Franklin Ekechukwu
Franklin Ekechukwu’s Diaspora story goes a long way to describe the odds and ends of the quest for the American dream which he confesses has arrived but calls for a bolder in-depth definition. Beyond the rallies he constantly holds to support the Jonathan administration, Ekechukwu tells Nduka Nwosu why the gathering of investors who came to the Walldorf Astoria to meet President Goodluck Jonathan did not hold and his plans for the future.
Why does Franklin Ekechukwu dabble with all sorts of alliances and business ideas he has floated in his long journey to attain the American dream? You may say the survival instinct leads to all manner of strategies. Yet, Ekechukwu came close to having a $35 trillion business handshake with President Goodluck Jonathan when he assembled a number of investors some of whom flew in from outside New York for a dinner hosted by the famous and prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Ekechukwu descends from his suite in an unnamed floor of the towering hotel, clothed in a two piece black suit he may have picked up at a Manhattan shop where millionaires dress up for dinner; he prances up and down and reminds this reporter that at least 44 Presidents attending the UNGA69 were quartered right inside Waldorf if only to underscore the importance of the moment. Everybody waited in anticipation for the arrival of President Goodluck Jonathan; meanwhile Nigerian born Fox Television and my20 anchor and reporter Maureen Umeh assures all the President was being expected. The news comes that Jonathan is on his way to the airport. Ekechukwu can neither manage his devastation nor gather the courage to tell his guests that this is the end of a Great Expectation, borrowing from Charles Dickens’ famous prose.
But Umeh rises to the occasion and asks the guests to eat dinner whether Mr. President is coming or not, and say Hai to each other while exchanging business notes. Ekechukwu has worked so hard for Jonathan organising rallies in Washington DC close to Maryland where he is domiciled, Chicago and New York and his message was that Nigerian-Americans should support Mr. President and his policies, condemning Boko Haram for not returning the kidnapped Chibok girls. His loudspeaker, oblivious of the fact that this is Manhattan, not just America’s, but the world’s most famous business district, blares into the cold atmosphere presently building up, “the President must be supported in this nation-building assignment and his journey to secure the people’s mandate in 2015.” Aluuta, Continua.
Satisfied he can match make the investors even without a Jonathan-in-attendance dinner, Ekechukwu confesses he needs a breather to re-launch his bid to get the investors across the American shores to Nigeria.
“My name is Franklin Ekechukwu and I am a proud Nigerian,” he introduces himself with the typical swagger of an accomplished Diaspora Nigerian who has largely used the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) where he functioned as a director working with others in restructuring and rebuilding the organisation. He has also used the platform offered by the First Nigeria Organisation for his familiar rallies that became noticeable even in Abuja.
Ekechukwu is reminded that his $35 trillion handshake sounds robustly out of existence as a portfolio basket for investors coming to Nigeria. But he refuses to give in even when it is thought he is mistaken. Will all the Bill Gates of America, using Forbes Magazine’s rating of the richest men in the USA and their investment portfolios come close to $35 trillion? Ekechukwu refuses to lose the argument insisting the New York Society of Security Analysts with 11,000 members and over 600 investments quoted in the world’s leading stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trading on an approximate 1.6 billion shares daily for some 2,800 companies, ranging from blue chips to new high-growth companies, was ready to underwrite a $35 trillion check for Nigeria and expand its frontiers.
Ekechukwu descends from his suite in an unnamed floor of the towering hotel, clothed in a two piece black suit he may have picked up at a Manhattan shop where millionaires dress up for dinner; he prances up and down and reminds this reporter that at least 44 Presidents attending the UNGA69 were quartered right inside Waldorf if only to underscore the importance of the moment. Everybody waited in anticipation for the arrival of President Goodluck Jonathan; meanwhile Nigerian born Fox Television and my20 anchor and reporter Maureen Umeh assures all the President was being expected. The news comes that Jonathan is on his way to the airport. Ekechukwu can neither manage his devastation nor gather the courage to tell his guests that this is the end of a Great Expectation, borrowing from Charles Dickens’ famous prose.
