Climbing the mountain top

 OGBONNAYA ONU

BEING A SPEECH DELIVERED BY DR. OGBONNAYA ONU FIRST ELECTED GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE AND 1999 PRESIDENTIAL FLAG-BEARER OF THE THEN ALL PEOPLES PARTY, APP, NOW ALL NIGERIA PEOPLES PARTY, ANPP, TO THE  WORLD IGBO CONGRESS, WIC, MEETING IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, USA, ONSEPTEMBER 1 - 6, 2004

y dear wife and I are very happy to be with you as you celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the World Igbo Congress.  It has been a decade of hope and progress.  I am particularly happy to speak to you during this historic meeting.  I commend your efforts in helping fly our flag in far away United States of America, U.S.A.  Those of us from the homeland are very proud of you.

When I visited the U.S.A. only four months ago in May, I had the opportunity to talk to some of our people over dinner.  I expressed profound happiness over the good you do, the concern you show for your friends and family in the homeland, the hearts you touch and the people you uplift by the money you send home.  Such monies keep many of our people in school, help pay hospital bills for the sick, feed the hungry and offer assistance to many pensioners who for no fault of theirs have spent many months without receiving their pension benefits. You may have heard that some of our military pensioners had threatened to kill our Minister of Defence if their benefits were not paid.  You may have also heard that Nigeria Airways penisoners in their petition addressed to both the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that government had denied them pensions for 25 months and that within the past 15 months as many as 352 of their colleagues died as a result of hardship arising from non payment of their pension benefits.  This is just one parastatal of government.

You may not realise how many working people you comfort, for we live at a time when we operate free and compulsory primary and junior secondary school education and yet teachers in some States are owed salaries for many months.  Also security is a top priority yet the welfare of our policemen and women are not given adequate attention. You may have heard that some junior police officers had also threatened to kill the Minister of Police Affairs and some others if their conditions of service do not improve.  It is on record that during the tenure of the current Administration in Nigeria, policemen and women went on strike, for the first time in the history of the country, to protest non payment of their monthly salaries.

My dear friends, what you do by sending money to the homeland is both life giving and life saving.  I encourage you to continue.  As one who has a similar experience as you do, who went to school here, also raised a family here and worked briefly here before going back to Nigeria, I know that it is not easy to give.  I am fully aware of the numerous competing demands for your resources particularly as you raise your families.  However, I urge you to continue to take some pain in giving, so that you can some how relieve others of a part of their own.  We cannot forget that happiness comes not only when people are able to meet many of their needs, but also when they succeed to put some smile on the faces of others.

I know that many speakers will like to talk to you about politics, about how things are in our country, about the political arena at home and possibly on what can be done to solve some of our most pressing problems.  I would rather talk about economics, about how you can put more money in your pockets, about how you can help improve the fortunes of your friends and families, about how you can contribute to the prosperity of our country and help in no small way to put smiles on the faces of many.

The Information Age has brought tremendous challenges and opportunities.  For the first time in the history of humankind, the richest person on earth did not get his money from either the sale or exploitation of land or even from trading on mineral resources.  He acquired his wealth from the exploitation of knowledge.

The changing face of the economic landscape has compelled many big firms in the industrialised countries of North America and Europe to reduce their cost of doing business while increasing their productivity as the only way to remain competitive, grow and make profit.  This has resulted in the outsourcing of some of their jobs to firms in developing countries where the cost of labour is lower.  Many of those jobs now go to India.

Azim Premji, an Indian who was educated in Stanford University, transformed Wipro, his family business, into one of the world's most important outsourcing companies.  Wipro, based in Bangalore, India, has a total of 27,200 employees by the first quarter of 2004.  A growing number of U.S.A and European firms rely on Wipro to handle some of their software needs, keep their databases and computer networks running as well as answer calls from customers.  Premji is the richest person in India. By April, 2004, he was worth U.S. $ 6.7 billion.  This is about the total annual revenue, Nigeria gets from the sale of crude oil in some lean years.

