Segun Runsewe’s Midnight Reconciliation With ANTP Leaders Fails

…opposition leaders, Dele Odule, Victor Ashaolu barred from practising.

‘Jide Kosoko, others are irresponsible elders’ – star actor, Saheed Balogun

9.00 p.m Friday, July 22 2011 to 4.oo a.m Saturday, July 23 2011 Otunba Segun Runsewe the Dirctor General of the association transforming the tourism industry, the Nigerian Tourism

Development Corporation- NTDC initiated a reconciliation meeting between the warring factors crippling the affairs of Association of National Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP).

The meeting held at Planet 1, the haven of hospitality located at Maryland, Ikeja Lagos.

At the reconciliation point were the NTDC boss, Otunba Runsewe, Dr Akintunde Ayeni, Patron of the Yoruba movie practitioners association, leaders of the warring parties Dele Odule , Victor Ashaolu and some of their supporters, the elders of the association- Adebayo Salami, Adebayo Faleti, Jide Kosoko and others of their ilk, a crop of the younger generation led by Saheed Balogun.

Sources at the place divulged the truce process kick started with an initial meeting among the elders.

After about four hours of talks they came up with a recommendation that the NTDC boss and grand patron adjudged as fair to all concerned.

The proposal was three pronged:

That all court cases be withdrawn

An Interim body should take over the affairs of the association

A fresh presidential election should be conducted for the two candidates polarising the group.

The two principal actors in the festering crisis Dele Odule and Victor Ashaolu were called in and intimated of the suggestion.

The Elder’s forum backed by the ratification of Otunba Runsewe and Dr Ayeni communicated the proposal to them and asked for an adoption of it by the duo.

Odule, the first to comment agreed to the terms after a feeble objection.

Ashaolu refused to identify with the suggestion because it is the original agenda of Jide Kosoko, generally tagged the architect of the crisis rocking ANTP- and someone he perceived to be against his interest.

Sources claimed that based on his hard posture Otunba Runsewe,Dr Akintunde and the bulk f the Elders made entreaties to him to give peace a chance and go for a run. The argument was that the better candidate would always win.

And like a script from a bad play, Ashaolu was said to be in the process of backing down completely when Odule flared up.

He was said to have, among other things in his ranting, queried why the stake holders were begging Ashaolu and didn’t beg him. He was said to have poured unprintable invectives on Ashaolu , cursed him and had to be physically restrained from attacking the latter.

Sources divulged that was the tone of things for about forty minutes until Ashaolu excused himself from the meeting on the pretence of going to ease himself.

Infuriated by the manner the meeting was ending, Saheed Balogun, alleged to have lobbied the NTDC boss to wade into the crisis, reported shouted everybody down, apologised to Otunba Runsewe and Dr Ayeni for the unruly behaviour of his senior colleagues and went on to take the Elders and the warring actors to the cleaners one by one.

According to him the Elders are an irresponsible lot that do not live up to their emblem.

He claimed that they are only after what they will eat and ought to go and hang themselves with the state of the association they claim to be piloting.

He was said to have taken pains to lambast Jide Kosoko for being the architect of the crisis crippling the association.

His tirade was cut shut by the NTDC boss who demanded decorum in the manner Saheed addressed the leaders- irrespective of their perceived sins.

With the exit of Ashaolu, Odule was asked to excuse the gathering and another deliberation made.

The deliberation resulted in accord that both Odule and Ashaolu be exiled from activities of the association and the Yoruba movie industry till further notice.

A more enlarged forum be arranged that would take final decision on the conduct of the two actors and draw up the manner to take the association out of it current mess.

The enlarged forum is expected to meet, latest, the first week of August 2011.