Rep. Sam Onuigbo has charged Nigerians to ensure that the spirit of community which is at the core of the African culture is allowed to guide their actions in the new year. Onuigbo stated this in a New Year message made available to reporters on January 1, 2024.
According to the former National Lawmaker, Africans are a people who believe in the spirit of community and collective growth and this essential virtue which is at the nucleus of the African culture must be re-embraced by Nigerians in 2024 and even propagated to other parts of the world as an important gospel.
Onuigbo who represents the South-East on the Governing Board of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC) said that recent evidence from even the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change emergency shows that without banding together as a community, the world will not make any progress in addressing critical issues.
He therefore emphasised that the only way Nigeria and indeed Africa can attain sustained growth is by re-embracing the spirit of community. He therefore said that the new year offers everyone the chance to let the spirit of community guide their actions for the good of the world.
The Full statement reads:
2023 like every other year had its highs and lows. But the incredible thing about it was that through it all, we made it to this new year.
2024 therefore offers us a new chance; a brand new slate; and another opportunity to go again. To review the steps we have taken in previous years and make amends where necessary. The new year is also a brand new opportunity to revise our goals and visions. My charge is that as we do this, we factor in how our overall goals and visions affect not just us and our immediate circles, but also our larger communities and the world at large.
In Africa, the concept of individualism is alien. We are a people who believe in the spirit of community and collective growth. This has been eroded somewhat as cultures integrate. Yet we must remember that at the nucleus of our culture is this invaluable creed of community. We must re-embrace it and even propagate it as a gospel for the entire world to convert to.
Evidences around us—from the COVID-19 pandemic, through the climate emergency— all point to one thing: we can only triumph if we band together as a community and act as one. I see this also as the only solution to an inclusive and people-driven growth in Nigeria.
As we start 2024, my simple message to all of us is: may 2024 be the year in which the spirit of community triumphs. Happy New Year to all of us.
Rep. Sam Onuigbo FCIS, FNIM, KJW
Member (South-East)
Governing Board, and
Chairman Committee on Security, Climate Change, and Special Interventions
North-East Development Commission (NEDC)
