President's Statement

 

SPEECH BY ISAAC NAMABIRI
 PRESIDENT IJAW PEOPLE’S ASSOCIATION UK AND IRELAND (IPA)

 

DATE: 7TH JUNE 2009.
ADDRESSED: TO ALL MEMBERS OF IPA

GREETINGS
Dear Chiefs ,  Elders, Past Presidents, Past Vice Presidents, ladies and gentlemen.  With total humility to God Almighty I stand in your presence to address you all.

First I thank you all for your profound support in electing me as the President of this great organisation the IPA. It is a great honour saddled with great responsibility and trust.
I also thank my predecessor Mr Roland Ekperi with the support of his wife for his dedicated leadership of the IPA, the vision, passion, zeal and unwavering love for the Ijaw people with which he served this community. Under his leadership, IPA became a vibrant and dynamic body in Europe, the Americas and Nigeria.
I also thank past and current members of the executive and various committees for their unwavering commitment in serving IPA. Many of you served sacrificially in sometimes very challenging situations. I greet you all. Some are now back again into service, I admire your tenacity and dedication. Only God will reward you all.

I thank Mr and Mrs Efere the directors P J Group Ltd for providing rent free accommodation to IPA for over a year in holding various meetings. I pray God to reward you mightily.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for your financial contributions and sacrificing time and effort to attend monthly meetings. A special thanks to Mrs Barbara Odisi that travels from the Midlands at enormous personal financial costs to attend meetings and other IPA functions.

I also give special thanks to these women of honour namely Mrs Timi Sikpi, , Mrs Vivian Apanari, Miss Tamara Hobobo ,Tondea Benson, Eva , Barbara, Mrs Edna Knight and  Vice President Mrs Elizabeth Tuburu-Momoh who fought fearlessly and gallantly for the survival of IPA in April 2009.
Without these women, IPA would have been history. Dear ladies I hold you all dearly in my heart as God used you to defend your rights and belief against all intimidation and aggression.
My prayer to these women is that God will fight in your defence the day you cry for help as you all stood your ground to support the executive in the hour of trial. I salute you all. Not surprisingly you were duly rewarded with the First female Vice President in the person of Mrs Elizabeth Tuburu-Momoh in the history of IPA.

VISION 2009/10

The theme of this vision is PROGRESS AND RECONCILLIATION.
This vision will also serve as my modus operandi.

As the theme entails, IPA went through some turbulence in the last 12 months, there have been emotional wounds, bitterness, acrimony, back biting, mutual suspicion, polarisation, discreet factions, black mail, slander, legal threats etc. But by God’s Grace the Organisation survived the onslaught but with bruises.
For victims and initiators alike, I pray the healing of or Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God. I use this opportunity to build the bridge of reconciliation as fellow Ijaws and let the past be gone. As the Bible says, we are commanded to love one another and love covers a multitude of sins.

This is a new beginning and a new era, in order to achieve progress, I encourage all to forget but learn key lessons from our past mistakes.

Using the words of Apostle Paul in Philippians’ 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I am still not all what I should be, but I am focusing my energies on this one thing: FORGETTING THE PAST AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD.” NLT Bible.

My Vision and proposal to the house are as follows:

Welfare of our Elders and the sick.

Very soon, the executive will be arranging a lunch or dinner out with the elders to dialogue, and exchange in honest terms our expectations and our responsibilities to them. We shall seek for practical ways to boost the welfare of our elders within the resources available. I shall be tapping into the well of wisdom of our elders from time to time.

I will encourage all to please contact me my vice or any member of the welfare team if a member is ill or hospitalised or in situations that needs the support of IPA.

My paramount responsibility is for the welfare of our elders and members, therefore I will suggest willing elders to provide me and the executive with contact numbers and also boost the Welfare team as this is pivotal to the existence of IPA. I will be actively engaged in support of the Welfare team

Finance
To always provide annual budgets as relating to our expected expenses.
To introduce a cash reconciliation sheet for all meetings that will show in clear terms cash income and expenses and amount banked. It will be accompanied with a list of each membership contribution.
In conjunction with the treasurer, to standardised and produce the accounts in acceptable formats that will clearly show the Income and Expense statements and a balance sheet. I will be looking to download free accounting software or buy basic software for this purpose. This package will also be able to produce periodical statements of individual membership payments and invoicing,
This is very crucial as we are in the process of seeking funds for our second property, as this will increase the assets in the books and also boost our rental income and expenses.  This will also ease the work load on our honourable treasurer.

Outstanding Monthly contribution and levies.
To grant an amnesty to members in arrears with their monthly subscription to be reduced to a £30 base irrespective of amount owed. Levies for the year 2008/09 must be paid in addition to the £30. This amnesty will be open for the only 60 days starting today. This is to encourage those who for this reason stopped attending meetings to come back.
Please, I encourage you all as much as possible to meet your financial obligations. We cannot function properly as a reputable organisation without money.

