MAJ. GEN. JOHN W. T. GBOR (RTD), APGA PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 2019,WANTS NIGERIANS TO UNITE AGAINST CORRUPTION AND INSECURITY

SPEECH DELIVERED BY MAJ. GEN. JOHN W. T. GBOR (RTD), APGA PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 2019, TO A DELEGATION OF MEMBERS OF OODUA YOUTH PARLIAMENT AT THE OCCASION OF THE AWARD OF THE MAYEGUN OF OODUA YOUTH AT THE JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION OFFICE, ON 30TH APRIL 2021. First of all I want to welcome you, members of Oodua Youth Parliament to the office of John Gbor Foundation here in Abuja. I feel highly honored by the presence of this powerful delegation representing the Youths of Oodua Parliament. On behalf of my family and all my well wishers throughout the length and breath of Nigeria, I want to express my profound appreciation to Oodua Youth Parliament for considering me worthy of this very important award as THE MAYEGUN OF OODUA YOUTH. The Mayegun is an upright or conscientious person who makes things right to ensure peaceful co-existence for all. I want all the Odua Youths to know that I am highly delighted to have been awarded THE MAYEGUN OF OODUA YOUTH. The fact that I am not from a South-Western State and yet, I have been singled out from the North-Central by these very intelligent Nigerian youths for the award of Peace among the Oodua Youths is, particularly, very significant to me and I believe, to all my well wishers. I am excited about this award and I wish that all my fellow Nigerians hear about it. Once again, I want to thank you from the bottom of heart for this outstanding award. THE OODUA YOUTHS HAVE DEMONSTRATED A SENSE OF UNITY Very significantly, this action of Oodua Youth Parliament is a clear demonstration of their concern for the unity of Nigeria. To have travelled all the way from the South-West to give an outstanding award to an individual of North-Central origin in Abuja, is a sacrifice for both the unity and the future of our dear country, Nigeria. The Oodua Youth Parliament believed in the unity of Nigeria at the time when many frustrated and disillusioned citizens are advocating the disintegration of the country. The fact that the Oodua Youth Parliament are here to give me an award as a Peace maker is a clear indication that our Youths, the Nigerian Youths believe in the unity of Nigeria as a solid, and one indivisible nation. APPEAL FOR NATIONAL UNITY As the Youths who are in the vanguard of national unity, I appeal to you to join GENERAL JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION in partnership with Patriotic Action Nigeria to work for the unity of our dear country Nigeria. Gen John Gbor Foundation is for Hunger Eradication, Youth Development and Women Empowerment. We work in Partnership with Patriotic Action Nigeria (PAN) as a project of the John Gbor Foundation for the unity, safety and prosperity of Nigeria. Today,Nigeria is badly divided in the midst of an unprecedented high level of insecurity. The youths are the link between the present and future generations. We cannot afford to fail you and neither should you fail yourselves, for your failure means the failure of Nigeria our dear nation. In order to succeed, all Nigerian youths should not see themselves as belonging exclusively to their ethnic group but, inclusively, belonging to Nigeria. In other words, in order for Nigeria to succeed, our youths, the Nigerian youths should not see themselves in terms of ethnicity as Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ibibio, Fulani, Kanuri, Nupe, Tiv etc, but must see themselves as Nigerian youths. I want to encourage the Oodua Youth Parliament to use their experience to establish Nigerian Youth Parliament as this will go a long way to, forever, cement the unity of Nigeria. In the History of the development of our nation, the Nigerian youths had always played a prominent role. The British conquered and administered the territory they called Nigeria, but the Nigerian educated youths of the 1920s, 1930s and the 1940s were responsible for the existence of Nigeria as one nation even against the wish of the British. In the 1920s the educated Nigerian youths demanded for Nigerian nation. The British colonial government opposed. Sir Hugh Clifford, the Governor of Nigeria made it clear that Nigeria will never be made a nation. He warned that the idea of the Nigerian nation is a no go area. The youths who formed the first nucleus of Nigerian nationalism continued their demand for the Nigerian nation. In 1944 the Nigerian youths of Kings College Lagos invited all Nigerian ethnic groups to Lagos. On 26th August 1944 some 101 different ethnic groups across Nigeria converged in Glover Hall. They agreed that the whole country should form one solid political block and one solid economic block. On that day they unanimously formed the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC). Herbert Macaulay was elected the Chairman and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected the Secretary. The Party was to seek for the rights and wellbeing of Nigerians. THE BRITISH INTRODUCED REGIONS TO TRUNCATE NIGERIAN NATIONALISM In the 1940s when it became clear that the spirit of Nigerian nationalism was unstoppable, they implored the services of a British Colonial Governor in Jamaica, Sir Arthur Richards, to Nigeria. Sir Arthur Richards was an expert in handling nationalists in the British colonial empire. Sir Arthur Richards wrote a Constitution which divided Nigeria into Western Region, Eastern Region, and Northern Region. The Nigerian nationalists who were unanimous in fighting for Nigerian nationalism began to fight for Western, Eastern and Northern nationalism respectively. We hardly had anyone seriously fighting for Nigerian nationalism. Sir Arthur Richards literally dampened the spirit of Nigerian nationalism. The fight for Regional Nationalism instead of Nigerian Nationalism has dangerously, now metamorphosed into the Ohannaze which fights for the East; Afenifri which fights for the West; and Arewa Consultative Forum which fights for the North. None of these regional organization fights for Nigeria. As long as there is no one fighting for Nigeria, no one should expect security in our homes or on our highways. Similarly, no one is to expect economic prosperity for the wellbeing of all the citizens. Our youths and women will continue to suffer until we give up ethnicity, geo-political divides of North and South and we all will join hands to fight collectively the challenges of Nigeria, our nation. The nation is waiting to reclaim its citizens from the North, the East and the West so that once more it can have sons and daughters who are just Nigerians. Given the human nature which at best is evil, the security of any human society does not come as an accident. If we want security, we must relentlessly plan and work for it. Those who violate the laws must necessarily be corrected. Neither does the prosperity of any given society come by accident. A nation that desires prosperity must work for it and in the process must observe all the necessary regulations. A society whose individuals turn aggressively as scavengers on its monetary and natural resources as we do in Nigeria is, definitely, doomed to fail. Nigerian security and economic development are on the downward trend because we are operating a nation where everyone is for himself and there is hardly anyone for the nation. If we plant corruption we should expect to harvest the evil we have planted. But if, on the other hand, as sincere and honest citizens, we plant honesty and truth, then we should expect to harvest the fruits of the goodness we have planted. The survival of any nation is based on the principle of sustainable development. If we must survive and succeed, we must imbibe the culture of sustainability. The security and economic prosperity of a community do not come to them by accident. We, the Nigerian people, must therefore, plan deliberately for the safety and economic wellbeing of our youths, our women, and our physically challenged citizens. The youths, the women, the physically challenged and all Nigerians, will never fair well until we give up our dangerously entrenched ethnicity, regionalism or the geo-political divides, and begin to face the challenges of our people. We must plan definitely for the people’s security and the economic prosperity for all citizens. We must give up our undue attachment to ethnicity and become, just Nigerians as Americans are just Americans, Canadians are just Canadians and Chinese are just Chinese. We must allow our youths, our women and all our citizens to function collectively as just Nigerians. Once again, I thank you, the members of Oodua Youth Parliament, for the honor. I am looking forward to more opportunities for mutual interactions with you.

