On ANA Press Release: A Response to Dr. Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze
Mobolaji E. Aluko
June 20, 1997
Dear Netters:
As if you did not notice, I was away from the Net on and around June 12,
1997, when the issue of the ANA June 12 Press Release broke, with Dr.
Sepribo Lawson-Jack, Dr. Hakeem Johnson and Dr. Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze
displaying the chips on their shoulder in various ways over the contents
of the superb press release. The cheeky input by the perennial waffler/
ANA basher Dr. Kasirim Nwuke (NMAF leader, ANA beneficiary) was completely
forgettable but highly predictable.
I peeped onto the Net from Berlin and from London, and was most gratified
at the dignified and professional manner with which various members of the
organization to which I am proud to belong - ANA - addressed the
situation, particularly the president, Dr. Debo Akano, and our former
Legal Adviser, Dr. Alwell Nwakwoala. I was also impressed with the
objectivity with which Dr. Lanre Babalola called for sanity over a piece
by a few Nigerians trying the way they know best right now to express
their dissatisfaction at the situation in our country. Thinking it was a
compliment (!), an ANA friend of mine said he thanked God that I was not
around when the palaver broke. Knowing that he is an agnostic heathen (if
there is such a combination), I am still scratching my head about his
new-found faith.
I thought that the contrarian parties had been sufficiently chastened by
the dignified responses, only to open my mail yesterday to see Dr. Obi
Taiwan Ozochiawaeze continue the thread, continue his lying ways, and
refer to my name in a manner most untruthful. Whether the Cyberlord has
no archives to refresh his memory, or whether he is deliberately being
untruthful is neither here nor there. To lie is one thing, but to lie
when you know that you will be shown up by the press of a button is - how
can I put this delicately? - foolish. I would not have such to be a spy,
the three letter word which our inimitable Dr. Caleb Oriade refused to
specify. Inspector Clousseau (sp?) would be better hired.
I divulge my "deep archives" below, beginning October 17, 1994, and ending
June 22, 1995, almost exactly 2 years ago now about the Obi Taiwan saga.
I do not believe that many ANA members even know all of the facts, as
shown by Dr. Caleb Oriade's posting. Why Dr. Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze would
like to have this happen to him is strange to me, but since I don't want
to ever want to address this strange time of my life again ever, I am
sharing it with you.
Before I do, I should reveal that Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze, out of nowhere,
suddenly dropped me a note two weeks ago, after about 2 years of
absolutely no mail exchange. I do not know why, but I deleted it
immediately because I did not want to be tempted later on to respond to
it. He said not sweet nothings about me not minding Mr. Yinka Adeyemi,
that I gave him too much attention or something like that! [You see, Mr.
Yinka Adeyemi and himself are joined at the hips when it comes to CONA and
the rest of these matters.] I really don't remember, but I wondered what
he was up to, and why he was contacting some of us again (he had suddenly
contacted another ANA friend too within the period.) I guess he wanted to
let us know that he was still alive and well, and that we should continue
to be careful?
I wish to thank Dr. Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze for one thing though: were it
not for him, I would be the most naive in terms of Net relationships, and
may have been dead long time ago as I longed to meet every seemingly
innocent netter that I conversed with. Now I know better.
'Nuff said. Please read on, and read carefully. I have sanitized the
postings below to protect the names of some of the correspondents. I do
not intend to dwell on this thread, except for the most important
clarifications, and particularly if Obi Taiwan Ozochiawaeze wants to
engage me in any discourse. There is much to do besides these wranglings
with side dishes, when the main course is still there on the table.
Best wishes all. Sit back, relax and enjoy.
Bolaji Aluko
===========================================================================
ALUKO ARCHIVES ON THE OBI TAIWAN AFFAIR BEGINS HERE
It started with my reaction, strictly within ANA, to Dr. Femi
(not Biodun) Ojo's usually provocative and
mischievous information to the Net from some Nigerian
weekly magazine, this time about Obi Taiwan's
possibly anti-democratic proclivities in the USA.
I had enlightened ANA members about the goings-ons.
Please note that between October 1994 and June 1995, Obi
Taiwan had been left in limbo on ANA, while we waited for
his response. We are still waiting.
===========================================================================
June 22, 1995
Dear ANA Members:
Introduction
-------------
Having read Femi Ojo's enquiring excerpt from a Nigerian journal,
comments for and against its excerption, Obi Taiwan's rebuttal, and reactions
to his rebuttal, I am now constrained to add my own voice to the ongoing
CONA/Obi Taiwan saga.
Femi Ojo's Excerption
----------------------
If Femi Ojo were Obi's personal friend, either in CyberSpace or on
LandSpace, the appropriate thing for him to have done was to enquire from
Obi Taiwan privately about the insiduous insiniuation that he had just
read, and Obi could then have explained to him privately. The matter
could have died there. But since everyone on the Net could not have
been Obi's friend, and since Tell is in general circulation, then it
was still highly probable that someone other than Femi Ojo would still have
brought it up. Therefore, if Femi Ojo and Obi are friends, I sincerely
think that Femi would then owe Obi an apology for being the one to expose
him to this embarassing inquiry (inquisition is perjorative), if he valued
their friendship more than exposing a potential crisis of confidence.
