FIFTH ANNUAL
CONFERENCE AND GENERAL MEETING
October 28 -
________________________________________________________________________
MINUTES OF ANNUAL
GENERAL
MEETING
Held at Excel
Hotel, Hotel
Excel Limited
Excel Drive off
Prepared by Onoawarie Edevbie
Secretary, Urhobo Historical Society
________________________________________________________________________
Present: Chief Isaac Abollo, Chief Eddy Akivie, Dr. Tiko Alakpa, Chief Johnson Barovbe, Mr. Andrew Edevbie, Dr. Helen Ekeh, Professor Peter Ekeh, Mrs. Felicia Emessiri-Akusu, Professor Perkins Foss, Mr. Simpson Obruche, Chief Gabriel Ofotokun, Mr. Alfred Okejevwa-Bobson, Mr. Ejiro Okene, Mr. Patrick Okene, Chief William Okorotete, Mr. Onajevwe Omo-Ejakpovi, Dr. Thomas Salubi, and Mr. Ejiro Ughwujabo.
The
Annual General Membership Meeting (AGM) proceeded, with Peter Ekeh
presiding, along the following issues:
1. Opening
prayers were offered by Tiko Alakpa
2. Introductory
Remarks by Peter Ekeh:
Peter Ekeh in his preliminary remarks provided some
background to enable
individuals present to understand why UHS came into being and why we
were in
Effurun at the time. Many Urhobo organizations, both in the United
States and
United Kingdom, he noted were before UHS was formed, in disarray as
they were
fighting over issues of legitimacy. In this period of disagreements
among
Urhobo groups in the Diaspora, came the Warri crisis. The internet
service was
relatively new then and many groups among the
The first UHS Conference and General Meeting was
held in 2000 at
At the London Conference, a number of individuals notably
Johnson Barovbe
suggested that UHS move its Annual Conference and General Membership
Meeting to
Urhoboland and that was why we were at Effurun. Peter Ekeh concluded
his
remarks by noting that although UHS began its activities in a humble
way, the
Society has acquired enough strength and maturity to be able not only
to defend
Urhobo interests while respecting the views of others but also to
expand its
activities to cover the affairs of the surrounding areas of Niger Delta.
3. Review
and Adoption of Minutes of last General Meeting of
Onajevwe Omo-Ejakpovi read out to the hearing of members present, the minutes, copies of which were circulated to all members present at the beginning of the meeting. Following the general reading and review by individual members, the minutes were adopted on a motion moved by Ejiro Ughwujabo and seconded by Johnson Barovbe.
4. Matters
Arising from the Minutes
(a)
Status of UHS
Application for Tax-Exempt (Charity) /
(IRS) Code
Section 501(c)(3)
In answer to
Thomas Salubi’s inquiry, Alfred Bobson
explained that the tax-exempt status allows individuals in the
(b)
Operating Status of UHS
branches
Simpson Obruche sought clarification on the operating status
of UHS
chapters as it related to the position of UHS Editorial and Management
Committee (EMC). What level of authority, he asked, do the branches
have? Do they have the same level of
authority as
the EMC or do they act in subservience to EMC in the
Thomas Salubi in contributing to the debate indicated that he
did not
consider UHS as a political party that would require party branches,
but as an
organization that is dedicated to serving Urhobo interests. He took the
opportunity to express his concerns about the state of Urhobo language,
which
he regarded as dying for lack of adequate use. He called for efforts to
reverse
the decline in the use of the language, stressing that the only body he
believed, was capable of taking up the challenge is UHS. He therefore
urged UHS
to remain compact and accept the challenge of working to solve the
language
problem at least in the interest of future generations before it
becomes too
late to save.
Ejiro Ughwujabo redirected the discussions to the issue of
operating
status for UHS branches. He indicated that if UHS was to remain
committed to
writing and recording of Urhobo history and culture, he saw no need for
organizing a structure that will make branches independent or to act
independently of EMC and of one another. Tiko Alakpa added that UHS as
a young
organization should be allowed to grow and acquire a good measure of
stability
before thinking of giving authority to its branches. Ejiro Ughwujabo
asked for
a motion to say that the current organizational structure of UHS should
remain
as it is until further notice.
Onajevwe Omo-Ejakpovi said he would prefer to allow branches
to have
responsibilities so that they can organize activities, satisfy local
appetites
and sensitivity as a way of contributing to the overall development of
Urhobo
history and culture. Felecia Emessiri-Akusu advised that UHS should at
least
use its branches particularly those in
Following the discussions on the pros and cons of
centralizing the
organizational structure of UHS, Ejiro Ughwujabo moved a motion,
that the current administrative structure of involving EMC and
its
organizational committees that feed information to EMC should remain.
The
motion was seconded by Tiko Alakpa who added that retaining
centralization even
for a period of 5 to 10 years to allow for growth and maturation until
time
dictates otherwise, to him, was not a bad idea. Before the vote could
be taken,
Gabriel Ofotokun rose not only to support the motion but also to praise
UHS and
urged EMC to continue its good work. Johnson Barovbe also said good
things
about UHS and indicated to members that UHS had already made so much
progress
to the point where it was being seen or perceived in some quarters as a
threat.
