Dear NBA Member and Stakeholder,
The first quarter of 2014 is running to an end quite rapidly and there definitely have been some interesting developments, so far.
The Centenary celebrations went on in a decidedly convoluted setting, considering that the Nigerian Government did come across as being rather too enthusiastic about a situation that was considered as being better marked in a more befittingly sober atmosphere, especially at a time during which the Boko Haram insurgency witnessed a somewhat dastardly upturn in frequency and social devastation.
The much touted National Conference however, did manage to take off to a sputtering start, even as the delegate composition left quite a lot to be desired, regarding a startling exclusion of the younger generation and a proliferation of those considered to be major players in the old guard, with little or nothing innovative to offer.
The N-BA is however in the process of taking its related National Conference Dialogue series to the realm of the youth by holding the next edition in conjunction with the N-BA Youth Forum.
The issue of more wholesome involvement in the overarching political process is also a salient one and needs to be addressed by making concerted efforts to de-mystify the essence of partisan politics and help to develop a more convivial and globally acceptable format for more all-inclusive participation and opportunity via revisiting positions on the likes of independent candidacy and creating a case for regional, or even community party structures to cater to specific needs, with a view to merging the local perspectives into the bigger picture as a matter of sustainable federal enterprise.
The N-BA Enterprise Team has since been re-constituted to also take N-BA programmes forward on a more aggressive pace and also to allow the Association aggregate more capacity by leveraging her corporate capital towards building mutually beneficial partnerships with existing social entities and viable charities in line with current mandate expectations.
The Team chaired by Mr. Peter Muir, CBE and assisted by Ms. Abimbola Okoya has therefore, in liaison with the Secretariat and Treasury compiled a budget document, with which the Asssociation intends to align with individuals and corporations alike along CSR compatibility lines.
New partnerships with the likes of the African Cancer Center have also started to take shape, with related memoranda of understanding under development to enable us be part of a growing bouquet of social development initiatives along the lines of which we will evolve the N-BA brand in an upwardly mobile corporate direction.
The consolidated N-BA 2014 Budget is currently in circulation and we implore members and partners alike to bring emerging germane opportunities to our notice at their earliest convenience as it is our intention to avail as many worthy causes as possible of our unique networking platform, even as our members get their best value for resource commitment, every which way.
As always, I look forward to meeting up to fellowship with you all at every given opportunity, especially at the next Annual General Meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday, 24th April, 2014.
Tunde Arogunmati
Mob: +234 (0)802 315 7673
+44 (0)795 640 2955 (UK)
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT
Tunde Arogunmati is the CEO of Toff Resources Nigeria Limited, an integrated Social & Business Enterprise solutions consultancy (a Corporate Member of the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry). A Civil Engineer by training, he is Executive Vice Chairman of the AfroCommonwealth Enterprise Network and the dedicated Consultant to the Science & Technology Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).