Gov. Obi has called for concerted efforts on the part of men and organizations of goodwill towards the rebuilding of Haiti. He made this call at the weekend in Haiti when he led some Nigerian delegation, comprising groups such as the Red Cross, the private sector, the entertainment industry to access the level of damage by the earthquake to the country.
Gov Obi who expressed shock at the magnitude of damage the quake did to Haiti, said that what was shown on television did not quite convey the entire picture. In his words: Watching the damage on television, one would think that the quake affected only the presidential palace and a few other buildings, but a visit to the country actually showed that the damage was very extensive.
Speaking further on the outcome of the visit, Obi who was also accompanied by the Nigerian Ambassador to Jamaica also overseeing Haiti, His Excellecncy, Mr. Peter Oyedele Mr. Peter Oyedele continued: We have gone round the country, one cannot but shade tears at the calamity that befell Haiti. Our delegation have seen the damaged presidential palace, the damaged Ministries including that of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Works, Finance, the Tax Office (where all the directors died) and the Supreme Court that went down with the quakes killing all the Judges that were sitting at that time and other judicial workers. In fact, just as the Romans destroyed Carthage, the quake destroyed Haiti even most of the buildings still standing in that city were either having serious cracks or shaking to their foundations.
Governor Obi who also visited many other damaged buildings said it was particularly saddening to see public buildings, especially schools that buried hundreds of school children and students alive, such as the Ecole Hoteliere Haiti and the University in the town.
On the way Nigeria could assist, Obi who noted that Nigeria as a country had already assisted, said that the level of destruction, better seen than imagined, call for more assistance. He commended the commitment of the Red Cross and President Jonathan, who has been of tremendous assistance and said that Nigeria could help in more concrete terms by choosing to help them rebuilt one memorable structure such as the Supreme Court building, which, according to him, will not cost more than 10 Million Dollars.
Gov. Peter Obi also took the opportunity to visit the Nigerian Police contingent on special assignment in the country and them of the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan towards the revamping and the repositioning of the force in the light of the current realities.
Obi who said that it would be insensitivity on his own part to visit Haiti without visiting the Nigerian Police on special assignment in the country, commended the Nigerian Police for being good Ambassadors of Nigeria, appealed to them to continue to be of good conduct. Overwhelmed by the gesture, the contingent through their commander thanked the Governor for visiting them and buying lunch for them. They expressed happiness that the Gov. was at home with them to the extent of eating their camp food with them.
After the inspection of the city that took about six hours, the Nigerian delegation led by the Governor held talks with the Haitian Foreign Ministry, which expressed happiness over the Nigerian gesture as restoring hope on Haitians on the need to carry on in spite of the cruelties of nature.
It will be recalled that at the commissioning of the brand new building and two ambulances donated to the Red Cross by Gov. Obi, its President, Owelle Rochas Okorocha , who described the gesture as unprecedented named Gov. Obi as the Red Cross Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti.
Presently, the organization under the headship of the former Head of State, General Abudusallam Abubakar, is trying to raise money to help in Haiti and Jos.
No comments:
Post a Comment