By Akinbola Osunsami
The Oyo City Chamber of Commerce, Industires, Mines and Agriculture (OYCCIMA) has held its Annual General Meeting and Inaugurated the new executive of the association in the ancient city on Thursday 14 September 2023.
The programme which was well attended took place at The Oyo Pinnacle Club, Quarters 48, Apitipiti, Oyo. Welcoming guests to the programme, the Treasurer, Arole Lekan Badmus said it was an epochal event in the anals of the Oyo City Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
According to him, the event is a “restorative gesture to reinvigorate the erstwhile forerunner chamber of commerce bequeathed to us many decades ago by our founding Emeritus Bishop (Dr) Akin Ogunniyi (JP), Asiwaju (Sir) Debo Omotoso (JP), Late Alhaji (Chief) Wahab Yusuf, among others.“It was sad that the fortune of the Chamber nosedived and it became a shadow of itself.
But in a swift response to salvage the ship from going under, a RAPID RESPONSE SQUAD of committed, learned, exposed, transparent, and forward-looking people, took up the gauntlet to bring the bed-ridden chamber to life.”Arole stated that their unassailable corporate belief was that they should strive unrelentingly to be the link between all the people within their constituency and the governments at all tiers and the international organizations purposely to buoy up whatever economic engagements anyone is into.
He asserted that the giant was waking up from its slumber and they appreciated the guests for being their witnesses. The NACCIMA Code of Ethics was read to the gathering by the Assistant Treasurer, Mrs Ronke Akinpelu. Generally, members of the association are expected to be loyal in all their dealings and should have mutual respect for the laws of the land and of other nations. They should protect the health, safety, and economic environment of all and be fair, firm, and transparent to customers, suppliers, and competitors.
They should respect the right to fair competition as an acceptable global phenomenon and respect the confidentiality of Business/Trade secrets or information of constituent members entrusted to them. They should not take advantage of fellow members’ recognized weaknesses and should not unethically seek to take over the ownership of a member’s business or rights.
NACCIMA members should promote and protect the business interests of Private Sector Operators by healthy networking and should shun any form of abuse of office, bribery and corruption. They should always remain a partner with all tiers of government but should not be hesitant to criticize or disagree with bad policies and/or actions of the government.
They are to commend the good works and policies of government that enhance better living standards and economic growth of the nation. They are to settle disputes or disagreements that may arise within the chambers of commerce movement internally. They are to avoid as much as possible, any member taking grievance(s) to the law courts for settlement without first recourse to the intervention of the chamber of commerce or Association as the case may demand.
In his goodwill message, the President of ODUACCIMA and immediate past President of Oyo State NACCIMA, Chief Wole Akinwande said no one would rise and won’t fall but he was sad that Oyo City Chambers House is dilapidated. He suggested that a signboard should be erected in front of the Chambers House and meetings should be held there and that the one-acre land should be developed into a business hub.
He stated that the chamber is where you could get a lot of connections and that members should work first before looking for profit. He noted that a farmer does not plant and reap in a day and that opportunities would come but members should not block their chances through dishonesty. You should interact with other chambers. I am even thinking of organizing a seminar for the Chambers of Commerce to enlighten us on our functions, duties, goals, and aspirations.
In his message, the President of Oyo State NACCIMA, Dr Daniel Adedosu Gbadero stated that primarily, a member joins an NGO that could not be ignored by the government. He said: “We need to wake up from our slumber so that we won’t be ignored. We need to have quality members and quality executives that can’t be ignored.“I intend to stand on the shoulders of the past leaders to drive the agenda of OYCCIMA while counting on the support of members.
It’s only a few people can function as proper human beings at the age of 90 like Prof Banji Akintoye is doing. So, we must try to do our best when we are still younger.”The chamber should be vibrant. Gov. Seyi Makinde can’t provide jobs for all.
We must start to modernize business in Yorubaland. It’s time to organize and teach ourselves how to turn raw materials into finished goods. We must keep basic business records and have a current account. One thing is sure, if you do good business, you will be recognized and be influential”.
A representative of the Ibadan Chamber of Commerce, Chief Alli noted that for you to be a good chamber, you must have good members doing business. He stated that the business does not have any border. You could go and do business anywhere and bring the dividends to Oyo State.
