Member of the Federal House of the Representative
(Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Anambra State)
At the 4th Annual Convention of Ogbaru National Association, USA

1st September 2001, Maryland, USA  

“GOD BLESS US ALL”

Preamble:

My dear beloved brothers and sisters, I feel highly honored by your invitation to witness this all-important assembly and be part and parcel of deliberations on the welfare of Ogbaru kith and kin, not only in the Diaspora, but back home, as well. You deserve praise and commendation for taking great pains to initiate and sustain this August body in far-away American, more so when there is no functional body this nature back home Ogbaru.  

I consider this invitation timely, because I have the singular honor and privilege to be Ogbaru representative at the highest level of Legislation in Nigeria; that is the National Assembly. 

Let me also thank you for allowing me to speak on any and indeed al issue I fell like. At first I was minded to write in Igbo but decided not to, because; 

1)       I do not think I would have done justice to my thinking especially with the lack or at least, shortage of words in our language to express myself in this computer age;

2)       I worried too that some of us out here musty have forgotten certain words in our Ogbaru dialect! By virtue of your mandate I am duty bound to identify with the yearnings and aspirations of my kindred, with a view to making life better for one an all.  With the deepest sense of responsibility, I recognize the need to create a conducive environment for effective communication with my Constituency, home and abroad.  

In principle, therefore, failure to create an enabling environment for my people to tell me what they want me to do for them, or failing to strive to the best of my ability to deliver the goods, would render my mandate null and void.  

In that regard, even if my people did not tell me what to do, it is my sacred duty to go the extra mile to “coerce” them into speaking their minds. And that is also why I remain eternally grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to Jaw-jaw with you, on the way forward for our great land, Ogbaru.

AGRICULTURE:

It is an established fact that Ogbaru is, not only the food basket of Anambra State, but also a significant contributor to the food basket of the entire nation. Crops including,  but not limited to Yams – Cassava, Sweet Potatoes, Rice, Maize,  Ede and Palm Produce, as well as  Vegetable  such as Ugwu, Okara, Inine, Uziza, Utazizzi, Oha Egusi, Agbono, Pepper, and Anala, abound in our land. We are also greatly blessed with an abundance of bush meat, Snails, Nkpu, Isha, etc. added to the large variety of Fish Species in our waters.

 All these, and yet the average Ogbaru farmer or fisherman still operates at subsistence level.  More worrisome is the fact that our brothers from neighbouring communities are gradually taking over our farming and fishing industry. The farming culture is progressively dying, as the older generation of farmers/fishermen is aging; while the youth shun the aged-old profession, ostensibly because of the various hazards associated with subsistence agriculture. As a result, the core farmers and fishermen in Ogbaru today are mainly stranger elements. There exist today only a small band of “die-hard” Ogbaru farmers and fishermen, whose population is unfortunately, on the decline, with very passing day.  

I make bold to say, that Ogbaru’s enviable feat in the agriculture sector would be boosted tremendously, following the introduction and proliferation of modern farming implements and machinery; as well as improved seedlings, agro-chemicals and other farm inputs. Needless to mention the immense socio-economic benefits derivable from large-scale firm farming in the community.

 Within the limited space of my two-year sojourn in the nation’s capital, I have tried to lend my voice and prestige of my office, to draw the State Government’s attention to Ogbaru’s agricultural potentials and the pressing needs of our farmers and fishermen. In the same vein; I enjoin you, my brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, to contribute your own quota; by show-casing Ogbaru’s immense agricultural potentials to the outside world, in order to attract the much needed foreign technology and capital to maximally harness these potentials in our motherland. This is also very likely to draw our teaming jobless youths back to land.  

EDUCATION:

In the good old days, our people were well known for their educational pursuits and there were cases where completely illiterate parents insisted at great pains on sending their children to school, but nowadays, no one seems to care about qualitative education for our wards any more. Unfortunately, rather than encourage our youth to follow out footsteps academically, certain cultural practices an ceremonies in our community, have been allowed to distract the youth from school; hence the very low academic standards and the high rate of absenteeism in our schools today and a most painful and embarrassing trend.  

We have had our farmers and fishermen. Since the advent of the white man, our society has produced erudite scholars and teachers, different professionals such as Lawyers, Engineers, Medical Personnel and of course, popular Musicians.  

It is also on record that until the very recent past, Ogbaru boasted of some of the most prominent headmasters in the old Eastern Nigeria. 

