Just one Family

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed” - Mahatma Gandhi

It is alleged (by The Source magazine) that the following houses were ‘acquired’ by Lucky Igbinedion's Family in London (2002-2008).

SIX YEARS!

WOW!

A Run-Down of Igbinedion’s London Houses

Name of Registered Owner Address and Date of Purchase

1. Lucky Igbinedion 29, Sheldon Avenue, London ,N64JP (2002).
2. Hope Igbinedion 31, Voce Road, London, 5E 182 LW (2005).
3. Hope Igbinedion 5, Glebe House, Rectory Place, London, SE 185 RW (2005).
4. Ighiwiyisi Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163 BB (2002).
5. Imose Igbinedion 27, Cottingham Road, Manchester ,M124 BN (2002).
6. Irene S. Igbinedion 10, Station Road, Wallingford Oxfordshire, Ox100HU (2005).
7. Ivie N. Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2005).
8. Kenneth Igbinedion 19, Boundary House, Bethwin Road, London, SE 50 YB (2002).
9. Kenneth Igbinedion 13, Lime Row, Erith Kent, DA 184 HW (2004).
10. Larry Igbinedion 1020, Peckham Hill Street, London, SE 155JT (2003).
11. Linda E. Igbinedion Flat 560, Egmont Road, Sutton Surrey, SM2 5J6 (2004).
12. Lucky Igbinedion 29, Sheldon Avenue, London, N6 4JP (2003).
13. Mabel E. Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2002).
14. Mark Igbinedion Ashford Barnet, Road Barnet, Hertford Shire, EN5 3HR (2006).
15. Mark Igbinedion 11, Grafton Road, London, W3 6PB (2002).
16. Martin Igbinedion 8, Norway Gate, London, SE 167 TR (2005).
17. Maurice Igbinedion 50, Bankfield Avenue, Manchester, M13 OZP (2004)
18. Maxine Igbinedion 25, Redcliffe Court, Nightingale Estate, London, E5 8TX (2002).
19. Michael Igbinedion 3, Elsinore Gardens, London, NW2 1SS (2006).
20. Moses B. Igbinedion Second Floor ,Flat 76, Plumstead Common Road, London, SE 183 RD (2007).
21. Sandra O. Igbinedion Flat 6, Bathurst House, White City Estate, London, W12 7AG (2007).
22. Sandra O. Igbinedion 6 ,Bathurst House, White City Estate, London, W12 7AG (2004).
23. Odeon Igbinedion 50, Bank Field Avenue, Manchester, M13 OZP (2004).
24. Odion P. Igbinedion 7, Brodrick Grove, London, SE 2 OSR (2005).
25. Omorodion Igbinedion Flat 25, Centurion House, 69 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7JQ (2007).
26. Omosede Igbinedion 4E, Marley Court ,the University of Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7UU (2002).
27. Omosede Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2005).
28. Orhue F. Igbinedion 9, Rodborough Road, London, NW1 185A (2002).
29. Osagie Sunday Igbinedion 5, Strode Road, London, E7 ODU (2006).
30. Osahon Igbinedion Flat 13, Spalding House, Turnham Road, London, SE4 2HT (2007).
31. Osawe Igbinedion Flat 216, Charlton Road, London, NW 118 SA (2005).
32. Osawe Igbinedion 9, Rodborough Road, London ,NW 118 SA (2002).
33. Otasowie Igbinedion 42, Harlech Tower Park, Road, East London, W3 8TZ (2002)
34. Peter Igbinedion 18, Compton Close ,London, NW1 18SX (2004).
35. Princely Igbinedion 120, Guinness Trust, Kennington, Park Road, London ,SE 114 JE (2003).
36. Princely Igbinedion 38, Melrose Close, London, SE 120 AL (2006).
37. Princely Igbinedion 47, Guinness Trust, Kennington Park Road, London, SE 114 JF (2002).
38. Promise Igbinedion 81, Denbigh Road, London, E63LF (2002).
39. Robinson Igbinedion 180, Norwood Road, London, SE 279AU (2005).
40. Roice E. Igbinedion 12, ST Matthews, House, Phelp Street, London, SE172 PJ (2003).
41. Stella Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163BB (2002).
42. Stephen Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163 BB (2002).
43. Sunday Igbinedion 8, Norway Gate, London, SE 167 TR (2002).
44. Sunin Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163 BB (2002).
