Chicago – By Emman Okuns.
Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole said yesterday at the 23rd Edo National Association Worldwide convention in Chicago, Illinois, United Sates of America that the activities of dubious politicians in Nigeria have been the bane of National development.
“We have too many crooks in our politics,” said the State Chief Executive Officer, whom his admirers and supporters refer to as an action Governor.
He called on Nigerians to weed out such people or stop them from getting elected or re-elected into public offices.
Governor Oshiomhole spoke as special guest of honor at the commencement of the convention with the Theme, Patriotism: A Recipe for development of Edo State, being attended by Edo indigenes from various parts of the globe at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chicago.
He told the gathering that the challenges facing Nigeria today were not peculiar to the country and that the most important thing was being able to identify the problems and make efforts to fix them.
The Governor also told Edo People in the Diaspora that no matter Nigeria’s problems today, it was still a great nation and that irrespective of their status in their new-found lands, their homeland was second to none.
He reminded them of the full benefits of being Nigerians as opposed to limited ones in foreign lands, despite their naturalization, with particular reference to the United State where a naturalized citizen cannot become a president.
He urged them to make conscious efforts to invest in their homeland, stay connected and participate in the political process of their state and country.
By that, he stated, they would be able to influence decision-making and prevent people of questionable characters from getting into offices to make wrong decisions that would affect the generality of the people.
“Life is not complete if we do not connect with the society we came from,” he remarked.
Governor Oshiomhole proudly touted the achievements of his administration, saying that his success so far had been defined by his resolve to confront problem head-on no matter who was involved and finding solutions.
In the past, he continued, things were so bad in Edo State that it was written up as a place for notorious criminals with all facets of the economy grossly affected.
He recalled that hospitals, roads and schools were all in deplorable condition in an era he described as that of the godfathers whom he said were then in control of the state, adding: “We change all that.”
The problems, he said were due to mismanagement by the people in charge.
Governor Oshiomhole had earlier in the speech called on Nigerians to stop lamenting and rather focus on how to identify problems and find solutions.
Changing things for the better in the country, he stated would require the concerted efforts of all patriotic Nigerians, adding that “Nigeria will change, but not when we lament.”
The governor urged every Nigerian to meditate on the theme of the convention -patriotism, saying that it carries a huge commitment, a commitment of love and willingness to die for one’s country.
“The problem we have in Nigeria is that we can be so critical almost to the point of fault.”
His speech, delivered extemporaneously and which was punctuated by cheers from the crowd dwelt extensively on re-awakening Nigerians’ consciousness in the belief in their country and boosting the morals of the people as depicted by the following: “If we dismissed ourselves, then we stand dismissed.”
He urged everyone to see the challenges of the nation as a stepping stone to greater heights, saying that he “loves his country” and that everyone else should do the same.
“I don’t want to be a global citizen, I just want to be a Nigerian,” he declared.
Nigeria, he averred is the biggest economy in Africa, referring to its growth by 6.21 % as released by the statistics office in July 2014, and which reflected World Bank’s projection that the country’s economy would grow by 6.6% from the 7.3 per cent level in 2013.
Governor Oshiomole said that given the size of Nigeria’s economy as a wealthy country, it has not been able to meet the expectations of the populace in terms of making life comfortable for the masses.
The comrade Governor blamed this state of affairs on the distribution of the nation’s wealth, saying “there is crisis of distribution.”
He said some people have too much money they cannot account for, adding that the quality of political leadership will determine the growth of the nation.
According to him, Nigeria has weak institutions that should be corrected, where public office holders have to be held accountable for their stewardship to society.
He thanked God for the return of peace in Edo State now, following recent political upheavals in the heart beat of the nation.
He recalled how some people provided financial inducements to buy the conscience of some politicians in the state to have him impeached, but that they failed because some of the politicians involved refused to mortgage their conscience for financial gains.
Comrade Oshiomhole expressed appreciation and thanks to the Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Uyi Igbe and others for standing for what is right and defending democratic principles.
The governor took a swipe at the fraudulent attitudes of some politicians adding, “The story of Nigeria is the story of leadership, we cannot continue with the policy of naira in my pocket and nothing else.”
Governor Oshiomhole commended the current executive of Edo National Association Worldwide, headed by Mr. Franklin Omoruna as National President and Barr. Dickson Iyawe, Chairman, Council of President for their laudable development programs.
He donated $120,000.00 on behalf of the government of Edo State to support the organization in its laudable mission and called on all tribal organization in the state to affiliate with Edo National Association in the spirit of unity.
