Cosmas Omegoh
A Canada-based pan Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Igbo Cultural Association in Saskatchewan, has commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for his policies and achievements, especially in maintaining peace and security in the state.
In a press statement by the president of the association, Dr. Chidi Igwe, the group noted that “security remains the imperative for the development of any nation,” adding that “the governor’s security programmes are timely, especially as the entire country faces unprecedented security challenges.”
The organisation’s vice-president and chair of special events and operations committee, Mr. Emmanuel Amadi, also said the good thing about taking security of life and property seriously is that Nigerians abroad can return to the state whenever they want to visit or do business and contribute to building a strong economy in Nigeria.
“As Nigerian-Canadians, security in Nigeria is of utmost importance to us because we would want to visit home whenever we are on vacation or invite partners and investors to do business in Nigeria without fear of loss of life or property,” Amadi said.
The organisation expressed appreciation over the governor’s Forest Guard Programme in Enugu State, which according to them, “is creating employment opportunities in the state and will go a long way to fishing out bandits who use those forests as hide-outs.”
“The Igbo community in Canada with our affiliates have been monitoring the Forest Guard Programme. We are proud of the programme which has become a model for other states especially in the South-West region.We urge other governors to adopt the forest guard model as it is one of the effective ways of policing and ensuring the safety of citizens,”Igwe said.
He said the union plans to honour the governor later this year in an international ceremony for his efforts in providing security in the state.
Igwe said as part of its commitment to promoting the Igbo language and culture in North America and beyond, the union said it worked with various agencies, provincial and municipal governments in Canada to achieve the first official proclamation designating August 3 as Igbo Day of Arts and Culture in the country by both the Government of Saskatchewan and the City of Regina.