ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ACTION: DR UYI OJO AND HIS et tu NNIMMO BASSEY, CONUNDRUM

Chris Ojeikere

The Press, and indeed people of Nigeria and diaspora have been inundated by very disturbing news from the Environmental Rights Action (ERA) NGO for many unpleasant days now. The chilling thriller artfully and malevolent woven to destroy the largest Environmental NGO in Nigeria, with Headquarters in Edo State, was laid bare yesterday by the beleaguered Executive Director, Dr Uyi Ojo, who through an agony of emotional shock related how he got his own slice of man’s inhumanity to gentleman.

The Story

Dr Uyi Ojo, Nnimmo Bassey and the late Oronto Douglas of blessed memory had started the ERA NGO. Three of them constituting the Board of Trustees members, according to the Constitution with the Corporate Affairs Commission. They were friends. Dr Uyi Ojo and Nnimmo Bassey were deeper friends. In fact, Mr Bassey had then described Dr Ojo as: “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” ( Bible). Both are till date clergymen with the New Covenant Gospel Church, so Dr Ojo could trust his dear brother, fellow pastor and soul friend, Mr Bassey. The friend – business relationship was working! ERA was working and growing in reputation. Donors fund was pouring in and all looked set to hit the world, as they later did. In those conditions, Dr Uyi Ojo could afford some somnolence and got pats on the back from his DEAR friend, Mr Bassey. And you know what? Dr Ojo would leave Mr Nimmo Bassey to function as Executive Director/ Chairman, Board of Trustees for twenty years. Yes, you heard right, 20 years, in an organization of equal partnership. Even when the old African wisdom by our forebears had warned that: ” Twenty children do not play together for twenty years “, Dr Ojo would not take any caution. Such is the power of sticking friendship!

But after 20 years, Dr Ojo woke up from his somnolence and asked for the baton of leadership. At least, to contribute his 20 years experience to decision making at the highest level. That was it! Mr Bassey was not amused with a suddenly ambitious friend. Why! Wasn’t friendship all about being loyal INDEFINITELY to the other friend’s comfort, progress and popularity? Anyway, since Dr Ojo did not fully understand that definition, he needs new lessons on loyalty. So Mr Bassey went to work. He reorganized the organization and placed all his loyalists, who understand loyalty by his queer definition above in strategic positions and ensured they knew who ‘made’ them. They have three offices, the Headquarters is in Benin, then a Lagos and an Abuja office. He got Abuja and Lagos to be ‘loyal’ to him. He further converted himself to become an indefinite Board of Trustees Chairman. After he has done all these, he handed over his well restructured organization to Dr Uyi Ojo. Did you ask what Dr Ojo was doing when all this were being done? Oh he was befriending!

At lenght, Dr Ojo became Executive Director and the first thing, Mr Bassey did, was to move his BOT Chairman physical office, to the very immediate upper floor of the same building where ERA and Dr Uyi Ojo’s office is housed. A symbolic move that was lost on friending Dr Ojo. Second, he floats another NGO with antagonistic interests to ERA own, then he ensured the Lagos and Abuja offices of ERA ran their affairs, reporting to him. Till as I write now, both offices have never consulted Dr Ojo for the seven years he has been Executive Director. Yes. 7 years. Which, when added to the 20 years of Mr Bassey’s as ED/ Chairman, has given him control over ERA for 27 years! I think some sit tight politicians could use some counsels from our dear ex – Chairman.

27 years was a long enough time for any manipulator to do real time damage. And trust Mr Bassey, he made good use of it. So while Dr Uyi Ojo was still ‘friending’, Mr Bassey goes behind him to CAC and removes his name as a board of Trustees member, the second board member, Oronto Douglas is dead. What he wanted to achieve? Your guess is as good as mine! But he didn’t stop there, he pushes in snitches around Dr Ojo and got all his activities under a microscopic view. After all, he had a hawk’s view from the upper floor of the same building. Then, when he was sure he has perfected his carefully planned move to: destroy Christian relationship, extinguish friendship, shatter family ties and smash their business partnership, he swooped in! He rushes his strategy through the Press and Social media. He thought to stampede, intimidate and harass Dr Uyi Ojo out of their mutual investment, so that he can inherit everything. He comes on TV and says Dr Ojo was disengaged from the Board without telling us why, nor if Dr Ojo was aware. He goes ahead and calls a mutual founding partner of the organization, “a staff”. Life is funny with ‘friends’ like that!
No one could express it better that Dr Ojo, who warned the world on TV that people must learn not to make friendship the basis for business partnership, but must be careful to document all transactions. He knew whereof he spoke. Because Dr Uyi Ojo had looked back and saw the raised sword of his treacherous friend that he had “stucked closer to than a brother” and had asked him, like Julius Ceasar, centuries ago, had asked Marcus Brutus, his friend turned conspirator:
et tu Nnimmo Bassey?

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