The fire of patriotism was palpable and everyone was charged to commit more to the internal struggle to emancipate Oro, first of all from herself and from outsiders.
Yes! From herself. It's delusional to think that our problems are only caused by external forces who have refused to give us what we deserve. They constitute part of our problem, no doubt but we must admit that the Oro we inherited and were proud of was not made by strangers.
How willing are we to sacrifice for the common good? How well have we managed our individual lives for the benefit of our communities? Oro is more of an aggregation of the individuals than the land. Today, what is the level of drive of the individuals towards self actualization as compared to the glorious past?
Have we ever stopped to ask ourselves why it was possible for Oro to send some of her brilliant children overseas for training in the most sought after professions in the 1930s and 1940s? Yes, overseas.
Just as it is today, Oron Union of those days never had a farmland from where money was made to fund that audacious scheme. It never had a fat purse, if it had a purse at all. Patriotism and goodwill made it possible.
Patriotism made ordinary school teachers, clerks, messengers etc give up their one month's salary to send their kith and kin overseas to study.
Only a fool assumes it was easy. But they did because they knew Oro would never develop if the people were not educated and they were aware that community development would not be possible without such sacrifice. That era is gone leaving behind sweet memories of patroits who gave up pleasure for their community.
What are we willing to sacrifice today? Is it not shameful that our forefathers were more patriotic and foresighted than us? They didn't have everything before making the sacrifices which gave birth to the legacies we have now unconscionably trampled upon.
The biggest thing we seem to have lost today is not political relevance as we generally assume but the pride of Oronness and that unity of purpose which we inherited from our forebears.
That's the biggest loss we've suffered. Our collective pride is almost gone and our dignity seriously threatened. It's erroneous to think that outsiders are responsible for how we see and treat ourselves.
The power outsiders wield against us is that which we have unwittingly surrendered to them. As long as we believe that we cannot help ourselves until certain things happen, our generation will die unsung.
Despite this seeming gloomy picture, I have good news. A generation is emerging which will not be enslaved by the quest for personal accomplishments at the expense of the good of Oro; a generation whose members will sacrifice personal relevance for Oro's relevance ; a generation which will celebrate your record of service not your money, cars, houses, positions etc.
A generation of conscious and intelligent community builders is emerging. The forces of selfishness and retrogression have exploited our indifference for too long.
They took over the political space and assumed themselves lords with no iota of genuine love for the people. The game is fast changing as the people are becoming more aware of their power, rights and privileges.
We won't blame anybody or ourselves for what we did or failed to do in the past. The past only exists for us to learn from and not dwell on. We must move forward as a people with a common purpose and shared destiny. We can't undo the past but we can rescue the future.
Most of the mistakes were human errors not willful, wicked acts of subversion. Repeating them now and in the future will be both suicidal and unpardonable. It's said that only a foolish man engages the same methods and expects a different outcome.
We cannot continue to blame our leaders from the comfort of our homes and offices over what we perceive as their failings. They have played their own part. It's now your time to come forward with that magic wand. Remember, nobody formally appointed and proclaimed them leaders.
They emerged leaders by making sacrifices most of their self righteous peers refused to make. They spent their time, financial and mental resources to fight Oro's battles.
They bore Oro's burdens while others were too busy with their personal affairs to spare an effort. They were not nonentities looking for how to earn a living. They were mostly professionals like you.
Some started serving Oro as teenage undergraduates while others started in their twenties. Most of the Oro leaders i know today are in their sixties with more than forty years record of unbroken service to Oro.
How can you sit in judgement over such men when you are already more than thirty without serving even your own extended family? When will your own service begin? Or is your own duty that of criticizing and judging those who served and are still serving? It's better to make mistakes while serving than to live a selfish, self centred and private life. I hold those who are only good at identifying the errors of servants in absolute contempt.
Only the truth can pull us out of this pit of economic deprivation, political emasculation and social decay.
JOIN THE ORO LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE ON WEDNESDAY 17TH MAY, 2017 @ ORO CIVIC CENTRE. TIME: 1: 00 pm. It promises to be intense, truth revealing, eye opening, conscience healing, consciousness awakening and agenda setting in a brotherly atmosphere of love and unity.
As we sit at the roundtable, we will explore the subject "RE-EXAMINING ORO'S PLACE IN AKWA IBOM POLITICS: THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. Two illustrious sons of Oro shall be honoured at this historic event:
1. Sir (Dr) Etim Uye shall be given a Living Legend Award
2. Late Hon. Okon Bassey Etienam(NAMOBA) shall be conferred with a Posthumous Award.
Both of them earned the awards for burning themselves out in the service of Oro and humanity. The awards are given purely on merit to encourage selfless service among our people.
Those who serve well must be recognised by those who benefit from their service while God grants the eternal rewards.
Yak Abazi odiong Oro.
Omen Bassey is the Secretary, Oro Think Tank, Publicity Secretary, Oron Union and Convener, Oro Nation Leadership and Business Roundtable.
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