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Security agents bar Ajaero faction in Lagos Wabba faction, TUC list priority areas for Buhari
Agriculture and Allied Employees Association of Nigeria marching during the 2015 May Day celebration in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
Troops free another 234 women, children ...from Sambisa forest Sealxk T
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Buhari and Chibok girls challenge Chibok girls?
What if the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is unable to rescue the Chibok girls before handover on May 29? Will the incoming administration of General Mohammed Buhari pursue the campaign to bring back the girls with renewed vigour? Recent campaigns by the military in Sambisa, the swath of forest where the abducted girls are believed to be held, have so far not yielded fruit as far as yielding the abducted girls, even though other rescues have been made. Leading lights in the Bring Back our Girls Campaign, BBOG, who hitherto, had sustained pressure on government to rescue the girls are believed to be jostling for positions and appointments in the incoming administration of General Buhari. These, to many observers, are not encouraging signals for the rescue of the abducted girls writes NICK UWERU.
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hen on Tuesday, earlier this week, Special Forces of the Nigerian military launched offensives on the notorious camps of Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda ‘Awati Wal-Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, in Sambisa, a forest traversing the north east of the country into the Cameroons, it was with the aim of accomplishing two things. One, the army was bent on wiping out the remaining strongholds of the insurgents. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, the Special Forces were on the mandate to effect rescue of the UN estimated 8, 000 women and CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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‘Boko Haram abducted 8,000 women and children, killed about 20,000 people’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Abubakar Shekau (middle) taunts Nigerian Army children believed to be held in captivity by the Islamist militants in the swath of forestry. It was a highly ambitious offensive and a necessary one at that. Boko Haram have killed an estimated 20,000 people in Nigeria alone. But this last offensive would by no means be easy. What with the uncharted terrain of Sambisa characterized of mountainous grounds, trees and foliage covers, a less prepared invading force would have balked at marching into forest. As gathered, too, military reconnaissance proved difficult for the Nigerian forces on account of the weather condition in the mountains. Drones and satellites deployed to scan the area found difficult to do so as preparations went on for the final push. This was on account of the weather in the area. Even so, Boko Haram were said to have trickily laid anti-personal mines in the forest. These, as learnt, hobbled the advance of the soldiers despite the deployment of sophisticated mine detecting military hardware ahead of their march into the forest. It was also learnt that the soldiers ingeniously herded cattle ahead of the marching troops as a means of ‘clearing the field’ of the deadly bombs meant to decimate and discourage hostile advances towards the terrorist camps in Sambisa. In the main, the military offensive recorded success going by the first objective of the mission. Over 13 camps of the terrorist were overrun by the soldiers. The insurgents were killed in great numbers. But on the second aim of the mission, there is a tepid response to the success. The Nigerian military said troops rescued over 200 girls and 93 women from the vast forest which served as a hideout for Boko Haram. But in what appeared to be a dampener to the success story, the military authority revealed that the over 200 girls rescued by the Special Forces were not the over 276 girls kidnapped by the insurgents in Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, April last year. The military says it is continuing its search for the
missing girls. But for many observers, the old question on the whereabouts of the missing girls still remains and disturbingly so. Before embarking on the mission in Sambisa, the Nigerian military promised that it would reclaim the expansive Sambisa forest reserve which has become a notorious Boko Haram stronghold, before President Goodluck Jonathan hands over power on May 29. Jonathan will on May 29 surrender power after losing the March 28 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari. Boko Haram insurgency and the kidnap of the Chibok girls are believed to be the issues that torpedoed Jonathan’s administration. In fact, All Progressives Congress, APC and Buhari had made the insecurity in the country brought about by insurgence a major campaign point. But after widespread criticisms over its inability to contain Boko Haram, the Nigerian military in the last few months has retaken several territories occupied by the group, dislodging the militants from key towns like Baga, Bama and Gwoza. Sambo Dasuki, National Security Adviser, NSA, had promised that Sambisa forest, the most notable territory still controlled by Boko Haram, would be overrun by military. “All Boko Haram camps, except Sambisa Forest have been destroyed,” Dasuki stated at the time. “Every movement of the terrorists is being monitored and every necessary detail is being taken care of to rid the country of the last bastion of terrorists’ infestation,” he said. But on the Chibok girls, Dasuki said the federal government was making effort to ensure that the girls are rescued from insurgents. He spoke about the concern of Nigeria’s government and that of every Nigerian citizen over the girls’ welfare. Mr. Dasuki urged Nigerians to be patient as the military completes the routing of terrorists. These success and assurances regardless, observers and indeed global concerns are raised as to whether the
Courtesy, Wikipedia, 24, October 2014 girls would ever be found. These concerns are anchored on good reasons, especially from military logistics point of view. If over 200 girls were rescued by the army in Sambisa, where then are the 276 girls? Considering the logistics needed to move these girls, how come there is no intelligence offering insight as to where they might be? There are indications that unless the Chibok girls are found before May 29, the matter may haunt the incoming administration of Buhari. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
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Chibok girls timeline
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4, April 2014. Armed men in military fatigue attacked the Government Girls Secondary School, GGSS, Chibok, a rustic settlement in Borno, North East of Nigeria. They broke into the school, shooting the guards and killing one soldier. The armed men later identified as operatives of Boko Haram, a virulent terror group, herded away 276 girls by police account in a convoy of vehicles to Sambisa Forest in the area. 19–20, April 2014. The military released a statement insisting that more than 100 of the kidnapped girls had been freed. 21, April 2014. Parents came out to debunk military headquarters claim of freeing 100 girls. They insisted, instead that 234 girls were missing. The army high command later retracted their claim. 2, May 2014. 53 escape captivity in the hands of insurgents. 2 May 2014. Police said they were still unclear as to the exact number of students who were kidnapped. They asked parents to provide documents so that an official count could be made since school records were damaged in the attack on GGSS. 4 May 2014. President Goodluck Jonathan spoke publicly about the kidnapping for the first time. He promised that government was doing everything it could to find the missing girls. At the same time, he blamed parents for not supplying enough information about their missing children to the police. 5, May 2014. A video in which Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings emerged. Shekau claimed: “Allah instructed me to sell [the girls.] I will carry out his instructions.” He also stated: “Slavery is allowed in my religion, and I shall capture people and make them slaves.” He said the girls should not have been in the school and instead they should be married since girls as young as nine are suitable for marriage. 5, May 2014. At least 300 residents of the nearby town of Gamboru Ngala were killed in an attack by Boko Haram militants after Nigerian security forces left the town to search for the kidnapped students. 7, May 2014. Nigerian government welcomes military assistance chiefly from the US in a bid to rescue the abducted girls. 9, May 2014. Shehu Sani, human right activist, stated that the group wanted to swap the abducted girls for its
Protest of people on ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ jailed members. 11, May2014. Kashim Shettima, Governor of Borno State, said that he has sighted the abducted girls and that the girls were not taken across the borders of Cameroon or Chad. 12 May 2014. Boko Haram released a video showing about 130 kidnapped girls, each clad in a hijab and a long Islamic chador, while it demanded prisoner exchange. 12-13 May 2014. US begin flying missions in coordinated campaign with Nigeria in an effort to rescue girls. As well as US assistance, Britain, France and China sent teams to Nigeria to help the search, and Israel offered to join the international effort. Jen Psaki, state department spokeswoman stated that US was “providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support”. Military and law-enforcement teams on the ground were “digging in on the search and coordinating closely with the Nigerian government as well as international partners and allies”, she said. 24, May 2014. President Goodluck Jonathan rebuffed journalist-brokered deal to secure the release of the girls in exchange for prisoners held in Nigerian jails. This was after the president consulted with US, Israeli, French and British foreign ministers in Paris where the consensus
was that no deals should be struck with terrorists 6 June 2014. Army high command claimed to have sighted kidnapped girls but cannot move on insurgents for fear that the girls might be used as human shield. On the same day, top military brass in the country met with the leadership of the United States Interdisciplinary Team for Assistance to Nigeria to discuss the war against the extremist Boko Haram sect and the search for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls. 20, September2014. Stephen Davis, an Australian negotiator described the condition of abducted girls in Boko Haram camp. “Hearing the stories of some girls who have escaped from Boko Haram camps is a sobering experience. There are many girls who have been kidnapped apart from the girls from the Chibok school…. Boko Haram kidnapped girls because the fighters could not go back home to their wives…. Girls tell how they were raped every day, week after week….One girl was raped every day, sometimes several times a day by groups of men,” said the negotiator. 17, October 2014. Danladi Ahmadu, Boko Haram’s internal security officer, confirms cease fire deal with FG, promises that Chibok girls will be released soon.
‘Chibok girls rescue campaign politicised’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
Nigerian troops overun insurgents’ camp in Sambisa
Reason for this thinking is that too much politics have been injected into the Chibok girls’ matter thereby muddling the facts about their capture. For instance, the country was thrown into controversy after Obiageli Ezekwesili and Hadiza Bala Usman’s names were mentioned as part of the inauguration committee of Buhari’s government. Both women were the arrowheads of the Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, campaigns. The campaign gained global franchise, pillorying government of the day for its handling of the Chibok girls matter. Sympathizers of Jonathan’s administration, however found it strange that the campaign, in the main, were silent in condemning terror and Boko Haram that abducted the 276 girls. Other observers also point out the absurdity of harping on the rescue of just the 276 girls when well over 8, 000 girls are believed to have been abducted by the insurgents. At the height of the stand-off between BBOG campaigners and federal government, Department of State Security, DSS, made a stunning accusation alleging that Chibok has since become a franchise meant essentially for money making. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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‘How to counter insurgency’
Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe says that incoming administration must learn from mistakes of previous administration in combating terror What would you advise any government to do on this insurgency and Chibok girls matter? My advice is that, Government should take an immediate step to set up a “Counter or Anti Terrorist Unit” whose director should be a well trained intelligence officer, preferably a squadron leader with a rank not more than a Lt, Colonel in the Army, who will report directly to Mr. President. He will be responsible for all the strategy, plans and methods of fighting terrorism in the country. Let us leave the Government and the Security Agencies to perform their legitimate duties of protecting lives and property in the country. But should security abridge the right of citizens over this perception? Domestic intelligence is often directed at specific groups, defined on the basis of origin or religion, which is a source of political controversy. Mass surveillance of an entire population might raise objections on civil liberties grounds. Home grown terrorists, especially Boko Haram, are often harder to detect because of their citi-
zenship or legal alien status and better ability to stay under the radar. It is unfortunate that the Boko Haram cell in Nigeria has succeeded in kidnapping the Chibok school girls, and other girls and women in Borno State, killed several innocent people and destroyed properties worth billions of naira in the Northern part of the country, without being preempted or stopped by the security agencies.
Sara-Igbe
What is the biggest obstacle to getting back the Chibok girls? Negative campaigns. BBOG, as far as I can see, is being politicized by those who are insensitive to the implications of their actions. The media houses have not helps at all in the matter too. They should be very careful in their reporting the actives of the terrorist, so as not to give an impression to the terrorists that they are succeeding in their war. The campaign of BBOG to an extent, complicating the entire process and also confusing the agencies responsible for the counter terrorist actions.
‘Buhari must set up counter terrorism unit’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Merilyn Ogar, Director, Public Relations, of the country’s ultra secretive state security agency, in making the accusation, stopped short of alleging that BBOG is acting out the scripts of both Boko Haram and APC. “If BBOG is an ordinary movement seeking to pile pressure on government or security agencies to free these girls, there will be no need for the group to begin to have tags, insisting that you must have a tag and be properly registered to be part of them,” explained Ogar. She further went on to allege that DSS believes that its organizer have bank accounts where the sponsors pay in money to fund their activities. Even more strangely, DSS disclosed that the Chibok activists had perfected plans to simulate movements purporting that the mo vement had taken their campaign to Sambisa and Chibok. Foreign media assistance has been co-opted into the scheme, alleges DSS. It also claimed that the activists have brought in experts to teach them evasive maneuvers in case of clampdown from the security. “If we have to fight for our rights, let us genuinely fight for our rights by being more transparent,” Orgar said at the time. The meaning of the spook agency’s claims is not lost on the public. Most of the arrowheads of BBOG campaign have been staunch critics of the Jonathan. Even more, some of them have been invited to circuits put together by APC. Since the advent of Boko Haram insurgency in the country, response to the menace in the country has been more of a mishmash of counter claims from the public, politicians, security agencies and government. While observers believe that Buhari would tackle insurgency with single mindedness, analysts insist that his administration must do so with clear transparency so as to settle controversies surround the Chibok girls and insurgency in the country. There have been interagency rivalries crippling the war against terror; politicians and critics who, sadly, have shown little restraint, seized on perceived lapses to lampoon government. Increasingly, security agencies both domestic and foreign have continued to draw links between politicians and the activities of the insurgents.
One of Boko Haram’s camps under bombardment
By the reckoning of security experts, these conflicting response is all the victory that terrorist needs. “A terrorist aims to strike fear and confusion in the populace. When genuine effort at combating insurgency is misunderstood by public, the people behind the acts are happy,” explained Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, former special adviser on security to Peter Odili, former Rivers State governor. Chief Sara-Igbe further added that security agencies first begin the search for sponsors of insurgencies from the following angles: one, defense contractors who want to create a demand for their arms; politically disgruntled group out to pull down the government of the day; radicalized elements in the polity; opponents of a particular policy of government. He cautioned that activism at this period of crisis must be done with caution so as not to give the impression it was using the
misfortune of insurgency to pull down government. Chief Sara Igbe may be right on his prognosis linking insurgency to local politics. For instance, during a military campaign in Barma Forest, Borno, the country’s army claimed it got hold of documents linking politicians to the activities of the terrorists. Also last year, a prominent member of the British parliament, Mr. Andrew Rosindell, raised query on claims that APC has links with Boko Haram. In the said query, Rosindall questioned the UK foreign secretary, Mr. William Hague, on UK’s engagement with Nigeria’s leading opposition party over the Boko Haram menace. The matter came up at a debate in parliament when the Labour MP, Sandra Osborne, sought to examine allegations of links between APC and the insurgents. The increasing questioning of the UK government by MPs on the issue may force an enquiry into the allegations.
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Boko Haram: Troops free another 234 women, children from Sambisa Ubong Ukpong ABUJA
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roops of the Nigerian military in the ongoing operations in Sambisa forest, Borno State, have rescued another set of 234 women and children. In an update yesterday, on the operations, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ,, through its Director of Defence Information, DDI, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said the additional set of victims were rescued on Thursday by the daring troops in the forest. The DHQ further said that the troops were intensifying their assaults on the forest with the aim of rescuing all innocent civilians and destroying the camps and facilities of terrorists in the forest. The troops had on Tuesday afternoon, freed 200 girls and 93 women,
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May 2, 2015
with an additional undisclosed numbers later announced by the Nigerian Army, bringing the total number of Boko Haram victims rescued from Sambisa between Tuesday and Thursday to over 600. According to the DHQ, “Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of Sambisa forest on Thursday. “They have been evacuated to join others at the place of ongoing screening. “This set is in addition to the previous individuals earlier rescued during the ongoing operation in the area. ”The assault on the forest is continuing from various fronts and efforts are concentrated on rescuing hostages of civilians and destroying all terrorists camps and facilities in the forest.”
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Fuel scarcity: NARTO suspends strike
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ajor Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on Friday reached an agreement with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to suspend their strike, according to an official. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that MOMAN Executive Secretary, Mr. Femi Olawore, made this known while speaking with newsmen on the ongoing impasse with the
government over outstanding fuel subsidy payment. According to him, the marketers are owing members of the transport association about N20 billion and their inability to offset the debt prompted the suspension of the lifting of products. However, he said, following the release of N154 billion to marketers by the federal government as part payment of the subsidy, they had in turn offset part of the debt they owed the
transporters. Olawore said that government had yet to redeem N200 billion it is owing the marketers as subsidy payment. He said the marketers, with the understanding of NARTO members, had given government a grace of two weeks to settle the remaining payments. “We have scheduled to meet with the Coordinating Minister of the Economy on Monday, but if the meeting fails to address the
issue we have tabled, then we will continue with the action,” he warned. According to him, some of their members have started receiving payment, adding that the marketers will pay NARTO in proportion of what has been received. Olawore said the marketers were ready to cooperate with the government but warned that unless the payment was made in two weeks, the marketers would return to their ac-
Electricity workers to meet Buhari on stable power supply Kemi Olaitan IBADAN
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orkers in the power sector under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) have produced a blueprint that will guarantee 24-hour power supply in the country for presentation to the President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), in Abuja before his swearing in later this month. The General Deputy Secretary of the union, Comrade Robert Adedotun Ajayi, made the disclosure in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday while addressing beneficiaries of May Day preretirement empowerment programme organised by the union for its teeming members. The event also featured the provision of supportive grants by the union to prospective retirees
to enable them kickstart Small/Medium Scale businesses of their choice. Ajayi, while addressing the forum, lamented the adverse effects of the privatisation exercise on the electricity sector, insisting that a lot still needed to be done by the authorities so that the nation could move out of the present era of epileptic power supply. He said the privatisation of the electricity sector was yet to achieve its expected goals “because the country was not ripe for the privatisation of the sector as at the time it was executed”. He insisted that the erstwhile Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) should have been fully commercialised by the federal government before the privatisation of the enterprise since, according to him, the orientation of the PHCN was more of social service rather than profit making.
R-L; Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari and APC chieftain, Sir Chukwuma Paul during the visit of Imo State delegation to the President-elect at the Defence House in Abuja on Thursday, 30 April 2015.
…NSCDC clamps down on illegal dealers Omeiza Ajayi
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ommandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, has directed the Anti-Vandal Squad of the Corps to clamp down on illegal marketers of petroleum products immediately. According to him, product diversion, unnecessary hike in pump prices and the activities of “black marketers”, must be seriously curtailed in the interest of
all Nigerians. He said the order is in line with the Corps’ mandate of checkmating the activities of illegal dealers in petroleum products. The directive was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday and signed by the Corps’ Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Okeh. According to him, the persistent scarcity of the product gives room for the citizens to cast aspersion on the government as if government was not sensitive to the plight of
the common man. Therefore, he has directed that for the purpose of the benefits and dividends of democracy, all miscreants and those involved in hoarding of the product thereby causing artificial scarcity in order to sell at exorbitant prices should be arrested and prosecuted accordingly. He said the clampdown would bring about sanity and availability of product at the various stations for legal sales to buyers instead of selling to those that are likely
to hoard the product in order to sell at inflated prices to desperate buyers. In compliance with the directive, the Corps’ Anti-Vandal squad has since commenced raiding of the hide-outs of those involved in hoarding and diversion of the product as well as black marketers. Similarly, the Corps Chief Executive made a passionate appeal to the residents of Arepo and Ikorodu community respectively to cooperate and report appropriately
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Factionalisation: Jonathan snubs workers on May Day
•Security agents bar Ajaero faction from National Stadium •Wabba faction, TUC list priority areas for incoming govt Olufemi Adeosun, Rotimi Fadeyi, Abuja and Olalekan Adejuwon, L agos.
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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday failed to attend this year’s May Day celebration to the consternation of workers who had waited patiently at the Eagle Square in Abuja. It is the first time the president would be absent from the Workers’ Day celebration since he was elected in 2011. Although no official reason was given for his absence, a source at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, who pleaded anonymity, told our reporter that it was not unconnected with the factionalisation in the labour union. “You know there was this issue of factionalisation in the leadership of the congress and attending the rally will look like the president is in support of one faction or the other”, the source said. Efforts to get the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, on phone yesterday to find out why the president was absent at the rally was not successful. While the Comrade Ayuba Wabba-led faction held its rally in Abuja, the Joe Ajaero-led group held its own in Lagos. In Abuja, as early as 6:am., anti-riot policemen and other para-military forces had condoned all roads leading to the Eagle Square, venue of the May Day event, and men of the secret service were seen combing the venue, apparently to provide adequate security to the number one citizen. As at 11:30 when it was almost certain that the president would not make it to the event, the workers who had trooped out enmasse to grace the occasion were seen discussing in
hush tones why the president could have decided to snub them. However, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Joel Ikenya, was introduced as representing the president. But it was obvious the presidency did not prepare any speech to be read on behalf of the president by the Minister of Labour and Productivity. The minister’s speech was however later withdrawn by the minister’s aides and was not made available to journalists. There were also the Minister and Minister of State for FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, and Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, both of whom are close allies of the president in attendance. The schism in the organisation became glaring on March 14 during the congress of the NLC when at exactly 12.47am, at the Eagles Square in Abuja, the President of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Wabba Ayuba, was proclaimed winner of the election to replace outgoing president, Abdulwaheed Omar. In a swift reaction, Ayuba’s closest rival, Joe Ajaero, in company of some of the candidates that lost out in the election, announced Friday, March 20, 2015 as a date for a fresh ‘special delegates’ conference in Lagos, where perceived ‘wrongs’ in the Abuja election would be addressed. With the development, the route to NLC having a factional leadership after years of unity of purpose may have been paved. Meanwhile, the Congress directed its members to stay away from the ‘special delegates’ conference. A statement signed in Abuja by the NLC’s General Secretary, Dr. Peter OzoEson, said the conference was influenced by individuals driven by inordinate ambition and vain glory. He therefore advised all affiliate unions of the La-
bour body to steer clear of the conference. But Ajaero accused the immediate past president of NLC, Omar, and the Chairman of the NLC Credentials Committee, Isah Fagge, and Dangiwa of supervising a ‘troubled process’. On March 19 at a parallel election held in Lagos which upheld the election of Ajaero of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, as a parallel president, the NLC finally split into two, parading two presidents. The theme of this year’s May Day celebration held in Abuja is: “The Working Class, Democratic Consolidation and Economic Revival: Charting the Way to National Economic Rebirth.” Speaking at the occasion,
the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, stated that Nigerian workers would hold the incoming administration responsible for its electoral promises to the people. He said congress had begun the process of collating its thoughts on how the Gen. Muhammadu Buhariled administration would impact positively on the Nigerian economy, particularly the working people and would present the document to him as soon as he assumes office. His words: “We look forward to presenting our positions to General Buhari when we eventually meet with him as soon as he assumes office. However, we must seize this moment to make pronouncement on a
few urgent national issues: Social Issues: Social challenges facing the Nigerian workers are many but it appears that most compelling are uncertainties in the work place.” In his own speech, the Trade Union Congress President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, urged the incoming administration to fight corruption and all economic crimes, stressing the malaise were responsible for the underdevelopment of the country. However, an attempt to hold a parallel rally at the National Stadium, Surulere by the Comrade Ajaero Joseph’s led NLC was thwarted by the Lagos State Police Command which used tear-gas to despatch them.
Ajaero, leading a factional group consisting of Comrade Issa Aremu of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) and Comrade Igwe Achese of the National Union of Petroleum & National Gas (NUPENG), regrouped on the access road leading to the National Stadium to hold the May Day celebration. The procession led to serious gridlock as motorists spent hours on the road. Saturday Mirror reliably gathered that the congress had made prior arrangement with the Lagos State Government and had written to the Lagos State Police for their support in providing adequate security for the workers.
L-R: Guest Lecturer, Prof. Ladipo Adamolekun; Club Chief, Silver Knights, Mr. Adegboyega Akin-Deko and Presidential Candidate, Kowa Party, Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya, during the May Day lecture on leadership, institutions and development in Nigeria in Ibadan, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
...Make workers welfare priority, Martins tells Buhari Odinaka Uruakpa
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he President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.), has been advised to make the welfare of Nigerian workers one of his top priorities on resumption of office on May 29. Making this call in his Labour Day message, the Catholic Archbishop of
Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, in a release signed by the Director of Social Communications, Msgr. Gabriel Osu, also challenged the in-coming administration to facilitate a more cordial relationship with the Nigerian workers through a possible up-ward review of the current N 18,000 minimum wage being paid in order to cushion
the high rate of poverty in the land. According to him, the current minimum wage being paid federal government workers was grossly inadequate and out of tune with prevailing realities, considering the low value of the naira, and high level of inflation with corresponding astronomical rise in the cost of living.
He wondered why successive governments had failed in providing better welfare package and remuneration for the hard working Nigerian workers despite the enormous wealth available in the country, adding that with prudent management of resources and blockage of leakages, the country would indeed witness rapid development.
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May 2, 2015
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Despite death sentence, 19 Nigerians attempt shipping drugs to Asia – NDLEA
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he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has said it saved 20 people from the death penalty in Asia by preventing them from smuggling drugs out of Nigeria. This is according to an online publication, Per Second News. In a statement on Thursday, the agency said since January 2014, 19 Nigerians and a Ghanaian had been arrested in Nigerian air-
ports attempting to smuggle 106,914 kilogrammes of narcotics. The NDLEA’s chairman, Ahmadu Giade, was quoted to have said “Sixteen of the suspects were apprehended at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos while four others including a Ghanaian were caught at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu. “Their final destinations are Malaysia, China
and Thailand where drug trafficking is punishable by death.” On Tuesday, four Nigerians were among eight people executed by Indonesian authorities over drugrelated offences. While commiserating with the deceased families, the NDLEA urged relevant authorities to intensify anti-drug abuse campaign efforts. He condoled with the families of the deceased
saying: “I sincerely sympathise with the families of the executed drug convicts.” He said further: “This is a moment of sober reflection on the illicit activities of drug trafficking syndicates. This brings to the fore the bigger picture of those in foreign prisons, those arrested here and others preparing to smuggle drugs. “It is a wake-up call for stakeholders to step up their counter-narcotics efforts. Apart from drug traf-
ficking being a criminal act, narcotic smuggling poses a serious threat to public health and safety.” According to Mr. Giade, the NDLEA had one of the highest criminal convictions in the country, winning 2,054 cases against alleged drug offenders. He further said: “As we work very hard to reduce cases of illicit drug trafficking, it is imperative for individuals and groups to take steps aimed at preventing their loved ones from getting involved in drug abuse and trafficking.” The breakdown of the
drugs seized from the 20 suspected smugglers showed that 83.08kg was seized at the Lagos airport while 23.834kg was intercepted at the Enugu airport. The seized drugs included 89.024kg of cannabis, 9.375kg of methamphetamine, 3.450kg of amphetamine, 2.89kg of heroin and 2.175kg of cocaine. The only Ghanaian among the suspects, Musa Idrisa, also known as Charles Udenehi, was going to Bangkok, Thailand, with 450 grams of cocaine he had ingested.
Fashola, decries labour union fractionalisation Francis Suberu
L L-R: Former Head of State, Gen. Yahubu Gowon; Chairman, Governing Council, University of Lagos, Prof. Jerry Gana; Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rahaman Bello and General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, receiving a certificate of honorary doctorate degree, during the 2013/2014 convocation ceremony of the institution in Lagos on Thursday.
How Arik lost $9m to aviation fuel scarcity —MD Olusegun Koiki
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rik Air yesterday said that it has lost about $9 million so far to the Jet A1 scarcity, which has paralysed the Nigerian aviation industry in the last nine days. The airline said that the scarcity of the product in the local scene has led to several flight operations and it presently does about 20 per cent of its daily flights. The Managing Director of the Airline, Mr. Chris Ndulue, told journalists at the airline’s headquarters at the Murtala Mo-
hammed Airport, MMA, Lagos that the scarcity, which has led to massive disruptions to its flight schedule had also caused several delays and cancellations in the local scene, regional, America and United Kingdom. According to him, Arik Air earned about $1 million (about N200 million) daily from all its 120 flights, but noted that it was not easy to quantify the losses suffered so far. The aviation fuel scarcity, he disclosed, commenced Thursday last week. Ndulue specifically noted that the shortage supply of the product af-
fected its Dubai operations on Thursday and had to fly out of Lagos to Kano, Accra or Cotonou airports to purchase fuel. He added that the short supply of the product in Lagos had led to rationing of the product by fuel marketers, stressing that Arik Air required between 500,000 to 800,000 litres of aviation fuel daily. He added, “Things have become difficult for our operations now. We operate Airbus 330 and Airbus 3340 to our long hauls, which take about four trucks of aviation fuel for an aircraft. Our operation is quite different from foreign airlines that only come into the
country once daily. “We realised that a lot of our passengers have been adversely affected by the situation, but, we want to appeal and apologise to them for the disruptions. We hope that within a short time, things would return to normalcy. What we have done today is more than 20 per cent of our operations and this is the lowest ebb.” On its contingency plan, Ndulue declared that only one or two marketers are actually active at the moment, stressing that its contingency plan with the marketers had actually helped it to sustain its operations at this period.
agos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday expressed grave concern over fractionalisation of Labour Unions in Nigeria, saying the workers need to adopt new and concerted approach to labour relations in the country. Fashola who said this at the 2015 Worker Day celebration held at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos noted that collective bargaining anchored on change in method of negotiation and sacrifice by the workers would further strengthen the workers unions to achieve their objectives. He said, “All of us have seen the All Progressives Congress (APC) but what happened in the APC was that the leaders sacrificed; everybody put the nation before the party; ACN , surrendered their name , CPC, ANPP, APGA surrendered. You know
why this is important is that we must stop having factions in labour. The welfare of the workers must be bigger than political ambition of the member. “A divided labour is a fragile labour. The new government coming in from the state and national level need a united and strong labour, not a divided labour force that cannot deliver on its aspiration. So, whatever it takes all of you the leaders must reach out and compromise and you must have one united labour.” The governor said further: “Now that we have all voted for change our attitude and strategies must change. This is the only way we can experience change. One of the things that we need to change and I am happy all of our labour leaders are here, is that we have stood here year after year. What is the national communiqué we have produced from these rallies?
