OUR VISION FOR WIC AND NDI IGBO

By

Professor Anthony Ejiofor

Chairman

We envision an Igbo race that is free to go about its daily living at home in Nigeria and in the Diaspora. Our mission is to restore the Dignity of the Igbo through the pursuit of socioeconomic endeavors, human rights and development of useful and meaningful partnerships between the Igbo and the rest of the world.

Normalcy returned to the World Igbo Congress following the court conducted elections in early February 2012 and the inception of this administration. The administration quickly made significant structural changes to implement WIC’s prime objective of improving the quality of life for Igbo at home land, and restoring Igbo dignity worldwide. The structural changes include the installation of new committees: The Think-Tank (Prof. M.J. C Echeruo, Chair), The Health Committee (Dr. Joe Nwiloh, Chair), The Women and family Affairs Committee (Mrs. Chiebonam Ezekwueche, Chair), the Legal Defense and By-Laws Committee, with Mike Ahamba, SAN and Lucius Nwosu, SAN, as consultants (Atty. Uzoma Ofodu, Chair), The WIC Foundation Trustees Committee (Prof. M.J.C Echeruo, Chair). In all, there are 21 committees approved by the Board of Directors for this administration. These new committees offered this administration the platform to bring into WIC, much needed Igbo experienced and sophisticated intellectuals to map the pathways for a stable, vibrant Igbo community at homeland.

The admission of WIC into the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) barely five months after this administration’s inauguration accelerated WIC desire to put the Igbo on world map, and build partnership with the international community to address challenges that impair socio-economic developments at home land. This administration is highly indebted to Dr. Anthony Ejiofor, the WIC Executive Director who stubbornly worked on the ECOSOC admission project for years, absorbing the daunting challenges and brought the project to a successful conclusion. The Women and Family Affairs Committee has featured prominently at several UN sessions, addressing precarious situations of Igbo women and children and building capacity to cure these anomalies, pursuant to the UN millennium development goals. The ECOSOC membership has also provided the Executive Director the opportunity to submit grants targeting specific needs of under developed segments of the Igbo community.

The Health Committee was set up to assist in the Herculean task of making available affordable health care to Igbo Community at home land. The urgency of this rescue effort is under scored by the sad reality that most people who get sick in Nigeria now die for lack of trained doctors, medical supplies, and filth in Nigerian hospitals. The few who have the resources to travel to India, unfortunately die en route to India due to long air travel, or upon return, due to lack of follow up. Dr. Joe Nwiloh and his team have assembled an enviable team of medical doctors of various stripes, and currently waiting on Imo State government to fulfill her promise of donating the land for the Regional Medical Center of Excellence (RMCE). WIC is also seeking partnership with the World Health Organization as it tackles the myriads of childhood diseases and other preventable communicable diseases in Igbo land.

WIC participated in the preparations for the ongoing National conference, under Prof. Nwabueze’s Igbo Leaders of Thought forum. Prof. M.J.C Echeruo and Engr. Obi Thompson represented WIC. Their contributions regrettably may not benefit the Igbo, due to Igbo inability to appreciate their best talent team, and use her best ‘eleven’ for a fight of her life.

WIC is presently addressing human rights issues facing the Igbo through its petition that is receiving attention at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The Igbo have faced immeasurable human rights abuses in Nigeria since 1945 and the latest is the wanton and selective destruction of Igbo lives in the hands of the militant Islamic group, Boko Haram. WIC will not rest until the Igbo are free to go about their daily living unperturbed by their ethnic compatriots.

Please visit elsewhere on the WIC website to peruse WIC committees, their membership and chatter. You will note that our administration made robust plan for maximum impact on the Igbo project. One regrettable post Nigeria civil war flaw of the Igbo is the dilution of the Igbo brand. It is becoming more difficult to find Ndi Igbo willing to volunteer their time and treasure to fight for the cause; compare with the total commitment of the Igbo solidarity before the war. If only you could get 50% of the committees and their membership to do the work they swore to do, this administration would stand tallest among agents of change for the social, economic and political order of the Igbo, not only in Nigeria, but worldwide.