Rejoinder to the Vanguard’s Publication of Sunday August 19, 2007
The attention of the National Association of Seadogs aka Pyrates Confraternity has been drawn to a publication in the Sunday Vanguard of Sunday 19, 2007 titled: “Rivers battles 103 cult groups – The genesis of problem; solution, by ex-militants”. The said article written by one Mr. George Onah, the Vanguard’s Port Harcourt Bureau Chief, was discussing the recent violent activities of militants in Rivers State and quotes sections of “Secret Cult and Similar Activities (Prohibition) Law, No 6 of 2004” Laws of Rivers State which purportedly lists in the government gazette National Association of Seadogs amongst the alleged secret cults banned by the law.
We strenuously decry the contents of that article and are offended by the underlying implication of innuendo therein contained. For the record, the National Association Of Seadogs has as far back as 2004, in Suit No. PHC/1701/2005, instituted an action in the High Court of Rivers State of Nigeria in the Port-Harcourt Judicial Division challenging the inclusion of NAS among the list of bodies banned under the said statute. The determination of the substantive suit in the matter is still pending in court and is therefore sub-judice.
Our organisation finds it most disturbing that the writer would go to the extent he did in the connection of the current activities of militants and so called campus-based cults, neither of which NAS is affiliated with by modus operandi, philosophy or activities. It is in light of this that the inclusion, by Mr. Onah, of NAS in his piece is viewed by us as a further example of journalism of sensationalism, titillation and misrepresentation.
It is rather unfortunate that the Vanguard would defame the National Association of Seadogs, NAS, in this fashion in spite of the fact that the esteemed news organization is quite conversant with the history and pedigree of NAS and has in the past published activities and events of NAS. It is pertinent to elucidate for the umpteenth time, that NAS does not subscribe to any activity which is illegal, violent or operates outside of the law.
While NAS continues to educate sections of the media and the public in general on the aims, goals, mission statement and activities of this noble organization, NAS will not stand mute as falsehood innuendos, misrepresentation, fallacy and lies continue to be presented as fact. NAS has come a long way from its founding over 5 decades ago and will not allow its hard earned reputation be recklessly destroyed.
The origin and longevity of NAS coupled by the caliber of its membership speaks volumes about its character and reputation. NAS is an organization of well over 50 thousand registered members with 26 chapters throughout Nigeria with multiple international chapters in South Africa, Britain, Ireland, USA, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands. NAS operates and collaborates with reputable governmental and non-organizations worldwide. It is currently very active in the fight against Genocide in Darfur and presently partners with HIBISCUS in conjunction with the British government to curb the involvement of Nigerian women as drug mules.
Over the years, NAS has endeavoured to check the deluge of mischief makers who are working hard to destroy her very essence. Recall that on 23 August 2004, we issued a press release titled:
"RE: Back page Story of “The Sun”, titled :“Human Parts, Blood-stained Cowries Found Under Grandma’s Bed”
Wherein we said, inter alia:“We have NO CONNECTION with either the incident(s) described or the circumstance(s) alluded to. We wish to state emphatically that we have investigated the allegations contained in your publication and discovered that the materials allegedly recovered and purported to be the properties of NAS do not belong to us. We are not, neither are we called or known as "Seadogs confraternity". We are neither a campus cult nor a cult of any description. We have made this position abundantly and publicly clear on several occasions in the past. Additionally, possession of a certificate of discharge from the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC) has been a condition precedent for membership for many years now. This would make the student population generally unsuitable…”
Again, on 7th March 2005, in a press release by NAS in reaction to a February 23, 2005 news item by Thisday magazine titled:
“We Regret Forming Pirate Confraternity”
We said:
“We are sure that you are fully aware of this organisation’s distinguished antecedents particularly as you have, yourselves, covered several of our activities in the past. We remind you of some recent instances. In November 2004 you carried details of the petition we wrote and served on the Senate Presidency; Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State urging the Federal Government to conduct a plebiscite to determine where the people of Bakassi wanted to belong (see This Day November 2004). On 31 December 2004, you covered our activities in relation to the memorial of 6 of our members who were slain by the police in unlawful circumstances in December 1983. This involved contributions made at a public lecture on that occasion in relation to the Police in Nigeria (see This Day, 31 December 2004). On 14 February 2005, you published our press release on the ongoing National Political Reform Conference entitled National Dialogue; How National? On 28 February 2005, you published coverage of our annual Feast of Baracuda in Enugu, Enugu State where the theme, Nigerian Criminal Justice System was extensively discussed and the case clearly articulated for an urgent intervention into the dehumanising conditions of prisons and prisoners in the country. The examples we cite are only within the last 12 or so weeks. We continue to declare ourselves ready, in the future, to assist you in presenting, as fully as possible, accounts of our activities that will truthfully educate the public regarding just what we are, and what we stand for…”
Finally in reaction to statements attributed to former Federal Minister of Information, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr. and carried by Thisday, in which he alleged that the “Pirate Confraternity”, was the “root of all cultism in Nigeria, the bane of the education system …”, we said:
“In July 2005, in the latest in the furtherance of our organisation’s commitment to the responsibility that it has manfully accepted – a campaign of education; of tutoring; of exposition and elucidation to assist the nation’s understanding, and capacity to tackle the problems or cultism – we congregated at the Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja on 12 July 2005. The occasion was an 8th annual lecture in commemoration of the birthday of Professor Wole Soyinka, one of the founding members of the organisation. That year’s event, themed “Cults, Society and Impunity” took a different form from those of previous years. It entailed a more expanded discussion and for the first time involved Professor Soyinka personally, using the format of a public discourse. He did so in characteristic authoritative form, illuminating a quite serious concern. He also did so, amongst other expectedly informative analysis, by screening a 15 minute film first shown to the world on 29 June 2005 by Channel 4 News in the United Kingdom, in which he chronicled some of the key factual issues pertaining to the culture of violence and cultism in Nigeria…”
While NAS is appreciative of and conversant with the role of the media as the Fourth estate of the Nigerian realm and will continue to forge a cordial working relationship with the press in furtherance of the unfinished business of making Nigeria a country of greatness, opportunity, fairness and justice, we will however, not tolerate any attempt to paint NAS in such light as Vanguard has tried to do.
We hope that Vanguard would have the decency to give this rebuttal the same prominence which it accorded the article in question.
Signed:
PROF. OLATUNDE MAKANJU
NAS Capone
National Association of Seadogs (NAS)
August 23, 2007
Ref: http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/august07/19082007/f819082007.html