Fidau for Alhaja Duroorike Ayoka holds today
T
he 40-day fidau for the repose of the soul of a muslim leader, Alhaja Duroorike Ayoka , holds today. The reception will follow immediately at Government Technical
School, Idi –Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Ayoka, popularly known as Araokanmi, died at the age of 107. She is survived by children, grand children and great grand children.
10
NATIONAL NEWS
Udeme Akpan
T
he nation’s 2.5 million barrels per day oil production has increased by additional 2,000 bpd as Seven Energy International Limited, the independent Nigerian integrated gas development, production and distribution company, and its subsidiary company, Universal Energy Resources Ltd., have
ABUJA
I
n furtherance of its commitment to fighting mosquitoes and malaria in Nigeria, RB Nigeria Limited, through its popular insect-killer brand, Mortein, has pledged its continued support for efforts that would result in achieving total elimination of malaria from Nigeria. The company stated this through its West Africa Marketing Director, Oguzhan Silivrili, in Abuja during the week at a ministerial press briefing organised by the Federal Ministry of Health to commemorate the 2015 World Malaria Day. Silivrili declared the readiness of the firm which specialises in health, hygiene and home care products to support the new five-year National Malaria Strategic Plan announced by the federal government at the briefing. “Mortein has been at the forefront of the fight against malaria in Nigeria via a number of initiatives targeted at empowering Nigerians so that together we can defeat malaria. We believe malaria can be eliminated in Nigeria which is the reason Mortein owned by RB Nigeria is championing the cause for a malaria-free Nigeria”, Silivrili said. He added: “In the last few years, we have gone around Nigeria with our Mortein Anti-Malaria Campaign to equip Nigerians with the right information they need to know to protect themselves
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Nigeria’s oil production rises by 2,000 bpd started production from Stubb Creek field in Akwa Ibom State. The production became possible following an approval granted by ExxonMobil for the com-
Mortein pledges support for Nigeria’s anti-malaria campaign Marcus Fatunmole
May 2, 2015
from mosquitoes and stay healthy. Our New Mum Programmes (NMP) has reached approximately 5 million new mums in the hospitals since inception; we also have the mobile clinic, Health On Wheels (HOW) going door-to-door across Nigeria and open market activations across Nigeria.” He listed the company’s collaboration efforts on anti-malaria campaign to include strategic partnerships with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the lead agency of the Federal Ministry of Health on the elimination of malaria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and other relevant government bodies. Silivrili maintained that another over 10,000 mums had been reached through activation at the Primary Health Centres across Nigeria, adding that many more were being reached through the church/mosque activations pan-Nigeria.
pany to deliver its crude through ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe Terminal. Seven Energy’s interest in the Stubb Creek field is held through a 62.5 per cent interest in the operator, Universal Energy Resources Ltd. Stubb Creek’s development was conceived and led by the Seven Energy team, resulting in production start up in February 2015 at an initial gross rate of 2,000 bpd. Seven Energy maintained that plans were being made to increase the processing capacity to 8,000 bpd. The company also constructed a 23 km oil
pipeline from the field to the Qua Iboe Terminal to enable evacuation and export. The Chief Executive Officer, Seven Energy, Mr. Phillip Ihenacho, said, “Oil production at Stubb Creek marks the successful first phase of our long term development plan, which is designed to deliver commercial development of the field’s oil reserves ahead of the development of the substantial non-associated gas reserves that are also present.” “In the long term it will bring additional gas production into our existing processing and
distribution infrastructure, and so further deepen the growing Nigerian gas market,” he added. He maintained that production at Stubb Creek was also important because it marks the attainment of first oil at one of the marginal fields allocated to indigenous companies, adding that “this realises the original intention of the marginal field round to enable domestic companies to bring smaller, unutilised fields on-stream, enhancing both domestic ownership and national production, and so revenue.” The Stubb Creek Field was discovered in 1971
and lies near the mouth of the Cross River in OML 14 located in Akwa Ibom State. It was classified as a marginal field in 2002, and subsequently transferred to Universal Energy, a subsidiary of Seven Energy, in 2004. The field has been developed in a joint venture partnership with Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Company (Nigeria) Ltd. Seven Energy International Limited is an independent Nigerian integrated gas development, production and distribution company founded in 2004.
Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide (3rd left); TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama (middle); Minister of Labour and Productivity, Sen. Joel Danlami (4th right); NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba (3rd right); Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi (2nd right) and other dignitaries cutting the anniversary cake at the 2015 May Day celebration in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA
Stakeholders call for co-operation in education sector
F
or Nigeria to regain her lost glory, meaningful strides must be taken with determination, especially in the education industry, to reposition the prevailing obsolete infrastructures. To this end, all the stakeholders in the sector like parents, schools, guardians as well as Parents Teachers As-
sociation, should come together and ensure that the realization of the goal. In addition, governments at all levels and other members of the ruling class, should avoid unnecessary incursions or distractions for a very formidable, secured, improved tomorrow for the children. These submissions
were made respectively by the National President, Igbobi College Old Boys Association, Yaba, Lagos (ICOBA), Engr. Murphy Ipaye; the Chairman, Board of Governors, Dr (Mrs.) Olufemi Ogunsanya; the school Head Teacher, Revd Oludare Adeboyejo and a past chairman of the school’s Parents/Teachers Association, Mr.
Lanre Thorpe, at the 2015 School’s Open House. The occasion was geared to showcase the schools activities and achievements, as well as to organise a rapport among parents, guardians and other prospective members of the society, with the aim of patronising the school. Reiterating the need for parents and guard-
ians not to abandon their responsibilities to the school authorities and the teachers alone, the event, 2015 Open House, also served as eye opener for greater investment in the sector. Commending the Lagos State government on her returning the schools to the missionary, they respectively expressed their profound gratitude.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
REGIONAL NEWS
May 2, 2015
11
SOUTH WEST
Osun NMA writes Aregbesola over unpaid salaries, allowances Olaniyi Ola
O
sun State Branch of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, yesterday, have asked the state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to account for the unpaid six months salaries and other welfare packages of its members. In a letter signed by the chairman and the secretary of NMA Action Committee, Dr R.A Adebayo and Dr Adeola Ajibare, and addressed to the governor, copies of which were made available to newsmen, the body stated that medical doctors and other workers in the state had been in agony over the failure of the state government to pay them their salaries. But All Progressives Congress, APC, Osun state chapter, had earlier in a statement issued by Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, the party’s spokesperson, implored the state Nigerian Labour Congres, NLC, and civil servants to exercise patience over the
•As APC pleads for 60 days of grace
“current economic crisis in the state”, saying “solution is less than 60 days away”. The party said “new APC Federal government has given assurances that it would look into the Federal allocation to the states to reduce months of unpaid salaries, as soon as the new government is sworn in on May 29, 2015.” The APC further explained that “the long and difficult battle to defeat the forces of evil that have squandered the nation’s wealth has just been won comprehensively. “This has now paved the way for a new, progressive and responsible APC government to take over the affairs of the country and end the suffering which PDP corruption, mismanagement and treasury looting have brought on Nigerians including workers in the state of Osun.” But NMA in its letter explained that, two previous
letters dated 2nd April and 24th April, 2015 to the governor had not yielded any positive result, a situation that forced the body to issue an open letter over the matter. The state branch of NMA regretted that despite effort made by the association to broker peace over the matter, the state governor “was unexplainably unavailable for mediation and dialogue with all negotiating teams” both at the state and national levels. The group explained further that a meeting called at the instance of the state
Head of Service with the National President of NMA, Dr. Kayode Obembe and the Chairman of NMA, Oyo state branch, Dr. M.B Olatunji in respect of its ultimatum issued to the state government on the matter led to the discovery of many other issues. The state NMA explained that it discovered that Osun state has received monthly revenue from the Federation Account up till March, 2015 and although there was a general reduction occasioned by the dwindling fortune of the national
economy. The NMA stated that despite non-payment of six months salaries to doctors and other civil servants in Osun, the available revenues accrued to our state from the federation account are being used for other purposes. Accusing government for what it called “misplaced priorities in resource allocation and distribution”, the association said “this situation has adversely affected the welfare and well-being of not only members but the entire citi-
zenry of Osun”. “Our association therefore concluded that the nonpayment of six months salaries to our members as well as other civil servants in our dear state is not a matter of government inability but unwillingness to pay”. While calling for immediate payment of all outstanding salaries and deductions without further delay, the state NMA stated that failure to do this, the state government should be held responsible for any action taken by the NMA afterwards.
Oyo NLC holds parallel May Day celebration Kemi Olaitan Ibadan
L
ess than two weeks after they held parallel congresses which ushered in Comrade Waheed Olojede and Comrade Sulaimon Odumuyiwa as new Oyo State chairmen of the union, workers in the state again yesterday staged parallel workers’ day rally in Ibadan, the state capital. While Olojede faction held its congress inside Lekan Salami Stadium Adamasingba, the Odumuyiwa faction held their May day with a symposium at the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) state headquarters building, Apata. Odumuyiwa’s faction’s symposium was well attended with two former state Chairmen, Comrades Ibrahim Bolomope and Alamu Oloyede in attendance. Odumuyiwa flanked by his Vice Chairman, Comrade Olayemi Oluleye assured the workers of adequate protection of their
rights and admonished them to continue to toe the path of honour in conduct and be good ambassadors of the labour unions wherever they find themselves. He also pledged the faction’s support to the Federal Government under the incoming administration of Major General Muhammed Buhari and the governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi while tasking the leaders to be true friend of the workers. In the symposium lecture with the theme “The Nigerian Labour Movement and the quest for good governance” delivered by a veteran union leader, Comrade Sanya Adejuyigbe, he stressed the need for united workforce to articulate the position and stand point of Nigerian workers before “the new government that appears set to deliver the country from her present socio-economic crisis.” Similarly, the Olojede faction appealed to the state government to ensure quick resolution of the three months workers’ salary arrears in the state.
Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (left) waving at workers during the 2015 May Day celebration at Onikan Stadium in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI
Fashola decries labour union fractionalisation Francis Suberu
L
agos State Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, expressed grave concern over fractionalization of Labour Unions in Nigeria, saying the workers need to adopt new and concerted approach to labour relations in the country.
Fashola who said this at the 2015 Worker Day celebration held at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos noted that collective bargaining anchored on change in method of negotiation and sacrifice by the workers will further strengthen the workers unions to achieve their objectives.
He said ,” “All of us have seen the All Progressives Congress (APC) but what happened in the APC was that the leaders sacrificed , everybody put the nation before the party, ACN , surrendered their name , CPC, ANPP, APGA surrendered. You know why this is important is that we must stop having factions in labour, the welfare of the workers must be bigger than political ambition of the member. “A divided labour is a fragile labour. The new government coming in from the state and national level need a united and strong labour not a divided labour force that cannot deliver on its aspiration. So whatever it takes all of you the leaders must reach out and compromise and you
must have one united labour.” Going forward the governor opined that, “Now that we have all voted for change our attitudes and strategies must change. This is the only way we can experience change. One of the things that we need to change and I am happy all of our labour leaders are here, is that we have stood here year after year , every year what is the national communiqué we have produced from these rallies? “So perhaps instead of standing in the sun every year we can use all these money for face caps and other beautiful things and hire a hall and have a one day workshop on how to solve the problems in Nigeria. Whether it is hous-
ing, power, education. Let us have a debate championed by labour for a whole day lets change the strategy. Fashola argued that when wages rise it does not necessarily translate to succor for the workers because of the corresponding economic reprisals, saying the workers also need to adopt other approaches. He said,” I have seen wages negotiated by up to 40 percent. Indeed when we raised minimum wages for the lowest paid Nigerian worker from N10,000 to N18,000 , if my Arithmetic is correct that is an 80 percent increase. Now when the wages go up by 80 percent does the national income go up by 80 percent? There is bound to be a mismatch somewhere.”
12
REGIONAL NEWS
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
NORTH
Governorship tribunal: Gombe police investigate attempt to manipulate court evidence Williams Attah Gombe
T
he Police in Gombe says it is currently investigating an alleged attempt by unknown persons to manipulate court evidence for the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the state. The Gombe Command’s spokesman, Fwaje Atajiri who told reporters that there was no arrest made yet explained further that investigations were already ongoing after which appropriate actions would be taken. According to him, the Police Command is working round the clock to unveil and apprehend some alleged PDP imposters who allegedly attempted to engage students of the Government Science Secondary School Gombe to thumb print INEC ballot papers with the intention to create false evidence at the tribunal. He explained that the suspects took the ballot papers to the students’ hostel while most of them were in the examination hall writing examination. They were also accompanied by a video
cameraman to record the exercise. The PPRO explained further that the culprits met few students who objected to the job and reported the matter to the Principal of the school, Mr. Ahmed Madugu after which the suspects bolted out through the school fence. He said the Command had spread its dragnet and would leave no stone unturned in its efforts until the suspects who appeared hanging PDP agent’s tags were apprehended and brought to book. Also speaking on the matter, Principal, Government Science Secondary School Gombe, Alhaji Ahmed Madugu narrated that, the incident took place in his school when he was attending a meeting with key officers of the State Ministry of Education, at the State Education and Resource Center. According to him, some of his students claimed to have sighted some hoodlums who must have crossed through the school fence into the student’s Hostel thumb printing ballot sheets. He explained that, some of the
students also confessed to have been invited to assist in thumb printing the ballot sheets by the hoodlums but none of them complied. One of the school teachers Abubakar Baba who witnessed the incident also told reporters that, the hoodlums were also seen wearing PDP tags, while thumb
printing the photocopies of governorship election ballot papers. He said the hoodlums were also seen video shooting their perpetrated activities. Meanwhile the Gombe State PDP Executive Council through its State Secretary, Alhaji Shanu Buba Usman has condemned the action
and described it as desperate move to create false evidence to be used against his party. The party said that it was not surprised about the matter especially that the APC candidate in the last Governorship election, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, was desperate to unseat the incumbent
Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo. It wondered how somebody could go extra miles and in dubious manner try to manufacture unfounded evidence to discredit the credible Governorship election in the State which gave PDP candidate clear and unambiguous victory.
L-R: PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu; Bauchi State Governor-elect, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar and Governor Isa Yuguda, praying during their condolence visit to Governor Yuguda over the death of his mother, Goggo Hauwa Yuguda, in Bauchi, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
Plateau workers lament non payment of salaries James Abraham Jos
W
orkers in Plateau state yesterday, marked the May Day celebration amidst hunger and frustration The celebration in the state which was devoid of any fanfare saw the workers lamenting that what they had received in returns as their own dividend of Democracy is “ trauma and anguish” owing to non payment of their salaries by government. The workers who refused to stage a rally later regrouped at the NLC secretariat in Jos where they were addressed by the factional NLC Chairman, Mr Jibrin Bancir The union leader told the workers not to despair but to resist any attempt to subject them to slavery by the outgoing administration of Governor Jonah Jang
adding that this they must do by bracing up for strike which the union has scheduled for Monday. “It is important to direct all affiliate unions and workers to commence mobilisation for strike action at the expiration of our ultimatum by Monday midnight.” He maintained that while the present
administration had brought untold hardship and suffering against the resilient and dutiful workers of Plateau State, they were ready to extend a hand of friendship to the incoming administration and advised it to critically look into the welfare of Plateau workers and their families saying “There is
no doubt that our future has been destroyed by a few, who saw the workers as enemy and who necessarily should not be left to survive. Bancir added:”our members have remained unshaken even in the face of deprivation by government, they endure lack even in the midst of plenty, they did
not allow their pains to translate into violence as they suppress reactions. “We ask you people to be more committed and show more determination even in the face of deprivation that you have been made to go through so that together we can chart a way forward.” “The Nigeria Labour congress Plateau
State chapter are demanding from the State government outstanding arrears of minimum wage, non release of promotion of members, consistent non payment of workers salaries, none implementation of minimum wage for LG and primary school teachers, and outstanding 2012 leave transport among others”.
Niger NLC gives reason for stoppage of contributory pension Priscilla Dennis Minna.
T
he Niger State Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Yahaya Idris Ndako has stated reasons for demanding that the State Government should stop the implementation of the 7.5% Contributory Pension Scheme and 2.5% Housing Scheme. Ndako made the disclo-
sure at 123 quarters parade ground to mark the 2015 Workers Day Celebration in Minna yesterday. He said the union noticed irregularities in the implementation by the government. He explained that not all the funds deductions made were deposited in the bank, insisting that the workers will not allowed anyone to go away with their hard earned money in any way.
According to him, against this backdrop, the unions’ congress decided to call on the state government to repeal without delay the law establishing the 7.5% Contributory Pension Scheme in the state. “Some of the demands of the union from the government include restoration of leave grant and upward review of rent subsidy from 20% to 40%, desist from appointing non- professionals to head
of agencies and domesticate 65years retirement age for non- teaching staff of Tertiary Institutions in the state. “Others are: the clearance of payment of gratuities to retired workers and implementation of 60% pension increment since 2014 without delay. Congratulating the governor- elect and his deputy on their victory at the polls, the chairman called on both to operate an open door policy and resist any attempt by the
political jobbers who will give them bad advisers to ensure provision of social services and good governance to the people of the state. Niger state governor Dr Muazu Aliyu Babangida who was represented by the state Head of Service, Alhaji Kadi Kuta assured that the state government would looked in to their plight and complaints immediately after the May Day within the shortest period of the this administration.
Politics
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
13
APC and intrigues over National Assembly posts Lekan Adejuwon
T
he wind of change occasioned by the victory of the All Progressives Congress at the presidential election on March 28 may have taken its full toll on the incoming 8th National Assembly scheduled to be inaugurated next month. For the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nigeria’s new power house, high wire politics, intrigues and power play of who gets what and where has been the order of the day in the past few weeks. The new ruling party which, in the past 16 years, had been confined to playing a second fiddle, particularly in the Nigerian politics of winner takes it all in the distribution of political offices appears to have been confronted with the country’s dangerous politics of zoning and federal character. Incidentally, the outcome of the 2015 general election seems to have put the APC at a vantage position and comfortable edge over the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, as the party, by reason of reality on the ground, controls the majority of both Houses of the nation’s legislative chambers. Indeed, the race for the Senate presidency’s seat in the 8th Assembly under the presidency of General Muhammadu Buhari has started in earnest. The initial permutation by the APC is the zoning of the Senate Presidency to the North Central which has limited the choices to Senators Bukola Saraki (Kwara) and George Akume (Benue). But some have faulted the arrangement saying since the president hails from the North, it is only logical that the Senate President should move down South. However, the bone of contention in this argument is that the South-East zone could not produce a senator from the APC during the last election, leaving the race open to South-South and North Central. This may have prompted the drafting of a senator from Edo State into the fray during the week It was gathered that the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has began an intense lobbying for Senator Francis Alimikhenan, APC Edo North, for the post. A youth organisation under the aegis of South-South APC Youths has emphasised that there are vibrant APC senators from Edo North in the South-South, noting that the zone has never been considered for the plum position, especially, at a time when the region just lost the presidential seat. Leader of the group, Ejike Ojugbana, said the call had become necessary in order to balance political permutations according to the zoning arrangement, arguing that South-South would not concede the Senate Presidency to the North Central which has occupied the seat in the last eight years. “The Senate President cannot go back to the North Central when the home state of the national leaders of the party is qualified for the job. “The absence of top ranking senators from the SouthSouth and South East should not be the basis for taking the slot back to the North-Central even if David Mark decamps to APC,” Ojugbana said. The pertinent question now is who will succeed the outgoing President of Senate, David Mark? There are strong indications however that the APC is at crossroads on the zoning formula to be used in the appointment of National Assembly leadership even as the initial permutations seemed to have been overtaken by emerging
Oyegun
reality. A fallout of this is the joining in the fray of the NorthEast zone in the battle for Senate Presidency as senators from the zone have continued to justify the claim for their agitation. A serving senator representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Ali Ndume, gave the hint in a media interview last week that NorthEast had “contributed so much as a zone”. According to him, “We even prefer to be given the best but we know that the best cannot be given to all. For instance, we prefer to be given even the Presidency but that has been given to another zone and the vice president also. “The party is considering all these and we are pushing our case. It is left for the party to decide what is in the best interest of the country which is what the party stands for. “You see, the North-East produced the second largest votes for APC during the last election and if you are looking for people that have been consistent for being in opposition all this while, Borno and Yobe in particular have been consistent in opposition. Now that the power has shifted from the former majority party, PDP, to the opposition and we happened to be there, that is one reason. Secondly, we are the most devastated in terms of the level of insurgency and marginalisation during this political dispensation,” Ndume said. The development has thus indicated that the battle for the Senate Presidency is now being limited to the NorthEast and the North-Central. Akume, who is currently the Senate Minority Leader, represents Benue-North senatorial district in the Senate. Senator Bukola Saraki from Kwara State also represents the North Central. Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe,
North-East is also being tipped to vie for the post. But as the clamour for the leadership of the National Assembly gathers momentum, the president-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has issued what many have described as a “fatwa” to would- be Senate President of the APC to ensure that only credible candidates are put up for leadership positions in the National Assembly. This is against the backdrop of his continued declaration of his resolve to fight corruption in the country. Buhari, who was said to have given this directive at a caucus meeting a fortnight ago warned party leaders to carefully choose candidates for leadership positions, thereby weeding out people with corruption history or cases from the race. It was learnt, during the week, that the bitter battle between Akume and Saraki over who should succeed David Mark after May 29 may have thrown up Senator Ahmad Lawan. The Yobe-born senator is Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts. The APC caucus is reportedly disposed to Lawan’s candidacy on the ground that, unlike some of the aspirants for the office, he is the least controversial and has no corruption case hanging on his neck. Should APC consider the ranking rule, Lawan who has a doctorate degree, has a huge edge over Saraki and Akume having been in the National Assembly since 1999. Lawan also served two terms in the House of Representatives and he will start his third term as a senator in June 2015. Those who canvassed for Lawan’ candidacy are saying that the current Senate President is from Benue State and has been in charge for eight years, noting that it would be grossly unfair to handover the Senate Presidency to another person from Benue. Meanwhile, APC has been making moves to pacify both Saraki and Akume to drop their ambition and support Lawan. Last Thursday, it was reported that Senator Akume and APC’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, met on Wednesday at the Lagos home of Tinubu. The former governor of Lagos State reportedly told Akume to shelve his ambition and support Senator Lawan. He was said to have explained to Akume that Lawan and Senator Mark are very close and already, some members of the PDP support him. Besides, Lawan has a good track record in the Senate and has been backed by almost all the senators in the North-East who feel the zone has been seriously marginalised. Tinubu posited that if the APC members in the Senate do not support Lawan and he wins the Senate Presidency with bloc votes from the PDP and his friends in the NorthEast, he will be loyal to the PDP and may sideline the party just as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, attributed his victory to the APC back in 2011 even though he was a member of the PDP. Tinubu, therefore, urged Akume to settle for the Deputy Senate presidency or Senate Majority Leader. While the negotiations are still ongoing, many keen observers of the polity have been circumspect of the political manoeuvring being played out even as concerns are being raised about what becomes the fate of South-South and South-East in the current dispensation. The situation is not helped by the alleged zoning of the position of Speakership to the South-West being contested by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. How the incoming APC government will be able to wriggle itself out of the quagmire appears to be the one million naira question.
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POLITICS
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Buhari’s old age is of advantage to governance –Tsav rushing to APC in Benue State now are the same people who destroyed PDP. So, the government of APC should be very careful; some of them are chameleons. The same people who destroyed Benue State through corruption are the same people who are now running to join the APC. I am not impressed with the happenings.
Former Lagos State’s Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, is famous for his forthright views on national issues. He has also been consistent in his crusade for justice in the society. In this interview with Saturday Mirror’s Henry Iyorkase in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, Tsav speaks on the steps the incoming government can take to bring about a new and better Nigeria. Excerpts:
W
hat is your opinion about the just concluded general elections in the country? First of all, I want to congratulate General Muhamadu Buhari for a dogged fight and winning the election. I also want to congratulate Nigerians for the peaceful conduct during the elections. I commend INEC which was the umpires in the elections. As a matter of fact, I commend President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat. All these things are done in the interest of the nation; in the interest of the oneness of this nation and for security of our people. The election has come and gone and I, particularly, commend Buhari because he has been very consistent. He contested three times in the past and lost all, but that did not deter him. People have called him names; people have abused him, abused his late wife, his late daughter and said every horrible things against him. But as soon as he was declared the winner, he said he forgave everybody. That is the spirit of leadership; he has said he is going to embrace everybody regardless of who voted for him or not and people who did not even vote at all. This is what I have been consistently advising President Goodluck Jonathan on. When I kept on reminding him that he should regard himself as the president of this country and not president of the PDP. See what has happened now. The most annoying thing now is that a lot of people have been falling for APC and we only hope that the people who are now joining APC will not go and destroy it the way they have destroyed the PDP. These people are like bees; you can only see them where there is honey. Where there is no honey, no way! But let’s emulate Buhari. Buhari has been very consistent. He has remained in his party until they all agree to form APC. Otherwise, he has always been there. But these people now, everybody is falling on top of the other because they want to declare for APC, because it has now won. It is a shame! Nigerians have no ideology. What does the victory of Buhari signify? For me, I think if one believes in something, one should be consistent. If you believe in something, don’t deviate. Just stick to it and one day God will see you through. Remember, I was in service when I started admiring Buhari. When he was toppled, that was when I started appreciating him the more. And because I was in service, I could not say anything about him because of my job and my profession. But as soon as I left the service, I kept on talking about Buhari because he is the ideal leader of this country. Especially, now that the country has been destroyed by corruption, destroyed by
insecurity, destroyed by impunity and also destroyed by greed and selfishness, the only person who can repair the damage done this country is a person like Buhari. Of course, four years may not be enough for him but we believe that his person can lay a very solid foundation. And I want to urge the young persons now, who are growing up; young people who want to go into politics, to try and emulate this elder so that their country can bubble back. What again annoys me is that people, Nigerians especially, put more premium on money and position. Money and position cannot stay with you forever. The time one dies, the money he has made, and the position he has held will just vanish. In Islam, we are taught that the only money which belongs to you is that with which you buy food and eat, the clothes you wear and the one you give out. The money you keep in the bank or in your house is not your money. By the time you die somebody who is unknown to you, maybe, even your enemy, may come in and take this money and leave. Maybe, your children may not even benefit from it. This is all my worry with Nigerians: they put too much premium on money and position. I read a speech by Governor Rochas Okorocha where he was trying to blame the Ibo people over their decision of 28th March, 2015. I don’t want to give details because I don’t want somebody to pick on me that I am being partisan. But you see, if only people can think of the nation first. Don’t think about what you are going to get out of the nation but what you can give the nation. No matter what the Ibo are and I think the warning is very, very appropriate. We only hope that they will accept and take the warning in good faith. These people are everywhere in the North. Anywhere you go in the North and you don’t find an Ibo man, a Yoruba man or Hausa man in this country, then the place is not friendly. They are doing their businesses everywhere but the Ibo are showing hatred to the people from whom they are living. That is not good. Are you saying their vote in the presidential election was an attempt to subvert the wishes of Nigerians? They have cheated themselves because I understand the incoming administration had zoned the offices of Senate President and Speaker House of Representatives to that area. But since they have no representative there, how can they get these jobs? So, they have cheated themselves; they have not cheated any other person. One of the fears being expressed about Buhari is that he is old and some people may cash in on that to stampede him to dance to their whims and caprices? (Cuts in). Old what? What of Mugabe?
