BEING A WELCOME ADDRESS PRESENTED BY CHIEF ‘FEMI SHODUNKE, THE PRESIDENT OF OLUMO PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION CANADA INC. AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 6TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION OF EGBA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION USA & CANADA TODAY AT THE ROYAL BANQUET HALL, MISSISSAUGA, CANADA.

 

Protocol!

 

TODAY is indeed a glorious day.  No doubt, history is being made tonight as we, the Egbas and Yewas not only in Canada and America, but Nigeria and the globe, gathered here to mark the 6th biennial convention of Egba National Association USA and Canada in Toronto, which we jokingly refer to among ourselves as Totoro (an Owu community) in Canada.

 

Mr. Governor sir, Kabiyesi, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wouldn’t want to bother you much today because my job as the President of the host chapter is to welcome everyone, starting from our amiable and pragmatic governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, to our highly cerebral, open and kind hearted, and of course God-fearing Catholic royal father, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo (Kabiyesi o), to his, and our, ever-young, beautifully looking radiant royal mother, Olori (Dr.) Tokunbo Gbadebo, eminently gorgeous Egba and Yewa high chiefs, gallantly dressed and radiantly boisterous guests, and amiable fellow members.

 

Let me emphatically stress this to everyone here present today that I am a committed Egba man and I am proud to have come from Abeokuta in Ogun State.  That is why surprising to you ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you that the MTN cellphone number that I obtained in Abeokuta 10 years ago is still working till today in Canada   The wristwatch that I also brought from Abeokuta to Canada six years ago, after I escaped a four-man gun attack in the same Abeokuta, is still ticking and reads, everyday, Abeokuta, Nigerian time.  Ditto my cellphone number in Canada which ended with the four number …1830, the year Abeokuta was founded.  All these are deliberate – to retain the “Egbamania” in me.

 

In the same vein, Abeokuta, my great town, is the capital of Ogun State, often called the Gateway State.  In this regard, funnily, I decided and bought Gateway laptop brand, and the newspaper which I established in Canada is called GatewayMail, and it has been focusing on news first from Abeokuta, the Gateway State, Nigeria and around the globe.

 

The import and purpose of stating the above is not for joke, not for self-aggrandisement or even unnecessary adulation.  But, it is a clear, and profound, message to all of us, particularly my fellow members who live in North America, not to forget our root – to know that we are from a deeply rich heritage in Egbaland and in Yewaland.  This is why the theme of this year’s convention, “Celebrating our cultural heritage,” is quite apt to our diasporan experience.

 

And similarly, this is why I want to remind, and urge, us to know that we who are here, in this part of the world, are indeed the lucky folks.  If not for mother luck and God’s grace, today, we could have been part of the economically hard-biting Nigerians, many of who are struggling harder to eke out a living in Nigeria. 

 

Therefore, let us join hands to pull our financial, manpower and material resources together to help our downtrodden fellow brothers and sisters at home in Nigeria.  The humongous task is that of all of us here in North America, or what our people often refer to as “those in diaspora.”  Though, I’m quite aware that in our association we have a yearly N1 million scholarship scheme to aid our fellow younger brothers and sisters in higher institutions in Nigeria, but we still need to do more in other areas.

  

As a fiery journalist and human right activist, and lover of his people and Nigeria, let me digress a little bit here.  Democracy, from my understanding of Government, as a subject that I scored A1, among the few As in my West African School Certificate examination some decades ago, is a “government of the people, by the people, (and) for the people.” Clearly, it means the government is owned by the people, administered by the people and most significantly, being run for the benefits and interest of the people.  But, is that the case in our dear fatherland called Nigeria?  You and I know the best answer to that!

 

It is at this juncture that I will urge our leaders in government in Nigeria to do all within their political power to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of our people.  Government, at all levels, should wake up the sleeping giant in our economy, particularly our industries – the mining and significantly the agricultural sectors – for the benefits of Nigerians who, inside rain and scorching sun, lined up to vote the politicians into power.

