The second annual convention of the NIAA took place on October 26-28, 2001 in Phoenix, Arizona.

convention photos

NIGERIAN INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES ASSOCIATION
2nd Annual Convention, Phoenix, Arizona, October 27, 2001.

Members arrived at the convention hall at 9:00 AM and were treated to a continental breakfast. At 9:30 AM prompt, the convention moderator/facilitator Ms Bose Oseni-Leshi, who was also the publicity secretary of the caretaker committee, called the house to order. A minute of silence was observed for departed athletes and coaches after which 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 member 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. Harrison 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. In addition, he thanked Dr. Nwafejoku O. Uwadibie for preparing the minutes that he was about to formally read to the members. 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.

The moderator then called on Dr. Bruce Ijirigho to report on the activities of the caretaker committee appointed from the previous year. He started by giving thanks to all 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. Thanks were also given to Mr. George Ogbeide for providing the pictures that were posted on the website from the Houston convention. The first task of the organization as mentioned by Dr. Ijirigho was reviewing the constitution, making necessary amendments, ratifying it, and adopting it by the members present at this convention. He said that the NIAA has been registered as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Arizona, pending publication in a daily newspaper. The only mandate not yet 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.. He also stated that they accomplished one of the mandates given to the caretaker committee, which was to publish a newsletter prior to the 2001 convention. In a nutshell, they were able to accomplish all the objectives set out for the committee by the members in Houston.

The next presenter at the meeting was Moses Adebanji "Omen" "Omo-West." He 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. It was a contentious battle. But at the end, better heads prevailed. 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 either represented Nigeria in international competition, their State, College or University. This issue was debated at length and put to a vote and the majority decided to open the membership with full voting rights to include those who have represented their States in any sport.

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 - duties of the internal auditor and 12.4 - penalty for late payment of annual dues.

At 12:00 the NIAA treated members and their families to a delicious buffet style lunch at the hotel restaurant.

The moderator started the afternoon session by encouraging members to "move around the hall, hug somebody and tell them that you love them. This was a perfect icebreaker.
After this, the moderator called for election of officers to lead the organization for the next three years. Those interested in the position of president 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 Human Relation Officer
  
• Gabriel Lessor - Assistant Public Relation Officer
  
• George Ogbeide - Parliamentarian

Some topics were selected for panel discussion during the convention. The topics represented issues of burning interest to the membership of the NIAA. Due to time constraint, the topics were given a brief overview by the presenters.

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.
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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 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:

• Strategic Planning headed by Ajayi Agbebaku
  
• Fund Raising headed by Mbanefo Akpom
  
• Constitutional headed by Moses Adebanji

The following people were then nominated as members of the various standing committees:

Constitutional Committee
Moses Adebanji, Bose Oseni, Ruks Bazunu, David Kadiri, and Dayo Onanubosi

Strategic Planning Committee
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 the George Ogbeide. The members voted the venue of the next convention on, and Seattle, Washington was selected as the host for NIAA 2002. The date for the convention is October 25th to 27th 2002. All members are encouraged to attend, and also to recruit new members. The motion was moved and seconded for adjournment of the convention at 4:50 PM.

Photos from the Phoenix convention