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Protocols!
I want to thank your President-General,
Engr Richard Alete, the entire
leadership of the Rivers State Youth
Movement of Nigeria (RYM) and other
members of your entourage for this
courtesy visit on the Rivers State
Council of the Trade Union Congress of
Nigeria (TUC), the Umbrella body of the
Senior Staff Associations in Rivers
State. I also want to thank TUC’s
Comrade Dr. Chris Mbata, who is
unavoidably absent because of other
official engagements for making this
visit a success. On behalf of the Rivers
State Council of the Trade Union
Congress it is my hope that we shall be
able to use the opportunity of this
visit to reassure your organisation and
in deed the general public that the
Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) as
the umbrella body of the Senior Staff
Associations in Nigeria is willing and
fully committed to partnering and
networking with progressive civil
society organisations , nationalists
and credible youth organisations in our
country and in Rivers state for the
purpose of promoting good governance,
progressive electoral reforms, credible
elections, peace , economic development
and the marked improvement in the
welfare of all Nigerians and all Rivers
people without exception!
To this end, permit me to also use this
opportunity to remind you that without
credible elections and the resolution of
the Niger Delta crises, the dream of
vision 20:20:20 will elude us just as
others such as vision 2010, health for
all by the year 2000, food for all by
the year 2000, house for all by the year
2000, education for all by the year
2000, water for all by the year 2000,
power for all by the year 2000!
Consequently, in line with TUC’s
determination to ensure good governance
and credible elections as well as your
organisation’s resolve to encourage good
governance in our State, I want to beg
you to be part of the struggle for
effective electoral reforms in Nigeria
as it is central to the capacity of the
country to jumpstart the economy and
give hope to the citizens, especially
the youths. This is because our
political process will not throw up
enough credible men and women to
effectively and efficiently manage our
commonwealth without electoral reforms
including deepening of internal
democracy in the political parties.
As you may be aware, electoral fraud and
corruption in Nigeria is a seemingly
formidable industry. It is an industry
whose services to the nation include
mass falsification of voters registers,
deliberate dereliction of duty by INEC
officers such as deliberate refusal to
update the voters register or carry out
their constitutional and lawful duties,
mysterious stuffing of ballot boxes, use
of some misguided youths as “hired
political thugs" by wealthy candidates,
to threaten, harass and intimidate
voters as well as flagrant use of INEC
and security officers to impose the will
of a few godfathers on the rest of us.
Electoral fraud therefore is aimed at
subverting the will of the people by
denying them their voice in deciding who
governs them. It is worse than military
coup because it is not only imposes the
will of the political godfathers on the
rest of Nigeria but also is laden with
deceit. We
(all of us) must resist any attempt by
anybody including INEC, self serving
politicians, misguided youths and the
security agencies to howsoever
manipulate or rig the elections as well
as discourage the popular believe that
Political office here in Nigeria is more
of an access to massive oil wealth: a
gateway to power and patronage, than
service to the people.
Making
our votes count is therefore the single
most important reform that we urgently
need in Nigeria, if we must make
progress as a people and regain our
place in the comity of nations.
Without positive and progressive
electoral reforms including deepening of
internal democracy in the political
parties and credible elections, the
youths have no future in Nigeria.
As youth leaders you must rise up to the
challenge and support the campaign for
electoral reform. You must mobilize all
the Rivers Youths to resist the
temptation to be used by any body to rig
howsoever the 2011 elections. I can
proudly say that no person can
successfully rig any election in Nigeria
and in Rivers State without the tacit
and /or
explicit support of the
youths. As youth leaders you must use
your energy for the progress of your
fatherland! You must shun violence and
join the fight against evil and
corruption. As youths you have more time
to spend on earth than the elders and as
such should have more
stakes
in the Nigeria project. You should
therefore be
more actively
involved in the Nigerian project. I do
not want to pretend that it is a tea
party, but the truth is that it is the
key to the good future we all expect and
dream of and we cannot afford to fail!
Permit me remind us that youths in
traditional Africa societies were
catalysts for positive change and
represented the engine room of
governance. Without the youths the
policies, conventions and traditions
which were the basic ingredients of
governance in our traditional societies
could not be enforced. Without the
youths the peace and security of our
traditional African societies were a
mirage. Without the youths the elders
never wished to live to old age! Without
the youths the women never had the joy
of womanhood. Without the youth the
society was hopeless!
These expectations have not changed till
date. What has changed is that some
youths have refused to be youths and
rather have sometimes allowed themselves
to be used by self serving persons to
destroy the society.
The stories in all our communities
bedevilled by chieftaincy and communal
crises as well as the reports of
previous elections in Nigeria are clear
illustrations of how some youths have
contributed to the under development of
our dear country.
I am however encouraged by your comments
today and your mission to believe more
than I did before that there is hope for
this country. There is hope because the
youths who represent the future have
decided to come together to work for the
peace and progress of Rivers State and
Nigeria. This is quite commendable.
Let me therefore request that you work
tirelessly to ensure that people who are
elected to hold public offices are those
who will serve the people and who will
be accountable to the people. They
should be persons who are determined to
ensure that they run a government for
all and not a government for a few. We
must also partner to ensure that the
Niger Delta crises and the unacceptable
level of poverty and unemployment in our
country are squarely addressed.
Let me assure you that TUC will give you
all the support we can.
Finally, let me thank you for the award
and for offering me the rare privilege
of being one f your life patrons. I
accept your award on behalf of TUC. I
also accept in principle your offer of
life patron subject to the approval by
the Council of the Rivers State TUC. As
soon as I obtain the approval of the
Council of the Rivers State TUC to be
one of your life Patrons, I will inform
your President General. The award and
offer of Life patron are in my opinion a
call for greater commitment to duty, not
just for me or TUC but for all of us.
I therefore gladly ask that you join us
in the great task ahead! The great task
of working together to promote good
governance, credible elections and the
resolution of the Niger Delta Crises.
This is the principal thing I ask of you
and I believe you will not disappoint me
.....BEING THE TEXT OF
ADDRESS
BY COMRADE HYGINUS CHIKA ONUEGBU(FCA)
STATE CHAIRMAN TRADE UNION CONGRESS OF
NIGERIA(TUC) RIVERS STATE COUNCIL DURING
THE COURTESY VISIT BY THE LEADERSHIP OF
THE RIVERS STATE YOUTH MOVEMENT OF
NIGERIA (RYM) ON FRIDAY MAY 21ST
2010
Emerging Risks and
New Patterns of Prevention in a Changing
World of Work-By
Hyginus Chika Onuegbu
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