Even if they are not friends, Femi could still apologize for causing Obi
an inadvertent hurt, but in that case it would be entirely up to Femi to
do so, but not because of a demand. Whether Sola Adeyeye apologizes or
not is entirely up to him - I would be very surprised, though, because
the basis escapes me for now.
The notion of innocence and association
---------------------------------------
One of the cardinal distinctions of English law which has survived
into modern times is the notion of innocence until proven guilty. The
other notion which is abhorrent to the common man (or woman) is guilt
by association. The opportunity which President Agbinya gave to
Obi Taiwan to defend himself, the "slippery-slope" cautions of Hakeem
Johnson concerning the allegations, and the back-and-forth discussions
both before and after Obi Taiwan's rebuttal all uphold support or
opposition respectively to these notions. We all are to be commended -
there is hope for fairness in Nigeria yet.
Obi Taiwan's Rebuttal
---------------------
It is my humble opinion that our friend Obi made a tactical error
in responding as he did to ANANet, and particularly to NAIJANET (which
demands no particular allegiance of Obi), and in delaying as much as
he did. If I were he, following Femi Ojo's enquiry, I would RIGHT AWAY have
responded (if I were speaking the truth) viz.:
" I categorically deny the fact that I was an intelligence officer
in the Air Force in Nigeria (where I served as a pilot), and that
CONA (of which I am a member) is engaged in any efforts inimical to
the pro-democracy efforts in the US. I will allow Messrs. Awani and
Nwanze (both of whom I very much respect and trust) to answer for
themselves, and will duly inform them of these allegations. In the
meantime, I have begun to look into legal ways of clearing my good
name, which the publication which Femi Ojo quoted from has tarnished.
I would have hoped that he communicated with me privately beforehand.
Henceforth, I will respond to no further questions on this matter.
But rest assured that I will continue to serve ANA to the best of my
ability and without prejudice to its objectives.
- Obi Taiwan " .
By delaying for so long, Obi opened himself to all kinds of speculations,
including the fact that, being caught off-guard, he was probably consulting
with some "handlers" to see how best to respond. In his rebuttal, he went
into long defences of CONA, its officers and objectives and Consulate
officers. I can only presume that before exposing all their ethnic
backgrounds, their philophical leanings, even the spiritual background of
Mr. Awani, Obi had sought and got their permission; any other presumption is
unthinkable. He asked for apologies from Femi Ojo and Sola Adeyeye,
otherwise he would not rest, thereby unnecessarily throwing down
a gauntlet. All of these writings opened a smelly can of worms.
Having said the above, it was not so much what Obi wrote that bothered
me, but rather what he did not write ! Our friend Obi wrote as if this
issue had NEVER been brought up before in ANA-94 Executive deliberations,
when we discussed it under wraps and settled it rather amicably without
disequilibriating our then young organization. In fact, it was yours
truly that fired the very first volley back in October 1994, (when I
was painfully recovering from a haemorrhoid surgery - I don't want to remember
that !). In any case, I reproduce below several relevant postings during that
period, for the ANA membership to judge. I believe that you all will get a
full sense (from these postings) of the goings-ons then.
I defer some additional comments to the very end of all the postings,
which include some intervening update comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was my first communication on Obi Taiwan and CONA in October 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 17, 1994
Dear Fellow Executives:
This is going to be a tough communication, so hold on to your seat belts.
ON MY SURGERY
Thanks to all who have so far wished me well, and to those whose wishes are
on their way , thanks too ! I should really be in bed now, but Abacha makes
me irrepressible. You will also learn another reason below.
POSITION PAPERS
I finally received all thirty of the position papers at my home this evening -
it was very well put together, although I would have loved to see some "green"
somewhere on the face page, either in "The Association of Nigerians Abroad
(ANA)" title or in the ring binding each document (sorry for this late
suggestion !). Nevertheless, great kudos to all who put them together, and
great respects.
It is now up to me and Kubby Rashid to distribute it in our environs - could you
Kubby kindly call me at 301/989-0016 tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon sometime ? (I
am actually kneeling down to type this communication.)
OBI TAIWAN
My joy at receiving the position papers (with "Dr. Obi Taiwan, General
Secretary" prominently displayed on the face page, along with Edet and Gala's
names) evaporated at the simultaneous receipt by mail of a document which I
reproduce below from a completely unsuspecting associate. In fact, I had read
the document once or twice before making the horrific discovery. I AM MOVING
THAT AN EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BE DECLARED IMMEDIATELY AND
WILL ALSO MOVE THAT DR. OBI TAIWAN RESIGN HIS GENERAL SECRETARYSHIP OF ANA
UNLESS HE CAN ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN HIS LATEST ASSOCIATION WITH CONA, USA, INC. AND
THE NIGERIAN CONSULATE IN NEW YORK, WHICH, ON ITS SURFACE, AND BEARING IN MIND
HIS ABSENCE FROM THE NETWORK, PORTENDS DUPLICITY. PERIOD. I AM NO LONGER
WILLING TO SCRATCH MY HEAD ON THIS ONE.
