Issue - meetings

The Mayor made the following acceptance speech:

“I am overwhelmed and feel humbled by the kind words expressed at my appointment as Mayor.  I would like to express thanks, appreciation and gratitude to the Leader and Leader of the Opposition for their nominations and to my fellow councillors for electing me as Mayor and the First Citizen of the London Borough of Enfield.  I am particularly grateful to my Labour colleagues who have supported me in standing for this position of honour and dignity.  I would also like to thank all elected councillors of the borough for their gesture of goodwill towards me, which I would like to reciprocate now and in the future.  I would also like to thank the members of the public, invited guests, dignitaries and officers of the Council.  I am proud of the fact that I am the first Mayor and was also the first Cabinet Member of Asian origin.

Having been born in India I have also been fortunate to live in Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as the UK.  Politics has not always been my main passion.  I joined politics as a way of seeking justice and equality and in order to redress what I felt to be the grievances of the Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, experienced during my three decades as a racial equality Director.  I still feel passionately that more should be done to empower the Black and Minority Ethnic Community by giving them more strategic support.  My challenge, in the past, has been to demand from the authorities that racial discrimination is addressed which has led to me being regarded as a controversial character.  I am therefore glad that the Council’s objectives now include fairness, sustainability and growth which will need to be carefully monitored in relation to the impact on the Black and Minority Ethnic Community within the borough.

I was born in a small village in India called Uchundi where the nearest school for primary education was 3 miles away.  As a young boy I used to travel 6 miles a day by foot just to attend school as the opportunity to be educated was very limited.  I was the fifth child in my family with six brothers and six sisters.  My parents were land owners so were wealthy, although were greatly affected by the partition in India in 1947.  I stayed in India with my family until 1953, doing the equivalent of GCSEs and then left to move to East Pakistan, Bangladesh as it is now.  It was a challenge for me as a young boy to leave my family in India and to find a good educational opportunity and career in that country.  I graduated in Politics, English Literature & Economics in 1959 and two years later gained a Masters in Political Science majoring in Constitutional Law.  I also completed a Law degree on a part time basis.  In 1969 I gained a Diploma in Public Relations from the British Institute of Public Relations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4

The Mayor made the following acceptance speech:

“Good evening and thank you for joining me today in this wonderful diverse borough of Enfield.

Welcome Councillors, officers, friends and families and a very special welcome to the Igwe-In-Council of Cabinet and Honorary Chiefs of Nanka, Ajie Nanka, Odenigbo Nanka, Ezeudo Nanka, Onwa Nanka, Ikeoha Nanka and all high chiefs present representing Your Royal Highness, Igwe G.N. Ofomata, the Obu Nanka  who could not be here in person.  Also a special welcome to all the dignitaries from Nigeria and other countries and to my guests who are joining us via video link, seated in Committee Rooms 1 & 2.

First of all I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to all Members of the Council, especially Members from my side.  Without your support and belief in me, I would not be standing here today.

I would like to take this opportunity to provide you all with some background information about myself.  Mine has been a happy, but also at times a painful journey, however with determination and discipline I have plodded on.  Thanks to my church St Judes Catholic Church Nanka, St Edmunds R/C Edmonton, Nigerian Chaplaincy and all prayers from friends and well wishers.  Especially staff from the maternity unit in North Middlesex Hospital.

As must be obvious, I am from Nanka, a town made up of seven villages in South Eastern Nigeria with roughly about 50,000 people, excluding those in diaspora.  Within this community we have over 92 Professor’s and PhD’s.  Education is a major trade of the community, and there is hardly any family in Nanka without a University/polytechnic graduate.  The major drawback for the town is the menace of gully erosion which is scattered all over the seven villages. Some of the erosion sites are among the hidden routes exploited by the slave dealers and their local collaborators during the notorious slave trade. The community and Government are fighting the menace of erosion through planting of cashew seedlings, control of flooding and other measures and also looking forward to international help.

I am the eldest daughter of deeply religious parents.  I was one of two girls and five boys brought up in a strict, old fashioned and God fearing environment, my mother being the disciplinarian. She is also a princess, the daughter of the first son of the King.  Hence I am also from the Royal lineage as are my brothers who are with me tonight.

From the age of five, I was very well versed in etiquette, good manners and behaviour. In other words, there was little scope or even desire for youthful rebellion. I attended a convent school run by the Catholic missionary sisters which was even stricter.  I realised that I was a clever girl who excelled in all subjects and I always worked hard.

After my Primary education I started Teacher training and half way into a four year course, I was to leave to join my spouse in England.  With seven  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4