Some Things You Need To Know If Your Facebook Account Was Suspended or Disabled; My Experience, By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

Billions of people worldwide are active facebook users. However, majority of them seem not to know that the social media platform is guided by some rules. You may wakeup one morning and observe that you have been logged out and if you try to log in again you may be prompted with a display message that discloses that your account has been suspended or at worst disabled. Most users that experience such may think that they entered a wrong login information and decide to login again only for same display message to reappear. I decided to publish this in order to enlighten the public on some causes of such moments.

Suspended Accounts

Most accounts are suspended after facebook observed that the users either delight in sending overwhelming friend requests to persons unknown to them even after been warned to slow down or when users keep posting spams on the social media platform. However, suspended accounts are usually recovered after the facebook community standard is studied by such users and they promised not to continue with such. Also, Helpful links on how to recover suspended accounts are usually provided to users of such accounts whenever they tried to login. Kindly note that it may take hours, days or even weeks for suspended accounts to be restored depending on the gravity of offence commited by such user. Meanwhile, there is always a provided online platform for users that feel that their accounts were suspended by mistake to file an appeal. Users can easily access such platforms through the HELP CENTRE attached to the display message while attempting to login.

Disabled Accounts

The heaviest penalty designed for violators of Facebook terms and community standard is ACCOUNT DISABLING. When your account is disabled, it means that facebook has deleted your account from your own view and Public view. This means that user of such account will no longer have access to it and it will be deleted from all search engines. This also means that  your friends and the public will no longer be able to find you, your profile or your posts when they search for them which means that it is safe to say that your account is no longer existing. If your account is disabled, you will be logged out and while attempting to relogin, you will be prompted with a display message that says 'Your Account Has Been Disabled, If You Have Any Questions Or Concern, Visit The Help Centre.' If you experience this, you will feel so shocked especially when you think that you haven't done anything wrong to receive such heavy punishment from Facebook. You will start imagining how your friends will miss you especially if you have over 4,000 diversed friends.

I experienced this recently when I woke up on morning. That faithful morning, I was online till around 1:00AM and after I decided to have some sleep, I woke up later and observed that I have been logged out of my account, at that point I knew that something must be wrong and while I tried relogging in, the shocking message appeared. "Your Account Has Been Disabled If You Have Any Questions Or Concern Visit The Help Centre. " At that moment I remained speechless. I started to guess that someone or some people have reported my account to facebook. I started imagining how I will miss my thousands of friends. However, what comforted me is that I knew that I have been very careful with my Facebook activities in order not to go contrary to its terms and community standard, and that my appeal will be considered as soon as I file it. I sent an email to disabled@facebook.com and I received a reply that said that I have reached them through a channel that is not supported.

I started thinking on some fastest way to reach Facebook and later decided to feel a form at the HELP CENTRE. When I visited the help centre through my login page, I was prompted with a message that disclosed why my account was disabled. I was informed that it was disabled for violating facebook terms like using an account with a name that is not your real name, operating multiple accounts, creating account for the purpose of harassing others, Impersonating someone or running a personal account that doesn't represent individual people. As soon as I saw that, I predicted that someone may have reported my account as a fake account and Facebook may have mistakenly believed so due to the 'BringBackOurGirls' attached to my name. I forwarded a scanned copy of my permanent voters card to facebook through the help centre for them to confirm my real name and date of birth. Hours later, I received an email from them where they said that they were unable to verify my identity with the voters card that I sent and requested that I should send scanned copies of additional IDs to them. I did that with an appeal that I have not violated any terms of facebook as was assumed. I wrote a comprehensive writeup (appeal) to them to convince them that my name is Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu and that the 'BringBackOurGirls' attached to my name was in support of a campaign launched by Nigerians over the abduction of many Secondary school girls by Boko Haram terrorists from Chibok area of Borno state last year. I also convinced them that I am not operating multiple accounts and that my account represents me. I also convinced them that I have never harassed people with my account and that I have never criticised or harassed any private individual with my account. I told them that I only criticise the government and share opinions that will promote my nation's unity which are expected of every good citizen. I also assured them that I'm ever ready to abide by facebook terms and community standard. I also told them that I'm ready to delete any post that may have gone against facebook terms or community standard. After my kind and heart touching appeals, I received another email from them in which they stated that they observed that my name on the scanned IDs I sent to them differed from the name on my Facebook account. They prompted me login and change it which I did and immediately I logged in, I was prompted with a link to change my name to Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu as was seen on my IDs, I did so immediately and regained access to my account and I was also immediately provided with tips that made my account more secured.

After that I received another email from them in which they confirmed that my issue has been resolved. They thanked me for my patience and apologised for any inconvenience the disabling of my account may have caused me. Kindly note that I was very polite while writing my appeals. Also, note that unlike some accounts that may take days or even weeks to be restored, mine was restored within 24 hours and it won't be wrong to believe that my comprehensive convincing and kind appeals catalysed the speedy attention my issue received.