45. Sussan Igbinedion 42, Harlech Tower, Park Road, East London ,W3 8TZ (2002).
46. Slyvester Igbinedion 11, Grafton Road, London, W3 6PB (2002).
47. Uyiekpen Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163 BB (2003).
48. Uyiekpen N. Igbinedion Mill Hall, Topping Lane, UX Bridge, Middlesex, UB82 TL (2006).
49. Victor Igbinedion 27, Shawcroft View, Off Crompton Way, Bolton, BL18UU (2007).
50. Victor O. Igbinedion 20, Mudie House, Forster Road, London, SW 2 4UX (2005). 51. Vivian Igbinedion 19, Boundary House ,Betwin Road, London, SE 5 OYB
(2002).
52. Agbon Igbinedion Flat 25, Centurion House, 69 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7JQ (2007).
53. Albert Igbinedion 89, Becket House, Tabard Street, London, SE 1 4XZ (2002).
54. Amenze P. Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2005).
55. Bamidele Igbinedion 31, Voce Road, London, SE 182 LW (2005).
56. Bamidele Igbinedion 5 ,Glebe House, Rectory Place, London, SE 185RW (2005).
57. Ben Igbinedion 6, Bathurst House, City Estate ,London, W12 7AG (2007).
58. Ben Igbinedion 6, Bathurst House, City Estate, London, W12 7AG (2002).
59. Benita Igbinedion Ashford Barnet Road, Barnet Hertfordshire, EN5 3HB (2004).
60. Bridget Igbinedion 81, Denbigh Road, London, E6 3LF (2002).
61. Cherry Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2002).
62. David Igbinedion Flat 15, Ross Court 3, Napoleon Road, London, E58TE (2003).
63. Edith Igbinedion 50, Bankfied Avenue,Manchester, M13 OZP (2004).
64. Edith Igbinedion 83, Fraser Road, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 7AL (2002).
65. Egbe L. Igbinedion 9, Rodborough Road, London, NW118SA (2007).
66. Ekpen Igbinedion Flat 25, Centurion House, 69 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex HAB 7 JQ (2007).
67. Emmanuel Igbinedion 4, Apric Close, London, W7 3HF (2003).
68. Emmanuel Igbinedion 174, Greenford Avenue, London, W7 3QT (2002).
69. Esohe A. Igbinedion 9, Rodborough Road, London, NW118SA (2002).
70. Etiosa Igbinedion Ashford Barnet Road, Barnet Hertfordshire, EN5 3HB (2006).
71. Etiosa E. Igbinedion Fuschia House, LF W Hall, Canute Road, Southampton, S0143 ZP (2007).
72. Evamaria Igbinedion Ashford Barnet, Road Barnet, Hertfordshire, EN5 3HB (2002).
73. Eyagbon Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London ,SE 163 BB (2002).
74. Florence Igbinedion 25, Redcliffe Court, Nightingale Estate ,London, E58 TX (2002).
75. Gabriel O. Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2007).
76. Galatian Igbinedion 4, Ryder Drive, London, SE 163 BB (2003).
77. Grace O. Igbinedion 11, Grafton Road, London, W36PB (2002).
78. Helen Igbinedion 8, Norway Gate, London, SE167 TR (2002).
79. Henry Igbinedion Flat 4, Heversham House, ILderton Road, London, SE 151 EJ (2007).
80. Henry A. Igbinedion 64, Harrington Road, London ,SE 254LY (2006).
81. Agbon Igbinedion Flat 25, Centurion House, 69 Station Road ,Edgware, Middlesex 11A8 7JQ (2008).
82. Amenze P. Igbinedion 74, Winningtion Road, London, N2 OTX (2008).
83. Bamidele Igbinedion 31, Voce Road, London, SE 182 LW (2008).
84. Ben Igbinedion Flat 6, Bathurst House, White City Estate, London, W12 7AG (2008).
85. Benita Igbinedion Ashford Barnet Road, Barnet Hertfordshire ,EN5 3HB (2008).
86. Agbon Igbinedion Flat 25, Centurion House, 69 Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7JQ (2007).
87. Albert Igbinedion 89, Becket House, Tabard Street, London, SE1 4XZ (2002).
88. Bamidele Igbinedion 31, Voce Road, London, SE 182 LW (2005).
89. Amenze P. Igbinedion 74, Winnington Road, London, N2 OTX (2005).
90. Bamidele Igbinedion 5, Glebe House, Rectory Place, London ,185 RW (2005).


