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LEADERSHIP AND DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES
Excerpt of Article Written in CHATAFRIK by Engr. Tony Nammor
Editorial: Boomerang
I have time over time read a lot of articles posted on the forum and kind of picked interest on that quote
by the writer. As a conservative but more observant writer, I tend not to jump into forums until I read, understand and digress
the issues before airing my views. "OBJ would be judged by both good and bad " is absolutely correct but!!!
"Nigeria, a nation of over 120 million people, would not be ruled or subjected to incessant pressure,
misplaced priority, undue and continuous hardship, corruption, nepotism, tribalism, indiscipline, favoritism, and a total disregard for our nations
constitution and citizens to mention just a few...by our leaders.
A nation cannot strive on sycophancy and hypocrisy neither can it try to show the world that she's capable
of savoring regional issues when she cannot boost of cleaning her house of disgruntled and mischievous elements of utmost
indiscipline...
Time over time, We have been challenged with leaders of parochial reasoning, leaders who parade themselves
as GOD and having no knowledge or wisdom as to govern.
No doubt that his excellency has been trying to revamp Nigeria with his governing council and most of his
efforts have been either frustrated or channeled at other courses of little or no importance to the growth of the country...
Leaders must be open to positive criticism, criticism that would help build and not instigate chaos. Also,
it is the responsibility of any leadership to advert itself from anything that is detrimental to the nations growth and development
irrespective of whoever may be involved. The
nation comes first and her people.
YES, OBJ would be judged by good and bad, but to be more precise, how many of our leaders either present
or past really care about being judged??
If I may be more precise, "NONE." The founding fathers of this great nation would be rolling in their
graves today because if they had known that the country in which they had fought tick and thing to avail and rescue from the
colonials would be at a sorry state...I guess, the approach may have been different.
The founding fathers where the only and still the true nationalist, LEADERS who knew what sacrifice, pain,
suffering and above all, had the true vision and wisdom for the country and how Nigeria would thrive. Today, our
nation is filled with selfish, self-centered, arrogant and corrupt leaders and most of all those aspiring to lead.
My question is, MUST YOU BE IN THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP TO EFFECT CHANGE OR CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONS DEVELOPMENT???
Everyone points fingers in Nigeria as to why things are bad...but no one is ready to put their life on
line for the country as AMERICANS DO and WHY DON'T WE DO THESAME?
I will tell you why? Because, we have lost our priorities..."the quest for wealth and power has overshadowed
our vision for growth."
On CNN a week ago, some nitwit was down playing and ridiculing the Nigerian military on the peace mission
in Liberia, stating that the last ECOMOG activities in that region was besieged by looting and indiscipline by the peace corp.
How can a guy sitting in NY or Atlanta in an office, probably never been to sub-Saharan Africa in his life be able to tell
what "s going on in that region. Then I asked myself, maybe we need to look at the bigger picture. Our military rulers over
time have been preceeded with questionable actions, decisions and activities as such my friend may be summarizing from that....
Back to the issue, We can not continue to parade ourselves as advocates for peace and nations development
when the government cannot implement such in our country, there is no reason why the Enugu saga and the police chief
episode should have happened if not for the above listed reasons and I still stand to say that LEADERS like those in Enugu,
who will sell the people's mandate over to the highest bidder, have no business being there...
The way and manner issues like this are resolved goes a long way in telling Nigerians and the world of
the direction Nigeria is going.
A notable thing about LEADERSHIP in Nigeria is the gap between the leaders and the people...and when I mention
the people, I mean the grassroots, those citizens who may not have the privilege to see ASO ROCK or government house, those
civil servants, government workers, traders, pensioners and other less privileged people who are striving for survival.
Every time a new government comes in, Nigerians welcome them with open hands like people who would say."
Hey, hopefully things go better with this man " the leaders promise to make changes and touch on peoples lives but after a
few months, the table turns bottom line LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA HAS BEEN ON THE DOWNWARD TREND SINCE THE SECOND REPUBLIC.
The people are not fools, they know, see and feel the pains of a distorted economy and common sense would
tell a leader to respect the peoples mandate and choice for change. Nelson Mandela knows what it takes to be in touch with
the masses. He is a notable leader of conscience and wisdom. He stepped down when the ovation was loud and has contributed
his 2 cents to the nation as such. He would be remembered and respected by his people even when he is long gone. We talk about
Awolowo, Zik, Balewa, Amadu Bello and host of others today and our children are taught the history of these founding fathers
and their works. Tell me!!! WHAT HISTORY BOOK WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE TODAY'S LEADERS and what do we refer to when teaching our
children Nigerian history...your guess is as good as mine. There are 2 types of LEGACY. "The leaders who rule by power and
the leaders who rule by Nations Conscience" Which are you?
Finally, I must commend the writers of this forum for the postings and encourage Nigerians to participate
in positive discussions of Nations Building while calling on our leaders to avail themselves of criticism by looking inward
into the country and be the people's conscience, which they have sworn to govern, so help us GOD.
NDOKWA ASSOCIATION OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
7th ANNUAL CONVENTION
WASHINGTON DC, U.S.A
Saturday September 2nd, 2006
EXCERPT OF
SPEECH BY
Hon.
Sir ( Engr ) Tony O. Nammor
Senatorial
Candidate
Federal House
of Assembly,
Delta North Senatorial District - Anioma
Delta State.
