THERE are indications that the Osun State government may have perfected strategies to take over the control, albeit illegally, of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo with the signing of a Bill sponsored by the State House of Assembly into Law.The State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, it was learnt, last Friday signed the document which purportedly altered the composition of the Board of Trustees of CBCIU.However, reactions from sources within the CBCIU faulted the action on the grounds that Ogbeni Aregbesola and the Government of Osun State lacked the power to alter the composition of the Board of Trustees of CBCIU citing malice, disdain and negative disposition to all matters pertaining to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the reason for the action which has been declared illegal, ultra-vires, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.A report forwarded to President Goodluck Jonathan on the matter by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the organisation, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola accused the state government of 'wilful disrespect for international conventions and regulations thereby jeopardising the continued existence of CBCIU whose establishment was promoted by the Federal Government of Nigeria under a cooperative arrangement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Osun State Government under my leadership supported this bold move as part of our avowed commitment to developing the tourism and culture sub-sector of the economy.' Oyinlola stated that the president must be informed following the major role played by the Federal Government as the promoter of the CBCIU project.The former governor, who is now Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that 'the very hostile posture of the Osun State government commenced with the inauguration of Mr. Rauf Aregbesola on November 27, 2010, with his administration maliciously attempting to appropriate CBCIU as one of its organs or appendages by freezing the accounts of CBCIU in November 2010, in contravention of extant regulations and statutes.'For the avoidance of doubt, he insisted that CBCIU is a non-profit, Non-Governmental Organization registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission.According to him, one of the categorical declarations of UNESCO before granting Nigeria (not Osun State Government) the hosting rights was that CBCIU would be free from governmental control and interference. He explained further that the tripartite agreement signed for the establishment of CBCIU states in clear and unmistakable terms that CBCIU is an integral element of the national master plan for the safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and was established in accordance with the Guidelines on the creation of institutes and centres under the auspices of UNESCO (category 11), as promulgated by the General Conference at its 33rd session.'All these, including the aforementioned decision of our administration to promote tourism and culture in the state formed the basis of the decision of the then Osun State government headed by my humble-self to fully support the project in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria.'As requested by UNESCO, we originated and passed an enabling law, simply and only to give a legal backing to the expenditure of our administration on the project.'For the purpose of emphasis, the agreements signed state clearly that 'the Government of Osun State shall provide parcels of land on which the project would be sited free of charge and all encumberances. It is for this reason that the land on which structures of CBCIU were constructed were donated free of charge by Osun State government headed by me to UNESCO, whose Director-General commissioned the project for use in January, 2009.Explaining further, Oyinlola declared that 'the Government of Osun State at the time the agreement was signed 'committed itself to fully support the CBCIU project by making available free of charge, and a dedicated building and has committed to meeting the estimated operational costs'. It is to be noted that since the inception of the current administration in Osun State, CBCIU has never received any financial grant/assistance from it for its activities in spite of the fact that its leaders, including the state governor use the facilities at the premises of the CBCIU illegally and at will without paying charges/rents for use of space for public functions in line with extant regulations.'It is to be noted that CBCIU maintains the facilities at enormous costs. As at now, virtually all the space in the buildings located on the premises of CBCIU have been hijacked and occupied by agents and servants of the current Osun State government. The Board of Trustees refrained from taking the state government up on this matter in the interest of peace; believing that its officials would retrace their steps and conduct themselves with decorum.'Explaining further, he said 'the Osun State government served as a co-promoter of the project in conjuction with the Federal Government of Nigeria which also gave CBCIU a take-off grant, apart from other enormous support which cannot be easily quantified. Indeed, the Federal Government support may, if quantifiable surpass the investment by the Government of Osun State in the CBCIU project. That being so, one is tempted to ask what would happen should the Federal Government also flex muscles and lay claim to ownership of CBCIU on account of playing the dominant role in the establishment of CBCIU, funding and supporting the organization which is an NGO legally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.'Oyinlola insisted that members of the Board of Trustees of CBCIU were chosen in accordance with stipulated Guidelines which provide that CBCIU shall have an independent Board of Trustees assuring the respectability of the Centre. 'My appointment as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of CBCIU was made in my personal meritorious capacity and this was conveyed to me through the then Hon. Minister of Culture and Tourism, acting on the instructions of the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,' he noted.Adding, he said, 'it is evident that Osun State Government is out, purposely to illegally appropriate CBCIU as its property against the dictates of local regulations and provisions of international treaties. Apart from this sour development and disregard for decorum and orderliness, the actions of the state government, if not carefully checked, could create a breach of the peace as their agents and servants have continued to occupy office spaces illegally within CBCIU.
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