Audit and Scrutiny Committee
To propose capable persons who will be willing and able to handle this role to deal with outstanding matters in respect of IPA accounts for the past 3 years. Their duties are clearly stated in the constitution.

Property
To ensure IPA acquires the second property within the next 6 months. And inspect the property in Strachan Road.

Membership card and Database
Overhaul ways to reintroduce membership cards for all bonafide members of IPA. In view of this , to design a comprehensive data base of all members : with full names, current address,  contact numbers, date of birth of all members and spouses of the family including children, current profession and date joining IPA. This will not be enforced it will be purely voluntary.

International Affiliations and Events in the Niger Delta
Fellow members’, IPA is not a political organisation but a community organisation.  However, we need to examine the intention i.e. the original thought of those that formed this organisation. Their thoughts are clearly stated in Article 2: Aims and Objectives.
The following subsections clearly states our relationship and conduct both in UK and internationally, (especially Ijaw people and Ijaw land).  Subsections: ii, v, vi, vii, ix, xi and xii.

At this juncture, I will be blunt to us all. No IJAW person in position of leadership avoids or ignores political issues. This is not a matter of choice but a matter of birth. The politics of crude oil in the Niger Delta and the continuous crisis in our land – IJAWLAND is known all over the world. As we are sitting here today, the Niger Delta is under military occupation, and innocent Ijaw son, daughters, children are being bombed, maimed, and destroyed by politicians. Genocide is disguised in the politics of Crude OIL. You cannot discuss IJAW matters without discussing the socio-political issues of the Ijawland.
Apostle Peter said in 1Peter 3:13 “and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” All leaders in IPA must be prepared to give an answer.

Recent events in the Gbaramatu Kingdom will serve as an example as I was called to question on events in the Niger Delta while on a business trip overseas. God forbid as I could not tell them that sorry, IPA is not a political organisation but a community organisation.

Therefore, to meet and respond to future events, I will set up and nominate an emergency response team in the IPA that will have my support to respond to issues and events back home. By permission these men will be Inemo Benaebi, Prince Efere and Mr Suokomo. They will from time to time inform the executive in regards to homeland events. They will act in accordance with the constitution immediately as we in the past have been caught flat footed when other similar organisations are active.

My solemn appeal to all is that we must all grow up and wake up to our responsibilities as a body. In the film QUO VADIS, Nero the emperor of Rome was playing his harp while Rome was burning. Our land is on fire, so we cannot sleep here. I will do anything by God’s grace to bring my plight to the world, if even it involves addressing politicians.
I shall continue to seek affiliation, and alliances with other groups, organisation, persons or entity that will be sympathetic to the IJAW struggle and IPA.
I borrow from the theme of yesterday’s sermon delivered in honour of the dead in Gbaramatu kingdom “Please don’t just sit there, do something”.

Youth Activities and Culture
I will encourage and initiate youth activities networking and to see ways to start training the Ijaw language in UK. Please this is open for suggestions and contributions.

Rumours, Rules and regulations in meetings.

I will encourage members to please ask questions directly from the source as regards matters of IPA interest. As the President, I am bound by the oath of confidentiality and utmost integrity to the members. I will tell you the truth and facts without fear or intimidation. All matters for general interest to IPA will be made known, but all private matters relating to individual members will not be discussed. With due respect, I will not encourage any form of rumours, gossips and innuendoes of private and personal matters of members. These characters create a suspicious atmosphere and eventually lead to destruction.

My spiritual father once told me that Order is the first law of increase. God rests His blessing in an atmosphere of order and not chaos. The primary cause amongst others for the decline in the membership of IPA is disorderliness.
The executive is determined to fight this cancerous plague, after all IPA is for all of us and not just for a few. Henceforth, our meetings will be guided strictly by the rules and regulations of the constitution in order to eliminate disorderliness and disrespect during meetings. Please I will encourage all members to read the relevant sections and the penalties for persistence breach. This will be made available and recited in all meetings. It will be sad to sanction or discipline a member at this point, however time is a premium commodity and we have to march on boldly irrespectively of what happens. Remember Gideon’s army of 300 and not 30.000 men.
As a guide a member will be allowed to address the house for 3 minutes on matters in debate to allow room for other members contribution.

CHARITY MATTERS
 A committee will be set up to review the position on the IZON CHARITY. The committee will also be asked to see the benefits and responsibilities of bringing IPA as an Organisation into a charity status.

COMMUNION AND SOCIALISING
 We have in the past and for many years deprived ourselves of socialising with food and drinks after meetings. Henceforth this will be part of IPA. Proper food and drinks and in some cases music by a DJ will be made available to create togetherness, networking and relaxation. Members are free to invite friends to this part after meetings. This I think may bring in some communal awareness and sell IPA to the public.
I will encourage members to be hospitable and contribute towards this. One great secret of financial success is benevolence.

These are my visions for the IPA.

I will be willing to answer questions from the members regarding the vision.

God Bless the IPA
God Bless the Ijawland.
Amen