Towards a Strategic Tomorrow

(Rebuilding Agulu)

 A White Paper on Strategy from the

Institute for Agulu Development

Presented at the

Agulu Annual General Meeting

December 29-30, 2002

 © Institute for Agulu Development - U.S.A, 2002

Visit our Website at: www.agulu.org

1. A Brief History of the IAD

In late 1980’s, Agulu lost one of its promising young men who was abroad studying in the United States of America. In an effort to repatriate his remains back to Agulu for his family and relatives, a lot of Agulu indigenes in the USA were consulted. It was a formidable task because it was very difficult to locate Agulu indigenes in the US. Only a handful of Agulu citizens living on the east coast of the US knew each other and very little was known about other Agulu indigenes living in the Midwest, West Coast or the Southern United States.

Fortunately, some connection was made with one of us living in the Midwest and that made the repatriation of our compatriot’s remains possible. From this unfortunate experience, the idea germinated that it would be essential to get an inventory of Agulu indigenes in the United States so that we can all bond together in times of emergencies, and rejoice together in times of joy.

In 1990, the Institute for Agulu Development (IAD) was born. A key part of IAD’s vision is the maintenance a current directory of Agulu citizens in the USA, the dissemination of information among the Agulu indigenes to keep them all apprised of relevant information about Agulu, to assist each other in times of need and to work together for the betterment of our beloved home – Agulu.

We are proud to report that most Igbo towns have now formed Organizations in the US which mirror the IAD and have consulted with the IAD for guidance in the structuring and formulation of the associations

 2. Applause for the Arrival of this Milestone in Agulu History

The IAD joins all Agulu citizens who are peace lovers in applauding the arrival of Peace in our beloved town. Over a decade of rancor cannot but paralyze any organization. And it paralyzed Agulu. Opportunities came and passed us by; smaller towns achieved new milestones while we languished amidst legal battles which helped neither protagonist. All initiatives were suspended as we all waited for the resolution that finally arrived last summer (August).

The resolution is the result of a lot of very hard work by so very many dedicated men and women in Agulu. The resolution came because of the tenacity of Agulu citizens who refused to give up hope. Peace arrived because of visible love for the town by many of you, both here and elsewhere who toiled till victory was achieved. Above all, peace came because it was the time God willed it.

The IAD applauds you all for your hard work and superb tenacity to the cause. We also give thanks to the almighty God for His mercy on all of us, old and young, rich and poor who were being disenfranchised by the controversy that pitted brother against brother, father against son, mother against daughter and neighbor against neighbor. History will report this period as one of the darkest hours in the history of Agulu, but will also praise the many men and women who made the resolution possible.

We also want to accord special gratitude to the Peace Transition Committee that has worked tirelessly for months, shepherding Agulu from a state of turbulence to its present state where it is almost fully transitioned in an orderly fashion towards a stable and enduring government.

3. And The Lessons Learned …

In watching the Reconciliation Ceremony in late August this year, speaker after speaker stressed over and over that Agulu must never again allow itself to experience the ignominy that it endured during the past twelve years. There was no disagreement. Various citizens made public declarations of burying the hatchet for the common good. Agulu citizens embraced each other as brothers and sisters – that they are, and have always been – and pledged to work together henceforth.

However, the surest way to prevent the recurrence of our past is to learn the lessons of the past. It is imperative that we learn why Agulu lost its focus and went from a prospering town to a floundering town. Among the contributory factors to the loss of focus are:

• Lack of full understanding of the solemnity of serving the town - those in the service of the town are revered, and they must in turn, revere the people that they serve. The people elected to govern the town must never lose focus of the fact that they are indeed servants of the people, not rulers. It was when we forgot that the elected officers are servants that they became rulers and the attendant chaos is now history.
• Lack of respect for accountability – in serving the public, one is always subject to the utmost scrutiny both in public and private lives. Every public servant has to be willing to be subjected to such scrutiny and must conduct both public and private affairs to ensure that he/she is fully accountable at all times. Agulu had always observed this code of conduct in the past. However, over time, this code was abandoned and the town experienced a strife that suffocated it for a dozen years.

4. … Will Be Corrected in the Future

The IAD strongly recommends that the lessons learned be put into use in the future vis-à-vis the governance of Agulu. As a group with an external (and more objective) view of the events and the lessons learned, we believe that the following recommendations will go a long way towards eliminating the abuses and attendant problems of the past.