Bolaji Aluko
ANA USA Regional Representative
----------------- REPRODUCED DOCUMENT FOLLOWS -----------------------------
Proposed
Congress of Nigerians Abroad,
USA Inc.
- CONA -
From: Committee Members:
Hon. Charles Awani, Hon CG of Nigeria as observer <=========
Yinka Adeyemi <========
Ene Oloja
Obi Taiwan <========
Chika Onyeani <========
Edie Onaodowan
Solly Marks
Silva Opusunju
Date: July 6, 1994
Subject: INVITATION TO DISCUSS RECOMMENDATIONS AND BYE LAWS
FOR THE FORMATION OF AN UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION
Fellow Nigerians:
You will recall that on May 14th, 1994, a Committee was constituted at the
residence of the Consul General of Nigeria to: 1) identify in broad and
specific terms, the concerns of the Nigerian community in the United States; and
2) examine the issue of the formation of an umbrella organization for all
Nigerians within the tri-State area.
I am directed by the Committee to inform you that it has completed its work and
recommends that in order to effectively develop the spirit of oneness, readily
mobilize the Nigerian community, confront the inequities visited upon Nigerians,
respond to the barrage of media negativity, assist in national development and
the projection of Nigeria as the leader of the Black world; a permanent
professionally run organization will be necessary.
In accordance with the concerns and recommendation stated above, the Committee
proposes an umbrella organization called "CONGRESS OF NIGERIANS ABROAD." The
specific objectives, structure and modus operandi of the umbrella group is
contained in the draft Charter which is attached herewith. I am further
directed to invite you to a forum (details below) to discuss the recommendations
and ratification of the draft Charter.
The Committee appreciates your commitment to the Nigerian community and the
encouragement which you gave to its members during its deliberations. It calls
on all Nigerians to thank Mr. Charles Awani, the Consul General of Nigeria and
his staff in New York for their vision and determination, despite many
obstacles, to facilitate the rebirth of a united community and to forge closer
ties with Nigerians in the United States.
Finally, the Committee hopes that you will take time to read the proposals and
render your comments at the up coming presentation forum which is scheduled as
follows:
Date: Saturday, July 30, 1994
Time: 3 PM
Venue- Nigeria House, 828 Second Avenue (by East 44th
Street) on the 21st Floor, Manhattan, NYC
Information- For further information, please contact
===========>Mr. C.O. Nwanze on (212) 850-2230, at the
Nigerian Consulate NYC.
Sincerely:
Signed:
Silva Opusunju
[FIRST PAGE OF DRAFT CHARTER NOW REPRODUCED; TOTAL NUMBER OF PAGES IS 13]
DRAFT CHARTER OF PROPOSED
CONGRESS OF NIGERIANS ABROAD, USA INC.
ARTICLE 1
PREAMBLE
---------------
We, of the Nigerian community in the United States:
REALIZING the need to coalesce as one body under one umbrella organization;
ACKNOWLEDGING our circumstance and collective experience in the United States,
CONCERNED with the condition of our people in the United States and at home. And
now
DETERMINED to redress the inequity and negativity perpetrated toward our
community and nation - Nigeria;
do hereby deliver unto ourselves this Charter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE NOTE FROM ALUKO FROM ABOVE COMMUNICATION
(1) The central roles of Mr. Awani and Mr. Nwanze as motivators/
facilitators of CONA are very clear from above. Under normal
circumstances, their role would be unproblematic. However, anyone
who says that these are normal times in Nigeria and the US
must be smoking something.
(2) The "Chika Onyeani" mentioned above is the Dr. Onyeani,
Editor of the Nigerian Times, by all means the most solidly
anti-democratic, stridently ethnic Nigerian-published
newspaper currently in circulation in the US.
Anyone who disagrees should ask for previous/recent issues
to judge for themselves. He remains a member of CONA.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After my disclosure concerning CONA and Obi Taiwan, that very day, some
internal heated discussions ensued within the Executive, almost similar
to what has been going on on ANA-Net. Some members were beginning
to speculate about why he had been absent from his duties as Secretary,
why he had not paid his dues, and how come he had time to participate
in CONA and not in ANA. Others asked for fairness. At this time, Obi
had not joined the discussion. Next, I then wrote:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was my second communication on Obi Taiwan/CONA episode in October 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 17, 1994
Dear Fello Execs::
Since I raised the first volley over this Obi Taiwan affair, I feel
obliged to say a few more words before I get further miscontrued.