Tsav
Is Mugabe not old? We have many so called old people as leaders. As far as I am concerned, old men have more wisdom, old men have more ideas. Young men are ambitious. A lot of young men want to make money, they want to marry beautiful wives, the want to build beautiful houses. An old man does not give priority to those things. His own is to try and please the Almighty God, to satisfy the people and rest; that is what an old man sets himself to achieve. The old man wants to use his experiences to improve the life of the people. I think Buhari has learnt a lot. He learnt a lot when he was in the Army, he learn a lot when he was military Head of State, when he was detained, and he learnt a lot when he came into politics. So, he is an encyclopedia of wisdom. The only thing again is that the success also depends on the type of people who work with him. He may be honest and sincere but the people around him may be chameleons. They may have only come to make money for themselves in the same way other people are making money to go and build houses, keep women here and there, buy cars, do this and that. We are praying that God in his wisdom should give him additional wisdom to select the right people to work with him; people who have proven integrity in this country, not people who will come and tell him lies. Buhari has never won Benue State safe for the last general elections. What do you think is responsible for this? The truth is that Benue State people are frustrated. We don’t have industries here in the state, we don’t have other commercial activities; the state is a civil service state where majority of salary earners are civil servants. You would remember that for several months, these civil servants have not been paid. For many months, retired teachers have not been paid their gratuity and pension and pensioners too, have not been paid. So, the people are angry. These categories of people I have mentioned are in the grassroots. A lot of them have a lot of dependants; they have school children whose school fess they have not paid; they have old parents whose medical bills they cannot pay. So, I think the civil servants, retirees and all of them preached against the Benue State government. That was why everybody went head long with the opposition. And that is why this time around, APC has been able to get this high votes. But again, the same people who are
What would you say should be done to looters of public fund? Buhari will be wasting his time if he wants to probe all these people. He will end up ignoring the development the challenges ahead of him. What I think is that, if in Buhari’s time, any of these things come out accidentally, he should probe but he should not waste his time trying to probe what has passed behind him. But if there are evidences to show that people had done horrible things, tried and recovered all these sums of money that they had been stolen, then he should go ahead. The cases of people who have stolen huge sums of money and people who have pending cases with various courts and with EFCC should be addressed. You will remember that Nuhu Ribadu once said all the governors then, had cases against to answer. If there are such cases and if such cases are in court or under investigation and have not been terminated, they should all be charged to court. That is what Buhari said and I admire him for that. And that is why my support for him is not reducing because the man is honest. I like honesty; people who have the fear of God and people who speak the truth, I like them. Usually, when a government is on the verge of exit, there is always this temptation to loot. What would you say about this? The case of Buhari is like that of a lion that has entered into the bush and the wild animals are afraid and are running away. We are told that within a few days of this election, the money that was declared missing was traced to Zenith Bank; the N20 billion that the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, now Emir of Kano, talked about was traced to that bank and the Managing Director of that bank is now the CBN governor. So, you can see the link. N20 billion that was declared missing was traced to this bank. So, people have started being afraid of Buhari. Stolen monies are now gradually walking back into the coffers of the government. So, we appreciate Buhari; we think God has done good for us by making it possible for Buhari to be elected as the next president. We pray and hope that he will not let us down by bringing in all manners of people into his cabinet. He should bring people of proven integrity, who will work for this country and not people who come to steal. We understand too, that our Naira has started appreciating. These are all good signs ahead of us. During the regime of Jonathan, people were only spending in Dollars. We neglected our own Naira. Why must we use only Dollars? Are we ashamed to use our own money? Has our own money no value? What, indeed, should be the focus of the Buhari administration? Buhari has already told us that he wants to fight insecurity, he wants to create jobs, he wants to improve the economy, he wants to fight corruption and we want him to live by his words. We want him to do these things because corruption is the main destructive agent of this country. Once we are able to deal with corruption and we live honest lives, I think everything will take a cue from there.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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May 2, 2015
Talking
Politics
‘We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by Jonathanians’
—Alhaji Lai Mohammed National Publicity Secretary of APC
“W ‘APC should avoid creating parallel government’
—Abubakar Sulaiman Minister of National Planning warns
“W
e did receive from the transition committee of the in-coming government, some terms of reference which we looked at critically and the Federal Executive Council did agree that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan remains the current President of this country. The in-coming government should avoid creating a parallel government while the government is still on. “We take exceptions to some utterances to some of the terms of reference that look as if the current government is being stampeded or intimidated. “Council frowned at most of the statements. Council members are advised to work in line with the terms of reference of the current government.” According to the minister, after critically examining the terms of reference of the in-coming government, the government resolved that all agencies of government
must continue their duties till the end of the regime, adding that government cannot be intimidated. “This government remains resolute and committed to the various programmes and projects it’s pursuing and the government will continue to do that until the morning of May 29.
‘Buhari’s government will bring gradual changes’ — Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President assures the nation
“W
e just discussed private matters. Well, there is nothing unusual in what is going on. That is PDP for you: corruption inefficiency and what have you. Real changes will come. The president elect has assured that but it will not just come over night. It has to be gradual. Definitely there will be positive change in that matter but it will be gradual”. On the zoning, that is too early. This is something the party and the leadership are handling. I believe it would be resolved before the House reconvenes”.
‘I want to be first female Senate President —Garba’ Adamawa North Senatorial District Senator— elect, Binta Garba
“A
part from the fact that I have held several positions as a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, I am the first female chairperson of any public party in Nigeria, having been elected as the Adamawa State Chapter Chairperson of the APC in April last year. “I am still holding that position till today and the unity I brought to the party brought about the successes we
recorded in the recent general elections. “As a delegate member from Adamawa State to the National Conference, I served on the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government. I know what Nigerians need when it comes to lawmaking and leadership. It is time for all to support the female folks to be at the forefront of decision-making in Nigeria.”
e are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen. Buhari won the 28 March Presidential election fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional and other statutory requirements. We have no apology for our victory, and the concession of defeat – while it may have increased the political stock of Jonathan – has by no means diminished the historic and emphatic victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress.” ”With the new date, the Buhari Transition Committee will have little or no time to take a thorough look at the handover notes or seek clarification on knotty issues, effectively handing it (Buhari Transition Committee) a fait accompli as far as the handover notes are concerned. This does not augur well for a smooth transition and gives the impression that the outgoing administration is trying to hide something.
”By its dillydallying on the date for the readiness of the handover notes from the MDAs, the administration’s posturing, that it is ready to hand over has been exposed as nothing but a smokescreen.”
‘All defected PDP members ‘ll return with empty stomachs’ — President Goodluck Jonathan
“A
ll members of the Peoples Democratic Party who defected to the All Progressives Congress because we lost the March 28 presidential election would return with empty stomachs. “The leaders of the APC would first settle their existing members before thinking of settling defectors. “Food may have finished before it gets to the turn of the defectors to eat’.
‘I ll work with the legislature as development partners’
—President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari on the challenges before his government in an address to National Assembly members
“E
ndemic corruption which has crippled human and infrastructure development for decades, Unacceptably poor provision of power supply which has had a crippling effect on development of small businesses and indeed the wider economy. “De-industrialisation for the past three decades leading to closure of many industries and migration of many to other African countries. “Unacceptably high level of unemployment especially youth unemployment reaching over 40 per cent, “High cost of governance that has been crowding out the nation’s capital and hu-
man development, erosion of public social services such as infrastructure, health and education as well as lack of development in the agricultural and solid mineral sectors as areas that should be aggressively addressed. “The legislature is a critical component and necessary ingredient of democracy and good governance. The legislature by nature is inherently democratic in the sense that all members are equal and are elected representatives of the Nigerian people. “As President-elect, I recognize this fact and believe that legislators carry this heavy burden of representation with all the seriousness it deserves. “For a president to be successful in addressing community development and general welfare of the various people of the country, he or she would benefit from working closely and in harmony with the legislative arm of government. “I therefore commit myself to working with the legislature as development partners motivated by the desire to deliver good governance”.
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May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Living
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
17
Joint Account in marriage: Good idea or deal breaker?
While some people think a common purse between couples is a fantastic idea, others say it’s a definite ‘no no.’ Experts add that the operation of joint account is alien to African culture, reports JULIET UMEH
B
imbo and Gbenga Olaleye walked down the aisle in September 2010. Shortly after that, Bimbo started observing some strange behaviour in Olaleye, her husband. The odd behaviour had to do with her husband’s reckless spending. Further investigation by Bimbo proved that her husband had a mistress whom he spends money on. There was naturally commotion in the new home! Thereafter, Bimbo took a step she felt could nip the problem in the bud. She says, “I requested that we open a joint bank account to enable me monitor his unnecessary spending. We are running a bar business together and for some time, despite great sales, there’s nothing to show for it. Fortunately, ever since we
started operating the account, it has been so helpful,” she submitted. Joint accounts usually provide each account holder the privilege of a debit card, a cheque book and the ability to make deposits and withdrawals depending on the type of account. In some cases, each account holder also has online access to account information and other tools, like text messages, thus further simplifying the process of keeping track of any transactions. While, Bimbo’s example is a case where a joint account was a solution to infidelity, another wife saw a joint account as a threat to her marriage. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, presiding pastor of Fountain of Life Church, shared the experience he had while counseling the
couple. “It was a heated argument in my office between this young married couple. The young lady had come to see me with her husband for what she said was a threat to their marriage. I was a little worried because they were very committed church members and had been married for just two years. As it turned out, it was all about money. Specifically, it was about how the man was handling the money in their joint account.
deaf ears. No longer able to cope with the situation, she opened a separate account and that was the beginning of her troubles,” Pastor Odukoya revealed. For Busayo Amole, a married teacher in Lagos state, joint account between couples should be the norm in marriage. “A couple who are truly ‘one’ will be one in all areas of their marriage. Most importantly, they will be of one mind regarding spiritual matters too. Why won’t
For the man, his people may think his wife is controlling him or that he has been bewitched by his wife, especially when he tells his people to wait until his wife comes before he can give them financial assistance. “They had decided that there was no point having separate accounts after their wedding. So they opened a joint account and both closed down the separate accounts they had operated prior to their wedding. Unfortunately, the man was not so prudent and had practically shut her out of their finances. All entreaties to let her have a separate account had fallen on
husband and wife share everything?” Amole asked. “Doesn’t the Bible say the two shall become one flesh, be naked, and unashamed? That simply means being open and not hide anything from one another. This is the true essence of marriage. I CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
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LIVING
May 2, 2015
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‘All assets must be jointly owned in marriage’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
admire few couples who show the world that true marriage is all about sharing things in common. I am talking about the couples who would give their spouses all the passwords to their phones and social media accounts and have a joint account as well. It is working for me, no reason to regret,” she argued. As for Clara Eyo, mother of four and also a civil servant, if there has to be joint account, there must also be separate accounts too. “A joint bank account is okay if the couple would respect it and not do anything sneaky. But before dabbling into it, the couple has to conspicuously define what the account is for, such as household maintenance. But each person would now have his or own personal bank account and what they do with it will be their choice, so that there won’t be argument about giving or spending too much money.” However, as for many others who spoke to Saturday Mirror, it is no to joint account. Joyce Uwakwe is full of regret for committing herself to having a joint account with her husband. She shares: “While I was in paid employment, I did joint account under current and I really enjoyed it. Then, we were three signatories to that account. The other two parties were not always around, so what they do is to sign ahead. “But the present joint account I’m into with my husband is a complete opposite of the first one. I’m even regretting it because there is nothing I’m gaining from it. My husband withdraws money anyhow, in fact, he frequents there without the bank alerting me. All attempts to make the bank to always alert me have failed. Since it is a joint account, the other party should always know what is going on there. Unfortunately, it’s not so in Nigeria,” Uwakwe lamented. Says Favour Chinenye, a single lady: “I can only operate it if the money is coming from my husband’s pocket. And if I’m working, I will have another account. That is the only way I can agree to joint account. So if we are both working, we can use the joint account to sort our dues. Again, if that has to be my only account, it won’t be possible because I am a woman. I’ve got personal needs to meet and my family to always cater for.” For Maureen Eyo, also a single lady, joint account is no-go area. “Do people really run it? I really don’t even know if there’s such in today’s marriages. It’s only possible where there is absolute trust. That is a case where both parties do not have any other secret personal account,” she said. To have a joint bank account or not is the question majority of married couples will have to answer at some point. Unfortunately, the answer is not as straightforward as the question; it is never an outright yes or no. Often, the answer lies somewhere in-between. Many get into marriage with the intention of becoming one with their spouse in every area, including their finances. Having a joint account therefore becomes a natural step. They soon discover, however, that as much as it is desirable to pull the family funds into one account, a lot of details
need to be worked out so that one party does not feel cheated or restricted. A Daily Mail research in United Kingdom showed that only one-third of couples have a joint account, with others keeping separate finances to avoid arguments or their partner spending their money recklessly. 34 percent of people who are either married (or living together) run their finances solely through a joint account, while 38 percent have both individual and shared accounts. But 28 percent of people prefer to keep totally separate financial arrangements, with 81percent of women who do not have a joint account anxious to maintain their independence. Just under a quarter of men and 13 percent of women keep their own accounts to avoid arguments, while 18 per cent of men said they earned more and wanted to keep their money separate, and 21per cent of men worried that their partner would dip into a joint account without them knowing. A lady, who works with First Bank but does not want her name mentioned, clarifies on how best to operate joint account: “When an account such as joint account is to be opened, a lot of details need to be worked out so that one party does not feel cheated or restricted. The data and the details of the couples have to appear. From the outset, there has to be an agreement on the terms and conditions of the operation. For instance, if only one person can sign before any transaction or the two parties. Whichever procedure adopted in the first place has to be followed religiously. Any of the procedures is subject to change by both parties. One person cannot unilaterally alter the existing procedure.” On whether couples are adopting such account, she said: “People are adopting it in many cases. It is not only couples that adopt joint account, even siblings and business partners also operate joint account.” From research, the immaturity of one party, and inability to handle the financ-
es in a joint account in an acceptable manner to both parties can lead to resentment and friction in the home. But, a major advantage of a joint bank account, according to Uwakwe, is that, “In the long run, especially in the event of one spouse passing away, joint accounts provide a legal covering for the other party to easily access the family funds. This is different from sole account ownership, where a surviving spouse will have to go through a lengthy and often frustrating process to access the account. “In addition, there are less chances of encountering financial ‘surprises’ when all the family finances go into and come out of one account. It is easier for couples with joint accounts to keep track of their finances and balance the family account at the end of the month,” Uwakwe said. Sony George, a married man with two children, has no regrets having joint account with his wife. He also shared the benefits he has enjoyed so far. “Married couples find joint accounts easier to manage since their money can easily be accessed in one account. With a joint bank account, it is also easier to pay bills and expenses. There is transparency and accountability with regard to managing your finances since both spouses see the financial activities of each other. It also encourages communication and unity between the couple.” Whatever has advantages certainly also has disadvantages. For George, the disadvantages are also numerous.
“Having a joint bank account instead of separate bank accounts might make an individual feel confined in a marriage because he or she does not have his or her own money. Joint bank accounts put an emphasis on ‘our money,’ so it is hard to surprise your partner with gifts because he or she will easily see it in joint financial transactions. There is no privacy in joint bank accounts and you don’t have any control on the spending of your partner. “In addition, if only one of the partners handles all the financial paperwork and account checking, he or she may harbour resentment towards his or her partner for all the extra work,” George said. As the argument for and against joint bank accounts rages, Gandonu Babatunde, psychology lecturer at Lagos State University, said: “We cannot totally say it is good or bad. It depends on an individual. But this is Africa; the disadvantage may be more than the advantages. For instance in a situation where the man or the woman is the first born in the family whereby others look up to them for assistance, the operation of such account may be difficult. Based on our cultural setting, you will say, to practice common purse may be a little bit difficult because sometimes, the expenditure gears toward one side than the other, the other person may look at it as cheating.” Babatunde added that joint account could also lead to attacks from extended families. He explained: “For the man, his people may think that it is his wife that is controlling him or he has been bewitched by the wife. Especially when he tells his people to wait until his wife comes before he can give them financial assistance. The woman will definitely be receiving attacks here and there. If you look critically at African culture, the disadvantages are more than advantages.” Babatunde, however, noted that joint bank account is working for some people and also identified the major benefits in it. “The major advantages I see there is faithfulness and trust in one another. There is a trust that either I am alive or not alive I know he will spend the money wisely, the way I will spend it if I were there. It will help the couple to guard against reckless spending because before you can spend anything the other person must know about it.” In reaction to what happens in the case of divorce, especially on projects done with such account, Babatunde says: “In such instance, it is the court that will decide, since the marriage was legally contracted. So if they want to part ways, they can sit down and divide what they have because if that is not done, the woman will be the loser.”
Joint bank account should be the norm in marriage. A couple that is truly ‘one’ will be one in all areas of their marriage. Most importantly, they will be of one mind regarding financial and spiritual matters. Why won’t husband and wife share everything?
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
INTERNATIONAL LIVING
Heartbreak in Kathmandu • • •
19
Pema Lama, 15, became ‘pancaked’ between two floors when quake hit. He was rescued after five days Another survivor rescued after 82 hours has had one of his legs amputated Five-month-old Sonit Awal was asleep upstairs in the family home when the quake struck, but was saved from death by a cupboard that fell over him. He was pulled out after 22 hours
Rescue efforts after the quake
A
teenage boy was found alive in a collapsed building five days after the Nepal earthquake
struck. Crowds cheered as Pema Lama, 15, was pulled, dazed and dusty, from the rubble of a guesthouse in Kathmandu after he became ‘pancaked’ between two floors when the quake hit on Saturday. He was carried out on a stretcher by medics who had placed an IV drip into his arm and a blue brace around his neck. He appeared stunned and his eyes blinked in the sunlight. His astonishing tale of survival came as a four-month-old baby was reunited with his mother after being rescued from the rubble of their house. An American disaster response team had been working for several
hours to rescue the 15-year-old boy from the seven-storey Hilton Guesthouse. Speaking shortly before he was rescued, Andrew Olvera, who was heading the team from the U.S. Agency for International Development, said: “He’s not too far down. But the floors have collapsed and he’d pancaked between them.” Twisted ropes of steel rebar were all that were holding huge concrete slabs from falling onto the scene. Two concrete floors were hanging down in front like curtains. “The whole operation is dangerous,” Olvera said. “But its risk versus gain. To save a human life, we’ll risk almost anything.” Meanwhile, the mother of a baby rescued after being trapped in rubble
has told of her ‘overwhelming’ joy at being reunited with her child. Five-month-old Sonit Awal was pulled from the ruins of his family home after his heart-broken mother was forced to listen to his cries for 22 anguished hours. Mother, Rasmila Awal, thanked ‘God and the rescuers’ for saving the infant from death. Mrs. Awal, 35, said: “I am so happy to have my baby back. I’m so happy that he is alive.” Sonish was asleep in his cot upstairs when the walls of his home came crashing down around him. His parents and older sister, aged 10, were outside when the tremor struck and desperately tried to reach him. Father, Shyam Awal, worked tirelessly with friends and neighbours to
try to free the boy, digging with their bare hands through the rubble. But without the proper equipment it was impossible. The frantic mother could not sleep or eat throughout the 22-hour separation from her young son. She said: “I could think of nothing else but trying to save my baby. I was very sad. I did not eat. I did not sleep. I could hear him crying from the ruins of our home.” However, following appeals for help, overstretched Nepalese troops arrived to finally embark on a coordinated rescue mission. Mr. Awal, 34, a truck driver said, “The baby was saved by a cupboard. He had been lying in his bit by the side CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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‘I was certain I was going to die’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 of the bed. “When the walls fell down they knocked a cupboard over and it became wedged by the side of the bed. My son was safe with the cupboard protecting him.” Now the family is homeless and living in the street under a tarpaulin opposite their house. The once smart four-storey structure lies in ruins across the road. Another survivor who was trapped under rubble next to dead bodies for 82 hours has had one of his legs amputated. Rishi Khanal, 27, had just finished lunch at a hotel in Kathmandu when the 7.8-magnitude quake caused the building to crumble around him. He became trapped with his foot crushed under rubble and stayed alive by drinking his own urine. Doctors said they were forced to amputate a leg because of damage from prolonged internal bleeding. Mr. Khanal said he was surrounded by dead bodies. But he kept banging on the rubble all around him and eventually this brought a French rescue team that extracted him after an operation lasting many hours. “I was certain I was going to die,” he said. Their survival stories are a rare bit of good news in a city that has known little but despair since the earthquake hit, leaving more than 5,500 people dead across the Himalayan nation. Rescuers have toiled in pouring rain among the debris, but officials said the chance of finding any more survivors was bleak as the death toll neared 5,500. While rescue teams were out in the capital Kathmandu despite the rain, helicopters could not fly to the worsthit areas in the countryside of the impoverished Himalayan nation. “There may not be any more survivors,” said Rameshwor Dandal, chief of the disaster management centre at Nepal’s home ministry. “The rain is adding to the problems. Nature seems to be against us.” Anger over the slow pace of the rescue has flared, with protests outside parliament. Villagers blocked trucks carrying supplies, demanding the government do more to hasten the distribution of aid that has flooded into the country but has been slow to reach those in need. An official from Nepal’s home ministry said the number of confirmed deaths from Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake had risen to 5,489 by Thursday morning. Almost 11,000 were injured, and more than 80 were also killed in neighbouring India and Tibet. Many people have been sleeping in the open after the quake - the United Nations has said 600,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. It has said eight million people have been affected, with at least two mil-
Miracle survival: Pema Lama, 15, is rescued five days after becoming trapped in the rubble
Five-month-old rescued after 22 hours
lion in need of tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months. Dandal said foreign rescue teams had told him that their work is almost done because there is little chance of finding any survivors. Nepal is appealing to foreign governments for more helicopters. There are currently about 20 Nepali army, private and Indian army helicopters involved in rescue operations,
I I
according to Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, a home ministry official. China is expected to send helicopters today, he said. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has told Reuters the death toll could reach 10,000, with information on casualties and damage from far-flung villages and towns yet to come in. That would surpass the 8,500 who died in a 1934 earthquake, the last
could think of nothing else but trying to save my baby .
was very sad .
sleep .
I
I
did not eat .
I
did not
could hear him crying from the ruins of our home
disaster on this scale to hit the nation of 28 million people sandwiched between India and China. In Kathmandu and other cities, hospitals quickly overflowed with injured soon after the quake, with many being treated out in the open or not at all. Guna Raj, who works for a Kathmandu-based NGO specialising in providing sanitation, said there have been outbreaks of diarrhoea in relief camps because of a shortage of toilets and clean water. “In the next few days or weeks, I am sure there will be an outbreak of epidemics,” said Raj, who is involved in the relief effort. Tensions between foreigners and Nepalis desperate for relief surfaced, rescuers said, as fresh avalanches were reported in several areas. Members of Israeli search-and-rescue group Magnus said hundreds of tourists, including about 100 Israelis, were airlifted out of Langtang in Rasuwa district, a popular trekking area north of Kathmandu hit by an avalanche on Tuesday. But at least two foreigners, whose nationalities were as yet unknown, were found dead, the home ministry said. Fights had broken out there because of food shortages, Magnus team member Amit Rubin said. One of the trekkers said there had also been scuffles over places on the rescue helicopters. The quake also triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed at least 18 climbers and guides, including four foreigners, the worst disaster on the world’s highest peak.
Entervaganza
The Saturday Mirror Magazine
Fashion Real feminity Pg.28
Relationships Can you go to jail in place of your partner? P.33
Sex talk
100+ arousing facts about sex Pg.32
e k i e n a l N n the fab
o l l i t ... s
ENTERVAGANZA
Cel ebri ty
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May 2 , 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Interviewing Mrs Yar’Adua is one of my great desires for my TV show —Nike Oshinowo
Nike Oshinowo is not someone who needs much of an introduction. A former beauty queen, she’s been in the limelight for decades and she tells OSEYIZA OOGBODO about her latest venture, her TV show, Late Night With Nike Oshinowo. Congrats on the success of season one of your highly successful TV show, Late Night With Nike Oshinowo, and the takeoff of season two. How has the journey been so far? Would you say difficult or easy? You know, the funny thing is, every time I am congratulated on the success of season one, I still do a double take, because yes, we’re now in season two, I think we’ve done about five episodes of season two, and the journey so far has been quite remarkable. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be. If I have to use the word, hard, I think it’ll have to be on my schedule, because obviously, I think everyone in Nigeria know that I run a lot of organizations, but when Late Night With Nike Oshinowo starts, when you’re filming, you can’t do anything else, because everything is scheduled and you just have to be focused for that season, which means everything else suffers, everything else has to wait. Apart from that, I’m still amazed at how remarkably smooth the journey has been. So what inspired you to come up with Late Night? You know, I don’t think people believe me when I say this, but television. Television inspired me. I have this great love of anything within that box that is called a television. I love TV, I love watching TV, and I just found out that it was almost depressing the lack of good content on TV, and once we’re done with the soap operas and reality shows, there’s nothing else. I wanted a programme where I could get my fix of current affairs, comedy, music, fashion, politics, a little bit of fun, and there was nothing like that on Nigerian TV. Everything was just so serious, so lackluster, so boring, and I was like life isn’t this hard, life isn’t meant to be boring, so I looked for a way to put together a serious-minded show, but with me hosting it, because I’m a very tongue-in-cheek funny person, and I know that with me hosting it, even when we’re discussing serious topics, it would still be fun. I don’t want to mention names now, but is there any particular person, in terms of presenters, that inspired you? There are a lot of presenters out there in the world. You know, the world is a global village, so I don’t limit myself to watching just Nigerian TV. So what I intended to do is
mash up of everything. Incidentally, the show is called Late Night With Nike Oshinowo. It could be called just The Late Night Show. I put Nike Oshinowo so that people can know that I will lend my personality to it. And since I’m lending my personality to that show, it means it really can’t be about any model, it means it can’t be that I’m trying to copy Oprah or be like Ellen Degeneres or Jimmy Fallon. It really means that it’s late night with Nike Oshinowo and I’m sitting on my couch and we’re having a discussion about anything, your work, your attitude, your influences when growing up, how you got to where you are, what you like about the country you’re living in, and that leads us to politics, and we could talk about marriage, that could lead us to
your wife and on and on like that, so I can’t really say I’ve been inspired by one particular person or show but lots of them.
Let me be specific now. Are you trying to challenge Mo Abudu? Well, you know, life is a constant challenge. I love challenges, but I don’t believe that you go about your business or projects challenging any one person. What I do is welcome the opportunity to be able to provide a platform for Nigerians to come on board to share their views with the world, not just Nigeria, not just Africa, but the world. For as long as they are watching, I want to give them what they want to watch. What do you enjoy yourself about the show? You know, I actually enjoy the learning experience. The season one, really, was a learning curve for me. And in season two, I was able to be myself a lot more and enjoy the whole process which I think is actually amazing and I’ve been able to enjoy the guests, the topics. And it’s a perpetual learning process and everyone in Nigeria know that I love learning and the more I learn from the show, the more I enjoy it. Who is your dream guest that you would totally go out of your way to bring on the show? I’ve had a few dream guests, but I really wouldn’t want to name names. I would however love, love, love to interview Mrs Yar’Adua. I truly believe that Nigerians haven’t appreciated all that she’s about, so I would love to have her on my show.
