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The
Gathering Storm on Nigeria @ 50 and NAA @ 25 (1)
HOW OVER TEN NIGERIAN SCHOLARS GATHERED AND DELIVERED
PAPERS AT GRANT
MACEWAN
UNIVERSITY
IN CANADA
Patrick Iroegbu
patrickiroegbu@yahoo.com
Monday, November 1, 2010
Abstract
The present submission
gives a
critical story of how Nigerian scholars gathered at
Grant
MacEwan
University
in Canada
to discuss Nigeria@50 for building the future.
It provides insight on how undeterred leaders rise to issues and get things done
despite challenges common with Nigerians in the diaspora.
Introduction
This piece is a critical story of the gathering of Nigerian seasoned and
emerging scholars in Canada. It has
helped me to ask this or that question. The point is, at the end of October
2010, if any right thinking Nigerian will ask again why Nigeria and Nigerians should at home and in the
Diaspora celebrate Nigeria’s
attainment of 50 years of independence, then it will surely appear to many
others and myself puzzling. I commit this write up to situate and explore the
significance of the gathering of Nigerian scholars at the Grant MacEwan
University in Edmonton of
Alberta Canada on a wonderful Saturday, October 23, 2010. How did the idea start
and how did things turn out at the event of the gathering? Why did these
scholars gather in the first place and how were they convinced to gather to
discuss Nigeria
– a topic people are not only stigmatized and scared of to address, but also
terribly bored and reluctant to talk about in academic and social circles.
Nigeria as a country is an
enigma. Do not waste time talking about Nigeria, think of other things and do,
leave Nigeria, her leadership, ethnic chauvinistic, undemocratic and military
lifestyle woes alone were the common refrains. A nation tormented with impotent
education and polygamous religious disabling faith. And, however, to have the
courage to ferret Nigeria
let alone convince Nigerians in the Diaspora faced with challenges of work,
school, family, racism and fear of Nigeria is a huge task. While I do
not discount the fact that in many countries around the world, Nigerians have
gathered as it occurred in Canada on October 23, 2010 to talk about Nigeria –
and essentially such gatherings drove home the anticipated and unanticipated
spirit of Nigerianism for the future. There was even something out there to
refer to and learn from in order to mobilize and get our voices heard.
I draw from the position of my having been a participant observer, organizer and
facilitator of the gathering storm of the issues about Nigeria that we need to
know and do to regenerate and reshape Nigeria. My involvement as I will show,
suggests to me that Nigerians are ready to do something for and about Nigeria. What
they constantly hope to see is just someone to rise to the community and call
them up. With the right approach, vision, mental attitude and resources,
Nigerians can answer as they may be called upon – day or night to check on what
opportunities and challenges they can immerse their interests, experiences and
skills. Nigerians, no matter how we think and try to undermine their ability to
mobilize and fashion a capacity to operate, what they need is a person of good
community standing to raise the call and say, come – there is something we can
discuss and challenge ourselves with. In addition, Nigerians do seek spaces to
unload their frustrations at Nigeria,
in particular the state of things at home in Nigeria. What on earth would have
positioned, for example,
Ghana
to become a save house, a save country to which Nigerians are now resorting for
education and business? Why has South Africa
become a status quo ante, London,
for Nigerians to invest in and escape to? Why has this or that been so and so?
So why did Nigerian scholars gather at the said university on the said day? What
did they do and hope to see change for Nigeria in the coming years?
The Idea to
Gather and Reverse a Disconnect
Village and Town Hall meetings in Nigeria
remain one of Africa’s means of kinship and
extended community system of political, social, economic and civic dialogue. In
the 1950s prior to Nigeria’s
independence, villages and urban unions gathered and discussed Nigeria in line
with seeking for the mandate to be granted self rule. Community leaders, queens
and kings and whatever ethnic names each were called mobilized for the agitation
to demand self governance from the British rule of the time. Guided with lessons
and the spirit of mobilization and support across Africa, nations emerged from
one month to another in Africa. In the month of
October alone, about ten African nations gained independence from their
colonizers, in particular Britain
and France.
This was indeed helped by the audacity and need realized by the various emerging
political activists of the era of struggle for self determination. People like
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Bellewa, the Ojukwus, the Mbadiwes, the
Ikejianis including the Emirs, Obas, Alafins, Sadunas, NdiEze, Chiefs, Alhajis,
Alhajas, and all people that mattered in the struggle saw good reasons to fight
together.
