“Let’s Look Back Home”

by Kofi Ayim

Dr. Nelson Oke Aluya, assistant professor of medicine at New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, has entreated his fellow citizens of Nigeria to look back home and render generous services to the needy and less unfortunate.

He observed that the task requires collective responsibility to prosecute it. He challenged fellow citizens to get involved, collaborate and/or partner with others to effectively give back to the communities from whence they came.

“Teach, if you are a teacher, heal if you are a medical practitioner,” he preached.

Dr. Aluya made this suggestion on July 28, 2018 at the Isoko Nation Convention in Los Angeles, California. Speaking on the theme “Youth Health and Isoko Nation,” Dr. Aluya opined that the health of a nation defines its wealth and invited all hands to ensure a healthy society for the people back home.

He said a healthy Isoko youth society has the potential to harness its potential and chalk advances in science, technology, and politics, among others.

“There is no better way to have an assured tomorrow but to build it around the progress of the responsible youth,” Dr. Aluya declared.

He said it is not just politically expedient but morally imperative that they, as Isoko indigenes in the diaspora, get it right. He added, “The person who does not know his or her culture is like a branch that doesn’t know it is part of a tree,” and urged the audience not to sever ties with their brethren in Isokoland.

The Isoko, with a current estimated population of 647,000, are believed to have been part of the great migrations of the 15th and 16th centuries from the Benin Kingdom to the Delta State.

They are most densely concentrated among the over 195.3 million population of Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world. Of the 371 ethnic groups in Nigeria, Isoko is the third largest in the Delta State and the fourth richest in Nigeria. It contributes about 30% of oil production.

Present at the event were Professor Kome Onopkise, Bishop Emmanuel Omase, the Kings of Ellu and Ozoro, as well as other dignitaries.

Posted by on Sep 18 2018. Filed under Community News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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