2001 Convention in Phoenix, Arizona — Record of Proceedings

Jude Onochie and Suleiman Alli

Minutes of Inaugural Meeting.

NIAA members arrived to a cool and beautiful Phoenix, Arizona in late October 2001 prepared for a good time and the hosts made sure they got what they wanted. Friday evening was spent in the hotel garden with members exercising their bicep muscles while socializing and reuniting with old friends. As the evening progressed with everyone feeling good, the group from Seattle started lobbying to host the 2002 convention. The reception party continued past midnight before everyone retired to get some rest in preparation for the busy day ahead.

On Saturday morning, members arrived at the convention hall at 9:00 AM and were treated to continental breakfast and more socializing before the proceedings started. At 9:30 AM prompt, the convention moderator/facilitator Ms Bose Oseni-Leshi, called the house to order. A minute of silence was observed for departed athletes and coaches. Mr. Kola Abdulahi said the opening prayer to kick off the proceedings. Following the prayer, Ms Mary Tombiri led the house in singing the Nigerian National Anthem. The moderator then requested members to introduce themselves to allow members to get to know each other.

After the self-introduction, Ms. Christy Akinremi delivered a message welcoming all members to Phoenix on behalf of the local organizing committee. In keeping with tradition, the secretary of the caretaker committee Mr. Harrison Salami, read the minutes of the 2000 convention held in Houston, Texas. Mr. Salami started by calling for unity among members of the organization and apologized for delays in sending out information to the members. He stressed the need to use this organization to unite athletes of all sports. He therefore enjoined all members to go out and recruit new members from all sports before the next convention. According to the minutes, the objective of the organization is the development of future athletes and elimination of corruption in sports on the home front. He concluded by advising everyone to work hard so that we can keep the organization on a successful course. A motion was moved and the minutes were adopted as an accurate transcript of the proceedings of the Houston convention.

Dr. Bruce Ijirigho reported on the activities of the caretaker committee appointed from the previous year. He started by thanking the members of the committee for their hard work. He especially thanked Mr. Gabriel Lessor for his exceptional art skill in creating the NIAA logo and current website. He also thanked Mr. George Ogbeide for providing the pictures that were posted on the website. Dr. Ijirigho reported that the NIAA has been registered as a non-profit corporation in the State of Arizona. Also, he stated that the caretaker committee published a newsletter prior to the 2001 convention. In a nutshell, they were able to accomplish all the objectives set out for the committee in Houston. The only mandate not accomplished was the filling of necessary documents to obtain the 501(C) 3 tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He promised to complete it as soon as possible. This IRS tax exempt status would enable the organization to raise funds from individuals, the public and private sectors for implementing its programs.

Mr. Moses Adebanji “Omo-West.” dealt with the importance and urgency of ratifying the constitution. He got his messages across and the whole room was busy at work following his direction in framing the current organizational constitution. Members of the organization voted unanimously to adopt the constitution with the following amendments:

• Article 3: Membership (with Full Voting Rights)
  Members of the organization shall comprise of athletes of all sports who have represented Nigeria in international competition, their State, College or University.
• Article 6.4:
  The quorum at convention General Meeting shall be 50% registered membership, instead of 2/3 plus one
• Article 7: The Executive Council
  The office of internal Auditor was expunged from the constitution.
  The offices of Assistant Public Relations Officer and Parliamentarian were created.
• Article 8.8:
  The Executive Council shall hold office for three years, instead of two. Deleted from the constitution were Articles 9.9 and 12.4. At 12:00 the NIAA treated members and their families to a delicious buffet style lunch at the hotel restaurant.
  The afternoon session started with the election of officers to lead the organization for the next three years. Those interested in the position of president were required to address the General Assembly on why they want to lead the organization. Two candidates were nominated. After each one addressed the General Assembly, the members casted their secret ballots for the candidate of their choice. After the votes were counted, Dr. Bruce Ijirigho emerged as the new president of the Association.
  The following people were elected as officers of the organization for the next three years:
• Dr. Bruce Ijirigho — President
• Mbanefo Akpom — Vice President
• Harrison Salami — Secretary
• Rita Didikiri — Assistant Secretary
• Prof. Nwafejoku Uwadibie — Treasurer
• Hope Waobikeze — Financial Secretary
• Suleiman Alli — Public Relation Officer
• Gabriel Lessor — Asst. PRO
• George Ogbeide — Parliamentarian

Some topics were selected for panel discussion during the convention. The topics represented issues of burning interest to the members of the NIAA. Due to time constraint, the presentations were brief and to the point.

Mary Onyali-Omagbemi spoke on the plight of current Nigerian athletes. She feels that the organization could do a lot to help them from the ongoing mistreatment by Nigerian sports administrators and officials. Falilat Ogunkoya supported her assessment of the current situation. Other members of the organization shared the sentiment and narrated their bitter experiences at the hands of the Nigerian Officials. The NIAA resolved to make the care and welfare of their young athletes a non-compromising issue in dealing with Nigerian sports associations and their officials.

Harrison Salami raised the subject of recruiting athletes from Nigeria to universities in the USA. This is the legacy that we have all enjoyed and the reason we all made it to this country and excelled in our sports and professional endeavors. Therefore, we owe it to ourselves to make placement of good athletes the cornerstone of our efforts to raise the standards of performance of young Nigerian athletes while also guiding them through college into responsible professions.

Uwadibie discussed short, medium and long-range plans for the association. It was agreed that the issues he raised should form the centerpiece of the deliberations of the Strategic Planning Committee.