I admire the fair-mindedness and maganimity of some who have already written
on the issue, and who have cautioned us about jumping into conclusions, but in
certain situations where a Nation's future is at stake, and personal (and
family) safety could be under threat, then outright objectivity is at best
dangerous, and at worst foolish.
Nobody questions Obi Taiwan's right to join CONA (I am a member of
several organizations myself, most notably NDM which I have proudly announced
an innumerable number of occassions on the net), nor to associate with the
Nigerian Consulate (he is a Nigerian), but when he himself does it in a way
that shows that he is uncomfortable with (1) being in ANA (2) being in CONA
and (3) being friendly with the Consulate, then he invites suspicion. Notice
his prolonged absence from our network (with a recent long-winded
explanation through Monday Gala), his seeming activities in CONA,
and his non-payment (or at least non-receipt of payment) of his ANA dues up
until this day. Furthermore, on a very personal basis, imagine the confidence
I reposed in this Executive during the sensitive trip of Jesse Jackson to
Nigeria, and the fact that it may all have been funneled directly to the
Consulate ? Imagine the joy we on the net always have of meeting another
netter somewhere in some unfamiliar city, unsuspecting of his or her actual
political moorings ? Imagine !
I can be sure that we may still soon learn more about this
episode that could make us all grow up in the next few days about the nature
of this Struggle, so I admit that we all be patient, and let Obi Taiwan (and
I might speculate Edet too !) defend himself, no third party defenders, please ?
There may be more questions.
In the meantime, could we suspend all communication about distributing
the position papers while this controversy is being resolved ? Being religious
minded, my firm belief is that the delay which surrounded their arrival, and
the happenstance of the simultaneous arrival of the troubling mail are not
unconnected. The Mighty One is asking us to stake stock of our own house.
And when he speaks, people should listen !
In any case, I can sit on them (Ouch !), sorry, stand on them, but most
comfortably lie on them !
Bolaji Aluko
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The letter by an ANA member concerning Obi Taiwan referred to
above is reproduced below.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
====================================================================
>Errors-To: <err...@quincy.MED.HARVARD.EDU>
>Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 14:20:57 -0400 (EDT)
>From: An ANA Member
>Subject: OBI TAIWAN: SOME ANSWERS
Hi Members,
It is with gladness that I send you this letter. I hope it will
help answer some of your questions about our Sec. Gen. Obi Taiwan.
In response to a mail I sent to him about his membership dues, Obi
called me a few minutes ago. Perhaps you should all know that one
of his admirers has paid his $50.00 membership dues for him. I will
address some of the issues he will like me to send to you as follows.
1. Membership dues. Some of you probably know that Obi told me some time
ago that he has sent his membership dues (and more). When I told him I
had not received the first $100.00 he sent, he sent another $100.00 with the
instructions that ANA keep both checks when I do get them.
Unfortunately, I have still not received them. About a week ago, I sent
a mail to him about it. Well, he told me today that he thinks the reason
is because he has an arrangement with his bankers to automatically issue
checks on his behalf when he gives the order (and address) on say a bank
machine. Unfortunately, it turns out that they do not provide that
service to Canada, although the machines accepted his request and the ANA
address in Canada. That should explain why I have not receive the money
he said he has sent. He will do that, this time around using a money
order if necessary.
2. Two reasons can help explain his inactivity on the net:
a. He is involved with a project that is taking between 18 to 20 hrs of his
time per day. In fact it became necessary for him to quit one of his
former jobs. And now some of the time is actually being used to
negotiate with the former employer who feels betrayed. He also has another
problem with his company VISUAL CYBERNATICS which is taking more time
than he planned for. With all these time constraints, his e-mail is
lagging behind by at least six days. So by the time he does get to some
issues, they had already been over-taken by events.
b. In addition he has always avoided involvement in politics because of
past experiences. I hope we will respect his feelings here because he
does not want to explicitly say what experiences. But, very importantly,
that is not why he asked that his name be deleted from the last advert.
It is because his family was visited by the SSS people in Nigeria. It is not
that he thought anything terrible would have happened to them if he
signed more adverts but it is just that he will prefer to save them as
much trouble as possible.
So to make a long story short, he is very busy. That is the single most
important reason why he has not been as active as we would like. He deeply
regrets it and will try his best to keep in touch. He also told me that
Bro. Kelechi may wish to add something that I have left out.
AN ANA Member
======================================================================
At this point, Obi Taiwan made first a short response, which, after
several more questions, was followed up by a more detailed response and
robust defense.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was Obi Taiwan's detailed response
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>To: <ana-...@quincy.MED.HARVARD.EDU>
>Return-Path: <err...@quincy.med.harvard.edu>
>Errors-To: <err...@quincy.MED.HARVARD.EDU>
>Date: Thu, 20 Oct 94 23:30:21 EDT
>From: Obi Taiwan <tai...@panix.com>
>Cc: obi.t...@mcimail.com
>Subject: Re: Obi Taiwan/Gen. Sec.
My people:
I don't want this to be a longwinded explanation of events; however, I'm
going to try to deal with each concern that has been raised as effectively as
I can.