•Oshinowo
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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May 2, 2015
Is Asa desperate for relevance? •Copies Tiwa Savage •Exposes her breasts
W
hen Asa stormed the music industry years ago, playing her guitar and singing soulful songs, she became immensely successful because she was believed to be a rare talent. Consequently, her selftitled first album, which contained the smash hits, Fire On The Mountain and Mr Jailer, was hugely successful. Sadly, that Asa that was so revered back then is no longer in the minds of Nigerians the way she used to be, for the simple reason that she tried to make her music appeal overseas and music made by Nigerians to appeal to the western world most time don’t appeal to Nigerians in Nigeria. So, her second album Beautiful Imperfection, which contained Be My Man and Why Can’t We?, reasonable songs though they were, but made for the western world basically, didn’t resonate with Nigerians and her popularity in Nigeria began to wane thereby. Now out with a third album, Bed Of Stone, it’s obvious from the songs on it that Asa is desperately trying to reclaim her lost share of Nigeria’s market and at the same time appeal to the western world.
Asa
Savage
And she’s actually trying her best to do that with songs like Satan Be Gone and Eyo which are crafted lyri-
… Phyno too struggling to remain relevant
cally to appeal to Nigeria and rhythmically to the western world. She’s also dropping videos left, right and
A
sa is not the only artist struggling to remain really relevant. Just like her, Igbo dialect rapper, Phyno, who last year was so massive that his name was on everyone’s lips, is having a quiet 2015 thus far. Having released so many videos last year, it seems the music loving public is now tired of him after being overly much in their faces last year. So the video he dropped a couple of weeks ago, Oringo, is not making much impact. And another problem is that rapping in Igbo, his breakthrough selling point, is no longer too viable for him, as anytime his voice on a record is heard now, people know it’s him immediately and some of them tune off as they expect him to start coming out in a different way now.
Elliot and wife
Desmond Elliot receives his INEC certificate of return
A Phyno
ctor-director-producer and now politician, Desmond Elliot, has taken another step closer to representing Lagos as a lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly by collecting his certificate of return as winner of the election for the lawmaker who will represent Surulere constituency in the House.
centre just to try and make Nigerians know that she’s still singing her heart out. And in her latest video, for Eyo, Asa went in a direction she’s never done before, and in taking that direction, the implication is that she’s desperate to once more be a major force to be reckoned with in the nation. While it was her music talent that helped her to success, she has now taken that step that other female singers like Tiwa Savage, especially, and Seyi Shay secondly, took to boost their brands: the sexy image step. Of all Nigerian female singers, Savage, arguably, is the one who has exploited that step the most, exposing her breasts, wearing transparent clothing, twerking on stage and all that and her brand has been really boosted as she’s now, arguably again, the most popular female singer in the country. And desperate too now to be back in the thick of the action, Asa too has exposed her breasts for the whole world to see in her Eyo video. She wasn’t however as brazen as Savage and tried to be modest in her exposure. The fact however is that she bared her breasts and whether this new strategy will do wonders for her brand is what is now left to be seen.
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May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
E-NEWS
DJ Cuppy is first African to perform at annual Oil Barons Charity T he good times are certainly here for DJ Cuppy, the fast-rising female DJ whom is also daughter of the billionaire, Femi Otedola. In a documentary video she just released, Cuppy disclosed that the 2015 Oil Barons Charity took place recently in Dubai and she was the official DJ, making her the first African act to perform at the distinguished event. The event, held annually under the patronage of H.E Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, is the largest gala dinner for the oil and gas industry in the Middle East and attracts up to 2,000 eminent guests made up of key industry figures and high networth individuals.
T
Journalist-author launches book to mark 40th birthday
ournalist cum author, Sanmi Falobi, recently launched his latest book, Shadows Of Insight: A Collection Of Inspirational Notes, as part of the activities marking his 40th birthday. And speaking at the occasion on why he wrote still another book when it’s being said that Nigerians don’t read anymore, Falobi expressed the view that Nigerians are still reading and that when you give them first choice books, that’s when you would know they are still reading. “You cannot force people to read. People read what they need to, so whatever you write will appeal to a certain set of people who will want to read it, and they will be your market. The only problem with reading for Nigerians is just the economy. People toil to survive on a daily basis and before they’ll buy a book, they would want to
Falobi and Adesina at the launching
Uche Jombo holds baby shower
Jombo
Cuppy
J
Second chance
take care of feeding, shelter and so on first. However, if you give them books they like free, you’ll see they’ll read them.” He also said that he wrote the book to inspire those who might be going through a rough patch and are finding it difficult to take care of their responsibilities that there’s light at the end of the tunnel if they don’t give up. Present at the launching were Femi Adesina, President, Nigeria Guild of Editors; Lekan Otufodunrin, Online Editor, The Nation; Lanre Arogundade, Director, International Press Centre; Mike Ethapemi, Senior Pastor, First Light Christian Centre; Francis Abayomi, Executive Director, Peace and Development Projects; Niyi Falobi, MD, Petro Knowledge Energy Consulting; and many others.
op actress, Uche Jombo, is getting set to finally join the list of the world’s mothers, and she’s very excited about it. Last week, she held her baby shower in Houston, Texas, USA where she has been living for the past year now with her husband, Kenny Rodriguez, who was also at the shower alongside other family and friends. Uche’s current pregnancy is not her first. She had a miscarriage last year and it is hoped that all will go well with this current pregnancy.
KSA
KSA inspires Russian soldiers
T
hat King Sunny Ade is one of Nigeria’s to musicians is not in doubt. He has stood the test of time as he has been performing for over four decades and is still very relevant. His records are evergreen as well and he and Femi Kuti are the only Nigeria-based Nigerian musicians that have been nominated for the Grammy. Right now, a video trending online has footage of Russian soldiers singing along to a KSA song, no doubt because they like it and feel inspired by it. The video is also inspiring those who are watching it, and if you need some inspiration too, maybe you should just go and watch it.
CLASSICAL LYRICS
Jangilova Artist: : Seyi Shay Intro It’s Del B on the beat Verse 1 The love I get for you, e double times 2 Somebody go wound oh, e fi fail.h Baby baby boo, nobody but you, no even think am oh h Bridge On to say Baba Janet oh Tell me say e dey love oh Say nah him first come first oh Wetin him do one thing Me sefi dey love oh Many people dey talk e yeh, baby na you oh oh Believe me, hey Chorus Say the love I get for you oh, no be manmade oh E be jangilova (Haha, chai, baby!) The love I get for you oh, believe me no be here oh E be jangilova Baby oh, the love I get for you, chai, no be small oh E be jangilova Baby boo, the love I get for you oh, no be fake oh E be jangilova Verse 2 Hey! Baby believe oh, believe oh, no be fake oh, chai Many have come and go, but me am here to stay To serve you as my king oh, hey My heart dey beat for you, body dey shake for you Who wan say no be you oh Bridge On to say Baba Janet oh See na him dey love oh See nah him first come first oh Sey one thing do one thing ehhh Chorus Sey the love I get for you oh, no be manmade oh E be jangilova (Hahaa, chai, baby) The love I get for you oh, believe me no be here oh E be jangilova Baby oh, the love I get for you, chai, no be small oh E be jangilova Baby boo, the love I get for you oh, no be fake oh E be jangilova h Interlude The love I get for you, baby mo, no be here oh E be jangilova Ha! Hey hey hey baby The love I get for you oh oh, no be manmade oh E be jangilova Baby believe me, say the love I get for you oh, chai! Body oh, my body e be jangilova Na from oh, na from apple oh The love I get for you oh oh, na divide oh E be jangilova
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
E-NEWS
May 2, 2015
Collabos that failed to set the nation on fire
Burna Boy
C
Sheyman 3
Davido
ollaborating together is one of the methods music artists employ to make their brands popular. Known better by music industry people as collabo, it is, as its popular name suggests, when two or more artists record a song or songs together so that their combined presence on it can make the song more successful than if it was just one of them that recorded it. And the strategy actually works. When people hear that two big artists are working together on a song, they start looking out for the song, meaning the song already has an advantage to help it succeed even before its release. And when the song comes out, they go and get it, as they are eager to hear what it sounds like. Collabos that have really succeeded in the country include Street Credibility by 9ice and 2face, Efimile by YQ and Dagrin, Sexy Mama by Iyanya and Wizkid, Jawo Jawo by Goldie and Jaywon, Le Fenu So by Lord of Ajasa and 9ice and many others. One of the earliest collaborations in the country that really lived up to the essence of collaboration, which is to make music that will not just be commercially successful, but critically acclaimed as well, is Wait For Me by King Sunny Ade and Onyeka Onwenu. Not only is Wait For Me melodically sensible, its message, about not rushing into sex but planning well for the consequences of sex, is also advisorial to everyone who listens to it and this has ensured that the song will live forever. Yet, two artists, even if they are big artists, collaborating together is not always a guarantee of success. So, as there have been many successful collaborations have there been those that didn’t do well, just got noted and didn’t set the nation on fire. One of such in the failed category is Elele by Emma Nyra featuring Davido. Though Nyra became popular when Iyanya featured her on his smash hit, Ur Waist, her own strategy of featuring Davido on her song, Elele, didn’t turn out the way it was expected as Elele became notable but not a roaring success. When it comes to collaborations, Davido is one artist who has been part of a lot of collaborations. The funny thing about his collaborations is that when he collaborates with other artists on his songs, those songs don’t really do that well. His first song was Back When with Naeto C and it didn’t really become popular, just noted, even though
25
KSB
Nyra
Kcee
Naeto C was a reasonably celebrated artist whose presence on Back When should have influenced Back When’s success. His second song, however, Dami Duro, was performed by just himself and it became a smash hit and the song that gave him his breakthrough. All Of You and Ekuro which came after Dami Duro and were performed by just him also did reasonably well. However, Feel Alright, in which he featured the much-hyped rapper, Ice Prince, didn’t break the ice. But Gobe and Aye, all by himself again, became sensational hits while Tchelete and The Sound, on which he featured Mafikizolo and Uhuru respectively, only generated buzz. Yet another collabo that didn’t do as expected is Sampuwa by Sheyman and Flavour. Sampuwa came about as a result of Sheyman’s inability to record a hit song by just himself after many attempts at doing so
failed. So he put Flavour who is known far and wide on Sampuwa and it still failed. Since Sampuwa’s failure, nothing has been heard of Sheyman as an artist again. Nowadays, he’s just a sound engineer. But of all the collaboration songs that failed to strike the right chord with music lovers, despite them being recorded by big-time artists, the one that can be regarded as the biggest failure among them is Let’s Get The Party Started which was recorded by 2face Idibia, MI, Tiwa Savage, D’Banj and Wizkid, a stellar cast of heavyweights, yet many people don’t even know of the its existence. Other collaboration songs that didn’t do well are Won Da Mo - Burna Boy, D’Banj; Emma – Kcee, D’Banj; Gentleman - D’Prince, Don Jazzy, Davido; Moti Goke – KSB, Terry G; and many others too numerous to mention.
26
May 2, 2015
Why Yvonne Nelson is crying bitterly everyday
T
hey say the rich also cry. Apply that proverb to A-list actress, Yvonne Nelson, and you can say, celebrities also cry. Nelson is one person whom a lot of probably want to be like and admire and a lot as well are envious of because she’s a successful celebrity living the jet set lifestyle, Paris today, London tomorrow, high society parties and all that. But while Nelson is perceived as having fun, there’s pain in her heart making her cry every day. And with the pain now too much for her to bear, she went online to let the world know that all is not well with her. “I miss falling in love,” she tweeted, “with that person who makes your heart skip. Seriously, I don’t remember the last time I was truly in love.” And worried for her, her fans tried to comfort her, with some of them tweeting the following messages to cheer her up. “I love you Yvonne. Even if you’re not in love, just know I’m in love with you. #Smiles,” tweeted @feybetsy. “There is nothing wrong with it,” @ ama_ampofo tweeted matter-of-factly. “People are not worth loving sometimes. They spit right in your face when they realise you love them.”
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
NAFCA to honour Soyinka, others
Yet another tweet from another of her fans that “wait for it. God will never disappoint you” was probably the most reassuring. Oh well, Yvonne, you can’t have everything in life. Sad, but true!
Soyinka
T Nelson
he Nollywood and African Films Critics Awards, popularly known as African Oscar, is leaving no stone unturned to ensure this year’s edition will be out of this world. After its recent announcement that its ceremony this year will hold on September 12th at the historic Orpheum Theatre of Hollywood, California, USA, it has announced again that the recipients of its literary arts category this year are Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Kole Odutola, Dr Fumi
Hancock and Mrs Odile Koudou who are well known for their prolific body of work that includes poetry, memoirs, novels and plays. According to NAFCA’s organizers, the literary arts category is to recognize the finest achievements of African authors in several genres and individual contributions to creative writing; promote Africa’s most celebrated writers, publishers and thinkers to the world; and also connect the writers and their readers.
Amaka Igwe one year after ‘She made me everything I am’
L
Igwe
ast week, it was the late rapper, Dagrin, who was being remembered on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of his untimely end. This week, it’s film and TV production amazon, Amaka Igwe, who died on April 28th last year who’s being remembered on the first anniversary of her death this past week. And paying tribute to Igwe who lives on in death through her legacy, respected celebrity, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, posted heartfelt comments online. ‘Wow! It’s been a year already? Time waits for no one. It’s also been 19 years since you kickstarted my professional acting career with the movie, Violated. It was not a major role but it was a special role that set the pace for everything else
that has come my way by way of work since then, 1996). “Thank you for believing in me and my talent. Thanks for the mentorship, words of encouragement and scolding as at when required. You were a Director and Producer to me before becoming a Friend and a Mother. Even when we didn’t see, we exchanged messages via sms and social media. “I will forever hold on to your advice as well as cherish the memories of our interaction over the years. Thank you for EVERYTHING, especially for being YOU!! We love you, Amaka Igwe, but GOD loves you more. Continue to RIP as the Lord continues to protect your family. #RIP#PeaceAn dLove#Thankful#Violated#FilmMaker# Legend#Love#Friendship#God.”
Aofiyebi-Raimi
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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May 2, 2015
StyGlleam and
with Yemisi Adeniran
(080378011
58) ydiran@
yahoo.com
Midnight fantasy by
o n a i s Si
D
inner dates, whether we like it or not always come with its stress. It is either you have no idea of how to go about it especially where the dress code was not given or you simply don’t have what to wear when the dress code is indicated. But then, you have to appear elegant and distinct. But since most of the dinner dates today don’t come with a stipulated d r e s s c o d e , what is important is to dress elegant and stand out among others no matter their number. To be a little bit different from others, it is important to create your own world. This is exactly what Paolo Sisiano, the creative director of the Sisiano design label, had in mind when he came out with his new design called Midnight fantasy. “ With the midnight fantasy, you can only be in your own world and be the envy of others as you move around at those beautiful nights,” he said. Let’s check the models out.
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STYLE & GLAM
Real
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Fashion
feminity F
ashion, as we all know is not just upward, it is classic and always off the borders. Above all, it is adventurous which is why only the iconic woman can dare come near it. Weird and iconic all at once, they are cute, daring and beautiful. One good thing about this trend is the fact that it lifts one’s spirit up even in spite of oneself. One of such styles is the cutout style. They come in different forms and pieces that reveal areas of the body that most women do not feel confident enough to flaunt thus making the wearer a subject of envy. Meanwhile, they radiate sensuality, energy, modernism and real feminity. Just ensure to experiment with qualitative textures, good silhouettes and sculpted cuts; may be sheath fabrics culottes, fitted high-low dresses with “peak a boo” cut-outs. You may go the military-inspired way or employ pearls to embellish your play-suit. Just get creative with your detailing and you will not only be an envy of people around but will feel cool with yourself.
Fashion
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
n frenzy
n frenzy
May 2, 2015
STYLE & GLAM
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Fashion Guest
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STYLE & GLAM
May 2 , 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘Fashion is Top Concentration everything to me’ Killers
Emmunella Viola is an upcoming videovising artist. A halfcaste with a background in Italy, she spoke with YEMISI ADENIRAN on her career and style. Excerpts: Give us an insight into your background, where did you grow up and what was it like? I am a half cast, my mum is from Edo state, Nigeria and my dad is from Italy. Most of my life I spent in Italy but I came back to Nigeria few years ago. Growing up in Italy was fun but I actually needed to visit my mum side which is why I came down to Nigeria. Since when have you been into this career and what informed your choice? I came into this game for a while now. My friend introd u c e d me to it, they were like, come on girl, you are pretty and beautiful, you will make a pretty face on TV, you have got the facial look, the height, and the body for this for this, I got interested and went into it and actually it became part of me. How benefiting has this job being to you? It has really given me the chance to see different characters of people, like the way they relate with other people, what they eat and wear. The number one thing I have benefitted is the opportunity of meeting top celebrities and associating with them. I believe in due time I will become a celebrity too. Was this what you have always wanted to be? No it wasn’t what I actually wanted to be, I have always dreamt of wanting to be a doctor. I am still pursuing this anyway; I am just doing this by the side and in
the mean time. What is fashion to you? Fashion is just everything to me because every day of one’s life as a person, you make up, you dress up for people to see and appreciate your look. There are some who may as well want to look like you and bring out something different too, so, fashion is what
w e do everyday. Do you enjoy the support of your parents in this passion of yours? At first, my parents were not in support, most especially my mum. She thought it would expose me unnecessarily to negative things which she did not want for me. But I pleaded with her and was able to convince her with some reason. She then gave me the go ahead. What do you think has worked for you so far? Well, God and my pretty face. My determination to become outstanding is also working for me. What advice do you have for young girls like you? They should find out what they can do to make them stand out and do it well. They should be hard working, be determined and not nurse any fear of falling or getting disappointed because every disappointment today will end up as a blessing tomorrow.
Culprit: Social media Today’s world is full of concentration killers -starting with social media. It’s easy to connect with friends -- and disconnect from work -- many times an hour. Every status update zaps your train of thought, forcing you to backtrack when you resume work. Fix Avoid logging in to social media sites while you’re working. If you feel compelled to check in every now and then, do it during breaks, when the steady stream of posts won’t interrupt your concentration. If you can’t resist logging in more frequently, take your laptop someplace where you won’t have Internet access for a few hours. Culprit: Email overload There’s something about an email -- it shoots into your inbox and itches to be answered immediately. Although many emails are work-related, they still count as distractions from your current project. You won’t make much progress if you constantly stop what you’re doing to reply to every message. Fix Instead of checking email continuously, set aside specific times for that purpose. During the rest of the day, you can actually shut down your email program. This allows you to carve out blocks of time when you can work uninterrupted. Culprit: Your cell phone Perhaps even more disruptive than the ping of an email is the ringtone on your cell phone. It’s a sound few of us can ignore. But taking a call not only costs you the time you spend talking -- it can also cut off your momentum on the task at hand. Fix Put caller ID to good use. If you suspect the call is not urgent, let it go to voicemail. If you’re working on a particularly intense project, consider silencing your phone so you’re not tempted to answer. Choose specific times to check voicemail. Listening to all your messages at once can be less disruptive than taking every call as it comes in. Culprit: Multitasking If you’ve mastered the art of multitasking, you probably feel you’re getting more done in less time. Think again, experts say. Research suggests you lose time whenever you shift your attention from one task to another. The end result is that doing three projects simultaneously usually takes longer than doing them one after the other. Fix Whenever possible, devote your attention to one project at a time, particularly if you’re working on an intense or high-
priority task. Save your multitasking skills for chores that are not urgent or demanding -- it probably won’t hurt to tidy up your desk while talking on the phone. Culprit: Stress When you feel like you have too much on your plate, it can be hard to focus on individual tasks. To make matters worse, stress takes a noticeable toll on the body. You may develop tight shoulders, headaches, or a racing heart, all of which can chip away at your ability to concentrate. Fix Learn stress reduction techniques, such as prayer and meditation. This can help you rein in stressful thoughts, so they don’t demand so much of your attention Culprit: Fatigue Fatigue can make it tough to concentrate, even when you have few distractions. Studies suggest too little sleep can sap your attention span and short-term memory. Fix Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Instead of burning the midnight oil, make sleep a priority. This will help you get more done during your waking hours. Also, pay attention to which times of day you feel most alert. Then you’ll know when to schedule your most intense tasks. Culprit: Hunger The brain can’t focus without fuel, so skipping meals -- especially breakfast -- is a top concentration killer. Research indicates short-term memory and attention suffer when you rise and shine but do not dine. Fix Keep hunger at bay and give your brain a steady source of fuel.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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May 2, 2015
Male Essentials
08036961187
with Oseyiza Oogbodo kingseiza@gmail.com
5 great high-low combinations (2)
Continued from last week
4. Commute coat and your Sunday uniform Throwing your office outerwear over off-duty staples can make it look like you were in a rush to leave the house and grabbed the first coat by the door on your way out. So, as with any high-low combination, the balance needs to appear deliberate. The simplest approach? Upgrade your casual wear. If your topcoat is slung over a pair of slimline wool joggers and a leather-panelled sweatshirt, suddenly it looks like you picked the weatherbeating outerwear for practicality but haven’t sacrificed style for comfort. An unbelted trench/mac or slightly oversized, raglan sleeve overcoat plays up that relaxed air, but making sure the sleeves are fitted (and there’s a flash of sweatshirt cuff peeking out) tempers the roomier shoulder and body so it doesn’t look like you’re wearing a handme-down. As for what lies beneath? Stick to high-end streetwear staples such as marl loopback sweatshirts, luxe hoodies (cashmere and merino wool versions look as good as they feel), zip-up track
tops and soft cotton tees for your top half, and either broken-in jeans/chinos or on-trend tailored sweatpants for the bottom. This is a styling technique that was extremely prevalent on the AW15 runways, so it’s well worth taking the time to nail it now, in advance. Gilet and blazer A combination that has seen its popularity soar over recent seasons, teaming a gilet with a blazer nods to spring’s unpredictable weather and helps dial down the formality of your tailoring. If you’re wearing a full suit, the gilet should go over the top of your jacket. It’s important to opt for neutral or subdued hues here; a big block of colour that ends abruptly at your shoulders and waist does no favours for your physique. However, separates offer more leeway. Keep the look dressed-down and relaxed – this is the place for an unstructured or unlined blazer, not anything too formal and full of shoulder padding. Throw a lightweight, technical gilet (Uniqlo’s Ultra Light Down versions come highly recommended) underneath for a contemporary twist on the waistcoat that will actually keep you warm. Feel free to play with the colour of
your vest as, again, there’s less on display and your blazer’s naturally tailored shape will ensure you don’t appear too boxy. Final word High-low dressing will breathe new life into a wardrobe that’s feeling a bit uninspired, and gives you a chance to utilise your key pieces in new ways. The most important thing, though, is confidence. Too many men dress updown by accident, wearing a pair of knackered trainers with their suit because they couldn’t find their proper shoes, or grabbing a bulky, pocket-ridden hiking jacket because it was the nearest thing to the door. You don’t want to join them. It’s also a look where fit becomes even more vital. Wearing your casual staples with a perfectly tailored suit that brushes the top of your shoes and sits snugly against your shoulder is a power style play. Yet even an inch of extra fabric makes it look like you just pulled clothes out of your wardrobe at random. What contrasting combinations do you regularly utilise, and where do you think the line lies between playing with style rules, and falling foul of them?
Sexual issues & solutions
Amazing facts about penis size (II)
A
man’s penis can provide great pleasure but sometimes significant anxiety as well. Anxiety normally arises from feelings of inadequacy with size, strength of erection and sexual performance. Do you know that Smoking can shorten your penis by as much as a centimeter. Erections are all about good bloodflow, and lighting up calcifies blood vessels, stifling erectile circulation. So even if you don’t care all that much about your lungs or dying young, spare the li’l guy. The average erect penis is a little more than 6 inches long and 1.5 inches in diameter.
Hi, im 40 years old having weak erection and I only get good erection when im drunk and this is really affecting me . Can Vimax, xzen 1200, Powerzen gold, Libigrow, or Rhino 7 solve the problem?pls advice me on which one to go for and also their prices too. I saw your info on a column – Nuel Hello Nuel, firstly, I would like to advice that you cut down seriously on your drinking habit, cos excessive alcohol hampers your erectile system and this also goes for people that smoke too. All these habits aside the fact that they affect your erectile system, they also affect your health. Just as you have rightly suggested , any one of, Vimax, Xzen 1200, Sexvoltz, Libigrow, stiff nite , Plant vigra can give you instant erection whenever you need it. All these products are herbal and are very safe for use by all and sundry and at any age, you can call for their prices. I am presently using Vigrx plus and im in the 4th week of usage. I m not noticing any increase in my penis as you have said, but im feeling some stretching sensation in my penis, what does this mean and can I combine with Maximus cream for a faster result- Nnamdi Hello Nnamdi, you are still in the first pack of Vigrx plus,and in the first month, what the first pack does is that it prepares the tissues in the penis for enlargement by allowing more blood to flow into them and the stretching sensation you are having is very normal and it shows enlargement is starting. Keep using the Vigrx plus till the third month as recommended and if you want a faster result, you can combine it with Maximus cream. Some people prefer cream to pills for enlargement, so Maximus cream can also be used alone for penis en-
largement. Im a 65 year old man and I have very weak erection , though im diabetic but im still sexually active cos I recently married a new wife who is expecting a lot from me; what can you recommend I take? Im a a regular reader of your column – Chief Basita Hello Chief, there are so many factors that contributed to your weak erection; aside the fact that you are diabetic, age also is another factor, cos as you advance in age, your erection becomes weaker unless supplemented by enhancers. I will suggest you take Vimax with theCleanshield if you want strong erection on demand, Vimax has proven to be effective even in worst case scenarios of very weak erection and the Clieanshield liquid will help reduces the level of diabetes or hypertension, thereby allowing the Vimax to take effect. Thank you very much Viewden, I m a regular reader of your column. I Have tried several sexual enhancers but they didn’t work for me and my doctor recommend I go for penile extensions or sleeves. What are they and what do they do? Ilori Penile extensions are artificial penis what are worn on the penis both for size and for erection. Some have straps that are worn and strapped across the waist, while some are strapless and are close to the human skin called Cyberskin extensions. Penile extensions ranges from 6”, 8” to 10” for the ones with strap, while the Cyberskin has 8’, 9’ and 9’5;. You could also get the smaller ones like futurotic extender, or brown latex extension, which are about 5 inches each. I need some sextoys for my wife.we just discussed that we want to try new things in our sexual lives and not stick with the routine – Bello Experimenting new forms of sexual play is very healthy within couples cos it spices up the relationship when you try out new things. Frisky finger and tongue teasers are very small in size that can be used either by the man or woman to stimulate each other for more orgasm and for more range of sextoys visit our website. These are all we can take for this week. Adults who needs any of these aphrodisiacs can cal 08034666358, 07059294782 or place your order at www.viewden.com. For further enquiries,send an email to us at: vieweden@yahoo.com, viewden@ymail.com. Kemi Fawole (MD )
VIEWDEN PRODUCTS (RANGE OF LOVE PRODUCTS)
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Can you go to jail in p
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Stupid idea!
ife is a serious business especially when it comes to the issue of love, children and marriage and the things people can do or have done to protect each other or while acting as a cover to shield each other from harm’s way. I’ve heard of partners taking bullets for each other, or even deliberately throwing themselves in harm’s way so as to save the other person from falling victim to a particular harm. Recently, I heard of a woman who had asked a gang of dare devil robbers to rather rape her than to shoot and kill any member of her family especially her husband who was proving difficult with his dispositions while the robbers were operating. She kept on jumping in front of the men of the night so much whenever they wanted to hit the husband that one of them had to tell her she would be raped in exchange for the man’s life and she agreed without a second’s thought. Her love was so great that she was ready to risk contacting a disease than for her husband to be killed. She didn’t even think of the social stigma of her being raped by young unkempt boys that couldn’t have been older than her eldest child just to save her husband. I’ve also heard of a man who threw his wife away from an oncoming vehicle just to save her life while being hit by the same vehicle. Men have been known to leave the last spaces in a raft for their wives while going down with a sinking ship. Nollywood and Hollywood films have also brought this issue of lovers ready to die for each other closer to home in our heart. People may be ready to do any of these acts as an unconscious act since death is a permanent thing. A jail sentence for a crime you know you didn’t commit on the other hand is something totally different. Among so many things associated with it is the negative social stigma attached to being called an exconvict. No one wants to know the reason why we do things. Once you have committed a crime and you’ve done “Time” for it, no matter what they may
be called, you have become an ex-convict and people don’t want to have that name-tag in this part of the world. It is only in Europe and the other developed regions of the world that it is expected that certain social welfare programmes already put in place and some that may be specially tailored towards a particular person can reform someone and re-integrate that person back into the society. So the premise of negativity in attitude of friends and family may not really occur and an exconvict who really wants, can soar above that negativity. Apart from the social stigma that is involved and already discussed with its attendant shame and low self-esteem that may be a fall-out of exchanging jail terms with one’s spouse, there’s also the fear that the spouse who is free may forget the benefactor of the freedom and start living a “larger than life” lifestyle outside while one is going through pains and humiliation apart from lack of freedom in prison. One has heard of people who proclaimed undying love for each other derailing from laid down plans made by them and their partners even while on a short journey of a few days or months not to mention someone who one will not have direct and unrestricted access to as at when you want to have anything to do with them. It is also deceitful and against the law no matter how we look at it. The law is supposed to protect the innocent even from themselves and going to jail in place of one’s spouse for a crime one did not commit is trying to pull the “wool over the eyes of the Law”. I may not be a lawyer but common sense should let me know that no matter what, whosoever commits a crime should be the one to be made to face the music if not for anything but to act as a deterrent for any future occurrence of the same crime or any other crime at all. If you ask me, I actually believe that it is a stupid idea for me to go to jail in place of anyone. Truly, freedom is good if not for anything but for the reasons above.