Augustine Olobia brought up the idea of fundraising. The importance of this topic and other issues that need to be resolved led the President to suggest the creation of committees that could spend more time on outstanding issues and report back to the executive. Consequently, the following committees were created:

• Constitutional Committee: Chair – Moses Adebanji, Bose Oseni, Ruks Bazunu, David Kadiri, and Dayo Aninobosi
• Strategic Planning Committee: Chair- Ajayi Agbebaku, Nwafejoku Uwadibie, George Ogbeide, Mary Tombiri, Friday Enoye, Peter Okodogbe, and Felix Imadiyi
• Fund Raising Committee: Mbanefo Akpom, Austin Olobia, Chidi Imoh, Hope Waobikeze

The meeting ended with Uwadibie moving the motion to adopt the constitution as amended by the members. The motion was second by George Ogbeide. The members voted Seattle, Washington as the venue of the next convention. The date for the convention is October 25th to 27th 2002. The motion was moved and seconded for adjournment of the convention at 4:50 PM.

The Banquet started at 8:00 PM and it was indeed a blast. Members had a great time eating, socializing and dancing until 3:00 AM with invited guests from the community. Enjoyment just dey flow yanfu yanfu. Athletes sabi chop life sha! I carry hand for dem. Chris Okoye and his NFL friends showed up latter and kicked up the temperature of the party again. Go Chris!

Seattle, Washington Here We Come

NIAA Convention October 25 – 27, 2002

Augustine Olobia

My apologizes for the long silence on the updates for Seattle 2002 Convention.. The break down in communication was in no way showing any disrespect to anyone. Once again my sincere apologizes. I hope all is well with everyone. Moving on, here are the details.

Accommodation

We have taking the liberty to make sure that your stay in Seattle will be a memorable one. The hotel on record will be the Doubletree hotel in Bellevue. Cost of staying at the hotel will be $79.00 per night. While I have heard from a few folks that the price is steep, please understand that Seattle is kind of an expensive city. We were able to get a discount based on the number of rooms blocked as well as the fact that Olympic athletes happen to be great publicity for the hotel. Normal rate for the hotel is $135 a night. Members are encouraged to share rooms to reduce costs.

Please make your room reservation no later than 30th of September. Call 1-800-222-Tree (8733) and inform them that you are with the Nigerian International Athletes Association. Here is an internet link to the hotel www.bellevue.doubletree.com

Please note that it does not cost you a dime to reserve a room. So please try as much as possible not to procrastinate.

Transportation

Transportation to and from the airport will be provided by the Northwest NIAA members, so if you do not intend to rent a car, please let us know of your itinerary as soon as possible so that we can make the necessary arrangements. In case you intend to drive, I will be forwarding you all with a map to the doubletree hotel once we are getting close to the convention. Also, we would be providing the necessary transportation to and from the banquet, which will be held in a different location from the hotel. And by the way parking at the hotel is free. Having problem getting a cheap flight to Seattle? Try www.bestfare.com or www.orbitz.com. Please book at least one month in advance to get the best rates.

Banquet

The banquet will be held in Downtown Seattle and it is about 10 minutes away from the hotel. We will be expecting over 200 people including members. The hall has a capacity well over that and we were lucky enough to get the hall. A Nigerian owns it and he will be responsible for our catering as well. As luck will have it, he has a Nigerian restaurant, so for all of you doubting Thomas’s who have been stressing about my African cooking prowess, you will have to taste my superb cooking some other time. As for the specific agenda for the banquet, it is still being drawn up.

Miscellaneous

Finally, here is a list of ideas that we will like to hear suggestions on. Please note I am not endorsing any idea and please don’t feel offended if your idea or suggestion is not used this year. However, rest assured that it would be taken into serious consideration because we want this occasion to be not only extremely productive and profitable for the organization, but also a blast. Here are a few things to think about:

Speakers, T-shirts, Video Clippings etc, Sponsors, Cultural ideas, Fund raising ideas, Cost saving ideas etc. Also, if you should have any questions at all feel free to either call me at the number below or drop me an email at augustineo@sharebuilder.com

As man dey old na so im farm dey small. Because man wan to chop meat no mean say im go begin call cow broda.

CONVENTION 2002 THEME

Developing Pragmatic Solutions to Nigeria’s Dwindling Fortunes in International Sports.

Man pikin don taya to sidon look as small small countries with less than 500,000 population dey kick awa butt and jump all over the Giant of Africa for international sports competitions. Na house wen fall na im say make small goat jump on top of am. We know say “Na condition make crayfish bend’. But E don reach time to remove the condition now. Our people say “as man dey cry e still dey see road”.

After all these years of fortuitous success, there is now an urgent need to deliberate and produce workable short, medium and long term-plans to produce great athletes from every nook and corner of Nigeria. No more short cuts. The blueprint for this plan will be developed at the convention. We request the cooperation of all stakeholders to achieve this feat. This is ‘a task that must be done”.

Joke na joke, but dis time, e be like say water don nearly pass garri.

POSITIONS VACANT

Athletes Coordinator
Chairperson, Members Welfare and Social Committee

Qualifications:

• Must be a registered member of the Nigerian International Athletes Association (NIAA)
• Person of high Integrity and Accountability
• People’s person and strong advocate for the athlete’s and NIAA’s position on issues.

The positions of Athletes Coordinator / Representative and Chairperson for the Members Welfare and Social Committee will be written into the constitution at the discretion of the members during the convention. Members interested in contesting for these positions should come prepared to canvas for votes.

Make everybody come answer im papa name for Seattle. We need your views to make a difference.

NIAA member Chidi Imoh is wedding on September 21, 2002 in Houston, Texas. Members should attend and give him moral support. We wish him and his bride Gods blessings, happiness and abundant joy.