Election Of Chairmen into Local Government Of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State Is At Hand
The election of chairmen into the local government chapters of Lagos Ohanaeze Ndigbo is expected to take place soon. To ensure the steady progress of the socio cultural association, President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, {Udochia}, in this piece, calls for unity and co operation in the interest of Ndigbo
Anytime Ohanaeze Ndigbo election will come up in Lagos State, Ndigbos must join hands to search for those who are capable and ready to serve Ndigbo to participate in the presidential contest of which I, Chief Solomon Ogbonna, President Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State, will play 70% role in the search for the right person to take over from me.
We will not accept those who are coming to over haul their personal businesses through Ohanaeze.
If we fail to do this, it would be like going back to Egypt, using AP Club again as secretariat and meeting hall.
Ndigbos, we must help ourselves.
The problem and condition of Ndigbo today in Nigeria is beyond profile and personal achievements including family background if we want to sort it out ourselves.
It is also above exposure. It can only be achieved by undiluted unity among us and techniques that are going to benefit us and Nigerians in general.
For example, the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is the leader of Ndigbo. But do we realize this?
These are the primary objectives that we must try to know.
The President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos must be someone who has the interest of Ndigbo in his heart because Lagos State is one of the strongholds of Ndigbos where Igbos achieve most of their goals.
Before I became the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, one of my primary objectives which I, Chief Solomon Ogbona Aguene, made known to some of my close allies during my campaigns was that if God gives me the mandate, I will make sure that some of the associations which today, some of their leaders want to position them to be the mouth piece of Ndigbos in Lagos especially during political season, must be stopped.
They are the ones complaining that Ohanaeze Ndigbo is a social cultural organization which we all know that it is highly apolitical.
But good enough, our members are in all the political parties in Nigeria.
So, we must regard and recognize those our members in their political parties.
When the going is good, we are with them, when the going is bad we are also with them and that is how it is.
No club or association will change this truth.
And as a leader of social cultural association, we must guide those our members and that is one of the areas we are part of politics.
Immediately you are born as an Igbo man or woman, you are a member of Ohanaeze automatically.
For example, I am sure that Ndubuisi Kanu, Ebuti Ukiwe etc who formed one of those associations being mentioned here, their objectives are not what we are seeing today.
There is this tendency to look at profiles and personal achievements including finding a way to penetrate government and become the mouth piece of Ndigbo instead of tapping current from Ohanaeze Ndigbo who is the father of all.
Example, Aka Nkenga, Ndigbo Lagos, Igbo Amaka who claim to control the whole markets in Lagos. If they have such power, then what is Ohanaeze doing? If it is actually true, then Ohanaeze should be under them.
Truth is always bitter but it is the best to say so that one can be out of mistakes.
I am happy for those who accept this particular achievement under my leadership as leader of Ndigbo in Lagos today.
The members of these associations mentioned above are also the pillars of Ohanaeze Ndigbo both home and abroad.
If there is any of these members who does not accept the face and position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo today in Lagos, it could be out of jealousy as human beings and inclination to accept fellow human being on the basis of richness and family back ground, forgetting what God can do in individual’s life in the next minute of any day.
Such people are still known as otiukpuo, no matter how God has blessed them.
But the truth of it is that I have positioned Ohanaeze above every other social cultural association in Lagos State and I have no apology to anyone whatsoever.
Leader is by birth and the grace of God is to who God wants to give it to.
But our host community, Yoruba, and the government of the day were very smart enough to realize this my single act, irrespective of what some of the members of these associations mentioned above were telling against the association and the leader of Ohanaeze chapter, Lagos state.
I am happy that they know the role I have played.
May the Almighty God continue to bless them especially as they know how to respect their older people, especially their leaders and their language which is their bond.
I always let such men who have Ph.D in blackmailing and their leaders know that it is not the affairs of chief Solomon Aguene, the president of Ohanaeze Ndgbo.
I always tell them that they are indirectly throwing Ndigbo as a tribe into a garbage by insulting the leader and the association that governs the Igbo tribe.
I always see one of the achievements I made for Ndigbo as President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo as putting these associations where they belong.
It is not the widows that I empowered. It is not by positioning Ohanaeze. It is not by giving Ohanaeze the first secretariat. It is not by bringing Ndigbo close to the government of the day in Lagos state.
It is not about my efforts to make the government of the day in Lagos support Ohanaeze Ndigbo during pandemic, Endsars and palliatives including cash.
It is also not by drawing attention of all the dignitaries in Nigeria to Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos Chapter which has never happened before.
It is not the level of adverts I made in Ohanaeze’s name through social media, print and TV including notable newspapers we have in Nigeria to ensure that Ohanaeze Ndigbo rings more than any other social cultural association in Lagos State.
Why I claim to put those associations in where they belong as my best achievement is because some few Ndigbos are the problems of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
Well, I still have to recognize the personality of Professor George Obiozor for accepting to hold the office of the President Ohanaeze Ndigbo World wide. I always describe him as a man above corruption and bribery. A calm man whose countenance always looks like a comedian.
Anytime you meet him, he always gives you a face of comedian but very serious with anything that concerns Ndigbo.
He is very sound in every area you can think of especially by giving best advice without attaching any self interest.
The ingredients of leadership he has added to Ohanaeze cannot be over emphasized.
Today, you cannot discuss national issues with mentioning Ohanaeze because of the performance of the leaders.
Any leader who does not listen to gossip or the blackmail of enemies of progress will always do better in the area of leadership because after talking to him, he will scrutinize what you said and compare and contrast.
The first question such quality leader will ask is : What is this man talking about? And what does he want to achieve? And what does he have to change his complaints?
That is why I always advise my members that they should desist from gossip and blackmail. This is because when you are taking such mission to such caliber of members in the Ohanaeze National executive, Enugu, in no distant time, they will begin to look at you as a nonentity and a jobless member of Ohanaeze because most of them have seen it all in the area of leadership which is the simple truth.
I also advice my members that it is not all invitations that they should attend otherwise they will begin to see us as hungry and disorganized people who have no job and will be present anytime needed.
So, we should be calm and this is part of the innovation I entrenched in Ohanaeze which cannot be forgotten.
You cannot know a good leader until he leaves office.
For example, we can now compare and contrast Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, no doubt.
Looking at this piece, you can now understand that my agitation is not for personal interest but for the interest of Ndigbo to take our time and look for the best who is ready for the job and is going to do better than me.
Nobody, among these people campaigning, has told us what he is going to do. But they are only trying to outdo each other in blackmailing campaigns.
When I was campaigning in 2018, there was nothing like me and my contestants blackmailing each other. We focused and campaigned on what we are going to do for Ndigbo.
That was why immediately I won the election, I started executing most of my campaign promises.
I remember one day, one of the oldest members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Barrister Anayo who resides in Ajegunle, came to our secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos and saw the mini museum I put up with well framed photographs of our past leaders and heroes.
He entered into all the offices and came to my own office and asked me “ Did you ask question before you started making all these innovation because our people will never appreciate it. They will still abuse you that you have eaten all the money from Buhari even if you have never seen Buhari at all.”
I told him that with my love for Ndigbo, there is nothing to worry about.
After making all these sacrifices in Ohanaeze, I will never accept the blackmail of few of my members that have never contributed anything to the progress of Ohanaeze but only concerned about what they will go home with in someone’s contact, knowing well that Ohanaeze Ndigbo has no allocation.
Without my contact, this administration could have not achieved anything.
We can only survive by members’ contact which I do alone.
Those who like good things will understand what I mean and will fight the cause with me.
About Author