First, let me thank Monday for his posting on my behalf. My apologies for
putting him on the 'hot seat' - that wasn't the intent at all. And to Mku,
who had graciously been taking the slack on my behalf since the beginning of
summer. (I will explain later). Also, let me assure all of you that my taking
this late to answer to all of the concerns is not in any way a slight to your
persons. I was blissfully unaware of the discussions that were going on! As
Monday had mentioned in his posting, I have such a backlog of mail that I'm
averaging six days in catching up. As a result, I hadn't even noticed that I
had not been receiving mail from ANA. Only yesterday I learnt from Pat Nta
that he was instructed to disconnect me from ANA over two weeks ago!
Sometime late spring/early summer of this year, I called a few members of ANA
EXECO, including Johnson Agbinya, Mku Ityokumbul to let them know that
following doctors' orders, I intended to begin to lessen my workload. After
an exhaustive three month examination, it was discovered that I had, in a
layman's term, a hole in the heart. And they recommended a corrective open
heart surgery. Rather than resigning so shortly after Edet's episode, I
thought it better to remain as the Gen. Sec., but begged Mku, the assistant
Sec. to help me with the regular 'paper work' like membership listing, new
member apps, etc. I also decided that it was not the best to put such news on
the net - it's rather too personal. Mku graciously agreed, and has been
helping me a great deal in all of these duites - I still recieve all the
membership apps, but I pass them on to him. This was just the beginning.
As most of you may be aware, I am a junior partner in Visual Cybernetics
Corporation. In our efforts to market an intelligent artificial software
called 'MR Colleague', and after being rebuffed by Compaq and AST (computer
companies) we ended up 'purchasing' Northgate Computer Systems, a computer
manufacturer in MidWest USA that was having financial troubles. Unbeknown to
me while the negogations were going on was that Northgate had a judgement
against it for over three hundred million dollars. This came to light after
we had completed the acquisitions. When Visual inherited a $300m debt, and
though I may be a junior partner, I suddenly found myself owing $30m that I
did not know anything about! Since my partners knew about this debt and kept
it from me (they had in mind to use the debt to reduce the value of Visual's
stock so they can buy out investors cheaply and then rebuild the value to
what will make them profit therefrom) I felt betrayed. I not only resigned,
(in June) but instituted a suit against them to relieve me of the $30m debt.
(Unless you guys know where I can get the money to pay for this 'igbese').
On the heels of that, I took an appointment with AmeriData Corporation in
July, as a senior member of their technical team. AmeriData actually signed
certain service contracts based on my abilities, since they provide
specialized LAN/WAN client/server and downsizing services to fortune 100
companies.
Between spending a number of hours with lawyers in preparing papers for the
lawsuit against my former partners at Visual, and now a full time employment
with AmeriData, I found my time been squeezed more than before. I have not
yet mentioned the fact that I still had ten NewsUpdates to post: Nigeria
(Naija-News), Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zaire. (Most of you who recieve NewsUpdates can
tell that it hasn't been as sure as it used to be). In addition, I was voted
in absentia to help put together what later became known as CONA (I will
address this part later). Out the window went the doctors' instructions to
reduce my workload and take things easy!
In September, one of the more powerful people in Hollywood (I'd refrain from
naming him yet) called me. He wanted me to help him put together an idea he
had - to turn most of his movies into CD-ROM interactive. Interactive
multimedia is one of those new technologies that everybody is talking about,
but nobody knows what to do with it! Thinking it will be a breeze and since
he has been a personal friend of many years, I decided to help him out -
especially since I may benefit from the project should it go forward. As I
worked on this, I found out it was even much more complicated than I thought.
To add to that, INARI, an agency within the United Nations, asked me to help
out with some communications problems they were having. They had been
assigned a specific Motorola frequency with which to broadcast in some eleven
countries. The frequency being so low, they could only effectively function
within the shortwave band, but how? When this came through, I even contacted
Basie for some input. I have been able to come up with some answers, but I'm
still working on it.
With all of this choking up my time, I found it necessary to resign my
position at AmeriData two months after I started with them! Remember that
AmeriData has gone after some contracts based on what I can do, they suddenly
found themselves in a difficult situation of having to take care of these
contracts without me.
Within all of this time frame, I found out that certain people had been
calling on my family.. At the urging of my family, I informed Johnson Agbinya
to refrain from using my name as part of the signatories to our ads until, at
least, I found out what was going on. Later, I found that the people
bothering my family were from the Nigerian Security Agency. Thankfully, they
were just grabbing at straws, but nothing serious.
As for membership dues: those of you in the USA may be more familiar with
what is called 'Direct Access'. Since I bank with Citibank, they have this
Direct Access service, whereby I log in through my computer to handle all my
banking chores. Part of the service, of course, is making payments. When I
first sent my payment to Monday, it did not occur to me that it would not be
processed because he was in Canada, especially, since the system accepted the
transaction. When he informed me that he hadn't received my payment, I just
assumed it was taking longer than normal but will eventually show up. I
didn't even think to check my monthly statements where I would have found out
that it was recorded as uncompleted transaction. After I received Monday's
mail last week, I checked with the bank, just to be told that since he was in
Canada, it has to be processed in a different way than I was used to. My
mistake.
