News
CBN disburses N6.9bn to power sector firms
P.7 zz zz zz zz zz
News
Buhari, wife meet parents of Chibok girls
P.8
News
zz zz zz zz zz
P.10
Govt bans use of camouflage by paramilitary groups
APC accepts Saraki as Senate P resident ‘ But Lawan has right to sue’ Vol. 5 No. 26
N150
Saturday, June 13, 2015
P. 8
Transition committee submits reports to Buhari
L-R: Alhaja Aminat Irawo; Son of MKO Abiola, Abdul Abiola; Former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Kuforiji; Chairman, June 12 Movement, Olawale Okunniyi; wife of Gani Fawehinmi, Ganiyat; MKO’s son, Alhaji Jamiu Abiola; former chairman of Amuwo Odofin LGA, Comrade Ayo Adewale; National Coordinator, Change Agents of Nigeria Network, Olukayode Salako and friend of MKO family, Sikiru Gaji, during the 22nd anniversary of June 12 Democracy Movement in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN.
Declare June 12 Democracy Day, Ambode, Oyebode, Falana urge FG ...Declare Abiola President —Amosun Sealxk T
Sex facts that will make you laugh
P. 11
P. 32
Eku P.25
2
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
UNCLE SAM IS
Mr. Sam Amuka, OFR Publisher Vanguard Newspapers
Hearty congratulations to an icon, a motivator, a leading light in Nigerian journalism and our Life Patron. Wishing you more years ahead in the service to our esteemed industry and fatherland. Happy Birthday, the Great Uncle Sam
Nduka Obaigbena Kabir Yusuf Comfort Obi, OON Mohammed Idris Lady Maiden Ibru, MON Frank Aigbogun Ray Ekpu Wale Aboderin Mrs Nwadiuto Iheakanwa Mal. Ismaila Isa, mni, OFR Sam Nda-Isaiah Chief Orji Uzor Kalu Mal. Wada Maida Nosa Igiebor Jimoh Ibrahim, CFR Victor Ifijeh Ted Iwere Bayo Onanuga Akin Ogungbe Dan Akpovwa Segun Abrams Prince Emeka Obasi Edward Dickson
President NPAN / Chairman, ThisDAy Group Deputy President / Chairman, Trust Newspapers General secretary / Publisher, The source Magazine Assistant General secretary / Publisher, Blue Print Treasurer / Publisher, Guardian Newspapers Publicity secretary / Publisher, Business Day Past President / Ex-Officio member Ex-officio member / Chairman, Punch Newspapers Ex-officio member / Group MD, Champion Newspapers Life Patron Publisher, Leadership Newspapers Publisher, sun Newspapers / New Telegraph Chairman, Peoples Daily Editor-in-Chief, Tell Magazine Publisher, Mirror Newspapers Managing Director, The Nation Managing Director, Daily independent Editor-in-Chief, The News Publisher, News star Publisher, Abuja Enquirer Publisher, Fresh Facts Publisher, hallmark Newspapers Managing Director, Tribune Newspapers
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
3
June 13, 2015
What has climate change got to do with Nigerians? Climate change, in this part of the world, simply means more clashes between farmers and herdsmen in search of dwindling pastures; increasing difficulty in accessing well water; unpredictable weather leading to poor harvests; reduced crude oil earnings and the like. In the light of these, what options do we have as a country, asks NICK UWERU
P
roperty developers and prospective home owners in the new layout in Ogele, an outskirt settlement of Ilorin have found themselves in a new kind of fix. Digging and putting in place a viable well has become increasingly diffiCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
4
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘Migration of herdsmen will lead to more conflicts’
FLASHBACK: 2012 flooding in Lokoja
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 cult despite the closeness of the area to a river, one of the many arteries of Asa River in Kwara State. With the cost of a borehole largely unaffordable by the prospective home owners because they operate on shoe-string budget, the alternative is to rely on traditional well diggers to do the job. The bad news now is that most of the diggers now give Ogele a wide berth. “They will only do the diggings now because of the onset of the rains,” explains Gbade Okunola, former local council councillor in Asa Local Governmnet Area of the state. “A great deal of property owners in the area complained about the diggers ditching jobs in the dry season because they could not reach water at the usual depth like before,” Okunola further explained. In most outskirt settlements where provision of water had to be undertaken by the home owner himself, the dry seasons appears to be the best period to dig a well. This is because getting water into the new well at that period of the dry season often ensures that there would be availability of water all year round. But with noticeable shortage of rains and the long dry season this year in this area, diggers now find it increasingly difficult to dig in the dry season. “We will be moving southwards towards Ogbomoso from next year,” complained Baba Adamu, sadly. He is one of the seasonal well diggers from Zamfara State who are normally found in new layouts where properties are being developed. Before taking up his current trade, Adamu was a cattle herdsman. His entire herd was wiped out three years ago in Zaki Biam, Benue State
The ice are melting in the Polar region.
after local farmers attacked them allegedly for grazing on their farms. “Lack of rains drove us to that place where I lost all my cattle. Now the lack of rain is pushing me down to Ogbomoso,” Adamu lamented. What Adamu and Okunola are experiencing may well be connected to a bigger global phenomenon called climate change. According to experts, weather conditions across the world are now being altered as result of global warming. The scientists say that man’s activities in the industrial areas have hurt protective coverings in the ozone layers; that is, that buffer that shields the earth from harmful heat from the sun. With more heat from the sun, the glaciers, especially in the arctic region are melting, resulting in wind displacements on the oceans. The result of this combinations of climatic vagaries result upsets, realignments both geographically and geophysical. Some parts of the globe, as result of this condition would experience lesser rains or shift in rain periods from their natural calendar. There would be flooding in some places too as result of more water from melting glaciers in the oceans. There would also be change in temperature, necessitating human and animal physiological discomforts. These would all result in demographic displacements too, when people move from one place to another. Like in the case of Adamu, there could violence associated with the phenomenon, too. Last week, three people were killed as a result of herdsmen, villagers clash in Patigi, also in Kwara State. According to police account, there was a rift between some Fulani and some farmers in Matokun vil-
lage, Patigi Local Government in a clash between Fulani herdsmen and dwellers of the village. A unit of mobile policemen was dispatched to area to maintain the peace, while a team of senior police officers were sent by the Commissioner of Police to broker peace. ``Investigation into the cause or causes of the crisis has started,’’, Ajayi Okasanmi, the police spokesman said. But as gathered, too, fight broke out after herdsmen were believed to have grazed their cattle on farmland belonging to the farmers. But then, Fulanis/farmer conflict has been in existence since the beginnings of agriculture. But in Middle Belt in general and Nasarawa state in particular, the prevalence has astronomically risen due to some climate change phenomenon, according to experts (see box on page xx). Fulani herdsman of the lower Sahel and Sudan savannah from North-west and north east Nigeria are now migrating and gradually, becoming natives in the middle belt region all to find greener pasture for their herds. This is not acceptable to the root and tuber farmers of the Middle belt. The farmer has the fears that Fulani herds will destroy his farmlands. The natural result is clash over right to the lands. One of the drivers of conflict in Nasarawa state between farmers and Fulani is this climate change induced migration. The effect of climate change in far northern Nigeria has assumed such magnitude that the minimum vegetation cover in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, kebbi, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Maiduguri, Taraba, and
Adamawa states respectively, has already fallen below 10 percent as against the ideal requirement of 25 percent ecological cover as recommended by UNEP to support Fulani man and his herds. Therefore the encroaching desert as a result of climate change has affected the ecology of northern Nigeria in terms inadequate productive land for food and cash crops, greener pastures for animal grazing, decline in water availability and these has often led to conflict over marginal and fragile arid ecosystem. In 2013, a report by British risk consultancy, Maplecroft, ranked Nigeria sixth among countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. According to the report published on October 31, that year, the index was developed to identify climate risks to populations, governments and businesses over the next 30 years. The three factors that were evaluated in coming up with the findings included exposure to extreme climate-related events; the sensitivity of populations in terms of health, education, agricultural dependence and available infrastructure; and the adaptive capacity of countries to combat the impacts of climate change. The 2013 index, which rated 193 countries, reported that rising sea levels, flooding and other extreme climate-related events would threaten the future of the countries that were rated high or extreme. The report stated that 67 countries facing high risks, with an estimated combined output of $44tn, would come under increasing threat from the physical imCONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
5
June 13, 2015
‘Nigeria will witness more flooding’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
pacts of more frequent and extreme climate-related events, such as severe storms, flooding and drought. It added that the projected population of those countries currently estimated at more than 4.5 billion could exceed five billion by 2025. The report stated, “Thirty-one per cent of the global economic output will be based in countries facing ‘high’ or ‘extreme risks’ from the impacts of climate change by the year 2025 – a 50 per cent increase on current levels and more than double since the company began researching the issue in 2008.” The report indicated that on a national level, many global growth markets were extremely vulnerable to climate change, including Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Bangladesh topped the list of extreme risk followed by Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Haiti, South Sudan, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia, the Philippines and Ethiopia. London and Paris were the only two cities ranked as low risk, while Iceland, Norway and Ireland were the least vulnerable countries. The vulnerability of many of the listed African countries accounted for 14 of the 20 most at risk nations, which according to the report is partly due to their natural susceptibility to extreme climate-related events such as floods, droughts, fires, storms and landslides. It added that their risks were also consequences of the vulnerability of the population, and the inadequacies of existing infrastructure to adapt to or tackle the problem due to weak economies, governance, education and healthcare. Nigeria is one of those expected to be most affected by the impacts of climate change through sea level rise along her coastline, desertification, erosion and flooding disasters, and land degradation with its variety of ecosystems, from mangroves and rainforests on the Atlantic coast in the south to the savannah in the north. Reports by some experts revealed that arid areas in the northern part of the country were already becoming drier, while the coastal southern part was getting wetter with declining agricultural production. The country, according to findings, accounts for about one-sixth of the global gas flaring, which emits 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In reaction to the report, an environment expert and Technical Adviser, African Union Commission, Dr. Victor Fodeke, said the agriculture sector was more vulnerable and described that as a danger signal. According to him, the country is one of the 15 countries in the world that if adequate measures are not taken to make the
Migrations like this result in conflicts
Nigeria is one of the countries expected to be most affected by the impact of climate change through sea level rise along her coastline, desertification, erosion, flooding and land degradation nation climate-resilient, it may become a failed state with collapsed infrastructure. Fodeke said, “When you talk about being vulnerable, you look at several sectors. Our agriculture sector, for instance, is most vulnerable because it depends on rainfall and climate change has been affecting the rainfall pattern for some time now. “When that happens, you lose the moisture in the top soil and that increases the chances of aridity; so, the soil becomes more desert-prone and the arable land that is needed for food security is lost. “When you talk of vulnerability in the coastal area, our oil and gas contributes nearly 90 per cent of our economy, imagine when the coastal area where the oil is located becomes completely inundated. And how do we survive when we have flood that takes over the land for agriculture? These are specific sectors that show how vulnerable we are.” According to him, the vulnerability also leads to security issues in terms of grazing land by Fulani herdsmen. “Presently, these people, armed with AK47, are looking for grazing land and
anyone who resists them will be in danger, especially in states like Katsina, and that leads to what is called climate change refugee,” he said. Between 2013 and now, it is apparent that the climate change phenomenon is not abating in the countries prone to its vagaries. In May 2015 India was struck by a severe heat wave. As of 3 June 2015, it has caused the deaths of more than 2,500 people in multiple regions. The heat wave occurred during the Indian dry season, which typically lasts from March to July with peak temperatures in April and May. Although it typically remains hot until late October, Indian monsoons often provide some respite from the heat. The southern states of Andhra Pradesh and the neighbouring Telangana, where more than 1,735 and 585 people died respectively, were the areas most affected by the heat wave. Other casualties were from the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha. The high demand for electricity to power air conditioning led to power outages in some cities. The 2015 heat wave has had the highest recorded temperatures since 1995.
According the the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), a heat wave is qualified when air temperatures of at least 40°C (104°F) in the plains or greater than 30°C (86°F) in the hilly regions. For the IMD classification of heat waves, temperatures greater than 46°C (114.8°F) are considered and classified as severe heat waves. Every year India experiences severe heat waves in summer, but in the year 2015, casualties were abnormally high. Most of the deaths were concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar. More than 20,000 people have died of heat-related causes in India since 1990. In the recent past, the most severe period of hot weather occurred in 1995, when 1,677 people died due to a series of heatwaves. 793 people died in 2011 while 1,247 died in 2012 due to heat related causes. In 2013, 1,216 people died due to the hot weather. With over 2,500 deaths, the heat wave has proven to be the most deadly since 1979. The casualties crossed the mark of previous years rapidly in 2015. The heat wave was caused in large part by sparser pre-monsoon season showers, which brought less moisture than normal to the area, leaving large parts of India arid and dry. The sudden end of pre-monsoon rain showers, an uncommon trend in India, has contributed to the heat waves. Additionally, the monsoon season is later and further south than the normal trend. This weather pattern, coupled with wind displacement in the oceans known as the El Niño effect, which often increases temCONTINUED ON PAGE 6
6
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘Wells are becoming more difficult to dig’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
peratures in Asia, combined to create the record high temperatures. High humidity compounded the effects of the temperatures on residents. The Loo, a dry wind originating from Pakistan and northwest India, has contributed to increasing the temperature in India. Global warming is a fall out of the current mode of extraction and industrialisation you have worldwide. But it is driven mostly by the developed countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, China, India and others. “We are talking of massive extraction of minerals like crude oil, coal and other forms of energy. Now, these unchecked ways of extraction which started in the late 18th century when the industrial revolution has imparted on the climate,” explained Philip Jakpor, Head of Media, Environmental Rights Action, ERA. According to him, as this industrialisation process continues to increase there are emissions into the environment which is called green house gasses. Green house gas is emitted into the environment. Climate has changed on all time scales throughout Earth’s history. Some aspects of the current climate change are not unusual, but others are. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has reached a record high relative to more than the past half-million years, and has done so at an exceptionally fast rate. Current global temperatures are warmer than they have ever been during at least the past five centuries, probably even for more than a millennium. If warming continues unabated, the resulting climate change within this century would be extremely unusual in geological terms. Another unusual aspect of recent climate change is its cause: past climate changes were natural in origin whereas most of the warming of the past 50 years is attributable to human activities. “When you go to our roads, for instance, you find massive emission of carbon monoxide. These whole mixes of industrial chemicals go up into the atmosphere and heat it up. This cocktail heat up the atmosphere and the heating up, which have resulted into what we now call climate change, is now the cause of what we have now. “We now have sudden rains, extreme snow, blitz, there are extreme rains in some places, while there are none in others, you have too much snow in some places and no snow in some places, and since the atmosphere is heated up the ice berg in the North Pole are getting heated up. It is like you have a block of ice in ordinary water.
Another flooding as a result of global warming?
Once it melts or starts dissolving the volume of the water increases. So as the arctic ice begin to melt, the water in the lower regions increases and so Africa and other parts of the developing world are affected,” Jakpor explained. So simply put, the current weather changes are acts of men rather than act of God. Global warming phenomenon is a result of industrialization processes, especially extraction of fossil fuel that has unleashed a fossil fuel economy. These are the activities causing this warming. “Today we drive cars that use fuel, use generators etc and to keep the machines running we have to drill more oil and flare more gas with the attendant emission of carbonmonoxide, methane and other dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere. “The heated atmosphere continues to melt the icebergs in the Antarctic region. Melted ice causes inundation of coastal areas in the lowlands away from the polar region. Other areas of the world suffer from increased rains. “Others suffer from dryness or no rain at all. If you remember, in 2012 Nigeria suffered a major doze of this change when increased rains led to breaches in dams in Nigeria and Cameroon and flooded about 21 states on the banks of the Rivers Niger and Benue. It was a mammoth disaster in the history of this country,” added the right activist. On a wider scale unpredictable weather patterns will affect crops and lead to conflict. Widening deserts in northern
Nigeria will force herdsmen up north to start moving to the middle belt. To address these challenges the Nigerian government must adopt proactive approaches like review of Nigeria’s climate change strategy to reflect our own reality, mapping of vulnerable areas and regions, putting in place of early warning systems and rapid response strategies by agencies like NEMA. Perhaps more than the climatic effect of global warming and climate change, the phenomena has had profound effect on the economies of countries too. With most industrialised nations knowing the cause of the green house effect, there have been deliberate policies targeted at reducing dependence on oil. For instance, some two years ago, the US, buyers of ten percent of Nigeria’s oil produces stopped importation of the product from Nigeria. US used the measure to shore up its policy on going green; that is energy conservation and use with non-fossil fuel source of energy. This was the beginning of the drop in the crude oil price in the global market which has since impacted on the earnings of federal government. With more countries poised to toe the line like US, countries fully dependent on oil would be put in economic distress. But what can government do to stem the tide of this occurrence? Experts say that government needed to be more proactive in taking up the issues at the highest level of commitment. Fodeke says, “Every state government
needs to have development plans that are climate-proof. Our development plan of Vision 2020 needs to be climate-proof in order to avoid disasters or a situation where the development plans become unachievable. “I am talking about building in resilience into the development plan, building infrastructure that are climate-proof and making our people to adopt more to strategies of adaptation.” The environmental expert added that the masses could think of using energy efficient stoves instead of cutting down trees for firewood, which accounts for 85 per cent of deforestation. He said the forest remained the country’s last option to absorb carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Fodeke said with proper development plans in place, the country could benefit from the opportunities in climate change and not just the challenges. According to him, one of the opportunities is for the country to move headlong in the carbon credit programme, which other countries, including Ethiopia have adopted. He said the programmes had benefits for farmers involved with afforestation and reforestation, and had potential for clean development mechanism. “If 25 per cent of deforestation is avoided, that could give the country about N32bn; and if we avoid 50 per cent, that could save us about N80bn that can be injected into the transformational agenda of the President,” he said.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Tola Akinmutimi
T
he Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday disbursed a total sum of N6.9 billion to five gas supplying, one power generation and one power distribution companies. Out of the gas beneficiary companies, Chevron Nigeria Ltd. received the biggest chunk of N2.04 billion while Shell Petroleum Development Company got the second highest amount of N965 million. Other beneficiaries of the funding support comprise Pan Ocean Ltd. which got N230 million; Seplat, N739 million; Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, N407 million; and Niger Delta Western Company, N852 million.
NATIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
CBN disburses N6.9bn to power sector firms In the power distribution category, Ibom Power Generation Company received the sum of N1.7 billion while Eko Distribution company got N4.4 million. At the disbursement forum in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, told representatives of the gas companies that the amounts represented the debts by the power sector in proportion to the obligations to repay the facility by the five power distribution companies that had signed up for the facility. The discos are, Eko,
Kano,Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Enugu. Justifying the disbursement, Emefiele explained the extension of the facility to the benefiting entities became imperative given the fact the major reason for the low power generation adduced by the power generation companies (Gencos) for it was inadequate gas supply. Specifically, the apex bank governor pointed out that about 70 per cent of power plants in the country were gaspowered, adding that findings by the CBN
showed that due to the absence of formal binding agreements between gas suppliers and power plants, significant debts to gas suppliers had built up. He said further that the debts stood at about N40 billion as at the end of 2014. Emefiele clarified: “I trust that you will see this as a clear sign of the government’s commitment to change the course of both the domestic gas sector and power sector. “By addressing the build-up of debts along the power value chain,
Alleged N2bn fraud: Bursar petitions Buhari over rector *Allegation untrue –School authority
T
he bursar of the Yaba College of Technology, Olu Ibirogba, who’s currently on suspension, has accused the school’s rector, Dr. Kudirat Margaret Ladipo, of large scale fraud, economic and financial misappropriation. In a letter written by his lawyer, Frank Eke & Co, to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the VicePresident, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, Ibirogba said that pursuant to the provision of Section 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act, 2004, he saw it as his duty to bring to the attention of the government the misappropriations. According to the letter, Ibirogba has sufficient information regarding the extent, audacity and temerity with impunity to which the alleged crimes had been perpetrated. He alleged that the rector had, indeed, embezzled not
less than N2bn in the last five years. In conclusion, he pleaded in the letter: “Your Excellency, we enjoin you most pleadingly to direct the appropriate anti-graft agency as well as the Federal Ministry of Education to commence detailed investigation of these allegations while the institution’s governing council and management are made to step aside to facilitate the unimpeded and unfettered inquiries with the aim of applying necessary disciplinary
action on the officer(s) in line with the provisions of extant rules.” Efforts by Saturday Mirror to get in touch with the rector over the matter, however, proved abortive as she did not pick her calls and did not respond to the text sent to her. Meanwhile, YABATECH’s spokesman, Charles Oni, has been quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria as saying that the rector had been cleared of the allegations of financial impropriety against her.
Competition and Rate, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, Mr. Patrick Umeh, appealed to the gas suppliers to ensure that gas was produced for domestic consumption in the power sector as a strategic option of improving power supply and economic development.
Insurance industry assets hit N793.6bn Tola Akinmutimi
T
he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) yesterday put the nation’s insurance industry assets at N793.6 billion at the end of first quarter this year. Making the disclosure during the 7th Annual Seminar for Insurance Correspondents held in Ilorin, Kwara state, NAICOM’s Director Supervision NAICOM, Nicholas Opara, said that the industry’s assets last year stood at N711.4 billion while the total liability was N422.7 billion. He announced that the liabilities at the end of the first quarter (Q1, 2015) rose to N444.4 billion. Opara, while presenting
President Muhammadu Buhari hosting a meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in Abuja.
Oseyiza Oogbodo
this facility will go a long way to boosting gas supply to the power sector, stabilising the electricity market. “This is vital to bringing about more stable and affordable electricity supply to our homes and businesses”, he added. In his remarks, the Commissioner, Market
7
the theme paper: ”NAICOM and Insurance Business Regulation in Nigeria, the Journey so far” said industry gross premiums written amounted to N302.10 billion and N97.01 billion while net claims incurred stood at N90.39 billion and N23.73 billion. The NAICOM’s top shot disclosed further as at the end of last year, shareholders’ funds stood at N352.5 billion and dipped slightly to N343.4 billion in 2015; while insurance funds were N334.85 billion and N347.9 billion in the respective years. The industry expert also hinted that the industry’s net profit rose to N28.43 billion in 2015 compared to the N15.43 billion posted in the preceding year.
‘Proposed sanctions against Saraki, Dogara dangerous’ Sam Oluwalana
T
he plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to sanction the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has been described as an unwise move that can lead to the premature implosion of the party. That apart, lawmakers in both chambers of the 8th National Assembly loyal to Saraki and the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, who rebelled against the position of the party to impose its preferred candidates for the leadership of the National Assembly may defect to the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP. A security expert, Jack-
son Olalekan Ojo, who spoke to journalists, in Port Harcourt, yesterday, advised the APC to move fast to reconcile its legislators in the National Assembly and remind them of the need to respect and be loyal to the party which gave them the platform through which they earned their mandates to represent their people and serve Nigeria. He warned: “Any attempt by the APC to sanction Senator Saraki and Dogara, will further deepen the division that currently exists among its members in the National Assembly. Should the APC go ahead with the decision of some of its leaders to sanction both men, then, an explosion in the APC is imminent”.
8
NATIONAL NEWS
Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA
T
he crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the emergence of former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, as Senate President in a controversial election process, may be over as the party has finally accepted its fate. It has accepted the
emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President. National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, while speaking with State House Correspondents at the Defence House, Abuja, yesterday, said that there was no cause for alarm over the emergence of Sakari as the Senate President, stressing that he was duly elected.
June 13, 2015
APC accepts Saraki as Senate President *Says Lawan has right to go to court *Transition committee submits reports to Buhari Oyegun said, “of course he has been duly elected by his colleagues. We have
a reality and we must live with it.” He maintained that
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, during a courtesy visit by Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc., Mr. Segun Agbaje and Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc,. Mr. Jim Ovia, at his Asokoro residence, in Abuja on Thursday.
Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA
P
resident Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha, yesterday met with some parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who have been in the captivity of the Boko Haram sect since April 14 last year. Speaking after the meeting, wife of the Vice President, Dolapo Osinbajo, who also attended the meeting told journalists that the meeting became necessary because wife of the president, Aisha had for many months, wanted to visit Chibok.
Buhari, wife meet parents of Chibok girls “She also wanted to meet with the mothers. Today, we had an opportunity for them to meet face to face. We had two of the mothers who still have their daughters missing after a year. “Hajia, being a mother,met with them, held them and they cried, everybody cried. What only a mother will do is to say wait, I want you to see your father and see what your father will do. “We were all extremely
overwhelmed, that at this time when the president is so busy, he had time to meet with the women from Chibok. “He spoke to them in English and Hausa. He explained to them how he keeps telling everybody to put themselves in their place. So, today, we have had the opportunity for the President and Hajia to show that they are our father and mother, for that we are glad”, Osinbajo said.
EFCC arrests runaway suspect in N8bn currency scam Kemi Olaitan IBADAN
T
he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel in the case against the 22 bank officials involved in the N8bn mutilated currency fraud Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), yesterday told the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan that its operatives have arrested a member of staff of a commercial bank, Mr. Tijani Olusoga, who was at large at the time the accused were arraigned before the
court. He disclosed this while addressing the court on the need to amend an error in the name of a suspect, explaining that he intended to make the amendment in such a way that it would integrate the arraignment of Olusoga. While speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Jacobs, who did not give the details of how and when Olusoga was arrested, said the suspect is facing 11-count charge alongside four others and would be charged ac-
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
cordingly before the trial judge, Justice Olayinka Faji. Olusoga was alleged to have conspired and defrauded the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2011 and 2012 with his colleague, Onabanjo Oluwamayowa (now at large), Ajunwa Bolade and Samuel Ogbeide in the same commercial bank as well as three staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola and Toogun Kayode Philip.
what had happened was within the party as a family which could be resolved. Oyegun said, “there is no next step, what has happened is within the APC family and we are sorting it out within the family. People say they are going to court which is their right, but as a party we are looking at everything and we are coming out strong. “We have faced greater challenges before and this too shall pass away. It is not the first or second time we have passed through and we came out strong. This may not even be the last time, we come out every time stronger and more determined.” On the aborted visit of Saraki to the APC secretariat on Thursday, Oye-
gun said “nothing went wrong, there were a lot of consultations and you can’t be in two places at the same time and so it was not comfortable for us, but we have been talking . We don’t want to make a song and dance of it, everything being put in proper perspective.”. Saraki had emerged on Tuesday as Senate President after he was returned unopposed by 57 senators. The APC had earlier rejected the emergence of Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker, House of Representatives, saying the action of the new National Assembly leaders and their supporters amounted to treachery and disloyalty.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA
P
resident Muhammadu Buhari has said that he was disturbed by the allegations contained in the Amnestry International report which accused top officers of the Nigerian military of war crimes. He has therefore given assurance that his government would closely study the report in which military officers were accused of gross abuse of human rights in the fight against Boko Haram sect in the North East region of the country. Amnesty International had, in the report, urged the federal government to conduct independent and effective investigation into crimes including the killing of 8,000 persons, who were “murdered, starved, suffocated and tortured to death.” The organisation listed former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd.); former Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim (rtd.); Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; and Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ken-
NATIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
War crime: Amnesty International reports disturbing, says Buhari *Orders military to undertake internal inquiry
neth Minimah as those to be tried for the crimes. While reacting to the report, the president through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said “the next step is to look into the allegations and confirm or disprove the disturbing details.” According to the statement, Buhari had already determined that one of the first assignments of the incoming Attorney General of the Federation would be to look into the Amnesty International report and advise the government on an appropriate course of action. “This is in addition to the internal inquiry he asked the armed services to undertake by themselves,” the statement further said. In the statement, Shehu also emphasised Buhari’s
commitment to human rights, and his promise that there would be no hu-
MAIDUGURI
T
he $10.5 million (N2.08 billion) aid donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to Boko Haram insurgency-ravaged North-East states in the country has been described as “timely intervention” in managing humanitarian crises to save many lives. Chairman of the Borno State Emergency Manage-
ment Agency (BOSEMA), Alhaji Grema Terab, who was reacting on Friday to the $10.5 million USAID financial donation to Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, said that the financial aid should attract more support from donor agencies. “The US government has done very well and this has given the opportunity to other well-meaning countries all over the world to come to the aid of Nigeria and Borno State in particular,” said Terab yesterday in
Maiduguri. He said Borno was the worst hit among the three North-East states affected by Boko Haram insurgency, adding that over 20 local governments were sacked and severally attacked by the insurgents while more than 125, 000 people had been displaced. He said the state was currently managing over 125, 000 displaced persons in 22 IDPs camps in Maiduguri metropolis.