Premji was able to do this, because he was educated here in the U.S.A.  He developed a network of friends while in the country.  The  leadership of the firms, doing business with him, trust him.  They trust that he can perform.  They also trust that he can deliver.

I have no doubt that they are many Azim Premjis among you.  You are educated in the U.S.A. Some of you have developed an amazing network of friends here.  You can also be trusted to both perform and deliver.  You can, even as you live in the U.S.A., establish companies in the homeland that can exploit the huge but unexploited human resources of our country.  The new improvement in wireless telecommunications in the country will be helpful.  Such businesses will help create wealth for both yourself and the nation, create new jobs for the unemployed as well as create prosperity for our people.

I know that many of you would like to invest in the homeland but you are worried whether if you go home, your head could still be on your shoulder and also whether you could go to bed and sleep without fear of attack from robbers?  Your worry is understandable because your brothers and sisters at home live at a trying time when an Attorney General and Minister of Justice was shot and killed in his bedroom.  A serving State Governor traveling on the highway, with heavy police protection, came under such gunfire that the man who sat by his side was shot and killed. High profile assassinations occur repeatedly on our streets and in our homes.  I know that it is not an easy choice to make.  I also know that if all of us work together, we can get change that will enable things move the way they should.  Creating prosperity at home has become not only desirable but necessary.

Creating prosperity for our nation cannot be left for you alone.  It is a job that all of us must play a part.  Lee Kuan Yew in his book: "From third world to first, the Singapore Story: 1965 - 2000," had most vividly, using clear terms and simple words, showed how a tiny island nation with little or no substantial mineral resources, could in a period of only thirty five years move from a third world, poor country to a first world, rich nation.  He showed that nation building is a tough, difficult and tasking job that requires vision, determination, total and complete commitment as well as patriotism.  He showed that for a nation to develop quickly and in a sustainable manner, the leadership must put the interest of the nation first before any other interest including his own interest.  Also, he showed that the rights of the people must be respected and that the voice of everybody, majority and minority alike, must be heard and respected.

Prime Minister Yew showed the importance of removing barriers instead of creating them; tearing down walls that divide, instead of building new ones; erecting bridges that connect people, instead of excavating the soil to construct deep gutters that separate them.  He showed that when people, majority and minority alike, are made to have a strong sense of belonging, in return they give their best to their country.  Above all, he showed that it is the people of a nation that develop their country. People from outside, with a keen eye on what those inside do, can only give a helping hand.

The question on the lips of many patriotic Nigerians is if Singapore could do it, why not Nigeria? If Ghana could organise a free and fair election, such that an opposition candidate, John Kufuor, could defeat the candidate of the ruling party and a serving Vice President, John Atta Mills, why can't Nigeria organise free and fair elections, even in the election of Local Government officials?  If India, the largest democracy on earth with a population of more than one billion people, with diversity in language, religion, ethnicity and social stratification, could recently organise a free and fair election such that a popular Prime Minister was defeated by an opposition candidate, why can't Nigeria organise credible elections where those who govern are the choice of the people and not merely imposed by a small group of power-greedy individuals?

The position of Ndiigbo in Nigeria is one that only us can change.  You cannot expect others to give to you, on a platter of gold, whatever you seek that they also desire. Whatever you want, you should ask; whatever door you want to enter, you should knock and whatever you really desire, you should seek.  The road may be long, but you will certainly get there.

Let no one ever say to you that it cannot be done.  Let them not say that the mountain is too high to climb, that the river is too deep to swim across or that the journey is too long to undertake.  No, we must always realise that with the proper frame of mind, every obstacle, no matter how difficult, can become an opportunity, opening the door to great achievements.  With commitment, dedication and hard work, every obstacle can be converted to a stepping-stone to success and great accomplishment.

Many people may not realise that the USA is important to us not because it is the only surviving super power in the world, not because it is the first empire to exercise power all over the world, not because of her wealth, military power, technology and tremendous influence all over the world.  No, she is important to us because she contains, within her borders, the highest concentration of the most educated of our people more than you can find in any other part of the world.  In terms of graduates of higher institutions of learning per population, those of you in the USA have the highest concentration.  Your earning power per population is the highest among our people.