Now CONA and the Consul General: Part of what Prof. Aluko posted had since
been overtaken by events. CONA wanted a better and closer cooperation between
the organisation and the government representatives here charged with looking
after the welfare of Nigerians. The belief being that united we stand,
divided we fall. However, evidence is abundant that whilst we distrust each
other, and the situation at home not getting any better, this is not the time
to begin to work at such harmonious relationship. As a result, CONA voted not
to allow the seats that originally was allocated to the offices of the
Ambassador and the Consul General.
On a personal level, I have a close developing friendship with the acting
Consul General, Mr Charles Awani. This is a man, who through his actions, and
demonstrated over time, has shown me that he stands tall above and beyond
what we've come to expect of Nigerian officials. I do not see my frienship
with him jeopardizing my membership in ANA. If so, I would have been one of
the first to bring it to light. Mr Awani, a down-to-earth individual, is
burning with the same zeal and passion as is driving the membership of ANA. I
will be the first to tell you that this is not the case with most Nigerian
officials both here and at home.
I hope that with the above I have begun to address some of the concerns that
have been raging within ANA EXECO. I will gladly clarify anything that you
may still have questions or comments on. I want to state that my ideals
within ANA still stands unabated. I still believe in what ANA stands for. I
have in time past mentioned that I am apolitical and would want to remain so.
However, when ANA wants to address the needs of Nigerians abroad and home -
I'm gung-ho! If anyone feels or thinks that my situation or position in
anyway compromises ANA, then I will gladly tender my resignation as the Gen.
Sec. - if requested.
Please, pardon mistakes or errors in spelling/grammar.
Best Regards,
Obi Taiwan
General Secretary
Association of Nigerians Abroad
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Several EXECO members then commented on his write-up above. The following
was mine:
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This was my third (?) communication on Obi Taiwan/CONA episode in October 1994
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October 22, 1994
Dear Fellow Execs:
I now write in reaction to Obi Taiwan's explanations about:
(1) his absence from the net;
(2) his non-payment of his dues and
(3) his activities with CONA.
Based on his write-up:
(1) his medical condition, serious legal entanglements and deletion of
his name from the net are more than sufficient to explain point (1)
above, and I am sure that other Execos join me to wish him well from
this point on.
(2) the technological snafu involved in his automatic wire transfer is
not unprecendented, even though I say that it was wholly
avoidable - please send cash if you must !
(3) his written defence of his activities with CONA is weak, very
weak indeed. And it is on this point I will now dwell.
Obi's activities with CONA
--------------------------
Let me first say that I have debated with myself all day whether I should just
let this issue die, and move on. However, some inner voice has been telling me
that if I do, then I must admit that I cannot be as effective within ANA
and its Executive as I would like to, because of unsettled misgivings. I
was not convinced that that was a price that I wanted to pay yet without some
attempt to avoid doing so.
I don't believe that I violate any confidentiality, and I think it was a
measure of Obi's concern, to reveal that Obi called me on the phone on
Wednesday night, during a late-night business trip to Washington DC, first
to wish me quick recovery from my own medical condition, an opportunity which
we of course seized to discuss his matter (which he had not fully read about
at that point.) We must have spoken for more than one hour 15 minutes
or so, and during all of that time, points (1) and (2) above in his write-up
never never came up (except maybe for the deletion of his name), and much of our
discussion centered around his CONA activities.
His spoken defence of his CONA activities was very convincing to me,
and I came away with the impression that he was drawn into a group of
individuals in the New-York/New Jersey area who were convinced that a
quasi-governmental, non-political umbrella organization such as CONA was
necessary to see to the welfare of Nigerians in the entire (?) US, and that
the best way to put an early stamp of official approval on that mission was
(1) to allocate two seats on the Board of Directors to the Embassy in
Washington and the Consulate in New York and (2) to allow only organizations
registered by the Embassy in Washington to join CONA, both of which provisions
(written into the draft charter sent to me) I found rather odious. The
impression that Obi Taiwan left with me during our discussions was that after
serious considerations, some strongly put forward by him, concerning the
political realities in Nigeria, it was best to leave the the Embassy and
Consulate out of CONA, and that the currently approved charter does leave
them out. [With the level of initial involvement, that of course does not
exclude strong unofficial ties.]
Now the issue of Obi's personal friendship with the Consulate General Charles
Awani never came up in our conversation, so it was a little bit disconcerting
when it came up in his write-up, because it brings another dimension to the
saga. Adults get to choose their friends, when to make such friends and
why, so it is a delicate matter. For example, were Obi Taiwan and Charles
Awani friends long before ANA was formed, or did he as secretary of
ANA develop first an official then an extra-official friendship ? Or since
Obi is a business enterpreneur, and in all fairness should have an eye on
helping the Nigeria of the future, was he seeking such an
entree right now ? You see, these are all valid questions that this
"friendship" issue raises, and to simply say that Mr. Awani is a solid
Nigerian citizen and official never before seen is not enough to wish away my
suspicions.
