EDO GLOBAL ORGANIZATION: A FOCUS FOR UNITY. Dear Edos, INTRODUCTION: Edo Global Organization (EGO) is an umbrella organization for all Edos in Diaspora and registered as a charity. The main objectives are as espoused in our web site. http://www.edoglobalorganization.org Principally it is to forge the unity of all Edos in Diaspora and make us
relevant to the fast changes taking place in Edo State and Nigerian politics
and above all act as a catalyst for economic emancipation, good governance, accountability, security and preservation of our cultural heritage. EGO was conceived on this forum about ten months ago as result of two
articles that were published ‘Talking without words 1 and 2’ The articles stressed a lot about the futility of talking too much without taking any
obvious action which we described as amounting to making noise in the forest
where it is of no effect. It was agreed that Edos in Diaspora should lead the
way in taking the destiny of all Edos in their hands and pulling us from this
quagmire so that we can make the desirable progress like other Nigerian nations.
Postings on the net then were aimed at the government who took no notice and as such were not accountable to nobody.
It was obvious then as it is now that write-ups no matter how elaborate
and
meaningful they are, make no desirable impact in the scheme of things in
Edo
land.
Rather than being confrontational and make no progress, EGO is setting
up a
body ‘the implementation committee’ to liaise with the state
government on one hand and actualize the
yearnings and wishes of all Edos in Diaspora.
This implementation body will advice, provide technical support, arrange
feasibility studies, provide professional exchange to Edo state to help our
people. This is not a new phenomenon in the world as the Jews, Indians,
Bangladeshis and Chinese are already facilitating progress in the land of
their birth
which translate into job opportunities and economic development.
We at EGO believe that setting up an avenue of constructive engagement
between the Edo State government and Edos in Diaspora based on trust,
mutual
respect and understanding will augur well for progress in Edo land. EGO
will
take a stand on issues affecting our people and it may be for or against
the executive as Edo people will be our first consideration.
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES:
We at EGO believe that government alone cannot succeed in solving all
Edo state problems. There is no government anywhere in the world that can
provide
all amenities for her people. Social amenities and economic progress are
usually provided from partnership between the state or national
government on one
hand and the people on the other. For the government to succeed, the
people
have to be motivated. That is where accountability and communication
comes
into play. A successful government must inform the people daily on
progress
or failure so that the people are aware all the time of the true state of
affairs in the government.
Developments anywhere in the world results from efforts of national or
state
governments which is minimal presently in our state due to lack of
adequate resources, lack of accountability and the
loss of proposed good intentions between the drawing board at the
executive
level and implementations at the grass root. The popular parlance for this
is
‘you chop, I chop’ resulting in incomplete or abandoned projects which
litter
the landscape of our state. This of course is not peculiar to Edo state as
similar results can be found anywhere in Nigeria.
The second level of development is through personal efforts of members
of communities. This is traditional to our people to bear each others’
burden. That attitude of collective effort and responsibility is visible with
our mothers who collect ‘osusu’ to build houses, pay children’s school
fees and establish their trade. I am a living witness to my mother’s osusu
group.
There is no policing, no default, no complaints as the money moves from
onemember to the other. When I look around I wonder what has happened to
that
level of trust our parents had in dealing with each other in Edo land.
Brigadier Ogbemudia’s government exploited this to the fullest during his
tenure
in office. The results of people mobilization is visible in all
corners of the then Bendel state. This is an area that needs special
government involvement; if the people can be motivated by
any committed government in Edo state then they can be
made to provide for themselves through self-help developments projects.
The role of charity in community development is where EGO will play an
active
role in assisting our people as a non-governmental agency. As a child,
growing up, I
attended St Joseph’s Catholic primary school, set up by the
Roman Catholic Church. I am sure a lot of our friends and colleagues
attended similar
schools set up by Christian Missionary societies. These missionaries came
all
the way from Europe and America as Roman Catholics, Anglican, Baptists,
Wesleyan societies etc. They built schools, colleges, churches, hospital
and
social centres for the people. They facilitated socio-economic growth in
Edo
land. Today these schools are still viable, producing students for our
universities.
As Edos in Diaspora. it is time we started making pilgrimages to our
mother
land to facilitate it’s development. If the American and European
missionaries could act as facilitator for our people, we Edos in Diasporashould do it for our kits and kins in Edo land. This is not the time to be
pointing accusing fingers, rather it is time to harness all our resources
and in
unity pull Edo indigenes from the doldrums they are in today. Finally EGO
is
already liaising and inviting assistance from international sources to help
Edo state development programmes. Charitable organizations as NGO are
involved in cancer research, providing for the homeless, assisting in
disasters, help for the aged etc. The list is endless. If it is successful
elsewhere, we should make it successful in our country and in particular
Edo state.
EDO UNITY:
These laudable objectives are not achievable on individual basis. They will
require the collective will of everybody to make it successful. No single
individual has the answer and the means to make the desirable impact in
Edo
land. The problems are so numerous that one wonders where to start. It
is for
the above reasons we are requesting the help of all Edos through their
various organizations like Edo State community in the UK, Edo Nation
Associations of Italy, Germany, USA, Hungary, Austria, Japan and South
Africa. We know there will be other associations not mentioned. I will
appreciate passing this information of good intentions on to other Edo
groups not mentioned above. We are setting up a bigger office in Benin
for the use of members and member associations.
to facilitate their charitable activities and to act as a focus for
dissemination of information in Edo land.
For those who wish, they can join us as individual members, or join as
associations or contribute their widows mite to facilitate our goals.With the present problem in Edo Traditional Council and the claims of
Agadagba to our ancestral land, there is no better time to work together
for
the unity of all Edos so that we can speak and act with one voice for the
benefit of our people.
POLITICS:
EGO is completely non-partisan as we do not belong or support any
political party. We felt it is best to be completely neutral so that we are
able to work with any
government in place in Edo land. Insulting the governor or government in
place in Edo land will be counter productive. Disharmony and disunity
brings
about retrogression and inaction. We shall plead with the government in
Edo
state to show accountability and if such pleading is not heeded, we may
be compelled to pull all the strings at our disposal to bring that
government into disrepute.
SUGGESTIONS AND DONATIONS.
We will appreciate help in various form, expert advice in our projects,
suggestions on how best to achieve our goals, donations to run the
organizations
and achieve our charity objectives.
During our sojourn in Europe and America and while enjoying the labour
of the
past generations of our host countries, we should not forget the land of
our
birth. We have to make the sacrifices now so that our future generations
can enjoy the fruits of our labour and not seeking asylum orprostitution in foreign land.
Contribute to the success of EGO by supporting us as a volunteer, by giving generous donations and by providing technical support in our work. May God Bless you as you give.
My usual regard to all.
