The Challenge for the New "Mbaise USA" administration
Due to family and other exigencies I left the party early to catch tjhe first flight out of Houston back to my location. I must use this medium therefore to express my pride as an Mbaise man at the achievements of the Houston convention. It is a day to be particularly proud of the chapters who did register their membership before coming to Houston. They have merited the blessing of the great Teacher for "believing without seeing". These founding chapters will forever enjoy a special history with Mbaise people. I will also be speaking for so many in acknowledging that the Houston chapter is a trailblazer. Houston staked everything to see this day come and we must never forget the sacrifice it takes to pull off the magnitude of what just happened in that town. But beyond all the glory and euphoria of adopting the National constitution and elections is the task that lies ahead for all of us; for our new Executive Council and for every Mbaise person individually. Now is the time for Unity' to bring into the fold those who did doubt, those who did exercise caution, by coming as obserevers. Our message of Unity must be to embrace even those who oppose us or who for their respective convictions believed it was impossible to achieve this milestone. My challenge to our Executives is the task to reach out to supporters and the opposition alike towards reconciliation. Our commonallity as Mbaise people must remain unqustioned, our unity as a people must be paramount. The Executive must work through the respective local chapter administrations to reassure them that the job of "uplifting Mbaise" is a common task that must be borne individually. Each of us must be personally commited to forging a united front in order to go farther. The vision for our new administration must be to brake the nochalance that have become the hallmark of adminisrtrations in our towns, in Imo State and in our Country. For instance, it does really scare me to know that in spite of the boom in oil revenue pricing at steadly above one hundred Dollars per barrell, there is no rush to industrialize our Country, there is no rush to use these excess resources to provide infrastructure to all nook and cranny in Nigeria. I have not seen a mission by any administration yet to reallign strategically with the United States and the West or China as a trading or strategic partner on so many fronts to take advantage of the new fears over Middle East oil and governments and impasse with Russia. I have not sensed any vision or urgency on the part of our leaders that with the new fears and rush to alterrnative fuel and energy resources, our Country need to Industrialize or begin to look for other processes or resources for sustainance if nuclear, thermal, wind and other energy pursuits provide the alternative that the United States and the West hope they will. A people perish without a vision. I am looking for our new executive to begin to articulate a vision for Mbaise and indeed our Country to begin to catch up with the rest of the world. My research so far shows that Nigeria is about the only Country where electricity is still rationed and eratic in supply. It is a disgrace that even Countries that depend on ours for their electricity have steady supply. Time for someone to champion bringing these to the forefront of the dinner tables for discussion and Nigerian fora for debate. Time to make our people aware that the status quo is no longer acceptable. Time to remind ourselves that we are voluntary slaves today in America and Western European Countries because our past administrations took our future for granted. Do we have to subject our children to even worse faith than what we have been subjugated to. Any people who do not care about the future of their children will loose them. My sense of pride as a Nigerian is hurt each time I remind myself that my Country had the resources to secure a better future for me but did not. Have we forgotten a famous quote by our leaders during the oil boom in the seventies when they declared that "Nigeria's problem was not the lack of money, but how to spend it". When you consider that quote with the missed opportunity at industrializing our Country, at the lack of infrastructure, security and other networks, at the lack of hospitals and healthcare or educational resources, you want to denounce your heritage. My heart aches at the missed opportunity of today under similar circumstances. Time to begin to remind ourseles as Mbaise people, as Igbo people, as Nigerians and as Africans that we can do better. At a time when the rest of the world is on a march towards unity and commonality we are dividing ourselves. America is United and continues to extend and build allied forces with the rest of the world along strategic interests, the rest of Europe have formed a formidable front and shored up the exchange values of the "Euro" as an exchange currency around the rest of the world, the middle East is aligned together by their religion and common values, Russia is on a subtle but bold march towards restoring the glory of the old Soviet Union and possibly it's territory. The only place I see this lack of vision to the power of a United front and the strenght of pooling resources to form a formidable force is in Africa. We are splintered even up to family and individual levels. Shame on us. Shame on those who will raise their individual ego against the wisdom of the many, shame on those who will not think of the havock and "willing out" the future of our children by making the sacrifices of today towards the security of tomorrow for ourselves and the sake of our children. A people perish for lack of vision, says the good book. Out time is now, our moment is immediate... towards rethinking our individual perspectives as a people. We thank God that we are in Egypt under a favorable Pharoah. But our Country is still Nigeria, our heritage is Mbaise, our identity is "ndi igbo". Tufiakwa to the hen that will not fend for her chicks, the lion protects her curbs. Who are we as a people that find succor by being banished perpetually to a foreign nation and culture. Sound the alarm now, that Mbaise and Ndi Igbo will loose her culture and sense as a people unless we begin now to identify our problems; that we have no Country unless we begin to insist on responsible governance and a stakehold in our own Country. But the task begins with us individually. Mbaise people, Ndigbo and Nigerians in the diaspora... the Time is NOW!. In the future there may be a different pharoah. We probably don't think it could happen to us when as have been happening recently, homeland security raids a home for immigration violation, sends the mom or dad back to Mexico with a divided and broken family. Someday there will be a pharoah who does not need "us" or "does not know Joseph" ... I congratulate our new Executives in Mbaise USA for their new offices; Today belongs to the people. Today is a time to serve the people. Long Live Mbaise.Long Live NdigboLong Live Nigeria. Charles Abiahu(United Missions for Africa Inc.North Carolinas)
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