President of the Oyo Pinnacle Club who is also the National President of Kisi Progressive Union, Chief Bayo Adesope Opined that since the Oyo City Chamber of Commerce has now woken up from slumber, it should perform wonders and recruit prominent and committed businessmen.
The President of Otu Chamber of Commerce, Mr Johnson Bayo Kehinde said he had been urging his members to add value to their business. He said during his recent visit to Cote D’Ivoire, he saw how people were producing fruit juice, adding that nothing stops us from doing the same thing in our locality.
He said he had been advocating that farmers should not sell their yams cheaply during harvest period but they should think of exporting it to other countries. Engineer Dele Adedeji, a confirmed friend of the Chamber congratulated the new president, ESV Niran Adewoyin, and noted that the chamber has a lot to do in getting jobs for our children if they won’t be bolting away to other countries of the world.
A national officer of ANCOPSS, Mrs Olaniya congratulated Adewoyin and noted that the Chamber’s load is not an easy burden. She urged OYCCIMA to connect with NACCIMA to have a federal presence and urged fellow women to join the chamber.
The President of Oyo Premier Club, Barrister Jide Olanipekun stressed that “Our job is to advance business so that no one would be a pushover. We will wake to the challenge that the chamber poses. I have been associated with Chief Adewoyin for a long time. He has been a performer in the Oyo Premier Club, and Rotary, Club and now that he is in the Chambers of Commerce, he will replicate his good performance.
However, he needs the cooperation of all and sundry. After goodwill messages, the new president, ESV Niran Adewoyin was inducted and decorated by Dr Gbadero. In his acceptance speech titled The Way Forward, Adewoyin said “Ours is an inherited sinking boat with numerous overloaded bad passengers with excessive luggage.
We have to allow the bad passengers to gently alight from the toat with their excessive luggage and allow new, energized, entrepreneurial members with defined businesses and means of livelihood to come on board.
“Recruitment of quality members to the Oyo City Chamber is key as we must do away with members who have no business being in the chamber. Hence, we shall in the coming years look for more corporate members such as commercial banks, manufacturing/production outfits, hospitality industries, and agricultural ventures such as farmers groups in Oyo, and the environment.
Strong trade groups shall be allowed to evolve and meet regularly as business groups to contribute to the economy and living standard of Oyo and the environment. The era of the City Chamber owing back-log of dues is over. I make bold to say that all inherited backlog of dues to the Oyo State Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture have been cleared up to date as we have equally paid in advance our dues for 2024. We shall continue to sustain the tempo. I would like to appreciate the duo of Emeritus Bishop (Dr.) Akin Ogunniyi who donated an acre of land and Asiwaju (Sir) Debo Omotoso who built a magnificent building on it which we are proud of today among other City Chambers in Oyo State to call Oyo City Chambers house.
Unfortunately, our predecessors have neglected the house to be vandalized by miscreants. This is another task ahead of us and on behalf of my new team and crop of chamber members, we promise to repair, renovate, and make the Chamber’s house useable soonest. It is in appreciation of your immense contributions to the Oyo City Chamber and Chambers movement in Nigeria that we are conferring (have conferred) on you today Honourary Life Vice President of Oyo City Chamber, God bless you.
Conclusion: On behalf of the Rescue Team 2023 and members of Oyo City Chamber, we are assuring our founding Father, OYCCIMA, ODUACCIMA and NACCIMA that we know we have an uphill task ahead of us but we take solace in the fact that with your support, kind advice from time to time and prayers, we can together salvage the sinking boat.
Thanks and God bless you all.The Executive and members of the Otheyo City Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture comprise the following:
ESV Niran Adewoyin – PresidentAlh Alaka Babatunde Wasiu – Vice PresidentArole Lekan Badmus – TreasurerMrs Simbiat Ronke Akinpelu – Deputy TreasurerMr Goke Ogunniyi – Ex-officio
Mr Remi Omotoso Ex-officio Chief Opeyemi Salaudeen – Member Adeniran Timothy Adebayo – Member
Engr Ayo Odewale – Member
Mr Adegbite Timothew – Member