For 3 quid (£) per property, this accusation can be established. I have just spent a tenner on 3 randomly picked properties ….guess what?

Wow...once again!!

BNP Near Me

Surprisingly none on my street, I was a bit suspicious of a couple - never judge a book by its cover.

However there are 4 that live within my mansions. Funny how you want to put faces to names, feel like parking up in front of their houses and...

Its a big list, It will take a while to clear my work colleagues (about 3000 of them), the priest, the doctor, school teachers, all folks I (my family) come in contact with.

Something for an idle mind.

A lethal Mix

Like many others I watched Channel 4’s programme Saving Africa's Witch Children. All that needs to be said about the harrowing scenes in the programme has already been said. I have also followed calls to banish Liberty Gospel Church and possibly cage its ‘overseer’ one Helen Ukpabio. At the risk of offending some of my readers, I don’t think the chorus of disapproval by concerned bloggers and the world community goes far enough. Let me start by saying that the Liberty Gospel Church isn’t the only ‘church’ in Nigeria that mixes this poisonous brew of religion and voodoo.



I have had the regrettable pleasure of attending a couple of other ‘churches’ who excel in such bastardisation of the Christian religion. One was the tarnished cult called UKCG and the other - MFM. I can not speak for other Pentecostal sects in Nigeria but it wouldn’t surprise me if there are many others who preach the gospel of prosperity, fear, voodoo and incessantly fabricate invisible enemies for members of their congregation. Every adversity - divorce, disease, accidents, death, miscarriages, poverty, job losses etc - is traced back to someone within the family who is purportedly holding back their progress via witchcraft. This mindset which is frankly held amongst many Nigerians is one considerable reason why advancement falters in our society. It has also set off an exceedingly lucrative 'deliverance' business for many false ‘pastors and prophetesses’ who live large at the expense of their easy to fleece followers.



The time I think has now come to suspend for the foreseeable future all religious activities in Nigeria. Anyone who needs to pray can do so within the confines of their home. God will still hear such prayers. While that ban is effective, all identifiable religious leaders should be locked up until they can give good reasons why they should be set free. All their funds and assets should be frozen worldwide.

Am I trivialising this issue? One isn't silly enough to think that Witchcraft/Witch hunts is of African origin. It had a noticeable presence in Europe many centuries ago. , Maybe there is something to learn from history. We are always late to the party!

Flashback: Soul/Funk of the 80s (1)

The Sleeveface phenomenon has taken the world by storm so what better way for me to get into the act than by revisiting some of the top soul/funk acts of the 80s.


One Way - YouTube



52nd Street - Youtube



After 7 - YouTube



Al B Sure - YouTube


Alicia Myers - YouTube


Alisha - YouTube


Alphonse Mouzon - YouTube


Alyson Williams - YouTube


Angela Bofill - YouTube


Anita Ward - YouTube [OK 70s]


Apollonia 6 - YouTube


Atlantic Starr - YouTube


Aurra - YouTube


Bar Kays - YouTube


BB & Q Band - YouTube [One of my all time favourites]


Bernard Wright - YouTube


Billy Ocean - YouTube


Bobby Brown - YouTube


Bobby Nunn - YouTube


Donna Summer - YouTube

To be continued.....

This Naija Thing Sef

Last week Friday I tried to book a flight to Nigeria. It was pretty spontaneous – one of those ‘they will like to see you calls’. I was only going to be there for 72 hours. Get in on the 13th, leave (if I am not detained by the SSS) on the 16th. Normally, and with enough time to play around with, I would have gone via a travel agent - even though I sometimes find them tedious and infuriating.

I hit the NET, and the best direct flight deal I could get (price and availability) was BA. They had a couple of economy seats free. Missing out would have meant business or even first class. Unless someone can convince me that those who sit in First and Business class survive plane crashes, I don’t really see the point, didn’t even have that sort of dosh to waste anyways (plus my bad belle).

