Follow Us on Google
By Christine Onwuachumba
Recently, Senator Osita Izunaso was at the centre of two significant public events across two states. The senator representing Imo West Senatorial District (Orlu Zone) and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in Owerri, Imo State capital, launched 200 scholarships for Orlu students, and a few hours later also launched a cassava processing initiative, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, for women of his senatorial district.
Later in the evening, Izunaso was honoured at a banquet organised solely to celebrate him by the Eminent Senators Club of Lagos.
The event, with the theme, ‘Nigeria business opportunities and the capital market: Reality of factors militating against the ideal intentions,” drew attendance from all walks of life, notably from the business community and the political circle.
Among the high-profile guests were Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, APC, Lagos East), the chairman of the occasion; Musiliu Obanikoro, former senator and former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana; Chief Joe Igbokwe, former Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor; Emomotimi Agama, the new Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Dr Ken Opara, Executive Director of Fidelity Bank and President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); and Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, Managing Director and CEO of Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) .
While speaking with journalists later that night, Izunaso noted that the bill to create Orlu State passed second reading on the floor of the Senate on June 5.
He also spoke of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) as another imminent development.
According to him: “What we want members of the club to do is to live in peace with the people of Lagos and live in peace with their own people. Anywhere anyone finds himself in Nigeria, that place should be your home, whether you find yourself in Sokoto or Kano or in Onitsha or Awka, that should be your home. Like our new national anthem, we are saying that “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.” That is the import of the whole thing we are saying today. That this country is ours.”
He added: “Our people have invested so much in Lagos, and Lagos people should appreciate it so we can live together as brothers and sisters. Some of these people here have not been home in a long while. The only home they have is Lagos. Therefore, Lagos should be comfortable for them.”
His message was similarly reinforced by Senator Abiru and Obanikoro. “Today, an Igbo senator is being honoured. A Yoruba senator is the chairman of the occasion. The lesson is that we are all one nation and we must all work together as brothers and sisters so that we can forge a better place for our country,” Senator Abiru said.
Other News
Obanikoro also voiced similar sentiments: “Our brothers and sisters from the South East, who are originally from the South East, you are Lagosians first now. And I want you to see yourselves first as a Lagos person. Those who are resident in the South East, they are Igbo of South East origin. Those of you in Lagos, you are Igbo of Lagos origin. And let us begin to define ourselves in that manner so that Lagos interest becomes your interest. That should be your primary focus. After all, we are all immigrants.
We all came from somewhere. It is just that the point at which we all came here is different. Whether my forebears came here 500 years ago, and yours came here five years ago, as long as you have adopted this state, let us ensure that we promote that common interest at all cost. We have come a long way and we shouldn’t allow politics to destroy what is possible in Lagos. We can make Lagos a shining example of what Nigeria should be.”
President of the Eminent Senators Club, Chief Monday N.C. Akunna, in his address, explained why the event was convened in honour of the legislator.
According to him: “The Eminent Senators Club was established on October 17, 2022, at the peak of the national election campaign. It was on this day that Senator Osita Izunaso visited my residence in Greenfield Estate to seek support in various capacities. I invited many of my friends to come and welcome him.
“Today, we have a club which was convened by his visit which now looks at the larger picture of integrating high calibre and successful men from all sectors of the Nigerian economy and professions to forge a social club with flair for political awareness.” The theme of the event further accentuated the legislative role of the senator in the larger society.
Speaking on investments in the capital market, Izunaso said: “We have been told that Dangote is who he is today because of the capital market. BUA’s chairman is who he is today because of the capital market. Elumelu is who he is today because of the capital market. New owners of banks will emerge in the next couple of months. So what are you waiting for?”
He averred that meetings should be arranged in future to bring the enlightenment about the capital market to more business people.
At the end of his presentation, SEC DG, Agama, assured: “Working with Senator Izunaso, we are going to bring development to the capital market; the regulatory framework of the capital market is being revised to meet the test of time. The future is in the capital market.”
Secretary of the club, Chief Afam Chukwuma, also noted: As members of Eminent Senators Club, most of us are business people and this is a socio-political club, not the usual social club. We have interest and we are aware and we participate in politics. Not necessarily by contesting election, but we try to influence policies. We try to see how we can through political involvement better our businesses to continue to do our work as individual and also as a community.”