Buhari leaves for AU summit in S’Africa Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA
P
resident Muhammadu Buhari leaves the country today for South Africa to attend the 25th African Union (AU) Summit currently taking place in Johannesburg. According to a statement issued yesterday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president
would be undertaking his first continental assignment since taking over office by chairing the meeting of the Peace and Security Committee of the AU summit, which holds on the day of his arrival. According to the statement, Buhari would also be holding a number of bilateral meetings that would consolidate his ongoing drive to secure Nigeria and the neighboring countries
man rights abuse under his government. “Any allegation of hu-
man rights abuse that takes place during the tenure of President Buhari’s
government will be swiftly investigated and dealt with,” he said.
L-R: British High Commissioner, Mr. Andrew Pocock; Senate President Bukola Saraki; Head of DFID Nigeria, Ben Mellor and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, during the British High Commission’s delegation visit to the Senate President in Abuja, yesterday.
USAID financial donations to IDPs timely — Govt Inusa Ndahi
9
from Boko Haram. The president had on Thursday declared at the end of the extraordinary summit of Heads of State and Government of Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin that the final comprehensive list of logistic needs against Boko Haram would be decided at the AU meeting before it would to be forwarded to the group of G-7 nations.
10
NATIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Govt bans use of camouflage uniforms by paramilitary groups Inusa Ndahi MAIDUGURI
T
he use of camouflage uniforms by various security agencies other than the Armed Forces - Army, Navy and the Air Force has been banned. The men of the Nigeria Police Force will,
however, use the uniform when in joint operation with the military or on special operation such as specific anti-riot missions. This was contained in an email message sent to our Correspondent by the Director, Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade on Fri-
day. “This followed the directive of the National Security Council, as it approved the recommendations of a committee on measures to streamline the use of camouflage uniforms, in view of the security implications and concerns raised on the clamour, duplicity
and proliferation of camouflage uniforms in the country. The use of camouflage/fatigue is therefore restricted to the military and for occasional use by the police henceforth. The directive also stipulates that the military is to adopt only two types of camouflage for the three arms of the
Armed Forces. “All para-military agencies using various camouflage/fatigues uniforms have up to January 2016 to withdraw such materials currently in their inventory. “With this development, the Ministry of Justice along with law enforcement agencies
have been tasked to ensure that extant laws guiding the use of uniforms in Nigeria are strictly enforced. In the same vein, the Office of the National Security Adviser has been vested with the authority to vet and clear any production and supply of camouflage uniforms in Nigeria.
Buhari felicitates with Sam Amuka at 80
Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA
P
L-R: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun; Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and Leader of Delegation, Taraba Caucus in the House of Representatives, Rima Kwewum, during their solidarity visit to the Speaker in Abuja, yesterday.
Police step up fight against corruption
…Launch online reporting channels Patience Ogbo
T
he Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has given bite to the fight against corruption in the Nigeria Police Force by setting up online platforms for citizens to report cases of bribery and corruption among officers and men of the Force. The online platform, “stopthebribe” (www. stopthebribe.net) though a brainchild of the CLEEN Foundation was formally
adopted as a crime reporting channel by the Nigeria Police Force on Friday in collaboration with the CLEEN Foundation. Jolaoye Toye, an Assistant Superintendent of Police who represented the IGP at the event said IGP Arase is determined to rid the Force of corruption. “This platform is a welcome development and it has the backing of the IGP. It is worthy to note that IGP Solomon Arase has zero tolerance for corruption. There is a team of police-
men at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, who respond quickly to complaints on this platform. Cases are investigated and the IGP intervenes in these cases. We don’t take sides and we don’t demand money for investigation. We carry out investigation professionally”. IGP Arase also stated that the Force had taken steps to stop the recruitment of bad eggs into the Force by reviewing the recruitment process. “We are appealing to
members of the public to give the police a chance. A lot of changes are taking place in the Nigeria police and we urge the citizens to be patient with the police. We have begun a review of the recruitment process so that persons who do not have any business with policing will not join the Force. We urge citizens to support the police and stop giving bribe to officers to do their job. We assure citizens of utmost confidentiality when they report cases to us.”
This was contained in a statement released in Abuja yesterday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the June 12, 1993 election considered to be the freest in the country and won by politician and
businessman, M.K.O Abiola. In the statement released by the Atiku Media Office, the Turaki Adamawa described June 12 as one of the most significant dates in Nige-
ria’s political history, and a day not to be forgotten. “For the first time, Nigerians defied tribe and tongue to vote in one of the freest and fairest elections of our time,” Atiku said.
June 12: Atiku hails heroes of Nigeria’s democracy
F
ormer Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has called on the government and people of Nigeria to honour and remember the heroes of the country’s democracy.
resident Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with the Chairman and Publisher of Vanguard Media Limited, Chief Sam Amuka-Pemu, on his 80th birthday today. In a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president said the event provided an opportunity for him and his family and indeed millions of fellow Nigerians who had in the past three decades been readers of products from media houses with which he had been involved, including the Punch Newspapers, which he started with the late Chief Olu Aboderin, to felicitate with him. The statement further said, “Nigeria has been well served by the presence of the legend-
ary Sam Amuka in the media in the capacity of journalist and columnist with the Daily Times group, of which he served as Editor of the Sunday Times. “It is impossible to forget his contributions to the Nigerian public through his famous column, Sad-Sam, which provided millions of compatriots much satirical, literary and even political communication satisfaction. “The contributions by this veteran journalist to the progress of the Nigerian Press have been manifested not only in the growth and management of the Punch Newspaper and the Vanguard Media Limited, of which he became Chairman and Publisher in 1984, but also the principled positions he has consistently taken on political stability, accountability and the rule of law.”
National Daily News Editor loses dad
P
a James Omodara Otokiti, father of the News Editor of National Daily newspaper, Mr. Segun Otokiti, is dead. Pa Otokiti passed on Friday, May 29, 2015 after a brief illness. He’s aged 80 years. A Supervisory Senior Pharmacy Technician with Ido/Osi Local Government in Ekiti State before he retired years ago, his pharmacy career took him across many states in the South-West and Edo State. Christian wake-keep lying-in-state will hold
on July 16, 2015 at his residence, No. 69, Ayetoro Street, Ijare, Ondo State. He will be laid to rest on July 17, 2015 at his residence after a funeral service at St. Michael Anglican Church, Ayetoro Street, Ijare. Pa James Omodara Otokiti is survived by wives, children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and many other relations. Entertainment of guests follows immediately after burial at Anglican Grammar School’s open field in Ijare.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
REGIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
11
South WEST
Declare June 12 Democracy Day: Ambode, Oyebode, Falana urges FG Francis Suberu
I
n the light of the struggle to institutionalise democracy in Nigeria which climaxed in June 12, 1993 presidential election and the subsequent controversial death of the presumed winner of the election, Chief MKO Abiola, eminent Nigerians have called on the Federal Government to declare June 12 as Democracy Day. Among those who made the call yesterday at the 22nd year anniversary of the June 12 election, were Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence, Akin Oyebode; Human Right Lawyer, Femi Falana and Dele Alake. Speaking to a packed audience at the Lagos Television (LTV) Blue Roof ground, Agidingbi, Lagos, Ambode noted that the June 12 date would forever remain unique on the calendar, describing it as a date that has assumed a life of its own. He said it was a day where the people of Nigeria trooped out to the polling booth to reclaim their rights and privileges as a nation. According to him, June 12 symbolises the patriotic and nationalistic spirit in all Nigerians, saying the day symbolises the collective resolve of all Nigerians irrespective of class or political sympathy to join hands in respect for national values. Prof. Akin Oyebode, who was the chairman on the occasion, said the day was a celebration of die-hard spirit of Abiola, his wife Kudirat and hundreds of Nigerians that were killed in protest of annulment of the freest and fairest election ever held in the country. On his part, Professor Oyebode said it was sad and almost inconceivable that politicians and the
military decided to make May 29 Democracy Day; saying without June 12, 1993, Nigeria would never have had May 29, 1999. “We know that even as enemies of democracy try to thwart the idea, the sacrifice of MKO Abiola and of Nigerians who took to the streets should never be forgotten,” he said. Oyebode added that it was unfortunate that the June 12 watershed has been ethnicised, with some states in the South west already marking it as an holiday, while others were still unbothered. He said it was also amazing that Nigeria named monuments in Abuja and Stadium in Kano after military junta Sanni Abacha, while Abiola has not been immortalized as so deserved. “Abiola remains a hero, even as June 12 has conscientised Nigerians that no power or effort can stop the will of the people united. MKO Abiola is the precursor of the ‘change’ we have today, given his idea of ‘farewell to poverty. To continue to ethnicized such date, is a disservice to Nigeria.” he said. Apparently in agreement with earlier speakers, Falana said the onus was on Federal Government to immortalized the true heroes of Nigeria’s democracy. He appealed to Lagos State to further champion the course of deepening democracy, by ensuring
Abiodun Nejo Ado Ekiti
T
he ancient town of Ikere Ekiti erupted in series of protest by women last week over Prince Adejimi Adu as the monarch-elect of the community. They alleged opposition of his choice by the regent of the community, Princess Adeyooye Ayooye and her Akayejo Ruling House against the selection.
that living heroes and heroines of June 12 struggle are not forgotten. Editor of the defunct Concord Newspapers and right-hand man of late
Abiola, Mr. Dele Alake in his lecture said June 12 was a day Nigerians were rebirthed as a true nationstate, adding that the annulment was the biggest
damage ever done to the country. He saluted the courage of June 12 activists like Frank Kokori, Ayo Opadokun, Alfred Ilenre,
Dr. Amos Akingba, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Odion Akhaine and Segun Mayegun among others that were also present at the event.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left) his Deputy, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule (left), Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, RT. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa (2nd right) and the Chairman of the Occasion, Professor Akin Oyebode (right) during the 22nd Anniversary of the Annulment of June 12 Presidential Elections in Ikeja, yesterday.
Declare Abiola President — Amosun Femi Oyeweso Abeokuta
T
wenty two years after, Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has called on Federal Government to declare the late MKO Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election annulled by the then military leader, Gen Ibrahim Babangida. He made the call yesterday at MKO Abiola stadium in Abeokuta, during the commemoration of the 1993 general election. “June 12 is a very signifi-
cant day not only in Ogun State really, it is throughout Nigeria and I think it even extends even beyond the shores of Nigeria. This was the day when Nigeria set aside all there differences and everybody came out to agree on one man, and that man is Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. “Particularly in the just concluded election, that is one election that probably can be described as the reflection of what June 12 stands for, we have never had such kind of election,” the governor said.
Amosun who said though there were many heroes of democracy maintained that Abiola stands above every other Nigeria in the struggle to enthrone democracy. “I am not saying it was only Abiola that did it but he, more than anybody else, of course symbolise and represents all that democracy stands for and he pas the supreme price for that. “I know it will not be out of place, for me, to canvass and say that Federal government should recognise Abiola officially as the winner of that June 12 election
of 1999.” Amosun drew a comparison between Abiola’s election and that of President Muhammadu Buhari saying “It is like selfless service when you mean well when you’re genuine, when you are real, Nigerians will follow you which has been happening now in the case of our newly elected President Muhammadu Buhari. “The same way the people agreed on Abiola, that is the same way, irrespective of where they come from, all of us, agreed on Muhammadu Buhari.”
Anxiety over Ekiti kingship crisis
The protests included those of the Ikere Women Front and a group of women from Ogbenuote and Agabaola Ruling Houses. The protests came on the heels of an earlier one on Monday by a group of women opposed to the selection of the monarchelect. The Ikere Women Front
blamed the recent protests in the community on the desperation of the regentled Akayejo Ruling House to impose its stooge as the next ‘Oba’ of the town through violent means. Leader of the group, Mrs Ilori Ogunlade, alleged that the anti-Adu protesters were “ignorantly mobilised by their pay-
ers to rubbish the image of the state government and discredit the choice of the new king”. Ogunlade, who berated the regent for allegedly sponsoring a campaign against the state government in a bid to elongate her tenure, also cautioned the warring section of the Uro axis of the town to stop pursuing any
sectional agenda which might lead to uprising from the other sections of the community. Similarly, placardscarrying group of women from Ogbenuote and Agabaola Ruling Houses also accused some power brokers from the Akayejo Ruling House of impersonating the entire Ikere women.
12
REGIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
NORTH
Bauchi Speaker flees assembly complex, shifts sitting to own residence Ezekiel. Titus Bauchi
T
here was a mild drama in Bauchi State House of Assembly yesterday, as the speaker, Hon Yahaya Miya allegedly
fled the House of Assembly complex and held the valedictory session of the 7th assembly at his personal resident allegedly to avoid meeting the suspended female member, Hon Rifkatu Samson Danna, member
representing Bogoro constituency who got a Supreme Court order for her reinstatement.. National Mirror gathered that since the court ruling reinstating Hon. Danna, the house decid-
ed to shift the legislative complex to the Speaker’s resident to avoid public disgrace. It was alleged. Sources from the House hinted that the speaker has been avoiding Danna in the house of assembly after
From left to right-RCCN President, Rev. Yakubu Shamaki, Catholic Bishop of Jalingo Diocese, the Most Rev. Dr. Charles Hammawa, Secretary to the Taraba State Government, SSG, Anthony Jellason and some traditional rulers at a peace meeting yesterday in Jalingo.
the court ruling ostensibly to buy time ahead of the expiration of the 7th assembly “ The decision to hold the valedictory session at the speaker’s resident contradicts democracy norms and justify the 7th assembly as rubber stamp to the executive” said the source It was learn that since the eventual victory of APC against the speaker’s ambition second tenure, the house had not been on session until the valedictory session Danna, who spoke to newsmen on the issue expressed dismay that despite the court injunction, the speaker had kept dodging to reinstate her describing it as contempt of the court. She berated the action of the House for defying court order to protect the interest of their god-fathers noting that the move was an attempt to scuttle democracy It would be recalled that Hon Danna was suspended by the house since 2012 from office and later reinstated by the Bauchi State High Court presided by justice Ibrahim Zango in 2013 But the house appealed
the ruling of Bauchi High Court through the Federal Appeal Court, Jos seeking for a stay of execution and finally withdrew the case against Danna leading to the case being struck out by the Supreme court in Abuja. The apex court ruling dated 25th May, 2015, quashed the prayers of the house seeking for the stay of execution of the judgment appeal court Jos dated 3rd December, 2014 The supreme court had also ordered for injunction restraining the plaintiff from returning to office pending the hearing and determination of the appeal in motion in respect of the said judgment The supreme Court therefore struck out the appeal case file against Danna by the state house of assembly having withdrawn same by the plaintiff and ordered for her immediate reinstatement The speaker in a related development however, seek for forgiveness from the 7th assembly during the valedictory session in his house in Bauchi
N87, motorists bought the product for around N200 per litre in other local councils. In AMAC, the product was not available at fuel stations, but it was sold in various sizes of containers on all highways at very exorbitant prices by “black marketers” who brazenly
scouted for buyers everywhere. Commuters groaned while the experience lasted because of increased fares. Fuel drought began in the nation’s capital few weeks into the last Presidential election and continued until few days after President Mohammadu Buhari was sworn in.
Fuel queues ease off in Abuja Katsina LGAs zzAs residents spank NNPC over planned ejection of warned against indiscriminate assets 1.1billion liters into system M F disposing arcus (Abuja)
James Danjuma Katsina
L
ocal Council Areas in Katsina State have been warned to desist from indiscriminate disposing of councils’ assets without due clearance from state government. The warning which was made in a statement issued to newsmen yesterday by state’s Head of Civil Service, Lawal Aliyu, said, failure to comply with directive would attract appropriate sanctions. The statement also warned beneficiaries of such transactions to return without delay, such properties to the affected council areas. The development fol-
lowed allegations that some council area chairmen had auctioned councils’ properties, including cars, tractors, cushions, among other items, to themselves and their cronies. It was learnt that some of the council area workers who had either not benefited in the auctioning, or who saw the moral angle to the issue, decided to blow the whistle. The statement reads: “Reports reaching the state government have indicated that some local government councils in the state are indiscriminately disposing assets of their local governments without due clearance with the present administration.
R
atunmole
elief came the way of motorists in Abuja yesterday as fourmonths-old queues at fuel stations began to ease off. This is, even as residents of the Federal Capital Territory queried the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, over its recent plan to eject 1.1 billion litres of fuel into the system. Residents who spoke with Saturday Mirror said the plan was long overdue. Saturday Mirror observed that all through yesterday, motorists could drive into fuel stations where the product was available and get it within 30 minutes. But, not all the fuel stations had the product at the time of filing this report. Getting premium motor spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol, by motorists has been an experience many would not pray to en-
counter in their lifetime in Abuja. For instance, motorists queued for between 12 hours and more than a day before they could fill their tanks until few days ago. Besides, while only the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, sold the price at official price of
Atiku mourns Investigator publisher, Sam Adaji
F
ormer Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has mourned the late publisher, Sam Adaji who died recently after a brief illness Atiku in a statement he personally signed and addressed to Adaji’s family in Kogi State said; ‘It is with great shock and a deep sense of loss that I learnt about the death
of your dear son, husband and brother, Mr. Sam Adaji, JP. “I was privileged to know Mr. Adaji as the publisher of the wellregarded Kogi State based The Investigator newspaper which always devoted ample space to my political activities and programmes. “Mr. Adaji has no doubt contributed
greatly to the practice of grassroots journalism through the publication of The Investigator. As a reporter and columnist, Mr. Adaji was courageous, professional and principled. “Kogi State will miss this illustrious son whose brand of informed community journalism enriched our lives. Mr. Adaji lived a brief but eventful life” Atiku said.
Politics
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
13
APC and National Assembly ‘coup-de-tat’ Lekan Adejuwon
T
he All Progressives Congress, APC, the new ruling party in Nigeria, faces, perhaps, its first litmus test during the week, as the 8th National Assembly was inaugurated amid tension, characterised by intrigues and horse-trading which nearly tore the rainbow party into shreds. The highpoint of last Tuesday’s political maneuvering however was the controversial election of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President of the 8thAssembly and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively. It was an election where 57 senators out of the nation’s 109 members participated to choose their principal officers, a development which has continued to generate outrage, especially from the ruling APC. The APC’s tale of woes last Tuesday was compounded by the return of Senator Ike Ekeremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as Deputy Senate President, making history since the 16 year of the present democratic experience where the opposition party would grab such exalted office from the ruling party. Saraki’s election came on the heels of a scheduled meeting of APC senators who were already gathered at the International Conference Centre to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari with a view to mediate in the issue of Senate leadership, which appeared to have divided the party. The time space was however enough to carry out the civilian coup-de-tat in the Senate Red Chamber as Saraki was elected and sworn in. This is because, when some of the senators-elect at ICC learnt that election had begun, they rushed to the Senate, but by then, it was too late. Indications emerged last weekend that the APC might run into troubled waters with the conduct of a mock poll by the party for both incoming members of the House of Representatives and the Senate with the aim of producing consensus candidates for the position of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively. At a media parley in Abuja shortly before the mock election, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said, “The aim of the election is to present sole candidates for the position of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives”. According to the party’s scribe, “The party is trying to avoid a situation in which its lawmakers will be divided on Tuesday when the National Assembly election will take place as the party does not want the lawmakers to undermine its supremacy.” However, at the end of the poll, the outcome of the exercise appeared to have polarised the party along various divides as Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos) and the outgoing Minority Leader of the House emerged as the APC consensus candidate while his closest rival, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and his supporters staged a walk out in protest against the result. Although the mock election for the Senate President could not be concluded as the exercise was said to have been disrupted, but the party leadership went on to announce Ahmed Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate ahead of Saraki. But in what appears an open defiance of APC guideline, a group of senators-elect who are rooting for Saraki insisted that the former Kwara State governor would contest the position despite the party’s decision. The group, in a statement by two of its members - Dino Melaye and Ahmed Rufai Sani - argued that the mock primary that produced Lawan as the APC consensus candidate was manipulated by the party leadership. They noted with regret that the leadership of the APC did not carry the pro-Saraki group along
Saraki
“The Unity Forum (Lawan’s group) insisted on open ballot voting which we discussed is different from the electoral process used to conduct the earlier election with the House of Representatives members-elect. “As responsible citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leaders in our own right, we shall not be part of a process that promotes undemocratic electoral process. “In conclusion, we the Senators-elect of like minds wish to state categorically that we will participate only in the constitutional election scheduled for Tuesday the 9th June 2015 in line with the rules of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Speaking in similar vein, the pro-Dogara legislators under the aegis of Consolidation Group warned that that the APC was on a path of self-destruction by sticking to the outcome of the controversial primary. According to the spokesman of the group, Abdulmumunin Jibrin, there was no election. His words: “The mock election is a blatant lie. It was very shameful and disgraceful and the party only made a mockery of itself. “We walked out of the hall and we never participated in the election, therefore, the vote allocated to us were a fraud and we will not accept it.” Jibrin claimed that members of the group had received threats of disciplinary actions from the party but restated the resolve of Dogara’s supporters to ignore the APC and nominate the lawmaker on Tuesday. “We have decided to write a petition to Buhari to intervene in this matter, to call the party to order; we will go ahead to nominate Dogari.” With these two opposing warring camps, the stage appeared to have been set for last Tuesday drama which saw the emergence of Saraki and Dogara to man the affairs of the National Assembly for the next four years. Expectedly, the APC in its official reaction rejected the election of both principal officers saying it smacked of high indiscipline and disloyalty. The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the actions of the new National Assembly leaders and their supporters amounted to treachery and disloyalty.
According to the APC, the inauguration and the process which led to the emergence of Saraki and Dogara represented the highest level of indiscipline. The party therefore threatened to sanction the two men and their supporters in order to clearly show its determination “to enforce party discipline and supremacy.” “Senator Saraki and Dogara are not the candidates of the APC and a majority of its National Assembly members-elect for the positions of Senate President and House Speaker. “The party duly met and conducted a straw poll and clear candidates emerged for the posts of Senate President, the Deputy Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, supported by a majority of all Senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives. “All National Assembly members-elect who emerged on the platform of the party are bound by that decision. “The party is supreme and its interest is superior to that of its individual members.” But not a few observers of political events in the country had carpeted the APC for reaping the fruit of what it planted in 2011 following the emergence of the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal , who was clearly not the candidate of the then ruling PDP, but a combination of high wire intrigues and manipulation by the opposition saw to the truncation of the zoning arrangement of the PDP. Barely four years after, the hen seemed to have finally come home to roost, even as some concerned Nigerians have been expressing mixed feelings about the National Assembly brouhaha. For Itse Sagay, a Professor of Law and public affairs commentator, last Tuesday National Assembly election was a fraud. He stated this in an interview on a television programme on Wednesday. According to him, “If you look at the moral point of view, that purported election was fraudulent. “When you purport to hold an election deliberately in the absence of your opponent, knowing that he is absent and intending to win at any cost unopposed by ensuring that absence, that constitutes fraud.” Continuing, Sagay viewed the exercise as “unacceptable in a decent democracy.” “I think it’s an act of gross indiscipline, not just against his party, but against the whole country because we are all stakeholders in the electoral process, in who becomes the Senate President and we all felt cheated because there was no proper election. “Again it’s also an act of gross impunity. In effect, he was saying “I know my opponent is keenly interested in contesting, I know my opponent is not here yet, and therefore, I will rush an election in his absence in order to be certain of victory at any cost.” It’s absolutely unacceptable in a decent democracy.” There is no doubt that the ongoing debacle in the ruling party is a test case of how the APC will be able to manage its internal crisis at a time when Nigerians are impatiently waiting to see the desired change which the party promised to make in the polity. However, President Muhammadu Buhari, by his tacit endorsement of the National Assembly new leaders appeared to have risen beyond party affiliation to the position of a national leader, a development which many believed would go a long way to assuage many frayed nerves within the party. The president, in a statement, said he would rather that the process of electing the leaders as initiated and concluded by the APC had been followed but the president took the view that a constitutional process has somewhat occurred. “President Buhari had said in an earlier statement that he did not have any preferred candidate for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected “That sentiment still stands, though he would have preferred the new leaders to have emerged through the process established by the party,” the statement reads.
