TheCable

The 2016 Convention of Mbaise indigenes living in the United States will hold between June 30 and July 4 at the Austin Marriott North, Round Rock, Austin, Texas.

The annual convention, which will be chaired by Frank Nneji, chief executive officer ABC Transport Plc, will attract more than 5,000 Mbaise men, women and children living in the US and will feature a leadership forum, a town hall meeting, youth programmes, a fundraiser/gala night, board meeting and elections into the national executive offices.

Obi Nwakanma, a professor of English at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, will deliver the keynote at the leadership forum, which will feature eminent Mbaise sons and daughters, including Joe Osuji, a retired brigadier-general; Placidus Aguwa, a US-based legal practitioner; Edward Oparaoji a professor and US-based pharmaceutical industry giant; Joe Nze Eto, a globally-acclaimed Geologist/environmental leader and current chairman of the World Igbo Congress; Anogwi Anyanwu, a business leader/consultant and former executive director of Mainstream Bank of Nigeria.

Other panelists include Austin Onwubiko, managing director and cheief executive officer of Africana First Publishing Nigeria limited; Jane Akponye, an emotional intelligence specialist and founder/executive director of Los Angeles-based Eastvale Life Integrated Services; Albertus Njoku, a public health expert in the east coast of the US; as well as Victor A. Nwachuku, renowned obstetrics and gynecology surgeon based in Silver City, New Mexico.

Mbaise USA convention is a yearly gathering of Mbaise people resident in the US, where they fellowship, network, keep the community alive and raise funds for Mbaise development initiatives back home.

Joe Ehioma, ace broadcaster and assistant director programmes (rtd), Imo Broadcasting Corporation, will be master of ceremonies at this year’s convention, while the leadership forum will be moderated by Emeka Oparah, vice president, corporate communications at Airtel.

The convention has been hosted in Houston, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Raleigh/Durham, Newark, Baltimore and is berthing in Austin, the political capital of Texas, which boasts a high population of Nigerians in general and Mbaise people specifically.

According to Ezeji Alozie A. Aguwa, chairman of the panning committee, “this year’s convention has been deliberately enriched to feature a leadership forum in recognition of the need to re-position Mbaise in the political economy of Nigeria and identify critical areas that require better attention in ensuring that Mbaise occupies its rightful place in the scheme of things back home and contribute even more than it has already done to the development of Imo state and Nigeria”.

Sir Lawrence Osondu, national president of Mbaise USA, expressed his excitement about the opportunity to build on the successes of previous years.