By Hilary Odion Evbayiro
In the aftermath of the unexciting reactions to the Flavour convention-connection, it is necessary to reflect on where things went wrong and how the unfortunate occurrence can be avoided in future. Without mincing words and with no empathy to those involved in the Flavour confusion, I dare to say that the decision to
As the members of the Council of Presidents (COP) and other interested members of Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW) bask in the euphoria of another successful April COP meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, and a nostalgic yearning for a successful convention come September, the excitement of a very good COP meeting was rudely truncated.
It was truncated by a decision that was made about the hitherto planned performance and display of Chinedu Okoli, alias Flavour N’abania (Flavour), a Nigerian musician of Igbo extraction, as the cultural showpiece of the convention.
It was revealed during the COP meeting that Flavour was contracted to be the showpiece in place of Edo cultural exhibition at the 2019 ENAW convention to be hosted by Edo Association of Washington, DC. Considering the embarrassing situation in which ENAW found itself in the wake of the news about Flavour, it is instructive for the COP to take a positively serious but disinterested look at the whole situation.
In the aftermath of the unexciting reactions to the Flavour convention-connection, it is necessary to reflect on where things went wrong and how the unfortunate occurrence can be avoided in future. Without mincing words and with no empathy to those involved in the Flavour confusion, I dare to say that the decision to engage Flavour as previously intended to be the focal point of our cultural display at the convention was not a properly thought out one.
Albeit the host organization was forced and succumbed to move Flavour to a date and time outside ENAW convention window (Sunday, September 1, 2019 at 8:00pm), it is quite patent that the damage to ENAW has already been done because of the previously intended engagement of Flavour as the climax of our Saturday night events at the convention.
In short, the whole matter about Flavour gave ENAW an unwelcome publicity. Those responsible for the decision failed to understand the true meaning of the convention as well as its cultural significance for Edo people. ENAW convention is an event for promoting and showcasing our rich cultural heritage. There is no problem with having Flavour or other musicians of any tribe or race to perform at an ENAW convention.
However, an engagement of a non-Edo performer at the convention should not be planned or presented as the showpiece-event. At the most, it should be done to provide an added flavor to the planned convention events and activities.
If I may perforce point out quickly, the theme of the convention is “Preserving and promoting Edo cultural legacy.” As suitable and apt the theme is to the cultural legacy of Edo people, one must also be quick to query whether we can verily say we are engaging in the preservation and promotion of Edo cultural legacy when we are not even willing and ready to give Edo performers and musicians a chance to showcase their talents at an ENAW convention.
If we are true to ourselves and want to preserve and promote our rich cultural heritage, the convention is the right and appropriate place to do so. We should be proud of who we are and be free to display and promote every aspect of our culture, without shame or any pang of inferiority. As Edo people, we were taught and endowed to know and understand that we are second to no one.
No matter the disgraceful contretemps that have emanated in our time, no one should make us feel inferior. We are Edo people. We are neither Indigbo nor their subset or annexation. Until the Flavour matter erupted into a burning flame and spread like a wild fire during the harmattan season, no one would have thought or known that Edo people in Asia, Europe, and Nigeria have vested interest in the affairs of ENAW and what it does.
Our people all over the world decried the decision to contract Flavour as the main exhibition of the Saturday night at the ENAW convention. One very bad one from Benin City, using a video recording, was devastatingly scathing of ENAW and rained a scurry of insults on the people involved in the Flavour decision.
While the rage was on and as everyone who heard the news descended on ENAW with bitter words and unpalatable terms, our leaders, especially some of ENAW executives, who were supposed to be members of the convention planning committee, shied away from the truth and tried to pin the blame on the president of the host organization, the Edo Association of Washington, DC.
As a result of the ensuing confusion, the Cultural Director, who was also awoken by the Flavour saga himself, scrambled to put an assemblage of Edo performers together for the convention. Neither the president of the host organization nor its members should be faulted or blamed for the Flavour decision.
In fact, they were simply looking after and attempting to maximize the interest of their local organization with respect to the “goody” that is believed comes with hosting the convention. Every one of us would have done the same thing. As it is, the problems fall on ENAW officials who were supposed to be the eyes, ears, and heart of ENAW at the convention planning committee.
A few years back, the story out there about ENAW was court matters upon court matters. Our noble organization was able to weather the storm and navigated itself out of the unfortunate, frivolous lawsuits, only to be embroiled, two years in a row now, in convention issues that are virtually avoidable, if those charged with certain responsibilities carry them out as required.
