Nigeria Abroad
A leadership crisis is brewing in the Nigerian Community in Benin Republic where a group is allegedly undermining the zoning arrangement in place, as another is calling on the federal government to intervene.
Outgoing president of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO), Benin Chapter, Adebowale Ajani, at a briefing in Lagos, urged the newly appointed ambassador to the Republic of Benin, General Tukur Buratai, to help resolve the crisis.
Ajani, The Nation reports, asked the federal government and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to step in, and was accompanied to the briefing by the Provost of NIDO in Benin, Wilfred Imasuen and Secretary to the Seriki Hausawa, Mohammed Sani Mohammed.
According to him, a splinter group was sponsored by powerful interests to disorganise the union.
He said it was the turn of northerners to produce his successor in line with the union’s zoning arrangement, but he fears the cordial relationship among the Nigerian ethnic groups in Benin was being threatened.
Trouble started when a group decided to impose a leader illegally, contrary to the provisions of the organisation’s constitution, said the outgoing leader who assumed office after the demise of the former president from his ethnic group and has now served for two terms.
He said his four-year tenure was to end in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to hold an election, even as his executive committee met in March this year to plan handover to new executives.
According to him, a group petitioned the Nigerian Embassy in Benin Republic, following which it was agreed that rather than having an interim leadership, the zoning arrangement should be maintained.
“It was at this point that the organisation, which has remained peaceful, was hijacked by some individuals who are not even the Hausas,” he said.
Ajani said the Hausas settled for the Seriki Hausawa, Alhaji Ahmadu Danbaba II, but a dispute arose, and a court ruled in favour of Alhaji Danbaba.
Ajani said it was surprising to see a splinter group working against the court order by installing another leader from among the Hausas.
He insisted that the purported inauguration of another person other than Alhaji Danbaba is illegal, null and void for being in contravention of Article 1, Section 3 (d) of the association’s constitution, which provides: “The Union shall respect the laws and constituted authorities in Benin Republic.”
Ajani said he remains the bonafide president of NIDO in Benin until the Hausas agree on an authentic leader to take over from him.
He said the two contending Hausas are his friends, but that he was only insisting on due process based on advice he received from Nigerian Embassy officials not to endorse “an illegality.”
He believes the issues could snowball into a major crisis if left unresolved:
“What makes the issue so pathetic is that on the day of this illegal inauguration, respected members of the Nigerian Embassy who are aware of the court order were seen at the event.
So, I am calling on the government to look into this matter to resolve it before it escalates into a crisis that will portray Nigeria in a very bad image. We also wish to draw the attention of the incoming ambassador, Gen. Buratai, to the crisis.”
Only recently, the Nigerian Community in Togo also faced a similar crisis.
Read the full story in Nigeria Abroad
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