It is pertinent to query ourselves at this juncture: Where is the next generation of Ogbaruans going to be like?  I’m afraid; the future does not look too bright, going by the way things are falling apart, especially in Ogbaru’s education sector.

 Much as I remain an avowed traditionalist and a staunch supporter and promoter of our customs and cultural norms, I must confess that I worry very much about the sad development in our education. Since there is no viable alternative to learning and scholarship in the modern day world, the educated elite of Ogbaru, whether at home or in the Diaspora, owe it a duty to restore the lost academic glory of Ogbaru; if future generations are to escape being marginalized in tomorrow’s global village, by the “digital divide”.  

On my part I have been sponsoring quite a number of secondary school and University students. I have also been in regular contact with our students in the Nigerian Law School here in Abuja, given them whatever assistance they need.  

For the second year running, a quiz competition for all secondary schools in Ogbaru was successfully completed. This is the first of its kind and I am proud to inform this August gathering that I have arranged that it be an annual affair aimed, among other things, at improving the standards in our system. 

SWIMMIMG: (aside)

I wonder aloud, the inability of Ogbaru to produce world-class swimmers despite our rare natural endowment, with abundance of large expanse of water all year round. Perhaps this is an area we should all be looking at for future Olympics.  

ROADS:

The deplorable condition of the Onitsha-Atani-Ossomala, Ogwu-Ikpelle. Ogwu-Aniocha road, which is the only road linking our people with our neighbors in Rivers Delta and Imo States has rendered it virtually unmotorable for years on end, especially during the rainy season. Indeed, our Community would have been effectively cut off from the outside world, save for the alternative means of water transportation.

This deplorable state of our road has been a major handicap to our farmers in evacuating their farm produce, losing quite substantial quantities right in the farms or selling off their hard-earned sweat to whoever is able to maneuver his way to wherever the farmers are forced to store their products.  As I discuss with you now, movement from Onitsha to Ogbaru is at best a nightmare!

 While this road is still a State road, the sympathy of the Federal Government has been drawn to the plight of the people of this area. A complete survey of the 68km road was recently completed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, and I am very hopeful that positive efforts at rectifying the deplorable state of the road would commence soon, of curse the goodwill and active push of our illustrious sons and daughters as well as well wishers.

 The rehabilitation of this road would no doubt, go along way in opening up our Community to the rest of the Country, with the attendant boost to Ogbaru’s economic activities (it is pertinent though to mention here that the issue of unmotorable roads is not exclusive to Ogbaru alone. It is a national malaise).

 WATER HYACINTH:

The menace of water hyacinth, called Itom Mali by our people, has been of great concern not only to Ogbaru people, but the entire riverine communities nationwide.  The ever-growing monster weed is fast choking our rivers, thus hindering navigation and fishing, as well as destroying animal and plant life in the rivers’ ecosystem.

 The House of Representatives has already adopted my motion, making a case for immediate action, to curb the menace of the weed in Nigeria. However, you know how long it takes Government to react.

 There are several stories of the commercial potentials of this monster weed, and I will leave it to you out here that have access to such date just in case we in Ogbaru could benefit from this abundant weed.

 DREDGING THE RIVER NIGER:

You may be aware of the plan by the Federal Government to dredge the river Niger with an initial outlay of  8 Billion Naira.  Some preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out and fears are that some communities that live along the banks of the river will suffer adverse consequences as a result of the dredging.

 We in Ogbaru are likely to suffer very high devastation of our farm and residential lands as well as our fishing area.

 While one concedes there could be beneficial effect from the proposed dredging, I would wish to stress the right of the Ogbaru people to know. An appeal has been sent to the Honorable Minister of Environment/Transport to sue their good offices to allay the fears of Ogbaru people, by directing their officers to conduct an enlightenment campaign that would sensitize our people to both the positive and possible negative impacts of the project as to prepare them for any eventuality.

 I have taken this up after full discussions with a cross section of our people and it is very pertinent that we get clear and satisfactory answers to our fears and apprehensions. Unfortunately, a significant opposition to the stand of most Ogabru people appears to come from indigenes of the areas whose only interest appears to be contracts during the dredging exercise.

 I an aware that amongst you my brothers and sisters there are experts and highly knowledgeable people in the dredging business. It is therefore with a heart full of hope that I call on you to please lend your influential voice e to the yearnings of our people. Or else you will come back after your sojourn in God’s own country to find that a large portion of Ogbaru exists no more.

  OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE HOUSE:

Apart form the motion on water hyacinth, which was unanimously adopted by the House, I have successfully moved another motion on the need for the strict enforcement of extant traffic regulation, with respect to the correct positioning of the exhausts pipes of vehicles in Nigeria. The motion was equally adopted by an overwhelming majority of the House.