I have a few other questions for Obi, which he may wish to answer to put some
people at ease, most especially myself:
(1) as a former Air Force officer, what are the official limits of
your ability to write against the Nigerian Military Government
if necessary and hence hamper your effectiveness in ANA ?
(In this regard, I might also add that I recently learnt that our
former President's (Mr. Edet) father, is a retired Colonel in the
Nigerian Army.)
(2) as a co-Exec, I would have fully expected that you would introduce
yourself to me when you attended the Zumunta launching in DC in July
at which I gave a speech ( you implied when I questioned you on
this matter that it was not in your character to introduce yourself, a
rather begging-the-question response.) My only conclusion was that
you were uncomfortable to be identified with me in public in that forum.
Let me end by expanding somewhat on question (1) above. Some of you Execs may
or may not know that my father, Prof. Sam Aluko, is the Chairman of the
Economics Intelligence Committee of the Abacha junta, a position for which
I have violently disagreed with him. Nevertheless, he is an independent agent,
and a father of whom I am still very proud, even though I am certain that
he is currently making a very big mistake,. Nevertheless, it would not be
unreasonable for people to question my loyalty to the Struggle based on
family relation, particularly if I am acting in a manner that can be
considered less than salutary to the democratic struggle. In fact I
told Obi Taiwan as much during our discussion. It is then up to me to
navigate myself through such a moral crisis without disowning my heritage.
I think some of these sentiments are applicable to both Obi Taiwan (through
friendship to Awani and his military background) as well as to Edet.
I do not wish to make this issue more complicated than it really is, but
these are my thoughts at this time. I would love to have it settled
amicably, but properly. And as Debo Akano points out, the important thing
right now is what does the future hold for the quality of Obi's involvement in
ANA's affairs as Secretary-General ? I hope that I have provided some kind of
a framework for his response.
Bolaji Aluko
ANA US Regional Representative.
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End Comments from Aluko
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So there, friends, is a record of what transpired in October 1994, about
CONA and Obi Taiwan, and why I was very surprised that these events never
even figured in his present write-up. Then, as it is now, we were entirely
fair to Obi Taiwan, and he responded accordingly.
Ever since last year, though, I must confess that CONA has been a watched
organization, not by me, but by other pro-democracy organizations. Most
recently, it surfaced as the main motivator of the New York Times ad
denouncing Randall Robinson for his involvement in the Nigerian prodemocracy
effort. "Pro-Democracy" here means the normal term used for it - for
June 12, and immediate termination of the military - because I understand
that CONA can claim to be "pro-democraacy " too according to their own terms.
I know by sight only one member of the CONA's executive - Dr.
Silva Opusunji - since we talked at the same forum organized in Washington
by Attorney Lloyd Ukwu some time last year. His pro-Ogoni stand
is well known. Dr. Obi Taiwan denied me the opportunity of meeting him
(Obi) when he attended a Zumunta forum at which I spoke by not introducing
himself, which was strange bearing in mind that we were co-ANA-Execs; please
rest assured that I hold nothing against him, and actually enjoyed
our telephone conversation that I referred to above. I also have
heard about Mr. Solly Marks' strong involvement in Zumunta Association. I
understand he is from Plateau State or so, and that he once had very strong
June 12 sympathies, although his present stand is nebulous. Mr. Nwanze, the
Pro-Consul, is the Intelligence Officer in the New York Consulate, period.
That fact is well known (his Pro-Consulate is a cover) but perfectly
understandable - all embassies have Intelligence officers, to protect their
officers and the State. I was not aware that Mr. Awani (who like
my mother is Itshekiri) is a born-again Christian. But I truly sympathize
with his official and spiritual predicaments. And by the way, I was
not impressed by the Federal character distribution of CONA's executive -
it looked too contrived for it to have been democratic, but I may be
wrong on that one !
But before I leave, I have a few questions to ask Obi concerning CONA:
(1) how and why was the name CONA chosen, so close to ANA ? As a
foundation member of both ANA and CONA, what role did you play to
avoid confusion in names ? (I am reminded of a dissident
individual who pulled out of our Nigerian Democratic Movement (NDM)
and formed his own NDM International (NDMI) and bravely claimed
that there could be no confusion between the two organizations.)
(2) why were 6 tickets recently earmarked from the Embassy for CONA
officials' travel to Nigeria, and what is the status of the travel ?
(3) why was the full membership of CONA (and even Zumunta) not fully
informed about their inclusion in the New York Times ad, leading
to serious internal disagreements ?
(4) Why is CONA planning to organize the building of an "Olajuwon
Cultural Center" with possible money from Shell Company and the
the Embassy ?