A TRANSITION FROM PATRIOTIC ACTION TO GEN. JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION

 

Maj.Gen.John W.T.Gbor (rtd)

A TRANSITION FROM PATRIOTIC ACTION TO GEN. JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION

I, Maj. Gen. John W. T. Gbor (rtd), President and Founder of Patriotic Action Nigeria (PAN), formally announce to you, the distinguished members of PAN, the voluntary resignation of Mr. Yomi Laughters as the Director General of PAN.

On behalf of all members of Patriotic Action Nigeria, I thank Mr. Yomi Laughters for the services he rendered to PAN. We wish him success in his new endeavors.

I want to assure all members that Mr. Yomi Laughters’ resignation will not, in any way slow down, nor will ever slow down PAN’s drive for the unity of our dear country, Nigeria. Our approach, henceforth, will be more comprehensive and encompassing. We want to assure you of a smooth transition from focusing only on PAN to the new Management of PAN as a project of Gen. John Gbor Foundation. This new approach is more inclusive and more dynamic as the Foundation promises greater opportunities for Nigerians.

We are confident that our drive to unite Nigeria as one solid and indivisible nation that is safe and prosperous will be greatly enhanced by the projects and activities of the Foundation. For example, with the new Management, we have a budget of N16 Billion. We are in touch with some internal and foreign donors to enable us to execute our projects. 

