BudgIT leading civic technology culture in Nigeria - Onigbinde

Interview@ITRealms:

 The Lead partner and co-founder of BudgIT with Joseph Agunbiade in 2011, Oluseun Onigbinde, in this chat with REMMY NWEKE told ITRealms following his stint with the Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship and Stanford University; that they are enthroning civic technology culture in Nigeria with what started as a hackathon organized by Co-Creation Hub some five years ago.

Excerpts:

How did you get here?

Wow. Getting here has been with the support of God, people and the entire ecosystem. We have been very fortunate to come at a time when there was Co-Creation Hub who are interested in seeding social tech startups across the world. The budget was also being published by the Budget Office of the Federation and we were very only acting as infomediaries for the public. We also got a lot of people who believed in us from the start. This included Indigo Trust, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Open Society Initiative for West Africa. We have been able to reach over 1 million Nigerians and also have presence in 16 states where we track local community projects. 

What can you tell us about the Aspen Institute New Voices Fellowship?

Aspen New Voices Fellowship is geared towards raising new voices across the world with focus on health and global development issues. These are people who are working to make an impact in their fields and they range from scientists, professors, activists, policy makers and social entrepreneurs. They are currently looking for new fellows and I advise folks doing impactful work in this area to apply. 

What is BudgIT, its objectives and goals?

The goal of BudgIT is to distribute access data to the public in a simple and accessible manner. BudgIT's work is to ensure that every Nigerian has equal access to the fiscal state of the society and uses such information to demand service delivery and accountability. BudgIT uses any lawful means to make this happen and we have a strong presence on social media and also work in rural communities. We track public projects in these states. 

Can you share with us what particular story that triggered or inspired the project BudgIT?

I wanted to leave the bank and do something different. I started with a climate change organization known as Green Acts which did not work out as I thought. I learnt my lesson and while working for the bank I still was looking for something to do. I was just sitting on my desk and I reviewed the applications by Co-Creation Hub. I thought of making the budget accessible after checking up civic projects online. I called it Budget4u. Later, we changed the name to BudgIT. That's how the phenomenon started. 

How has it been championing the project in terms of how easy and difficulties you have faced in recent times?

Leading any entity is not an easy task and it requires to continuously keep being creative in ensuring value is delivered for citizens, investors and all stakeholders. We also have to consider balance in all that we do. It is not easy because a lot of people are averse to accountability of public funds. They take it as being rude. The military hangover still works on them but they don’t understand that democracy is strengthened through accountability. It is a work that is never done. 

How do you feel when Mr. Bill Gates commended your effort back home in Nigeria at the lecture?

I was actually travelling and when I landed, my social media platforms were buzzing. It was delightful moment that the richest man in the world and also the co-chair of the world's largest philanthropy recognizes our work. I was so elated and this kind of validation keeps one on. 

Do you think the Nigeria environment is adopting the BudgIT goals?

Yes. The citizens are getting it and they are delighted when we share new pieces of information in interesting formats. They get it that it is necessary that they can participate in democracy effectively beyond voting in elections. We also have to acknowledge that public institutions are also interested in putting more data out there. We have worked with NEITI, NNPC and other agencies in making data more accessible and incentivizing actions from citizens to ask questions. The environment is changing. Maybe not as rapid as we will want but there is an improvement. 

Are you getting the kind of cooperation you require for mainstreaming the ideals of BudgIT in Nigerian society?

As said before, we are trying to instill the idea of transparency and accountability in Nigeria. Think how we have been making a lot of advocacy on making National Assembly finances open. There is still a lot of resistance from the political class to make budgets and public finances closed. It has nothing to do more than corruption. It is a tough climb but we have to take it step by step. 

Has BudgIT been replicated? If yes, where? And if no, why not?

Yes. I can't say in the exact way but we have people pushing ideas such as TransparencIT or VoteIT. A bit off for me that people trying to take our naming pattern but I am also interested in expanding the civic technology space. The field is so wide and the work is enormous and idea of making issues simple can be applied to different areas of governance. 

How can BudgIT be used beyond a national budget monitoring?

We do work for subnational transparency, making it easy for people in states to have more access to the budgets. We also work to support institutions in Nigeria to improve reporting and presentation. We are also interested in extractive sector transparency. It is not just about the national budget, we have worked to advocate more system-wide transparency and get the society to be more efficient. 