But Umeh rises to the occasion and asks the guests to eat dinner whether Mr. President is coming or not, and say Hai to each other while exchanging business notes. Ekechukwu has worked so hard for Jonathan organising rallies in Washington DC close to Maryland where he is domiciled, Chicago and New York and his message was that Nigerian-Americans should support Mr. President and his policies, condemning Boko Haram for not returning the kidnapped Chibok girls. His loudspeaker, oblivious of the fact that this is Manhattan, not just America’s, but the world’s most famous business district, blares into the cold atmosphere presently building up, “the President must be supported in this nation-building assignment and his journey to secure the people’s mandate in 2015.” Aluuta, Continua.
Satisfied he can match make the investors even without a Jonathan-in-attendance dinner, Ekechukwu confesses he needs a breather to re-launch his bid to get the investors across the American shores to Nigeria.
“My name is Franklin Ekechukwu and I am a proud Nigerian,” he introduces himself with the typical swagger of an accomplished Diaspora Nigerian who has largely used the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) where he functioned as a director working with others in restructuring and rebuilding the organisation. He has also used the platform offered by the First Nigeria Organisation for his familiar rallies that became noticeable even in Abuja.
Ekechukwu is reminded that his $35 trillion handshake sounds robustly out of existence as a portfolio basket for investors coming to Nigeria. But he refuses to give in even when it is thought he is mistaken. Will all the Bill Gates of America, using Forbes Magazine’s rating of the richest men in the USA and their investment portfolios come close to $35 trillion? Ekechukwu refuses to lose the argument insisting the New York Society of Security Analysts with 11,000 members and over 600 investments quoted in the world’s leading stock exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trading on an approximate 1.6 billion shares daily for some 2,800 companies, ranging from blue chips to new high-growth companies, was ready to underwrite a $35 trillion check for Nigeria and expand its frontiers.
Ekechukwu explains the dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, was quickly put together with a group of good people and patriots. The idea was to present to the President real investors, with emphasis on the word real. “We had in the room over $35 trillion breathing and those willing to write the check immediately depending on the areas they were needed. These included the NYSSA Global Investment Committee, the American Capital and Energy Infrastructure, the IFS Securities, Symbion Power et al. NYSSA alone has over 11,000 members supervising a portfolio of $35 trillion, which they are ready to invest in Nigeria. All the selected investors showed up bearing gifts as you could imagine, one of them flew in from Germany where he was conducting business to make the dinner.”
A former owner of a Mortgage Bank, Ekechukwu and his group of investors are not giving up. One in fact told him although he was disappointed the President did not show up for the dinner, his zeal to mark up his current portfolio in the Nigerian investment market was unsurpassable. “Contrary to my expectations the investors are still interested to invest in Nigeria; one of them came to me to tell me that he had invested $50 million in the power sector but was ready to invest another $200 million and more and that he could write the check immediately.
Ekechukwu does not hide his emotions telling you the project drained his purse but that it is only normal he should take a rest and consider the way forward.
A former owner of a Mortgage Bank, Ekechukwu and his group of investors are not giving up. One in fact told him although he was disappointed the President did not show up for the dinner, his zeal to mark up his current portfolio in the Nigerian investment market was unsurpassable. “Contrary to my expectations the investors are still interested to invest in Nigeria; one of them came to me to tell me that he had invested $50 million in the power sector but was ready to invest another $200 million and more and that he could write the check immediately.
Ekechukwu does not hide his emotions telling you the project drained his purse but that it is only normal he should take a rest and consider the way forward.
He adds: “I will like to proceed with the assurance in the future to complete the project. The President needs these investors to accomplish his transformation agenda. Suggestions have been made to me to link them to businesses and other policy makers but the bottom line is that these investors are more interested in dealing with the decision makers who make and seal the deals; they are keen in dealing with credible people with viable business ideas.”
Ekechukwu left the shores of Nigeria in 1986, bored with a job that left minimum challenge for a young and adventurous man in search of new islands of opportunity to navigate. Has his American Dream finally dropped on his laps? Ekechukwu retorts: “What is the American Dream but to have a roof over your head, a car to drive to work and be able to pay one’s bill? I can say yes most Nigerians have succeeded owning houses and living comfortably, and if you ask me why they succeeded, the answer simply is we work hard, we strive to succeed in everything we have set our minds on.
“Nigerians are the most educated blacks in the United States. When you get educated getting a better job is the next thing and most often Nigerians succeed through that means.”
