Collins Nweke, Nigerian-born Belgian politician with undying love for his home country

Collins Nweke, Nigerian-born Belgian politician with undying love for his home country

  

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...Marches for peace of Nigeria in Belgium

RONKE SANYA writes on the feats of Collins Nweke, the first black politician to win an elective position in Belgium, who has the love of Nigeria at heart and is propagating peace for his motherland in his country of residence.

Collins Nweke is a Nigerian resident in Belgium, a member of the country’s Green Party. In 2006, he became the first and so far, the only non-Belgian born to win an elective position in his West-Flanders constituency.

Nweke had served in the capacity of Councillor of Social Affairs and in 2013, when he got the mandate of the voters for a six-year term of office and had the portfolio of the economy, Social Policy, International Development and Minority Policy.

Despite these accomplishments in far away Belgium, Nweke has the love of his country at heart and doesn't hesitate to sue for peace in Nigeria.

According to Collins Nweke.eu, on Saturday, February 28, he organised a peace march tagged, “Your Peace, Our Peace,” in Ostend, bringing together Nigerians living in Belgium to campaign for peace in Nigeria.

In his opening remarks at the peace march, Nweke said: “My appreciation for my adopted country, Belgium, hit an all time high in April 2014, when news broke of the kidnap of some 270 girls in Chibok, North of Nigeria. I recall that while discussions centred around military intervention and deployment of international troops to go out there and teach Boko Haram a decisive lesson, the unique response, characteristic, as it were, of Belgium was to send a team of non-military personnel to Chibok on a fact-finding mission.

“The whole idea was for Belgian psychologists and medical personnel to provide counselling to the families of the kidnapped victims and to stand ready on the ground to provide counselling and medical help to the girls as soon as they are released.

“While for some, that action was a drop in the ocean, it was, for me, strongly indicative of a country with its heart in the right place. Let us also place the situation in its right perspective: Nigeria is 17 times the size of Belgium and Belgium as a country is even smaller than one of the affected North-Eastern states of Nigeria. The little brave Belgium was at it again, I thought at some point.

“I have more faith and confidence in the use of peaceful process to achieve even the most complex crisis. We have seen it at work in our very own Nigeria and elsewhere.

“Whatever became of the planned humanitarian intervention by Belgium is for me currently unclear but I do have one piece of advice here: Belgium must continue to go the way of peace in helping to bring solace to the troubled region of Nigeria. Nigerians in Belgium have come out en masse today to sue for peace. But more importantly, as you can see from the colourful participation of our Belgian friends, we are not alone in suing and demanding peace.

“In suing for peace for Nigeria, we are encouraged by the success of peace agitations in Hong Kong, we draw inspiration from Aung San Suu Ki’s Burma and the many marches of Martin Luther King, particularly the one in Selma.

“I wish Nigeria peace and finally and indeed most importantly, we wish the good but traumatised everyday Nigerian priceless peace.”

Holds minute of silence for Nigeria at Ostend City Council

Also in his quest for propagating peace and showcasing concern for his roots, Nweke called for a minute of silence for Nigerians affected by insurgency in the North-East, during a session at the Ostend City Council.

The speech on his website read, “This municipal council includes an Ostender of Nigerian descent, two Ostenders of Pakistani origin, a councilor whose mother was born and bred in the DR Congo, not to mention the thousands of residents of this City-On-Sea from over 130 different nationalities.

“It would be a mark of great courage to symbolically disapprove all forms of religious violence... I hope you share my outrage. Through our actions, we must be able to demonstrate that a Western dead is as bad as a non-Western.

“May I Propose...that this short and serene moment of remembrance also be held for the victims of Muslim terror in Nigeria and all other victims of senseless wars.”

Due to his dedication to the affairs of Nigeria, Nweke was also awarded by Nigerians in the Diaspora, Germany, during the leadership service award in 2014.

Elected as Chairman of Nigerians in Europe, Nweke served as chief executive of the body from 2003 to 2006 and as General Secretary (board position) from 2007 to 2009. Collaborating with Global Nigerian Diaspora in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa, Nweke, in his capacity as chairman,  is directly responsible for managing an eight-member board in its task of mobilising the Nigerian Diaspora in Europe with 19 regional chapters in 18 European countries estimated at six million in the Diaspora, for national development of Nigeria.

Nweke was born in Igbuzo, Delta State, on 14 July, 1965 and migrated to Belgium in 1993. He has dual Nigerian-Belgian citizenship. He trained in Mass Communication, International Business (BCom) and Social Economy (MSE) in Nigeria and Europe.

He is Founder, CEO of Global Village, brand-owners of Nigeria Human Capital, in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

Nweke is currently serving a second term as Councillor at Ostend City Council in West Flanders province.

He lives with his wife, Tonia and two teenage sons, Tonna Jessy and Chidi Rae in Belgium.