So I went onto the BA site to book online, put all my info in, only for the final page to inform me that I had to pay offline! I was running a bit late, so I asked wifey to call and do the stuff offline while I got ready. BA’s response to her – they wouldn’t take card details offline, she needed to go to one of their offices in person and present your card…

I thought it was one of wifey’s tricks. She didn’t want to pay with her card…So I got out of the bath and called the same number. I told them I needed to pay for a flight I had just booked/reserved on their site. The lady at the other end asked me if I had my card details ready, I said yes. (Giving wifey the (daggers) eye). The BA lady then asked what the reference number was from the booking. When I gave it to her, she said sorry, you will need to visit one of our offices to make the payment. I asked whether that was a new BA procedure sarcastically mocking their 92% fall in profits. She said no, it only applied to Nigeria and maybe one other unnamed country. It simply had to do with high levels of card fraud. “Do you want to know the closest office to you”, she asked. I asked her to cancel the booking.

I went back online, this time to lastminute.com, did the usual search and BA came up again as the only available deal for the dates I needed. I could pay online…hurray. I did all that, and I was told a confirmation will be sent to my mailbox. I had used lastminute.com earlier in the month to book flights to the US for wifey and kids for Xmas, and the confirmation came almost immediately.

I hit gmail, and there was a message from lastminute.com but it wasn’t a confirmation.

Thank you for your booking request. This email acknowledges receipt of your order.

Security checks are currently being performed on your order to help protect your identity and potential unauthorized use of your card. The order is not confirmed until we send you an e-mail notifying that your order has been processed successfully. You should receive this within 24 hours, but we aim to do this within 4 hours.

This time I couldn’t be bothered that I was running late. I called up LM dot com -guess what – same answer. I cancelled.

A few hours later, I was told that the ‘boss’ I was meant to see in Abuja was off to somewhere, the meeting has been postponed. It’s back to the trusty travel agent. Then I thought, why do they (TA’s) ask you to pay money into a bank account before they confirm your booking? Same reason?

And as if that is not enough, one is greeted this morning with the following headlines:

Facebook 'infiltrated by Nigerian fraudsters'

Facebook hit by Nigerian 419 scam

Cyber criminals target Facebook users

and more...

What is wrong with our people biko nu! Wetin!!

Goodbye Miriam Makeba

South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, whose music was banned under apartheid, has died at age 76 after a performance in Italy, ANSA news agency reported Monday. Makeba collapsed at the concert and was taken to hospital, where she died of a heart attack overnight, it said. Nicknamed "Mama Africa," she became one of the best-known symbols in the long and bitter struggle against her country's apartheid regime, which for decades enforced racial segregation. South Africa revoked her citizenship in 1960 when she wanted to return home for her mother's funeral, and she then spent more than three decades in exile, living in the United States and Guinea. Makeba, who won a Grammy award for Best Folk Recording with US singer Harry Belafonte in 1965, also saw her music outlawed in her homeland after she appeared in an anti-apartheid film.

Source: IC Publications

She will sorely be missed! An African Legend....The Queen is gone.

A Letter From Jonathan Elendu

Published 30/10/08

On the evening of October 18, 2006, I arrived Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja aboard a KLM flight. I had left my base, Lansing, Michigan for Nigeria the previous day. I was looking forward to coming home and finishing some projects I had started some months earlier. These projects are 2 documentary films I had started working on some months earlier and a stage show to celebrate the one year anniversary of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi.

I got to the Immigration counter at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and handed my passport to the officers there. This is something I had done several times in the past and I had no reason to suspect that this day will be any different. The Immigration officer took a glance at my passport and handed it over to another officer in plain clothes. The officer turned around and beckoned on another man in white caftan. The man, who later introduced himself as the director of the State Security Service (SSS) airport division, told me that he needed to chat with me and would wait until I picked up my luggage.

After picking up my stuff I headed to the Customs unit where they assessed duty and after I paid released my luggage to me. I had asked those who were waiting for me to take my luggage with them while I went to see the SSS officers. The director of SSS insisted that my luggage had to follow me to Yellow House, their headquarters near the Aso Rock Villa.

The SSS officers hired a van to convey one of their officers, my luggage and I to their headquarters from the airport. The driver of the van drove like a man who had an appointment to keep in hell. The road to town was not lighted and his headlights barely showed. I celebrated our getting to the offices of the SSS in one piece.

We got to the offices of the SSS at about 10:45 PM and that is how my 12 days in lock up began. It was the most harrowing experience of my life. On the 10th day I had access to my lawyers for the first time. This was after I was transferred from the SSS cell, where I was held in solitary confinement for 7 days, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cell. My lawyer told me about the outpouring of love and support for me from all over the world. I broke down and cried.

