Hundreds Gather to Honor Governor Amaechi in New Jersey
By Omotola Fayemi (yeyeomo44@gmail.com)
Two hundred and eighty-two (282) people gathered on Saturday, September 28, 2013, in a standing-room-only ballroom of the Lafayette Yard Hotel to witness the presentation of the 2013 Quintessence Award to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Nigeria. The award was formally presented by Professor Molefi Kete Asante, Chairman of the Board of the African Writers Endowment, and a professor of African American studies at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Governor Amaechi was recognized for “Distinguished Accomplishments as a Public Administrator, And Outstanding Contributions to the History and Heritage of African Peoples.” Along with the award also came a joint resolution by the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly, sponsored by State Senator Shirley Turner for the Senate, and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman and AssemblymanReed Gusciora for the Assembly, and signed byClerk of the General Assembly Dana M. Burley and Secretary of the Senate Kent M. Hicks.
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is now in his second term as the governor of Rivers State, and also in his second term as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. In the remarks of its Executive Director, Dr. Ugorji O. Ugorji, and in the text of the citation the organization wrote in recognition of Governor Amaechi, the African Writers Endowment said that the Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State has, in addition to his performance as governor and leader, also “become a symbol of gumption in pursuit of democratic principles, among which are the inalienable right of any law-abiding citizen to aspire to any position of leadership in the country, and the rights of the federating states in the nation to operate within the realm of state sovereignty without unitary-inspired undue interferences by a central government.” Ugorji stressed that if no other group could be counted on, writers must always be counted on to defend the freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, and political participation in a democratic environment.
The event was attended by business men and women, academicians, creative writers and poets, as well as political leaders from Nigeria and the US, and had representatives from groups such as Zumunta-USA, NIDOA-NJ, African-Caribbean Community of Philadelphia, African-American Chamber of Commerce, Nigerian Peoples Forum, Peoples Club of Nigeria, Rainbow Book Club of Port Harcourt, the Port Harcourt Literary, Lean-Forward-Nigeria, Opobo-Bonny Foundation, Rivers State Foundation, and World Igbo Congress, to mention a few. Professor Toyin Falola of the University of Texas at Austin, and the Honorable Jacqueline Jennings, Mayor of Willingboro Township, co-chaired the event, while Mr. Charles C. Chikezie moderated.
Prior to the award ceremony, the Rivers State Government was joined by writers, poets and book publishers from across the world in the unveiling of plans for Port Harcourt as UNESCO’s World Book Capital in 2014. Those who made presentations and readings at the seminar included Koko Kolanga, Founder and CEO of Rainbow Book Club of Port Harcourt, Dr. Chidi Amuta, President of the Port Harcourt Literary Society, Professor Ogaga Ifowodo, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Commissioner of Information and Communication for Rivers State, Professor Toyin Falola, Professor Austine Okwu, Professor Kalu Ogbaa and Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji.
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