Bostonians Praise Dialogue With Nigeria’s Presidential Delegation

- written by Prosper Edem, Citizen Reporter, USA -
 
Boston, Feb 5, 20121: Diaspora Nigerians in New England area, took turns during a recent town hall meeting held at the Boston Marriot Quincy Hotel, to commend the presidential delegation made up of Prof. Mrs viola Onwuliri, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Dr. Jerry Ugokwe, former Ambassador to Austria, for including Boston for the first time ever on such a high level visit. Even as they passionately expressed their views on wide ranging challenges and solutions including corruption, insecurity, and poor governance, they commended the visiting team for the opportunity to share their views on matters of national significance. A member of the organizing team, and New England coordinator for Diaspora Nigerians Network (DNN), Dr. (Mrs) Stella Uzogara said ”Each time Nigerian VIPs visit the US they always neglect us. They should know Boston is the center of academia, healthcare and technology. I am glad you made it, we are really happy you are here today”. She then followed up with her questions on the challenges of Bok Haram, corruption, and poor healthcare facilities in Nigeria. Mr Tony Omoruyi, who called off work to attend the meeting, said “this is a rare opportunity to be here and dialogue with such a high level Nigerian delegation. I have been here for over 19 years; this is my first time of talking with my representatives.

Thank you for coming, this tells me this government is trying to do its best…also that you have a delegation of two officials tells me things may be getting better”. He then lamented the unchecked menace of kidnapping and corruption. Making additional contributions as they expressed appreciation for the forum were Michael Iraboor, Dr Joyce Nwosy, Lanre Olusegun, Prof. (Mrs.) Chioma Azuonye, Prof. NT Izuchi and a host of others. Not unexpected there was a contrarian in the audience, one Mr Abdulrafiu Lawal, an assistant Editor with Tell magazine, who appeared visibly frustrated from not being invited to an earlier pre-meeting press conference, queried ” why is it necessary for the minister and ambassador to come here instead of using ambassadors in different countries so as to cut waste in government?.” Mr. Lawal further rambled on incoherently that “Governor of the Central Bank said if subsidy is not removed the economy will collapse” without asking a question, and seeming to contradict his pro subsidy leaning.

Sensing audience impatience he rested his comment noting that a Channel TV reporter that was killed in the Kano bomb blast and asked “why can’t government tackle boko haram?” A participant Ubi Aja scoffed at Mr. Lawal and said “I have my concerns about removal of subsidy and thought he was commenting from that stand point, but he lost me with his comment about the CBN governor…. this guy must be living out of this planet for thinking anyone of us will be here on the invitation of the Nigerian ambassador to the US? Is he not aware that this same incompetent ambassador Ade Adefuye, was only able to get people to the Chicago town hall meeting by paying their hotel accommodation and feeding?” The Boston meeting started promptly at 6:0 PM with a press conference, pre-arranged by the organizers. This was followed by the town hall meeting attended by Nigerians of various walks of life, including doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, professors, accountants, bankers, industrialists, scientists, health care and business community professionals, policy makers, graduate students and technocrats. The attendees also included diverse ethnic groups. It kicked off with opening prayers by a Christian and a Moslem.

Once all protocols were observed Ambassador Jerry Ugokwe was introduced and welcomed to give his opening remarks. He informed the audience, after expressing his appreciation for their attendance with short notice that “we are here on request of Mr President to come and share the administrations views on various issues and get your input. Mr President strongly believes that the success of his transformation agenda depends on involvement of every Nigerian regardless of where they reside. He believes in the contribution of the Diaspora, hence my presence here, being a Diasporan myself, and the appointment of over half a dozen Diasporans in his cabinet. As you are aware 3 of the most power posts in his cabinet are led by Diasporans, namely Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for economy, Deziani Allison-Madueke for petroleum resources and Prof. Barth Nnaji for energy. Please be reassured that given that this regime is less than a year old, we are here for open dialogue on any issue, no restrictions….we feel its the best time to begin this dialogue with the Diaspora rather than wait another year when it may be too late to incorporate new ideas to help us deliver for Nigerians.”

On concluding his remarks the ambassador introduced and welcomed the Minister to the podium for her opening statements. She started by commending the audience similarly and members of the press for their presence with very short notice. She also stated that “we hope to brainstorm with you today, because the President believes that your wealth of experiences is essential for moving our country to the next level. Most of you work here and have experiences if well harnessed could shorten our time to modernization and respectable quality of life for our citizens. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Mr President’s transformation agenda is well thought out and elaborate. Unlike any of our past leaders Mr President is an academic, has another life after politics and thus committed to accomplishing his agenda and leave behind a positive legacy…we hope to hear from you, answer your questions as much as we can, reason with you and take back those we don’t have answers for.” Consistent with reports from previous town hall meetings she took time to describe the administrations transformation agenda, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) program, highlighting education, healthcare, Agriculture, roads and railways, power, fight against corruption, youth employment, as priority areas that will benefit from the SURE program.

She also pushed back on notion that President Jonathan didn’t consult widely enough with stakeholders, with regard to the subsidy removal decision and implementation. She said “…..To the contrary, Mr President consulted very widely with stakeholders across board such as governors, the national assembly, traditional rulers, Christian and Moslem religious leaders, youth leaders, private sector and captains of industries, political leaders, women groups, labor union and civil societies, to mention but few…” She expressed disappointment that not enough of the stakeholders consulted stepped up, in the heat of the debate, to acknowledge their input and rationale. On security issues she said that the administration is doing a whole lot, although not all can be shared publicly. Specifically She said “Government has decided to put in place a number of practical measures aimed at neutralizing the actions of the terrorists. As you know, the epicentre of the Boko Haram menace is in the North-Eastern part of the country, which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic. In the interest of security, Government has decided to temporarily close some parts of our borders to check the inflow of small arms and light weapons, dangerous materials and unwanted elements. We are discussing with our counterparts in these countries to coordinate actions and share information regarding all matters that affect our common interests and threaten our security. Government has also declared a state of emergency in some parts of the country where it is felt that the threat of violence and terrorism is more acute.

The declaration is consistent with the powers conferred on Mr. President by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The operations now on-going in those affected spots are aimed at protecting the lives and properties of all innocent citizens who are the primary victims of the terrorists. Government has also initiated counter-terrorism efforts in the past couple of months, especially since the establishment of a Counter Terrorism Office in the Office of the National Security Adviser. To give focus and practical expression to these efforts, our country has entered into sustainable global partnerships such as with the United Nations Counter Terrorism Office, the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF), and other multilateral, bilateral and regional levels co-operations”.

Members of the local organizing committee for this event included  Mr. Chima Chukwu, Mr. Ignatius  Nwachukwu, Mr. Tayo  Idowu, Mr.  Dickson Iyawe, Mr. John Igbokwe, Professor NT Izuchi, Mr. Jide Ogungbadero, Mr. Leo Ativie, Mr. Clement Ukpong, Mr. Murtala M Bagana, Mr. Jamiu  Giwa-Bello and Dr Mrs. Stella G Uzogara.

Prosper Edem filed this report from: Eastern_Arrow_News@yahoo.com