Only a mischief maker will accuse Engr. Benson Abounu for the court injunction restraining anyone from organizing Mark D ball in Otukpo club

 By Andrew Obeya

 Only a mischief maker will accuse Engr. Benson Abounu for the court injunction restraining anyone from organizing Mark D ball in Otukpo club. He is not one of the owners and the last time I checked, the matter was lingering before this government came into power. Some of the promoters of the club also worked to return Mark in February as well. I am not his spokes man and will never be, but our people and their cheap gossips will always want to divide so they could benefit from conflicts. I shall make my contribution soon. Meanwhile, the owners have been willing to negotiate and no one has either picked their calls or reply their letters till date. Let's not drag an entire nation into an issue that can be resolved amicably. This issue has nothing to do with politics.
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I was moved to react immediately I got this document yesterday but after thinking over it, I feel it is only proper that I hear from other persons considering the fact that a good deal of the issue at hand may have been negotiated or discussed in the background.

The popular “Mark D ball” basketball tournament began as an “all stars “ (prior to the all-stars annual event, the venue was a lawn tennis court) and the idea behind this tournament to the best of my knowledge, was to showcase the local talents in basketball around Benue south, encourage/develop basketball game, have local players interact with professional basket ballers and also network during the Christmas holidays. I recall vividly, how IG Mark and others began to support the initiative, then the name was later changed to “ Mark D ball” and innovative measures were employed to attract people from near and far.
As Mark D ball tournament continued to gain prominence, the quest to acquire the location of the venue by the sponsors (The Marks) became very strong. But the club where the tournament takes place annually has its original owners who were never consulted before the management team began to develop the infrastructures and sold out spaces to vendors who sold items during such tournaments. While this was going on, the owners wrote to the management of Mark D ball tournament but they were ignored and the organizers continued with their quest to acquire the asset which they had held for so many years. I am aware that the original owners were open to discussions, willing to negotiate and agree on the terms of usage of their premises but their quest for a settlement was overlooked.

This tussle may pose a great challenge to the annual tournament this year, but I suggest that all parties involved should close ranks and resolve this issue amicably out of court. I have already seen different accounts and opinions to sway emotions but this has nothing to do with politics since the people involved had been battling with themselves for a very long time. There is no political undertone whatsoever.
Mark D ball tournament serves a useful purpose. It is not right to forcefully take over the possession of another no matter how altruistic the reason behind such move may be either. I pray the involved parties sit together and find a way forward here. Let us not throw away the baby while getting rid of the bath water. Idoma ge je pii.