ADU ACHI: A SEASON TO UNITE, FORGIVE AND BUILD A BETTER FUTURE
As the Christmas and New Year celebrations draw closer, sons and daughters of Adu Achi, at home and in the diaspora, are once again preparing to return to their ancestral home.
For many, Christmas is a period of celebration, reunion and thanksgiving, but for Adu Achi citizens, this year's homecoming should mean much more.
It should be a time to reconnect, reconcile, brainstorm and collectively chart a new direction for the development of the community.
Adu Achi is blessed with intelligent, hardworking and accomplished men and women spread across Nigeria and different parts of the world, yet one important question must continue to occupy the minds of every son and daughter of the community:
What can we do differently to move Adu Achi forward?
The annual Christmas homecoming should not be reduced to parties, ceremonies and individual family activities rather it should be an opportunity for families to sit together, visit relatives, reconnect with old friends and introduce the younger generation to their roots.
Parents should consider bringing their children home—not merely for Christmas festivities, but for them to can see, understand and appreciate Adu Achi as their ancestral home.
Children being born today are not simply the children of the present but leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, politicians, academics and community builders of tomorrow.
If they are not connected to Adu Achi today, who will carry the community forward tomorrow?
Every visit is therefore an opportunity to plant the seed of identity, responsibility and belonging in the minds of the younger generation.
Let our children know where they come from. Let them meet their grandparents, uncles, aunties and extended family members. Let them see the land, culture, traditions and challenges of Adu Achi and more importantly, let them understand that they have a responsibility to contribute to the future of their community.
One of the greatest assets any community can possess is unity and
Adu Achi must therefore begin to look beyond personal differences, family disagreements, political affiliations and past misunderstandings.
There will always be disagreements in a community. There will be different opinions, competing interests and different approaches to issues, but development becomes difficult when disagreement turns into permanent division.
This Christmas should therefore provide an opportunity for reconciliation and forgiveness.
Those who have offended one another should find the courage to forgive and those who have been offended should find room in their hearts to let go even as those who have misunderstood one another should sit down and talk as a community cannot move forward when its people continue to fight battles from the past.
Forgiveness does not mean forgetting everything that happened rather it means choosing progress over bitterness.
Adu Achi needs peace within its families, unity among its kindreds and cooperation among its leaders.
Another issue that deserves serious reflection is the political development in Adu Achi. For many years, the community has produced capable men and women with the capacity to contribute meaningfully to governance, yet Adu Achi has not sufficiently translated its human resources into political representation at higher elective levels.
This should not be a subject for blame but a subject for strategic thinking and collective action by supporting our sons and daughters who aspire to elective positions.
One question that will always be in our mind is, how can Adu community build a political strategy that transcends individual interests and ensures that capable people receive the necessary encouragement when opportunities arise?
These are questions that should be discussed openly and maturely.
Politics should not permanently divide brothers and sisters.
Different political opinions are part of democracy, but Adu Achi interest should remain bigger than any political party.
The community must begin to think strategically about supporting credible sons and daughters who aspire to serve at the local, state and national levels.
It is time to move from political participation to political influence and representation.
Respect and Support fornpolitical relivance.
Another area we must look at is the leadership of Adu Achi.
The traditional stool represents history, culture, identity and continuity.
It is therefore important for sons and daughters of Adu Achi to support the traditional institution and other legitimate community leadership structures.
Leadership will not always be perfect. Leaders may make mistakes, and people may disagree with decisions.
But disagreement should be handled through dialogue, respect and constructive engagement.
A strong traditional institution, supported by an enlightened and united people, can provide an important platform for peace, cultural preservation and community development.
The challenge now is how to convert discussions into measurable development and to achieve this , Adu citizens needs to identify priority areas such as:
education and scholarships, electricity and infrastructures,
healthcare,
youth empowerment,agriculture and entrepreneurship,
security, sports and cultural development.
Other arears the community should consider is the need to support widows and vulnerable families.
The sons and daughters of Adu Achi in the diaspora can play a particularly important role by bringing ideas, expertise, investment and networks back home.
Instead of asking only, "What has Adu Achi done for me?", perhaps the more powerful question is:
"What can I do for Adu Achi?"
This quote extracted and modified from a quote by one time president of USA defined the need for individual and collective efforts towards building of Adu of our dream as it cannot only be built by one person, one family, one kindred, one association or one political group.
It must be a collective project.
The engineer, lawyer, teacher, soldier, civil servant, businessman, farmer, politician, traditional ruler, youth leader, woman leader and student all have roles to play as every contribution matters.
Even those who cannot contribute financially can contribute through ideas, professional expertise, mentorship, advocacy and service.
The community should also create opportunities for the younger generation to participate in decision-making.
They should not merely be spectators during community events.
They are the future stakeholders of Adu Achi.
Therefore, as Adu Achi prepares for another Christmas and New Year homecoming, let us make a conscious decision to do things differently.
Let us unite as one family with love void of fear and suspicion, let parents bring their children and reconnect with bothers and sisters.
Let old friends renew their relationships.
Let political differences give way to constructive dialogue. Let past grievances be forgiven.
Let our traditional institutions receive the support they deserve.
Let community leaders listen to the people.
Let the people support credible leadership.
And let every meeting produce at least one practical step towards development.
The Adu Achi Annual Carnival and other community activities should not only be occasions for entertainment,they should also become platforms for ideas, networking, reconciliation, investment and development as the
Adu Achi we desire tomorrow will not be created by wishful thinking rather it will be created by the decisions we make today.
The children running around our villages during this Christmas may one day become doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, entrepreneurs, traditional rulers, military officers, public servants and political leaders.
Some may become governors, senators, members of the National Assembly or occupy other important positions of authority.
But that future will only happen if we begin to prepare them today.
Let us therefore give our children a community they will be proud to inherit.
Let us give them a united Adu Achi.
Let us give them a peaceful Adu Achi.
Let us give them a politically conscious Adu Achi.
Let us give them an economically vibrant Adu Achi.
And above all, let us give them an Adu Achi where brotherhood is stronger than disagreement and development is greater than personal interest.
As Christmas approaches, Adu Achi should remember one simple truth:
When we stand divided, our individual strength becomes weak, but when we stand together, our collective strength becomes a force for development.
The time to unite is now.
The time to forgive is now.
The time to plan is now.
The time to build the Adu Achi we want our children to inherit is now.
Adu Achi is our home.
Adu Achi is our heritage.
Adu Achi is our responsibility.
And together, we can build the Adu Achi of our dreams.
— Agunjiegbe Online TV
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