Protocols.
This is not my first time of attending an event organized by Ontiv Professionals Association (OPA) – I have attended one before.
I thank OnTiv Professionals Association (OPA), especially the Organizing Committee, for putting this event together.
“Professionals” are people with a “profession.” And a “profession” is what we do for a living, a paid occupation as opposed to hobbies or pastimes. It usually requires advanced training or formal qualification. Qualities associated with “professionals” include: Standards, diligence, effectiveness, efficiency, skills, propriety, organization etc.
It is professionals that make (or should make) the difference in any system or society by virtue of their training/expertise. Here, I refer to teachers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, engineers, surveyors, bankers, administrators, soldiers, accountants, architects, nurses etc. In fact, the state of any society is the state of her “professions” and the quality of her “professionals.”
When we look at Nigeria today, we see “professionals” everywhere, manning the critical sectors of her economy: our hospitals, schools, roads, economy, ports etc. Some of the professions are even chartered. So, those running Nigeria today are professional soldiers, professional bankers, chartered accountants, chartered engineers, professional teachers etc.
So, how is Nigeria? I don’t want to bore you with statistics, but the picture leaves much to be desired. Buildings are collapsing, roads are not lasting, banks declare false profits, the university system has no stability, security is being compromised, prison-breaks are becoming commonplace, inflation is climbing….everyday, we hear of mind-blowing financial scandals in this ministry, in that agency.
The question on the lips of concerned Nigerians is: “Where are the accountants, the auditors, the soldiers, the engineers, the builders, who are all professionals?”
This question is not to indict any profession or professional – it is to provoke sober reflection in all of us, going forward.
If we are happy with the state of the nation, we can thank God and continue. If, however, we are not, we can ask: What are the professionals among us doing? Can they do better? Do the professions need professionalizing?
Before coming here, I went to your website. It describes
Ontiv Professionals Association, an association of Tiv Professionals, as “a registered Non-governmental organization whose core objective is to foster unity amongst its members, to sustain and stabilize the family as a unit for development, to educate members on current happenings for their individual and collective development and enhancement, to form joint partnerships with similar associations and other Non-governmental organizations in pursuit of its objectives, to collectively intervene and support members and their families in times of need and to provide a forum for the interaction between members, other Tiv groups and Tiv people worldwide for the purposes of advancing good governance and development.”
The above is laudable even if it sounds too encompassing.
I believe the greatest responsibility of professionals is to make society better.
Professional responsibility here refers to: Loyalty to professional oaths/ethics; drawing a line between what is acceptable and what is not; it involves professionals making sound and patriotic judgments, deploying their unique skills or expertise for overall public good and reaching informed decisions for, or on behalf, of others.
But professionals need a safe and conducive environment to operate in. The truth is that some environments are hostile to the professions and professionals. It is the patriotic duty of professionals to help in creating the ideal environment that enables them to thrive and make the the greatest contributions to social development. And for OPA particularly, you need to make choice that best enables you to fulfill your mandate.
And with 2023 by the corner, professionals, especially OnTiv Professionals Association (OPA), have the opportunity to go back home and mobilize our people to perform their civic duties next February. Our people need to vote massively and vote right. They must vote for development, for human dignity and their right to life.
And, even though this is not a political gathering, I must let you all know that I am the National Chairman of PDP, the party of development. And I hail from Benue state. I urge you all to vote well in Abuja and in Benue state … in all the elections.
Thank you all.
Dr. Iyorchia Ayu
(PDP National Chairman)
