Benin | AfriQtalk Diaspora

United States Consul-General to Nigeria, Mr. Jeffry Hawkins

According to the Social media & Public Affairs, Governor’s Office in Benin-City, the Consul-General of the United States to Nigeria, Mr. Jeffry Hawkins has disclosed plans by the United States government to establish a $250 million fertilizer plant in Edo State.

Mr. Hawkins, who described Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as one of the most effective governors in Nigeria made the disclosure during a courtesy call and inspection of projects in the state, yesterday.The Consul-General said the $250 million fertilizer plant is being planned by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United State Government.

“We are here because we are proud that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the US government is involved with the Green Petrochemical Company which is making a $250 million investment , and we are happy that this important fertilizer plant will have the support of the United States Government. It will create about one thousand five hundred jobs. That is something we are hoping to take a look at when we are here,” he noted.

According to him “the United States have had a long relationship with you way back before your time in politics and your activities as one of Nigeria’s premier labour leader and we are very happy to continue with that relationship.

“We are happy that people of your state obviously think highly of you and your re-election is what we in America call landslide. You are someone many people point to when answering the question, who is the most effective governor in Nigeria, often the answer is Comrade Adams Oshiomhole”, he added.

The Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole thanked the United State government for the planned investment in the state noting that “We trust we can count on your support.

“I am happy for the good news, that a US agency is supporting a fertilizer plant here and this shows the confidence and we are happy about that. We are also able to attract one of Nigeria’s foremost investors, Dangote group, and they are constructing a factory somewhere in Edo North behind the bank of the river Niger. That is the largest fertilizer plant in this part of the continent.

“In addition, we also believe that we can easily be a hub for power generation, supply and distribution if the Federal Government gets its policies right. Strategically located we have gas which is the resource for power generation. We realize that building institutions rather than strong men, we are already looking at Edo state after my tenure,” he added.

The Governor maintained that, “we think we can strengthen institutions rather than regardless of the character of the person. We are making investment in ICT, trying to deepen transparency and avoid waste in our system.

According to him, “For too long the Nigerian electorate has been taken for granted. This is the only country somebody is elected and has not finished four years in office, you are already predicting you will win the second term as if your performance is irrelevant. When you have a system like that in a democracy you can’t be sure of the future.”

The Consul General later joined the Governor on a tour of some of the projects in Benin metropolis.

Speaking in an interview after the tour of projects, the Consul-General said, “I specially want to thank the Governor for his kind heart. We have seen a number of things that he is doing ranging from roads, health, education and drainages. He has worked hard to develop the infrastructure of the state.”

The Consul General noted that, “by far the most impressive of the projects are the drainages. It is a high prestige project. In a city like Benin it makes all the difference. The state government has paid a lot of attention to it and is working very hard to address the issue of flooding.”

What Nigeria needs is not more strong men, it needs good governance. Without a doubt, Governor Oshiomhole has demonstrated leadership in his commitments to create job opportunities for the people of Edo-State. On behalf of AfriQtalk, we give kudos to ACN, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

By Eno Louis Enobkhare

For once, here is a product from Nigeria that has no negative connotations and we are arguing about who said what and who went where. The article by Appolos, Oziogu is well put together. However, there are flaws here and there which ought to be addressed. First and foremost, the Bini people did not settle at Ife but there was a contact with Ife through the son of the last Ogiso. These topic I will not delve into in this article. We can not dwell in the past forever even though as the late Bob Marley reasoned, “in this great future we can not forget the past” We know that the Bini kingdom produced and still produces master peices no doubt, but can we answer the following questions? Ekpu wrote that Igbo Ukwu had a tradition of bronze casting, what happened to it? Iguaghae is a Benin name, how could he have been sent to his home land? What is the future of Bronze casting? This last question is what all of us should put on the front burner, not who sent who or who started what.

The issue of the burial rite of a Bini Oba is a closely kept secret that Egharevba could not have had access to. We must support postulation with empirical evidence. The mobile phone was invented by Scandinavian, so that people in their mountainous rural areas could communicate with each other. My immediate senior brother’s company in California designs chips for Nokia. All that is now history.Has the whole world embrace it? Bronze casting has been accepted as a world class product, so let us move on from there. It must not go under like it probably did in Igbo Ukwu and Ife. The ancient art of bronze casting is gradually going into extinction in Benin. There are outcry about lack of patronage, lack of raw materials. This is making brothers rise up against one another. We all have a collective role in preventing this catastrophe.

It is not only by writing articles in newspapers and creating controversy that leads us nowhere. My friend Peavey from Erkron, Ohio once said “the only way you can attract a white man’s attraction is by placing a monetary value to a hat you are selling. We can sell Benin bronze works, so how can we protect it’s production? Luckily,these objects are like Italian shoes, it cannot be mass produced. It has to go through the displays wax process for it to be authentic. Igun street where this masters pieces are produced, supervised by a strict guild employs families about 200 of them. It is by and large their only means of lively hood. This is their contribution to the nation’s GDP income what may. They need to be protected, patronised, promoted and subsidised and of course, celebrated. For once, here is a product from Nigeria that has no negative connotations and we are arguing about who said what and who went where.

Nigeria oil is not Ogoni oil and so is bronze casting. In more organised climes, Igun street will be a federal territory. All children from there will be on scholarship and study marketing skill in higher institutions to march their inherited skills. With a Minister of Culture, Mr Edem Duke, who seems to know his onions, we might get some results. The Edo Bronze Festival must be put in the calendar of festivals of Nigeria. This festival makes more sense than some heavily financed festivals that comes and goes without adding any value to our culture and traditions. The last 5 editions of the Bronze festival highlighted our potentials as a sophisticated people being debated on tweeter and face book, which let to the cancellation of an auction of a Benin bronze object by sothebys. “This is neat as Americans, will say.”

All government cultural agencies,private sector and enthusiasts, should please join hands with us to move this world class product forward. The corporate affairs Gtbank for instance, even after the demise of it’s boss, Mr. Tayo Aderinokun, a great outlaw, is still proud to associate with the sponsorship of the Edo Bronze Festival.