A New Nigeria Free From Cultism…Do We Have Hope?

The Neo-Black movement was designed to deal with the difficult and thorny matters that other black organisations could not deal with. Hence we started with the question of apartheid in South Africa and the total liberation of the African continent from colonialism as well as confronting racial intolerance and discrimination Worldwide. While apartheid may be gone, the other issues remain and new problems have since reared their heads i.e. the situation in Darfur, The mayhem in Zimbabwe and the failure of Central govt in Nigeria; more so the abysmal situation in the Niger-delta amongst others. These are situations we should not be afraid to confront. The national leadership of NBM amongst others like the pirates, Vikings, buccaneers, mafites must lead the way in not just decrying these continental ills, but begin to propose meaningful solutions to these problems which Central govt is unwilling or unable to resolve instead of perpetuating or encouraging youths in our campuses to further kill themselves thereby reducing our future generation to mere beast. If all we do is propose meaningful solutions to these problems we would have done a lot. I am not by any means suggesting that we can resolve these problems on our own. I am merely saying that as Axe-Men, we deal with matters of gravity and not inconsequential issues.

This was the original path set out by the founding fathers. “Black-Axe magazine number one” bears this out. The National Head and his executives should be able to hold meetings with the African union and the executive councils of most if not all-African nations. Nobody should put limitations on our potentials as a movement. There is a failure of leadership in continental Africa and somebody must step into the gap and there is nobody more qualified than the Neo-Black movement. Gowon became head of state in Nigeria at 32. Murtala Mohammed became Nigerian leader at 37.Thomas Sankara, Valentine Strasser were all very young men, Black scorpion Benjamin Adekunle commanded the dreaded third marine commando during the civil war as a Brigadier at the age of 29.Youth has its advantages, it is time to rise up to the challenges of our time. It is time to inspire our youths to reach for the stars, as the world is now a global village, it is time to take advantage of the times. PHILLIP EMEGWALI one of the fathers or indeed the Father of the Internet has set the stage for Black Youth. AFRICA is the richest of the continents, The day we open our eyes, look around us in Africa, appreciate our fertile soil, the richness of our flora and fauna, our mineral resources, wonderful weather, teeming human and material resources, we will fall on our knees in gratitude to a GOD who so loved the Black man that he blessed him with the best portion of the earth. On that day we will truly become men and begin the journey of reclaiming our position as the first-born and rapidly move towards surpassing the deeds of our glorious ancestors.

We cannot call ourselves strong men, if the next Nigerian elections are rigged before our very eyes. We must begin to perceive Africa with a new eye as a continent of possibilities. The Neo-Black movement must forge new ties with other Blackist and Pan-Africanist organisations across the globe. We must be concerned about what happens to our people in countries across the world where there are size-able Black populations, countries like Brazil, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Peru as well as Britain and the United States must begin to feel the positive radiance of Neo-Blackism. Russia must be told that the Black-man will not be exterminated like a dog. The United Nations must be kept informed by the N.B.M about the situation in Russia. It must not be business as usual for racists, nihilists and neo-barbarians. The national leadership of all African fraternity must not shirk its responsibilities. If the National EXCOS and the Elders of these fraternities; persons like Wole Soyinka, Nicolas Idemudia and a host of others are not dealing with these issues, then what are they dealing with. To be scratching on the ground looking for crickets while carrying an elephant on one’s back is not an option here. There is no need for fear as Axe-Men have already shown that they are fearless. Many have gone to their death willingly in defense of their brother Axe-Men. It is for the national leadership to find the gumption, regain a sense of purpose and stand ready to confront the problems facing our race and not the death toll on campuses with regards to fraternal clashes and imbecile exuberance. The Neo-Blackist must rise up to the challenge of our times. The Neo-Black Movement at inception was not a fraternity in the mould of the Freemasons or Ogboni esteemed as those fraternities might be, but there was a fraternity amongst Axe-Men, such as you found amongst journalists, engineers, doctors or indeed soldiers. A man sworn to defend the black man worldwide was indeed a brother to any other man so sworn. This was where the spirit of fraternity came from. The first Head Waziri Zako was very concerned that men would come in to join the organization seeking what they could gain and not what they could contribute. The nature of operations an Axe-Man might need to carry out was what led to the movement being shrouded in secrecy. There was no intention on the part of the founding fathers to turn the campuses into nihilistic enclaves of juvenile madness.

African traditional religion, Pan-Africanism, newsletter publication and reaching out to other black organisations were preambles on the way to the main objective, defense and protection of the black man worldwide. For obvious reasons, our intentions could not be divulged to the school authorities, as we would not have been registered. There was no intention to get involved in student politics, though its founders were interested in leadership training and discipline. They chose the term movement over fraternity, as most fraternities tend to be elitist while movements are large, open to most and not restricted like fraternities tend to be. Most Blackist organisations tend to be long on rhetoric but short on action this was not the path the Neo-Black Movement intended to tow. ‘Toks-bee’ one of the founders and ideological propagandist recommended the Black Panther party as an organization on whom the Neo-Black Movement could be modeled. This was because the Black Panther party was long on action but short on rhetoric. Most Blackist organisations in the past tended to be resolution passing, speech making, election organizing bodies with endless conventions and no results. The Neo-Black Movement was about results and especially results to thorny problems, which other organisations could not tackle. Confusion arising from poor understanding of the movements objectives on the part of the original joiners, tomfoolery on the part of some of the founders, proliferation of branches, explosion in membership figures, and unfortunately chicanery on the part of some of the initial joiners who molded the nascent organization in their own image has brought our beloved movement to the sad impasse it finds itself in today.

Today, I stand to speak not only for my Organization NBM, but a rejoinder for all fraternity to meet and dialogue, they should however brainstorm so that results on consensus will be far reaching. May our ancestors guide and protect us. I think I m done with this chapter.