Nicholas follows dad’s footstep as council president

People

By JAMES GUMUNO
NICHOLAS Kurua is following his father’s footsteps to serve the people as a ward council president.
Nicholas, 53, hails from Anglimp village in the Dopdop council ward of the Anglimp Local Level Government.
The former soldier who was deployed to Bougainville with others to deal with the crisis there was recently elected president of the Anglimp LLG in Jiwaka. It was the position held years ago by his late father Wai Onum.
Nicholas was elected president by the councilors last Friday in a secret ballot at the Kurumul provincial headquarters.
“I contested for the ward council seat in the 2002 council election but the people did not give me their mandate to represent them at that time. They told me to wait because my time has not come. I accepted their decision and waited for the right time to contest the seat.”
The right time for Nicholas was the council elections held in July “when my people gave me the mandate to be their leader”.
He is happy to carry on from where his late father had left off.
Nicholas began his education at the Kuli Community School from 1974 to 1979. He completed Grade One to Grade Six there. He moved onto the then Fatima High School in Jiwaka in 1980 to further his education. He went through the grades and completed Grade 10 in 1985.
He was offered a place in Grade 11 at the Sogeri National High School in 1986 but rejected it because he wanted to join the army.
Nicholas then began his military career at the Goldie Barracks in the National Capital District and was based there for three years.
During the Bougainville conflict from 1989 to 1998, he was among the soldiers selected to go to the island to deal with the differences between the Government and the secessionist forces of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), and between the BRA and other armed groups. It began in 1988 and ended in 1998.
Nicholas was based in Bougainville until 1998. He returned to Port Moresby and joined B Company based at the Taurama Barracks.

“ I contested for the ward council seat in the 2002 council election but the people did not give me their mandate to represent them at that time. They told me to wait because my time has not come.”

In 2000, Nicholas decided to leave the army to return to his village in Jiwaka.
“I resigned from the army to go back to my village after seeing the need to maintain a leadership role (his family had) and uphold our culture and tradition.”
In 2002, he contested the ward councilor’s seat but lost. He did not try again until the LLG elections this year where he not only won the seat but was also elected by his fellow councilors in the LLG to be the council president.
Nicholas knows that the task ahead will not be simple and easy and is ready to face the challenge. He wants to repay the trust and confidence the voters and councilors have in him.
He also hopes that the military training he has will help him tackle the job effectively and successfully.
First, he wants to give everyone fair and equal treatment. There will be no favouritism or nepotism.
And the last thing he wants is to let the voters, councilors and, more importantly, his family down. He hopes to equal, or better, his late father’s contribution.

Anglimp local level government president Nicholas Kurua (right), Kudjip local level
government president Jim Kuk (middle) and his brother Pawa Wai at the Kurumul provincial headquarters. – Nationalpic by JAMES GUMUNO