14
POLITICS
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Tambuwal carried out my agenda as Speaker –Etteh Mrs. Patricia Etteh is the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. Her tenure was characterised by deep crisis leading to her controversial impeachment in 2007. The Osun State-born politician, in this interview, expresses worry at the low number of returnee Reps members, describing it as a waste of the country’s resources. She also reminisces on the crisis that rocked the House during her tenure among others. LEKAN ADEJUWON reports. Excerpts:
C
that can clear me and God has vindicated me as no money was missing as against even my predecessor. All the monies he earmarked for my office I spent them for the House I never took a penny for myself. The car I used when I was in office would ever be smelling petrol each time I go out and because I felt I was leading a House of Reps where all of us are equal and some of these people, the exposure, we really need to imbibe into all of us. So I made sure I really survived for what I was punished for.
ould you talk on the legislative agenda and valedictory service of the 7th Assembly. What are your views in an occasion like this as a former Principal Officer? Thank you very much. I want to say that I am happy that I see some people who are coming in as freshers into the House but at the same time I am not particularly happy with what is happening in the sense that the ratio of the number of the people coming back are so minimal. This means that we are still going to lead the House empty; meaning that we are still going to start training new hands. So, I don’t know when they are going to be enjoying stability of the House; I don’t know when there would be continuity in the legislative arm of the government. That is my main concern and to me it appears the money that government is spending on legislators is a waste. How can you train that quantum of people and you cannot sustain them? Even when they leave the office some of them cannot be absolved into various offices where they can be useful, where they can really fit in. So, what are your suggestions over the challenges you have mentioned? I think what the government should do is to first and foremost ensure that, at least, they come out with an idea where some of the legislators can be returned in a way that there would be stability in the House. Secondly, for those people that couldn’t come, if the government cannot absolve them, then to me, it is a mere waste of resources and I don’t think it is an idea this present government should focus on. As a presiding officer, you had your fair share of the turbulence the House of Representatives of 360 members poses. Take us back to that time and relate to us how the immediate past Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, emerged through turbulence. Aminu Tambuwal went through turbulence but his own turbulence was a little bit minimal than what I passed through. Every Nigerian is aware of that. Well, one can say because he was picked by members, the members insisted they were going to see him through to the end. But in my own case, to be honest, I have forgiven everybody whatever the situation is but I must let Nigerians know that if tomorrow, I am still called upon to come and be at the helm of affairs like that I would still ask myself …
Etteh
(Cuts in) Do you like to come back into the House? I don’t want to come back to the House because I have reached the pinnacle of my career as far as the House is concerned. So, I don’t want to come back. I don’t even want to do anything now. I am believing God to lead me. Wherever God leads me is where I go. I don’t just move, just for moving sake. The most important thing is that I believe that there should be stability in the House. The house leadership could be a woman or a man, but there must be stability and to ensure stability means they must believe in their leader; which means everybody must be given a chance regardless of gender or religion. Do you think the turbulence you went through was because you are a woman? I want to believe strongly that what worked against me was majorly because I am a female. I believe that some group or a section of the country think they could not bow to ladies. I have bowed for my leaders. I paid my dues, I worked for my
predecessors and I believe that I deserve every due respect because as at the time I became the Speaker, not only in the House of Reps, but in the Senate, I was the most ranking member, and I am proud to tell the world any day. But for anybody to look at me and start telling me all sort of stories that, she is a woman, she is an hairdresser, she belonged to one particular party, one leader brought her to me, is nonsense. Whatever you make of yourself is really important. How true is the story that you absolved of all the allegations leveled against you and which led to your ouster? What is indeed the true story? The allegations, they cannot substantiate because that is why I filed up at the last day, like a valedictory session, that if they found me wanting, they should not let me go but if they discovered that they had gone through the account and a penny was not missing, I must be cleared. Then, I was really ready to go to court. I am told you’ve been cleared. Is it true? Well, they can’t clear me. It is only God
Let us come back to the 7th assembly that has just ended. As a former presiding officer, your thoughts are very important. How far would you say they have achieved the legislative agenda that they put across in 2011? Well, I think they came out with lots of agenda and from the look of things. For a leader to succeed, you must execute your agenda first and foremost. Aminu Tambuwal worked very hard to make sure that there is stability in the House. He made sure that all the promises made to Nigerians, he fulfilled them and at the same time he was able to really galvanise among the members and let them see why the House must be one regardless of political affiliation and it really worked. So now, if another person is coming in, my advice is that regardless of your party affiliation, the first and foremost thing is that you are a Nigerian and you are in the House of Representatives. Once you are in this House, forget about your constituency, forget about whether you are a leader in Osun or Ekiti or wherever, otherwise, why are you not in the House of Assembly? You are here as a national figure and you must project it and you must work hard to ensure that Nigeria remains one indivisible entity. How would you rate the 7th assembly? The seventh assembly did very well. When they wanted to start, the Speaker and his Deputy came to me because the Speaker was a member of my kitchen cabinet then. He called me and said, ‘mummy your agenda you said they did not allow you to use, I am going to use it’ and I am so happy and proud of him that today he used my agenda and he succeeded so it means that I lost nothing. So, there was continuity? There was continuity from where we started in 2007 and I am really proud of him otherwise maybe we should have been singing another tune now.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
15
June 13, 2015
‘We need to move on in the interest of Nigerians’ Senate President Bukola Saraki “O
Talking
Politics
—
ur country is going through very trying times. We have the challenge of insecurity in the
Northeast. “The massive problem of youth unemployment and general economic challenges occasioned by fall in revenue, all these against the huge public expectation that propelled our party into office. “We have pursued our legitimate aspirations appropriately. “Now that the issues have been settled, we need to move on in the larger interest of our people without whose mandate we would not have been in a position to aspire to these positions in the first place.”
‘Buhari has no issue with Saraki, Dogara’s emergence’
—Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President
“T
hough he (President Buhari) would have preferred that the leadership of the National Assembly came about through the arrangement put in place by the All Progressives Congress, since the emergence of Saraki, Dogara and the others had conformed with the constitution, he had no issues with it. “President Buhari had said in an earlier statement that he did not have any preferred candidate for the Senate and the House of Representatives, and that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected,” “That sentiment still stands, though he would have preferred the new leaders to have emerged through the process estab-
lished by the party.” “The President calls on all the elected representatives of the people to focus on the enormous task of bringing enduring positive change to the lives of Nigerians”
‘PDP could’ve produced the Senate President’ —Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, former Minister and PDP chieftain
“T
here was to be an election in the chamber at 10am and instead of them (APC senators) to be present, they went for a meeting at 9am. The Kwara senator (Saraki) outsmarted them. If the PDP wanted to produce the Senate president at that time, the party could have. “All that was needed for the PDP to produce the next Senate President was 12 votes. However, the Deputy Senate Presidency going to the PDP is enough for now. At least, it is alright for the success of Nigeria. “It is not necessary that the ruling party produces the Senate President. The constitution is clear on this matter. It states that the senators must elect a Senate President among themselves.”
‘We appeal to all political office holders to take pay cut’
— Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai
“T
he Deputy Governor and I have signalled our intention in this regard by announcing that we are taking a pay cut of 50 per cent of our salary and allowances until the fiscal situation of the state improves,” “We appeal to all political office holders to embrace this example and attitude of sacrifice”. “Once done with paying salaries, allowances, overheads and pensions, the state is unable to do much by way of building infrastructure or providing services. The stark fact is that Kaduna State spends 80 per cent of its total revenues on its public servants and political office holders.”
‘Saraki’s election, fraudulent’
—’Professor Itse Sagay, lawyer and public affairs commentator
“C
ertainly, Senator Saraki cannot enjoy any legitimacy because he is there by fraud; he is there by impunity; he is there by the grossest act of indiscipline of the worst type of political culture. “So, he lacks legitimacy. He may be sitting there now but nobody has any respect for that seat as long as he sits there because he has brought shame on the whole country. “Now, as far as I am concerned, these people have a right to go to court, because a fraudulent election cannot constitute
a legitimate basis for establishing Senate leadership. “It was a fraudulent election. What really happened yesterday, in my view, is not a victory for democracy, but a victory for impunity, a victory for fraud and a victory for political desperation and indiscipline, and it must not stand. ‘If we in this country are to go with the new change brought by the fresh breath of air that is blowing across the country, if we are to sustain it, then what happened yesterday must be swept away because it is contrary to the fibre of the whole Nigeria”.
‘APC, suffering from consequences of greed, lust for power’ —Olisa Metuh, PDP National Publicity Secretary
“N
othing can be more astonishing than the whining by the APC that the PDP at the last minute expressed its preference for Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively after it had earlier stated that it was not interested the positions. “This calls to question the capacity, experience and skills of APC leaders on
political matters and we have no apology whatsoever for their naivety. “The APC is merely suffering the consequences of the greed, lust for power and inordinate ambitions of their leaders. They should note that Nigerians have since moved ahead with the new leaders in the National Assembly and stop wasting their energy on propaganda and blackmail to heat up the polity”
‘APC should tread softly on NASS’s issue’ — Senator Florence Ita Giwa
“A
s a member of the National Assembly during the Okadigbo and Enwerem terms, I was privy to a lot of intrigues that led to instabilities and Nigerians watched with bewilderment the gale of impeachment that characterised that era. “APC should tread carefully. They should not rock the boat. The consequences may be dire. I urge them to respect the status quo and allow for independence of the legislature by not interfering with their choice of leadership. “APC should respect the dignity of the lawmakers and allow sleeping dogs lie. Legislators are mature and cerebral individuals. They should be respected” .
16
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Living
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
17
Indian Hemp, alcohol, carelessness or the devil: What causes tanker fires?
The last few weeks have witnessed several tanker accidents in different parts of Nigeria, with Lagos State recording the highest number. Worried Nigerians have come up with suggestions on how to halt the incessant accidents, writes JULIET UMEH
L
ife may never be the same again for the traumatised Sani, a tricycle driver, whose three-wheel bicycle popularly known as Keke, was among many other properties burnt down last week at the spot of a tanker accident, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos. Many other victims of the accident, whose properties were destroyed, wept like colic babies, counting their losses. For Sani, it may take only the intervention of the Almighty God, to regain his former rhythm or normal life, because he lost to
the inferno his source of living, a tricycle he bought on hire purchase about a year ago. Hopeless Sani confirmed he had not even paid up to 25 per cent of the loan he obtained for the purchase of the lost valuable. The gruesome incident, which resulted in injury to no fewer than14 people, happened as a tanker laden with 33,000 litres of petrol fell off Iyana-Ipaja Bridge. An explosion, aftermath of the tanker’s upturn while on motion, triggered a fire that raged for about 10
hours. However, some people attributed to fatigue on the part of the driver as the cause of the accident, while others said it was caused by brake failure. Sadly, the fire, which an eye witness told Saturday Mirror claimed no life, destroyed property that worth millions of Naira. Another pathetic incidence worth recounting is that of Nelly, a young
rammed the bus he boarded. According to an eye witness report, a tanker laden with petroleum products crashed into a bus park located at the Upper Iweka axis of the Onitsha-Enugu Road when it lost control and rammed the Asaba Motor Park at Upper Iweka Street in the commercial city of Onitsha and exploded. The accident claimed the life
Almost 90 per cent of our drivers must have taken either ogogoro, opa eyin, burukutu, or weed (Indian hemp) before getting behind the wheel this morning. When accidents occur, we start blaming the devil or evil spirits that we did not blame before taking ogogoro. widow, and her fatherless kids, who lost James Ibe, their loved bread winner, to another tanker accident on Sunday, May 31, in Onitsha, Anambra State, two days before Iyana-Ipaja incident. As at last weekend, they were yet to get over the shock of losing Ibe, who had left his Awka residence to meet a client at Asaba. While travelling to their rendezvous, a speeding tanker veered off its track and
of Ibe, 69 other people, 14 mini-buses, three tricycles and a motorcycle. Still in the same week, on Wednesday, June 3, no fewer than 10 persons including a Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) chief were killed in Owena, a community very near Akure, Ondo State capital, in another road mishap CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
18
LIVING
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘Tanker drivers live on the high’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
caused by a petrol tanker that veered off the road and speedily entered a popular traditional market. The tanker, said to be travelling along Akure/Ilesa Road when the accident occurred, according to an eye witness account, had brake failure a few metres to Owena market. Many of the casualties in the crash were traders, buyers, hawkers, artisans, animals and drivers, who had parked their vehicles by the roadside expecting to load their vehicles with goods for transportation to other parts of the country. As the catalogue of deaths from tanker accidents continued, residents of Idimu area of Lagos were thrown into disarray when a petrol tanker fire wreaked monumental havoc on Friday night, June 5. About 36 houses among other properties were ravaged by fire. Still in the same week in review, another petrol tanker was also involved in an accident around Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos. The last one week had recorded a litany of heart- rending tales of accidents involving fuel-bearing tankers as if they are jinxed or cursed, but these strange incidents like calamities have elicited reactions from across Nigerians, most especially at governmental levels and by political leaders. Last Monday, Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwumi Ambode, held a meeting with leaders of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) at the state secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja. He advised tanker drivers to observe safety rules and make sure they get insurance policies for their vehicles and the contents they are carrying. In a related development, former Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello, berated fuel tanker operators who employ very young drivers. According to him, most of ‘kid’ drivers are very careless and lack knowledge of the highway code. Owing to the security situation in Nigeria, many Nigerians link the accidents to secret plans of terrorists. Darlington Onyema, a Lagos resident, has the view that these accidents should be investigated. “You could recall that sometime last year, it was alleged that Boko Haram group would be using tanker to carry out their evil mission. I therefore plead that government should look more into these accidents before it gets out hand,” Onyema opined. Has it crossed any one’s mind that these tanker accidents may be deliberate? I am beginning to smell some Boko Haram conspiracy here. This is a strong confirmation. They intend making the Buhari government ungovernable. Just one week in office, see all the bomb explosions and tanker explosions that have occurred. This is no coincidence,” Marvin, a Lekki resident opined. Travelling on any part of the expressways in Nigeria — Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, IlorinOgbomoso Expressway, Aba-Ikot EkpeneUyo highway, Benin-Onitsha Expressway or on inner city or rural roads, trucks have become a source of fear, sorrow and
It is a known fact that these
tanker drivers live recklessly.
Wherever trucks are parked, one is sure to find brothels, women of easy virtue, liquor joints and various intoxicants – life there is usually on the high tears. Any attempt to contest the right of the road with them is tantamount to consciously pulling the trigger at one’ own head. Drivers of oil tankers, tippers, luxury buses and other articulated vehicles have continued to maintain unenviable record as the most dangerous on Nigerian roads; they are also branded highways ‘hired’ killers. Other road users have to drive with extra care because the fear of tanker drivers is an antidote against death on highways. They don’t have any iota of respect for any other motorist simply because they see themselves as the ‘kings of the road.’ But tanker drivers may not be totally culpable for the incessant accidents on roads. Holding this view is Jimi Adewale, a Lagos resident, who told Saturday Mirror that apart from the bad conditions of Nigerian roads and the precarious state of the trucks, the questionable lifestyle of the truck drivers is a fact that the authorities that are supposed to keep them in check have abandoned. He said: “It is a known fact that these heavy vehicles’ drivers live recklessly. Wherever there is a truck parked, obviously, one is sure to find brothels, women of easy virtues, liquor joints and various intoxicants – life there is usually on the high.” Mr. Adewale continued: “The truck drivers instead of having adequate rest before embarking on journeys stop over at brothels inside
their parks, have flings with prostitutes, some engage in series of drinking binges and other substances abuse, only to mount their trucks the next minute and start off on ill-maintained roads.” Also corroborating Mr. Adewale is Awohenri Ifayeni, a Lagos resident. He is sad that most Nigerians pray more instead of doing the right thing. “I don’t know how this type of prayer would change the attitudes of our drivers on highway codes or the attitude of our government especially those who are saddled with the responsibility of checkmating the lawlessness of our drivers. As we speak, almost 90 per cent of our drivers must have taken either ogogoro or opa eyin or burukutu or weed (Indian hemp) before getting behind the wheel this morning. When accidents occur, we start blaming devil or spirit that we did not blame before taking ogogoro. As magnanimous as God of Israel is, He does not answer prayers anyhow,” he stated. Mr. Ifayeni feels that both truck and tanker drivers are known to have sent many innocent Nigerians to early graves and killed countless men and women’s businesses because of their lack of caution. “On the roads, drivers of trucks appear have the notion that they are ‘kings of the road,’ as they are notoriously known in their near subconscious state behind the steering wheel,” he added. Nonetheless, the mindset of these drivers about danger and injury was the
thought of Lawrence Deji, an employee of a Mobil fuel station, who told Saturday Mirror that perhaps the problem of these drivers borders on safety. “Some of these people don’t think of safety while driving. Like what we were told happened in one of the accidents, the area boys wanted to extort money from the driver, they started dragging steering. They don’t consider the risk in the product they are carrying,” Deji said. He believes that the scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS) is also a factor too. In attempt to further search for what is wrong, Isaac Ayeni, manager of a fuel station told Saturday Mirror that the problem is not really from their end. According to him, “we don’t deal directly with drivers. Our duty is to make sure that fuel is available for them.” But the National Public Relations Officer of Federal Fire Service, Mr. Collins Elechi, while speaking on the incessant conflagrations on roads caused by petrol tankers, told Saturday Mirror that this issue borders on maintenance culture and pressure mounted on these drivers. “The high demand for oil and time given to them to travel to their various destinations is a very tasking, considering the bad roads in the country. And of course, they ought to either arrive their destination within a stipulated time. You realise that some of these trucks are old, their engines are very weak, their brake system bad and other problems like engine or brake oil are licking,” he said. In addition to that, Mr. Elechi took cognisance of the fact that this is rainy season; perhaps this is a reason why tankers’ accidents are common. He opined that the drivers of tankers ought to take adequate precaution while plying the highway realising that the roads are slippery. Also reacting to the recent spate of road crash fatalities is Lagos Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety (FRSC), Mr. Hyginus Omeje told Saturday CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
LIVING
June 13, 2015
19
Body ink: Art or exuberance? Tattoo and body designers appear to be making brisk business despite reservations for the art by many.
G
abashi, as his customers call him, is like a living and walking bill board for all manners of graffiti. Inked just underneath his right eye are three letters, DSP. He will neither tell you their full meaning other than that, it cost him N5, 000 to have the tattoos delicately inscribed on his face. There are other interesting inscriptions on him, too. There is one written in strange letterings vertically on his nape;
another somewhere across his chest. Then there is the very banal crucifix on one of his bulging biceps. “I paid something in the realm of N35, 000 to have all the tattoos done on my body in Ikeja, Lagos,” says Gabashi. He sells barbecued fishes under the flyover at Costein, Ijora, Lagos, a hub noted for open bar entertainment. But the place attracts sizeable numbers of street urchins known as area boys who are the major patrons of the joint. “The tattoo and markings protects me and my business from needless harassments from the boys. When you wear them, it makes you stand out to ‘normal’ folks; but with these guys, you are their ‘person’” he added, explaining why he has to pay such amount of money to ink his body. Gabash’s explanations show just how costly it is to do body tattoos. And also how much the inkers make in doing tattoos. From the common garage tout, students, sex workers, artistes and actors even every day people all have one reason to do tattoos. For those who are in the business of inking people, this can be very lucrative. Victor Michael, the Chief Executive Officer, Top Class Beauty Salon, Ikeja, on Wednesday said that tattoo business was very lucrative in the country. Michael told the newsmen in Lagos that any individual engaged in the tattoo business must be well versed in the
intricate art. He added that the business could take a highly skilled practitioner to places where they could reap bountifully from the volume of clientele that would come their way.
that it can fade by themselves after two months; some take three to six months, while some others are permanent,’’ he said. Michael, who holds a degree in business administration from the Ahmadu
When people see me, I look different from the crowd and I like the attention I draw to myself. You can see that I have it all over my body. Tattoos make me see myself as an entertainer because I also sing to entertain ``This business is a money-spinning business but then you need to have the competence to be able to deliver to your clients what they actually want. ``You cannot afford to make mistakes when you are doing it because it varies from one client to another. ``Some tattoos are crafted in a way
Bello University, Zaria, said that permanent tattoos could be erased but was very expensive and painful to erase. He said that Laser machines were used in erasing such tattoos and could cost about N30, 000 or more to effect. The tattooist, however, said that tatCONTINUED ON PAGE 20
20
LIVING
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘Ogogoro, Indian Hemp or the devil’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
Mirror that the problem is majorly caused by the attitude of the drivers to use of the road. “I think the tanker drivers to a great extent undermine the level of risk they are managing each time they are driving these vehicles. They ought to be careful than any other person knowing well that what they are carrying is a highly inflammable substance. Even the impact when ordinary vehicles collide is enough to trigger fire outbreak,” Mr Omeje said. “An eye witness account about the Idimu crash had it that the tanker driver lost control and slipped spilling all the products and when fire erupted, houses were burnt down. The consolation is that no life was lost. But I can tell you over 34 houses, about 70 shops and one tricycle got burnt. So you can see that the damage is in millions of Naira. “The way and manner they drive, despite the fact that they are carrying products, could cause accidents. They over-speed, they contend the road with other users, they compete the use of the road with others as if after using the road the road will go with you or roll the road like a mat and take it home, but this is not possible,” the FRSC officer stated. But addressing this problem holistically, Lagos State FRSC Commander, said on the part of FRSC, the corps marshal had issued a directive in recent times on the need to step up the enforcement level regarding the issue of these excesses of tanker drivers on our roads. “So we are going to really step up our level by ensuring that every tanker on the road meets the minimum safety
standard required,” he said. However, Saturday Mirror has been able to garner some expert advice on the solution to the recurring unpleasant record of tanker drivers-caused carnage on roads from a professional about safety. The Federal Fire Service PRO said that in order to avoid some of these incessant accidents, petroleum products must be readily available. Explaining, he said: “Issues of hoarding and rest of them add so much pressure on these tanker drivers. They are given time and they must meet up with this time, then
turn back to lift. You can imagine some travel from Lagos to Abuja, some go as far as Kano, Yobe and the rest of them. They spend almost two or three days on the road. They have to rest and then continue their journey. They are human beings like us.” Proffering solution, he advocates that rail system ought to be strengthened. “Our rail system has to be strengthened to an extent that they should ferry these things, not even the bad roads. The rail system should be strengthened and developed like how it was in the old good
Tanker drivers, to a great extent, undermine the level of risk they are managing each time they are driving
these vehicles.
They ought to be more
careful, knowing well that what they are carrying is highly inflammable substance
days. Just like Federal Fire Service PRO, Mr. Omeje, the FRSC officer proffer ideas he feels could halt incessant accidents. “I’m also of the view that it is high time the Federal Government took a second look at other depots. If you look at Apapa today, almost all tankers in Nigeria come to Apapa to load products. Must people get to Apapa before they can load product?” he asked. He suggested that other depots should be made to work. “And if we can rehabilitate the railways properly, it will go a long way because a train can carry about 40 or 50 tankers and then we transport it to wherever we are going so that all these incessant accidents can reduce,” he suggested. He also believes the pressure on the road network is too much. “We need to really look at alternative mode of conveying these petroleum product to other parts of the country. Can’t the pipelines also be looked into, get rehabilitated and of course pump this petroleum product to other parts of the country so that these tankers can go there and lift? Can’t we for the sake of this petroleum ensure that at least one rail track that can move from Apapa to the North, to the East, even if it is just one that we can rehabilitate for now, so that train can lift this thing from Apapa in coaches like that and transport them,” he advised. However, in a bid to curtail some of the activities of these drivers, the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, said Anambra State Government had banned long trucks and petrol tankers from plying roads in Anambra during the day.
‘Tatoos make you stand out’
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
toos vary according designs and sizes. ``We charge our clients from N2, 000 and above.’’ He also said that tattoos for the red and pink lips designs ranges from N2, 000 and above to craft. The stylist noted that there were two ways the pink and red lips were done. ``We start by first, washing the lips with chemicals and thereafter use certain creams to polish it every other time. ``The other way of doing it is to craft it with a machine permanently,’’ he added. Michael stressed that generally, some tattoos were made in a way that it faded by itself after two months, while some others take about three to six months to fade out. Taofik Bello, another tattooist who operates in the Gbagada area of Lagos, told NAN that the reason he had a tattoo design on his body was because it gave him a “swag’’. ``When people see me, I look different from the crowd and I like the attention I draw to myself. ``You can see that I have it all over my body. ``Tattoos make me see myself as an entertainer because I also sing to entertain,’’ he said. Reacting to the trend Olalekan Adesina, a comedian popularly known as ``El-
If the dyes used in tattooing contain traces of mercury, then there can be allergic reactions which can also affect the kidneys
gee’’, described the tattoo phenomenon as an ephemeral experience. ``I feel tattoos are mistakes borne out of youthful exuberance. Everyone that has done it regrets after a while. ``It also is driven by a burning passion to represent something. Believe me it’s not worth doing at all,’’ he said. In the same vein, Sleek Daniel, a student of the Lagos State University, said
that he liked to see tattoos inscribed on his body. ``As a Christian, I need to be seeing the cross emblem on myself all the time to make me remain committed to my faith,’’ he said. Meanwhile, a Yenagoa-based Consultant Dermatologist, Dr Ebimie Okara, said the side effects of tattooing included infections and allergic reactions from
the dyes used in creating tattoos on the skin. Okara added that the materials used in the process could have an adverse effect on the individual involved. ``If the dyes used in tattooing contains traces of mercury, then there can be allergic reactions which can also affect the kidneys. ``Also, in the local tattoos, unsterilised instruments used on the skin can result in infections that can also enter the blood stream of the individual. ``Such persons are at risk of infections including HIV and other blood related infections and diseases,’’ she said.
Entervaganza
The Saturday Mirror Magazine
Fashion White hot P.28
Sex talk
Sex facts that will make you laugh
P.32
Relationships Is it wrong to admire someone else when you are with your partner? P.32
e k n u F
s s e d d o g e i v o m ...
22
ENTERVAGANZA
June 13 , 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Celebrity
Why I’m mentoring Nigerian writers —’Lade Adeyemi
’Lade Adeyemi is a man of many parts. He’s a barrister, writer and entrepreneur. OSEYIZA OOGBODO met him to specifically discuss about his writing and his books and his disclosures on the issue of writing are definitely not to be taken lightly. Why do you write and publish books? Well, I believe one of the best ways to give information, and to add value to professionals and people generally, is by writing. I take pleasure in writing, though I didn’t start off taking pleasure in it, so I didn’t write when I was small, until I was out of the university, and I just picked the interest with my first book, Think Well Think Africa, and from that that first book till now, I’ve written and published about nine books, and I’ll keep writing because I believe it’s one of the ways to preserve knowledge, and to also add value to people around. How long does it take you to write a book? It takes about a year. I do a lot of research. What has really helped me in my research is based on my experience at Harvard. I remember my experience writing my second book at Harvard’s library. It was a wonderful experience. I didn’t want to leave. To a very large extent, Harvard really helped me in honing my writing ability, and I think I’m going to keep writing. Even my son has also started writing by drawing. He’s just about two years old, but I can see he’s picking up the trait. There’s this belief that Nigerians don’t read. As a writer, what can you say about this? I beg to disagree. I feel Nigerians are one of the most intellectually sound Africans in the world. Take for example, social media. As much as it’s not a book, it involves writing and reading. I believe that Nigerians actually read … maybe not as much as we should, but it’s getting better and it will continue to get better. I think we should write books that will add value to Nigerians as a whole. But generally, I totally agree with the fact that Nigerians read. In fact, we are actually aligning with the innovation norms. Now there are e-books. In fact, I’m also delv-
ing into that innovation as well, because most folks who want my books tell me ‘Hey, I’ll rather like an e-copy so that I’m on the road, I’m in the car, or I’m in the office, you know, I can read it electronically.’ So, that tells us that indeed Nigerians are readers. And it would only increase with time. How many millions of your books have you sold? Well, I’ve not gotten to the million category, which I’m hoping to get to. But I’ve sold a couple of thousands. My Think Well Think Africa was on Amazon and it sold over three hundred thousand copies. My Negotiate As A Pro has sold over five hundred thousand copies and it’s still selling. One Hundred Business Techniques has sold over one hundred and sixty thousand copies. And currently I’m working on a book which will be out in the next four months and I believe it will be a book that will not only add value to professionals but even budding professionals in the university will benefit from it also. Considering how busy you are as an entrepreneur and all that, how do you get time to write? Well, I get inspired mostly at night. I’m very nocturnal. My inspiration comes mostly at night. I try to make good use of my time. I spend an average of four hours
•Zdon
•Adeyemi
every night on my writing skills and my books and I’ve been doing it for the past ten years. And it’s become a part and parcel of me. I’m currently mentoring about fifty-six Nigerians as writers. I’m mentoring them as far as paying for their university fees, I’m encouraging them as good writers, going
through their scripts and also encouraging them to at least publish their first book, and I’m very happy to do that. And for as many Nigerians that also want to be mentored, my doors are open to them, as long as they are Nigerians and they are Africans, I mean that’s home for me.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
23
June 13, 2015
Veteran DJ, Abbey Lincoln, passes on
A
bbey Lincoln, celebrated DJ, music impresario and the Scion to late Chief Emmanuel Badejo Okusanya, one of the first indigenous owners of music companies in Nigeria, would be no stranger to anyone who clubbed and partied hard in the rocking 70s and 80s social circles. Only his family mostly called him by his real name Abiodun Okusanya. Complimenting the popular attires, cultures and music of that burgeoning era, he was as influential to entertainment as DJ Jimmy Jatt is to this era, dating back to the days when he held sway at top clubs around then like Beach Comba, Classic and more. With such luminary contemporaries as Segun Sonibare, John Chukwu, and Eddie Ugbona, his life revolved around entertainment, from his days in school at Fiditi Grammar School, through to his time at
Molusi College, where he was the fastest mile runner in the whole of the then western region. He also participated in several sporting activities like javelin, long jump and high jump. His love for good music kept him around after passing on the baton of nightlife to the new generation of DJs. He ventured into in-car entertainment, tapping into the general love for premium entertainment on the move to attract clients to his Surulere, Lagos workshop to fix woofers, DVDs and different entertainment accessories in their cars. He was at that time popularly called Papa as he neared retirement. At the ripe old age of 74 years, he finally came to end of his journey, and his family will pay their last respects to him today. He is survived by his children, and siblings: Opeolu Okusanya, Olori Labisi Tejuosho, and CMC Connect boss, Yomi Badejo Okusanya.
