The All Nigerians Association USA, is in the forefront of the campaign for mobilizing Nigerians in the Diaspora to good causes back home. The National President, Mr. Sam Ileaboya implores the new President, Muhammadu Buhari to harness the potentials of Nigerians across the globe for the nation’s development.
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| Mr. Sam Ileaboya |
As an organization that draws membership from mainly Nigerians in the Diaspora, our mission is to be involved in all political activities in any country we reside in and more importantly, to follow the trend of events in our country of origin. Change does not come by chance; it’s people that effect change and this can only happen if they are involved.
How involved was your association in the efforts to ensure a peaceful transition in Nigeria come 2015?
Our best effort was in educating our brothers and sisters back home to ensure we had a smooth transition and not fall into the trap of imperialist doomsday prophets. We don’t need these war mongers, nor the kind of inciting statements credited to the former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Campbell to the effect that Insurgency in Nigeria is caused by alienation of the North. Such rhetoric is wrong and should never have been said. He is heightening the friction in the Nigerian civil society. It is possible the South felt the same way during the many years the Northerners held sway in Nigeria, but they did not take up arms against our country and there was no Campbell telling us of any insurgency. This is why I believe the statement was out of place.
In recent years, ANA’s rhetoric has been political. Is your organization affiliated to any of the political parties in Nigeria?
We are not affiliated to any political party; we will support any individual that deserves our support. Our desire is to put our political machinery to support President Buhari just like we did for President Goodluck Jonathan before him.
What is your motivation for embarking on this project of mobilizing Nigerians?
In Nigeria, because of the way and manner we achieved our independence, we have not really understand what democracy is. We must let Nigerians know that the power of the ballot, one man one vote put their destiny in their own hands; they should desist from selling their vote to the highest bidder. They should seek information, be educated and be involved. This is our mission.
There have been agitations for Nigerians in the Diaspora to be allowed to vote in national elections but this has not been successful. What is your view on this?
While I am in favor of such legislation, I am very cautious for two reasons: How are you sure such votes will not be skewed and secondly, who bears the financial implication of such exercise? I will say let’s leave that for now maybe as our democracy develops then we can think about it. What is more important is to mobilize people to be politically aware. In 2012, during the reelection campaign of President Barack Obama, the All Nigerian Association USA played a huge role in mobilization of people of across the United States. Our accomplishments in Ohio and certain other states, are quite significant.
President Jonathan was portrayed as a weakling and incapable of effectively leading Africa’s largest country. How was his relationship with your association?
There is this local musician in my Uzzebba village in Edo state: he said whatever you do there will always be complaint from people. You can never satisfy everyone, but by and large, he has borne our collective aspirations with a good sense of responsibility. In doing so, he may have stepped on some toes, but his time has gone. Lets focus on President Buhari and the future which from every indication, appears bright even with the Nigerian economy in recession.
Many people quarrel with the projects President Jonathan embarked upon.
Please the ANA is non-partisan. However, I can say that the dividends of democracy are not all about building massive concrete walls. No, its more about creating the ambience for democratic ideals to flourish. Under Jonathan, Nigeria’s electoral system improved, people became freer than before and private enterprises flourished. Those are key issues but in any case, Nigerians have decided and made perhaps, a wise choice in Buhari.
In your view, has government’s efforts to involve Nigerians in the Diaspora been successful?
I think they are trying, though the efforts are not very visible. I was requested to head the NIDDO during its inception in 2005 but I turned it down because I wanted to be able to speak when I have issues of concerns with the government. There are a lot of issues with the creation of NIDDO that was championed by Obasanjo and Atiku. The Ohio state chapter President, Mr. Tony Udeagbala, is a close friend of mine; they really have not been able to capture the Nigerian community effectively as they should. Groups like that are seen as government entities so people do not really believe they are viable or have answers to their questions.
To be very effective it should be a channel of information between Nigerians in Diaspora and the Nigerian government. This should be harnessed by the Nigerian ambassador in each country.
You are one of the many Nigerian professionals doing well in the United States, how do you think government can harness our abundant human resources in the US for the benefit of the country?
Most of us here do not need the government to spoon-feed them. I am aware that several hundreds of Nigerians have gone back home in the past one year to establish one business or the other. The only thing that we require is an environment that is conducive for those businesses to thrive. Surviving in business where there is no electricity, no good roads and other basics create a burden in overhead cost. In my opinion, we are not out of the woods yet. A country of 160 million people cannot be generating less than 10,000 megawatts of electricity and count itself as great.
Nigeria has just concluded a national conference which has submitted its report. What do you think we can achieve from its recommendations?
I have not read the full report so my response might be scanty. However, the recommendation that more states be created to address issues of marginalization is very strategic.
There are several other Nigerian political organizations in the US, is there a possibility of you all collapsing under one body?
The possibility of that happening now is very slim. While we all do agree on issues that affect the country, our approaches to finding solutions might differ.
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