered so many people and given voice to the voiceless. The criticisms are precursors of worse things that will certainly come, if we do not heed them.

10. And finally to the Chimamandas out there, who feel disillusioned with the Church because of our attitudes or actions, please do not distance yourselves anymore. Engage in dialogue with us. The Church is a family. You do not resolve family problems by staying away from home. Let us work together to build a better Church, booming with Christian communities where everyone feels welcome, and a better society.

Rev Fr Emeka Okite
5th January 2021.