As Nigerians marked the 62nd Independence Day anniversary of the country, last Saturday, the chairmen of Ikwerre, Ogu/Bolo and Tai local government councils in Rivers State, Engr Samuel Nwanosike; Barrister Vincent Nemieboka; and Sir Friday Mbakpone Okpe; vowed that the nation can only develop if everyone recognises that it belongs to nobody, and harped on the urgency for the adoption inclusive, just and equitable policies as a deliberate strategy to move the nation forward.
They made their positions known, last Saturday while speaking during the celebration of Nigeria’s 62nd Independence anniversary at the councils’ headquarters in Isiokpo, Ogu and Saakpenwa, respectively.
According to Nwanosike, “If we want to build this nation, start from your little corner where you find opportunity.
“Nigeria can only be built if all recognise that this nation belongs to nobody other than us and there is nowhere under the planet earth that we can call home other than Nigeria”.
The Ikwerre council chairman pleaded with the people to disabuse their minds from the insinuation that Nigeria belongs to certain set of persons, saying that it belongs to everyone.
He urged Nigerians to use the forthcoming elections in 2023 to select leaders that would refrain from storytelling, while calling on those who stereotyped themselves as unifiers to start unifying from their homes and political parties before talking about Nigeria.
While describing every October 1 as significant in the lives of Nigerians, Nwanosikesaid the day reminded Nigerians of their political liberation.
“To us as a government, it is a very important ceremony because it reminds us that the time we as Nigerians have started to take the mantle of affairs after our colonial masters departed the shores of this country. It is 62 years today”, he said.
Nwanosike, however, lamented that Nigeria was still bedevilled with insecurity and hunger 62 years after Independence.
According to him, “And that brings to my attention the state of our country, today, 62 years of providing leadership and management of our resources in all spheres without interruption from any external force. Nigeria is bedevilled with insecurity, hunger in our land, attack of our independence from all other spheres of our country, a lot of our local government areas being taken over by criminal elements and non-state actors who have now grown so wild and have made it clear that we as a country do no more have the monopoly of violence which is supposed to be controlled by our security agencies”.
He charged Nigerians not to be dampened by the situations of the country, but should rather be more committed in developing a great nation.
“I want to remind all of us seated here, today, that we are all equals before the laws of our land. There is no special Nigerian; there is no Nigerian that is a slave in his father’s land.
“So, we all must contribute our quota in every angle we find ourselves, whether in public service or in the private service or in the security service or even in the community service”.
The 62nd Independence Day celebration by the authority of Ikwerre Local Government Council witnessed cultural dances, march-past from corps members, military and paramilitary personnel, and some secondary schools, amongst others.
It was attended by traditional rulers, politicians, civil servants, and members of the public.
In his remarks, Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council Chairman, Barrister Vincent Nemieboka,said he was proud to be a Nigerian because it was a great nation despite the numerous challenges that the country was pass through.
He said that, “we are still striving and growing incrementally”.
Nemieboka said this at a thanksgiving service organised to commemorate Nigeria’s 62nd Independence anniversary held at St Martin’s Anglican Church, Ogu.
The first Bible reading was taken from 1st Chronicles 16: 20-26, by Barrister Vincent Nemieboka while the second reading was taken by the Vice Chairman of council, Hon Eunice Alabo from Philippians 4: 10-19.
Giving his goodwill message, Nemieboka said he considered it necessary to organise the thanksgiving service instead of a parade because of the efficacy of prayers.
According to him, “the faith we have that God will help us succeed, no matter our strength”, and the promise he had made that we would annually mark the creation of the LGA in the presence of God.
He said when he started his campaign; he had envisaged that without God, it would be impossible for anyone to succeed in life, which was why his campaign slogan was “It will end in Praise”.
Nemieboka said “despite our modest size and financial allocation Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area is the richest LGA, and for this reason, I am proud that we have a LGA of our own”.
He said the people of Ogu/Bolo should always give thanks to God because the creation of the LGA had fostered unity, “and we should key into that unity, and live as one indivisible people.
“The creation of the LGA has put our name in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and we don’t need to lobby for appointments as it is now our right to be given fair share in political appointments”.
Nemieboka said that since he assumed office 16 months ago, he has been able to invest substantial resources in conflict resolution, unity among the people, and infrastructure development in all the communities to advance the development of the area.
Currently, he said the council was embarking on massive skills acquisition programme with over 2,000 youths who have been enrolled for the programme.
The first batch of the programme has begun and would end by the end of October, giving way for the second batch, he said.
Nemieboka also said that as the campaigns for 2023 elections commence, political parties should not malign or be violent to one another.
He appealed that the process should be done peaceful, and called on political leaders of the various political parties to caution their members from indulging in practices that may upset the existing peace in the area.
He said as chairman of the council, he would ensure that peace and security was maintained.
The message for the day was given by the Bishop of Anglican Communion, Dioceses of Okrika, Rt Rev Enoch Atuboyedia, who admonished Christians to eschew pride and be faithful followers of Christ.
Atuboyedia used the story of Job as an illustration.
In attendance were the Amanyanabo of Bolo, King Acheseinimie Micha Frank; chiefs from the area, councillors, political party leaders, CDCs, staff of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Council, school children and others.
Similarly, the Chairman of Tai Local Government Council, Sir Friday Mbakpone Okpe, used the Independence Day celebration to roll out series of activities and policies his administration plans to implement in the coming days.
Okpe unveiled the policies and activities while addressing leaders and students of Tai Local Government Area after reviewing parades/march pass at the council headquarters, Saakpenwa.
He stated that the 62nd Independence Day of Nigeria also marked the 26th anniversary of Tai Local Government Area as an administrative unit in the country.
Okpe enjoined the people of Tai to be resilient in their various responsibilities, and stick to the purpose for the creation of Tai Local Government.
He further disclosed that his administration had already put in place measures to cope with the unabated vacuum created in the education system due to lack of teachers, adding that the council was ready to assign volunteer teachers and health workers to close the manpower gaps in the coming week.
Saddened by the poor nature of the education system, Okpe, however, declared that his administration would commence the distribution of free exercise books to all primary and secondary schools in Tai Local Government in November, 2022.
He also promised to procure Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) forms for all students in SS3 in Tai secondary schools.
These, according to him, would encourage the children and youths to embrace education,while also easing some educational responsibilities on parents.
Okpe further streamlined the development achievements of his administration, and announced that all ongoing projects would be commissioned by November, 2022, adding that more projects would be flagged off at the same time.

By: Nelson Chukwudi