Trouble In AGN: Don Pedro Aganbi & Victor Osuagwu At Loggerheads Over Guild Leadership

It’s happening again. The classic Nigerian political tussle is a phenomenon defying all known reasoning. Sages, philosophers, wisemen, distinguished scholars, learned icons and all who claim to be an authority on all things politics have been put to shame when this million dollar question pops up: Why is the trend of recurrent political leadership tussle in Nigeria a permanent feature of our governance setup, and how can it be solved? After summing all their answers, and cleaning up their language a bit, we arrive at the most intelligent answer ever.
NO IDEA!
So without a known cause, and a potent remedy, the political leadership evil has festered, and like some malignant, systemic cancer, has spread its rot into other spheres of leadership. A trending example is the Actors Guild Of Nigeria, where acrimonious battles have been fought in the past between Emeka Ike and Segun Arinze faction at the Lagos state level and  Ibinabo Fiberesima versus Emeka Rollas drama at the national level.
Those battles, long lost in memory, left scars that never healed, and set a disturbing antecedent for the future leadership hopefuls of the guild to aspire to. Those battles are on a repeat again. Saturday, June 15, 2013 at the Remi Tinubu Hall of Surulere Local Government, Lagos, another AGN chairmanship election was conducted, with 2 contestants, Don Pedro Aganbi and veteran comic actor Victor Osuagwu. The election body declared Osuagwu Chairman, a result that Aganbi gravely disputes.
Speaking to NET, Aganbi declared himself winner. Aganbi, a Public Relations Office in the previous dispensation, who was declared chairman in a small ceremony by the outgoing chairman, Emeka Rising told NET in a telephone conversation that he is and remains the valid winner of the election
‘The election as conducted by the AGNEC (Actors’ Guild of Nigeria Electoral Commission) on that day was in all ramifications favourable to me. Just before the elections were disrupted, I was leading the votes by a very wide margin and all of this is all documented on video. Victor and his cohorts think they can steal away my mandate, but I maintain my position on this. Even the outgoing executives led by Emeka Rising have recognized me as the new chairman.’
A calm rant it was, heavy-laden with rigid resolve. And it bears a view that has split the Guild into dual factions.
Victor Osuagwu and his publicly confirmed mandate, remains dismissive and smug, choosing to take the superior stance. The actor told NET in a telephone conversation that the faction of Don Pedro Aganbi should cease to parade themselves as the newly elected excos of the association.
‘I see these people as frustrated people. Anybody willing to join the frustrated people is free to do so. In all my years in the industry, I never knew this individual. I only met him (Don Pedro Aganbi) on the day of the election. Anybody who is organizing anything parallel to the new AGN is doing so at his own detriment,’ Osuagwu said.
And with both parties distant from a compromise, the Guild remains split. The drama continues, the plot unfolds, unscripted and real-time. We watch on with interest, and surely will keep you updated.
Tags: Don Pedro Aganbi, Emeka Ike, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Segun Arinze, Victor Osuagwu