You are gradually becoming the new elite of Ndiigbo.  This presents both a challenge and an opportunity to you.  You should use your tremendous knowledge to open the eyes of our people.  You should use the vast experience you have acquired, to open the ears of our people.  When you meet to discuss problems confronting our people, while you think with many heads, you should speak with one voice.  Also, while you speak with one voice, you should work with many hands.  You should endeavour to set goals that may appear to some as unachievable, provided they are goals that are meant to achieve a lot for the majority of the people.  The goals you set, should be those that unite the people instead of dividing them; goals that give hope and not despair.  You should endeavour to focus on the larger goal, the big picture and de-emphasize the little divisions that in the past, tried to weaken you and create divisions among you.  Ndiigbo look up to you, Nigeria is interested in you and the world watches you with keen interest.

As the new elite of Ndiigbo, you should in your deliberations, help find solutions to some of the social problems confronting our people. For a very long time, our people have been known for their hard work, spirit of enterprise and adventure.  Our people valued their dignity and cherished their self-pride.  They always wanted to be accorded respect and held in high esteem.  This could explain why no matter how hungry, disabled and disadvantaged our people were, they always embraced education.  Even though western education came to us late, we embraced it and made it our own.  In no time, we produced great men and women of knowledge.  Some rank among the best in the world.

However in the past five years, many of our schools in some of our States have not been able to attract boys in reasonable numbers.  In such schools, girls outnumber boys in classrooms, laboratories and libraries.  What we have in those schools is not a reflection of the composition of the population in the community.  It is good to educate our girls but it is better to educate both our boys and girls.  A situation where many of our boys, at a tender age, consider education as a near waste of time in this age where knowledge is very critical to the developmental process can have adverse long- term implications.

You are in a position to help give a new face, a refreshing face to Ndiigbo.  While you are in the USA, by interacting more with our immediate neighbours in Eastern Nigeria as well as with other ethnic groups in our country, you will do a lot of good for our people.  You will find that we have many things in common which if fully exploited will be beneficial to all.  Our people travel and live in all parts of the country.  A good and friendly relationship with other ethnic groups in the country will be helpful in creating a more conducive environment for all to thrive and prosper.

I am happy and proud that you are an embodiment of knowledge.  As we are all aware, we are now in the age of knowledge where information moves quickly from one part of the world to the other.  It has become easier to obtain facts of any situation more than at any other time in history.  Unfortunately in our country, many people are still guided by rumours.  Some people wake up in the morning and start peddling rumours about events and persons in a way to gain some advantage for them.  They do not care about the damage they do to the credibility and integrity of others.  They do not care about the damage they do to established institutions.  They only care about what gain they can derive from the falsehood.

As very knowledgeable people, you should look at both sides of the coin before determining whether it is fake or genuine.  You should patiently listen to both parties in a conflict before making up your mind as regards who told the truth or spread the lies or who was honest or who intended to deceive.  Even the principle of justice demands that.  Also wisdom comes from arriving at a judgment after listening to both sides of a conflict.  We must say no to rumours.  We must say no to rumour mongering.  We need to base our decisions, our opinions, on facts and indeed verifiable facts for that matter.

I know that many of you would like to know what really happened during the February 15, 1999 Presidential Nomination Convention of the then All Peoples Party, APP, now All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP held in Kaduna in which I emerged as the party's first Presidential Flagbearer.  Some of you, who had early information that I would speak today, urged me to talk about it.  I had refused that I would not do so, because I had in the past said all I should say on the matter and did not want to talk about it any longer.  They persuaded me to change my mind by reminding me that all I had said in the past on that matter was said at home and those of them living abroad needed to hear from me directly.  Their argument was unassailable.

