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Hard Work; diligent community Service and Edo Reward System- A radical perspective, being the title of a speech delivered by the President of Benin Nation al Congress, at a cultural reception for
Mr. Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, on Friday 6th March 2009.
I humbly salute the chairman of this august occasion , distinguished guests, Trustees of Benin National Congress, Edo leaders of thought, my Lord Spiritual and temporal, gentlemen of the press, Ladies and Gentlemen. It gladdens our hearts to have eminent personalities grace our occasions anytime you are called upon a gesture of this nature, even with the shortest notice. Once again, we salute you all.
Amakhuankheota, Aiweneotamaovban, is a deep-rooted Bini maxim which under-pins the value of hard-work and diligent service in the overall appreciation of the life and times of a man or woman in a given society. In our contemporary times, the values of hard-work and patriotic service to our respective communities or place of primary assignments are fast diminishing with little or no efforts by custodians of socio-cultural and political constituencies to address the trend. This is fundamentally the objective behind the formation of Benin National Congress; to further those values for which our people were greatly revered. To my mind, Hard-work is not an ambiguous term or phrase; it simply refers to the constructive investment of one’s energies on cherished goals of our society and for which goodwill is earned; so it does not imply corrupt enrichments or immoral activities that breed evil and disdain to our land.
On the other hand, the reward system is a psychological infrastructure that generates and sustains hard work and diligent service to our respective communities. Pedagogically, I was privileged to learn in my undergraduate days that in the societies preceding the “state”, people who by virtue of being members of a given community or shared paternal l or maternal relations imbibed social and cultural norms which promotes unity and patriotism; and they were in turn passed on to the next generations, however whether the generations that supposedly inherited these values appreciated them and ensured that they formed parts of the inheritance to their offspring is debatable. In the good old days, good name was an indefatigable asset and was held in high esteem by societies. For instance, before a woman is given to a man in marriage, serious questions are raised about the image of the intending Bride and Groom’s family. Not these days when it is a mere formality to ask what family or lineage the intending couples comes from. It is that sad that the primary motivation of taking private and public offices by most people is for corrupt enrichment. Relations of those in positions of authority usually asked how many properties they have secured even within the s hortest time and therefore they can be rightly accused of aiding and abetting corruption. Therefore the campaign for values re-orientation must begin with the family. It is partly the reason we chose Orientation Hall as the venue of this program.
What one is trying to point out from this presentation is that until we accord respects and honours to whom they are due, our present and future societies will continue to be at the mercies of evil men and saboteurs who find no need in doing good after all. In the cause of proofreading this piece, a friend of mine drew my attention to the orchestrated calamities that befell Malam Nuhu Riabadu shortly after he was removed from the chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The point the fellow tried to make was that whereas, the anti-corruption Czar did his best to rid Nigeria of corruption, our elites conspired against him and thus made him a laughing stock; I then said to him that such is life, and that time shall tell if he was just, and if he was, he will certainly be vindicated.
On our own part as a socio-cultural group, we have in no small measure impacted on our society by appreciating immense contributions of credible individuals and corporate bodies through our annual Benin National Merit Award; as well as cultural receptions of this nature. It is on record that the Comrade Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was the first to be honoured at the maiden edition of Benin National Congress Cultural Reception series precisely on the 17th of September 2008 (two months before he was declared the peoples Governor by the Court of Appeal) at the Saidi centre, Benin City. We are dearly committed to the promotion of such acts that would positively impact on our society. The man for whom we were all invited today Mr. Lancelot Imasuen is one that has paid his dues in the promotion of good social and cultural norms through script writing and production of Edo Home videos for our viewing pleasures. A doubting Thomas may wonder why celebrating a man for doing his job with which he earns a good living; well, if I am made to respond, I will say – any activity that promotes goodwill as a virtue, deserves to be rewarded and appreciated so that others will emulate and imbibed such disposition. People with exemplary dispositions and track records of patriotic contributions are the targets of cultural reception initiative of Benin National Congress. Our chief guest, Mr. Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen was recently elevated as the most outstanding Nollywood Videos Director in Nigeria by an International agency saddled with the task of rating Movies Stars and Directors. It calls for celebration that a man whose recent video-EBUWA is being celebrated all over the World majorly in the United States and Europe is from the Heart-Beat of the Nation. To my mind, the Movie EBUWA is an epitome of patriotic research on contemporary Edo language and culture.
So, in every area of our socio- economic and political occupation or service, we should seek to make our contributions for the general good of the larger society; because it is the surest way to engrave our names in the sands of times. At the mention of Abraham Lincoln; Martin Luther King’s; Dr. Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu; Oba Oguola of Benin; Oba Ewuare of Benin empire; Chief Obafemi Awolowo; Chief Ibitu Omo-Osagie; Idia N’ Iye Esigie; Dr. Mrs Fumilayo Ransome Kuti; Arch Bishop John Edokpolo; Thomas Sankara of Bourkinafaso it invokes euphoria of patriotism, Hard -work and excellent service to societies . And almost all of us will wish to be greatly revered as these men and women. Sometimes hard-work may not be immediately rewarded or celebrated, but surely, it will and the benefactor will rejoice even at death. It is my humble prayers that God almighty and our Ancestors will give us all the grace to imbibe hard-work and patriotic service to Edo State, Amen. Oba gha t’ okpere, Ise.
Hon. Aiyamenkhue Enoyogiere Edokpolo - (Senior Special Assistance to the State Governor).