Afro-fusion musician, Jibola, drops Molegoke visuals
Lincoln
Tianah B sings Shakara I ntroducing British Nigerian singing sensation, Tianah B, real name Christianah Babalola, with her brand new single, Shakara, released in collaboration with afrobeats crooner Yemi Rush’s record label IDTR/Irawo. Shakara was produced by fast-rising beatmaker, Lexy Flow, and follows on from her last single, The Way featuring Nizzy.
Jibola
F
ollowing on from the success and acclaim of his latest single, Bam Bam Bam featuring Reminisce, afro-fusion artist Jibola is proud to announce his brand new single, Molegoke, produced by Puffy Tee, along with its exciting new music video, directed by Squareball Adasa Cookey, who has also worked with Burna Boy, DJ Xclusive, Skuki, Kiss Daniel. Shot in Lagos, the Molegoke music video is an enjoyable visual interpretation of the very heart of Jibola’s Molegoke single, which is an inspirational ode to our desires to be successful, and to reach the top of the
spectrum, in whatever we do. Laced over an infectious dancefloor groove, the affirming messages of ‘impossible is nothing’ and ‘I can get to the top’ come to the fore. Having previously worked with some of the biggest Nigerian artists including Sound Sultan, Ruggedman, Terry G, Sean Tizzle, Jaywon and of course Reminisce, Jibola has also just concluded a collaborative session with ace producer D’Tunes for his soon-to-be released songs, Otalenu featuring Sean Tizzle and Omo Ayo. Both will be released right in the heat of summer.
Tianah B
On the back of early success for The Way, the London-based singer, songwriter and musician takes things up a notch with Shakara which she wrote and composed herself. Backed by a robust bassline, lush drums, glorious melodies and horn arrangements, Shakara is an instant dancefloor filler and an infectious sing-along song which comes just in time for the summer.
24
June 13, 2015
CLASSICAL LYRICS
E-NEWS
Str8upbangin presents Bring Back The Band
Plantashun Boiz
T
Styl-Plus
he nineties recorded an unprecedented global explosion of the boy band phenomenon. That Olamide memorable era enjoyed lush and robust music that had a rich blend of pop and R&B from such groups like Boys 2 Men, Jodeci, Shy, Silk, Musical Youths and a host of others in the international circuit. In Nigeria, Plantashun Boiz, Remedies and Styl-Plus held sway. By the mid-2000s however, groups started to disintegrate or disappear totally, giving way to a new hip-hop generation that favoured solo pur-
suits. Today as the world welcomes new music from such phenomenal bands like Boys 2 Men and Jodeci in the international scene, Nigeria is not left out as some of our local boy bands have been making overtures at their diehard fans with new music. Even though the Plantashun Boiz’ reunion experiment turned awry a few years back, the fans have not given up hope and are still dying to hear new materials from the iconic trios: Plantashun Boiz, Remedies and Styl-Plus. It is against this back-
ground that Str8upbangin.com feels obligated to deploy its platform to organise an opinion poll to find out which band among the three most successful bands would be the most desired to make a come back in a poll dubbed #BringBackTheBand. It is our intention at the end of the poll to present the people’s verdict to the group with the highest votes, hoping that the ‘Voice of The Streets’ will prevail and compel the group to hit the studio. You can log on to Str8upbangin.com for more details and you can also join the fun on Facebook, Twitter.
George Nathaniel features Phyno, J Martins
G
eorge Nathaniel is a multitalented Nigerian recording artist, musician and producer. He just released the video to his Ticket 2 Love hit single which featured Phyno and J Martins. Renowned for singing and producing soundtracks that have earned him local and international acclaim in several award-winning Nollywood movies, some of his great musical fait accompli for movies include tracks for Desperate Housegirls, The Figurine, I’ll Take My Chances, Apaye, Okon Goes To School, Weekend Getaway, Mrs Somebody and the list goes on. His vocal prowess has earned him collaborations with popular Nigerian artists such as Phyno, J Martins, Waje, Paul Play, Slam and several others. He has specifically worked on the mixing and mastering of various hit songs like Runtown’s Gallardo, Waje’s The Way You Love Me, and J Martins’ first, second and third albums.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Nathaniel
DJ Bally remixes Canadian hit song
A
ristokrat Records’ DJ Bally has announced the release of his afrotronic remix of Earned It by Canadian singer The Weekend. The talented DJ released a remix to Rihanna’s smash hit single, Four Five Seconds, earlier this year in March and it has been getting massive airplay on ra-
dio stations across the country. Bally has been carving a reputation for himself as a pioneer DJ of the genre he calls afrotronic, and as a producer too. He also dropped an unofficial single, Ali, featuring rappers Mojeed and Sute, to pay tribute the boxing legend on his birthday.
Melo Melo Artist: : Olamide
Bridge I no dey denge (denge) I no dey pose My baby gimme bisicuit I want sugar The things you do me Bo ojo baro ko she wi Bo orun ba ran Bo orun ba ran ko she so Chorus Melo melo Melo melo la fe wi Melo melo Melo melo la fe so Eyin fun jowo Eyin menu gun Apon bepo re mi Akonke Oshe to gbami Niigba ko sowo Niigba ko so ola Niigba ko so oro Ti aye romipin You stood by me I know I made some mistakes But I don dey regret Now I no go forget,when you cherish wetin I get The very first day we met, I told you how I felt Walahi I dey melt,my baby you are the best Bridge I no dey denge (denge) I no dey pose My baby gimme bisicuit I want sugar The things you do me Bo ojo baro ko she wii Bo orun ba ran Bo orun ba ran ko she so Chorus Melo melo Melo melo la fe wi Melo melo Melo melo la fe so For better for worse,for rich and for poor Ko si elomiran, afi iwo nikan Nigba ti mo wo sun Ti mon squat labule, ti modarika jabata Ti mofesesha labule Shebi iwo lo ri mi, showed me love regardless Dem other ladies, den no dey send me, no cares I know you made some mistakes, now you don dey regret Now you no go forget to cherish wetin you get Bridge I no dey denge (denge) I no dey pose My baby gimme bisicuit I want sugar The things you do me Bo ojo baro ko she wi Bo orun ba ran Bo orun ba ran ko she so Chorus Melo melo Melo melo la fe wi Melo melo Melo melo la fe so Isu parada odi iyan, agbado parada odi eko Badoo parada odi olowo, my baby parada odi boss Iwo nikan … iwo ... iwo nikan shosho Afi iwo nikan shosho shosho Iwo nikan shosho Bridge I no dey denge (denge) I no dey pose My baby gimme bisicuit I want sugar The things you do me Bo ojo baro ko she wii Bo orun ba ran Bo orun ba ran ko she so Chorus Melo melo Melo melo la fe wi Melo melo Melo melo la fe so
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
E-NEWS
June 13, 2015
25
Entertainment billionaires
Bim
Cuppy
t’s not easy to be a billionaire. That’s why there are just a few of them in the world. According to a recent statistic, there are just one thousand, six hundred billionaires in the world’s population of six billion people. Many of these billionaires made their pile themselves. And some of them inherited theirs from their parents or husbands or whoever who made it, kicked the bucket and left it all to them. And when you now relate billionaires to the Nigerian entertainment industry, you’ll discover that there are some potential billionaires in the industry. Potential billionaires, we say, because none of them is an actual billionaire, and neither are any of them in line to make billions of naira in the nearest future. All the same, they are potential billionaires because their parents are billionaires so they can inherit billions thereby. So these entertainment billionaires are very successful in entertainment because they have too much money to buy themselves fame. They are very successful because they do entertainment out of passion and not because they are desperate to become successful materially through entertainment. Top on this list of Nigeria’s entertainment billionaires is definitely the Omo Baba Olowo himself, Davido. When it comes to the issue of money, it’s not a secret that Davido has so much of it, courtesy of his father who has just too much of it himself. Davido is probably the only entertainer in the country that if he says he bought an item for a whopping sum, he can be believed, because his father has the money and his father gives it to him, and what he makes on his own is just extra. So when he disclosed that he bought a mansion in Lekki for over a hundred million naira, no one doubted him. Likewise when he said he bought a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon for forty million, or that his father chartered a luxury plane just to fly him to a show. Another person that is on this exclusive list, and must be thanking her lucky stars for making her so
privileged is Eku Edewor. She’s known as an on-air personality, a compere and a socialite who’s fashionable and beautiful. Many people probably just see her as the girl next door, but she’s more than that. She also comes from great wealth and even if she has not been entrusted with the family fortune at this point in time, that might just happen one of these days. While Eku doesn’t seem to be popularly connected with billions like Davido, DJ Cuppy is also popularly connected to billions. She’s a DJ who has handled the wheels of steel at some prestigious events and trends for the littlest things like strolling in New York. But not a few people would argue strongly that her major fame at this point in time is due to her father being the billionaire oil magnate, Femi Otedola. Unlike Davido and Eku who have actually achieved some tangible things in the entertainment industry, Cuppy is yet to really prove her worth as an entertainment practitioner. But people don’t really care whether she proves herself or not. Just by being Otedola’s daughter, she has proven herself and it’s enough for many people that they have access to her through her entertainment aspirations. Aspiring singer, Bim, is yet another billionaire child who probably broke daddy’s heart by electing to go into entertainment instead of daddy’s business. Her father is the renowned billionaire, Antonio Deinde Fernandez, and Bim is the daughter whose music aspiration initially made daddy afraid that his precious daughter might be kidnapped and a ransom placed on her head. Like Cuppy, Bim is not yet making major waves in the Nigerian music industry, but she has what it takes to get to the top. She started playing music instruments from when she was just four years old, on the directive of her father, and she released her debut single, Let’s Take It Naked, last year. Though these four are definitely not the only entertainment personalities who might inherit billions, they are the most prominent of such
I
Davido
Eku
entertainment billionaires and they are fully living the jet set lifestyle, not faking it like many other entertainers. Oh well, everybody cannot be born with a diamond spoon.
26
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Funke Akindele warned about barrenness
T
he latest news trending about Funke Akindele is certainly not one that any woman will like to be linked to her, as most women only feel really complete when they have a child that comes out of their own womb.
Though children can be adopted from orphanages, most people still prefer to have their own biological children. So when a piece of news credited to a prophet is making the rounds about her that she might not bear any child, it certainly
won’t make Funke happy. According to the report, she has to pray very hard in order to have a child. Whether this revelation is malicious or genuine, one thing is indeed certain … Funke has to pray hard.
Tonto Dike, D’Banj add another year
C
onstant newsmakers, D’Banj and Tonto Dike, made the news again in the week for turning a year older each on June 9th. While D’Banj is now thirtyfive years, Dike is now thirty, and the two were quite excited about attaining another year in a world where many have died and many keep dying. Though the two were once rumoured to be in a romantic relationship, that tale no longer trails them and they are seen now as strictly professional colleagues with D’Banj head of DB Records which Dike, whom is trying her best to become a music success, is signed to.
Dola Billz back with In Her Eyes
Y
ou will remember veteran Nigerian hip-hop artist and producer, Dola Billz, from his classic early hits, Puyanga, Faaji and Jeun Lo, and from being a founding member of veteran collective 166 Family, which also helped birth the likes of Tilla and Big Tizz. Over a career spanning almost a decade, the award-winning rapper and musician has remained at the cutting edge of Nigerian and African music. Dola Billz is back in 2015, with an exciting new music video for
Dike
D’Banj
Project Fame 7’s Shola in Igbese P
roject Fame Season 7 Finalist, Shola, is out with the video to his recently released single, Igbese, which has quickly latched on in various radio stations and clubs in Nigeria as one of the songs that will definitely start off any party. The very crisp and clear visuals was directed by the fast-rising music video director, Mr. Miagy, at the Ultima Studios in Lekki and Ember Creek in Ikoyi, Lagos State and it features guest appearances from Geoffrey, Project Fame Season 7 winner, Beat by FranQ, Dresticks and quite a few others.
•Shola
Akindele
his latest single, In Her Eyes, produced by Ceefigz. Serving as the lead single for his forthcoming EP, Rapstar 2 (The Sequel), In Her Eyes is already a favourite among afrobeats listeners worldwide, and the visuals, which were shot in the idyllic scenery of Dublin, Ireland, brings the single further to life, to the delight of fans and critics alike. Directed by Ovie Etseyatse, who also directed the video for Yemi Alade’s Kissing (French Remix) featuring Marvin, the video for In Her Eyes tells a sweet story above love prevailing through the ages, with Dola Billz’ excellent single serving as the perfect backdrop. Billz
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
27
June 13, 2015
StyGlleam and
n o f f i h C r u o m a l g uti with Yemisi Adeniran
of
C
(080378011
58) ydiran@
yahoo.com
Kinab
hiffon, a very light and sheer fabric is one of the most popular fashion trends now. Due to its light weight and elegant appearance, it is preferred for everything from casual wear to wedding dresses. And ever ready to meet a wearer’s taste no matter how wild, it certainly do look gorgeous on all body types. Meaning, you do not have to worry about looking bulky or fat in this fabric. All the same, you need to be careful of its sheerness by not wearing dark undergarments but the exact colour of the dress or top, otherwise, you will ruin the look of your outfit. As for accessories, make them minimal as the overall look of chiffon is that of simplicity and elegance. These models from Kinabuti fashion house display a highly elegant way to have your chiffon dresses designed.
28
STYLE & GLAM
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Fashion
White hot!
Fashion
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
n frenzy
n frenzy
STYLE & GLAM
June 13, 2015
A
lthough we’re well into the raining season, the white colour still reign, so, don’t neglect your white wearables. White is stunning, and it has the ability to really shock people if it’s worn correctly. White has the capacity to evoke many different feelings depending on the piece; it can come off as ethereal, dangerous, daring or even classically simple. Just try several different looks and see which you like the best. You can take a cue from these: Choose a shade of white that suits your skin tone. Not everyone can wear bright, crisp white, but fortunately, there’s a shade of white for every skin type. There is the cool skin tones, the bronze skin tones, the ebony skin tones, the warm skin tones and the olive skin tones. Select quality fabric. Quality fabrics are less likely to be see-through. Some dresses may even be lined. Look for heavier count cottons, linen, and some man-made fabrics. Avoid clinging white dresses. White is not a colour that lends itself to flattering when it clings to your curves. Select white dresses that billow, flounce and flow. Wear underwear that is the same colour as your skin. White underwear is actually quite visible beneath white fabric, so avoid it – and anything other than your skin colour. Choose an appropriate shoe to match a white dress. White is the colour of purity and simplicity. If you want to stand out, you can add red high heels or other bright and bold coloured heels.
29
Fashion Guest
30
STYLE & GLAM
‘Can’t do without make-up’
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Foods that help or wreck your sleep
hionista from s fa g n u o y a emi Dauda, very fashion re fo e ic Afusat Omoy v d a r has a candid should be ou ty s e d o Lagos State M “ , y out there elves up, ” d rs la u o s u g io in c s s s n re co are d w. henever we w rd o w h tc a w in this intervie N A IR N E D A ISI she tells YEM
I
What does style means to you? It means everything to me. Why did you say that? Style, I mean is all about life. It is a person’s particular way of doing things. The way one dresses, talks, walks and so on. It is a person’s way of expressing ideas, views about issues of life. Everyone has a peculiar style, we are just more conscious of it than others. Some are silent about their style, so they are taken for not being stylish, others are loud about theirs, so they call them very stylish. Why are you into modeling? I take modeling as a hobby because it is a passion in me. I am passionate about it but I am not desperate. I see it as a stepping stone to greater things in life. I want to use my success in modeling to help the masses and disable people. But most of your colleagues always say
they are desperate. Why are you not? I intend to put in my best through hard work, diligence and good endurance. I plan to get to the top of my ladder just by this. I won’t be desperate. I don’t have to be. When one gets desperate in careers like this, the danger is that one is likely to be pushed overboard. One can be lured into a lot of evils. What are your fears? For instance, when it becomes a do or die affair, one can be lured into nude posing or just getting involved in some other evils. I don’t intend sleeping my way up or to success. That’s why I have other things doing. I am a working class lady and also a student, so I don’t depend solely on modeling. Which is your favourite fashion item? It’s my make-up. I can’t go anywhere without my make-up because it covers my birthmark.
f you could pick the right foods to help you get the best sleep possible, wouldn’t you? And if you knew which foods would hinder your restful slumber, wouldn’t you avoid them? Now’s your chance to learn which foods to eat, and which to steer clear of for a good night’s sleep. 1. We’ve all heard of warm milk’s magical ability to send us off to dreamland. Do you know why it’s true? Dairy foods contain tryptophan, which is a sleep-promoting substance. Other foods that are high in tryptophan include nuts and seeds, bananas, honey, and eggs. 2. Carbohydrate-rich foods complement dairy foods by increasing the level of sleep-inducing tryptophan in the blood. So a few perfect late night snacks to get you snoozing might include a bowl of cereal and milk, yogurt and crackers, or bread and cheese. 3. If you struggle with insomnia, a little food in your stomach may help you sleep. But don’t use this as an open invitation to pig out. Keep the snack small. A heavy meal will tax your digestive system, making you uncomfortable and unable to get soothing ZZZs. 4. As if you needed another reason to avoid high-fat foods, research shows that people who often eat highfat foods not only gain weight, they also experience a disruption of their sleep cycles. A heavy meal activates digestion, which can lead to nighttime trips to the bathroom. 5. It’s no surprise that an evening cup of coffee might disrupt your sleep. Even moderate caffeine can cause sleep disturbances. But don’t forget about less obvious caffeine sources, like chocolate, cola, tea, and decaffeinated coffee. For better sleep, cut all caffeine from your diet four to six hours before bedtime.
6. Some over-the-counter and prescription drugs contain caffeine, too, such as pain relievers, weight loss pills, diuretics, and cold medicines. These and other medications may have as much or even more caffeine than a cup of coffee. Check the label of nonprescription drugs or the prescription drug information sheet to see if your medicine interferes with sleep or can cause insomnia. 7. Here’s the catch-22 with alcohol: It may help you fall asleep faster, but you may experience frequent awakenings, less restful sleep, headaches, night sweats and nightmares. If you’re drinking alcohol in the evening, balance each drink with a glass of water to dilute the alcohol’s effects. For a good night’s sleep, the better bet is to avoid alcohol four to six hours before bedtime. 8. Lying down with a full belly can make you uncomfortable, since the digestive system slows down when you sleep. It can also lead to heartburn, as can spicy cuisine. Make sure to finish a heavy meal at least four hours before bedtime. 9. Protein, an essential part of our daytime fare, can be a poor choice for a bedtime snack. Protein-rich, highfat foods are harder to digest. So skip the fatty high-protein snack before bedtime and opt for a glass of warm milk or some sleep-friendly carbs, like crackers. 10. Yes, staying hydrated throughout the day is great for your body, but curtail your fluid intake before bed. You’re sure to have interrupted sleep if you’re constantly getting up to go to the bathroom. 11. Nicotine is a stimulant, with effects similar to caffeine. Avoid smoking altogether and especially before bedtime or if you wake up in the middle of the night.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
31
June 13, 2015
Male Essentials
08036961187
with Oseyiza Oogbodo kingseiza@gmail.com
How to dress properly to the gym
E
ven if you’re sweating up a storm, the gym is a spot where you can meet a potential girlfriend, and the proper attire can definitely have the right impact. With work taking up most of your time, your training sessions can become very important in terms of socializing with the ladies. Just follow these simple fashion guidelines to buy gym wear that will make you look good, even after the most strenuous workouts. Stay on tops First and foremost, your gym rags should be comfortable and allow your body a great range of motion. Let’s face it, you’re going to the gym to pump iron and to sweat it out, so don’t wear delicate designer clothing because after a few workouts, they’ll only be ready for the garbage. Just like your everyday clothing, your success in being stylish at the gym lies in the simplicity and elegance of your outfits. Avoid wearing multicoloured T-shirts that don’t match the colour of your trousers and/or sneakers. Your entire ensemble should consist of 2 or 3 colours or tones. Any combination above 3 colours will likely lead to a fashion disaster. Instead, stick to solid colours like black, navy blue, red, gray, earth tones,
and white. If you’re the type to perspire a lot, avoid wearing light gray T-shirts because sweat stains under your armpits will make you look rather filthy and unattractive. The same applies to yellow sweat stains on your white T-shirts. Even though they are totally natural, they’ll make you look sloppy. All T-shirts with flashy logos and huge insignias should also be left aside and worn as pyjamas instead. Wear Tshirts with discreet logos such as Reebok, Puma, Adidas, and the famous Nike swoosh. A small logo on the chest or back of your tee is classy, subtle and will match the rest of your training gear. Just shop for your favourite brand and find simple, stylish T-shirts made for the gym. If you have a fit, trim body, don’t be shy to wear tighter T-shirts or even more revealing tank tops. Just follow the same guidelines: keep it simple and make sure it looks clean. Generally, cotton tops are the most comfortable and the least expensive. As for better fit, I suggest various blends of synthetic fibres because they offer a better fit and provide as much breathing ability and comfort as cotton. Bottoms up When you’re scheduled to work out your legs and/or do cardio, it’s wise to
wear shorts. They allow a greater range of motion and better air circulation. You’ll find a wide variety of shorts that offer support, comfort and style. In order to look good, shorts should fall a little above the knees and fit nicely
Sexual issues & solutions
Amazing facts about the penis size (V) No matter how well-endowed men are, they are likely to experience penis anxiety when they think about the perceived size of their penis. This is mostly experienced by older men. The penis is actually almost twice as long as men think they are. This is because half of the penis is inside the body. The root of the penis is inside the pelvis and attached to the pubic bone. In fact, an erect penis is shaped like a boomerang. Vibrators are not just for vaginas—they work on penises too and can even help men with spinal cord injuries ejaculate. For this treatment, a medical vibrator is held against the underside of the head of the penis. A “micropenis” is a term used by researchers to refer to penis fewer than 2.8 inches in length when stretched. The condition affects only 0.6% of men, or 6 in 1000 men. It is caused by inadequate testosterone at a late stage of fetal development. Hello Viewden, I have been following your article for awhile now and im happy to always learn from it on a weekly basis. I have been trying to get pregnant for sometime now, my doctor said I have fibroid and I also have irregular menstruation, how can you help me? ID Grace,fibroid can be removed by operation or by use of supplements depending on which method you want. I will advise you go for Oligoscharide, cleanshield and Gingko tea. These three products will help churn out fibroid piece by piece and gradually till it comes out of your body and prevent any further occurrence. Cleanshield with Gingko tea or Ganoderma tea especially helps regulate mestrual period to allow it flow normally without seizing. If yiu can take these products for 2 to three months and then go for a test, im sure you’ll definitely get a good result and increase your chances of getting pregnant. I hardly last for 4 minutes on my woman. Initially I thought it was a small issue but now it is starting to affect my marriage cos my wife complains
and calls me a one-minute man. I heard about Vimax pills, delay cream and cockring that it can help. Please could you kindly expantiate more on these items and their functions? Bright Hello Bright, there are several remedies to early ejaculation, but if anxiety is the paramount issue, no herbal remedy can work. You must first believe in yourself and that you wont disappoint, if this is established, you can use the remedies like Vimax, which is a herbal supplement that corrects early ejaculation; but it has to be taken daily for 2 months and while this is going on, you could use the delay cream or cockring to last long like 20 or 25 mins on your woman for the period of sex . Because Vimax is doing the corrective work ,result will not show instantly and that’s why you need the delay cream and cockring when you need to have sex. I sufferfrom very weak erection and iam also diabetic and slighty hypertensive. I have used so many herbal remedies all no to effect, do yu have products that I can use and will give me instant erection when I need it and without side effect paying cognisance to my health status? Chief Aba Chief, there are several herbal remedies for instant erection , but I’ll like to let you know that some of them are body-type sensitive I,e they choose the body to work in and might not work for every body ; so it doesn’t make them less effective. Som of our herbal aids that has provento work for 98% of users include; Plant Vigra, Libigrow, Sexmen, Libimax plus, Xzen 1200 , rhino 5,and Sexvoltz to mention but a few. Any one of the above mentioned will give you strong erection on demand within 30 mins of taking them. These are all we can take for this week. Adults who needs these aphrodisiacs can call 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)
around your buttocks and legs. Save the extremely loose fitting shorts for boxers and basketball players; they lack sex appeal and look kind of sloppy altogether on a regular guy working out. CONTINUES NEXT WEEK
VIEWDEN PRODUCTS (RANGE OF LOVE PRODUCTS)
32
June 13, 2015
Relatio
Angle
Male
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Jide animashaun 08034710902 jidemashaun@yahoo.com
Is it wrong to admire someone else H
Be careful
mmm…this seems a dicey question to answer for any man especially when you juxtapose it to the fact that men naturally love admiring beautiful things and a well attired woman or a beautiful one whether we are with our partner or not is a sure sight for making our day extra beautiful because she’ll be adding more colours to it. Which man doesn’t like seeing beautiful sights to admire and which woman doesn’t like a man admiring her even if it’s from afar. It’s just the law of opposites attracting. Even our partner secretly would not mind being admired by other people whenever she’s looking good. It’s not being vain for them; it’s just something to make her feel good. I am one of those who find pleasure in admiring the opposite sex like most other men if the truth be told, though a lot of people pretend not to be doing so because they want to remain “proper” in the eyes of their partner and the larger society. It does give me a sense of doing the right thing by marrying my partner especially as I believe I’m yet to meet another woman who can give me the sexual high that she does when she smiles at me from across a room full of other women even as these women may not be bad or ugly themselves. The smile or glance my way with a little acknowledgement by her definitely most times will boost my self-confidence when I think of how sexually and intellectually desirable she is. Without being economical with the truth here I’ll say being in a steady relationship doesn’t stop men from admiring other women. It doesn’t always mean that we are interested in taking the woman being admired to bed if we’re given the opportunity. I’m not a saint and I don’t pretend to be one but I’ve sometimes had to decline open sexual invitations from women I’ve admired and told that they are beautiful. A lot of my female friends that I’ve discussed this topic with have asked me why “the pang of guilt” doesn’t come calling when I admire other women while with my partner but I’m always quick to point it out to them that nothing
is wrong with admiring anyone or anything as far as the admiration is harmless and won’t go beyond a glance or an honest comment on why a particular person is being admired by me without any deeper meaning in mind. I try as much as possible to let my partner understand that. It is not cheating or disrespectful because the admiration is open and done with sincerity so that it doesn’t affect my partner in a negative way. But I have also come to realise that the dangers of admiring the opposite sex when you are with your partner can be very enormous if care is not taken. Let’s call a spade a spade, in most cases there’s nothing cute about it because if truly you always feel the need to always check out every female in the room or anywhere else while with your partner, then you may want to deal with issues bothering on your own self esteem too. In truth it took some growing up on my part to realise that constantly admiring the opposite sex while one is with one’s partner can indeed also throw up issues that may affect your relationship adversely unless your partner is not only extremely mature but your relationship has also gotten to that “comfort” level where both of you are secured in your love and constant reassurances of love even while desirable, may not be need every time again to show each other the depth of your love again. Finally, for a lot of women really, it is deemed to be a disrespectful act and it does affect their selfesteem when we as men do that. We may see it as being “playful” but in the end we sometimes if not most times end up giving the wrong impression to the woman we have a relationship with. Our partner will go away even after we may have apologised for the act thinking “if only the environment was right, my partner would definitely have scored that one”. I’m sure that most times when we admire other women that is not an impression we’ll be happy to let our partner have about us. Therefore one has to be very careful if we have to openly admire members of the opposite sex while with our partner.