 

From this premise, permit me to call on the government of today in Nigeria, both at the Federal level, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, and state levels under our governors, to let our people feel the impact of the “government of the people, by the people and for the people” that they voted for so that they can boldly, and proudly, say that this is our government that we are enjoying and feeling their impacts. 

 

To be frank, we need to tell the government if they are doing it right or wrong.  We must be bold enough to tell them what they don’t want to hear.  Indeed, the words of Alan Moore, a prominent British author came to mind.  He said: “People shouldn’t be afraid of their government.  Government should be afraid of their people.”  Therefore, the ‘change’ promised us by the government, no doubt, is being delayed.  To face reality, the ‘change’ should be accelerated, before a large number of Nigerians begins to see it as turning into a mirage.  The Federal and the state governments in Nigeria, particularly in the All Progressive Congress (APC) controlled states, should strive passionately to ‘change’ their current ‘change’ to reflect the ‘change’ that will bring the ‘change’ that would lead to meaningful ‘change’ in the lives of Nigerians in all ramifications. 

 

But, let add that I am proud to be a citizen of Ogun State because we have witnessed tremendous changes since the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun, but I must not hesitate to add that, as progressively inclined as we are in the Gateway State, we want to see more developmental progress in the Gateway State before the exit of the present APC government.

 

Before I leave this podium today, let me remind our politicians that when we invite them or come for official events abroad, it is not an opportunity for them to come and hide their looted money or merry with us alone.  We want them to see what obtains here and make a promise to replicate them in Nigeria for the development of our country and the people who live therein.  Similarly, to those of us here let us return home and remind our political leaders to wear the progressive garment of development rather than relishing in stealing our common wealth to stupor.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I think at this point one profound quote from Mr. T. Harv Eker, who wrote the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth, should be pertinent.  He says: “If you want to change the fruits, you will first have to change the roots.  If you want to change the visible, you must first change the invisible.” 

Therefore, let government in Nigeria “change the roots” and “change the invisible,” particularly the style of governance and wastages in government, and I want to submit that all shall begin to get well in the land.  Also, I think and I want to believe, my point here is pretty much simple to digest.

 

Having said that let me appreciate the national body of our association that has great trust in us to host this convention.  Permit me to also commend the members of the Local Planning Committee, headed by my indefatigable Vice President, Ms. Aina Murtala, and all members of our association who made this convention a reality.

 

Mr. Governor, Kabiyesi, high chiefs and eminent personalities, particularly from Egbaland, who are here today, permit me to invite you to wade into this problematic, but solvable, issue which forms part of the fulcrums why some us, sometimes, are dissuaded from coming back to Nigeria, particularly to invest. 

 

A member of this association, who is about to retire soon after years of teaching experience in Canada, took a giant leap some years ago, to give back to her Egba community.  She bought four hectares of land and she is about to lose the land. 

 

In fact, let me quote directly the SOS message she sent to me: “Please sir, I`m just wondering whether you will be able to speak to Kabiyesi Alake on my behalf sir.

 

“Awon omo onile nfe fi iya jemi in Ogun State at Adewolu Ademolu in Obafemi Owode Local Government.  Won ti gba gbogbo ile ti mo ya loan three (3) million fi ra mo mi lowo.  This is one of the reasons why I went home recently.

 

“Please I need help from God and our highly respected God-fearing Catholic Kabiyesi, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, to help me intervene sir.  I`ll be there at the airport to join others to give him a rousing welcome.”

 

This patriotic citizen of Egbaland is here in our midst tonight and she has all the necessary documents to back up her claim.  She, no doubt, needs help from the royal and government quarters in order not to lose the land she laboured so hard to acquire. 

 

At this juncture, I thank you all for listening and indeed I extremely welcome everyone to this grandeur august gathering in September at the first convention to be hosted by our chapter, Olumo Progressive Association in Toronto, Canada. 

 

Please, do enjoy yourself and have a nice time in Toronto and Mississauga, and other parts of Canada – if you have the ample chance to do so.

 

May God bless us all!

Amen.

 

'Femi SHODUNKE (Chief),