Thank you Sir Michael

ON behalf of my family and the people of Amanab in Vanimo-Green, I convey our heartfelt condolences to Lady Veronica and family on the passing of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.
I pray God grant you peace and strength in this time of grief.
Just as the rest of Papua New Guinea, the people of Amanab will forever remember Sir Michael for many generations to come.
Sir Michael is everything to PNG.
He envisioned PNG and formed it in his mind and with great courage in his heart.
He did everything he could do and used every resource at his disposal to push for political independence and achieved it in 1975.
Words cannot fully express and define a man of his calibre.
Looking back in time, we can only summarise it by saying that who we are today as a politically independent and socio-economically developing nation is because of Sir Michael’s great vision, wisdom, passion and charisma.
The grand chief did not want his children and the generations to live under racial discrimination and gain independence through bloodshed.
Instead, he wanted to obtain it through peaceful means. He wanted the people of PNG to have a free and democratic future.
He believed in the abilities and capabilities of Papua New Guineans to do anything that any other person in this world can do.
He wanted Papua New Guineans to be the masters of their own destiny, resources and future.
Thank you papa Sir Michael for believing in us.
You are truly the father of this great nation, the nation of many tribes, languages and opportunities.
I thank you for not only giving us political independence but giving the PNG Vision 2050, a 40-year development vision to take PNG to where you envisioned it to be.
Sir Michael, as a true father of the nation, you have given your child (PNG) freedom (independence) to free itself from all forms of oppression and suppression.
In December 2008, after 33 years of independence and nation building, you took the courage to step back to reflect on our journey as a young nation to see how we have fared. In your wisdom, you have given PNG a very important tool (PNG Vision 2050) to guide its development to make it become a smart, wise, fair and happy society by 2050.

Jack Nomaha,
Amanab LLG, Vanimo-Green