Some of the projects include A School for the Blind; Skills Acquisition for Nigerian Youths and Women; A University of Technology with the specific purpose of transforming Nigeria from being a country that depends on foreign products to grounding our youths to practically producing our needs within the country; and the Supply of Foods to Orphanages, IDPs, Prisons, the Physically Challenged, and Widows. We have began to make contacts with oversees donors to fund some our projects.

On behalf of the New Management, I sincerely thank you for your understanding and support. With you, we are certain that, the task to make Nigeria a well united, safe and prosperous nation is achievable! May God bless Nigeria and bless us all!

United Niger Delta Forum Honored Maj.Gen.John W.T Gbor(rtd) As The Okugbe Of The Niger Delta

 

THE SPEECH DELIVERED TO MEMBERS OF UNITED NIGER DELTA FORUM BY MAJ. GEN. JOHN W. T. GBOR (RTD), ON THE OCCASION OF THE AWARD AS THE OKUGBE OF THE NIGER DELTA (THE SYMBOL OF UNITY AMONG THE NIGER DELTANS), AT THE OFFICE OF THE JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION AND PATRIOTIC ACTION NIGERIA, ABUJA ON THURSADAY 11 MARCH 2021

 

The President of United Niger Delta Forum,

Comrade Oghenovo  Ese Gabriel

Members of the United Niger Delta Forum,

 

Officials of the John Gbor Foundation and Patriotic Action, Nigeria (PAN)

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Today, I feel highly honoured, by this spectacular award as the OKUGBE OF THE NIGER DELTANS by United Niger Delta Forum (UNDF). I am highly delighted for this award. I appreciate you, members of the United Niger Delta Forum. It is very thoughtful of you to have considered me as the Symbol of Unity among the people of the Niger Delta. As an ordinary citizen who is committed to the unity and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians, it is my prayer to the Almighty God that, I live up to the expectations of the people of the Niger Delta and the Nigerian people of the other geo-political zones.    

THE TASK TO UNITE NIGERIA

Nigeria our dear country is going through a series of challenges. Some of our numerous challenges include lack of unity, youth unemployment, hunger, and all problems associated with youth development and women empowerment.

The unity of Nigeria is the key to all Nigerian problems. There is the need for all component parts of our dear country to come together in unity in order to ensure our peaceful co-existence and economic prosperity.

I therefore, task you, the leadership and members of United Niger Delta Forum, as well as my good people of the Niger Delta, to take the lead of the other geo-political zones to unite Nigeria. The United Niger Delta Forum can initiate and achieve the realistic unity of Nigeria by organizing nation-wide rallies.

 

THE NEED TO MOBILIZE THE YOUTHS

The Nigerian youths are a vital link with the future. The youths must necessarily be mobilized to unite and combat the ills of the nation. This is because the future of Nigeria will not only fall into their hands but also, will be on their shoulders.

In the next three decades, Nigeria’s population is expected to increase to over 400,000,000 people. The Nigerian youths of today will shoulder the responsibility to feed the people, provide security for all, provide education for the children and the youths of the time, provide health facilities, roads and all that will be required for the wellbeing of the people. Although the Federal Government is doing her best to mobilize the youths, however, if the youths are not adequately mobilized to unite the nation now, it will be virtually impossible for them to provide good governance, security and foods to steaming population of over 400,000,000 people. The youths must be taught now to defy Afenifere, Ohannaeze, and Arewa Consultative Forum, and to jettison ethnicity, religiosity, and geopolitical divides in order to position themselves to solve Nigeria’s problems.

As the OKUGBE OF THE NIGER DELTA, I appeal to members of United Niger Delta Forum and to all Nigerian youths to unite the nation. The Nigerian youths will sooner or later take over the responsibility of overseen the affairs of the nation.  However, they will not lead Nigeria as Yorubas, Igbos, Ibibio, Kanuri, Fulani, Nupe, etc, but they will lead Nigeria as Nigerians. In other words, the Nigerian youths owe the nation the singular act of uniting the nation to give us the badly desired Nigerian Identity so that we will become “just Nigerians.”  

