Dr Arthur Agwuncha Nwankwo is a philosopher,winning author,publisher and pan-Nigerian activist. When Nigeria was under the brutal jackboots of military rule, Dr Nwankwos voice remained irrepressible. It must be recalled that Arthur Nwankwo was jailed and exiled for the struggle for democracy and justice during the dark days of military dictatorship. On June, 1998, when he was still the Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and the Chancellor of the Eastern Mandate union (EMU), the frontline coalitions that fought against the Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime. A meeting was held by the entire NADECO in the United States where serious decision was taken against the Abacha regime. Only Nwankwo came back to Nigeria after the meeting with the intention of implementing the decision taken, while the others stayed back on self-exile. Unknown to the activist, the head of state had impounded his international passport. Abacha killer squad was said to be constantly monitoring Dr. Nwankwo’s residence in Enugu because of an anti-Abacha rally and campaign which was held all over the country especially in the eastern states and Dr. Nwankwo’s residence was the head quarter of operations. On June 3, 1998, at about 8.00pm, a crack team of soldiers and mobile police stormed Nwankwo’s residence and arrested some of the democratic activists alongside himself. They were beaten and battered like common criminals and dumped in the trunk of government Peugeot cars. They were detained by the Enugu government house waiting to appear before the presidency on the 8th June, 1998.And by the twist of fate, on this same date of June 8, 1998, while arrangements were being made to take him and his colleagues to Abuja, the Enugu government house received a call that the head of state General Abacha was dead. Nwankwo’s case was taken to the federal high court and he was granted bail by the court. This cerebral social critic has his struggle anchored on good conscience and devotion to the good of humanity. It is also driven by vision and mission to serve.He has over 35 books and numerous articles. Among his highly rated books include; Biafra: The making of a Nation: a ground breaking work on the origin and dynamics of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war in 1969; Power Dynamics of Nigeria politics (1988);African Dictators from History; Nigeria: The Political Transition and the Future of Democracy (1993); and Nigeria: The stolen Billions (1999) among others.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:01:54 +0000
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