Adedoyin raises concerns over ANA’s membership audit
…..cites potential crisis similar to Enugu chaos
Wole Adedoyin, a member of the National Executive Council of the Association of Nigerian Authors and author of three published anthologies including “Whispers of Existence: Poetry on Life’s Journey” (ISBN: 978-978-59871-7-1), “Echoes of Being: Reflections on Life’s Tapestry” (ISBN: 978-978-59871-8-8) and “Soul’s Canvas: Poetic Meditations on Life’s Essence” (ISBN: 978-978-59871-9-5) has voiced profound apprehensions surrounding the ongoing Membership audit of the Association.
Adedoyin has cautioned that this evaluation has the potential to incite a crisis reminiscent of the tumultuous events that transpired in Enugu in 2019.
In an official statement released on Tuesday, Adedoyin voiced his belief that the present Membership audit of ANA is being orchestrated with the intention to manipulate the forthcoming ANA Election, favouring specific candidates who align with the incumbent ANA President.
Adedoyin’s concerns stem from the suspicion that these maneuvers might lead ANA into a situation mirroring the challenges experienced in Enugu few years ago.
The former National Publicity Secretary of ANA observed that the outgoing ANA President, Camillus Ukah, seems to have endorsed certain candidates and taken measures to hinder the reelection of individuals who previously posed challenges to his administration.
Adedoyin raised pertinent questions about the timing of these actions, conducted in close proximity to the upcoming election, which he believes could cast doubts on the integrity of the electoral process.
Adedoyin’s poignant query, “Why was the Membership Audit of the association not conducted in 2021, when the current ANA President sought reelection? Why introduce this initiative shortly before the end of his tenure?” underscores his doubts about the motivations behind the audit.”
Drawing on historical context, Adedoyin noted the successful Membership audit campaigns under the leadership of Prof. Remi Raji in 2014 and Denja Abdulahi in 2018, which yielded advancements in membership databases and greater transparency in identifying published authors within the organization.
Adedoyin lamented the apparent failure of the present ANA President to build on these foundations, choosing instead to abandon the existing database.
Adedoyin’s appeal to ANA’s Advisory Council, Board of Trustees, and venerable elders to intervene and halt the ongoing audit underscores his conviction that such an assessment should be the responsibility of the incoming ANA National Executive Committee.
Adedoyin’s plea rests on the pillars of fairness and unity, essential to the Association’s credibility.
Finally, Adedoyin emphasised that the idea for the Membership audit did not originate from the ANA National Executive Committee, but from an individual whose motivations could potentially disrupt the peace and unity of the association. He stressed the importance of adhering to ANA’s traditions and established electoral procedures.
Adedoyin should have asked those questions at the Inaugural meeting of the exco in Owerri and at the Convention in Ilorin where those decisions were taken and he as the PRO south dutifully shared and publicised the communiques.
ANA should put its house in order, once and for all. Partisan politicking is gradually creeping into ANA, supposedly a mirror, chronicler and watchdog of the society. Why all the bickering and factionalisation ? Get this clearly, I am not hand-in-gloves with any of the factions. All I am saying here is that despite the failure of most institutions of the Nigeria State, including the political class, ANA should have been an exception. ANA, an institution mostly peopled by credible and vibrant intellectual giants both in Nigeria and across the globe should not be reduced to what we are witnessing today. ANA cannot afford all this pettiness amongst its members vying for leadership positions. The ‘Nigerian factor’ should not be allowed to hold sway in a noble body as ANA. Painful enough, these people don’t listen to the Advisory Council of Elders who are constitutionally saddled with
the responsibility of stabilizing the institution
in moments of crisis as this. ANA should take itself to a level where it would be called upon to organize a credible, free and fair elections for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Let’s put the ANA family home in order now.