WELCOME TO MY PAGE.

By Eddy Ogunbor.

Welcome my friends to my page Edwinogunbor on Facebook.

Thank you all for your response to inviting you to “like” my Page. I will like to use this medium to appreciate all for your encouragement and support for my blog since it was set up and identifying with me in my quest to disseminate information and educate Nigerians at home and in diaspora on the internet on issues affecting our beloved country.

Education and information, as we all know are powerful instruments and weapons at our disposal to fight for our constitutional rights and demand for same as lawful citizens.

Information that hitherto, I have posted on my blog and facebook, to some individuals, may seem partisan but, I do this against the background of my genuine conviction and concern for our fatherland, Nigeria. My basic conviction is that, Nigeria of our DREAMS as conceptualised by our founding fathers is not the Nigeria we see today. The Nigeria of our DREAMS, while we were growing up in the 50’s and up to the early 60’s and we were in schools is not the Nigeria we see today!! We had DREAMS just as our founding fathers had, that Nigeria will lead Africa; that Nigeria will lead the African Continent against the Continents of Europe, America, Asia and the Oceania. But what do we have now in Nigeria?

A country where “it is very fashionable to loot the treasury; a country where it is very fashionable to be corrupt........” (Hajia Rabi Ibrahim) and worst of all, a country where impunity reigns supreme!! Therefore, it is my genuine conviction and opinion that the level of corruption in our country, Nigeria as it stares at us in our faces, is shameful, embarrassing and should be unequivocally condemned. We are where we are now because the ruling Party, PDP, since 1999, when the administration of General Abdusalami Abubakar returned the country to a democracy, has failed woefully and with every passing single day, leading the country down the drain, such that we have become an embarrassment amongst nations.

Consequently in the year 2007, I decided on taking part in active politics and took my place with the then  largest opposition party, ANPP to make my voice heard, keep the ruling party in check and possibly effect a CHANGE in government as obtains in a decent democracy. I must confess that it has been a tough and long drawn task. I am often asked the question: why the opposition party and not the ruling party to canvass and express your opinion and effect the desired CHANGE from within? My answer to that is – I worked closely with the ruling party as a top management employee at the state and national level; most of the ruling party members at top levels, especially at the state , are my friends, therefore, I know the internal working mechanism of their party and this informed my choice of the opposition party.

The most obvious and obscene factors in the ruling party are the the factors of godfatherism and allegiance to the beliefs/practise of the godfathers. Added to that are the sycophantic and praise worship/singing syndrome in the party. In my opinion, I could never function properly in such an environment if I have to freely express my considered opinions.

In the year 2010, circumstance decided that some of us had to reject the ANPP and moved with our very valuable and upright leader, General Muhammadu Buhari to form the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) for obvious reasons. The rest as it is said, though not at an end yet, is history. I will explain this in due course. I must confess that the CPC gave me the unsolicited opportunity to express my views/opinions at the party national level. The party afforded me the opportunity to serve at top level and sensitive committees and sub-committees, as either Chairman or Member of same. I dare say that the ruling party would not have given me such opportunities to serve or express my views/opinions even at the Ward levels!!! I am grateful to the national leadership of the defunct CPC at both state and national levels for the opportunities which exposed me to the inner workings of a political party and the ever changing game plans in politics combining those with the normal “horse trading” and lobbying of politicians to support your opinions, however, with superior arguments.

The Leader of our Party, respected General Muhammadu Buhari (who I will refer to subsequently as GMB), a man of integrity, the anti-corruption crusader, a man mostly misunderstood and unduely persecuted by most gullible Nigerians, a General’s General, the peoples General, the defender of the downtrodden in the society and the “talakawas" of northern Nigeria, a man the powerful northern elites and corrupt Nigerians love to hate and the only man standing shoulder and head above most of his peers and people of his generation, made all my achievements possible in politics from 2011 to 2013, when GMB and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) midwifed and conceptualised the idea of a merger of CPC and ACN opposition parties. The ANPP and a faction of APGA led by Rochas Okorocha joined the merger process as what is refered to now as the LEGACY PARTIES, leading to the birth and registration of the ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS (APC).

