It’s no longer news that 882 delegates from the FCT and 36 states councils of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, gathered in the nation’s capital of Abuja from Thursday, July 23 to Saturday, July 25, 2015 for the 5th triennial delegates conference. It’s no longer news too that the conference climaxed with the election of new members of the Central Working Committee, CWC with Alhaji Abduwaheed Odusile as the President to run affairs of the union in the next three years.
But the news here is the why and how Odusile eventually emerged as the president of the union after two unsucessful attempts at the presidency. I must say here that the emergence of Odusile was divine because it was his time given some unexplained events that took place before and during the conference, especially in the Lagos and Ondo State Councils of the NUJ. Odusile contested to be the Deputy President of the union at the Port Harcourt delegates conference of 2006 and lost to Mohammed Garba. Again, he contested the same office at the Abuja conference of 2009 and lost to Rotimi Obamuwagun, the man he now defeated last week in his attempt to become the president. That is, Waheed’s two attempts to become the deputy president failed but the first shot at the highest office of the union paid off. Who says the hand of God is not in this?
It is instructive to state here that Waheed lost in his two attempts because the Lagos State Council of the union that projected him went to those conferences a divided house.All efforts by well meaning members of the council to reconcile the warring factions yielded no good result. Former council chairman, Olufunke Fadugba desperately wanted to be President on both occasions on her own without the council’s endorsement and she failed. Again, the then incubent chairman of the council , Wahaab Oba also contested along side with Mrs Fadugba in Abuja 2012. That is, three candidates, Fadugba, Wahaab and Waheed contested from the same council, seeking the highest office and the second highest office of the union. Three of them collapsed like park of cards due to division and bitter rivalry amongst them. Contestants from other councils capitalised on the cracks and routed them. This factionionalised the council. Sad enough, despite the council’s endorsement of Waheed’s candidacy, he lost on both occasions. The council came home empty, being the price paid for going to the election battle field as a divided house.
Having realised the futility of going into election a divided house, all hands were on deck with full determination to go to Abuja 2015 a united family. So, the entire council was on the same page, it went, faught and conquered, came back home with the highest trophy in the NUJ! That was 21 years after it won the trophy at the Sokoto delegates conference, courtesy of the late Ladi Lawal. Incidentally, The Lagos Council won the trophy with a merging of 21 votes. Yes, that was the merging with which Waheed defeated his closest rival, Rotimi Obamuwagun, the immediate past Deputy President. That is the gains of unity. For that, the council is better off for it today.
At this juncture, I have to give an account of why Obamuwagun lost narrowly to Waheed. He is from the Ondo State Council of the union and as the out-going Deputy President of the union, i must say that Obamuwagun gave a good account of himself at the polls. Like Waheed, he criss-crossed the length and breath of this country canvassing for votes. Despite all the efforts he failed because unlike Lagos that put its house in order, Ondo Council came to Abuja a divided house. The council presented two candidates for the presidency and it was its greatest undoing. The immediate past vice president of Zone B which comprises the six states of the South West, Dele Atunbi lucked horns with Obamuwagun for the presidency. Both have also been involved in a bitter quarrel over the years and led to the factionalization of the council. Despite all entreaties by elders in the council, non of the combatants was ready to shift ground. At the end of the day, both of them lost out and went back home empty to the embarrassment of the council. It was a collosal waste of human, material and financial resources. Dele Atunbi was the Secretary of Ondo Council when Obamuwagun was the chairman. He eventually succeeded him as the chairman of the Council when Obamywagun was elected the vice president of the union at the 2006 delegates conference in Port Hacourt. Ever since, the relationship has never really been smooth.
At the end of the keenly contested election, Odusile who emerged the president, garnered 354 votes, Obamuwagun 333 and Atunbi who came a distant third got 51 votes. It therefore followed that but for the division in the Ondo Council that led to the split in their votes, Odusile would most likely not have emerged the president because the Ondo votes would have been consolidated to defeat a “common enemy”.  But like I said earlier, the hand of God was in the emergence of Odusile. This is a man who has paid his dues in the profession and in the NUJ. He has all it takes to take the union and the profession to the next level. For the Ondo council, the combatants refused to reconcile and the council went to the polls a divided house because God wanted Odusile to be the president. Those the gods want to punish they first make mad. A lesson for all.

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