Furthermore, note that staff of facebook community operations are kind hearted human beings that are ever ready to look into your humble appeals. If you are sure that your account was mistakenly suspended or disabled, kindly send them an appeal through the HELP CENTRE attached to your login page and they will respond as soon as possible.

Also, I advise every body to use only the names and date of birth registered with their various IDs. You can hide your full date of birth from the public on your timeline but ensure that it matches the one on your IDs. Also, endeavor to register your correct education history as can be confirmed with your IDs on Facebook, this is because if your account is suspended or disabled, you may not regain it again if the information you supplied on Facebook is contrary to the one on your IDs. Meanwhile, note the following points, they are rules guiding the use of account names on Facebook which many people violate. Note that facebook can disable your account at any time if you disobey any of them.

A. Your Facebook name should not contain the following:

i. Symbols, numbers, unusual capitalization, repeating characters or punctuation.

ii. Characters from multiple languages.

iii. Titles of any kind (example: professional like Dr, Prof, Engr, Barr. etc and religious like Bishop, Rev, Apostle, Evang, Prophet, Pastor, Canon, etc).

iii. Words or phrases in place of a middle name.

iv. Offensive or suggestive words of any kind.

B. Other things to keep in mind:

i. The name you use should be your authentic identity; as your friends call you in real life and as facebook acceptable identification forms (IDs) like Voters card, Driving Licence, Bank statement, School IDs, etc would show. However, note that details of acceptable IDs are shown through the Facebook Help centre.
ii. Nicknames can be used as a first or middle name if they're a variation of your authentic name (like Bob instead of Robert).

iii. You can also list an additional name on your account (example: maiden name, nickname, professional name).

iv. Profiles are for individual use only. Facebook offer Pages for professional personas, organizations and businesses.

v. Pretending to be anything or anyone isn't allowed.

If your authentic name is not  listed on your account, kindly change your name.

Thank You.

- Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu 

An Open Letter To Noble Eyisi, UNIZIK SUG President, By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

WATCH IT NOBLE

An Open Letter To Comrade NobleEyisi, President Students' Union Government, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State

* By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

Sir, congratulations once more on your election as the number one student of the great Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (UNIZIK). When I heard the news of your election, I was not only happy because you have been my good friend but I was impressed because for such office to be occupied by an undergraduate of the department of political science means that the interest of the students and the goodwill of the university will always be promoted.

However sir, I will be a bad friend if I fail to tell you the truth no matter how bitter it may be. I decided to make this letter public because you always prefer to make your mind and intentions public. Also I see it as a necessity to allow the public to read this because I have observed that you have numerous E-Supporters and praise singers so through this medium, they will also understand some facts which will enable them to advise you properly. I also decided to publish this now because I see it as a necessity to always hear from both sides of an argument before making a stand because that will will give me enough facts to either praise or criticise any of the parties involved.

Sir, I came across a letter signed by you and dated 4th May 2015 in which you accused the vice chancellor of the university Prof. Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku of exploiting prospective candidates and students of the university. I was very glad when I saw the questions you raised in the letter but after examining the reactions of the university over them, I observed that you committed fatal abuse of protocol in the process. You should have waited for the university to either reply or dismiss your letter without reason(s) before rushing to the media to raise alarm. Raising alarm through the media without giving the university time to either respond respond to the letter or turn it down only proved the point that you deliberately want to blackmail the vice chancellor and the university in order to gain some cheap popularity.

Also sir, it is very necessary to begin the change campaign in the union before extending it to the university community because charity they say begins at home. The SUG of UNIZIK has always been in the news for negative reasons in the past three years. It is expected that your first agenda should be cleaning up the union and making it maximally free from all corrupt practices which will certainly transform it to a true students' union. It was also expected that you will champion a unity campaign within the union. Sadly enough, few days after your inauguration, your fellow elected officials started complaining about high handedness from your office and turning the SUG into a one-man business.

The Students' Representatives Council (SRC) which is the legislative arm of union had also accused you severally of sidelining the elected executive members of the union, making appointments and implementing some decisions made without its approval which are against the provisions of the union's constitution. An accusation of collecting millions of naira from politicians and individuals in the name of UNIZIK students without accounting for those money was also levelled against you.

Sir, in order to achieve a successful leadership, you must endeavor to promote mutual relationship within the union. Always note that you were elected alongside other officials to promote the interests of students and goodwill of the university. By your election, you were expected to be a democrat and not a dictator. Always, work with your fellow executives and never neglect any of the executive offices. You can only achieve a mutual relationship with them by been transparent and a protector of the SUG constitution.

Also sir, it is very important that you issue an immediate apology to the students through the SRC for working outside the provisions of the SUG constitution. After that, always consult the constitution before making any decision. Also endeavor to explain to the SRC how much you have collected from politicians or any body (if any) in the name of UNIZIK students and what those funds were used for. Kindly note that failure to do so is enough for the SRC to commence your impeachment process. Failure to account for any fund you received in the name of students will also amount to diversion of public funds which is a typical corruption case that the incoming Buhari's administration has always vowed to fight.

