Tony John, Port Harcourt
Agriculture, education and healthcare are very essential to human living and development. These are sectors that impact on the citizens in great measure. Philanthropic individuals usually demonstrate their humanitarian gestures in these areas because they are germane to human development but rarely would you could get a philanthropist delivering these three services to the less-privileged in the society. However, recently, a United States-based group in partnership with the governments of Delta and Edo States, were in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, to invite the monarch of the community, His Royal Highness, Dr. Appolus Chu, to Benin for investors’ conference on agriculture, education and health sector.
Daily Sun learnt that experts in agriculture, education and health across the world would converge on Benin City, the Edo State capital, from November 19 to 21, for the Nigerian Global Investors’ Conference.
The conference is organised by the University of Benin and the Nigerian Initiative for Accelerated Development in Agriculture and Education and Healthcare (NIADAEH).
NADAEH is a Nigeria-focused social investment initiative with headquarters in the United States of America, whose focus is to provide the technical and financial interventions, which would be required by individuals, private sector organisations and governments, in their efforts to undertake and implement agricultural, educational and healthcare projects geared towards the achievement of a viable agriculture and a functional system of good education and quality healthcare.
This was disclosed during courtesy visit by a high-powered delegation from the University of Benin and NIADEAH, to His Royal Highness, Dr Appolus Chu, in his palace in Eleme. The delegation was in Eleme to invite the monarch in appreciation of his contributions to the development of agriculture, education and healthcare sectors in the country.
Responding to the invitation, the traditional ruler confirmed his readiness to attend the conference. He said that the conference would provide the platform for the Appolus Chu Foundation to showcase its monumental achievements in the affected areas, while also reaching to more people, who may well tap from the generosity of spirit behind the goals set out in mission statement and vision of the foundation over the years.
Chu, who is the Egbere of Okori Kingdom in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, said in his palace that the conference is coming at the right time in the nation’s history.
The king, who says that Nigeria is on the march to greatness, also argued that corruption is not prevalent in the country, as erroneously believed. He noted that Nigerians are hardworking people, regretting that, at the same time, they undermine their efforts.
He expressed: “I really appreciate the invitation. In this part of the world we are, we destroy our excellence. Nigerians are doing wonderfully well but we discredit ourselves and when you discredit yourself, naturally, you have killed that glorious gift God has deposited in you.
“ It pisses me off when Nigerians are being condemned. Nigerians are hardworking and they are doing well. Our media is doing well; our sports men and women are doing well. The performance of administrations that are coming up are better than previous administrations and those who come after will do better.
“I believe that Nigeria will come out wonderfully in the nearest future and become the Nigeria we will all be proud of. So, what am I talking about? I mean celebrate Nigeria. Be proud of Nigeria”, he stressed.
The monarch condemned the derogatory tag that ‘Nigeria is fantastically corrupt’. He expressed disappointment that no one (government) has come out to counter the statement, inferring that the country has adopted the name
“The truth is this, not all Nigerians are corrupt. If a Nigerian in any part of the world is involved in criminality, they should narrow the accusation to that individual there and punish that individual according to the law of that land, than to generalise the accusation to almost all Nigerians working very hard for their daily bread”, he stated.
According to the traditional ruler, Nigerians are being blackmailed because the western world has seen the country as a future threat to their economy, having the potentials to develop their country.
“Again, the truth is this, Nigeria is under strong international blackmail because we are doing wonderfully well. Nigerians are very hardworking and enterprising. They are creative and innovative. We are a threat to their products so, what they do is to blackmail because they own the media.
“So, any small fault done anywhere in the world by a Nigerian, they take an advantage of that and blackmail all and broadcast it and make it go global. They don’t want foreign manufacturing companies to do partnership with Nigeria, they want to kill our economy, so that we don’t establish anything and so that they will continue to dominate our market,” he said.
While presenting the official invitation to the king, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, University of Benin, Prof. Michael Aziken, said the invitation of the Okori King was in recognition of his social and philanthropic impacts on the society, especially in the areas of agriculture, education and health.
He said the organization would partner the Appolus Chu Foundation in the collective responsibility to drive agriculture as well as a functional system of good education and quality healthcare for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta and Nigerians.
Aziken explained that the monarch’s records showed that his philanthropic works with the Appolus Chu Foundation, especially on agriculture, education and healthcare, has positively impacted thousands of people across the country.
He said: “On that note, NIADAEH will partner with the Appolus Chu Foundation in the collective responsibility of driving a viable agriculture sector, as well as a functional system of good education and quality healthcare”.