Our Royal fathers present,
Elder Statesmen,
National Executives,
Branch Chairmen and Secretaries,
Member Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am most grateful to Allah for the honour given to me to stand before you today performing one of the crucial aspects of our district association activities. I have the honour to sincerely appreciate and welcome you to this year’s bi-annual delegate conference taking place in Lokoja, Kogi State. Allah in His infinite mercies will make it a huge success for us. Ameen.
Let us rise to observe a minute silence in honour of some of our departed souls. May God Almighty have mercy on their souls. Ameen.
As you are all aware, a delegate conference is meant to deliberate on issues of importance waiting for approval at our AGM. At this year bi-annual delegate conference, security, education and health should dominate our discussions.
SECURITY
The safety of our peoples’ lives and properties at home and in the diaspora remains our top priority. We have seen pockets of challenges across our community, as such we must therefore strengthen collaboration with our traditional rulers, security agencies, and youth groups to be proactive to early warning signs, community policing, and support for victims as no development can thrive in an environment characterized by fear and anxiety.
Security still remain a big challenge in our community, our farmland have been taking over by herders while at the home front, valuable public facilities are being lost through the activities of unscrupulous members of the community. As a community, we have lost public items such as power generating plants, power transformer, submersible pumps, water tanks, etc that are meant to serve and improve the quality of life for our people. Not left out by these element is the encroachment of lands belonging to our public schools thereby threatening future development and expansion.
A Committee at instance of Ihima stakeholders is on-going to investigate those ugly development in Ihima. I urge every good Anihima to join hands to discourage those with itching palms from tampering with our public facilities. It is our expectation that the committee will not only help to recover those public properties but in addition make a far reaching recommendations to deter and avoid reoccurrence of those ugly incidence in future.
EDUCATION
The future of Ihima lies in our classrooms, and these we are lacking is all aspects in quantity and quality. Present day education is going digital, presently we do not have enough JAMB/CBT centre in Ihima and if we do not make effort to upgrade by having more functional CBT Centre, our children may not have a place to write WAEC and NECO exams in the nearest future. Our primary and secondary schools need urgent attention especially in area of manpower, government cannot do it alone, as such we need to devise strategies to see how we can help ourselves. Ihima certainly is in need of higher institution (private or public). We appeal to state government through our political office holders and other influential individuals to convert the universities in the state to a multi campus institutions where Ihima will be a beneficiary of such statelite campus arrangements. We have under-utilized public secondary schools structures with vast land to host such institutions. (More reasons why we have taken adequate measure to protect our schools land from further encroachment.)
HEALTH
Access to basic healthcare has in recent times eluded us as there are no functional tertiary health facility in our environment. While we acknowledge the efforts of our federal legislators in facilitating the passing of the bill to convert the Comprehensive Health Center in Ihima to Federal Medical Centre, it should be noted that it has not yet come to reality. At our community level, discussions are on-going to affiliate the Comprehensive Health Center to Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja for a better medical missions in Ihima.
We needed political- will that will influence Federal Ministry of health to transfer the Comprehensive Health Center’s budget from Ilorin Teaching Hospital to Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja. Effort should also be made to State government through our political office holders and well meaning personalities to draw their attention to inadequate health facilities in our community.
UNITY AND COHESION
Ihima is stronger when we speak with one voice. Let us put aside personal differences and work for the collective good. Ladies and gentlemen, we are gradually getting to election period, the interest of peace, progress and development of our community should dominate our minds. Nothing whatsoever can equate human life, I therefore appeal to our political leaders to maintain peace and tolerance throughout the period.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND EMPOWERMENT
We are most grateful to our present political office holders for their development and empowerment stride in Ihima. The massive road networks are worthy of mention and we are highly appreciative. Our police station has become operational again, befitting and upgraded to area comand, this has given us opportunity to look forward for police post in other axis in Ihima. Not left out of the happy moment are various life saving empowerment, appointments and employments at local, state and federal levels for our sons and daughters that are too numerous to mention.
AWARD AND RECOGNITION
No doubt, Ihima has her best moment In development through our sons and daughters within and beyond facilitated by personalities who are at different times occupy various position of authority. Such personalities, dead or alive derserved to be recognized, remembered and possibly immortalized for posterity sake and to encourage others to always look inward whenever they have opportunity.
IHIMA DAY
You may recall that the idea of Ihima day dominated our discussions last year, several committee were set up and far reaching decisions such as date (period) has been agreed upon. To this end, I announced that Ihima day parameter has been set to be around Echikuta, it is expected that succeeding national executives in collaboration with stakeholders will annually choose a convinient day around the parameters set for the annual Ihima Day celebration.
APPOINTMENT OF LEGAL ADVISER
Barr. James Olufemi Seidu has been contacted and accepted to be the Legal Adviser to our Association. I congratulate and appreciate him for the love of our dear community
IWA NEW EXECUTIVES
I want to bring it to our notice that the tenure of this Executive will end by December, 2026. Electoral committee will be put in place early enough to work towards electing new officials.
FUNDING
Our major challenges as an association remains non or poor funding. The high expectations will just be a mirage if not properly funded. Let look at a viable traditional ways of funding the association instead of looking on to political office holders and individuals for survival. We sincerely appreciate those that always come to our aid financially, we thank them immersely for their sacrifice to the community and we pray that their resources will continue to multiply in many folds. Ameen.
APPRECIATION
I sincerely thank His Royal Majesty, our Royal Fathers, for their fatherly guidance. To our Elder Statesmen and our Board Of Trustees thank you for your wisdom. To National Executives and Branch leaders, thank you for your sacrifices. To our women and youth, you are the engine of the success stories.
As we deliberate over the next few hours, let us do so with honesty, respect, and for the love we have for Ihima. The resolutions will shape the agenda and ultimately the direction of our noble association.
Once again, you are all welcome to Lokoja. May our deliberations be blessed, and may Allah continue to guide and protect Ihimaland.
– Bello Omuya Abubakar, National President, Ihima Welfare Association (IWA)