NIGERIA
Mr. Chairman,
Special Guest of Honor, Distinguished Guest, Members of Ndokwa Association , USA, My fellow Aniomas, Ladies and Gentlemen.
-Otofe ; Ajie
I come before
you today feeling highly privileged and humbled by these invitation from the good people of Ndokwa , USA. I was asked to give a speech
but considering the significance of these convention and taking into strict consideration the theme of the session; I feel
it would be most appropriate to engage my people by speaking with them rather than to them.
Foremost, I
would like to congratulate the organizers and people of Ndokwa on the 7th year anniversary of her convention which
forges at bringing together sons and daughters of Ndokwa & Ukwani Descent.
Today would
mark another significant moment in the history of the region called Ndokwa, a rich, noble group of people who hale from three
local government areas in Delta State, Nigeria,
namely, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West and Ukwani with the headquarters in Abor, Utagba-Ogbe and Obiaruku respectively.
The people
speak Ukwani language with a slight dialectical difference close to Igbo and Urhobo depending on the demography and geography
of the inhabitants of the region. In Delta State,
they are referred to as UKWU-ANI; spanning from ABOH Division to ABRAKA then referred to as IBARIKI and OROGUN Clan, where
essentially the British soldiers were stationed during the colonial era and the administration originated for the region.
Aboh served
as one of the earliest commerce area with a powerful monarch (OBI) in control as such the area was named ABOH DIVISION. Aboh
division headquarters was ABRAKA and later moved to AMAI and UTAGBA-OGBE, which later became KWALE.
I would like
to continue enumerating the history of these beautiful group of people we refer to as Ukwani but time may not permit me as
such would address the theme of the convention which is advancing the people of Ndokwa in the political landscape of Nigeria as it affects Delta State.
The need to
revolutionize the political settings and landscape of the region cannot be overemphasized at this point in time in the nations
polity. The past and present political dispensation with relation to the intricacies surrounding the people of Ndokwa within
the geography of Delta State
has not been encouraging. It is also a known fact that the level of representation within the confines of the state and federal
government has been flawed by misrepresentation, selfish interest, corruption and a total disregard of the grassroot people
of Ndokwa. Moreover, the indigenes have on numerous occasions expressed their concerns on the systemic nature of political
appointments which tends to waiver around indigenes of Ndokwa and the marginalization process with a corresponding underdevelopment
of the region from both the state and federal government of Nigeria.
[1]In the words of Oguefi V. Abanum - Former president , UKWUANI FOUNDATION - That
the people of Ndokwa are tired of political mis-representation by active connivance of naira-centric politicians and the Ndokwa
people crave for a change of attitude on the part of concerned parties to re-engineer and refocus on the political landscape
of the people and region for growth and development.
I would add
to these by stating categorically that there is an urgent need for the people of Delta
State and to be more candid; Ndokwa to UNITE within and amongst self;
extend the hands of unity to other regions and sub regions within the state, otherwise referred to as ANIOMA for growth and
development. Together we can build Ndokwa land but individually we can only develop our homes and minds.
The challenges
are enormous considering the areas and parameters to be addressed by both the leaders and the people but the progress would
be daring towards refocusing the efforts of the people of Ndokwa to pursue and elect credible leaders of repute, non-partisan,
selfless, patriotic, sensitive to the needs of the people and above all , leaders of conscience. The ever increasing responsibility
and burden to advance Ndokwa people in the country should be equally shared amongst all stakeholders who seek and profess
growth and development in the region.
There is the
need to develop forums and sessions like this convention which would tend to bring into focus areas of concerns and issues
of development to the people. A forum that would engineer and encourage interactions and engagement between indigenes of Ndokwa
land and her representatives on all levels of governance.
These
Forums / Sessions should take into consideration the following;
A session that
would help raise the political awareness of the grassroot people of Ndokwa to mobilize and sensitize them towards positive
participation in the nation’s politics and governance.
A session that
would put in place structured programs and committees to educate the grassroots on their rights and civic responsibility towards
the advancement of the people and the land.
A session that
usher in new ideas and ideals to transform Ndokwa from being politically deprived to politically sensitive and relevant.
A session that
would make the people to look inward and tap within her diverse resources and heritage for growth and development.
A session that
would encompass all aspect of the regions socio-economic, cultural and political settings towards alleviating the standard
and condition of living of her people.
The growth
and development of Ndokwa land and people is paramount to the existence of Delta
State, Anioma and Nigeria.
We must and will not allow our energy and resources to wallow away but re-channeled towards facing the challenges that lies
ahead for each son and daughter of Anioma.
I am
of the strong opinion that with this level of desire, momentum and dedication put into these conference and at the pace by
which the people are sensitized to embrace forum of these nature, soon and I mean very soon; the yawning of the people would
not only be a thing of the past but the efforts of Ndokwa Association, USA would be permanently embossed in the map of the
Nigeria, where the nation would seek from them and not them seeking from the country.
Finally, I
would like to encourage the people of Ndokwa to look beyond ethnic differences and opinions when seeking leaders but focus
on choosing leaders who are sensitive to their needs and abreast of the unfavorable climate enveloping the region. The future
of our children, land and country lies on the decisions that we make both collectively and individually and the choice of
a good leader who would bring growth and development to Anioma.
[1] http://www.nammor2007.com
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