SEX TALK
This column is x-rated
100+ arousing facts about sex CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK
An overwhelming majority of sexual partners have only skimpy knowledge of what truly turns each other on. Would you like to change this now? You can do so by upping your sex knowledge ante! 85. The average woman can reach orgasm in about 4 minutes through masturbation, while through intercourse, it can take 10 – 20 minutes. 86. Sneezes, along with orgasms, are the only physiological responses that cannot be voluntarily stopped once they have started. 87. 85% of women are very satisfied with their partner’s penis size. 88. Evidence exists indicating that penis size may be linked to index finger length. 89. In rare cases, menstrual cramps have been known to bring about orgasm. 90. The amount of wet dreams a man is likely to have increases in line with the number of years spent in formal education. 91. Compared to anywhere else, adults are more likely to tell a lie in bed. 92. The majority of women prefer to have sex in the dark. 93. Men find women with enlarged pupils more sexually attractive. 94. When having sex, black women are 50% more likely to reach orgasm than white women. 95. 60% of non-smoking women have had no sexual partners in the past year, while 70% of
women who smoke have had more than four lovers over the same timescale. 96. Women who are prone to migraines tend to have a higher sex drive than those who are not. 97. Thirty four per cent of men have told lies in order to have sex. Ten per cent of women have done the same. 98. More than 50% of all cheating wives choose married men as their lovers. 99. About 1% of women can achieve orgasm solely through breast stimulation. 100. Within the week, 22% of women tell at least five friends about their first sexual experience with a partner. 101. 70% of men and women admit to having fantasised about someone else while having sex. 102. Two thirds of runners admit to having thought about sex while running. 103. 68% of men and 59% of women had a sexual liaison with someone in their past, which they have not told their current partner about 104. Your average healthy man produces approximately 300 million sperm in just a teaspoon of his semen. However, it only takes one little swimmer to fertilize a woman’s egg. 105. Forget post-coital cuddling! 36 percent of people under the age of 35 check their Facebook and Twitter accounts after a roll in the hay. Hopefully, they are not posting any pictures! 106. Think men get laid more than women? Wrong! Women have sex 17 percent more often
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RELATIONSHIPS
May 2, 2015
onships
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place of your partner? Huge question...
This column is x-rated than the average guy. Go girls! 107. Even though the male O seems to get all the attention, it turns out the women get the last laugh when it comes to climaxing. The average female orgasm lasts 20 seconds — 14 seconds longer than the male’s six-second O. 108. Orgasms are good for your health! They can lower a woman’s risk of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer and even depression. So have sex and get happy! 109. Sexercise is not a myth Sex counts as a workout! During 30 minutes of active sex, you burn about 200 calories. 110. Women are friskier than we admit. Researchers at the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, found that most women in a study became aroused by every sexual stimulus they saw — including nude male and female bodies, heterosexual and homosexual sex and even animal sex. 111. Sex makes you dirty, in a good way. When aroused, people are not as likely to think things are disgusting, according to a study published in the online journal PLOS ONE. 112. Different regions of the brain became activated in response to stimulation of the vagina, cervix, clitoris and nipples. 113. Sex releases hormones that prevent you from peeing. Ever notice that it’s kind of tough to go pee right after sex? Your body releases an antidiuretic hormone when you orgasm, which prohibits you from going potty as easily as usual. Just don’t hold it for too
This column is x-rated long, or you could risk infection. 114. According to Live Science, by the age of 19, a whopping 70 percent of teenagers have already had sex. 115. According to a survey, at least 12 percent of women admitted to using their cellphones during sex. 116. Physically talking about sex makes sex better. People who are more open to talking about sex are actually happier with their sex lives, according to Live Science. 117. You’re not the only one aroused by food. Think food is sexy? Some people admit to feeling a similar sense of arousal when thinking about food as they do when thinking about sex. 118. Your body image plays a huge role in sex. According to Live Science, a small study of obese women found that those who accepted their bodies reported better sex. So appreciate your body, or your sex life could suffer! 119. Sex increases your pain threshold. According to a study published in the Journal of Sex Research, a person’s pain threshold significantly increases during arousal. 120. Your brain turns off (sort of) during sex. According to a study, the amygdala — the part of the brain involved in fear and anxiety — shuts down during a female orgasm. So that brain mush you experience during sex is legit!
Someone saw me writing this and exclaimed....’’whaaattttt? Are you serious? Who on earth will do this? What if i die in prison? Won’t she qucikly go and marry another man? I will not ohhhhhh!!! No matter how much i love her but i will try to ensure she is set free’’ Ok, i am not a man but assuming it is the other way round, can a woman also do same for the husband? People will argue it’s more of a man thing than a woman; no man will actually want the wife to go to jail in his place. So as a woman i am going to talk about the chances of our men making such huge sacrifice. Can a man actually take this chance for a wife? For a man to take such step, he has more than just love for the wife. A man who can do this does not only love the wife but cherishes humanity and womanhood very much. Such a man believes that he has a better chance to survive in prison than the wife and would not allow the life of the wife to be wasted in prison. Such men belong to the group of humans we refer to as –Angels on earth. How many such men do we have among us? I have not actually seen such a situation played out but its obvious such sensitive situations come up in our daily lives but most times, those concerned do not make it public due to the kind of culture and society we have. Some men reading this will say- does she deserve my sacrifice? Is she really going to appreciate this or would i just throw away my life for nothing? These are a couple of questions that could be ringing inside the brain of some men as they read this. Such a sacrifice is not something someone is being pushed or forced to do. It is an action that an individual decides to take without minding if anyone cares or appreciate but doing it because he wants to do it. Such
men who take such action have heart of gold and hardly expect anything in return but nature has a way to pay them back in a big nice way when they finish their sacrifice. You do not believe that a man who took such a bold step will end up suffering his entire life when he finally comes out of prison? Even the question of –if the wife will appreciate his sacrifice....it will be a hell of shame and humilation for any woman who have such a husband take such a huge risk for her and not appreciate him. Infact, the man need not worry about such a woman getting what she deserve because nature again, has a way to deal with such persons in a very ugly manner. How could someone do a jail term on your behalf and you feel he went in there to drink tea? Such a man can also die in your place? Oh sure...any man who can afford to go to prison to spare the wife can also exchange a death sentence for her. After all, the living conditions and ugly stuff that happens in Nigerian prison can easily kill someone before the person finishes serving. Have you visited any of our Nigerian prisons and see what they are like? Infact you might not have appetite to eat for weeks. Horrible sites!!! On the contrary, such situations need not to be an issue where you have a man who does not love his wife. A situtaion where you have couples that fight like Tom and Jerry. This is not an issue to even debate on because such a man will be so excited that he would slap the hell out of anyone who dare suggest he goes to jail in place of the wife. What will be on his mind is for the court to be fast and send the woman in so he can be free and look for someone else. Ofcourse such men hardly wait for the woman to come out before marrying another woman. I would really like to hear from anyone who has experienced/ witnessed such a situation. No sacrifice goes unrewarded!!
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Woman
I see more women in the talking drum vocation - Ayanbinrin Tosin Olakanye Olayemi a.k.a Ayanbinrin is the crowned queen of Fortune Instrumentalist Talent Show(FITS). A trailblazers among Nigeria’s female talking drummers in Nigeria, she is set to groom her successor in the talking drum vocation for the purpose of continuity. The celebrated queen of drums spoke with YEMISI ADENIRAN on her decision to be part of the Talent show and her continuous exploit in her choice of career. Excerpts Why did you choose to be part of the Fortune Instrumentalist Talent Show (FTIS)? It is an opportunity for me to leave a worthwhile legacy for the upcoming ones in the music career especially my type of music. It is not anything that comes by easily for the women gender and I see more women thriving in the talking drum vocation. It will again avail me of the chance to contribute my quota to the development of the entertainment industry in Nigeria by discovering and grooming stars and teaching them how to play musical instruments in an acceptable way both locally and internationally. It is an opportunity to correct so many wrong things about our music. But this action of yours is against the practice of traditional practitioners of any
vocation. Why are you different? I cannot but be different because I belong to the generation of the civilized, the enlightened. Although our fore-fathers are always secretive about their knowledge and gifts, they are oblivious of the fact that the practice that an old man knows but keeps away from his children will perish as soon as he dies. I don’t want what I know to be limited to me or die with me when I am no more, so, I won’t be selfish. I intend to train as many women that show interest. You seem to believe more in women. Why? I am a woman and I believe that there is nothing a man can do that a woman cannot do. When people like us ventured into this vocation, no one took us seriously. They
believe we would not fly with it but bere we are today. At what point did you make up your mind to be an entertainer via the talking drum? I think I have always wanted to be an entertainer right from my childhood days. Although I am not from the talking drum lineage, which we all know as ‘Ayan’, I never also thought I was going to end up as a talking-drummer, I knew I had this flare for entertainment. I love dancing, singing and everything about music. I did not start beating the drum from my mother’s womb as some people would claim. But like I said, it was a flair that I have discovered I had naturally. There was this natural connec-
tivity between the drum and I such that I feel drawn to it all the time or anytime I am closer to it. And because I love dancing, somehow I pick an interest in the drum. One spectacular thing about the talking drum is its ability to exercise control on a musical crew. I love that s much. Besides, there is this myth and fear about being a female drummer. I sought to get to the root of the matter. What were your findings? Well, majorly, I found out that it is a taboo for a woman to be a talking drummer. This was confirmed by some traditional rulers , the Alaafin of Oyo Kingdom, Oba
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Lamidi Adeyemi, to be precise. According to him, there are limitations to the type of drum a woman can beat. He said I am free to beat the social drums, while some drums like festival, deity or other designated drum cannot even be touched by a woman. Curiously, I asked why and he said that is the way it has been since the days of our forefathers. Were you scared at those revelations? No, I wasn’t. Instead, I became more curious to know more and do what I had to do to be on top of the issue. I am naturally not a person who gets put off or discouraged over a thing easily. Once I am convinced about a thing, I get stuck with it. What would you say were the challenges you faced then ? As far as I am concerned, nothing god come easy. I was determined to do something that everyone considered as odd and not meant for my gender and Im was ready not to let myself down. People couldn’t believe why I had to choose the way I chose but I knew my heart beats for the profession, so, I decided not to see any obstruction on my way. I wouldn’t remember whatever anyone did bad for me, so, I was able to forge on. What were your parents’ reactions when they found out about your passion? I am grateful to God for the kind of parents I have. They were both supportive but my father gave me a condition. He insisted that I completed my university education before veering into the arts professionally. I promised to do just that and I am happy I was able to keep to my promise concerning that. What is it like to lead a band that is majorly dominated by men? It may appear tasking but I tell you it is fun. It is the same thing as being the managing director of a company where most of the employees are men. As a woman, you just need to be more firm and principled to drive home your point and get people do what they have to do and at the right time. There is nothing special about it. If I had no problem learning a career that is seen as male-business, I see no reason why it will be a problem for me to lead a band that have more men. What were you thinking when you chose to go the way of the talking drum? I wasn’t thinking of anything other than to make my mark. I love to make an outstanding mark anywhere I am and I am happy that God has been helping me achieve that. How have you been able to combine your home with this kind of job especially when pregnant and breastfeeding? I think only God can answer this in details. This is because somehow, I just have been coping. At the early stage when we were making babies, it was tough but you see, it was something I had to do and I’ve got to do it. And God ensured that it all ended well. I must say here that my husband has been very supportive. If not for his kind of person, I tell you it is very impossible for me to have come this far. I bless God for blessing me with him. He is indeed a peculiar blessing for a perculiar specie like me. What do you have to say to women concerning broken marriage and careers? If we are talking about career women and their homes, honestly, I can only make an appeal to both the men and the women because both of them are involved in the building or the making of a home. As long as the two of them are carried along on the kind of career they are into, It is im-
It is not fair to look down on women or see women who strive for top positions in their professions as proud and over-ambitious.
Women are better in leadership
Keeping ABREAST
6 tips to combat bosom sweat ...for ladies with big boobs
positions portant that both take their time to understand the details, the expectations of the jobs and try to respect the rules. Each job has its peculiarities and it is good to learn those peculiarities and give the right support as much as necessary whenever there is a need for it. Love, they say covers a multitude of sin, couples should know that there are times that they will wrong each other either by way of the demands of their jobs or somehow, it is important to try and patiently see from the other person’s view and give room for other chances. That is why it is best to marry one’s friend and somebody one really loves and cares genuinely for. If these two are in place, there is no doubt that errors will be overlooked and corrections will be gladly taken. No one should venture into marriage when he or she is not mentally or emotionally ready. Age shouldn’t be a yardstick to know or determine the time to be married. Maturity and ability to learn more are als important to be considered as factors. Men should be particularly ready financially, spiritually, emotionally and must be very mature in all ways. This way, they will be able to tolerate their wives and stand well in their offices as men. What words of advice do you have for young women who see you as a role model? My advice is that they should know that their gender has no limitation on them. As a woman, they can do anything. They can venture into any career they feel strongly for. All they need is to be bold, be convinced about their choices and take steps towards making them a reality. They should always know that women have the same capacity to get things done even more than men. They should not be intimidated about their gender or allow anyone to intimidate them. What about the society? It is important that the society begin to give us, I mean women the right support we need just as our counterparts enjoy in other world. It is not fair to look down on the women gender or see women who strive for top positions in their professions as proud and over-ambitious. Women are better in leadership positions. We can as well do well if the society will stop discouraging us by calling us prostitutes and other terrible names. What about the common belief that women are again their own worst enemies? This should also be worked on by the women fold. And I really don’t blame them; it is a reflection of the general belief that women are inferior to men that has affected them. Women are not inferior to men but it also does not mean that we should disrespect men.
G
ot big boobs? Got problems? Large-breasted women know all too well the terrors of sweat. Not only is the moisture uncomfortable and smelly, it can cause a slew of skin issues such as rashes, chaffing and fungal build-up. If you want to beat it, take note of these six tips! Camouflage it Dark colours like black will keep the visibility of moisture to a minimum. As for white, well, you already know what that looks like. So avoid bright coloured fabrics as much as you can. Learn to wear clothes that conceal sweat when you wear them. Some colours are too visible and will show your sweat line, avoid them. Know your Material Cotton is very breathable. Try to avoid materials that soak up sweat and leave a stain (e.g., silk and satin). The worst thing these fabrics will do for you is to retain the stain even when the sweat is dry. This can be irritating. Keep It Loose Skin-tight clothes may show more than just your bodacious curves. Nocling may be the way to go if you don’t want your sweat to get in the way of
your sexiness. Seeing people with big boobs in certain clothes, is disheartening. Apart from the fact that it is hellish for them personally, it is important to let the breasts breathe. Sweat Gadgets There are many great options out there nowadays to help you fight your sweat. Sweat Bands for instance, can be worn with or without a bra, and prevent rashes, chaffing and fungus by absorbing any moisture between and underneath the bosoms. Stand Up Sweat on your chest is bad enough as is, so the last thing you need is a sweat river rolling down your stomach. Sit and stand up straight, it will keep your great posture and keep a bad sweat situation from getting worse. Stuff It Try tucking paper towel under your bosoms. The paper will help to absorb the moisture and eliminate the sweat discomfort and embarrassment. Be sure to change regularly if you go this route. You can use handkerchiefs if you don’t have paper towels available. www.nairaland.com
Parenting
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Is my baby normal? Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression
Pimples, whiteheads, rashes and dots A baby’s skin is soft -- but it’s not always unblemished! Most of the bumps and red spots aren’t anything to be worried about and will go away. White bumps on the nose, chin, or cheeks are very common. So is baby acne. Both usually clear up on their own. And red spots on your baby’s belly that look like bites are also pretty common and go away in a week or two. A red, pimply rash in neck folds or behind the ears -- places where skin is moist -- could be prickly heat. It may even have a coarse, sandpaper feel. Wash the skin gently with plain cool water and pat -- don’t rub -- dry. If you are worried about any rash or if your child is sick or has a fever, see your pediatrician. It’s always better to be safe than sorry! Patches on baby’s head No one knows for sure what causes cradle cap -- flaky skin that looks like dandruff or yellow, crusty patches on a baby’s head. But many newborns have it. It may also show up on a baby’s ears, eyebrows, eyelids, or
even underarms. It’s not contagious and probably won’t bother your little one. If it bothers you, you can gently massage your baby’s scalp with your fingers, shampoo more often (be sure to rinse away all shampoo), and brush your baby’s scalp with a very soft brush. But she’s got a pointy head! No doubt your little one is a PERFECT angel -- but s/he may not look the part at first. If you had a vaginal birth, the bones of your baby’s head shifted and overlapped so s/he could pass through the birth canal. That tends to make for a pointy, coneshaped head. No need to worry -- the baby’s head will get more rounded in about a week. Babies delivered buttocks first or feet first, or by cesarean section, may not have elongated heads. It’s also common for babies to have some swelling and bruising toward the top of the back of their heads, or a lump on one side of the head caused by blood collecting under the scalp. There’s usually nothing to worry about -- your baby’s brain is fine. But if it seems large, it’s a good idea to have your doctors
check it. Baby’s losing weight Babies will lose 6 to 8 ounces during the first week, and babies that weighed more at birth may lose even more. When they start to gain weight, expect them to gain 4 to 7 ounces a week for the first few weeks, then about 1 pound or slightly more a month for the first 6 months. Babies are born with enough fluid and fat to keep them going until they get into a regular feeding routine. Check with your doctor if you have concerns. Is she eating enough? Breastfed babies generally nurse every two to three hours during the first few weeks, formula-fed babies every three to four hours. You’ll also want to pay attention to your baby’s cues, as well as how s/he eats -- and how s/he poops! Your little one should seem satisfied for one to three hours between feedings. Granted, that can be a tough call -- babies suck when they’re hungry, but also to comfort themselves. Dirty diapers are another clue. Most newborns have six or more wet diapers a day, and two or more
bowel movements. The first few weeks can be hectic, and keeping track of feedings helps create some structure while you learn to recognise your baby’s hunger cues. Baby is not latching on to my breast Many babies need help at the beginning. Some key tips include: Bring the baby’s mouth to your breast and use your finger to make sure both of her lips are spread out. You may feel pain for a few seconds at the beginning, but it should get better. If it doesn’t, stop the feeding briefly and try again. Ask your health care provider for help if you or
your baby are having trouble with breastfeeding. Stools look somehow! A baby’s first poops are a thick black or dark green, but after that, the color in his diaper should be yellow-green. If it’s black, red, or white, see your pediatrician. If your baby is breastfed, his poops will be a light mustard color. If your baby is formula-fed, they’ll be darker. It’s normal for the color or consistency to change once in a while. Hard or dry stools may be a sign that he needs more to drink. To be continued next week
ParentingUpdate Tiniest survivor
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he mother of a baby rescued after being trapped in rubble for 22 hours following the Nepal earthquake has told of the torture she endured while she heard her little boy cry for help under their flattened home. Five-month-old Sonit Awal was asleep upstairs in the family home when the quake struck, but was saved from death by a cupboard that fell over him. During frantic rescue efforts, family and friends used their bare hands to try and free Sonit, but without specialist equipment it was impossible. But today, mother Rasmila Awal describes her ‘overwhelming joy’ when rescuers finally arrived and pulled Sonit from the devastation, with little more than a scratch to his face. Mrs Awal, 35, said: “I am so happy to have my baby back. I’m so happy that he is alive.” Sonit was asleep in his cot upstairs when the walls of his fourstorey home came crashing down
around him. His parents and older sister, aged 10, were outside when the tremor struck and desperately tried to free the little boy from the wreckage, working nonstop through the night with friends and neighbours. During the heart-breaking 22 hours that Sanit was trapped, his frantic mother said she tried everything to save her child. She said: ‘I could think of nothing else but trying to save my baby. I was very sad. I did not eat. I did not sleep. I could hear him crying from the ruins of our home.” However, following appeals for help, overstretched Nepalese troops arrived to finally embark on a coordinated rescue mission and rescued the boy. Mr Awal, 34, a truck driver, had already lost his brother Azdid in the earthquake and said he was thankful rescue workers had managed to lift his son to safety. He said: “The baby was saved by a cupboard. He had been lying
Pulled from the rubble
in his bit by the side of the bed. “When the walls fell down, they knocked a cupboard over and it became wedged by the side of the bed. My son was safe with the cupboard protecting him.” The family is now homeless and living in the street under a tarpaulin opposite their derelict house, situated in the town of
Safe in Mummy’s arms
Bharktapur, a 30-minute drive from the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. Despite her family’s desperate situation, Mrs Awak says she remains overjoyed that her son survived his ordeal. “Now God has given me back my boy, I want him to lead a good life and do good for others,” she
said. Sonit’s older sister, Soniya, added: “I am so happy my brother is safe. I love my little brother.” One of the Awak’s neighbours added: “We are all so happy that the baby was rescued. Everyone tried to help. It is a miracle he survived. God has blessed him.”
People
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
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Shantaram Hedgekatte:
Bringing IT solution into education Shantaram Hedgekatte, an Indian, is the CEO of Educomp Solutions Nigeria Limited, the administrator of Ambassador Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School located in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, one of the model schools set up by the Rivers State Government. Through Educomp, the school had 100 percent pass in WAEC, a feat never achieved in the country.
Nick Nweru
Y
ou have been in charge of managing the model schools set up by the Rivers State Government. How would you describe the experience so far? The experience has been very good, much better than what we thought it would be. We had our own challenges and difficulties, but overall we can only say we are happy over what we have done. We are very proud of our achievements over such a short time. What changes would you say you have brought to bear since taking over the schools? Several changes. In fact we had to literary re-write the entire process of education. The biggest that we did in my opinion is that we brought in technology into education. If you compare the education before we came on board and the education now, we brought in changes with lots of effort because technology has human elements. You need to train the teachers to use them and each student has a laptop, each classroom is equipped with digital education: what we call a smart class, with that, we could show a dramatic result. There are probably very few schools in this country where the students sat for WAEC first time and had 100 percent pass. We are very proud of what our students achieved, and what our teachers achieved. It goes to show that technology can dramatically improve the result if it is deployed properly. As a stakeholder in the state’s education sector, how would you rate the current state of education in Rivers State and Nigeria generally? In what areas do you think that we need to improve? Let me not mince word. The state of education all over Nigeria, not just Rivers State, is in shamble. Probably it had better days before, but today, it is really bad. We have
conducted entrance examinations twice, we have seen very bright students, but we have also seen that majority of the students are not good enough. I am afraid what will happen to this country if they grow up like this. You have a huge population of young people; I guess, 45 percent of Nigerians are less than 20 years old. And these are going to be future leaders of this nation. Now if these are uneducated, if they cannot read and write and have the benefit of education, what are they going to be? They will be unemployable, they cannot take up any good job other than menial labour. We have conducted examinations; more than 30 percent of the students could not even score 20 percent. If these are the people who are going to be incharge of the future of this country, what is going to happen if they cannot effectively read and write? Only about 10 percent of 7000 students that wrote the exams are competent. Out of the 7000, roughly about 35 percent did not score 20%. We assume that before they come for the entrance they have six or seven years of primary education. If these people are in this bad shape, what do you think is going to happen when they grow up? What are they going to become? They cannot be effectively employed say in a factory or office, and that is a big burden. How can the situation be improved? The simple answer is that education system has collapsed and it needs to be generally revamped. It is out of my heart that I am speaking. When we conduct examination it is specially on four subjects, namely, General Aptitude, English, Science, and mathematics. General aptitude tells you how intelligent the boy is. The rest of the subjects indicate how well he has been taught in those areas. You could be a very intelligent boy, but if your English teacher is bad, you score poorly in English. We conduct this kind of examination across the world. We do it in India, we do it in Saudi Arabia, we do it in Singapore, we do
Hedgekatte
it in different countries across the world. So we can compare Nigerian schools with those of these other countries. We see that the general aptitude scores of Nigerian students are better, if not equal to other schools. This means that Nigerians have brain. But if you see the scores in Mathematics and Science or even English, it is probably half or even lesser than those of students in other countries. Put simply, Nigerians are bright, but majority have not been taught well. The present generation of Nigerians must carry the blame for destroying the future of these youngsters. Nigerians are not dumb, but the education system has thoroughly collapsed and needs to be resuscitated by way of investing in the sector. One of the ways of revamping the sector, apart from issue of facilities, is to recruit competent teachers. Competent teachers are vital in education because it is the teacher who teaches the pupil. To what extent has there been transfer of skills between India, where your company’s headquarters is located, and Nigeria? Initially we had some problems as the teachers took time to adapt to the new technology, but today I can very proudly say our teachers would not want to go to another school. This is because they are now used to this technology. When we came we saw that what most of the teachers do is to go to the classroom with lesson notes, he goes to the board and keeps writing or asks a brilliant student to write the note on the board, while he sits down. All the while what he does is write on the board for the students to copy. There is hardly any time to make the students understand. The students write
down the notes and feel they could read and memorize, but without understanding. That is to say, garbage in garbage out. But the truth is that unless there is an object to remind you of what has been taught in the class, teaching in the class will not be successful. So what we do is send the notes to the students’ computers before they come to the classroom. When they come to the class all that takes place is discussion of that note. And by so doing, no time is lost in copying notes. What in your view are those little things that make a student stand out from his peers. Or is it all just about reading? The first hurdle to cross is this issue of copying notes which we put into technology. The time they consume in writing notes is used in studying. This frees the mindset (of the student) and that of the teacher. It also offers students the time to interface with other students, the group base learning. In education they say in crude simple explanation that onethird of your learning is from text book: one-third from teachers, and the balance of one-third from class mates. One good thing that this school(Ambassador Nnne Furo Kurubo Model Secondary School) has is the competition and cooperation among students, because Governor Amaechi and the Commissioner of Education ensured that there was no political or undue influence from any quarters. That is to say all the students gained admission by merit. So all the students here know that they are here on their own merit not because one’s father is a big man, or the father could pay money. Here, everybody works hard to outpace each other academically.