I think it was BudgIT that blow open the millions of Naira, former Lagos State governor, Raji Fashola used in building a website, kindly recount the story?

It is not a whistle-blowing exercise as most people know it. We just brought forward the data presented by the Lagos State Government and we made that line public. The funny thing is that we were interested in interrogating other items in the list of contracts published by the State government but that just took over the news cycle. Lagos State has a Public Procurement Law that mandates it to electronically publish all its contract. It did that and we brought out the data from its haystack and put it into a tweet. It was nothing political and it ties to all the issues of subnational transparency we advocate. We can't talk about fixing this country without transparency and accountability.

Do you think the whistle blowing of those facts yielded the right results?

It did not in my own view. The media did not look into the entire contracts. Mr. Fashola provided a response that muddled the issues and showed he was not informed of the actual cost of these things. It also reinforces that there was no competitive bidding. One thing that baffles me is that why can't every taxpayer have access to contract information and also bid for it? I don’t know but public funds are sacred to me. It is a huge burden of trust to be given the responsibility to manage public funds.  When we say Open Contracting is important to efficient use of public resources, politicians ignore it. There is no data more difficult to get from government than a list of contract, most times it reeks of points of patronage. Believe me, startups in Yaba can build that site for N5m. There was a petition submitted by another organization, I guess the EFCC was not interested. It was nothing personal against Mr Fashola but brings the question into light why does every contract with government has to be one-hit that fixes one for life?

What other milestone can you say BudgIT has achieved since its foundation?

A lot and I will say we have given the budgets to more people, supported at least 8 public institutions in free software and institution building, partnered with 35 organizations and also we were instrumental in Nigeria joining the Open Government Partnership. We are leading the civic technology culture in Nigeria and bringing the transparency into light. The impact can be seen on our website: yourbudgit.com

Where do you see BudgIT in the next 2 to five years?

We are working on a medium term fund and also ensure we become a stronger institution within. We are focused on measuring impact effectively, delivering value to our donors and also ensure that we spread our work in the states and in the sub-region. 

What message do you have for the youth with respect to governance, especially in Africa and Nigeria moving forward?

The young people of Africa need to understand that their future is being expended daily and they can't leave governance to everyday politicians. They need to participate not just by voting but by demanding accountability. We need young voices rising up to demand more efficient use of our resources. 

What next?

To continuously strive towards building a society where the use of public treasury is transparently accessible and explained Nigerians in the simplest and accessible form.

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Pix; Oluseun Onigbinde, co-founder BudgIT

FG belittles Congressman Tom Marino over letter to stop security assistance

ITRealms:

The Federal Government of Nigeria has belittled a United States (US) Congressman, Tom Marino for asking Obama presidency to withhold security assistance to Nigeria on account of alleged infraction by President Mohammadu Buhari-led administration, reports ITRealms.

FG also described as ‘out of tune’ with reality the published letter Marino who represents Pennsylvania and addressed to the Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, requesting US put on hold any security assistance to Nigeria.

 
A press statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first-hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what is nothing but a ‘propaganda of his own imagination’.

Also, the Minister said by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the Congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues.

‘’Insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere. Had Congressman Marino understood this, he would not have made the kind of call he made concerning the US security assistance to Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency that Nigeria has decisively dealt with under President Muhammadu Buhari is not just a Nigerian problem but a regional and international crisis,’’ he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said Congressman Marino definitely did not have Nigeria in mind when he wrote that the US should withhold security assistance to Nigeria until President Buhari ‘demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech’.

''An Administration that operates purely on the basis of respect for the rule of law and a strict adherence to constitutional order is not one to deny the citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. This Administration therefore does not need the goading of Congressman Marino or anyone for that matter to do what is right.

''Concerning running an inclusive government, had Congressman Marino done his homework before dispatching his letter, he would have realized that no part of the country is left out in the distribution of political appointments, for example, or in the appointment of Ministers, which was done in accordance with the Constitution that mandates that the President must appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

''Had the Congressman sought information from credible sources before engaging in a flight of fancy, he would have been presented with a comprehensive information on the appointment of CEOs for Federal Government’s parastatals, agencies and commissions that shows that the appointments were almost evenly matched along the line of the six geo-political zones in the country: With the North West having 51, North Central 46, North East 45, South East 41, South West 45 and South South 45,’’ he said.