May God forbid a political science undergraduate to be the first impeached SUG President in the university. This will tarnish your image and that of the department which may lead to a situation whereby you will be the last SUG President to come from Political Science department in the university.

Moreover sir, never be deceived by unnecessary praises. Those people singing your name like a hymn will never be with you when things turn against you due to maladministration. Focus on your obligations to the students and never be deceived by selfish individuals who will always like to hijack your administration which will certainly lead to its downfall. Remain Law abiding and always be a good disciple of the department of political science. Let accountability and transparency be your watchword.

May God grant you the wisdom to lead Zikites.

Thank you.

Yours,

Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu.

Exclusive: UNIZIK ADMIN vs SUG: University Responds, Accuses SUG President Of Over Desperation, Clears Air On The Questions Asked By The Union

* By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

The authorities of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (UNIZIK) Thursday, responded to the allegations made by the president of Students' Union Government (SUG) Noble Eyisi against the university Vice Chancellor Prof. Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku.

Mr Eyisi had through a letter dated 4th May 2015, accused the Vice Chancellor of maladministration and exploitation of the students. In the letter, Mr Eyisi demanded answers from Mr. Ahaneku to some questions he raised. He asked the vice chancellor to disclose the status of the students' account and alleged that the SUG lacks access to it despite the fact that the students contribute annually to that through their school fees. He also demanded the reason why the Post UTME fees were increased from N1000 to N2000. Mr. Eyisi also asked the reason why newly admitted candidates were asked to pay N7500 as biometric capturing fees alleging that a total sum of N45,000 000 was generated from that since 6000 candidates were admitted in the 2014/2015 academic session.

In reaction to the issues raised by the president, the Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations of the university Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu in a long telephone chat with me Thursday night, apologised to the public especially the university community for the university's delayed response to the issues raised by the SUG president, he attributed that to a very busy week due to ongoing meeting of the university's governing council, and accused the SUG president Mr. Noble Eyisi of been over desperate to gain fame with the aid of some greedy persons. According to Mr. Ojukwu, Mr. Eyisi wrote the Vice Chancellor and instead of waiting for a response, he rushed to the press to publish same letter and also started publicising it in the university.

In reaction to the alleged increment in Post UTME fees and introduction biometric fees charges to newly admitted candidates, Mr. Ojukwu said that the students' leader lacks powers to demand answers to such from the Vice chancellor because Post-UTME candidates and newly admitted candidates that are yet to receive their registration numbers from the university are not undergraduates of the university who Mr. Eyisi represents. Mr. Ojukwu however, said that in order to promote transparency, the university decided to respond to that. According to him, Post-UTME organisation is usually an expensive task and in order to promote its standard, the university had no option than to increase its costs on candidates. He further maintained that due to the reforms by Mr. Ahaneku's led administration, for the first time in the university's history Post-UTME results were released 3hours after its conduct thereby preventing fraudsters from gaining opportunity to sabotage the process.

Mr. Ojukwu also disclosed that the N7,500 biometric charges on the newly admitted candidates were adequately utilised in the biometric screening of candidates during the Post-UTME which highly reduced impersonation. According to him, about 88 impostors were arrested during the exercise.

On the alleged prohibition of the SUG from students' account, Mr. Ojukwu said that the Vice Chancellor is never a signatory to the account. He said that signatories to SUG account include the Dean of Students and the SUG Financial Secretary. Mr. Ojukwu explained that the delay in the payment of the allowances of the SUG officials is due to the nonavailability of SUG budget as the President Mr. Eyisi is yet to present the union's budget.

On the alleged frustration of the union's efforts to compel food vendors within the university to reduce their charges to N150 per plate and other alleged harassments of the union officials, Mr. Ojukwu said the president acted without the approval of the students' representative council and the university had no option than to prohibit such which can lead to anarchy.

On the alleged late night invitation of the SUG president by the vice chancellor to sign some documents, the university's information and public relations director disclosed that such never happened and that the vice chancellor never invited him to sign any document as he alleged. Mr. Ojukwu disclosed that the vice chancellor called a meeting to address students in order to promote peace and justice in the university but the SUG president refused to attend. Mr. Ojukwu further said that Mr. Eyisi has failed to unite his fellow union officials as all of them are against him. He said that Mr. Eyisi has been having problem with other executives of the union including his vice but the university sees such as an internal affair of the students and therefore has always avoided to intervene in line with the policy of non interference in students' matters championed by the vice chancellor. He however advised Mr. Eyisi to reconcile with his fellow elected officials and face his obligations to the students instead of seeking for cheap popularity. He further advised the students' leader to avoid been influenced further by some aggrieved greedy persons who never want the progress of the university.