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May 2, 2015
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‘He gives me and five children N500 in a week’
• Whenever I ask him for money, he beats me. He broke one of my teeth during one of his frequent beatings —Wife • On the allegation that I broke her teeth, I can tell you that it is not true because the tooth has been paining her before our fight —Husband
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39 year-old woman, Mrs. Tamurat Alao of 26, Ganiyu street, Aboru has approached the Iyana Ipaja Customary Court to dissolve the union between her and her 49 year-old husband, Mr. Adeshina Alao over allegation constant beating, lack of care for the children and infidelity The marriage which was contracted under the native law and custom in 1999 has produced five children namely Oyindamola Alao(14), Boluwatife Alao(12), Rachael Alao(8), Taye and Kehinde Alao(5) Tamurat(the petitioner) described her husband as an irre-
‘My husband rubs his body with urine before sleeping with me’ • He once brought a strange woman home and I had to pack out of our room and start sleeping on the floor—Wife • Whenever we quarrel, she goes to another man’s house. As we speak, she is in another man’s house —Husband Stories
by:
Muda Oyeniran
A 42 year-old woman, Mrs. Modupe Oloruntoba who resides at No 2, Ikumapayi Crescent, Meiran has told the Iyana Ipaja Customary Court that she could no longer live under the same roof with his 47 yearold husband, Mr. Isaac Oloruntoba because the latter is fetish and diabolical. She has therefore urged the court to dissolve their 29 year union which has produced four grown-up children. According to Mrs. Oloruntoba who is the petitioner in the case, she caught her husband (the respondent) recently when he was rubbing his body with his urine and thereafter made love to her. She also disclosed that the respondent sometimes put coconut under his pillow before sleeping. Aside this, the petitioner described her husband as a
chronic drunkard and a womanizer. “He once brought a strange woman home and I had to pack out of our room and start sleeping on the floor”, she said Speaking further, the petitioner accused her husband who is a driver with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) of abandoning his responsibility to her and their children. “He did nothing for me and the children”, she stated However in his testimony in court, the respondent, Mr. Oloruntoba described all his wife’s allegations as baseless saying she was only looking for excuses to leave the marriage. According to him, he was a decent man who would neither indulge in alcoholic drinks nor engage in fetish practices. He said the petitioner has also failed in her responsibility as a wife and mother.
“She told me she wanted to go to school after for children and she left me in Lagos with the children for three years and went to Ondo state for a Grade 2 certificate programme. She has never worked with the certificate till date. Whenever we quarrel, she goes to another man’s house. As we speak, she is in another man’s house”, he explained In her remarks, the court president, Mrs. Salewa Banjoko chided the petitioner for abandoning her home for three years for further studies at the expense of her family saying her absence during the period would have had negative impact on her children who dearly needed her motherly care and love. She urged the couple to reconcile their differences in the interest of their children. She thereafter adjourned the case till May 20, 2015 for hearing
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family. “Whenever I have money, I try to give them like N500 once or twice in a week. I sometimes buy foodstuffs from outside for her to cook for the family”, he said According to him, trouble started between them when he began to date the said Alhaja and the petitioner became jealous. “I beat her because she took Alhaja’s photo from my bag. She tore my clothes up to three times because of the Alhaja’s episode. I beat her on three occasions. However, on the allegation that I broke her teeth, I can tell you that it is not true because the tooth has been paining her before our
Whenever I have money, I try to give them like N500 once or twice in a week. I sometimes buy foodstuffs
from outside for her to cook for the family sponsible man who does not care about the welfare of his family. “He gives me and five children N250 or maximum of N500 in a week for feeding. He does not care about the education of our children”, she added In order to assist the respondent, Tamurat told the court that she helped him borrow a sum of N30,000 from a cooperative society to buy a second-hand Okada saying the respondent failed to buy the machine and also refused to repay the loan. “We usually repay the loan weekly. I had to pay 18 weeks out of the 23 weeks needed to service the loan. Whenever I ask him for money, he beats me. He broke one of my teeth during one of his frequent beatings”, she explained Aside this, the petitioner told the court that the respondent also keeps female friends to the detriment of the family. “He once brought an Alhaja home one day and later packed his belongings to go and stay with her”, she said However, the respondent who was also in court said he was doing his best to take care of the
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fight” He also told the court that he has paid dearly for the incident as he has been dismissed as the vice-chairman the Motorcycle Association when the petitioner went to report him to the body.“Her family members also tricked me to a petrol station and beat me blue black in her presence and she never uttered a word”, he said He said the lat quarrel they had was due to the petitioner’s interference when he tried to correct their first daughter over a wrongdoing. “I was correcting my first child that she should greet her parents when she wakes up in the morning in line with our tradition when she suddenly interrupted and stopped me from beating her” In her ruling, the court president, Mrs. Salewa Banjoko ordered the respondent to start paying the petitioner a sum of N7,000 monthly for the upkeep of the five children from his monthly salary of N14,000 while the case was adjourned till June 3, 2015
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DIVORCE COURT
May 2, 2015
‘She once left my house to have a child for another man’ A
37 year-old man, Mr. Taofeek Hamzat who resides at 60/64 Capitol Road has told the Agege Customary Court that 32 yearold his wife, Mrs. Iyabo Adulhammed is an irresponsible woman who sleeps from house to house saying she once left their matrimonial home to go and have baby girl for another man. He said even though he didn’t want to accept her back to his life, one of her aunt in Ibadan prevailed on him to forgive her and he accepted her back.
• I took my children away from her because her mother made my children to hawk yam. I don’t like the way I was seeing my children on the streets —Husband • The children were sent on errand by my mother when he hijacked them and took them away —Wife Hamzat who was responding to a case brought against him by the latter said the petitioner had been a bad example of a wife and a mother According to him the union which has been blessed with three children namely Abdullahi Hamzat(14), Taoheeb Hamzat(10) and Raqeeb Hamzat(9) was contracted in
the year 2000 when the petitioner got pregnant for him He described the petitioner as troublesome woman who had made life a living hell for him. “I had suffered a lot in her hand. We have had to pack out of many houses because of her troublesome nature. I hardly meet her at home whenever I return from work. There was
a particular Sunday when she got up and suddenly carried me up and threatened to break my back; that day she tore my cloth before people intervened. Later she told me that she was no longer interested in the marriage”, the respondent explained He added: “I took my children away from her because her mother made my children to hawk yam. I don’t like the way I see my children on the streets. They all look un kept despite the fact that I send money regularly for their upkeep. Besides, my sister and her husband who are teachers in Ibadan had requested for them and I had to oblige them” But earlier in her submission, the petitioner said the
respondent took the children away without her permission even as she urged the court to grant her the custody of the children. She told the court that she had to leave the house because of the respondent’s frequent beating leading to bone fractures “I went to my parent’s house and we agreed that he should be sending money to us. He has not been responsible for the children’s education and welfare since they were born as he claimed. Now that they are of age he said he could take care of them and he took them away without my permission. The children were sent on errand by my mother when he hijacked them and took them away. This happened last year”, the petitioner explained In his remarks, the court president, Mr. P.A. Williams urged the couple to maintain peace. He therefore adjourned the case till June 1, 2015
‘My husband does not last a minute on bed’
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‘He made me develop high blood pressure’
• We have been separated for two years and he did not bother to know anything about us. I reported the situation to his parents, but they could not resolve it-Wife
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n Osogbo Grade I Customary Court on Tuesday dissolved a 10-year old marriage between one Rasheedat Muibideen and her husband Kazeem. Rasheedat, who said her marriage was blessed with three children, said that her husband always beat her and refused to give her rest of mind. ``We have been married for 10years and we have three children who are living with me. “We do not understand each other and we always fight. ``He beats me so much and he
does not care for me and my children. This situation has made me develop high blood pressure. “We have been separated for two years and he did not bother to know anything about us. I reported the situation to his parents, but they could not resolve it. “I pray the court to separate us so I can be free from his troubles,” she said. The defendant, Kazeem, did not appear in court. The President of the Court, Chief Gabriel Oparanti, in his judgment dissolved the mar-
riage. ``After hearing the reason and plea for dissolution, the court hereby agrees to the demand of the plaintiff. “The defendant has refused to appear in court on two occasions which shows that he is not interested in pursuing the case; the marriage is therefore dissolved. “The custody of the children is awarded to the plaintiff and the defendant is to take responsibility of their feeding, education and welfare,” Oparanti ordered. (NAN)
30-year-old business woman, Mary, on Tuesday asked an Igando Customary Court, Lagos, to dissolve her nine-year-old marriage over her husband’s alleged failure to satisfy her sexually “My husband cannot perform well, he is not doing his job at all and that always makes me sad. My husband does not satisfy me, he does not last a minute on bed,” Mary said. The petitioner said that she forced her husband to a hospital to confirm what was wrong with him, and it was discovered that he had low sperm count. “My husband has low sperm count. I bought the drugs prescribed by the doctor for him, but he refused to use them. His refusal to take the drugs always causes us to fight, because I need a child. We have been married for nine years without any issue,’’ she said. Ifeanyi said her husband was always on the road for months, leaving her lonely at home, adding that he could sometimes stay away for three months, or more. She begged the court to dis-
39
solve the marriage, saying that she could no longer cope as her love for him had faded. In his response, John*, a 40-year-old businessman, told the court that he had low sperm count and that he believed God for a miracle. John said that he was trying his best to satisfy his wife, accusing her of infidelity. He accused her of having extra marital affairs, saying that men always called her at odd hours. “My wife is committing adultery, there was a day I saw a text message she sent to her man friend. I showed her the text, but instead of her to apologise, she warned me not to touch her phone. My wife always goes out without telling me and comes back at 11.00 p.m., and whenever I query her, she would tell me she owns her life. And anytime she comes home, she will enter her room and lock me out,” Osame said. He urged the court to save his marriage, saying that he still loved his wife. The court President, Hakeem Oyekan, adjourned the case till May 11, for further hearing (radio.com.ng)
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EVENT
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
2 Kings Concert rocks Lagos When Femi Kuti and his brother, Seun, headline a concert together, you can be sure that concert will be the bomb and attract the crème de la crème of both the entertainment industry and the society at large. And that’s exactly what happened when they headlined the 2 Kings Concert last week at Eko Hotel, Lagos. Olu Maintain and Adekunle Gold were just some of the notable faces that attended the concert which had Black Magic, Jesse Jagz, Seyi Shay and others as supporting acts for the Kutis.
Femi Kuti
Adekunle Gold
Rayce
Lil Kesh
Jumai Shaba and Seun Kuti
Aisha Shaba
Seyi Shay
Black Magic
Vimbal Mutinhiri
Oritsefemi (in glasses)
Niniola
Olu Maintain
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May 2, 2015
Doctor Talabi has answers to your health questions
Write him today at prettyprevent@gmail.com or text 09099346165 (sms only pls)
African Vaccination Day, malaria vaccines and other issues
T
his April, the African vaccination week was marked between 24th and 30th as part of the global vaccination week. The theme for Africa is ‘’vaccination a gift for life’’. The general aim of the World Health Organization (WHO) this year is to close the gap in vaccination. To ensure that children or even adults who have not been vaccinated against one vaccine preventable disease or another get vaccinated. The theme for Africa suggests a population that is still trying to sell the idea of the good of vaccination to its populace. According to WHO, the vaccination drive seems to be losing its steam ,with about 20% of children still missing out on routine life-saving immunizations .If these children alone are covered, it is estimated that close to 1.5 million deaths from preventable diseases could be averted.A lot of factors are working against vaccination ranging from a total lack of trust in vaccines to lack of resources or access to them. More so, vaccination in most cases is guarding against a situation which has not yet occurred hence the urgency is usually lost on individuals. The posture, rather than being ‘’what if this happens to me’’ is more of ‘it is not likely to happen to me’’ or ‘’it doesn’t run in our family’’ What are vaccines? Vaccines are biological preparations that provides acquired immunity to a particular disease. The are usually the weakened or killed form of the same agent it is meant to protect the body against. These agents when introduced into the body, mimics the real infection, prompting the body to recognize them as threats. As a result, the body mounts a resistance against them, destroys them and then keeps them in memory such that when the real infection comes it is prepared to deal with it via the now acquired antibodies. Vaccines have been found to be generally efficient in preventing diseases. It is to their credit that small pox was eradicated the world over. And diseases such as polio, measles etc are also on their way out. Vaccines are generally safe also and tolerated by most people. They have been developed against a wide range of infectious diseases and cancers. In addition, majority of vaccines in existence give lifelong immunity
Malaria Vaccine: Recently it was announced by the scientific world that the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine candidate has scaled through its phase iii trial. Thereby showing a high promise that it could be launched for use in months rather than years. The news about any vaccine that can totally prevent or at least cut down on malaria infection in Africa is good news. It is estimated that half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. It is a huge burden in Africa in terms of cost in treatments and in deaths. It is the most common reason why Africans visit the clinic. Though the objective for now is to combine this vaccine if it is finally produced with insecticide treated nets, rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin- based combination therapy; still the vaccine alone is expected to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malaria in the region of millions annually.
people don’t take vaccines in Africa uinability to afford paying for the vaccines uignorance about the existence or usefulness of vaccines ubelief that government should be the one paying for all vaccines ubelief that it is only the other person who can fall sick ulack of trust in orthodox medications ulack of ready access to vaccines How do we make people accept vaccine? ucreating awareness to educate people on the importance of vaccines umaking vaccines readily available uproviding vaccines free or at least subsidized by the government
Vaccines are available against childhood diseases and other deadly diseases found in the adult population. Such diseases include Measles, Pneumonia, Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Meningitis etc. Some of these vaccines are already in the National Immunization Program and are basically free for children. For adults, vaccines such as hepatitis B, HPV vaccine, Typhoid vaccines and others are available and desirable. Vaccines are harmless, effective and in most cases prevent against diseases that are deadly and irreversible. In Why do people not take vacthe long run, the cost of vaccination cines? is far cheaper than the cure of the There are a number of reasons why
disease. A visit to your General Practitioner will help in knowing which vaccine you should take and the time to take them. There are also some vaccines you may need to take while travelling out of the country. Such vaccines depend on the country you are visiting. A talk with your doctor will help in preventing an embarrassing situation where you may be denied entry into a country because you are not carrying an evidence of their required vaccination. Talk to your doctor to know if and when you should go for your vaccination. Conclusion: The question to ask then is: considering the cost and stress associated with malaria infection in Nigeria, when its vaccine finally landed, will you be one of those that would take it? If your answer is yes, I assume you have taken the vaccines that are available already and that prevents against diseases deadlier than malaria. Otherwise, you are not likely to take the malaria vaccine even when it becomes available. Let’s embrace vaccination. It is one of the gift you can give yourself or your children and ‘’it is a gift for life’’ You can chat with a doctor FREE at www.prettyhealthcare.com.ng, every Wednesdays and Fridays(48pm)
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May 2, 2015
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Mystical stone images of Esie
God made or man made?
H
ow did over 1,500 stone images manage to get to Esie, a community in Kwara State when the indigenes are not stone carvers? Could it be that some people deposited the images at the town and vanished thereafter? Could it be that the god just got angry with earlier inhabitants of the town and turned them all to stones? Could it be that a stone image carver abandoned the images after working on them? These are the likely questions that might bog the mind of a first timer at the Esie stone images museum in Esie, a sleepy town in Kwara, a North Central state in the country. The mystical existence of stone images at Esie attracted the Colonial Government to establish the first National Museum in Nigeria at Esie town in 1945. The museum is a historical and cultural monument. The ages of the soapstone have not been scientifically determined, but some local inhabitants of Esie believe that the stone images have been there from the beginning of time. There had been several versions of stories of how the stone images came to be. Many authors collected their information through anthropological research on these stone images, others from literature search, and as well as from mental recollections from respectable elders in Esie. These mysteries are what make Esie stone monuments tick and the town a top tourist and archaeological research hub. Some of the images are now consigned into a museum. The images are in various shapes and sizes. Some are images of human beings doing their daily chores like washing, bathing and cooking. Another set of images captures a king holding court with his chiefs while yet another set of images shows some peoples enjoying at a place that looks like the local palm wine shop. However, due to the poor tools used in the excavation of some of the stone, they were badly damages and need to the mended
An archeologist at the Esie Museum
But authorities in the town explain that the people of the town are not sculptors adding that they discovered the images at some location in 1775. He said that an itinerant hunter called Baragbon, discovered the image and he later became the founder the town. ‘Baragbon, while on hunting expedition one day, got to a tree and discovered a large collection of stone images. The images were in a semi-circle. He immediately ran away saying
they are demons. He was so discouraged that he wanted to leave the area but after he consulted with the ‘Ifa’ oracle he was told the images are not harmful The traditional monarch in the town explained that the inhabitants were so shocked by the find that several of them initially fled and it took several months of conviction for them to feel safe in the village. According to him, ‘We consulted the oracle and we were told that they are not
Esie images when it was freshly discovered
harmful to us. It was then that we had our peace, even at that we had to send Ayarun to stay close to the images for over three days before we were convinced that they are not harmful. ‘Ayarun later became the chief priest of the image. When our ancestors were worshiping the images but modernization has stopped the idea of worshiping the images now, they are now consigned to a museum for tourists to see,’he added. The secretary of the Esie Monument Festival committee, Ololade Oyeyipo, while corroborating the story of the monarch, added that several studies are already on to unravel how the images got to Esie. He said, ‘Definitely, the idea of someone bring them there is not it because they are very heavy and I doubt if anyone can carry such a collection, so there must be another explanation, our ancestors are no-stone carvers. Could it then be that a stone carver came around, did the images and then abandon them? We don’t know but serious
studies are going on.’ Oyeyipo added that the images have since been converted to a museum where visitors can see the richness of nature in the town. Oyeyipo who noted that the town houses the largest collection of stone images in the world, revealed that the UNESCO just knew of the existence of the images in 2008. He added that the images have a great potential to promote Nigeria’s eco-tourism. The stone images represent men, women, children and animals. They are of different sizes and shapes range in height from about ten centimeters to a little over a meter, stones weight varies from small fragment to the heaviest which is about one hundred and four kilograms. Lots of the images are seated on stools, some are standing, some have tribal marks on their faces; all reflecting the social status of the original people who were said to have been turned into images according to one of the local belief.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
LEISURE
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May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
From the Civil Service May Day: Amosun promises 100, 000 jobs from rail project Femi Oyeweso Abeokuta
O
gun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun has charged the civil servants in the state’s work force to join hands with his administration in its efforts towards re-building the state. The governor gave the charge yesterday while delivering his speech at the May Day celebration which held at the M.K.O. Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta, the state capital. Amosun, who described members of the state workforce as important stakeholders in efforts towards re-positioning the state, also advised the state civil servants to guard against allowing themselves to be swayed by half-truths and lies being peddled by some narrow-minded individuals and groups. The governor reiterated that his administration
would remain undaunted in the commitment towards a successful implementation of all the cardinal programmes in the “Mission to Rebuild Ogun state” which started almost four years ago. Amosun also described the workers as an “integral part of the state” which he said his administration would continue to cherish and adequately protect. “I implore you that we have a great task ahead and the journey is still far. We are all stakeholders in the re-building of our beloved state and nation. So, it is pertinent that we all jointly forge ahead with the task at hand. “On our part, we remain unwavering in our commitment to the successful implementation of the “Mission to Rebuild” Ogun state to the fullest. We intend to complete on-going projects and initiate new ones. “I am determined to en-
sure that both the on-going and new projects are completed in good time. What that means is that we all must work harder than we did in the last four years”.
In an interview with journalists shortly after the May Day celebration, the governor disclosed that inter and intra - city railway project which contract agreement had just been signed this week Monday would create over 100, 000 direct and in-
direct jobs for the people of the state. He added that the railway project which will cruise through Abeokuta - Sagamu - Lagos, Ilaro, Agbara Industrial Estate and Idiroko among other places would be beneficial to the state workforce in terms of
movement, stressing that furniture and chairs makers would also benefit from it. He emphasized that the chairs for sitting in the trains would be produced locally by experienced technicians and other artisans in the state.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (middle), Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Jaji (2nd left), Hon. Omowunmi Edet (left), Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Florence Oguntuase (2nd right) and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mr. Nurudeen Salami (right) during the 2015 Workers’ Day Celebration at the Onikan Stadium, Onikan, Lagos, on Friday, May 1, 2015.
NLC charges Imoke to release N2.3b to CRUTECH Richard Ndoma Calabar
T
he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),on Friday charged Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River to immediately release the sum of N2.3billion to management of the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) to enable the University call of its four months old strike which grounded academic activities of the college. Speaking at the workers day celebration held at the Abraham Oldier stadium at the university of Calabar, NLC Chairman in the state, Mr John Ushie, said that this year’s theme is ``the working class,Democratic Consolidation and Economic Revival: Charting The Way to National Re-birth’’. The NLC boss in the state decried the fact that the university has been on strike since January 17, with no effort to suspend it through
dialogue from the state government and the school management. ``As we celebrate this year’s Workers’ Day, we demand a special grant of
N2.3billion be released to enable the university to clear arrears of sundry allowances deliberately owed the staff of the institution. ``The release of N500mil-
lion to the University for NUC accreditation without which some programmes may lose accreditation. ``The review of monthly subvention from N169mil-
lion to N250million for effective running of the university. ``Also, the payment of staff salaries including deductions made from
Workers Day: ASUU, NMA, NUJ others shun rally in Bayelsa
zz As Dickson orders 20 percent PITA reduction from workers Osahon Julius Yenagoa
T
he Academic Staff Union Of Universities, ASUU, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, the Judicial Staff Union of Nigerian, JUSUN, Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ, and others notable labour unions were missing at the yesterday workers day rally in Bayelsa State as they boycotted the rally attended by the state governor, Seriake Dickson. Though the reason for
their action was sketchy as at press time, an interview with the Niger Delta University, NDU, chairman of the academic staff union Dr. Stanley Ogoun, said they were dissatisfied by governor Dickson administration. He lamented that that some of his members who were lawfully employed are been victimized by the administration and their salaries withheld, saying that the members also pay the highest tax in the country. Though the celebration
was greeted with scanty crowd as a result of the boycott by the unions, Governor Dickson insisted that workers should not be used by disgruntled and over zealous politicians or opposition elements to distract the state of its good socioeconomic developments. While appealing to the workers to maintain peace and unity in the state, he warned politicians not to interfere in the activities of the civil servants in the state, as they are not politicians
by career, asking workers to shun politicians who indulge in politics of calumny to discredit the government. Following the hardship faced by civil servants in Bayelsa state through the monthly deduction of Personal Income Tax Act, PITA by Governor Seriake Dickson led administration, Dickson, the governor ordered the immediate reduction by 20 percent from the PITA in workers’ salaries from June, 2015.
Dec. 2014 to April 2015’’, he said. The NLC Chairman appealed to the state government to engage the university management in a dialogue in other to proffer solutions in ending the strike. Reacting, Gov. Imoke stated that a meeting of the state government and the university management has been scheduled to hold with CRUTECH management on Tuesday April 5, with a view to find a lasting solutions and suspend the strike. ``I wish to use this opportunity to appeal to the university management that after the meeting on Tuesday, they should suspend the strike in the interest of the students’’, he said. On the two months salaries owed to civil servants in the state, Imoke assured them that his administration would clear civil servants salaries before his hand over on May 29 to his successor.
Sport
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
May 2, 2015
45
Fight of the Century:
Mayweather, Pacquiao draw blood over money, name Ifeanyi Eduzor
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oxing fans all over the world will tonight witness the most lucrative fight ever in world history when eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, squares up against undefeated pound for pound fighter and five- division champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The $300million mega fight slated for the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America between the two best fighters in the welterweight division, will have both the WBO and WBA Welterweight belts on the line; with Mayweather pocketing 60% of the fight purse which is $150million and Pacquiao going home with the remaining 40% amounting to $100million while the fight winner will receive a $1million emerald belt. Dubbed “Fight of the Century”, the publicity and media hype received by the fight, reminds boxing fans of the “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman on October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and the “Thriller in Manila” fight between Ali and Joe Frazier which was held in the Philippines capital on October 1, 1975. Negotiations for the fight have been on since December 5, 2009, when ESPN reported that Pacquiao signed a contract to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010. Shortly afterward, the Philippines boxer and legislator denied ever signing a contract to fight Mayweather, telling FanHouse, “There are still some things that need to be negotiated.” Both parties continued negotiations for the fight until early this year when all major issues preventing the fight from taking place in the past were resolved; including purse split, drug testing, and location of the bout. Tonight’s fight which promises to live up to expectation as the greatest fight of this century, is one that boxing fans have been looking up to in recent years; not minding that both boxers have passed their respective peaks with Mayweather being 38 and Pacquiao 36, but fans and officials still believe the fight will give them a worth for their money, considering the boxers’ pedigree, strength, speed, killer punches and intimidating records which make them the dominant fighters in the welterweight category. Mayweather who is the highest earning athlete in the world will have his father, Mayweather Snr. in his corner during the fight and will be going into the ring as an undefeated champion having won all his
‘
Tonight’s fight which promises to live up
to expectation as the
greatest fight of this century, is one that
boxing fans have been looking up to in recent years; not minding that both boxers have passed their respective peaks with
Mayweather being 38 and Pacquiao 36
’
previous 47 fights; with only two fights away from matching Rocky Marciano’s 49fight unbeaten record while Pacquiao with
57 wins, five draws and two loses will have the widely respected trainer, Freddie Roach, in his corner. Although, there has been other high profile fights which attracted much attention in the past such as Jack Johnson against Jim Jeffries in 1910 held at a specially built outdoor arena in Reno, Nevada with prize money and racial pride at stake in an age when blacks in America were being lynched on a regular basis in the South and in the North were regarded as second-class citizens or that in 1936 and 1938 between Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber and German Max Schmeling in two huge fights over which the poison of racism was again prominent. Hitler and the Nazis were in power in Germany and Schmeling was cast in the role of champion of the Aryan ‘master or even the Cassius Clay, (later Muhammad Ali) defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964 in Miami to claim the world heavyweight title, but none of these can compare with the huge amount involved in this fight es-
pecially when one considers the projected $300m the fight will generate which undoubtedly qualifies it as the most lucrative fight there’s ever been in boxing. Arguably the biggest advantage going for Mayweather in this fight is his size. He stands an inch and a half taller than his opponent but it’s the arm length that really stands out. Mayweather has an outstanding five inch reach advantage over Pacquiao. Many boxing experts believe the American will simply exploit the reach advantage over Pacquiao, and attempt to win the fight by avoiding close contact with the Filipino. However, his biggest criticism is his punching power. The last time Mayweather knocked out an opponent was in 2007 when he recorded a 10 round knockout out of Ricky Hatton. Pacquiao who is a member of the Philippines parliament on the other hand is shorter and not as quick as Mayweather, but he does have superior punch power. Because Pacquiao has a much shorter reach, he will have to be close to his opponent to do much of the damage. Fortunately for Pacquiao, he is used to being the smaller boxer, and that hasn’t halted his success in the past. This will be the third consecutive fight in which Pacquiao faces an undefeated boxer. In his last fight against undefeated Chris Algieri, he convincingly won the fight. Prior to that, Pacquiao faced, and defeated Timothy Bradley, who has an intimidating record of 31 undefeated fights. Prior to this fight, both fighters have agreed to undergo United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Olympic-style drug testing. This drug-testing programme consists of both random blood and urine testing, with the fighters agreeing to let their whereabouts known at all times during training so that random pre-fight testing could be administered. Both fighters will also be tested directly after the fight. Neither fighter has failed a drug test during his professional career. If either fighter tests positive for the use of PEDs, he will be banned from the sport of boxing for a minimum of four years. As the boxers get set to mount the ring early Sunday morning, many boxing pundits have been predicting the outcome of the fight. While some were quick to give it to the American, others gave reasons while the Filipino will emerge champion. But whatever the outcome of the fight will be, it is expected that the hype and interest it has generated will be maintained from the first round to the last to make it live up to its billing as the fight of the century.
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May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
MirrorGolf With Pius Anakali
€1m staked on maiden AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
A
n exciting field has been confirmed for the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, which will be played at the Heritage Golf Club from May, 7-10, 2015. This ground-breaking tournament – the first to be trisanctioned between the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours, offers a prize fund of € 1 000 000. Entries include Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who recently won his second European Tour title at the Shenzhen International; George Coetzee who also recently won his second European Tour title when he lifted the 2015 Tshwane Open trophy,
Scott Hend, one of the most successful international players on the Asian Tour, AfrAsia Bank global ambassador Hennie Otto, who has won 12 titles on the Sunshine Tour, Thomas Levet and Thomas Bjørn, who have won 12 and 15 professional titles respectively. Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, said: “It is always exciting to break new ground and the inaugural AfraAsia Bank Mauritius Open at The Heritage Golf Club promises to be a superb tournament, with the three Tours coming together for the first time.