With pride also, I inform you that I was drafted to serve as a Member of the CPC Mid-Term National Convention Committee 2013, (under the Chairmanship of my good friend, Dr. Mohammed Hassan Lawal) and Chairman, Sub-committee, Protocol and Publicty of same Committee to wind down CPC and formally declare the party’s intention to join other legacy parties to form the APC

                                                                                                                                                            After conclusion of the merger process, the break away faction of the ruling PDP, the nPDP led by Kawu Baraje, championed by the G5 Governors joined the APC. Obviously, there were various teething problems that trailed the movement of the G5 Governors and their supporters into APC. The leadership of APC and Interim Management Committee (IMC) led by Bisi Akande, a man from the older generation, a father figure, a very patient and tolerant Chairman that I came to respect post merger process (the reason I will explain in due course) set up a national APC Peace and Reconciliation Committee to resolve issues that arose due the G5 Governors entrance into APC. The Committee had composition as follows:-                                                                                                            

  Chief John Odigie-Oyegun  (fmr Governor Edo State)         Chairman.
Members are:                                                                                                                                    Senator George Akume (fmr Governor Benue State & present APC Senate Leader),                              Alh. Belo Aminu Masari  (fmr Speaker House of Representative),                                                            H.E Abdulazeez Yari  (Governor Zamfara State),                                                                                    Alh. Kawu Baraje (Leader nPDP),
 Alh. Yusuf Ali (fmr National Chairman APP/ANPP),                                                                              Alh.     Musa Gwadabe (fmr Minister of the Federal Republic),                                                                    Alh. Kashim Ibrahim (fmr Governorship Candidate – PDP, Borno State).                                                And yours sincerely, Eddy Ogunbor, served as Secretary to the Committee of the above named eminent Nigerians.                                                                                                                                                    The journey so far, has been quite an experience and undoubtedly rewarding to me in politics.

The reason for the formation of APC should not be lost on most reasonable Nigerians. The formation is not merely to wrest power from the ruling party, as being espoused by the ruling party and some gullible Nigerians. The APC slogan is CHANGE. We stand for and are committed to CHANGE from the rot in the Nigerian ruling party and in the society. CHANGE to curb CORRUPTION that has become the order of the day in the country, engineered, nurtured and encouraged by the ruling party.  CHANGE from the business as usual attitude of Nigerians and the ruling party.CHANGE from the order of IMPUNITY practised by the ruling party and government officials. CHANGE fromPERFIDY to the MORALITY and service to the masses of this country and to mankind. CHANGE, not for the sake of change, but for the better living conditions of Nigerians. CHANGE from the DECAY in our educational system to an acceptable standard internationally. CHANGE in our HEALTH sector to provide QUALITY and AFFORDABLE health care services to our youths, adults, our aged parents, pensioners and the low income earners in the society. CHANGE in efforts to provide GAINFUL employment to our teeming youths (employable) and our suffering unemployed graduates in the country. CHANGE from the present situation where our unemployed sons and daughters (graduates) are scammed and ‘419ed’ ending in the death of some. CHANGE from the forces of evil and darkness to the PATH of LIGHT and relative SALVATION and FREEDOM from oppressive forces.

This Page will be dedicated to evaluating WHERE we are coming from; WHERE we are going as a country; the POLITICAL HISTORY of our dear country; the DREAMS of our founding FATHERS/MOTHERS and their achievements, even though within a short period, post independence that was rudely interrupted, that is, looking back in retrospect.

This Page will assess WHERE we are now as a nation, WHY we got it wrong and SUGGEST way forward to ACHIEVE OUR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE GOALS.

Thank you once again and will solicit your subjective and and objective contributions on this Page. That is the beauty of DEMOCRACY and this includes accommodating all shades of views and opinions.

1. THE THEME FOR THIS PAGE IS:- ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS!!!!!!!