Mr. Ojukwu finally said that accusing the person of Prof. Joseph Ahaneku of corruption is ridiculous because he is a highly disciplined and principled man. "Can you imagine that when I made a request for the replacement of the toner of my printer, the vice chancellor ordered an investigation to certify the last time such replacement was made, I have worked with two vice chancellors before Prof. Ahaneku and to be honest with you, he Ahaneku is the most disciplined" he said.

UNIZIK ADMIN VS SUG: More Tension As SUG President Declares His Readiness For The Worst

* By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

Current tension in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (UNIZIK) over a letter dated 4th May 2015 that was written to the university's vice chancellor Prof. Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku by the Students' leader Noble Eyisi appears to be on the increase as Comrade Eyisi alleged some acts of intimidation and harasment from the university authorities. The students' leader also declared his readiness for the worst from the university over his alleged failure to sign a document offered to him Tuesday night.

It is recalled that when Mr. Ahaneku assumed office as the Vice Chancellor, a new policy that demanded what was known as Biometric capturing fee of N7,500 from each of the newly admitted students was implemented. Also, an increment of N1000 in the costs of  Post UTME forms was implemented forcing the prospective candidates to pay N2,000 instead of the initial N1000. Worried by these and other policies of the university, the students' leader Noble Eyisi wrote a letter to Mr. Ahaneku for some explanations.

According to Mr. Eyisi, the vice chancellor should explain what the university did with the total sum of N45,000, 000 generated from the 6000 students admitted in the 2014/2015 academic session through the 'Biometric Capturing Fees that forces each of the new students to pay N7, 500 each.

Mr. Eyisi also asked the vice chancellor to explain the status of students' account sustained annually through union fees that are captured in the school fees. He lamented that despite the fact that the account belongs to students, the Union does not have access to it. He also wondered why the university authorities frustrated the efforts of the union to compel the food vendors within the university to reduce cost of their charges to N150 per plate since a bag of rice has since been reduced to N8000.

Mr. Eyisi further reminded the Vice Chancellor that the university is a public institution and urged him to always execute policies in a transparent manner in line with the spirit of change that is currently trending in the country as the incoming administration of Nigeria's president-elect Muhammadu Buhari has severally vowed not to tolerate any atom of corruption in the country.

Moreover, the students' leader on Wednesday May 13 2015 alleged further harassment on him and his staff by the university authorities. He made the allegation through a post on his Facebook timeline.

According to Mr Eyisi, he was called upon in the weak hours of Tuesday night by the Vice Chancellor and his people to sign a document but he refused to apend his signature and declared that he is waiting for the worst to happen.

Mr. Eyisi alleged that the letter was released in the morning of Tuesday 12th May 2015 to all Unizik Students as it was Copied to them originally, but then an order from above was given to raide all class rooms and seize the document from public knowledge. He futher alleged that the SUG President's Rooms were raided and turned up side down and that the SUG Bus was empounded and ransacked

Mr. Eyisi further stated that the Privacy and Security of Unizik SUG PRESIDENT has been breached and that an order for the arrest of some key SUG Officials has been given. According to him, around 9pm Tuesday, the President's aides were ambushed intimidated/bullied by the men of the Anti Cult and their phones were seized.

He finally declared that students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka are definitely worth the struggle and promised not abandon them or sell them out.

Meanwhile, the Director, Directorate of Information and Public Relations of the university Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu in a text message Tuesday night, informed me that he will release the university's stand over the issue today. However, as at 5:30 PM Wednesday, no reaction has been received from the Information and Public Relations Directorate of the university. It is expected that the university will disclose its stand over the issue before the day ends.

Welcome To Another Edition Of The Historical Month Of The Year

* By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu and History Orb

Fellow Nigerians, I warmly welcome you all to another edition of the month called May. May is not just a month; it is a month of icons, historical events, freedom, governance and humanity worldwide. Above all, it is my month of birth.

In case you don’t know, persons born in this month are unique and are always important citizens to the society. Therefore, if you were born in this special month, Congratulations!!!!!!!

Below are some of the historic events that occurred and are been celebrated worldwide in this special month.

May 1

May 1st - Observed as May Day, a holiday and spring festival since ancient times, also observed worldwide as a workers' holiday or Labour Day.

May 1, 1707 - Great Britain was formed from a union between England and Scotland. The union included Wales which had already been part of England since the 1500's. The United Kingdom today consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

May 1, 2004 - Eight former Communist nations and two Mediterranean countries joined the European Union (EU) marking its largest-ever expansion. The new members included Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, along with the island of Malta and the Greek portion of the island of Cyprus. They joined 15 countries already in the EU, representing in all 450 million persons.

Birthday - World War II General Mark Clark (1896-1984) was born in Madison Barracks, New York. He commanded the U.S. Fifth Army which invaded Italy in September of 1943, fighting a long and brutal campaign against stubborn German opposition.

