The drums will be rolled out tomorrow Saturday 14th September, 2019 to celebrate and honour an accomplished young, energetic, resourceful and vibrant personality, Chief Edward Onoja for his meritorious services to his fatherland.
The Igala Cultural Development Association (ICDA) will be conferring one of its highest awards on a selfless, pragmatic and consummate personality, Chief Edward Onoja, whom the Association said his emergence on the Political Landscape of Kogi has ushered in prosperity.
Igala Cultural Development Association which is the umbrella body of all Social Cultural bodies in Igala land has been faced with numerous challenges and constraints. Notably among these constraints is finance to carry out some of its laudable projects.
The quest to have a befitting Secretariat for the Association over the years remained elusive under successive administrations.
The completion of the ICDA Secretariat comprising of standard accommodation and a Hall is no doubt an edifice that has now become the pride of all Igala Sons and Daughters only made possible through the efforts of Chief Edward Onoja.
Besides, the Secretariat projects, Chief Edward Onoja has equally given the needed support and encouragement to all the programmes of the Association.
This positive disposition and rare show of support thus motivated the leadership of ICDA to confer on this God sent son of Igala Land with its prestigious award of Commander of Igala Kingdom (CIK).
Like the National President of ICDA, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Amodu rightly said while announcing the award, he opined that Chief Edward Onoja is a personality to reckon with, being a man who has dedicated himself to the service of Igala land, and concluded that the award is as a result of the awardees selfless efforts and contributions to the growth and development of Igala Nation.
For every intent and purpose, any practical step taken towards showing appreciation for good behaviours cannot be said to be out of place, after all, this aptly justifies the time – honoured saying that “Good should be repay for Good”.
Again, such recognition like this being done to Chief Edward Onoja is capable of spurring other Igala sons and daughters to emulate the gesture so that they could also be honoured at the appropriate time.
This is why the conferment of an award of Commander of Igala Kingdom (CIK) on Chief Edward Onoja who is also the Chief of staff to the Kogi State Governor could not have taken place at any other time than now.
From available records, Chief Edward Onoja is the only Igala individual that has single handedly mobilized financial contributions and personal sacrifices to see to the full completion of ICDA projects.
For Chief Edward Onoja to make this possible, he used his God given position to reach out to people of goodwill, colleagues as well as political appointees of Kogi-East extraction to ensure the project which has been the yearnings of the people of Igala-Land becomes a reality.
This is a feat that has never been witnessed in the history of Igala Kingdom for a single son of the land to deem it necessary to embark on a project that will serve the interest of all without a blink of an eye.
The out pouring of commendation and encomium on Chief Onoja from the galaxy of personalities that graced the inauguration of the project amidst pomp and ceremony clearly shows the level of appreciation of the guests to the man who saw to the completion of the Secretariat project.
Chief Onoja deploys similar commitment and attention towards the success of whatever task he chooses to undertake in any given assignments.
As a Chief of staff to the Governor of Kogi State, his Boss had on several occasions had course to publicly acknowledge the tremendous and robust loyalty and support he enjoys from Chief Edward Onoja.
Governor Bello described his Chief of staff as a dependable ally and worthy Ambassador of Kogi State, and also a pride to his immediate family.
The outstanding contributions, dedication and commitment to selflessly serve his Boss and the people of the State led to his recent nomination as running mate to the Governor of Kogi State in the coming November Sixteenth gubernatorial election.
Indeed, reactions to his nomination since it was made public, indicates the popularity he enjoys in the state and the high esteem to which he is being held.
That the double celebration that came the way of Chief Onoja in the week are unexpected, could only emanate from the minds of those who either deliberately or out of primodial disposition will not just acknowledge the legendary contributions of Chief Edward Onoja to the socio-economic and political development of the confluence state.
While the elevation as running mate to Alhaji Yahaya Bello can be regarded as the best decisions for sustained development of Kogi State, the Igala Community Development Association (ICDA) should be commended for appreciating the efforts of Chief Edward Onoja through the conferment of its merit award scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, the fourteenth of this month at Anyigba in Dekina Local Government Area.
In the words of the late Elder statesman, Alhaji Maitama Sule, “the youths need the wisdom of the elders to grow, while the elders on the other hand need the agility of the youths to succeed”.
The people of Kogi State must resolve more than before to tap from the agility and rich potentials of Chief Edward Onoja for the overall benefit of the State.
THAT SPOT LIGHT ON THE CONFERMENT OF MERIT AWARD OF COMMANDER OF IGALA KINGDOM (CIK) ON CHIEF EDWARD ONOJA, THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE KOGI STATE GOVERNOR BY THE IGALA CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (ICDA) WAS WRITTEN BY A SOCIAL COMMENTATOR, ALI ATABOR, AND SPONSORED BY CEDO MEDIA NETWORK FOR GYB 2019.
