Pope Francis Questions True Intentions of War

The Holy Father called attention once again to the horrors of war during his weekly Angelus address on Sunday. Pope Francis’ remarks came the day after a prayer vigil held in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday that brought more than 100,000 people to pray for peace in Syria. Reflecting on the Gospel of the day, the Holy Father began his address by speaking on the Christ’s message on being his disciples. “Many people, in fact, approached Jesus. They wanted to be his disciples; this especially happened after some miraculous sign, which confirmed him as the Messiah, the King of Israel,” the Holy Father noted. “But Jesus does not want to delude anyone. He knows well…

Syria: US Bishops, Syrian Islamic Leader join Pope in prayer

The Grand Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassou, the spiritual leader of Sunni Islam in Syria has expressed his desire to join the Pope in  praying for peace in the world especially in Syria. Fides news agency reported that “an exploratory request to that effect was sent by the Islamic leader to the Apostolic Nuncio in Damascus, His Excellency Monsignor Mario Zenari, and in coming days the feasibility of this desire will be evaluated on both sides.” Fides also reported that several Christian leaders in the Middle East affirmed that the Pope’s appeal found its way into “everyone’s hearts.” “The Christian communities in Syria, the Middle East and in the diaspora are happy and ready…

Holy See Mourns Death of Syrian Monk

Fr. Francois Mourad Murdered by Extremists in Predominantly Christian Village Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches mourned the murder of Fr. Francois Mourad, a monk who lived in Syria. According to Fides News Agency, Fr. Mourad was killed in the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land where he had taken refuge. While the circumstances of his death are not confirmed, local sources believe that the monastery of St. Anthony of Padua where he was residing was attacked by militants linked to an Islamic extremist group known as Jabhat al-Nusra. The monastery is located in Ghassanieh, a predominantly Christian village that is near the border with Turkey. Regarding Fr. Mourad’s…

Bombs still litter Igboland …43 Years After Civil War

It has been revealed that no fewer than  50,000 latent bombs and landmines could be found in the South East and South-South Nigeria.  They are remnants of explosives deployed during the Biafra/Nigeria war. which lasted from July 1967-January 1970. The disclosure came from the Media Director and Field Administrator of the Nigerian Mines Action Centre Owerri, Dr. Emeka Uhegbu, who spoke with The Leader recently. However he did not explain how they came about the number. The spokesman of the centre explained that more than four decades after the war ended, the region that was the theatre of war then, have remained unsafe as unexploded bombs, landmines and other forms of explosives have continued to…

Ojukwu and the discourse of disunity

He came from a wealthy stock. He was educated in the best schools. He was a soldier. He was a radical. He was an adept. Some will describe him as unpatriotic, while others see him as a nationalist. Some see him as a villain and others see him as a hero who fought for justice. In life and in death, Ojukwu appeared to have embodied the paradoxes of life and its extremes. Notwithstanding his rare characteristics represented in a somewhat mystic personality, the name Ojukwu will for a long time remain synonymous with the defunct Biafra. As the ex-warlord of Biafra, Ojukwu was a historic figure upon which the apparent ethnic and tribal disquiet in…

Syrian forces fought off an attempt by rebels to seize the sole crossing between Syria and Israel

A day after losing control of Qusair, an important town close to the Lebanese border, rebels tried to grab back the initiative with an assault on Quneitra – a demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights that is patrolled by the United Nations. For the first time since the start of the uprising in March 2011, the rebels briefly took control of the area, sending U.N. peacekeepers scurrying to their bunkers. Israeli sources said Syrian forces wrested back the site after fierce fighting. Austria said it would withdraw its 380 peacekeepers from the 1,000-strong U.N. monitoring force because of the fighting. Pro-government troops have won a string of successes in recent weeks, boosting Assad at a…

Jonathan imposes emergency rule on Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.  However, the governors of the affected states are to continue in their constitutional roles.  In a nationwide radio/television broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan ordered the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, to deploy more troops to the affected states for more effective internal security operations. The soldiers had been given full orders to take necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to end the impunity of insurgents and terrorists. Full texts of the President’s broadcast on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 reads. It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate…

QUEST FOR THE IDEOLOGY OF TERRORISTS

My grandfather Ekhaisomhi, the father of my mother, was a true and good Muslim, the best grandfather every child prays to have. My mother, Awawu Veronica, is simply the best mother any child could have. She gave me the love and peace she inherited from her Muslim parents. My grandfather, Omonokhua, the father of my father, was an African traditional priest who was known for love, peace and generosity. Another grandfather every child would pray to have. My father, Okhifo, gave me the love, peace and generous values he inherited from his parents. My grandparents and parents personified the scriptures where I practically learned the value of life with the contents of generosity, love, peace,…

Tribute To Monsignor Dr. Georg Huessler Of Caritas Fame

Only a few months into the Nigeria- Biafra war, the imbalance in the disposition of military hardware was already definitive in favour of Nigeria. U.S.S.R and Britain literally flung the gates of their armouries wide open for Nigeria to satisfy her wish-list of weapons on credit, while Biafra struggled to purchase obsolete bolt- action rifles at cut-throat black market prices. It was the peak of the cold war, the ideological conflict between the Communist East bloc (Russia and her allies) and the Capitalist West bloc (U.S and allies). To survive as a country then, you needed to belong to one bloc. Biafra belonged to none. An ideological orphan! Having denied Biafra access to weapons to…

Let’s look at some words and their wrong use among us

When you hear that someone, especially a top politician, has dropped a “bombshell” you would automatically want to know what the big news is all about. The expression connotes an earth shaking event which is actually what an exploded bomb is. To those who must have experienced the early wars in history, crude bombs, when detonated, left their empty covers, shells or, if you like, lifeless relic or empty cases. A couple of years ago an angry war veteran, possibly from World War 1, complained in the prestigious “Letter  to the editor” column of the Times of London  that  he couldn’t  understand  why the newspapers were excited by “bombshell” as an expression of something real…

Softly, softly on urbanization: more homes, less houses

Long before Abraham Maslow published his hierarchy of needs in 1943, there has always been some controversy on what truly constitutes basic human needs. The unending, amorphous list of needs (sometimes confused with ‘wants’) range from breathing (air) to self-actualization. In-between these two extremes fall in such other needs as food, safety, belongings and self-esteem. The desire to satisfy this galaxy of needs is the driving passion behind human enterprise and hard-work. It is this passion that has produced our great industrialists- the Aliko Dangotes, the Mike Adenugas, the Tim Ovias, the Paschal Dozies etc. Ironically, it is also this passion that is producing in Nigeria thousands of clever pen-robbers who are bleeding the nation…