The Congressman, FG said, may wish to note that each geo-political zone comprises 6 states, with the exception of North West (7) and South East (5).

The Minister described Congressman Marino’s description of the Administration’s anti-corruption efforts as ‘selective’ as a tired argument that clearly shows that the US lawmaker must have appended his signature to someone’s concocted line.

“That line was invented by those seeking to cause an unnecessary distraction from the Administration’s anti-corruption efforts, and it has been roundly rejected. Congressman Marino’s decision to exhume the dead postulation without an iota of proof is a reflection of whose side he has taken in the ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of corrupt elements. Needless to say that the anti-corruption battle will continue unhindered, irrespective of whose ox is gored. And in this fight, only the guilty needs be afraid,” he said.

In addition, SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture, Segun Adeyemi in a press statement quoted his principal, Alhaji Mohammed as saying Nigeria is delighted that US Secretary of State John Kerry, to whom the Congressman addressed his letter, is more knowledgeable, better briefed and definitely more hands on concerning Nigerian issues.

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Pix: Congressman Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, US.

Melaye wants to sack Economic Team over worsening recession

ITRealms:

The Senator, representing the people of Kogi State West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Otunba Dino Melaye has demanded the sacking of the Economic Team, reports ITRealms.
 

Speaking on Sunday in Abuja through a press statement personally signed, Senator Melaye expressed concern over the economic recession with a call on President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstitute a new team.

Among the economic team he suggested that should be sacked include the Ministers of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele. 

Melaye, chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Founder of Anti-Corruption Network, tabled the demands in a statement entitled: "Buhari-The barking is over, it's time to bite", expressed worry by the poor state of the economy which has brought unprecedented hardship and hunger on the masses of the Nigerian people, stressing that sacking the economic team would be the only solution to reboot the ailing economy.

Melaye accused most members of the President's cabinet of gross incompetence, inexcusable ineptitude and a distressing lack of capacity to deliver on the mandate of their ministries/agencies, adding Buhari must shake up his cabinet.

"At the moment, it must be crystal clear to all discerning minds that the President's widely-acclaimed magical body language has lost its presumed aura and efficacy. His no-nonsense demeanor is equally neither instilling fear nor commanding respect and loyalty from amongst his cabinet members. It is therefore obvious that the time for barking is over, now is the time to bite and boot out all those who have demonstrated, in the past several months, a crass lack of capacity to effectively carry out the functions of their office.

"The Finance Minister has not only displayed gross incompetence on the Job, she also lacks the basic and rudimentary grasp of economic fundamentals necessary to run a critical sector of the Nigerian economy like the Finance Ministry. It is time for her to go now and pave way for a qualified and experienced person to steer the Nigerian economy away from the dark woods it has sunk presently under her stewardship".

"To be sure, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma is a very charismatic man, an accomplished lawyer, and a quintessential gentleman with a fairly untainted reputation. In everyday parlance, he is a good man. But the critical job of Budget and National Planning Minister for a huge country like Nigeria, with her prevailing economic challenges requires much more than being a good man with a great personality.

"It is for someone with the relevant qualification, professional knowledge and experience in public sector finance, development economics, strategic thinking, budgetary planning and management. As a lawyer, accomplished in this field as he is, Udoma's appointment to that position is nepotism taken to very ridiculous heights; and a classic case of putting round pegs in square holes-it will, and can never fit. It is akin to saddling a carpenter with a tailor's responsibility.

"The outcome under the circumstances, as has become evidently clear, is bound to be catastrophic for the economy. President Buhari must therefore do the needful now by relieving Udoma of this huge burden that is constituting a clog to the revival of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Melaye also regretted Emefiele's disastrous handling and release of the so-called Dasuki-gate funds which amounts to about 15 per cent of the nation's foreign reserves.

He equally accused the CBN Governor of policy flip-flops, summersaults and inconsistencies as clear evidence of gross incompetence in the management of the nation's fiscal and monetary policies.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE 
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Pix: Sen. Melaye

Authentic! Flavour, Phyno to headline @Yudala Zero Gravity

Art@ITRealms:

It is now authentic that the superstar artistes, namely Flavour and Phyno will be headlining acts for a mega digital entertainment concert tagged Yudala Zero Gravity billed to commence at the Landmark Event Centre, Oniru - Lagos on October 2^nd 2016, reports ITRealms.