May 2

May 2, 2011 - U.S. Special Operations Forces killed Osama bin Laden during a raid on his secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The raid marked the culmination of a decade-long manhunt for the elusive leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization based in the Middle East. Bin Laden had ordered the coordinated aerial attacks of September 11th, 2001, in which four American passenger jets were hijacked then crashed, killing nearly 3,000 persons. Two jets had struck and subsequently collapsed the 110-story Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, while another struck the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C. A fourth jet also headed toward Washington had crashed into a field in Pennsylvania as passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers on board.

Birthday - Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) was born in Carpino, Italy (as Gioacchino Pecci). He was elected Pope in 1878 at age 67 and lived to govern the church another 25 years, laying the foundation for modernization of Church attitudes toward a rapidly industrializing and changing world.

May 3

Birthday - Italian writer and statesman Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, Italy. He offered a blunt, realistic view of human nature and power in his works The Prince and Discourses on Livy.

Birthday - Golda Meir (1898-1978) was born in Kiev, Russia. She was one of the founders of the modern state of Israel and served as prime minister from 1969 to 1974.

May 4

May 4, 1494 - During his second journey of exploration in the New World, Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica.

May 5

May 5, 1865 - Decoration Day was first observed in the U.S., with the tradition of decorating soldiers' graves from the Civil War with flowers. The observance date was later moved to May 30th and included American graves from World War I and World War II, and became better known as Memorial Day. In 1971, Congress moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, thus creating a three-day holiday weekend.

Birthday - Communism founder Karl Marx (1818-1883) was born in Treves, Germany. He co-authored Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto, advocating the abolition of all private property and a system in which workers own all the means of production, land, factories and machinery.

Birthday - Pioneering American journalist Nellie Bly (1867-1922) was born in Cochran's Mills, Pennsylvania (as Elizabeth Cochrane). She was a social reformer and human rights advocate who once posed as an inmate in an insane asylum to expose inhumane conditions. She is best known for her 1889-90 tour around the world in 72 days, beating by eight days the time of Phileas Fogg, fictional hero of Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days.

May 6

Birthday - Psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was born in Freiberg, Moravia. His theories became the foundation for treating psychiatric disorders by psychoanalysis and offered some of the first workable cures for mental disorders.

May 7

May 7, 1992 - The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting Congress from giving itself pay raises.

May 8

Birthday - International Red Cross founder and Nobel Prize winner Henri Dunant (1828-1910) was born in Geneva, Switzerland. He was also a founder of the YMCA and organized the Geneva Conventions of 1863 and 1864.

Birthday - Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) the 33rd U.S. President was born in Lamar, Missouri. He became president upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945. Two weeks after becoming president he was informed of the top secret Atomic bomb project. In the war against Japan, an Allied invasion of Japan was being planned which would cost a minimum of 250,000 American lives. Truman then authorized the dropping of the bomb. On August 6, 1945, the first bomb exploded over Hiroshima, followed by a second bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th. The next day, Japan sued for peace.

May 9

May 9th - Victory Day in Russia, a national holiday commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany during the "Great Patriotic War" (World War II) honoring the 20 million Russians who died in the war.

May 10, 1994 - Former political prisoner Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of South Africa. Mandela had won the first free election in South Africa despite attempts by various political foes to deter the outcome.

May 12, 1937 - George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. King George reigned until his death in 1952. He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth, the current reigning monarch.

May 13, 1981 - Pope John Paul II was shot twice at close range while riding in an open automobile in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Two other persons were also wounded. An escaped terrorist, already under sentence of death for the murder of a Turkish journalist, was immediately arrested and was later convicted of attempted murder. The Pope recovered and later held a private meeting with the would-be assassin and then publicly forgave him.

May 14

May 14, 1607 - The first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown, Virginia, by a group of royally chartered Virginia Company settlers from Plymouth, England.

Birthday - German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) was born in Danzig, Germany. He introduced the use of mercury in thermometers and greatly improved their accuracy. His name is now attached to one of the major temperature measurement scales.

May 18

Birthday - Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) was born (as Karol Wojtyla) in Wadowice, Poland. In 1978, he became 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, the first non-Italian elected in 456 years and the first Polish Pope.

May 20

Birthday - Founder of modern Zionism Theodore Herzl (1860-1904) was born in Budapest, Hungary. He advocated the establishment of a new land for the Jews rather than assimilation into various, historically anti-Semitic, countries and cultures.

May 21

May 21, 1881 - The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton. The organization today provides volunteer disaster relief in the U.S. and abroad. Community services include collecting and distributing donated blood, and teaching health and safety classes.

May 22

May 22, 1972 - President Richard Nixon became the first American president to visit Moscow. Four days later, Nixon and Soviet Russia's leader Leonid Brezhnev signed a pact pledging to freeze nuclear arsenals at current levels.

May 22, 1947 - Congress approved the Truman Doctrine, assuring U.S. support for Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of Communism.

