Andy Uba: Restating the nature of the evil

As we wait for the verdict, it is important to restate the nature of the challenge Andy Uba posses to a generation of Nigerian citizens yet unborn. Below is a piece first published on December 18, 2007.)
God comes in trinity. Evil comes in triplets. The triplets of Anambra evil are Chris Uba, Chuma Nzeribe and Andy Uba. Many are familiar with the two Ubas but Chuma Nzeribe, the most brutal of Anambra evils, operates under the radar. I met Chuma Nzeribe at the 2004 World Igbo Congress convention, in Newark , New Jersey . Before then, I had read a lot about his various exploits: How he led Chris Uba’s convoy that knocked Gov. Chris Ngige off the road. How he masterminded the kidnapping of Gov. Chris Ngige. How he worked as the commandant of the Uba gang of urchins who terrorized Anambra state. When I beheld Chuma Nzeribe, his stuffy bodyguard built, bloodshot eyes, arrogant and threatening posture, suited perfectly well with his records of alleged crimes and misdemeanors. During an Anambra Forum, when a participant asked Chris Uba, then the resident terrorist of the state, an uncomfortable question, it was Nzeribe who warned the participant that Uba gang would be waiting for him whenever he returned to Anambra State.

Dr. Damages Interviews Andy Uba, Ngige, Soludo & others

When I was a five year old, I watched my first concert. It was performed by the students of St. Monica’s women’s teachers’ training college, in Ogbunike. I recalled how the curtain opened and these young women, dressed in elegant gown, high heel shoes and long wigs came out to sing in their angelic voice, the song called Anambra State.Then, I had no understanding what a burden it was to be born in Anambra State. For this special edition of the Tonight Show with Dr. Damages, I have invited the same choir to come and sing that same song for us. Three decades after, their voices have cracked, their backs have stooped and their faces are wrinkled. They are not wearing elegant gowns or high heel shoes or even wigs, but the essence of the song has remained the same. Please give it up to the St. Monica’s choir.