NIGERIAN-AMERICANS WANT GOODLUCK TO DELIVER




Chika Oduah Friday, April 30, 2010

csoduah@yahoo.com
Washington, D.C.


Nigerian-Americans want Goodluck to deliver from Chika Oduah on Vimeo.

rustrated Nigerian-Americans don't want a magic wand, they want Goodluck to deliver for Good Nigerians in the U.S. have a message for Nigeria's acting president: fix the electric power, end political corruption, get rid of the gigantic potholes in the roads and distribute the money from oil revenues to the masses.




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"You see some Nigerians have been here for 30 years, 20 years. They can't go home -- why?" asks Abiodun Ogunsanya, who then answers his own question: "Because the country is not good."

Ogunsanya is one of the more than 150,000 Nigerians reported in the 2000 U.S. Census. At his barbershop in Cheverly, Md., Nigerian ex-pats engage in passionate discussions about the affairs of their homeland. Many of them are fed up with the government, while others simply grew weary of daily deprivations such as the lack of consistent electric power in Nigeria.

"I don't know why we cannot have electricity in that country," says Gbenga Ajayi, a music producer who has lived in Maryland for five years. Ajayi flails his arms when he speaks. His words are met with shouts of agreement from men huddled together in the small Lagos Barber.

When Nigeria's acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, traveled to the United States for last week's nuclear summit, Nigerians met him face to face to voice their concerns. It was his first visit since taking over from Nigeria's ailing head of state in February.

In a crowded room at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row Hotel, Jonathan answered several critical questions. One Nigerian American told the acting president what was on the minds of many. "The first thing Nigeria needs to fix is light," she said, "and every other development will follow." After a round of applause from the audience, Jonathan responded with a Biblical reference that harked to the high level of religiosity in Nigerian culture.

"In Genesis, they say God said, 'Let there be light,' " Jonathan said. "How I wish we could have that kind of magic wand now to say 'Let there be light' and there was light."

But Goodluck Jonathan does not have a magic wand, and he doesn't have much time either. He has about a year left as acting president and Nigerians are holding him accountable to make the most of it. "He has very limited time," said Paschal Agubuzo, manager at a restaurant adjacent to the barber shop. "We Nigerians know the need to create a better economy in Nigeria."

Chii Akpori, head of communications and knowledge management at the World Bank, attended the Hilton event, which was hosted by the Center for Global Development. She said she was impressed with Jonathan's speech. But she says the government of her homeland needs to reach out to the masses. "The attitude amongst a majority of Nigerians is that nobody in the government cares for me," she said. "And we need to turn that around."

Jonathan has a lot of plans for change, and he needs more than good luck to implement them. In his speech, he emphasized the need for a fair, transparent electoral process and job creation. Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development, pointed out the paradox facing Nigeria. The most populous nation in Africa, it is among the world's 10 largest oil-producing nations. And yet, she noted, although Nigeria has made $300 billion in oil revenues since 1970, average incomes have remained the same for the past three decades.

"Despite Nigeria's great wealth, too many Nigerians are still living in poverty," Birdsall said.

And it's the stark contrast between the rich and the poor, along with the inadequate infrastructure and the political instability that concern Nigerians in the United States. Back in the barbershop, Ogunsanya doesn't hide his frustration. "The president cannot do everything by himself, but we need to let him know," he says, waving his clippers. "Say, 'No -- we're tired.' "

Ogunsanya may be tired, but after closing his shop, he soldiers on, working the night shift as a security guard in a D.C. office. He says that Nigeria's problems are always on his mind and that he plans to move to back someday. Maybe Goodluck Jonathan can help make that happen, and give him peace of mind.

http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/oduah/043010.html

You know your fact how?

we'll see what he can do. thanks for reading my article