​Soyinka, Oyinlola feud over Osogbo UNESCO centre . 

Guardian. Lagos. Nigeria. 27.9.12

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OVER a month after his appointment as Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has told The Guardian that he has “indeed accepted the assignment.”
With this affirmation, the literary icon may have debunked the insinuation that he turned down the appointment and put a stop to what could be described as ‘impersonation’ by Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who has continued to attend functions especially abroad as chairman of the governing board of the centre.
Last Friday in Washington DC, United States (U.S.), the former governor of Osun State told a gathering of black nationals that the UNESCO Centre in Osogbo under his leadership as Chairman of the Board of Trustees “has contributed its quota in no small measure to global efforts at dissolving international barriers; forging a new global agenda, inspired by the needs of foreign organisations and Nigeria.”
Besides, Oyinlola “commended people of African descent in the U.S. for their sustained support for CBCIU and its activities through a collaborative approach.”
The occasion was an awards dinner staged in Oyinlola’s honour at the Constituency for Africa Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series where he was given the Africa Lion Award in recognition of his commitment to promoting cultural legacies of the African continent.
Oyinlola told the gathering that Nigeria deserves all the necessary support from the advanced countries in view of the fact that the country “occupies a strategic position on the African continent and must necessarily continue to propel other African nations to move and record greater and impressive socio-economic development. And these are areas where we solicit the co-operation of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora. On our part in the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, we are determined to promote cultural and inter-religious tolerance as a means of further advancing development in all parts of the world.”
He disclosed that CBCIU would soon hold some conferences in North and South America, in line with the UNESCO’s mandate conferred to CBCIU and solicited support for the centre.
Reacting, Prof. Soyinka said he was bewildered by the Washington event, insisting that Oyinlola ceased to be chairman of the centre since last August 10 when the state government announced Soyinka’s appointment as the new chairman.
The literary icon disclosed further that “in a couple of weeks, I should have begun to explore the interstices of the centre.”
By that time, he said, he would address certain observations raised by Nigeria’s Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Mrs. Maryam Katagum, as regards the amendment of the law of the centre that led to Soyinka’s appointment.
Katagum had warned then that the re-composition of the governing board of CBCIU should follow due process.  “They cannot alter the composition without discussing with the UNESCO, otherwise, the organisation will just wield the big stick. We do not pray for that, but our people must learn to do things appropriately. I do not think they have consulted UNESCO on this, because as the head of Nigerian delegation in Paris, I have not seen any report, especially from the state government concerning this latest step,” the diplomat said.
Katagum reminded the state government that the Osogbo centre was a product of tripartite agreements involving the UNESCO, the Federal Government of Nigeria (as represented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), and Ulli Beier family.
According to her, these parties do not only have equal stake in the centre, they must be carried along in any matters that concern the centre.
While she acknowledged the right of the state government to amend the law governing the centre, as they claimed to have done in this matter, Katagum insisted that the amendment must be justified before UNESCO and other parties for it to have effect on the centre.
On August 10, 2012, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola announced Prof. Soyinka as the new chairman of the governing board of the centre.
Before then, former governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, held sway as the chairman. As a category two facility under the auspices of UNESCO, the Osogbo centre was inaugurated on January 9, 2009 by the then Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura.
Soyinka’s appointment, the government had explained then, was sequel to the promulgation of Osun State Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (Amendment) Law, 2012. With the new law, which primarily amends certain provisions of the original law that was enacted in 2008, the state government seeks to take full control of the culture edifice.
And in addition to presiding over the affairs of the centre, the new board is also mandated to develop the Yoruba World Heritage Centre to be called New Ife, Ile-Ife, State of Osun.
Soyinka’s choice as the chairman of the board, the state government reiterated, was informed by his global reach as a culture icon and promoter.
The new Yoruba World Heritage, which the board will also have the concurrent responsibility to develop, has been described as a massive project of the Aregbesola administration to revive the Yoruba culture as part of the tourism package of Osun State.
Also commenting on the Washington programme, Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, said: “Brig. Oyinlola is only deriding himself by parading himself as Chairman of CBCIU. In the law controlling the centre today, the permanent chairmanship clause inserted by Oyinlola in his bid to turn the place to his personal fiefdom has since been removed while Prof. Wole Soyinka is the new Chairman. If Oyinlola feels he can still deceitfully continue parading himself as Chairman, he is free to do that if that is what will make him happy but truly within himself and the backing of the law, he knows he has ceased being chairman for long.”