Also expected to kick off with a contemporary music blast, the Yudala Zero Gravity promises a mega three-city dual concert featuring also the best artistes in Nigerian hip-hop and Rock Gospel, as they will use the platform to launch new hit tracks.

“It is a platform to see and hear it first,” our source declared to ITRealms.

Equally, loaded with surprises and other side attractions Yudala Zero Gravity has lots in store from Africa’s pioneer composite e-commerce outfit Yudala and New Concept Media Group (NCMG) at this inaugural edition of Yudala Zero Gravity.

Flavour has enjoyed widespread fame and global reckoning as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and performer of note. Flavour is popularly known across Africa and the world for a plethora of hit songs including Nwa Baby, Wake Up and Ada Ada, among many others. In 2005, he released his self-titled debut album N'abania. In 2010, Flavour released his second studio album Uplifted. It was supported by the singles Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix), Adamma, and Oyi Remix. The album's success made Flavour one of Africa's most sought-after artistes. He has also gone ahead to add two more successful studio albums – Blessed released in 2012 and Thankful (2014) to his collection of efforts.

Unarguably one of the best rappers in the game at the moment, Phyno started his musical career as a producer in 2003. Renowned for blending Igbo and English languages in his rap, Phyno released his debut studio album No Guts No Glory in 2014 which produced the singles Ghost Mode, Man of the Year, Parcel and O Set. Phyno also successfully released a collaborative album with Olamide titled 2 Kings in April 2015. Plans for the album were first announced in January 2014 by both rappers via social media. As a producer, Phyno has worked with artistes such as Timaya, Flavour, Ruggedman, Bracket, J Martins and Mr Raw.

This inaugural edition of Yudala Zero Gravity will hold in three cities – Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. Each city will host two concerts: a Contemporary Nigerian music blast and a Rock Gospel concert. Zero Gravity will witness pure acoustics and live performances from the best Nigerian artistes in both genres of music. 

As an initiative to reward customers, free tickets will be delivered to Yudala customers for purchases made from August 1st 2016 online or in any Yudala Experience Store nationwide. Customers will also be upgraded to VIP or VVIP on the basis of further purchases which may take them to the threshold for these categories. Also 100 free tickets are on offer for a lucky few who text their name and email address only to 08027829123

Uju Dominic Nweke/GEE

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IPV6 Council Nigeria gets Communications & Advocacy Committee

ITRealms:

The Internet Protocol version Six (IPV6) Council Nigeria at the weekend inaugurated a Communications and Advocacy Committee (CAC) as part of efforts to ensure that Nigerian networks migrate to the latest internet protocol in good time, reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this, the Chairman, IPv6 Council Nigeria, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, while inaugurating the committee decried the low level of IPv6 ready networks as well as usage in Nigeria, even as the country occupies first and seventh positions in internet usage in Africa and the world respectively.

“We don’t want Nigeria to be left behind in the migration to IPv6, this is why we need to step up the awareness and advocacy campaign to ensure that ISPs, telecommunications operators, Banks, educational institutions among others migrate to IPv6,” he said.

Rudman also attributed the low level of uptake of IPv6 in the country to lack of technical know-how, core equipment compatibility issues, lack of IPv6 upstream service providers in the country and non-requests from end users among others.

He stated that for the use of IPv6 to grow in the country, there should be IPv6 awareness and capacity building through organizing seminars and trainings, incorporating IPv6 into university curriculum.

He stressed the need to provide some profit incentives to Internet Industry to encourage them to adopt IPv6 based Infrastructure. “These incentives could include reduction in regulatory fee and tax rebates”.

Remmy Nweke, chairman, Communications and Advocacy Committee of the Council, said that some Nigerians are very tired of hearing the country leapfrogging to catch up with the rest of the world, even in Africa, following the clear depletion of IPv4, which makes advocacy pertinent.

“When the IPv6 Council Nigeria was given birth to after series of discussions, especially with the global IPv6 Forum led by a longtime friend, Mr. Latif Ladid, I had no doubt we are making progress but slowly.

“For those who have seen to this day, I must say it’s a new dawn, especially those of us coming from the communication and advocacy background to up our games and wear our IPv6 swimming suits by way of embracing the 21st century IP concept, which is IPv6 so as to learn and impact our generation as we move along.

