THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Belgian-Nigerian politician Collins Nweke has lauded the leadership of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) for the manner it‘s running the group. In a press statement on the forthcoming Nigerian Diaspora Conference, taking place in Dublin on 7-9 November and organised by NIDOE, Nweke, who is a Councillor in the town of Ostend and a former chairman of the organisation himself, writes on the current Central Executive Council led by Kenneth Gbandi. He showers encomiums on the Gbandi Team for rekindling the energy of the organisation through its big and bold dreams and he warned against a tendency he feared could weaken the leading Nigerian diaspora group:
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“When the history of the current leadership of NIDO Europe is finally written, one of the items on the positive side of its ledger will be its genuine efforts at rejigging the hitherto declining interest in our Annual General Meetings (AGM). Obviously the fun that Dublin 2019 promises to be continues to unfold daily and that is great.
“It personally excites me and solidifies my hope of better days ahead for this organisation when as past chairman, I witness the coming to life now of ideas envisioned in years past. The lesson for us all is that dreaming big, very big can never be wrong as long as you are conscious of the fact that a dream may fail not because it’s bad or wrong but simply because it’s a dream whose time has not yet come.
“I want to put on record my unshaken belief in the big dreams of our current NIDO Europe leadership team. In my quiet conversations across board around the globe, I note different strands of opinion about the larger than life ambitions of NIDO Europe. I dare to conclude out of those conversations that what we need today and tomorrow isn’t less, but more big dreams.
“I therefore urge us all to support any and all persons who dare to dream big and entrust the future of this great organisation in their hands. I also urge you to identify the drags that surely weigh us down and eliminate those drags.
“You may not fully realise it but one of the things preventing popular participation in NIDO Europe is seat-tight Chapter Chairmanship. It is not for us to find excuses to justify a CC being in power longer than 4 years against the stipulations of the Constitution. I do not condemn those who plead that we go easy on the one-man Chapters (usually revolving around a so-called Chapter Chairman and a tiny clique) but I challenge them to analyse the characteristics of the vibrant Chapters.
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“One thread that runs through them is their succession pattern: it’s voluntary and consistent! Finally, those affected know themselves. They have now been put on notice and are urged to step up and voluntarily change the narrative failing which all men and women of good faith amongst us will do what they have to do in the common good of all.
“Congratulations Dublin 2019 team. Kudos to the current NIDO Europe leadership for leading from the front seat!”
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The annual Nigerian Diaspora Conference and NIDOE general meeting will hold on 7-9 November in Dublin, Ireland.
