Tag: #Nigeria

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Black Ash!

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

Today is Ash Wednesday! For Nigerian Christians, it is a beginning of a bitter Lenten Season.  The ashes are black! We have known so much pain these days. So, it is a black Ash Wednesday! If the ash is to remind us of our mortality, and so, of the call to repentance, conversion and transformation, we now live in a state where we need not be reminded of our mortality. Death surrounds us! It stares us coldly right into the eyes! It dares us everyday! The blood that flows in our homes, cities, streets, communities and even forests has hardened … Continue reading Black Ash!

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50 Years: Biafra, Nigeria and WCC Diplomacy

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

It is exactly 50 years since the end of the Nigerian-Biafran War (1967-1970). The war ended on Thursday, 15 January 1970. It was a terrible war, the effect of which has continued to reverberate in Nigeria today. Part of the tragedy of the war is the inter-generational trauma that it has created. Secessionist movements like MASSOB and IPOB, are instances of the effect of this trauma. But the trauma is not sustained by a mere fantasy to ‘recreate’ Biafra, rather it is fanned by the continued perception of marginalization of the former Eastern Region as well as the absence of … Continue reading 50 Years: Biafra, Nigeria and WCC Diplomacy

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THE PIUS ADESANMI LIGHT

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

March 10: Ethiopian plane crash. Among the 157 victims were 2 Nigerian professors. One of them, Pius Adesanmi, a 47 year-old Professor of English and African Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, a fierce social critic, whose voice resounds in the Nigerian political space. Adesanmi was engaged fully in the political issues that happened in Nigeria (and Africa by extension), he was a sought-after speaker, very active on social media, unfazed by the toxic attacks of politicians and partisan associates. He focused on issues. Adesanmi’s death came a day after the most contentious, election that was adjudged as lacking credibility. … Continue reading THE PIUS ADESANMI LIGHT