L-R Victor, Steve, Jide, Ayo, Sote, Ehi & Achike
An umbrella body for public affairs analysts known as Guild
of Public Affairs Analysts has emerged. The pioneering members of the guild
held its inaugural meeting on Saturday, November 26 in one of the choicest
hotels in the Lagos metropolis, the prestigious Platinum Apartment and Suites,
located in the prime Ikeja Government Reservation Area.
Mr. Ayo Baje who declared the
meeting open, thanked the pioneering members of the guild for creating time out
of their tight schedule to attend the inaugural meeting. He went down memory
lane to relate how he muted the idea to form the guild of analysts sometimes
ago but those he conveyed his idea to, didn’t take it seriously until only recently
when he discussed it with Mr. Victor Anya who took it up with enthusiasm which
translated into the inaugural meeting. He implored the pioneering members of
the guild to applaud Mr. Victor Anya for his doggedness in pursuing the idea to
reality. His request was complied with instantly without delay. He said the
idea to form guild of analysts was born owing mainly to the many risks
association with analysts such as hatred by the public, attacks, accidents,
assassination attempts etc. According to Baje, whenever analysts make balanced,
objective and constructive criticism or analysis on politicians, governments at
local, state and federal levels, members of the public who have sympathy for
such politicians or government, tend to develop hatred towards such analysts.
He narrated an incident in which somebody
he didn’t know but pretended to be his former schoolmate, demanded for his
residential address through a telephone conversation all in a bid to locate and
possibly harm him because of his stand on certain national issues in the past.
Likewise, he recounted how another analyst was asked to stop condemning the infamous
third term agenda with a gift of N3m while the giver of the money was holding
an unidentified object which made the analyst to shiver. He said the analyst in
question manoeuvred and escaped from the presence of his probable captor with a
whisker. In addition, he said there was
need for analysts to have a body that would unite them so they could have a strong
voice on international issues in general and national issues in particular. As
he put it, “There are no more opposition political parties in the country
presently, therefore there is need for robust public affairs analysts to give
direction to the governments at all levels of governance.” Above all, he said there was need for analysts
to have a body that would take care of their welfare. Other members of the
guild also recounted their experiences as a result of analyzing national issues.
The guild set up some standards
to guide its members on its operations. The standards included the followings
but not limited to them only. Members of the guild were charged to maintain
high level integrity, they should be non-partisan in analyzing national issues
for the purpose of national interest; they must not use the name of the guild
to pursue personal gains; they must be constructive, balanced and objective in analyzing international and national issues so as not to bring the guild into
disrepute.
In a unanimous decision, the
guild appointed Ayo Baje and Victor Anya as President and Secretary
respectively to coordinate the activities of the guild till election would be
conducted to elect those who would lead the guild in future.
In his closing remarks, Baje, the interim President of the Guild of Public Affairs
Analysts, called on members of the newly formed guild to take the organization very
seriously because according to him, the members of the guild would be highly
sought after in the near future because of their analytical position on
national and international issues.
The President of the guild, Ayo
Baje is a media consultant and renowned public affairs analyst. Other members
of the guild include Jide Akintude who is the publisher of Financial Nigeria
Magazine, Lekan Sote, a highly respected columnist with the Punch Newspaper, Stephen
Aya, a career journalist with the National Weekender, Ehi Iden, a Security and
Safety expert, Achike Chude, an author and a well sought after public affairs
analyst, Victor Anya, the interim Secretary, is the Principal Consultant at
Media Acts & Solution.
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