| Obamamania...
Grips business community
Tell your people in US to vote Obama, Onyiuke campaigns
By SEUN ADESIDA (seun@sunnewsonline.com)
Saturday, May
10, 2008
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•Dr.
Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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As the US Democratic Party presidential primaries enter its
final crucial stages, Director General of Nigeria Stock Exchange
(NSE), Dr. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke has challenged Nigerians who
have relatives that are American citizens to massively endorse
Barak Obama, the African American of Kenyan descent who is
currently leading former First Lady, Hillary Clinton in the
race for the Democrat ticket to the White House. Onyiuke says
the support should not however, stop at the primaries stage,
but should transcend into the presidential election proper.
In chat with Saturday Sun recently in Lagos, she revealed
that she had met Obama two years ago and the man had actually
intimated her that he would be contesting for the presidency
of America.
Obamamania
I don’t know when Obama started but since he started
his campaign, I have been carrying the picture I took with
him when I went to Washington to receive a Congressional Award
in 2005. This youngman stood in line to take a picture with
me, only for me to see him contesting for the presidency of
America.
But as at the time we met in 2005, he said he wanted to become
the president of America, the governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo was also in the hall that day
when I was receiving the award.
Why was Obama in the hall? He told me he was in that hall
that day to see for the first time a 100 per cent African
to receive the congressional award, though he did not know
me but he came, because he wanted to identify with a 100 per
cent African and a Nigerian who was among the four people
nominated to receive the award.
For Obama we stand
That encounter is the reason I want all Nigerians, corporate
executives and others to rise up to the occasion to give Obama
all necessary support to enhance his chances of clinching
the ticket and eventually occupy the oval office.
The business community and indeed all Nigerians must do everything
in their capacity including phone calls to relatives in the
US to ensure that they go out and vote for this man, our relatives
who are American citizens must not sit at home and watch history
happen they must go out and participate in the coming election
by voting massively in favour of Obama.
Copying Soyinka
Since I was a young girl, I have always admired Prof. Wole
Soyinka because whenever he speaks, people listen. I want
that kind of attention, so I told myself, I must be a professor
so that when I speak people will respect me, and listen. As
you can recall, recently I bagged a doctorate degree, which
I worked for and I want to correct the notion that the degree
was honorary, no I actually earned it, after three years of
rigorous academic work.
I have been at it for years, it just manifested now. Please,
it is not an award, I earned it, so today I am a doctor like
Prof. Wole Soyinka. I admire his brain and thank God he did
not join others to run abroad, but remained in the vanguard
of those who wanted a better Nigeria.
NSE road shows
I believe other Nigerians in the Diaspora can learn from Prof.
Soyinka’s commitment to nation building. This was why
about 15 years ago when Apostle Hayford Alile, the DG of the
Nigerian Stock Exchange and presently the Chairman of Oceanic
Bank started the investment road show. I equally want to correct
the impression that NSE road shows are recent developments
no, that is not true. Alile as the DG started it, when he
was going round universities and financial institution in
the United States to encourage Nigerians in the Diaspora to
come home and help develop the economy.
Then, I was working at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),
and he regularly used me as an example of a Nigerian who abandoned
her carrier in the US to come and help develop the Nigerian
Stock Exchange. Now, as the DG of the NSE in the past seven
years, I have taken this drive to another level. The NSE has
been able to get jobs for those that respond in various companies
in Nigeria including the banks, and some have even started
their own stock broking firms and they are doing very well
today.
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