Letter of the Month

Dear Mr Charles Eze,

I had the good fortune of stumbling on the existence of your organisation from a comment by a blogger while reading an article on Sahara Reporters about 3 hours ago which made me discovered the existence of Nigeria Liberty Forum and from their webpage your organisation. I have since spent the last four hours on the NLF webpage and your webpage and have cursed myself for missing out of most of the progressives' rally your movements have organised.

I am Akpuzo Victor Okperi. I am currently studying Applied Environmental Geology (MSc) at the Cardiff University. I am also the Vice President/Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Student Society, Cardiff University (a body of over 80 active members with more to join because we are over 130 Nigerians at this Uni).

I have belonged and associated with progressive movements all my life right from my days at the University of Benin, where I served as Deputy Speaker of the Student Union Parliament (2003/2004 Session) and fought for the students rights even at great cost to ourselves. My passion to help contribute to make Nigeria work has been burning since I arrived in the UK last September and saw how civilised societies with civilised Governments work.

My six months studying Environmental Geology has opened my eyes much more to the dangers the inhuman practices of the oil exploration and exploitation activities poses to my people. Just to mention that I am also fortunate to be voted into the Student Council of the Cardiff University Student Union. In our last council session, a female year 2 council member sponsored a bill for the union to stop banking with Lloyds TSB for what she considered the unethical banking practices of the bank. Chief among the crimes of the bank that she listed was the banks investment in the North Sea oil and gas exploration. In her opinion, the bank was encouraging environmental degradation in investing in oil and gas exploration rather than renewable energy. While I must admit that I voted for her motion, I forced back tears knowing that what I had just voted against was nothing compared to the gas I know SPDC is still flaring in my village with the villagers living within 300m of the gas flaring flow stations and inhaling all those toxic carcinogenic gases just because we have a government that was not voted in and does not care about the welfare of her citizens.

I must commend the effort of NLF in making sure James Ibori's trial is not politically influenced by Mr. Tony Baldry MP. I say this because I am from Delta state but still struggled to find my way to the UK because of my longing for a better and quality education whereas almost 90% of the British students in my class are studying on student’s loans because they have purposeful government that gives opportunity to the individuals to optimise his/her potential. Had the millions of pounds Ibori looted been invested into building just one standard University in delta state, the over £13,000 I and a lot of other Nigerians in the UK are paying would have been reinvested into the Nigerian economy. Should he had invested  a quarter of his loot on human capacity building in form of overseas students loan, it would have been be enough to give opportunity to over 2000 Deltans to have better education and brighten their employability prospect anywhere in the world. Good news is that Ibori will soon be extradited to the UK to face the law. I must also commend the arisenigeria presentation at the House of Reps Public hearing on a bill for an Act to establish Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. These twin achievements by Nigerian bodies outside the shores of Nigeria are heart warming and energise my conviction that we can influence positive changes to happen in our dear land irrespective of where we are.

I write this letter to find out how I can contribute my own quota to the development of Nigeria through arisenigeria. I am pained that a Save Nigeria Protest was organised in January and I was not part of it just because I was not aware. I know we could have mobolised at least 40 persons through the Nigerian Students Society to London to be part of that protest. I am sure we could have had more if I liaised with Nigerians in the 3 other Universites here in Wales.

On Saturday May 29, is Nigeria's democracy day. The Nigerian Students Society had in a meeting voted for a day out + BBQ on that day and preparation is in top gear. Please do let me know if Arisenigeria is planning any events for that day so that we can be part of it. I know I can influence us shifting the date of the BBQ to participate in any event Arisenigeria has scheduled for that day if there is any. However, if arisenigeria has not planned any event for that day, Can you please send representatives that can come deliver a talk on the need for Nigerians in Diaspora to actively participate in nation building especially through active participation in the forthcoming elections by being mobilisers and/or voters and defenders of those votes? A lot of our members are keen on going home as soon as we finish so long as they get a decent job rather than doing a £5.80 per hour job here but they know the jobs are not there back home too due to poor governance. A talk letting them know that the situation will not change unless they do something about it themselves by active participation in the political affairs of Nigeria whether as activist, financial sponsor or in whatever capacity will really kindle the flame of revolution in them. And there is no better events to deliver that kind of talk more than an event organised to celebrate the democracy day anniversary.

I will be glad if you can contact me as I am burning with passion to start contributing my quota from here in the struggles to liberate our nation before I go back home to contribute my quota before and during the elections. 07852491675 is my phone number just in case you want to talk with me.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards,

Akpuzo Victor Okperi

MSc Applied Environmental Geology

Cardiff University