As some of you may have erroneously been led to believe, there was no wrong doing on my part in Kaduna.  Before joining the presidential race in 1999, I consulted widely within Igboland and the country.  I received the blessing and encouragement of many of our leaders.  The then APP constituted a Screening Committee that screened all presidential aspirants of the party.  The Committee recommended three persons, of which I was one of them, to the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party.  The Committee could have recommended only one person if they chose to do so, rather they recommended three people.  The NEC of the party voted for the three and I scored the highest number of votes cast.  My name was announced and the following day on February 15, 1999 at the party's National Convention, I was duly ratified as the Presidential Flagbearer of the party.  It is necessary to state that the party had nine Governors' Elect at the time.  The entire nine Governors' Elect, supported me.  Majority of the State Chairmen of the party also supported me.  All these people are still alive and can be contacted.  It should not surprise anyone that with this level of support, I won the nomination.  Some of those who contested with me, as good sportsmen congratulated me.  Some others felt bad.  That again, is natural and is to be expected in such a circumstance.

The same day that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, requested all political parties to submit names of their presidential candidates was the day that the then APP held its National Convention in Kaduna.  When later in Abuja, Chief Olu Falae, emerged as the Joint Presidential Candidate of both the APP and AD, Alliance for Democracy, the news came to me as a big surprise because I had not been consulted.  It was speculated that I stepped down for Chief Falae, when in fact there was nothing like that.

I petitioned the then Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, as well as the INEC. I held a world press conference and issued Press Statements to explain what happened.  Some aggrieved members of the party even went to court to seek justice.  Many members of the party were so aggrieved that the Joint Presidential Candidate, Chief Falae, lost the election in many States, which had been controlled by the party in previous elections.

The then National Chairman of the party issued a Press Statement that was widely circulated within the news media in the country, in which he completely exonerated me from any blame.  He made it clear that I never stepped down.  He seriously regretted that the party did not consult with me in the process of choosing the Joint Presidential Candidate.  The then National Secretary of the party, at a later date, called on the party to formally apologise to me for how I was treated by the party.  These important Nigerians are still alive and can be contacted.

For the past nearly six years since the incident in Kaduna, every official of the party has spoken.  On each occasion, what is said strongly supports what I have consistently said.  The propaganda by my detractors that money was given to me, is laughable.  It is important to point out that whatever happens in politics is like pregnancy, it can only be hidden initially.  Once the belly starts growing in size, it is difficult to conceal.  If any money were given to me, some one would have come out in the past six years to say who gave the money and where and when the money was given to me.  No one has done so and no one, in clear conscience, would ever do so because it did not happen and could never have happened.  For the purposes of argument, if money was my problem, could I have sacrificed becoming President of Nigeria, a position where I would preside over annual budgets of over a trillion Naira for whatever money any imaginary person could give?  The answer is clear.  It is a resounding no! It is important to note that as Governor of Abia State, I presided over annual budgets for two years, each of which was over a billion Naira.  It is also important for record purposes to state that as Governor, I did not build a house.  My home in my hometown, where I reside, was built several years before I became Governor.  Also as Governor, I did not allocate a single plot of land either to myself, my wife or any member of my family.  All these can be verified.

Many people feel that I should have left my political party to join another in order to demonstrate my displeasure.  I have consistently said that I could not have done so, because many people in the party stood by me in those dark days.  I felt and still feel that I could not for what a few people did, betray the overwhelming confidence reposed in me by majority of the members of my party.  The party has continued to repose a lot of confidence in me.  I will mention just a few examples to buttress my point.  My nominee was voted into office as National Secretary of the party in a National Convention, scoring the highest votes by any candidate in that election.  I was appointed and served as Chairman, National Committee for Strategy and Planning of the party.  In April 2004, the Yobe State House of Assembly, one of the seven States controlled by the party, invited me to speak to them.  In August 2004, the party's Joint Caucus of the National Assembly comprising 96 members of the House of Representatives and 27 Senators invited me to speak to them.  I am told that I am the first member of the party to be so honoured with these two invitations.  If I did anything wrong, it is the party that would have been the first to know.  They would have found it difficult to place this level of trust in me.

