Brothers and Sisters of Great Manyu Division in the United States ,
All Present and past Chiefs,
Our Elders here in the USA ,
Our Elders Back at home and world over
Members of various Manyu Chapters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On November 7, 2009, the MECA –Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter confronted the fact that they were commissioned to provide and present a member from their chapter to temporally chair the embattled MECA-USA Association and guide it on a steady course towards its next Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, where fair and transparent elections will be held to choose its next full leadership.
After a thorough and successful deliberation centered around the need to come up with an able Interim leader who would: work with all Manyu sons and daughters to restore our dignity; restore respect of each others opinion; restore pride of our culture and our faith in God; proactively work to help those in need; sacrifice for the Manyu cause and the needs of her people in our immediate communities, and communities far and beyond; reassure our folks back home who depend on us for their daily living, and for a clear vision on how to move Manyu forward; the great chapter of MECA in Dallas/Fort Worth elected me as their candidate for the position of Interim Chairman of MECA-USA.
To summarize the core of our problem today, I would say that what we need is better governance - legitimate, democratic governance that allows each individual to flourish, each chapter to thrive, and where ideas of the times originating from the masses are implemented and not stifled from on top.
What we need is an interim leader: who will not feel shy to admit and amend errors made; a leader who will stop listening with the intent to respond, but listen with the intent to understand. As a man who lost his father as a young boy, I know what it is like to grow up as a Manyu orphan. I know what poverty is. I also know what it is like for uncles, aunts and sisters to sacrifice everything to help raise you even when you are not their child. I know the importance of an extended family in which we all belong to, and the diversity of our community in which we are law abiding citizens.
I attended school in University of Calabar and have seen what others do to survive the hardship that surrounds the Cross-River Basin . I lived in Italy and witnessed the suffering of some of our brothers in Europe , and their successes. I have lived in Washington DC where I was a very active member of the chapter and understand why smaller chapters may be intimidated by its might; in due course I have witness the population of Manyuans swollen with new-comers and of course our children who in turn are making their own children.
I live in Dallas, home of the most progressive chapter with very vocal women which helped reinforce the belief I had as a young boy being raised by my aunt, my sisters, that for Manyu people to succeed, they must fully engage the Manyu women as well as the young and energetic Manyu men and women in their vision.
It is in this spirit that I humbly accept this position as INTERIM CHAIRPERSON OF MECA-USA. As I accept this high office, I am very aware that there is a tremendous amount of work involved that goes along with the magnitude of this position. While admitting that, I will welcome ideas from every Manyu son or daughter towards the betterment of this our dear association, I would like to point out that not all advices, suggestions, opinions, questions, clarifications may be handled exactly the way you would have handled it. Whatever we choose to implement will reflect what we feel is in the best interest of the association amongst all the suggestions and opinions we get.
We understand, as never before, that each of us is fully worthy of the respect and dignity essential to the Manyu people. We recognize that we are the products of four (4) subdivisions, and that mutual respect allows us to study and learn from others from the overlapping identities which we inherited from different parts of the Division. Candidly speaking, if someone says we the Manyu people are fine, that is a disservice to us. We are not fine, and even those who feel that they are fine should challenge themselves to even do better so that the less fortunate around them can benefit from their incremental rise.
For those who see the problems, look at them critically to make sure that these problems are not allowed to migrate to or contaminate areas that have nothing to do with it. Manyu people have some issues that need to be fixed, and it could only be done when we all put our efforts and heads together. The different subgroups emerging, confusion of who has the books versus who don’t have the books, alleged electoral frauds, summons in judicial system, personal conflicts among members, who’s family did what versus those that did not. Who went to this school versus those that went to that school? I can hire and pay you syndrome. All these have failed us tremendously in all aspect, and to move forward successfully, we need to confront them head on.
All Present and past Chiefs,
Our Elders here in the USA ,
Our Elders Back at home and world over
Members of various Manyu Chapters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On November 7, 2009, the MECA –Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter confronted the fact that they were commissioned to provide and present a member from their chapter to temporally chair the embattled MECA-USA Association and guide it on a steady course towards its next Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, where fair and transparent elections will be held to choose its next full leadership.