If anyone has to be blamed for the decision that caused the unwarranted convention blunder, the blame should fall squarely on ENAW officials because they messed up. These ENAW officials are the ones who were supposed to represent the interest of the organization at the convention planning committee.
They are the ones with the authority and right to “assist the host organization to plan, organize, and carry out successful convention events and activities.” In addition to the president of the present host organization, the president of the immediate-past host organization, and the president of the immediate-future host organization, the constitution identifies the following ENAW officials as members of the convention committee:
1. National President
2. ENA Secretary
3. Financial Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. Cultural Director
Furthermore, the constitution gives the National President and the president of the host organization the authority to execute all convention contracts and documents on behalf of ENAW. At this very juncture, it needs to be pointed out that when the news broke out and the heat was on, ENAW National President issued a public statement to the COP saying, “In regards to the current discussion about the concert featuring Flavour, be rest assured that myself and the COP Chair is working with the host president to resolve this issue and come up with a solution that will be satisfactory to all.”
Taking into account the implication of the terse statement, there is no gainsaying the arresting truth that the National President attempted to calm the situation, while at the same time distancing himself from the Flavour debacle. The National President tried to play it as though the host president was solely responsible for the Flavour decision.
In short, the National President failed to take responsibility for his utter failure in the matter. Instead, he left the host president holding the bag.
The important question now is if the National President was not a part of the decision to contract Flavour as his public statement to the COP tended to broach, who then joined the host president to sign the Flavour contract?
If the National President did not sign the contract, was Flavour supposed to be an ENAW event? Flavour would not have been able to perform during the duration of the convention at the same hotel because he has no contract or business with ENAW.
The official ENAW convention period is when the Friday COP meeting or other ENAW events commence on Friday, August 30, 2019 until Sunday, September 1, 2019 after the Sunday COP meeting. In other words, if Flavour and his band were to be allowed to perform within this time period at the same hotel of the convention when the National President is not a party or signatory to the contract, the National President should have been prepared to explain to the COP the obligations and responsibilities of ENAW to Flavour by way of security and other allied measures and arrangements to cater for and protect him and the members of his band.
ENAW executives who are members of the Convention Planning Committee cannot continue to relish delight in an abysmal ignorance of their responsibilities. They are supposed to be representing the interest of ENAW and Edo people during the planning, organizing, and execution of convention activities and events.
From all indications, it appears ENAW representatives at the committee were completely missing in action. As a result, they shirked and abdicated the solemn responsibilities that the constitution placed on them with respect to the convention. We have to call a spade a spade. ENAW officials at the Convention Planning Committee dropped the ball and did so miserably.
While the opportunities presented at the convention are used to meet old friends, network with Edo professionals, and rub minds together for the overall betterment of our people, the convention is supposed to provide a platform for us to showcase and promote our rich culture.
We need to be conscious of the salient fact that ENAW convention should not be construed as a money-making venture for a local organization that is vested with the right to host the convention. Last year in Canada, something unimaginable that involved forcing prospective conventioneers from Nigeria to pay a sum of money into a secret bank account in Benin City before convention invitation letters were issued to them.
Last year, we were told the National President did not know anything about the scandalous matter. Looking at all of these, it will not be rude or crude to question what the National President knows and his extent of participation in convention planning in the last two years. From the look of things, these matters raise the question of the acceptability of the status quo by the COP.
If it is not acceptable, what is the COP going to do about it? We now have problems and issues with convention planning two years consecutively. What are we going to get in Las Vegas next year? What will be the story the year after Las Vegas? When is the nonsense going to stop?
This is the time the COP needs to grab the mantle, act with courage, and put the blame where it lies.
To this end, the COP must rise above partisanship and take a determined action to nip these convention issues confronting ENAW in the bud. We cannot have a convention planning committee that includes the National President and some notable ENAW executives and still be mired in these kinds of problems.
In brief, the National President and ENAW officials concerned need to understand and be amenable to the provisions of the constitution as they relate to the purview of their authority and responsibilities for the convention. ENAW is all we have. Let’s not throw it to the wolves!
Hilary Odion Ebayiro is a public affairs commentator and former Chairman, Board of Trustees, Edo National Association Worldwide (ENAW) who lives in Austin, Texas United States.