 As the Chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals Development, I recently submitted a bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Commission, which would ensure the best practices in enhancing our country’s immense Mineral potentials.

 I have also submitted before the House, A bill for the Prohibition of the Exploitation and Exportation of Wood Charcoal in Nigeria, with the aim to preserving the nation’s endangered forests and by extension, protecting our environment against desert encroachment.

 In spite of my tight schedule, I have been able to create time to write a book on solid minerals in Nigeria in collaboration with my friend, Dr. David Israel. O went all out for the book project because I found there is absence of a reliable reference material on Nigeria’s Solid minerals Sector, despite the nationwide spread of Solid Mineral occurrences. 

 Furthermore, my Committee has convened the first ever Nigeria Solid Mineral summit, aimed at highlighting the problems and Prospects of the nation’s solid minerals sector.  The summit is billed for the 17^th-18^th Sept. at Abuja. At the end of the summit, a formal report will be presented to the House of Representatives for onward delivery to the executive, on the way forward for Nigeria’s Solid Minerals sector, which has the potential to generate far in excess of revenue currently accruing from the petroleum sector. I wish to use this opportunity to extend to you the invitation to attend the summit.

 To the best of my ability, I have been projecting Ogbaru through my activities and media appearances by ensuring that at every appearance I am clearly and fully identified as the representative of Ogbaru. I have also endeavored to carry myself with the known dignity of our proud people.

 CONCLUDING REMARKS:

 Dear brothers and sisters,

I did not intend this to be a campaign speech, but as your representative in the National Assembly, I am delighted at every opportunity to render a brief account of my stewardship to my constituency, home and abroad. In so doing, I would have succeeded in opening the floodgates of comments and hopefully “speaker-friendly” criticisms that would indicate the virtue or futility of my actions on your behalf and the way forward for me, and indeed all of us.

 And talking of politics, O do believe that the low level of Ogbaru people’s participation in politics has contributed in no small measure to the level of under-development in our community. It was Plato who said something to the effect that, when intelligent men shun politics, they stand the risk of being ruled by imbeciles.

 We have all the while cried foul about our Local Government Administration, Legislators and so forth. But how many of us who have this feeling tried taking a shot at the hot seat of shown some serious interest in who occupies whatever seat?  For that matter, how many of us even bother to exercise our franchise to determine who our representatives would be?

 I was taken aback during the State Governorship election, when a prominent Ogbaru man informed me of his plan to travel to Lagos on Election Day.  As far as he was concerned, his business in Lagos was much more important that trivialities like “State Governorship election” I fervently hope that this ugly trend will change soon, and the very best from Ogbaru would seek the peoples’ mandate and go on to do the very best for our great community.

 As I look at the time after now, As I look at tomorrow, Against the background of what we had in the past, the general picture appears rather unfortunately, to be at best hazy and “scrambled”. Much as I would have loved to bring only glad tidings from Ogbaru, the most important event back home, is arguably the bountiful harvest.

 The high tide has not been as disruptive as it used to be, given the farmers a little more time to harvest their crops. The situation would have been better if not for the intense sun at the beginning of the season that wreaked havoc on the young plants. Sooner than later, Ogbaru must have to face up to the challenges of a globalize economy. Our continent, Africa has gained notoriety for scoring low on all indices of human development, while scoring highest on all indices of human misery and deprivation. Our dear country Nigeria did not fare any better, due in part, to the “Kleptocracy” of most of our past leaders.  

A significant portion of our scarce resources was also sacrificed, in order to meet the needs of our less privileged sister African countries. Thus the scenario in Nigeria today, is not particularly picturesque.  The sad fact is that the entire middle class has been wiped out, leaving only a class of “haves” and the potpourri Class of “have-nots”, the latter encompassing well over 85% of the population. Sadly, up to 95% of our folks belong to this cadre of “have-nots”.

 The disturbing scenario in the larger society is clearly visible in our Ogbaru community. You are all aware of the fact that most of our less privileged family members back home, rely on us, oftentimes up to 100% for livelihood. Doling out welfare grants to these folks is a desirable fix in the short term, The more realistic solution, however, is not only to teach them how to catch fish but to also equip them for the job; so that they cam catch the type and quantity of whatever variety of fish, whenever they wish to.