“I wish to assure that this committee will do everything possible to promote Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) in Nigeria and in the sub region as well as the continent and world at large,” he added.

Other members of the committee include, Bayero Agabi, Chike Onwuegbuchi, Nahimah Nurudeen and Martin Ekpeke.

The Communications and Advocacy Committee of IPv6 Council Nigeria is to assist the Board of the council in effectively overseeing the IPv6 Councils’ communications and advocacy strategy and policies, public and stakeholder engagement that will facilitate the adoption and usage of IPv6 addresses in Nigeria by internet service providers, telcos, higher educational institutions and other IP centric organizations.

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Pix; L-R;  Member Communication and Advocacy Committee, IPV6 Council Nigeria, Mr. Martins Ekpeke; Secretary, Mrs, Nahimah Nurudeen; Chairman, IPV6 Council Nigeria, Mr, Muhammed Rudman in a handshake with Chairman of the Committee Mr, Remmy Nweke and Member, Mr, Chike Onwuegbuchi, during the Inauguration of Communication and Advocacy Committee (CAC) of IPV6 Council Nigeria, in Lagos, recently.

Mother Teresa now Saint Teresa of Calcuta

ITRealms:

The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis has declared Mother Teresa a saint at a canonisation mass held in St Peter's square, Vatican City in Rome, reports ITRealms.

"For the honour of the Blessed Trinity... we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a Saint and we enroll her among the Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church," the pontiff was quoted as saying in Latin.

ITRealms also reports that the promotion of one of the icons of 20th Century Christianity, Mother Teresa to a saint, came a day before the 19th anniversary of her death the Indian city, now known as Kolkata, where she spent estimated four decades working with the dying and the destitute.

ITRealms equally gathered that over 100,000 pilgrims attended the service, just as Mother Teresa is now to be known and referred to as St Teresa of Calcutta.

Thousands attended a papal audience on Saturday in the Vatican, where a large canvas of the late nun in her blue-hemmed white robes hung from St Peter's basilica.

The Church defines as saints those believed to have led such holy lives they are now in Heaven and can intercede with God to perform miracles - two of which are needed to confer sainthood.

Nenye Dom with additional report from RTÉ One television/GEE

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Px: Saint Teresa

What Gov. Obiano told World Igbo Congress 2016

Forthe Records@ITRealms:

Ndi Igbo umunne m, kwenu! Kwenu! Kwezuenu o!

It is with the greatest humility that I stand before you today to speak on a topic that is very dear to me.

Now, before I go on, I wish to quickly observe that I stand in the shadow of all the great sons and daughters of Igboland who have stood here before me to address this greatest gathering of Ndigbo under one roof in the Diaspora. Ladies and gentlemen, I stand in the shadows of the great Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the venerable Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, Dr.Chuba Okadigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and so many other icons of the Igbo nation that have shaped conversations in this gathering in the past. My predecessors, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Dr Chris Ngige and Chief Peter Obi, attended the WIC meetings, showing how seriously the government and people of Anambra State have always taken issues concerning Ndigbo.

Umunne m, I bring you greetings from Anambra State. I bring you the goodwill and felicitations of Ndi Anambra at home. They asked me to tell you that the organizers of this historic event have done well over the years. They asked me to inform you that they have great hopes of everyone that is sitting here in this audience today. Perhaps, more importantly, they asked me to remind us all that the Igbo spirit is indestructible and can never die!

Brothers and sisters, I must also thank the conveners of this Congress for showing a great deal of foresight in the choice of the theme of this year’s event. Kanyi mezie Alaigbo strongly resonates with our efforts in the past two years to rebuild Anambra State. I am happy to realize that the concerns of the 2016 Annual Congress are exactly our concerns in Anambra State. Things like “protecting our homestead, stopping the conversion of our home into a ‘conquered territory’ and preserving our heritage.” 

In Anambra State, we go a step further to show concerns about preserving our collective memory. That was the reason why in January 2015, my team and I organized Ozoemezina – a symbolic burial for our people who were claimed by the war. My heart brimmed with joy on that day, when I saw veterans like Colonel Joe Achuzia and others who turned up at that historic event, rise up with everyone in the crowd as we all collectively proclaimed Ozoemezina (Never Again!) three times to a thunderous applause. To my mind, that was one of the greatest shows of unity and brotherhood amongst our people in recent times.