May 23
Birthday - Journalist Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. She became the first American woman to serve as a foreign correspondent, reporting for the New York Tribune. Her book Women in the Nineteenth Century, published in 1845, is considered the first feminist statement by an American writer, and brought her international acclaim. Sailing from Italy to the U.S. in 1850, she died, along with her husband and infant son, in a shipwreck off Fire Island, New York.

Birthday - The first American female attorney Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911) was born near Burlington, Iowa (as Belle Aurelia Babb). She was certified in 1869 as an attorney and admitted to the Iowa bar, but never practiced law. Instead she chose a career as a college educator and administrator. She was also instrumental in the founding of the Iowa Suffrage Society in 1870.

May 24

May 24, 1844 - Telegraph inventor Samuel Morse sent the first official telegraph message, "What hath God wrought?" from the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., to Baltimore.

May 25, 1963- The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

May 26

May 26, 2001- The African Union (AU) was established in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Birthday- A great Nigerian Patriot Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu was born

May 27

This day was set aside by the United Nations to celebrate children worldwide. It is populary called ‘The Children’s Day’.

May 28

May 28, 1961 - Amnesty International was founded by London lawyer Peter Berenson. He read about the arrest of a group of students in Portugal then launched a one-year campaign to free them called Appeal for Amnesty. Today Amnesty International has over a million members in 150 countries working to free prisoners of conscience, stop torture and the death penalty, and guarantee human rights for women.

May 28, 1975- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was founded in Lagos Nigeria

May 29

May 29, 1999- This day ushered in Nigeria’s fourth republic and on this day, The Federal Republic of Nigeria gained its freedom from military intervention in politics. This day is always celebrated as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

May 30

May 30, 1783 - The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily newspaper published in America.

Nigeria 2015: A Big Lesson For The Igbo, By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

Saturday 28th March 2015 remains a great day in the history of Nigeria. Nigerians on that day trooped out en masse to elect a new leadership for the country. Members of the incoming national assembly were also elected same day.

March 28 presidential election will ever remain historic because that was the first time that an incumbent president was voted out of office in an election that was described as widely free and fair by both local and international observers, as well as the international community. Another interesting part of the election was that the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan who sought reelection conceded defeat and congratulated his main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari even before the final result was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC announced Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the presidential poll. Buhari won majority of the votes cast and a minimum of 25% of votes from over 24 states of the federation and Abuja, as required by the law. However, the retired General failed woefully in the five states of the South-East geopolitical zone of the country, comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States. President Jonathan won massively in the South-East, with his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) securing overwhelming victory in all the national assembly seats of the region.

Prior to the elections, majority of the Igbo supported the candidacy of president Jonathan despite the fact that his administration has not done anything significant in the South-East and his 2011 electoral promises to the Igbos remain unattended to. In 2011, president Jonathan promised to construct the 2nd Niger Bridge, revitalise Nkalagu Cement factory, construct the Onitsha inland waterways, as well as rehabilitate the federal roads in the region. It is sad, however, that in 2015 none of those promises has been fulfilled.

Also, the Igbo, through much of the tenure of this administration, failed to accept the fact that the government has been widely seen as a failure, forcing other geopolitical zones to call for change. The ethnic and religious orientation of many Igbo denied them the ability to predict the failure of their ‘adopted’ candidate at the poll. This was unlike the North and South-West geopolitical zones that understood on time that the masses were not ready to re-elect a failed government and therefore supported the APC massively, the Igbo allowed sentiments to swallow their wisdom.

The Igbo supported the president with no reasonable fact. Many maintained that the Ijaw man is their brother and a Christian, and this led to a religious and ethnicity based campaign for the president in the South-East, which is mainly occupied by Christians. Many church and religious leaders in the region deceived their members into believing that the president’s main rival, Muhammadu Buhari and his party, APC, are religious extremists and that they would islamise the country if voted into power. Some of them also deceived their members into believing that the APC is a party of insurgents. Some even shamelessly made it as prayer points in their Sunday services that a moslem would never rule Nigeria, and many false prophesies trended as some proclaimed to their members that they were directed by God to announce the victory of Jonathan in the election. These misled the ignorant and innocent members to support the president, as they believed that those greedy church leaders are God’s representatives without knowing that those greedy men championing unnecessary political campaigns in the church had been influenced by politicians and were acting the scripts written by those greedy politicians. What a shame and betrayal of the church!

The shocking part of the whole support of the South-East for the candidacy of President Jonathan is that over 50% of the people refused to vote as the released results suggested that up to 50% of registered voters in the region were not accredited, unlike in 2011 when the South-East gave the president up to seven million magic votes. The fact remains that the majority of South-Easterners seldom vote and the introduction of the card reader by INEC in the 2015 voting accreditation revealed the political apathy of the zone. The less than 3 million votes from the five states of the region were not enough to swing victory for their ‘adopted’ candidate, Dr. Jonathan.

