Sasse Old
Boys Association on the Brink of Implosion
-Two
parallel General Assemblies convened; the one by a Vice President and four
branch presidents and the other by the National President, Prof Ngwafor Ephraim
-Bishop of
Buea withdraws support for ‘Revival General Assembly’ saying he was fooled
By Boris
Esono in Buea
The
atmosphere around the Sasse Old Boys Association, SOBA, is not the best at this
time. The association of former students of one of Cameroon’s most prestigious
secondary schools, St. Joseph’s College Sasse, has once more come in the
spotlight, but this time for the wrong reasons.
Members of SOBA are presently
engaged in a battle for control of their association, with observers saying if
peace and order is not reinstated in the fold, and soon too, the association
risks being dragged in the mud.
According to news reaching The
Median, two separate and parallel General Assemblies of SOBA have been convened
for different dates and venues. There is the ‘Revival General Assembly’
convened for 1pm on 4th March 2018, at the St. Anthony of Padua Hall in Buea
Town and another General Assembly convened for Douala on 10 March 2018. The
‘Revival General Assembly’ was convened by the national Vice President of SOBA,
Prof. Molua, and the branch presidents of Buea, Tiko, Muyuka, Limbe and Bambili
chapters. The RGA has been authorized by
the DO of Buea who has issued a receipt in acknowledgment.
For its part, the Douala GA has been
convened by the SOBA national exco and announced by its National President,
Prof Ngwafor Ephraim.
Why two
parallel GAs?
According to information we gathered, the
revival GA has been convened to correct certain illegalities perpetrated by the
SOBA national exco, which illegalities are said to not only to undermine the
very essence of the otherwise prestigious association but are rocking the unity
and solid foundation on which SOBA is built.
The conveners of the RGA in a
release issued on 17 January, evoked as reasons for the RGA the non-holding of
a General Assembly of SOBA since the past four years; the non-presentation to
the SOBA General Assembly of any financial reports of the activities of the
present SOBA Exco; the holding of a Soba General Council Meeting in Douala
during which the SOBA constitution was tempered with without prior consultation
of the Soba GA; the non-presentation by the national exco of a comprehensive
financial statement of the 75th anniversary of SOBA; the crisis rocking SOBA UK
and the unilateral decision of the executive president appointing an electoral
board without effective consultations among other other things.
Bishop
Retracts after supporting progressives
It should be noted that the Bishop
of Buea, Mgr. Immanuel Bushu, who is the proprietor of Sasse College, had
initially given his blessings to the organizers of the RGA and had even granted
them authorization to use the St. Anthony of Padua Hall in Buea Town for the
RGA.
But in a disclaimer issued on 24
January, Bishop Immanuel Bushu has dissociated himself from the said RGA in
Buea. He explained that initially supported the holding of the RGA in Buea
because he trusted that organizers are SOBANS of integrity and because he was
convinced that the conveners had consulted with the President General of SOBA
and his collaborators.
Bishop Bushu in his disclaimer,
pleaded with SOBANS to adhere to the planned Douala GA on 10 March 2018,
arguing that any action taken outside SOBA framework will not be to the honour
and integrity of SOBA.
It is however not immediately known
if the conveners of the Buea RGA will heed the Bishop’s advice and cancel the
come together. It is understood that the RGA has already been widely publicized
and is said to enjoy the support of a significant population of SOBANS.
By virtue of article 22 of the SOBA
constitution, the GA is the supreme authority of the Association. It is
supposed to meet in ordinary session once every two years.
No comments:
Post a Comment