1. Agulu must put into effect, well defined, minimum qualifications for each office in Agulu government. There should be specific minimum qualifications for every office starting with the Igwe, all the way to the Provost (if there is one). The qualifications must be defined to ensure that each office holder can perform his functions satisfactorily.

In order for Agulu to compete in the Nigeria of tomorrow, we must incorporate educational requirements as part of our minimum qualifications. The level of educational qualifications will vary depending on the office being described.

1. Agulu government must be structured to have automatic triggers for audits by specific events including time tables, change in officers, etc. Exacting accountability is a key pillar to the stability of Agulu. Without it, the integrity of office holders will intermittently be called into question. This is an important lesson learned, and it must be guaranteed in the future.
2. The solemnity of the offices must again be brought to the forefront. To accomplish this, Agulu officers (public servants) should be sworn in as part of the assumption of offices. The swearing in ceremony should be public event attended by every interested Agulu citizen. Children should see adults being sworn into office, Men and women from the rank and file should be able to see the officers take oaths of office in a public ceremony.

Each person’s religious orientation must be respected in the swearing in ceremony. Roman Catholics may swear by the Catholic Bible, Protestants may swear by their respective Protestant Bibles, and indigenous religious adherents may swear by the “ofo.”

The IAD is willing and eager to work with you to streamline the process if its services are needed.

5. Towards a Strategic Tomorrow

Agulu has stagnated for twelve long years. Time did not wait for us. Other towns did not wait for us. And the whole world continued to move forward during those years.

We must catch up with the times. To accomplish this, a creative and novel approach is needed. We need to pool all available resources to make up for lost time.

In the short term, we appreciate and encourage the gallant efforts and accomplishments of Agulu citizens resident in Nigeria. Their role is indispensable to the success of the strategic initiative because every strategy must ultimately be achieved on the tactical and operational levels. The day-to-day administration of the town, the constant attention to the needs of our citizenry, and the administration of local and external relationships remain the province of all our compatriots resident in Nigeria.

On the intermediate and long-range front however, a hybrid of resources is needed if Agulu is to catch up with, and overtake the neighboring towns and communities. We must tap into hitherto neglected reservoir of talents, skills and tools which lie beyond the Nigerian shores. And this is how.

The IAD proposes the establishment of the “Agulu Strategic Think Tank” whose role is to draw up and deploy the road map for moving Agulu forward in the 21^st century. This Think Tank will comprise representatives from Agulu citizens resident in Nigeria, and Agulu citizens resident in ALL the countries around the world. By galvanizing Agulu resources from around the world, we shall be armed with a wide diversity of viewpoints, ideas, and strategies (which have worked in other countries around the world) so that we can put them to use to achieve an accelerated development pace at home by taking advantage of developments around the globe.

The IAD will spearhead this endeavor if adopted and will use its good offices to generate the candidate resources for this initiative.

One intermediate project that the IAD plans to undertake is the population (stocking) of an Agulu Public Library. To this end, the IAD recommends that as Agulu rebuilds the Town Hall, that a Library Wing be added to the architectural construct of the facility.  At the end of the construction of this facility, the IAD will undertake the stocking of the library wing with the necessary books to make the Agulu Public Library an envy of other towns.

Finally, we (the IAD) again thank you for all your past contributions; encourage you to continue to re-build our beloved town with a reformed set of eyes and a strategic orientation. It is then, and only then, that the lost trust will return and a model town will emerge.

We believe that Agulu has a destiny. And we agree with Shakespeare when he said,

“There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads onto fortune

Omitted, all the voyages of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves

Or lose our ventures”

Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene 3

The time is now! God is on our side – wherever we worship. Let us make the best of it.

God bless you all, and God bless Agulu!

The IAD welcomes questions, comments, and suggestions on any issues pertaining to its Vision, Mission, Strategies, and Operations. The easiest way is to post your commentaries on the IAD website (www.agulu.org) and we will respond promptly.

If you prefer, you may directly contact (by email) any of the following officers of the IAD whose email addresses are posted below. You will get response from the respective source(s).

Name	Office	E-Mail Address
Mazi Fidelis N. Umeh	President	fumeh@gsb.uchicago.edu
Mazi Emmanuel Onyeozili	Vice President	econyeozili@mail.umes.edu
Mazi Peter Okemmuo	Secretary	paokemmuo@mail.umes.edu