Umunne m, that is why it gladdens my heart to realize that since the inauguration of the World Igbo Congress in Houston 22 years ago, Ndigbo are gradually waking up to the imperatives of unity and brotherhood in a raging sea of bigotry and threatening territorial expansionism. So, I must thank the conveners of this Congress for this awakening, but I must even thank them more for the recent admission of the World Igbo Congress into the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

It is indeed a great achievement and a thing of pride to every Igbo man and woman. I dare say that in the years ahead, our struggle for a place on God’s green earth will be even more demanding. So, we need more strategic approaches like this one for the survival of Ndigbo into the next millennium.

Umunne m, whenever I contemplate the place of the Igbo in our fast changing world, my pride in the Igbo nation is rekindled; whenever I remember the scientific and technological exploits that shook the world from 1967 to 1970, my heart glows with pride. And whenever I realize the enormity of Igbo contributions to modern thought and knowledge, I feel more confident in the future of our people.

Brothers and sisters, the Igbo story is a narrative in courage. A great epic that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. The story of a people who rose vigorously from the rubble of genocide and extinction to assert their membership of the human race in the 21st century with so much brilliance, so much promise! It is a story that I am immensely proud of.

Umunne m, our story is awesome indeed. It stretches from what we know of the wise and rare kings of ancient Nri in Anambra to the Aro and the Long Juju in today’s Abia State. A common thread connects it to fabled personages like King Jaja of Opobo through Olaudah Equiano down to the Igbo Landing at Dunbar Creek in Georgia on the continental shelf of the United States of America.

Brothers and sisters, we are the people who rose from the ruins of a brutal civil war to give the Secretary of State Distinguished Public Service Lecture on Geometric Reasoning and Military and Civilian Applications here in the US. We are the people who woke up from the cruel threats of extinction and genocide to produce a medical doctor who has become the first person in the world to discover and publish findings in traumatic encephalopathy in American football players.

We are the people whose creative genius flowered abroad after being rejected at home leading to the invention of HopStop which Apple acquired for a heavy sum of money. We are those men and women whose pursuit of excellence has caught the attention of America and the rest of the world, with one of us becoming the President of the World Conference of Mechanotronics. We are smart, gifted and tough as nail. This is why the only Black person with oil blocks in the United States and United Kingdom is Igbo. Anyibu Igbo. Umunne m, Igbo di egwu!

Now, that brings me to what I call the Igbo dilemma. Yes. The Igbo dilemma! To my mind, the greatest dilemma of the Igbo is the dilemma of a multi-talented child. A child who is blessed with so many abilities that he ends up with the tough task of choosing what to do and who to become. Ndigbo are in such a dilemma at this moment in history. What should be the BIG PRIORITY of Ndigbo? What do we need most as a geo-ethnic nation submerged in a lake full of competing whales? The second Igbo dilemma is the dilemma of a success with roots in the sky. Yes, I have always found it saddening to realise that the famed Igbo success is mostly outside Igboland.

It has little roots at home. I am often distraught to think that our people have learned nothing from our bitter experience of the Civil War. We take pride in building up every human settlement everywhere else but in Igboland. South Eastern Nigeria smoulders in the scorching sun of neglect while we make a show of our success abroad. Umunne m, that is why I agree with the theme of this Congress. What can we do as a highly gifted ethnic nation to change our story at home? Are there global benchmarks we can learn from? What did people who were once pressed to a point of extermination in other cultures and hemispheres do to regain a respectable standing in the global community?

Ndigbo, four and a half decades after the Civil War, we Igbos should ask ourselves some disconcerting questions. 

What is the attitude of the Jewish Diaspora to the state of Israel? Does the Igbo Diaspora have a unified response to Igbo issues in the homeland? Can we distil the conversations here in a manner that will ensure a direct impact on the socio-economic situation at home? How many Igbo scholars have actually devoted time and resources to research important things like the Igbo origin and our probable Jewish ancestry since the 19th Century? Some of the authorities we cite on Igbo scholarship are foreigners who chanced on precolonial Igboland over a century ago.

Brothers and sisters, I am not making any prescriptions for Ndigbo. Igbos are wise enough to figure things out for themselves. I am merely drawing our attention to what we may not have considered. And that is the heart and soul of what has inspired my team and myself in Anambra State in the past two years.

