Prince Emmanuel O. Ohai
To: All Umu Anioma.
Subject: My Vision.
Saturday April 10, 2010
Dear Umu Anioma:
Umu Anioma, ekenem unu
I thank you all who will be joining our historic Telephone Conference in advance. I also wish to thank those who were unable to join. My reason for writing is to share my Vision with you all. First, let me crave your indulgence in advance, as I am likely to digress from time to time. I know a lot of you will be calling in from Nigeria as well as from all the four corners of the world. For me it is an exciting time in the history of our Community. Already this Morning, I have spoken to two members of Umu Anioma Group in Asaba and they are as pumped as I am. In this momentous occasion in the history of our beloved Anioma Community we are called as leaders to take the bull by the horn and change the trajectory of our people. We all know that the task before us is an onerous task. As daunting as the task may be, anyone who under-estimates the power of ordinary people by throwing darts at us will be on the wrong side of history. Anioma people as can be seen from our history and the acts of our fore-bearers are brave people. It is with that courage and braveness in mind that my vision that I am about to share with you was formed.
My vision in one sentence is: We have to change in other for them to CHANGE because the future of our people depend on us changing our mindset from that of Self-centeredness to a more robust one of general good of all.
As you continue to read from me you will know and understand who I mean by “Them”
Folks, you do not need a College Degree to know that the Federal and Delta State Govt. do not have the interest of the Anioma people at heart let alone the interest of other Nigerians or Deltans at heart. I know there are people reading this message who work for the Delta State Govt. To those people, I say keep doing what you are doing and we will do what we feel is necessary to emancipate our people.
Folks, we live in very interesting times in the global village as you may already be aware. Anioma families are finding it hard to make ends meet or send their ward to school. Our Youth are pressured to sometimes do the un-thinkable just to be able to survive. Anyone who is as attentive as required will agree with me that our Youth are now threading a path that their parents never tread. In the news we hear of Kidnapping, Prostitution, Armed Robberies, Cultism, Militancy etc. In spite of the God given oil wealth, there is penury and hunger in the land as never seen before. The frustration has resulted in inter-ethnic and religion inspired killings and vices as enumerated above. The recently released results of WAEC and NECO showed a colossal failure as only 2% of the candidates passed the required credit in 5 subjects including Math and English. Please note that in yester years the Minimum requirement was 6 credits and in spite of lowered expectations the results were abysmal. Needless to say, our educational system is in crisis.
The world economy too is troubled, as there are at least 3 wars going on in the world right now. Nigeria’s ONLY source of revenue is presently threatened by Militancy in the Niger Delta and in the immediate future by the emerging new world that the Western Countries are diligently working towards. That new world order will be one in which the Western World seek to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. President Obama likened his commitment to that Mission to that which President John F. Kennedy showed when he made his famous speech in which he promised that America will be the first country to send man to moon. Needless to say we all know that it came to pass within the stipulated time. From all the information that I have gathered thus far, America and other Western Countries are well on their way to changing the world economy which is presently Commodity [Oil & Gas, Diamond, Gold, Uranium, Cooper etc.] to one that is “Knowledge Based”
Research and Development investment is critical as innovations in Medicine, Space Exploration, Information Technology and the Sciences will become the indices for determining which countries are rich or poor. Basically, Nigeria’s crude oil will be worthless if not from internally generated strife from the Militancy in the Niger Delta, perhaps from the very likely accomplishment of independence from foreign oil by the Western world.
Now this emerging reality challenges us to prepare from what appears to be inevitable. As we speak right now, Toyota and Honda have developed Electric Cars which they hope to start producing commercially in July of this year. Also the United States Postal Service have developed Electric Mail delivery trucks and the other major mail and package carriers such as UPA and FedEx also may have commenced their own push for independence from foreign oil.
To make matters worse. All the revenue from the oil windfall has been squandered by a reckless, corrupt and mediocre leadership. To the extent that all sectors of our national economy are in shambles. Absolutely nothing to show for all the oil revenues except for a few billionaires who don’t know what to do with Money. Yes, folks what we have is pockets of individuals in ALL ethnic groups who have been hand-picked by a corrupt and criminal cabal to share in the loot.
The truth of the matter is that with all the proceeds from oil sales and with the abundant human capital there is no single city in Nigeria or Delta State that has the basic public utilities such as pipe borne water, 24 hour un-interrupted power supply, mass transit systems such as electric trains or rail cars, or good and motor-able road networks that create the enabling environment for investment and development.
All the preceding is the reason why the Vision for Umu Anioma Group came to be. There is no question in my mind, that the current crop of leaders in ANIOMA and, indeed across Nigeria are a colossal failure.
TO BE CONTINUED
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