UNRAVELING THE REASONS BEHIND CAMILLUS UKAH'S REMOVAL OF PROF. ERNEST EMEYONU AND MAMA MABEL SEGUN FROM THE ANA'S BOT LIST

By Wole Adedoyin

Professor Wole Soyinka once said, "The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny. The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."

I strongly advocate for a comprehensive investigation into the numerous wrongdoings and illegal activities carried out by Camillus Ukah during the recently concluded ANA Convention.

There have been official complaints filed against him, to which he has not yet responded. Ukah made several unauthorized decisions without consulting his fellow executives, including the unjust removal of three Board of Trustees members, namely Prof. Ernest Emeyonu, Labo Yari and Mama Mabel Segun.

A look at the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) website reveals names such as Kole Omotoso (deceased), Mabel Segun, Ernest Emenyonu, Labo Yari (deceased), Chinua Achebe(deceased) and T.M Aluko (deceased) as members of ANA’s Board of Trustees. Last year, Prof. Maria Ajima's name was added to the list. Among these individuals, only three are currently alive: Mabel Segun, Ernest Emenyonu, and Maria Ajima.

Camillus Ukah's decision to remove three members from ANA's Board of Trustees was made without consulting his former executive members. During the congress, he claimed that Prof. Ernest Emeyonu should be replaced due to his non-residency, a violation of ANA's constitution. Did Camillus Ukah not know about this constitutional clause all along as Prof. Ernest Emeyonu has long been in ANA's record as a member of the BOT since 2013 Convention when he was approved at the AGM to replace the deceased Chinua Achebe and had been functioning as its Chairman since then? Can he honestly claim ignorance regarding Prof. Ernest Emenyonu's residency status before forwarding his name to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration and approval two years ago ? Was Chinua Achebe himself non- resident in Nigeria for years before his death in 2013? He was never removed as a member of the BOT and functioned as such until death.

Little-known to most people, both Camillus Ukah and Prof. Ernest Emeyonu hail from the same state, Imo State.

However, when a petition was filed against Camillus Ukah, accusing him of misconduct within the association, Prof. Ernest Emeyonu wrote to him, urging him to respond and defend himself. To this day, Camillus Ukah has not replied to the petition.Part of the gale of shadowy and corrupt actions which led to the series of petitions against Camillus Ukah by his executive council members to the BOT was the trading away of about 2.5 hectares of land out of the existing 5 hectares of ANA land to another land developer by proxy in an MOU which never received the endorsement of the BOT(as constitutionally mandated) nor seen or discussed by the executive council or ratified by the Congress. As I write new works have gone about halfway around ANA land in a supposed second phase while the first phase Camillus inherited from the Denja Abdullahi Administration is still uncompleted. The singularity and illegality of the signing of the MOU by Camillus Ukah and his secretary is obviously influenced by the millions of naira that exchanged hands which Camillus Ukah is yet to account to the owners of the land(the congress of ANA).

Recently, Prof. Ernest Emeyonu revealed on a WhatsApp platform that he had no knowledge of the association's convention and was not informed about it, which was why he was absent from the event. Many members of the ANA Executive Committee during Camillus Ukah's administration also expressed dissatisfaction, stating that important decisions were made without their involvement. Ukah solely and independently managed the association for four years, disregarding the input of the EXCO members. Despite their protests and petitions to the Board of Trustees, Advisory Council, Past Presidents, and Elders of the Association, no action was taken to salvage the situation.

The unfortunate reality was that Camillus Ukah undermined the authority of the trustees, showing no respect for their roles. He exploited their influence and then discarded them without regard.

Prof. Ernest Emeyonu, Labo Yari and Mama Mabel Segun played pivotal roles in maintaining stability and peace within ANA during Camillus Ukah's tenure. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Maiwada took ANA to court and when Camillus was yet to be elected, Prof. Ernest Emeyonu's directive led to the formation of the Professor Jerry Agada Committee. This committee was tasked with organizing the Markurdi 2020 emergency general meeting, which aimed to elect a new EXCO. It was this emergency meeting that eventually led to the formation of Camillus Ukah's executive team.

Camillus Ukah proposed to the congress the removal of Mama Mabel Segun's name and Labo Yari from the Board of Trustees. Despite Mama Mabel Segun's advanced age, she actively supported ANA when Barr. Ahmed Maiwada attempted to take control by taking ANA to court. Despite her age, she deposed to an affidavit, appending her signature and photograph to ANA's Legal Team, which was pivotal to the winning of the court case. The other trustee , Labo Yari, did same. What is so urgent that Mama Mabel Segun could not be allowed to remain in the BOT as a mark of honour to her even if Labo Yari had to be replaced? I was aware that Camillus Ukah held several meetings with selected chairmen before the convention, discussing his plans and seeking their support for ratification. Money exchanged hands during these meetings, and the script rehearsed during those gatherings was performed at the congress by those chairmen.

Following Camillus Ukah's directive at the recently concluded ANA Convention, Prof. Maria Ajima will be the sole remaining member of ANA's Board of Trustees.

Prof. Maria Ajima retained her position on the list not only due to her vitality and engagement but also because of her unwavering support for Camillus Ukah's administration. Some of us have recently learned about her involvement in persuading a candidate, who opposed Ukah's candidate for the legal adviser position, to withdraw. She has also been nominated without any authority alongside other persons with Camillus Ukah name too part of it into the board of directors of a secret company formed at CAC to manage " ANA Hotels and Apartments and other properties." The details of these incidents are now well-known and emerging.

In my view, if the congress approved the removal of both Mama Mabel Segun, Labo Yari and Prof. Ernest Emenyonu from ANA's Board of Trustees, then Prof. Maria Ajima should also be removed.

The entire board of trustees should be dissolved, and new members should be appointed. Removing Prof. Ernest Emeyonu, known for advising Camillus Ukah to address every petition written against him, or Mama Mabel Segun, who Camillus Ukah described as elderly (someone who previously helped ANA out of its predicaments), and retaining only Prof. Maria Ajima, who is loyal to his cause and supports his every action, appears to be politically motivated. It seems like a self-serving agenda. What has ANA come to? It is disconcerting that in ANA, the President wields more power than the Trustees and even the Congress.

Unfortunately, this imbalance occurred only during Camillus Ukah's administration; of course due to a president with a rapacious capacity to violate all administrative codes, rules and regulations. Camillus Ukah stands stall in infamy as the only President of ANA that throughout his tenure never accounted for his financial handlings of the affairs of the Association. His operational mode was so crooked and convoluted that they could not fit into any financial template. The records are there for anyone to check and crowned with the non- presentation of any financial statement or report at the last gestapo- like conducted AGM at the 2023 Convention.

The last has not been heard of the Camillus Ukah presidency of ANA and the newly elected officials in that contentious election would only move on well if they probe into some fraudulent and illegal actions taken by Camillus in the second half of his administration.