The concept of the founding fathers of Nigeria was born
as a result of a collective felt need. So it is that Nigeria was
delivered as a geographical political space to the founding fathers to act for
themselves according to their own understood cultural wisdom and hopes. To make
the argument clear enough, there would have been no Nigeria in form it was granted if
the founding fathers did not agree or accept to build on it for themselves and
for the generations ahead. So what has gone wrong to say Nigeria cannot be discussed and reshaped to fit
the new class of post independent Nigeria and Nigerians? The call to
respond to this misunderstanding was that Nigerians have the responsibility to
discuss Nigeria
and gathering to do so is a responsibility too. To do justice to Nigeria is to
gather and discuss her in a formal setting like the forefathers did at their
time in village squares and urban unions. Now those in diaspora need to come out
and debate. Arguing about
Nigeria
at one’s home is not likely to help send a studied message for change. In the
call for a colloquium, Dr. Iroegbu captured the message well when he wrote and
canvassed for this:
Please be ready to come along with me and let us deliver a high impact debate as Nigeria celebrates her 50th
anniversary. There is no other better moment to do this than now. We cannot
agree less with the ancient philosopher, Socrates, who said that “an
unexamined life is not worth living”, a classic
statement that provides a line of thought for the need to usher in a colloquium
of deep interest and participation. It clearly suggests that if we do not pay
attention to issues that matter to us, such
issues will surely come back to bite us. That is even the more reason why we
have to get involved in matters that are bigger than our individual selves such
as this colloquium to make it happen and rewarding. All social pundits, academic
doctors and professors, researchers, students, administrators and workers in
Edmonton and areas need to see this colloquium
as a moment of being called up to duty as you have never before. Embrace it as I
did and let us march together to the auditorium and microphone and make a
difference at Nigeria’s
50th anniversary call to help build and rebuild her from the
diaspora perspective!
Arguing at informal corners and occasions about
Nigeria
and NAA without getting heard is like making noise with your mouth and tongue
deeply tucked into a can of coke! And of course, I know you won’t like your
contribution to be ignored in the publication that will follow.
Recalled in the idea to gather seemed to have gathered slowly as many people
down here in Edmonton initially looked the other way due to some internal
squabbles common with managing Nigerian ethnic groups in any form of Nigerian
community and national organizations. At the same time, the idea to gather and
celebrate Nigeria@50 initiated a new crop of enthusiastic Nigerians who wanted
to shy away from the old guards to shine out the moment with a new life and new
pathway to go. So what happened? Calls for meetings to discuss, plan, raise
funds, and carry out the activities around the event of Nigeria@50 took off at
Nigeria Cultural Centre, popularly called Nigerian House. An Igbo woman, Mrs.
Dora Onuoha, a retired Nurse had served as the president of the Nigeria
Association of Alberta (NAA) and it was during her leadership that she mobilized
a few able Nigerians and purchased the Cultural Centre for Nigerian activities
since the 1980s. Nigeria Association of Alberta was founded in 1985 as a
registered community organization in Alberta
with head quarters in Edmonton.
The fact that NAA became 25 years in 2010 made things even more significant to
celebrate the association and
Nigeria’s 50 years of independence together. In
general, Nigeria Association of Alberta participates in the annual Edmonton
Heritage Festival, runs a Casino to raise funds, and organizes Nigerian Day
Independence, Dance troupe and sometimes Christmas events including Youth Picnic
and summer barbecue feast. It appeared to many that the NAA is dwindling in what
it can further offer to meet the needs of new immigrant Nigerians and the
children of old immigrants in Edmonton and areas.
Taking cognizance of the entire situation of NAA, it still became obvious to
mobilize and use the NAA@25 to examine, refocus and re-invent NAA. As such, a
dual Jubilee (Nigeria@50 & NAA@25) became inevitable. The NAA leadership though
was shaken up with internal ethnic grumbles, yet everyone that wanted to be part
of the NAA goal and mission to initiate a path for NAA and Nigeria came on board. The committee
worked hard to mobilize and educate the community on the important need to
celebrate Nigeria.
A theme to guide the celebration was brain stormed and it was settled for:
Learning from the Past and Building for
the Future. The theme having been well chosen to fit both NAA and Nigeria@50
sense of self, the planning committee chaired by Mr. Innocent Chiasaokwu went
into action. With the help of Dr. Chiemeka Ihejirika and Dr. Mike Afara and the
able Secretary of NAA, Engr. Caje Ngede and the undeterred President of NAA, Dr.
Eugene Nnamani in view of threats of sabotage by some aggrieved members of NAA,
Flyers and posters, tickets and invitations, solicitations and media campaign
took the stage to market the lined up events around Nigeria@50 and NAA@25
celebrations.