After a thorough and successful deliberation centered around the need to come up with an able Interim leader who would: work with all Manyu sons and daughters to restore our dignity; restore respect of each others opinion; restore pride of our culture and our faith in God; proactively work to help those in need; sacrifice for the Manyu cause and the needs of her people in our immediate communities, and communities far and beyond; reassure our folks back home who depend on us for their daily living, and for a clear vision on how to move Manyu forward; the great chapter of MECA in Dallas/Fort Worth elected me as their candidate for the position of Interim Chairman of MECA-USA.
To summarize the core of our problem today, I would say that what we need is better governance - legitimate, democratic governance that allows each individual to flourish, each chapter to thrive, and where ideas of the times originating from the masses are implemented and not stifled from on top.
What we need is an interim leader: who will not feel shy to admit and amend errors made; a leader who will stop listening with the intent to respond, but listen with the intent to understand. As a man who lost his father as a young boy, I know what it is like to grow up as a Manyu orphan. I know what poverty is. I also know what it is like for uncles, aunts and sisters to sacrifice everything to help raise you even when you are not their child. I know the importance of an extended family in which we all belong to, and the diversity of our community in which we are law abiding citizens.
I attended school in University of Calabar and have seen what others do to survive the hardship that surrounds the Cross-River Basin . I lived in Italy and witnessed the suffering of some of our brothers in Europe , and their successes. I have lived in Washington DC where I was a very active member of the chapter and understand why smaller chapters may be intimidated by its might; in due course I have witness the population of Manyuans swollen with new-comers and of course our children who in turn are making their own children.
I live in Dallas, home of the most progressive chapter with very vocal women which helped reinforce the belief I had as a young boy being raised by my aunt, my sisters, that for Manyu people to succeed, they must fully engage the Manyu women as well as the young and energetic Manyu men and women in their vision.
It is in this spirit that I humbly accept this position as INTERIM CHAIRPERSON OF MECA-USA. As I accept this high office, I am very aware that there is a tremendous amount of work involved that goes along with the magnitude of this position. While admitting that, I will welcome ideas from every Manyu son or daughter towards the betterment of this our dear association, I would like to point out that not all advices, suggestions, opinions, questions, clarifications may be handled exactly the way you would have handled it. Whatever we choose to implement will reflect what we feel is in the best interest of the association amongst all the suggestions and opinions we get.
We understand, as never before, that each of us is fully worthy of the respect and dignity essential to the Manyu people. We recognize that we are the products of four (4) subdivisions, and that mutual respect allows us to study and learn from others from the overlapping identities which we inherited from different parts of the Division. Candidly speaking, if someone says we the Manyu people are fine, that is a disservice to us. We are not fine, and even those who feel that they are fine should challenge themselves to even do better so that the less fortunate around them can benefit from their incremental rise.
For those who see the problems, look at them critically to make sure that these problems are not allowed to migrate to or contaminate areas that have nothing to do with it. Manyu people have some issues that need to be fixed, and it could only be done when we all put our efforts and heads together. The different subgroups emerging, confusion of who has the books versus who don’t have the books, alleged electoral frauds, summons in judicial system, personal conflicts among members, who’s family did what versus those that did not. Who went to this school versus those that went to that school? I can hire and pay you syndrome. All these have failed us tremendously in all aspect, and to move forward successfully, we need to confront them head on.
In every great faith and tradition one can find the values of tolerance and mutual understanding. " In the Jewish tradition, the injunction to "love thy neighbor as thyself," is considered to be the very essence of the Torah. While Confucianism: “Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state” Analects 12:2. Why then do we keep hurting each other? Please, we should continue with this momentum and make sure that we remain the victor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this should lead us to understand that we gain strength by combining the unfamiliar with the familiar. My task is huge, my time is short, and my mandate is clear and specific, but with the help of my able Vice Chairlady, Mrs. Elizabeth Tarkang-Ashunkem, my cabinet and dedicated members like yourself I can assure you that we are ready to move mountains.
Long Live Manyu,
Long Live MECA,
Long Live USA .
Sessekou Maurice A. Enoh
Interim Chairman MECA-USA
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