We came into governance with a melange of anxieties. We worried about security that had eluded my beloved state for four decades or more. We worried about the seeming disinterest of our people in agriculture even when our soil is 100 percent arable. We worried about the relocation of the famous Anambra enterprise outside our state and we worried about building bridges of understanding and consensus between the government and Anambra’s numerous accomplished people in order to foster progress.

Umunne m, at the risk of sounding immodest, I am proud to say that Anambra has eventually taken off under my watch. Not only have we wiped away the long years of uncertainties and fear that chased our entrepreneurs away from home, we have gone ahead to attract massive investments into Anambra State that came largely from our people. O buro onye kwuo eziokwu, motor ya efuo!

We have also placed Anambra on Nigeria’s agricultural map but perhaps more importantly, we have recorded quite some progress in bringing Anambra’s big sons and daughters together on the table of brotherhood. We achieved this through the highly successful Interactive Evenings we have had with Anambra communities in Lagos and Abuja and of course, in Awka. We are planning to reach out more. We may hold a US edition very soon. We are doing this because we understand the value of collaborative partnership or what Oby Ezekwesili calls “crowd sourcing” in building a prosperous society. We achieve development goals faster when we work together as one.

It was this same thinking that made my team and I convene a Regional Security Conference in August last year that attracted my brothers, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and of course Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State. We did this because we have since realised that Anambra cannot experience sustainable growth without the complementary efforts of our sister states in the South East and Delta. We believe that Igboland will be a better homeland for all of us if Anambra’s promising story becomes the story of the entire region.

Brothers and sisters, we sincerely believe that our narrative of excellence in Anambra State will be incomplete if the South East region fails to rise to the call of history on your generation. So, we must all stand tall to regain the foothold we have lost in human development indices in Igboland. The time to do that is NOW!

Igboland needs urgent help at the moment. By the way, my heart sank when I was reliably informed that many manufacturing companies in the South East are folding up due to the foreign exchange difficulties in Nigeria at the moment. This trend portends grave danger to Ndigbo who are not only industrialists but are also the main drivers of the import business across West Africa. Disposable incomes may eventually dry up and many of our people may face hunger and starvation. Many families are already feeling the pressure arising from the inability of some states to pay salaries. Ndigbo umu nnem, should we allow this to continue? Mbanu! Chineke ekwena ife ojo! So, what shall we do to avert this coming storm?

To my mind, these are the steps Ndigbo must take to insulate our people from the impending misery – My fellow South East governors and Delta must embrace Agriculture with full intensity. With revenues drying up at the centre and foreign exchange hitting the rooftop, Agriculture offers the only real chance for our people to scrape through the present difficulties. So, me and my fellow governors must embrace it with vigour and commitment. We have already created a good template for Agriculture in Anambra. We will be happy to share it with our brothers any time.

South East governors must come together and build a railway line that will connect the entire region to the rest of the country. This will facilitate trade and commerce in the region and stimulate the regional economy. We have the technical knowhow and our brothers in the Diaspora can provide us the necessary partnerships. This is crucial to our survival.

Ndigbo in the Diaspora must come up with a strong Economic Response Package that will stimulate more investments in Agro-allied industries in the South East to feed the people, create jobs and create wealth by exporting the surplus like we are doing in Anambra State. Again, we provide a good example here as more than 60 percent of the investors who have moved into Anambra State in the past two years are Ndi Anambra. Our brothers from other South Eastern states can borrow a leaf in this regard.

There must be increased cooperation among the South Eastern states in crucial areas like security, power generation and supply and of course roads and bridges construction. This will strengthen our social and economic ties and open up new windows of growth in the region.

And finally, this Congress must set up a Special Committee that will work in collaboration with the South East Governors to draw up what should be a Marshall Plan for the economic survival of the South East and Delta. The Committee will look into the suggestions I have made here today and other great ideas that will come from my fellow governors and our Diaspora brothers and sisters in order to give Ndigbo a fighting chance in today’s Nigeria.

Ladies and gentlemen, while we work on the Igbo Marshall Plan we must also not lose sight of the need to build a Political Ark that will save Ndigbo from the heavy flood of Nigerian politics. It has been repeatedly said in recent times that one of our greatest problems as a nation is the absence of unity and cohesion in charting a common political future for Igboland.

