PNF calls for Igbo unity in view of 2007 presidential elections
Andy Ike Ezeani
Adeze Ojukwu
Reporting from Dallas, USA.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Former auditor general of the Federation, Chief Vincent Azie has called on the Igbo people to temper their republican tendencies as away of achieving their political goals in 2007. Delivering a keynote address at the 2004 Pan-Ndi Igbo Foundation conference in Dallas, Texas, USA today (Saturday, May 9th), Azie noted that extreme individualism has been the bane of the Igbo in the nation's current socio-economic and political structures.
As attention, turns towards the 2007 presidential race, the former auditor-general pointed out that once more, the unhealthy individualism may impinge on the desired agenda of the emergence of an Igbo president. According to the him the averaging of 1.3 years per senate president since the country returned to democracy in 1999, should be a serious cause for concern.
Chief Azie advised the Igbo to subsume extreme individual competitiveness for a common goal. Special assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on privatization, Rev (Dr) Sunday Onuoha used the forum to throw light on the privatization scheme and reform agenda of the federal government. According to the presidential assistant, despite all efforts by the federal government to encourage all the geo-political zones to participate in the privatization programme, the South-East which is known for economic enterprise has not shown much interest in the acquisition of its own shares.
The exception, he mentioned, was Ebonyi State Governor Dr. Sam Egwu who has shown foresight and commitment to the investment scheme. He informed the audience that the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) will soon be privatized, once the National Assembly passes the enabling bill, which is before it. Dr.Onuoha reeled out statistics indicating the total allotment of shares in the privatization exercise according to zones. According to this statistics, North- West zone leads with 27 %, followed by South West 22%, North Central 14% and North East 13%. South East and South- South have 12% respectively.
The conference which held under the theme, Realigning Our Economic Political and Socio-Cultural Agenda: A Panacea for Economic and Political Empowerment, also attracted such other speakers as Dr Dickson Ozokwelu, Lead Technology Manager, US Department of Energy, Dr Okenwa Nwosu, a Washington D.C. based surgeon, Prof Eucharia Nnadi of Nevada College of Pharmacy, Prof Chimalum Nwankwo of North Carolina State University, Prof Soronnadi Nnaji, and Dr Chimdi Maduagwu.
The speakers in their respective contributions harped on the for true federation and equity in the allocation of resources in the country. Earlier on, in his remarks, Mr. Danny Defenbaugh, a retired FBI director stressed the need for the federal government to strengthen measures against advanced fee fraud. Such measures according to Mr. Defenbaugh will go a long way to correct substantial bad perception about Nigerians living abroad.
Also speaking, Dr Ozokwelu lamented the poverty of leadership in the Igbo nation and the larger Nigerian society. According to the veteran energy specialist, most of the people who presently parade themselves as leaders do not manifest basic leadership potentials.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with government disposition towards foreign investment especially in the South-East. He regretted that a World Bank team he attracted to Nigeria to invest on power generation in the South East did not receive the required approval federal government approval. The two-day conference drew impressive participation from the Igbo community and Nigeria.