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Controversy is raging over the election of Officers for the NGE in Lagos last Saturday…A member ,Steve Osuji, who is interested in office of the guild’s president is angry with his disqualification.
“They’ve turn it to guild of idiots..desperadoes…shameless…Guild has become odious to respectable publics; a much-debased GUILD caught in the clutches of a soulless band”…he labelled the association in annoyance.
Some within are of the opinion that Steve, argument is punctured by the uncivilised language used on all .
His grouse:
* after I purchased nomination form to contest for the PRESIDENCY of the NGE, they wilfully misinterpreted the constitution and purportedly disqualified me on the ground that I am no longer a FULL MEMBER OF THE NGE!
* how can that be!? I have been a member for precisely 17yrs.
* I am currently an exco member having won election in 2017 with the same Article of the constitution subsisting,
* I have been editor in The Guardian, Thisday, Newage; and MD/CEO Imo Newspapers,
* I am currently a member of Editorial Board of The Nation Newspapers, I have been there for 8yrs running,
* I was Chief Press Secretary to governor of Imo State during which I hosted the NGE in Owerri
* I am an award-winning columnist, etc.
How come I am being branded an Associate, the lowly status of a beginner?
It is because they knew I would TROUNCE them in a contest; so it was OPERATION STOP STEVE OSUJI by any means.
They even flooded the venue with policemen and plainclothes security; they were afraid my supporters would violently reject their impunity, their travesty… they twisted the constitution and suborned the election committee.
But Funke Egbemode, who has just been reelected, unopposed, as president of the Guild said the election process followed the constitution of the Guild which was adopted by all of us.
There are organs created to function in the interest of the Guild. Those were the organs that functioned at this election. It is about our law.
It is about what we agreed. There was not a dissenting voice in Port Harcourt when we adopted this constitution. And we have no other constitution.
So, everything we did was according to this constitution. It is not about me. It is not about the fifteen people that contested.
It is about the constitution and that’s what happened. That’s why the election went the way it did. It is the only way it could have gone
What is most important like I said in my speech is to put the Guild first. If you are coming into an organisation or a position to serve, there won’t be desperation.
When it becomes, ‘if this house cannot accommodate me, it must fall’, then the people in the house are suspicious. They begin to query whether you are one of them or whether you are supposed to even be in the house.
Nobody pulls down his father’s house just because it’s hot. We all inherited the Guild. I’m not yet 60 years old and the Guild is almost 60.
So, why would I want to be part in of those who want to the destroy an Iroko tree that was planted almost six decades ago?
My job is to ensure that since I inherited a strong Guild, I should make it stronger. I will invite all our ‘ancestors’ as I call them, the people who have been around since the beginning of the Guild.
You know we are fortunate, we have ‘living ancestors’, we have elders in broadcast, in the print who are still here with us.
Some of them were present at the election. We will call them. It is a family thing now. It is our house. We will not allow it to be pulled down.
There was no disagreement (about the Constitution in Port Harcourt); otherwise, we would have held back and reconfigured it.
We should not allow it to get to the court. But it is a democracy. But if you are coming to serve, it is like somebody coming to you to say, I would like to drive you.
I want to be your driver for two years and I will do it for free. And you decline the offer. And then he sues you. Won’t you be suspicious of what he wanted to do for two years?
If you say no, don’t drive me and he says I must drive you by fire. It will be suspicious if anybody goes to court now.
We will now begin to ask, does the person actually want to serve or what? But we will continue to talk to our elders to intervene.
If you are coming into an organisation or a position to serve, there won’t be desperation
I have reached out to them in the best way possible to show respect. Ask the elders, our bosses. You know editors are employees.
We had people who they will listen to talk to them, please let’s put our hands together. It is service.
You can’t disrespect anybody. We will continue to work together, everybody will be fine.