It is regrettable but true that the exit of the great Ikemba, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu left a big vacuum in Igbo leadership that has yet to be filled. At this juncture, Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to acknowledge the role of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Aka-Ikenga, Igbo Ezue, ASA USA and other socio-cultural groups and their numerous interventions in Igbo affairs at home and in the Diaspora. Without the intercessions of these groups at critical times in Nigeria, our people would have cut a miserable picture among the various contending groups in the country. So, Ndi Ohaneze na Aka-Ikenga na ndi otu ozo di iche-iche, ekenem unu!

However, the political future of the Igbo cannot be determined by the existence of any socio-cultural groups but by a strategic and masterful execution of a visionary political plan by Ndigbo as a group. We must come together and draw up a political plan that we shall jointly agree to invest in and pursue with the resolve of martyrs. I am not talking about political parties here but even if I do, we may all remember that the great Ikemba left us a great platform in APGA which has provided a commendable leadership in Anambra State for almost twelve and a half years. So, APGA presents us an attractive alternative route to a more cohesive political future. 

By the way, is it not curious that Igbo-land has always proved to be an exception to the rule? Is not curious that unlike the South West and the entire North, our own South East Region is the only place where all the three political parties in Nigeria are fully represented. 

We have APC in Imo, PDP in Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states and APGA in Anambra. Umu nnem, this fragmentation has to stop. We must come together and set up a political ladder to the future just like the Yorubas did. Before our very eyes, they started slowly with AD in Lagos and finally spread out across the country to wrestle power from an incumbent at the centre. Brothers and sisters, if our neighbours can achieve such a feat, the least we can do is to effectively organise ourselves for greater efficiency in the future. Umu nnem, Taa bu gboo! We can do it!

Now, before I take my seat, I want to repeat the call I made one week ago to Ndi Anambra when we marked our 25th anniversary. I want to say that we have come to that moment in history when we must either pull together to reclaim our greatness or pull apart and accept our failure as efulefu! The choice is ours! This is our chance!

And finally, I leave you with two quotes. I leave you with the words of Franz Fannon who observed that “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it in relative opacity.” I also want to remind you of Nelson Mandela’s saying that “Sometimes, it falls upon a generation to be great.” Umunne m, let us work hard to become that great generation that our ancestors will look down from heaven with an indulgent smile and say, These are my beloved sons and daughters in whom I am well pleased!

Ndi Igbo kwenu! Kwenu! Kwezuenu o!

Dalu nu

Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State

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Pix; Gov. Obiano.

Dickson salutes Nigerian Airforce over investment in Bayelsa

ITRealms:

The Bayelsa State Governor Hon. Seriake Dickson has given a warm salute to the efforts of the Nigerian Air Force for making strategic investments aimed at improving the welfare and professionalism of its personnel in the state, reports ITRealms.

Governor Dickson who made this known at the weekend during the commissioning ceremony of eight (8) of its projects embarked upon by the Air Force at the Mobility Command, Yenagoa.

ITRealms gathered that these projects include 235 Base Service Wing Complex, Medical Centre, Provost Squadron, Officers' quarters, Joint Airmen Mess, CAWO/RSM residential complex, Airmen quarters and Commander's residence.

Speaking shortly before the commissioning, Governor Dickson expressed surprise at the level of achievements the command has recorded within a short period of its establishment.

Dickson also called on all tiers of government including the National Assembly to continue to support the nation's security agencies to effectively perform their role of securing lives and property nationwide.

He expressed his administration's preparedness to partner with the Nigerian Air Force in the area of establishing educational facilities and other critical infrastructure, assured that government would provide additional land for the purpose.

In his remarks, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar said the projects was in fulfillment of impact directly on d welfare and enhance professional competence of its personnel.

As said Abubakar, the ultimate aim is to build a  self-sustaining base to meet the residential, social and administrative needs of its personnel through prudent use of scarce resources.

He further expressed determination to collaborate with other security agencies to combat security challenges facing the country, said plans are on to provide a Cancer Screening Centre in some states including Bayelsa.

Equally speaking, the Special Guest of honour, Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan (Retd), lauded the current leadership of the Nigeria Air Force for its resourcefulness at enhancing welfare and professionalism in spite of funding constraints.

While charging the Armed Forces on the need to intensify efforts at safeguarding the territorial integrity  of the nation, AVM Koinyan tasked them on discipline and loyalty to the government of the day irrespective of ethno-religious differences.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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