 This is a role we have to play towards securing a better future for Ogabru. In particular, this August body should be strengthened and possibly re-engineered, to make it closer and more relevant to the home front. We need to identify with the yearnings and aspirations of our people at all times, wherever we may be. Your being in the Diaspora should impact positively on our native land, through the promotion of various industries and infrastsructural development.  Strategic areas such as education, must as a matter of deliberate policy, be encouraged by this and other bodies.

 Borrowing a leaf from president Bill Clinton, we should always bear in mind that “everybody matters, everybody counts…..” I was highly honored to be part of history made, last year when President Clinton addressed the joint session of the National Assembly.

 My beloved brothers ands sisters, as I discuss with Ogabru in Diaspora here, I feel pains about Ogbaru disarray at home. While it is true that Ogbaru has an “overload” of highly intelligent, well-educated and prosperous sons and daughters, it is also true that the community has nothing to show for it. Our far less-endowed neighbours are a constant reminder of how unorganized we are. Rancor, rhetorics and limitless capacity for disagreement appear to be our greatest strength. Our inability to maintain any sustained efforts in any venture hurts me to no end. The only time you fine an Ogbaruan at his best is when he confronts his brethren. Take his outside that system and he is dead! It really hurts!  

There is need for this highly organized body to make its presence felt at home in more ways than one. Well articulated concrete, achievable plans must of necessity emerge, and soon too.

 While bathing in the bounties of God’s own country, let us for a moment cast our minds back to Ogbaru……. Thatch houses, aged and sick relatives, miserable watery environments, and hopelessness written on several faces.  Thousands of intelligent, able-bodied but jobless youths forced by circumstances into unwholesome acts.  The list goes on. There is so much to be done and in my opinion very little on the ground to tackle the problems; but thank God for an organization like yours. There is still hope.

 Let me take liberties in suggesting one area where our people could benefit from your system. There are millions of tons of obsolete items in the USA awaiting whoever should ask for them. These though tagged “obsolete”, are by Ogabru standards Millennium 3001-compliant materials.

 These items include those on:

1.       Education

2.       Agriculture

3.       Medicine

4.       Communications

5.       Engineering

6.       Transport Generally (water transport in particular)

7.       Small scale/Cottage industries requiring little or no skills.

Can’t we arrange for some of these to come to Ogbaru?

 MEDICAL CARE:

in the area of medicine, I wish to recommend to this August body to liaise with various humanitarian organization here in the USA to arrange for community health initiatives in Ogbaru.   For a start, I would like to suggest two projects, namely, for surgical treatment for cataract, and the distribution of insecticides-impregnated mosquito nets in support of the current roll back malaria program of African heads of State. 

SECURITY:

As you are aware, our country has been bedeviled in the recent past by armed robbery and several forms of violent crime, our Ogbaru system not excepted. Several; methods have been adopted in combating this menace, with success recorded at varying degrees.

 In Ogbaru, for instance various communities have established vigilante outfits and I an happy to relate to you that while the level of crime was not that much all the time, the functioning of the vigilante groups has further ameliorated the situation.  

In order to assist the bodies to facilitate their security functions I wish to call on your good selves to render whatever assistance you could in the area of logistics, such as transportation and security gadgets.  

Brethren, I am not done with my requests!

My other request is for regular, informed, object and constructive inputs from my constituency. This would in no small measure, contribute to my pool of knowledge and enhance my ability to articulate a position that is always representative of Ogbaru; in the course of my sojourn in the National Assembly.

 To my constituency in the Diaspora, I enjoin you to understudy the more mature Democracy in your host country, with a view to assisting me in making objective meaningful contributions in my legislative work, to the betterment of our country. Indeed, I look forward to receiving from your end the date for bill and motions to be presented at the National Assembly.

 My Brothers and Sisters, as I humbly bow out of your presence, I would like to plead with you to do me this favour. While I will be willing to answer your questions as truthfully as an Ogbaru man, I will try as much possible to avoid any situation that will appear to portray my answers as running down my country in a foreign land. I have come to realize the need to be diplomatic and circumspect, while speaking the whole truth. 

 I would rather go with the suggestion that we reserve whatever not-too-clean linen we intend to wash at this gathering in our laundry baskets, till we meet at home. After all, there is no shortage of water in Ogbaru.

 I am also very hopeful that we do not see this forum as one of lecture, but one that sets up a good environment for open, final positive and focused discussion, all aimed at the betterment of our beloved Ogbaru.

 Thanks you very much for hearing me out. God bless Ogbaru. “God bless us all”

 

              <sgd.>

Hon. (Ojiiba) Okwudili Uzoka