SEX TALK
This column is x-rated
Sex facts that will make you laugh Let’s continue talking about sex - the good, the bad, the plain ugly and the downright funny... 1. British spies stopped using semen as invisible ink because it began to smell if it wasn’t fresh. 2. A single sperm contains 37.5 MB of DNA information. One ejaculation represents a data transfer of 15,875 GB, equivalent to the combined capacity of 62 MacBook Pro laptops. 3. Male fruit flies rejected by females drink significantly more alcohol than those that have had a successful encounter. 4. Seven Viagra tablets are sold every second. 5. The German for “contraceptive” is Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel. By the time you’ve finished saying it, it’s too late. 6. The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental illness until 1973. 7. The best-selling work of fiction of the 15th century was “The Tale of the Two Lovers,” an erotic novel by the man who later became Pope Pius II. 8. A single human male produces enough sperm in two weeks to impregnate every fertile woman on the planet. 9. In 2008, archaeologists in Cyprus found a 7thcentury curse inscribed on a lead tablet that said, “May your penis hurt when you make love.” Nobody knows who made the curse, or why. 10. The founder of match.com, Gary Kremen, lost his girlfriend to a man she met on match.com. 11. Gymnophoria is the sense that someone is mentally undressing you. 12. A female chimpanzee in a fit of passion has the strength of six men.
13. At the 2012 London Olympics, which lasted for 17 days, the athletes were provided with 150,000 free condoms- approximately 15 each. 14. The “G-spot” was nearly called the Whipple Tickle- after Professor Beverley Whipple, who coined the expression that we know today. 15. Many people wrongly believe that orgasm and ejaculation occur at the same time. Not always. In fact, some men don’t ejaculate until several seconds after orgasm. And some men who are physically unable to ejaculate might find that they are still able to have orgasms. 16. For most men, orgasm is inevitable after a certain amount of stimulation occurs. According to sex researchers, Masters and Johnson, 75 percent of men reach orgasm after two minutes or less of masturbation. 17. Following on the heels of the Masters and Johnson research, a study from the University of Chicago found that 75 percent of men reach orgasm consistently in their sex lives, while just 50 percent of women could say the same. 18. Although men might be more likely to reach orgasm during intercourse, their orgasms tend to be shorter than women’s. 19. The world record for the longest time spent masturbating to orgasm is 6 hours 30 minutes for a woman, and 8 hours 30 minutes for a man. 20. Some women faint when they come and, in very rare cases, have had heart failure and died - which might explain why the French refer to orgasm as ‘le petit mort’ (the little death).
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
RELATIONSHIPS
June 13, 2015
onships
Female
33
Angle
JACQUI IWU 08165049669 email: amiicaregroup@aol.com
se when you are with your partner? I don’t see any harm here...
P
This column is x-rated 21. When men orgasm, their brains release chemicals (including prolactin) that can bring on tiredness. So it really isn’t his fault when he rolls over and starts snoring. 22. Hate the wet patch? Be glad you’re not a lady whale. Male whales generate the highest volume of semen in the animal kingdom - about 20 litres per ejaculation! 23. Some ancient Egyptians believed that the god Atum created the world by masturbating - and that the Tigris river was also formed by the semen of a god. 24. Is struggling for that first-class degree really worth it? A German study found that 62% of women who’d been to university said they sometimes had trouble reaching orgasm, while only 38% of those who hadn’t been to university experienced problems 25. Semen moves faster than any man can run. The average speed of ejaculation is 28 miles per hour, which is almost exactly Usain Bolt’s world-record maximum running pace of 27.79 mph. 26. Different religions recommend different times for people to engage in marital coitus (and, presumably, orgasm). For men, the following recommendations were made: Persian traditions: Once in 9 days, Hindu authorities: 3–6 times per month, The Koran: Once per week, The Talmud: Once per day to once per week (depending on occupation) Martin Luther, founder of Protestantism: Twice per week. 27. While orgasms usually result from genital stimulation, orgasm can occur from nongenital stimuli as well, including 1) thinking of an orgasm; 2) orgasms experienced during meditation; 3) orgasms produced by stimulating any part of the body, including mouth, lips, nipples, anus, shoulder, or toe; 4) orgasms during childbirth; 5) orgasms during defecation and “forceful urination; and (6)
This column is x-rated one woman reported having orgasms while brushing her teeth. 28. Seventy percent of ‘death during sex’ have occurred during extramarital intercourse. Though orgasms don’t seem to be directly linked to heart attacks, the physical exertion leading up to an orgasm could trigger heart stress—especially if the man is married but is with a non-spouse in an unfamiliar setting after consuming a big meal and alcohol. 29. While orgasms have been linked to pain relief, they can also cause headaches known as “orgasmic headaches.” Physicians note that these are similar to headaches after exercise and are caused by a temporary rise in blood pressure and muscle spasms of the neck and scalp. 30. San Francisco’s Centre for Sex & Culture organizes an annual masturbate-athon. The participants meet at the center and masturbate for charity. 31. The book The Fundamentals of Sex claims that it is possible for some women to experience orgasms up to 100 times in an hour. 32. A 175-pound man participating in vigorous sex for 30 minutes expends a mere 63 calories. If he had spent the same time jogging, he would have used 288 calories. 33. An orgasm burns just 2–3 calories, though a person can burn around 50 calories in the activity leading up to the orgasm. 34. For men, having an orgasm two or more times a week is a sign that he is more likely to live longer. 35. When former vice president of the U.S., Nelson A Rockefeller died of a heart attack during sex with a much younger woman in a hotel room, people began to wonder if orgasms caused heart attacks or “death in the saddle.”
eople are meant to be seen and admired. Lots of people tend to take time in preparing their entire body image for different reasons. Some do so to be happy and please themselves...others do it so that they can appeal to those they will meet when they go out. If you are with your man or woman and someone who dressed to kill comes along or passes by, there is absolutely no harm in him/her looking and admiring. No matter how much you try to conceal your admiration, it does not make sense when you see something that appeals to you and you pretend about it. The issue here is that, most times when people do this, they over do it or at times go overboard and thereby hurting their partner’s feelings. You cannot take your girlfriend out to a party and when you get there, you see a girl you like and lo, you now abandon your girlfriend and stuck to the girl you have crush on at the party. This is damn insane of you!! In this case, you have done your admiration wrongly. Even if you have no long term plans with your girlfriend and secretly looking for a new woman and the lady you just met at the party attracts you, you do not have to be stupid. It is allowed to mingle when you go to parties so what you can do is probably, go over to the new girl and greet/ meet briefly. If you are smart and the girl is one of those ladies who go to parties to search for new catch, you could exchange phone numbers and you quickly go back to attend to your girl friend. You do not take your girlfriend to a party and you keep talking and dancing with someone you admire at the party neglecting your girlfriend. If i were the girl i will pour red wine on your face in front of everybody and walk out on you right there for all to see what a jerk you are. Also, as a lady you do not accompany your man to a party and because you are so pretty and every man’s dream becomes stupid and agrees to dance with every man that ask you for a dance. Listen, men do this all the time...they will dare your
man and still come to ask you for a dance but it is left for you to agree or not. Your man might be quiet and watching how you will react to this so, if you are reasonable, you should never go out with your man and all you do is flirt with every man that tells you how beautiful you are. This is damn annoying and if i were the man, i will leave you there and go home alone. Talking about men telling you how beautiful you look....do not fool your self with this cheap talk ladies. When a man wants a woman by all means one of the frequent idle talk is to sing how pretty and beautiful you are even when you yourself know you do not meet up. So do not be carried away with this nonesense from men. Infact most men size up their women to know how respectful they are when they go out together. They watch and observe how you carry yourself and mingle with the opposite sex. Definitely there will be men who appeal to you when you go out with your man but looking at them does not harm. If your man gets angry because you look at men, then he is so insecure and this is a red flag that he is trouble. There is absolutely nothing wrong in a woman seeing a handsome man and admiring him when in company of her partner. The admiration becomes wrong if she starts misbehaving with the man she is admiring in the presence of her man. Anyone who looks good can get complemented and admired by anyone so if as a man or woman you cannot deal with this when with your partner, get a good grip on yourself and grow up. If you are a man with your wife/woman in a car and she slaps you for looking at another woman while driving, stop the car and politely ask her to get out of the car. Next time she will behave. It is absurd to start a fight with your partner for simply admiring someone else. Good looking and decent people are meant to be admired...so get used to it and be appreciative of God’s hand work. If you allow such issue to destroy your marriage or relationship, it means you are a flake!!
34
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Woman Virginity, pride of true African woman – Princess Adunni Adediran Princess Adunni Adediran is a woman of many parts. A business woman of repute, a publisher, mother and also philanthropist. Since 2007, she has been championing the cause of virgins in Nigeria. In this interview with JULIET UMEH, she speaks on her personal life, her pet project, ‘Appreciating and Encouraging the Virgins in Nigeria’ among other issues. Excerpts: Give us an insight into your background and what inspired your pet project. I am a retired public relations officer and will be 70 years old this year. The last place I worked was Cocoa Industries as a public relations officer. Before then, I worked for Associated Press Nigeria that later became Smurfit Packaging. After I left Cocoa Industries, I started my own business, writing stories and later, I made some comedy films known as ‘Family Blues’. It had 13 episodes aired on the Nigerian Television Authority, Channel 5. Due to lack of sponsorship, at some point, it went off the air. I still have about 13 episodes yet to be aired. As a matter of
fact, I have written over 30 fantastic interesting unpublished stories due to lack of fund. It was while I was doing all these, the idea of helping our aged people in this country struck me. Unfortunately, help was not visible. So, I published ‘Fragile Fit’, a magazine that was dealing with
weak limbs of the elderly. Alhaji Lateef Jakande loved it and said the publication was even over due. As I was doing that, I dreamt 11 times of where I organised an even titled, ‘Recognising and encouraging the virgins in Nigeria’. That was how I started the project in 2007. It’s not very common to find a virgin in
modern day society. How do you ascertain the girls’ virginity? We did this correctly at first but now, I am in a dilemma. A gynaecologist, Dr. Naheem-Deen Ekemode, who has practised for more than 40 years, was doing that for us. Within a second, he will know whether someone is a virgin
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Every man wants a virgin as a wife. With a virgin, they have the assurance of marrying a woman who is fresh and intact,
35
June 13, 2015
One who
has not tampered with her womb and is free of sexually transmitted diseases.
or not but some parents started frowning at it. At that time, we were quite sure that some of them were virgins. I have virgins even in my home. My own daughter got married as a virgin at 29. There are many virgins in this country but they are shy to come out because their wayward friends mock them and not many people will believe them. They call them fools and ignorant. Meanwhile, virginity is the pride of a true African man or woman. There are a lot of gains if one’s keeps her virginity till the day of marriage. In fact, God loves it because I heard the voice several times, urging me to go and encourage virgins. Unfortunately, nobody wants to encourage us but I will not stop until I die. Some men aren’t comfortable marrying a virgin. They feel virgins cannot satisfy them sexually. What’s your reaction to this? I want to believe that this is not a true representation of their mind. Every man wants a virgin as a wife. They are say this because they are in doubt of the authenticity of our claim that there are still virgins. They know that if they marry a virgin, they have the assurance of marrying somebody who is fresh and intact. One who has not tampered with her womb and free of sexually transmitted diseases. You cannot compare used engine with a brand new one. They know this and want such women but their own atrocities may push them to be saying such things. If you see a man condemning virginity, he is lying. How do you checkmate these girls from other sexually associated activities on the internet? That is not our business. Our business is to encourage virginity, to wake up parents to preach the same to their wards.. God is against waywardness. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah which is why we have a lot of disaster such as air crashes and earthquakes, fire outbreaks and other plagues happening all around the world. Tell us some other activities you engage in to achieve your aim? We talk to these girls time after time. We teach them how to keep away from the prying eyes of their uncles, cousins, teachers, lecturers and friends that are jealous of them because they are still virgins. We teach them how to minimise going to places where they can easily fall prey to men, like keeping late nights, having drinks they do not open themselves,
watching movies alone with guys and so on. We even teach them the danger of being a virgin till they are above 30 years. I have a 21-year-old virgin living with me. She has gone to work. I always advise her to keep her virginity. How supportive are Nigerians to this project? I contacted Princess Erelu Dosunmu, Late Ambassador Segun Olusola, Omojola and many others. A lot of them indicated their interest to help including the Medical Director of Ekemode Maternity and Women’s Infirmary Hospital in Surulere, Lagos, Dr. Naheem-Deen Ekemode, but we did not get sponsors, except the owner of Emily Millionaire cosmetics, Joe Brown, who was giving us cosmetics. Another person, Rado was given us wrist watches to distribute to the virgins. A woman gave us money, Yemisi Pitan. The one that really touched me was the help we got from the former Arch Bishop of Lagos, Diocese, Olubumni Okogie (retd). I was glad the day he gave us money. I am glad he appreciated that we are doing something good. In spite of the challenges we are facing in organising the annual celebration, a lot of virgins came from Enugu, Aba, Delta, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Abuja. Unfortunately, I could not do it on annual basis due to lack of funds. I even sold my house at Radio in Ikorodu, Lagos to host and encourage virgins and later rented a flat in Surulere, Lagos. My landlord asked me to pack out of his house when I could no longer pay my rent. I had to squat for some years before God built this house (where you’re interviewing me) for me. Since 2010, no help is coming from anywhere. For years, I was walking like a living corpse because I could not continue to host the annual event for virgins. It is unfortunate Have you ever been embarrassed because of this project? I have got a lot of embarrassing questions and comments but I am not perturbed. I am convinced that it is a project that protects God’s interest. Some people once sent me texts calling me all kinds of names. One of them even said, “Why are you blocking us from enjoying the virgins God made available for us?” What are the criteria for winning the first prize at the Face of a Virgin Contest? I told them to wear clothes that get to their knees because I want ladies to be dressing decently. So the intellectual prowess, legs, faces and carriage are parts of the criteria. We are more interested in the beauty from inside so we want to know how intelligent they are. The winner maybe ugly provided she gets all the criteria. As a mother and grandmother, what advice do you have for ladies in Nigeria? If you are a virgin, remain until you are married. If you are not, put a stop to having sex till you get married. If you have been cheated by an opposite sex, take heart. We want to catch them young and make sure that some sexually transmitted diseases are reduced to the barest minimum in Nigeria. They are doing it in Ghana, South Africa, Japan and so on. I want Nigerians to come together and help curb pre-marital sex to save our future.
Keeping ABREAST Redefining masculinity
Why Zoe Saldana’s husband took her last name after marriage
…Now Mr. Marco Saldana (Nee Perego)!
S
ure, we live in a progressive society (or at least we like to think so). But it’s not every day you hear of a man taking his wife’s surname — especially when they’re both celebrities. So when Zoe Saldana got married to Italian artist Marco Perego, her husband took her surname rather than the other way round, as is usually the practice. Marco Perego became Marco Saldana! The world went mad! Zoe explains that she tried to talk him out of changing his name - despite being “proud” of him - but he wouldn’t listen to her. “I tried to talk him out of it. I told him: “If you use my name, you’re going to be emasculated by your community of artists, by your Latin community of men, by the world. “But Marco looks up at me and says [she puts on a cute Italian accent]: ‘Ah, Zoe, I don’t give a sheet.’” Zoe has posted a Facebook status about her husband’s decision to take her name, urging men to defy gender stereotypes. “Fathers, sons, brothers, men everywhere: Your legacy will not perish if you take your partner’s surname, or she keeps hers. I’ve been made aware that a comment I made regarding my marriage has garnered some attention. I felt proud that my husband decided to take my last name as his own.... “I shared my hesitation with him when he told me about his decision, not only did he say: ‘I don’t give a shhheeeetttt!!’ (with a very strong Italian accent!!) he also asked me: ‘Why not? What are you so afraid of ?’
And it made me wonder... What am I so afraid of ? “Why is it so surprising, shockingeventful that a man would take his wife’s surname? Women have never been asked if it’s okay for them to give up their names — why doesn’t that make the news? “Men, you will not cease to exist by taking your partner’s surname. On the contrary — you’ll be remembered as a man who stood by change. I know our sons will respect and admire their father more because their father led by example.” Men, Zoe explains, need to think outside of the box or remove it altogether so they can “redefine masculinity.” “A real ‘man’ leads alongside his partner. A real man accepts his mortality. A real man acknowledges that nothing can be done alone. “I hope that the “buzz” behind this topic isn’t just for gossip — but an inspiration for us all to look within and see what is truly important. Let’s start by letting go of some of the limitations we have inherited from the past, and forge a new path moving forward, she says. The couple had twin boys in November 2014, and Zoe has spoken about the challenges and changes that motherhood brings. She says, “Since I have been with Marco, I have been lowering my guard. Finally when we had our boys, I looked at my husband and I realised, ‘I was meant for you and you were meant for me.’”
Parenting
36
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression
Coping with a difficult child
A
re you having problems in dealing with a particular child of yours? Do you think your child has trouble adapting to new situations. Is he or she easily upset or you feel he is high strung? Don’t get troubled unnecessary, you may just be having a case of a stubborn child. A difficult child is one who has intense anger issues, a frequently negative mood or drastically shifting moods, aggressive behaviour, or ongoing interpersonal conflicts with his siblings or peers. The good news is that the difficult child doesn’t usually stay difficult forever, provided that parents intervene in a right and nurturing manner. Parenting difficult children does not have to be a battle of temperaments. Before you resort to tearing out your hair in frustration, therefore, you may need to consider these tips Keep your cool Difficult children can be more assertive, so temper tantrums are often part of the package. Despite your initial urge to express your own frustration in the heat of the moment, remember that it often only makes the situation worse. The key to helping your child regain composure is to keep your cool. A calm disposition can be contagious…especially when dealing with an outburst in public.
Set clear expectations Assuming your child already knows what is expected of her is not only unrealistic, it is not fair. Letting your youngster know exactly what the rules are, how to gain rewards and what the consequences will be is a strong foundation for transforming your household from a place of turmoil to an environment of encouragement. Consistency is key Following through with appropriate, pre-determined consequences is a must, because these high-spirited children are often more perceptive. Being consistent with consequences will also teach her that she is responsible for the choices that she makes. Focus your energy on the positive Sometimes, difficult children yearn for attention of any kind, even when it is negative. But, it’s important to offer your persistent child the kind of attention that will mould her behaviour in the future, which means showering her with attention when she makes good choices and cutting down on the draining negative attention. Show some empathy Whether it is entering a new situation or trying to express a desire she has, show your kid some compassion for what
she’s feeling. “Empathy does not mean you have to like the behaviour, condone the behaviour, but you can respect that this is the best the child can do at this moment. Parents can set limits, enforce rules, but allow them feel valuable, capable, safe, and encouraged to reach their unlimited potential.” Make sure you have a social life outside the home. Even when it’s not convenient or you’re too tired to be social, you need to get out of the house and socialize with your peers. Getting out and meeting your own personal needs for affiliation with other adults is important for your mental health – and your ability to return to your child and be able to nurture again. Watch out for ‘do and undoing.’ Most parents do the best they can but, occasionally miss the mark. To prevent doing and un-doing, try to become as aware as possible of what your triggers are for frustration so that you can avoid snapping in a moment of weakness. Phone a friend for a little talk, or take some deep breaths in the privacy of your bedroom. We shouldn’t let ourselves do something that un-does all the other good stuff we do. Parents of difficult children need to be nice themselves when it comes to analyzing
their own parenting style and parenting efforts, because it’s simply not easy to parent a difficult child. Working on the few techniques I describe above can help you navigate parenting a little more easily. If you still feel like you have hit a road block in your ability to parent your difficult child?
Tiny Feet
NAME: Oseni Hamdat BORN TO: Mr and Mrs Ibrahim Oseni AGE: 19 days old BIRTH WEIGHT: 2.7 kg Have you just had a baby? Send a picture of your bundle of joy to mirrorbabies@gmail.com
Different ParentingUpdate personalities! P
rincess Charlotte may only be onemonth-old but she is already sleeping through the night, the Prince of Wales has revealed. Charles chatted about his baby granddaughter - born May 2 - while hosting a Clarence House tea party on Wednesday with the Duchess of Cornwall for pilots and aircrew who fought in the Second World War.
The heir to the throne added that Princess Charlotte is ‘much easier on mum’ than her 22-monthold big brother Prince George was at the same age. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been looking after their daughter at their Norfolk home, Anmer Hall, since a few days after her birth. They released pictures of the baby princess being
zz Princess Charlotte already sleeps through the night and is ‘much easier on Mum than George,’ reveals Prince Charles cuddled by her brother George recently. The next set of official family pictures will be at Princess Charlotte’s christening, due to take place on July 5 at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham – where
Do not be afraid to seek help. A professional may be able to give you the tips and tools you need to tailor your parenting style and manage your child’s energetic, highly sensitive, stubborn or distractible traits and uncover the loveable, unique individual waiting to be understood.
Princess Diana was baptised. Aides have said the christening, conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, will be a private affair.
People
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
37
Miss Zimbabwe stripped of title …after photographs of her posing naked flood WhatsApp
• • • •
Emily Kachote, 25, has admitted to posing for nude photographs Images believed to have been leaked onto messenger app by an ex lover Other disqualifiable ‘offences’ include pregnancy and having a boyfriend Miss Kachote’s predecessor, Thabiso Phiri, was also stripped of the title after her nude pictures were leaked online and went viral last year
Thabiso Phiri: Miss Zimbabwe 2014, also stripped of title over nude pictures
Emily Kachote: Stripped of Miss Zimbabwe title
T
he current Miss Zimbabwe has been stripped of her title on the grounds of ‘immoral behaviour’ after naked photographs of her appeared on the instant messaging service WhatsApp. Emily Kachote, 25, broke rules that insist beauty queens must never pose nude, the pageant board said in a statement amid claims the model’s former lover deliberately leaked the images. In a bizarre twist, Miss Kachote’s predecessor, Thabiso Phiri, 22, was also stripped of the Miss Zimbabwe title - which automatically enters the winner into the Miss
World competition - after nude photographs she had sent to her boyfriend were leaked and went viral. In a statement, the Miss Zimbabwe pageant board said Miss Kachote ‘violated the rules and regulations governing the pageant’, referring to nude images of her that appeared on Whatsapp. “Winners of the Miss World Zimbabwe beauty pageant whether a title holder or runner-up must not have posed nude professionally or socially in all forms of media,” the organisers said. “Being in a relationship, sexual ad-
vances to anyone and any behaviour categorised as immoral by the Miss Zimbabwe Trust is grounds for instant disqualification and dethronement,” they added. Kachote, 25, signed an agreement ahead of the competition swearing that she had never posed nude and would not pose nude if she won the title. Contestants are also barred from dating or “making sexual advances toward anyone,” according to Miss Zimbabwe Trust rules. “Her conduct was a precise violation of rules governing the Trust,” organizers said. Kachote will be replaced by the first runner up, Annie Grace Mutambu. The photographs first appeared in a tabloid newspaper and then went viral on social media just two weeks into her reign. The photos were taken before she had entered the competition, Kachote said. When rumours of the scandal broke last month, Miss Kachote was quoted as saying: “I was hoping the pictures would have been deleted by now since it happened a long time ago and I last spoke to the guy a year ago and I no longer have anything to do with [him]... “I have always suspected that those pictures would circulate, but it happened
Grace Mutambu: New Miss Zimbabwe
a long time ago, and I believe my past does not determine where I am going,’ she reportedly added. According to media reports, the disqualification will be welcomed in some quarters by Miss Zimbabwe watchers who branded the model ‘too ugly’ to hold the title. Miss Kachote, a psychology graduate turned financial advisor, was crowned Miss World Zimbabwe in April, beating 15 other models. The organisers of the contest said Kachote’s pictures were leaked shortly after she confessed to having once posed nude. The board said Kachote will be replaced by runner-up Grace Mutambu, who will represent Zimbabwe at the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China in December. Last year’s Miss Zimbabwe Miss Phiri was also caught up in a nude photo scandal and was forced to resign. And in 2003 another Miss Zimbabwe, Linda Van Beek, was also forced to step down ahead of scehdule when she fell pregnant. Miss Zimbabwe rules stipulate that entrants must not be expecting at the time of their election, nor can they fall pregnant during their ‘reign.’
38
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
‘He made me lose two pregnancies’
• I was made to lose two pregnancies at advanced stages due to his frequent beatings —Wife • I caught her several times making phone calls to her secret lovers. This usually makes me angry and that’s why I beat her. But I am now a changed person —Husband
T
‘The last time we had sex was 25 years ago’
• My wife told me that only our last son is my legitimate child. As a diabetic patient, when I went into coma sometime ago, she left me. It was my cousin that came to my rescue. I believe she was expecting my death to be announced —Husband Stories by: Muda Oyeniran
A
69 year-old man, Mr. Kumapayi Elijah has dragged his wife, Mrs. Gbemisola Kumapayi before the Agege Customary Court seeking the dissolution of their 40 year marriage. According to Mr. Kumapayi, who is the petitioner in the case, the marriage between him and his wife has broken down irretrievably saying the last time they had sexual intimacy was 25 years ago when she gave birth to their last child. “As married couple we have not had sexual intimacy for 25 years. Also in the course of this crisis, my wife told me that it is only our last son that is my legitimate child”, he added The petitioner who is a retired senior staff of the University of Lagos told the court their marriage has been fraught with one problem or the other since inception even as he blamed his wife (the respondent) for the cri-
sis. He accused his wife of being diabolical in her ways saying she inherited her charms from her father who is a native doctor. “The first thing that I noticed was that she was cutting my clothes for ritual purposes, and when it reached ten clothes, I informed my family and they wrote to her family on the incidence”, the petitioner explained He added: “The next thing that I noticed was that when I finished my house, I observed that my wife started putting charms under the carpet and I instructed my son to remove the carpet. Later we arranged for another carpet and the same thing repeated itself” The petitioner also accused his wife of stealing “I am the electrical man of the estate where I live and neighbors normally bring their problems to me including procuring of electrical meters. One day, somebody brought N39, 000 to me and unknown to me, my wife took N18, 000 from the money. It was when I wanted to make use of the money that I discovered the theft”
According to him, when he informed his father-in-law about the development he promised to pay back the stolen money in N5, 000 monthly installments. He also accused his wife of neglecting to care for him. He told the court of how his wife has refused to cook for him in the last ten years saying he had all along being taken care of himself all along. “As a diabetic patient, when I went into coma sometime ago, she left me. It was my cousin that came to my rescue. I believe she was expecting my death to be announced” However in her response, counsel to the respondent told the court that the respondent wants the matter to be settled by their church elders. She thereafter requested for six weeks from the court for the matter to be settled. In his remarks, the Court President, Mr. P. A. Williams said he was happy that the respondent had been making frantic efforts to save her marriage. He thereafter adjourned the case till July 23 for further hearing
he marriage between Ahmed Osoba and Nafisat Lawal has been dissolved by the Agege Customary Court over allegations of incessant beating and troublesome nature of the former. The petitioner, Nafisat had approached the court on March 5, 2015 seeking the dissolution of the union on the ground of incessant beating leading to infliction of injury on her by the respondent. She told the court of how the respondent would beat her when he is drunk and when he is normal According to her, she was made to lose two pregnancies at advanced stages due to his frequent beatings; the first pregnancy was lost at five months while the second was at birth. She told the court that after the respondent had beaten her, he would be begging for forgiveness She also accused the respondent having no respect for her family adding that she was fed up with the marriage and did not love the respondent anymore.