EX-APGA Presidential Candidate Maj.Gen. John WT.Gbor (rtd) Tasks Media Practitioners on National Unity

 

A PRESS BRIEFING ONTHE STATE OF THE NATION BY MAJ. GEN. JOHN GBOR (RTD) AT THE OCCASION OF A COURTESY VISIT BY AREWA JOURNALIST FORUM  AT THE OFFICE OF JOHN GBOR FOUNDATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH PATRIOTIC ACTION NIGERIA (PAN) IN ABUJA ON 4^TH MARCH 2021.

 

Executive Members of Arewa Journalist Forum,                                                                

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.

 

It is my great pleasure to receive you, members of Arewa Journalist Forum, who are here to interact with me on the State of our dear nation, Nigeria. As General Buhari used to say, “We have no country but Nigeria,” to parley on the affairs of Nigeria in order to proffer solution to our problems, is a noble course. I welcome all of you to the John Gbor Foundation office.

 

John Gbor Foundation was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the registration number CAC/IT/65851 on ^3rd December 2013. The Foundation is for Hunger Eradication, Youths Development and Women Empowerment. Patriotic Action Nigeria (PAN) was registered with Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) with the reference number 6082. The vision of PAN is a united, secure and a prosperous Nigeria. It became full knowledge to us that the problems of hunger, youths development and women empowerment cannot be achieved successfully in a badly divided nation as our own, the John Gbor Foundation has entered into partnership with Patriotic Action Nigeria (PAN) in order to encourage PAN for her effort to bring about the unity of Nigeria. The unity of Nigeria is the key to our survival and success for all aspect of our development. Our unity is central to the eradication of hunger, the development of our youths and the empowerment of our women.

THE STATE OF THE NATION

Our dear nation, Nigeria, is beset with a variety of problems. Our problems are not insurmountable. There is no nation on earth that does not have problems, but a nation that desires to survive and succeed to ensure the wellbeing of its citizens must critically and continuously re-examine itself to determine the root cause of each problem and deal with it appropriately. The essence of nationhood is to ensure the wellbeing and peaceful co-existence of the citizens. The followings are some of the Nigeria’s problems.

Nigeria is badly Divided: The lack of unity among the various component parts of the country is the source of all Nigerian problems. After 60 years of independence, Nigerians are more divided than ever before. Coming from the divide and rule of the colonial heritage, the people who call themselves Nigerians still lock up themselves in their ethnicities and colonially inherited geo-political divides of North and South and the sub-regional divides of East, West and North. Nigerians also yield to the pressure of religious enclaves of Islam and Christianity. Despite the efforts of our national leaders, from 1960 to date, the ethnic divides and the geo-political dichotomy of North and South still persist.

Youths Unemployment: The majority of the teeming population of our youths remains unemployed. The youths are a critical link between the present and the future. It is a national error to perceive the youths in their ethnicities as Igbo youths, Kanuri youths, Hausa youths, Tiv youths, Fulani youths, Yoruba youths, Ibibio youths etc. They are not ethnic youths. They are Nigerian youths and must be given full attention as a critical segment that connects Nigeria with future generations to ensure our perpetuity as a nation. The next 30 years when Nigeria’s population is expected to be over 400, million people, it is these youths as full grown adults that will be responsible for their security, the provision of foods and health services, and to conduct our foreign relations. The most regrettable thing any nation can do is to ignore its youths.

Poverty: Many Nigerians in both urban and rural areas are under the condition of extreme poverty. Nigeria is richly endowed with inexhaustible natural resources that can provide sufficient foods and wealth to our citizens. Unfortunately, despite the abundance of our natural resources, Nigeria is reckoned the “Poverty Capital of the World.” It takes only Nigerians to rid Nigeria of the conditions of poverty.  

Insecurity: The problem of insecurity in the country is increasing by the day. Citizens can hardly move freely to conduct legitimate businesses from one part of the country to another. There is insecurity in all parts of the country. People are attacked on the highways, on their farms, in their homes and even in their places of worship. We have cases of insurgency and banditry in some parts of the country. It’s unfortunate how our vulnerable women are being raped unprotected.

Corruption: Corruption, the act of taking illegally what belongs to the commonwealth of a nation or of using one’s means and authority to influence people to take wrong actions that are detrimental to the wellbeing of society. A British politician once described Nigerians as being fantastically corrupt. A thief who does not want to be called a thief must, either, stop stealing or should not fight those who call him thief. The allegations against us as a corrupt nation are evidenced in the discovery of public funds stolen by public servants and hidden in dug out pits in grave yards and in and around residential buildings, in overhead water tanks, and in funds found in foreign and local banks. The monies stolen from our commonwealth and stacked in foreign banks are used by host nations to promote the education of their youths and for the wellbeing of their citizens.