The woeful impact of Nigeria’s 2015 presidential and national assembly elections on the South-East is that it has denied the zone the opportunity of securing either the office of the Senate President or the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. It is important to note that since the president-elect is from the North and the vice president-elect is from the South-West, the South-East would have secured either the office of the Senate president or that of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, if the region avoided the politics of ethnicity and religion and voted for the APC candidates in the election. Even incumbent Senator Chris Ngige who could have emerged the president of the incoming Senate was not re-elected as he was defeated by Hon. Uche Ekwunife of the PDP. Also, no APC candidate from the region won any House of Representatives seat in the Election which would have afforded the region the opportunity of gaining the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The only option for the region is for the incumbent re-elected Senator Andy Uba, representing Anambra South senatorial district to decamp to the APC in order to be able to contest for the Senate presidency since the election results show that the APC constitutes the majority in both chambers of the incoming National Assembly. However, it is doubtful if the APC will be comfortable with such option. If Senator Andy Uba fails to decamp to the APC or if APC members in the senate refuse to elect him as their president if he decamps, then the South-East will, like the South-West in the current administration, be in a political desert, as none of the key four positions of government (President, Vice President, Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker) will be theirs.

Moreover, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) now has every reason to regret not teaming up with it’s Imo State faction to merge with the All Progressives Congress (APC), which if achieved, the South-East would not have cause to worry. Recall that APGA refused aligning for a merger with it’s Imo State faction to during the formation of the APC, in the hope that the PDP would protect the party’s interest in future elections, but with the results of the March 28 National Assembly Elections, the party is now in a state of coma, as it has failed to secure a single seat in both the Senate and House of Representatives Elections in the region. All it’s candidates lost to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The results of the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections have thought Ndi’Igbo to avoid the politics of ethnicity and religion, and to always take Nigeria first before any other interests. The Igbos have also learnt that their voting population is too small to champion selfish interests. They have learnt that they cannot contribute their quota to the nation without the support of other tribes and geopolitical zones.

Ndi’Igbo should therefore join hands together with the incoming administration and never allow themselves to be deceived again by greedy politicians and Judases in the Lord’s Vineyards who parade themselves as Church and religious leaders.

Long Live Ndi Igbo!

Long Live The Federal Republic of Nigeria!

The writer Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu is can be contacted with @emerieuduchukwu on Twitter.

Nigeria 2015: Between A Failed President And A Former Dictator, By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu

On March 28, about 70 million Nigerians are expected to troop out to exercise their franchise as the next president of the nation is expected to be elected on that day.  Out of all the presidential candidates, Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared to be the top contestants and that is why this write-up focused on them.

President Goodluck Jonathan, a former lecturer in the University of Portharcourt was once a Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State.  Luck later catch up with him after the impeachment of then Bayelsa State Governor Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha which led to his swearing in as the state governor. Throughout his regime as governor, Jonathan was unpopular until former President Olusegun Obasanjo spearheaded the event that led to his nomination as a running mate of Late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua in the 2007 Presidential election which they later won under the platform of the PDP. Shortly after the inauguration of Yaradua-Jonathan presidency, Yaradua became critically ill and at that period, many speculations started surfacing about his capacity to continue running the office of the president. It went to an extent that at a time, it was speculated that then Vice President Jonathan was deliberately denied access to his boss Yaradua. The tension was high and Nigerians began raising concerns over the events within the Aso Rock Villa. Constitutional crises emerged due to confusion on who was really in charge of the nation’s seat of power. The Save Nigeria Group (SNG) started protests that catalyzed the adoption of a doctrine of necessity by the National Assembly. The doctrine of necessity empowered then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to assume office as the acting president of the country. However, the then ill president Yaradua later died on 5th May 2010 and barely twelve hours after his death, was Goodluck Jonathan sworn in to complete the remaining part of Yaradua’s tenure that ended on the 29th Day of May 2011.

Before his election in 2011, Goodluck Jonathan enjoyed massive support from Nigerians especially due to the speculated negligence that he suffered from the ‘Cabals’ during the later days of Yaradua’s tenure. Jonathan also campaigned efficiently then through which he made various promises to Nigerians and Nigerians gave him their trust which metamorphosed into his election in 2011. Some of the promises of Jonathan include fixing the power sector before the end of 2012, fighting corruption efficiently, construction of second Niger Bridge, Rehabilitation of Nkalagu Cement factory, Ensuring security of lives and properties, rehabilitation of many kilometers of roads, revitalization of the education sector, construction of Onitsha inland water ways, generating employment opportunities and reducing poverty. President Goodluck Jonathan further told Nigerians that if he failed to achieve those things in four years, there is no need for him to contest again. He further maintained that he needed just one tenure though he recently denied promising such.

However, it is very sad that in 2015, the president has failed to live up to expectations. Though his current administration executed some policies like the establishment of nine new universities in order to ensure that each state has a federal university, allowed freedom of speech to a higher extent and revitalized rice production, he still failed to utilize those ideas, policies and visions properly.  It is improper for a president to establish new universities while the existing ones are either neglected by government or in ebola conditions. If those funds channeled to those new institutions as takeoff grants and allocations were channeled to the upgrading of existing ones, better news will be assured.

