A delegation of the Nigerian Igbo Community in Europe ,NICE , an organization of Igbos living in Europe, led by its International President, Chief Chris Ebede, embarked on a fact-finding mission to Anambra State. The one- week tour was inspired by information gaining momentum in Europe that the region was in steady decline due to long years of neglect by the Federal Government and lack of honest and people-oriented leadership.
By Akoma Chinweoke
What is the Nigerian Igbo Community in Europe, NICE , about?
Igbos in Europe, with
international headquarters in the United Kingdom, is the brain child of
Chief Ebede and now one of the leading Igbo organizations in Europe and the
Diaspora . The organization was formed in 2003 with an initial membership of
20 persons of both genders embracing
academics, business people, students and religious ministers residing in
London. However, in the past one decade, following sustained membership and
enlightenment campaign, the organization has
grown rapidly with about 250
members resident in various
countries across Europe including the United Kingdom,
France,Germany Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Russia, Denmark and the Netherlands.
More national chapters are due to be inaugurated this year. The vision of the organization was to constitute
an organ of Igbos in Europe which would
not only serve as the voice of Ndigbo
but also provide a tool
to promote the image of Nigeria.
The organization holds its international biennial annual
conference (convention) in London while national chapters hold their annual
conferences in their respective countries usually in November or December of
each year and is also affiliated to Igbo
organizations in the Diaspora as well as to some pan-African groups with
similar vision. It also has a strong
link with major British and European governmental and non-governmental
social, economic, political and religious
which provide the platform
for the dissemination of
information about Ndigbo and
Nigeria.
Why are you on a fact-fact finding mission to the South-East, Anambra State in particular?
 |
| Chris Ebede |
The fact-fact finding mission to Nigeria, Anambra State in
particular, was motivated by some negative report circulating in the United
Kingdom and some countries in Europe to the effect that there is a steady
degeneration of social and economic infrastructure in the south-eastern states occasioned first by the neglect of the
zone by the Federal government and secondly by the poor and dishonest
leadership and governance style of the governors in spite of bogus claims of
achievements. This report was tabled at
the organization’s biennial annual conference/convention in November last year
and this did not go well with us.
Consequently, the conference resolve
to send a fact-finding delegation to the
South-East to investigate the situation
on ground. Due to some logistic challenges,
the organization restricted this first mission to only Anambra State, using it as a pilot project. The Anambra tour was
carried out without the prior
knowledge of the state governor
or any other group in the state. This strategy was adopted to ensure a free and
uninhibited information gathering and pre-empt possible hijack of the mission
by the government or other vested interests.
Even at the end of the
investigation, the delegation did not make its mission formally known to
the government for the same purpose. So, the entire exercise was carried out
anonymously in the sense that the areas
and projects visited by the delegation were done as a sightseeing visit by
ordinary citizens of Igboland.
Prior to the visit, members of the delegation had
undertaken a study of
newspapers and noted the various
programmes and projects undertaken by Governor Willie Obiano as well as claims of achievements made by his
administration. The delegation also studied the party manifestos and election
promises of the incumbent party and governor. These formed the basis of the
delegation’s investigation and assessment. The investigation took the
delegation to several parts of the state
with a copious pictorial and video clips
of many of the projects visited although security agents prevented the taking
of photographs or shooting videos at some sites.
So, what are the high points of the Anambra tour?
One of the high
points was in the area of security which
was one of the major points of negative report about the South-East in the
United Kingdom and Europe. The picture was that the South-East, Anambra State in particular, was Nigeria’s most insecure zone and a no-go area
for visitors to Nigeria as it is a haven
for armed robbers, kidnappers, advanced
fee fraudsters and ritual murderers.
Another negative report was abysmal lack of employment generation facilities especially
for youths in the zone which has
exacerbated the rate of crime in the
zone which, in this case, was true in
the recent past in Anambra State, resulting, among other repercussions, in our
people residing outside the state,those in diaspora not visiting home to contribute to the development of the state.
The first part of call by the delegation
was the Upper Iweka area of Onitsha which had been reported as the major base of crime and criminals in
Anambra from where they launched
out to other parts of the state.