(5) Can you make available to the Executive (or whoever cares) recent
copies of your publication "CONA News" ?
(6) I was surprised that you said that you were not born in Taiwan !
I believe that this was the general understanding of ANA very
early on in our formation, and I believe that it was your friend
Kelechi Anselm Ukwu (upon several questionings, including mine) who
indicated that while your father was serving as a Nigerian diplomat
in Taiwan, that was when you arrived as a gift ! I guess we all
understood wrong ? This is just a personal angle interest question.
I hope that Obi can oblige us all with some or all of this information.
Best wishes to all.
Bolaji Aluko
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POST-SCRIPT
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ANA Execo had also asked Dr. Obi Taiwan Ozochaiwaeze several questions,
after which he completely VAMOOSED from our radar screen. And we left
him in peace.
Bolaji Aluko
yinka adeyemi
My dear Bolaji
I'd understand if your fellow members wished you had stayed away a little
bit longer in Berlin. You have simply demonstrated to us that you know how
to keep records. Beyond that, you have not said a thing that tells us any
more than we already know.
In 47 million words, you have told us:
1. Obi Taiwan was in CONA
2. Obi Taiwan is cozy with some officials at the Consulate, therefore, he
won't be able to write negative stuff about the military (You actually say
this! Was that the sole purpose of ANA?)
3. Taiwan did not introduce himself to your majesty at a Zumunta function
(and you conclude it must be because he didn't want to be seen with you)
4. Obi Taiwan was a pilot (therefore he must be a spy, just as the other
fella, Edeh or something, is suspect because his dad was a retired Colonel.
I will not bother to ask why the same standards do not apply to those whose
families are actively working for the military)
All of these, we already know and most of know rubbish when we see it. But,
anyway, thanks for sharing.
Briefly, I want to call your attention to some errors (lies?) in your piece,
errors which are pointers to your proclivity to jump to conclusions. The
list you have been carrying around as CONA execs is totally wrong. Onyeani,
one of the central figure in your "evidentiary" piece was NEVER a CONA exec;
infact he was as much a member as Bolaji Aluko. Infact, CONA was not
existent at the time those people were nominated: this ought to be clear to
you, abi you didn't read the minutes? It says the nominees were supposed to
study the modalities for forming an umbrella organization.
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Awani and Nwanze were the only government officials present at that
community meeting which was held at Awani's residence. Awani facilitated the
formation of CONA because that is his job, working to unite Nigerians etc.
Then, you attempt to cast aspersion on the character of very fine people
(You say you don't know this fellow; you only met that fellow for 15 minutes
and you've heard about the June 12 credentials of the other fellow, which
you can't vouch for....)Bolaji, read yourself over and see the arrogance
implicit in your piece. So, unless Bolaji knows someone to be what they say
they are, they are not! Let me tell you: Solly Marks makes all your pharisee
noises look like a grunt.
Probably because you are anxious about the truly Nigerian outlook of CONA
exec, you try to suggest that it could not have been a result of a
democratic process. You are flatly wrong. The elections were some of the
most contested I have seen. Many people won narrowly (and I'm talking about
several dozen people voting). You should encourage your group to do the same
instaed of attacking a right effort.
You ask Obi about six tickets to CONA execs. This is the kind of trite
question (like why ANA sounds like CONA) we ask that sometimes baffles
intelligent people. I don't think Obi can answer that. I don't recall that
he was in DC on that date. Here's the jist (ammend your records, this is
juicier than you've heard).
We had asked for a meeting with the Ambassador as reps of CONA. (Remember,
we are the guys who want to work with senior government officials so long
they can improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians). So somebody said they had
made reservation for us on Amtrak! We thought that was improper; they won't
send a half-baked american consultant on Amtrak! So, we told them it was
off; that we had to be accorded due respect. And in any case, we were not
going to travel for 8 hours on the train to attend a 45 minute meeting.
Within one hour, we had been booked on a plane. How this is interesting to
you, Bolaji, is beyond me.
BTW, do you suggest that we start taking account in Nigerian papers about
many of us as true and correct? I ask you this because I have here before me
many publications (inc. Conscience International and Today, etc). They have
juicy stories, that I find troubling, about many of your idols. Shall we
believe them since they were reported? That is the danger, my friend. What
goes around comes around.
One last point. You are correct that CONA is a pro-democracy group (though
we are not allowed to be political). Thanks for stating that your kind of
group is that which want to dislodge the military immediately. I say good
luck and I hope you have an army. And this "immediate" dislodgement, why has
it taken three years? Does that not tell you anything?
I have voluteered to speak out in defense of CONA because I know what people
like you do: they tell a lie and if no response is elicited, they sell the
lie as the obvious truth. BTW, on lies, did you not allege in your opening
that Obi Taiwan had been telling lies? I was hoping to read what those lies
are. Maybe you forgot them. Maybe you lied. Welcome back, sir. I introduce
masef sir. Yessa, massa.
Yinka