However in his defense, the respondent told the court that he was not responsible for the lost pregnancies. He said the petitioner rather visit the hospital during the period decided to patronize a quack nurse who is now at large for killing a pregnant woman who had gone to her to procure abortion. He pleaded with the court not to dissolve the marriage saying he was now a changed person. He said he had caught the petitioner several times making phone calls to her secret lovers. “This usually makes me angry and this why I beat her. But I am now a changed person”, he told the court In his ruling, the Court President, Mr. P.A. Williams said the court was left with no option other than to grant the request of the petitioner saying despite the court’s pleas to the petitioner to allow the marriage to stay, she and her family refused and opted for dissolution. He thereafter dissolved the union with effect from June 11, 2015.
‘He asked people to call me a thief’ M r. James Friday has dragged his wife, Mrs. Linda James before the Agege Customary seeking the dissolution of their marriage which has produced three children; two boys and a girl He accused his wife of diverting their children’s school fees for other uses. “She would not pay our children’s school fees when I give her. If I give her money to buy food, she won’t buy. She spent the N10, 000 that I gave her to buy foodstuffs for the family. She equally spent our kids’ school fees and the proprietress started complaining. She also stole my N83, 000 which I kept in the house. She also troubles me when I don’t give her money” However in her testimony in court the respondent said she only took N10, 000 from the money her husband kept in the house when he dad was ill. “I asked
him to come to my aid but he said he could only help when he collects his salary at the month end. This is why I took the money without his knowledge thinking I will return it before he got to know about it. But he checked the money before I could replace it”, she explained She said she was taken aback by the humiliation that the petitioner subjected her to because of her action. “He got angry and called people around to call me a thief. I was humiliated to the extent that if anybody is looking for something in the house, he would tell them to come and ask me. He also went to where I was working for somebody and asked my boss to chase me away because I am a thief” The Court President, Mr. P.A. Williams called the couple into the chamber for amicable resolution of the matter
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
DIVORCE COURT
June 13, 2015
39
‘I’ve caught her in extra-marital affairs’
• He is starving me of sex as he sometimes leaves me untouched for five months —Wife
A
commercial bus driver, Ahmed Isiaka, has asked a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan to dissolve his 20-year-old marriage to his wife, Nunrat over alleged infidelity. The plaintiff, who also told the court that his wife often disobeyed him, added: “We have been married since 1994 with four children and I have been coping with her troubles. “When she leaves home in the morning, Nunrat does not return until evening. “I have caught her in extramarital affairs with a number of men. “I am completely fed up with her because she could kill me.”
Nunrat, however, dismissed the allegations leveled against her, saying Isiaka was the one cheating on her. “He is starving me of sex as he sometimes leaves me untouched for five months consecutively. “As I speak, he has moved away from our matrimonial home to an unknown destination, leaving me and the four children to starve. “He also left with the bed and the entire furniture in the house,” Nunrat said. The President of the court, Mr Ademola Odunade, directed Isiaka to return the bed and the furniture to the family’s residence while advising a return to the status quo (NAN)
Man seeks dissolution of daughter’s 17-year marriage
A
father-in-law, Alhaji Basiru Ahmed, 67 has prayed an Alakuko Customary Court, Lagos, to dissolve his daughter’s 17-yearold marriage on the ground that his son-in-law assaulted him.
Ahmed, who was in the court with his daughter, Adijat Adisa, said he could no longer stand the humiliation and beating he received from his son-in-law, Najimu Adisa. “Najimu beat me while I was preventing him from beating my daughter during one of their fighting, I won’t forget that day in a hurry. “So, I want this court to dissolve the union because my daughter, Adijat, cannot continue with the marriage,” he said. Adijat, 34, a trader, who lives at 3, Ogo Oluwa St., Agbado Ijaiye, a suburb of Lagos, had told the court that her 17-year-old marriage has been a misery. “My husband beats me at every argument we had, he derives enjoyment in beating me and he doesn’t provide for me and his children.
“He doesn’t know the school the children are attending, not to talk of paying their school fees, he behaves like an animal when he starts his troubles,” she alleged. The mother of four, aged between 5 years to 14 years, told the court that she has been living with her father for more than a year since her husband sent her and the children packing. “I want the court to dissolve the union because I don’t want to die young,” she said. However, Adisa, 35, a panel beater, denied the allegation of not paying the children’s school fees. “I pay the children school fees. If not for the love I have for my wife, I would have sent her out of the house when she lost her first pregnancy due to her carelessness. “My father-in-law is always in support of his daughter any time we have disagreement. “I am also tired with the marriage, I want the court to dissolve the union,” he said. (NAN)
‘My wife is a flirt; men have been picking and dropping her at home’ • I’m not dating those men, they were only assisting me to get a loan, no string attached —Wife
A
n Igando Customary Court in Lagos has dissolved a 12-year-old marriage between one Richard Olisa and his wife, Cordelia over adultery. The President of the court, Mr R.I. Adeyeri, said that “both parties are no longer husband and wife and they are free to go their separate ways”. The petitioner, Richard, 46, a businessman, had filed a suit seeking the dissolution of the marriage alleging adultery. “My wife is a flirt; men have been picking and dropping her at home. “There was a day I trailed a
man on motorcycle who came to pick her to an eatery for dinner. “On another occasion, I saw her with another man coming out of a supermarket with some items bought for her and they both went away in the man’s jeep,” he said. The petitioner also accused his wife of threatening him with dangerous weapons. “My wife had used a rake and an iron rod to hit me on the head during a disagreement. “I am no longer interested in the marriage I want the court to dissolve it.” The respondent, Cordelia, 45, a trader, however, denied
all the allegations, saying that she was not a flirt. She claimed that the men her husband used to see with her were only helping her to secure loan for her business. “I’m not dating those men, they were only assisting me to get a loan, no string attached,” Cordelia said. She said that her husband had stopped eating her food. “He has stopped eating at home on the excuse that he is praying,” the mother of two told the court. She, however, urged the court not to dissolve her marriage claiming she was still in love with Olisa. (NAN)
Court dissolves 9-year marriage
A
n Ado-Ekiti Customary Court has dissolved a 9-year marriage between Mrs Enema Friday and his wife, Mary.
The marriage was dissolved on grounds of frequent beating, threat to life, as well as lack of care. Mary, 32, told the court that her husband maltreated
her which made her to pack out of his house. She said the husband had not been taking care of her because of her childlessness, and that he once threatened her with a pistol for allegedly having extra marital affairs. Mary explained that she contributed to the building of their house, but had
to pack out because of the threat. The President of the court, Mr Joseph Ogunsemi, noted that the respondent refused to appear in court. He dissolved the marriage, and ordered that the parties should go their separate ways without molestation. (NAN)
40
EVENT
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Fashion brings out the stars When fashion designer, Ayo van Elmar, decided to unveil his collection, Amour Amour, it was a dead certainty that the stars would storm the event, and they did so indeed. Mo’ Cheddah, Omoni Oboli, Uti Nwachukwu and Suby Onabanjo were some of them.
III Rymz
Isio de la Vega
Mo’ Cheddah
Omoni Oboli and hubby, Nnamdi
Toke Makinwa and Andrea Glaccaglia
Kaylah Oniwo
Kelechi Amadi Obi and Omoni Oboli
Suby Onabanjo and Sinem Bilen Onabanjo
Toni Tones
Uti Nwachukwu
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
41
June 13, 2015
Doctor Talabi has answers to your health questions
Write him today at prettyprevent@gmail.com or text 09099346165 (sms only pls)
For Children: Good health is a right
A
mother brought her 11 month old daughter to the clinic sometime ago. She looked worried. The child had cough, high fever, a couple of other symptoms and rashes. It was a typical case of measles infection. How on earth is that possible? Was the child not vaccinated at 9 months against measles? The mother said no! And the reason? The family relocated before the measles vaccine was due and since then she hadn’t gotten around to continuing the child’s vaccination. How sad! When you consider that measles infection sometimes makes an infected child go blind, you will see the mum’s explanation as too simplistic and her actions as injustice. Suffering complications of a totally preventable disease is not pleasant. And no child deserves such treatment from his or her primary care givers According to the UN convention on child rights, children are entitled to some rights, such as social security, protection, parental guidance and of course the right to be healthy; speaking precisely, the right to qualitative health. Based on the premise that they are too young to ensure this by themselves, the burden rests on parents to ensure these little ones are not deprived of this particular privilege. Health in itself has been defined by WHO (2006) as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not just the absence of sicknesses or frailty. Therefore it behoves everyone involved in seeing to the well being of children that these rights are not denied them. As Health is a right, so are others, like the right to life, the right to education and such likes. But a world of difference exists between declaring a right and ensuring the protection of that right in practice. In different parts of the world, children have become endangered species, as they are exposed to situations that deprive them of total health as enshrined in WHO’s definition. They roam the streets hawking, they are used for child labour, and often times sexually molested, with the girl child forced into untimely marriage. All these affect the social, spiritual and physical health of children.
generality of the populace, sometimes it is parental negligence, unwillingness For example, when children who barely and inability to take responsibility for know what is good for them, are engaged our own children upkeep that lead to as factory workers as commonly done undesirable health consequences. Here in some parts of the world, it exposes are some of the areas to look into if we them to undesirable chemicals and other want to ensure our children live and harmful products. Those made to hawk grow healthy: goods, or pushed into early marriage Family planning: are often sexually assaulted. These may Limiting the size of our family is the result in terrible medical consequences first step towards ensuring adequate such as vesico vagina fistula (VVF), HIV, care for our children. When the family cervical cancer and of course social size is too large it makes it difficult to isolation. In some cases these progress to cater for the needs of children. psychological imbalance, depression and sometimes outright psychiatric disorder. Nutrition: Various governments all over the For children to develop to the optimum world strive to guarantee that children physically, mentally and in all other are kept safe. One of such steps was to ways, balanced nutrition is required include children’s welfare, while setting and balanced diet doesn’t translate as the eight millennium development goals. expensive diets. Parents should ensure Aside from goal 4 that seeks to reduce children are not undernourished but child mortality, most of the other seven also not over nourished as this may lead goals also touch on things that impact the health of children. For example the to childhood obesity. Childhood nutrition goal to eradicate extreme hunger helps is known to affect individual health even the children as they are more likely to in later years go hungry if there is no adult to cater Immunization: for them, hence are more prone to Put simply, it is the duty of every malnutrition and the resultant diseases. parent to ensure no child suffers from This is also true of other goals such as vaccine preventable diseases improving maternal health, ensuring universal primary education etc. Breastfeeding: While it is good to hold government The world health organization (WHO) to task concerning the health of the recommends exclusive breast feeding
in the first six month of a child’s life. In reality this is not always practicable as mothers due to economic and other reasons have had to add supplementary feeds far earlier than the prescribed six months. Still it is good to know that exclusive breastfeeding enhances sensory and cognitive development in children. This is in addition to building immunity and protecting against common childhood diseases such as pneumonia, and diarrhea. What’s more it is also good for the well being of the mother and helps in child spacing. Education: The level of education has been linked not only to individuals’ attitude to health but also to the actual health outcome. Education, especially of the girl child guarantees a healthier population. Educated mothers are healthier mothers, and healthier mothers raise healthier babies. Conclusion: By no means exhaustive, the list above will serve as our guide towards ensuring a better health for children. If parents don’t do it, no one else will. As they say charity begins at home.
You can chat with a doctor FREE at www.prettyhealthcare.com.ng. Every Wednesdays and Fridays (4-8pm)
42
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Explore the mysteries of Olumo Rock
O
lumo Rock is a massive outcrop of granite rocks of primitive formation from which Abeokuta (meaning ‘under the rock’), the capital of Ogun State, derive its name. Abeokuta lies South West of the Republic of Nigeria and is 100 kilometres from Lagos. To the North some 70 kilometres away is the city of Ibadan the capital of Oyo State. The climate is hot and humid with an annual rainfall of 47 inches. The Rock is sacred to the Egba of Abeokuta because it was the place where they found refuge from their attackers in the days of internecine wars. By 1830, the main body of the Egba has already settled at the site of the Olumo and the refuge provided by the rock marked the end of their wonderings and struggles for
existence. From that period onwards they have regarded Olumo Rock as the shrine of protection and so made annual sacrifice to its deity. The importance of Olumo Rock to the Egba is conveyed in the assertion that Abeokuta was the gift of the Olumo, as Egypt was the gift of the Nile. To the Egbas, Olumo Rock stands not only as a monument of faith in unity but also a source of strength and unfailing protection and sustenance from the supreme being who led their ancestors through the perplexities of life safely to Abeokuta. Hence the interpretation of Olumo meaning “Oluwa fi mo” “God has put and end to our wanderings” Officially known as AT3, Olumo Rock is located off Alatise between lkija and Ikereku neighbour-
hoods of the town. The highest point of Olumo is about 137 metres above sea levels. Looking from the top one would appreciate the wisdom of the first settlers to have chosen such a perfect bulwark against external invasion. The name ‘Olumo, meaning God built if derives from the fact that rock is naturally surrounded by caves. One of which is about twenty feet long and twenty five feet wide. This has slab like stones which appear to serve as seats used by the ancient dwellers. It probably was used as a hall or ‘conference room’. Another cave, some twenty metres long and seventy metres wide appears to be actual dwelling place. It has five built in rooms with a long corridor used as sitting room, kitchen and store.
Visit Bida for exquisitely designed brass works!
At the east end of it is another bug cave out with mud walls in outer and inner cham-
bers. This is used as a shrine by the devotees of Orisa lgun (God of Longevity).
Gurara’s wonderful waterfalls
B
rass work at Bida, an ancient town in Niger State, has been a natural occupation of Nupe indigenes from the 18th century. This was during the reign of Etsu Usman Zaki. Almost every family in the ancient town is involved in the trade. The beauty of Bida brass works is the conservative attachment to the traditional bellows. Originally, the product were for home decorations, cooking and storage, but with the influx of tourist to the town, the production and patronage of the brass souvenirs such as bangles, walking sticks, trays, toys, aluminium pots, plates, cups, trays, boxes, spoons, kettles, and a host of others are taking a different dimension. When you have an opportunity to witness a traditional wedding in Bida you will appreciate the role of brass works in the life of people. Popular brass works are found at Gbongbofu, Tswatako and Tswata Mukun area of Bida town in Niger
T State. The process is almost same as blacksmithing, except that the raw material is placed in a special basing which is also put over fire made by the blowing of bellows. The brass which is the raw material, melts after being heated for some minutes. The molten brass is later
beaten into required shapes and sizes over an anvil.The products are mainly used for decoration, storage and cooking. For tourist/visitors souvenirs are available in the form of ear rings, bangles, rings, trays, plates, walking sticks, brass toys and so on.
his wonderful falls which can best be described as Nigeria’s Premier falls is located at kilometre 76 along Minna, Suleja Roads. From Suleja to the junction is about 45 kms while from the junction to the falls is about 2 kms. This impressive waterfall, an hour’s drive from Abuja, is 30 metres tall with a span of up to 200 metres across, depending on the season. There are two main streams of water crashing over the cliff face. However during the height of rainy season the whole cliff face is engulfed by a formidable curtain
of white water. The Gurara river is a large tributary of the famous River Niger and is most impressive after the rainy season when the water becomes a raging torrent while in January, during the dry season and when water levels are low, there are clear pools at the bottom of the falls in which visitors can swim. As well as being an area of outstanding natural beauty the area surrounding Gurara Waterfall is also a fantastic place for bird watching. There is an on-going plan to develop the waterfall into a resort.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
LEISURE
43
44
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
From the Civil Service NYSC DG tasks corps members on social values T
he Director-General of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, on Friday challenged corps member to be agents of change and promote core societal values. Olawumi gave the charge when he visited Batch ‘’ A’’ stream B corps members at the NYSC Ori-
entation Camp in Kaduna. ``As young men and women you are going to be the vanguard to drive the change from some negative aspect or vices within the country to positive ones. ``You must imbibe the virtues of honesty, loyalty, integrity, hard work and sacrifice for the good of your country. ``If we look at what
Mr President came with in 1984, the issue of war against indiscipline, these corps members should drive the positive values we want in the society.’’ He advised the corps members to imbibe good qualities that would lead to the realization of their potentials as prospective leaders of the country. “Corps members should
preach, advocate and go on aggressive sensitisation, telling Nigerians on the need to shun corruption and be orderly in whatever we do in terms of traffic and so many other aspect of the society that need change.’’ The DG also advised the corps members to take advantage of the skills acquisition programme of
the NYSC, to develop their entrepreneurship skills. He said that the NYSC management would provide capital to any corps member who developed a viable work plan at the end of the service year. Olawumi assured the corps members that the Federal Government was
Access within Lagos Ports now less stressful, says NPA MD
A
Pupils of Turaki Model Primary School in Sokoto, displaying uniforms, sandals and shoes donated to them by a Corps Member, Mr. Opah Joseph (behind) in Sokoto, yesterday.
lhaji Sanusi Bayero, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has attributed the free movement of vehicles within the Lagos Ports to the successful completion of its 1.6 kilometres of road network. Bayero said this on Friday after his familiarisation tour of the Lagos Ports Complex (LPC), Apapa. He commended the foresight of previous managements of the authority for carrying out the projects, which he said, ``is of tre-
Human Rights Commission to open office in Abia P
rof. Ben Angwe, the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, on Friday said that the commission would soon establish an office in Abia State before the end of July. Angwe disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during his visit to Aba campus of Rhema University. ``NHRC has entered Abia State and will be here till thy kingdom come. We are going to set up an office in Abia state here and now. ``By next month, they will start work. I have asked that an office be acquire for them, once that is done, they will start work immediately.’’ Angwe said that the
visit of the commission was to cap the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the university in October 2014 for collaboration on human rights education. He said that Rhema University was the first in Nigeria and in Africa to enter into such agreement and was followed by the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The executive secretary said that the commission was committed to ensuring that Nigeria got rid of human rights abuses through education and enforcement of human rights. In his remarks, Prof. Ogbonnaya Onwdike, the Vice-Chancellor, Rhema University, said that the university believed in
the teachings of the Holy Bible which included the injunction to speak for people without a voice. ``As a University, we have the responsibility to impart knowledge through teaching, research, leadership and provision of service to host community. ``You will agree with me that one of the greatest challenges facing the world today is insecurity manifested in different forms of human rights abuse. ``From kidnappings to Boko Haram, the list is endless. Human life is becoming more and more devalued every passing day. ``It appears that humanity has lost a sense of human dignity and moral rectitude.
``It is time to remind us of the need for sustenance of life and dignity of the human, either black or white, male, female, physically challenged or not, educated or uneducated.
fully committed to the welfare and security of corps members across Nigeria. Also, the State Cordinator, Mr Hillary Nasamu thanked the DG for the visit and requested for more support to the camp including the immediate rehabilitation of some of the facilities.
``The human race is one and we are all created equal, endowed with the same rights and privileges and shall be judged by our Creator” Onwudike said that his university was offer-
mendous value to the operations of NPA’’. The managing director noted that the access roads within the complex had made movements less stressful, especially vehicular movements. Bayero, who was accompanied by top management staff of NPA, also inspected the facilities within the complex for an on-the-spot assessment. He commended the quality of works done on the project, especially the breakwaters, which he said, was relevant to the nation’s navigational safety.
ing a course on human rights and it’s already in its current curriculum to demonstrate the university’s commitment to the respect for human rights. (NAN)
24 technical, operational NAMA staff on test for CPDLC training abroadand six air traffic engi- mentation linking the airport hub to
T
he Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) says 24 staff members were abroad for operational and technical training on Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) service. The weekly bulletin of the Public Affairs Department of NAMA published on Friday in Abuja, said that the first batch of 12 staff comprising six air traffic controllers (ATCs)
neers (ATEs) had departed for Paris and Germany for the training. According to the bulletin, the team will undergo a 10-day operational and technical training on the CPDLC facility. It said that another set of 12 staff comprising six ATCs and six engineers had joined them on Wednesday for the same purpose. ``Meanwhile, a successful airport hub imple-
SITA hub through fibre and radio was carried out last week,’’ it said. CPDLC is a method by which air traffic controllers can communicate with pilots over a data link system. The CPDLC application provides air-ground data communication like a set of clearance, information and request message elements which correspond to voice phraseology employed by ATC procedures.
Sport
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
45
Super Eagles players celebrate their qualification for Brazil 2014 World Cup
AFCON Qualifier
Super Eagles set for winning start against Chad Ifeanyi Eduzor
N
igeria’s Super Eagles will today begin their campaign for qualification for the 2017 AFCON finals slated for Gabon when they confront Le Sao of Chad Republic at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna. Today’s match apart from being the Eagles’ first qualifying match for the tournament will also be the first by the Super Eagles on the natural turf of Ahmadu Bello Stadium since a 4-0 international friendly victory over the Stallions of Burkina Faso on September 10, 2013. It will also be the first international match at the venue since the U-20 National Team, Flying Eagles, earned a 4-0 win over their Tanzanian counterparts in a qualifying match for the 2015 African Youth Championship, in May 2014. The encounter, the first since Coach Stephen Keshi signed a new two year contract with the NFF will enable the 2013 AFCON champions who failed to qualify for the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea won by Cote d’Ivoire to redeem their battered image which saw Nigeria drop in FIFA ranking
as well as win back the confidence of the public after posting poor results in recent times. To ensure that the Super Eagles begin their qualifiers on a good note, Coach Stephen Keshi has invited 15 foreign based players led by Captain Vincent Enyeama who will join their home based counterparts in prosecuting today’s match that will serve as a test for him considering the hide and seek game he had with the NFF before signing his latest contract. Not minding that the three time African champions which will be meeting the Chadians for the first time in international football event, have a very big advantage over their Southwest neigbours, considering the country’s pedigree in world football but it is equally important they put up a good performance against the Chadians in the first match of a tight Group G of the qualifiers comprising Egypt, Chad and Tanzania to enable them garner enough points that will make them hoist Nigeria’s flag in Libreville in two years time. Although, many football fans are expressing confidence that the Super Eagles who will be without Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi and Fenerbache of Turkey strik-
er, Emmanuel Emenike will come out victorious against the Central African Nation ranked 172 by FIFA as against Nigeria’s 43 but the Emmanuel Tregoat led side boosts of some talented young stars like; skipper, Marius Mbaiam, Mahamat Labbo, Ezechiel N’Douassei, Leger Djime and Karl Max Barthelemy who can spoil the fun of any team as they did against Tanzania in the qualifying competition for the 2014 World Cup, when they stunned the home fans 1-0 at Dar Es Salaam National Stadium. While It is true that Chad’s national football team didn’t play a big role in world football until the 1990s neither did they enter any qualifiers for Continental or World Cups until the early 1990s when they played their first qualifying matches for the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Senegal, the team cannot be said to be a push over as there are no more minnows in African football. Meanwhile Super Eagles gaffer, Stephen Keshi has assured Nigerians that his team will not underrate the Chadians when they meet today in Kaduna According to him, every match in the AFCON qualifiers is important and as such the team is giving the encounter all seriousness it deserves.
“We are not taking Chad for granted; neither are we taking any other team for granted. “We want to take every team seriously and avoid giving things away. We must learn from previous mistakes and I’m sure the players know that too,” he stated. Also speaking on today’s match, Coach of the Chadian national team, Emmanuel Tregoat noted that while his team will be playing as the under dogs, they will allow the Super Eagles to humiliate them. He stated that if the Cranes of Uganda can beat Nigeria in an international friendly match played last March at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo, his team can also emulate the East Africans and spring some surprises against the Nigerians. “We are quite aware that we are facing one of the best teams in the continent but that does not mean we will be intimidated by the Super Eagles. “My players believe that they can emulate Uganda who piped Nigeria 1-0 in an international friendly match and post a good performance that will not only shock our hosts but their teeming supporters”, he concluded.
SPORT
46
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
I won’t change my aggressive approach, says Arsenal charged Wilshere over Chambers’ Chambers
A
rsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere says he will not change his aggressive approach to the game, despite the resulting injury problems. The England star, 23, missed large sections of the last few seasons due to injuries; most recently undergoing ankle surgery which sidelined him for much of the 2014/2015 campaign. But despite calls for Wilshere to start ‘riding’ challenges more effectively and be more conservative in the tackle, the Gunners playmaker insists he is incapable of playing the game any other way. He said: “When I was injured I read a few people who said that. I thought maybe they are right; maybe I should change it a little bit. “As soon as I came back on my first game naturally I wanted to pick up the ball up and run with it, I can’t change that. I can work on a few things maybe. “You look at your best dribblers in the world, Messi and Iniesta; they keep the ball very close to them so maybe that’s something I can work on but I definitely won’t be changing my game.”
Wilshere
Liverpool agrees terms with Boglan L
iverpool has agreed terms with Hungary international goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, whose contract is up at Bolton Wanderers. Bogdan, 27, who made more than 100 appearances for Bolton, will be a free agent at the end of the month and will officially join Liverpool on July 1. He is the club’s third close season signing so far, after they picked up two other out-of-contract players, Manchester City midfielder James Milner and Burnley striker Danny Ings. Liverpool are still trying to agree a fee for Ings with Burnley,
who are entitled to compensation because Ings is under the age of 24. Burnley has rejected an initial bid of four million pounds and the club is understood to be looking for a figure closer to 10 million pounds for the England U-21 international. Liverpool, meanwhile, have turned down a 30 million-pound offer from Manchester City for want-away striker Raheem Sterling. The Merseysiders value the 20-year-old, who has 24 months left on his current deal, in excess of 50 million pounds.
Sarri replaces Benitez at Napoli
M
aurizio Sarri has officially been appointed Napoli coach, replacing Spaniard Rafael Benitez who has taken over at Real Madrid, the Serie A club announced. Sarri, 56, has been in charge of Empoli since 2012 and has earned a reputation for attractive attacking football. He has also managed to keep the club in the top flight on a shoestring budget. Sarri will bring his own backroom team with him and is thought to be intending to return to Empoli to poach Italian international midfielder Mirko Valdifiori, the playmaker around whom he built his team. Sarri has reportedly agreed a one-year deal with the option of a further year, and will earn 1.5 million euros ($1.68 million) a season, five times his salary at Empoli. Empoli, whom Sarri led into
Sarri
Serie A at the second attempt in 2014, finished only eight points above the drop zone but impressed with a series of results that included victories over Palermo, Lazio and held Napoli, Fiorentina, Roma and AC Milan to draws. Sarri, usually unshaven, is known for his trademark tracksuits and smoking the odd cigarette on the touchlines but he has also earned respect for a tactical approach which exploits set pieces and dead-ball situations.