Those who know me well are fully aware that I do not have any reason to soil either my name or my reputation.  In all humility, it is painful for me but this circumstance has compelled me to make the following observations.  My father was the traditional ruler of my town for over thirty-four years before he died. My maternal grandfather was, before him.  I was in the final stages of becoming a Professor of Chemical Engineering in the University of Port Harcourt before I resigned to contest for Governor of then Imo State and later Abia State when it was created on August 27, 1991.  I obtained my Doctor of Philosophy Degree, Ph.D., in Chemical Engineering from the world's acclaimed best public University, the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.  Before then I obtained a first class honours degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.  I am confident that if I were not in politics, I would be comfortable, on the basis of my educational qualification, whether in Nigeria or any other country in the world.  My dear brothers and sisters, I could never have done anything that would bring shame to my family, you and myself.

Mr. Chairman, most distinguished brothers and sisters, you have a wonderful heritage.  The pioneering spirit of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the unfading integrity of Akanu Ibiam, the political courage of Michael Okpara, the military skills of Aguiyi Ironsi, the ingenuity of the master story teller, Chinua Achebe and the enterprising spirit of Odumegwu Ojukwu should guide you in the search for a better and brighter tomorrow.

You should consider yourselves as leaders and not followers.  You should not shy away from speaking against injustice in our country.  Nigeria needs to organise free and fair elections for the sustenance of democracy, stability of our nation and the happiness and prosperity of our people.  If other countries, both big and small, rich and poor can do it, why not Nigeria?

It is sad but true, that as long as this Administration fails to conduct free and fair elections, as long as people get to power through cheating, then this Administration loses the moral authority either to fight corruption, armed robbery, examination malpractices in our schools, cultism in our universities or speak against those who erroneously describe Nigerians as dishonest.  A man whose compound is dirty is not expected to appeal to his neighbour to keep his own clean!  As a result of this Administration denying the Nigerian people their God given sovereign power to choose who governs them as well as remove those who do not govern them well, the people are alienated and as a result, show little interest in what happens around them.  This explains why upon the high price of crude oil in the international market, month after month, in the last almost six years, yet our economy remains weak, our currency continues to depreciate, the interest rate continues to grow, the rate of inflation continues to increase, the level of fiscal indiscipline continues to be high, unemployment keeps getting worse and the number of the poor continues to grow.  No economic reform, not accomplished with appropriate political reform, can work.  The people must feel that they are a part of their government for them to give their best to the country.  Your huge reservoir of knowledge, your cumulative and huge purchasing power remain a strong source of strength which can give you tremendous power if you work together and remain united. 

By next year, Nigeria will conduct a national census.  I urge you to persuade as many of our people as it is possible, to visit home next year and participate in the census. Ndiigbo have a high percentage of their sons and daughters resident abroad, particularly in the USA.  You should use the platform provided by this Convention as well as meetings at Community Town Unions, Local Government Associations and State Unions to discuss how many of you can return home next year.  You may also wish to consider how those who are able can help those who may be willing to visit home but are not able.  This message can be transmitted to Ndiigbo resident in other countries that are not represented in this Convention.  As you are aware, census is very important in data collection.  If you visit home next year and participate in the census exercise, you will help consolidate the population of your various States.  The amount of money each State gets from the Federal revenue partly depends on its population.

Many indigenous languages are disappearing in many countries in different parts of the world.  These languages disappear when one generation fails to pass them over to the next generation.  Our indigenous language, Igbo, which is the only major language in Nigeria not spoken in any other country, is facing some difficulties.  Igbos who live outside the country have additional difficulties in passing on this vital heritage to their children.  You should help to ensure that the future of the language is bright.

Whatever task you have before you, you should endeavour to pursue with vigour, determination and optimism.  Your goals should be set very high.  You should never allow yourselves to be limited by perceived obstacles.  No woman, that I know, has given up the desire to become a mother because of the fear of the excruciating pain of childbirth.  I see a bright future for our country if we can all work together.  The time is now. 

I thank you all.  May the Almighty God continue to bless Ndiigbo and Nigeria.