He asked the house to recognize Gabriel Ofotokun as one of those who
had been
supportive of UHS causes at various gatherings. The motion to retain
the
organizational structure of UHS was unanimously carried on a voice vote.
5.
Meeting the Needs of UHS Operations
and Activities
Peter Ekeh briefed members on UHS’s need for an endowment
that would
provide funding for many of UHS activities. The most visible areas of
need
include publications, organizing of conferences, hosting of UHS web
sites and
the development of Urhobo language. Individuals, he said, have in the
past,
provided money to meet all of these needs except those posed by the
decline in
the use of Urhobo language. He added however that it was becoming
increasingly difficult
to rely on such a small number of individuals for help all the time. He
cited
the example of the benevolence of Senator David Dafinone and his
Editor, Peter Ishaka, who saved UHS from
the high cost of publishing UHS
book on Warri. He also stressed that UHS would need a reliable source
of funds
to meet the rising cost of organizing its annual conferences and
general
membership meetings, and hosting its web sites. The web sites, he said,
have
attracted a lot of attention and a tremendous amount of goodwill and
UHS needed
to devise a better way of raising funds to continue the editorial work
required
to keep the sites running.
A number of suggestions on how to raise funds for UHS
activities came
from the floor, in response to Peter Ekeh’s plea for help. One was from
Perkins
Foss who suggested that UHS indicate clearly where donors can send
money. He
also advised UHS to organize a team of talented individuals to help
with
managing the web sites, with Peter Ekeh serving as a senior advisor.
Peter Ekeh
followed up on the suggestion by pointing to how many web sites have
failed or
died for lack of proper management, including failure to update
information. He
added that UHS was anxious to develop talents that would help. In order
to keep
up with developments in cyber space, Patrick Okene advised UHS to
always strive
for the use of latest technologies in the field for its work.
To initiate proper funding for UHS, Peter Ekeh called for the
house’s
authorization to open a bank account in
Ejiro Ughwujabo followed on the discussions by suggesting
that Thomas
Salubi be made the Chair of the Committee and that such a committee be
empowered to recruit others to strengthen its work. The discussions
over the
need to raise money to funds UHS activities was brought to a close with
the
decision of AGM to approve the setting up of a Committee
To Raise Funds for UHS for the purpose of providing funds
to finance UHS operations in four key areas namely (a) Holding of
Conferences,
(b) Hosting and Maintaining of UHS Web sites, (c) Publication of Books,
and (d)
Development of Urhobo Language.
The Committee is empowered by AGM to raise funds; keep such
funds in bank
accounts that the Committee is authorized to open with signatories that
it
shall decide upon; and to release portions of these funds for UHS
operations on
the recommendations of UHS Executive. The Committee shall make annual
reports
to AGM. The Annual General Meeting of 2004 created, for a start, a
Convening
Committee of five members drawn from among prominent individuals of
Urhobo
origin with the power to recruit others to increase its membership to
constitute a full working Committee To
Raise Funds for UHS. AGM also stipulated that membership in the
full
committee shall not be less than five or more than nine at any given
time.
Consequently, the AGM empowered UHS Executive to invite the following
persons
to serve as members of the Convening Committee: Dr. T. E. A. Salubi
(Chairman),
Olorogun Moses Taiga, Mr. Goodie Ibru, Arch. O. Charles Majoro and Mr.
Ede
Dafinone.
AGM also authorized UHS Executive
to register Urhobo Historical Society as an association, with the
appropriate
Federal Government agencies in
(i) UHS Accounts shall be opened with any reputable bank in
(ii) The Chairman of UHS shall be authorized to withdraw on
his own
signature any amount of money less than N500,000
(five
hundred thousand naira).
(iii) Any amount of N500,000 Naira
and above
shall be withdrawn only upon the signatures of both the Chairman and
the
Secretary of UHS.
6.
Planning 2005 UHS Annual
Conference and General Membership Meeting
Johnson Barovbe urged members to consider hosting the 2005
Conference and
General Meeting at a venue other than Warri as suggested by Daniel
Obiomah
during the 2003 Conference in
7.
Other Matters
(i) Onajevwe Omo-Ejakpovi expressed his concerns about the
legitimacy or
level of acceptability of the choices made by members of the Award
Committee to
the Urhobo public. He suggested that UHS involve the Ivie of Urhoboland
in the
process of selecting individuals to be honored with UHS awards in order
to
increase the level of its legitimacy among the people. Johnson Barovbe
countered the advice by saying that UHS like any other organization was
free to
give awards to whomever it likes and does not need the approval of
people or
anyone outside such a group.
(ii) Perkins Foss also took the opportunity to introduce his friend, Chief William Okorotete who he said had
been with
him through thin and thick in his work on Urhobo arts.
A number of members expressed their pleasure
in having in their midst, the person of Chief William Okorotete who
incidentally
had completed registration papers and paid membership fees to become a
member
of UHS just before the meeting began. Chief William Okorotete in his
response
thanked Perkins Foss and UHS for their work on Urhobo. He told members
the
story of how Dr. Johnson J. Ejaife who though was married to a West
Indian
woman, made a lot of efforts to promote Urhobo interests. He urged UHS
members
to emulate the dedication of Dr. Ejaife, and to continue its good work
of
promoting Urhobo interests
In the absence of further discussions the meeting was
adjourned after
closing prayers by Ejiro Ughwujabo.
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