October 15, 2001
Nigerians in South central Pennsylvania capped off activities commemorating Nigeria's independence anniversary with her 8th annual dinner banquet on Saturday, October 13, 2001. It was held at the Holiday Inn, Harrisburg Pennsylvania. The occasion, which was attended by about 300 people including Nigerians and Americans, provided another opportunity for Nigerians to commiserate with the American government on the horrendous tragedy of September 11. In the words of the keynote speaker, Dr. Barth Nnaji, this was not just an American tragedy, but a world tragedy because many nations including Nigeria, lost their loved ones.
The occasion showcased Nigerians at their best with many of them bedecked in national attires of all shades and designs proudly dancing to Nigerian music amply supplied by the disc jockey. Some Americans in obvious show of support for Nigeria and Africa in general, came resplendent in African attire and the whole atmosphere was awash with pomp and pageantry. The sense and spirit of national pride was further heightened when instead of playing a pre-recorded version of Nigeria's national anthem, it was beautifully rendered by Mrs. Yinka Oyelowo, a member of the association. As the anthem proceeded, other members joined in singing it to the admiration of guests present. It is important to mention here that this association seems to have one of the highest per capita concentration of Nigerian professionals living in the United States with lawyers, physicians, PhDs, college professors, engineers, architect, business administrators, marketing professionals, pharmacist, nurses and more.
In her opening remarks, the president of the Nigerian Society of South Central Pennsylvania, Mrs. Gbemi Bakare stated that the Society is an association of Nigerian-born immigrants in South Central Pennsylvania, dedicated to fostering social interaction among members and the promotion of cultural awareness in Central Pennsylvania community.
She was proud to inform the audience that the Nigerian Association strives to fully participate in community affairs to ensure that Nigeria as a country was always portrayed in good light in Pennsylvania and the United States as a whole. She stated that part of the proceeds from the Independence Day gala would be donated to John Harris School of Business and Industry in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. John Harris School is a preparatory school that seeks to orient potentially high achieving students to the world of business and industry. In the past, the Nigerian Society had through donations, supported the South Central PA Sickle Cell Council.
The highlight of the night was the keynote address delivered by Nigeria's former Federal Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Barth Nnaji. Now an Endowed Chair professor in Manufacturing engineering in the School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Professor Nnaji noted that Nigerians in the NSSCP were very well organized and commended the association for the fact they had a woman as the President. He declared to the audience that this truly reflects the Nigerian spirit and the level of development, which Nigeria had attained in recent years. He further extolled the NSSCP for promoting cultural awareness. All the encomium drew applause from the audience in obvious demonstration of their appreciation.
Professor Nnaji stated that the 70s and early 80s saw Nigeria emerge as a mid-level economy with per capita of $1500 to $2000. But somehow after several military interventions into the Nigerian polity, per capita plummeted to a mere $400!
He noted with pride however that the emancipation of Nigeria from military rule was partly because of the sustained efforts of Nigerians in the Diaspora with their freedom marches in Washington and outcries in the media. He stated that Nigerians here in the United States have managed to assimilate several fields of knowledge in America and it was time to start transferring the knowledge to Nigeria. He then declared with optimism to the audience that "opportunities abound in Nigeria"
The Nigerian Peoples Forum according to Dr. Nnaji was formed to foster economic development in Nigeria by helping to attract and facilitate foreign investment in Nigeria. " If one wants to start a business in Nigeria and does not know how to start, there has to be someone here to help, and that is part of what the Nigerian Peoples Forum is all about" he said. He noted that the Nigerian Peoples Forum would hold an economic conference here in the United States on November 15 and 16 and it is anticipated that Nigeria's Senate President would attend the conference as well as other business people. The meeting would afford Nigerian policy-makers an opportunity to meet with their American counterparts to discuss economic issues of mutual interest.
He called on all Nigerians in the Diaspora to step up to the responsibility of "holding their hands and setting up businesses in Nigeria" using various funding sources available to them including the Millennium Fund set up for businesses in the areas of telecommunication, agriculture and power.
He warned that for Nigeria to become a fully developed economy, she must start moving away from a "single economy" and become a diversified economy where more goods could be produced for exportation just like USA and Germany. Only when Nigeria has done that would "she become a stable, diversified economy" he declared.
He further stated that currently in Nigeria, "government business is the only business, but if Nigeria has mini IBMs, mini General Electrics, people will have a lot of things to do and not fight to be in government which currently controls business" He therefore called on all Nigerians to join the quest for decentralizing the Federal Government and giving more power to the regions to facilitate the establishment of mini IBMs and the likes in the regions.
Patrenia Onuoha who is also an Engineer introduced Dr. Nnaji and Mrs. Arese Ness was the Mistress of Ceremony.
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