In the vibrant and beautiful city of Baltimore, United States of America, a glimpse of brightness and a beacon of hope sparked the atmosphere as the former Federal Commissioner/member of the Governing Board, North East Development Commission and former National Director for planning and Monitoring 2019 APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dr TOE Ekechi took the center stage at Holiday Inn Express Cromwell Bridge Rd Towson, venue of the convention, to deliver a keynote speech at the 2025 Convention of Ngor Okpala citizens in America (NOCIA) on the theme :
Crisis of Identity And Complacency in Ngor Okpala: Perspectives And Implications for Socio-Political and Economic Development.
With his intellectual vigour, passion, and expertise, Dr. Ekechi did an expository analysis on Ngor Okpala and her state of affairs.
As he delved into the substance of the topic with empirical facts and statistics, the audience was taken to historical lane on the history, location, size, and population of Ngor Okpala. He noted that the entity called Ngor-Okpala today is an amalgamation of hitherto traditionally autonomous communities with limited ancestral, cultural homogeneity, perhaps, with more geographical contiguity, but broadly speaking, three distinguishable dialects spoken by the people. In its present state as a product that metamorphosed from international, national and local political experiences and gerrymandering, Ngor-Okpala may therefore be described as a quasi-tribal-league of largely independent communities with mixed cultural affinities and own historically local administrative heritage.
“Ngor Okpala Local Government Area is located in the eastern part of Imo State, covering 523.1km2 with a 2022 projected population of 219,400, a population density of 419.4/km2 (according to the controversial 1991 population census). With headquarters at Umuneke Ngor, it is bounded in the north by Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, south by Rivers State, east by Imo River/Abia State, and in the west by Owerri West and Owerri North Local Government Areas. It is held by many that in Imo State, Ngor-Okpala is the second largest local government by land mass following Ohaji-Egbema, and also, the second largest by indigenous population following Mbaitoli”.
Dr Ekechi further pointed out the incredible opportunities and the sheer natural gifts of human and intellectual resources that make Ngor Okpala the envy of all parts of what is today known as Imo state, of which no other parts of the state can boast of similar endowment.
One classical illustration, according to him, is that of the late Dr. Basil Nnanna Ukegbu. ” In 1958, Nnanna Ukegbu, a son of Ngor Okpala, founded and built what became one of the best secondary schools in the defunct Eastern Region, the Owerri Grammar School at Imerienwe Four years later, he led the Ngor Okpala community to build another secondary school that also became famous in the entire region – Ngor Okpala High School at Umuneke Ngor.
These two schools were pioneer secondary schools in the area then known as Owerri Division, providing the opportunity for secondary school education for majority of young men and women from the Owerri Division and beyond in the late 1950s and early 1960s. That was not all. Quite a good number of students from the clans of Owerri Division were beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme put in place by the proprietor of the Owerri Grammar School, Basil Nnanna Ukegbu
“In 1959, the same Ukegbu, onye Ngor Okpala contested for the Owerri Southwest Federal constituency seat in the Federal House of Representatives (consisting of Ngor Okpala and the Mbaise County Councils) defeating his main opponent, Dennis Abii of Mbaise who had the backing of the then Premier of the Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara. Ukegbu, an Ngor Okpala son, defeated the candidate of a powerful premier to represent the Owerri Southwest Federal Constituency on the platform of the defunct National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and served as Minority whip!
Fast forward to 1980/83, same man, an Ngor Okpala fellow founded the first private university in Africa – The Imo Technical University, in partnership with three highly reputable Black-owned universities in the United States of America under the auspices of the Technological and Economic Development Mission (TEDEM). Thus, on December 10, 1980, Dr. M.I. Okpara formally launched TEDEM at Imerienwe.