 Lack of Patriotism:  Patriotism is an extremely scarce commodity among Nigerians.

Electoral Malpractice: Individuals who seek to lead the nation as President, Governor, Senator, Member of House of Representative or State House of Assembly, and Local Government Council Chairman, must necessarily prove to be above board. He or she must be honest for to lead is a noble cause. To be noble is to be self-sacrificing. A noble person who seeks to lead the people, but turns around and rigs or steals and buys votes to win an election, has automatically lost his nobility. An ignoble person, who is proven to be dishonorable and unpatriotic, cannot be trusted with the responsibility of leadership at all levels of the national society. The Nigerian people have the responsibility to decide who leads them.  

SOLUTION TO NIGERIA’S PROBLEMS

We must Know, Understand and Trust Ourselves. In order to proffer lasting solution to Nigeria’s problems, we must make bold to know and say who we are. We are citizens of a nation of many ethnic nationalities who live in absolute ignorance of one another. We neither know nor understand ourselves as a people, though we co-exist as members of one national society. Knowledge leads to understanding. Understanding leads to trust. Without trust and understanding there can be no unity. Unity is the product of trust. In the absence of the knowledge, understanding and trust of ourselves, we depend on our personal imagination to relate to others. We must take steps to know and understand ourselves in order to achieve realistic unity of our dear nation.

The Unity of Nigeria is the Key to all National Problems: Several decades after independence, Nigeria is badly divided. This is because we, the citizens, have not sat down to look critically at the issues of the nation we inherited from the British colonial government. When the British invited and offered us independence, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe suggested to the political elite, the need to set our house in order before becoming an independent State. He was opposed by the majority of the political elite, the Nigeria’s stakeholders of the time. Many years after independence we are yet to sit down together to recreate and make Nigeria a solidly united nation.

After 60 years of Nigeria’s independence, we are yet to become Nigerians just as Chinese are Chinese, Americans are Americans and Canadians are Canadians. We are still Northerners, Southerners, Westerners, and Easterners. We are still Igala, Nupe, Kanuri, Ibibio, Fulani, Yoruba, Tiv, Igbo etc. The official policy of the British colonial administration was to bring up Nigerians to pledge their loyalty to their ethnic group. This encouraged “tribalism.” Nigerians were denied the privilege of developing national consciousness despite the appeal by nationalists like Barrister Solanke Oladipo. We must give up ethnicity in favor of national consciousness and pledge our loyalty to Nigeria.

The Colonial Government Created Regions to Decentralize Nigerian Nationalism: The unstoppable Nigerian nationalism which came into force in the 1920s was truncated by the 1947 Sir Richards Arthur’s Constitution. By creating Western Region, Northern Region and Eastern Region, Sir Arthur Richards succeeded in regionalizing Nigerian nationalism. The Nigerian nationalist of the 1940s viewed the regionalization of Nigerian nationalism as a stratagem of divide and rule. The British created the three regions to serve as a defence against the possible seizure of the British imperial power by the nationalists. The educated elements concentrated around Lagos and constituted a strong nationalist force. Sir Arthur Richards created the Regions as a deliberate attempt to break the ridiculously predominant influence of Nigerian nationalists who converged in the coastal towns of Lagos. Many educated Nigerians moved to Lagos in search of opportunities for a better life.

Today, Nigerians still see themselves in the eyes of British contraption of the country. We have organized ourselves in line with the British contrivance. In the West, we have Afenifere fighting the Nigerian central government from the West. Ohannaeze fights Nigeria from the East and Arewa Consultative Forum fights the central government from the North. These are powerful centrifugal forces that negate the realistic unity of Nigeria. We must give up regionalism and accept being just Nigerians.

Conclusion: I want to reiterate the point that the unity of Nigeria is the key to the solution of all Nigerian problems. Patriotic Action Nigeria (PAN) is determined to work with all stake-holders of Nigeria to ensure the guarantee of inclusiveness and fairness to all Nigerian citizens. Once the citizen is guaranteed inclusiveness and fairness, the individual can pursue the fulfillment of his or her dream and aspirations without oppression and suppression.  We must, therefore, necessarily give up regionalism, the North-South divide and religiosity and become just Nigerians.