Also, though the current administration under President Jonathan allowed the freedom of speech and opinions to prevail to a larger extent, the in ability of him and his media aids to properly utilize criticisms of his government makes mockery of the freedom of speech and opinion. His aids instead of addressing issues raised by critics usually resort to verbal attacks and this caused the president’s image and goodwill a lot of damage.  Moreover, freedom of speech and opinion is a fundamental right of every citizen in any democratic setting and it’s tolerance by government cannot be taken as an achievement.

Furthermore, though his government tried in encouraging rice production, the government’s inability to promote the production of other agricultural commodities is a great setback to the revitalization of the agricultural sector because Nigerians can’t depend on only rice every day. Total revitalization of the Agric sector would have been better.

Also, the failure of his government to generate employments led to increase in poverty rate.

It is important to note that the security of lives and properties is the prime function of every government and any government that failed to achieve that is simply a failed government. Many Nigerians died due to the attack of the north-east region by the boko haram sect. Also, many properties were destroyed by the activities of the insurgents, and many territories within the north eastern part of the country were captured by the insurgents though the security agencies with the help of some neighboring forces have secured back those territories. Though his administration later embarked on a massive fight against the terrorists after the postponement of the 2015 elections from February 14 to March 28, the inability of his government to curb the menace over the years led to loss of many lives and properties and the victims of boko haram attacks might be tempted to believe that the awakening of the security agencies to wipe off the terrorists on election period may be campaign tricks.

Aside his failure to secure lives and properties over the years, the current administration of president Jonathan also failed to fulfill his 2011 election promises like rehabilitations of many kilometers of roads, construction of second Niger bridge, fixing the power sector, construction of Onitsha inland water ways, revitalization of the Nkalagu cement factory, as well as revitalization of the education sector are no where closer to fulfillment despite his humble background and trusts Nigerians had on him in 2011 when they elected him. Also his current administration is widely seen by both Nigerians and international community as highly corrupt especially after his government fired the former governor of Nigeria’s central bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi after he raised alarm about missing $20 billion. Many Nigerians and the international community expected his government to launch sincere and immediate investigation of the claims of Mr Sanusi instead of engineering his sack. The sack of former CBN boss forced many especially the international community to believe that his government does not have the will to fight corruption which is widely seen as a major setback to the country’s development. Also, the decision of his government to grant presidential pardon to a convicted criminal Depriye Alamieyeseigha casts more doubts on the sincerity of his government to curb corruption. His frequent statements on live national television that stealing is not corruption fuelled more fears that his administration is never willing to fight corruption.

These failures of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration forced many to call for change.

The political party that has been championing the change principle is the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) that was a product of a merger between the defunct Action Congress (AC), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigerian Peoples party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The major aim of the merger that gave birth to APC is to form a strong opposition that will wrestle power from the ruling PDP. Many has predicted that the APC will be a past tense during it’s presidential primaries over predicted confusion that will befall the party while electing the bearer of it’s presidential flag. The party however surprised many by not only peacefully conducting it’s presidential primaries but by the transparent way in which the primary was conducted. After the APC‘s primary, a former dictator Muhammadu Buhari that was widely seen as a violator of human rights and corruption fighter emerged the party’s presidential flag bearer.

Buhari emerged as a military head of state after the December 31, 1983 military coup. His regime was widely believed to be too disciplined and rigid. His introduction of War against indiscipline gave birth to the adaptation to queues by Nigerians, monthly sanitation among others. His government had a strong stand against corruption which led to the jailing of various top ranking politicians who were believed to have indulged in corrupt practices. His administration was however, criticized for it’s disrespect for human rights and press freedom.  The enactment of decree no 4 that prohibited free press was heavily condemned.  His military regime though short, made a great stand against corruption and indiscipline. He was overthrown through another military coup on August 27 1985.

After his office as a military head of state, the General was appointed to head the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) by the Abacha’s military regime. One significant thing about the offices headed by Buhari is that they are widely believed to possess high level of discipline though he appeared to be too rigid then. Many have been arguing that the former dictator owe Nigerians apology over the high handedness possessed by his military government while many also argued that the General does not owe anyone any apology since his actions took place under the eye of Military regime that is widely known for such. Buhari however, recently said that his actions were based on the principles of Military administration that were guided by decrees and since we are now in a democracy, he will be guided by the constitution. He further said that he cannot change the past but can change the present and the future.

On March 28 2015, Nigerians will decide on whether to choose a failed president or a former dictator that is widely believed to possess the urge and will to sincerely fight corruption which if achieved, will go a long way in promoting Nigeria’s democracy.

The choice is yours! Secure Your PVC! Vote Wisely!

The Writer Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu can be contacted with @emerieuduchukwu on Twitter.