Following claims of achievements by the state government in
the area of crime reduction and the clearing of Upper Iweka area of criminals,
the delegation undertook a visit to the area where it confirmed government’s
claim and found Upper Iweka a totally changed
place with a new serene and erotic view, complete with a
security surveillance CCTV to match.
With this achievement, Willie
Obiono has not only endeared himself to
Ndi Anambra and left giant footprints in the sands of time, he has also proved
wrong the negative propaganda in Europe and other parts of the international
community that good governance and leadership are lacking in Nigeria.
Buoyed up by the excitement of this visit and the tremendous
record of achievement, members of the delegation had some kind of pre-sentiment
that our fact-finding mission was bound to witness more records of achievements as indeed reflected by the general development
scenario that greeted us as we drove through the market and streets of Onitsha. Another remarkable aspect of the
fact-finding mission, was the team’s observation of the principle of continuity
in project execution by the present administration, which is a clear departure
from what is obtained in the
south-eastern states under successive administrations whereby projects
initiated by an administration are
abandoned by succeeding ones in favour of new
projects, thus creating a vicious circle and huge deposit of abandoned
projects which translates to a waste of billions of tax payers money. During
his campaign, Obiano enunciated what he
called the 3Cs paradigm which stands for Continue, Complete and
Commission, and which emphasizes the
need to continue the act of purposeful leadership that former Governor Obi
started. As is there for all to see, the
Obiano administration has kept faith with his campaign promise of continuity, namely to continue, complete and
commission all the projects inherited from his
predecessor.
Today, there is hardly any project inherited from the
immediate past administration that has been abandoned, with a number of them completed and commissioned.
Were you impressed with what you saw and how can your
mission promote the culture of good
governance in the region?
The delegation’s initial premonition turned out true in all
the places visited, as members deciphered from the general euphoric mood of
people wherever they went. As we drove through well built roads as well as
several on-going ones, we saw newly built hospitals, health centers, flyovers,
shopping malls and several other indices of good governance and people-oriented
leadership. Others place visited by the
delegation include the Onitsha Industrial Park, Onitsha Shopping Mall, which
is a world class shopping and entertainment portfolio under
public-private-partnership initiative with Africa Capital Alliance
comprising ShopRite, a cinema and
several global retail outlets and the
Onitsha Hotel project with a world class 3,000 seater convention centre
being handled by the Cardinal Developers and Trust Limited for the state
government at the cost of $75m to complete. The delegation also visited the
project site of over 200 luxury flats and town houses in Onitsha GRA and the
proposed Radisson Blu Hotel site and the rehabilitated Onitsha General Hospital
and its newly commissioned ultra-modern diagnostic center.
From Onitsha, we drove to
the Technology Incubation Center in Nnewi where the Obiano
administration is currently equipping 500 youths with life-enhancing skills
under a two-months training crash programme in various technological skills after
which they are given the start-up capital to begin their own businesses. This
translates to 500 youths being trained in the programme every two months which
will build up a pool of talents that will drive the new revolutionary dreams of
the administration. Another major index
of good governance and leadership. We also inspected the Coscharis Road in
Nnewi and the Nnewi industrial park, both constructed by the State government
and also the Richbon Automotive plant
Ozubulu which was attracted by the State government and flagged off in March last
year, and which is investing over $50million.
But one basic procedure is that NICE will process and
disseminate these findings throughout Europe in form of a special documentary
on the administration of governor Willie Obiano through its information network
links including the social media and other internet media platforms, using the
Anambra State as a case study to dispel and counter the false negative
propaganda against the South Eastand Nigeria in Europe.“Already, plans are
underway to organize a special honours
programme for Governor Obiano either in Anambra State or at NICE international
headquarters, London. Also NICE will have to send a special invitation to the
governor to visit London for the ceremony which will be attended by all
national chapters of the organisation.
We will also ensure that the Mayor of
London , Secretary of State for International Development and Nigerians members
of Parliament in Britain attend the occasion which will serve as a major image
promotion programme for Nigeria and the South East in particular. These
measures will serve as inspiration for other governors and political leaders
from the South East as the NICE intends to visit other states in the region in
due course for similar fact finding mission.
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