How the Ongoing NIDO Controversy

How the Ongoing NIDO Controversy Will Eventually be Resolved

Mobolaji E. Aluko,
alukome@aol.com
Burtonsville, MD, USA

Friday, April 9, 2004

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PROLOGUE

My fellow Nigerians, I am in a jocular mood this Easter, with my last fortieth birthday just past (on April 2), and that of many members of my family still brewing. April is always our month of birthday celebrations.

Happy birthday, y'all Arians!

INTRODUCTION

Over the past three weeks, as a fallout of a probably ill-advised, neither-here-nor-there "Dollarized Ministers" press release by the Executive of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Organization (NIDO):

http://nidoamericas.org/archive/diasporaremuneration.htm

a schism has developed in the organization resulting in a purported (?) change of its leadership.

http://nidoamericas.org/archive/BoardShakeUp.htm

As you read NIDO's Board Shake-Up release, you will find that the old Chairman (Barrister Emeka Ugwuonye of Washington, DC) has been removed in favor of the former Vice-Chairman and new Chairman (pathologist Dr. Ola Kassim of Canada). The smiling pictures of the new team are also well displayed on NIDO's website, including Emeka's own, strategically the best smile of the lot::

http://nidoamericas.org/boardmembers.htm

The nemesis of NIDO has been one "bulldog" lawyer Kennedy Emetulu of London, England, reportedly an old Uniben friend of Emeka's, with a few poodles here and there taking sides, and not a few terriers barking weakly on the sidelines, from Atlanta to Zambezi.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare1.com/Articles/emetulu10.html

A Poodle as a dog of war

Quite an international cast of characters!

Some have called the whole episode a bizarre "palace coup", others have found some of the accounts quite dizzying and disquieting.

Nevertheless, a number of well-meaning people, including yours truly, (a probably lapsed and near-foundation member of NIDO) have made some good suggestions, quite many suggestions actually, as to the long-term way forward, even though the short-term way forward has no consensus.

But what do my tea-leaves read as to how this controversy will be resolved?

THE PROBABLE "BABA-IC" WAY FORWARD

Well, we should remember that NIDO is President Obasanjo's baby, birthed in Washington, London and Abuja, nurtured in Atlanta and christened in Washington, DC by the medical doctor (and then Ambassador to US and now Senator) Prof. Jubril Aminu:

http://www.jibrilaminu.com/vangnews.html

http://www.jibrilaminu.com/message.shtml

http://www.zumunta.org/obasanjo Initiated NIDO.htm

http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/100103_1.shtml

The river remembers its source, as the saying goes.

Consequently, this is how I believe that this controversy will eventually be resolved:

1. The news of all this hullaballoo will eventually reach Mr. President - or "OBJ" or "Baba" as he is fondly called in some circles. Very little escapes his attention; how he does it is a wonderment. Quite frankly, Emeka Ugwuonye also has a few more "long-legs" in high places than most of the other Execos put together - but I may be wrong, because he may have expended much of his capital over the years with his over-lawyerly pontifications, who knows?

2. OBJ will call all the parties together - either when he next comes to the US (which will probably be soon, after all this scary coup palava blows over)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200404010741.html
Dated April 1, but not April Fool o!

[Okay, if you still don't believe it, see this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3612315.stm ]

or else he will send the principals flight tickets to come to Abuja - maybe about 6 of them, including at least one lady or two, for gender sensitivity. [Eg Emeka, Ola, Jimi (!), the lovely Nnenna or will it be Nkem or both sef, Joe Igietseme, Bato Amu]. He will say, "All of you are disgracing me and disgracing my dear country that I can die for! What kind of patriots are you? Hen, even in the Americas where you are, you still take your coakroaches and rodents of controversy and ethnicity with you - and money-grubbing? And you even have some women joining in! You cannot even copy Ngozi or Dora, not to talk of Oby!"

3. Baba will hear them out. Mr. President will listen most closely to all the money aspects in order to make a decision: he always determines character by your attitude to money, so it is likely that both parties will try to play that up. Emeka will play up how much he has spent for NIDO [Baba likes super-patriots] and that he was trying to prevent fraud; Ola will play up how the advert was to support Baba's dollar salary to those two ministers and other unknown sacrificing "public servants", Baba will now like that too, and will be momentarily confused!

http://allafrica.com/stories/200403160016.html

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare1.com/Articles/emetulu5.html

4. Ola will disclose further that Emeka opened a bank account in NIDO's name without approval and that he was preparing for fraud. "Is that true?", Baba will ask? Both people will be very careful how to play up alleged fugitive (?) Alpha-Banker Jimi Lawal's name (NIDO Execo member Jimi proposed and voted for Ola; Emeka can say one or two things about Jimi; and Ola can counter with one or two things too about Emeka! What a chess game!) because that could make or break each of their cases. Emeka might call up Abdusalami Abubakar [his client in the Enahoro/US case] to plead his case too.

http://www.gamji.com/NEWS1319.htm

The Absolution of Abubakar

That tack might be dicey though, because Abdusalami's relationship with Baba reportedly ain't too cosy, and "Salami" being effectively IBB's "cousin", IBB's relationship with Baba is also dependent on the political weather, which changes from presidential election to election.

5. All that NIDO election/constitution palaver based on Roberts Rule of Order Newly Revised (RONR), Art. 2.43 of US Corporation Law, and Sections 1.01, 5.08, and 12.01 of NIDO's ByLaws will not interest OBJ much - for goodness sakes, see how Baba reacts to federal, state and local government elections (with all the outrageous riggings) and the Constitution (budgets, Ngige, Tinubu in Ekiti, etc.) in Nigeria! He just "dey kampe" with all of them! So is it NIDO Mr. President will care so much about for those NIDO bylaws? Haba!

6. OBJ may then say, "Okay, Emeka, you remain as Chairman or "Okay, Ola, you are the new Chairman. No more 'two fighting', se e gbo?" Even my tea-leaves do not tell me how Mr. President will go; maybe I should check my crystal balls?

7. Once Mr. President speaks, everybody will leave "Aso Rock" (Abuja or Washington DC) smiling, marvelling at his wisdom. "Why did we not think of this before?", they will all be asking each other and themselves as they kiss and make up before the President - and slap each other out of his sight!

IS THERE A NEW PROPHET IN THE HOUSE?

Notice that I predict the process, but not the outcome. But how do I know even all of that? Am I a prophet or what?

Mba, mba! Me kem prophet? Can there be a prophet from Ode-Ekiti?

But if the above scenario happened over the recent ngTLD domain palaver

http://www.nitda.org/news.php?nd=2
Federal Government takes over Country Code Name

with BIGGER players in Nigeria involved, and despite all the advice of IT "experts," yours truly among others:

http://www.nigerianmuse.com/essays/UntanglingTLDPalaver.htm

why will it not happen with "little" NIDO?

You watch this space.

EPILOGUE

As I said, I am in a jocular mood, but as the saying goes, many a truth is spoken in jest:: you just don't know what those truths are!

Have a Happy Easter, y'all, as I rest my case!

DAWODU.COM

Dedicated to Nigeria's socio-political issues

How the Ongoing NIDO Controversy Will Eventually be Resolved