Sarri
transfer
A
rsenal has been charged by the Football Association for an alleged breach of football agents regulations over the transfer of Calum Chambers, the governing body has announced. The charge is in relation to the England U-21 defender’s move from Southampton in July last year. Agent Alan Middleton has also been charged for allegedly breaching the FA’s regulations in relation to the same transfer. Arsenal has until June 26 to respond to the charge while Middleton has until June 17. In a statement, Arsenal said: “We have acted in good faith throughout with regard to this transfer. We are considering our position and will make appropriate representations to the FA.”
Cabaye eyeing Premiership return
Bogdan
Taarabt joins Benfica
A
del Taarabt’s controversial six-year stay at Queens Park Rangers is over after he left to join Benfica. His departure from Loftus Road “by mutual consent” was confirmed in a statement from QPR yesterday. At the same time, Portuguese giants Benfica announced his arrival on their official Twitter page. Taarabt said on Benfica’s television station: “It is a huge opportunity for me. When my agent told me Benfica was in-
Taarabat
terested, I immediately said, ‘Yes, I’m ready to go.” The 26-year-old Moroccan midfielder captained QPR to the Championship title in 2011, scoring 19 goals along the way, but could not transfer that stunning form to the top flight. He fell out of favour under previous manager Harry Redknapp and was loaned out to Fulham and AC Milan during the 2013/14 season. Last year Redknapp claimed Taarabt was “three stone overweight”, prompting the player to show off his torso in a bid to prove the veteran boss wrong. But Taarabt, who joined Rangers from Tottenham Hotspur in 2009, made just eight appearances last season as Rangers were relegated from the Premier League. In total Taarabt played 164 times for the Hoops and scored 34 goals.
Y
ohan Cabaye says he wants to leave PSG and return to the Premier League to improve his chances of featuring at Euro 2016. Cabaye features in the France squad, who were beaten by Belgium 4-3 at the Stade de France in a friendly last Sunday. They travel to Albania on today. He began his career at Lille before a £4.4million switch to Newcastle in 2011. Then Magpies boss Alan Pardew sold him to the Paris club for £19million 18 months ago. PSG have fierce competition in central midfield with Marco Verratti, Thiago Motta and Blaise Matuidi all vying for a starting position through the middle. As a result, Cabaye started just 13 Ligue 1 matches last season and French newspaper L’Equipe asked him if he would stay at PSG.
Cabaye
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
SPORT
June 13 , 2015
47
MirrorGolf With Pius Anakali
Tel: 08023367071
Odoh, others for British Open qualifier
F
our Nigerian players are billed to vie for a spot at the 144th British Open Regional Qualifier next week when it tees-off in the United Kingdom. They are, Andrew Oche Odoh, Akinwande Oladapo, Monday Ezeh and Ifeanyi Chuwku. All the four players including Markus Elisha are listed at one of the thirteen regional qualifying centers at the Sandy Lodge Golf Course North West of London on the border of Hertfordshire and Middlesex. Of the lot, only Odoh and Oladapo will be making their first attempt at the World oldest major golf competition while the re-
maining two players have attended the qualifiers before. Speaking in a chat recently, Odoh who exhibited a bit of optimism said, “I am feeling very good and ready to go. I am feeling very positive and this, I believe is the time to take such a leap” he told pganigeria.com Over the years, the desire of playing at the famed British Open golf has been lure of some sort. Players like Ifeanyi Chukwu, David Yakubu and Raphael Iyonagbe; former Nigeria number player have tried without succeeding. The closest Nigeria has gone is by Iyongabe who missed the cut by one-shot. But Odoh says he is ready to break the jinx this year.
‘World rankings skewed against Europe’
y e n o o R n e e l o C f f o s show n a t new
J
ust a few days ago, she was relaxing in the Bahamas, but on Thursday it was back to reality for Coleen Rooney, wife of Manchester United star, Wayne Rooney. The working mum headed to a photoshoot in Manchester, to showcase her latest collection for Littlewoods. Coleen may have swapped the beach for the studio but she did show off her holiday tan in a pretty top as she got to work. The fashion designer was casual but chic as she got to work unloading bags from her car to take inside the studio. She also showed off her curvy figure in a pair of skinny jeans teamed with her pretty top, with the off-the-shoulder number making the most of her holiday
glow. Coleen tied her long hair up into a top knot to make the most of her floaty number, and accessorised with a long gold pendant. A pair of metallic sandals finished off her outfit, while the star added some glam finishing touches with her pink mani and pedi. Coleen kept cool in her sunglasses as she got stuck into unloading the supplies for her shoot with the help of her team. The star has just returned from a relaxing family break to the Bahamas with her football star husband Wayne and their two sons Klay, two, and Kai, five. In an interview with OK magazine last month, Coleen admitted that while she loves her two boys, she is keen to add to her family with a little girl.
The 29-year-old confessed: ‘I would like another baby. I’m not sure when. I’d like a girl – I do love the boys, but a girl would complete the family.’ She added though that children of course changes the dynamic of marriage, admitting that Wayne’s job can make time together even more difficult to plan. ‘When you have a child, it’s a massive shock to the system,’ she said. ‘Wayne never knows what time he’s getting off work, so before the boys we used to just go places and do things spur of the moment. Once you have children, you have to plan everything. It’s harder to do things. Going from one to the other is hard. It’s challenging, but it is rewarding in other ways.’
O
ne of Scotland’s top golfers is calling for a revamp of how the women’s world rankings are calculated. Kylie Walker says players on the European Tour are at a disadvantage compared to those from overseas. The 28-year-old is ranked 159 in the world despite being the only multiple winner on last season’s European Tour. “I think things could be looked over with world rankings and maybe make a few changes there,” Walker said. “The quickest way up the world rankings is if you are
playing in the United States. The LPGA is the number one tour in the world.” The rankings are based on performances on the eight major tours around the world. But the number of points available in each event depends on the strength of the field as determined by the competitors’ existing rankings. It means that Walker, the second best Scot in the standings behind Catriona Matthew and 23rd on the European Tour prize money list, is outside the world 150 despite her successes last season in the Netherlands and Germany.
Woods to play more golf
F
ourteen-time major winner Tiger Woods has said he will play more golf this summer to improve his world ranking. Woods, the world number one a year ago, is now ranked 181 after finishing last of those who had made the cut at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio. The 39-year-old endured the worst round of his career on Saturday, carding a 13-over-par 85 on day three. “My back is good enough. I am fully committed to playing more golf all this summer,” said the American. Woods, who has played only five tournaments this season, said he would now start listening to his caddie, Joey LaCava. “Joey keeps telling me this past week, ‘take it easy on yourself, you haven’t played much golf’,” said Woods, who will play four times in under two months from next week. “’You never played last year and you haven’t played much this year. Tournament golf takes time’. “I hate to say it when he’s right, because as a player you always want to be right, but he is right.”
Woods, who won his last major seven years ago in the US Open at Torrey Pines, is changing his swing. He began working with consultant Chris Como seven months ago and said it would take time for the improvements to be implemented. “I’ve had times like this in my life where I’ve gone through these periods, but you just have to fight through it,” said Woods. “I’m committed to what I’m doing and committed to the changes. Once I start to snowball and get more solidified, then that’s when things start coming together. “You just don’t go from one to 10. We’re taking it one, two, three, four... all the way to 10.
Woods
48
SPORT
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
ITTF Junior Open: Nigerian teenagers for ‘Hopes Week’ tourney Ifeanyi Eduzor
N
Super Eagles celebrate after scoring a goal in a tournament
AFCON Qualifier: Go for victory, Ladipo charges Eagles
Ifeanyi Eduzor
A
s the Super Eagles begin campaign for their 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad today at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, President General of Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo has charged the team to go all out for victory even as he cautioned the team against underrating their opponent. He told Saturday Mirror that the Coach Stephen Keshi led team must learn from their past mistakes which prevented the team from qualifying for the last tour-
nament in Equatorial Guinea and ensure they record a resounding victory against their opponents as that is the only way they can regain the confidence of Nigerians. “I have no doubt in my mind that Le Sao will not be of much threat to the Super Eagles but there is the need for them to understand that football has improved greatly in the continent and as such they must take the game serious to stand any chance of recording a resounding victory in today’s cracker. “The team must learn from their past mistakes and understand that all games are of great importance in the qualifiers especially when one considers that they still have
Egypt and Tanzania to contend with in Group G. Ladipo while expressing confidence that the Super Eagles will get the maximum three points at stake in today’s encounter was quick to remind the team that they must avoid complacency as that is the only to tame the Chadians who will be coming for an upset against them. “I am confident that the Super Eagles are going to beat Chad with a large margin but in order to achieve this, they must avoid complacency and take the game with all seriousness it deserves as that is the only way they can win the game convincingly”, he concluded.
...As Pinnick appeals for fans’ support
T
he Nigeria Football Federation has reiterated that it will continue to use Kaduna as venue for matches of the national teams, insisting that the city has always been a good hunting ground even as it praised the good people of the state for their love for the game. In his message to the people of Kaduna appealing to them to come out en masse and support the Super Eagles in today’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, NFF President Amaju Pinnick dismissed apprehension in some quarters about the city as unwarranted and condemnable. “Kaduna State has always been a perfect ground for all national teams, and a city in love with football. We are excited anytime we bring a match to the city because we are always sure of massive support for our team. “I have wonderful memories of the city of Kaduna, right from when the city hosted the National Sports Festival. The U-17, U-20, Super Falcons and Super Eagles have played in Kaduna
before, with excellent results and happy memories of total support during their games.” “We are calling on the fans to come out in their thousands as they usually do, and also to come to the stadium wearing green attire. “We are trying to build a culture
of supporting our national teams in a unique way and we want the fans to key into it”, said. It will be recalled that the Super Eagles have beaten Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso in matches played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in the past three-and-half years.
igeria Table Tennis Federation has named two Nigeria teenagers, Abayomi Animasahun and Muibat Bello as the country’s representatives at the ITTF ‘Hopes Week’ holding in Shanghai, China later this month just as it named two of Nigeria’s greatest players, Segun Toriola and Funke Oshonaike to accompany the players to the training exercise. According to the President of the Federation, Wahid Oshodi, the choice of Animasahun and Bello was based on their superlative performance at the
national level positing that NTTF will continue to assist them to improve their skills. “They have been maintaining superb performances at national level and we will continue to assist them to improve their skills. And of course they need to attend more tournaments of this nature as we need to expose our young players promptly to the rigours of worldclass tournaments’ style of play,” he added. Speaking on the nomination, an elated Animasahun who is taking part in the ITTF World Junior Championship in Egypt noted that he is glad he will be heading to China for the ‘Hopes Week’ meet.
Usain Bolt: I’m not afraid of Gatlin
D
o u b l e - O l y m p i c say that, I laugh,” said Jachampion Us- maican Bolt, 28, who holds ain Bolt has dis- the world record in both missed suggestions he is events. “I’ve been in the sport “afraid” of facing in-form for years and I’ve never Premier league action American Justin Gatlin. The 33-year-old has run dodged anybody. When 2015’s fastest 100m and it matters, I’ve always 200m at 9.75 and 19.68 sec- showed up and shown that onds but is yet to race Bolt I’m the best,” he added. Bolt holds the world this season. 100m record at 9.58 secThe pair are set to meet onds and the 200m record in the World Championat 19.19 both set in 2009 ships in Beijing in August, He won 100m, 200m along with other leading sprinters; Tyson Gay and and 4x100m relay gold at 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Asafa Powell. “Afraid? When people Bolt won the same treble at the 2009 and 2013 World Championships In 2011 he won the World Championship in 200m but was disqualified in the 100m for a false start. Gatlin won the 2004 Olympic 100m in Athens in a time of 9.85 seconds. The American served a four-year ban for doping •Bolt offences from 2006-2010
Interpol suspends FIFA partnership I nterpol has suspended a joint anti-match-fixing programme with Fifa over allegations of corruption against the football governing body. The international police agency is freezing the 20 million (£14m) donated by FIFA in 2011 for the programme. The 10-year “Integrity in Sport” agreement was intended to combat match-fixing and illegal gambling. FIFA is under investigation by authorities in the US and
Switzerland for alleged bribery and corruption. “In light of the current context surrounding FIFA, while Interpol is still committed to developing our Integrity in Sport programme, I have decided to suspend the agreement,” Juergen Stock, the head of Interpol, said in a statement. “All external partners, whether public or private, must share the fundamental values and principles of the organization, as well as those
of the wider law enforcement community,” he added. The agreement between Interpol and FIFA stated that the football body must be “compatible with the principles, aims and activities of Interpol”. A spokesperson for FIFA said that the organisation was “disappointed” by the decision. The scandal has raised questions over the legitimacy of the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively.
•Blatter
Crime Watch
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
49
June 13, 2015
Police exhume body of murdered ex-Customs officer’s son
...Send remains for DNA test Patience Ogbo
H
omicide detectives attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, (FCID) Force Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, have exhumed the corpse of Enose Otonga, son of one Mr. Otonga, an ex Customs officer, in its ongoing investigation into establish a prima facie case murder. As reported recently by Saturday Mirror, Enose 34, was allegedly murdered by four men last year over a business transaction between his father and one Mr. Osayeti. A source who requested anonymity said, “trouble started for the Otonga when Osayeti in company of his friends identified as Elijah, Kazeem and another called ‘Doctor’ went to Mr. Otonga’s house in Lagos and allegedly abducted Enose and forced him into their car over alleged failure of the ex-Customs boss to clear Osayeti’s car after he paid N1million. “Otonga however requested for an additional N500,000 from Osayeti stating that the vehicle had incurred demurrage. Osayeti took the law into his own hands and abducted Enose to force Otonga to pay his money. Unfortunately, Enose died during the abduction and the four men took his corpse and buried it in a thick forest in Ogun state”. It was gathered that Homicide detectives in company of pathologists went to
Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase
the forest following the confession of one of the suspects Elijah and dug the grave. A police source said they exhumed skeletons and a skull from a decomposed body and the corpse has been recovered
Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti
for autopsy. A source in police who requested anonymity said. “It is true that the police in company of the family of the deceased and pathologists visited the forest and
exhumed the corpse. They found the decomposed corpse and they have exhumed it. The skulls and skeletons will be flown abroad and a DNA will be conducted to determine if it is the deceased”.
Police in manhunt for murderers of bread seller •Pastor rescued from robbers
Patience Ogbo
E
do State police command has appealed to members of the public to provide useful information that will lead to the arrest of a gang of kidnappers that murdered a 23 -year-old lady in the state. The State police public relationships officer, DSP Stephen Onwochei, made the appeal after the corpse of the lady was recovered from a stolen SUV. He said “We have commenced investigation into the case but we are appealing to members of the public to provide us with useful information that will lead to the arrest of those who carried out this dastardly act. “From our investigation, the hood-
lums snatched the SUV car at gun point from the owner at the Aduwawa area of the state but the owner promptly reported the incident at the Aduwawa police station. The next day, the car was sighted at Upper Mission Extension and when the booth was searched, the police discovered the corpse of a young lady; the corpse was taken for autopsy and the pathologists are working to unravel the cause of death. “For now, we cannot say if the lady was raped. We got the identity of the lady from her mother who came to report that her daughter was missing. The woman was taken to the mortuary and she identified
the corpse as her daughter, Joy Okoh. “Those who committed this act will be arrested no matter how long it takes,” the police spokesman said. Our correspondent learnt that Joy had left her shop where she sold bread and was heading home about 7.30pm when she was kidnapped. Her corpse was deposited in the booth of the SUV car by her killers to hide the crime. In a related development, luck ran out on two men who allegedly kidnapped a cab driver identified simply as Pastor Samuel. The suspects identify as Sunny Onwin and Saliu Momodu decieved the cab driver after they chattered his vehicle on May
31st saying that they wanted him to help them convey bags of rice from Santana market in the state. However, on their way to the market, the suspects allegedly brought out a gun and robbed the driver of his belongings and went on to snatch his car. The suspects also forced the driver into the booth of the car but luck ran out on them when policemen on stop and search operation intercepted the vehicle and arrested the suspects. The police also rescued the driver and he narrated how he was robbed. DSP Onwochei confirmed the arrest stating that the police recovered one cut to size gun and four live cartridges.
Do you have a story for us? Contact 08138773277 or crimewatchmirror@yahoo.com
50
CRIME WATCH
Man, 20, bags 6 weeks for stealing motorcycle at mosque
A
Gudu Upper Area Court in the FCT on Thursday sentenced 20-year-old Abubakar Ibrahim of Damangaza Village, Apo, to six weeks imprisonment for stealing a motorcycle parked at a mosque. In addition, the court ordered that Ibrahim should be given six strokes of the cane. The judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, who pronounced the verdict, however, gave him an option of N8, 000 fine. Ibrahim was charged for criminal conspiracy and theft. The convict, who pleaded guilty, appealed for leniency. Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Shedrack Dauda told the court that policemen stationed at Kabusa Junction, Apo, arrested Ibrahim on June 5. He said that Ibrahim and another man still at large conspired and went to Jummat Mosque in Apo to steal a jincheng motorcycle. “The people around the mosque raised alarm and arrested Ibrahim with the motorcycle, but the accomplice escaped.’’ The offences, Dauda said, contravened Sections 97 and 287 of the Penal Code.
Alleged robbery gang armourer docked, remanded
A
n Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court on Thursday remanded a 23-yearold man, Oluwasola Adegbite, in prison custody for alleged supplying a locally-made pistol to a three-man gang of robbers. The Prosecutor, Insp. Augustine Ozimini, told the court that the accused committed the alleged offence on Jan. 23, at about 5:00 p.m. at Bode-Olude in Abeokuta. He said that the accused supplied a locally-made single barrel pistol to a three-man gang of robbers, Modiu Lateef, Wale Okulenu and Fatai Osho. Ozimini said that the above-mentioned men allegedly used the pistol to rob several residents of Imo on Jan. 24, at about 2:00 a.m. and residents of Nepa Road on Feb. 4, at about 2:00 a.m. of their phones, jewellery and other valuables. ``The accused, who was at large when the gang was apprehended, was later caught by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS),” he said. The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 6 (a) (b) (c), 5 (R), 1 (2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearm (Special Provisions) Act, Cap 389, Laws of Nigeria, 1999. The four accused, who are of no fixed addresses and their occupations were not stated, did not have their pleas taken by the court on a three-count charge of supplying firearms, conspiracy and robbery. The Magistrate, Mr Emmanuel Adekunte, ordered that they should be remanded in custody at the Oba Prisons, Abeokuta, pending the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Adekunte, then adjourned further hearing in the matter to July 10.
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Man arrested for killing, burning corpse Patience Ogbo
P
olicemen attached to Edo State police command have began a manhunt for a gang of kidnappers in the state that specialises in killing and burning their victims. The Commissioner of Police Edo State command Mr. Samuel Adebuyi stated that the gang was exposed following the arrest of a kidnap suspect, Fred Ikhumu Aroboi who with his gang members allegedly kidnapped one Premie Eboigbe. The CP said “Sometimes in February, one Premie Eboigbe was kidnapped by one Fred Ikhumu Aroboi and his gang now at large. The victim was killed and they equally set him ablaze. The police arrested Aroboi and he has made confessional statement to that effect. Effort is been intensified to arrest other fleeing suspects”. In a related development, the police boss added that officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command arrested one Kelvin Omoregie following the murder of a cab driver in the state. According to the police boss, the suspect lured the deceased, Sunday Emmanuel, 67, to a deserted building site along Oluku road where he used a wooden peg to hit him on the head until the cab driver passed out. Mr. Adebuyi stated that the suspect there after made away with the cab driver’s Audi 80 car with registration number SGD 287 AA. He said “The suspect took the cab man to a shop along Oluku Road and bought (19) nineteen pieces of wood pegs. After getting to where they were going, the suspect pulled one of the pegs which he used to
Samuel Adegbuyi, Edo State Police Commissioner
lynch him”. The suspect confessed to the crime. He blamed his action on poverty. “On April 27th, I hired a cab driver one Sunday Emmanuel. I told him to meet me at a hotel at Oluku area in Benin City. He was using his Audi 80 as a “cabu cabu”. As we were going, something told me that I can take the cab driver’s cab from him and take it to Lagos to use as a cab. I obeyed the voice and I told the cab driver to take me to a building site. On our way, I told him to stop at a shop along the Oluku road and I bought nineteen pieces of wooden pegs. After we
got to the site, I ask the cab driver to give me his bag. As he bent to do so, I used one of the pegs to hit him and he fell. “I thought he passed out so I made away with his cab. I took the cab to Lagos but the police stopped me and asked for my particulars. I gave them the papers but they found out that the names don’t correspond. They interrogated me and after a while, I confessed. I later took the police to where the incident happened and they recovered the corpse. I don’t intend to kill him. It was his car I wanted to take from him not his life”.
Gold dealer swindles partner, arraigned for fraud
Abdulgafar Oladimeji Kano
A
renowned Kano gold merchant, Sadiq Namadi, 38 has been arrested and charged to court for defrauding a business partner of 21 kilogramme of gold. The police, on Thursday, arraigned the accuse before senior magistrate Hassan Fagge on a two count allegations of criminal breach of trust and cheating. The police prosecutor, sergeant Haziel Ledapwa informed the court that on September 2014, one Alhaji Kabiru Ali entrusted the accuse with 21k of gold valued four million, nine hundred, and four thousand, six hundred and forty naira(N4.904.640). He stated that, Sadiq Namadi, who is
Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
a resident of No 68 Abdulkadir Wakili Street, Tarauni, Kano, dishonestly converted two million, nine hundred and
fifty two thousand(N2.952.00) to personal use, adding that, police investigation was ongoing. The gold trader told the court that the allegations levied against him was not true, barrister JB Magaji apply to the court for the accuse to be released on bail. The presiding magistrate, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed Fagge ordered the release of the accuse on bail in the sum of N500.000.00. He further order the accuse to produce two reliable sureties, adding that, one of the sureties must be a grade level 16 public servant, while the other must be an owner of a landed property with a Certificate of Occupancy, the court directed that the C of O be deposited at the court registry. The case was adjourned to 30th June for mention.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
June 13, 2015
EFCC arraign 14 foreign nationals over oil theft
T
he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday docked 14 foreign nationals before a Federal High Court, Lagos over alleged illegal dealing in petroleum products. The accused included three Russians – Arthur Pakhladzhian, Vasaliy Shkundich and Kretov Andrey; one Japanese, Sergio Abgarian; and three Ukrainians – Vitalis Biluos, Laguta Olesksiy and Chepikov Oleksan. Others are seven Britons – Hilarion Teofilo Regipor, Cadavis Gerardo, Baduria Benjamin, Naranjo Allian Antero, Patro Christian, Alcayde Joel, Carantiquit Micheal Bryan; and three vessels – MT Anukt Emerald, Monjasa DMCC and Glencore Energy UK Limited. The accused are standing trial on a four-count charge of conspiracy, unlawful dealing and storage of petroleum products without lawful authority. According to the charge, the accused committed the offences on February 27 within the jurisdiction of the court. It alleged that they stored 1,500 tonnes of automated gas oil inside the MT Anuket Emerald’s Cargo tank. The charge also alleged that they stored 3,035 tonnes of Low Pour Fuel Oil in other tanks. The agency said the offences contravened Sections 4, 17, 19 (6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act and the Petroleum Act, Laws of Federation. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them in the dock. Consequently, the Prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to remand them in prison custody pending their trial. However, Babajide Koku, the Defence Counsel, in an oral application for bail, urged the court to admit his clients to bail on self-recognition.
51
Court strikes out theft charge against commercial sex worker
A
Mararaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Nasarawa State on Thursday struck out a case of ‘lover’ property theft against a commercial sex worker, Hassana Hassan. Hassan, 25, of Mpape Abuja, was alleged to have escaped with her lover’s property and charged with theft. The Senior Magistrate, Habila Abundaga, struck out the case following an application made by the prosecutor on behalf of the nominal complainant Agada Christopher. The prosecutor, Sgt. Samuel Okoro, said that the matter arose from false information to the complainant, Christopher. The court thereafter struck out the case in the interest of justice based on available information. “The case is hereby struck out and the accused discharged,” Abundaga said. The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the police on June 5 charged Hassana with theft. Okoro told the court that the accused escaped with money and property of Christopher of Aso Mararaba in contravention of Section 287 of the Penal Code. The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Man in court for having sex with daughter
A
Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC boss
Koku also told the court that in a situation where the accused could not produce the sureties, he (accused) had promised to provide bank guarantee of N750 million. Oyedepo opposed the application on grounds that the authority which was cited by the counsel did not apply to the case at hand because the accused were not Nigerians. He, therefore, urged the court to impose stringent bail conditions on them.
The presiding judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety each in like sum. Buba added that the accused should deposit their international passports with the EFCC and be remanded in prison custody until the perfection of their bail conditions. The case was adjourned till June 17, 18 and 19 for trial.
Ex-NURTW boss murder: Witness tenders exhibits in court T he prosecution team in the murder trial of Mukaila Lamidi, the former Chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, on Thursday tendered a Peugeot 607, Nissan Micra and a gun as exhibits before the court. Lamidi, Saheed Kareem, Taiwo Tijani, Abu Kareem and Kazeem Kayode are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, attempted murder and murder in an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan. The defendants were charged with the murder of Adekunle Oladipupo on March 2, 2014, at Iwo Road, Ibadan. Idowu Akeem, the Investigating Police Officer and prosecution witness, while testifying before the court, identified the exhibits as the ones used by the defendants in the murder of Oladipupo.
Crime Watch
Led in his testimony by Tajudeen Abdulganiyu, the state Director of Public Prosecution, Akeem said the vehicles and gun were used by the defendants in the commission of the offences. The counsel to the defence, Olalekan Ojo, however, did not oppose the admission of the exhibits tendered before the court. During cross-examination by Ojo, the IPO said the Peugeot 607 belonging to Lamidi was recovered from Alhaji Aremu Kabir, a car dealer, after the murder. Akeem said Lamidi had instructed Kabir to sell the Peugeot 607, which had been sighted at the scene of the murder of Oladipupo. The policeman said he recognised the car because one Alhaji Saheed Adigun, who saw the defendants with the car
during the commission of the crime, described it to him. Akeem said the Peugeot 607 car was recovered from Kabir at Iwo Road during patrol surveillance in the area. Justice Eni Esan adjourned the case to June 23 for continuation of hearing. At the arraignment last year, the prosecutor said that the defendants also attempted to kill one Akeem Agbaje at 9.45pm at the Iwo Road MotorPark, Ibadan. Abdulganiyu said that the offences contravened Sections 516, 316 and 320 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000. The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges and had since been in prison custody. NAN
49-year-old trader, Adeboye Adesola, on Thursday appeared before an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State for allegedly having carnal Knowledge of his daughter. Prosecutor Kenneth Asibo told the court that the accused committed the alleged offence sometime in November 2014 at midnight at his residence in Ikorodu Area of Lagos. Asibo said Adesola unlawfully had sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old daughter, which contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Section 137 provides that any person who has sexual intercourse with a child is guilty of a felony and is liable to life imprisonment. Earlier, the prosecutor had objected to the bail application of the accused, saying: “There is possibility that the crime will occur again if bail is granted to the accused.” The accused had pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with the daughter. The Counsel to the accused, Chris OwenBrown, had urged the court to grant his client bail on “liberal terms”. Owen-Brown said the charge against Adesola was a bailable offence, adding: “My client’s right to bail in this matter is a constitutional one and should be honoured by this court.” The Magistrate, F. F. George, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N500,000 with three sureties in like sum. George said two of the sureties must be family members of the accused and must swear to an affidavit of means. “All the sureties must also show prove of two years tax payment too,” George said. She adjourned the case till July 2 for mention. NAN.