I cried because I had been told by the SSS that I was abandoned by my lawyers and family. I knew that to be false. I cried because I did not know that my plight was known to the world. I cried because I was just overwhelmed by the support and wondered if I had earned your love. And I cried for my country…

Words are not enough to tell you how grateful I am to each and every one of you. Many times I had doubted the wisdom of the path I had chosen for myself. Now I know it was the right path for me. I had tried to refocus and reposition my practice as a journalist. This led to my slowing down in reporting. This experience and your response to my plight have shown me that I was wrong.

I wish I could find stronger words to tell you how grateful I am. What better words can I come up with to better express my feelings for what you have done for me? Hard as I have searched, I can only come up with these two words: Thank you.

There have been stories and speculations as to what led to my arrest by the SSS and later the EFCC. The speculations continue even now that I have been released. There were also speculations as to what happened while I was in lock up. I even heard that I “sang” while in captivity. I have asked what tone I sang, what song I sang.

I am writing this note on a borrowed computer as my laptop, flash drives, cell phones, clothes, wallet, green card, credit and bank cards are still in the custody of the SSS. In fact, everything I came with from the States, apart from the clothes on my back are in the custody of the SSS.

When my stuff is released and after due consultations with my family and lawyers, I will tell the world what actions or inactions will follow. I have seen a doctor after my release on Wednesday. I am hoping to see my doctors in the United States soon. However, as soon as I get my laptop and get some little rest, I intend to give a full account of what transpired while I was in lock up.

This much I can tell you: They tried but did not succeed in breaking my will. If the idea was to cow me, I want you to know that I do not walk on all fours. If the intention was to use me as a scapegoat, please note that I do not bleat and I do not eat grass. If what I went through was to teach me a lesson. This much I have learnt. The servant leader has adorned the robes of a wicked Emperor. Ill-fitting as the clothes may be, he appears comfortable in the role.

These words are few and simple and yet mean so much to me: Thank you.

Email: jonathan@elendureports.com

What an astonishing night!

It was one of those nights that you tend to remember for the rest of your life. One of those ‘where were you when…’ moments.

My night started early, I had programmed myself to wake up by 12 midnight. The results were meant to come in by that time so an early night was called for. I missed Chelsea getting hammered by Roma, and there was also that Stevie G dive.

I got up at about 1am, a couple of results were in, all for the Mac. I started wondering whether the party in Chicago was going to fall flat. I was switching channels – CNN, ITV, BBC, Scum sorry Fox News, Al J…any thing covering the election, I even had Talksport Radio on. George Galloway was in top form. I finally settled for ITV and then came the first screw-up of the night. ITV had The Mac on 103 and Obama on 34! Were my worst fears coming true? Where the polls wrong? Did the white folk suddenly wake up to the horror of voting for a black dude? I quickly switched over to the BBC, they had almost the same numbers, but the names were reversed. That was it for ITV. At some point, I couldn’t stand the tension, so I decided to finish off a film I had started in the morning – The Great White Hope (A boxing film)

A few minutes before 4am UK time came the Breaking News “Obama is the new President of the United States”.

It’s pretty hard to put the whole night/experience in context, to explain ones feelings and to wonder what happens next. I never thought I would witness this in my life time. I never thought it would happen.

Last night was a defining moment.

Off to bed.

Just one more thing. It took less than half a day to announce the results of more than 140 million voters!

One Moment In Tme

The significance of today’s election can not be understated. The scenario of the son of a Kenyan immigrant becoming the next President of the world’s most powerful nation is colossal.

Today I feel American even though I am not one, today I feel proud to be African just because Obama’s immediate roots can be traced to the Dark Continent.

Then again indignity envelops me; I wonder why I am not this excited about elections in my home country Nigeria. I think of the leaders we have had– Balewa, Gowon, Mohammed, OBJ, Shagari, Buhari, IBB, Abacha, Abubakar, Yar’adua and I don’t see an Obama rather I see intellectual midgets.

Obama hasn’t won yet, and you just never know. But if as many as 140 million Americans who step inside the polling booth make the right private decision, the future of not only the US, but Africa will most certainly change for the best.

Ababoy endorses McCain