In 1979, he was a co-founder and Deputy National Chairman of Great Nigeria Peoples Party, as well as the Governorship candidate for the old Imo State (now comprising Imo and Abia States plus part of Ebonyi State). The contest, which was eventually won by Sam Mbakwe, is symbolic and significant in the annals of Imo political history. “
“At the other end of Ngor Okpala, during the first republic, Sir Onyeso Nwachukwu, another Ngor Okpala son, a foundation member of the Zikist Movement, represented the entire Owerri Province in the Eastern Regional Housse of Assembly where he served as Chief Whip. Another illustrious son, Eze Daniel Okereke, was the first speaker of the Eastern Regional House of Assembly, and at a time, the Acting Premier of the Eastern Region
Maria Eke (nee Egu) was an Ngor Okpala daughter who made headlines and sat side by side with the likes of Yar’Adua and Atiku Abubakar. The likes of Dr. Mrs. Kema Chikwe (former Minister of Transport and Aviation) proudly admits that she owes her tutelage to Ndaa Maria – what some people came to describe as the Marian School of politics!
In music, Kabaka Godwin Opara and Dan Satch Opara all sons of Ngor Okpala (Imerienwe and Obiangwu respectively) were leading founders of the legendary Oriental Brothers International Guiter Band”.
Dr Ekechi further added that Ngor Okpala, today as before, ka nwere mmadu – of both timber and calibre – in all spheres of human endeavour. The elevation of Ngozi Olehi and Soronnadi Njoku to S.A.Ns, the appointment of one of our daughters as an UN Under Secretary General, Dr Cliff Ogbede as pioneer Executive Director of the South East Development Commission, Barrister Eze Onyekpere and Dr Sam Amadi (right activists), Professor Linus Umezuruike Opara (world renowned post-harvest technologist and AU Laurate), Mrs Emily Emeka Opara (NDIC ED), HRH Engr Fred Nwachukwu (Acting Deputy Chairman (Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers), etc, are testaments of the resilience and capacity of nde Ngor Okpala.
Also, an Ngor Okpala son Dr TOE Ekechi was the National Director, Planning and Monitoring, APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2015, and 2019 before representing the South East as a Federal Commissioner in the Governing Board of the North East Development Commission. He also served in the Okorocha administration as Commissioner for Information and Strategy. Like most Imolites at that time, he was completely opposed to Governor Okorocha’s plans to rail-road his son-in-law as his successor. So, he convened in his country home on March 12, 2018, a coalition against that move and other acts of perfidy by the governor through the now historical
Imerienwe Declaration – a resolution to put an end to Okorocha’s impunity, which was the very root of the movement that eventually stopped Okorocha from imposing his son-in-law on the state as his successor.
He also condemned some wicked tendencies and pull-him-down syndrome seen among the people of Ngor-Okpala.
Dr Ekechi offered a comprehensive elucidation on the key challenges and opportunities, inspiring the people of Ngor-Okpala in US to think creatively and boldly about investing in Ngor Okpala, saying that with determination, resilience, and the right strategies, the challenges can be overcome, and the opportunities can be harnessed to create a brighter future for all.
In Baltimore, TOE Ekechi’s speech resonated deeply, igniting a sense of purpose and urgency among the people of Ngor-Okpala in America.
His presentation was a testament to the power of innovative thinking and collaboration and a reminder that together, ndi Ngor Okpala can overcome even the most daunting challenges and create a better future for themselves.
He also reminded them that politics is too serious to be left in the hands of idiots, informing them that it is self-delusion to indulge in self-denial partisanship. “Such cliches as “onwe m juru m afor” (I am contented with what I have), “iji enyem nri”? (do you feed me?), “onweghi ihe nma nde politician g’emerem (there is no favour I would be expecting from politicians) are indicators and indications of complacency and/or complex. Such cliches are socially outdated and politically antiquated and obviously contradict the reality of today’s political economy!Please, hear me and hear me well: Politics is a big, albeit risky business that ultimately affects all facets of our lives. To address the penchant on the part of some elements in the other parts of the state to see Ngor Okpala as a foot stool, we must take politics seriously, either directly or indirectly with corresponding investments in time, money and goodwill. No one is born a politician, not even those with degrees in political science. A people that invests wisely, reaps richly. A people who look the other way while the jungle matures should be contented with the crumbs, that is, if they are not consumed in the jungle. After all, in the jungle, the natural rule is “the survival of the fittest”.