Molinari delighted with Scott conquest
F
rancesco Molinari was delighted to start his WGC – Cadillac Match Play campaign with a comprehensive 5 and 4 win over Adam Scott in San Francisco. The Italian lost the opening hole against the former Masters Tournament winner, but three bogeys in four holes from Scott allowed the two-time Ryder Cup star to race two up through six. A birdie from five feet at the
tenth put Molinari three ahead and, after Scott bogeyed the next, a tee shot to inside three feet of the 13th led to a five-hole margin. “I’m a bit surprised, to be honest,” said Molinari. “I haven’t hit a ball in the last three weeks because I was injured. I guess I came in with low expectations. “Adam had a tough day on the greens, I holed a few putts and hit a couple of shots close to the hole. Obviously it’s a good start. “It’s a course where you can make birdies, but you can easily get this trouble. The rough is quite strong, so you want to keep out of it. Just staying out of trouble I think was the key today. “I think some courses are easier and some are harder. I think this one is pretty straightforward. It’s a challenge, but it’s in front of you, so you have to hit fairways, hit greens.”
Sterling kits out mansion with his own barber’s shop Westwood remains in fine fettle Molinari
L
ee Westwood maintained his excellent form by beating Matt Every to make a winning start to the WGC – Cadillac Match Play. The Englishman, who reached the last 16 only once in 14 appearances before the tournament moved to TPC Harding Park this year with a new format which splits the 64 players into 16 groups of four, birdied the last for a one up victory. That gave Westwood, who won in Indonesia on Sunday, the perfect start to the round-robin format, with Mikko Ilonen up next after the Finn lost his first roundrobin game to Masters Tournament champion Jordan Spieth. “It was a real struggle out there,” said Westwood. “We didn’t
see a lot of each other on the front nine. It’s probably a game that Matt thinks he should have won - I feel very fortunate to win. “Neither of us played particularly well, but we scrambled a lot and ground it out. Sometimes to win a match play match you have to do that. I guess I birdied three of the last four holes.”
Westwood
R
aheem Sterling may have snubbed a new £90,00-aweek Liverpool contract but he’s still flush enough to put a five-a-side pitch and hair salon in his mansion home. The England winger has given a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside his palatial home which also features a basketball court, an indoor swimming pool, a gym and a bar. The 20-year-old revealed he was getting so pestered for selfie snaps when he went out at night that he splashed the cash to make home ‘a fun place.’ The star, who’s upset many Kop fans by turning down a huge pay increase at Anfield, regularly changes his hairstyle, and so built a self-purpose barbers to
twiddle with his barnet whenever he wants. The pad in Southport, Merseyside, has an entertainment room and a baby grand piano, along with a special wardrobe for his hordes of trainers. Sterling, recently heckled at a Liverpool kit launch by a disgruntled supporter, told a magazine: “In the evenings I prefer to stay home. “If I go out I’m always asked for selfies, so I’ve spent money making my house a fun place. I’ve got an indoor swimming pool, a halfbasketball court, a games room and my own barber’s area. “My girlfriend usually cooks dinner and it will be something like barbecue ribs or chicken wings. Friends come round and we download movies or play Fifa.
“The best part of earning so much is spending it on my family. I bought my mum a beautiful house in Jamaica last year, and it was lovely to see her so excited.” A source said: “This is the ultimate footballers pad. It’s got everything you could ever want, and more. “Raheem prefers to spend time at home rather than going out so he thought he would spend his money on making it the best house imaginable. “He likes to change his hair style regularly and likes to get it cut at home in privacy so the logical step was to install his own salon. “It is a bit extravagant but he has got the money to do it and it makes him happy.”
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Nigeria target 2018 World Cup semi-finals
N
igeria aims to make history at the 2018 World Cup by becoming the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals. The three-time African champions have reached the Round of 16 on three of their five World Cup appearances. “All efforts we are building now are geared towards getting Nigeria to play the semi-finals in Russia,” Amaju Pinnick, the Nigeria Football Federation president, told BBC Sport. “We have the manpower to do that. The talent in Nigeria is amazing.” Pinnick’s comments might come as a surprise given that Nigeria failed to qualify for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. Two years ago they won the title but their decline has been
Super Eagles’ players celebrate after scoring a goal in a match
brought about by a mixture of turmoil within the NFF, the sacking and rehiring of Coach Stephen Keshi and threats of Fifa bans for government interference in football matters. Nonetheless, Pinnick, who assumed control of Nigerian football, last September following protracted elections, lists a number
of reasons why Africa’s largest country with a population of 170m people can finally deliver at the World Cup. He believes technology, ‘capacity-building’ for coach Keshi, a better local league, the country’s natural ability and enhanced administration can provide the platform for significant growth.
S
Keshi
in re-appointing Keshi. In his first term, Keshi did a lot to encourage the boys in the domestic League, and the boy who scored our winning goal at the Africa Cup of Nations, Sunday Mba, was playing in the domestic
scene. “We don’t live in the clouds. If we wanted a foreign coach, we would probably go for someone in the class of Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger. We don’t have that money presently and we don’t want to owe our coach,” Pinnick said. Keshi has now reiterated Pinnick’s remarks insisting he is the right man to take the reins at Nigeria’s senior national team. “I know I am the right man for this job because I totally understand the challenge at hand”, he told supersports.com.
Edu makes Lagos Lawn tennis pledge Ifeanyi Eduzor
N
ewly elected president of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Barrister Rotimi Oladipupo Edu says his priority is to make the club the best in the continent before the expiration of his tenure. He told Saturday Mirror shortly after he was elected unopposed as the helmsman of the premier tennis club in the country that the new executives under him will work towards making the club’s eight courts the busiest in the history of tennis in Africa through regular hosting of major championships and top tennis stars from different parts of the world as well as ensuring that friendship is maintained among members through recreation.
“I want to assure all members that there are better days ahead and I won’t disappoint them. “Very soon we shall be celebrating the 120th anniversary of this great club that was founded in 1895 and we plan to put the Lagos Tennis Club on the world map through regular tennis programmes and corporate partnership. Edu while commending his predecessor, Barrister Sunny Egbuchulam for the great job he did in repositioning the club, noted that part of his agenda is to ensure that top tennis stars from different parts of the world visit the club regularly as a way of inspiring upcoming tennis stars and promoting interest of Lagos Lawn Tennis club members even as he canvassed for support from all the members. Besides Edu who was elected
47
Glo League Update With Paul Erewuba
Unpaid salaries: El-Kanemi plan to boycott NPFL Week 7 match
I
I’m the right man for Eagles —Keshi ephen Keshi insists he is the right man to take Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles back to the top. Recent results posted by the three-time African champions have seen many fans express reservations about the side with some questioning the wisdom of the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hand Keshi a contract to continue as Super Eagles strainer. NFF president, Amaju Pinnick was quoted as saying on Thursday that re-appointing Keshi was no mistake. “We (NFF) made no mistake
Sport
May 2, 2015
ssues of unpaid salaries have again started to surface in the 2014/2015 season of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). There are serious complaints brewing in the camp of El-Kanemi Warriors over unpaid salaries and the reaction from the players of the Desert Warriors is not encouraging. The players boycotted training during the week, an action which might spell doom for the Maiduguri- based team if their visitor shows up for the NPFL week seven match in Kano on Sunday. Some players who spoke on condition of anonymity gave reasons why they chose to act now. “It’s so unfortunate that we’ve found ourselves in this situation, we didn’t train on Wednesday and Thursday because we agreed to boycott Sunday’s game against Akwa United. “We are yet to be paid 70 per-
cent of our salary since last season; they promised to pay us this season before week four and now we are approaching week seven and they are not even saying anything. “The most annoying part of the story is that we were told by one of the club officials that the Governor has released our money but from investigations we conducted, we realized that the Club Chairman Zanna Mala Kakaje is the one holding us to ransom. “We are not going to play on Sunday and we won’t travel for the next away game against Akwa United until they pay us our entitlements.” It would be recalled that the issue of unpaid salaries caused a huge scene at the later stage of last season with clubs protesting but the situation was calmed down with series of unfulfilled promises which has again triggered another round of protest from different NPFL clubs.
Ibrahim named Match Day 6 best referee
T
he League Management Company (LMC) after due considerations announced Referee Ishaku Ibrahim from Kogi State as the Glo Premier League Match Day 6 Referee of the Week. Ishaku officiated in the match between Sunshine Stars and Wikki Tourists in Akure for which he was praised for his firmness, fairness and correct calls.
“We commend Ishaku Ibrahim for his sterling display which our Match Delegate and the away team officials acknowledged. The LMC will continue to reward excellence to encourage others to raise their game”, Salihu Abubakar, LMC Chief Operating Officer stated. Sunshine Stars came from behind twice to defeat Wikki Tourists in the highly contested encounter.
Edu
unopposed, Gbenga Lufadeju was elected as the Vice President of the club while Dapo Aboaba clinched the post of treasurer. Kunle Oyekanmi was elected unopposed as the Publicity Secretary. Mrs. Tolu Omuero won the post of Bar and catering secretary while Alhaji Sadiq Animashau emerged as the table tennis captain with the position of billiards and snooker captain going to Kola Peregrino.
L-R): Analyst,Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria,Michael Nwoseh (4th from right), flanked by the winning team of the Etisalat Cliqfest football competition held at University of Ilorin, Kwara State.
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SPORT
May 2, 2015
Scholes questions United move for Pogba
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Barca call for Liga transfer pardon
P
aul Scholes does not believe Manchester United should make a move to bring Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford. Pogba left United in July 2012 after opting against signing a new contract, allowing him to move to a Juventus team with whom he now enjoys a starring role The France international has been strongly linked with a switch away from the Serie A champions, with United among the clubs linked with the midfielder. Paris Saint-Germain are reported to have agreed an €80million fee for Pogba, and Scholes feels that fee is too steep for United to consider signing him. “I don’t feel they should go back to sign Pogba for the sums being talked about having lost him for the compensation payment,” Scholes wrote in his column for The Independent. “I understand that Chelsea did the same when they bought back Nemanja Matic from Benfica, but his fee was nothing like the numbers quoted for Pogba. It would feel wrong to me.” Scholes feels his decision to come out of retirement was partly responsible for Pogba’s United exit. “I think my return to the team, and the game time Paul got, was a small part of it,” he added.
Pogba
Pogba
Iniesta: Nothing is impossible for Guardiola
Vieira still hurt by Wenger snub
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A
ndres Iniesta has warned his Barcelona team-mates not to underestimate Bayern Munich in their Champions League semi-final tie irrespective of their injury worries as he has little doubt Pep Guardiola will come up with a solution for his side’s problems. The Bundesliga champions will be without the likes of Arjen Robben, Holger Badstuber and David Alaba in the first leg of their semi-final encounter next week, while Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribery are doubtful, too. Bayern recovered from a 3-1 first-leg defeat to Porto, winning 6-1 in Munich, and Iniesta feels that performance shows that Bayern remain a force to be reckoned with despite their injuries, adding that the form of the day will be decisive on Wednesday’s
Guardiola
encounter at Camp Nou. “There is no such thing as a good result after the first leg against a team coached by Guardiola,” Iniesta was quoted as saying by Sport. “Guardiola has already shown that nothing is impossible for him.
Rio: Terry’s been outstanding
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io Ferdinand says that although he “no longer gets on” with John Terry, he can admit that the Chelsea defender has been “outstanding” this season. The former England team-mates do not speak any more as a result of the fallout from Terry’s racism case with Ferdinand’s brother, Anton. Rio Ferdinand last year used his autobi-
B
arcelona’s transfer spokesperson Charly Rexach has called for a general pardon for La Liga clubs found to have breached youth transfer regulations, saying that if Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid join Barca in being unable to sign new players there is a danger that the “world of football collapses.” Barca are currently banned from signing new players until January 2016 after being found guilty of multiple breaches of the regulations regarding the signing of foreign youngsters, in a punishment initially deferred but finally upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Real and Atletico, who also have large numbers of non-Spanish youth players on their books, could face similar bans from FIFA, although both clubs say their cases are different and they do not expect to be punished. Other La Liga outfits, including Valencia and Villarreal, may also be in trouble with FIFA for having looked overseas for emerging talents for their “cantera” youth systems. Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has previously called for a general amnesty for La Liga clubs, while Spanish FA president Angel Maria Villar reportedly discussed this with FIFA president Sepp Blatter at a recent meeting about the issue.
ography to say he found it “impossible to forgive or forget” the pain of that incident, but on Friday said in his column in The Sun he felt moved to praise Terry’s on-thefield performances. He said: “It’s no secret that me and John Terry are not the closest of mates. But just because we no longer get on does not mean I’ve lost my admiration for him as a footballer.
atrick Vieira says he is disappointed not to have received an invitation to work at Arsenal when his playing career came to an end. Vieira is currently in charge of Manchester City’s elite development squad having headed to the Etihad when his playing days came to an end at Inter Milan. Vieira has been linked with the first-team job at City if Manuel Pellegrini is let go at the end of the season, and reports suggest that Marseille could move for the 38-yearold as a replacement for Marcelo Bielsa. But Vieira remains hurt that - unlike Thierry Henry - he wasn’t contacted by Arsene Wenger to take up a role at the Emirates. He told French magazine L’Equipe: “Everywhere I go, people say that to me. “It was out of the question for me to put myself forward. Why would I have done? It was a disappointment for me, both from the club but also Arsene. “When I stopped playing, I had an offer from City, and I didn’t get a call from Arsene. “If he had wanted me to work with him, he would have asked me. It was a disappointment for me, both from the club but also Arsene.
EPL fixtures Leicester
v Newcastle
Aston Villa v Everton Liverpool
v QPR
Sunderland v S’hampton
Vieira
Swansea
v Stoke
West Ham
v Burnley
Man Utd
v West Brom
Crime Watch
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
49
May 2, 2015
Police smash trans-border human trafficking syndicate •‘I sold my cousin to raise money for business’—Suspect •‘My ordeal in the hands of my captors’—Victim
Patience Ogbome
with Agency Report
A suspected kidnapper has revealed why he sold his 15-year-old cousin into sex slavery. The suspect, Kelvin Okorie, 27, cousin to the girl’s mother, was tracked and arrested by detectives attached to the Special AntiRobbery Squad, Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command after 11 months of chasing him and his gang members across different African countries. Aside from Okorie, other members of the gang now in police custody are Innocent Onyekwe, 38; Ugwu Christopher, 37; Christian Mercy, 19; and Ogbonna Njioku, 20. Okorie confessed that he sold the girl, Precious Ugochi Okoro, to be able to raise money to start his own business. The state’s Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, said the victim, Precious Ugochi Okoro, residing at Ajah with her parents, was on her way back to her school, a boarding facility in Ikenne, Ogun State, when she was kidnapped. Aderanti said: “The kidnappers after two months of holding the victim hostage contacted her parents, using various telephone numbers. They demanded for various sums of money ranging from $30,000 to N200,000 and 30,000 as ransom. They also furnished different account numbers as details for receiving the ransom.” Aderanti further explained that numerous suspects were arrested but the breakthrough came when a decoy team of SARS, led by the Officer-in-Charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, arrested Okorie. He said: “Through him, contact was established with the gang’s member in Libya, which led to the safe return of the victim to Lagos on April 24, 2014, almost a year after the abduction of the teenager.” Recalling how she was abducted, Okoro said that she was going back to school in Ogun State when she ran into some cult members who thought she had overheard their conversation. She said they beat her to the state of coma and even wanted to rape her. One of them however stopped others from molesting her. She said: “The guy, Seun, took me to his home and said that I should stay with him for two weeks until I was fit to go. He said I shouldn’t call anybody.” Okoro stayed with Seun for two weeks until the fateful day they both went out to buy drugs. Narrating her ordeal, Precious said, “I
Okorie and another suspect
left my home for school that fateful day at about 5pm. I left home late because my father went out to get some money for me to travel but couldn’t come back on time. “I am a boarder at my school. I took a bus as the Sangotedo Park in Ajah for school but I was the only one in the vehicle and the driver dropped me off at Ibeju Lekki. “I got another vehicle which took me to Ode Remo around 9pm. I could not find a cab that would take me to Ikenne where my school is. I did not know they were having a festival that day and people had been asked to stay indoors. “I trekked for about two hours until I stumbled on some people who were talking. I discovered they were cultists and they accused me of eavesdropping. They added that I knew their secrets. The ladies among them descended on me and beat me up mercilessly. “After the ladies were done beating me, they asked the men in the group to take turns to rape me but a man called Seun came to my rescue and took me away in his car to his house in Ojota , area in Lagos . I was in Seun’s house for two weeks while he took care of my wounds. If not for him, I would have died out there in the hands of those cultists. But Seun did not allow me ac-
Precious Ugochi Okoro
cess to the phone to call my parents. “I got the opportunity when Seun, went out to get eye drop for my swollen eyes. I begged him to allow me to follow him, at least to see the sun and he allowed me to come out from the house but while we were going, my slippers cut and I went back into the house to pick another one. “I was on my way when I saw Kelvin my maternal cousin. I was glad and called out to him. I call him Kelvin Okito and I took the opportunity to narrate my ordeal him.” Precious added that another round of torture came her way after she narrate her ordeal to her cousin who, instead of taking her home to her parents, took her to the Alaba area of Lagos and connived with his friend, John and they both ended up selling her to John’s elder brother called Nzube Chukwu living in Libya. She stated that unknown to her, Chukwu is a notorious human trafficker and that Chukwu took her on a tortuous journey to Libya where she was made to face horrendous life as a slave. She said, “Kelvin told me that he had called my mum and told her he was taking me on a journey to Libya. I pleaded with him to allow me talk to her, but he said my mum was happy that I was going to Libya,
where I would continue my education. Kelvin handed me over to Chukwu and we started our journey together with some other migrants. We spent four days on the road before reaching Agadez in the Niger Republic. The other people with me said it was a journey of life and death. I managed to get a phone, called my mum and asked her for money so I could return to Nigeria. “They discovered the phone that I used to call my mum and they seized it. I was made to stay indoors in Agadez for three weeks. We started the journey to Libya and spent seven days in the desert. Some people died on the way. We got to Bra in Libya seven days after. I met the wife of the man (Chukwu) and she asked me if I had been told what I was there for. “I said, ‘Yes, to continue my school. I was taken to a place where there were so many girls wearing only pants and bras. I asked them to wear their clothes. But they laughed at me and said, ‘this one is a JJC (naive).The woman told me she had bought me and I must work to pay back the money which she claimed was $6,000, including transport, accommodation and feeding
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CRIME WATCH
Lagos-based businessman docked over alleged N35m fraud
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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arraigned Lagosbased businessman Elvis Ezeani for defrauding a Bureau de Change operator of N35 million. The accused was charged before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Ikeja High Court on three counts of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence. The accused, whose address was not made known, was alleged to have conspired to defraud Mr Anwalu Abdulrahman, a Bureau de Change operator, with one convicted Joseph Morah. Ezeani, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him. The EFCC prosecutor, Mr Aliu Yusuf, told the court that Morah had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the same offences by Justice Sadiq Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja. He told the court that the accused conspired with Morah to defraud their victim on May 25, 2006. Yusuf said Ezeani allegedly obtained N13.5 million and 143,620 dollars from Abdulrahman on separate occasions to transfer on his behalf to his brother that was based in Ghana. ``Ezeani did not carry out the transactions as agreed between him and the complainant after collecting the monies,’’ the prosecutor said. He told the court that Ezeani violated the administrative bail granted to him by the EFCC and was rearrested in February 2014. Yusuf said the alleged offences of the accused contravened Sections 1(2)(3) and 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2004. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offence of obtaining by false pretences attracts seven years imprisonment term. Ipaye granted the accused N5 million bail with two sureties in like sum. The judge also ordered that the sureties must produce evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government and that their addresses must be verified by the court’s registrar. She also directed the accused to deposit his international passport with the Chief Registrar of the Lagos State High Court. ``His passport must only be released to him on this court’s permission,’’ she said. The judge adjourned the matter till June 2 for trial.
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Police arrest 4 over death of ex-Customs officer’s son Patience Ogbo
H
omicide detectives attached to the Force Headquarter Annex, Alagbon Close, Lagos are investigating four men over the death of a 35year-old man simply identified as Otonga Junior. The men were arrested following a complaint by the deceased’s father, Mr. Otonga, an ex-Customs’ Officer, alleging that his son had gone missing and later said to have died after a client of his, one Osareti, visited his house for a business transaction last year. It was gathered that Osareti allegedly connived with his friends and abducted Otonga’s son over a disagreement on a N500,000 money. It was gathered that Osareti who is based in Europe sent a container of goods to Lagos and contacted Otonga to help him clear the goods. Our source said Osareti allegedly paid N1million to Otonga for the goods to be released from the port but Otonga informed Osareti that the goods incurred demurrage and that Osareti had to pay an additional additional N500,000. The police source who narrated the incident said “Osareti told Mr. Otonga that he would not pay the demurrage fees as he was not responsible for incurring the cost. The refusal led argument. But later, Osareti called Otonga that he was bringing the money. Mr. Otonga told him to take the money to his house and give it to his son. Unfortunately, as the police source narrated, Osareti had ulterior motive as he connived with three of his friends to kidnap Otonga’s son. When Osareti went to Mr. Otonga’s house, he and his friends forced Otonga’s son into a vehicle they came with. They manhandled Otonga’s son and he started gasping for breath. He later died in the car”.
Dr. Dikko Inde Abdullahi, Comptroller General of Customs
The police source who requested anonymity further stated that Osareti with his friends took the deceased to a bush and buried him. “Osareti, with one of his friends said to be a medical doctor, fled the country while the two others remained in Nigeria. They took the deceased’s Blackberry phone and sold it for N20,000”. It was gathered that the case was initially reported at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Ikeja as a kidnap case but the investigation did not yield any positive results. Our source stated that the SARS operatives arrested Osareti’s brother and one other man who introduced Osareti
FCT Police arrests notorious impostors
A
s part of the determination to combat crimes in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and its environs, the Police Command has arrested notorious fraudsters and impersonators who operate in the city. Parading the suspects, the FCT Police Commissioner, Wilson Inalegwu, said some of the suspects are currently assisting the Police in their investigations and they will be arraigned in court as soon as investigations are concluded. In a statement by the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, ASP Anjuguri J. Manzah, some of the suspects paraded
included Tanko Gimba, who specialised in issuing fake letters of appointments to unsuspecting members of the public. Manzah had so far defrauded job applicants of N5 million, with the promise of offering them employment in Federal Capital Territory Administration. Another suspect, Nnamdi Uwaezuoke, impersonated the Comptroller-General of Immigration in his attempt to sign and collect approved land allocation document from the FCDA Office. Also Matthew Nkemakolam, a business centre operator, conspired with a fake woman police to produce fake identity cards for criminals.
to Otonga and detained them for two months. The source said, “initially, the case was reported at SARS as kidnap. The SARS operatives arrested Osareti’s brother and one Obende. Two of them have nothing to do with the crime. Obende’s crime according to the police is that he was the one that introduced Osareti to Mr. Otonga. They were in SARS custody for two months but later granted bail. Mr. Otonga then petitioned the IGP and asked for the case to be transferred to Alagbon. Mr. Otonga also wrote a petition to the SSS and following their investigation and tracking of the deceased’s phone number, two of Osareti’s friends(whose identities are being withheld for security reasons) were arrested by the SSS and they have since confessed complicity in the death of the deceased. They admitted assisting Osareti to abduct the deceased but their intention was not to kill him but to get his father to refund Osareti’s N1million. They confessed that they buried the deceased in a shallow grave and sold his BB phone. “ The police source added that Osareti’s brother and Obende are also being held in Alagbon. It was further learnt that Mr. Otonga went into shock after he learnt of his son’s death. The source added that the deceased will be exhumed for autopsy to determine the cause of death. “Mr. Otonga brought the money for the exhumation and the police will go to exhume the corpse soon for autopsy”.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Ex-NDDC commissioner jailed for stealing transformers
A
former Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom State on the board of the intervention agency, the Niger Delta Development Commission, Pastor Godwin Moffat Eyo, was on Monday convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment by an Akwa Ibom State High court for stealing 56 transformers meant for oil producing communities in the state. The convict, who was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 56-count charge that borders on stealing and conversion of 56 electricity transformers released to him by NDDC for distribution to communities in Akwa Ibom State, was found guilty on 37 of those counts by Justice Idongesit Ntem B. Isua and sentenced to three years imprisonment on each of the counts. Eyo was however discharged and acquitted on 19 counts. The sentences are to run concurrently. The convict was said to have applied for 90 electricity transformers and four generators from the NDDC for Akwa Ibom State sometime in February, 2006. Approval was given for 70 transformers but he diverted same to his house in Eket on the pretext that there was no space to accommodate the newly issued 70 units of transformers at the NDDC office in Uyo. He thereafter sent only 14 Units to the NDDC office in Uyo, while he withheld 56 units, which he could not account for till date. The 56 transformers are valued at N220,176,320 million. One of the counts reads: “That you Pastor Godwin Moffat Eyo being a former Akwa Ibom State representative on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission on or about 14th April, 2006 at Uyo in the Uyo Judicial Division did fraudulently steal a 300 KVA/33/0.415 Transformer Serial No. 1712496 valued at Four Million, Eighteen Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty Naira (N4,018,560.00), property of NDDC and thereby committed an offence of stealing contrary to Section 399 and punishable under Section 404 of the Criminal Code Cap. 38, Volume 2, Laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2000.”
Eyo
CRIME WATCH
May 2, 2015
51
NDLEA arrests Kenyan dancer in possession of drugs
T
he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said on Tuesday that it had arrested a 42-year-old Kenyan female dancer with cocaine weighing 5.345kg at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos. Mr Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesman of the agency, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos. He said that the dancer, identified as Samira Johnson, allegedly concealed the narcotics in some school bags. ``The suspect was found in possession of four blue parcels of white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine weighing 5.345kg. ``Johnson, who was born in Mombasa, travelled with a Kenyan international passport with number A1536020. She departed
Bujumbura in Burundi en-route Nairobi to Lagos on a Kenyan Airways flight. “During routine screening, she was found with four parcels of cocaine concealed in school bags. She claimed to be a professional dancer in Kenya. “She claimed she was given the school bags in Bujumbura by a friend to deliver in Nigeria. “Two Nigerian auto parts dealers based in Uganda (names withheld) were equally caught importing 6.250kg of cocaine and 1.490kg of heroin, respectively, into the country. “All the cases are being investigated and I urge members of the public to report suspected drug traffickers to the nearest NDLEA office. The suspects will be charged to court soon,’’ he said.
Ahmadu Giade, NDLEA boss
Police arrest 60 over clash with NDLEA T he Kwara State Police Command says it arrested 60 suspects connected with last week Saturday’s clash between officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA and drug addicts in Ilorin. The spokesman of the command, Samuel Okasanmi, announced this while addressing newsmen in llorin on Sunday. Okesanmi said police had launched a manhunt for the ring leader of the disturbance. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that three people are feared dead and property worth millions of naira destroyed when suspected touts went on rampage in some areas of Ilorin. The alleged ringleader of the crisis allegedly led a gang on a reprisal against some operatives of NDLEA. Okasanmi said the NDLEA operatives were part of
Abdulfatah Ahmed, Kwara state governor
the team that raided marijuana smokers’ spot at Idi-Ape-Baruba area on Friday. He said many houses and motorcycles were burnt and damaged during the inci-
dence. The police spokesman said the command had ordered a thorough probe into the immediate and remote causes of the incidence while those found culpable would be prosecuted. NAN reports that residents of the areas are still living in fear. Many residents who fled their homes are yet to return as they are taking refuge at different parts of the town. Many domestic animals were not spared as several of them were slaughtered by the hoodlums during the attack. There was no presence of policemen or security operatives in uniform in the affected area on Sunday when a NAN correspondent visited the area. Some of the residents, however, appealed to the government to provide adequate security to the residents to avoid a recurrence.