Part of the target programs hoped to be realized was to produce a
Special Edition of the NAA’s
Nigeria Focus Magazine which had its
first volume and edition in 1994. To add to this intended initiative, it was
hopped that everyone will be encouraged to participate through essay competition
and prize awards. The co-ordinator of this aspect of the program, Dr. Patrick
Iroegbu, quickly took charge. He understood how important it is to get everyone
on board. He launched an appeal statement of purpose and creative involvement of
the NAA programs for celebrating
Nigeria
and NAA in October 2010. First, Dr. Patrick Iroegbu sounded convincing in the
series of planning meetings and the general meeting of the NAA to move on with
the events. He further launched a call for submission of articles and papers for
the Special Edition of the
Nigeria Focus Magazine and a
Colloquium/Conference to gather
scholars, administrators, diplomats and community leaders together at Grant
MacEwan
University in Edmonton of
Canada. The birth of the gathering storm had begun.
The D-Day:
Saturday, October 23, 2010 at Grant MacEwan
University
As it was well planned, the rich intercontinental breakfast was ready by 7.45 am
and lunch would be served at 12.30 pm as announced in the course of promoting
the agenda for the colloquium/conference.
Students of the university, scholars and participants arrived and helped
themselves with the breakfast. A few technical electronic enhancement issues
were fixed for the various lab-tops scholars brought and for the use of internet
network as needed by facilitators, speakers and presenters. Dr. Franca Boag, a
leading social and cultural anthropologist of the Grant MacEwan University
welcomed the participants and praised the organizers and Nigerian community
leaders for choosing to run the conference at the university and hoped that the
presentations will really meet the challenges Nigeria is faced with at 50 for a
new path. Dr. Boag also praised Dr. Patrick Iroegbu for working so hard to put
the program for the colloquium together and wished the gathered speakers and
participants to experience an insightful and fruitful deliberation with the
university’s community engagement and intercultural building efforts.
The Opening Remarks by Dr. Patrick Iroegbu
The remarks ran as follows: As Veno
Marioghe, the prolific 1980's singer once crooned – “Nigeria
go Survive.” We have gathered today to help her discover the ways. But how? What
philosophies, policy strategies and actions can guide Nigeria in the
next 50years? The local centre of politics, economic and social affairs has
increasingly been challenged by the global forces of our time. Reading through
several of social commentaries on Nigeria’s
affairs, especially in the internet these days, we commonly come across
arguments such as Nigeria is
a failed state, Nigeria is
bound to split, Nigeria was
founded on a wrong framework of colonial amalgamation in 1914 and Nigeria is a
home of ethnic intolerance and marginalization. My take on all of these is that
at least Nigerians have means; thanks to internet technology to air their views
and channel to any direction such views can serve them. Ladies and gentlemen, we
do not have to repeat the past but help bring ideas and debates to understand
Nigeria
and pragmatically build for the future. The urgent task of an intellectual like
you in this conference centre is to make informed analysis and provide
intellectual strategic ideas, tool logic and options, if you like offer a
blended theory and application on how to make Nigeria work through engaged
leadership and motivated participants in the challenged polity. Within Africa,
how is Nigeria
coming up in the way to the future?
I welcome all of you – students, scholars, administrators, diplomats, community
leaders and Nigeria Association of Alberta Board of Directors and members to
this unique opportunity to celebrate Nigeria’s 50th
independence in addition to NAA’s 25 years of existence in Edmonton of Alberta
serving our communities. I note that we have today gathered in this Conference
Centre at Grant MacEwan University
to do two excellent things.
To discuss our country Nigeria and
contribute to building her for the future
To engage the leaders of NAA in a workshop to discuss the underlying challenges
and opportunities to make NAA more relevant and more effective.
I am happy your presence and brilliant participation will bring dynamism into
the discourses. Several of us will present short and insightful papers. We will
ask questions, make comments, share experiences and make propositions. This
occasion will unfold to trail blaze, redefine and push the boundaries of nation
building drawing from our fields and international presence. We hope to reshape
the inter-cultural diaspora landscape in political, economic, social and
administrative development to drive Nigeria to a new
path. We will question African politics and community development and attempt to
chronicle the ways in which African life, in particular, Nigerian culture and
civilization have survived and need to grow and sustain Nigerian reality in the
post-colonial world. That is why we are here–to debate and find approaches to
address the multidimensional political and human administration in the emergent
Nigeria in Africa.
With the
position of NAA on Nigeria, I
am simply persuaded that we can contribute as we celebrate the challenges of
forging Nigeria
as a nation state. By facilitating the discussion, we are sure you will be
rendering a thought provoking and achievable issues on Nigeria and Africa.
Get prepared and give this colloquium the best ever. It will take the next 50
years to organize another Colloquium like this. Of course, any of us would have
passed on to the next world to become big and small ancestors. If the leaders
and political gladiators will but listen and follow through, the work of the
scholar, diplomats, administrators, and community leaders will be simplified.
Thank
you.
Continued::::>
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