NUJ President To Sirawoo: You’re Not A SWAN Member

 

…Challenges him to present a sports’ story written by him in the past 15years

National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Chris Isiguzo has described the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Rivers State, Honour Sirawoo as a meddlesome interloper that is claiming to lead the Sports Writer Association of Nigeria (SWAN), stressing that SWANI is different from SWAN.

Isiguzo, who stated this while chatting with journalists at the NUJ Press Centre, Abuja, challenged Sirawoo to show a single sports story he has written in the past 15years to qualify him as a sports writer.

He said that Sirawoo should tell the world the truth that he is more of a businessman who is desirous to use SWAN run his private business than the cause of journalism practice thus had to go to register SWANI which is an incorporated organisation quite different and distinct from the recognised Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

He said that owing to the lack of clear understanding of why SWAN was created by its founding fathers, Sirawoo equally failed to know and accept the fact that it is the NUJ National Executive Committee that usually constitute committee to conduct election into SWAN which is clearly different from incorporated SWANI.

In the words of Isiguzo; “Only a Sports writer can be a SWAN member and not a Permanent Secretary or political editors holding on tight to SWAN. We were members of SWAN at one time of the other and when our beats changed, we left and moved on but, some people believe in appropriating a body they met in existence to themselves.

“Simply put, Sirawoo is a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Rivers State and as such unfit to be a president of a professional body like SWAN. Being a Permanent Secretary disqualified him to lead SWAN as it is against the SWAN statute but he continue to claim SWANi.

“At personal level, Honour Sirawo is my friend, but I believe that it is very clear that he is not a sports writer, he is an administrator.

“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be talking about him because we are relating very closely with Rivers State government and he is an official of the Rivers state government but because he decided to dance naked, we have no choice than to clear the air.

“I understand that Leadership newspaper honoured the serving Governor of Rivers State, (Nyesom Wike) in Abuja. Expectedly, some officials of the State government came and celebrated with their hard working governor. That was the opportunity he used to come and join that celebration but rather than concentrating on the celebrations that brought him to Abuja, he decided to meet with people like him because you must be a sports writer before you even become a member of SWAN, as we speak Sirawo is not a sports writer and is not a member of SWAN.

“Some that aligned with him joined him, so, I believed he is leading a group of people registered under CAMA, who called themselves SWANI but SWAN means Sports Writers Association of Nigeria and sports writing is not a permanent abode for most journalists as anyone can be moved from one beat to another.

“If you work with a media house and you are on the sports desk, then you belong to SWAN. Today people who are political editor are masquerading as SWAN members. For the fact that you covered sports 30 years ago does not make you a permanent member of SWAN. At a point, I was also a member of SWAN because I was deeply involved in sports writing but as we speak now, I no longer belong to that desk and I cannot continue to parade myself as a member of SWAN.

“I want to challenge Sirawo, let him show me where he has written sports in the last 15 years, if he show me that, I will resign as NUJ president. He’s not a member of SWAN anybody he continue to deceive should better watch it.

“I read where he said he went to register SWAN for business purposes, let me tell you that SWAN has been operating account in the past even without registering with the CAC.

“As we speak, SWAN Abuja chapter has a plot of land, they didn’t get it by registering with CAC. They have been operating SWAN since all these years until a business man from Ogoni found himself in the leadership position deceitfully to take over their leadership,” Isiguzo enthused.