Ekechukwu left the shores of Nigeria in 1986, bored with a job that left minimum challenge for a young and adventurous man in search of new islands of opportunity to navigate. Has his American Dream finally dropped on his laps? Ekechukwu retorts: “What is the American Dream but to have a roof over your head, a car to drive to work and be able to pay one’s bill? I can say yes most Nigerians have succeeded owning houses and living comfortably, and if you ask me why they succeeded, the answer simply is we work hard, we strive to succeed in everything we have set our minds on.
“Nigerians are the most educated blacks in the United States. When you get educated getting a better job is the next thing and most often Nigerians succeed through that means.”
Still on the American experience, Ekechukwu says writing about it will make a thriller. “So far it will be a series, 28 years in America is not 28 days. I will prefer to hold on in expressing my experiences but concentrate on the future and what I can do to help my country. Having said that it is based on my experiences in the US that I am able to closely work and help most of our diplomats to navigate Washington DC and I do that proudly without charging anyone or the government of Nigeria.”
Ekechukwu has gone through the rough and tumble of young people sojourning to the US for the first time and can now point to a number of achievements part of which is political activism in promoting the President through the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) where he doubles as coordinator in the Washington DC area as well as the Nigerian American Alliance on Mentorship (NAAM). “As a director of US Embassy for Peace,” he stresses, “political activism can be interpreted wrongly. But I believe that there is nothing wrong supporting a government that is doing its best to change both the economic and developmental trajectory of the country. Jonathan is catapulting the country to a new height for a better tomorrow for all. For top forty investors to show up for a dinner planned for the President is an indication that they saw a new vibrant government making policies that affect business and people positively.”
The NAAM Coordinator describes the rallies he is known for as tough bargains but as time moved on, he got on well with the ability to mobilise men and materials. Now, he says, “I know who to call to and how to effectively and easily achieve the maximum needed for each rally.”
Ekechukwu has gone through the rough and tumble of young people sojourning to the US for the first time and can now point to a number of achievements part of which is political activism in promoting the President through the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) where he doubles as coordinator in the Washington DC area as well as the Nigerian American Alliance on Mentorship (NAAM). “As a director of US Embassy for Peace,” he stresses, “political activism can be interpreted wrongly. But I believe that there is nothing wrong supporting a government that is doing its best to change both the economic and developmental trajectory of the country. Jonathan is catapulting the country to a new height for a better tomorrow for all. For top forty investors to show up for a dinner planned for the President is an indication that they saw a new vibrant government making policies that affect business and people positively.”
The NAAM Coordinator describes the rallies he is known for as tough bargains but as time moved on, he got on well with the ability to mobilise men and materials. Now, he says, “I know who to call to and how to effectively and easily achieve the maximum needed for each rally.”
Among his conquests, the former Old Boy of Ngwa High School Aba and Ahmadiya Secondary School Kano, took time off to educate himself at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, where he obtained a BS in Chemistry, with concentration in Biochemistry and a minor in Mathematics. Currently running a Master’s Degree at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in Maryland, Ekechukwu has certifications in such fields as Mortgage Banking, Investments and Real Estate, Negotiations, Project Management, International Business and International Relations and that connects the business angle. “I am an expert on public diplomacy and negotiations. I had owned many businesses including a mortgage bank but currently regrouping and restructuring some businesses for home bound,” he proudly asserts.
What is his comment on the President’s performance rating? “Every sincere Nigerian will agree that the Jonathan administration has done so well. He has added value to every segment of the economy and national life. Nigeria and Nigerians are now respected around the world. Economically the country is the destination for investors, unlike five years ago when the world referred Nigeria as 419ers and an investment risk.”
Expectedly, he is asked if he is endorsing Jonathan for 2015. His response? “For his policies to take root and stabilise the country economically he has no choice but to run again and yes I am endorsing him totally and completely.”
What is his comment on the President’s performance rating? “Every sincere Nigerian will agree that the Jonathan administration has done so well. He has added value to every segment of the economy and national life. Nigeria and Nigerians are now respected around the world. Economically the country is the destination for investors, unlike five years ago when the world referred Nigeria as 419ers and an investment risk.”
Expectedly, he is asked if he is endorsing Jonathan for 2015. His response? “For his policies to take root and stabilise the country economically he has no choice but to run again and yes I am endorsing him totally and completely.”
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