Police smash trans-border human trafficking syndicate Continued from Page 49
costs. Every night, they would torture me with cigarette stubs. “They locked me up in a room and beat me up. The practice in the area was that every day’s job was documented in a notebook. At the end of the month, the total money made by each girl would be tabulated and divided into two. The money would then be shared — one part for accommodation and feeding, and the other for transport cost incurred while travelling down to Libya. To get away, I had to plead with a man that had indicated interest to sleep with me on a night, to allow me make a call with his phone. “I called Kelvin and told him I was suffering, begging him to talk to the woman to allow me go but nothing came out of it. I ended up paying the money back on my own. The man (Chukwu), who sold me to the woman, then came back and started making trouble again. Unknown to me, Chukwu
had used me as a collateral to borrow 500 dinars (about N50,000). Shortly after, I was relocated to another part of the town called Baladia. I was accused of sleeping with Chukwu and was subjected to three pregnancy tests, which were negative. While working to raise the 500 dinars, I met a Nigerian called Sunday and we became friends. I ended up paying the 500 dinars. I saw more than 1,000 Nigerian girls, who were also forced to work for the money paid by the pimps to the human traffickers. I returned to Lagos on Friday last week after paying up the said money used in trafficking me. It was a horrific experience, one better imagined. I will never forgive my cousin for deceiving me into such life” It was that day that Okoro ran into her cousin. She narrated her ordeal to Okorie. Okorie took her to his home at Alaba area of Lagos State. When they got home, they met Daniel, Okorie’s friend who used to travel and work in Libya. Okorie said: “The last I saw Precious, she was just a little girl. That night we both went to my house. Daniel was there when she
narrated her ordeal. After listening to her, Daniel suggested she should follow him to Libya. I was happy I would have somebody overseas. We all went to Alaba. It was there that Daniel gave me N10,000. “I told him it was unfair of him to give me that amount despite the huge amount he collected from his friend.” Confessing further, he said that he lied to Okoro that he would tell her mother that she had gone to Libya with his friend Daniel. Ogbonna, a trader in Abia State, is a friend to Daniel and Okorie. Daniel travelled to Libya, sold the girl to Ogbonna’s brother and left for Dubai. Okorie stated: “When Precious got to Libya, she called me that she had been forced into prostitution. I told her to look for a way to escape. I was scared of what I had done.” Stating his own side of the story, Ogbonna said he did not know anything about the matter until he was arrested. He said: “I was approached by Kelvin and Daniel to give them my brother’s number who lives in Libya. I did. Two days later, Daniel called me to tell me he has arrived in Libya.”
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May 2, 2015
Investment
Profiles with Godwin Uba
ubagodwin@yahoo.com
T
he current administration under President Goodluck Jonathan has demonstrated its willingness to encourage manufacturing. His various visits off shore have started to yield dividends in terms of investment attraction into the country. From research carried out, Nigerian products including industrial starch has gained an improved patronage in the international market. As result of the growing demand for stores more investors are required in the production of processed cassava products, basically for exports, to sustain this tempo. If the current government policies of discouraging imports and encouraging exports are sustained, the situation of increased exports would continue and this will in the long run establish agricultural sector as another good sectors to generate income for the country. The only area that government should do a lot of work is in the provision of infrastructure such as power supply, potable water, good roads, and research centers. From our research, industrial starch (whether from corn, cassava, potato, rice etc) is one of the fast selling products in the international market. For this product to attract very high demand and higher prices, it must be well processed, maintaining very high acceptable international standards. The demand for industrial starch is worldwide. This product is highly demanded in Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, and Federal Republic of Germany. It is also in high demand in Taiwan, Asia, and USA. The local demand is also encour-
08034494437 aging. Starch can be produced in dry or wet forms. Both wet and dry starch is needed in Europe. Starch has a lot of industrial uses. It could be used as food in the preparation of bread, macaroni, custard, sauce, snacks, pap. The industrial uses include textile, bookbinding, glue making, paperboard, batteries, cosmetics, paint and soap. Starch is also used in weaving, spinning, dye works, paperboards, dressing paints, leather adhesive, paste stamps and carpets. It can also be used in artificial honey, fruit juice sweets, beer, and canned fruit confectionaries and in pharmaceutical industries. Because of the wide uses to which starch can be put, total global demand are over 18 billion metric tons per annum. The supply, on the other hand, has been low in the international market. Apart from Zaire and Brazil, which supplied a total of 18.2 million metric tons in 1999 and 26.5 metric tons in 2001, the gap has been longing for bridging. There is a wider gap of need for starch for industrial uses locally. Therefore, there is plenty of cassava and other root crops or tubers in Nigeria, for the production of world starch requirement. The major plants and equipment needed are cassava peeler, sifter, slicer, grater, extractor; pulveriser and dryer (if dry starch is required) Hammer mill/disintegrator, automatic or semi-automatic weighing and packaging machine and sitches/ seakers. The production capacity of the machine under consider-
As result of growing demand, more investors are required in the production of processed cassava products, basically for export, to sustain this tempo
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Exportable industrial starch
Cassava peeler
ation has a full capacity of 10 tons of starch per day of two shifts. This implies that about 75, 000 metric tons will be produced in a year. It should be noted that this product is demanded in metric tons by end users. It is therefore advisable that the end product should be packaged as such. It is also advisable to maintain the international market water content standard of about 8 percent. The product is packaged in 100kg jute bags for export. The international prices of starch fluctuate between $850 to $1, 200 per metric ton. Locally it is sold at about between N130, 000 and N185, 000 per metric ton depending on the quality. Prospective investors would be assisted in the area of getting foreign buyers at reasonable prices. Since the machine produces 75,000 metric tons per annum, working for 300 days, the total sales revenue at full capacity would be $18.6 million within the first year of operation.
Realizing, however, that our industrial capacity utilization cannot be full, the capacity is placed at 50 per cent, resulting in total annual income of $9.4 million (N752 Million). When the total inputs of N10.9 million are deducted, a gross profit of about N751 million may have been made in less than 2-3 years of operation. Having considered the availability of raw materials, convincing technological position, government encouragement to
non-oil export oriented investors and availability of human resources as well as huge profit margin from exporting this product, this investment is considered viable. Funding The Federal Government just released through CBN over N500Billion for injection into small and medium scale industries development in Nigeria. Anybody with good business plan will benefit from the funds.
Investment Cost (N’000)
Preliminary Expenses N250 Plant & Machinery
N7, 560
Fixtures & Fitting N250 Working Capital (3 months)
N3, 000
Contingencies N1, 500 Generating set N2, 000 Utilities N500 Total N15,060
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
REGIONAL NEWS
May 2, 2015
53
SOUTH EAST
Ebonyi governor-elect vows to step on toes, fight corruption
...As workers declares support for the in-coming administration
E
bonyi state Deputy governor and governor- elect, Engr Dave Umahi yesterday declared readiness and uncommon determination to fight corruption in the state by step-
ping on many toes, no matter whose ox is gored. Umahi stressed that he would establish anti-graft units and other related agencies in the state to fight corruption, assuring that
he would not award any contract to himself, family members and relations. The governor- elect who represented the governor Chief Martin Elechi during the May Day celebration at
the Abakaliki Township stadium assured that all civil servants, students, schools will have farms and promotion for workers in the state will be based on the quantity of farm produce.
The deputy governor further assured the workers that the era of victimization and intimidation are gone with the incoming administration, as he would sit with the labour leaders after assumption in office to harmonize how the state would be governed. Umahi noted that it was his target to boast the economic fortunes of the state to be the highest in the country with all stakeholders and citizens venturing into agricultural production. Earlier in a remark, the chairman of the Nigerian Labour congress Ebonyi
state chapter, Comrade Ikechukwu Nwafor expressed delight on the doggedness of the governor- elect to influence Martin Elechi to pay 50 percent of the long pursued minimum wage to the workers in the state. Nwafor further stated that the workers has the right to vote out government that is not workers friendly and promised to work with the in coming administration and urged the governor-elect to ignore bad advice by sycophant whose motives are to collect funds from him for their selfish just as he adviced him to learn from the mistakes of the out going governor.
Workers’ day: Ekwunife wants improved welfare for workers
L-R The newly ordained Auxiliary Bishop, Most Rev. Dennis Isizor; the Principal Consecrator, Francis Cardinal Arinze; co-Consecrator, Archbishop Valerian Okeke; Fmr. Gov. Peter Obi; Cardinal Onayikan; Archbishop Augustine Akabueze; papal Nuncio, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja after Isizor’s ordination ordination at the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha, yesterday.
Okorocha, 27 others get INEC certificates of return
G
ov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo and 27 members-elect for the State House of Assembly were on Thursday presented with their Certificates of Return by INEC. Mrs Gladys Nwafor, INEC National Commissioner representing Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi states presented the certificates to the recipients. In her remark at the occasion, Nwafor urged the
successful politicians to keep their promises to the electorate. She said that with the reform being undertaken by the commission, those who fail to deliver would find it difficult to win elections in the future. She said the commission was happy to conclude the Imo elections after the rerun exercise, adding that Imo was one of the flash points where the commis-
sion had expressed fears of possible violence. The commissioner urged the governor to ensure he deliver on his promises to carry everybody along. She said the commission would ensure that future elections in the country were better than the 2015 polls. Responding on behalf of the other recipients, Okorocha thanked INEC for concluding the Imo elections
and declaring him winner. He urged the commission to ensure that those apprehended for electoral offences were brought to justice to enhance the credibility of future elections to be conducted by INEC. Okorocha used the occasion to commend Imo people for their support and assured them that he would do his best to deliver quality service to the state. (NAN)
Ekweremadu tasks 8th NASS on quality representation
D
eputy Senate President, Ike Ekwermadu, has advised members of the 8th National Assembly to brace up for the task of nation building and reciprocate the mandate given to them by their constituents. He gave the advice on Thursday at his closing remarks at the five-day induction course for the newly elected federal legislators.
He described the legislature as the `pillar of democratic governance,’ adding that parliament plays critical role in spurring and sustaining national action toward development. He said: ``as legislators, we must be agents of transformation, particularly at this important period in our national history. ``It is our collective responsibility to work tire-
lessly toward promoting good governance and consolidating democracy in Nigeria. ``The call is for us to love our country. ``We have made giant strides in the last sixteen years of democracy and we can be proud of our achievements. ``But we at the National Assembly can do more toward curbing poverty, cor-
ruption, insecurity and a myriad of other challenges that tend to deny our people the joy and hope that democracy holds.’’ Ekweremadu noted that given the quality of the resources, training materials and presentations, the incoming lawmakers had covered a long distance in understanding the rudiments of legislative practice.
A
s Nigeria marks Workers’ Day, Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Senator-elect to represent Anambra Central (PDP) has called for improved welfare for workers so as to enhance their productivity. The senators-elect, who spoke with the news men on Friday, said that a happy workforce would ensure a prosperous nation. Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Senator-elect to represent Anambra Central (PDP), noted that if the nation could have a productive workforce, then Nigeria could move forward. ``There must be a mechanism to ensure that people do what they are supposed to do; if the civil service is not productive, nothing else will work. ``The way private sector works let us apply the same attitude to civil service so that people in the public office can do better. ``Let us all go and work for Nigeria so that Nigeria can be a better place,`` she said. While wishing all Nigerian workers a happy celebration, she urged them
to be committed to their duties so that their salaries could be justified. Dino Melaye, Senatorelect to represent KogiWest (APC), said that the civil service in Nigeria was in dire need of reforms. Melaye said that the Nigerian worker has not been treated well over time, adding that such anomaly ought to be addressed. ``But the workers themselves are part of the problem because there seems to be a satanic collaboration between the legislature, executive and the labour force. ``Most times, corruption in the civil service is responsible for the dilapidated roads we have, the poor quality and standards of our schools, responsible for our poor health facilities. ``The fight against corruption must be taken seriously first by the labour force and the civil service in this country and we can then begin to move forward,” he said. He called on workers to be hard working so that Nigeria as a nation would witness real growth in all sectors of the economy. (NAN)
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REGIONAL NEWS
May 2, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
SOUTH SOUTH
Gunmen abduct Rivers traditional ruler zz As APC scribe escapes assassination plot
T
he Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of the monarch of Igbo-Agwurasa Kingdom in Etche Local Government Area of the state, Eze Samuel Amaechi, and has launched a manhunt for the kidnappers, who also killed his police orderly. Eze Samuel Amaechi, who is a Rivers State Government recognised First Class traditional ruler, is the medical director
of Nobsams Clinic, Port Harcourt. He was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen at Mile 4, Diobu area of Port Harcourt while returning home from clinic at about 7.50pm. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Ahmad Muhammad, who confirmed the development to journalists, said anti-kidnapping unit of the command was on the trail of the kidnappers.
Muhammad said “the manhunt for rescuing him safely is still on-going. Our men are on the lookout for where he is being kept, and I can assure that we anticipate a breakthrough.” A source close to the monarch’s family said he was close to his house when four armed men blocked his chauffeurdriven car, shot and killed his police orderly before
forcefully dragging him out of the car. They then fired in the air to scare passersby. In a related development, the Secretary of APC in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state, Mr Ojims Chikere, has been rescued from his abductors who had kidnapped him very close to his residence in Rumuobiakani area of the state.
“They had dragged me into their waiting car and were about to zoom off when one of them decided to make a phone call to confirm from their sponsor, if I was the real target before they could waste me,” he said. “However, it was within the period of the call that some youth within the community blocked them, and rescued me. But before they could
escape, the police that had been tipped off arrived and arrested them,” Chikere added. He said that the preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the foiled abduction was actually an assassination bid and politicallymotivated to silence APC members who may have evidence to give at the election petition tribunal.
Colourless May Day celebration in Benin zzParallel factions hold separate rallies zzOshiomole absent Sebastine Ebhuomha Benin
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midst the pains and anguish of scarcity of fuel scarcity that pushed petrol pump price to N150.00 and N200.00 in few outstations where it is available not too many workers could participate in the annual May Day celebration in Edo State on Friday. Owing to the biting fuel scarcity that ensured only a few available private and commercial vehicles were driving on the roads, the desertion of many roads and streets in BeninCity, Edo State capital belie the colour and candour that often marked past May Day celebrations in the first and only state of Nigeria that has elected a state governor, who was a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole. As expected, the division that marked the national election into NLC offices in Abuja in March, resulting in the fractionalization of NLC leadership and subsequent similar elections at the state levels led to factional, parallel May Day celebrations in Edo State, held at different venues. While
the main faction believed to be loyal to the Comrade Ayuba Wabba and led by Comrade Emmanuel Ademokun held its rally at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the other faction that is loyal to the Comrade Sunday Ajaero leadership, led by Comrade Eddy Osai, held its parallel rally at the Nigeria Television Authority Pavilion in Benin City. Owing tothe unhappy circumstances and situations pervading the country and its economy, some workers wore black to mark this year’s May Day celebration in Edo State. Speaking at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium rally, Governor Oshiomhole admonished Nigerian workers to expect good governance and better life by the incomingadministration of General Muhammadu Buhari, especially through the reduction ofoil theft and corruption, which have robbed the country of big revenues. The absence of the state governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu, did much to rob the rally of much of its past beauty and glory.
Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio (right), Akwa Ibom State, Governor-elect, Mr. Udom Emmanuel (2nd right), Deputy Governor-elect, Mr. Moses Ekpo (2nd left) and Nigeria Labour Congress Chairman, Akwa Ibom Chapter, Comrade Etim Ukpong singing solidarity song during the 2015 Workers’ Day Celebration at Uyo township stadium
Uduaghan shuns Labour Day over leadership crisis Amour Udemude
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elta state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, yesterday shunned this year’s Labour day celebration organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Asaba, Delta state capital. The governor’s refusal to grace the Workers’ Day celebration, it was learnt, was not unconnected with leadership crisis rocking the union which produced two NLC chairmen during a controversial election held penultimate week in Asaba. It was gathered that a peace meeting summoned by the governor on Thursday to resolve the leadership crisis between the two factional leaders of the union, Comrade Williams Akporeha and Comrade
David Ofoyeno ended in a deadlock Uduaghan reportedly told the two factional leaders of the union that he will not attend the labour day celebration since the two factional leaders refused to shift ground and allow peace reign. However, Saturday Mirror findings can authoritatively reveal that the governor shunned the workers rally following security reports advising him not to attend the event as workers in the state are set for a showdown with him over the delay in the payment of their salaries among other issues. Some workers who spoke with our correspondent expressed disappointment at the event and accused governor Emmanuel Udu-
aghan of fanning the ember of discord in the union by recognising one of the factional chairmen, Comrade David Ofoyeno whom they said is the governor’s kinsman. “If the governor is a wise man who is aware that there is crisis rocking the union, he wouldn’t have recognised any of the factional leaders. But because one of the factional leaders in the person of Comrade David Ofoyeno, is his kinsman, Uduaghan went ahead to recognise and included him in the 22 man committee the governor inaugurated in government house on Thursday. So you can now see why peace cannot be restored because already the governor is already supporting a faction.” one of the work-
ers said. Delivering the governor’s speech at the event, Special Adviser on Labour Relations to the governor, Comrade Mike Okeme was booed by the workers when he said the Uduaghan’sled administration does not own its workers. On his part, the factional chairman of the state NLC, Comrade David Ofoyeno enumerated the challenges been faced by workers across the state and appealed to the governor to find lasting solutions to the problems in order to sustain industrial harmony. Meanwhile, a parallel labour day celebration was also held in Warri by the Comrade Williams Akporeha faction.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
May 2, 2015
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Violent May Day: Riot police clash with protesters around the world zz As unions and masked labour activists take to the streets with petrol bombs to ‘fight capitalism’
uThousands of violent demonstrators started fires and fought police officers on the streets of Turkish capital Istanbul uClashes also broke out in Athens, Greece where a group of hooded youths threw a petrol bomb at police officers u12 people were arrested for ‘assaulting police’ in Seoul, South Korea where ‘up to 100,000 people’ were protesting uAnother 59 were arrested in Malaysia and an effigy of the Philippine president was burned on the streets of Manila
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olice clashed with May Day protesters in riots across the world as unions and masked labour activists took to the streets with petrol bombs to ‘fight capitalism.’ Turkish police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters in Istanbul as tens of thousands of activists turned out worldwide to defend their rights at a time of austerity. At least 136 protesters have been arrested in Turkey’s capital where furious demonstrators have been attacking riot police and starting fires in the streets. The police have blocked all vehicle access and public transport links to prevent the protesters reaching Taksim Square, a traditional focus for protests in the country’s largest city. Equally violent protests have broken out across the world as tens of thousands of angry protesters amassed in Italy, Greece, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan to vent their fury at austerity measures, unpopular labour reforms and high taxes. Hooded youths in Greece threw petrol bombs at police officers, Philippine citizens burned a massive effigy of their president in the capital Manila and an Italian man risked his own life to save his car from exploding in a fire started by protesters in Milan. May Day is a traditional annual celebration of laborers and the working classes and is promoted by the international labor movement, anarchists, socialists, and communists across the world. Violence engulfed the Italian city of Milan where
a man risked death to save his car from being set ablaze by the fire around it. Protesters dressed entirely in black set vehicles alight and clashed with police who retaliated with tear gas outside Expo 2015 - a world’s fair running for the next six months. Dozens of demonstrators, their faces masked against clouds of tear gas, threw firecrackers and dragged burning rubbish bins to block streets in the centre of the city while sirens rang out around them. Police released water from fire hydrants to dispel hundreds of demonstrators who scrawled graffiti on walls and threw smoking flares during a march in the city, where the Italian premier and other VIPs were inaugurating Expo. Italian labour activists held their main rally in the Sicilian town of Pozzallo where thousands of migrants fleeing persecution from Africa, the Middle East and Asia have arrived in recent weeks after being rescued at sea from smugglers’ boats. Meanwhile thousands of South Koreans contin-
ued to march in Seoul for a third week to protest their government’s labour policies and the shocking handling of a ferry disaster that killed 300 last year. At least 12 people were arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers and other disorderly behaviour but there have been no reports of injuries. Other protesters tried to create a huge barricade by tying cables to buses and pulling them into place. Many of the buses were vandalised by protesters who spray-painted antigovernment slogans on them. Tens of thousands of workers vowed to wage an ‘all-out general strike’ if the government pushes through with unpopular labour reforms. South Korean union leaders said more than 100,000 workers took part in two rallies in Seoul, while police put the total number of participants at 38,000. More than 10,000 workers and activists marched in Manila and burned an effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to protest low wages and a law which allows employers to exploit a loophole so they do not have to give benefits to workers. Workers in metropolitan Manila now receive £7.12 as a daily minimum wage and even though it is the highest rate in the country, it is still ‘a far cry from being decent’, according to the vice chairman of the left-wing May One Movement. In austerity-hit Greece, around 13,000 people took to the streets in three separate May Day marches in Athens. Clashes broke out
Activists in Manila burned a huge effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in a violent protest against low wages
Fury: Thousands of protesters amassed in Turkey to protest against austerity in the country
Armed response in Istanbul (Turkey)
at the end of the relatively peaceful marches when a handful of hooded youths threw a petrol bomb at police. They were responding to a call from both public and private unions led by the country’s controversial anti-austerity Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis. Malaysia’s opposition government joined activists in Kuala Lumpur on May to protest against the rising cost of living due to increased taxes. Masked demonstrators stood ominously in front of the city’s iconic Petronas Towers as 59 anti-government protesters were arrested as the rally drew to a close. Around 10,000 people attended the ‘The Workers Day’ rally which took place at several points across city. Hundreds of people turned up for a May Day march in London to protest against the privatisation of the National Gallery, whose staff are currently on strike. Droves of people gathered in Trafalgar Square held aloft sunflowers as a show of solidarity. It was the first May Day in Turkey - a national holiday - to be marked after parliament passed a controversial security bill this year giving the police greater powers to crack down on
protests. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration was shaken by weeks of deadly anti-government protests centred on Taksim Square in 2013. And his party is hugely nervous about more violent public demonstrations ahead of the June 7 elections. He said in a speech at his Ankkara presidential palace: “I find that this insisting on [protests in] Taksim is wrong and has a purpose. Having a meeting in Taksim means basically paralysing all Istanbul.” A small group of communist protesters who tried to protest in Taksim Square were immediately surrounded by police who roughly arrested several people. Turkish media said 20,000 police had been deployed in Istanbul backed up by 62 water cannon trucks. The blocking of traffic left some locals with long walks to carry out their business, while travellers carrying heavy luggage were stranded as they sought a ride to the airport. In an apparent bid to discourage protests, the city’s main metro line was halted well before Taksim and services on the city tram ser-
vice were stopping halfway. Taksim Square, usually thronged with thousands of people in the day, was deserted save for police, journalists and plain clothes security agents. Several ferry services from the Asian side of the Bosphorus were suspended to prevent people from crossing to join protests on the European side. Private helicopters were also banned from taking to the skies to give the airspace to police choppers. Most events were expected to be peaceful protests for workers’ rights and world peace. But May 1 regularly sees clashes between police and militant groups in some cities. International Workers Day originates in the United States. American unions first called for the introduction of an eighthour working day in the second half of the 19th century. A general strike was declared to press these demands, starting May 1, 1886. The idea spread to other countries and since then workers around the world have held protests on May 1 every year, although the U.S. celebrates Labor Day on the first Monday in September.
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While visible policing will be enhanced, I wish to re-emphasise that police roadblocks remain banned. They are public nuisances, points of corruption and source of police-citizens’ friction. — Acting Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, while disclosing some of his plans to make the Nigeria Police Force better.
Saturday, May 2, 2015. www.nationnationalmirroronline.net
Paul Geroski on New Markets (4)
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n order to understand where new technology comes from, we may have to look at who produced them (and why), as opposed to who buys them. Even if the author believes that demand drives innovation, to him, it will be in limited terms. He cites the example of the computer, scientific instruments and television evolution. On Page 35, the author expanded his initial argument that beyond drivers of innovation of the “demand pull” and “supply push,” it is science, technology and pattern that drive innovation! According to the author, the organising power of paradigms goes well beyond their effects on particular research projects. Paradigm can organise the work for the whole community of scientists and engineers and not just isolated individuals. The author said, “They help to define a pattern of common knowledge, goals, methods and expectation!” This gives a whole range of expectation to the scientist and the engineers. Technology paradigm is a mind set, which the author explains to help define research activities by setting priorities, establishing methods and conditioning expectations. This can be found in one example of a scientist and investor, Selman Waksman, who in 1940 generated a most helpful drug called Streptomycin. This followed the wake of new “wonder drug” Penicillin, which was said to have most profoundly affected both commercial and research methods in pharmaceuticals. The inventor licensed the patent to so many producers at very modest royalties, triggering intense competition, which became an integral part of the strategy of most pharmaceutical firms. The author maintained that, “Even more fundamentally, his screening methodsinvolving synthesising and testing a very great organic molecule- came to dominant research methodology in the sector for many years.” The author gives the second reason for the nature of science to have accounted for such a pattern of work in the conjecture that naturally explains the work of science, “That there is a deep seated structure to the working of the natural world that we live in. It may be that there are basic designed principles that govern how most things work, even if we cannot perceive them.” To him,
CFR
Book Review
Book Title: The Evolution of New Markets Author: Paul Geroski Publisher: University of Oxford Press Reviewer: Jimoh Ibrahim. CFR. Post graduate student of Strategy and Innovation, Said Business School, University of Oxford. the universe is not self-regulated. This may be a direct opposite view of what geography thinks about the regulation of the universe. The author’s view is in conformity with the Biblical account of the regulation of the universe and the orderliness in which the world was created by God in the first seven days, in an unequalled orderly manner unprecedented by God. It is true that God may be above being a scientist, for he created science. Perhaps we may conclude that scientists follow the orderly pattern of the creator in their approach to their work and the paradigm. The driving of innovation and the work of science is in the “technology trajectory.” This explains that each innovation is not an accident but an occurrence of series of innovations following one another, which had already occurred. “Different trajectories are typically associated with different basic scientific principles or different scientific or technological paradigms from which they have sprung.” The author maintains a warning on the need not to overplay the whole lot of evolution of technology in the trajectory form, for there will always ex-
ist one-off innovations from nowhere leading to somewhere and the fact that not every technology evolution will explain every trajectory. According to the author, “new trajectories are associated with radical breakthroughs in scientific and engineering knowledge,” and that by definition, is almost going to be a surprise or accidental. This explains the initial breakthrough and serves as invitation to more investigation that can lead to more trajectories, which can lead to further breakthrough or create further possibilities that could be cumulative or give that evolution a cumulative effect. The author explained this in the form of “a process in which possibility explored leads to the creation of more possibilities, which leads to something that looks like a tree whose dense lattice of branches are built up around trunks and main limbs.” For instance, the original breakthrough in the understanding of the structure of an atom at the beginning of the century led to major trajectories in particle physics, cosmology and chemistry. As science and engineering knowledge in each of those areas progressed, further lines of
research opened up: The atom was split; the structure of DNA became understood Geroski used the s-curve to explain the rise and the optimal level of a trajectory before it begins to fall. The implication of this to the market is on Page 44 of the book. He submitted that our attention ought to be focused on the future nearer to the beginning of the trajectory, for this is where the new technology that will create the new market will emerge from. The author concluded Chapter Two of the book with a caveat. Beyond the story as usual and more specifically in respect to e-grocery and internet service provision discussed on Pages 45, 39, 50 51 and 52, the author cited the changing possibilities driven by the internet in the grocery shops and activities clustering around it, like the situation before internet revolution in areas like peapod, Streamline, Albertson, Homegrover, and Priceline. The author concluded his discussion on where new technology comes from on Page 57 and asserted that, “If as we have argued, the pace and direction of innovative activities follows the broad guidepost set out of technology paradigm, the trajectories of technology development will gradually unfold over time, each opportunity creating multiple further opportunities, each part taken leading to further developments.” The author concludes the work in Chapter Two with some possibilities into the future of the goods and services that will define a particular market. In an undisputed manner, it is true that movement along the trajectory may seem orderly like the pattern of science, but the important point is that it provides almost autonomous mechanism which generates possible new technology which might result in the emergence of new markets. And when they do, the new markets that emerge are likely to give birth to exploration of new varieties. At the end of each limb or branch of a particular trajectory is a cluster of seeds, any one of which will ultimately flower into “the” good and service which comes to define a particular market. And the evolved new market will operate under some sort of structure.
Printed and Published by Global Media Mirror Ltd: Head Office: Tel: 07027107407, Abuja Office: NICON Insurance House, Second Floor, Central Business District Area, Abuja Tel: 08070428249, Advert hotline: 01-8446073, Email: mail@nationalmirroronline.net. Editor: GBEMISOLA OLUJOBI. All correspondence to PMB 10001, Marina, Lagos. Printed simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja and Ondo State. ISSN 0794-232X.