I thank God Almighty for giving me the grace to always
triumph over my adversaries, I am Adewunmi Faniran.
For the zeal to serve the union, Nigeria Union of
Journalists, NUJ, I have contested for the post of the Oyo State Chairman and
lost twice to Comrade Gbenga Opadotun, the immediate past Chairman of the
Council.
Each time I lost, I took the outcome with the spirit of
sportsmanship hoping that if fate would have it, I would be there at the
appropriate time, even when I had reservations about the process of the
election.
It has never been in record that I fomented trouble to
destabilise the leadership of NUJ, because of my ambition.
I always accept the outcome in good faith, put union
politics aside and join in programmes and activities to move the union
forward.
Having served as Correspondents Chapel Chairman in Edo
state, coupled with my experience as Assistant Deputy Director, News and
Current Affairs at Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, I have learnt
that in life, you win some battles and lose some: “When you win, celebrate,
when the table turns accept it in good faith”.
December, 2016 heralded a new dawn for me and Oyo NUJ, when
I was elected as chairman.
Having defeated other contestants with a wide margin, with
the runner-up Demola Babalola far below.
As usual for me, the election had come and gone, it was time
to move on with the purposeful leadership which I earlier promised the people.
We swung into action, putting up activities and programmes
to enhance professionalism and to give the state council a facelift.
We didn’t limit our programmes to human development alone, rather
we extended it to visible Infrastructural development.
I, however expected others to have learnt from me,
that politics is not do or die, when you lose elections, put it aside and move
on, you may still win.
My experience as Oyo NUJ chairman is totally different.
Members who were pained because they lost election have
always attempted to frustrate my administration for the past three years.
They have been running from pillar to post peddling all
manners of lies against my person, but God has always been proving His worth as
they have always failed.
During our congresses, it was their habit to come late with
the sole aim of putting their names on the register so they would have a number
of congress attendance to qualify them to contest election until a strong
congressional decision was reached that attendance register be closed one hour
after the commencement of each congress.
Thank God for that decision as they all adjusted to being at
Congress within stipulated time.
Though it has not been able to tame their walking in and out
on the Congress at will.
They don’t make any contribution but are always quick
with their negative criticism as opposed to constructive criticism.
Immediately after any congress or union programme, the war
is taken to the social media to criticize the leadership of the state
council.
And such persons are aspiring to lead the union (where is
your conscience?). If you are not a good follower, you can’t make a good
leader.
Record has it that for the past three years, a desperate
aspirant to the office of Oyo NUJ Chairman who has not had up to five comments
in the minutes during congresses.
“When you don’t have anything to offer, why are you
desperate to lead?
To lead Oyo NUJ astray? Not possible!”
My problem got compounded when I decided to follow the
constitution on membership registration as directed by the NUJ National
Secretariat, the constitution stipulates that if you did not study Mass Communication,
if you are not a financial member, if you do not belong to a Chapel or your
medium Chapelised, if you are a Contract Staff or a Stringer, you may not have
the prerequisite to be a member, or your status may fit in as Associate Member
as the case may be.
Associate status guarantees members a lot of opportunities
except the right to vote and to be voted for in the union.
Did I make the constitution?
The “so called” has been parading nonmembers as
his supporters, of course, they are many but constitutional standing does not
favor them, the reason I have faced series of blackmail which I have surmounted
by the grace of God.
They have called me names to the extent of sharing
elementary and crude sentiments that I am not from Ibadan, they could not even
caution themselves on the issue as sensitive as religion, perhaps they are so
oblivious of the fact that such acts are against the constitution of the
NUJ.
Ibadan is a great city no doubt, but it will be too
pedestrian to base your campaign of calumny on the basis of citizen of a town
or state.
They are even more pedestrian and childish in their
campaigns which they have started as against the constitution over seven months
back, that Governor Seyi Makinde is his uncle and that a serious campaign will
be mounted against non-indigenes in the present Oyo NUJ Executives.
We shall surely cross that bridge when we get there.
The most recent shame brought to the union by the “so
called” was the unrefined, crude and rude attitude displayed during the
inauguration of Credentials Committee to conduct the union’s election in
December this year.
The Executive presented a five-member committee to the
Congress for ratification.
After a long deliberation by all, a motion was moved for the
adoption, while the motion was countered.
In such a situation, such issues would be subjected to
voting and so we did.
Two people, who later said they abstained, voted against the
committee while twenty four others wanted the committee to stand, as others
felt indifferent.
The committee was consequently inaugurated, a situation
which got the “so called” fidgeting and thus instigated some of the
followers to assault me publicly.
I was physically assaulted by Adebayo Raji, who I can’t say
at the moment he is a member of NUJ or has any medium he works for.
As soon as I ended the inauguration, he barged into the hall
from outside where their group met briefly and struggled the microphone from
me, hit me in the mouth with the microphone, an experience I never wished to
remember again given the fact that in age and experience on the job, there is a
very wide gap.
I am yet to believe that such happened in my presence not to
say it happened to me.
So disheartening are some media reports I saw after the
congress, where journalists concocted stories that were far from reality and
such stories are published.
Where are the Editors, fact-finding mechanisms, objective
reportage and our conscience?
A medium report has it that I called him, the guy who
assaulted me “Bastard” where and why from the scenario I painted?
I never had a one-on-one chat with him, how would I have
charged at him.
Others claimed 61 people attended the congress, record of
Oyo NUJ has 47 on the attendance list.
They claimed some of the credential committee members are my
friends, why didn’t they vote them out when we called for voting?
I challenge them to question me based on the constitution on
any matter, I will follow their bidding(s) if constitutional.
I cannot open my eyes to see those who are nonmembers of
this professional body to drag the name of the union in the mud.
If all the fights are consequences of standing by the constitution
and sanitizing the Union, I am in for it.
Adewumi Faniran
Chairman, NUJ, Oyo State Council
