An Address by the Chancellor Mr Ime A. Obot at the Inauguration of ANADA Executive on Saturday 4th March, 2017
at ASANG NSIT Community Hall
Protocol
With gratitude to the Almighty God and deep reverence to the founding fathers of ANADA, we welcome you to the inauguration of the new Exco of ANADA taking place on this historical ground. We sincerely salute and appreciate the past Exco of ANADA, the Electoral Board, our royal fathers, the contestants of the last general elections, senior citizens of Asang, our vibrant youths, our hardworking mothers and women, true servants of the most High God, distinguished Asang professionals, captains of industry, business executives, respected members of the political class, great people of Asang Nsit Community, for all your support, material and moral, in seeing us through the rebirth our socio-cultural identity in ANADA. The Asang Nsit Area Development Association – ANADA is indeed an indispensable platform created by our forebears with the noble purpose of fostering unity, promoting progress and development in all the constituent units of Asang Community. They never left us without hope for a better future.
It is therefore with deep sense of humility and responsibility that we members of the new Exco of ANADA, and of our own freewill, openly accept to serve our great Community at this very trying time. The popular saying that for ‘everything there is a season’ is very relevant and instructive in the life of ANADA as an institution. For the past several years we have been grappling with the task of regenerating the soul of ANADA which had been rendered inactive by our collective thoughts, words and actions. Let us at this point recall and appreciate in a special way the resilience and commitment of the out-going Exco for proving to be worthy custodians of our heritage through ANADA for many years, and for making enormous personal sacrifices to tender the flame of our collective destiny, including full registration of ANADA with the Corporate Affairs Commission with RC. No. CAC/IT/ND/NO.33403, 2009, and a new constitution of ANADA to guide its operations. We enjoin every true son and daughter of Asang Nsit to proudly own a copy of this document. Today, a new cycle, a new season for ANADA and Asang Nsit people has come, let us seize the opportunity and gather our people from near and far to rebuild to the glory of God our great Asang Nsit Community, to reaffirm the vision and noble ideal of our founding fathers and mothers, so that their labour shall never be in vain.
The task of rekindling our people’s interest in community service and development is undoubtedly not an easy one. However, we must make concerted effort and struggle as a people to overcome our challenges and grow, realizing that destiny is the direction in which our individual and collective karma – the law of cause and effect of our actions, is moving us as a people. We must agree in this new awakening to collectively fight our major enemies of ignorance, disease and poverty; as well as our human weakness of laziness, greed, intolerance, folly, arrogance, envy, deceit, evil-speaking, blackmail, dishonesty, wickedness, insensitivity and corruption. We must desist from fighting one another and redirect our God given energies toward lofty goals and ideals. God has given us fertile soil, beautiful environment, abundant mineral deposits waiting to be adequately exploited for our optimum benefits and prosperity, let us not sell this land in perpetuity which is our birth right to strangers for a pittance and render our children internally displaced persons in their home. Similarly, in the various units of our great Asang Community we have a good number of talented, knowledgeable, experienced, skilful men and women whose energies are waiting to be properly harnessed, and who are capable of creating the Asang Nsit Community of our highest dream. We should encourage them and use them. Also, the entire world community is equally anxious to benefit from the contributions of Asang Nsit people in the emerging world civilization in arts, science, technology, politics, good governance and ethics, scholarship, security and peace. We have to build bridges and partner with others for a better world.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, our eternal challenge as a people in this part of the world has been that of leadership. A society gets the leadership it deserves. Our progress for many years had been slowed down by lack of transparent and effective leadership. But we are happy about the new awareness of our people regarding quality leadership. We were really excited and encouraged that our people insisted during the last ANADA general elections, on free and transparent process to elect their officers. This we strongly suggest should be deepened as the most preferred and the best ideal in order to avoid rancour and bitterness and encourage full participation of the people in the democratic process.
Nevertheless, we the new officers of ANADA are aware that our collective position is fraught with serious leadership responsibilities and expectations. Charity it is often said must begin at home, and with your cooperation, support and loyalty, we can make a difference. We shall also find the strength to fight poverty (intellectual, material, and spiritual). We shall fight the type of poverty that breeds a sense of gloom, despair and fear, and which turns our people, particularly the youths into bitter, envious, vile and malignant creatures, and rebuild their self-confidence through exposing them to creative skills and ideals for a successful living.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, the oath of office which we have just taken, is not to make us rule over anybody, but to serve our people and install an effective leadership philosophy for development through the platform of ANADA. We pledge to the God of our Heart to provide our people with a leadership of big ideas, broad vision, self-confidence and strong commitment. Leadership that would transcend the limitations of ignorance, bigotry, superstition and fear. We would strive with your cooperation, to initiate, articulate and pursue lofty goals and programmes that would unite and elevate our living standards and prosper us in all facets. All our actions as officers of ANADA will be inspired by love and guided by knowledge of who we are, and where we are going to.
We thank you for being a part of the new chapter of our history today, may God bless Asang Nsit Community.