June 13, 2015
52
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Make profitable investment in napkin and diaper production T
he only way to reduce unemployment in this country is to embark on establishment of small, medium and largescale industries. Democratic Government is gradually paying off in Nigeria. At the moment, telecommunication problem is solved; bank consolidations have been carried out to ensure that enough investment funds assistance is obtained from Nigeria banks. Having said this, there are some manufacturing investment projects which one can set up in small scale level with the intention to expand in the near future. One of them is napkins and diapers production. This is a project that can ensure regular provision of daily cash for you and your family. This is a project that you can introduce after related products like serviettes, toilets rolls, facial tissues, face towels etc. The envisaged project will be able to produce quality napkins and diapers to be well accepted in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Napkins and diapers are consumed on daily basis by all and sundry irrespective of age, social class or religious. These products are used for sanitary and cleansing purposes. They enjoy high aggregate demand in places like households, schools, hospitals. Others are maternity homes, shopping centers. The arsenals of any mother/lady are not complete and properly assembled without napkins and diapers. Consider the number of new born babies and
children under the age of 6 in the country. The number is also rising every day. Napkins and diapers have a high repeat sales tendency which is fuelled by such factors as increasing sanitary awareness, the need to maintain hygiene and good quality living standard, geometrically exploding population, continued drift from the rural to the urban centers in search of the better things of life and job opportunities. The markets for napkins and diapers have been well established and developed. It is large, expanding and sustainable. My recent research findings revealed that supply is inadequate to meet up with the increase in demand, thus creating a large gap yearning to be filled. This enormous demand supply gap translates into a viable venture for Nigerians. The essential raw materials needed for this project are the jumbo reels and cotton lint and packaging materials like the wrapping with the producers name, logo, address and brand name conspicuously printed. Each of these is obtained locally from suppliers and producers. The machines for the project are not locally available. They are all imported machines. The project can be located in any part of the country particularly where the market lies and nearness to the source of raw materials. The project does not need much space. It can be comfortably set up in a rented building of three bedrooms flats. This will take care of the production room, the storage and raw material rooms as
Napkins & Diapers producing plant
well as the administration/ accounting rooms. The project will take an estimated sum of N20 million to set up. This amount may change depending on the capacity of the prospective investor intends to embark
upon. The breakdown of this amount on a small-scale level can be seen from the box. If the project is going to be on medium or large scale, the cost will be higher than
the above. Investment Analysis The payback period based on our preliminary projections will be about two years. The return on investment is about 52 percent and there is positive NPV. The project is very profitable with gross profit of N16million in the first year, N24million in the 2nd year, N38million in the 3rd year and N62million in the 5th year of operation. The turnover is also very impressive.
Financial Estimates (take off) Accommodation (rented)
N1, 500, 000
Plants & machinery
N12, 300,000
Utilities N 2, 500,000 Working capital
N3, 000,000
Preliminary Expenses (including feasibility studies/Bus plan) N500, 000 Total N19, 800,000
Conclusion This project is very profitable. The market is wide and the supply demand positions keep on getting bigger. This is need for Nigeria to set up small medium and large-scale industries to reduce the level of unemployment in the country.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
REGIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
53
South EAST
Ugwuanyi makes key appointments Dennis Agbo Enugu
G
overnor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, yesterday, broke silence on the high expectations from him and named principal aides of his administration. He named a former permanent secretary to the office of the Governor, Mr Gabriel Ajah, as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and
appointed the South East Bureau Chief of the New Telegraph Newspaper, Mr. Uwakwe Abugu, as his Chief Press Secretary, CPS. Ugwuanyi also appointed the former Special Assistant to the immediate past Governor on Party matters, Mr. Louis Amoke, as his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity. Mr. Sylvanus Onoyima, a former Head of Service and the immediate past
Special Adviser to the former Governor on SERVICOM was appointed Special Adviser on Due Process. Governor Ugwuanyi directed all Heads and Chief Executives of Government Companies, Parastatals, Boards, Corporations, Commissions and Agencies to submit their operational status and financial reports of their activities from 2011 to date, for more effective administrative purposes.
The Governor, who made the announcement during a parley with journalists at the Government House Enugu, revealed that the lists of his wouldbe Commissioners, Special Advisers and other immediate appointments are ready and awaiting confirmation of the State House of Assembly. Ugwuanyi who expressed confidence in the ability of his new team to drive the policy thrust of his administration, also
congratulated Senator Ike Ekweremadu on his re-election as the Deputy President of the Senate. He noted that Ekweremadu’s emergence was an added advantage to the stability of the National Assembly and the advancement of our nation’s democratic process. The Governor also disclosed his readiness to run an all-inclusive government by accommodating all former Governors of the State and other leaders
through the reconstitution of the Elders’ Council, stressing that “the era of politics is over”. On his key appointments, he noted that the choice of Mr. Ajah as the Secretary to the State Government was borne out of his long standing experience in public service as permanent secretary since 2001 till date, adding that such experienced personnel is what his administration needed at the moment to drive its process
Nkpor-Amawbia Road was wholly done by Obi —Aide
V
alentine Obienyem, the Media Assistant to the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday stated that there should be no controversy as to who started and completed the Nkpor-Amawbia old road in Anambra State. The glory as to who built the road must go to his principal, Obi, Obieyem said. This was contained in a release by Mr. Obienyem who added that the clarification became necessary because of avalanche of calls and text messages he had been inundated with for two days now following the claim by incumbent governor Willie Obiano that he completed nearly 70 percent of the road. Obienyem disclosed that the road was awarded to CCC Construction Company in 2008 by Mr. Peter Obi and was completed long before Obiano became governor. He only marked the completed road after taking over from Obi. Obienyem who described Gov. Willie Obiano as a gentleman, says that the man may have been misinformed, as he was in the USA and did not know what was going on in the state before he came to contest the governorship. He said that the blame for the misinformation should be on Obiano’s Commissioners. “I mean some of the Commissioners were part of the
former Government. “It is really confounding that he allowed or misled Obiano to claim to have done part of the road that was already completed before he became the Governor,” he said. Obienyem also blamed his boss, the former Governor, Mr Peter Obi, for the development. His words: “Obi was busy executing projects. He ended up not commissioning over 90 percent of the projects he did. Having left the commissioning to his successor, the natural consequence is that mistakes of facts and details have become the norm,” stated Obieyem. Obienyem said that the current governor can face the section of the road with flooding problem at Ogidi. “If Governor Obiano is desirous of contributing anything to the road, they should tackle the Ogidi flood”, Obienyem said.
Governor of Anambra, Willie Obiano (middle); Rommy Ezeonwuka (Left) and other officials, at the inauguration of 8-Lane Olympic standard tartan tracks at Rojenny stadium in Oba on Thursday.
Abia election tribunal extends period for election material inspection bia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has granted Dr. Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the April elections extension
of time to inspect the electoral materials used for the election. Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Otti’s lead counsel, told the tribunal that the petitioner, could not carry out forensic inspection of the electoral materials as earlier ordered by the tribunal because of INEC’s alleged failure ‘’to cooper-
bly took off fully yesterday after its inauguration by the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano. The new House Speaker,Barrister Maduagwu, who represent Nnewi South 11 Constituency and the Deputy Speaker,Harford Oseke, Awka South Two Constituency, are both members of the defunct 5th Anambra House of Assembly led by Princess Chinwe Nwaebili as speaker.
Speaking during the ceremony which took place in Awka, the State capital, yesterday, Governor Obiano chargeed the legislators to see themselves as representing their entire constituency rather than the political party which brought them to power. Obiano also congratulated the 30 member House on their individual victory at the polls,and reminded them that the electioneer-
George Opara Abia
A
ate’’. Consequently, Olujinmi requested for an extension of the time to enable the petitioner inspect the electoral materials. But INEC Counsel, Mr Amaechi Nwaiwu (SAN), explained that the commission was not served the order of the tribunal. According to him, INEC was ready to
Anambra’s 6th assembly takes off with new Speaker Charles Okeke Awka
T
he batch six of the Anambra State House of Assembly was yesterday inaugurated with another female member, Barrister Mrs. Rita Obianama Maduagwu emerging as the new speaker and Harford Oseke as deputy speaker. The 6th batch of Anambra State House of Assem-
ing campaign was over and what is before the state now is the task of development. He stated that this is the most auspicious time when everybody will join hands to make the state progress the more. Obiano restated his four pillars of government and urged the electorate to serve as watch dog on the legislature and the Executive to ensure that they fulfil public expectations.
cooperate with all the parties in the petition. The tribunal at its inaugural sitting on May 20 gave the APGA candidate three days, May 27, 28 and 30, within which to inspect the electoral materials. Ruling on the application for extension, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Usman Bwala, ordered that all the parties in matter including Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, PDP and INEC, be served latest on Friday. Bwala also ordered that the petitioners, including Otti and APGA, be served with the replies of the respondents and granted the petitioner 20 days within which to carry out the inspection of the electoral materials, beginning from yesterday. The matter was adjourned to Monday, June 15.
54
REGIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
SOUTH SOUTH
WIke swears in Rivers SSG, 4 Commissioners, others
zSays z appointments are on merit Port Harcourt
R
ivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday, swornin the Secretary to the State Government SSG., Mr. Kenneth Kobani, along with four commissioners to form his cabinet. The commissioners include, Mr. Emma Okah, Housing, Dr. Fred Kpakol, Finance, Mr Emmanuel Aguma, AttorneyGeneral of the State and
Justice Commissioner and Mrs Onimim Jack, Agriculture. This is, as the governor stated that his cabinet will be built on capacity, merit and track record of performance, saying he will not appoint anyone based on mere political patronage. Others are, Mr. Emeka Woke, Chief of Staff, Government House and Sir. Opunabo InkoTariah, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity.
‘
Dennis Naku
‘Kidnapping ll soon be a thing of the past in SouthSouth’ –AIG
T
he Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 6, AIG Tunde Ogunsakin has reiterated his commitment to put a permanent end to kidnapping in the South South region of Nigeria. He explained that the police and other security agencies in the zone have identified kidnapping as one of the major criminal activities and are ready to put an end to the vice very soon. Ogunsakin made this known yesterday, during his courtesy visit to the palace of the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon AbasiOtu. The AIG, a renowned advocate of community policing, used the visit to strengthen the relationship between the police and the traditional institutions in Cross Rivers State. The Police boss expressed his love for ‘The Nation’s Paradise’ stating how nostalgic he felt on returning to Calabar as it was the very first place he was posted to by the Nigeria Police. The Zone 6 boss hailed the state as a very peaceful one but frowned at the rising crime rate particularly in Calabar South and
urged the police bosses in the area to stem the tide of the rising crime rate. He however intimated His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon the Obong of Calabar and his Council of Chiefs of the strategy being employed by the Zonal Command in addressing the spate of Kidnapping and other crimes in that part of the state assuring that an end was imminent.
Wike, shortly after performing the swearingin at a brief, but colourful ceremony in Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday, further said all those who will serve in his government will have the requisite knowledge to improve the state. The governor urged the new appointees to get down to work and ensure that they deliver on programmes contained in the administration’s blueprint.
Wike noted that all appointments so far made by him were targeted at adding value to a state that has faced series of developmental challenges in the recent past. He, particularly, charged the Attorney General of the State, Mr. Aguma to ensure that there is effective justice delivery in the state. Governor Wike said on no account should
the courts be closed in the state as was the case with the previous administration. The governor directed the new Finance Commissioner, Dr Kpakol to take proactive measures to ensure judicious application of state finances. Wike urged the Chief of Staff, Engr Woke to operate an open door policy which will make the State Government House accessible to all Rivers people, irrespective of political affiliation.
According to him, “My administration will be made up of people with capacity to deliver on our campaign promises. I will never make appointments based on patronage”. “There is so much work to do and only persons with capacity to add value will be appointed. for those appointed, you must all strive to develop Rivers State at all times,” the governor said. “Others are Gilbert Nria and Imeh Fubara, they are to serve as Senior Special Assistants, office of the Deputy Governor,” it said.
L-R: Special Adviser to Rivers’ Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Opunabo Inko-Tariah; Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Emma Okah; Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Onimim Jack; Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Fred Kpakol; Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Emma Aguma; Chief of Staff, Mr. Emeka Woke and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Kenneth Kobani, taking oath of Office in Port Harcourt, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
Police intensify prosecution of cultists in Edo Sebastine Ebhuomhan
T
he Nigeria Police Force, Edo State Command, on Friday, continued the prosecution of no fewer than 12 suspected cult leaders who were earlier arraigned on Tuesday before a special magisterial court that sat inside the Command Headquarters for alleged involvement in the killings of fellow citizens in different areas of the state. Following the parade and arraignment of about 215 other suspected criminals for cultism and
involvement in various other crimes, the suspects’ trial on “holden charge” continued before Chief Magistrate F. O. Idiake with a view to establishing the culpability of the accused persons in the alleged offences. It would be recalled that the police had on May 14 announced the arrest of 56 cultists, among whom were 11 highly placed persons and ring leaders of cult groups for alleged involvement in the killings of their members and nonmembers, after the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase deployed a Special Crack Squad to
Edo State to tackle cultism and cultists. Reacting, Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Samuel Adegbuyi stated that the suspects were arrested through the intervention of the IGP owing to the increasing crime rate in the state that before, during and after the 2015 general election. The state police boss further disclosed that 129 suspects had earlier been arraigned on June 2nd and 3rd while 98 others were arraigned on June 8th 2015, for different criminal offences after though investigation found the accused persons with dan-
gerous weapons such as guns, swords, cutlasses, battle axes, cult symbols, plaques, regalia, batons were recovered from the accused cult leaders. “After the presidential election of March 28, and the National and State Assembly elections of April 11, we had challenges with the increase in crime waves, vis-a-vis cult-related cases, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder and other social vices. All these challenges became worrisome. I had no choice than to call on the assistance of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase, who swiftly drafted some MOPOL personnel from Delta and Anambra States
as well as personnel from Federal (SARS) Special Anti-Robbery Squad.” “The synergy paid off and in the process a total of 227 suspects were arrested in connection with cultism; kidnapping, murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of firearms,” Adegbuyi explained. One of the suspected cult leaders, Ernest Amadasun, who identified himself as a cult leader, admitted that he and his fellow cultists were arrested at a meeting with the state police boss after they were “invited to assist” the police with “information” on the recent cult-related killings in the state.
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
June 13, 2015
55
Navy rescues migrants on raft Saudi blogger’s
T
he San Diego based USS Rushmore spotted and rescued 65 people who were stranded on a makeshift bamboo raft while transiting through the Makassar Strait, a strait located between the islands of Sulawesi and Borneo in Indonesia, on Wednesday, according to a US Navy report. Having recently departed an Indonesian port, lookouts aboard the US Navy class dock
landing ship noticed distressed persons waving orange and white flags and quickly alerted Rushmore Commanding Officer Thomas Stephens. “They had their eyes and ears open; they were looking out and spotted them,” said Capt. Clint A. Carroll, commander of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, in a Stars and Stripes interview. The U.S. military vessel provided assistance to
the people on the raft by sending a small boat with two search and rescue swimmers. Stephens added, “There was a lot of trash and junk breaking off on this raft, and in the end we realized the raft was 80 percent underwater.” The people on the raft, which were later identified as Indonesian citizens, had no available food or water aboard the rafts and were adrift overseas for four days, after their ferry from
Borneo to Sulawesi capsized. The group had included 12 children along with four pregnant women. The rescued group was provided medical attention on board, after sailors and Marines completed security checks. “This is an example of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group’s professional maritime skill and ability to be where it matters, when it matters to offer assistance,” Carroll said.
Sir Tim Hunt, Nobel prize winner, who resigned from the University College of London on Wednesday following comments he made on June 9 at the World Conference of Science Journalists that female scientists are a distraction
Ex-IMF chief cleared of pimping A
court in France acquitted Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday of charges of aggravated pimping. Strauss-Kahn, 66, once thought to be a top contender for the French presidency, had been accused in connection with sex parties he attended in various cities across the world. The judge said Friday that Strauss-Kahn, commonly referred to as DSK, didn’t deny his participation in the sex parties but said he did not know the women were prostitutes. The judge agreed that the status of the women was not clear, giving a long list of other people who claimed not to know they were prostitutes. Strauss-Kahn, who calls himself a libertine, never recruited or paid the women, the judge said. And an analysis of Strauss-Kahn’s text messages did not allow the court to consider him to have been the instigator of the sex parties, the judge said, adding that therefore, Strauss-Kahn did not commit any unlawful acts.
In France, prostitution is legal, but pimping is not. The Strauss-Kahn verdict was not a surprise. Even the prosecutor in Lille, in northern France, had said previously that there was insufficient evidence to convict the former presidential hopeful. But investigative magistrates had pursued the case nevertheless. Prosecutors also alleged that two other defendants, businessman David Roquet and Fabrice Paszkowski, a businessman friend of Strauss-Kahn, picked up the bills for the sex parties, which took place in places such as Belgium, New York and Washington and were arranged to fit StraussKahn’s schedule. Both were acquitted. In fact, the verdicts were
a broad defeat for those who had pursued criminal charges. Of the 14 defendants, only one was found guilty of a criminal offense: René Kojfer, the head of public relations at the Lille Carlton hotel, was given a one-year suspended jail sentence for aiding the prostitution of various women and acting as an intermediary between prostitutes and clients. But politically, the case was an enormous setback for Strauss-Kahn. In graphic testimony, some of the women involved accused him of sexual brutality. And the picture painted -- with parties, nudity, and group sex -- was a departure from the staid mistresses that were kept by some former prom-
inent French politicians and generally accepted by the public. Strauss-Kahn was once considered the leading contender to run against Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency of France. But in 2011, a maid at a New York hotel accused him of sexual assault. Strauss-Kahn was initially charged with attempted rape and imprisonment in that case, but the charges were dropped after his accuser admitted lying about some details. The following year, Strauss-Kahn and the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, reached a settlement in a suit she had filed against him. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
t seemed like the number of people contracting Ebola in West Africa was on the decline. But now, officials say that trend has stalled, with dozens of new cases of the deadly virus reported so far this month. Last week, there were
31 new cases of Ebola reported in a growing geographic area in Guinea and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organization said. At the beginning of this week, 14 additional cases were reported. The latest figures mark the second straight week
that the number of Ebola cases in West Africa has increased, officials said. Investigators are working to trace how the latest cases of the disease were contracted, the WHO said. “The outbreak is not over and the response efforts must be sustained
lashing put off again R aif Badawi set up a website to express his views and those of others. For that he was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes with a whipping cane. To Saudi Arabian authorities, the blogger is a criminal. And for that, he is to be publicly flogged -- as happened in January, when he stoically arched his back in pain while getting 50 lashes. He’s supposed to get 19 more rounds of such punishment, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. The second batch of 50 lashes was supposed to come not long after the first, but it’s been pushed back several times -- including Friday. Amnesty reported as much on Twitter, as did Badawi’s wife Ensaf Haidar. “No flogging for today,” Haidar wrote on her husband’s Twitter account. “I repeat my appeal to his majesty King Salman to pardon my husband #RaifBadawi and stop his flogging.” Badawi has been behind bars since 2012 for his online posts and running a blog called “Saudi Arabian Liberals,” where he hosted political and religious debate and advocated secularism in a highly religious society. In 2013, a court originally sentenced him to seven years and 600 lashes, but the punishment was upped upon appeal, Human Rights Watch has said. The sharper measures also includes a fine of about $265,000, the group said. The sentencing covers convictions for violating the kingdom’s information
technology law, insulting Islam, and according to HRW, “blasphemous phrases on his Facebook page and disobedience to his father.” On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court upheld the sentence, now Badawi has no more appeals. The lashings were supposed to happen about once a week for 20 weeks, in a place open to public viewing. A light wooden cane is used for the lashes, which are administered on the legs and back, HRW said. They usually leave bruises but don’t often break the skin. But eight days after the initial flogging, doctors determined that Badawi’s injuries had not healed sufficiently to be flogged for the second time, Amnesty International reported. Another round would be detrimental, they said. The second beating has been postponed many times, including on Friday. “His health is poor, and he cannot take another round of lashes,” Badawi’s wife, Haidar, told Amnesty then. On top of health concerns, the first lashing ignited international outcry from human rights activists and from Western governments. Before the Supreme Court decision, U.S. officials had called on Saudi officials to withdraw the sentence and review Badawi’s case. Human Rights Watch said in protest at the time, “Publicly lashing a peaceful activist merely for expressing his ideas sends an ugly message of intolerance.”
Dozens of new Ebola cases reported I until we get to zero cases throughout the region and are able to stay at zero for several months,” the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response said Thursday. Last month, officials from the WHO declared Li-
beria free of the disease. But even as they trumpeted the news, officials warned that outbreaks in Guinea and Sierra Leone ran the risk of bringing the virus back to Liberia, where more than 4,000 people died after contracting Ebola.
Quote
of
the
day
Any member of both chambers of the National Assembly with pending cases before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is not worthy to hold any key position in the hallowed chambers. — Chairman of Benue State Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, Engr. Baba Agan, speaking in Makurdi on the outcome of the Senate and House of Representatives elections into key offices.
Saturday, June 13, 2015. www.nationnationalmirroronline.net
Geroski on New Markets (X)
O
ne of the most interesting things you hear about today and in practically every gathering is Information Technology (IT). Scientists claim they have revolutionalised the world with IT. What an empty claim! When God created the human eye, it came with the ability to transmit to the brain 1.5 million messages simultaneously! The secret of the science of the computer system or the so-called Information Technology is in the in-depth studies embarked upon by computer scientists, the study of the power of the human eye as instituted by the creator. Here, there is no clear case of a one man invention as claimed by the author in respect of the Internet and the support of the defence ministry for its invention. The more they discover of the spiritual power of the creator about the development of the functionality of the human eye, the more they use such knowledge to create new IT. Talk of ‘technology’ transfer from the Bible! The truth is that the Bible is behind the technology of the moving IT, a master teacher to the computer scientist. And without it, nothing can happen. It is important to say that until the computer can operate with 1.5 million megabytes, which is the transmitting capacity of the human eye as set by the creator, there is no limit to the development of IT. But its evolution theory, as posited by the author, is wrong. Continuous study of its platform is, however, acceptable. It is possible to argue that net- working is key to ITC and that there is no biblical account of the connectivity of the system for effective transmission of information. Or what will be our reaction to the networking aspect of ITC? Does the Bible have any insight into the use of networking and connectivity? Their argument is a fallacy, for the retina at the back of the eye contains a dense area of rods and cones that gather and interpret information presented to the eye. The retina contains more than 137 million connections, which the brain uses to evaluate data for effective decisions. Which one ITC networking system in a single station contains 137 million connections? The computer is simply learning from the Bible (The Inventor). It left for us to say that the complexities of the brain remain a mystery to modern science. For instance, in a detailed work, Professor Jeffery has explained the supreme power of the creator in the formation of the brain. According to him, the human brain is the most complex organ in the universe. While it weighs less than three pounds, it contains nerves with more than 30 billion special cells known as neurons. There are another 250 billion glial cells that facilitate communication with the neurons. Every one of the 30 billion neurons is connected to more than
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. 50,000 other neurons, which allow transfer of message from the brain. Studying the power of the creator on the above creates so much opportunity for the development of ICT, to make new discoveries till the end of the world, rather than saying someone invented it. Creating a computer that weighs less than three pounds with 30 billion special cells and 250 billion glial cells and making 30 billion neurons with each of them connected to 50,000 other neurons will be the beginning of attempting to create a human being without a body by science, a task that remains greatly impossible. The above simply explains why it has been impossible to create a human being or the brain since the days of Adam and Eve by any kind of science. The creator powered the brain into functionality with blood. And at any time scientists decide to create the human brain, (which is impossible!), they must be ready to power it with blood, so that there will be no network failure. The question is: How will science create the much needed blood for the brain to function? Again the Lord provides the blood! In Leviticus book of the Bible, Chapter 17; Verse 14, it is clear that the maker of blood is God.... “For the life of the creature is in the blood and I have given it to you......” This explains the development of atom and the subsequent expansion of the work in the discovery of DNA in the human system, not that anyone invented it. Professor Marc Ventresca of the University of Oxford has great respect for the originality of the thinking of Geroski in the evolution of New Mar-
kets, but expresses difficulties in justifying the whole lot of Geroski’s work with the work of W Gibson, titled ‘The future is already here; it’s just unevenly distributed.’ The learned professor submitted that the evolution of the markets is a clear case of the classical economics theory of demand and supply and that the nature of modern markets and its participants are expansive beyond the trajectory. While Marc Ventresca represents a complete argument, to us, the nature and the rate of failure in modern science predictions ( as to the coming trajectory) even among the leaders of the dominant markets, appears to have reduced the entire work of science to a matter of luck. Here are some examples of the behaviour pattern: Bill Gates, a great computer scientist of high repute has predicted that ‘No one will need more than 637kb of memory for a personal computer; 640 KB ought to be enough for anybody.’ This is not true. The fact that Bill Gates cannot make an accurate prediction about computers, an area he claims to have worked more than anyone, clearly shows how difficult it is for anyone to predict the future, except God. Apollo 11 predicted in 1920, as reported by The New York Times, that: ‘A rocket will never be able to leave the earth’s atmosphere.’ What a great embarrassment! How many rockets have moved from the earth since 1920? For The New York Times to have given such a prediction such attention shows how important those predictions were in those days.
Ken Olson said: ‘There is no reason for any individual to have a computer at home.’ Ken was a graduate of MIT and he built a computerised flight simulator. He was rated as the most successful entrepreneur by Fortune Magazine. Today, the prediction is the direct opposite of what obtains. Everyone needs a computer at home. The chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson, had also predicted that: ‘I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.’ The truth today is that there is perhaps a market for every computer. The more we go into the accuracy of the predictions of science, the clearer it is to us that there seems to be no need for such predictions. The Bible’s predictions never suffer such setbacks in accuracy! The last question for now may be to ask Geroski who invented the first ship? It will be too clear to see from the account of the Bible that the first ship was invented by God with specific instructions to Noah on the various dimensions (Genesis Chapters 6–9) by which God saved Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world’s animals from the flood. God gave Noah detailed instructions for building the ark: it is to be of gopher wood, smeared inside and out with pitch, with three decks and internal compartments; it will be 300 cubits long (137.16 m, 450 ft), 50 wide (22.86 m, 75 ft), and 30 high (13.716 m, 45 ft); it will have a roof “finished to a cubit upward”; and an entrance on the side. The story goes on to describe the ark being afloat throughout the flood and subsequent receding of the waters before it came to rest on the Mountains of Ararat. The story is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the ark appears as Safina Nuh (Arabic: حون ةنيفس “Noah’s boat”). There is no ship built today without taking into account those specific detailed calculations of the dimensions as specified by the God of the universe. I do certainly hope that Geroski will not provide the inventor of the first ship and begin to do the exercise of the technology behaviours along the trajectory platform. The truth, to me, is that everything has been invented by GOD and it is on that foundation that technology plays with some ideas. It is left for me to agree completely that: ‘The future is already here; it is just very unevenly distributed.’ The current event of fish coming with rain in Florida also calls for concern for the fish market, as the supply of fish is not technology propelled. And since the buyer will freely pick the fish of his choice from the streets whenever it rains, what is left for dominant design of the product and the new market is beyond the trajectory movement. And the study of the platform for it may not be of any use in these circumstances!
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.