“Where did we go wrong and how can we get Igala land thriving again? These are some of the questions agitating a generation of Igala Sons and daughters across the world. From the Americas to Europe to Asia and to the Pacific and the Oceans and at home in Africa. The craving for an agenda that can instigate progressive development has never been more imperative.
There is therefore an urgent need to objectively address these socio-economic and political problems that plague Igala land. A key step to achieving this objective is the convoking of a regular economic summit to develop and implement an IGALA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA (IDA) that will set in motion, the machinery for the translation of the peoples’ hopes and aspirations into an emergent reality.”
The following post is the entire text of the speech delivered by our patron and former Attorney General of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim CON, SAN, FNIALS, FCI arb during our recent Igala Day celebration on 3rd September 2011 at Quality hotel Wembley. You can download the full text or view it on this page if your browser allows.
By Innocent Idajili
The newly appointed Senior Special Assistant to Kogi State Governor on Rural Women Development, Mrs. Zanaib Mohammed, has said that her priority would be to empower rural women and reduce poverty to the barest minimum in the state.
Entrepreneurship development of women, she revealed, would be placed on the front burner in the collective efforts to free rural women from the shackles of poverty.
According to her, empowering women to go into business for sustainable development would be the panacea, against high scale poverty that is currently ravaging the land.
The Senior Special Assistant who has spent barely a year in the country, having lived in Britain for 24 years, said”there is no basis for comparison between African women and Western women as they are poles apart”.
According to her, some of the things one sees as a rich man’s wealth in Africa are necessities of life in the advanced world.
She, however, commended Governor Ibrahim Idris, for creating women development projects, saying the “government is on the right path, first by identifying the gap and creating the enablement to enhance the living standard of the rural women”.
http://www.kogigraphics.com/rightbarnews8.htm
Note: This story has been extracted from an external source of which Igala UK is not responsible of its content.
We received great and inspring news over the weekend that Marcus Edino, a PhD in Energy and the Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University, was named among Britain’s 30 most outstanding black students in the National Union of Students (NUS) Powerlist ‘Future Leaders 2010’. Marcus came to the UK in September 2007 on a scholarship sponsored by Nigeria’s Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), having achieved an M Tech in geography with environmental pollution and waste management from the Federal University if Technology in Minna, Nigeria. He was named as one of the two top performing candidates from Kogi to secure the scholarship. The full story about the award has been posted on GCU’s website. This is a great achievement by one of our own and know that he will continue to make great strides and inspire others to be the best they can. Congrats Marcus!
The Kogi State Union UK (KSUUK) was on 3rd April hosted for the first time by one of its member unions, the Ebira Union at the All Saints Community Centre, Old Kent Road London. The new format for KSUUK meetings requires that every member association of KSUUK host host its general meetings on a rotational basis. Igala UK was well represented at the meeting by members and executive led by Bakwo Abdullahi the Chairman.
The meeting saw attendees from people outside Kogi state as well, notably guest speakers which included the Mayor of Waltham Forest Council Cllr Anna Mbachu. Mayor Mbachu who is the first female black mayor in the UK, gave a very inspirational talk about Women Empowerment in meeting with Millennium Development Goals. Other speakers were the PDP UK Women’s leader Madam Vicky and Mr. Ayo Audu, the Outreach Consultant (Nigeria/Ghana) for the International Organisation for Migration who also gave very good talks of their own.
Igala UK will be next in line to host KSUUK on Saturday May 29th and arrangements are already being made to have speakers, including the Mayor, attend the meeting so more people can benefit from the important information that was shared. Keep checking the website and your email for updates about the next general meeting and other Igala UK events.